HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0666.002 2006-2008 Hawai i County Clerk
counciltestimony~n,co.hawaii.hi.us
To: Hawai i County Council
Committee on Planning
The Honorable K. Angel Pilago, Chair
The Honorable Dominic Yagong, Vice-Chair
From: Marie Dolores (Dolly) Strazaz
Com. Date: Tuesday, 18 September 2007
1:00 PM
Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa
Subject: Support of Council Bi11176
Establishing a Hawai i County
Cultural Resources Commission
I am writing as a resident of Hawai i County, as a member of an informal taskforce group
on historic preservation and as a representative of an informal Hawai i Island
organization, the Hawaz i Island Alliance of Historical and Cultural Organizations, in
support of Council Bill 176, establishing a Hawaz i County Cultural Resources
Commission.
I am a professional historian and archivist by trade and have been involved with
preservation in Hawai i since 1975. I served as a member of the State Historic Places
Review Board for 8 yeazs in the 1980s and 1990s and in state government as the head of
the statewide history and humanities program. I have also served on the board of the Big
Island Visitors' Bureau.
In all of these capacities I have come to appreciate the wealth of historical and cultural
resources that we have on the Island of Hawaz i and, in the yeazs that I have lived in
Hawai i, have also seen the tremendous loss of such resources on the islands of Oahu,
Maui, Kauai and Lanai. From several points of view, cultural, educational and economic,
it has become critical to place cultural and historic preservation in the limelight in the
County of Hawai i...not only by means of the nice words we say about it, but also with a
structure in our local government that puts emphasis on the importance of the unique
treasures and communities that we still have on this island. Studies show that by 2015
only 43% of the residents of Hawai i will be local born. One part of that fact means that
there will be that many fewer individuals who get the story of our place passed down to
them through their families and social networks. It is, therefore, important to at least
have reminders of that past, that made Hawaz i what it is today, still in our presence and
part of our future. It is also important to be able to keep Hawai' i unique for ourselves as
well as for our future visitors. If we were to lose that, we could lose that quality that is so
special to ourselves and that sets Hawaii apart from other travel destinations.
Comm. No. (o G ~ • Z
Ref. To:
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Establishing a County Cultural Resources Commission, such as those already established
on Maui and Kauai, would help make the importance of these resources more visible to
the general public through its capacity to educate and provide accurate information on
these resources and their preservation. It would help guide public policy by coordinating
inventories and information about these resources so that information is available earlier
about given sites. (Good information and its availability helps everyone and helps avoid
unnecessary conflict.)
The ordinance as proposed includes the stipulation that the commission be made up of
professionals from several relevant disciplines and be reflective of the geography of this
island. It also is similar to the ordinances establishing such commissions on Maui and
Kauai and would, therefore, also allow our county to apply for the status necessary to
access federal funds that could support some of the inventorying and other work
necessary to assist preservation of cultural resources on this island. Experience on Maui
and Kauai indicates that it is important to attach adequate funding to this process so that a
full-time cultural resource professional and at least apart-time clerical position can do the
substantive work that this commission would entail within county govemment.
Mahalo to all of you for making this effort to bring attention to the unique cultural and
historical resources of Hawai' i County and the necessity for government and the
community to be partners in preserving them.
Sincerely,
M. Dolly Strazar