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lessons from the past and current hard times, it seems like our leaders would see the madness of
<br /> putting more eggs into the tourism basket.
<br /> One other concern we have is that people generally want to see successful agencies with great track
<br /> records taking on more responsibility. Why would we entrust an agency to manage and expand the
<br /> airport facility when it allowed the Honolulu Airport to degrade to North America's third worst?
<br /> And I have one comment that wasn't in my testimony from what Planning said. Despite the project
<br /> not being in Conservation land directly, it certainly will affect Conservation lands that are adjacent
<br /> to it. And as far as building a quarantine hotel at the airport, we have plenty of hotels that can be
<br /> used, especially when there is a pandemic, which creates even lower occupancy.
<br /> And to close, with all these concerns and more, we ask the committee members parse the land use
<br /> and financial needs of our residents in a different light than those who need proposed zoning
<br /> amendment. We hope that you and the Planning Department will focus on more sustainable,
<br /> diverse, less tourism dependent projects, especially ones that don't sit precariously close to our
<br /> special hard-won places and our delicate coastline.
<br /> Mahalo for your time, and thank you so much for letting me go before other speakers.
<br /> CARR SMITH: Thank you very much, Janice, appreciate it. All right, let's move on. Mr. Yuen
<br /> and Mr. Bisgard, you folks want to be next? And please let us know your name and where you are
<br /> calling in from and what your position is,please. And unmute, please.
<br /> WONG YUEN: Okay, are we good now?
<br /> CARR SMITH: Yes, go ahead.
<br /> WONG YUEN: Okay, thank you. Chair Carr Smith and Members, thank you so much for allowing
<br /> us to contribute this morning. My name is Chauncey Wong Yuen. Real quickly, I'm a Big Island
<br /> boy, born in Hilo but raised in Kona. I graduated from Konawaena High School. I count on
<br /> amongst my mentors, the original environmentalists that were here on this coast, folks like Alice
<br /> Greenwell and, who took us up into the mountains, and[inaudible] Sutherland, my teachers. We are
<br /> talking about John Wahinekapu, my scoutmaster, who taught us values of the scout law. So these
<br /> lands on which this airport sits are near and dear to me. In fact, before this airport was an airport, I
<br /> grew up in Kailua, having walked as a scout from Palani Road all the way to what now is the
<br /> existing Honok6hau Harbor and `Ai`opio fishtrap where we can't[inaudible]. So I'm just saying all
<br /> of this to let you know that, you know, we are not making decisions or, or looking at planning and
<br /> development from a State-wide point of view. So as we are looking at this development—I've been
<br /> here 50 years, all 50 years of it, I started working here at this airport in 1970. I was a kid then, 16
<br /> years old, working for my dad with the Gray Line corporation. I joined Hawaiian Airlines in 1973,
<br /> Aloha Airlines in 1995, and I've been with the State of Hawaii since 2002. So, I've managed both
<br /> airports in Hilo and in Kona. During the period, of course, we've seen, you know, much growth.
<br /> And if it were not for the pandemic, we actually had this opportunity to reset and take a look at what
<br /> we are going to do with facilities in particular.
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<br /> EXHIBIT B
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