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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-01-11 Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission MinutesHAWAII COUNTY PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES - REGULAR SESSION January 11, 2010 Department of Liquor Control Conference Room 75 -5722 Hanama Place, Suite 1107 Kailua -Kona, Hawaii 96740 Present: Chair E. Kalani Flores Vice -Chair Sarah Moon Commissioner Kim Garcia Commissioner Larry Komata Commissioner Terri Markovich (arrived at 10:31 a.m) Commissioner Hannah Springer Absent: Commissioner Bill Gilmartin Commissioner Steven Hirakami Others Present: Amy Self, Deputy Corporation Counsel Ken Van Bergen, Property Manager, Finance Alexandra Kelepolo, Clerk HI, Finance CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair E. Kalani Flores at 10:01 a.m. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS None. DISCUSSION WITH MICHAEL WHITT, NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), RE: AGRICULTURAL LANDS AND PRODUCTION, AVAILABLE FUNDING PROGRAMS THROUGH NRCS & POSSIBLE COLLABORATION EFFORTS TO PROTECT THESE LANDS THROUGH AGRICULTURAL EASEMENTS Mr. Whitt provided a hand -out to the Commission and introduced himself as the Resource Conservationist for NRCS which is under the United States Department of Agriculture. He summarized that NRCS administers the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP) and the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) which both provides matching funds for the purchase of conservation easements to protect agricultural lands. He highlighted that these programs should be used in combination with other matching sources and each year Hawaii receives around 2 to 2.5 million to fund these programs. These easements are intended to protect the agricultural value of the land by placing limitations on the amount of development, restricting subdivision of the property and requiring that if farmed, the land be farmed in a sustainable manner. -1- The FRPP focuses on those lands with soils that are considered Prime Farmland Soils as well as soils that are designated as unique or that have a statewide importance. The GRP emphasizes on agricultural lands best used for grazing which are steep enough, that should tillage occur, erosion would be a hazard. Both FRPP & GRP provides matching funds to State, Tribal, or local governments and non - governmental organizations with existing farm and ranchland protection programs to purchase conservation easements. The producers are required to adhere to a conservation plan which is designed to address various resource concerns that affect soil, water, air, plant and animal quality and or quantity. He concluded by noting that these programs offered by NRCS have eligibility requirements including the producers Adjusted Gross Income, whether they are in compliance with the 1985 Farm Bill which has highly erodible land and wetland conservation requirements, be privately owned and have a matching source available. He thanked the Commission for their time and hope that these programs will be beneficial to applicants in the future. Ms. Springer thanked Mr. Whitt for his presentation and asked if native forests or shrub -lands are eligible under historic or cultural resources. Mr. Whitt replied that if native shrub -lands are good for grazing they could potentially look at GRP; however for forest lands the Healthy Forest Reserve Program would be applicable. Mr. Flores asked if there were any projects in Hawaii. Mr. Whitt replied that there was two FRPP in Oahu, one in Molokai and one in Maui. Mr. Flores asked which partners were involved. Mr. Whitt replied the land trusts using Legacy Land Funds and the Maui Open Space Fund. Mr. Flores asked if the funds are only for easements. Mr. Whitt replied yes. Mr. Flores asked what the time -line for applying is. Mr. Whitt replied that you can sign up anytime of the year however the ranking deadline depends on when it's received. Ms. Self asked who holds the interest in the easements. Mr. Whitt replied that the holder would be the State, County, non - profit and /or private land trust. Ms. Self then asked if there are any liability issues. Mr. Whitt said that they require indemnification language in the easement document to protect the MRCS. Mr. Van Bergen asked if the two programs can be split 50/50. Mr. Whitt replied that the FRPP has been used the most but up until the last farm bill passed in 2008 there wasn't any funding for the GRP. Mr. Doug Sensenig of the Hawaii Island Land Trust introduced himself and noted that they are working to get the word out about these programs to landowners and also to make the County more aware of these programs which could be used for leveraging. -2- Mr. Komata asked Mr. Whitt if they're subject to the "yellowbook appraisal." Mr. Whitt replied no longer, it just has to be according to the USPA (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal). Mr. Sensenig replied no that it's not required. Mr. Flores thanked them both for their time. