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Page 1 of 1 <br /> PI COUNCIL. <br /> Murashige, Laura <br /> From: Deborah Chang [hkulaiwi @yahoo.com] <br /> Sent: Monday, May 30, 2011 8:45 AM <br /> � � ' i <br /> '. t] f 1 .6 <br /> ti <br /> To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us ( <br /> Subject: Bill 30 - County Budget and Open Space Network f ., <br /> cOUN <br /> Aloha Hawai'i County Council Members, <br /> You are being asked to include funding for the identification and creation of an Open Space Network for the <br /> Kona Region in Bill 30. Instead, I ask you to earmark funding for a report to the County Council on how an <br /> Islandwide Open Space Network could be structured and institutionalized within the County system. Adopting <br /> an Open Space Network for just one region of the island when it is an islandwide need, opens the County to <br /> special interest groups and divisiveness. <br /> An Open Space Network sounds like a great idea, but who will do it? Which County agency will be responsible <br /> to administer the Network? As it is, public access easements that have already been granted to and accepted by <br /> the County remain closed to the public, largely because no County agency is assigned to and willing to assume <br /> management and maintenance responsibilities over the easements. Many of these easements have been "on the <br /> books" for nearly a decade. In Pu'u Anahulu, North Kona District, easements that were granted to the County in <br /> 1994 for public trails remain un -built and unopened! <br /> As long as the opening and managing of public accesses are not included in any agency's budget or planning <br /> process, these public access easements will remain on paper only. You've heard of "paper roads." We are <br /> creating "paper trails." <br /> Public access easements are important components of any Open Space Network, so why not begin with the <br /> easements that have already been granted to the County? <br /> For years the public has been lamenting the loss of public access to areas that were once accessible. Newly <br /> created public access easements would help compensate for the losses. In difficult economic times, access to the <br /> mountains and ocean for fishing and hunting has traditionally helped feed local families, a tradition that is <br /> threatened by lack of access. Properly managed public accesses also provide affordable recreational opportunities <br /> and promote the stated Open Space Network goal of "building healthy communities." <br /> I urge you to become part of the solution to the public's ever growing needs for open spaces and access to them. <br /> You can do that by helping the County to develop a comprehensive, islandwide Open Space Network that <br /> contains clear management responsibilities and is coordinated amongst the various County agencies. <br /> Mahalo for the opportunity to give testimony, <br /> Deborah Chang <br /> (Born in North Kohala and resident of Hamakua.) <br /> 776 -1516 (res. & bus.) <br /> hkulaiwi @yahoo.com <br /> P.S. <br /> I would gladly provide specific Tax Map Key locations for public access easements that have been granted to the <br /> County but remain unopened, particularly in Kona and North Kohala Districts. <br /> Comm. No. 1/Z S'S <br /> Ref. Tot 4 4$14. / <br /> Ref. Date jt IN 1 21111 <br /> 5/30/2011 <br />