County Council members hope to broaden how Kilauea recovery grants can be awarded in Lower Puna.
Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz introduced a measure at Tuesday’s meeting of the County Council Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs that changes language in the county code to more firmly establish how disaster relief funds can be used for efforts to recover from the impacts of the 2018 Kilauea eruption.
Among other things, the measure, Bill 56, specifies that any nonprofit organization eligible for county Kilauea relief grants must clearly demonstrate service to Lower Puna in particular, the area most strongly impacted by the eruption.
Other changes specify that “long-term resilience” projects are eligible for disaster relief funds, will expedite the grant application process, and will allow funds to be awarded to a nonprofit for single or multiple uses.
“This is an opportunity for us to unlock more funds available to us,” Kierkiewicz said at Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s meant to stimulate our economic growth and expand our partnerships with nonprofits.”
County Disaster Recovery Officer Douglas Le said that, through the Kilauea Recovery Grant Program and the Puna Strong Program, the county has administered 12 grants to nonprofits greater than $25,000, for a combined total of $3.5 million. These grants included $500,000 to nonprofit Hooulu-Lahui to assist the Kua O Ka La Public Charter School — which was destroyed during the eruption — to move into a new location, $375,000 to Malama O Puna for road repairs in Leilani Estates and $175,124 to the Pahoa Lava Museum to restore road access to properties isolated by lava.
Le said that, between those grants and several smaller grants, the county has spent $4.3 million out of the $20 million in recovery grant funding allocated by the state.
“I cannot stress enough that there is not enough money to go around,” Kierkiewicz said. “I wrestle with Doug often about this, it keeps me up at night.”
Kierkiewicz added that she does not believe the county can request more funding from the state until the current funding is fully expended, although Le said the funding should not lapse if unspent for too long.
Several Puna residents testified in support of the bill, noting that even five years after the eruption, the area is still struggling.
Malama O Puna Executive Director Eileen O’Hara noted that there remain miles of roads still covered by lava in the area and that the economic impact of the eruption was followed by that of the COVID-19 pandemic only two years later.
The committee voted to advance the bill to the full council with a positive recommendation.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.