MONDAY JULY 31st
> PLANNING COMMITTEE
> MEETS IN HILO @ 1:00 PM
> To Discuss Planning Director Initiated INTERIM GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENTS
>
> Testify via videoconference
> From Kona and Waimea
>
> Public testimony taken at 1:00 PM
>
> Comm. 964:
> (BILL 309)
> AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE HAWAI'I COUNTY GENERAL PLAN, AS ADOPTED BY
> ORDINANCE NO. 05-25 Amends text, policies, courses of action, Land Use
> Pattern Allocation Guide [LUPAG] Map and Facilities Map in the
> Districts of Puna, South Hilo, Hamakua, North Kohala, North and South
> Kona and Ka'u.
> (Planning Director Initiated)
>
> * The above Bill 309 carries a favorable recommendation from the
> Planning Commission to the proposed amendments, with the exception of
> a proposed map change F-2 and A-1.
> * Proposed F-2 would change the County Land Use Designation of almost
> 100 acres on the Pali, directly above the Conservation area over
> Kealakeua Bay, from Important Agricultural Lands to Rural.
> * The Planning Commission voted to delete the F-2 change to protect
> the Agricultural Lands
> * Our office has received and forwarded to Hilo over 20 letters
> supporting deletion of the F-2 amendment and upholding the General
> Plan mandate to protect Natural Resources, Natural Beauty, Coastal
> Resources and Unique Habitat.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> --------------------------
> TUESDAY, AUGUST 1st
> COUNCIL
> MEETS IN HILO @ 9:00 AM
>
> PUBLIC TESTIMONY WILL BE TAKEN
> AT 9:00 AM ON THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTIONS:
> Res. 402-06 (Draft 2) - Equal number of meetings in West Hawai'i
> Amends Resolution No. 99-05, Rules of Procedure and Organization of
> the Council of the County of Hawai'i, Relating to Meetings. {Provides
> that the Council shall hold regular meetings in East Hawai'i on
> odd-numbered months and regular meetings in West Hawai'i on
> even-numbered months.}
>
> Draft 2 adds provisions to have videoconference available and
> specifies January 1, 2007, as the start date for the new meeting
> schedule SUPPORT EQUAL NUMBER OF MEETINGS IN WEST HAWAII COME OUT AND
> TESTIFY FOR FAIR AND EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION Previous vote in
> Committee (5-4) gave this reso. a favorable recommendation
> Ayes: Pilago, Hoffmann, Jacobson, Safarik, Isbell
> Noes: Higa, Arakaki, Holschuh, Ikeda
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> ---------------
> Res. 383-06
> INITIATES INTERIM AMENDMENTS TO THE GENERAL PLAN FOR LANDS ADJOINING
> HONOKOHAU HARBOR AT KEALAKEHE, DISTRICT OF NORTH KONA
> * Directs Planning Director to conduct a feasibility study to amend
> the General Plan to include Open, Resort, and Urban Expansion area
> designations within lands adjacent to Honokohau Boat Harbor.
> * Allows for expansion and development by Jacoby of lands owned by the
> State Dept. of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) and the State Dept.Of Land
> and Natural Resources (DLNR)
> * Moves forward General Plan amendments that opens the door for the
> Jacoby Project - an enormous Resort Development with 3 Hotels, 700
> Timeshares, and Private Marina.
> * Planning Director does not support this Resolution 383-06
> Concern: This action is premature - No EIS - It is a "growth generator"
> and may not be consistent with the outcome of the Community
> Development Plan (CDP) Previous vote in Committee (5-2) gave this
> reso. a favorable recommendation
> Ayes: Higa, Holschuh, Isbell, Ikeda, Safarik
> Noes: Pilago, Jacobson
> Absent: Hoffmann, Arakaki
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> ------------------
> Res. 407-06
> REQUESTS A SMOKING BAN AT KAHALU'U BEACH PARK.
> * Requested by the West Hawai'i Youth Fishery Council that an
> ordinance be prepared prohibiting smoking at Kahalu'u Beach Park and a
> fine of $100 be imposed.
> * The youth were moved to support this after picking up over 3,000
> cigarette butts in 1/2 hour at the beach Received unanimous support
> from Committee
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> -----------------------
> PUBLIC TESTIMONY WILL BE TAKEN
> AT 9:45 AM ON
> Bill 308 - to Split the Planning Commission:
>
> Bill 308
> AN ORDINANCE TO INITIATE A CHARTER AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE VI,CHAPTER 4,
> SECTION 6-4.3, HAWAI'I COUNTY CHARTER (2000), RELATING TO BIFURCATING
> THE PLANNING COMMISSION INTO AN EAST HAWAI'I PLANNING COMMISSION AND A
> WEST HAWAI'I PLANNING COMMISSION Divides the Planning Commission into
> an East Hawai'i Planning Commission comprised of Districts 1, 2, 3, 4
> and 5; and a West Hawai'i Planning Commission comprised of Districts
> 6, 7, 8 and 9
> * The intent of Bill 308 is to ease the Planning Commission calendar
> and allow commissioners, representative of East Hawaii and
> commissioners representative of West Hawaii to address matters
> specific to their districts.
> * THIS BILL REQUIRES 3 READINGS TO MEET REQUIREMENTS FOR CHARTER
> AMENDMENTS AND MUST PASS THIS (1st) READING TO MOVE FORWARD
> * Corporation Counsel has determined if a Special Meeting is called,
> there is enough time to get this on the ballot. It needs 6 votes to
> move forward.
> TESTIFY IN SUPPORT OF THIS CHANGE TO THE PLANNING PROCESS ON AUGUST
> 1st IF IT GETS 6 VOTES IT MOVES FORWARD IF NOT, IT DIES YOUR TESTIMONY
> IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT Previous vote in Committee (2-5) gave this
> reso. a negative recommendation
> Ayes: Pilago, Isbell
> Noes: Higa, Holschuh, Ikeda, Jacobson, Safarik
> Absent: Arakaki, Hoffmann
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> ---------------------------
>
> For complete agenda
> click on link below:
> http://www.co.hawaii.hi.us/council/agendas_and_actions.htm
>
> If you cannot testify in person, please send Via email:
> counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
> cc:
> kapilago@co.hawaii.hi.us
> FAX
> 961-8912
> 329-4786
> Mahalo
> Angel, Maile, Karen
> Call our office at 327-3642 for more information
Thursday, July 27, 2006
County Council Mtg in Waikoloa
July 27, Thursday County Council Chair, Stacy Higa 6-8 PM at Waikoloa elementary school
>
> Please note the following and please pass it on to all those you know in
> the
> community, especially those involved with the CDP process. This is a high
> ranking County elected official who by all reports plans to run for Mayor
> at
> the next election who should hear what people in Waikoloa Village want and
> need.
>
> July 27, Thursday, at the Waikoloa School Cafeteria, from 6-8 PM, Hawaii
> County Council Chair, Stacy Higa, will be available to answer questions
> from
> Waikoloa Residents.
>
> This is a great opportunity to question him on the disparity that exists
> between East and West Hawaii as well as specific topics such as additional
> roads in and out of Waikoloa, need for permanent police presence in
> Waikoloa, additional staffing and equipment at the fire station, lack of
> maintenance at Puu Nui Park and when will the Hooko Street park ever be
> completed?
>
> Regards,
> John
>
> Please note the following and please pass it on to all those you know in
> the
> community, especially those involved with the CDP process. This is a high
> ranking County elected official who by all reports plans to run for Mayor
> at
> the next election who should hear what people in Waikoloa Village want and
> need.
>
> July 27, Thursday, at the Waikoloa School Cafeteria, from 6-8 PM, Hawaii
> County Council Chair, Stacy Higa, will be available to answer questions
> from
> Waikoloa Residents.
>
> This is a great opportunity to question him on the disparity that exists
> between East and West Hawaii as well as specific topics such as additional
> roads in and out of Waikoloa, need for permanent police presence in
> Waikoloa, additional staffing and equipment at the fire station, lack of
> maintenance at Puu Nui Park and when will the Hooko Street park ever be
> completed?
>
> Regards,
> John
Responses from Coastview/Wonderview
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Susan,
Thank you for responding to that person! I had no idea where to begin with a response after reading his email.
Thanks again for everything you do :)
I think you are right and this is the same guy. I would like to say that a lot of us are very appreciative for all of your help in this ongoing drama. You have been very informative and helpful so please disregard this one man who is obviously a very unhappy person.
Sue
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
very good letter. you just don't get it. there are a lot of people who
don't need your "help." i have spoken with several of them. i have also
been in contact with persons in authority over the last several months
with the same response. there's a time to speak up and a time to keep
your mouth shut. surely you are smart enough to know that. and speaking
of snide letters, i do happen to care about kona and i care about my
neighbors also.
John Carlstrom
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Susan,
Thank you for responding to that person! I had no idea where to begin with a response after reading his email.
