HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0021.022 2018-2020 P/IP.iOC
COMM. 21
COUNTY CLERK
From: Melissa Schellinq COUNTY'OF HAWAII
To: Council Testimony
Subject: In Support of Communication 21
Date: Saturday,January 05,2019 10:34:18 AM 2019 JAN -7 AM 8: 146
Aloha Hawaii County Council Members,
Giving road access to Highway 132 residents is both a moral and humanitarian issue.Every home owner displaced
by the 2018 Kilauea lava flow has suffered major trauma resulting in lingering effects such as mental exhaustion,
compromised immune system,and sorrow for what we have lost.We are all trying to rebuild our lives,either
through disaster relief agencies,insurance companies,or sheer determination.Currently our lives are in limbo and
our finances unresolved.
Consider those of us working with insurance companies.We need on the ground photos and a complete accounting
of everything we owned.The insurance company asks if any property has been stolen,but how do we know if we
can't return home to assess any damage?
Consider those of us who supported our families by farming our land.We now face the prospect of locating to a
more expensive area,or learning a different trade in order to make a living.
Consider those of us who can't afford to buy another home.Many of us had to give away beloved pets in order to
rent a temporary home,or to move in with family.
Consider what we lost.Our possessions are still back home:furniture,household goods,equipment,machinery,
cherished mementos.During the evacuation we were not able to gather all the items we want or need.The stress
level during evacuation is so high that it's impossible to think straight.
Consider the lawlessness that will grow in our area if you do not help Highway 132 residents return to their homes.
There are looters and squatters already.
We need road access to our homes and we need it now.Open up the new Geothermal road to Highway 132 residents
now,while the County prepares a temporary road surface along the old Highway 132.
Each individual resident has different reasons for needing road access to their homes.And it's going to take months,
if not years,to rebuild lives.Please help us.
All of us need to return to our homes in order to move forward with our lives.
Aloha,
Melissa Schelling
TMK 1-4-16-10
14-4101 Halekamahina Road
Pahoa,Hawaii,96778-7987
808-936-0849
Comm. No. 11'n
Ref. To: NIR
Ref. Date JAN 0 7 2019