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difficult to go to and there's so many of them that often people that are working jobs or farmers <br />don't have an opportunity to have their voices heard and it's a shame because people that do <br />attend these meetings really don't really have a job and don't really have things to do — not <br />necessarily you know, this is — we don't hear all the voices of the community and I think that <br />tonight by seeing some of the shirts in the room, it might show signs that there is another part <br />of the community that does support something happening there besides a park. Most <br />important thing for me is to see that there's more job growth. /have friends that have moved <br />away. They can't sustain themselves here. It's not economically viable and /think the main key <br />is we have declining sugar cane populations. If you read the economic -- local economy portion <br />of the priorities, economically and environmentally sustainable agriculture, local business, jobs, <br />retail, services, dining, renewable energy and housing. I mean the first parts of that sentence <br />right there, I think is what we're trying to accomplish here at Hakalau. Job creation, a cafe, <br />farm to table, something similar to Papa'aloa store, maybe a butchery, maybe coffee roasting, <br />maybe a brewery, something that is gonna create jobs, gonna create economic stimulus. Its <br />gonna benefit more people than just the people in the surr nding couple streets and I think <br />that that is the bottom line and it's something that is most i rtant to me. And I think we <br />need to create smart development where it matters, where we hce zoning an know we're <br />not trying to change the zoning but by making a classification of Open Space, you're allowing <br />that process to happen and it's gonna start and it's not gonna stop. So, I think we need to <br />create smart development and not push residential houses into agric Pl <br />tural lots and push <br />business away from Hamakua. We need more job growth. That's cA I gotta say. <br />3. Michael Kennedy, representing Hakalau Project on the agenda item of Hakalau: Hi, I'm Michael <br />Kennedy. I'm promoting the use of the Hakalau Point. I think what Steve and his company are <br />trying to do will be beneficial to the community. They're trying to make a — a real nice place and <br />it's something the community could actually use. It'd be beneficial 'cause like the farmers could <br />have a place to sell their goods and bring their crops down, like they have a Farmers Market up <br />above right now once a week. If it was there like six days a week, farmers would have a place <br />that they could sell their produce every day in a dry place every time. It wouldn't get rained out <br />right? So the people in the community would have a place to go, like during the week, they <br />needed something for dinner, they could go there and pick up some food right? Makes sense. <br />Or, if they wanna bring their wife out to dinner, there'd be maybe a little restaurant. It would be <br />beneficial and it would be — you know the possibilities are endless what that place could be. <br />And the company has done a lot of wonderful things already. They've donated to the church <br />and some other properties, trying to make Hawaii what it's supposed to be. You know its' <br />supposed to be a — like a place of love and happiness, a beautiful place. To see Steve and his <br />group go in there and make it into something nice and you know just the possibilities are <br />endless of what it could be and he's tryin' to do that. He's tryin' to create a real nice <br />environment up there in Hakalau. Pepe'ekeo has something like a mom & pop store. Honomu, <br />you know you go on down the coast but Hakalau they have a Post Office and a Farmer's Market <br />once a week. There's not anything therefor the local people to like have jobs or sell their stuff <br />right there. So, it'd be beneficial for the community for them to have that. They deserve it. I <br />mean, Hakalau needs that too. So yeah, I'm for it. <br />Page 13 <br />