Hawai'i Kai adjusts park plan

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — Hawai'i Kai residents have scrapped a plan to build a 3,000-square-foot community center with a theater and will instead renovate existing facilities at Koko Head District Park.

The work will be paid for with $1 million left from a $1.5 million city allocation to the community's vision team and neighborhood board. The decision was reached Monday night when a group of 15 residents and members of the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board met at the district park to figure out how best to use the money.

Earlier this year, residents decided to build a teen/performing arts center or meeting center to boost pride, but that was when the community believed it had $1.5 million to spend. Then last month a plan advanced by City Councilman Charles Djou enabled the transfer of $500,000 of the money — along with $5 million from other park projects — to build the proposed East Honolulu police station.

Lester Muraoka, a member of the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board overseeing the board's wishes, said architects assured him the proposed facility could be built even with the reduced amount.

Architects drew up a preliminary plan that includes a multipurpose room with a stage, dressing rooms and storage area at the rear of the courtyard near the gym.

But residents opted instead for a plan that would encompass improving the electrical system at the 30-year-old facility, painting, expanding the existing meeting space by enclosing the covered walkways, or possibly erecting removable partitions.

"The big emphasis for this park should be maintenance, not a teen/youth community center," said Diane Ackerman, a Hawai'i Kai resident. "The kids got $1 million in the form of a skateboard facility. It baffles me that the city can't maintain what it has and now we're going to plan to build a new facility."

The city has proposed three options to reconfigure the existing facilities, which are in constant use by adult aerobics and martial arts classes, scout meetings and summer-fun classes:

• Make two meeting rooms out of the existing space and extend the rooms onto the lanai.
• Make one big room, 3,200 square feet, with storage rooms at each end.
• Make a small stage and a grand hall with enough space for 150 seats.

"The facilities here are solid," said Ken Barclay, a Hawai'i Kai resident. "I'd like to see us renovate this space."

The city has approved a $100,000 contract with Ink Architects to draw up the plans. The company has received $10,000 for pre-stage drawings to define the scope of the work, city spokeswoman Carol Costa said. That leaves $840,000 for construction after permits and inspections, Costa said.

The money must be spent by December or be lost. A plan must be decided by October so it can go out to competitive bid.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.