(BIVN) – On Tuesday, June 18, the Hawaiʻi County Council Finance Committee was given an update by administration officials on the progress of the Kīlauea eruption recovery effort.

The recovery team, Research and Development director Diane Ley and executive assistant to Mayor Harry Kim, Roy Takemoto, presented the latest information on the Lava Recovery Interim Strategy and spending plan update during the meeting held at the West Hawaiʻi Civic Center.

Ley reported that the Pacific Disaster Center has completed the Kīlauea Risk Assessment Study and the next step is to start “contextualizing that report, and incorporating that report into the recovery framework,” she said.

Ley also said the Puna Community Development Plan Action Committee has approved the recovery priority goals, and that the County plans to launch the stand-alone recovery website soon. They are making sure all of the components of the website work and “we don’t have spelling errors and things like that.”

The recovery team touted various community events, and detailed the latest on infrastructure recovery, noting these “major expenditures and encumbrances” for road restoration:

• Highway 137 Temporary Access
  COST: $200K
  SOURCE: Governor’s $12 M
• Kipuka Access
  COST: $12K
  SOURCE: Ordinance 19-22
• Highway 132 Temporary Access
  COST: $12.7 M
  SOURCE: Reimbursement Federal Highway Administration
• Pohoiki Road Temporary Access
  COST: $31.5 M
  SOURCE: FEMA Public Assistance

Takemoto was excited to share that the County is looking to develop pilot programs for new ideas such as a “community land trust” and revolving funds that can be used to address different needs in housing.