COUNTY ANNOUNCES RESILIENCE CAPACITY AREA CO-CHAIRS Teams Mobilized to Take Action for Puna’s Recovery

COUNTY ANNOUNCES RESILIENCE CAPACITY AREA CO-CHAIRS
Teams Mobilized to Take Action for Puna’s Recovery
About a dozen community members and County of Hawai‘i staff members are teaming up to
lead Resilience Capacity Areas (RCAs) as part of implementation of the Kīlauea Recovery and
Resilience Plan, a strategic guiding document created following the 2018 eruption.
These RCAs address six resilience categories – Social, Cultural, Economic, Natural
Environment, Built Environment, and Youth – and include community-driven projects headed by
Action Teams that advance the plan’s three strategies: Recovery, Readiness, and Resilience. Cochairs from the community and County provide these teams with technical assistance and
guidance to help their initiatives succeed as part of this resilience framework.
County Councilmember Ashley Kierkiewicz, District 4, summed up the structure this way during
an orientation for RCA co-chairs and Action Team members held Tuesday via Zoom:
“Community is driving the action and government is showing up to support you.”
The orientation was co-hosted by Kierkiewicz and Bob Agres, the Community Engagement and
Collaboration Manager for the County’s Disaster Recovery Division. It included a walkthrough
of an action playbook created to guide the co-chairs and Action Teams through the next two
years.
“This will become a source of reflection and learning as we work together to build community
resilience,” Agres said. He noted the process is anchored by several guiding principles, including
aloha ‘āina and understanding our individual and collective kuleana.
The RCA/Action Team process involves a 90-day action cycle aligned with quarterly Revitalize
Puna community activation events. These events are open to the public and will kickoff the next
action cycle and allow RCA co-chairs and Action Team members to share what they’ve learned,
accomplished, and plan to do going forward.
The first Revitalize Puna was held in June in Leilani Estates and introduced the resilience
categories. The next activation is scheduled from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, and will be
held virtually for community safety due to increased cases of COVID-19 on Hawai‘i Island. Stay
tuned for event registration.
Examples of projects led by Action Teams include establishing resilience hubs
(social/economic), invasive species mitigation and native forest restoration (natural
environment), protecting wahi kūpuna (cultural), industry and workforce development
(economic), and Pāhoa Village Master Plan (built).
A special mahalo to Target for donating binders and other supplies for the Youth RCA/Action
Teams! For more information on RCAs and Action Teams, and to sign up to participate, visit
recovery.hawaiicounty.gov.
Resilience Capacity Area co-chairs, community affiliations*
Social
Sharon Hirota – Housing and Community Development Specialist (County)
Greg Armstrong – Leilani Community Association/Leilani Neighborhood Watch (Community)
Smiley Burrows – Lower Puna Rising (Community)
Cultural
Bob Agres – Recovery Community Engagement Manager (County)
Leila Kealoha – Pōhaku Pelemaka/Puna CDP Action Committee (Community)
Economic
Ashley Kierkiewicz – County Councilmember, District 4 (County)
Susie Osborne – Kua O Ka Lā PCS/Puna CDP Action Committee (Community)
Brent Norris – Green Collar Technologies (Community)
Built Environment
Garrett Smith – Recovery and Redevelopment Manager (County)
Ku‘ulei Cooper – Trustee of the Kealoha Estate (Community)
Natural Environment
Michelle Agbigay – Economic Development Specialist (County)
Bethany Morrison – Planner (County)
Franny Brewer – Big Island Invasive Species Committee/Puna CDP Action Committee
(Community)
Youth
Misty Carter – Disaster Recovery Coordinator (County)
*Community affiliations acknowledge an aspect of the co-chairs’ community involvement. Cochairs are not representing specific organizations as participants in the RCAs/Action Teams