Ka`u News Briefs Friday, March 7, 2014

   “A preliminary set of CDP strategies is nearly complete, so the meeting will focus on plans for discussing them with various stakeholders,” said county planner Ron Whitmore who is heading up the creation of the Ka`u Community Development Plan. The agenda includes Steering Committee Chair Leina`ala Enos providing an explanation of the purpose and scope of the Ka`u CDP and roles of the Steering Committee. She and Whitmore are scheduled to provide an update on the status of the CDP project, including progress on its draft and next steps toward completion. The CDP Planning team is identifying strategies to achieve community objectives in order to “make up the policies, advocacy, and community-based, collaborative actions at the core of the CDP,” says the agenda for the meting. “While crafting those strategies, the Planning Team will likely find it useful to discuss them with Steering Committee members and other key stakeholders, including residents, business owners, landowners, community leaders, agency representatives and others.” Whitmore plans to provide an overview of this phase of the CDP.
      For more information about the Ka‘ū CDP and the Steering Committee, see www.kaucdp.info. Steering Committee members, Community Planning Assistant Nalani Parlin are available to answer any questions. Contact information is available at the project website. 

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KA`U AGRICULTURAL WATER COOPERATIVE will hold its next meeting on Thursday, March 20 at 4 p.m. at the Royal Hawaiian Macadamia Field Office Conference Room. The February meeting included discussion on membership to the Ha`ao Springs/Mountain House Agricultural Water 

Cooperative and whether membership votes should be according to acres farmed, acres owned or another way of calculating the number of voted per members. “We were assured that the working group was in favor of the bylaws as written, that there wer sufficient checks and balances in the document to protect the rights of small farmers while also giving sufficient voice to large landowners to protect their interest,” said the minutes from the meeting. 

     Melanie Bondera, whose expertise is provided to the farmers and ranchers to help them set up the entities to manage water, said she is available to discuss the possibilities with the agriculturalists and land owners.
     It was also reported that a team would be on the ground surveying old plantation water sources and tunnels in the area of Moa`ula, Wood Valley and Ha`ao. The state legislature has approved millions of dollars for the surveying and improvements to the old water system for farming and ranching. A crew from Sam Hirota surveyors in Honolulu worked this week on the project.