Maybe a new park in HPP's future?

[ericlp]

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/news...es-caveats

At least Iligan is happy about it or at least he looks happy.

[EightFingers]

Yep, he's all for it....
Maybe it'll help with the homeless situation, wonder what the neighbors think.

Problem is the county isn't taking care of the parks they already have, how are they going to handle another one?
There's a small park middle of Paradise ala Kai that needs some attention.

[Kapoho Joe]

Do not build another public park unless it has a 20 foot fence and a locked gate at night. Parks are fine in the daylight but at night they attract the worst elements.

[dakine]

This topic has a thread that already going strong on the political forum at:

http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21149

and I believe kalakoa said it best when he said:

I maintain that building a public park in a private subdivision is not an appropriate use of public money -- and the issue is not "does HPP deserve a park" (based on population or tax revenue or whatever justification), it's simply that HPP is apparently unable to guarantee safe public access to that park: users of the park, and emergency responders to any incident in that park, will need a proper road with a maintained surface, clear visibility, regulation striping and reflectors...

Any subdisivion that wants County to build them a public park should be required to provide a public road to that park under the existing "bring it to code and gift it to County" procedure. Not only does this eliminate the "access issues" mentioned above, it makes the subdivision more of a "partner", guarantees that the residents of that subdivision really do want a park created, and mitigates any perception of a "free ride".

[pahoated]

Seems like a Homeless Park would be just the ticket. Outdoor showers, certified soup kitchen, covered pavilions, big septic system, cardboard recycling bin nearby, recycled clothes bin. It is just the aloha thing HPP needs to do, give a little back to the community instead of always gimme-gimme-now-now.

"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"

[dmbwest]

Is it just me or does anyone else feel that Ted's recent, on-a-bender, posts are becoming more and more "tilting" ?

[Amrita]

I for one think Ted's comment is right on contrarian, a summary of why the park would be a magnet for the "give me your tired, hungry and poor." He forgot to mention an entrepreneurial opportunity for herbal sales like at atop Kehena on Sunday.

[kalakoa]

HPP is apparently unable to guarantee safe public access

Per these very forums, some HPP residents insist that the public should not even be allowed to use the roads "we in HPP paid for".

If HPP does somehow get this park built with public funds, expect a lawsuit or three.

[Obie]

From April 2014 Trib
"County says it’s ready to take over Mauna Kea State Park"

A little over a year later there has been a remarkable transformation. Proof that the county can sometimes do a good job.

[shockwave rider]

PahoaTed: "It is just the aloha thing HPP needs to do, give a little back to the community instead of always gimme-gimme-now-now."

This is true "through the looking glass" thinking. HPP GIVES access to the roads it paid for and maintains for an emergency escape route from lower Puna, HPP is asked to GIVE a 20 acre parcel to Hawaii county for a public county park (HPP did not pursue this idea, a county councilor did) and HPP already GAVE land for a county park that never got developed on the shoreline. But somehow all that GIVING has turned into GIMMEE in Ted's mind. When a public entity like Hawaii county asks for use of privately paid for and maintained property (like land or roads) and the owner of that property asks to be protected from loss or harm from that use, somehow in certain twisted minds the owners of the private property becomes the selfish ones?

Calling HPP a "private" subdivision as Kalakoa does is a Red Herring, almost all of Puna's house lots are in privately developed subdivisions owned by members of the taxpaying public. They were developed as a land scam with "master plans" and systems of governance that range from nonexistent to barely adequate, and then the developers took their money and walked away. Hawaii County has been collecting taxes on those properties ever since and was complicit in the development of the land to begin with, so providing taxpayer funded services of any sort to the taxpayers living in these subdivisions is perfectly reasonable. Is Kalakoa saying that police and fire vehicles should not travel on "private" subdivision roads, since they are also taxpayer funded? Where would he draw the line on what taxpayer funded services and facilities "private" subdivision dwelling taxpayers deserve, what about fire stations or police substations?

The only thing "private' about any of these subdivisions is that the residents have to pay to build and maintain the roads in addition to all the county and gas taxes they pay, in all other ways these are public roads, used by the public, policed by the public safety departments, and used by police and civil defense as alternative routes when it suites them.

The residents of HPP did not push for this park, in fact a sizable and vocal portion of the subdivision has expressed opposition for a wide variety of reasons, GI pushed for it so he has an accomplishment to run on, and he is hoping (incorrectly I think) that it will get him HPP votes as a solid block, but it is entirely reasonable for HPP to have concerns that Hawaii County will say one thing until the land is transferred to them, and then do nothing, or even worse do something other than put in a park. We are talking about Hawaii County after all.