WAILUA — A $234,000 Grant-In-Aid from Hawai‘i was approved by the state Legislature on Thursday for the Friends of Coco Palms, an ad hoc steering committee sponsored by the Kaua‘i Public Land Trust, a news release states. The grant will
WAILUA — A $234,000 Grant-In-Aid from Hawai‘i was approved by the state Legislature on Thursday for the Friends of Coco Palms, an ad hoc steering committee sponsored by the Kaua‘i Public Land Trust, a news release states.
The grant will be used to develop a plan for the acquisition, demolition, construction and long-term management of the Coco Palms property.
“When the Friends of Coco Palms formed we initially met with several potential funders,” said Committee Chair Pat Griffin. “Although very interested in the project they wanted to see a development plan in place prior to committing any funds. With this GIA we can now begin working with the community to create a plan for the historic Coco Palms property.”
Sen. Gary Hooser, an adviser to the group, played a key role in encouraging the committee to apply for the GIA, the release states.
“Securing a $234,000 grant from the state will enable the Friends of Coco Palms to make significant progress towards acquiring the property for public benefit,” said Hooser. “Now is the time to finally create a viable and culturally relevant plan for the Coco Palms that will benefit all of Kaua‘i.”
Despite the recent three-year extension granted to the current owner, Phil Ross, the group plans to continue moving forward, the release says.
“We are energized by the overwhelming response we have received in recent weeks,” said committee member Diane Zachary. “Thousands of people from around the world visited the Web site and hundreds took our online survey. With the community’s support and the Grant-in-aid we are in a position to move forward and begin the process of securing public and private funds toward acquisition.”
Once the grant funding is received the committee plans to engage the Kaua‘i community in a public input process. Consultants will be hired to facilitate this process, develop a business and fundraising plan for acquisition of the site and determine cost estimates for demolition, construction and long-term management once the property is purchased.
