State senator seeks funds for work force program to continue

The Maui News
March 12, 2002

By EDWIN TANJI
City Editor

WAILUKU - While Maui County has put up funding to maintain part of the state's Emergency Environmental Workforce program, the program's chief advocate - state Sen. J. Kalani English - is appealing to island businesses to keep the program alive around the state.

The county is putting up $100,000 allocated for a response to the dengue fever outbreak on Maui to continue some of the worker teams involved in cleaning up the island.

But Myles Inokuma, executive assistant to Mayor James "Kimo" Apana, said the funds cannot support other work force programs that deal with alien species such as miconia.

The county funding also isn't sufficient to maintain the level of staffing set up by the state program, which was funded by a $1.5 million allocation during a special session of the Legislature in November.

The Emergency Environmental Workforce was set up to deal with environmental threats to the islands while providing jobs for workers who had been laid off after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But the emergency funding will run out this month.

English, who initiated the program in the Legislature, has introduced legislation in the current session to continue the program with new funding. But Gov. Ben Cayetano has refused to set aside any current funds to continue the work force, saying it is inappropriate to maintain the special program when the state is facing a $300 million budget shortfall that will force cutbacks on all state operations.

On Friday, English said he is pursuing "creative ways" to continue the program and issued an appeal to businesses and individuals to provide donations to the Research Corp. of the University of Hawaii, which is managing the program.

English said he hopes others will follow Maui County's example to provide the estimated $1 million that would be needed to continue the program for three months - until any allotments approved by the current Legislature can kick in.

"It's a shame that the momentum this work force has reached will come to a sudden halt because of a lack of funding," he said. "It's always more difficult to start up a stalled engine than one that's operating at top speed."

Maui County's contribution will not maintain all of the work force that is being provided by the state funds, which provided 96 jobs on Maui when the program first was started up in November.

The work force was down to 54 workers this month, but that number will decrease sharply beginning Wednesday when the funds for programs in Hana run out.

Ray Henderson, executive director of Ohana Makamae in Hana, said Saturday he did not know how many workers can be retained with the county funding.

He and Stuart Funke-d'Egnuff, with the Community Work Day program, met with Inokuma Friday to discuss the county's funding and agreed to work with the county in determining which projects should survive.

Both agencies want to assure that cleanup efforts continue around Maui, Henderson said. He said the two agencies also are hoping the Legislature will come through with renewed funding to revive the program that helps provide needed jobs and training while seeking to protect the environment of the islands.

"We will try to come up with a plan so we can get all the way through June," he said.

If new state funding is provided, it would be available in the fiscal year starting July 1.

Jan Dapitan, coordinator for Community Work Day, said the environmental work force teams have succeeded in raising community awareness of the need for a cleanup, although they have not been able to respond to all requests for assistance as quickly as they would like.

One element of the program is a team that picks up bulky refuse including appliances and furniture, as well as derelict vehicles.

"We're getting eight to 10 calls a day to pick up bulky items," she said.

Other teams conduct inspections of yards to advise residents about what they need to do to eliminate potential mosquito-breeding sites, she said.

Even with the interim county funding, "we will tighten up," Dapitan said.

"Hopefully we can retain a significant number of those who are currently working and have knowledge and skills," she said.

Inokuma said the county funding will be stretched a little with an assist from the Research Corp. of the University of Hawaii, which has agreed to manage the funds without charging a fee. Normally, RCUH takes 5 percent of the funds awarded for administrative costs.

Still, the county funds were appropriated specifically for dealing with mosquitoes to prevent dengue fever. Thus, Inokuma said, the county cannot support the work force crews involved in miconia eradication through the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Return to Sen. English Home Page - KalaniEnglish.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Bills and Resolutions About Senator English Committees Community Profiles Newsletter Archive News Archive Capitol Web Site Media Photos

Connect with Senator English

OUR DISTRICT