Posted on: Sunday, January 30, 2005
Mayor says Hanauma fund safe
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
HANAUMA BAY — Money raised at Hanauma Bay should be spent there, not diverted to balance the city budget as some have proposed, Mayor Mufi Hannemann said this week.
However, how to spend a Hanauma Bay fund surplus of more than $1.4 million and how it will be accounted for will be up to the incoming director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, Lester Chang, who has not officially joined the staff yet, Hannemann said.
The administration of former Mayor Jeremy Harris last year proposed diverting money from the Hanauma Bay fund to balancing the city's budget.
As author of the legislation that launched the entry fee, Hannemann said he remains steadfast in his belief that the fees should be held in a special fund to pay for the operation and maintenance of the nature preserve and be used to expand education programs, and to encourage more residential use in the popular tourist attraction.
The Friends of Hanauma Bay, volunteers who help the bay meet its educational mandate, were cheered by Hannemann's stance.
"What we hope to accomplish with Mayor Hannemann is to sustain our new open, respectful relationship, one that will ensure that the needs of the bay are met by exclusive use of the Hanauma Bay Preserve Fund, rid the bay of illegal commercial use by enforcing existing protective restrictions and support the outstanding work of the bay manager and staff," said Cynthia Bond, the group's president.
Hanauma Bay, a tourist destination because of its clear snorkeling waters and abundant marine life, was seen as a cash cow, a revenue source for the city to help pay bills at the same time needs at the bay were going unmet, including unfilled positions and unpaid contracts.
Ultimately, the City Council's budget committee voted against diverting Hanauma Bay funds to pay for the city shortfall.
The bay caters to 3,000 visitors a day. Only 15 percent are residents, who are exempt from paying the $5 entry fee the city began collecting in 2003. The legislation creating the special fund initially passed the City Council in 1996 when Hannemann was a member. The money earned each year goes to pay for the operation, maintenance and debt service on the $16.2 million, award-winning Hanauma Bay Marine Education Center.
"The money in the Hanauma Bay special fund is there to do things for the bay," Hannemann said. "There is no threat that we'll raid the fund. I wrote the initial bill that charged the fees. I'm not going to change my views now that I'm mayor."
Earlier this year, after several requests, the city produced financial information that showed there was a surplus in four of the five years from 1997 to 2001, a total of about $1.9 million. Expenditures exceeded income at the bay for the past two years. The surplus now stands at $1.4 million.
On the plus side, the bay in fiscal 2003 took in $3.2 million in revenues, including fees from concessions charged to businesses to run the snorkel rental stand and the shuttle bus service as well as parking and admission fees.
"I hope that my requests for information from the previous administration will be transferred to the current new administration," said Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, chairwoman of the council's budget committee. "The money should be used for Hanauma Bay purposes. That's what's supposed to happen."
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
