As speeches go, the State of the State is like opening your refrigerator – you already know what’s inside before you get there.

But during her sixth State of the State address Tuesday morning, Governor Linda Lingle snuck in some expensive dessert for North Shore residents opposed to the expansion of Turtle Bay Resort.

“I am proposing that we buy the 850-acre Turtle Bay property on Oahu’s North Shore,” said the Governor, as she addressed a joint-session of the legislature. “The purchase of this important property will create an opportunity for the community to shape a vision for this part of the North Shore.”

The president of Keep the North Shore Country, a grassroots organization which has been fighting the proposal to build five new hotels on Turtle Bay’s property, cheered the governor’s idea. "The will is there,” said Gill Riviere. “The community's been strong all the way on this and it's nice to see that the government is getting involved to make it happen.”

Turtle Bay is owned by Kuilima Resort Co., whose parent company is Oaktree Capital Management LLC - a global investment corporation with over $51 billion dollars of assets under its management. Last month lender Credit Suisse filed a $283 million dollar lawsuit against Kuilima, seeking to foreclose on the property because of delinquent payments.

House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, a democrat who represents Manoa, Manoa Valley, and the University area, says the purchase of Turtle Bay must be weighed against other priorities, especially as the state grapples with an economic downturn projected at $59 million dollars for fiscal year 2009.

"880 acres on the ocean has to be close to a billion dollars worth of money we're talking about here,” said Caldwell, adding that many other issues will require “huge sums” of money.

In her speech Lingle said she’s thought of at least a dozen ways in which the state could mix and match revenue streams in order to finance the purchase of Turtle Bay lands. “These include, selling off the resort portion of the property to pay down the debt, exchanging other state lands, creatively using tax credits spread out over time, a tax check-off on our income tax returns, private grants, allocating Legacy Land Funds, federal conservation dollars, and a worldwide Internet fundraising campaign to ‘Save Hawaii’s North Shore.’”

In her post speech press conference the governor also called Caldwell’s estimated purchase price “premature.” “I would tell you that's more than twice as much as what we expect it would be,” the governor said.

Rep. Michael Magaoay, a democrat who represents the North Shore said he’s “ecstatic” about the governor’s proposal but like Caldwell, said it would take a lot of work and input from the community.

North Shore residents like Riviere believe the support exists, both locally and abroad, to save what has become one of the last undeveloped parcels of land on Oahu.

“When they come out they know it's something special,” he said. “It's worth saving for everybody's sake.”

Andrew may be reached at apereira@khon2.com or ph. 591-4263.