Thanks again for everything you do :)
I think you are right and this is the same guy. I would like to say that a lot of us are very appreciative for all of your help in this ongoing drama. You have been very informative and helpful so please disregard this one man who is obviously a very unhappy person.
Sue
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
very good letter. you just don't get it. there are a lot of people who
don't need your "help." i have spoken with several of them. i have also
been in contact with persons in authority over the last several months
with the same response. there's a time to speak up and a time to keep
your mouth shut. surely you are smart enough to know that. and speaking
of snide letters, i do happen to care about kona and i care about my
neighbors also.
John Carlstrom
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastview/ Wonderview Water gets SOUR.
Dear Trojan,
For your information over 2 million dollars for this project came from the Federal Government (USDA-Rural Urban Development). The system MUST be built to code in order to get the funding. The code in Hawaii County is six inches of sand covering the pipe. They aren’t trying to cut us some slack as you stated but infact the building inspector (Joe Gary) said at the meeting to do what you want with your pipe. Unfortunately Joe’s BOSS in Hilo said “NO, this is not acceptable”. The lack of professional representation at the meeting sent the whole project into turmoil.
The Thousands of dollars you speak of is for Hammering down 12 inches, which was not necessary.
For your information I dug my own hole and layed my own pipe. I am now waiting for a licensed plumber to hook us up.
Running the pipe on top of the ground is not only unsightly but not allowed by the Federal Government standards. This system was to UP GRADE the water system and not recreate another spaghetti line system. We are not asking for something illegal or under the table. We just want straight answers from the County. A simple diagram at the meeting would have answered a lot of questions.
The System would have been accepted had the County properly informed the homeowners of the process and charges involved.
During the process Milton Pavao (The County Water Department Manager) always said (at every meeting) the pipe from the street to your property is your own responsibility. The FACT is he should have said: You will need to dig a hole and pull a permit and have a licensed plumber hook it up and here is the phone number to the building department. This lack of proper disclosure has created a huge problem for the plumbers that don’t want to risk their licenses. This lack of proper disclosure has also cost us far more money then ever disclosed.
Your snide letter is not appreciated due to the fact that we have worked so hard for so long to improve the water and roads. Coastview/ Wonderview is a cutting edge place to live. We have the new water, new roads and great location.
Run your pipe as you see fit, and hopefully you will get a licensed plumber to hook you up.
Good Luck!
Respectfully,
Mrs. McGeachy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Sue and Susan,
I'm running my line on top of the ground.I was told (can't say by who, but it was a person in government) that if we keep asking for them to "put it in writing", we are going to have to go with the same code as new construction. They are TRYING to cut us some slack and let us do it the sensible way, but if you keep bugging them for assurances, they are NOT going to put their own asses on the record telling us to break the code. They will look the other way if people just quit bugging them! I have this on pretty good authority from a person in a position to know. I don't know how you put the word out on this, but I feel confident that if it ends up on a web site we will all be spending THOUSANDS to bury our pipes in 18 inches of sand. They let us get away with spaghetti lines and all the other BS for 30 years--hell, they let Lillian walk off with 700 LARGE of our fees. You don't think they will cut us a break? Everyone will be happy to have this thing solved with a little black pipe running along the edge of the lots. They don't CARE but you can't get them to put it in writing that it's ok to bend the rules. They won't do it and if you keep asking, they are going to force us all to bury the pipes.I really hope people will stop demanding assurances they are never going to get and just run the damn pipe any way they want and shut UP. Once everything is in and working the inspectors are going to wink at it UNLESS it can jeopardize their jobs. Then they will have no choice and we will all be screwed. If people are worried and have the money, why don't they just bury the pipe according to the current code? If they're like me and are strapped, do it as cheaply as they can and keep quiet! The worst that can happen is at some point they'll tell you to burry the pipe! You will have to disconnect from your house and meter, bury the pipe and reconnect. Won't cost any more than doing it that way to begin with, but if you lay it on top and are left alone, you save thousands. And you know what? If you ever have a leak, it will be a heck of a lot easier to locate and repair!If I have to bury my pipe, I will not only have to borrow the money, it will damage or kill my fruit trees because I'll have to cut through their roots. I'm going to throw some dirt over the pipe near the meter as a courtesy to the inspectors, and be done with it.I don't blame people for wanting assurances, but this is Kona and we have a few people who remember how to help their neighbors. The inspectors know that most of us could never afford our homes at todays prices. They know we have 3 or 4 breadwinners per household. Let them help us by not putting their jobs on the line, OK?I've even been told by another neighbor that Isimoto told him that if he ran his pipe up to the meter, they would connect it for free. He said they are licensed plumbers and when he talked to them, they made no mention of a permit. Who knows on that one, but the point is, connect your water as cheaply as you can. Put in your back flow preventer if you have irrigation because that's a health concern to your neighbors and that will be that. Once you are using county water they are not going to turn it off because your pipe is on top of the ground! They MIGHT tell you to bury it, but only if people keep demanding assurances in writing that they don't have to.They are trying to help us out. Let them, ok? Bury your pipe if you want to, but for the sake of your un-rich neighbors, please don't ask them about this again.Thanks Trojan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aloha Shari and Milton,
Can you please address Sue’s questions? Joe Gary said at the meeting that the line can be run on top of the ground.
Please address this.
Thank you,
Susan McGeachy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aloha Susan,
Hopefully you can help answer this question because I cant seem to get through to the Water Dept.....
We have been gone on vacation and are trying to find out exactly how the water line issue ended up. Do we have to bury the line or not? If we do how deep, etc. because the last I heard at the meeting was that we just needed to cover it with sand.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Sue Hams
For your information over 2 million dollars for this project came from the Federal Government (USDA-Rural Urban Development). The system MUST be built to code in order to get the funding. The code in Hawaii County is six inches of sand covering the pipe. They aren’t trying to cut us some slack as you stated but infact the building inspector (Joe Gary) said at the meeting to do what you want with your pipe. Unfortunately Joe’s BOSS in Hilo said “NO, this is not acceptable”. The lack of professional representation at the meeting sent the whole project into turmoil.
The Thousands of dollars you speak of is for Hammering down 12 inches, which was not necessary.
For your information I dug my own hole and layed my own pipe. I am now waiting for a licensed plumber to hook us up.
Running the pipe on top of the ground is not only unsightly but not allowed by the Federal Government standards. This system was to UP GRADE the water system and not recreate another spaghetti line system. We are not asking for something illegal or under the table. We just want straight answers from the County. A simple diagram at the meeting would have answered a lot of questions.
The System would have been accepted had the County properly informed the homeowners of the process and charges involved.
During the process Milton Pavao (The County Water Department Manager) always said (at every meeting) the pipe from the street to your property is your own responsibility. The FACT is he should have said: You will need to dig a hole and pull a permit and have a licensed plumber hook it up and here is the phone number to the building department. This lack of proper disclosure has created a huge problem for the plumbers that don’t want to risk their licenses. This lack of proper disclosure has also cost us far more money then ever disclosed.
Your snide letter is not appreciated due to the fact that we have worked so hard for so long to improve the water and roads. Coastview/ Wonderview is a cutting edge place to live. We have the new water, new roads and great location.
Run your pipe as you see fit, and hopefully you will get a licensed plumber to hook you up.
Good Luck!
Respectfully,
Mrs. McGeachy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Sue and Susan,
I'm running my line on top of the ground.I was told (can't say by who, but it was a person in government) that if we keep asking for them to "put it in writing", we are going to have to go with the same code as new construction. They are TRYING to cut us some slack and let us do it the sensible way, but if you keep bugging them for assurances, they are NOT going to put their own asses on the record telling us to break the code. They will look the other way if people just quit bugging them! I have this on pretty good authority from a person in a position to know. I don't know how you put the word out on this, but I feel confident that if it ends up on a web site we will all be spending THOUSANDS to bury our pipes in 18 inches of sand. They let us get away with spaghetti lines and all the other BS for 30 years--hell, they let Lillian walk off with 700 LARGE of our fees. You don't think they will cut us a break? Everyone will be happy to have this thing solved with a little black pipe running along the edge of the lots. They don't CARE but you can't get them to put it in writing that it's ok to bend the rules. They won't do it and if you keep asking, they are going to force us all to bury the pipes.I really hope people will stop demanding assurances they are never going to get and just run the damn pipe any way they want and shut UP. Once everything is in and working the inspectors are going to wink at it UNLESS it can jeopardize their jobs. Then they will have no choice and we will all be screwed. If people are worried and have the money, why don't they just bury the pipe according to the current code? If they're like me and are strapped, do it as cheaply as they can and keep quiet! The worst that can happen is at some point they'll tell you to burry the pipe! You will have to disconnect from your house and meter, bury the pipe and reconnect. Won't cost any more than doing it that way to begin with, but if you lay it on top and are left alone, you save thousands. And you know what? If you ever have a leak, it will be a heck of a lot easier to locate and repair!If I have to bury my pipe, I will not only have to borrow the money, it will damage or kill my fruit trees because I'll have to cut through their roots. I'm going to throw some dirt over the pipe near the meter as a courtesy to the inspectors, and be done with it.I don't blame people for wanting assurances, but this is Kona and we have a few people who remember how to help their neighbors. The inspectors know that most of us could never afford our homes at todays prices. They know we have 3 or 4 breadwinners per household. Let them help us by not putting their jobs on the line, OK?I've even been told by another neighbor that Isimoto told him that if he ran his pipe up to the meter, they would connect it for free. He said they are licensed plumbers and when he talked to them, they made no mention of a permit. Who knows on that one, but the point is, connect your water as cheaply as you can. Put in your back flow preventer if you have irrigation because that's a health concern to your neighbors and that will be that. Once you are using county water they are not going to turn it off because your pipe is on top of the ground! They MIGHT tell you to bury it, but only if people keep demanding assurances in writing that they don't have to.They are trying to help us out. Let them, ok? Bury your pipe if you want to, but for the sake of your un-rich neighbors, please don't ask them about this again.Thanks Trojan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aloha Shari and Milton,
Can you please address Sue’s questions? Joe Gary said at the meeting that the line can be run on top of the ground.
