For more info, go to www.Facebook.com/WaimeaCommunityAssociation or email send an email to waimeacommunityassociation@gmail.com.

Water Tops Comprehensive Waimea Virtual Town Meeting

@ 5:30 PM, Thurs., Oct. 7, 2021 – All Invited   

Wai is the Hawaiian word for water.  Waiwai means wealth or prosperity.  Around these thoughts and what it means to protect and manage watersheds, and deliver safe, potable water at a time when climate change-induced drought, storms and wildfires all seem to be upon us (on top of a pandemic), water will be the focus of Waimea Community Association’s next Virtual Town Meeting from 5:30-7 p.m., Thurs., Oct. 7, 2021. 

Water will highlight the agenda with an update from the County Department of Water Supply on significant potable infrastructure projects and repairs in the Waimea region, followed by watershed protection program insights from The Kohala Center, followed by a fascinating glimpse of a little-known non-profit, Terraformation, represented by its founder Yishan Wong, whose vision is to bring Silicon Valley technology expertise from his time with Reddit and Facebook to the climate movement.  Wong recently completed construction of the world’s largest fully off-grid 100% solar-powered desalination system on Hawai’i Island to alleviate water shortages that hinder arid ecosystem restoration. This relieves a key bottleneck that has prevented mass reforestation from closing the gap on comprehensively solving climate change. 

As usual, WCA's virtual town meeting will be streamed “live” on WCA’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/WaimeaCommunityAssociation) and everyone is welcome to log on.  The meeting will be saved to Facebook and YouTube for on-demand viewing thereafter. Also, as always, questions welcome preferably in advance – please email: WaimeaCommunityAssociation@gmail.com.  Questions can also be typed into the Facebook “chat” during the meeting and will be addressed as time permits. 

WCA’s October Virtual Town Meeting will also include a mixed plate of news about important events, opportunities, pandemic safety and ways to get involved. 

The meeting will begin with a brief overview by Greg Chun, Ph.D., with UH Center of Maunakea Stewardship, of the draft Maunakea Master Plan.  The plan, which is available for review and community comment by Oct. 26 can be found at:  https://maunakea.konveio.com/

Next up will be Hawai’i County Redistricting Commission member Meizhu Lui on the process in progress for realigning County Council district boundaries with the 2020 Census.  She will share how the community can participate in the process, including using an online tool to draft proposed new County Council district maps.  Following redistricting will be Dr. Crystal Hammer with a COVID-19 update on behalf of Queen’s North Hawai’i Community Hospital. 

Then, WCA’s spotlighted not-for-profit for October - West Hawai’i Mediation Center - will be represented by Kate Sims, who will discuss a new State law regarding eviction mediation. The intent of the law is to try to prevent evictions and more homelessness in our island’s and state’s already very tight, high cost housing market through mediation, counseling and referrals to a variety of possible support programs and services.  As usual with spotlighted not-for-profits, the community will be encouraged to support West Hawai’i Mediation Center financially and/or by getting involved as a volunteer.    

Next up will be a proposal to “Pink It Up Waimea!” to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  It will be presented by Tammy Muranaka, who along with both Waimea Elementary and Waimea Middle Schools, is urging the entire community to wear PINK on Fri., Oct. 8. 

Next will be WCA Board member Mary Beth Laychak briefing the community on a new Hawai’i Science Walk that will replicate the annual Waimea Solar Walk along Ala ‘Ohi’a Road with a series of fascinating free videos highlighting science from across Hawai’i Island.  The videos will be accessible via a QR code on the sidewalk that will link to a wide range of fascinating topics - from humpback whales to the Alala (the Hawaiian black crow – a keystone species now extinct here in the wild) to wayfinding and astronomy.  The new Waimea Science Walk is a partnership involving the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, the W.M. Keck Observatory, Thelma Parker Library, UH Institute for Astronomy and many others.  It will be accessible to the entire community in late October.

Council members Heather Kimball and Dr. Tim Richards will then provide a County issues update, and then it’s all about water with Keith Okamoto, P.E., Manager-Chief Engineer with DWS, followed by a trio from The Kohala Center including Liam Kernell, Mahina Patterson and Jake Merkel, and then Yishan Wong w/ Terraformation. 

‍Also on the virtual town meeting agenda will be an update by Waimea Community Policing representatives. 

For more info about the meeting or community association, email WCA President James Hustace at WaimeaCommunityAssociation@gmail.com or go to www.WaimeaTown.org.