HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0595.013 2020-2022 UPC,
From: Shantee Brown
Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2022 4:40 PM
To: Council Testimony
Cc: Kimball, Heather, Chung, Aaron; Lee Loy, Sue; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt;
David, Maile;Villegas, Rebecca; Inaba, Holeka; Richards, Tim
Subject: Testimony in opposition to Bill 112 and Bill 115
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aloha council members, I'm writing in opposition to bill 112+ bill 115.
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my name is shantee. i was raised in waikoloa and am the descendant of puerto rican plantation workers from hamakua, kona,
kohala, and hilo. i am almost 32 years old and worked in the tourism industry for 13 years. as a young kid in high school, i chose to j
work in tourism because my family needed the money. i didn't really know my purpose in life but we needed to survive. j
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working in the industry caused:
•extreme stress of financial instability due to fluctuations in guests(tips)and low base pay.
*spiritual sickness from being forced to wear the mask of"aloha" in the form of tourism's twisted version of"hawa "s #ttde. I
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*being pushed physically+mentally to perform like a circus trick to suit"guests" needs.
in 2020 i finally quit.
covid has been incredibly challenging and yet a blessing in disguise.furlough gave me time to stay home with famil arde�;
experiment with cooking,take my time to feel life(although waiting for unemployment insurance almost broke me), and reconnect
with friends.furlough seemed never ending so i ventured back out to connect with my love, local food systems. i tried to do this j
before but i didn't have the privilege of stability 10 years ago to make the transition. i found an apprenticeship with the big web farm
and found jobs at the 'ulu co-op and adaptations food hub. i loved every second except for this nagging feeling that things can't go 3
back to the way they were. i don't make enough money to start a family or even pay for my own housing. my heart is happy and the
employment provided is INVALUABLE to our community.
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looking at this proposal, I'm filled with bewilderment at the audacity of this developer...who is going to maintain and clean 900
timeshares???they didn't even add enough housing to support the labor required to"serve"these timeshares. not like many people
want to work in tourism anyway.who will feed these people?we struggle with finding and keeping laborers at my jobs. crops go to
waste because farmers can't afford to pay a living wage for labor and the laborers are stuck making a survival wage in tourism.value-
added producers cannot take their creativity to market without also offering the stability of a living wage to laborers.these
timeshares will ADD to our labor shortage and make local food more inaccessible.the timeshare people will want a"local food
experience"as sold to them by the hawai'i tourism authority.we can't provide and maintain-food, housing,clean waters, repair
services, healthcare,education-for ourselves if we are bending over backwards for colonizers who treat this place like a disposable
playground instead of an island with finite resources and traumatized people.
no more resort developments.zero, nada,a'ole!we are not meant to serve the wealthy for the rest of our lives as our connections to
what really matters dwindles away.the trauma of working in tourism caused me to break my body,crack my spirt,and lose my mind,
time and time again as my connection to ohana, romantic relationships, 'aina,friends, myself,and a higher power diminished.there
was nothing left of me to have space to feel and enjoy life after pouring the last of me out like the last drop of coffee for each "guest
served."this rezoning is incredibly detrimental as it will perpetuate the system that is strangling us. local politics is the one place
hawai'i island can show up together that directly affects us.we cant show up to honolulu or d.c. but we can change lives at home.
please, please! say no to this rezoning and ask your constituents how they can help themselves.we are surrounded by brilliance.our
community is ready to be self-sustaining.we our rich in ideas while poor in accessibility to the tools needed to build. lets build
together. it's time for a luxury tax. i propose a fund for public redevelopment of underused hotel+resort lands...if they don't want
these lands because it's not profitable and the public does not approve of their proposed developments, let's buy it and let locals
pave the way.the same way local people are remiediating old plantation lands to homestead and farm...we can rejuvenate coastal
lands for loko i'a and heal our reefs that have been suffering below the shadow of an unsustainable footprint. I .1
Comm. No ,°J"!moi
Ref. o: Q Yy
1 Ref. Date 2022
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me ke aloha,
shantee brown
district 8
kona`akau
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