|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
91 |
|
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 |
|
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
HOUSE RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO CONSULT WITH OTHER PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTITIES TO DEVELOP A PLAN TO OPTIMIZE THE USE OF THE KamueLA VACUUM COOLING PLANT.
WHEREAS, Hawaii's farmers face formidable challenges in competing against mainland and foreign farmers for market share as Hawaii imports eighty-five per cent of its food, at an estimated cost of $4,500,000,000 annually; and
WHEREAS, agricultural facilities such as vacuum cooling plants, slaughterhouses, processing facilities, experimental stations, marshalling yards, and agricultural research laboratories are critical to ensuring the viability of Hawaii's agricultural industry; and
WHEREAS, the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant on the island of Hawaii is operated by the Kamuela Farmers Cooperative, which consists of sixty members, and processes approximately seven million pounds of produce annually, while also providing storage and limited processing services; and
WHEREAS, the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant is nearly thirty years old and has sustained severe wind damage that led to its roof being repaired in 2008; the Plant's maintenance program crippled by energy costs; and
WHEREAS, a comprehensive plan is needed to ensure that the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant is used in the most efficient and effective manner possible; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that the Department of Agriculture is requested to consult with the Lalamilo Farmers Cooperative and the Big Island Farm Bureau to develop a plan to optimize the use of the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests that the plan address, at a minimum, the following items of concern:
(1) The needs of farmers and how the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant can best address these needs;
(2) The potential of the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant to support farmers, assist in the diversification of agriculture, provide for value-added products, and support economies of scale; and
(3) An evaluation of the costs to operate, repair, and upgrade the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant to meet the needs and achieve the goals specified in items (1) and (2), above; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is requested to submit the plan to optimize future use of the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, the Chair of the Lalamilo Farmers Cooperative, and the President of the Big Island Farm Bureau.
|
|
OFFERED BY: |
_____________________________ |
|
|
|
|
Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant