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Veterans Advisory Committee Minutes August 24, 2021 Page 17 Chair Doolittle: That seems to be the best way. Anybody else have anything to add about it. About the cemeteries, process, how we view it, the report? It'd be nice to bury it and put a flag on it. Let's move on. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Doolittle: Anyone have announcements? Antonio Gaspar: This is Antonio from Kona. Mike and all the Veterans Advisory Committee, in December I reapplied for my commission because my commission expired last December. It's not nine months and I'm still waiting. Last month Pomai Bartolome called me and told me there would be confirmation in August or September. The question is when I get back to you folks, when I get my commission back, it's been nine months I am still waiting. Chair Doolittle: We'll leave that to Michelle for comment. Deputy Hiraishi: Yes, I'll follow up with Brittany on that. Antonio, I'm so sorry, let me follow up with Brittany and see where we are in this process, and I'll have her reach out directly to you. Chair Doolittle: I have an announcement, I don't know if you are aware of our housing project next to the university, just a few weeks ago we received information that we are fully funded, and our housing project will begin construction in the first quarter of 2022. We're still working on the VA to get confirmation or acknowledgement of the sister site, adjoining property for the new VA clinic but to start construction on our housing project which has been 10 years in the coming is a monumental enterprise. We've gotten about $40 million to fund this project and I'm really excited that in the next week or se we're going to have a public announcement and probably sometime in January depending on COVID, we're going to have a groundbreaking ceremony. The community has been enormously supportive for this project, and I'm just absolutely thrilled that I get to sit on the committee let alone share the committee, it's been an effort. One of our past chairman's, Bob Williams, he's been a barking dog and he's made sure that this stayed at the top of the attention scale. Everybody on the committee including Mayor Kim, the Governor, everyone that's ever been supportive of veteran's issues who's had a part of making this happen. I want to thank anybody and everybody as we march on to getting this built. Hopefully everybody in this committee will attend the groundbreaking when it comes up. Thank you, all. Sheridan: I got something. I think we ought to give congratulations to Debbie. She's been selected as the VFW Commander for the State. I know she'll do as good a job as she did with the 3830 Post. Congratulations, Debbie.