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MS. GLASS: Aloha, thank you very much for eight of you, I believe, coming before us today,
<br />and for all the hard work you do. I know how difficult this is because I've tried to do it at the
<br />State level; and it's even worse at the County level, I think. I live in Waikoloa, I am representing
<br />Ma-lama Waikoloa Nightingales. I'm a member of several community organizations that would
<br />be impacted, but the one I founded, Ma-lama Waikoloa Nightingales, counts on community
<br />consensus from Waikoloa; and part of that is having a council person who is kept informed and is
<br />generally supportive, and knows what his constituents believe. We're trying to humanely re-
<br />home approximately 600 feral donkeys. This is a not a small task; it's taken all of South Kohala,
<br />and it's taken Waikoloa's community support. If we had to, if I even had to go through two
<br />council members every time I wanted their support for something, I could find them doing things
<br />like one saying, "Those donkeys are in the other council district," if you split Waikoloa right
<br />down the middle. We are Waikoloa; you can't just, we're a community, a town, a village if you
<br />will. We can't be split; nor can other communities. I can see them playing each other, off each
<br />other, go talk to that other guy. I can see going before some County administrative office and
<br />needing to work with them, and having one of them say well, your council member on the other
<br />side says something different; they're doing that. You may have people trying to play like a
<br />teenager, as a citizen, and do one where if mom says no you ask dad, and vice versa.
<br />So, it would take a lot of effort and require such close communication between the council
<br />members and for any community member to deal with the County Council if we were split in two.
<br />I think this is the same for any organization, any individual, and also you know, for the council
<br />people and the council. That's pretty much it, my favorite plan is Plan _40, because it keeps more
<br />of South Kohala as South Kohala, and we do have a sense of community in South Kohala, up and
<br />down the hill from half way up the mountain, at least to almost the ocean is South Kohala; it's not
<br />North Kona or somewhere else. Thank you very much for listening to my testimony, and I hope
<br />you will reconsider many of these plans, and do a better effort at finding one that keeps at least
<br />little towns together, if not districts and areas that historically are districts of this island, forever;
<br />you know, since unification of the island. I don't see how that can possibly meet the requirements
<br />that you need to follow. Thank you so much, aloha.
<br />CHR. SIRACUSA: Thank you for your input. Our next testifier is Matty Keith.
<br />MATTY KEITH
<br />(At this time Matty Keith came forward to address members of the Commission.)
<br />MS. KEITH: Aloha. I would also like to thank all of you for all your work. I submitted my
<br />testimony via email through your secretary so you can have it; I'll just go over it briefly. My
<br />feelings are also leaning towards Plan _40. I am not in favor of splitting Waikoloa. In fact, I am
<br />not in favor of splitting any community whatsoever. Actually, I was surprised to hear, I wasn't
<br />aware that Waimea was split that way, with Lakeland, and that's unfortunate. I always thought of
<br />South Kohala as Waimea, Waikoloa. Waikoloa is a little different though; it's an association. It's
<br />not like Waimea, it's not like Kona. Then again, it's not like Pualani Ranch or Kohala Ranch;
<br />we're not gated. To split us in half is not something I'm in favor for because eventually I would
<br />like to see Waikoloa as a regular community; like Waimea, like Kona. The resort area, they may
<br />want different representation, because they might have different concerns. There's a lot of growth
<br />in that area, all along the Kohala Coast. They may not have the same concerns that we, as a
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