HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0939.014 2004-2006
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July 18, 2006 "OUNI
Hawaii county council committee on Planning
K. Angel Pilago, Chair
Subject: Support for Proposed Resolution No. 883-06
Dear Chair Pilago and members of the Committee on Planning, ,
Thank you for allowing me to present testimony in support of
Resolution 3$3 06.
As an Introduction, I am a forty year resident of Kailua Kona and
successfully managed Kona Village Resort the past 30 years, before
retiring last year.
I've been an active member of the Kona community for over forty years. I
have served on the executive board of the Hawaii Visitor's and Convention
Bureau, past president for HVCB's Big Island Chapter, past State Chair of
the Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association and past director of the Hawaii
Island United Way. I am a 30-year participant at the Hawaiian
International Billfish Tournament and presently serve as its president.
The Kona community has needed and wanted the harbor to be expanded
and Its facilities upgraded for a long time. Without the resort component,
Jacoby Development's marina and mixed-use project would be very
difficult to develop and sustain economically.
As a former manager of charter boat operations for Kona Village Resort
and presently the president of the Hawaiian International Billfish
Tournament, I know of the acute shortage of mooring slips at the present
Honokohau Harbor. The list to obtain a slip is long and people are
discouraged from even applying for one, often feeling that it is a hopeless
pursuit. Many boats are presently moored in open waters, such as Kailua
Bay and are at great risk to their owners and crews. The additional
moorings created within a marina would allow these boats to be
accommodated within a safe area.
I fear that if we cannot make it economically feasible for a developer to
proceed, we will not see any additional slips In Kona in the near or distant
future. The state, from my understanding, does not have the financial i
resources or the desire to expand the harbor and its facilities. I have seen
many privately funded harbor facilities developed on the mainland at no E
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cost to the taxpayer. These have been done very well and would not have
been accomplished If there were no financial Incentive available to the
developer.
The West Hawaii boating community needs this harbor expansion at
Honokohau_ I hope the County Council will support the passing of this
resolution directing our planning director to study the feasibility of
amending the General Plan to allow a resort component.
Mahalo,
Fred Duerr
Retired General Manager of Kona Village Resort
President of the Hawaiian International Biilfish Tournament
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