Hawai'i Kai board to vote on improvement projects
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Bureau
HAWAI'I KAI — Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board members will vote today on how to allocate $1 million for improvement projects.
Among projects considered are a community center, a parking lot for Kamiloiki Community Park and trees and park equipment for Koko Head District Park. The projects will be paid for with $1 million provided by the city.
The decisions will be made at 7 p.m. today at the Koko Head District Park lounge. The entire area board will meet to hear new ideas or vote on ones made already.
However, no one knows how much each of these projects would cost, said Lester Muraoka, Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board committee chairman. "We're going to discuss all the ideas and brainstorm and then vote on them," Muraoka said. "We're open to the community's ideas. It's a new undertaking for the board, so it's evolving right now."
Many neighborhood boards are grappling with developing a project list. Some, such as Kailua, have already submitted their lists to the city. Each board has $1 million to spend.
The lists are due to the city this month, said Charlie Rodgers, Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board chairman. The city will review the project list and add it to the budget, which must be approved by the City Council. The money would be spent in the 2002-2003 city budget year.
Should the community decide not to choose any of the projects, the board can pick from a wish list the city has put together, which includes an East Honolulu police station, which has a $6 million price tag, or traffic calming measures on Kaluanui Road.
Also on the city's list:
• An access road to Koko Head Crater Botanic Gardens.
• Improvements to street lighting.
• General improvements to Kalama Valley Community Park and Kamiloiki Community Park.
• Repairs and renovations for Koko Head District Park.
• Design of a comfort station and sewer connection at Sandy Beach Park.
"This money gives us the ability to tackle things that have been left undone for whatever reason," Rodgers said. "In Hawai'i Kai, fortunately there are not many of those things."
