Audubon takes reins at Waimea park

By Will Hoover
Advertiser North Shore Writer

The National Audubon Society yesterday took over management of Waimea Falls Park, saying it marked a new beginning for one of Hawai'i's most noted, culturally significant locations.

Audubon senior vice president Tamar Chotzen is working on the management transition as the National Audubon Society takes over from Waimea Management. The park officially reopens to the public tomorrow afternoon. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

"This is particularly special for me because this is home," added Chotzen, who grew up in Hawai'i and proudly bears a scar on her chin from a Waimea Falls diving mishap as a kid.

Chotzen, a 1977 Kaiser High School graduate who ran the Hawai'i Nature Center for 13 years before joining the National Audubon Society, said, "I will do whatever I can to make sure this place is a success."

Audubon project manager Diana King said, "on the whole, the park is in pretty good shape" after an early-morning walk through the park with Chotzen, city forestry and beautification specialist Stan Oka and city deputy corporate counsel Greg Swartz. "We feel really privileged to be here, and awed by the responsibility. It's daunting and exciting."

King said she and a team of Audubon specialists from around the country would spend today orienting the new staff, "including a whole lot of people who worked for Waimea Management and are now coming on board with the National Audubon Society" in preparation for tomorrow afternoon, when the park officially reopens to the public.

Swartz said the city's effort to take ownership of the property through a condemnation process is headed for a July 7 trial, in which a Circuit Court judge will decide a fair market value for the 1,875-acre park. The city has placed $5.1 million in escrow for the property.

Audubon takes over park management knowing that on Wednesday, Waimea Management LLC dropped its lawsuit against the city for awarding Audubon a long-term lease. Waimea Management had been operating the park on a month-to-month basis.

"Size matters," said Ray Greene, president of Waimea Management. "The city is large, we are small. They have big pockets and we don't. Fairness and equity never really enter the equation. You can have as much justice as you can afford."

Greene believes he could have proven his case against the city. But he said he lacked the resources to pursue the issue for years in court. And if the judge's decision came in higher than the $5.1 million in escrow, the city would have the option of walking away from the deal, leaving Greene fighting a lawsuit against a city no longer interested in owning the property, he said.

Bob Leinau, safety and compliance manager for Waimea Management, wished Audubon well.

"I remember the first day I started here, in June of 1973, and how exciting and new everything was," said Leinau, who was once general manager of Waimea Falls Park.

"My destiny has been tied to this park for the past 30 years. It's kind of exciting to see a new group come in with essentially the same ... optimism."

Chotzen said Audubon was introduced into the park because of concern from the people of Hawai'i.

"This is a really challenging project for us, but we're here because the community asked us," she said. "We had broad and diverse support from the Hawaiian community, the North Shore community, the conservation community and the botanical community. And they did it on their own."