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DETWEILER: I do.
<br />WOODWARD: All right, very good. Now, what we need is, weÓll take you one at a time,
<br />first thing we need is your name and address for the record, and then give us your testimony.
<br />WeÓll start with, IÓm not sure which one is which one because honestly I donÓt know you guys,
<br />but the man in a white shirt on the left, weÓll start with you. If you give us your name and
<br />address, and then begin your testimony.
<br />
<br />GIMPEL: My name is Joel Gimpel. My address is 73-4686 Hina Lani Street in
<br />Kailua-Kona. And IÓm representing the Kona Traffic Safety Committee.
<br />
<br />Aloha. Last month, our committee submitted written comments to
<br />application for a second five-year extension to complete construction of the facilities, including
<br />the turn lane on Palani Road as required by Ordinance 98-8, and those comments should be part
<br />of your record. Accordingly, today IÓll focus only on the history of the project, the present status
<br />of work on the project, and the legal effects of Ordinance 98-8.
<br />
<br />That ordinance, which rezoned the subject property to permit construction of a church and
<br />related facilities and which had been introduced by then Council member and present Planning
<br />Director Bobbie Jean Leithead Todd, was approved effective February 17, 1998. Condition D of
<br />that ordinance required that Final Subdivision Approval be secured within five years. And
<br />Conditions E, F and G required that the interior roadways, access from Palani Road, and
<br />improvements to Palani Road satisfy Department of Public Works requirements.
<br />
<br />We understand that Mr. Yuen, the former Planning Director, granted an initial five-year
<br />extension sometime in 2003, effective until September 2008, due
<br />applicantÓs control. Because, however, the ordinance became effective in February 1998, the
<br />five-year extension became effective in February, not September, 2003, and expired in February,
<br />not September, 2008. In any event, more than eleven years have passed since that ordinance was
<br />enacted, and the required Palani Road improvements including the left-turn lane, which the
<br />applicant acknowledges is needed to provide added safety, havenÓt been completed.
<br />
<br />Late last summer, our committee informed Mr. Ron Thiel, the Public Works Department
<br />representative, that the premises were occupied and had been used for religious services for at
<br />least a year, but that the roadwork had not been completed, and that we had concerns for traffic
<br />safety. After investigation, he later informed us that: 1) there was no occupancy permit, but that
<br />the requirement had been recently waived by Mr. Yuen; and 2) the County would consider
<br />permitting only right turns in and out of the driveway until the
<br />
<br />th
<br />Present Status. We understand that an August 28 of last year meeting with the applicant,
<br />HELCO and Hawaiian Tel called by the West HawaiÒi MayorÓs Office, engendered Ðrenewed
<br />interestÑ in the project by the utilities. Nothing was done, however. So following the Kona
<br />Traffic Safety CommitteeÓs meeting in January of this year, I met with Bobby Command, the
<br />MayorÓs West HawaiÒi representative, to share our draft comments on the application for
<br />extension and to discuss the matter. This may have resulted in last monthÓs closure of one lane
<br />EXHIBIT A
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