Please address this.
Thank you,
Susan McGeachy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aloha Susan,
Hopefully you can help answer this question because I cant seem to get through to the Water Dept.....
We have been gone on vacation and are trying to find out exactly how the water line issue ended up. Do we have to bury the line or not? If we do how deep, etc. because the last I heard at the meeting was that we just needed to cover it with sand.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Sue Hams
Friday, July 21, 2006
Thank you for your help.
Hello Everyone-Thank you so much for your help and support on this very important issue. All our hard work paid off. We've motivated people and empowered voters to get excited about saving our land. A Quick Update: On Wednesday the Hawaii County Council voted 8 votes for and 1 vote absent (Arakaki) to give the us a Certificate of Sufficiency and to put the measure on the Ballot in November. Our final count was almost 10,000 signatures and we questioned their criteria on the record at the meeting. The Council also recognized that the Petition Initiative process needs to be more clearly defined and hopefully we will help write a new Ordinance to accomplish that. It's time to support the work of the Open Space Commission and save our treasured lands for our children and grandchildren. Mahalo!!NEXT STEPS: to get people to the polls and get them to vote "YES" for 2% for Open Space
Register people to vote- use the attach voter registration form and find one person to register to vote.
Educate family and friends- I've attached an information sheet to read and pass along.
Volunteer to help us
Donate money for advertising and printing
Get out the vote:
Last day to register to vote in the Primary Election is August 24
Primary Election is September 23rd
Last day to register in the General Election is October 9th
General election is November 7th.A solid vote in favor of this measure at the polls will send a strong message to our elected officials that they should NOT raid this fund like they did in June. Working together we can make this happen!A HUGE mahalo!-- Debbie Hecht, Coordinator, Save Our Lands Citizens CommitteeP.O. Box 4148Kailua-Kona, HI 96745(808) 989-3222
Register people to vote- use the attach voter registration form and find one person to register to vote.
Educate family and friends- I've attached an information sheet to read and pass along.
Volunteer to help us
Donate money for advertising and printing
Get out the vote:
Last day to register to vote in the Primary Election is August 24
Primary Election is September 23rd
Last day to register in the General Election is October 9th
General election is November 7th.A solid vote in favor of this measure at the polls will send a strong message to our elected officials that they should NOT raid this fund like they did in June. Working together we can make this happen!A HUGE mahalo!-- Debbie Hecht, Coordinator, Save Our Lands Citizens CommitteeP.O. Box 4148Kailua-Kona, HI 96745(808) 989-3222
Friday, July 14, 2006
Watada's father comes to Kona-NO WAR!
1st Lt. Ehren Watadas father Bob Watada will be in Kona on Saturday and Sunday at the Aloha Theater to speak about his sons position in resisting deployment to Iraq, the charges against him by the Army, and plans for his defense. After his talk and a brief clip of Ehren speaking about this experience, there will be a showing of the film Sir, No Sir the new documentary chronicling the GI resistance to the Viet Nam war. There will be a question and answer session after the film with Mr. Watada.For those of you who really want to show your appreciation to Mr. Watada for flying in from Honolulu to speak in Kona, he lands at the Kona Airport on Saturday at 5:18 pm with Hawaiian Airlines. There will be a welcoming party to greet him there with leis and warm thanks. Please join this group if you can and really show how much Kona supports his son Ehren and the whole Watada family. This cannot be an easy thing to go through with the whole nation watching
The Council Meeting comes to KONA
JULY 18th COMMITTEE MEETINGS
> WILL BE HELD IN HILO
>
> JULY 19th COUNCIL MEETING
> WILL BE HELD IN KONA
>
>
> Tuesday, July 18th - 2:00 PM - PLANNING COMMITTEE IN HILO
>
> Public Testimony can be given via videoconference from Kona and
> Waimea, or in person in Hilo Written Testimony should be addressed to
> Chairman Pilago and Committee Members
> Email to: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
> cc: kapilago@co.hawaii.hi.us
> FAX to: 961-8912 & 329-4786
>
> Comm. 939 (Resolution 383-06)
> A RESOLUTION TO INITIATE INTERIM AMENDMENTS TO THE GENERAL PLAN FOR
> LANDS ADJOINING HONOKOHAU HARBOR AT KEALAKEHE, DISTRICT OF NORTH KONA
> (directs the Planning Director to conduct a study to determine the
> feasibility of amending the General Plan; and the General Plan Land
> Use Pattern Allocation Guide map to include Open, Resort, and Urban
> Expansion area designations within the lands situated at and adjacent
> to the Honokohau Small Boat
> * Reso. opens the way for the Jacoby Development at Kealakehe
> * Action is premature - State permitting process in preliminary stage
> * Current General Plan designates this area as Open and Urban ( not
> Resort )
> * Planning Director does not support resolution
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Comm. 963 (BILL 308)
> AN ORDINANCE TO INITIATE A CHARTER AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE VI, CHAPTER 4,
> SECTION 6-4.3, HAWAI'I COUNTY CHARTER (2000), RELATING TO BIFURCATING
> THE PLANNING COMMISSION INTO AN EAST HAWAI'I PLANNING COMMISSION AND A
> WEST HAWAI'I PLANNING COMMISSION (divides the Planning Commission into
> an East Hawai'i Planning Commission comprised of Districts 1, 2, 3, 4
> and 5; and a West Hawai'i Planning Commission comprised of Districts
> 6, 7, 8 and 9)
>
> Two Planning Commissions:
> * East made up of members from Hamakua, Hilo (2), and Lower Puna
> Districts
> * West includes Kohala, Kona (2-No. & So.) and Upper Puna Districts
>
> * Bill 308 would give the voters a chance to decide.
> * If enacted, would enable W. Hawai'i to better mitigate
> infrastructure problems.
> * Waste management, traffic, water, planning issues better addressed
> by affected districts
>
> --------------------------------------
>
> Wednesday, July 19th - COUNCIL MEETING IN KONA @ Sheraton Keauhou
>
> Statements from the Public at the following times:
> 9:00 am - Resolutions
> 10:30 am - Bills for First Reading
> 1:30 pm - Bills for Second and Final Reading
>
> Written Testimony should be addressed to Chairman Higa and Committee
> Members
> Email to: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
> cc: kapilago@co.hawaii.hi.us
> FAX to: 961-8912 & 329-4786
>
>
> 9:00 AM PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON RESOLUTIONS:
>
> RESOLUTION 381-06 (DRAFT 4)
> TEMPORARILY DELAYS COUNCIL ACTION ON REZONING APPLICATIONS IN THE
> DISTRICTS OF NORTH AND SOUTH KONA UNTIL THE NORTH AND SOUTH KONA
> COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN IS ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE, OR UNTIL JANUARY
> 1, 2007, WHICHEVER SHALL OCCUR FIRST.
> * This delay, or "pause" will give us time to catch up and improve
> infrastructure: roads, water, traffic situation, waste reduction and
> recycling programs.
> * Draft 4 Amendments incorporate concerns of Councilmembers including
> an exception for "public projects involving schools, water and sewer
> systems, and any other projects that specifically benefit the public's
> health, safety and welfare."
>
> Passed 1st hurdle - out of committee - with 5 to 4 vote!
> Support: Pilago, Hoffmann, Jacobson, Safarik and Isbell
> Oppose: Higa, Arakaki, Ikeda, Holschuh
>
> One more challenge to get it passed through Council - NEEDS 5 VOTES
>
> Contact your Council Rep.
> Support from all districts important for resolution to pass!
