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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0304.001 2024-2026P / aor-AC, "R. !)N From: Debbie H Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2025 6:04 AM To: Council Testimony, Inaba, Holeka; Kierkiewicz, Ashley, Onishi, Dennis; Kimball, Heather, James Hustace; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt; Galimba, Michelle M.; Villegas, Rebecca; Kagiwada, Jennifer Subject: Communication 304: Governmental Operations Committee - IN SUPPORT Form Ad Hoc committee (PIG) to improve the PONC program Attachments: +Proposed PONC Commission Rules changes 5.24.2022.docx; +5.1.2023 Hawaii County Boards and Commission meetings- Teleconference, Zoom and in person (1).docx, +PONC Recommendations 2022 Report of the Cost of Government Comm issio n.pdf.pdf, +Shortfalls of the 2% Land Fund Program with Remedies 8.13.2024.docx; +PONC list of proposed changes to improve performance 2.10.2025.docx, +2% Land Fund 2020Charter Amendment to pay salary.docx; +20o LAND FUND - Modifications and steps to improve the 2% Land Fund Program.docx Communication 304: To Form a Permitted Interaction Group (PIG) to improve the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Commission (PONC) process of idelffifyi10 and purchasing lands and improve the PONC process. IN SUPPORT c:;: Q Aloha Council members- This is a great step forward! Mahalo Michelle for proposing this! I would very much like tole included in this Ad Hoc committee. Please consider the following as my qualifications: = Mtn. 171 • 1' ran all of the campaigns from the Initiative Petition Campaign in 2005-2006, anNhe J�>E' campaigns in 2010, 2012 and 2020. • 1 was co-author of all of the legislation along with Brenda Ford and Sally Rice that has been approved by voters in 2006, 2012 and 2020. • I attended all but two of the 2020 Charter Commission's meetings and 2 charter amendments were passed. • I have attended most of the PONC commission meetings over the last 20 years. • I have been a PONC commissioner. • I have presented to the Cost of Government Commission and have received their support for changes. • I proposed rewrites of the PONC Commission's Rules to the commission. • I have helped multiple groups apply for PONC acquisition, I try to help one or two groups every year. I proposed one acquisition this past year (2024) on behalf of Moku O Keawe Land Conservancy- the Joseph Rock Arboretum in Kona. • I wrote the Resolution for Virginia Isabell in 2006 to acquire Puapua'a (12 acres in Kona), which was finally acquired 2-3 years ago after changing owners 4 times. • I have spoken to Finance Director Diane Nakagawa and Deputy Director Malia Kekai several times about the program. Much has been accomplished, but there is much more that can be done to achieve the vision I have held for the past years. For a history of the 2% Land Fund program go to �j https:Hdebbiehecht.com/2022/09/21 /the-great-success-of-the-2-land-fund/ Comm. ' ,o 3 0 ° , J 1 Ref. To ji _ _ Ref. taafiP_ ,SUN 3 205 I have been concerned for years of the politicization of the process about the Mayor's choices directing the acquisitions, or as in the case of Mayor Kim, the choice of not spending PONC money. This was never the intent. The commission process is meant to be about the people's selection of properties to be preserved in perpetuity, and how our taxpayer money is spent to acquire these lands. The Suggestions are kept as a historic list of properties that the community believes are worth preservation. As they become available, they are acquired. Several important PONC acquisitions have gone through 4 owners before there was a willing seller to the County, such as Puapua'a in Kona and Mahukona in Kohala. Many issues should be included in discussions of the PONC program to craft recommendations: 1- A hard look at the Commission's rules (see attached Proposed PONC Rule Changes) 2- Lack of hybrid/Zoom meetings- which would allow more of the public to testify and commissioners to attend more easily from all districts of the island. (see the chart with all the commissions that hold zoom meetings) 3- Only 6 meetings a year, which is not enough time to hear the acquisition Suggestion Forms, do site visits, write reports, present them to the commission, and do the ratings and hear the Maintenance Fund grant proposals and discuss. Each step of the process requires Sunshine Law notifications, so each meeting is a step in the process. (Rule changes would be required) 4- Establishment of a process to appoint commissioners needs to be solidified. I suggest that the County council member for each district could recommend people for vacancies and then they would be vetted by the mayor and approved by the county council. 5- Establish an easy -to -read website with: • All Suggestion forms from the beginning. • A chart showing where each submission is in the process: Were they approved by 51 % of the commission? Who is the owner? Is there a willing seller at this point in time? Is there a resolution to acquire the property by the council member for this district? • An accounting of taxpayer money deposited into the land fund and all expenditures from the beginning, updated on a quarterly basis An accounting of the funds deposited to the maintenance funds since the beginning, and all expenditures, updated at least on a quarterly basis. • Current bios of all commissioners so the public can know who they are addressing and who represents them in their district. 6- There has never been full-time staff to work only on the Land and Maintenance Fund. We proposed one full time person to the charter commission, but Deanna Sako proposed the amendment approved by the charter commission and voters in 2020 (see charter amendment to pay staff out of the 2% Land Fund). In my vision, an administrator could facilitate the upgrades to the program, smooth out the processes and perform duties such as: • Twice per year submission by the public for acquisition Suggestion Forms and Maintenance Fund forms. The county loses properties to the quicker response of the open market. The non -profits need grant funding more frequently to effectively do the "boots on the ground" work. We can do better by having 2x per year submissions. • Return to once per month meetings to get all work done in a timely manner. • Help to research matching funds to make the 2% Land Fund monies go further. • Have a real estate specialist actively work on property acquisitions. Over 