HomeMy WebLinkAboutComm No 0024.002 - Testimony - CA-9 - staff for PONC fund and Maintenance fundFrom: Deborah Ward <dward@hawaii.edu>
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2018 9:25 AM
To: Charter Commission
Subject: CA -7 and CA -9 testimony
Moku Loa Group Sierra Club
Po Box 1137 Hilo HI 96720
December 14, 2018
TO: Hawaii County Charter Commission
From Deborah Ward, representing Sierra Club Moku Loa Group
OPPOSING Comm. 21 which proposes CA -7
• Repeals and replaces the Land Fund at .75% and
• Deletes the clause that protects the lands acquired by the 2% Land Fund in perpetuity
• Places the Maintenance Fund in the Hawaii County Code where it can be defunded at the whim of the Mayor and
Council.
SUPPORTING Comm. 24 which proposes CA -9 —
Proposed changes to strengthen the fund by providing a salary for a full time staff person to work only on the 2% Land
Fund program and paid for by the Land Fund.
Aloha, Charter Commissioners,
The 1000 members of Sierra Club have voiced strong opposition to the Commission's proposal (CA -7) to repeal and
replace the intent of the Land Fund that members voted to support overwhelmingly three times in the past ten
years. Hawaii County is the least developed of the large high islands of the archipelago, and it still has large parcels of
undeveloped land that are suitable for preservation, agriculture, beach access, cultural significance, public parks,
significant vistas, and more. Many of us have chosen to live on Hawaii Island precisely because it has not been
overdeveloped and commoditized as islands of Maui, O'ahu and Kauai have been. Our members have worked tirelessly
to create, support, petition and vote for the Land Fund, and the proposal of the Charter Commission to reduce the fund
and replace critical provisions has left our members perplexed and disappointed.
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Reduction of the funding assessed, and capping the total, would make the purchases of the parcels that have been
proposed for protection out of the question. Your proposal would hobble the work of the volunteer PONC committee
and the Finance Department with unrealistic caps of the funds that can be utilized to match with other funding agencies
to purchase the parcels.
Your proposal to delete the clause that protects the land from sale in perpetuity would throw into doubt any
participation by the agencies with matching funds, such as the Legacy Lands Commission, the US Fish and Wildlife
Service or the Trust for Public Lands. Providing funds to match under circumstances where the land could later be
disposed of to fund other county activities would not make any sense.
The maintenance fund is critical to the protection, support and upkeep of the lands purchased by the funds, and should
not be allocated for other uses by the County Council and the Mayor. The fund should be made available to community
groups and non -profits the are locally supporting, cleaning and maintaining the parcels they worked hard to obtain. The
funds have been poorly administered, and are inefficiently allocated; this situation needs to improve, but making the
fund subject to the whim of the council is not an improvement. We intend to support a proposal to amend the
maintenance fund at your next charter commission meeting in January.
The goal of Sierra Club is to strengthen the 2% Land Fund by improving the way properties are acquired and by awarding
stewardship grants funded by the maintenance to help community groups to care for these lands. From 2006 to today,
citizens have proposed 180 properties and only 14 have been acquired. The process has been slow and fraught with
road -blocks, and we propose ways to make the process more efficient.
We urge the commission not to support the proposed change (CA -7) to the Charter, and not to send it to First
Reading, but instead to strengthen the provision by supporting Comm 24 CA -9.
We support Comm 7.6 for the following reasons:
A senior staff person shall be hired by the Department of Finance and work ONLY on the 2% Land Fund program. This
staff position is in addition to the staff person who works with the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources
Commission
The salary shall be funded from the 2% Land Fund.This is a benefit to the Department of Finance, because it will erase
one staff salary, since the salary does not come from their budget, but from the Land Fund.
This proposed amendment does NOT delete the Perpetuity Protection clause: "This property (or easement) was
acquired with money from the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Fund. It shall be held in
perpetuity for the use and enjoyment of the people of Hawai'i County and may not be sold, mortgaged, traded or
transferred in any way."
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We ask that the charter be amended to include following language: (g) Fund a senior staff person
dedicated ONLY to the administration of the provisions of this section, who shall be employed under the
department of finance and whose duties shall include, but not be limited to: assisting the public with
applications for acquisition; assisting the public access, open space and natural resources preservation
commission with its prioritization of properties to be acquired; negotiation and acquisition of eligible
properties; seeking and acquiring matching funds; and managing the maintenance of lands acquired by this
fund, by overseeing and implementing the provisions of Section 10-16 of this charter. This position shall be
exempt from civil service laws and classifications and be distinct from any other positions that provide support
for the provisions of this section, Section 10-16 of this charter, and any matters related thereto. THIS STAFF
POSITION IS IN ADDITION TO THE STAFF PROVIDED FOR THE PUBLIC ACCESS AND OPEN SPACE
COMMISSION IN THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE .
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of many voters.
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