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• Camero, Tracie -Lee From: Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: Dear Planning Department, David W Pankenier UL 1 Thursday, June 30, 2016 4:41 PM Planning Internet Mail COUNTY Banyan Drive development planning PastedGraphic-1.tiff J=':'•'"\nTI\IIEN T Jr HA`NAll I was unable to attend the briefing on 6/28 regarding development plans for Banyan Drive, but I did watch Director Kanuha's presentation on Big Island Video News. I must say, I was delighted to see that the proposal includes a significant number of new boat slips and walkways lining the shores of Reeds Bay. As a Hilo resident, retiree, and owner of a 36 ft sailboat, which cannot be accommodated by any of the existing boat mooring facilities, I have long wondered why Hilo, with it's huge bay, has no marina to meet the needs of the boating public, deep sea fishing enthusiasts, and tour boat operators. Currently, there are precious few such recreational opportunities available in Hilo for the hundreds of passengers arriving in Hilo on cruise ships every week. Having been obliged to moor my boat periodically in Honokohau Harbor and seen the boost to the small business economy of the area which that facility provides, the lack of a similar facility in Hilo mystifies me. While my boat was moored in Kona recently I spent several thousand dollars for fiberglass repairs, engine work, haul out and bottom painting, welding of stainless steel railings, boating supplies, and soon. The marina shipyard was constantly busy during the six weeks I was there, and the tour boats were busy day in and day out. I was just one among dozens of boat owners patronizing small businesses and workshops in the shipyard. Needless to say, I would much rather have spent all that money here in Hilo where I live and avoid the long commute to Kona to oversee the work. Director Kanuha mentioned the need to take into consideration the current generating capacity of the peninsula from the State's perspective, so I would like to remind the Agency that there is great potential for tax revenue generation and expansive growth from small businesses providing services to a small boat harbor. That revenue potential is likely to be much, much greater than static rent collection by the State from the existing or future hotels along Banyan Drive, or from simple dockage fees collected from just a few boat slips in the Bay. In addition, the cost of recovery of a well-built small boat harbor after a tsunami would be vastly less than virtually any other kind of development I can think of. My purpose in writing, therefore, is to strongly encourage the Planning Dept and the Agency in turn to generate some real excitement by seriously considering the development of Reeds Bay into a state of the art small boat harbor to rival Honokohau. The location offers every advantage for such development, even better than Kona, with surrounding park areas for picnicking, strolling, jogging, bathing and so on, all within walking distance of downtown. Such a development would be transformative for the local economy of Hilo Town, providing good jobs with small businesses, service trades, and tour operators alike. It would also save me having to move my boat every 120 days each time my temporary anchoring permit expires, which is pretty ridiculous for an oceanside community. Friends on the east and west coasts are shocked when I tell them how unfriendly Hilo is to boaters, sitting out here as we do in the middle of the Pacific. Sincerely, David Pankenier 2 SCANNED JUL a 5 2096 By:.,,1:0.6 2'7