20+ " ^ years the program has only acquired 26 properties (averaging 1 per year). • Send letters periodically to listed and resolution approved properties to seek out willing sellers. Why? Both Puapua'a in Kona and Mahukona in Kohala had 4 different sellers before there was one seller willing to sell to the county. Remember governments need to pay fair market value for properties. • Give workshops on the 2% Land fund and the Maintenance Fund, to help streamline the process of the public submitting properties and to help the non -profits submit grant applications. • Work with the non -profits who do the day to day maintenance to provide guidance and accountability. Do inspections on properties that receive Maintenance funds. • Hire people to do appraisals and management plans for properties. • Work with other department directors to accomplish tasks such as IT work, matching fund research, restroom facilities, clean up, etc. • Work with IT to create a comprehensive and easy to use website, so the public can watchdog the program. Here's what we have now with incomplete information: https:Hrecords.hawaiicounty.qov/weblink/browse.aspx?dbid=1&startid= 13770&cr=1 • Work with PONC secretary (provided for in the Code) who does agenda, notices, minutes, and tends to the commission. It might be most efficient to have 2 PIGS, one to study the 2% Land Fund acquisition process and another PIG to study and further smooth out the process for the Maintenance Fund. Mahalo for your consideration to create an Ad Hoc Committee to study the PONC process. I would like to be part of this committee. For more information, please contact me, I am here to assist you in any way. With warm aloha, Debbie Hecht Attachments: 1. Proposed PONC Commission Rule Changes 2. 5.1.2023- Boards and Commissions that use Zoom meetings 3. PONC Recommendation/ 2022 Report Cost of Government Commission 4. The vision and shortfalls of the 2% Land Fund program 5. PONC list of proposed changes to improve performance 6. Charter amendment to pay salaries for staff 7. 2% Land Fund program- Modifications and steps to improve the 2% Land Fund Program PONC Commission -Proposed PONC Rule Changes QUICK SUMMARY Lack of Attendance to PONC meetings by commissioners- no consequence in Rules 2. No hybrid Zoom meetings 3. Report to Mayor needs shorter submission date. 4. How commissioners appointed needs clarification. Suggestion -Council members submit and Mayor vets and approves. 5. Twice yearly submissions of Suggestion Forms for acquisitions would lead to more acquisitions and not losing properties to the open market because of the ponderous process. 6. Twice yearly submission of Maintenance Fund grants would help non -profits do their "boots on the ground" work more effectively. 7. Chair should write the agenda with input from commission members, using staff minutes and corporation counsel attorney input on draft. Final decision rests with chair. 8. Sunshine Law clarification needed if commission member may mention their involvement with the commission but speak on their own behalf. Draft: PROPOSED NEW RULES for the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Commission (PONC): Goals: • To maximize the time in commission meetings. • To acquire more properties as suggested by citizens on the Big Island. • To find more matching fund to increase the purchasing power of the 2% Land Fund • To provide more grants to the non -profits who are caring for land acquired with 2% Land Fund monies. Proposed new rules and edits: Follow along with the proposed changes in the attachment: PONC Revised Rules of Practice and Procedure. (proposed changes/edits/ additions to the existing Rules in CAPS, tri eth -ougho show deletions) 1. Under the Rule 2: Goals section: The goalS of the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission is ARE to 1) solicit suggestions from the community for lands consider to be worthy of preservation and to provide the Mayor of the County of Hawai'i with an island wide list of prioritized properties BY JANUARY 1 AND JUNE 1 OF EACH YEAR; 2) TO RESEARCH AND RECOMMEND TO THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND THE ADMINISTRATOR POTENTIAL MATCING FUNDS; and 3) to review stewardship grant applications, to recommend recipients of the stewardship grants from the maintenance fund to the department of narks and rorreation FINANCE BY APRIL 1 AND SEPTEMBER 1 OF EACH YEAR, and to monitor the performance of the stewardship grant recipients to ensure proper stewardship, preservation and conservation of the lands and easements acquired by the public access, open space and natural resources preservation fund. Why are twice per year submissions for acquisitions and stewardship grants important? a. Twice per year submissions for acquisitions would result in Mayor's List being published in January and a supplemental list in June. The county is missing opportunities to purchase properties suggested by the public because the process takes so long. b. Twice per year submission for Stewardship Grants. The "boots on the ground" non- profit groups need assistance to take care of these lands because Parks and Recreation will not. Two submission dates would help the non -profits with unexpected expenditures. Suggested dates to not conflict with acquisitions submissions could be April 1 and September 1. c. Research for matching funds could be accomplished with an Ad Hoc or PNG group and commissioners could have a standing time on the agenda to report to the commission at each meeting. 2. Definitions to ADD: a. Administrator: The person who works only on the 2% Land Fund Program (land acquisition, finding matching funds and stewardship grants) and provides a report at each Commission meeting. This salary is paid out of the 2% Land Fund as provided in the Hawaii County Charter). b. Administrative Support- The person who assists the administrator and is responsible for posting meeting notices, writing minutes, sending notices to interested citizens and commissioners, sending information packets to commissioners one week before their meetings (including agendas, communications, supporting information and research etc.), updating website information. Are there additional duties to be included? This position is provided for in the Hawaii County Code and paid for out of the General Fund. 3. Under Rule 6-1 ORGANIZATION of the Rules: a. Each commissioner is to represent the district where they live, but their responsibility is to help represent properties island -wide. In each Commissioner's biographies an email address can be included so commissioners can be available to the people they represent. This could optional for each commissioner to decide. b. The current term for people appointed to PONC is 5 years, is this too long? Should it be 3 years, with a potential 1-year extension? 