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> RESOLUTION 402-06
> AMENDS RESOLUTION NO. 99-05, RULES OF PROCEDURE AND ORGANIZATION OF
> THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI'I, RELATING TO MEETINGS. {PROVIDES
> THAT THE COUNCIL SHALL HOLD REGULAR MEETINGS IN EAST HAWAI'I ON
> ODD-NUMBERED MONTHS AND REGULAR MEETINGS IN WEST HAWAI'I ON
> EVEN-NUMBERED MONTHS.} Draft 2 will add:
> * Provisions for video-conferencing for all meetings held outside of
> Hilo
> * Start date of January 2007 to give time to budget & find an
> economical location
> * A review date of December 2007
>
> Reso. 402 will give Kona, Ka'u, Puna, Kohala, Waimea, Waikoloa equal
> access to government.
> Passed out of Finance committee - with 5 to 4 vote
> Support: Pilago, Hoffmann, Jacobson, Safarik and Isbell
> Oppose: Higa, Arakaki, Ikeda, Holschuh
>
> One more challenge to get it passed through Council - NEEDS 5 VOTES
> Support from all districts important for both the above resolutions to
> pass!
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> ------------------------
>
> RESOLUTION 410-06
> RELATING TO INITIATIVE PETITION FILED BY THE SAVE OUR LAND CITIZENS'
> COMMITTEE TO LET VOTERS DECIDE ON 2% TAX SET ASIDE TO ACQUIRE LANDS
> FOR OPEN SPACE
> * Clerk's office determined petition did not have enough valid
> signatures
> * Council can make own determination
> * Recognizing the efforts put forth by the Save Our Lands Committee,
> Council will consider Bill 315 (see below)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 10:30 AM PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON BILLS FOR FIRST READING:
>
> BILL 315
> RELATING TO THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES
> PRESERVATION FUND
>
> * Proposes the Council adopt proposed Ordinance to require 2% of
> Property Tax be committed to the Public Access, Open Space, and
> Natural Resources Preservation Fund and deletes the $5,000,000 cap.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> ---------------
Call the Kona Office @ 327-3642 for copies of agenda items
> To View Complete Agenda, click on link:
> http://www.co.hawaii.hi.us/council/agendas_and_actions.htm
>
>
>
> Please forward this email
> Your participation will make a difference
>
> Angel, Maile, Karen
>
> Councilman K. Angel Pilago
> District 8, North Kona
> 808-327-3642
> WILL BE HELD IN HILO
>
> JULY 19th COUNCIL MEETING
> WILL BE HELD IN KONA
>
>
> Tuesday, July 18th - 2:00 PM - PLANNING COMMITTEE IN HILO
>
> Public Testimony can be given via videoconference from Kona and
> Waimea, or in person in Hilo Written Testimony should be addressed to
> Chairman Pilago and Committee Members
> Email to: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
> cc: kapilago@co.hawaii.hi.us
> FAX to: 961-8912 & 329-4786
>
> Comm. 939 (Resolution 383-06)
> A RESOLUTION TO INITIATE INTERIM AMENDMENTS TO THE GENERAL PLAN FOR
> LANDS ADJOINING HONOKOHAU HARBOR AT KEALAKEHE, DISTRICT OF NORTH KONA
> (directs the Planning Director to conduct a study to determine the
> feasibility of amending the General Plan; and the General Plan Land
> Use Pattern Allocation Guide map to include Open, Resort, and Urban
> Expansion area designations within the lands situated at and adjacent
> to the Honokohau Small Boat
> * Reso. opens the way for the Jacoby Development at Kealakehe
> * Action is premature - State permitting process in preliminary stage
> * Current General Plan designates this area as Open and Urban ( not
> Resort )
> * Planning Director does not support resolution
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Comm. 963 (BILL 308)
> AN ORDINANCE TO INITIATE A CHARTER AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE VI, CHAPTER 4,
> SECTION 6-4.3, HAWAI'I COUNTY CHARTER (2000), RELATING TO BIFURCATING
> THE PLANNING COMMISSION INTO AN EAST HAWAI'I PLANNING COMMISSION AND A
> WEST HAWAI'I PLANNING COMMISSION (divides the Planning Commission into
> an East Hawai'i Planning Commission comprised of Districts 1, 2, 3, 4
> and 5; and a West Hawai'i Planning Commission comprised of Districts
> 6, 7, 8 and 9)
>
> Two Planning Commissions:
> * East made up of members from Hamakua, Hilo (2), and Lower Puna
> Districts
> * West includes Kohala, Kona (2-No. & So.) and Upper Puna Districts
>
> * Bill 308 would give the voters a chance to decide.
> * If enacted, would enable W. Hawai'i to better mitigate
> infrastructure problems.
> * Waste management, traffic, water, planning issues better addressed
> by affected districts
>
> --------------------------------------
>
> Wednesday, July 19th - COUNCIL MEETING IN KONA @ Sheraton Keauhou
>
> Statements from the Public at the following times:
> 9:00 am - Resolutions
> 10:30 am - Bills for First Reading
> 1:30 pm - Bills for Second and Final Reading
>
> Written Testimony should be addressed to Chairman Higa and Committee
> Members
> Email to: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
> cc: kapilago@co.hawaii.hi.us
> FAX to: 961-8912 & 329-4786
>
>
> 9:00 AM PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON RESOLUTIONS:
>
> RESOLUTION 381-06 (DRAFT 4)
> TEMPORARILY DELAYS COUNCIL ACTION ON REZONING APPLICATIONS IN THE
> DISTRICTS OF NORTH AND SOUTH KONA UNTIL THE NORTH AND SOUTH KONA
> COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN IS ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE, OR UNTIL JANUARY
> 1, 2007, WHICHEVER SHALL OCCUR FIRST.
> * This delay, or "pause" will give us time to catch up and improve
> infrastructure: roads, water, traffic situation, waste reduction and
> recycling programs.
> * Draft 4 Amendments incorporate concerns of Councilmembers including
> an exception for "public projects involving schools, water and sewer
> systems, and any other projects that specifically benefit the public's
> health, safety and welfare."
>
> Passed 1st hurdle - out of committee - with 5 to 4 vote!
> Support: Pilago, Hoffmann, Jacobson, Safarik and Isbell
> Oppose: Higa, Arakaki, Ikeda, Holschuh
>
> One more challenge to get it passed through Council - NEEDS 5 VOTES
>
> Contact your Council Rep.
> Support from all districts important for resolution to pass!
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> RESOLUTION 402-06
> AMENDS RESOLUTION NO. 99-05, RULES OF PROCEDURE AND ORGANIZATION OF
> THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI'I, RELATING TO MEETINGS. {PROVIDES
> THAT THE COUNCIL SHALL HOLD REGULAR MEETINGS IN EAST HAWAI'I ON
> ODD-NUMBERED MONTHS AND REGULAR MEETINGS IN WEST HAWAI'I ON
> EVEN-NUMBERED MONTHS.} Draft 2 will add:
> * Provisions for video-conferencing for all meetings held outside of
> Hilo
> * Start date of January 2007 to give time to budget & find an
> economical location
> * A review date of December 2007
>
> Reso. 402 will give Kona, Ka'u, Puna, Kohala, Waimea, Waikoloa equal
> access to government.
> Passed out of Finance committee - with 5 to 4 vote
> Support: Pilago, Hoffmann, Jacobson, Safarik and Isbell
> Oppose: Higa, Arakaki, Ikeda, Holschuh
>
> One more challenge to get it passed through Council - NEEDS 5 VOTES
> Support from all districts important for both the above resolutions to
> pass!
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> ------------------------
>
> RESOLUTION 410-06
> RELATING TO INITIATIVE PETITION FILED BY THE SAVE OUR LAND CITIZENS'
> COMMITTEE TO LET VOTERS DECIDE ON 2% TAX SET ASIDE TO ACQUIRE LANDS
> FOR OPEN SPACE
> * Clerk's office determined petition did not have enough valid
> signatures
> * Council can make own determination
> * Recognizing the efforts put forth by the Save Our Lands Committee,
> Council will consider Bill 315 (see below)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 10:30 AM PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON BILLS FOR FIRST READING:
>
> BILL 315
> RELATING TO THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES
> PRESERVATION FUND
>
> * Proposes the Council adopt proposed Ordinance to require 2% of
> Property Tax be committed to the Public Access, Open Space, and
> Natural Resources Preservation Fund and deletes the $5,000,000 cap.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> ---------------
Call the Kona Office @ 327-3642 for copies of agenda items
> To View Complete Agenda, click on link:
> http://www.co.hawaii.hi.us/council/agendas_and_actions.htm
>
>
>
> Please forward this email
> Your participation will make a difference
>
> Angel, Maile, Karen
>
> Councilman K. Angel Pilago
> District 8, North Kona
> 808-327-3642
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Does Anyone Care? Lets hear from you.
