HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0639.007 2018-2020 Comm. G3g.4 P1pwmiz
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Economic,impacts to Lower Puna Caused By the 2018 Eruption
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and How Roads Are the Most Effective Means of Recovery
Aloha and mahalo for the opportunity to speak about this very important subject. My name is
Amedeo Markoff and I am the acting president of the Main-Street Pahoa Association, a
business owner and public member run 501c6 and the president of the Pahoa Lava Zone
Museum a 5016. ,1 am also the owner of•Kapoho Sawmill and Puna Gallery. As a resident,
business owner, and community group member of lower Puna I feel l have some constructive;
advice on how to help mitigate the ongoing economic impacts of the 2018 volcanic disaster.
First I'd like to talk about what happened to our town and specifically how businesseswere
impacted. l opened my gallery in March of 2018 and MPA allowed me to become a board
member and Chair,the promotions Committee in April. With the help of MPA, over a dozen
businesses, and several publications we started a destination Pahoa themed marketing blitz
We expected a substantial uptick in what were already a challenging economy and difficult
place and time to be in business.
Then the eruption began. I can remember certain politicians going on TV, Radio and in print
asking folks to please avoid Pahoa as there was significant risk to Pahoa Village. We who lived
and worked in Pahoa knew we were safe in town and what we needed was for folks to come to
town now more than ever and we worked hard to change the messaging but alas the News
organizations at the time wanted to focus on the devastation that was being wrought. There is
a phrase in news that says "If it bleeds it Leads" and so for months all around the world folks
were led to believe that Lava was flowing through the streets of Pahoa. Whatever you did you
should not go to Pahoa.
Well I am sure you can imagine the effects that had on local service providers,farms, stores,
and,restaurants. It was devastating. Over the course of a few months we saw not only the
destruction caused by the Lava flow and loss of so many businesses due to inundation, but also
the closure of many geologically "safe" and fully functioning businesses. It wasn't just a matter
of the lava flows direct impacts but also a complete lock down of huge areas and a lack of
services that contributed to the demise of many businesses and thus creating rampant
unemployment and an exodus of folks from in lower Puna. The closure of roads and the lack of
any kind of viewing area further exacerbated the situation.
I often say that there were two disasters in 2018. One was a volcanic event the likes of which
hasn't been seen in over 250 years and isn't likely to happen again in our lifetimes. The other '"
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was a second economic disaster that is ongoing and from my perspective,,again as a resident,
business owner, and community organization member a much more significant and
unfortunately an ongoing disaster.
The rest of the Island is in Recovery but business and residents here in lower Puna are still in
the midst of this disaster and are living in an ongoing crises.
So this brings us to what we as a community need to start in our recovery.
We need our community to come home. We need our business to be able to reopen and to
thrive. We also realize that homes and businesses were lost due to lava and we are ready
willing and able to start to rebuild. We will rebuild:Maybe not every home and not every
business'but many, many folks will rebuild. We can't do it alone and we need help. How can
County and State governments help?
The one thing,the one thing that is essential is access. We need roads to get back to our
homes. We need roads to get back to our businesses. We need roads to get back'to our beloved
places of worship, recreation and-simply places of Joy.
The roads provide us with our connectivity and our lively hoods. If you want Puna to recover,
recover our roads.
Mahalo, mahalo, mahalol
Respectfully submitted by Amedeo Markoff
President Mainstreet Pahoa Association
President Pahoa Lava Zone Museum