4. Under 6-4-c MEETINGS: a. Monthly meetings to do all the work (as per your existing Rules). Zoom meetings or hybrid meetings (zoom and in -person) would make this easier for commissioners and to attend and for the public to testify. Zoom meetings are already provided for in the rules. It is up to the Commission on how you want to conduct your meetings. b. Under 6-4 (i)- There has been some confusion who sets up the site visits, this should be clarified. Suggested for uniformity would be the PONC secretary or administrative support. 5. Under Rule 6-5 MINUTES- Minutes should be sent to commissioners and published within 2 weeks of a meeting when the meeting is still fresh in the minds of all. Edits could be submitted to the chair before the commission meeting and the draft published on the website immediately following the meeting when they are approved. Currently (5.24.2022) minutes are months behind. 6. Under Rule 6-6 OFFICERS- there has been some confusion about who sets the agenda. In most boards and commissions, the Presiding Officer or Chair sets the agenda and sends the draft agenda around to members for additions before the meeting. This should be included under the duties of the Presiding officer. 7. ADDITIONAL ISSUES TO DISCUSS AND DECIDE FOR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES: • Workshops by Zoom or in -person could be given by staff once or twice per year as needed for acquisition Suggestion Forms and for Stewardship Grant forms. The workshop should be required for first time applicants. • Once a property has a resolution passed by the County Council, it could not be submitted to be listed again, unless the actual property to be acquired had changed. (This would cut down on work for staff and commissioners). • Remove the following from the Suggestion Forms- under Attachment E (Why is this important? See attached) a. Attachment E 7) says: Is/Are the landowner(s) aware of this suggestion and willing to participate? If yes, as required, please have the landowner submit and email or letter for Ad Hoc Site Visit permission to the Commission secretary. b. Attachment E 8) Is/Are the property(s) or property easement(s) available for acquisitions? Yes, no unknown. Attachments: 1. PONC Revised Rules of Practice and Procedure with handwritten entries. 2. Hawaii County Code Chapter 2 Article 42 3. Hawaii County Charter: Article X, Section 10-15. Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund & Section 10-16 Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Maintenance Fund of the Charter Hawaii County Boards and Commissions Meeting Types: Teleconference, Zoom or in person 5.1.2023 Total Boards and commissions- total 42 Not meeting/ inactive- 20 Meeting in person and via zoom- 13 Meeting in person only 8 Public Access, Open Space Natural Resources Commission, mostly complaint boards like Water Board, Tax Board of Review, Merit Appeals Board (hears employment grievances), Liquor Control Adjudication (hears complaints on liquor violations and imposes fines), These groups can impose fines or penalties or adjust taxes. All Zoom- 1- Kailua Village Design Committee &. Cost of Government Commission who completed their work in 2022 and will not meet again until 2031 Name of Commission or Committee Last meeting, Types of meetings information from last age da 1. Agricultural Advisory Last meeting, none Committee information a enda 5.2016 2. Arborist Advisory Last agenda In person and zoom Committee- Bobby 4.2023 after not Command designee meeting since 10.2020 3. Banyan Drive Last met 7.2021 none Redevelopment says to call the Planning Dept if you are interested 4. Board of Appeals Agenda for In person or zoom 5.2023 5. Board of Ethics From 4.14.2023 In person or zoom agenda 6. Charter Commission none completed their work in 7.2020 they will not meet until 2030 7. Advisory Committee on Call 808-961- None Aging 8600 Luan Ancheta- Kauwe ary 8. Committee on People with No meetings none disabilities since 10.2020 9. Committee on the Status of Last meeting In person at prosecuting Women agenda 4.19.2023 attorne 's office and via zoom 10. Cost of Government Completed Zoom only Commission November 2022 met during covid 11. Cultural Resources Cancelled in person and zoom Commission 4.12.2023 meeting but had agenda 12. Energy Advisory Committee Listed as inactive none 13. Environmental Management 4/25 agenda In person and zoom Commission 14.Family Violence Advisory none Commission (says currently inactive since 2004 15. Fire Board of Appeals (says none currently recruiting) no meetings ever 16. Fire Commission- discusses Last agenda in person only salaries, complaints and 4.27.2023 meets in closed exec session 17. Game management Last agenda in person and zoom 2.21.2023 18. Hamakua Community Meeting in person and zoom development plan Action 4.12.2023 Committee 19. Hawaii Safety Council (says Last met 2.2016 none in discussion to reactivate 20.Ka'u Community No folders to find none development committee a endas 21. Kailua Village Design Last agenda zoom Commission 4.25.2023 22. Kona Community No folders or none Development Plan agendas 23. Leeward Planning 5.19.2023 last In person and zoom Commission agenda 24. Liquor commission Last agenda In person or zoom 5.4.2023 25. Liquor control adjudication Agenda In person only board (purpose from Fact 4.20.2023 Interesting group of people - sheet) To hear and Roth, Lee Lord, Bobby determine complaints Command, Sidney Fuke chair, regarding violations of state Arthur Taniguchi, other liquor laws or violation of members Michael Hughes, liquor Commission rules Howard Kelly, Dawn Raymond and regulations and to impose fines or penalties as provide by law 26. Local Emergency Planning none Committee (says currently inactive 27. Merit Appeals Board (hears Last agenda In person only appeals on employment 4.27.2023 issues 28.North Kohala Community none Development Plan Action Committee. No folders to see agendas 29. Pension Board No meetings none since 11.2022 30. Police Commission- hears Last meeting In person only complaints 1.2023 hears complaints about police 31. PONC Last agenda In person only 5.8.2023 32. Puna