HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0021.019 2018-2020 P/GREG
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COUNTY CLERK1
From: PeatO"Neil COUNTY
OF HAW II
To: Council Testimony t .g A
Subject: Please Rebuild Route 132 ZOO JM -7 1 8: 45
Date: Saturday,January 05,2019 12:00:20 PM
I support Communication 21 and Bill 10.
We especially need a County directed and executed project to grade a road up and
over the lava to the existing miles of Route 132 as was, done to rebuild Route 137.
In addition to serving recreational interests and the visiting tourists along the coast,
it is important to make road connections for the households and farms that are still
without road access to their homes, property and farms, let alone goods and
services, schools and medical care. To restore the Puna community, we need a road
network that rebuilds Route 132 over the lava barrier east of Lava Tree Park.
My brother and I are taxpaying co-owner residents facing the Rt 132 public
roadway. We are blocked from access to our farm and home by lava from the
Hawaii Kilauea Eruption And Earthquakes (DR-4366). This Major Disaster
Declaration was issued by the Federal Government on May 11, 2018.
As of January 5, 2019, paved public roads have not been restored -- specifically
Route 132. It is the road that provides our neighbors and ourselves with access to
markets for our products, employment, buyers, and farm supplies. Our homes sit
empty, fields un-sown, trees unpruned, fruit left to rot. We live in limbo,going into
debt to pay for alternative housing. Have we been forgotten?
We appeal to the guiding principles of justice and restoration that have repaired
other U.S. states and regions hit by natural disasters in recent months.
We ask that the responsible county, state and federal governments make our
communities whole again by rebuilding the public roadways .
A few remarks about economic revival for the Puna area:
I am also an active travel journalist and culinary writer
with more than twenty years experience in the newsroom of The Washington Post.
My freelance articles have appeared in hundreds of print and online publications in
many countries. I've written about Hawai'i for diverse markets and will continue to
do so. RedRoadPress.org is my new enterprise to publish guidebooks, artist's cards,
and postcards for the tourist market. It is in suspension since the lava inundation.
I've read that the General Plan for Puna supports tourism and aims to foster
sustainable agriculture. It would be even more powerful if the General Plan
included "agricultural tourism" or "agro-tourism" which has brought prosperity and
increased numbers of affluent visitors to rural areas in Iceland, Italy, New Zealand,
Canada, Slovenia and even a few forward-looking U.S. states. I
Comm. No. 21.1 q
Ref. To: P1 MOO
Ref. nate JAN 0 7 2019
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Affluent leisure travelers seek authentic agricultural experiences and Hawai'i,
particularly Puna, will profit by branding with this trend in focus. [See:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2018/06/15/agritourism-8-farm-
and-food-experiences-usa/702848002/].
With its unique growing conditions, tropical fruit and flora, plus the newest land on
the planet, Lower Puna is a treasure to nurture and share. Sustainable agriculture
can be the highlight for visitors, along with the allure of black sugar-sand beaches
and thermal waters.
Hawaii Tourism Authority can provide financial assistance, while the agriculture
and agro-forestry specialists from the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human
Resources, the Hawai'i Community College and UH-Hilo can assist farm owners
and local tourism facilitators in developing the hands-on educational elements and
story telling that the world's best international agro-tourism provides for their travel
customers.
If a goal of the General Plan is to continue to attract tourists and expand tourism to
Hawaii, bear in mind that visitors, tourism stakeholders and others need to be
educated about lava. Perceptions are stuck in the red glow of lava eruption six or
seven months ago. Lava and what it means to Hawai'ian cultural practices,and
sensitivity to local agriculture can be a focal point for attracting tourists.
Lava, its meaning, origin, paths, history, cultural significance, sacred art forms,
volume and density can help market the Island of Hawai'i to travel advocates and
trendsetters -- travel and cultural journalists and social media multi-platform content
producers.
Visitors with an interest in agro-tourism will appreciate knowing more about local
agricultural practices, farm markets, and access routes to markets, as well as
connections with local farmers. Puna's regional and local economic viability relies
on farmers as well as small businesses.
Please Rebuild Route 132. The bounty of international tourism will reward
visionary leaders and reanimate the Puna community.
We can't help anything happen if we can't get home.
Malama 'aina.
Respectfully,
Louisa Peat O'Neil and William M. O'Neil
P.O. Box 1046
l __
Pahoa, HI 96778-1046
TMK: 314020005
14-4091 Pahoa Kapoho Road
Pahoa, HI 96778 •
http://www.AdventureTravelWriter.org
http://PeatONeil.com