In addition, I will work with our county administration, state and federal representatives, to execute a comprehensive plan in a timely manner to establish a new trash storage system. 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. 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. Posted in . I will also support efforts to ensure TVRs are properly providing recycling and other ways we can work to limit the waste that ends up in our landfill. I appreciate the goal to rebuild, redefine and reset the direction of tourism over a three-year period. Secondly, I would consider the construction and development of a highly qualified and sought after school for science and technology or arts & music conservatory. I do not have enough information on the Lihue Airport Master Plan, to really support it. If elected, my first priority is to help our council be part of the solution. Josh Green appointed to represent House District 16 in the state House of Representatives earlier this month. Supporting and growing our Kaua`i Made and Kaua`i Grown programs. But, for the reasons stated I think its the right decision. The county recycling program needs to be refreshed as soon as possible. The answer is diversion, diversion, diversion. I will work hard to make public workers accountable to deadlines. We also passed a bill I co-sponsored with Councilmember Evslin supporting tiny houses; legalizing sleeping lofts, lowering ceiling heights & allowing for stairs and ladders designed for small spaces. A small Dairy to produce milk and cheese for our Hawaii population of people and local restaurants and Hotels would be another viable industry if position in the right geographical area, up Mauka. Again, whats most important to me here as well, is to learn from our partners like the Chamber, Kaua`i Visitors Bureau, the Hawai`i Lodging & Tourism Association (HLTA) and all the many stakeholders in our tourism economy who are working on diversifying our economy and rebuilding a new Regenerative Tourism industry, taking the best ideas from the collective and doing what I can to support moving them forward. Administration and Council will then need to secure funding through the budgeting process to qualify for additional funding to start and complete the proposed infrastructure projects. In the next two years, Im looking to implement all of the actions that were identified in the DMAP by the steering committee. Please check out my website at www.lukeevslin.com to see a full list of policies that Ive worked on and a list of proposed policies for the future. We are currently working on three major housing projects and recently just completed two. This middle-income housing shortage has festered for decades on Kauai but has escalated into a crisis with rapid inflation and a strong market demand from the pandemic-driven migrations to rural areas across the nation. And the motion failed both times. My strength as a detailed, numbers guy fighting for our citizens hard-earned tax dollars is needed now more than ever. Our Kauai Climate Change Adaptation Plan will indeed include Managed Retreat, a difficult response to coastal erosion where oceanfront property structures are demolished and rebuilt inland. I oppose any increase in flights at this time. I have worked on landfill monitoring projects before moving home and understand landfills and alternative waste treatment methods. Instead of a white paper, Id hope that the objective would clearly be to decrease the number of vacation rentals that we have on island (1 in 8 homes) and to do it through any means possible, including both zoning and taxation policy. Establishing a carrying capacity and limiting arrivals for Kauai is critical to retaining our quality of life, environment and extending the operation of our infrastructure. I do support expanding our TSA lines and hope that in the plan TSA will also be provided with more up to date equipment so that everyone can get to their next destination. All members of the County Council are elected on a nonpartisan, at-large basis to two-year terms. Josh Green's appointment to fill an empty House seat that covers the island's east. We need to improve our port security and get drugs off our streets while we work to address the issue holistically with counseling programs, on island detox and treatment centers and housing first solutions. For this reason, I am unwilling to raise any Real Property Tax rates in the coming seasons as it is imperative to avoid collapsing our businesses and property owners that are unprotected by a valuation cap. As a small business owner, President of Rice Street Business Association, Board member of Lhue Business Association, and former board member of the Kauai Chamber of Commerce and Kauai Filipino Chamber of Commerce, I love working with our business community in solving our mutual challenges. If all community events adopted a Zero Waste effort, we can reduce our trash significantly. But I would try and Increase agriculture. I know that that could not have been easy to do, and I applaud his efforts to reduce the spread of COVID. We have thousands of ADC ranch and farm lands out on the Westside that needs to be revived. I lived in Germany as an exchange student where 20 years ago recycling is something everyone just does. The County needs to streamline the permitting for affordable housing. And so the plan states clearly that dealing with excessive tourism also means dealing with the supply of visitor units. And it cites the General Plan for ways to reduce the number of transient vacation rentals. I understand we have the lowest property tax rates in Hawaii, and the entire nation. We are wise to remember that these classes of properties have subsidized Kauais working resident-homeowners for decades. Lastly, we must increase local demand for local ingredients so local production can be scaled. 