Hawaii County’s No. 1 industry is tourism. There are tourists we could better serve, those who like to camp, hike, fish, kayak, explore the island and enjoy ocean sports. Tourism is a sustainable industry and eco-tourists are respectful of the land and ocean.

We have hotels in North Kohala for wealthy tourists, but we have few activities and camping areas for middle-income families. Parks could be expanded for our families and as the basis for an eco-tourism industry. Quality recreation facilities would have tourists returning year after year for activities geared for families and with places to camp.

To accomplish this, the Parks Department could be reorganized into three teams for expansion/acquisition, design/remodeling and construction/ maintenance.

Real estate investors recognize the opportunity presented in a depressed real estate market to acquire properties. Now is the time to buy before the prices increase again.

The Parks Department should have a person able to negotiate real estate acquisition deals. The county could use the 2 Percent Land Fund (approximately $3.5 to $4 million per year) for payments on approximately $45 million worth of bonds to purchase more properties for parks. That money is already set aside and this would be at no additional cost to the county or taxpayers.

If Parks and Recreation had an in-house design team, newly acquired properties could be developed as funds became available. State and federal matching funds could be tapped for park development. Parks and open space do not require expensive government services such as roads, sewers, schools, police and fire protection. Capital projects such as park development inject money into the economy to help provide jobs.

We could open more hiking trails if the council can pass legislation, which will indemnify property owners from lawsuits. County parks are indemnified from lawsuits if citizens get injured, why can’t we indemnify private property owners who allow hikers to use the trails?

Right now many county parks need remodeling. The maintenance of parks is a property management function and maintenance has been deferred for too long. In commercial real estate, funding is established as part of the yearly budget to do routine maintenance like roof repair, irrigation, landscaping and special cleaning.

For many parks there are groups called Friends of the Park, and each of these ohana knows what is needed and wanted by local park users. The Parks Department could meet with these groups and the council member for each district and compile a list of repairs that are needed.

A plan for protection for each park needs to be developed and the Parks Department budget should reflect residents’ needs and requests. Funding for these projects should be included in the budget for 2009-2010.

Top priorities on the under-served west side would be the proposed Waimea regional park and the Old Airport Park in Kona. After the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt realized it was imperative to provide jobs to stimulate the economy, which he partly accomplished with the New Deal and creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Park development and remodeling can put construction workers back to work, provide more recreation opportunities for our residents and provide the foundation for an eco-tourism industry.

The Parks Department should have at least two in-house work crews for simple remodeling and maintenance such as landscaping, plumbing, carpentry, trails, walkways, ramps and painting. It would be cheaper and more efficient for the Parks Department to handle these projects in-house, plus it would create jobs.

The county also should establish a list of contractors to bid on smaller jobs under $300,000. This would hopefully result in more competitive bidding, lower prices for the county and accelerate completion of work.

At his inauguration Mayor Billy Kenoi said, “Now is the time for leadership.” I hope the Kenoi administration will see the opportunities presented in this economic downturn to acquire more park properties with Open Space Bond money, provide jobs and inject money into the economy by remodeling our parks, building new facilities and by providing long term employment by building a sustainable eco-tourism industry.

Debbie Hecht, hecht.deb@gmail.com