INDEX - KAUAI POLITICS
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SUBJECT: KAUAI COUNTY POLITICS

SOURCE: BRUCE PLEAS hisurf3@hawaii.rr.com

Bruce J. Pleas Candidate for Mayor of Kauai

28 August 2006 - 7:30pm HST

Bruce Pleas in August 2006

by Bruce Pleas on 23 August 2006

If you wish to contact me I am available at 337-9509 or 639-2850 at any time for any questions or to schedule meetings with you or your group. If I am not available I will respond to all messages left on my phones promptly.

Introduction
I have lived on Kauai since 1972 after growing up in various areas of the world that were in the process of being developed. I presently live in Kekaha with my wife and 2 sons along with my wife’s mother.

Over the last few years I have been called by some newspapers “a government watchdog” and have had many of my suggestions added to legislation such as having as a Condition added to development outside of the Visitor Destination Areas (VDA) the prohibition of Vacation Rental and Time Share units/operations. I have done this because the current Administration is lagging on acting on this issue and I felt I could make a difference by presenting a just argument to the Planning Commission on this issue and they have agreed with a Condition to their decisions. This may ensure that new development outside of VDA will be for local residents use and not for visitor commercial use.

This is an opportunity for the voters of Kauai to vote in a fresh vision for Kauai that includes increased public participation in a government process that will strive to make Kauai a self sufficient island that will produce its own power and food along with decreasing the cost of living on Kauai.

Type of Campaign
No sign waving as I feel the roads of Kauai has become too congested for sign waving. I also have decided to keep the side of the roads clear of my signs.
All I ask is that if you support me to please vote, spread the word of your support for me as Mayor of Kauai and please make sure that anyone you know who supports me also votes for me on September 23.

Mine is a grassroots campaign based on my public participation in the government process over the last 8+ years in which I have been a contributor to Commissions, the General Plan, uncompleted CZO (Comprehensive Zoning Ordinances) revisions, County Council legislation and Planning Commission decisions along with personal input to many Federal, State and County representatives.

(I am not accepting Campaign contributions, please keep any monies you may want to donate to my campaign and spend it on your family.)

Type of Administration
I support full public participation thru regular public meetings on issues and proposals for your area. For any issue or proposal in your area I want to know what the Community thinks of it before it is put into the governmental process.

Examples
1) In Hanamaulu the request for a new Neighborhood Center would have surfaced at the Community meeting and would have been addressed before the Hanamaulu Triangle project went to the Planning Commission or County Council.

2) Any Landfill project or expansion would have Community meetings in the communities it would affect before it proceeded in the governmental process.
Regional meetings at least twice a year at each Neighborhood Center with a short presentation and long open session for the public to present concerns, questions and hopefully answers.

I will make every effort to have monies allocated in the Budget for all commissions and County meetings to be on Hoike along with Hoike coverage of the complete County Budget process.

I will ask for funds to be allocated in the Budget for all public County documents to be available on the County Web page (past, current and proposed).

Here are some issues I am concerned with:

Voting
What the voting public approves of at the polls will become law. This is a promise as this election the People of Kauai will be voting on numerous Charter Amendments that will become law in my Administration if passed by the People of Kauai.

Property Tax
There are three proposals I will put forth to the County Council with all of them designed to reduce your property tax. Also I will support the continuation of the yearly percentage caps in the Low Income, Homestead and Elderly categories on your property tax.

1) I will bring the Ohana Tax bill that the public approved in 2004 back before the County Council in the form it was passed by the voters in the process defined by State and County laws. You passed this bill and as an elected representative of the people of Kauai I am mandated to follow the will of the people of Kauai.

2) I will also bring the recommendations from the Real Property Tax Task Force back to the County Council with the information requested by the County Council from either my administration or from a reconvened Real Property Tax Task Force.

3) I will present my proposal of Property tax reform to the County Council which is that your assessment will be the purchase price of your property or the cost of the land and building construction with this assessment remaining the same (unless additions to your buildings are done which will be added to your assessment at the cost of building construction) and the Tax rate will be what changes yearly to balance the budget as required by the County Charter. The yearly tax rate will be set by the Administration after public meetings for input then will be again up for public discussion at the County Council before it is approved.

Infrastructure and Development
I will not support any additional development until the County infrastructure is upgraded in the entire County to provide adequate infrastructure for our current and near future use levels. Infrastructure includes roads, locally powered bus and light rail transit systems, water and sewage systems, solid waste disposal, parks and recreational facilities along with adequate access to beaches and mountains.

Sustainable Future of Kauai
I would instruct the Planning Department to work with the Local contractors on Kauai to figure out how many local construction workers are available on Kauai, how many of our young people will possibly enter the construction industry and would then begin to set the levels of development on Kauai to ensure that our local residents have work for the future. First the work would have to be improvement to the infrastructure before any additional development could begin.

I would begin the process of opening up agriculture lands for food and energy production to feed and supply energy for the residents of Kauai first then for export if possible.

Development along the shore and streams
I will not support any more commercial (includes Resorts) development and only very limited non commercial development in areas that are in Hurricane, Tsunami and Flood zones. The areas that are remaining along our shores and streams need to be preserved as Parks and recreational use areas for both the residents and visitors to Kauai.

Affordable Housing
I propose to bring affordable housing to the residents of Kauai thru obtaining residential lands thru either development fees or from the State thru Executive Order from the Governor. These lands (1/4 acre minimum size lots) then will be made available to residents thru a lease that will be for your lifetime along with the right for your sons or daughters to continue the same lease for their lifetime. The lease rate will be kept to a minimum thru minimal infrastructure improvements (water and unpaved roads) and will include photovoltaic or wind systems to provide power along with composting toilet and grey water systems to make the lots self sufficient. The building will be built by the occupant with low rate loans available from any sources that are available at that time.

Cost of Government
I would begin to convert all County buildings and facilities to alternate energy production so that the County in the near future will be an energy producer, not an energy user. I would institute a program for a yearly performance audit of all County programs to insure that these programs are working efficiently as possible.

Cost of Living
I will begin programs to reduce the cost of County services (water, sewage and property tax) to the residents of Kauai.

Super Ferry
I would begin legislation to require that an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) be completed before any permits required by the County for the Super Ferry are even considered and require that the County receive impact fees from the Super Ferry for the infrastructure that will need to be upgraded due to increased use.

Closing
These are just a few of the many issues facing Kauai today that need to be addressed.

Please take the time to watch the Open Mike program at 12:00 and 6:00pm, Monday thru Friday on Hoike Channel 52 thru the month of September as I present my solutions to these issues that Kauai faces now and in the future.

With the fresh vision that I have for Kauai along with the latest innovative information I have compiled over my lifetime I believe that Kauai will be a better place for all to live on and visit if I am elected to be the Mayor of Kauai.

I ask all of the voters of Kauai to vote for Bruce J. Pleas this year to begin a new era of restoring Kauai back to the rural, sustainable and comfortably livable Kauai we all want Kauai to be for us and our children.

I am Bruce J. Pleas and I approve this message to the people of Kauai.


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Pau

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