HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0728.013 2022-2024 P/ Council
1438-2L1
CAW.728
13-872 Malama Street
Pahoa, HI 96778
808-965-9270
Rgolden46@gmail.com
5-0
TO: The County Council
RE: Resolution. 438-24: A Comment I
t,orl
March 5, 2024
t.•i
Aloha!
As a resident of lower Puna, and a member of a community that was deeply impacted by the
2018 lava flow, I would like to bring the following to the attention of the Council.
• The County received a $20MM grant from the State Legislature to aid in eruption
recovery. I believe about 50%of that money has been distributed, but I believe the
impacted community has not played any direct role in advising the County and in
particular,the Planning Department and the Recovery Team how that money should be
distributed. The Recovery Team has not convened any open meetings here in the
community so that there could be a discussion of how best to utilize these funds.
• The decision of how to make the latest distribution of$3.3 million was made by three
individuals on the Recovery Team and reviewed by the Director of Planning. No effort
was made to engage community input in making that decision.
• We live on an island of 200,000 people, lower Puna has approximately 20,000 residents;
the collective wisdom of our local communities is an asset that I believe is being
underutilized and creates a culture of distrust between local communities and the
County government.
• I suggest the Council examine how citizen assemblies could be an effective tool to foster
a democratic culture of citizen engagement. Please check out this website:
citizenassemblies.org This is just one of many sources that could guide the Council,the
Dept. of Planning and the Recovery Team in how to engage the residents of lower Puna
in how best to distribute the balance of the initial grant.
• A timetable would also be helpful so the community would know when additional grants
would be forthcoming. I hope we don't have to wait another five years to see the fruits
of these recovery efforts.
I honor the work of the Council and all the people who work tirelessly to support the efforts of
our County government.
Mahalo,
Robert Golden
Comm. .
Ref. To:
Ref. Dote M