Tuesday
22Jan
Naeole defends panhandling ordinance
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 02:43PM I received the following today from Tiffany Edwards Hunt, legislative aide to Councilwoman Emily Naeole, in response to the post here recently regarding a proposed panhandling ordinance. Hunt wrote:
In efforts to clarify that this panhandling ordinance is sensible and straightforward and put forth with the best intentions, this is what Councilwoman Emily submitted for the next edition of Puna News:
As always, this office is slammin’ with various endeavors. As far as legislation goes, one of the latest bills I’ve introduced involves a ban on panhandling. It has been said that for me to introduce such a bill is out of character, being that I am a poor woman who typically advocates for the poor. Let me just clarify one thing: It is my duty to balance my nature to care for and help the needy with my duty as a councilwoman to support local business and, particularly, our Pahoa Town merchants.
My office was contacted by certain members of the downtown Pahoa business community who intend to bring cruise ship tourists to Pahoa by bus. Knowing we are headed for a recession and that we recently lost a business in Pahoa Town (Pahoa Chop Suey), I think it would be very beneficial to our local merchants to have these tourists brought to town.
We all know that there are people in Pahoa Town who have a habit of asking passersby for spare change to buy cigarettes, rolling papers, beer, drugs, what have you. The merchants that contacted my office are concerned about this, in light of the fact that cruise ship tourists will be bused to Pahoa to dine and shop. They asked for "No Panhandling" and “Panhandling is a $100 fine” signs to be erected in downtown Pahoa. After conferring with Community Policing Officer John Briski and consulting the Hawai‘i County Code, my office determined that panhandling is only illegal in Downtown Hilo. So, before we could erect a sign prohibiting panhandling in Pahoa, we needed to draft legislation to make panhandling in Pahoa illegal. Knowing that panhandling is just as bad on Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona as it is in Pahoa Town, I am calling for an island wide panhandling ban. To me, this is the least that government can do to support the merchants, visitors, residents, and police officers on patrol. At the same time that we support local businesses, we can help the needy and destitute by ensuring social service agencies have what they need to provide services to the needy. As an example, I recently called for $25,000 in contingency relief funds for the county’s Office of Housing and Community Development to work with the Office for Social Ministry to develop a homeless program in Pahoa Town. Also, I’m the Human Services and Economic Development Committee chairwoman who oversees the County Council’s yearly non-profit grant process. Through this non-profit grant process, we, as a County Council, try to provide funding to those social service agencies that service the needy. The Hawai‘i Island Food Bank (now called Food Basket, Inc.) is just one organization that received funding last year. We are currently in the process of deciding which organizations that turned in applications by January 31st will receive funds for the 2007-2008 fiscal year.
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Reader Comments (8)
Dear Councilwoman Naeole,
I have supported your efforts in Puna to get better park facilities and maintenance, to set aside land for preservation, and to arrange the service organization "fairs" which bring many useful and informative options to us in our own community. I must, however, question making a panhandling ordinance a priority at this time when we have so many other problems confronting us that I feel are more pressing both in Puna and the County as a whole.
Some of these are:
1. Lack of primary care and certain critical specialty physicians. This is literally becoming a life and death problem. Other rural and/or isolated communities have set up programs to recruit and retain doctors. Why not do something like that here? Some research on the internet could provide successful model programs.
2. Better all-around police protection and accountability. Puna has historically been undermanned and ill-equipped when it comes to police resources. Perhaps a push could be made to get the new Pahoa police station back on track or to set up a substation in Hawaiian Paradise Park. You told me at the last agency fair in Pahoa that HPP was the only community of its size that you knew of that had no schools or permanent police presence. A low cost option to improve the current police performance would be to have an investigative entity separate from the police department itself to look into citizen complaints and police misconduct.
3. Village Center commercial zoning for the larger Puna subdivisions. One reason we have traffic tie-ups in Puna is the simple fact that so many of us have to go to Hilo to work or shop. The Puna Community Development Plan's early draft has some good starting points for this. It would not only reduce trips to Hilo, but provide jobs for our citizens.
One of the things I like about you is your willingness to listen to the people you represent. I had a very positive experience the day I spoke with you, and I wanted to offer some positive suggestions instead of just complaining. I know some of the things I have suggested would cost money, and finding funding is hard, but ways can be sometimes be found. Panhandling is annoying, but some things are more important in my humble opinion. Thank you for reading this, and I look forward to the next time I am able to speak with you in person.
Sincerely,
Jerry Carr
HPP Resident
Let me assure you that the panhandling ordinance
is not the one priority for this office... it is merely the legislation that has made the front page
of the newspaper... We are jamming on several different fronts and it's unfortunate
that newspaper reporters pick and choose what to write about, choosing
not to right about things that might be more important than others...
So, as I write, I'm sitting here in front of a proposed piece of legislation
that will serve as a recruitment and retention tool, not only for police officers
but planners and engineers, as well... Part of our problems come from the
fact that the county can't fill positions...
I just turned in legislation to put in playground equipment next to the skatepark,
and we are trying to redefine the geothermal relocation program to make geothermal funds available exclusively for Lower Puna projects...
We are also working on non profit grant funding for the 2007-08 fiscal year,
being that the councilwoman oversees the County Council's Human Services
and Economic Development Committee grants... We are hoping that the Puna Community Medical Center folks headed by Dan Domizio will put forth an application for a grant for the proposed clinic in Malama Marketplace... We are also working with State Rep. Faye Hanohano
to get a more comprehensive health center similar to the one in place in Waianae built in Maku'u. The state representative, I believe, has drafted legislation calling for planning and design money for this Maku'u Comprehensive Health Center.
Please know that we are not just pursuing a panhandling ordinance. We are hard at work on many endeavors. Again, it's annoying when just one thing gets publicized front page above the fold (i.e., blown out of proportion) when there could be so many other, more important things to write about, if the reporters would just ask... I say all this not discounting the fact that the panhandling ordinance is sensible and straightforward and necessary. Thanks, Tiff for Auntie Em.
Ah, Mister. Could ya spare a hundred bucks and change?
I'm hungry and I've got to pay a fine.
I suspect most of us sitting in front of this screen can afford to make a big difference with some small change.
Thank you very, very much.