2007-08-31 TPUAKO - Laserfiche WebLink

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condition. And that is direct the developer to work with the State, in this case the Division of Land Management, to deal with a really serious flood control problem that’s in large part caused by really poor grading on the State lands adjacent to this property. And so it is manageable. When it gets very wet in Puako what the first thing that happens is that the road adjacent to this property fills up with a couple feet of water -- and there are several hundred acres in the back in the State lands that are dry or just wet from rainfall but not runoff -- and in large part because of poor drainage systems on those State lands. And the other issue, I might also mention that when that area floods, it’s more than just an inconvenience cause that is our only effective escape route in the event of a hurricane or a tidal wave. The other issue I want to mention is fire. And I think they passed around a photograph, an aerial photograph, which I shot a couple days after a fire which occurred in Puako on July 1. I saw a couple of people holding the acetate sheet. If you could look at that, you’ll see that there is an area that has just been burned right adjacent to the road. That’s a 25-acre fire that occurred on st July 1. It quite possibly was set by an arsonist, but we don’t know that for sure. We were very lucky that there happened to be an off-duty fireman very close to it right when it started and he was able to call in a helicopter within 10 minutes. But if you’ll look at it, it burned right up to the road; and the property immediately across the road is this project. And so we are very concerned about fire in Puako. I’ve worked with the State, again, the Division of Land Management, to enhance our firebreaks to try and find ways to deal with these problems. But, frankly, I think the developer might have a hard time selling lots knowing that the forest within 30 feet of the edge of the lot is so vulnerable to fire. So we again ask the developer to work with the Division of Land Management on a firebreak. If you’ll look at that picture you’ll see that they put a firebreak in immediately after the fire started. But we would like to see that along the edge of Puako Beach Drive so that the makai properties are not vulnerable. So with that, I’ll take any questions you might have of me. GRAHAM: Thank you, Mr. Shallenberger. Do any of the Commissioners have questions? Let me ask you one if I might. I actually used to live at 124 Puako back when that was a little flat house on the slab. On the coqui frog issue, I know in Kohala we’ve had a coqui frog issue that the community has really come forth and dealt with very well, as I presume you guys have. Is there a group there in Puako which sort of has the equipment, whatever, to deal with any coqui frog infestations? SHALLENBERGER: Yes. We do have a group in Puako and we got a County grant that allowed us to buy some equipment and be better prepared for it. But it’s really about every month, month and a half, somebody reports that we go out and get it. And so far we’ve been successful. But we also deal with the landscapers working on new projects, individual houses in Puako, to try and get them to deal with the problem. But here again the best technique on that side of the island in my opinion is to negotiate agreements with landscapers that require them to deal with the problem if they bring it in. GRAHAM: Sure I was thinking, and I’ll ask Mr. Fuke this in a little bit, that maybe one condition we could put in is that if there were coqui frogs within the subdivision that it would be required of the homeowners that they allow your group to come in and deal with the coqui frog. Because I know in Kohala that’s been the only issue as you can find a recalcitrant EXHIBIT B 10