Hawaii volcano costing local taxpayers $14.5M (Kilauea, Pahoa: 2014, house, construction)

[OpenD]

Hawaii volcano costing local taxpayers $14.5M

The slow-moving lava flow from Kilauea volcano is costing Hawaii County taxpayers about $14.5 million.

West Hawaii Today reports the money is mostly being spent on construction costs for emergency access roads.

Reopening Chain of Craters Road where it was buried by past lava flows could cost $12 to $15.5 million. That project would connect communities to the rest of the island, which is important if the lava crosses another road. It's expected to be done in early December.

The county also spent $3 million to open Government Beach Road, which was a one-lane dirt road, and to connect Railroad Avenue between two sub-developments.

Officials hope to reopen parts of Pahoa Village Road that had been closed because of the looming lava threat in time for the Thanksgiving Day holiday.

[838454]

Hawaiian state lottery here we come.

[OpenD]

On second thought... this article appears to be flawed, attributing the additional cost almost entirely to road building, without mentioning the $1.5 million it reportedly cost to install portable classrooms at Kea'au for the kids who lived north of the projected lava flow and were expected to be cut off from their school.

And what about all those helicopter flights, and the Civil Defense costs, and police and fire overtime?

When all is said and done, I think the final figure could turn out to be double what this article reported.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by OpenD

On second thought... this article appears to be flawed, attributing the additional cost almost entirely to road building, without mentioning the $1.5 million it reportedly cost to install portable classrooms at Kea'au for the kids who lived north of the projected lava flow and were expected to be cut off from their school.

The portable classrooms a "Keonepoko North" came from the Hawai'i State Department of Education's budget, not the County of Hawaiʻi budget.
Hawaii DOE | Department of Education announces contingency plans for lava flow

Originally Posted by OpenD

And what about all those helicopter flights, and the Civil Defense costs, and police and fire overtime?

The helicopter overflight costs may come out of the Federal budget via the USGS and HVO. As for overtime expenses, according the the West Hawaiʻi Today article…

A little less than $95,000 has been spent on overtime for county staff to deal with ongoing issues, Crawford said. That figure has been kept down with the help of the Hawaii National Guard and by having salaried administrative officials from all departments take shifts at the communication center and command post.

Originally Posted by OpenD

When all is said and done, I think the final figure could turn out to be double what this article reported.

While the final hit to the county budget will be more than $14.5 million, it probably won't turn out to be double that amount. Remember county officials are trying to get some FEMA money to help defray the costs.

[Jungjohann]

And some of those costs incurred by Hawaii County will be offset by property tax on new property so generously donated to the people of the Bigger Island by Madame Pele.


Mahalo nui loa Pele, aka, mahalo'ole

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Jonah K

The helicopter overflight costs may come out of the Federal budget via the USGS and HVO.

The daily Civil Defense alerts kept referring to using Fire Department choppers for their flights, which seem separate from the USGS and HVO aerials. Matter of fact, it turns out some of those were actually done by drones from U of H. I'll find that article and post it.

While the final hit to the county budget will be more than $14.5 million, it probably won't turn out to be double that amount. Remember county officials are trying to get some FEMA money to help defray the costs.

How could they possibly qualify, since it wasn't a FEMA level disaster? Only one house was burned, and the owner says he doesn't expect to get any disaster funds.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by OpenD

The daily Civil Defense alerts kept referring to using Fire Department choppers for their flights, which seem separate from the USGS and HVO aerials. Matter of fact, it turns out some of those were actually done by drones from U of H. I'll find that article and post it.

Government entities bill each other all of the time. In the case of using County of Hawaiʻi Fire Department choppers for overflights, the fire department bills the USGS and HVO. And, the UH drones that are used for overflights are probably paid for by the State of Hawaiʻi or research grant money.

Originally Posted by OpenD

How could they possibly qualify, since it wasn't a FEMA level disaster? Only one house was burned, and the owner says he doesn't expect to get any disaster funds.

FEMA does more than simply offer assistance to individuals. The FEMA "Public Assistance Program" is available to reimburse the county government for "emergency protective actions" (i.e. emergency alternate access road construction). Here's a link…
FEMA PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM NOW AVAILABLE TO HELP BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII