HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 48.88 from C.&B. Yurth re HamakuaNovember 2, 2011
Aloha Redistricting Commission,
My husband and I live in Ahualoa j ust above Honokaa. We have lived here for over 36 years.
We moved here to get away from the Honolulu rat race. During this time I have had the
opportunity to be part of the Hamakua District Development Council, Hilo Hamakua
Community Development Corporation as well as others, now working in the school system and
a main participant in the Plan For The Hilo Hamakua Coast in 2000.
Rural South Hilo, North Hilo and Hamakua have continued their process for the last 16 years
of sustaining their own identity as the Hilo - Hamakua Coast. When our last two Plantations
closed, Hamakua Sugar and Hilo Coast Processing Company, the communities strongly agreed
that they shared a similarity that they felt was important to preserve. They work together
through rural community based efforts to assist in creating opportunities that preserve our
environment, sustain our families and improve the quality of life. These beliefs assist us to
build a healthy community through economic growth and stability along the Hilo - Hamakua
coast.
I have heard that maybe the redistribution will provide us with two voices on the Council?
wonder how this will be when Hilo's voice will most likely echo the Hilo Town people and
businesses quite loudly. And on the other side separating off Honokaa will only enmesh
Honokaa in Waimea, North Kohala, Puako and Kawaihae where only a few share same
background or ruralness. Whose voice will speak loudest and therefore be the only heard.
One example that may show clearly how simplified Hilo- Hamakua's lifestyle is to look at the
major vendors who take residence along the coast and in particular Honokaa. Up until recently
the town was served by two homegrown grocery stores. They catered to the community and in
turn prospered through the business they receive. Now the original owners retired, the main
grocery had stayed open with a new owner, still the same size and still caters to the residents of
the outlaying community. We are also one of the few places to have a meat market!
All the along the coast there are no box stores, no large grocery (all the businesses are mostly
mom and pop; locally owned) and that's the way the community is.
As we have lived here for this number of years more and more people have moved here, why
do they move here away from the cities? It is the slow rural lifestyle that draws them.
If the rural communities are governed by either Hilo or Waimea will Hamakua, North Hilo and
Rural South Hilo then become the place where land is plentiful to build and build; what will it
be subdivisions or a shopping center? When politics becomes involved it is very difficult for
the quiet and "no like get involved individuals" who are the main inhabitants of the coastal
communities and rich farm /ranch lands to express their opinion. Will the Hilo Councilman or
Waimea Councilman talk for them, especially if they haven't heard from them? Will they take
COMM. 48.88
the time to come meet them in their homes, communities and where they work to see what they
want knowing that they will not come to a meeting?
We need to have the same representation that we have had for years, who speaks for us only.
Where the Councilperson lives here and participates in the community events. Where his or
her children go to the local school, buy goods in the local school and do the community thing
in the parades and community events. He or She will know first hand what is needed since
they come from the community and understand the people especially the ones "who no like
talk" and do not come out. This person being from the community knows where to find the
answers that are needed before moving forward with a new plan in the community, he or she
will take the time to find out since it is their place to know what is happening.
One of the ideas that came out of the 2000 Plan For The Hilo Hamakua Coast was the idea to
determine the economic priorities of the local people. How will they then be supported and
what are the pressing needs that act as obstacles to community development which must be
removed to facilitate overall community health and well - being? This can only be worked on
through community. A Councilperson devoted to the area will be able to work with the
community to facilitate community health and well being.
Who best to be able to do this than a local representative (councilperson) who does it on a daily
basis, not just once in a blue moon?
As I work each day my desk is crowded with phone messages, emails and things to do like
many of you. If my day is this way, what is a councilperson's like who has the community to
serve and if that community is all of Hilo and some of Rural South Hilo or all of Waimea,
Kohala, Kawaihae /Puako and Honokaa what end of the stick will our rural communities get.
The large end or small. If you say it will be equal how will you guarantee it? We hear
promises all the time from many people and how many of those are kept.
However we do know that when we elect an individual to represent our Hilo - Hamakua Area it
will be that area only that they are concerned with and we will have the whole stick.
Please consider what will happen if somehow a redistricting takes place and areas loose
representation. Hilo - Hamakua has a rich history which does need preserving for the
generations to come. We value working together for a common goal which will nurture and
maintain our rural lifestyle while providing economic stability. This has been evidenced many
times over the years and stands as a shining example for the island as well as the generations to
follow of how working together achieves success. We do not want to loose what we cherish
and get lost in Commission Plan A. I and my husband are a part of the Community Plan 40 for
a fair Redistributing Plan to keep all areas equally represented.
Carol and Bob Yurth
46 -1250 Kalehua Rd.
Ahualoa, Honokaa, Hawaii
COMM. 48.88