2004-06-04 TBOUDAR - Laserfiche WebLink

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I believe that Melanie Boudar has met all of the requirements to address the concerns. And she wants to be a good neighbor with everyone, so she’s very concerned. She has sent out letters, she’s part of the community, she’s on the committee for the road maintenance for Mauna Loa Estates. And I think that this is a growing industry that needs to be supported for Hawai’i. It’s important. And I wanted to just make these brief remarks, and thank you; and I ask, Mr. Chairman, and Commission members that you make a favorable recommendation for her permit use. Thank you. FUJIKAWA:Commissioners, any questions with the testifier? If not, Barbara, you may testify right now. RICO:Mahalo. LEONARD:Good afternoon, Commissioners, Director Yuen. I’m an Associate Professor of Business at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo. I’ve had my appointment for 2-1/2 years now. And, along with that, I’m a co-owner of a bed and breakfast here in Hilo, Waterfall’s Inn, on 240 Kaiulani Street, along with my husband, George. When I went through this process, we had a number of neighbors complain about our requested use permit. They were worried about traffic and noise. And we’ve been open now for almost a year and, recently, several of the neighbors that wrote letters of concern about our use permit have come to us and said, “We want you to know that we really appreciate the fine job that you’ve done in running your bed and breakfast, and we don’t even know you’re there.” That’s how good a job we’re doing, “We don’t even know you’re there.” And the fact is, is that our guests leave early in the morning and they come back late at night. Sometimes we don’t even see them. They don’t hang around, they don’t make noise. Most of our guests are in the, are highly educated. Let’s say about half of them are doctors. And they, a lot of them come here on conventions and they want a little side trip, they want to come to Hilo. They don’t want to stay in a big resort, they want to experience the local culture; and it’s a fabulous experience for them. As a business professor, I just want you to know that I’m, one of the things that I teach my students is to encourage them to start their own businesses because there are no jobs in Hilo. I mean, there are jobs but nothing that really excites them. And I’m encouraging them, start your own business, there’s all these tourists coming here, do something that’s environmentally and culturally sustainable, do something that’s not going to pollute the environment and not going to leave a footprint, but do some kind of a business that’s going to help enhance what we have and not destroy it. And it’s my opinion that a bed and breakfast establishment does that. It brings people into the community, rather than checking them into a corporate hotel where the profits are going off-island. Our guests spend a lot of money in the community. They eat out every night, they buy local products, they’re contributing to the tax base. And we have six part-time employees that work, creating jobs for people in the community. I just see it as a win-win situation. I also want to share with you that we have not received one complaint since we’ve opened 7