2011-08-04 WINDWARD TRANSCRIPT VERIZON

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As a CERT member we need this cell tower so that we will be able to respond to any emergencies in the area, including island wide emergencies such as our last tsunami which we had. During that time the cell towers, the cell communications was dropped out, lost, because we didn’t have a repeater tower close to us. In the event that Highway 130 is ever cut off, Leilani is one area where helicopters can bring in food, medicine and/or medical personnel to our community. Proper communication is essential to CERT and the community. At this time a large portion of Leilani and lower Puna is a dead zone for cell operations. As a neighborhood watch member it is essential to have communication with police, fire and EMT’S. If someone is having a heart attack it is not very good to leave them there, drive around the neighborhood to find a cell signal, and call an EMT, the same for a fire or other emergency. As a VFW Post 3830 member I’d like to state that a lot of veterans including homeless vets have only a cell phone for communication. Once they leave Pahoa they completely drop off the grid. They have no more communications. The last census showed we had 2300 homeless vets on the island of Hawaii and 1300 of them live on the east side. And 90 percent of those, that’s their only communication. That’s for health, medical, anything. As a concerned citizen and Leilani resident I feel that we need this tower to provide coverage to offset the spotty telephone coverage we have now. Every time the wind blows hard or the rain gets heavy or we have an electrical storm we lose power and/or phone service. Also, we have the Puna Geothermal as a neighbor on one side and an active volcano on the other side of us, so reliable communication is a necessity not a luxury. So I’m all for you guys saying “yes” to this. KERN: Thank you very much. Any questions for the testifier? Seeing none, thank you. Wymond Wilds. WILDS: Yes. Wymond Wilds, I live at 13-3556 Alapai Street, Pahoa. I’m a member of the Leilani Association Board of Directors. I’m Captain of the Neighborhood Watch; and I am also a member of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for the County of Hawaii. When I moved to Leilani in ’95 the subdivision and others in lower Puna had party lines for telephone. I had not been exposed to this since 1950. The people clamored for private lines in Keaau. And they were installed and activated within a week. They had it, they just weren’t putting it out there to us. Lower Puna needs to have the communication system upgraded. The cell tower would greatly enhance the capability by and for the following reasons: If a landline is disrupted or not available, you have to go down the road and maybe get some reception. In the event of a telephone or electrical power loss the cell tower would still function being as it has got an on- site generator. This is a 30 kw generator. And talking to them, they said they would test it every couple of weeks to make sure this was fully functional. The cell tower would service lower Puna from Pahoa; And I was informed that they could get reception all the way to Kapoho, and to Kalapana, and out to sea In other words, those along the shoreline if we got an emergency down there, somebody is over a cliff, opihi picker, something like that they could possibly have a rescue. While attending a meeting and a guided tour at Puna Geothermal Ventures, the County Civil Defense representative there endorsed the need for quick response communications in the area. And like it was previously stated during the tsunami we were put on alert for that situation. 9 EXHIBIT B