This sounds like a pretty wild speculation, doesn't it? But let me state how it would be done, and then indicate how recent councilactions have set the wheels in motion. Finally, if I' ve not bored you tosleep or caused an (involuntary) hitting of the delete button,I'll suggest some ways that these council actions, which remove a levelplaying field from the next elections through 2008, might be mitigatedif others agree with my thesis and are willing to contact theirrepresentatives.Control of the political future of Hi. county until 2022 will rest with theMayor elected in 2008. Why? Because he will appoint both the nextCharter Commission (2009) and reapportionment commission (2011).
Charter Commission: May submit charter amendments to be voted upon in the next or in a special election- or it may submit a whole new charter. Either method might allow separate West Hi. planning, public works,parks&rec, water commissions, etc. In short, it could allow a vote on issues to give West Hawaii(and other parts of the county) a voice in running their government, staffed by officials living nearby rather than 100 miles away. If a Hilo Centric is Mayor, guess what the outcome will be of members on that commission? The next one is not chosen until 2019! Reapportionment Commission: This group redraws the lines for council districts. Think that population shifts to Puna and West Hi. will get those areas more representation?
Let me know if you do- I have a great used car... It depends on who is appointed to the commission. The last commission illegally counted military personnel (and possibly families) temporarily training outside Hilo, who were residents elsewhere (and who the courts ruled should not have been counted) as Hilo residents. Also UH-Hilo students who were residents of other counties. They then , even with these phony numbers, made the Hilo districts as small as possible in numbers to get more district from fewer bodies. They also gerrymandered to do Puna out of
a deserved second council district. Sure, courts have ruled aspects
of this redistricting illegal- but it still stands. Courts are loath to overturn legislative actions, and if they do, the actions are likely moot by the time action and appeals are completed. Now we can see that if a fair minded and honest person with the bestinterests of the entire county guiding him/her is not elected as the next Mayor, the county government can be controlled from Hilo until 2022. The Charter Commission will choose not to put reforms wanted by West Hi.on the ballot , and we have seen that a Hilo controlled council will not even put issues benefitting the entire county on the ballot. This is an imperial colonial government, and we are the outer colonies whose purpose is to provide revenue (pay tribute) to support Rome- excuse me, Hilo. WHY IS THIS NUT SUDDENLY TRYING TO MAKE THIS POINT? As in my earlier email to some of you, as I strolled thru Kuhio Plazalast Saturday, I saw around 70 feet of windows with American flags and Wiki-Wiki voter signs lining the aisle heading to Macy's. Wow did that catch my eye! Had I not been registered, and if it were Monday-Friday, I surely would have taken 3 minutes to register. And the same convenient location will be open many days before the election so that those voters who are usually too lazy to vote, will have the opportunity to do so without having planned on it before leaving home.
Quoting from the Council Resolution authorizing a one year lease (with continuation possible)
of 5,000 sq. ft. for $8594/month of our West Hi. tax dollars:
"WHEREAS ,the temporary move of the Election Office to Prince Kuhio Plaza could
increase voter registration and absentee voter turnout due to its high visibility , convenient public
location and a high volume of foot traffic:and..." These are exactly the reasons for using our tax dollars for this prime space- as a brilliantlygreat location to register new (Hilo) voters and encourage walk-in voting. I hear you! You are saying, 'but it is good to register voters and get out the vote!' And you arecorrect- but remember our original premise: a fair election requires a levelplaying field. If 'our' County Government spends 100k/annum for space in the most highlytrafficked mall in the county, plus 500k to $1,000,000/annum in salaries to staff theregistration effort, and zero for a like effort in the rest of the county- the playing field is not level.Kuhio Mall is probably visited daily by 95% Hilo residents. Let us just think about some numbers. Perhaps 5,000 people go through Kuhio Malldaily (I'll use a firmer number if someone can get one for me). What if just ONEof every HUNDRED- one percent- says, 'hey,I can just duck in here, register, and be a goodAmerican.' That works out to 50/day, over 1,000 per month, and up to 12,000 per annum if there arestill any unregistered Hilo residents out there. This is like giving the 3 Hilo districts the voting
power of 5-6 districts , a plurality.There is no similar effort elsewhere on the island- only volunteer efforts,
no funds to rent space, denied access to many high traffic venues (management policies
prohibit or inhibit citizen activities at many)- and besides, Hilo has these efforts aswell. It does not end there- this high traffic Mall is then effective in getting out the vote with thewalk-in voting program.This program does exist islandwide- but not in a way that balances theopportunities to vote. Ever wondered, as I have, why Hilo gets higher voterregistration and turnout than other parts of the county? Perhaps nirvana is near! At last, enlightenment!
Our representatives have set us up to ensure Hilo control of county government through 2022.
CAN ANYTHING BE DONE?
We can ask any of you with civil voting rights/legal expertise if there is any recourse to fair
elections enforcement. Aside from that, we can write our representatives requesting that the
county provide equal space and employee staffing in all other districts for voter registration and
walk-in voting, with a time period before the upcoming, and then the 2008 election to balance the access
and playing field. We must not accept the County 50% rabbit stew solution (i.e. A 50% rabbit
stew is made from one rabbit and one horse.) The foot traffic aggregates/ times must be comparable.
I am not too optimistic since one of 'our' representatives in West Hawaii helped expedite this
ploy, and sent me an email justifying it as giving no advantage to Hilo. I'll forward this letter to any of you
wishing to see it as fairness in viewing another side of the issue. And if any believe it, I will not try to sell
you a used car. However, I do have a bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin Co., beautiful to
see, and it generates terrific toll returns! Once more Mr. A has not only scored a 16 year coup as
a parting gift to the colonial slaves of West Hawaii, but done it with such finesse that our representatives
seem not to have noticed. I move that , by acclamation, we award him both ears and the tail, with
thanks also to our local Picador.
ANY COMMENT?
Please, if you have any questions, contrary responses, ideas as to how to deal with this- or
conclude that it is a mountain from a molehill- let me know by return email, or let everyone
know by posting a response on the bigisland coalition yahoo discussion group at:
www.groups.yahoo.com/groups/bigislandcoalition
I may be overreacting, or we may wake up and find that West Hawaii will be a colony until at least 2022.
What do you think? Does anyone care? Is the war in fact over, with a complete developer/Hilo
victory?
Regards- Marshall
Charter Commission: May submit charter amendments to be voted upon in the next or in a special election- or it may submit a whole new charter. Either method might allow separate West Hi. planning, public works,parks&rec, water commissions, etc. In short, it could allow a vote on issues to give West Hawaii(and other parts of the county) a voice in running their government, staffed by officials living nearby rather than 100 miles away. If a Hilo Centric is Mayor, guess what the outcome will be of members on that commission? The next one is not chosen until 2019! Reapportionment Commission: This group redraws the lines for council districts. Think that population shifts to Puna and West Hi. will get those areas more representation?
Let me know if you do- I have a great used car... It depends on who is appointed to the commission. The last commission illegally counted military personnel (and possibly families) temporarily training outside Hilo, who were residents elsewhere (and who the courts ruled should not have been counted) as Hilo residents. Also UH-Hilo students who were residents of other counties. They then , even with these phony numbers, made the Hilo districts as small as possible in numbers to get more district from fewer bodies. They also gerrymandered to do Puna out of
a deserved second council district. Sure, courts have ruled aspects
of this redistricting illegal- but it still stands. Courts are loath to overturn legislative actions, and if they do, the actions are likely moot by the time action and appeals are completed. Now we can see that if a fair minded and honest person with the bestinterests of the entire county guiding him/her is not elected as the next Mayor, the county government can be controlled from Hilo until 2022. The Charter Commission will choose not to put reforms wanted by West Hi.on the ballot , and we have seen that a Hilo controlled council will not even put issues benefitting the entire county on the ballot. This is an imperial colonial government, and we are the outer colonies whose purpose is to provide revenue (pay tribute) to support Rome- excuse me, Hilo. WHY IS THIS NUT SUDDENLY TRYING TO MAKE THIS POINT? As in my earlier email to some of you, as I strolled thru Kuhio Plazalast Saturday, I saw around 70 feet of windows with American flags and Wiki-Wiki voter signs lining the aisle heading to Macy's. Wow did that catch my eye! Had I not been registered, and if it were Monday-Friday, I surely would have taken 3 minutes to register. And the same convenient location will be open many days before the election so that those voters who are usually too lazy to vote, will have the opportunity to do so without having planned on it before leaving home.
