This letter is in regards to the Aug. 24 front-page article “Citizen Panels Put on Hold.” The article was critical of the suspension of advisory committee meetings and holdovers with expired terms. I am one of the holdovers for the Kona Community Development Plan Action Committee (KCDP AC). I have been serving on this volunteer Committee since 2014 through three different administrations. I too am waiting for someone to replace me. However, I also know that it is never a good thing to have eight out of nine members replaced at once because you lose the institutional knowledge of the group.
I also received the letter from Planning Director Zendo Kern letting us know that the remainder of 2022 KCDP AC meeting would be suspended due to the lack of staff time. Was I happy about it? Of course not. Do I understand the rationale? Absolutely.
Here’s the reality. Almost all employers are looking for qualified workers. Both the private sector and public sector are under strain. If you are not aware of this, just look around and start talking to working people who are helping you in your day-to-day activities. The Planning Department is no different, they too are understaffed.
But I have a bit of good news. Our KCDP AC subcommittee has worked on the Kona Open Space Network since 2015 culminating in a report that was presented to the full Committee in January of 2018. With full support from the KCDP AC, Planning Director Yee, and Mayor Kim, the Planning Department was poised to issue a Kona Open Space Plan Request for Proposal in the third quarter of 2019. Then everything came to a halt March 2020 due to the pandemic. In April 2021 our subcommittee met with Planning Director Kern and Mayor Roth to discuss the Kona Open Space Network. The new administration enthusiastically supported our efforts and a Long Range Planner was assigned to this project. It is my understanding that even though our KCDP AC meetings have been suspended, planning staff is still moving forward on consultant selection for our Kona Open Space Network. I am very satisfied with that decision.
I look forward to community outreach meetings hosted by the county and led by landscape architects and planners to help us design a truly unique Kona Open Space Network. My personal opinion is that when designed properly it will create public places for all, create nonvehicular connections between neighborhoods, serve as green areas to slow down run-off by making areas for rainwater to filter and percolate, trees for shade and carbon absorption, and bring into our awareness archaeological sites that are to be respected and preserved. When the time comes for these meetings, I’m sure there will be advertisements in the newspaper. Look for those announcements and please join in.
Kari Kimura is a resident of Holualoa.