The story of Kaua‘i

As 2011 winds down, I find myself reflecting on what I’ve accomplished and what remains to be done. It seems a good time to share with the community the findings of a report recently completed by the Kaua‘i Planning & Action Alliance (KPAA) on our island’s quality of life and sustainability.

In September 2011, KPAA completed the third edition of its biennial community indicators report Measuring What Matters for Kaua‘i. It is designed as a resource and guide for decision makers across the island. The report focuses on 50 indicators that reflect various aspects of life on Kauai and how we fared in 2009 and 2010. The results tell an important story and point the way toward action needed in the year ahead.

Kauai’s economy

With the recession that began in 2008, the poverty rate is rising and children are especially impacted. About one in ten people are living in poverty; the rate is about one in eight for children. The cost of living has risen steadily since 2003, and our incomes are just not keeping pace. We find ourselves having to do more with less. Unemployment in 2009 reached a high of 9.3 percent – a big jump from just two years before when it was only 2.5 percent. For each of the last two years the overall number of jobs declined. Every sector except government saw a decline in the job count. Since some people with more than one job work for cash, it is hard to assess the number of people with multiple jobs. However a 2011 KPAA telephone survey found that about one in four work more than one job.

While there was a rebound in visitor days and visitor spending last year, they are well below 2007 levels. In 2010, Kaua‘i had one million visitors. Some visitor accommodations took the opportunity to renovate during this slower period. Home sales and sales prices sagged in 2009 and began to rebound in 2010. The good news here is that families earning the median income had 77 percent of the necessary income to buy a home, up from 38 percent in 2006. Still, a median priced home was affordable only to those with incomes of at least $91,800. During this same period, paradoxically, home rental prices increased from 2008 levels.

Public education

Overall student readiness for kindergarten was 3.7 out of 5, with 5 being high on the scale. Areas where these new students lagged most were in literacy concepts and math. They did best in social-emotional behaviors and physical well-being. Grade 3 students saw increases in their test scores, but Grade 10 students saw significant drops in their HSA math and reading test scores. On-time graduation rates dropped three points to 83 percent while the number of those who completed high school in more than four years with a diploma or certificate jumped 5 points to 97 percent.

After leaving high school, 72 percent planned to continue their schooling. The biggest jump of 6 percent was among those planning to attend a four-year school. But are they ready for college? Of those going to any University of Hawai‘i campus, in 2010 only about 17 percent tested as being able to do college transfer-level math and 36 percent tested at college-transfer level in reading.

Neighborhood and community health and well-being

In the past two years, the number of emergency food requests skyrocketed, reaching nearly 13,000 in the highest month in 2010. At the same time, the number of homeless individuals has decreased, in part due to new transitional and affordable housing opportunities. An increased number — 80 percent — of Kauaians reported feeling safe walking in their own neighborhoods at night. In 2009, violent crime jumped to levels last seen in 2004. Arrests were up, as well. Property crime and property crime arrests were less than in 2007. Adult and youth arrests for drugs and alcohol peaked in 2008. There were 50 confirmed cases of child abuse, a significant drop from 2004 when it was 85 cases. Kaua‘i’s rate of those medically uninsured rose to 7.5 percent in 2010, compared to the state rate of 4.8 percent.

Some good news is that four of the five reportable leading infectious diseases dropped in 2010; only gonorrhea saw an increase. The rate of heart disease dropped and cancer rates were up in 2009. In 2009, 58 percent of us met the recommendations for physical activity, yet only 39 percent were at their recommended weight. A success story continues to be tobacco use, where the rate of those who currently smoke is about 13 percent compared to double that number 10 years earlier. And 53 percent have never smoked. Non-Hawai‘i visitors continue to be the most vulnerable when it comes to drowning, with a total of 17 visitors drowning in 2009 and 2010 compared to 6 Hawai‘i residents. Cyberspace is now accessible to most, as 83 percent of Kaua‘i homes have access to the Internet. Of these, 59 percent have broadband access.

Another highlight is that despite the recession, 62 percent of people say the aloha spirit is the same as ever or getting stronger, while only 34 percent believe it is getting weaker — an overall improvement from 2008.

