Have you checked out The Hot Seat?

It's our new opinion page blog that brings in your elected leaders and people in the news and lets you ask the questions.

On The Hot Seat this week was Kuilima Resort Co.'s chief executive officer, Nicola Jones. She answered readers' questions during our live blog chat on the planned expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort on O'ahu's North Shore.

An excerpt from that Hot Seat Session is printed below. To see the full conversation, visit The Hot Seat blog at blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com and click on the comments under the posting titled: "In The Hot Seat: Nicola Jones." (Names of questioners are screen names given during the live online chat.)

Gary S: Here's my question: How much do the developers care about how the local population feels about their planned development? Do they care that they will be disturbing the lifestyle of the thousands of people who have chosen to live on the North Shore because of its unique environment and who have called the North Shore their home for so many years?

Nicola Jones: Aloha, Gary. Thanks for writing in. I'll admit that when I first learned about the project, I had some of my own reservations about the proposed expansion, as many others do. I certainly understand the strong feelings we all have when it comes to protecting the environment and preserving rural lifestyles and settings.

But after learning more about the background on the project and getting together with others in small community group meetings, I realized that Kuilima and the community have many of the same desires and aspirations for the community. I've made providing accurate information a priority, and I'm confident that as others take the time to learn about the project, they will also see that actually, in the main, we're striving for similar goals.

I am hoping that we will have more discussions that will enable us to find solutions to the question of how to create a balanced project that responds to the differing needs and priorities of the various communities and respects the land.

Katherine K: How do you plan to address the gargantuan traffic issue that your development will cause? And don't you think that the people coming from all over the island to fill your need for jobs, since the population of the towns on the north/east side of the island won't support the numbers you need, will further congest the already unacceptable level of traffic?

Jones: Hi Katherine. All of us who live on O'ahu know that traffic is a major concern, not just on the North Shore but in other areas as well. We are aware that we need to create a development that addresses this issue because it would certainly detract from the experience of guests and would take away that rural, country feel that will be an integral part of the experience that we hope visitors want. We also want to be considerate of those who live in the area.

We are looking at innovative ways to alleviate traffic such as a shuttle service to and from the airport, which will mean that each of the guests will no longer need to use rental cars at the airport and many of the guest journeys will be consolidated.

Another very important initiative is the shuttle service for guests and employees that we will run between Hale'iwa on the west and Ka'a'awa on the east. At the moment, nearly 90 percent of our employees live in this area, and we'd very much like that to continue. The idea is to give almost all employees and guests the option of taking journeys by shuttle rather than driving individually. Also, the hope is that more local residents will be able to work closer to home and avoid long commutes to town, which addresses your second question.

The other thing we'd really like to make happen is a bike path network up here on the North Shore. This will take a fair amount of effort, but we're already working on the section from Kawela Bay to Kahuku High School, which would then link up with the path that's proposed between Kahuku and La'ie. We will certainly be including a bike path within the resort area itself. When we discussed these projects with our employees, they were all very enthusiastic about these possibilities, and we are certainly open to new ideas.

One of the first traffic-related projects that we'll be doing is the very important safety upgrade at the existing Kuilima Drive intersection with Kamehameha Highway. We have been working with DOT (state Department of Transportation) closely on this and we will be significantly improving the intersection and the way that it interfaces with O'io Bridge. This will improve the lines of sight and enhance traffic flow.

Joyfuljustice: Have you made any presentations to the Sunset Beach Community Association or the North Shore Neighborhood Board since you came on board (almost six months ago)? Specifically, which community groups have been included in your "new era of openness"? Specifically, who are some of the "community leaders" you have been gathering input from? Why are you against the islandwide effort to protect this special area, and why are you against taking the ethical and responsible step of a supplemental EIS (environmental impact statement)?

Concerned Resident: Are there specific community organizations that support a total of 4,000 condos and hotel units on the property? It would be great to see a list of these organizations, especially any community groups from the region between Kawela Bay and Hale'iwa, the area that would be particularly affected by the increase in traffic the new units would bring (along with other infrastructure burdens).

