Mayors outline budget requests
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Big Island Mayor Harry Kim wants $2 million in state dollars to jump-start a team that would battle the coqui frog invasion, which has grown from a noisy nuisance to a menace that threatens the island's ecosystem.
Advertiser library photo • Dec. 28, 2002
"It is out of control; it is a crisis situation," Kim said yesterday after a joint hearing of the House finance and Senate ways and means committees at the state Capitol. The mayors of Maui and Kaua'i also gave lawmakers a list of their legislative priorities, as did Honolulu Budget Director Mary Pat Waterhouse who spoke on behalf of Mayor Mufi Hannemann.
The tiny coqui frog poses a big threat to Hawai'i's ecosystem and agricultural industry, officials say.
Coqui frogs are rampant throughout the Big Island as well as parts of Maui, and Kim blamed lack of attention to the issue early on for their rapid proliferation. If not controlled, he said, the problem could cause major damage to the ecosystem of the island, if not the state.
The frogs also could have an impact on the island's agricultural industry. "There are some importers of our flowers who are saying, 'If you don't control this, then we might consider banning your flowers,' " Kim said.
The population of coqui frogs is managed with snakes in Puerto Rico, the only other part of the world where they exist in large numbers and are even considered a national treasure, Kim said. "Naturally, we don't have that here, and naturally we don't want that."
Kim issued an emergency declaration for Hawai'i County because of the coqui frog infestation last April. The team of federal, state and county representatives brought together to tackle the problem was to get $3 million in federal financing, but the money never materialized, he said.
Kim said he hopes to try again to find federal money.
Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa, separately, said his county wants an additional $2 million to deal with the coqui frog on his island. Arakawa said his administration also wants $2 million in each of the next 10 years to deal with the miconia problem.
Sen. J. Kalani English, D-8th (E. Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i), noted that the Legislature appropriated $4 million to fight invasive species statewide, but that Gov. Linda Lingle had released only $3 million of that.
Administration officials late yesterday announced that Lingle released the remaining $1 million last week. It was unclear yesterday, however, how much of the $4 million was earmarked for either coqui frog or miconia eradication although both were mentioned in a press release as recipients of the money.
Kim said that, to date, he has not seen any of last year's invasive species money channel down to the coqui frog program.
Among other budget requests made yesterday:
• Kaua'i Mayor Bryan Baptiste requested $1 million for a rental project in Kalepa Village and $650,000 for an emergency homeless shelter.
• Arakawa asked for $1 million in state money for a $7 million municipal parking lot in Wailuku.
• Kim requested $8 million for construction of a Puna recreational complex.
• Waterhouse asked for a merger of the city's traffic-monitoring system for surface streets with a state Department of Transportation center that does the same for freeways.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.