Civic engagement

In general, satisfaction is high for county government services, with fire, trash pickup and water ranking highest. Parks and police rank lowest. Overall, 48 percent are very satisfied and 82 percent are very or somewhat satisfied with county services.

Community volunteerism is at 62 percent, a decline of 6 percent since 2009. Donations to nonprofits and church groups declined, yet were still at 84 percent and 70 percent, respectively. When it comes to voting, rates are highest in a presidential election year — 68 percent in 2008 — dropping at least 10 percent in other years. Kaua‘i’s turnout nearly mirrors the state rate.

Natural environment

Sometimes there are changes in how things are measured, making comparisons difficult. This is the case with our coastal water quality where Hawai‘i has now adopted less stringent U.S. EPA standards. Where we had 16 substandard beaches in 2008, this dropped to 4 in 2010 due to the change in standards. Yet Kaua‘i coastal waters exceeded acceptable standards 8 percent of the time, more than 4 times the rate of the next highest counties, Maui and Hawai‘i Island, each at 2 percent.

For some encouraging news, our water consumption dropped in each of the last two years while our maximum daily capacity increased, along with the miles of water mains and number of fire hydrants. Our per capita energy use decreased dramatically to pre-2000 days and our percentage of energy from renewable sources stood at 9.1 percent in 2010.

A 2011 KPAA telephone survey found that 34 percent of households have solar hot water and 3 percent have photovoltaic systems; a few have both. In FY2009, our tons of solid waste per capita dropped, but our percentage diverted from the landfill also decreased from FY2008 — 25.5 percent compared to 27.5 percent.

Land use and rural character

More good news — our vehicles miles traveled, miles per vehicle, amount of highway fuel purchased and number of registered vehicles all declined, while the miles per gallon increased to an average of 25.5. Bus ridership continues on a positive note with big gains in the number of transit passengers in the past two years — nearly half a million passenger trips per year. Of those who drive their car to work, 32 percent would take the bus if it was convenient.

The economy appears to have impacted the number of subdivision applications, which dropped to just 12 in FY2010 compared to double that the year before. Final subdivision approvals were given to 16 applications that year. Though KPAA is still looking for a good way to determine home construction within and outside town boundaries, a sample showed that in 2009 and 2010, 93 percent and 89 percent of home construction respectively took place within town boundaries, a policy in the General Plan.

One of the more dramatic changes is contained in the indicator on residential building type. The number of single family units decreased from 220 in 2009 to 170 in 2010 and the number of multi-family units plunged from 297 in 2009 to just two in 2010. That same year the total construction dollars dropped nearly 400 percent from 2008 figures.

Culture and arts

There has been a steady increase over the last five years in the number of students in bilingual and Hawaiian language immersion programs, with 316 studying in 2010. The indicators report looks at other traditional practices, including subsistence food gathering. Of the 38 percent who hunt, fish or gather food, 25 percent of these get more than 10 percent of their food from these sources. There has been a big increase in the number of people growing or raising their own food, at 53 percent in 2011. Of these, 29 percent rely on this home-grown source for more than 10 percent of their food. Looked at another way, about 10,000 Kauaians eat what they grow or raise three or more days a month.

While canoe paddling saw a slight decline in the past two years, more than 1,100 people are involved in paddling. Finally, participation in cultural dance and songs increased in 2011, with about one in six people participating in these activities.

Taking action

Kaua‘i’s story, as told in greater detail through graphics and narrative in KPAA’s Measuring What Matters for Kaua‘i — Community Indicators Report 2010, points to areas to celebrate for their positive directions and a number of areas where action is needed to change direction to improve our quality of life. The complete report includes an executive summary, a Profile of Kaua‘i County and Opportunities for Action suggested by Kaua‘i Planning & Action Alliance and its Community Indicators Advisory Committee. Decision-makers at all levels — government, businesses, nonprofits and families — are encouraged to determine what actions they can take to create positive directions for our island.

The Measuring What Matters for Kaua‘i-Community Indicators Report 2010 may be downloaded for free at www.kauainetwork.org.

• Diane Zachary is president and CEO of Kaua‘i Planning & Action Alliance. She may be reached at 632-2005 and dzachary@kauainetwork.org.