Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-14 Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission MinutesHAWAII COUNTY PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES - REGULAR SESSION September 14, 2009 Department of Liquor Control Conference Room 75 -5722 Hanama Place, Suite 1107 Kailua -Kona, Hawaii 96740 Present: Chair Kim Garcia Vice -Chair Hannah Springer Commissioner E. Kalani Flores Commissioner Terri Markovich Commissioner Sarah Moon Absent: Commissioner Bill Gilmartin Commissioner Steven Hirakami Commissioner Larry Komata Amy Self, Deputy Corporation Counsel Others Present: Ken Van Bergen, Property Manager, Finance Alexandra Kelepolo, Clerk III, Finance CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Kim Garcia at 10:01 a.m. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS TONI WHITTINGTON (Ms. Whittington handed out a CD to the Commission along with an article that was published in the West Hawaii Today) Ms. Whittington noted that she is representing five community groups in North Kohala and she has been on a number of groups and boards to help protect these properties in Kohala which has the highest concentration of intact historic sites in the State. (Ms. Whittington went into discussion with the Commission) Ms. Garcia thanked her for her support and effort. GAIL BYRNE Ms. Gail Byrne introduced herself to the Commission and updated them as to the status of the Kohala properties. She speaks about the importance to preserve and protect these properties in the North Kohala area and stressed that they remain high on the list. -I - In regards to Kukuipahu- Ha`ena Corridor, it has many historic and cultural sites on the property including an ancient navigational heiau. The current landowner, Parker Ranch, is in the process of selling a portion of this property. She understands that they are in negotiations right now to sell, so it would be possible to approach them to think about deed restrictions and if the community pushes then maybe they might be able to consider conservation easements. (Ms. Byrne then gave a description of Mahukona, Kaiholena and Pa `o `o and went into discussion with the Commission). Ms. Garcia asked how would she rank these properties. Ms. Byrne replied that her list would be: 1) Pa`o`o; 2) Kaiholena; 3) Mahukona & 4) Kukuipahu- Ha`ena. Ms. Markovich asked what kind of public facilities will be provided when and if the County takes over. Ms. Byrne replied that any management issues can be worked out as the community takes good care of the properties. For now the County doesn't need to spend a dime with passive management and they can address long -term management later, possibly community group collaboration with the County. Mr. Flores asked what is the status of the Lapakahi parcel. Ms. Byrne replied that 1.25 million has been secured through the Legacy Land Funds and 1 million additional is needed which the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) has been diligently working to obtain. Ms. Garcia thanked Ms. Byrne for all her efforts working with the community to protect these lands and did stress that the Commission is very aware of the urgency for some of these properties. In closing, Ms. Byrne thanked the Commission for all their hard work and stressed how critical it is that these properties are ranked high on the list. POWERPOINT PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION WITH ARIC ARAKAKI, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (NPS), LARRY BROWN, COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT & CLEMENT CHANG, NA ALA HELE STATE TRAILS DIVISION, RE: MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN HAWAII COUNTY, NPS AND STATE FOR THE CREATION OF A COMPREHENSIVE SHORELINE PUBLIC ACCESS AND HISTORIC TRAIL SYSTEM ON HAWAII ISLAND Mr. Aric Arakaki introduced himself as the superintendent along with Mr. Rick Gmirkin, for the National Park Service, Ala Kahakai National Trail. Mr. Arakaki then did a power point presentation titled "Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail Following in the Footsteps of our Ancestors. " (the commissioners went into discussion with Mr. Arakaki) Ms. Garcia thanked Mr. Arakaki for the presentation. Mr. Larry Brown, Planner for the County Planning Department (PD) then introduced himself to the Commission along with Ms. Dana Okano, Coastal Zone Management Planner for PD and Mr. Andy Bohlander who was assigned to PD for coastal geology and hazard mitigation. -2- Mr. Brown noted that the PD has been developing a shoreline public access geodatabase and an online public access shoreline brochure. They are currently in the process of updating the database to show a complete inventory of all the existing and proposed public access trails for shoreline and coastal areas which includes mauka and makai trails. The original database was contracted through the University of Hawaii -Hilo and PD has also contracted Ms. Debbie Chang to do the field research to provide accurate data when overlaying data layers to see more correct representation when on the ground. Mr. Brown noted that he will come back to a future meeting when the next update becomes available and show the Commission how they can use this for their work. He added that since the County does not have a public access program, the PD staff will be better able to address when public access is needed when this comprehensive program has been completed. Ms. Garcia asked if Ms. Chang's information the she's compiled has been inputted. Mr. Brown replied that some have been completed but they are still working on the rest. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: Vice -Chair Springer moved for approval of the minutes of July 13, 2009, regular session. Seconded by Commissioner Flores; all members voted aye, motion carried. Ms. Moon asked that a change be made to the minutes of August 10, 2009 noting that she was absent from the meeting. Motion: Vice -Chair Springer moved for approval of the minutes of August 10, 2009, regular session, as amended. Seconded by Commissioner Flores; all members voted aye, motion carried. Lunch: 12:00 p.m. Reconvened: 1:11 p.m. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION Communication No. 09 -019: Memo dated July 24, 2009 to Council Chair J Yoshimoto and Members of the Hawaii County Council, from Kim Garcia, Chair, Hawaii County Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission (PONC), re: Proposed Amendment to Chapter 2, Article 42, Sections 2 -217 and 2 -218 of the Hawaii County Code (2005 Edition, as amended), relating to PONC fund Ms. Garcia deferred this item until Ms. Self can be present. -3- DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE REPORT Mr. Van Bergen requested that Ms. Nancy Crawford, Director of Finance be put on the next agenda to talk about the possibility of reducing the monthly Commission meetings due to the economic situation. He then noted that the County is currently working on obtaining a second appraisal for the Olson properties in Kawa. In regards to Pa`o`o, TPL prepared a grant application for the County which was submitted to the Legacy Land Conservation Program (LLCP) for grant monies. Ms. Springer asked if this covers all gaps in funding and if there were any shortfall on the monies. Mr. Van Bergen replied that the asking price for Pa`o` o is 2.5 million and the amount of funding that we are asking from LLCP is 1.25 million. OFFICE OF THE CORPORATION COUNSEL'S REPORT Ms. Self not present, therefore no report. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT Ms. Garcia did not have anything to report. Ms. Springer asked her if she scheduled a date for her radio interview with Sherry Bracken. Ms. Garcia replied that she will let Ms. Kelepolo know when the date has been set. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • Commission to discuss creating new form for assessing public access suggestion forms (Mr. Flores circulated to the Commission a trail and access evaluation form for informational purposes) (the commissioners went into discussion regarding the draft form that was prepared by Mr. Flores) Motion: Vice -Chair Springer moved to defer discussion on the new form for assessing public access suggestion forms to the next meeting. No second. (the commissioners continued their discussion) Motion: Vice -Chair Springer moved to accept draft public access review form as presented but with the addition of "additional comments" line on the bottom of the form. Seconded by Commission Flores; all members voted aye, motion carried. Commission to discuss previously submitted suggestion forms regarding public access in the various districts Ms. Springer commented that the Commission needs to focus on preparing their annual report and suggested that they need to complete the comprehensive record of all forms submitted by the public. Ms. Garcia agreed with Ms. Springer and told the Commission that this agenda item will be listed at a future meeting. • Commission to discuss creating form letter to respond to suggestion forms (The commissioners reviewed the two draft letters that was prepared by Ms. Moon and went into discussion) Ms. Garcia noted that this item will be continued at the next meeting for review and approval. • Commissioner Sarah Moon and Commissioner Steven Hirakami to report on their site visit to Wai`ele and Honolulu Landing Ms. Moon noted that she did not go to Wai`ele, however did go to Kawa with the Sierra Club. (Ms. Moon reported on her site visit to Kdwd and the commissioners went into discussion) • Commission to discuss drafting of the 2009 Annual Report to the Mayor including assessment of the 2009 suggestion forms (the commissioners went into discussion regarding drafting of the 2009 Annual Report to the Mayor) (the commissioners then went into discussion regarding drafting of the 2009 Prioritized List and they individually ranked their top properties as listed below) Mr. Flores: 1) Kawa; 2) Pa`o`o; 3) Lapakahi; 4) Kaiholena & 5) Mahukona. Ms. Springer: 1) Kawa; 2) Pa`o`o; 3) Lapakahi; 4) Kaiholena & 5) Kingman Trust. Ms. Garcia: 1) Pa`o`o; 2) Lapakahi; 3) Kaiholena; 4) Kingman Trust & 5) Kahuku coastal property. Ms. Moon: 1) Kawa; 2) Pa`o`o; 3) Lapakahi; 4) Kaiholena & 5) Kukuipahu- Ha`ena Corridor. Ms. Markovich: 1) Kawa; 2) Pa`o`o; 3) Lapakahi; 4) Kaiholena; 5) Kukuipahu- Ha`ena Corridor; 6) Kingman Trust & 7) Mahukona. (the commissioners continued their discussion and then ranked the properties for the 2009 Prioritized List) 1) Kawa; 2) Pa`o`o; 3) Lapakahi; 4) Kingman Trust. Recess: 3:08 p.m. Reconvened: 3:14 p.m. -5- (the commissioners continued their discussion and finished ranking the remaining properties for the 2009 Prioritized List) 5) Kahuku coastal property; 6) Kaiholena; 7) Kukuipahu- Ha`ena Corridor & 8) Mahukona. Ms. Garcia suggested that they defer the Whittington parcel in Ka`u to next year for more clearer information. Mr. Flores commented that the Kumukahi property is a state issue and instead of land acquisition it should be put as an easement acquisition instead. Mr. Flores further added that the first five properties is possible due to partnerships as funding is identified to coincide with the purchase of these properties. Ms. Garcia told the commissioners to work on their assigned homework and have it ready for the next meeting as she was hopeful that they could get the annual report finalized soon. She then noted that this item would be continued at the next meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 12, 2009, 10:00 a.m., at the Department of Liquor Control Conference Room, 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 230, Hilo, Hawaii. ADJOURNMENT Chair Garcia adjourned the meeting at 3:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, A*A�Af V� �-- �- Alexandra Kelepolo, Clerk III M