Quoting from the Council Resolution authorizing a one year lease (with continuation possible)
of 5,000 sq. ft. for $8594/month of our West Hi. tax dollars:
"WHEREAS ,the temporary move of the Election Office to Prince Kuhio Plaza could
increase voter registration and absentee voter turnout due to its high visibility , convenient public
location and a high volume of foot traffic:and..." These are exactly the reasons for using our tax dollars for this prime space- as a brilliantlygreat location to register new (Hilo) voters and encourage walk-in voting. I hear you! You are saying, 'but it is good to register voters and get out the vote!' And you arecorrect- but remember our original premise: a fair election requires a levelplaying field. If 'our' County Government spends 100k/annum for space in the most highlytrafficked mall in the county, plus 500k to $1,000,000/annum in salaries to staff theregistration effort, and zero for a like effort in the rest of the county- the playing field is not level.Kuhio Mall is probably visited daily by 95% Hilo residents. Let us just think about some numbers. Perhaps 5,000 people go through Kuhio Malldaily (I'll use a firmer number if someone can get one for me). What if just ONEof every HUNDRED- one percent- says, 'hey,I can just duck in here, register, and be a goodAmerican.' That works out to 50/day, over 1,000 per month, and up to 12,000 per annum if there arestill any unregistered Hilo residents out there. This is like giving the 3 Hilo districts the voting
power of 5-6 districts , a plurality.There is no similar effort elsewhere on the island- only volunteer efforts,
no funds to rent space, denied access to many high traffic venues (management policies
prohibit or inhibit citizen activities at many)- and besides, Hilo has these efforts aswell. It does not end there- this high traffic Mall is then effective in getting out the vote with thewalk-in voting program.This program does exist islandwide- but not in a way that balances theopportunities to vote. Ever wondered, as I have, why Hilo gets higher voterregistration and turnout than other parts of the county? Perhaps nirvana is near! At last, enlightenment!
Our representatives have set us up to ensure Hilo control of county government through 2022.
CAN ANYTHING BE DONE?
We can ask any of you with civil voting rights/legal expertise if there is any recourse to fair
elections enforcement. Aside from that, we can write our representatives requesting that the
county provide equal space and employee staffing in all other districts for voter registration and
walk-in voting, with a time period before the upcoming, and then the 2008 election to balance the access
and playing field. We must not accept the County 50% rabbit stew solution (i.e. A 50% rabbit
stew is made from one rabbit and one horse.) The foot traffic aggregates/ times must be comparable.
I am not too optimistic since one of 'our' representatives in West Hawaii helped expedite this
ploy, and sent me an email justifying it as giving no advantage to Hilo. I'll forward this letter to any of you
wishing to see it as fairness in viewing another side of the issue. And if any believe it, I will not try to sell
you a used car. However, I do have a bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin Co., beautiful to
see, and it generates terrific toll returns! Once more Mr. A has not only scored a 16 year coup as
a parting gift to the colonial slaves of West Hawaii, but done it with such finesse that our representatives
seem not to have noticed. I move that , by acclamation, we award him both ears and the tail, with
thanks also to our local Picador.
ANY COMMENT?
Please, if you have any questions, contrary responses, ideas as to how to deal with this- or
conclude that it is a mountain from a molehill- let me know by return email, or let everyone
know by posting a response on the bigisland coalition yahoo discussion group at:
www.groups.yahoo.com/groups/bigislandcoalition
I may be overreacting, or we may wake up and find that West Hawaii will be a colony until at least 2022.
What do you think? Does anyone care? Is the war in fact over, with a complete developer/Hilo
victory?
Regards- Marshall
Friday, July 07, 2006
Update on 2% for lands.
PLEASE FORWARD TO BIG ISLAND FAMILY AND FRIENDSHello-
Thank you so much for your help and tremendous support on this campaign to save our treasured lands on the Big Island! The County has once again changed its instructions to our Citizen's group, and it is now clear that after collecting over 9,000 signatures in favor of letting voters decide, that a final decision on the fate of the Land Fund ordinance will rest with the County Council on July 19th.There are two specific things that we are asking ALL Big Island citizens to do, since we've just been instructed that we can't collect any more signatures (see why below) :
Attend the July 19th Council Meeting in Hilo at 9:00 am (or the Kona Council office to testify via teleconference).
Write a letter to the Mayor and Council at 25 Aupuni St., Hilo, Hawaii
Call your council person and the Mayor OR
PLEASE E-MAIL THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL (cut and paste these addresses):
cohmayor@co.hawaii.hi.us, fholschuh@co.hawaii.hi.us, dikeda@co.hawaii.hi.us, jarakaki@co.hawaii.hi.us, shiga@co.hawaii.hi.us, gsafarik@co.hawaii.hi.us , jjaco@co.hawaii.hi.us, phoffmann@co.hawaii.hi.us, kapilago@co.hawaii.hi.us, visbell@co.hawaii.hi.us, counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us, PLEASE use your own words or cut and past the following in an email. ASK THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL TO HONOR THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE : Dear Mayor Kim and Hawaii County Council:PLEASE PUT THE QUESTION ON THE BALLOT AND LET HAWAII COUNTY VOTERS DECIDE IN NOVEMBER TO MODIFY THE EXISTING Open Space and Natural Resources ORDINANCE BY MAKING THE FOLLOWING CHANGES: 1-To set aside 2% of the property tax each and every year for Open Space and Natural resource acquisition and 2-to eliminate the limit of $5 million that can be held in the fund.
WE ASK THE COUNCIL TO HONOR over 9,000 people who have signed this Petition. Citizens have been frustrated by conflicting instructions from the County as to the timelines and the stringent application of the arbitrary and ambiguous criteria that the County has imposed on this process. We ask the County to include signatures of voters that: 1- forgot to write the st. ave. or highway suffix as part of their residence addresses2- forgot to put the year 2006 in the date column. Both of these criteria are clearly implied. We believe that the County should be using petition information to qualify signatures not looking for insignificant reasons to disqualify voter's signatures. Please put the question on the November 2006 Ballot now!Sincerely,Name:______________ Address:________________ Date: _________________
Here's the latest: One week ago, we were told by the County Clerk's office that we had until August to gather just 800 more valid signatures to officially approve our Petition. Unexpectedly, just a few days ago the County Clerk reversed the County's position and told the Save Our Lands Committee that we didn't have more time to collect signatures, couldn't amend the petition again and that our last submittal of signatures on June 19 was the end of the campaign. As of today, our Committee has gathered over 9,000 signatures in favor of the petition. Officially, we need 4,864 valid signatures to qualify.
Yesterday, the Committee received a call from Stacy Higa, the Chairman of the County Council, saying that he is prepared to propose and support a Resolution to grant a Certificate of Sufficiency, which will put the question on the ballot in November to set aside 2% of the property taxes for Open Space and Natural Resource acquisition and remove the limit of $5 million that can be held in the Open Space Fund. This resolution would validate our petition and put our proposed ordinance changes on the ballot in November for voters to decide. Mr. Higa stated that he thought that the Save Our lands Citizens Committee has "walked the mile" and that we have collected all of the signatures that we need. He stated that he hopes that the 1,578 voters whose signatures were disqualified on the petition because they have not updated their voter registration addresses will immediately do so and turn out to vote on this matter. In effect, he believes that these invalidated signatures should be place back into the "valid column" and count toward our petition. Our Committee has been very concerned with the overwhelming amount of voter signatures invalidated and the "reasons" for invalidation. We can only hope that the rest of the Council share Mr. Higa's concerns about the process and vote to restore the disqualified names and thereby either passing the ordinance immediately or placing it on the November ballot. When asked by the Coordinator of the Committee which Council members would vote for this Resolution he said that he would, and said that he thought Mr.Safarik would also. Mr. Hoffman, Mr. Pilago, Ms. Isbell and Mr. Jacobson all signed our petitions, so we hope that they remain steadfast and vote for this Resolution. This would provide us with 6 votes. There has been some confusion in the Council that this is a Charter Amendment, when in fact it only amends the existing Open Space and Natural Resources Ordinance. Although our Committee is encouraged by Mr. Higa's comments and support for placing the the question on the November ballot our experience has made us wary of the unclear and ever changing rulings. Therefore, we are asking everyone who signed the initiative or supported the process to immediately email the Mayor and Council to call for the approval of the petition, and then to show up in person on July 19th at the Council hearing to demand approval.