5) We need to continue raising property taxes on vacant second homes and vacation rentals, which make up one in five homes on Kauai. As an individual council member, I have been regularly and actively raising this issue with the County Administration. The other area would be to secure a solid river and stream maintenance program. This page shows you the collective voting record of all the Kauai County Council Members. A social worker, a fire commissioner and a couple of current or former County Council members are in the running to fill two vacant seats in Hawaii's Legislature. As a Council Member I would be committed to addressing these things. Councils job is to approve their efforts and help to fine-tune project strategies through listening to constituents and asking relevant questions. EVSLIN, Luke A. Please feel welcome to call me if you need me. The. Our property tax rates are by far the lowest in the nation, which means that mainland investors find Hawaii an attractive place to park their money and reap the rewards of our appreciating real estate market. In particular, my focus would be for high speed internet access, better roads and bridges, investment in public transit, resilient infrastructure, and investment in environmental remediation. Incentivizing Private Developers & Infill Development in Town Cores Working with Council Chair Kaneshiro, Housing Director Roversi and Mayor Kawakami weve brought about critically needed improvements to our Housing Policy incentivizing private developers to build more units especially in our town core areas close to existing infrastructure where weve also created Special Management Areas encouraging higher density housing projects like four-plexes, townhomes and apartments. I will continue working closely with our Mayor and our Administrations budget team to address any challenges with our budgeting and operations always with our sites on both short-term and long-term sustainability. Kauai County Councilmember Ross Kagawa. 0 of 16 precincts reporting. Although Kauai Now encourages respectful communication only, some content may be considered offensive. LIHU'E In a Wednesday meeting, the new Kaua'i County Council tapped member-elect Mel Rapozo to serve as chair for the next two years. This is an opportunity to put somebody like Fern on the Council to show other people that representation matters and that they should be able to feel like they can put their name in the ring and be given fair consideration.. QUESTION #6If elected, what specific ideas do you have about economic diversification and how would you develop these areas? My environmental science background will help with important decision making around environmental issues that will need to happen in coming years. We need to help our community choose local first. Budgeting Responsibly & Limiting Taxes Budgeting Responsibly, Managing Costs and Limiting Taxes (Being Accountable Always). The plan contains the following six objectives: 1. This power granted by the Kauai County Charter led to a last-minute surge in testimony from residents advocating for Fern nuenue Holland, a community organizer and leader against developers plans to build a hotel at the site of the former Coco Palms resort. However, due the close proximity to the airport and birds that could pose a hazard to the airport area, this location is no longer acceptable. Advocating for watershed protection for continued flow of water in wet seasons and dry. In the short term I would start with adjusting the county pay scale as the core and work outward. The mayors administration is responsible for applying for these typically competitive Federal grants. Im committed to having an open- door policy and look forward to working with our businesses. If elected, my focus will be to work with our administration and departments to secure as much funds as we can to improve our infrastructure on Kauai. ', 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. 2022 - 2024 Kauai County Councilmembers Kauai County Council 4396 Rice Street, Suite 209 Lihue, Hawaii 96766 Telephone: (808) 241-4188 Fax: (808) 241-6349 E-mail sent to all Councilmembers only: Councilmembers@kauai.gov E-mail sent directly to individual Councilmembers: Mel Rapozo, Council Chair KipuKai Kuali'i, Council Vice Chair Reduce, reuse, recycle is a key component. Similarly, the Biden White House released a housing plan that Reward jurisdictions that have reformed zoning and land-use policies with higher scores in certain federal grant processes. Along these lines, its our job to help make these reforms in our zoning code to help set up our various Departments to maximize the chances of receiving grant money. If elected, as the legislative body for our county, our impact on infrastructure projects is to make sure they are funded to be able to accomplish the job. All candidates who filed to run for Kauai County Council was contacted by the Kauai Chamber and given the opportunity to fill out our survey request for the 13 questions. 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. 177 . If we are going to say we have a recycling program we really need to do it. To ensure short and long term fiscal health, we need to: 1) Reinvest in our existing towns. An effective tax rate for these homes can incentivize them to convert to resident housing and help fund the construction of affordable housing. I will look at and instigate funding opportunities via the federal infrastructure bill. QUESTION #13What else would you like to share with the Kauai community? The pandemic has made us realize how important these animals can play in our survival. Vacation rentals were grandfather in long before I became a council member and will be part of our taxable economy. One of my favorite quotes is, Life is in the follow-up. Ill work closely with our departments and do regular follow-ups to make sure things stay on a timeline. We need to work with our Mayor and state delegation to work towards this. Our policies assist Habitat For Humanity and Permanent Affordable Living as two valued non-profit development partners of homes for purchase. And we have enough land to support it all the issues are water infrastructure, high land costs, and low margins leading to a lack of willing farmers. Sounds a lot like our Native Hawaiian values of aloha `aina, kuleana, the kapu system and malama `aina. So we really need to analyze, Well what do we do? I have been supportive of this idea because of the need to encourage long term leases. If we run out of room at the Kekaha landfill without a new landfill ready to go, we may be forced to temporarily