Posted on: Friday, March 7, 2003

Council questions park projects

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Proposals for skateboard parks, a canoe halau and a dog park requested by neighborhood boards and vision teams drew questions yesterday from City Council members who are reviewing the $288 million construction budget submitted by the Harris administration.

As Budget Committee members looked at about 60 parks projects, they frequently asked whether there was a pressing need to do them now, in light of the budget crunch facing the city.

The committee will further discuss vision team and neighborhood board projects on March 20 at 9 a.m. Vision teams are groups of citizens who suggest park, roadway and other improvement projects for their respective neighborhoods.

The council in the past has approved neighborhood board and vision team projects, especially since the administration has budgeted $1 million for each of the 19 vision teams.

"Are we assuming we're going to cut neighborhood board and vision team projects?" asked Council Chairman Gary Okino, after Councilwoman Barbara Marshall asked for more details about the parks projects.

After Planning Director Eric Crispin described funding requests without going into great detail, Marshall told him, "It's not like we're looking for places to spend money. On the contrary, we're looking for places to save money."

When a vision team proposal for a canoe halau at Ala Moana Regional Park came up, Councilman Charles Djou, who represents the district, said he understood that many parks needed to be upgraded, but questioned whether the city should be building a new facility. "Is there a reason why this particular canoe halau is needed right now?" Djou said.

Crispin argued that it wasn't fair to single out one vision team's proposal, and noted it was the top priority of that group, which had earmarked half of its $1 million allocation on the halau.

"Maybe there's some things like this that maybe we could delay for a year because of the budget cuts," Djou said. He asked for design and construction costs for other canoe halau, and made similar requests when skateboard parks came up in Kaimuki and Kapolei, as well as a dog park proposed in Palolo.

Council members appear likely to reject a $15 million arts center proposed by the Mililani vision team, which was not funded last year. Okino said the community should raise half the funds before the city commits any money for planning and design. He noted that similar centers have been struggling financially.

The committee also questioned why the administration was asking for more money for Central O'ahu Regional Park, including $1.65 million for drainage and reservoir improvements. Controversy has surrounded the $65 million park, which has been plagued by cost overruns, and committee members wanted to know why the new costs were not anticipated during the planning process.