Community members continue to push for a new gym in Papa‘aloa, with surprising results.
Last November, Hawaii County Parks and Recreation and County Council member Heather Kimball held a meeting with Papa‘aloa residents to discuss the inevitable demolition of the town’s plantation-era gym.
The gym was closed indefinitely at the onset of COVID-19 and was closed intermittently for repairs before that.
The county intended to renovate the gym, but it was deemed unsalvageable after extensive termite damage was found last October.
Those who attended that meeting were surprised and objected to the demolition, since there was no set plan to replace the facility.
“After that big meeting, we couldn’t just let it go with the information we got, that there was no plans to replace it,” community member Bethany Morrison said last week. “We got together as a community group and began pushing on how we can make progress toward a new gym by working with Parks and Rec and council member Kimball.”
Kimball, representatives from Parks and Rec, and a community group of about 10 to 15 people have met multiple times to discuss the needs of recreation in the Papa‘aloa area.
Together, they quickly made changes to the Laupahoehoe Point Gym to allow kids from Papa‘aloa to practice basketball and reengage in other activities while the Papa‘aloa facility remains condemned.
“We really wanted to make sure our keiki still had a place to practice sports, so I’m glad we could make this happen,” Morrision said. “The (Laupahoehoe) gym is still not in the best shape, but it works for now.”
After meeting with county officials, the Papa‘aloa group took their efforts to the state level. After engaging with legislators, state Rep. Mark Nakishima made building a new gym a priority.
According to Morrison, Nakishima has gotten support from Oahu state Rep. Sylvia Luke, who is the chair of the Finance Committee for the House.
A request for $10 million, which would need to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the county, is included in House Bill 2477, which Nakashima, whose district runs from Kaumana to Hamakua, introduced.
Nakishima has secured $5 million in the House budget for the Papa‘aloa Gym and is awaiting the Senate budget.
“We’re hoping the Senate does the same and secures another $5 million for the gym,” Morrison said. “If the county matches the $10 million from the state, we could have an allocation of $20 million, which is what they told us it would take to replace the gym.”
The group has started an official campaign to make sure they continue to push for a replacement for the decades-old gym. They have gathered 50 letters of support, 500 signatures on petitions, and have created social media accounts for updates.
“We feel like our voices are actually being heard, and we needed that, and we need this facility,” Morrison said. “Without it, kids don’t have anything to do and they get in trouble, or kupuna don’t have anywhere to go for collective activities. It is a needed resource and has done so much for us over the years.”
For now, Parks and Rec is developing a needs assessment to present to the group at the next meeting, which would help pinpoint community needs for recreation.
“The needs assessment will help us figure out how many people utilize recreational facilities in the area. It’ll help us understand the needs of the community, what their recreational concerns are, and what components are missing — besides the gym,” Parks and Rec Director Maurice Messina said last week. “This will help us plan for the future as the community changes its needs over time.
“We will be working with them from here on out to develop a strategy not only to rebuild the gym, but to also look at the entire area to figure out how to shore up more recreational uses,” Messina said.
Many of the issues that caused the gym’s deterioration and have made the building unsalvageable were due to a lack of regular maintenance for about a decade, according to Messina.
“One things that has come out of this is the need for my department to have a solid maintenance plan going forward,” Messina said. “Decades of deferred maintenance and cuts in budget have put us in this position, and Mayor Roth and I have talked many times about the importance of recreational facilities getting regular inspections.”
The demolition permit has been approved after the county had to perform a hazardous materials remediation due to the structure’s age, the use of lead paint and the roofing. A date for demolition has not been set yet.
An event to say mahalo to the Papa‘aloa Gym has been set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 30.
Those interested can find more information and updates about the Papa‘aloa Gym at the community group’s social media page, Friends of Papa‘aloa Gym, on Facebook.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com