A little history of this process may better illustrate our concern. Before we began the Petition Initiative process, we met twice with the Connie Kiriu, Clerk of the Coucil, Pat Nakamoto, Elections Office and Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd from the Corp Counsel. The first time we met, our Committee challenged the County's requirement to use full Social Security numbers on the initiative citing the Federal Privacy Act and State Driver's Licensing Laws. Eventually, the County agreed to not force us to collect voters
full Social Security numbers. We then received a time line with exact dates when petitions had to be turned in to the Clerk. The time lines changed twice since those meetings and again as late as last week, when we were told that we could amend the Petition and have volunteers collect more signatures. Ms. Kiriu told West Hawaii Today and the Committee that we could possibly collect signatures until August. Then, a few days ago, we were told that in fact they would NOT allow us to amend the Petition, because of Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida's recent interpretation of the Charter. All of this confusion is caused because the process and criteria are not well defined in the Charter, giving rise to ambiguous interpretation. Article 11 of the County Charter states: "Electors signing such petition shall print their names, add their signatures, residence addresses, social security numbers and the dates of signing on said petition." The Save Our Lands Citizens Committee believes that thousands of signatures were invalidated because the County imposed over-stringent criteria. For instance, the County claimed that on June 19th we were 864 valid signatures short of the total required but it appears that they had disqualified over 800 signatures simply because the signing voter had simply dated their signature with a month and day (ie: 7/06) and not included the year (ie: 7/06/06). The year is clearly implied because the Committee submitted their letter of intent in April of 2006 and the notarized signature in the Affadavit on the back of each petition states the date. The County looked at the information with an eye to invalidating signatures rather than honoring voters' clear intent, creating an adversarial process:
The County Clerk and Elections Officer invalidated signatures because residence addresses did not include st. ave. or hwy. The number and street address should be sufficient to verify that the person is a registered voter. It does not say in the charter that these suffixes are required.
The County Clerk refused to accept a PO Box as a "residence address" even though the County itself has voter PO Boxes on file and regularly uses these PO Boxes to send out voter registration cards to Hawai'i County citizens.
Signatures were invalidated because they did not include the year- '06. The year was clearly implied by the start of the Petition Initiative Drive and the date of the Notary signature on the back of the Petitions.
Thank you for your help and support in this process. At the core of this Initiative Petition drive is the hope that we can save the lands that make our island uniquely beautiful and provide us with our quality of life. Caring for the 'aina means caring for the people. The Initiative Petition process provides an important check and balance and makes government more accountable. We have asked Chairman Higa to form a Committee to create an Ordinance that clarifies the Intiative Petition Process by outlining the time lines and criteria for this process. Please call if you have any questions. And write your letter or email of support TODAY. Our Committee hopes to see you in the County Council chambers on July 19th at 9am. Again, thank you for your help and support on this very important issue. Please send all petitions to the address below. WE MAY NEED THEM.
Debbie Hecht, Coordinator Save Our Lands Citizen's CommitteeP.O. Box 4148Kailua-Kona, HI 96745 (
Thank you so much for your help and tremendous support on this campaign to save our treasured lands on the Big Island! The County has once again changed its instructions to our Citizen's group, and it is now clear that after collecting over 9,000 signatures in favor of letting voters decide, that a final decision on the fate of the Land Fund ordinance will rest with the County Council on July 19th.There are two specific things that we are asking ALL Big Island citizens to do, since we've just been instructed that we can't collect any more signatures (see why below) :
Attend the July 19th Council Meeting in Hilo at 9:00 am (or the Kona Council office to testify via teleconference).
Write a letter to the Mayor and Council at 25 Aupuni St., Hilo, Hawaii
Call your council person and the Mayor OR
PLEASE E-MAIL THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL (cut and paste these addresses):
cohmayor@co.hawaii.hi.us, fholschuh@co.hawaii.hi.us, dikeda@co.hawaii.hi.us, jarakaki@co.hawaii.hi.us, shiga@co.hawaii.hi.us, gsafarik@co.hawaii.hi.us , jjaco@co.hawaii.hi.us, phoffmann@co.hawaii.hi.us, kapilago@co.hawaii.hi.us, visbell@co.hawaii.hi.us, counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us, PLEASE use your own words or cut and past the following in an email. ASK THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL TO HONOR THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE : Dear Mayor Kim and Hawaii County Council:PLEASE PUT THE QUESTION ON THE BALLOT AND LET HAWAII COUNTY VOTERS DECIDE IN NOVEMBER TO MODIFY THE EXISTING Open Space and Natural Resources ORDINANCE BY MAKING THE FOLLOWING CHANGES: 1-To set aside 2% of the property tax each and every year for Open Space and Natural resource acquisition and 2-to eliminate the limit of $5 million that can be held in the fund.
WE ASK THE COUNCIL TO HONOR over 9,000 people who have signed this Petition. Citizens have been frustrated by conflicting instructions from the County as to the timelines and the stringent application of the arbitrary and ambiguous criteria that the County has imposed on this process. We ask the County to include signatures of voters that: 1- forgot to write the st. ave. or highway suffix as part of their residence addresses2- forgot to put the year 2006 in the date column. Both of these criteria are clearly implied. We believe that the County should be using petition information to qualify signatures not looking for insignificant reasons to disqualify voter's signatures. Please put the question on the November 2006 Ballot now!Sincerely,Name:______________ Address:________________ Date: _________________
Here's the latest: One week ago, we were told by the County Clerk's office that we had until August to gather just 800 more valid signatures to officially approve our Petition. Unexpectedly, just a few days ago the County Clerk reversed the County's position and told the Save Our Lands Committee that we didn't have more time to collect signatures, couldn't amend the petition again and that our last submittal of signatures on June 19 was the end of the campaign. As of today, our Committee has gathered over 9,000 signatures in favor of the petition. Officially, we need 4,864 valid signatures to qualify.
Yesterday, the Committee received a call from Stacy Higa, the Chairman of the County Council, saying that he is prepared to propose and support a Resolution to grant a Certificate of Sufficiency, which will put the question on the ballot in November to set aside 2% of the property taxes for Open Space and Natural Resource acquisition and remove the limit of $5 million that can be held in the Open Space Fund. This resolution would validate our petition and put our proposed ordinance changes on the ballot in November for voters to decide. Mr. Higa stated that he thought that the Save Our lands Citizens Committee has "walked the mile" and that we have collected all of the signatures that we need. He stated that he hopes that the 1,578 voters whose signatures were disqualified on the petition because they have not updated their voter registration addresses will immediately do so and turn out to vote on this matter. In effect, he believes that these invalidated signatures should be place back into the "valid column" and count toward our petition. Our Committee has been very concerned with the overwhelming amount of voter signatures invalidated and the "reasons" for invalidation. We can only hope that the rest of the Council share Mr. Higa's concerns about the process and vote to restore the disqualified names and thereby either passing the ordinance immediately or placing it on the November ballot. When asked by the Coordinator of the Committee which Council members would vote for this Resolution he said that he would, and said that he thought Mr.Safarik would also. Mr. Hoffman, Mr. Pilago, Ms. Isbell and Mr. Jacobson all signed our petitions, so we hope that they remain steadfast and vote for this Resolution. This would provide us with 6 votes. There has been some confusion in the Council that this is a Charter Amendment, when in fact it only amends the existing Open Space and Natural Resources Ordinance. Although our Committee is encouraged by Mr. Higa's comments and support for placing the the question on the November ballot our experience has made us wary of the unclear and ever changing rulings. Therefore, we are asking everyone who signed the initiative or supported the process to immediately email the Mayor and Council to call for the approval of the petition, and then to show up in person on July 19th at the Council hearing to demand approval.
A little history of this process may better illustrate our concern. Before we began the Petition Initiative process, we met twice with the Connie Kiriu, Clerk of the Coucil, Pat Nakamoto, Elections Office and Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd from the Corp Counsel. The first time we met, our Committee challenged the County's requirement to use full Social Security numbers on the initiative citing the Federal Privacy Act and State Driver's Licensing Laws. Eventually, the County agreed to not force us to collect voters
full Social Security numbers. We then received a time line with exact dates when petitions had to be turned in to the Clerk. The time lines changed twice since those meetings and again as late as last week, when we were told that we could amend the Petition and have volunteers collect more signatures. Ms. Kiriu told West Hawaii Today and the Committee that we could possibly collect signatures until August. Then, a few days ago, we were told that in fact they would NOT allow us to amend the Petition, because of Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida's recent interpretation of the Charter. All of this confusion is caused because the process and criteria are not well defined in the Charter, giving rise to ambiguous interpretation. Article 11 of the County Charter states: "Electors signing such petition shall print their names, add their signatures, residence addresses, social security numbers and the dates of signing on said petition." The Save Our Lands Citizens Committee believes that thousands of signatures were invalidated because the County imposed over-stringent criteria. For instance, the County claimed that on June 19th we were 864 valid signatures short of the total required but it appears that they had disqualified over 800 signatures simply because the signing voter had simply dated their signature with a month and day (ie: 7/06) and not included the year (ie: 7/06/06). The year is clearly implied because the Committee submitted their letter of intent in April of 2006 and the notarized signature in the Affadavit on the back of each petition states the date. The County looked at the information with an eye to invalidating signatures rather than honoring voters' clear intent, creating an adversarial process:
The County Clerk and Elections Officer invalidated signatures because residence addresses did not include st. ave. or hwy. The number and street address should be sufficient to verify that the person is a registered voter. It does not say in the charter that these suffixes are required.