Who are the key community leaders that have come out and expressed support for this massive development?

Jones: We have been meeting in small group meetings with representatives from the Kahuku Community Association, the Kahuku Village Association, the North Shore Career Training Center as well as Hau'ula and La'ie community leaders. In addition, we have met with some of those who are concerned about the project that have homes in Kawela Bay and the Sunset Beach area.

We know that this will take some time to reach out to all of those who are involved, but we felt this was the most productive way of having a respectful dialogue. We have also met with our employees, most of whom live in the area.

The proposed development was never intended to be a win-lose proposition. The unilateral agreement between the developer and community was designed and structured so that both sides could win. The community would have an economic driver to replace the sugar plantations, among many other community benefits; the developer would be able to create a resort that would, in turn, provide the infrastructure to sustain and enhance the Kahuku community.

After the holidays, we will be scheduling many more meetings, and we welcome your input and involvement. We are in the process of establishing a Web site which will enable you to post questions.

Karen: The traffic on the North Shore in the past two years has increased substantially. With 3,500 more hotel rooms and the workers to support this expansion, what do you think is going to happen to our already- clogged roadways? Do you live in Hale'iwa? Have you been caught in the traffic crawl from Hale'iwa town?

Also, where do you think all the workers for this massive expansion are going to come from? Are you planning to build affordable housing for the many minimum/minimal-wage workers you will need?

Jones: We also want to clarify the concern about the "massive development." The 3,500 units is the MAXIMUM entitlement to the developer, based on the agreement between the developer and the community. There may well be considerably less than this. As I mentioned in my answer to Katherine, we are very much hoping to draw our work force from the local areas.

Rick: Ms. Jones, first of all, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions about this project. Now, you mentioned before that Kuilima/Turtle Bay may in some way help the Kahuku Hospital to stay operational. What are your plans for this? Is it a public/private-sector relationship? Are there some deep-pocket investors willing to help out the community?

Jones: You raise a very important issue. Having medical care is essential to the well-being of all of us who live in the Kahuku community. Both Kuilima Resort Co. and Turtle Bay Resort collectively employ nearly 700 employees, and 85 percent of those live in the area. We also have about 300,000 guests per year.

It's not going to be an easy transition because it is a complex process, but access to healthcare is important for us, so we've joined with leaders and representatives of the North Shore and Ko'olauloa to find solutions. It's not a matter of choosing healthcare over a resort development, or vice versa. We all need each other. Having adequate healthcare services for the community and the resort is essential. At the same time, building a strong economic driver helps to sustain healthcare services for our community.

At this stage, we are involved in the strategic planning process with the community leaders and political representatives. There are a number of structures being considered, including a combination of private-public partnerships.

Matthew C: I am currently commenting from Kahuku High School's newswriting lab. But I know one of the major arguments to support the development is its potential for economic growth and jobs. Do you expect the youth and community to take these "blue-collar jobs"? We are already having problems finding classroom cleaners, how much more with hotels? What are the benefits of the job? What will you do if you lack the labor force? Overall, how will this project affect the youth of the community and future generations, other than parks or bike paths?

Jones: There are many current employees who live in the area who are in management positions. Some of these employees started out in more junior positions but have been promoted to their current roles. Others went to college and returned home and assumed their positions. With more jobs available, there will be more career paths with quality jobs open for residents in the area. There are a number of types of jobs and career opportunities that would be available, not just at the hotel.

Building a resort may not be the perfect answer to everything, but we believe it can provide attractive alternatives for quality jobs. There is also the economic multiplier effect. For example, we would like to support small farms in Kahuku that would supply the resort and others in the community. We also envision environmental tourism to be a major part of the project, which will enable people to work in this area.

Jeanne G: Why is Kuilima against having a current environmental study the majority of the North Shore community wants? Just saying that nothing has changed in 20 years since the original study is not accurate. We who have lived here are very concerned with the exorbitant growth in the traffic, buses, tourists and accidents. How can all of that be ignored now?