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democratic process, and thrilling one to be involved in. And we all are very grateful to actually <br />be asked and listened to on this. <br />There were two specific areas that I wanted to address, and not to belabor the point, but to go <br />back, I do want to, I submitted to you a written testimony, and I want to just stick with a little bit <br />of that. The issue, though, of concurrency that has come up and was addressed is a very critical <br />issue for the people of Waikoloa. All of the properties around Waikoloa were zoned 30 years <br />ago when none of the people sitting in this room lived there. It was a very different community; <br />those of you who’ve been around will know that it used to have post office boxes, and coolers at <br />the back and a gas pump up front, and that was commerce in Waikoloa. So it has changed a lot <br />and our needs are tremendous. The existing Waikoloa community suffers a great deal from lack <br />of parks, community facilities, and bike ways, roads, paths, police presence, and emergency <br />preparedness. So when we look at projections that are contained in this document about the <br />proposed build-outs that are quite truthfully staggering, we know that this cannot be done in a <br />way that does not allow for some kind of concurrency in that when developments come, that we <br />still have or keep these very livable and safe places to get in and out of and to enjoy the life that <br />we love here. So we knew that was, the Steering Committee really worked very hard. We know <br />that this concurrency issue is one that is sitting there with, you know, a little “Hello” sign on it. <br />That being said, it was the kind of thing that we could not leave out and represent what we heard <br />from our communities, and that was for the full Steering Committee. Within Waikoloa, and sir, I <br />also serve with the Department of Education, I’m an educational officer and a school <br />administrator, so I’m really aware of what the DOE process is and the limitations are. But for us <br />to leave out the issue of schools in anything about Waikoloa is like not mentioning the elephant <br />in the room. This August, we opened Waikoloa Elementary and now Middle School with 710 <br />students. In 1994 there was 320. We are very much a growing community, and we still have <br />very pressing needs. So we felt that even though the Department clearly has to go through all of <br />its jurisdictional protocols, that we must include that in this document to be representative of our <br />community and the long-term vision that absolutely does impact things that the County has to <br />coordinate with us on. <br />I’d like to conclude by – and I know you all have this – but I do want to read just one tiny section <br />of the Vision Statement because I believe very much in vision statements, and we worked hard to <br />come through this. I’m not going to read the whole thing, but I will just reiterate this one part: <br />“We are blessed to live in one of the most unique, exquisite places on the planet, and we know it. <br />We promise to plan to do everything possible to live responsibly and wisely on this sacred island <br />for current and future generations.” We bless you as you go forth in your considerations of this, <br />and thank you for your time. Mahalo. <br />WATANABE: Thank you. Do we have any questions for Ms. Smith? Mr. Iwashita. <br />IWASHITA: I get stuck in education. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can you repeat what you <br />said about the enrollment in the School? <br />SMITH: Yes, I can. The document that you have in front of you will show that <br />Waikoloa School’s enrollment is, on Page 99, it will show that 620, that was as of 2006. It also <br />EXHIBIT E <br />26 <br /> <br />