LIHU‘E — There were many important reasons for getting leaders of the state Senate over to Kaua‘i, said host and state Sen. Ronald Kouchi, D-Kaua‘i-Ni‘ihau, of Lihu‘e: — It had been around a decade since the senate president (now Shan
LIHU‘E — There were many important reasons for getting leaders of the state Senate over to Kaua‘i, said host and state Sen. Ronald Kouchi, D-Kaua‘i-Ni‘ihau, of Lihu‘e:
— It had been around a decade since the senate president (now Shan Tsutsui, D-Wailuku-Kahului) had attended the inauguration of the mayor and county council;
— Getting the leaders familiar with Kaua‘i and some of the issues here will likely pay off when those issues are discussed when the state Legislature convenes next month;
— Renewing acquaintances of former Honolulu City Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz and his continuing counterparts on the Kaua‘i County Council will help on the floor of the Senate as well, as Dela Cruz, D-Wahiawa-Hale‘iwa-Mokule‘ia, is now chair of the Senate Agriculture and Housing Committee.
Also over for the first of a two-day tour of Kaua‘i agricultural enterprises was Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim, D-Moanalua-‘Aiea-Kalihi Valley-Halawa Valley, chair of the Senate Tourism Committee.
“They care about Kaua‘i, so when asking for support for Kaua‘i projects they will likely be more supportive” after seeing some of the enterprises and concerns firsthand, Kouchi said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
“The most important thing was to get them here for the inauguration of Mayor Carvalho,” rekindling relationships that Kouchi and James Pacopac built as paid lobbyists for the county before Kouchi’s election, he said.
The only stop Wednesday before the afternoon inauguration of the council and Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. was at the historic Hanapepe salt pans, adjacent to the county Salt Pond Beach Park.
There, Ku‘ulei Santos talked about issues impacting the operation there, and how the traditional, 2,000-year-old history of salt-making in that area is among other things the only place in the world salt is made via an evaporation technique this close to the ocean.
An issue that came up is likely one for county leaders to tackle, that being an access road leading from Burns Field (Port Allen Airport) to the beach park that goes right past the pans, Kouchi said.
That road is deteriorating, and portions of the road falling into the pans does damage to the pans. The issue appears to be that the original road was built without permits, so can the county get permits for repair of a road that did not have construction permits in the first place? Kouchi said.
Those harvesting salt from the pans have long requested the road be shut down, and this may be a county opportunity to close the road and help preserve the “one-of-a-kind resource in the world,” Kouchi said.
Where state lands are concerned, there may be something lawmakers can do to help protect the resource, he said.
The salt is gifted to people, not sold, so technically isn’t an agricultural commodity, but the harvesting is a cultural practice that has been taking place for generations, he said.
It is also a visitor attraction, with a video on the operation scheduled to be shown on certain Hawaiian Airlines flights. It has also been featured in the Hawaiian Air inflight magazine, said Kouchi.
Today, Dela Cruz, Kouchi and others are scheduled to meet with members of the East Kaua‘i Water Users Cooperative, Michael Tresler of Grove Farm, Roy Oyama of the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau, and representatives of the island’s seed-corn industry and Kaua‘i Coffee and, later today, with Daryl Kaneshiro and other ranchers.
“Many farmers work very hard to maintain their farm lands and do not have time to represent themselves in the state Legislature,” said Dela Cruz.
“We would like to take a proactive approach in finding out the issues affecting our local agricultural industry. This is our first Neighbor Island visit and our committee is developing a tentative schedule as to our other neighboring islands for site reviews in the near future,” Dela Cruz said.
“We are meeting with leaders in the farming community to discuss their direct concerns and also to take a firsthand look to better understand their needs,” said Dela Cruz.
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to accompany the Senate Agriculture and Housing chair on this visit to the island of Kaua‘i,” Kouchi said, “to allow members of our agricultural community to express their problems, concerns and ideas to help maintain Kaua‘i as our state’s Garden Island.”
Kouchi said a second trip, to include North Shore and Eastside stops, will need to be scheduled at a later date.
• Paul C. Curtis, assistant editor and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com.
