Hawaii County Parks as the foundation for an Eco-tourism Industry
The Economy, Jobs and Hawaii County Parks
Update August 2010: To increase jobs on Hawaii island and seek federal funding, the county and the state could develop an eco-tourism industry based on our 4 national parks: Kaloko- Honokohau, Pu’ukohola Heiau, Pu’uhonua O Honaunau, Volcanoes National Park and linked by our 175 mile long national historic trail, the Ala Kahakai Trail. To see the management plan go to: http://www.nps.gov/alka/.
Since less people are able to afford expensive vacations, we can establish an eco-tourism industry to appeal to middle income Americans with camping, biking and hiking. We are blessed with one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. This area could be developed as an eco-tourism destination, with a “blue trail” for canoes and kayaks and a “brown trail” for hikers, bikers and campers.
Unemployed construction workers could be put to work building a parallel trail along the Ala Kahakai Trail for the 175 miles from Upolu Point to Volcanoes National Park. The Civilian Conservation Corp built trails during the New Deal Era. Land Fund monies could be used to obtain matching funds to acquire coastline conservation easements. The state could grant a conservation easement on state land to provide the land for these trails. In addition, this shoreline setback would assure coastline access and buffer our reefs from run-off and sedimentation, helping to preserve diving, snorkeling and commercial and sport fishing. The Kona Community Development Plan supports these ideas.
The following article was published as a West Hawaii Today letter to the Editor, December 2008
Hawaii County’s number one industry is tourism. There are tourists that we could be serving, who like to camp, hike, fish, kayak, explore the island and enjoy ocean sports. Tourism is a sustainable industry and eco-tourists are respectful of the land and ocean. We have hotels in North Kohala for wealthy tourists, but we have few activities and camping areas for middle-income families. We can expand our parks for our families and as the basis for an eco-tourism industry. We could have tourists coming back year after year if we provide recreational activities for them to spend time with families and places to camp.
The Parks Department could be reorganized into three teams for expansion/acquisition, design/ remodeling and construction/ maintenance. Do you think we need more parks? NOW is the time to buy! The Mulitiple Listing Service statistics say the land values have decreased by 28.42% island wide. The Parks department could have a person able to negotiate real estate acquisition deals. The County could use the 2% money (approximately $3.5 to $4 million per year) to fund the payments on approximately $50 million worth of bonds to purchase more properties for parks. This would be at no additional cost to taxpayers or the county. If there was an in-house parks designer, we could develop these properties as funds became available. State and Federal funding could be tapped for park development. Parks and open space do not require expensive government services such as roads, sewers, schools, police and firemen. Capital projects such as park development inject money into the economy to help provide jobs for workers. We could open more hiking trails if the Council can pass legislation, which will indemnify the property owners from lawsuits. County parks are indemnified from lawsuits if citizens get injured, why can’t we indemnify private property owners who allow hikers to use the trails?
Right now many of our parks need remodeling. Maintenance has been deferred for too long. The maintenance of parks is a property management function. In commercial real estate, funding is established as part of the yearly budget to do routine maintenance like roof repair, irrigation, landscaping and special cleaning. For many of our parks there are groups called Friends of the Park, each of these ohanas knows what is needed and wanted by local park users. The Parks department could meet with these groups and the councilmember for each district and compile a punch list of what repairs are needed. A plan for protection for each park needs to be developed. The Parks budget should reflect citizens’ needs and requests. Funding for these projects should be included in the budget for 2009-2010. Top priorities on the underserved west side would be the proposed Waimea regional park and the Old Airport Park in Kona. After the Great Depression, Roosevelt realized that it was imperative to provide jobs for unemployed workers to stimulate the economy, which he partly accomplished with the New Deal and the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Park development and remodeling can put construction workers back to work, provide more recreation opportunities for our citizens and provide the foundation for an eco-tourism industry.
The Parks Department should have at least two in-house work crews for simple remodeling and maintenance such as landscaping, plumbing, carpentry, trails, walkways, ramps and painting. It would be cheaper and more efficient for the Parks Department to handle these projects in-house. We could boost the economy and put more people back to work; we could establish a list of contractors to bid on smaller jobs under $300,000. This would hopefully result in more competitive bidding, lower prices for the County and accelerate the completion of work.
At the inauguration Mayor Kenoi said, “Now is the time for leadership.” I hope that the Kenoi administration will see the opportunities presented in this economic downturn to acquire more parks properties with Open Space Bond money, provide jobs for citizens and inject money into the economy by remodeling our parks, building new facilities and by providing long term employment by building a sustainable eco-tourism industry.