Want park in Puna?

[Royall]

The parcel they have now is on Paradise Ala Kai if I remember right. Paradise turns into Paradise Ala Kai at the bottom and will turn left along the shore. I don't remember how far you go but it is on the bluff. Lot of locals fish there at times.

Royall

Hale O Na Mea Pa`ani

[alfastatik]

The Pahoa Regional Park still needs funding and does not have community opposition. Funds should go to communities that fully support parks. Pluses and minuses in every direction always, but without community support forget it.

Props to JH for trying to mobilize HPP. $5M you don't know what you got till it's gone.

Jeffrey Krepps
jevkreppsz@juno.com
Kurtistown, HI

[Seeb]

At the park in Leilani with the inlaws. Why can't HPP do something like this without involving the county at all

[Lin W]

Here is the follow-up HT-H article from 6/16, after the meeting:

Park plan for Puna advances, some board members wary of county control.

Hawaiian Paradise Park representatives voted Wednesday evening to continue discussions with the county over its plan to build a $5.5 million park in the neighborhood.

The vote was not unanimous, as some members of HPP's Board of Directors said they were wary of the requirement that they give the 20-acre park site at 16th Avenue and Makuu Drive to the county. Some also expressed concern with the county's three-year construction timetable and its ability to follow through with the plan, as well as its unwillingness to provide funds for maintenance of the park and the roads leading to the facility.

Board members Alan Dale Watson and Ken McGilvray voted against continued discussions with the county, while Leslie Estep abstained from voting. The rest of the board's nine district representatives voted to keep exploring the proposal.

Following the vote, Kevin Dayton, executive assistant to Mayor Billy Kenoi, said that regardless of whether HPP allows a park in their neighborhood, the county plans to use the money it set aside to "pursue the development of parks within the Puna district ... one way or another."

The funding for the park was approved by the County Council in April following months of debate over a $56 million loan for financing of 14 municipal construction projects. Kenoi has pledged to spend the $5.5 million to build a park complete with ball fields, restrooms and a three-court covered area.

HPP residents at Wednesday's meeting appeared to be mostly in favor of the park, saying that having a recreational area for the huge neighborhood just makes sense.

"I have three children, and I have many families near me, and I am really in favor of having a park. I think it's essential," said Valerie Tweiten, a 3 1/2- year resident and a mother of three children. "I read once a long time ago, that in order to get to know the people you live near, you should sit out on your front porch and talk to the people that walk by. But you can't do that in this neighborhood. This park would be our front porch."

Dave Collopy agreed. The resident of 15th Avenue said he lives next door to his daughter and her grandchildren, but they have a hard time finding things to do together.

"I understand this is the second largest community of its type in the United States, and we don't have a park. That is baffling to me," he said. "I am in favor of building a park."

Retired Oahu policewoman Lindy Williams warned attendees to be careful what they wish for, however. Williams said she had just closed on the purchase of a lot on 16th Avenue, and she is concerned about what a park would do to the neighborhood.

"I have experience as a police officer with parks and what happens," she said. "At first, this park is going to be really nice. ... It's going to be beautiful. Shortly thereafter, the kids and the teenagers ... are going to ruin these parks. I warn you now, this is not going to be a pleasant situation for anybody that lives anywhere near this park.

"Graffiti, skateboarding, crime, drugs, boom boxes, speed racers. ... It's just going to be a lot of - a LOT of - trouble in a short period of time," she said.

"For people with children, guess who's going to be waiting in the park for those kids who are not watched?" she added. "Child molesters. Just look online to see how many child molesters live right here. I've seen what reality is, and I've dealt with it on a daily basis."

Hawaii Police Department retiree Randall Aurello had a different take from Williams.

"I'm retired from the HPD, and I'm in favor of the park," he said. "I've seen the ups and downs of having a park in the community. What has to happen is the community has to get together to support the park. We need a neighborhood watch. We need to keep out all the unwanteds who are going to test the park at the beginning." Nathan Black, a resident of 33rd Avenue, agreed, saying that the community would have to take the park on as a project.

