SAVE OUR BEACH!

[Sam Son]

Three years ago the state legislature tried to give the Department of Land and Natural Resources $250,000 to figure out how to separate the swimmers and boaters who were both using Pohoiki Bay at Isaac Hale Park (House Bill 1200-2018 and Senate Bill 841 - 2018).  One year later divine intervention solved the problem for them by plugging up the boat access with volcanic debris while leaving the last surf break on the Puna Coast for the local population to enjoy.  
   Now the DLNR is proposing to spend eight-to-nine million dollars on a "short-term solution (that) involves driving sheet piles on either side of the existing boat ramp entrance channel and dredging the channel," according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald  (Feb.28, 2020).
   Sure there are far better places along the Puna coastline to quickly build a functioning boat ramp for less money than it would take to try to resuscitate the dead one.  But looking at the land management skills demonstrated by the DLNR at the subdivision they developed along the Mauna Kea Access Road, do we really want them futzing around in our district, too?

[kalakoa]

Bottom line: "rehab" of an existing location will cost less than a "new build" at some other location, but available funding will not match the "community interest" and ultimately nothing will be built anywhere.

Any new location will need to pass "protectors of the sacred land" before being considered; during consideration, it will be discovered that the new location isn't appropriate ("too close to someone's house") or accessible ("no roads/water/other infrastructure"). The community will insist on a location which requires a $50M build, and that just won't happen. Especially in Puna, land of worthless subdivisions.

Our best bet is to collect money for studies. Perhaps our new Council can propose a "studies tax" that funnels some of this money into the district being studied, rather than the current system where studies are conducted (and thus, checks cashed) from Portland and/or San Diego.

[terracore]

Why don't they build a boat ramp financed by a bond that is repaid by use fees by the boat operators who use it?

That way the 0.01% of the population that actually uses the boat ramp can finance it's construction and maintenance?

That is similar to how the airports are operated.

If the boat ramp was critical infrastructure, where is the FEMA grant to pay for it's replacement?