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• <br />• <br />that says it sets up a Planning Department in order to do this and the point I'm trying <br />to make is that planning process needs to reach out and engage the community people <br />on this island. And it is, I'm suggesting that the Charter direct that that be done. Right <br />now, the best I can tell, it's done by people who are hired to do it, sitting in a Planning <br />Department. They sit down and they do a plan. Now I think is the time that with this <br />plan revision coming up, we need to think seriously about where we're headed on this <br />island. Where we want to go. And we need to engage the communities in the island in <br />this and the Charter could not do that but it could begin to set up the mechanisms and <br />the direction by which the people who make this plan, would do it and begin to reach <br />out to these communities and engage them in a meaningful way about just where we're <br />headed. Thank you. <br />RAY: Okay. <br />HERKES: Mr. Ray? <br />RAY: Ms. Herkes. <br />HERKES: Can I just encourage you to go to the hearings, the public hearings that <br />the Planning Department is holding on the Hawaii County General Plan? They're on <br />their second round of hearings now. They have already done one round. I attended <br />five meetings around the island on those hearings and the second round of hearings is <br />coming up in a month. So if you call the Planning Department, they'll give you the <br />schedule of the public meetings for the Hawaii County General Plan. That process is <br />separate from this one but it's going on at the same time and I encourage you to have <br />an input in that because this is how you can change that Hawaii County General Plan. <br />Do you have a copy of the Hawaii County General Plan? <br />PERRY: I do. <br />HERKES: It's fairly extensive and it has a lot of the things in it that you are talking <br />about. It's the implementation systems and those can be built into that general plan <br />also. <br />PERRY: All right, thank you. <br />RAY: Another question? Mr. Martin. <br />MARTIN: Not so much for you if you want to return to your seat. I just wanted to <br />thank you folks for coming out and one comment that you made about an elected type <br />system of the Commissioners, general election, I think is a valid idea that would in <br />fact, put some integrity into the situation, I think. And again, thanks for you guys' <br />comments and time for being here. <br />29 <br />