Community No folder no none Development Action agendas Committee 33. Redistricting agenda Last meeting none 3.2021 meets again in 2031 (every 10 ears 34.Salary Commission Last meeting none 11.2019 35. Solid Waste Advisory none Commission (currently inactive 36.South Kohala community No folder no none Development plan agendas 37.Tax Board of Review Last agenda In person only 4.6.2023 38.Transportation Commission Last meeting In person and zoom and 3.31.2023 (have website and says to click here to join meeting and join on the web via Microsoft teams 39. Veterans Advisory Last meeting Can attend and testify in Commission 2.22.2023 person or via zoom 40. Water Board (department of 4.25.2023 Public testimony in person water supply) only and no zoom 41.Youth Commission Only has fact none sheet no meetings or a endas 42. Windward Planning last agenda in person and zoom Commission 5.04.2023 PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES (PONQ EXPENDITURES RECOMMENDATIONS: After speaking with members of the Public access, Open space, Natural resource Commission (PONC) and related Maintenance Fund, Commissioners and long-time advocates gave our COGC permitted interaction group (PIG) the following recommendations to improve productivity and efficiency in the operations of this Commission, the acquisition of new lands, and the Maintenance Fund: 1. Hire additional PONC staff. 2. Allow for more flexibility in meetings, both remote and in -person options should be available. 3. Have twice per year submission dates for Maintenance Fund Grants and the 2% Land Fund. 4. Seeking matching funds should be part of the job of the commission and ideally in tandem with County of Hawaii Research and Development. 5. Continued allowance for `unwilling seller' properties to be part of the listed PONC properties. 6. Update and increase transparency of the PONC website. EVALUATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. Hiring of dedicated PONC Staff: Hiring of two permanent and dedicated staff to assist the PONC Commissioners with their duties and the related administrative tasks associated with land or easement purchases, grant writing and maintenance of the PONC lands. One staff member, provided for in the County Code, is paid by the Department of Finance and the other position is paid for from the 2% Land Fund as voters approved in 2020. Currently, personnel from the Finance Department are used on an ad hoc basis, where a dedicated team would be significantly more effective in carrying out the goals and mission of PONC/PONC Maintenance Fund. 2. Allowing for more flexibility in meetings: As some expressed a desire for more frequent meetings and/or for a remote/virtual meeting option, we believe that hybrid meetings should be an option. However, we also see the value in having in -person meetings for truly allowing the Commissioners to be engaged with public testifiers and for public service groups to present their case in a way that has the most impact. We suggest that the option to meet more frequently via Zoom is 20 2022 Cost of Government Commission — County of Hawai'i - Final Report an option available to the Commission. This decision should be written in the new proposed rules as an option for the Commissioners to decide, as their membership evolves over time. 3. Twice per year submission dates: Twice per year submission dates for Maintenance Fund Grants and the 2% Land Fund may help with the backlog and allow the groups who need support in these funds an opportunity to apply for this support and allow lands to be acquired more quickly to satisfy landowners. 4. Matching Funds: Seeking matching funds should be part of the job of the Commission and ideally in tandem with County of Hawaii Research and Development. Having PONC staff (2 personnel) would likely be very cost effective, and significantly increases the success of securing grants. 5. "Unwilling Sellers": Currently, the PONC rules allow properties with'unwilling sellers' to be listed. The goals of the PONC listings are to compile a list of properties that the public wants preserved. There is no mention of willing sellers in any of the legislation. Since the list remains over many years, and a property/easement is removed only if purchased, the current practice of listing properties with'unwilling sellers' property has the advantage of time. Landowners' situations, goals or priorities change over time, which has allowed a number of properties to finally move into escrow. Under the new proposed PONC rules, only "properties with willing sellers" may be listed. This will likely create a much shorter list and result in far fewer properties being listed. Being on the PONC list, does not have any legal bearing on the landowner, other than the knowledge it has met the criteria as an important parcel/easement for future purchase. Because the 2% Land Fund competes for properties that can be sold quickly on the open market, the County could lose properties that are important to the public, especially with the single application submission period each year. Furthermore, there is a significantly greater chance a property of interest would get listed for sale after the annual submission period and go into escrow to another private buyer before ever being able to be submitted the following year. 6. Website updates: We were informed that the website used to have most of this information easily accessible, and our recommendation is that this would increase the public's ability to be engaged and informed on PONC history and current activities. For transparency, the following items should be readily available from the'Home' page of the PONC website: a. Financial documents i. Current and all prior years simplified income/expenses for land easements and related information ii. A separate page for the Maintenance Fund 21 2022 Cost of Government Commission — County of Hawai'i - Final Report b. List of all proposed properties and easements for purchase and an indication if the property has a resolution passed by the Hawaii County Council to purchase/in escrow process. c. List of completed purchases (land and easements that have been secured) d. Suggestion forms for land and easement acquisition. e. Maintenance Fund community steward grant forms. f. Process in which a parcel(s) or easement is nominated. 