One proposed charter amendment on Kauai could make it easier for the county to partner with volunteer organizations to manage properties acquired under a fund aimed at preserving natural resources.
The question before voters is: “Can up to 5% of the county’s open space fund be used to maintain land, property rights, or improvements paid for by the fund?”
The Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Conservation Fund was created in 2002 and is funded by a portion of the county’s annual property tax revenues. This year, the Kauai Council has allocated more than $1.1 million to the fund.
The proposed charter amendment is intended to raise money for volunteer organizations that can care for Kauai’s lands, including Black Pot Beach. (Cory Lamb/Civil Beat/2019)
The idea of this charter amendment is to use some of the money from that fund to pay for wood, equipment and other supplies needed to manage the county’s open spaces.
The county has historically struggled to partner with volunteer organizations and nonprofits to maintain these areas, according to the Kauai Charter Review Commission.
“We have community groups willing to actively support the maintenance of important public spaces,” Commissioner Jan Tenburgenkate said. “But they are often just volunteers willing to work and don’t have the funds to buy rakes, mowers or shovels.”
The proposal was submitted by the committee that oversees the Open Space Fund and approved in September 2023.
At the time, questions arose about how the organization would be able to access funds and who would oversee spending if the charter amendment passed. County attorneys said this could be similar to the process for grants, and suggested the commission create rules and reporting requirements for recipient organizations.
Since the fund was created more than 20 years ago, it has been used to purchase or improve land in four areas on Kauai, totaling just over seven acres.
These areas include Pak Phuc Tong Cemetery in Kekaha, the property next to Black Pot Beach in Hanalei that is currently used as a parking lot and boat launch, Haruru Fishpond, and Hideaways Beach in Princeville. Includes the Kaummene Coastal Access Trail, which connects to the
Earlier this year, the Kauai County Council voted to use the funds to acquire two pieces of land in Hanapepe that were significant to the 1924 Hanapepe massacre, which became a flashpoint for the labor movement.
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