It's not over yet. Your action is needed NOW! It's time for family and friends of Koke'e to pitch in .....

The Governor has a choice: to veto the bill, sign it, or let it pass without her signature. Her veto message is due to the Legislature on Monday, June 23 - so please forward this email to friends and family, those who support direct negotiations with existing leaseholders/ permittees - especially anyone who has stayed in your cabin and supports preserving Koke'e!

Last night, at the Governor’s Kaua‘i Community Advisory Council meeting, Francis "Bully" Mission presented a petition with 435 signatures asking her to veto the bill. Twenty one people testified for the bill, seven against. Numbers count!

Following almost three hours of testimony, the Council unanimously approved a motion (council members James Itamura moved, Stu Burley seconded) to ask her to sign the bill [Linda Collins abstained, as Kikiaola Land has a cabin].

All the testimony - including the petitions - will go to the Governor for her consideration. What happens in the next few days is crucial for the future of Koke'e!

Please email the Governor Governor.Linglehawaii.gov">Governor.Linglehawaii.gov with copies to gov.policyhawaii.gov">gov.policyhawaii.gov and Laurie.Yoshidahawaii.gov">Laurie.Yoshidahawaii.gov

requesting that she sign HB2872, which specifically applies to the current lessees or permittees. It will provides for an auction of up to a dozen cabins or more and eight or more lots now held by DLNR that have reverted to the State over the years. It also sets up a Koke'e Advisory Council. The full text of the bill is at:

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/Bills/HB2872_CD2_.htm

There have been stories in both Honolulu papers and in The Garden Island. The best, in my opinion, is from the Star-Bulletin at:

http://starbulletin.com/2008/05/05/news/story04.html

I think that the bill is fair and makes eminent sense. I think it is a substantial step forward for the State's historic preservation program and goes a long way to correcting some, but certainly not all, of the mistakes made in the 1985 auction. For example, we can never bring back the cabins or the families who lost in the auction. But we can certainly resolve not to make the same mistake again.

The alternative to direct negotiations is an auction - that may be restricted to Hawaii residents - but will undoubtedly price most Kauai families out of the market. We're told that average lease rent appraisals may be $5000 a year, and we'd expect prices set at auction to be much more than that .....

The bill is the culmination of some ten years of our effort, to convince the Administration, the Legislature, the Kauai County Council, and the Kauai community that our community deserves to be preserved intact. A community is not just the cabins, but includes the families, the cabins, the gardens and surrounding forest, and the relationships among us all, built up over many years. And that is exactly what House Bill 2872 will preserve.

Please pass this on to your friends and family, encouraging them to let the
Governor know how they feel about Koke'e.

Questions? Call

Curly Carswell 639-1484 curlyaloha.net">curlyaloha.net

Frank Hay 639-7704 kokeeokauai.com">kokeeokauai.com

Paul Matsunaga 335-3310 PTMatsunagahawaiiantel.net">PTMatsunagahawaiiantel.net

Me ke aloha,

Frank O. Hay