22 2022 Cost of Government Commission — County of Hawai'i - Final Report The Vision, shortfalls to meet goals and efficiencies for the 2% land fund program and remedies 8.14.2024 THE VISION for the 2% LAND FUND PROGRAM: To conserve and maintain land in perpetuity for the use and enjoyment of future generations of Hawai'i County residents by preserving historic or culturally important land areas and sites, natural resources, forests, beaches, coastal areas, areas of natural beauty, agricultural lands, and protecting watershed lands to preserve water quality and water supply. The Maintenance Fund was established to fund the "boots on the ground" volunteers who care for these lands. Strong, kuleana communities have been built to care for these lands. Parks and Recreation said they would not care for these lands when the acquisition process started in 2006. SHORTFALLS and PROPOSED REMEDIES: 1. No additional staff as per charter amendment approved by voters in 2020 SEE ATTACHED — ELECTION RESULTS FOR TWO CHARTER AMENDMENTS. SEE ATTACHED Hawaii County Charter Article X, Section 10-15 SEE ATTACHED LEGISLATION CHANGE Remedy: Hire or assign one staff member to work on the 2% Land Fund Program, acquisition, and maintenance fund grants and work with the commission. Voters said they could be paid out of the 2% Land Fund, so this is not a budget issue. 2. Maintenance Fund Grants Requested and Paid: Maintenance fund grants are frequently in arrears even though the Maintenance Fund program was transferred from Parks and Rec to Department of Finance as of December 2020. SEE ATTACHED LEGISLATION CHANGE, MAINTENANCE FUND GRANTS REQUESTS SUBMITTED TO PONC AND ACCOUNTING REPORT as of February 29,2024. Remedy: Hire or assign one staff person to be in charge of the 2% Land Fund Program, acquisitions, and maintenance fund grants. 3. PONC Meetings: No Zoom Option, Agendas incomplete, board packets, no posting of Communications: Complaints from the Office of Information Practices but nothing has been done, out of compliance with the Sunshine laws, agendas lacking sufficient detail, no Zoom option, board packets not sent to public, communications should be included in the agenda, SEE ATTACHED COMMUNICATION SENTTO PONC COMMISSION EARLY MAY by DH, PONC MAY 2024 AGENDA AND LETTER FROM OIP (State of Hawaii Office of Information Practices). Remedy: Hybrid meetings with Zoom as an option, like most other commissions, staff to do detailed agendas, get agendas out at least one week before meetings (Sunshine Law requirement) and send information to the public. 4. No Zoom meetings although requested multiple times and supported by the COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION and recommended in LETTER FROM OIP both ATTACHED. The anticipated benefits would be more testimony, better attendance of meetings by public and commissioners, less reimbursement of volunteers, less cars on the road, less greenhouse gases. PONC is the only commission without semi judicial capacity that does not have zoom or hybrid meetings. ATTACHED- See Table of Zoom Meetings by COH commissions and boards and Recommendations of Cost of Government Commission about PONC program. . Remedy: Establish hybrid meetings with Zoom option. 5. Enabling Legislation- The problem is that only 25 properties over 18 years, which is roughly one per year. Hundreds of properties have been submitted by Suggestion Forms. The date when the Mayor's List is transmitted from PONC to the Mayor - a. When we wrote the enabling legislation as currently in the Hawaii County Code Article 42, Section 214, Duties of the Commission (2) it lists says: " to update this list (The Mayor's List of Recommended Properties) at any time, but at least annually by December 31 of each year." WHY wait until December 31? The PONC commission votes on the criteria at their July meeting, but in 2023, the PONC list didn't come out until after January. We have repeatedly asked, why can't the Report to the Mayor come out more quickly and then go to Council early September, before the end of the calendar year? There are 5 months between July and December 31! Properties are lost because of the long delay in the process when willing sellers have to wait to get the county to go through this process. WHY? Remedy: Establish two time per year submission dates for the Suggestion Forms for land acquisition and two times per year for Maintenance Fund Grants b. The commissioners have a detailed rating system, then those properties with over a 50% rating go on the Mayor's List of recommended properties, then the Mayor approves it and then the county council approves it. Then it is customary for the council member for that district to write a resolution instructing the Department of Finance to acquire the property. Then some properties are acquired, and some are not at the discretion of the Mayor and staff. This is not the intent. i. Two examples: ii. Harry Kim was firmly against the PONC program from the beginning in 2006 and bought few properties during his terms. He even publicly said that the money should be taken and placed in the General Fund. iii. The property at Keauhou Bay was proposed in 2023 and acquired soon after the Report to the Mayor came out. Ed Repoza was one of the owners. Why hasn't Honolulu Landing been acquired with a willing seller, proposed and a resolution in 2006.Why haven't more been purchased? Remedy: More staff is needed (as approved by voters in 2020), preferably one person to work only on the 2% Land Fund Program, the land acquisition process needs to be accelerated by having two submission dates per year AND to accomplish this the Hawaii County Code needs to be changed. 6. PONC Rules ATTACHED and see Cost of Government Recommendations in #3- The commission went through a re -write of their rules 2 years ago. a. Infrequent Meetings- The Commission only has meetings every other month which are 5-hour meetings. When the council met in years past, the meetings were monthly and ran about 2 hours. The reason given was that there wasn't staff to do more meetings. As a result, not many properties get purchased, properties are lost because of the slow process and the non -profits do not get funded to care for the PONC lands in a timely manner. Remedy: Return to meetings once per month. b. Willing vs. Unwilling sellers were never mentioned as part of the legislation. Staff wrote in unwilling sellers on the Suggestion Forms and on the criteria forms as part of the criteria. SEE COST OF GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDATIONS CITED IN #3 Remedy: Keep the requirement of willing sellers out of the process. c. Mayor's involvement