Traces of PCB and arsenic have been found at the site, Lee said. The city plans to clean up contaminated areas, then cover the site with three additional feet of topsoil.

The 15-acre mill site is primarily used for storage of trucks and surplus equipment. It was used for decades prior to that by Ewa Sugar and Oahu Sugar companies before the mill shut down in the early 1980s.

"The light industrial uses are inappropriate and incompatible with the residential community," Lee said.

The city will spend an additional $1.5 million to demolish existing buildings once the tenants move out, and add grass and landscaping in April for the park.

Another $4.7 million will be spent to add a swimming pool, community center and play courts to the park.

"The park expansion has long been pushed for by the 'Ewa Vision Team," Lee said. The former sugar mill will be designated for community use and could become a farmer's market, he added.

Kimberly Lee, director of the 'Ewa Villages Owners Association, said the existing park has no trees, little grass and a portable toilet for a restroom.

"Someone turned the toilet upside down recently," said Lee, a three-year 'Ewa Villages resident.

Longtime 'Ewa Villages resident and former sugar mill worker Louis Maria said he doesn't mind the park expansion, but believes the city needs to do a thorough job in its cleanup effort.

"There were a lot of chemicals and materials that were stored there," Maria said. "Someone has to make sure the city does a good job."

Ben Lee yesterday said all underground storage tanks at the mill site have been removed.

Some tenants complain

Bob McLean Jr., owner of Independent Sandblasting, said tenants knew they would eventually be asked to move, but some were still frustrated by the city's decision, since many were unknowingly part of a scheme by former city housing official Michael Kahapea to bilk the city out of $5.8 million earmarked for relocating businesses out of the area.

Kahapea is serving a 50-year-sentence for heading the scheme that stole nearly $6 million, using phony or misleading invoices and moving expenses.

Several businesses now asked to vacate the area, including a town beauty shop and barber shop, were moved and then moved again by Kahapea during his time in 'Ewa Villages. Kahapea and co-conspirators diverted city money meant for the moves, while telling some tenants to transport their own belongings.

Kahapea billed the city more than $250,000 in moving expenses between 1994 and 1997 for Independent Sandblasting, even though the operation has been in the same spot since 1984.

McLean said he now will probably close the family business instead of finding a new location.

"My father moved away, and I've been offered another job, so I'll probably take it," McLean said. "But I feel sorry for the other businesses who have to look for a new place."

McLean said he didn't know if 60 days was enough for tenants to find a new place and clear out their personal property.

"At the same time they're moving, they have to keep their businesses going," he said. "It would be nice if they gave us six months or something."

Other tenants complained that the city only informed the tenants about the decision to terminate their leases on Friday afternoon, after calling for the meeting earlier that morning.

"I just paid $3,200 last month in liability insurance coverage, and now they tell us about this," said Doug McKee of McKee Corp., which repaints heavy vehicles.

Lee said tenants may qualify for moving assistance, if they were operating at the mill site before the city acquired the property in 1992 and are cleared of any wrongdoing in the Kahapea fraud scandal.

If the city does award moving contracts, they will be verified by separate city departments to prevent fraud, Lee said.

Lee said tenants should be able to move in 60 days, and that many tenants "enjoyed low rent there for a very long time."