"It's a community responsibility," he said. "If good people and good families are attending parks, it will force these people to move elsewhere. Negativity will breed negativity, while positivity breeds positivity. If we all do our part, and have the same goal in mind, we can do it. If we just rely on the county to take care of it, it might get out of hand."

Board President Ron Vizzone said he for one wouldn't be swayed by the threat of criminal activity in the park.

"I ain't gonna have the criminals run me out of the neighborhood," he said. "It'll be OUR park."

Before putting the motion to continue discussions on the park to a vote, board member Ken McGilvray read a list of conditions that he felt the county would have to address before he would vote for the park.

Among them were questions concerning the start and end dates of the project, and when the property would revert to the HPP owners association if the park was not successfully built.

He also said he felt that the county would have to take over maintenance duties for HPP's roads, as they would see increased traffic due to the location of the park.

Additionally, he voiced a desire that the county's intentions and promises to HPP be written down in some form of a contract.

Leslie Estep said she felt the same way.

"I wonder why the county wants our 20 acres in writing from us, but they have not given us anything in writing. We don't have anything concrete," she said.

In response to the board's questioning about the county providing reassurances, Dayton seemed perplexed, saying that the county had no ulterior motives in relation to the property, other than to develop it into a park for Puna residents.

"The county's proposal is to acquire the property, if you're willing, and develop a park. We can try to arrange a written promise from the county, assuming we acquire this property ... but the county wouldn't want to invest in planning until they have the property. Studying the site is important," he said.

He added that because the property is zoned to be used as a recreational area or a school, he didn't see how the county could do anything else with it anyway.

"If we don't develop the land, it's basically a worthless piece of jungle," added Vizzone.

[David M]

Assuming this comes to fruition, I wonder how long before this new park devolves into the decrepit, eyesore status of some of the existing county parks? Seems to me $5 million could go a long way in maintaining existing park needs.

Just curious, but if HPP already owns the land, why not develop and maintain a park themselves? Couldn't a community built and maintained park be more economical?

David

David

Ninole Resident

[csgray]

HPP was set up by the developer with no legal mechanism for the HPPOA to do anything but maintain the roads. So while we collectively own the big chunks of land designated for parks, or schools, we have no way to set up and fund a parks district, plus we are all already paying plenty in county taxes while being drastically under served. Many people here truly want a park, but many are also concerned the county could take the land and then sit on it for years, as they have done with the land in Pahoa. But in all honesty HPP is the single largest population block in Puna with 10,000+ people, including 2400+ keiki between 5 and 19, and the people of HPP deserve a place to recreate without having to get on that death trap of a highway.

edited to add link to video of interview with Fred Blas in which he speaks of putting the park in his neighborhood of Hawaiian Beaches instead:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRqAqnkwv2Q

Carol

[macuu222]

They need money to develop and maintain! And that comes from the HPP community. And with the HPP community currently paying for road paving for the next 10 years...They are certainly not going to want to increase everyone's yearly dues even higher with park development and maintenance.

[csgray]

Macuu,
The HPPOA couldn't levy fees for a park if they wanted to, they are legally only allowed to charge fees for road maintenance and running the organization.

I grew up in a fairly poor farming town with 3/4ths the population of HPP, we had 4 elementary schools, a Jr. high, and a high school with an Olympic sized swimming pool and a huge gym with a million dollar basketball court, plus a public outdoor pool that was in our biggest city park. That was all on top of a reasonable police and fire department, city government with a mayor and council, public works division, and well maintained roads, sidewalks and streetlights. The big difference is that Hawaii is set up with a highly centralized system of government and no locally controlled government, so there is no way the people of HPP can make those things happen for ourselves. Instead, we have to wait for the Fred Blas and Billy Kenoi's to decide it is politically expedient to throw us a few crumbs.

Carol

[macuu222]

Well they better start throwing us crumbs. In another 10 years...the way things are going.... HPP may be the largest population center on the island surpassing even Hilo! HPP is already tied with Kona for 2nd place according to the 2010 Census!