Bill > HR114

This Resolution urges Kamehameha Schools to treat the elderly farmers in Hawaii Kai fairly by extending their farm leases, which are set to expire in July 2025, and by postponing the deadline for them to cap their cesspools. Cesspools are underground containment structures for sewage, and capping them involves replacing them with a septic tank system, which the farmers are being asked to pay for at a significant cost of over $35,000. Many of these farmers are in their seventies, have low incomes, and the Resolution argues that the cesspool capping requirement, especially given the short time left on their leases, feels like a penalty rather than an environmental necessity, particularly as the deadline for capping is much later if their cesspools are not classified as "large." The Resolution also suggests that Kamehameha Schools should consider amortizing the cost of septic tanks over a longer period and be more sensitive to the farmers' age and financial situation, as they will lose their homes and structures without compensation when their leases end.