HomeMy WebLinkAboutComm No 0021.064 - Testimony - CA-7 - PONC fund and Maintenance fundFrom: Donald Rudny <mkea13800@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2019 8:54 AM
To: Charter Commission
Cc: Kim, Harry; Poindexter, Valerie; Chung, Aaron; Lee Loy, Sue; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; David, Maile;
Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt; Villegas, Rebecca; Eoff, Karen; Richards, Tim
Subject: PONC Fund
Aloha Charter Commission Members,
I will not be able to attend Friday's meeting in Kona, so I wish to provide testimony on the PONC fund contribution
reduction proposal that I believe is on this meeting's agenda for the second reading.
I hope you all had a chance to hear or read Governor Ige's State of the State address yesterday. In it he emphasized the
importance of acquiring and preserving more land. He is proposing an increase in funding for land conservation by
removing the cap on the conveyance tax to the Legacy Land Conservation Program. This will open up more match
money for the PONC program here on the Big Island. The Governor has it right and said it eloquently in yesterday's
speech. Here is the pertinent excerpt in case you missed it.
"Our future requires that over time — we, as a state, acquire and preserve more and more land — either as state land or in
the hands of partners like the Trust for Public Lands and the Nature Conservancy. If we want green spaces... if we want to
grow our own food... if we want places for recreation... if we want clean, fresh water... if we want the environment that
has been so central to Hawai'i's life... we need to have special lands in public hands.
Take, for example, the new state Helemano Wilderness Recreational Area. 2,900 acres of former plantation and
conservation land now dedicated to protecting our watershed and wildlife habitat and providing outdoor recreational
opportunities for all.
In October 2018, the Trust for Public Land and the state completed the purchase of four parcels of land from Dole Food
Company, using a creative combination of private, federal and state funding.
In an earlier time, those lands might have been sacrificed to uncontrolled development.
To a certain extent, this project was made possible because we have a plan for future development on Oahu, with growth
directed to our urban core and along our fixed transit system.
That lessens the pressure for development on other areas, including important agricultural and preservation lands.
It also allows us to initiate discussions with other private landowners, who have expressed an interest in developing lands
in places like Kaneohe and Maunawili.
We would prefer to negotiate acquisition agreements with them so that we can realize similar benefits to our natural
resources and recreational venues.
For those unfamiliar with the neighborhoods, Kaneohe and Maunawili both include areas that the landowners have
proposed for housing development.
But they also contain the mauka source of freshwater streams that feed ancient to -i and flow into vital coastal waters of
Kaneohe Bay and Kawainui Marsh.
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They contain some of the richest agricultural lands on Oahu and have been farmed by ancient Hawaiians for centuries.
They are irreplaceable natural resources and part of the economic, ecological and cultural heritage of Ko-o-lau-poko.
These places are worth saving for us and for future generations.
That's why we are requesting increased funding for land conservation, by removing the $6.8 -million cap on the 10 -
percent conveyance tax to the Legacy Land Conservation Program."
I have recently read that the Hawaii County administration and County Board will pursue the full 1/2% GET for a ten year
period soon. The estimates are that this will generate an additional $50 million per year for the County's budget. Efforts
are being made to allow use of these funds for purposes other than transportation. Governor Ige also indicated that he
supports the lifting of the TAT cap on the neighbor Islands that could result in substantial revenues for the County's
general fund.
With these potential increases in revenue, what is the point in diminishing the already limited funding for preserving our
special places on the Big Island? We are at a crucial point in time where we still have significant high quality tracts of
land available at affordable prices, but the prices are becoming higher. Wealthy investors and developers are increasing
their efforts to acquire Big Island land, so now is the opportune time for the County to preserve these resources for
generations to come.
I implore you to reconsider your original decision to move forward with this ballot question to reduce the PONC
contribution. As the Governor said yesterday, "we need to have special lands in public hands."
Mahalo nui for your time and consideration.
Don
Don Rudny
P.O. Box 106
Pepeekeo, HI 96783-0106
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