HONOLULU — Hawaii County’s draft recovery plan to cope with the May 3 lava flow includes a lump sum of $196 million to buy property or compensate landowners in the most risky areas in what is known as Lava Zone 1, according to a document detailing the plan.
However, Hawaii Island Mayor Harry Kim cautioned Monday that amount and the plan itself are still fluid and subject to change.
“It was a comprehensive idea proposal, all the different things that should be discussed and reviewed,” he said. “That was just one of them, because realizing that’s one of the most controversial things.”
On the possibility of buyouts, “some owners may want, some owners may not want to, the legal things that need to be changed, so it was identified to show the complexity of it and the options to pursue,” Kim said. “It’s not even an ask; these are the things that will be looked at so we can say we looked at everything.”
Kim and members of the Hawaii County Council met Monday in Hilo with state lawmakers including House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke and Senate Ways and Means Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz to discuss a package of assistance for the county.
Documents provided to the Hawaii County Council include a draft resolution that details more than $671 million in potential projects that could be undertaken in connection with the lava flow. Those initiatives, if they are pursued, would be funded by the state, federal and county governments, Kim said.
In addition to the possible purchases of property in Lava Zone 1, the draft plan also envisions housing assistance totaling $152 million, including developing a new subdivision on vacant state land in the Keonepoko area of Puna.
It also briefly describes $144 million in public infrastructure projects including roads, a new regional transit hub, relocating the Keaau police and fire stations, replacing a public charter school that was displaced by the lava flow, and replacing beach parks, according to the document.
An economic recovery component of the plan envisions spending $17.5 million to help papaya and flower farmers to relocate, and to replace “visitor products” such as facilities that were damaged in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.
Another proposal, dealing with air quality monitoring and public health warnings, would use $6 million to increase the number of stations for monitoring volcanic emissions and also provide “mental health support” for victims of the eruption.
The eruption that began May 3 has opened 24 fissures and covered more than 6,000 acres of land in Lower Puna with lava, destroying more than 700 homes in the Leilani Estates and Kapoho areas, and burying or isolating more than 1,600 acres of farms.
It has also wiped out jobs in the tourism and farming industries and forced the closure of the national park since May 11. The park was by far the most popular attraction for visitors to the island, and the closure hurt the visitor industry. The county estimates there has been $22 million in losses from the slowdown in hotel bookings alone.
The county initially had proposed that lawmakers meet in a special session this year to provide funding to respond to the eruption, but it is unclear whether that will be necessary.
Dela Cruz said the county agreed to sort through its draft proposals to determine which are the urgent short-term needs and what components are longer term and can be addressed in the next regular session of the state Legislature in January.
Gov. David Ige has already released $12 million in state funding to help the county cope with the immediate eruption costs such as police overtime and operating shelters for eruption evacuees, and he may be able to provide further assistance, Kim said.
“We need additional cash for this period, but even that, a special session is not necessary if the governor can address it,” Kim said.
Luke described the gathering in Hilo as “a really good and productive meeting.” Dela Cruz said lawmakers agreed to meet with county officials again at the end of the month to determine the next steps.
RECOVERY HIGHLIGHTS
Some proposed costs of Hawaii County’s draft recovery plan:
>> $196 million to buy property or compensate landowners in Lava Zone 1
>> $152 million in housing assistance, including developing a new subdivision on vacant state land
>> $144 million in public infrastructure projects
>> $17.5 million to help farmers relocate and to replace “visitor products”
>> $6 million to increase the number of stations for monitoring volcanic emissions and to provide “mental health support” for the victims of the eruption
BY THE NUMBERS
During the Kilauea eruption:
>> 24 fissures have opened
>> 6,000 acres of land have been covered
>> 700-plus homes have been destroyed
>> 1,600 acres of farms have been buried or isolated
The County shouldn’t have allowed construction in Lava Zone 1 in the first place. Think of all of the lost tax money on infrastructure, emergency services, etc. etc. etc.
Now the County is scrambling due to big tax losses:
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The County is now is in the business of making private decisions–to build in Lava Zone 1 and 2 areas–a tax payer responsibility. We all get to share the cost of those homeowners’ decision to build in an area we all know (and knew when they build or purchased a home there) that is inherently very likely to be overrun with lava. We truly do live in the nanny state, a place where individual responsibility means very little, since the government will step in and make the tax payers pay for individual decisions (and yes, just bad luck). I’m wondering if I should just take the insurance off my home, as the precedent is now set that the County will make good on any lost value due to natural disasters.