HILO, Hawaiçi -- North Kona Councilman Kelly Greenwell wants Hawaiçi County to get a bigger chunk of the nation's $800 billion in federal stimulus money, and he thinks hiring a lobbyist is the way to do that.

The federal lobbyist is one of two new positions the County Council's Finance Committee will consider when it meets Tuesday in Hilo.
The other position being requested by Finance Director Nancy Crawford is for a parks project manager to oversee park construction projects in Kona.
There are already three such project manager positions in the Parks and Recreation budget in the $51,312 to $75,960 annual pay grade being requested, according to documents provided by the Finance Department earlier this year.
Both Greenwell and Crawford think the new positions are justified even though the county is facing a budget crunch and will end the fiscal year in the red if the county doesn't sell of some of its Hamakua landholdings.
"Many projects and programs in the County of Hawaiçi qualify for funding assistance under the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," Greenwell said in his resolution. "A federal lobbyist employed to identify these projects and programs and lobby for their funding on behalf of the County of Hawaiçi would greatly expedite access to that funding."
Greenwell was en route to Hawaiçi from his own lobbying trip to Washington and couldn't be reached for further comment Friday.
Mayor Billy Kenoi held workshops in May to help get community leaders up to speed on federal stimulus money coming into the county. County officials have identified about $88 million in such dollars earmarked for the county.
Most of the money is expected to flow through state or county coffers and trickle into the economy when governments hire workers for capital projects. A comparatively small amount of the money will go directly to individuals through lower withholding taxes and increased deductions.
Tops on the county's funding list is $35 million for Ane Keohokalole Highway in Kona, also known as the midlevel road. Bridges on Hawaiçi Belt Road will get $11 million more.
Crawford said in her resolution that adding another permanent position would allow the Department of Parks and Recreation to "decrease or end the usage of contracted construction managers."
"There are approximately 200 ongoing park projects, not including the many projects in (their) initial planning stage, and will increase based on the current review of all parks' facilities for (federal Americans with Disabilities Act) and new hazardous materials assessments," the resolution said.
Crawford said in the resolution that there's money in the budget to fund the new position. She didn't return a telephone call Friday for further comment.