The Hawaii County Council on Tuesday advanced a proposal to build a community park in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision, but with strings attached.
The amended resolution would give the county two years to develop a park master plan, otherwise the property would revert back to the HPP Owners Association.
Puna Councilman Greggor Ilagan, who introduced the measure and the amendment, said he was trying to create incentive for the county to move quickly on the project in order to address concerns in the community that helped defeat a similar proposal a few years ago.
“This two years is a very conservative time frame,” he said, adding money from planning and design already was allocated. Ilagan estimated the plan could take six months to complete.
While supportive of the resolution, Deputy Parks Director Ken Van Bergen and a few other council members expressed concern that the resolution was too optimistic.
“There’s no penalty to the county for not following through in two years,” said Van Bergen, who called the clause “unusual.”
Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung cautioned that the road of government is “littered with master plans that have never been followed through.” He said the timeline could be too short.
“What if something goes wrong?” Chung asked. “We can’t foresee the future.”
The HPP Owners Association board said it is willing to gift the property at 26th Avenue and Kaloli Drive to the county for the much-needed park.
As of 2010, the private subdivision had a population of 11,404 but no developed park facilities.
During testimony, an HPP resident noted the county owns an undeveloped parcel near the shoreline in the subdivision.
Ilagan said that could be better maintained as part of the park plan.
“If this park is built, the employee that would be maintaining this park would also go down to those undeveloped parcels and maintain those parcels,” he said.
The resolution was passed out of the Finance Committee and will require one more vote to be adopted.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
