HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-08-18 Ashley K. Obrey Support TestimonyFrom:Ashley Obrey
To:Planning LPC Testimony
Subject:Testimony in support of KONA AERIAL GYMNASTIC TEAM INC. AMENDMENT TO SPECIAL PERMIT NO. 21-
000227 (PL-SPP-2026-000128)
Date:Tuesday, August 18, 2026 10:40:12 AM
Aloha e Chair Au, Vice Chair Noborikawa, and Members of the Leeward Planning
Commission:
My name is Ashley Obrey, and I am writing in strong support of Kona Aerials Gymnastic
Team's request to amend Special Permit No. 21-000227, extending Condition No. 6 by 12months to allow them to secure and finalize their building permits.
My family has been part of the Kona Aerials ʻohana for five years. My 10-year-old daughterhas spent four of those years on the competitive gymnastics team, and my 6-year-old began
recreational gymnastics this past January. What this program gives our keiki goes far beyond asport.
My younger daughter started because she wanted to be like her big sister. She had watched hercompete for years and wanted to join, but she was hesitant because, as she put it, she “couldn’t
even do a cartwheel.” Her coaches met her in that uncertainty and helped her find theconfidence to try anyway. (And, for the record, she does a pretty great cartwheel now.)
My older daughter has spent years learning that same lesson on the competitive team. I’vewatched her work on a skill for months without getting it, fail at it over and over, and then
finally land it. Watching that process has made me realize she’s learning something muchbigger than the skill itself: hard does not mean impossible, failure is not the end of the story,
and she is capable of more than she thought. In different ways, that is what gymnastics asks ofthese kids every day — to listen carefully, accept correction, work as part of a team, push
through fear and frustration, and keep trying after failing the first, fifth, or fiftieth time.
Over time, I have watched those lessons take root in my daughters. They have built real
friendships with their teammates and developed humility, respect, resilience, discipline, andthe quiet confidence that comes from discovering what they are capable of. Those qualities
outlast any single routine, practice, or competition. They shape how kids respond when thingsare difficult, how they treat and support the people around them, and whether they have the
confidence to take on challenges rather than shy away from them. My daughters will carrythose lessons into school, friendships, future workplaces, families, and communities. The
impact of a program like Kona Aerials reaches far beyond the kids who walk through itsdoors.
Kona Aerials also fills a real gap for youth in West Hawaiʻi. Gymnastics requires a specifickind of space — sufficient square footage and ceiling height for the equipment and training
involved — and this facility provides the space necessary for Kona Aerials to offer bothrecreational and competitive programs on this side of the island. Without this facility, West
Hawaiʻi families would lose more than access to gymnastics; our kids would lose a place totrain, grow, build friendships, and belong.
Kona Aerials has been working through the building permit process for more than two years.Given the time and multiple rounds of agency review involved in that process, a 12-month
extension is a reasonable and modest request to allow Kona Aerials to finish the process
properly and continue serving West Hawaiʻi families like mine.
I respectfully ask the Commission to grant the requested extension.
Mahalo for your consideration.
Ashley K. Obrey
Hōlualoa, Kona