PUNA VILLAGE

[Carolann R]

Last week I had the great opportunity to be up in Honoka'a...THAT is a cute town. It's everything you want to see in a little Hawaiian town, and the storefronts were nice with fresh paint and the street was clean and traffic moved nicely. Lots of all kinds of stores from ice cream/bakery to antiques and specialty shops. Very nice.

I also think Honomu is a nice example. Change scares people, but why can't Pahoa just be cared for?

I don't think we HAVE to see a "California" makeover here, but it would be nice to see Pahoa taken better care of.

I've never shopped in Cash & Carry. I admit I do go to Malama, etc. I do shop at the Natural Foods Store.

Carrie

"In through a doorway she brings me
White gold and pearls stolen from the sea..." U2

[aprild]

Kathy,

I totally agree with you about Mendocino. A lovely, incredible place until about 1986...then downhill all the way. I remember saying to a friend, when I first saw the wonderful Cookie Company (and the first place where you could get a good cup of coffee in town), "Watch. It's all downhill from here." That was Mendo's heigh day: five nights a week, you could walk from one venue/bar to another to hear and dance to live, local music. It was so much fun. There were also 5 dress shops in town, each one with great clothing. All gone now.

What killed Mendo was the influx of Southern Californians (I call them L.Aliens) who had their own idea of what Mendo should be. They didn't move in and see what was going on there and try to fit in, but rather, altered the place to fit their own limited experience and ideas. They could afford the high prices that drove the locals out of town. But they needed to make a living, not being content to be dirt poor like those of us who lived here. I now no longer even stop in Mendocino, but prefer to go to Ft. Bragg. In the 'old days' that was just the reverse. Now F.B. seems more 'real.' Mendocino resembles Disneyland--with the hold-out--Dick's.

But...if Pahoa does not do something, it will die and that will be a shame. It has a lot of potential. And it sounds like nothing has changed since the mid-80's. It's difficult to control 'progress'--we're so into 'freedom' of expression and capitalism. But Makawao, Maui, is still pretty cool, even though it's filled with touristy businesses. At least it's alive. It is not all shiny and new, still looks like a small Hawaiian town. But will it stay that way? Probably not forever. Paia has become a busy, happening place instead of the ghost town it was in the early '80's. Good and bad comes along with financial vibrancy.

Another issue is: you want businesses you like, but if the locals don't support them, they are likely to go under. A dilemma. Could the landlords be urged to work with store owners? Will the local population support new businesses?

If the citizens of Puna don't do something, some developer from out of town will come in, eventually, and, most likely, do something deplorable with the town.

Is there a Chamber of Commerce in Pahoa or any organization that addresses these issues?



april

[emorata]

It would be interesting to find out from their historical groups or business associations how they were able to revitalized their downtown sector through private or public funds....or as some have mentioned taking a lead in developing a destination situation.

I would think that there are some funds within the tourist/tax fund to help revitalize the historic center for tourism and yet preserve services for locals....its a small strip so gotta have both - i think it works very well in honokaa, although honomu tends to be more tourist oriented in their storefronts.

[Bob Orts]

Is this what everyone is thinking of?:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent...0_0005.HTM

It's the backbone of many redevelopment projects of commerical areas on the mainland and it works.

[Carey]

Bob, Hawaii County does have the Enterprise Zones, and our council woman was in the paper this morning wanting to extend the Enterprise Zone to parts of Volcano & Kawaihae
That said, If landowners or renters do not put up some money, the structures will not get fixed up.
(Part of this has to do with living in an area where structures are dashed in a moment...why would you fix it up if it could be destroyed tomorrow? Tornado Alley has many property owners with much the same mind set....added to this the past stagnation/devaluation of property, and you can see how money to upkeep could be seen as throwing it away...)
To fix up buildings is not a "California mindset", as many of the most intact well-preserved towns I have seen are on the east coast. But there has to be owner pride in the structure...I have seen where a local government tries to push a landowner to fix up a builiding for safety codes (he had, among many things, fire staircases pulling off of the wall, hanging loose,) and the owner has pushed against 'government interference'. This escalated into a battle of decades & wills....the loosers, the surrounding buildings, the renters that signed leases with this guy only to be shut down for the safety issues, the current & potential customers & the town & this guy...everyone lost out...so how to encourage a landowner/renter population without pushing them into a government issue? (I can see the same isssues here that were in in the example above from IL)

[Bob Orts]

Carey, In an Enterprise Zone, tax breaks and incentives are supposed to reduce property owners and business operating expanses so they can put that back into operational improvements. But like you said, they have to put up the money and hope their tax savings offset the improvements. There's other things that goes into it as well that makes it unattractive since it's geared more towards the businesses improvements not necessarily the improvements of the zone.

In a Special Assessment District (or Business Improvement District) you have no tax breaks or incentives. The property owners agree that the area needs improvement. They figure out what they need to do to stem blight, increase employment, reduce vacancy rates, attract business, advertise themselves, attract tourism, and all the other "community" things that goes into revitalizing the area. They come up with a financial plan and a fair and equitable way for each property in the District to pay for it.

From there they ask the County to partner with them on this plan. That partnership is using the county's tax collection system to assess the additional agreed upon amount above the normal property tax. The District is basically self taxing themselves to meet a common community objective. The County can, if they think it helps, float a bond for the improvements and repay themselves through the special assessment. The County only has general fiscal oversight of the additional assessment, but it's the elected District Board made up of property, business, residential, and other economic development people who control the District’s operation.

I've been involved in forming several and if properly done, it can turn a blighted area with little hope of economic recovery into a shining star. It's all based on the simple philosophy that good things come to those that help themselves. (Not to mention it’s already authorized in Hawaii law and has already been done in Hawaii so you’re not reinventing the wheel)

[mella l]

Here is a site of an organization that I believe is working at addressing the Pahoa situation.

http://mainstreetpahoa.punaweb.org/MSPAPageHome.asp

Also if you go to

www.punaweb.org

the main page of our forum, down at the bottom of the page is a link to the newsletter (PDF file) that speaks to many of the issues of concern that this thread brings up.

Our own Rob Tucker is involved with this Pahoa Main Street Association, perhaps those of us on island presently can lend a hand. It does seem there are plenty of desires to save this treasured spot. Talent is needed!

Ok turn off your spout mella!


mella l

Edited by - mella l on 10/03/2007 08:21:26

[punagirl]

BBQ in Pahoa: There used to be a BBQ about 6yrs ago. I don't think it lasted very long. It was there on one vacation and we were back about 7 months later & it was gone. It was in the spot where the pizza place is.

Cash & Carry: Yeah, it's nasty. I wouldn't consider buying perishibles from there. But at least it was around to save folks from a drive to Keaau before Malama. It is fine for ice, soda, newspaper etc. My husband has two tee shirts from there from years ago. They are pretty cool & have the logo with the little volcano on it. He cherishes them just like his Primo beer tee shirt. I would HATE to see a neon sign announcing Pahoa with a volvano on it. You were joking, right Glen

I would like to see Puna spruced up a bit. Maybe a few new places to eat (please, no chains!!) and maybe a nice gift type shop or a small book/record store. I think it needs to keep some of it's funkiness though. I like the idea of an art gallery. It doesn't have to be too highbrow.

It would be nice to see a few businesses that served the residents.

A nice full service drug store is the only chain type thing I could see wanting in Pahoa.

And as for Paul's, I still try to buy gas there when I am on BI.


Atlanta/Pahoa

[jdirgo]

Pahoa has a neon volcano sign -- its right on the side of the Cash'n'Carry building.

John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com

[Carolann R]

The Puna Pharmacy which is owned by John who used to work at Pahoa Pharmacy is amazing. They are friendly (which is something that we NEVER got at Pahoa Rx) and fast. They are also open quite a bit of the time, and don't take huge long lunches that we have to wait for. It's a great addition to the Pahoa Marketplace.

Carrie

"In through a doorway she brings me
White gold and pearls stolen from the sea..." U2

Edited by - Carolann R on 10/09/2007 10:23:55