I also think there are other ways that we can grow our economy by channeling, appropriately managing and harnessing the tourism revenue we do have in our local economy, so a higher percentage reach and benefit local residents. Im committed to having an open- door policy and look forward to working with our businesses. For the 14 years that I have served on the Kauai County Council, I have always had an open door policy for the business community. We must ensure it meets the highest and best environmental standards and we do everything we can to mitigate impact to surrounding communities and the environment. TVRs on Kauai are taxed at $9.85. To start the county could start with preparing and feeding our soil to give agriculture ventures a boost when they are ready. I hear theres a big surplus. 3. I humbly ask for your vote, as an opportunity to give back to what has been given to me. Another focus is to create infrastructure incentives for workforce housing and affordable housing in town core centers such as Hanapp, Kloa, Lhue, Kapaa, and Klauea. What qualifies me most is the genuine concern I have for Kaua`i and Ni`ihau and my commitment to making a difference! Some owners may return to live in them full-time. And, of course, I really appreciate all of you being willing to engage with us when we reach out to you! We must continue to support our local agriculture, local service providers, and local producers in order to establish a more resilient and sustainable community. But, rather than trying to micromanage the Administration, I spend the bulk of my time thinking about and working on policy that I do have discretion over. I will continue this practice if elected. As for steps Id take, I will.. work to ensure that our land use, capital improvements and all our programming considers our statewide and county plans and policies addressing climate change and sea level rise continue supporting Housing & Planning bills that increase housing and livability in our town cores so people can live close to jobs, services & recreation and rely less on driving. Making sure our County works closely with the Dept. The next step will be to develop measures that can be brought before the council as bills and resolutions that will help to facilitate the needs that are identified. L EGISLATIVE B RANCH 4396 Rice Street, Suite 209 . QUESTION #11What is your solution to best manage solid waste on Kaua`i? I have over thirty years experience working and volunteering in Government, Labor Unions, Non-Profits and Community Organizations. I value the main premise of the Kauai Destination Management Action Plan guiding the aim to rebuild, redefine and reset the direction of tourism over a three-year period. There is a maze of changing regulations that are best served by following a quick timeline to avoid the next limitation. While we advocate for healing ourselves, we must also demand healing for our environment. We need to redefine the term affordable housing and focus on removing cost barriers for developers to be able to provide housing units that is truly affordable. This is relatively close to DMAP policy A.2, the Universal Fee Model. I believe we must find ways to discourage off shore vacation rental home buying, which is playing a part in pushing local families out of the market. Evolving environmental regulations have eliminated any new location to be an appropriate site for our next landfill. We have an opportunity to diversify into growing more of our own food within the farming and ranching Department. I will be creating a 90 day 180 day plan to suggest we implement immediately. With permitted worker housing on farms, the likelihood of economic productivity is strengthened. I will work with and support our Mayor, our Office of Economic Development and our Community & Business leaders to implement our Kauai Comprehensive Economic Development Strategic (CEDS) Plan for 2022-2026; most recently completed by community stakeholders from all six of our target industry clusters on Nov. 30, 2021. There was a net increase of 133 TVRs on Kauai in 2022. My first focus would be to help local working families by creating incentives and reducing the financial barriers for additional dwelling units and additional rental units. The candidates for the Kaua'i County Council include, at top from left, the Rev. We live in a very special place in the world. My 10 years of involvement locally in State and County politics has led me to understanding that this is a way to make a difference for the betterment of Kauai and our people. Josh Green appointed former councilmember Luke Evslin to his direct staff. Protecting Our `Aina & Sustenance Lifestyles Protecting our Natural Resources, Agriculture (farming & ranching) & Local Sustenance Lifestyles (gardening, gathering, hunting & fishing). I envision reversing our current status quo to where 80% of our food comes from Kauai rather than imported. We are currently working on three major housing projects and recently just completed two. While its not yet clear how those funds will be distributed to the counties, we can help set up incentives and possibly mandates for EV charging infrastructure to ensure that we can hit the ground running to maximize the amount of funding we receive. One part of the plan calls for us to transition to a new regenerative tourism; one that gives back more than it takes. ', Were either going to offer more service, improve areas that were failing at, or were going to cut the tax rate and give people a tax break, Kagawa concluded. It is an excellent blueprint for managing tourism on Kauai. I have the time to attend boards and commission meetings, community events, and have on-site visits with