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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0159.050 2024-2026Public fluwrirl. t3i1132 COMK.159 From: Steph Bath Sent: Monday, May 19, 2025 9:14 PM ; To: Council Testimony CD Subject: County budget 2025-26 testimony May 20,2025 C cox -w Aloha kakou, �I =* By way of introduction for those who don't know me I'm Stephanie Bath 44 year resident of =4 Kurtistown. -' I support the funding of the upper Puna fire police station.This funding is in alignment with our Puna Community Development Plan(Public safety 3.4.3. )adopted 17 years ago in 2008 by ordinance. Having a quality well.equipped base which is close to communities in Upper Puna is needed. I want to emphasis that our first responders put their lives on the line for the public.Having a daughter who is a flight paramedic, I am aware that it is not an easy job. First responders need a place to unwind,do paperwork, maintain and store equipment and respond vehicles and get some rest to restore for the next call on those long shifts. District 5 became home to numerous folks impacted by the Leilani event. To my knowledge we did not receive recovery funds to support the influx of those arriving to upper Puna. We desperately need this health and safety infrastructure. On to the next item: Now please don't shoot the messenger. The message is that there has been discussion in community about reaching out to national media such as "60 minutes" to highlight how despite the Lahaina disaster, Hawaii County administration is ignoring the decades long plea to provide basic life saving road redundancy to Upper Puna as identified in our PCDP. We don't want this kind of national attention do we? Residents can not respond to fire threats, flooding and other emergency events. Having been committed to this critical issue for over 3 decades, I strive to shed light on the need to fund road redundancy. I pled with you to amend the budget draft to include $230,000 for the aquistion of interconnectivity and emergency access roads to connect upper puna subdivisions. (as identified in our PCDP Figure 4-1 ;page 4-12.) It is understood that $200,000 was allocated for this purpose previously. It was routed elsewhere. Connectivity is a critical health and safety issue. Waikoloa got road redundancy swiftly. We have been waiting 17 years for ours. Reflecting on Charles Dickens "Oliver Twist", many in Puna feel like Oliver when he asks." Please sir, I want some more" as he holds out his empty bowl. The thing is, when you look at Upper Punas figurative bowl, there is little sign of previous "gruel" in it to begin with. Road redundancy is not just for upper Puna residents. cometq � Road closures of Highway 11 impact the Kau district. . Ref. T®•TUH-011 i Ref. Date MAY 2 0 2025 The lack of road redundancy impacts the visitor industry which relies on Highway 11 to get to the Volcano national park. Vistiors may have limited time on our Island with plans to visit the volcano or Punaluu. Perhaps they are staying in Kona, visited the park and are heading to Hilo for a meal and to pick up omiyage before the drive back over the saddle. The highway is closed do to yet another traffic fatality -This is a big one. Closed for hours! Cruise ships are in port! Tour buses must cancel tours! What a damper for them, their lifelong trip. What an impact on our economy. I reflect on the last Mauna Loa eruption. Remember?No one knew where the flow/s would head. In Hawaii County we have been hit with concurrent disasters.What a nightmare it would have been if radial vents opened in Hawaiian ocean view estates to the west causing evacuation to Hilo side. A major quake had occurred and Highway 11 has downed power lines and trees and cracks in the road just below Hirano store. Highway 11 is down.lts down to tourists,first responders, Emergency responders, comuters school buses -it's down! Think it can't happen? Talk to Talmage! With road redundancy traffic can hopefully be routed through subdivisions to lower Puna and Kurtistown and beyond. Civil defense has been a champion for connectivity for years. They invested time and resources to support and assist in gathering sound data from residents in Puna relating to connectivity locations at not one, but two Puna regional emergency preparedness fairs. There was and is overwhelming support. We do NOT need to bring another consultant in or spend precious resources to determine if there is a need, if the public supports or wants it, or where the connectivity locations will be. It's in place. It needs a little fine tuning and funding The need is there. When there is not a major disaster, there are many emergencies on a daily basis in upper Puna. First responders must travel from Highway 11 into subdivisions to respond, only to have to travel all the way back out to Highway 11 and up or down and back into the adjacent subdivisions to respond to another emergency. This burns significant fossil fuel.Think climate change! Think monetary resources. Think time!!! Lives are at stake. In the 14 minutes to get back to Highway 11 someone could be bleeding out or having a stroke or heart attack. An officers life could be at risk as he waits for back up! At the Mayors community meeting in Keaau on March 27,2025 1 briefly spoke with Police Chief Moszkowicz and his deputy. They expressed enthusiastic support for connectivity. With a shortage of law enforcement officers and the vast area of upper Puna, response time is critical! Supporting the rising generation. Youth can't work on school projects with their classmates after school or just ride bikes together and recreate because parents are working or don't have gas or time to drive them to an adjacent subdivision. The situation is pathological. We must acquire these connectivity locations before the parcel options all have houses on them. Real estate prices continue to climb. Populations increase. Now we have assessory dwellings being built adding to the population. The infrastructure was sorely lacking. What now? Please take action! In closing I want to note that it has been brought to my attention that at least two visible county employees have said ,to paraphrase, regarding Puna,They knew what they were buying. Now they want infrastructure? ha! In all sincerely and urgency, Stephanie Bath Kurtistown, District 5 From: Steph Bath Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2025 10:28 AM To: Council Testimony Subject: public hearing budget 2025-26 testimony addition I neglected to mention in my written testimony that District 6 relies heavily on connectivity with District 5 when there is flooding, those fatal crash crashes and other emergencies. They also cut up into district 5 as a means to avoid rush hour gridlock. Connectivity will help keep folks within communities rather than 11 and 130. It's common sense. Additionally connectivity will allow for future Hele on feeder bus routes. It's all outlined in the implementation section of the Puna community development plan. Connectivity or lack there of is an Island wide health and safety crisis. Stephanie Bath Ku rtistown, District 5