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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0964.190 2004-2006 Page 1 of 3 Murashige, Laura From: tim robertson [tim.robertson@meltontackle.com] t!;Us NOV Z? Rn 1.1- Sent: Friday, November 24, 2006 6:04 PM To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us C Subject: Testimony for 11-24-2006 hearing @ Sherton in Kona, HI Attachments: 11-24-06 Testimony.doc Please see my written testimony below and attached as I cannot attend tonight's hearing. Thank you for allowing me to submit my testimony. Submitted by: Tim Robertson Melton International Tackle Kona, HI 808-329-0800 store 808-960-8227 mobile Tim.Robertson@ Meltontackle.com Please find enclosed bullet points that relate to previous meeting and to testimony for tonight. (Nov.24- 2006) Whether or not this is used tonight, I am in favor of Video conferencing: ? It saved my former company millions in hard travel dollars and immeasurable savings by shortening timelines and expediting communication ? In short using video conferencing is a good thing ? If you really want to have meetings in person make the 5 hour round trip drive to the council location at personal discretion Bill 309 is a step, not the final solution, to allowing us to focus on variety of important developments on the Big Island. ? My specific address today is the Honokohau Harbor project ? We desperately need to expand and improve this harbor to better support current and future needs of the Big Island The DLNR issued a RFP for a Multipurpose Harbor with 800 slips (I haven't had the opportunity to review the parameters behind the DLNR'S sizing model for the harbor)... Jacoby won based on an evaluation of their capabilities, experience and the content of their proposal. ? The scope of the RFP will not be the final project. As a matter of fact this is where the real work begins for the Kona Community, we need to be prepared to provide feedback and determine the ultimate requirements for this development based on what is best for the community. o Based on my experience in Logistics I would suggest a 400 slip harbor is more in order, at the same time reconfiguring the existing Harbor that would relocate 70 slips into the new side, so the net increase in slips is 330 units. ? This is speculative without further details on the sizing model the DLNR used to develop the RFP. O Comm. No. ` Ref. To:Pr 11/27/2006 Ref. Date Page 2 of 3 If you're really concerned about the fishery, this harbor will not impact the Pacific Ocean in any measurable fashion. The foreign commercial fleets are 99% responsible for the collapse of all world wide stocks predicted by the year 2048. The authors of this study are 14 of the worlds leading Marine scientists, published in Journal Science... The jobs created by an expanded harbor and subsequent expanded fleet are REAL jobs paying $30- 40.00 per hour for boat smiths, mechanics and other technical support ...NOT polishing brass and cleaning boats as someone rebutted to my earlier testimony. I hear those opposed quoting scientific studies or information without names or footnotes. All I would ask for are the names of the studies or reference material so I can review their findings. ? The recurring theme we hear for those opposed to expanding the marina is that we need to STOP everything until more infrastructure has been built, again I would like to see a project plan or study from those opposed describing what is required and a timeline that deals with the natural growth of the community and more importantly how expanded infrastructure is funded. o Right now the Marina project is 6 years away from creating any traffic or demands on Kona's infrastructure, this is more than enough time to make the necessary improvements our area desperately needs. Our dilemma of how we deal with growth is not new. As a matter of fact we have the luxury of seeing how hundreds of other communities have dealt with out very situation. This situation is only new to the Kona Community, but it's all been done before, we need to take advantage of this existing information and learn what succeeded and what did not. I am not FOR or OPPOSED to this project, I am FOR what is best for the Kona community and its future. Developing this project PROPERLY will definitely help West Hawaii, but we need to deal in hard engineering not opinions to make the correct decisions throughout the life of the project. The most important infrastructure expansion that must occur is to the staffing of the Planning & Engineering Departments for the Big Island. Without the required engineering resources in place we cannot properly evaluate things and make the right decisions. Opposing new projects out of hand and believing in zero growth has led us to our current situation: ? Failing hospitals, that cannot service the community ? The worst school system in the nation ? An extreme shortage of staff and facilities for Police, fire and emergency services ? Traffic congestion with no master plan to manage the Islands current requirement let alone future islands traffic flow ? Virtually no middle income jobs or economy for those entering the job market I appreciate everyone having an opinion they wish to express on this matter, but the only way to make good decisions for this project and others must be based on proven science and proper engineering. We need a professional engineering staff working for the community that has the capacity to analyze, design and engineer projects of this nature. From passed experience in designing and engineering infrastructure rollouts for major companies across several countries with a variety of geographical and cultural challenges I understand there is only one chance to do things right. I have personally worked in unison with the Jacoby Group and seen their performance first hand. This has made me a strong advocate for them as a developer for this project because they have the resources, experience, knowledge, ethics and ability to provide what this 11/27/2006 Page 3 of 3 community needs. They represent the type partner West Hawaii needs to work with to successfully develop our community. I suggest you review the following areas concerning the Jacoby Group and determine what they have done and can do. ? Geoplasma technology, converting waste into electricity with clean technology Learning Soft Shrimp Improvement Systems ? BioQuantix ? Whitney Labratories ? PhotoVoltaic technology ? Numerous Brown Field projects ? Marine based projects The summary of the Kona Kai Ola project on the Jacoby web site provides a good representation of their goals and approach to this project and their goals for the community. (see below copy) The 490-acre Kona Kai Ola, located on the Big Island's beautiful Kohala-Kona Coast, will be developed on lands leased from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. This master planned, mixed-use community whose name means "the living sea "promises to be one of JDI's most prestigious smart growth projects to date. Not only will it provide economic benefits to the surrounding communities and the state of Hawaii, Kona Kai Ola will help residents preserve key aspects of their environment and culture. Kona Kai Ola's master plan -formulated with the community's input - will include an expanded marina, hotels, timeshares, retail space, a Hawaiian cultural center, a marine science center, a Hawaiian healing center, a big game fishing club, marine parks and diving facility. The pedestrian friendly Kona Kai Ola will include oceanside setbacks and greenspace that exceeds the minimum zoning requirements. The community will become a model for environmentally friendly development in Hawaii, especially as it is open to the surrounding community and celebrates the Hawaiian values of malama `aina and malama ke kai, or care for the land and sea. Among the environmentally friendly features planned is a master energy plan that includes inventive solutions such as a district cooling system using sea water air conditioning, photovoltaic panels (solar energy) to generate enough power to operate the chilled and hot water pumps during daytime, and use of renewable energy sources. The potential benefits of such endeavors include reducing air emissions from utility generation, more efficient use of energy and reduction of landfill waste. Tim Robertson Melton Tackle Kona, HI 808-329-0800 Store 11/27/2006