HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0047.012 2018-2020 P1Ccia,t1
COUNTY CLERK COMM. 41
COUNTY OF HAWAII
January 5, 2019 Nil JAN -8 AN 9: 18
Aloha County Council Members,
Our farm, Sunny Kapoho Citrus, has been in operation for over 10 years,producing over
$50,000/year of organic navel oranges and other fruit, for delivery to retail outlets on Hawaii
Island, Oahu, and Maui. We need to be able to get back to our farm as soon as possible to
prevent further deterioration of the orchards due to weeds and pests, and to resume operations
prior to the next harvest season which is September 2019 through February 2020 for the main
crops.
Our farming operation is beneficial to the entire community and state because it produces food
that would otherwise be imported from overseas. Our citrus is of the highest quality(according
to all our customers) and this is due to the perfect growing conditions in the area: a lot of
sunshine,regular rainfall, and well-drained soil conditions. The isolated portion of Highway
132 also has the same microclimate so it is the best location in east Hawaii for many of these
crops and well worth the effort to restore farmers' access to it.
It is an understatement to say the cost versus benefit of restoring farmers' access to this portion of
Highway 132 is firmly in support of restoring that access. Our farm was producing its main
crops on only about half of its 15 acres so we have the potential to double our output. Our two
neighboring farmers, Rob Huelskamp and Liberato Magcalas, though affected by the lava, can
still produce $40,000/year of top quality avocados and $30,000/year of noni, repectively, when
access is restored. Liberato Magcalas,the noni farmer, is also using only about half of his
available acreage so all together we can produce$50k+40k+30k/year with potential increase to
$100k+$40k+60k/year. This is a total of between $120k and $200k per year of agricultural
production which is just waiting for us three farmers to get back to work. Over 10 years this
adds up to between one and two million dollars of produce added to Hawaii's economy, in a
sector of that economy(agriculture)that is supposed to be fully supported by the government.
We want to go home and we want to get back to work! Please allocate the necessary funds to
enable residents and farmers to access the isolated portion of Highway 132.
Sincerely,
David L. &Natividad M. Webb
Sunny Kapoho Citrus LLC, TMK 1-4-013-003-0000
(808) 854-1500, davidwebb51@yahoo.com
Rob &Diane Huelskamp
Kapoho Farms„ TMK's 1-4-013-004-0000,1-4-013-005-0000, and 1-4-013-006-0000
(808) 936-8890, kapohofarms@yahoo.com
Liberato Magcalas
noni farmer on TMK 1-4-002-093-0000
(808) 965-6313, levy.s.magcalas@gmail.com
Comm. No. '12
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