HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0363.011 1996-1998 Testimony for County Council regarding the Oji Paper lease
Of all the uses for the 4500 acres of county owned land on the Hamakua Coast, 1
think a wood chip farm is the worst. It is like sugar once again, only without the jobs. It
has been estimated that for every job that a wood chip operation generates, a high value
hardwood planting will create 25 jobs. What we need is an agricultural activity that will
give us a chance to add value to the end product.
1 can't conceive of an independent County Council being willing to tie up all this
land for 50 years for a project that will return so little to the community. Therefore,
unless there is some back-room arm twisting that 1 am unaware of, 1 am confident that you
will turn down the Oji proposal.
Instead, go to the community and find out what they would like done with the
land. Look into the economics of growing high value hardwoods on the land. Calculate
the number of jobs in woodworking that Lhis supply of valuable lumber will provide. And,
realize that we don't need outsiders to oversee us planting trees on our land and then
taking the protits off-island. We can do it ourselves, and it will enrich all of us.
This is only one idea. Find out what else the community wants to do with this
land. But, whatever you do, please don't let this opportunity to advance ourselves
economically, slip away.
David A. Caccia
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