2015-09-17 Leeward Exh B (SMA 15-060)

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something that really needs to be taken seriously. And it seems that there is maybe some disagreement within the School itself about what, how to address this, also even about who should be coming to the School. I’ve heard that the School is going to be giving advance degrees and it’s going to be open to everyone regardless of race, which would be nice, but I haven’t heard a lot of follow-up about that, so I’m kind of wondering where that is. Mainly, my real concern is with the access, as well as the demolition and construction and what the environmental impact will be. That’s 57,000 square feet, I believe, is the new construction; that’s a lot of construction to have no environmental impact, let alone the demolition of the old hotel. And I’m not in favor of letting the old hotel stand, but I am concerned about the environmental impact that the destruction of the hotel will cause. So I’d just like to say again my concern is access, and I think the general public should be allowed to have access to the heiau, and that’s not to run up and down the sides of the heiau but at least visual access. If you want to reach out to someone and tell them about your heritage, how better than to let them see the heiau and the heritage and the beautiful things that were created. And I think that there are a lot of people, I know I certainly enjoy seeing that when the hotel was there; I used to come and visit the hotel just so I can go see the heiau and the stones that came from Maui and the cottage where the princess stayed. And I hope that that’s not going to be destroyed. But the rich history is very much an asset, but not just an asset to the Kamehameha Schools, it’s an asset to everyone. And for that reason I think everyone should be allowed reasonable access, and it definitely worries me about the school zone cutting off access completely. Thank you so much for listening. HENRIQUES: Good afternoon. My name is Forrest Henriques, and I, along with my peers, come from Puna in support of the Kahalu‘u Ma Kai project. I’ve been working under Kamehameha Schools on the Holua and Maluaka project for about five years now. And to me the vision that Kahalu‘u has in mind is absolutely essential to furthering the education of the public in regards to Hawaiian culture. There is a much higher purpose behind an area where individuals of the public can educate themselves rather than a vacant resort that is disrupting the energy of multiple heiaus. It is my belief that the structure is disrespectful to the Hawaiian culture, and it’s hindering the real purpose behind these heiaus, which is for spirituality, enlightenment and guidance. The removal of the resort will allow the Kahalu‘u Ma Kai project to commence and transform the area into a site of knowledge, a site where people can learn new knowledge about the culture that is generally misunderstood. I am in full support of the community of Kahalu‘u’s vision and hopes that it becomes a reality. Mahalo. Thank you for your time. CERF: Aloha, Commissioners. Mahalo for hearing our voices today. My name is Kei-Lin Cerf. I’m the director of strategic community development with University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, RCUH, and a project called Hōkūpa‘a, which is a multi-sector leadership effort to bring together the different pieces of the community to improve the outcomes of our young people in education and through their social emotional wellbeing. One of the things that I’ve learned through my years of youth development and advocacy for youth is that one of the most powerful things is a caring adult to mentor them and places of significance that help them connect to significant meaning and identity. When I look at the plans for Kahalu‘u Ma Kai, I see the opportunity there for these kinds of spaces for our young people, and to have the connection stewarded by ancient cultural knowledge, taught by skilled expert practitioners in this field. And we look at this as an incredible opportunity for how our young people can thrive in the areas of what they really need and in the spaces that they are asking for. In our work in Hōkūpa‘a and out of the voices of our young people of the Hōkūpa‘a Regional Youth Council who represent eleven public schools in West Hawai‘i, when they define youth 17 EXHIBIT B