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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0710.104 2010-2012 Testimony July 30, 2012 My name is Petra Wiesenbauer and I am asking you to up-hold the mayor's veto on bill 256, draft 2, the legislation to amend Chapter 2 article 36 of the Hawaii County code, the Geothermal Relocation and Community Benefits Fund. My family and I have lived in Leilani Estates for almost 15 years and are active participants-in 9c the Leilani and Pahoa Community. We have two children, 7 and 9, who are both born and raised here in this neighborhood. We own and operate a successful Bed & Breakfast, located on the corner of Makamae and Kahukai Street, less than one mile away from the PGV. We are in ,-.< great health, our kids were conceived easily and carried to term without problem. There are_no n health concerns that could be tracked back to PGV's presence in our close proximity. co I have testified before you several times on this issue now and I am sure, by now, you knower that I am opposed to bill 256 and why. This is also, why I will be sharing a different part of the story with you, today. Like most of the residents in our community, my family and I have lived productive lives, enjoying the beauty of our neighborhood and sharing the peace and quiet with our fellow residents and friends. We have had no problems - health and otherwise - and were proud to be part of such a beautiful subdivision. So, when the big meetings in Pahoa about the Puna Geothermal Power Plant happened and the anti-geothermal folks started their crusade, we did not pay much attention to it as it truly did neither represent us nor affect us. However, all of a sudden there was this bill 256, draft 2 and before we and so many others in this neighborhood could even blink or react to it sufficiently as an organized group, the council passed the bill 6-3 on June 19, 2012. Within a very short time residents started to organize. In order to save our neighborhood we had to learn fast, what to do. We wrote testimony, testified in front of the council and tried to engage in communication with council members. However, it seemed that our voices were not loud enough, because you as the council felt the necessity to override the Mayor's veto to these bills. We want you to know, that we are not into agitation, confrontation and accusations, but we feel, we need to rise up as a group to make our case heard. We are no longer a silent majority, as we are standing up to save our neighborhood. Did you know, that this bill would affect about one quarter of our subdivision, including 500 one- acre lots, many of them with homes on them? To us this makes no sense at all. We have since organized an informational meeting on July 24 with experts that shared with the community geothermal facts, answered questions and cleared up some of the misinformation that was confusing to all of us. Part of the panel were Richard Ha, Mike Kaleikini and Dr. Don Thomas. Although we only had two days to organize this event, we had over 100 people in attendance, including concerned residents from both sides, Fred Blas, Faye Hanohano and Billy Kenoi (at the end). People left with good information. (http://hahaha.hamakuasprings.com/2012/07/very-successful-meeting-on-qeothermal- facts.html). Comm. No.j i 0. i U 4 Ref. To: 1 ( Gw4 d Ref. Date AUG 0 1 2012 We have also created an on-line petition. Currently we have 215 signatures online, which were gathered in less than one week. More than 150 signatures were received within the first two days. Our paper petition which will add another 100 or so signatures comes from local residents, most of them living within a 3-mile radius of Puna Geothermal Ventures. Here is the link to the on-line petition: http://www.change.orq/petitions/hawaii-county-council-petition#. While we were gathering signatures we found that most residents of Leilani Estates were not aware of bill 256 or its ramifications. Most people were in disbelief and asked: Why would the county be doing something like that? We don't have problems with the PGV. Many of the folks here are just working people or retirees, who go about their day-to-day lives, may not read the paper every day, many do not have internet (believe it or not) and just lead regular lives. If there had been more time, we would have been able to collect many more signatures. So, today we are here to ask you, the county council to not override the Mayor's veto, pursue independent health studies to gather evidence and not change the purpose and use of the community benefit and relocation fund. Health Studies and mitigation are already activities and goals covered under the geothermal asset fund. Since the State Legislature recently passed several bills to promote the development of geothermal energy resources that are located on State Land as a source of firm power to reduce the cost of electricity, we ask you as our representatives for this island to support the further exploration of geothermal resources together with other alternative energy solutions. It is a matter of making it as safe as possible and passing the benefits of this less expensive energy on to the customers. Petra Wiesenbauer Hale Makamae Bed & Breakfast 13-3315 Makamae Street Pahoa, HI 96778 info(a�bnb-aloha.com www.bnb-aloha.com ph: (808) 965-7015