COM 0042.047 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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i ~~o ~ My name is Morton Bassan. I reside on my South Point Road Ka'u Gold Orange Orchard. My perspective on this General Plan is warped by the lack of law enforcement's attention to crop theft and other kinds of agriterrorism. I closed down my orchard operations over a period of years reducing my work force from 55 to zero people. The cost of security without meaningful law enforcement exceeded the value of the crops I was able to protect and harvest. I support this general plan based on the ability to make interim amendments (per page 422) after it's adopted. The following are the amendments I think are needed to improve this General Plan. Ka'u Courses of Action page 66 The County shall assist the further development of agriculture in the area. To really help agriculture we need to change law enforcement's mindset regarding agriterrorism. It's one thing when a family steals a few oranges to feed themselves but it's altogether a different story when armed thieves steal truckloads of oranges to make a living. None of the people caught with or without police present were prosecuted. Somehow ag theft falls through the cracks within our law enforcement system. STANDARDS page 221 2.5 police officers per 1,000 resident population. Page 221 This type of allocation of police officers without regard to area patrolled allows rural areas to harbor criminals. Since Hilo and Kona have substantial populations they have a large enough police force to push criminals towards areas like Ka'u with only 2 policemen on duty per shift. We need a police officer allocation system that includes land area patrolled, as well as population. Particularly in Ka'u with only 2 police officers on duty per shift at any one time there just isn't adequate backup for the officers to arrest criminals. With this current County police standard the citizens and County end up tolerating crime. (Read newspaper article.) W ~ 4"t+ ?n o•o P o 1 ~ ~ w e' t 1 hetb~N. e ~ e ~vo Stc.ftf tiY a{~'•r.~0yl~ ju4.leJ~ d" Pr: jeHS, Ka'u Profile pages 225 and 230/_ In addition to the 14 Ka'u police officers available (allowing only 2 per shift) we need 3 officers per shift increasing police officers in Ka'u to 21. Since we don't have any full time police detectives in Ka'u any detective work requires a 3 hour round trip drive for a detective to come from either the Hilo or Kona police stations to Ka'u. As such we need 2 full time detectives assigned to Ka'u, with one specializing in rural crime. Ka'u Profile page 254 Pursue groundwater source investigation, exploration and well development at Ocean View, Pahala, and Waiohinu. The moratorium on water meters from Kiolaka'a to and along South Point Road is not based on an inadequate water supply -the Comm. No. Y2' Ref. To: Preseete/ C~ Ref. Date