is meant to be limited: The Mayor doesn't accept the council members recommendation for choosing new commission new, there should be a criteria and a process in the code. SEE ATTACHED PROPOSED EDITS OF ARTICLE 42, SECTION 2 HAWAII COUNTY CODE REGARDING HOW COMMISION MEMEBERS ARE CHOSEN and when MAYOR'S LIST SHOULD BE SUBMITTED. Remedy: Change the Hawaii county code to limit the Mayor and council's involvement. This is a citizen's commission spending taxpayer money. REMEDIES: i. Commission members don't show up for meetings, need recourse in Rules ii. No zoom meetings allowed iii. When submits the report iv. How commissioners are appointed v. Once per month meetings (2"d Monday of each month). Shorter meetings, get more done vi. Twice yearly submissions for Suggestion Forms for acquisitions vii. Twice yearly submission for Maintenance Fund grants. viii. Writing the agenda needs to be clarified. Right now, staff and corp counsel write the agendas. ix. Clarification needed on how people can speak in public with a commissioner's knowledge but on their own behalf. 7. Website ineffective, hard to navigate. We were shown a new website but that was 2 years ago. The existing website is https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/browse.aspx?dbid=l &startid=l 3770&cr=l a. Difficult to navigate b. Lack of Transparency- Financial reports for the acquisition fund, the Maintenance Fund only go back to January 2023. c. No list of all the properties that have been submitted. Remedy: Redo website and have it more user friendly with a library of data for Suggestion Forms, acquisitions and Maintenance Fund grants and reports from the beginning, so that citizens can monitor how their taxpayer funds are being spent. Respectfully submitted. Please get in touch with questions. Debbie Hecht hecht.deb(j�gmail.com, volunteer as campaign manager since 2005 2% Land Fund Program: Proposed Changes to Improve Performance. 2.2025 The 2% Land Fund has been in existence since 2006, when Council member Brenda Ford and I wrote the original enabling legislation. Voters approved the new part of the Hawai'i County Code to set aside 2% of the property taxes for Hawaii County each year, to purchase open space and parklands. Deposits to the Land Fund were suspended in 2008 for 2 years by the Kenoi administration, citing a possible recession. To honor the wishes of voters and supporters who collected 9,400 signatures on the initiative petitions, we brought forward a charter amendment, that could only be modified by a vote of the people. The charter commission met in 2010 and brought forward a charter amendment at 1 % of property taxes that was also approved by voters. In 2012, voters reapproved the original amount of 2%. In 2020 the charter amendment was modified again when voters approved a clause that enabled staff to be paid out of the 2% Land Fund monies. This would be in addition to the staff provided for in the Hawaii County Code and paid for in the budget to assist the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Commission (PONC).* During the past 19 years, only 27 properties have been acquired, or roughly 1 property per year. Currently the county has acquired: Total of 27 properties that equal 10,883 acres - 6,042 acres in conservation easements and 4,842 acres in fee simple properties. See the Acquisition Status Report Below. There is $19,438,610. in the Acquisition fund as of June 2024 and the Maintenance Fund contains $3,167,933. as of December 2024. These figures can be viewed at: file:///Users/Debbiel /Desktop/PONC/Acquisition%2OReport%20as%20of%206.24.pdf The Maintenance Fund, that sets aside'/% of property taxes each year, was first approved by voters as a charter amendment in 2012, and was again approved in 2020, when it was heavily modified by the charter commission with new language, that Sally Rice and I proposed. The 2020 charter amendment moved the Maintenance Fund program to the Department of Finance and out of Parks and Recreation, and allowed more uses of the Maintenance Fund. Voters supported all of the 2020 charter amendments. The following are proposed modifications to improve the 2% Land Fund Program (acquisition and maintenance fund. ADDITIONAL STAFF, exclusively to work on the 2% Land Fund Program is needed as stated in the charter amendment* (below) approved by voters in 2020. This charter amendment has still not been implemented, no staff was hired and paid out of the 2% Land Fund. Staff is needed to have monthly meetings, to set up and organize both Zoom/ hybrid meetings, help to propose new commissioners to fill vacancies, set up site visits for commissioners and inspect sites with Maintenance fund grants, prepare and compile the reports to the Mayor, look for matching funds, hold workshops to help fill out forms and supporting information required, finally complete the website which has been under construction for 3 years and generally oversee the entire program. *See the exact legislation approved by voters below for additional staff to be paid out of the 2% Land Fund (so it is not a budget item). 2. RETURN TO ONCE PER MONTH MEETINGS and provide them by Zoom and in person. The commission currently meets every other month, which is not enough time to get everything done. A Commission Rule change is needed. 3. ZOOM AND HYBRID MEETINGS would alternate between Hilo and Kona. This would enable commissioners who travel, to attend and for the public to testify more. It is difficult to justify driving 4 hours round trip to testify for 3 minutes? The goal has always been to have the public submit properties that were important to preserve in perpetuity with 2% Land Fund money and maintain and protect these properties with Maintenance Fund grants. Public participation has always been a goal of this program to spend taxpayer funds. More opportunities for testimony are needed. 4. PONC COMMISSION MEMBERS NEEDED: Currently VACANT Districts 2,3 and 7. (as of 2.2025) (Commissioners retiring EOY 2025, 5,8 and 9, additional staff could assist the Mayor's staff on finding commission members and calling council members for recommendations. 5. 2x PER YEAR SUBMISSIONS: Change deadlines for submission of Suggestion Forms (acquisition) and Maintenance Fund grants to 2x per year from the application to acquisition.