LIHUE — Organizers of the Mana March say they will cut a check to the County of Kauai — $5,627 to be exact — to offset costs incurred during the anti-GMO, pro-Bill 2491 event in September. Fern Rosenstiel, director of
LIHUE — Organizers of the Mana March say they will cut a check to the County of Kauai — $5,627 to be exact — to offset costs incurred during the anti-GMO, pro-Bill 2491 event in September.
Fern Rosenstiel, director of Ohana O Kauai, one of the organizations behind the protest and rally, said the money was raised through donations and that she will deliver a check in the next few days.
“I’m doing this because I gave the chief of police and the mayor my word,” she said. “If they agreed to keep (the march) a safe and friendly event, we would pay for the off-duty officers.”
Spokeswoman Beth Tokioka said the county appreciates the offer and would be happy to initiate the process of accepting the money once it is formerly offered.
“We must ask Council for approval to accept the donation,” she wrote in an email. “Once Council approves, we can legally accept the gift.”
The Mana March drew between 3,000 and 4,000 people in support of Bill 2491, a measure that at the time was being considered by the council and aimed to regulate the use of pesticides and genetically modified crops by the island’s largest agricultural entities.
The controversial bill was later passed into law by the Kauai County Council via a veto override in November. It’s currently being challenged in federal court.
In a written statement, Ohana O Kauai said it sincerely appreciates the assistance provided by the Kauai Police Department and county to allow for the event to take place.
“We understand that the county is struggling greatly in relation to funding,” the group wrote. “Despite our inability to pre-hire the police due to issues with proper insurance coverage and rushed timing, we are providing this donation of $5,627 to KPD to help offset those costs.”
Following the march, the county estimated that overtime pay to manage the two-hour road closure amounted to the $5,627 — $4,602.26 for KPD officers and another $1,024.95 for Public Works Department personnel. For the 16 KPD officers, who worked a total of 49 hours, the $4,602.26 breaks down to about $94 per additional man hour.
In most circumstances, KPD requires event organizers to hire off-duty police officers to provide traffic control, so that the costs are not absorbed by the KPD budget, Tokioka previously told The Garden Island.
The Mana March organizers were also required to obtain a parade permit and proof of insurance that would cover the activities from Vidinha Stadium, along the parade route and at the Historic County Building.
However, Rosenstiel said organizers were unable to secure the required insurance because Hawaii SEED, the group which obtain the parade permit, is a nonprofit.
“It was always part of our commitment, our intent to pay for those off-duty officers,” she said. “I’m not doing it to appease anyone on either side. A lot of people said, ‘You don’t have to do this … that it was our fundamental right.’”
• Chris D’Angelo, environmental reporter, can be reached at 245-0441 or cdangelo@thegardenisland.com.
