2007-07-06 TSUPERSTORES - Laserfiche WebLink

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should probably receive a lot of testimony from small farmers too, and other small business people. Local businesses contribute a far greater percentage of their profits to local causes. They have a direct connection with the local people. They know the problems and they know what needs to be done. While some of the larger corporations contribute more in dollars they do not give anywhere near the same percentage nor with the same aloha spirit. Where will the workforce come from initially for these supercenters? There arent enough people already to work here. We already have jobs going crying. Superstores are different from other large retails. Twice the size of existing Wal-Mart, I would say a 260,000 square foot supercenter, full- on supercenter, is the size of the super dome. And Im not just talking about the football field, Im talking the whole super dome. Many people on the island that Ive talked to dont really have a frame of reference of what these supercenters look like. You go to Las Vegas, Nevada, you see these supercenters with not just parking lots but RV Centers that you can camp and shop at super box stores any day 24/7, you know, you just camp out there. Superstores draw traffic from a much larger radius, as has been pointed out; and so again the concept of centralization is throwninourfacewhenweretryingtogetawayfromthat. InconclusionIwouldsaythatMokuLoaGroup,SierrraClubHawaii,standsinfavorofbanning big box stores on this island. It is not conducive to our island lifestyle. And we also oppose any legislation that would create special zoning for these stores because that would essentially establish the same situation that were trying to avoid. Mahalo and aloha. WATANABE:Are there any questions for the testifier? DOMINGO:Id just like to thank you for the fine planning principles that youve mentioned, we appreciate that. CAMPBELL:Thank you. HILLIARD:My name is Thomas Hilliard. My address is RR2, Box 6258, Pahoa. And Im coming here just as a citizen and a family man, a long-term resident. Ive lived here for 34 years. I lived in Hilo a very long time ago, 30 years ago. Ive seen Hilo go from what it was then, which was very quiet. I think there might have been one stop light. In any case, Ive been reading letters in the paper and I noticed some of the letters are saying people want the big box because theyre crying about high prices. So I started thinking about that and I realized that the stores that supply us locally, while they may sometimes have prices which are a bit higher, theyre not actually really high. People dont understand that. But all of that money that they bring in is then distributed all the way down through our local community because they have their debts to pay, they have all their employees to pay. So, really, I think that the people who want the savings are being very selfish because theyre not realizing that actually its their neighbors theyre paying that what they complain about the greater price to. The local business is the heart of Hawaii, really. Its true. And one business I want to mention is KTA. KTA is the most exceptional store I have ever shopped in, the Hilo Store particularly. The people there are absolutely friendly and incredibly helpful. They remodeled the store, as many of you know a couple of years back, and they did a beautiful job. Its clean, its tidy. They have many, many things for sale. Its nothing like a big box store, but they still have tried to service the community. And I think theyre doing an incredible job. And I think that they will grow if we allow them. I understood that they planned 26 EXHIBIT B