** Right now, the entire process takes approximately 2-3 years, during which time property owners may need money more quickly, are required to pay property taxes and properties are lost to the open market. Suggestion Forms could be submitted by January 31 and June 30 and considered by the commission and voted on in March and August after site visits. Maintenance Fund grants could be submitted on March 31 and September 31 and discussed by the commission in April and October. Staff should visit the sites with the commissioners for Suggestion Forms. Staff should also visit the sites to check on progress with Maintenance Fund grants before subsequent submissions. 6. WORKSHOPS- Two Zoom workshops would help the public fill out the Suggestion Form and the Maintenance Fund Form with required information and supporting documentation. 7. Do MATCHING FUND research sources of matching funds, FEMA floodplain money, federal funds for Water and soils conservation, etc. This program has not ever been assisted by staff but should be. 8. Complete the WEBSITE that has been under construction for 3 years, to make it easy for the public to watchdog the process. *Legislation passed by voters (in yellow) in 2020, but never implemented with additional staff: "Section 10-15. Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund. (a) In adopting each fiscal year's operating budget, the council shall appropriate a minimum of two percent of the certified real property tax revenues, including penalty and interest, to a fund known as the public access, open space, and natural resources preservation fund. Deposits to the fund shall occur at a minimum, on a quarterly basis. (b) Funding shall consist of a minimum of two percent of actual revenue received in the fiscal year. Additional revenue may consist of grants and private contributions intended for the purpose of this section, voluntary contributions of any amount as specified on the real property tax bill, proceeds from the sale of general obligation bonds authorized and issued for the purpose of this section, council appropriations for the purpose of this section, and any other source of revenue. (c) Monies in this fund shall be used solely to: (1) Purchase or otherwise acquire lands and easements in the County of Hawaii for public outdoor recreation and education, including: (A) Access to beaches and mountains; (8) Preservation of historic or culturally important land areas and sites; 14 (C) Protection of natural resources, significant habitat, or eco- systems, including buffer zones, (D) Preservation of forests, beaches, coastal areas, natural beauty and agricultural lands, and (E) Protection of watershed lands to preserve water quality and water supply. (2) Pay the principal, interest and premium, if any, due with respect to bonds issued in whole for the purpose of this fund. (3) "Pay for the salary, wages and benefits of staff dedicated to advancing the Activities contained within this section and Section 10-16 of this charter." ** The PONC PROCESS: The process from application to funding generally takes 2-3 years. Listed is the number of meetings to pass these decisions by the PONC Commission. During this time property owners are required to pay property taxes and cannot get their funds. Many properties are lost to the open market due to these 2 reasons. The process is: 1. Submit the application to be heard at the PONC Commission end of January (only once per year), with and discussed in March. 2. A PIG group (only 3 commissioners to avoid a quorum and violate sunshine laws) comprised of members from the PONC Commission visits each property and writes site visits to submit to the entire commission for discussion. The March meeting is to set up a PIG, next meeting in May is to submit site visit reports and then the site reports are discussed in July. 3. The PONC Commission meets to rate the properties, at the July meeting along with discussion about the site visits so there is no time to find out more information. This year, they did decide to do more research and the final vote is voted on in September. 4. Then the Report to the Mayor is due by the end of December. Then the mayor sends it to the county council. Here are the Reports to the Mayor. https:Hrecords.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/l/doc/143183/Pagel.aspx 5. At the county council the list is generally approved, but this takes time: 2+ months through Legislative Review Branch (LRB) to Council Committee to full council approval. 6. Next, the council member for the district where the property is located chooses or blocks the property from moving forward. If they choose to support the property acquisition, they write a Resolution instructing the Department of Finance to start negotiations to acquire the property. The resolution will take another 1.5 months through LRB, committee and council. 7. The negotiations often take 6 months or longer with Yellow Book appraisals and surveying etc. 8. MAINTENANCE FUND GRANTS- is another time consuming process that would be greatly accelerated by once per month hybrid meetings (via Zoom and in person). I am not a commissioner, but I was told by a friend who is a commissioner that the staff did the Maintenance Fund reports this year and submitted to the commission 5 days before they were to vote on them. Traditionally, the commission queries the non -profits that receive these funds and staff occasionally inspects for completion. Please talk to a PONC commissioner to get their perspective on the PONC process. I recommend someone who has been on PONC for a few years. 9. Also attached, the PONC process from the existing website: https:Hrecords.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/browse.aspx?dbid=l &startid=13770&cr=1 Respectfully submitted Debbie Hecht 808-989-3222. Hecht.deb(cr�.gmail. com Campaign coordinator and co-author of all legislation. 3 CHARTER AMENDMENT TO THE 2% LAND FUND PROGRAM: APPROVED BY VOTERS TO ALLOW ADDITIONAL POSTIONS THAT WORK ON THE LAND FUND TO BE PAID FROM THE 2% LAND FUND: *What we advocated for was 1 person to work only on the land fund. The lanquage was chanqed at the Charter Commission. SEE BELOW The Cost of Government Commission and voters supported the idea to hire more people to be paid out of the 2% Land Fund to accomplish more acquisitions. The PONC secretary is provided for in the Hawaii County Code, but as an administrative position to work only on the 2% Land Fund and the Maintenance Fund could be paid out of the 2% Land fund to make the program more self-supporting and so as not to wrangle over the budget each year. The charter amendment passed in 2020, by voters reads in yellow below: "Section 10-15. Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund. (a) In adopting each fiscal year's operating budget, the council shall appropriate a minimum of two percent of the certified real property tax revenues, including penalty and interest, to a fund known as the public access, open space, and natural resources preservation fund. Deposits to the fund shall occur at a minimum, on a quarterly basis. (b) Funding shall consist of a minimum of two percent of actual revenue received in the fiscal year. Additional revenue may consist of grants and private contributions intended for the purpose of this section, voluntary contributions of any amount as specified on the real property tax bill, proceeds from the sale of general obligation bonds authorized and issued for the purpose of this section, council appropriations for the purpose of this section, and any other source of revenue. (c) Monies in this fund shall be used solely to: (1) Purchase or otherwise acquire lands and easements in the County of Hawaii for public outdoor recreation and education, including: (A) Access to beaches and mountains; (B) Preservation of historic or culturally important land areas and sites; (C) Protection of natural resources, significant habitat, or eco-systems, including buffer zones; (D) Preservation of forests, beaches, coastal areas, natural beauty and agricultural lands; and (E) Protection of watershed lands to preserve water quality and water supply. (2) Pay the principal, interest and premium, if any, due with respect to bonds issued in whole for the purpose of this fund. (3) "Pay for the salary, wages and benefits of staff dedicated to advancing the Activities contained within this section and Section 10-16 of this charter_." The 2% Land Fund Program-PONC Proposed Changes and Steps to Improvement 1. ADDITIONAL STAFF- Voters approved a 2020 charter amendment to hire staff to work solely on the 2% Land Fund program. No one has been hired in 5 years! It was originally proposed to the charter commission to hire one person to work solely on the 2% Land Fund program, but the charter commission chose to use this language for the ballot: "Pay for the salary, wages and benefits of staff dedicated to advancing the activities contained within this section and section s0-16 of this charter." The goals of staff would be to: a. collaborate with Research and Development on grants for matching funds b. collaborate with the IT department to build a website and have zoom meetings c. work with Public Works on getting bathrooms and educational hales at sites as needed d. work with Parks crews to clean up sites initially and build trails e. Hire outside help to create management plans with the community and the 501c3 groups in charge of long-term management 2. RETURN TO ONCE PER MONTH HYBRID MEETINGS by allowing commission members and the public to attend in person or via Zoom. The goal is to increase participation by both commissioners and the public. Currently, the commission meets every other month (6x per year) from 10-2:00, which is not enough time to get everything done. A change in the PONC commission's rules would be necessary. IT assistance is needed to accomplish this goal at the Kona and Hilo sites. This is not a new idea, traditionally PONC meetings, were once per month, were via Zoom and went longer than 4 hours. 3. PONC COMMISSION MEMBERS NEEDED: There are only 6 of the 9 seats currently filled. There are VACANCIES for Districts 2, 3 and 7. Commissioners retiring EOY 2025 live in Districts 5,8 and 9. Additional staff could assist the Mayor's staff by calling council members for recommendations to find commission members. The Boards and Commissions website does not have the correct list as of commissioners as of 3.7.2025. There are no bios for the individual commissioners on the PONC website except as part of the Facts about the Commission which is currently out of date. A listing of commissioners and short bios used to be part of the website, it would be helpful to have that reinstated. A staff person would be able to keep this list current. https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/1/doc/143973/Pagel.aspx 4. 2x PER YEAR SUBMISSIONS: Properties are being lost to the real estate market because it takes 2 +1- years from the time the Suggestion Form are submitted to purchasing a property. Only 26 properties have been purchased in19 years (averaging 1 purchase per year). To speed up the process, the deadlines could be changed for the submission of Suggestion Forms (acquisition) and Maintenance Fund grants to 2x per year. a. Suggestion Forms could be submitted by January 31 and June 30 and considered by the commission and voted on in March and August after site visits. b. Maintenance Fund grants could be submitted on March 31 and September 31 and discussed by the commission in April and October. c. Staff visits to each proposed site for Suggestion Forms with the commissioners. Maintenance Fund- staff visit to sites to check on progress with Maintenance Fund grants before subsequent reapplication. 5. WEBSITE- Work with IT staff to complete the website that has been under construction for 3 years, to make it easy for the public to follow the process and understand how their tax dollars are being spent. In the past, there was a short bio for each commissioner, which made it easy for community members to considering joining the commission and for -the public to understand who they are addressing when testifying. Process papers could be included outlining the step- by-step process for both the Suggestion Forms for the Acquisition Fund and the forms for the Maintenance Fund 6. WORKSHOPS- Two Zoom workshops could be required to fill out the Suggestion Form and the Maintenance Fund Form with necessary information and supporting documentation. The goal is to encourage participation and assist the public with the forms. Staff could request IT help to do a zoom presentation. 7. MATCHING FUNDS- An additional administrative staff member could work with the Department of Research and Development, or hire an outside grant writer to do research to find sources of matching funds, FEMA floodplain money, federal funds for water and soils conservation, etc. The "great gift' of the 2% land fund is to provide a dependable source of funds to obtain matching funds. The original vision was to find dollar -for -dollar matching funds. Respectfully submitted Debbie Hecht 3.11.2025. hecht.deb(a—)gmail.com 808-989-3222 E