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: Commissioner Markovich moved for the approval of the minutes of December 14, 2009. Seconded by Commissioner Garcia; all members voted aye, motion carried. DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE REPORT Mr. Van Bergen reported that the County is in escrow for the acquisition of 1,100 acres in Kaiholena North and the scheduled closing date is 1/28. Ms. Garcia asked how much are we using from the 2% fund. Mr. Van Bergen replied 6,541,000.00 plus closing costs. At this time, the County is still talking to the owners of Kaiholena South; however he doesn't think that we can afford all three parcels. In regards to Pa`o`o, we are trying to put a deal together since the landowner wants to close sooner and we won't get our matching funds until June or July. He noted that Mr. Olson accepted the County's offer of 3.9 million for the three parcels in Kawa. We are currently working with both the State and Federal in submitting the necessary paperwork to obtain the grant monies for the Kawa purchase. The acquisition cost of Lapakahi will be covered 100% with State and Federal grant monies thanks to The Trust for Public Lands for taking the lead. The County will be ordering an appraisal for the Kingman properties in Kona as we are "exploring" options and thinking about initially acquiring two of the three parcels which are closer to the nearby County parks. He concluded by saying that the Mayor received the 2009 Annual Report and his recommendations will be submitted to the County Council within sixty days. OFFICE OF THE CORPORATION COUNSEL'S REPORT Ms. Self reported that on 2/21 there will be an official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Hawaii, State Na Ala Hele and National Park Service (NPS) for the Ala Kahakai trail system. Since the NPS has already created a 501(c)(3), they will be taking over management and maintenance of the trail areas. NPS also has a contract with the University of Hawaii to create a database that will allow the County, State and Federal to work from and at the same time access information. In addition the signage for the trail system will also be handled by the community groups in Kohala. -3- Further, she will not push the legislative bill through since Act 82 was passed and it sunsets in 2014. When it gets closer to the sunset date the Counties can get together and try to adopt it permanently. When this was passed they formed a tasked force and their studies will be presented to the legislature. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT Mr. Flores thanked the commissioners for all their work on completing the Annual Report to the Mayor and highlighted on how each year the reports get better and contains more detailed information. He also thanked Mr. Van Bergen and Ms. Kelepolo for their hard work. He added that a letter was sent out to Ms. Debbie Hecht notifying her on the Commissions' position in regards to her request. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • Commission to discuss drafting a letter of support for the proposed legislative bill relating to the establishment of a countywide trail and access program Mr. Flores noted that discussion on this item by Ms. Self was included under the Corporation Counsels' report. He then asked Ms. Self for clarification on any future requests to the Commission for letters of support if it would be sent to the Mayor. Ms. Self replied yes. He asked Ms. Self if they could have language included in their guidelines to address these requests since the Commission is solely advisory to the Mayor. Ms. Self replied yes, that it would be a good idea. Mr. Flores will prepare a draft and bring to a future meeting for review and approval. • Schedule priorities for 2010 meetings and activities Mr. Flores noted that March will be Ms. Garcia and Mr. Komata's last meeting and thanked them again for all their hard work and support. He then directed the commissioners to review the tentative schedule for 2010 that was included in the minutes of the previous meeting. (the commissioners went into discussion regarding the scheduling of public regional community meetings for 2010) Ms. Garcia agreed to take the lead for the Ka`u meeting. Ms. Springer asked as a standard packet for all of the regional meetings, if they can have blown - up maps and photos of the properties in those districts that the meeting will be held in. Ms. Self suggested that they instead be listed on the agenda to do a presentation at the Community Development Plan (CDP) Action Committee meeting in these districts. Ms. Moon added that since Mr. Hirakami was absent she would like to volunteer to contact him on the Puna CDP meeting and