HAU'ULA — The city has initiated more than $1 million in projects in Hau'ula and is planning a new fire station, bringing long-awaited improvements for this tiny Windward community.

Renovations to Hau'ula Community Park and Hau'ula Beach Park are under way. Plans also include construction of a skateboard facility in the community park and the relocation of the fire station that now sits in a flood zone.

Residents said they have been waiting for some of the improvements for as long as 10 years, and they are very happy to be finally getting them. But there's some doubt about whether the projects will be completed.

"I'm crossing my fingers," said Hau'ula resident Janine Tannehill "The last time we were excited, too. Optimistically, I'm looking forward to it but a little bit nervous hoping that it will go through."

Tannehill said she remembers when the community was shown blueprints for improvements at the community park, but nothing happened.

The lack of facilities hurts the community's children, she said. "The kids really need a place to to hang out, to come together and put all their energy into good things."

Some 18 miles out of Kane'ohe, Hau'ula spreads along about three miles of coastline between Punalu'u and La'ie with few amenities for the hundreds of children who live there. During sports season, the community park is packed with teams and the beach park is filled with campers.

Ken Furukawa, a Hau'ula resident, said the skateboard park project was conceived 10 years ago and children were involved with the planning. Officials said it would help get the kids off the street. Furukawa said he doesn't have children, but likes the idea of a skate park for them.

"I'd rather have them skating over there than have them skating on people's walls," he said.

John Olszowka, a Hau'ula resident and vice president of the Hau'ula Community Association, said the city had to go back and ask for more money to build the skate park because of the rising cost of material, so he's not sure if that project will materialize.

"If it happens, great, if not we're a patient people," Olszowka said.

He may not have to wait so long. All of the projects except the fire station have begun or will begin soon, said Eugene Lee, city deputy director for the Department of Design and Construction.

Termite damage repairs and upgrades on the community park's building have begun, Lee said. The $540,300 project includes making the restrooms accessible and painting the structure. The skateboard park project is still under negotiation but is estimated to cost about $249,000 and should start this year, he said.

At the beach park, the city is installing a water line for a drinking fountain and irrigation, tables and benches, and a concrete walkway, Lee said. The original plan had called for more parking but after residents objected, the parking was removed from the $400,000 plan, he said.

"They wanted to maintain or maximize the amount of camping space," Lee said. "They didn't want to give up any space to put in a new parking lot."

Finally the city has plans to relocate the fire station inland and out of the flood zone, he said. The city has a site but has not closed the deal, so Lee said he could not reveal the location.

Furukawa said he hopes the new fire station will look as good as the Ka'a'awa Fire Station, which he says is beautiful. The fairly new building at the beach park and the Ka'a'awa station are more in keeping with the community's rural lifestyle, he said.

"I want it to be more country feeling ... not some building you'd see in L.A."

City Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz, 2nd (Wahiawa, North Shore, 'Ahuimanu), said the city budgeted some $500,000 for land acquisition for the fire station. Moving the facility is necessary in light of the problems with flooding from Hurricane Katrina, Dela Cruz said,.

The parks projects are important not only for the benefit of the community but for the island at large, he said.

"A lot of my district is the playground for the rest of the island," Dela Cruz said. "Most of the beaches are in my district. We all have to kokua."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.