2016-10-26 BDHRA Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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BANYAN DRIVE HAWAI‘I REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I MINUTES October 26, 2016 The Banyan Drive Hawai‘i Redevelopment Agency met in the County of Hawai‘i, Hilo Council Chambers, Hawaiʻi County Building, 25 Aupuni Street, Room 1401, Hilo, Hawaiʻi, with Chairman Brian DeLima presiding. AGENCY MEMBERS PRESENT: Mary Begier, Brian DeLima, Elmer Gorospe, and Barry Taniguchi AGENCY MEMBERS ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Sigmund Zane ALSO PRESENT: Duane Kanuha (Planning Director), Joaquin Gamiao-Kunkel (Planning Deputy Director), William Brilhante (Assistant Corporation Counsel), Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), Lucas Mead (Staff Planner), Christian Kay (Staff Planner), and Kim Tanaka (Secretary). A quorum was present with four members in attendance. The meeting was called to order by Chairman DeLima at 1:00 p.m. At this time Chairman DeLima opened the floor to receive public testimony. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC There were approximately 36 people from the public in attendance. DELIMA: Are there any statements from the public? Okay, we have Don Inouye. Mr. Inouye, you can come up. There’s a microphone; if you could speak into the mic. We’ve adopted the Rules and Procedure so you have three minutes for your testimony. INOUYE: Yeah, that’s about all I’ll need. I consider myself a major individual in Banyan Drive; I’ve lived there for over 20 years now. I’m the president of Reed’s Bay Resort Hotel. This year we’re going over a million dollars of revenue. Dealing with the economical area of tourist, and that’s my greatest concern. The greatest concern, I feel, as far as the redevelopment agency, should be the thoroughfare on Banyan Drive. Now, the Banyan Drive and the care for banyan trees within the Banyan Peninsula, to me this is something that’s been neglected over the years and caused the real blight in the area. The current Banyan Drive thoroughfare is so called blight area and not the buildings, etcetera. Now let me look at this, you try coming into the entrance of Banyan Drive at Verna’s Drive Inn and you look at the middle section there, divider, it’s a blight area because all of the invasive weeds overgrowing the plantings. Invasive growth along the thoroughfare of weeds and invasive trees all along Banyan Drive is blocking the beautiful greens of the golf course.