Crumbling Kailua Pier at center of debate over safety, aesthetics
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
KAILUA, KONA, Hawai'i — Even though it is recognized as a community landmark, many in Kona would just as soon see the Kailua Pier demolished after 50 years of service to commercial and recreational interests.
The pier, jutting 600 feet into Kailua Bay, was built in 1952, replacing a smaller wharf constructed in 1915 to load cattle from local ranches onto interisland steam-ships. Cattle now are shipped out of the commercial port at Kawaihae, but the now-decrepit pier remains in heavy service to the Big Island's most important industry — tourism.
More than a dozen snorkeling tours and other businesses are licensed to use it, and the pier also is used to transfer thousands of cruise-ship passengers from ship to shore in tenders because Kona does not have docking facilities for larger vessels.
Kailua Pier also is used by the Kai 'Opua Canoe Club, swimmers and participants in the famed Ironman Triathlon.
State Rep. Jim Rath, R-6th (South Kohala, North Kona), called Kailua Pier a potential catastrophe because of continued neglect.
"Like many things in this state, we neglect them for decades but only fix them when they become a liability," Rath said.
The need to repair the crumbling structure became obvious after the state closed off the last 42 feet of its seaward end in late 1999, and an additional 70 feet in March 2000. Temporary repairs allowed that section to be reopened.
Sometime later this year, the state will solicit bids for an estimated $3.5 million in repairs and improvements, including two additional loading docks, accommodations for the disabled, improved lighting and removal of a fishing hoist that takes up a lot of space. A line to drain wastewater from larger boats also would be added.
Most of the money, however, will go beneath the surface of the ocean to improve the pier's structural integrity and fill gaping holes with concrete.
Marni Herkes, president of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce, said the unsightly pier was built to load cattle, and repairing it will not make it look much better. "It is the center of our community and it would be nice if it was more attractive, but the state cannot afford that now," Herkes said.
Scotty Bell, owner of Body Glove Cruises, said he needs the pier to sustain his snorkeling business, which provides 25 jobs. Bell is the Big Island member on the statewide Ocean Tourism Coalition, a nonprofit group that promotes the industry. He has been working nearly two years on plans to repair Kailua Pier.
"This is a good thing for the community. We are on the fast track now," Bell said.
But some Native Hawaiians and others would like to do away with the existing pier and build a new one on pilings to improve water circulation in the bay and encourage the return of the white-sand beach that was popular in the days of Kamehameha the Great, who retired to Kailua before his death in 1819.
Historians also point out that Kona's version of "Plymouth Rock," where missionaries made their initial landing on shore, lies underneath the pier.
Hank Kekai said a pier on pilings would keep the bay clean. "Let the water circulate," said the 76-year-old retiree and former surfer who believes engineers need to use the knowledge of the kupuna, who know Hawai'i's water characteristics best.
Kevin Seiter, a Kona attorney, outdoorsman and community activist, believes the state is about to waste millions of dollars for repairs when the pier should be placed on pilings. He also wants to see the white-sand beach restored.
The potential return of the beach is more important than all of the business the pier generates, said fourth-generation Kona resident Kelly Greenwell. He said the pier should go altogether and not be rebuilt in any fashion. He also would like to see the removal of the sea wall that protects pedestrians and vehicles on Ali'i Drive from high surf.
Greenwell, who once described his hometown as a "dirty little village" while running for the Hawai'i County Council, said the value of Kona and its future rests on its aesthetics.
"This is a Band-Aid approach — fixing a pier we don't want. Tourists don't come here to see a honky-tonk town. What we need is long-range thinking," said the North Kona farmer.
Replacement of Kailua Pier with one on pilings is not a reasonable alternative, said Jim Schoocraft, acting administrator of the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Boating and Ocean Recreation Division. The issue is safety, not aesthetics, he said.
Money also makes a replacement unfeasible, according to Schoocraft. The cost for a new pier of similar size would range from $12 million to $40 million, he said.
In addition, construction of a new pier would require costly and time-consuming environmental studies, he said.
