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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> = [till 11111 . . <br /> HAWAII DIVISION: 100 Went Lonikoula Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96740 • OAHU DIVISION: 451 At inson Drirve, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814 <br /> MAUI COUNTY DIVISION: 896 Lower Mein Street, Wailuku, Hawaii 96793 • KAUAI DIVISION: 4154 Hardy Street, Lihue, Hawaii 96766 <br /> <br /> LOCAL 142 April 18, 2006 <br /> <br /> Councilperson Virginia Isbell, Chair <br /> Councilperson Gary Safarik, Vice Chair <br /> Committee of Finance <br /> Hawaii County Council <br /> 25 Aupuni Street <br /> Hilo, Hawaii 96720 <br /> Statement of ILWU Local 142 on Resolution 290-06 <br /> <br /> My name is Richard Baker, Jr. and I am the Hawaii Division Director of the ILWU Local <br /> 142. <br /> <br /> The ILWU strongly supports this resolution as a workable plan to save approximately <br /> 275 homes in Naalehu and Pahala. <br /> <br /> The E.P.A.'s ban on gang cesspools put the residents in these communities in danger of <br /> losing their homes. The E.P.A. gave these residents only two choices: connect to a sewer <br /> system or build an individual septic system. <br /> <br /> There is no existing sewer system in Ka`u. Most of the affected lots are too small to put <br /> in a septic system - even if residents could afford the cost. The choices offered by the <br /> E.P.A. will not work. These residents would have been forced to move out of their <br /> homes. <br /> <br /> The ILWU began working with the County, C. Brewer, and retired Department of Health <br /> official Dennis Tulang to find a way to save these homes. The resolution you are <br /> considering today is the result of months of hard work. It offers a solution that benefits <br /> both the residents and the County: the residents get to stay in their homes and the County <br /> saves 275 units of much-needed affordable housing while preserving Na`alehu Park. <br /> <br /> There is no precedent for this resolution. But if 275 families are in danger of losing their <br /> homes and the community is in danger of losing Na`alehu Park, we need to think "out of <br /> the box" and take action. <br /> <br /> The ILWU strongly supports this resolution and we thank the Council for considering our <br /> opinions. Q <br /> <br /> <br /> Com-n. No. 79.1 <br /> 8Ref. To:traaul <br /> i ate Ar r, <br /> <br /> <br /> ''AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL'' <br />