|
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /> Murashige, Laura
<br />
<br /> From: Bill Zabolski [zabolski@hawaii.rr.com]
<br /> Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 6:14 PM
<br /> To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
<br /> Subject: Testimony Against the Jacoby Development Plan 2005 JUL 17 PM 5 '.7
<br /> Importance: High
<br /> C-1 I, Linda J.Zabolski am against General Plan 4-19-06 and Resolution 383-06,
<br />
<br /> for the following reasons: As owner of Captain Zodiac Rafting Adventures,
<br /> located at Gentry's Marina in Honokohau, I have personal concerns about this
<br /> proposed marina. However, I have spent a great deal of time talking to
<br /> members of the local boating (recreational and commercial) community and the
<br /> Native Hawaiian Community. The general consensus is that this development,
<br /> as being proposed by Jacoby at the present time, is definitely NOT in the
<br /> best interest of the community.
<br /> My husband, Bill, and I bought Captain Zodiac 3 years ago, and we
<br /> were not present at the 2003 meetings with Jacoby and the Land Board.
<br /> However, including the 9/23/05 Land Board meeting, we have been present at
<br /> several formal presentations by Jacoby, their PR Firm, Current Events, and
<br /> David Tarnas. We actually were contacted by Current Events and had a one on
<br /> one meeting with Ross Wilson, David Tarnas, and Jacoby's Vice President,
<br /> Hilburn Hillestad, V.P. of Environmental Affairs for Jacoby. We are being
<br /> "courted" as a desirable marine oriented tourist business for their new
<br /> marina development.
<br /> No one can deny that our existing small boat harbor is lacking in
<br /> many ways. It is substandard in size and maintenance by the State. Even with
<br /> hundreds of thousands of dollars that the DLNR receives each month from the
<br /> 3% gross receipts of all commercial boat operators, not one dime is put into
<br /> the upkeep of our local facilities. Instead, the hard-earned money seems to
<br /> disappear into the "black hole" of the general funds in Honolulu. The public
<br /> boat ramp at Honokohau is in a deplorable state, overcrowded and needs
<br /> maintenance, there is a waiting list for boat slips (there are boats for
<br /> sale, but no place to put them), and even the docks used by the paying
<br /> year-round tenants of Gentry's become unavailable when visiting boats from
<br /> other islands come and pay Gentry's a temporary fee for overnight stays.
<br /> With this said, one would think that a "new marina" would be a great
<br /> solution. The truth is that there are many "red flags" about the proposed
<br /> marina. The first being that the marina, per the Jacoby plan, offers NOTHING
<br /> to 85% of the local boating community - recreational or commercial. Since
<br /> the majority of boaters trailer their vessels, the Jacoby plan does NOT
<br /> include a boat ramp, a parking lot for vehicles and trailers, stacked
<br /> storage, and sufficient marine support. The new marina, per the DLNR
<br /> stipulations to Jacoby, will have 800 boat slips, accommodating vessels
<br /> 25-30 ft. in length. That, in itself, is ridiculous. Too many boat slips
<br /> (compare this to the two hundred some-odd boat slips in Honokohau) and too
<br /> small a length (most people with a 25-30 foot boat would use a trailer).
<br /> This "lagoon" would be accessed by the same tiny harbor entrance as
<br /> Honokohau, would use the same fuel dock, and tax all the existing resources
<br /> of Honokohau. Honokohau is the only haul-out for three islands. So what we
<br /> have, is in essence, a 5-star intercoastal Florida-type marina, sitting next
<br /> to a slum of a harbor. The "have" and the "have-nots". The 2 sides of the
<br /> tracks - the existing, declining boat harbor for locals, and the new deluxe
<br /> marina for.... who exactly? Oh, I forgot the most important factor about
<br /> this development - the 1800 "time-share" units and the 800 room resort
<br /> hotel. It is this fractional housing that is the cog turning the entire
<br /> Jacoby wheel. They need a marina in order to make their time-shares "ocean
<br /> front', because they must build on a set-back of several hundred yards from 22pp
<br /> the coastline. Comm. No.~
<br /> Mr.Hillestad told Bill and me directly, that our kind of business Ref. To~retrehrf
<br /> 1 Ref. Dote
<br />
|