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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 1 <br /> <br /> <br /> ?CBS JUL 18 PM ? y U <br /> <br /> <br /> July 18, 2006 "OUNI <br /> <br /> <br /> Hawaii county council committee on Planning <br /> K. Angel Pilago, Chair <br /> <br /> Subject: Support for Proposed Resolution No. 883-06 <br /> <br /> Dear Chair Pilago and members of the Committee on Planning, , <br /> Thank you for allowing me to present testimony in support of <br /> Resolution 3$3 06. <br /> <br /> As an Introduction, I am a forty year resident of Kailua Kona and <br /> successfully managed Kona Village Resort the past 30 years, before <br /> retiring last year. <br /> <br /> I've been an active member of the Kona community for over forty years. I <br /> have served on the executive board of the Hawaii Visitor's and Convention <br /> Bureau, past president for HVCB's Big Island Chapter, past State Chair of <br /> the Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association and past director of the Hawaii <br /> Island United Way. I am a 30-year participant at the Hawaiian <br /> International Billfish Tournament and presently serve as its president. <br /> <br /> The Kona community has needed and wanted the harbor to be expanded <br /> and Its facilities upgraded for a long time. Without the resort component, <br /> Jacoby Development's marina and mixed-use project would be very <br /> difficult to develop and sustain economically. <br /> <br /> As a former manager of charter boat operations for Kona Village Resort <br /> and presently the president of the Hawaiian International Billfish <br /> Tournament, I know of the acute shortage of mooring slips at the present <br /> Honokohau Harbor. The list to obtain a slip is long and people are <br /> discouraged from even applying for one, often feeling that it is a hopeless <br /> pursuit. Many boats are presently moored in open waters, such as Kailua <br /> Bay and are at great risk to their owners and crews. The additional <br /> moorings created within a marina would allow these boats to be <br /> accommodated within a safe area. <br /> I fear that if we cannot make it economically feasible for a developer to <br /> proceed, we will not see any additional slips In Kona in the near or distant <br /> future. The state, from my understanding, does not have the financial i <br /> resources or the desire to expand the harbor and its facilities. I have seen <br /> many privately funded harbor facilities developed on the mainland at no E <br /> Y <br /> R' <br /> 7a anH,a 00N L69GKE LG:61 900L/BT/L0 <br />