(BIVN) – A bill that would take $30,000 from the Geothermal Relocation and Community Fund and in order to provide access to computers and Wi-Fi at the Pāhoa Community Center was panned by testifiers on Wednesday before the council voted 6-3 to advance the measure to second reading.

Speaking out from the video conferencing site in Pāhoa, members of the Puna Pono Alliance blasted Bill 115, saying any funds derived from royalties from Puna Geothermal Venture royalties should be used to fund long-requested air monitoring equipment around the facility or for an emergency response plan, for example.

“Once those protections that are supposed to be there are in place,” said Robert Petricci, “Puna Pono Alliance will not have a problem with with the county taking those funds for community projects. But how can you live with yourselves, really… taking that money for projects like a $30,000 dollar internet, if I read that correctly…
who pays $30,000 dollars for Internet?”

“If you try and if you start taking this money I will activate Puna Pono Alliance and we will do actions or we will come to the community meetings and we will do whatever we have to to put a light on this,” Petricci said. “Just how hard is it, how is it so difficult, that you can’t put a basic source monitoring, an emergency response in place after decades. But you can take money for roads, toilets, security guards, and $30,000 Internet services? It’s outrageous.”