Posted by Pono Kealoha on November 19, 2009 at 10:06am
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCESITEM D-1: RIGHT OF ENTRY PERMIT TO U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERSON LANDS ENCUMBERED BY EXECUTIVE ORDERS 1225, 1588, AND 3092KULANI CORRECTIONAL FACILITY – TMK: 2-4-008:009My name is Kat Brady and I am the Coordinator of Community Alliance on Prisons, a community initiative working to improve conditions of confinement for our incarcerated individuals, improve the quality of justice in Hawai`i, and enhance public safety by promoting smart justice policies.Community Alliance on Prisons has been following the closing of Kulani Correctional Facility very closely. We have been seeking to understand why the administration would close a minimum security prison with a better success rate that most prisons in Hawai`i. A facility with work programs that teach marketable job skills and a sex offender treatment program with a less than 2% recidivism rate since 1988.Kulani is known as a giving facility. The skilled worklines from Kulani have built roads, buildings, and even the Pahoa pool. Kulani has provided millions of dollars in labor to the county of Hawai`i. This labor cannot be replaced with the jail population because they are incarcerated for a year or less. In these austere economic times, how will the county manage its projects without this available skilled labor?The decision to close Kulani appears to have been made with no planning. We just heard that incarcerated individuals from HCCC are being bussed up to Kulani to help with the closure since all the Kulani inmates were transferred to other facilities. We also learned that sixty-three years of records are being burned in a newly dug pit.Incarcerated individuals who were told their sex abuse treatment program would be uninterrupted are sitting idle and program-interrupted. Same thing with those in the substance abuse treatment program – told their programming would be uninterrupted at Waiawa but were told upon arrival that they would have to start over. What the heck is going on?Why would the state turn over such a valuable asset that needs constant upkeep with only a two year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for an educational program for youth? Something is very wrong here and we don’t want this public trust asset to be lost.USACE APPLICATION FOR A RIGHT-OF-ENTRY PERMITNow comes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) applying for a right-of entry permit to do a remedial investigation/feasibility study under the Defense Environmental Response Program and the Military Munitions Response Program.Why?The Army Corps of Engineers hasn’t been interested in this property for sixty-three years when there were hundreds of people living and working there. Why do they want to get in there now?Is the as-yet-unfinished, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Youth Challenge program a smoke screen, kind of like the burning pit of sixty-three years of history at Kulani?WHAT IS THIS REALLY ABOUT?As stewards of the public trust, you are entitled to know what the full plan for Kulani is. Everything about the closure has been haphazard – the staff found out about the closing in the newspaper, the closing process is not thought out. You need to press for full disclosure of the future plan for the 8,000 acres of Kulani before you open the door, even a crack.This application appears innocuous, but to those of us who have been in the trenches we see what could happen. We see how a quick decision without thinking about its implications could result in the loss of this incredible forest that is being discussed as a candidate for Natural Area Reserve (NAR) designation, mandating an even higher level of protection.The public has a right to know what is going on. This decision has been made and executed behind closed doors, even to those most affected by it. There is and has been no transparency, no discussion, no way for the public to be heard. All doors are shut. And locked. This is an affront to democracy, to the public who rely on you, and to you, who are entrusted with the protection of these of these precious and rare resources.A TWENTY-FIVE YEAR COMMITMENT?Community Alliance on Prisons has learned from reliable sources that this is just the beginning. The military is contemplating a twenty-five year commitment. Is the Corps of Engineers assessing Kulani for some larger military purpose? Shouldn’t the public be informed and involved?YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEROESPlease don’t forget that we are talking about pristine rainforest. This `aina is our rare treasure. Together we need to speak for those living things with no voice. This is our obligation. This is the duty we pay to be part of the earth community – a small cost to be able to share in the earth’s bounty in return.Chair Thielen and members of the Board that is why you must ask for the full plan. This is your opportunity to preserve one of the most special places on earth. Most people never get the opportunity that you have before you. You have the opportunity to be hero to future generations. You have the opportunity to make a thoughtful and well-reasoned decision that will impact your family and your heirs. You have an opportunity to make a decision based on your sworn commitment to be a trustee of these fragile resources. Please don’t be deceived and hand off our legacy.Community Alliance on Prisons, therefore, urges you to defer any decision on this application until the full plan for Kulani is made public. There must be community discussions before any action is taken. The community must be given the opportunity to speak, to submit comments, and to receive written responses to their concerns. Mahalo for this opportunity to testify.
Comments
This is an important issue. Thanks for sharing the information.