Downsize park plan
Downsize park plan
Sierra Club urges Hawaii County to reconsider plans for Kukuihaele Park in light of community opposition, cost concerns and the ability of county Parks and Recreation staff to service and maintain what we already have.
This is a project that is out of scale. If there is a pressing need for an organized sports field, a more appropriate location should be found where the roads and water infrastructure can better support it. This would help bring the cost down as well.
The park is a jewel — a gorgeous view of Waipio Valley from 4 acres of open space. The huge baseball/softball field, 18-foot-high backstop fence and dugouts proposed are drastic alterations that would mar the natural beauty of the park and its surroundings. They also would pre-empt space now used for walking, jogging, soccer, football, Frisbee and other recreation. Proposed lighting might ruin stargazing and disturb neighbors. Fruit trees would be cut down.
Baseball games of regional or islandwide significance will increase traffic on Kukuihaele Village Road. Planned parking would be insufficient, so cars would park on the road, hampering traffic and emergency access. Waipio Valley visitors seeking restrooms might bring more traffic.
Questions were raised about the county’s ability to maintain the planned facilities, when there are sometimes problems maintaining even the existing park. The county water supply might be insufficient.
Environmental law might not have been followed, since bids were solicited before the comment period closed, and the simultaneous development of Waipio Lookout without restrooms or sufficient parking was not adequately considered.
Other baseball/softball fields are available and/or planned in Waimea and nearby Haina Park.
We call for a comprehensive look at full impacts of the proposed project and thoughtful consideration of alternatives for this special and beautiful place.
Nelson Ho
Chairman, Sierra Club, Moku Loa Group
Special treatment
It is beyond me how a college such as Harvard could reserve a slot for Malia Obama for 2017.
If I applied for college at Hawaii Community College’s Palamanui campus for 2017, they would probably tell me to reapply in 2017. Why would they accept my application for enrollment in 2016 for 2017?
Would Palamanui deny someone in 2017 because they “saved” me a slot in 2016? I think not.
Political correctness has its limits; this is beyond good sense.
Jay Tomokiyo
Holualoa