possibly schedule site visit of properties in the Puna district. Ms. Self told Ms. Garcia that she will contact Mr. Whitmore at the County Planning Department to see if she can get on the agenda for the Ka`u CDP meeting on February 9 th Mr. Flores then asked the commissioners to plan on scheduling four regional meetings between February and April subject to availability of location, time and whether they can be put on the agenda for the CDP meetings. These meetings will be held in Ka`u, Puna, Hamakua and North Kohala. (the commissioners then went into discussion regarding the formatting for the public regional community meetings) Mr. Flores summarized the formatting as below: ➢ brief introduction of the Commission, purpose and function (Sec. 2 -217) ➢ have copies of suggestion forms for the public and provide an example of a form that has been filled out completely ➢ highlight Commission achievements and mention the active matching funds that was used to purchase the properties ➢ Finance to provide a blown -up map which highlights all properties purchased in the district that the meeting will be held ➢ direct the public to the website for more information ➢ have hard copies of all the Annual Reports to the Mayor for display at the meeting Lunch: 11:57 a.m. Reconvened: 1:11 p.m. Mr. Flores suggested that they move the PONC meeting from May to June since the suggestion forms are due by the end of May and they can begin assessment of forms in June. He added that the remaining meetings for the year will be in August, October and December and if they need additional time to finish the annual report they will schedule a meeting in November. (the commissioners went into discussion regarding scheduling of priorities for 2010) Mr. Flores re- capped the Commissions' schedule of priorities for 2010: February — April ➢ schedule community public regional meetings -5- March ➢ reports from respective commissioners on community public regional meetings ➢ review of the Rules of Practice and Procedures for the Commission ➢ compile directory of funding sources for land /entitlement acquisitions ➢ compile directory of funding sources for land maintenance and management ➢ compile directory & identify potential partnerships with other governmental agencies, non - profit organizations, and private entities for land /entitlement acquisitions ➢ compile directory & identify non - profit organizations, community groups, and volunteer organizations to provide maintenance and management for acquired properties ➢ report by Ms. Moon and Mr. Hirakami on site visits in Puna June (re- scheduled from May) ➢ review and assess suggestion forms ➢ schedule site visits August (re- scheduled from July) ➢ continue to review and assess suggestion forms ➢ create prioritized list ➢ start annual report ➢ refine priority adjustment ranking process October ➢ finalize report December ➢ approval of report ➢ election of new officers NEW BUSINESS • Commission to review and revise Suggestion Form and Assessment Criteria Form (the commissioners went into discussion regarding the review and revision of the Assessment Criteria Form) Motion: Commissioner Garcia moved to remove the left column on page 1 and replace it with "significance" and remove the percentage boxes under Criteria 1, 2 and 3. Motion: Vice -Chair Moon moved to amend the motion to remove the two columns on the first page to horizontal headings, one is "significance" and one is "special opportunity for acquisition and management" and leave in the totaling of the scores listing criteria 1, criteria 2 & criteria 3. Commissioner Garcia withdrew her motion. Vice -Chair Moon withdrew her motion. M Motion: Vice -Chair Moon moved to amend the Assessment Criteria Form page 1, bottom half removing the two columns and replacing it with horizontal comment spaces, the first one being "significance" the second one being "special opportunity for acquisition and management" leaving in the criteria scores and also removing the percentage boxes on pages 2 & 3. Seconded by Commissioner Garcia; all members voted aye, motion carried. (the commissioners went into discussion regarding the review and revision of the Suggestion Form) Motion: Vice -Chair Moon moved to add to the top of the Suggestion Form in the introductory paragraph "forms completed thoroughly will enhance assessment." Seconded by Commissioner Garcia; all members voted aye, motion carried. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 8, 2010, 10:00 a.m., at the Department of Liquor Control Conference Room, 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 230, Hilo, Hawaii. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Commissioner Markovich moved to adjourn. Seconded by Vice -Chair Moon; all members voted aye, motion carried. Chair Flores adjourned the meeting at 2:43 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Alexandra Kelepolo, Clerk III 7-