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the water commitment, of course. We just need to bring electric over, and we're ready to roll the
<br />lower parcel.
<br />The lower parcel, as I say, is intended for the DVA. The DVA has finally agreed to put in a
<br />concept which is to consolidate their health arm along with their other service arm here in—and
<br />I'll clarify this in a moment—and to put `em all in one location would make sense, so we agreed
<br />to do that. At that end, we've helped lobby politically and for legisla—for appropriations, and
<br />they have been awarded, according to Senator Schatz, they've been awarded—whose on the
<br />appropriations committee—they've been awarded $10 million to do a consolidated CBOC and
<br />combined veterans' center on that lower parcel. No, well no, that period. They will put that out
<br />as an RFP. They'll go out for a competitive bid which we welcome, and when we get that RFP
<br />which we're looking for, but they're so slow getting us all together, we then think we'll have, we
<br />think we'll have abe in a strong position to say we got a development partner.
<br />If they still continue to do as they've done, we also have several non-profit health care providers
<br />to also partner with, and they would provide then medical outpatient clinic services to a larger
<br />community to include the general community and veterans can access that through what is
<br />known as the veterans' choice program.
<br />One further clarification I should tell you. We talk about veterans on this island. We're talking
<br />about 25,000 people, more or less. Not to mention the reserve components, troops that made
<br />multiple deployments. You know, the reserve units and the National Guard units some of which
<br />who are already forward deploying again. So, we got a large community of all ages and all
<br />generations. We've addressed this, too. We got involved with this because we saw all this
<br />diverse population of veterans and there was a proliferation of veteran services scattered here and
<br />there, impossible to find, constantly changing storefronts, and so we created our this was, the
<br />organization was created not by me, but others. The—address the situation, so we're essentially
<br />a non-profit developer, that's what we are. We're not a service, veterans' service organization
<br />like Purple Heart or Marine Core League or all those units.
<br />So, what we have from the Department of Veterans Affairs, currently we have a community-
<br />based outpatient clinic, an outpatient clinic by any other name, and that's located currently up
<br />across from the hospital in an awkward location, not a bus stop, on an expired lease, in a facility
<br />owned by Hilo Medical Center. [Inaudible] but they don't, they just keep kicking the can down
<br />the road so yeah, yeah, well, finally they're in gear to get out of there now, and that's one arm.
<br />The other arm is what is known as the vet center program, totally separate bureaucracy from
<br />within the Veterans Administration, and they're located as an after -thought behind a dentist
<br />office over on Lanihuli Street which is mauka of Hilo Shopping Center. Impossible to find, and
<br />with cars all jammed up and parked on the streets in there in a, you know, a RM -1 type
<br />neighborhood.
<br />So, we're saying we're going to put most of it together in one facility, and VA finally agreed to
<br />do that. We're, they're going to put out an RFP for this, and we think we're going to be in a
<br />pretty good position. Once we get our zoning and we'll be shovel ready with our lower project
<br />with this. We designed that project with Fleming Associates Architect, Engineering Partners, an
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