2011-08-18 Leeward Exh A - HIHS - Laserfiche WebLink

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RUDDLE: I am. IOKEPA: Yes. May I call Nancy Jameson and Teri Hollowell? I need to swear you two in; so if you could raise your right hands. You don’t have to stand. Okay. Sorry. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawai‘i County Leeward Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: I do. IOKEPA: Please use the mike and state your name and address, please. JAMESON: Aloha. My name is Nancy Jameson, 73-4341 Kapuahi Street, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i. HOLLOWELL: Good morning. My name is Teri Hollowell. And my address is Post Office Box 604 Hōlualoa, Hawai‘i. IOKEPA: Mahalo. Susy, we’ll start with you. RUDDLE: Good morning, again. As a longtime board member of the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society, I begin by thanking the Commission for their thoughtful consideration of HIHS’s Special Permit application. It has been a long, long road to reach this exciting point in time towards our dreams of a facility in West Hawai‘i that our community – pets and people alike – deserves. The mere thought of a location that is specious, cool, and perfectly suited to the many purposes of Hawai‘i Island Humane Society has been a dream of mine personally and of many HIHS Board of Directors for years. We have long sought a location where dogs have a dog park to play in, cats are housed away from dogs rather than side by side in cramped conditions, where the community is welcomed to come and stroll the grounds, bring their own dogs to the dog park, interact with shelter animals and participate in educational programs and outreach. But before that dream becomes reality, there is still much work to be done. We assure the Commission today and in advance that all potential impacts can and will be mitigated. As an example, our plans include evening security and, of course, daily care and cleaning initiatives to minimize any odor concerns. Also of note, I believe, is the name itself. We intentionally are not calling ourselves the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society shelter but rather an Animal Community Center. The name is indicative of our efforts through this new center to be more inclusive and welcoming to animals and the community. We will be in a far better position to expand our services and do so much more than we have any hope of doing from the current facility while also helping relieve some of the burden on our Waimea and Kea‘au shelters. We have consulted with Planning Director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd every step of the way to ensure that the perfect parcel was found. We would not have taken another step forward without her blessing on this location – mahalo. If our application is approved, our next plan of action among many is to issue a request for proposal to hire architects who are experts in the field of animal care facilities. Through thoughtful design, we can better ensure sound and odor impacts are minimal to the neighbors and community while also ensuring we have a state of the art facility the entire Kona community can be very proud of. 5 EXHIBIT A