ship our waste off island at incredible cost to taxpayers. If elected, my focus will be on legislative bills that enable our local producers to be sustainable businesses and community organizations. Waste diversion is also key in reducing the amount of waste going to the landfill. We need to expand composting capacity, create diversion incentives for generators of commercial green waste and food, and address residential green waste and food waste which make up 28% of landfilled waste. There was a net increase of 133 TVRs on Kauai in 2022. Explore FeliciaCowden.com for more info! Batteries and hydraulic fluid will be removed next and work will continue today, according to the Save Honolua Coalition, which is operated by John Carty and Maui County Council Member Tamara Paltin, whose residency seat covers West Maui. I will continue to push for audits so we can identify areas that we can improve and sustain our services to the communities. LIHU'E In a procedure unique among Hawai'i counties, Kaua'i County councilmembers unanimously voted Wednesday to approve raises that will likely affect some of their own salaries. We have major road works happening over the next few years. These problems are going to escalate with the unchecked growth of the vegetation and greater concentrations of rainfall. Reach out to connect with her on Kaua'i issues you care about to discuss and identify actionable solutions together. We must also support our County working in partnership with private entities wherever possible and proposing new residential developments in Lihu`e in order to take advantage of that treatment plants significant excess capacity. Thats a 38% increase in nightly rates since before the pandemic. This could begin immediately with all the green waste sitting in dumps, food waste from stores and restaurants and left over fishing and hunting remains. Making sure out County keeps us with proper maintenance of our four wastewater treatment plants which were built before 1980 and that we fund the necessary upgrades to our current systems; even if that means increasing sewer fees. We must be cautious to not exhaust our landowners/homeowners ability to adapt to inflationary pressures that are likely to continue. Make the rentals of bikes affordable to our visitors weekly rates. We need to do all we can to encourage housing development within our existing towns. I will also work on efforts to reduce waste production, working with local businesses and importers to figure out where there are ways we can reduce our waste generation in other ways, particularly relating to plastic. This is one idea that could create more jobs and solve one of our biggest problems here on Kauai. We have created a circular economy around retail. Having good common sense in our decision-making process that not all council members have. While we have to blaze forward on solutions to our pressing problems, I remain committed to working with stakeholders to the greatest extent possible before introducing legislation that could impact them. Expanding our local products and supporting their local consumption, as well as export markets, is key to growth for the agricultural sector. We need to improve our port security and get drugs off our streets while we work to address the issue holistically with counseling programs, on island detox and treatment centers and housing first solutions. We could design and implement a MURF but securing that funding will take creativity and collaboration with other funding sources. We have so much to be thankful for and it is our responsibility as leaders in our island community to take care of our people, and our natural resources and to provide every opportunity for our families to live, work and to enjoy life. The County has our Economic Board that funds these projects through grants and other funding sources. 2) We need to put more money toward affordable housing to leverage private, state, and federal funds. Which is why the plan says that it is clear that the status quo for Kauai tourism cannot continue. I will work with our community organizations such as Kumano I Ke Ala, Waip Foundation, Mlama Hulia, Kauai Farm Bureau, Kekaha Agricultural Association, Kauai Cattlemens Association, Mlama Kauai and all other organizations to work on legislation that enables our farmers to meet the demand for local ingredients. I am passionate about our county developing a flourishing agricultural industry that provides employment in food production, processing and distribution, and that pays living wages. I meet organizations where they're at . More bike paths that are not on the highway. Every study on affordability includes increasing supply as a prerequisite for affordability. Eventually, we will need more inward and upward roads to deal with sea level rise and the flooding out of our highway along the shoreline. We need to find county solutions to reduce the cost of housing. Provide more opportunities to discuss items on the council agenda prior to legislation being proposed. Housing development was booming (over 600 homes built per year on Kauai) and every new residential development landed a small windfall into government coffers which could fund increasing expansion. I support the improvements to terminal holdroom, public and employee parking expansion and the ticket lobby improvement project if they are to accommodate existing passenger numbers and not increase them. In addition to working with the administration and the department of finance on budget options to build towards a structured balanced budget, as part of the Countys Long Term Financial plan, I would continue to support our countys reserve fund policy that was guided through the assistance of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and continue to seek similar opportunities for financial sustainability is all areas. The plan contains the following six objectives: 1 ) Reinvest in our survival production can be scaled background help. Ability to adapt to inflationary pressures that are not on the Lihue Airport Master plan to! Effective tax rate for these homes can incentivize them to convert to resident housing and help to fine-tune strategies... 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