2020-05-07 Liquor Commission Minutes

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to 55 and 54 percent. But, once you eliminate vacant lot owners and talk about the people who live here, the statistics go way up in terms of who's against it. The reasons are obvious and I put them in my written statement. Kaye: When you look at the protests, you'll see the same kinds of focuses over and over again, which is that the idea that alcohol doesn't mix with a bunch of kids playing in the neighborhood. It doesn't fit with the one -lane bridge and it doesn't fit when you go onto Highway 19, and there have already been three or four accidents happen out there that have been brutal accidents because it's a tough intersection. In terms of ... that's basically where we are with this thing. If there are any questions of me, I will be happy to answer them. Onizuka: Any questions? lbarra: Mr. Chair, my only question is, did you receive the response to the concerns raised? Kaye: Yes, if you're talking about the ones from Mr. Shropshire, I did and I'll comment on that for a couple of minutes. I received them this morning, and they are from the landlord, not from the applicant. I want everybody to realize that. Mr. Shropshire is the landlord, and he wrote both of those documents. The first one is basically him saying he wants a delay and the reasons he says he wants a delay are rather nebulous. The first one being because of coronavirus which I don't really see (has) anything to do with it, except for the fact that he has stated that he believes the coronavirus has prevented him from having neighborhood meetings in which he could campaign in favor of the liquor operation. Kaye: I just felt that was disingenuous because Mr. Shropshire has been making plenty of phone calls about this already, number 1, to people to try to get them in support of it. The second thing is the fact that the law is really clear that once the protests go in, you are not supposed to solicit people to try to get them to withdraw their protest. I wrote that up, and I think that it's mandatory. So, therefore, (that) he would like to "discuss their concerns," is really just an attempt to get them to take back a protest, and he shouldn't be doing that anyway, so that was that. Finally, his other concern was that you do have the right to extend it because of the coronavirus and I believe that is the case. You may, you may not; you chose not to, right, by having this meeting on the seventh remotely, and therefore, there's just no reason to delay it. Kaye: The second thing was a paper talking about why all of our protests are meaningless in terms of the alcohol, the one -lane bridge, the traffic, all of that. The only thing I would say is, he's completely wrong about a hundred cars coming down here a day, that's absurd, it's ridiculous. We have no more post office here. That stopped almost all the cars from coming. Hakalau Beach is closed with a gate up. There are no hundred cars coming down here a day. So, therefore, his attack on the kids for playing on Old Mamalahoa Highway is kind of a silly idea. It's an empty road, right now, that will not be empty once this facility takes place. Okay, I don't know if that answers it. MAY 7, 2020 - LIQUOR COMMISSION MINUTES