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WARREN:My name is Jerome Warren. My name is Jerome Warren. I live in <br />Naalehu. I live in the old plantation housing part of town. I am an ex-sugar worker. I planted <br />the last crop in Ka€u. Since leaving the plantation, Ive worked in agriculture. I worked for mac <br />nut growers and I worked for one coffee farmer. So I kind of know what Im talking about. My <br />family has a background in agriculture. My mom grew up on a wheat farm in North Dakota. <br />My family originated in Europe where people lived in villages and they went out to the fields to <br />farm. But I feel its very important that people live in villages. Im going to read my letter now. <br />And, also, Im constantly being offered jobs. Im constantly turning down jobs. If a person is <br />honest, they have a house, a car and a telephone, they will find work in Ka€u. The only thing <br />that precludes a person is their education. The higher degree of education the higher the salary <br />they can demand. <br />Ill read my letter now. I planted the last cane crop in Ka€u. It was during a drought. My <br />experiencetellsmenoreasonablepersonwouldexpectanyoneoftheseparcelstogeneratea <br />positive cash flow. The only way a person could make money on these parcels is to collect <br />grants or to resell the property. <br />In the meantime, these parcels will preclude large scale agricultural, agriculture in the <br />surrounding area. Residents and large scale agriculture do not mix. <br />th <br />Mr. Savio stated on February 10 <br />, thats the meeting he invited us here to, that he expects the <br />Federal Government to help with his infrastructure. Hehad a cost plan that hinged on his <br />promised price staying the same if he can get all the Federal help, and he would be forced to <br />raise the price if he could not get help. So nobody really knows what theyre going to end up <br />paying on these lots. My feeling is that any Federal aid coming into Ka€u should be directed <br />towards preserving our shoreline. Lets not dilute their generosity by asking for things which a <br />developer should supply onhisown. <br />Everything else I have to say on this rezoning I have already said in the Hester hearings. I hope <br />thatweusebetterjudgmentthistime.Thankyou. <br />ALAMEDA:Thankyou,Mr.Warren.Anyquestions,Commissioners?Allright,just <br />for the public notice, we will be taking a ten-minute break after this testimony. Go ahead. Will <br />youstateyournameandaddress. <br />RICE:Goodmorning.MynameisWillieRice.ImaDistrictForesterforForest <br />Solutions, Inc. I simply have a testimony here that I submitted earlier, and Id just like to read <br />thistestimony.Itsaddressed‚ToWhomItMayConcern: <br />‚ForestSolutions,Inc.isconcernedwiththefollowingissuesregardingtheproposedrezoningof <br />agricultural land. <br />‚Our agricultural crop, eucalyptus trees, surrounds this project on the volcano and Naalehu sides. <br />We are both up-wind and down-wind. We have approximately 4,000 acres of trees at various <br />stages, which continue to be a significant investment made by our client. Our trees will be ready <br />for harvesting at age 7 and 8, or 8 and will continue on an ongoing basis. Our operations started <br />in 1998 and have continued unhindered. Our agricultural operations include site preparation, <br />28 <br /> <br />