A good start
I’m writing in response to an excellent column written and well-considered by David Hammes (Their View, Tribune-Herald, June 5).
He proposes a plan to help those displaced by the recent lava flows. Generally, idle state-owned land can be used to help develop a permanent housing solution. The county could then help with infrastructure. Absolutely nothing should be built in Lava Zone 1, and maybe even Zone 2, ever again.
All the temporary aid we see now is greatly appreciated and necessary. However, temporary it is. Where do they go from here?
Anything from low-interest loans, to outright gifting it, to a number of ideas in between could be considered. Qualifying for assistance would be based on some obvious points and a willingness or promise to stay for a predetermined length of time.
Retaining these displaced homeowners is tantamount to retaining the socioeconomic benefits they bring to our community. Using tied up, “landlocked” money the state has to stimulate the economy, or even just to retain what we had, can unleash a win-win solution to homeowners’ losses.
There would be no need to increase taxes for this. There is precedent. This idea isn’t new. It also helps to keep at least some of the tax base we are losing. Tax assessments for lost homes and land are now zero.
I heard an estimate of 80 percent to be the number of vacation houses/rentals in Leilani Estates and the Kapoho area. It could be said the owners of those houses probably still have their own homes elsewhere and might be less in need of help. However, these owners had been contributing to the local economy through their rentals in many ways.
On a case by case basis, this might have varying benefits or downsides. Still, generally I would expect the long-term upside to outweigh any downside.
A letter from David Ocheltree (Your Views, Tribune-Herald, June 6) disparages the views of professor Hammes. Ocheltree does not post his credentials, only his own (President Donald) Trump-blindered and exaggerated diatribe. None of the humanity in the professor’s views is ever recognized for what it is. It is only ridiculed. What? I have to wonder just where Ocheltree has his head firmly planted.
So, for what it’s worth, I stand with professor David Hammes in trying to preserve the productive and contributing population. I’m hoping the dialogue has started.
Tom Forbes
Hilo