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+--- Thread: Puna Council Offices (/showthread.php?tid=11261)
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Puna Council Offices - opihikao - 01-02-2013
Where do we all think our Council district office(s) should be? Should it be two separate offices, and two separate buildings, or can both council representatives operate out of one larger office? Puna, after all, is one. (with two votes! [
])http://westhawaiitoday.com/sections/news/local-news/old-pahoa-police-station-%E2%80%98nonprofit%E2%80%99-leases-may-end.html
RE: Puna Council Offices - Rene Siracusa - 01-02-2013
The current council office for D. 4 is located in D. 5; the councilman for D. 5 maintains his office at the county building in Hilo. The D.4 office, on a month-to-month basis, costs us more than $2,000/mo plus utilities. Granted, it is a benefit to Puna residents to be able to attend and testify at council meetings via teleconferencing at the office, and allows Greggor to be more accessible to his constituents, but is it worth the $2,000 when money is tight?
Nancy Cook Lauer's article states that none of the current tenants of the old Pahoa police station are nonprofits. Wrong. Kokua Pahoa, which is the nonprofit successor to Pahoa Weed and Seed, was incorporated with the State as a domestic nonprofit on Dec. 21, 2010. It is a Hawaii Domestic Nonprofit Corporation.
It had to wait to apply for the federal designation until it had raised the funds to pay the substantial IRS application fee. It did this in July 2012. The IRS has not acted yet on that application, and a recent inquiry to them was revealing: their investigators are still reviewing applications dated Feb. 2012. So, they are really backed up. They did, however, cash the check in August that paid the fee.
Kokua Pahoa, just like Pahoa Weed and Seed, is comprised of delegates from both County agencies (Mayor's office, Prosecutor's office, police dept., R&D and OHCD) and local nonprofits (Malama O Puna, Ka'ohe Homesteads Neighborhood Watch, Puna Community Medical Center, HOPE,Salvation Army, etc.)So not only was the old police station leased to a group of county agencies, but at least 5 nonprofits.
Another error of Lauer's was the statement that the current tenants would not be willing to share the space with Ilagan. Madie Greene's words were misquoted to create the opposite impression.
This is not the first time that Nancy Cook Lauer has twisted the facts in order to create a tempest in a teapot. Scandal, or at least perceived scandal, sells papers. But it does a major disservice to community groups that are working hard to provide services and improve the quality of life in Puna. And by her unwillingness to engage in more detailed research and talk to people in the know, she has sacrificed truth on the altar of Mammon. I no longer accept without question any story with her byline. She has cried "Wolf" too often.
RE: Puna Council Offices - opihikao - 01-02-2013
Puna needs to have an office available in the area, hopefully, for both Council persons. $2,000 per month (plus utilities) is the cost of having accessibility in our district.
Why should our Council people and citizens be shorted, while other districts get an office in their area? Driving to Hilo daily (in this traffic) is counterproductive, and will not provide access to the respective council persons (Dist. 4&5).
IMO, the media, as a whole, is full of propaganda these days. Moreso, we need direct communication with our representatives, and the County departments through a local PUNA office.
It boggles my mind to think this County would not afford the largest growing district in our State an office for their representatives. The way the budget looks, there's other area to cut from instead of Puna. Again.
Heck, take it out of the geothermal funds! IMO, it would be money well spent. Consider it a "relocation". (ducking...)
RE: Puna Council Offices - Seeb - 01-03-2013
You could rent a whole house for an office in District 4 for half of that or less
RE: Puna Council Offices - Rob Tucker - 01-03-2013
Seeb, you are right, you could. But the council office is a commercial use, not AG or residential.
RE: Puna Council Offices - kalakoa - 01-03-2013
Assuming that "government uses" are also exactly "commercial", my read of the regs suggests that the "commercial use" would be a "home occupation" which is a conditional use for R, and a fully "special" use for Ag.
However, these happen to be the people who grant the permits; they could write themselves anything they want -- and if that's somehow "inappropriate", well, it's no worse than granting a no-bid contract...
In all seriousness, this is a special enough case that it deserves some magic language in the Code, with some very strict requirements. Off the top of my head:
* "must be an independent lot" so that no subdivision gets the perceived "advantage" of a resident Council
* same neighbor notification process as a Special Use
* good access and plenty of parking
RE: Puna Council Offices - Rob Tucker - 01-03-2013
Well, it would be a special use for sure. The issue that would prevent the home occupation thing is traffic and parking. Home occupations, like and accountant, would not have traffic on the level that a council office would.
RE: Puna Council Offices - Seeb - 01-03-2013
the county is exempt from zoning
RE: Puna Council Offices - kalakoa - 01-03-2013
County is not exempt from "irritating the neighbors", and (we hope) not dumb enough to invite the media storm that would result.
They really "should" be in the old police station, rather than granting that space to alleged nonprofits and raising taxes to rent more space elsewhere.
(In defense of said "nonprofits", it's worth noting that IRS is about a year behind processing that particular flavor of paperwork.)
RE: Puna Council Offices - Rob Tucker - 01-03-2013
The county isn't exempt if they are renting.