Waimea Town Meeting to be Held Thursday

The Waimea Community Association’s (WCA) next town meeting is set for Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, from 5:15 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Waimea School Cafeteria.

The Hawai’i County General Plan is currently in progress and is open for community input. The general plan, as well as the energy future of the island, will be the top agenda items for Thursday’s meeting, according to a WCA press release.

“These two topics are complex and far-reaching, and urgently warrant community awareness and input,” said WCA Director Nancy Carr-Smith, who will facilitate the meeting.

The public is welcome to attend free of charge, but WCA urges membership to support ongoing association activities, the release said.

The meeting will begin with Hawai’i County Planning Director Michael Yee and the department’s Manager of Long Range Planning, April Suprenant, providing a brief presentation on the recently released Draft General Plan, which is available for public review and comment. The plan can be found online.

Since February of 2015, the Planning Department has been working on a comprehensive review of the General Plan, which is the county’s long-range policy for the comprehensive physical, economic, environmental and socio-cultural wellbeing of the island.

As such, it focuses on a county-wide scale, using a 25-year planning horizon. It establishes county policy and prioritizes implementation actions needed to achieve long-term goals. This is important because all public improvements and land use decisions must be consistent with the General Plan, the release said.

During this review, community goals were confirmed, research was conducted to understand existing conditions and historic trends, and policies were explored and incorporated, including those in the Community Development Plans.

The Planning Department will be asking for more community input at the town meeting. Comments may also be submitted in writing to the Planning Department. Ultimately, both the Leeward and Windward County Planning Commissions, and then the Hawai‘i County Council, will review, finalize and adopt the updated General Plan.

Next on the agenda will be the introduction of HELCO’s recently appointed president, Sharon Suzuki, who with Hawai’i Island Director Kevin Waltjen will provide an update on the utility’s programs and services, as well as its integrated resource planning. This is relevant to what the island’s energy future may be with the transition to alternative energy sources.

County Council members Valerie Poindexter and Dr. Tim Richards will participate, as will Waimea Community Policing Officer May Lee with a community safety update.

Other brief presentations will include Waimea Outdoor Circle as the spotlighted not-for-profit for the month. There will also be a sneak peek of The Fall Festival, set for Oct. 12, 2019. Finally, there will be a sneak peek of the Paniolo Preservation Society’s Old Hawai’i On Horseback Historical Pageant at Waiki’i Ranch, set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019.

Starbucks coffee and cookies will be provided.

For more info, go to www.WaimeaTown.org or www.Facebook.com/WaimeaCommunityAssociation.