Kona land designated
as wildernessLingle creates the area during
a visit to the Big Island for the
state Republican convention
HUALALAI, Hawaii >> During a speech to the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Gov. Linda Lingle signed a bill creating a 22,000-acre wilderness area in South Kona, south of Milolii.
Gilbert Kahele, president of the community group Paa Pono Milolii, which worked for years to limit growth in the area, noted that the wilderness designation costs nothing and management will cost little.
Several thousand acres in the designated area are owned by Oahu developer Jeff Stone, but he has indicated willingness to participate in a land swap, Lingle and Kahele said. Both credited Rep. Robert Herkes (D, Volcano-Kainaliu) with getting the bill passed, although Lingle added that Herkes started as a Republican.
Many in the audience were Republicans, gathered for the state convention at Waikoloa Resort today.
Lingle named three projects to ease traffic along Queen Kaahumanu Highway in North Kona. They are: widening the highway for about two miles north of Kailua-Kona with no cost estimate yet; resurfacing of about 30 miles of the road for $10 million; and added shoulders and guardrails in the same stretch for $8 million.
But Lingle's broader message was that there is not any money now for most projects.
Asked about a long-projected Kona campus of the University of Hawaii, she said she understands that it's part of people's dreams for Kona, but "it's going to be a while."
"The (state government) revenue picture keeps getting smaller and smaller. We simply have to start with living within our means," she said.
The state has done well by not creating new taxes, except for a departure tax for overseas flights, and the Hurricane Relief Fund has not been raided, she noted.
Lingle also talked about existing facilities that might pay their own way.
The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, an energy and aquaculture development site north of Kailua-Kona, should be put on a "self-sufficiency track," she said.
The facility should become a site that "incubates" new businesses, "not a place where business starts and stays."
Privatization of Honokohau Harbor should be explored, she said. The state may hold a public meeting in June to begin the discussion, she said.