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lane. Mr. Weatherford feels also that big trucks and trailers would be coming in blocking the <br />highway. This has not happened in the 19 years I've been serving the community of Pahoa. <br />Commercial farmers go to town. Commercial farmers buy fertilizer tonnage. Our price is a <br />retail price. Its $5 more a bag for a 50 -pound bag of fertilizer. Commercial farmers usually buy <br />tonnage, two tons, one ton. There's 40 bags per ton. At a $5 cost per bag, it would run the <br />farmers $250 more per pallet. We have never had commercial farmers come into our store in the <br />19 years I've been there. It has been something that I wish we could have, but they prefer going <br />and buying it wholesale as we do from Hilo. <br />Those are the concerns I have with the County's letter, and I want to thank all of you for your <br />special consideration in this matter, and that's what I have to say. <br />KERN: Thank you, Mr. Quinn. <br />CLARKSON: Are there any questions for Applicant from the Commission? Well, let me, let <br />me resolve some confusion. You already own an existing business somewhere near this area? <br />QUINN: Oh, yes, sir. Yes, sir for 19 years. <br />CLARKSON: And, that's located where, please? <br />QUINN: Old Government Road. Its right before the rubbish dump road in Pahoa. <br />CLARKSON: Okay. <br />QUINN: I would like to add one more thing, Joseph. Viability for our family to move to one of <br />the strip malls, the issue with that is the strip malls charge right now Puna Kai, $3 a square foot. <br />The building we're looking at is $3,600. The Puna Kai Shopping Center also requests <br />maintenance fee per thousand square feet of $69 a month. They also would like to look at your <br />books and take money, ten percent, of your gross profits. So, the viability of us to move to one <br />of these locations that the State or County feels is more acceptable is not there. It would cost us <br />over $10,000 a month in fees and rent. If we go this route with putting up a building—we're <br />working with the small business across the street, First Hawaiian Bank, a monthly payment of <br />putting up a building like that would probably anywhere from two to three thousand dollars a <br />month. <br />CLARKSON: And why is it that you can't just stay where you are? <br />QUINN: The building that we're in where we are presently was built in 1967. It's over 50 years <br />old. It's run down; the roof leaks. The people that own the land behind us, because the parcel <br />we're on is a ten -acre parcel subdivided in seven lots. The people behind us regraded their lot. <br />SIRACUSA (from audience): Without a permit. <br />QUINN: Yeah, that was without a permit, but when it rains heavy, that water rushes down our <br />driveway, goes into our warehouse, our office. We have to put sandbags out, and it creates a <br />EXHIBIT E <br />9 <br />