"We're very happy to see that they've finally started working on it," said Ken Martyn, who spearheaded the bandstand idea.

Martyn said if all goes according to plan, the bandstand — conceived to revitalize the town economy since the closing of the Waialua Sugar Mill closed in 1997 — should be operational by midsummer.

Jacob Ng is likewise pleased that the Vision Team has decided to focus on two new projects: putting a bikeway alongside of the Sunset Beach Fire Station, and building a sidewalk near Waialua Elementary School.

Those projects could be completed by 2004, he said.

But even as Martyn, Ng and others expressed satisfaction with what they consider positive results, there was also talk of frustration even before the first North Shore Vision Team meeting of 2003 began last night at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach Park.

The Vision Team process was launched by the city in 1998 as a way for communities to share in project decisions. For the North Shore, that meant $2 million a year to be split evenly between Mokule'ia, Waialua, Hale'iwa, Hale'iwa to Waimea, and Sunset.

Then came a downturn in the city's economic outlook, and the vision changed.

"Now the mayor is saying, 'Pick one project or maybe two and complete it," said Vision Team member Bob Leinau, who pushed for the bikeway concept.

"The mayor said you don't have $2 million anymore, you have $1 million."

The bandstand project only got started after months of project delays, changes and missteps, he said, and is "a fascinating story of how you don't want to do a project."

"The bandstand was supposed to have been designed and completed for something like $220,000 — which is a lot of money just for that," said firefighter Chip Hartman. "And it has gone way up."

The bandstand ended up with a price tag of more than $400,000.

Escalating costs have plagued every vision project, said Hartman.

The estimate for his own pet project, a Sunset recreation center — one of several ideas that has been put on the back burner — jumped from slightly more than $1 million, to slightly less than $2 million.

Hartman also pushed for the bike path around the Pupukea fire station where he works. But he was stunned when he heard how much it would cost.

"We're talking about trying to do this little section of bike path around the fire station for$200,000 to $300,000, and I'm laughing at them," he said. "I think they can do it for less. But no. I bet it'll end up costing a million dollars to do a couple of hundred feet around the station here."

The vision concept was meant to simplify and speed up the process, said Hartman. The reality has often been the opposite. He said his experience has been that the process tends to get tangled in red tape, extra expenses and, ultimately, requires years to complete.