HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0939.035 2004-2006
August 1, 2006
Honorable Stacy Higa, Chair
Hawaii County Council
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Subject: Support for Proposed Resolution No. 383-06
Dear Chair Higa and members of the Hawaii County Council:
I am here this morning to give testimony in support of Resolution 383 06.
I am a forty year resident of Kailua Kona and successfully managed Kona Village
Resort for 30 years, before retiring last year.
I have served on the executive board of the Hawaii Visitor's and Convention Bureau.
I am past president of the Big Island Visitors Bureau, 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.
Our Kona community has needed and wanted the harbor to be expanded and its
facilities upgraded for a long time.
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.
We must make this marina and mixed-use project economically feasible for the
developer. You cannot ask for a marina and road to be built without allowing the
project to be economically sustainable. Allowing the resort component to be put back
into the land use will provide the economic means to see this project through.
Let's face it, 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 resources or the desire
to expand the harbor and its facilities. The West Hawaii boating community needs
this harbor expansion at Honokohau.
This project is an opportunity for Kona to support a development that has proven
environmental responsibility, cultural respect and economic stewardship. With the
support of our County, this mixed-use marina can become an example of a successful
public/private partnership for others to follow. Comm. No. • 3
Ref. To:
Ref. Dote AUG 0 1 2006
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 Billfish Tournament