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ambulance came up to go up the road, it knocked the corner off of Millie’s land; they had to get up
<br />there, and just knocked the stonewall right down. And so there’s a lot of different issues with these
<br />roads. And so I started, in my ignorance, you can say, I just started looking, I just looked at the
<br />whole thing and I said, you know, it’s really a benefit to the people on the road to have Millie’s lots
<br />access from the road, because then we have more people participating in our road improvements
<br />and doesn’t necessitate her making any of the improvements to this Government Road.
<br />
<br />And, you know, my wife is a retired chef and she is a total foody person. And this restaurant we
<br />have there, the Hulakoa Café, she’s telling me this is like a world-class restaurant. It’s going to be,
<br />it just started a few years ago, it’s going to become famous like Merriman’s did. It’s that kind of
<br />place. And there is a parking area that tourists access on the Old Government Road, it’s parking for
<br />about twelve cars at the mauka side of the restaurant. And so this attracts people that are really, you
<br />know, they read about it in Bon Appétit and this kind of magazine. So this, and so to maintain the
<br />character here is what people are coming. I’m, I’ve lived in Hawai‘i for 40 years, in Kona for 40
<br />years, but I still kind of have a malihini eye for things that I see – wow, this is really charming, this
<br />is really fantastic, this is really different than Massachusetts where I grew up. And so the tourists
<br />who come in here, you know, some wealthy people – cause I eat at this restaurant, I see – and they
<br />come and they walk around and they just love it. And so we really want to maintain the character
<br />there. We have that I think the original doctor’s office, isn’t it who it is, the original doctor in
<br />Kona, down below there, and we have a really charming road.
<br />
<br />And so I came to her like a couple of days ago and she said, “Wow, I wish you had come to me a
<br />month ago.” But I didn’t. So here I am. And so she already has an access on the, what I call the
<br />coffee road, or the private road. She already has an access to her property, and now they are going
<br />to put a flag lot in and all these different things. And what I’m, my issue is improving this private
<br />road, making it wider and making it functional. And so that’s, and I was trying to see how to tie
<br />this together with her subdivision, which I’m totally in favor of. And I didn’t come here to throw
<br />any kind of sticks in the way or anything; I’m not trying to do that. I support her whatever,
<br />whatever way they can do it. But I think that if she could access her lots on the private road, it
<br />could, you know, it could solve a lot of problem, because she could give up some -. They are
<br />already talking about having some conditions to widen that road with the, you know, future
<br />widening, and so it could be done not only on the part going straight up from the Māmalahoa
<br />Highway but also on the part that’s sort of parallel to the Māmalahoa Highway. So, like I say, I
<br />have no expertise in these areas and it’s not my -. My expertise is more in going around and talking
<br />to neighbors and trying to get them to cooperate and have the road, so that’s -. But I’m, like I say,
<br />I’m behind the eight ball here as far as the timing goes. But I think that one of the ideas is to have,
<br />perhaps have her access her lots on the private road may be, would be, solve some of these
<br />problems that we have, as far as her having her main access for two lots on the Government Road.
<br />
<br />So these are some ideas that I have that are late in the game. But, you know, this has inspired me to
<br />kind of try to organize the neighborhood and get a road association going. And so that’s, we are
<br />going forward with that. But, and let me say that the last time I went to the Planning Commission
<br />was many years ago and they had like a whole-island Planning Commission, and I’m really
<br />appreciative that we have a Leeward Planning Commission that understands, you know, what I
<br />might call my side of the island and, you know, kind of appreciates the historic character of it. And
<br />I think it’s really, I can see in this process that people are doing that.
<br />
<br />But, you know, so that’s, that’s basically my testimony is that I think there might be a different, a
<br />different way to approach it. And so my suggestion would be, like I said I’m no expert, but my
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