The County Clerk refused to accept a PO Box as a "residence address" even though the County itself has voter PO Boxes on file and regularly uses these PO Boxes to send out voter registration cards to Hawai'i County citizens.
Signatures were invalidated because they did not include the year- '06. The year was clearly implied by the start of the Petition Initiative Drive and the date of the Notary signature on the back of the Petitions.
Thank you for your help and support in this process. At the core of this Initiative Petition drive is the hope that we can save the lands that make our island uniquely beautiful and provide us with our quality of life. Caring for the 'aina means caring for the people. The Initiative Petition process provides an important check and balance and makes government more accountable. We have asked Chairman Higa to form a Committee to create an Ordinance that clarifies the Intiative Petition Process by outlining the time lines and criteria for this process. Please call if you have any questions. And write your letter or email of support TODAY. Our Committee hopes to see you in the County Council chambers on July 19th at 9am. Again, thank you for your help and support on this very important issue. Please send all petitions to the address below. WE MAY NEED THEM.
Debbie Hecht, Coordinator Save Our Lands Citizen's CommitteeP.O. Box 4148Kailua-Kona, HI 96745 (
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Voter Registration inequity? Hilo Mall!
Is there a voter registration inequity?>>
>>
>>> Tell me if I am overly picky and senile, or if there is a problem. July
>>> 1
>>> I was
>>> in Hilo in Kuhio Mall, when I walked past a storefront with windows
>>> emblazoned
>>> with American flags and signs for Wiki-Wiki voter registration. As I got
>>> to the door,
>>> I saw that it was the transplanted Hawaii County Voter office.
>>> Great idea to spend large amounts of tax dollars for very expensive
>>> shopping mall space;
>>> most everyone in Hilo must pass through Kuhio Mall, so what great place
>>> to
>>
>>> register voters,
>>> even at high cost.
>>> The problem I have with this, is that I know of no other high traffic
>>> area
>>
>>> in the county where
>>> such a voter registration 'drive' is in progress. As a matter of fact, I
>>> can't think of even a
>>> hot dog stand to do this elsewhere on the island. It seems to me as
>>> though
>>
>>> the playing field
>>> is not level; when the next mayoral election takes place, we'll likely
>>> find a significantly higher
>>> percentage of Hilo voters registered, with a proportionate skewing of
>>> ballot results.
>>> In the past, the County Clerk's office had 'walk in' voting- and kept
>>> the
>>
>>> Hilo polls open
>>> longer hours than elsewhere on the island. Is there some federal voting
>>> protection, or do
>>> we just have to grin and pay for it with our taxes? Am I overreacting?
>>> Thanks for any
>>> feedback. Marshall
Marshall, As you know, the County Building is being vacated by the end
>> of
>> July or first part of August, because of mold and mildew--plus a 40+ year
>> old roof that has never been fixed (because of asbestos they say)and
>> leaks
>> like a sieve.
>>
>> Because the Elections Division had to be up and running early this year
>> (an
>> election year) we had to find a place for them. They are in the old
>> Penny's
>> store that will soon have other tenants, but it was also found that being
>> in
>> a Mall was a great advantage for the public. When the County building is
>> renovated, all the divisions and departments that moved out will be
>> moving
>> back in -- and that includes Elections Division.
>>
>> The "Elections Division" is responsible for ALL registrations, nomination
>> papers, candidates, etc. the entire office is in the Mall. One serves
>> the
>> entire island.
>>
>> I recall one year we had a Registration Booth in the Mall a few doors
>> down
>> from Ross's. Some local citizens actually made arrangements for using it
>> since it was vacant at the time. If there were no problems with the
>> County
>> Building, the Elections Division would still be in it. At one time there
>> was also a voter registration booth at the Keauhou Shopping Center for a
>> short time.
>>
>> I hope this helps to explain why the Elections Division is where it is.
>> It
>> is temporary... Aloha, Virginia
Thanks Virginia. I knew the official 'cover story'. Why did the elections
> division not
> move to the space occupied by one of the other departments, and they to
> Kuhio
> Mall? The answer is in the resolutrion you kindly forwarded to me:
> " Whereas the temporary move to Kuhio Plaza could increase voter
> registration"
> (read "in Hilo but not elsewhere in the county") "and absentee voter
> turnout
> due to its high visibility , convenient location and a high volume of foot
> traffic..."
> (read "of 99% Hilo/East Hi. residents")
> This is precisely the inequity I see- one I suspect that a Federal
> elections commission
> would find unacceptable. Would it be acceptable, to take a very extreme
> example of
> the same issue, to put voting machines in Kuhio Mall, but not elsewhere in
> the County?
> I think not- all districts should have equal access to voting machines
> and/or ballots,
> and all districts should have equal county sponsored voter registration
> drives, with equal
> convenience to register. This seems to me to be one more power grab by
> East Hawaii,
> and I am frankly astounded that those who were supposedly representing
> other districts
> rolled over and played dead for the Hilo machine.
> Thanks for so speedily sending me the documents which I did not have, and
> the official
> cover story which is what I already guessed would be the rationalization.
>
> Best wishes,Marshall
>
>>
>>> Tell me if I am overly picky and senile, or if there is a problem. July
>>> 1
>>> I was
>>> in Hilo in Kuhio Mall, when I walked past a storefront with windows
>>> emblazoned
>>> with American flags and signs for Wiki-Wiki voter registration. As I got
>>> to the door,
>>> I saw that it was the transplanted Hawaii County Voter office.
>>> Great idea to spend large amounts of tax dollars for very expensive
>>> shopping mall space;
>>> most everyone in Hilo must pass through Kuhio Mall, so what great place
>>> to
>>
>>> register voters,
>>> even at high cost.
>>> The problem I have with this, is that I know of no other high traffic
>>> area
>>
>>> in the county where
>>> such a voter registration 'drive' is in progress. As a matter of fact, I
>>> can't think of even a
>>> hot dog stand to do this elsewhere on the island. It seems to me as
>>> though
>>
>>> the playing field
>>> is not level; when the next mayoral election takes place, we'll likely
>>> find a significantly higher
>>> percentage of Hilo voters registered, with a proportionate skewing of
>>> ballot results.
>>> In the past, the County Clerk's office had 'walk in' voting- and kept
>>> the
>>
>>> Hilo polls open
>>> longer hours than elsewhere on the island. Is there some federal voting
>>> protection, or do
>>> we just have to grin and pay for it with our taxes? Am I overreacting?
>>> Thanks for any
>>> feedback. Marshall
Marshall, As you know, the County Building is being vacated by the end
>> of
>> July or first part of August, because of mold and mildew--plus a 40+ year
>> old roof that has never been fixed (because of asbestos they say)and
>> leaks
>> like a sieve.
>>
>> Because the Elections Division had to be up and running early this year
>> (an
>> election year) we had to find a place for them. They are in the old
>> Penny's
>> store that will soon have other tenants, but it was also found that being
>> in
>> a Mall was a great advantage for the public. When the County building is
>> renovated, all the divisions and departments that moved out will be
>> moving
>> back in -- and that includes Elections Division.
>>
>> The "Elections Division" is responsible for ALL registrations, nomination
>> papers, candidates, etc. the entire office is in the Mall. One serves
>> the
>> entire island.
>>
>> I recall one year we had a Registration Booth in the Mall a few doors
>> down
>> from Ross's. Some local citizens actually made arrangements for using it
>> since it was vacant at the time. If there were no problems with the
>> County
>> Building, the Elections Division would still be in it. At one time there
>> was also a voter registration booth at the Keauhou Shopping Center for a
>> short time.
>>
>> I hope this helps to explain why the Elections Division is where it is.
>> It
>> is temporary... Aloha, Virginia
Thanks Virginia. I knew the official 'cover story'. Why did the elections
> division not
> move to the space occupied by one of the other departments, and they to
> Kuhio
> Mall? The answer is in the resolutrion you kindly forwarded to me:
> " Whereas the temporary move to Kuhio Plaza could increase voter
> registration"
> (read "in Hilo but not elsewhere in the county") "and absentee voter
> turnout
> due to its high visibility , convenient location and a high volume of foot
> traffic..."
> (read "of 99% Hilo/East Hi. residents")
> This is precisely the inequity I see- one I suspect that a Federal
> elections commission
> would find unacceptable. Would it be acceptable, to take a very extreme
> example of
> the same issue, to put voting machines in Kuhio Mall, but not elsewhere in
> the County?
> I think not- all districts should have equal access to voting machines
> and/or ballots,
> and all districts should have equal county sponsored voter registration
> drives, with equal
> convenience to register. This seems to me to be one more power grab by
> East Hawaii,
> and I am frankly astounded that those who were supposedly representing
> other districts
> rolled over and played dead for the Hilo machine.
> Thanks for so speedily sending me the documents which I did not have, and
> the official
> cover story which is what I already guessed would be the rationalization.
>
> Best wishes,Marshall
>
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