LIHU‘E — The palm trees, swaying in the breeze, drowned out the speakers while the midday sun beat down on the podium. Only on Kaua‘i. The Garden Isle on Wednesday welcomed dignitaries from a variety of government agencies at all
LIHU‘E — The palm trees, swaying in the breeze, drowned out the speakers while the midday sun beat down on the podium. Only on Kaua‘i.
The Garden Isle on Wednesday welcomed dignitaries from a variety of government agencies at all levels to celebrate the island’s recognition as a Preserve America Community.
The Preserve America Communities program recognizes those that “protect and celebrate their heritage, use their historic assets for economic development and community revitalization, and encourage people to experience and appreciate local historic resources through education and heritage tourism program,” according to information from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which designated Kaua‘i in December.
The County of Kaua‘i is the third Hawai‘i community, after Honolulu’s Chinatown Historic District and Maui County to receive this special designation.
Through the designation, the county gains White House recognition, a certificate of recognition, a Preserve America Community road sign, authorization to use the Preserve America logo on signs, flags, banners, and promotional materials, listing in a Web-based Preserve America Community directory, national and regional press releases and enhanced community visibility and pride, according to the Preserve America Web site.
But perhaps the biggest benefit is that Kaua‘i becomes eligible for grants and other assistance to its historic preservation and heritage tourism efforts.
The honor is “better than the lottery,” said Gary Heu, administrative assistant to Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., who spoke on behalf of the county with Carvalho on the Mainland with other Hawai‘i mayors promoting tourism. “We are literally on the map.”
U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono said Hawai‘i in general and specifically Kaua‘i are special places, and was among those to heap praise on the community for its character and history.
Daniel Basta, a veteran of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and director of the National Marine Sanctuary Program, said Preserve America was created in 2003 by former President George W. Bush as a way to incentivize local tourism, provide grant money and serve as an enabler to help connect the dots.
The first taste of new grant money came even before the celebratory cake was served, with Basta presenting to Heu a large cardboard check for $4,000, after which Heu joked about adding an extra zero.
Last month, the Carvalho administration sent to the Kaua‘i County Council a memo with its plans for the money — the archival, preservation and presentation of six to eight historic county documents.
“In conjunction with the county’s initiative to digitize and electronically archive much of its paper documentation, this project will preserve some of those original documents and prepare them for public display,” the administration wrote in the memo.
“In an abbreviated search of some of the archived documents that will be digitized, several maps of historical significance, dating as far back as 1939, were located,” it wrote. “Maps and documents such as these will be selected based historical value, physical condition and public interest and will be preserved, matted and framed” in koa wood at the cost of approximately $500 for each 2-by-3-foot document.
The celebration garnered a small protest, with Elaine Dunbar and Janos Samu holding signs in the walkway between the parking lot and the rotunda claiming that Hawai‘i does not belong to America and therefore should not participate in the Preserve America program.
“This dedication today for Preserve America attached to historical and cultural sites goes deeper than expensive signs and a few thousand dollars for fix ups. It is a Bush Executive Order to dust off and repair significant places of Hawai‘i’s history to call it American history,” Dunbar said in an e-mail to The Garden Island. “This for the purpose of federalizing Hawaiian sites that can be used to generate income through world tour destinations, also known as assets for collateral on big China debts.”
For more information, visit www.preserveamerica.gov/communities.html.
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