constituents, neighborhoods and businesses for stronger understanding of their specific needs. Past administrations and councils do not favor audits for reasons that I cannot comprehend. Josh Green appointed to represent House District 16 in the state House of Representatives earlier this month. This sets up a more regenerative visitor economy. However, I have also been interested in bringing parity to the existing tax rate structure by increasing the rate of Transient Vacation Rentals to the same level as Resorts. Although many, including myself, had hoped for a Curbside Recycling Program by now, our Mayor and Administration has determined it isnt economically feasible because of the extreme cost and because it would only increase our diversion rate by 5%. Point-source reduction is an area where the Chamber of Commerce could be a valuable partner in challenging their membership to reduce waste creation as each business best sees fit. I was born and raised in Kapahi and I understand the issues that matter to our islands. I also helped spearhead sending a Council charter amendment proposal to the voters to approve dedicating 2% (est. My goal is to be proactive with our administration and work with each department to understand how we can create more efficiency in our systems. I would love to partner with the Kauai Chamber for a point-source reduction challenge among businesses to reduce pressure on our landfill. Questions included, but were not limited . Making plots available at all our County housing projects for vegetable gardens; these could be the training grounds for future vegetable farmers. I went to Kapaa Elementary, Kapaa Middle and Kapaa High School. Instead it may drive away enduring ownership of committed part-time residents who have deep ties to the community, often being a valuable resource. Our landfill is almost full and recycling needs to be made a number one priority. We absolutely need to do all that we can collectively to address our housing shortage disaster! If the Master Plan does not contain an option for no-growth in arriving flights, I think its important for our State Legislators to commit to not fund improvements meant to expand capacity. Diversification is a buzz word that to many political candidates toss around with no plan to back it up. For example, the nonprofit I lead, Rice Street Business Association, works directly with Zero Waste Kauai and every event that happens in Downtown Lhue diverts waste and appropriately allocates materials towards composting and recycling. You cant take a risk on starting a business if you cant afford rent. I have a plan for this, and I dont want to reveal at this time because of known objections. This problem reveals the policy conflicts between our infrastructure needs and allowing zoning approvals to lie dormant for decades. HONOLULU - United States District Judge Derrick K. Watson sentenced Arthur Brun, age 50, a former member of the Kauai County Council, yesterday to serve 20 years in federal prison for drug trafficking, assault of a federal law enforcement officer, witness tampering, evidence tampering, and firearm offenses. My sons are now young men able to help me, rather than needing my attention. We would need to work together to look at giving incentives to property owners who rent out their home for a reasonable rate i.e. With the proposed Maalo landfill site rejected by the state Department of Transportation because of concerns around the impact of birds on our airport, the county is beginning the process of siting a new landfill. Lastly, we must increase local demand for local ingredients so local production can be scaled. When it comes to accepting grants and opportunities for support I will absolutely accept and seek out federal and state support to plan for and mitigate expected impacts to our resources and communities. I have tried to raise the vacation rental rate to equal the resort rate twice at budget (2019 and 2022). In college I took courses in climate science and learned about climate adaptation and mitigation. This is one of the most major issues that we face on Kauai. My upbringing in a local family of fishermen, gardeners, gatherers, & hunters taught me the value of our `aina for our survival; for food sustainability & security. I will work with my colleagues to obtain all forms of funding to address our infrastructure needs. We have implemented a shoreline set back already. Project site was mass graded and designed to have a combined drainage system with a shared roadway. We cannot achieve economic diversification if the next generation cant afford to live here. In a memo to the Hawaii Tax Review Commission, the Commission Chair Beth Giesting writes that: Hawaiis low RPT rates result in low annual expenses, and that also makes local real estate a relative bargain for investors and affluent second home purchasersto the extent that units are purchased for vacation rentals or second homes, there is less housing available for people who live here., #3 If youre taking a home off the housing market, then you should help with the construction of an affordable home. Posted in . The other candidates for seven positions are Addison Bulosan, Bernard Carvalho, Felicia Cowden, Billy DeCosta, Luke. Growing more food locally and less reliance on ag imports. The other candidates for seven positions are Addison Bulosan, Bernard Carvalho, Felicia Cowden, Billy DeCosta,. They have a great start with the community partnerships. I believe that the first step in dealing with transient accommodations on Kauai is to enforce existing laws and eliminating all illegal transient vacation and short term rentals.
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