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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0159.060 2024-2026P /5. CoUrtci Of if ta GOMH. (_o5q From: Mark Benjamin Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2025 2.46 PM To: Council Testimony ' Subject: Waikoloa Village Second Road Amendment Aloha Chair and Members of the Council, My name is Mark Benjamin, I am a resident of Waikoloa Village and I am testifying to support the amendment for the funding for a second road for Waikoloa Village. We have been fighting for a second road for many years. This is a matter of life and death.in the village. It is not a matter of if there will be a fire but when. Sadly there are too many examples of death and destruction from wild fires - Lahaina, Paradise, the list goes on. Each incindent turns out to be worse than the last. Will Waikoloa be the next "worst" wild fire in US history? The Attorney General's second report on the Lahaina fire specifically indicates that Waikoloa Village has a WORSE risk of a catastrophic wild fire than Lahaina. This alone is reason enough to start construction immediately. This is not what we want to be known for! We certainly have the potential to be. This is not the headline we want to see. Wouldn't it sound better if that headline read "Thousands of lives saved after construction of a second road in Waikoloa Village"? Without a second road there will once again be a tragic loss of life here in the village. It seems ridiculous to me that we even need to be begging for this. The amount of money that a second road would cost is a pittance compared to the value of the lives it would save. Even if one life is saved it would have paid for itself. Imagine if we did have a wild fire in Waikoloa and all the residents are trying to escape down Waikoloa road. How do you suppose first responders are going to get themselves and their equipment up the road? Sounds like an inferno nightmare. There is one more point that I would like to touch on. I know that the county has plans to build a roundabout at the intersection of Waikoloa and Paniolo roads. Currently this is our only way in and out of our village. I believe that it would be very irresponsible to start construction on an intersection that is our only way out before we have another way out. C=D CD C7CD Mahalo for your consideration c Mark Benjamin NO � -99 Comyn.. " l;ef. To: ` 2 02 Ref. e__ 5x _ _ _ T.