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Page 2 of 2 <br /> Aloha, County Council Members: <br /> I am providing testimony on Bi1151 and its drafts and amendments on Flood Control. <br /> I urge the Council to pass this legislation without delay. <br /> You have heazd the testimony with the preponderance of evidence showing how Bi1151 will protect <br /> the residents of the Island and how it will meet the requirements of FEMA and flood insurance issues. <br /> You have been given examples of violations of both FEMA and EPA requirements of certain <br /> developers and numerous broken promises on providing engineering reports and maps after they have <br /> been given approval by various Commissions and even the Council to proceed. You have seen <br /> examples where developers proceed without proper permitting. <br /> No district of the Island is free from flooding dangers. Development in or rerouting flood plains <br /> requires special engineering attention to prevent worsening flood potential. It is not unreasonable for <br /> those issues to be addressed. The developers and their support groups all complain that it will cost <br /> them more money to develop properties if Bi1151 passes. Realistically, the cost will be in the <br /> engineering design and application to meet the requirements established in Bi1151. Simply put, it will <br /> require some land to be set aside for flood control measures. That may result in a fewer but a small <br /> number of homes or apartments being built on a pazticular property b ut there is no doubt that it will <br /> protect citizens from flood problems and, in the long run, will not only lower flooding risk but be <br /> fiscally prudent. <br /> The Council already has made numerous compromises in favor of the developers and now it is time for <br /> the Council to protect the citizens of this Island from the blatant disregard for law and regulation, and <br /> the property, safety and well being of the citizens. <br /> If the Council does not pass for Bi1151 and its amendments, then it is doing the Island Community a <br /> great disservice and our hope after the last election has gone the way of the Hawaiian Akialoa* - <br /> extinct! We the people will have been undercut in favor to the special interests by the same <br /> representatives we elected and depend upon to protect us. <br /> Pass Bi1151. <br /> Sincerely, <br /> Michael Reimer <br /> Kailua-Kona <br /> GeoMikeS cr a_tt.net <br /> July 22, 2007 <br /> *The Hawaiian Akialoa was an avian species of honeycreeper endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It was <br /> a small bird with olive green feathers, and a large curved bill. It was last seen on Hawaii in the eazly <br /> 1900s and Kauai in 1967. Habitat encroachment is thought to have played a role in its extinction. <br /> <br /> 7/23/2007 <br /> <br />