Increase in parks fees considered

By ERIN MILLER

Stephens Media

A proposal to raise parks fees — in some cases doubling the rates — drew a tepid community response in hearings on both sides of the island Tuesday evening.

About a dozen people attended the Hilo hearing, with six people offering testimony. No one came to the Kona meeting.

Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Bob Fitzgerald said people are usually more likely to attend a meeting to voice negative opinions than supportive ones, so the low turnout was likely a positive.

“We’ll look at the emails that come in,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ll still discuss among ourselves.”

Email testimony submitted prior to Tuesday’s hearings was split, department spokesman Jason Armstrong said.

This is the first time in 10 years the department has sought to increase the fees. Following Tuesday’s hearings, Fitzgerald and Parks and Recreation Director Clayton Honma will consider other community input and make a rules change recommendation within 60 days. That recommendation goes to the county clerk, and the rules take effect 10 days after being published.

Chris Hashimoto, president of the nonprofit Friends of Hookena Beach Park, urged the county to raise camping fees and maintenance fees at the park. Hashimoto said the park group has five part-time workers who clean grills, scrub the restrooms and rake leaves. He said a lifeguard and security guard should be added to the mix.

“One of these days, we might be able to turn this into a five-star beach park,” Hashimoto said during the Hilo hearing.

Alice Moon, executive director of the Downtown Improvement Association in Hilo, worried that the pavilion and park facility fees would be too high for nonprofit groups. She also said she couldn’t find a definition for professional promoter, so she wasn’t sure which level of fees would apply.

“I understand the need to raise fees,” Moon said. “I have a concern … $200 to $400 a day will dissuade organizations such as churches and clubs that are not going to get to do that activity. … This could cause some problems for smaller groups and businesses.”

“I’m surprised we don’t have more people here,” Moon added.

Armstrong, attending the Kona hearing at the West Hawaii Civic Center, clarified the department’s handouts, which in some cases indicated nonprofit groups would pay a higher rental fee than event promoters. Armstrong said that was an error and the event promoters fell into the highest rate category. Nonprofit groups were in the middle rate category.

The county still won’t be charging entry fees for parks, the county pools or other facilities, Armstrong said.

“It comes down to exclusive use,” he said, adding that residents may always show up at a park and try to use a pavilion, for example, but if they want a guarantee they can use it and no one else can, they need to reserve it and pay a fee.

The increases are expected to add, conservatively, $110,500 to the department’s roughly $7 million maintenance budget, Armstrong said earlier this month.

Park pavilion fees would increase from $10 to $25 for functions that are not commercial or to benefit a group or organization. Commercial use of some of the county’s larger facilities, such as the Old Kona Airport runway or the Afook Chinen Civic Auditorium, would go from $500 to $1,000 per day for professional promoters.

A full listing of the proposed fee increases is available on the Parks and Recreation website, hawaiicounty.gov/parks-and-recreation/ under the heading Proposed Rules Changes. Community members may still email testimony to parks_recreation@co.hawaii.hi.us.

Nancy Cook Lauer contributed to this report.

Email Erin Miller at emiller@westhawaiitoday.com.