A plan to beautify the center of Hanama’ulu and to inspire community pride was unveiled to residents this week. Proponents hope the project, when completed, will serve as a catalyst for more public improvement project in Hanama’ulu town, one of
A plan to beautify the center of Hanama’ulu and to inspire community pride was
unveiled to residents this week.
Proponents hope the project, when
completed, will serve as a catalyst for more public improvement project in
Hanama’ulu town, one of the oldest sugar plantation sesttlements on
Kaua’i.
At a meeting held at Kalepa Village Wednesday night, the Hanama’ulu
Beautification Committee proposed extensive landscaping of a 6,000 square-foot
lot next to the 7-11 store in Hanama’ulu, construction of a rock wall bearing a
welcome sign and a cement curb around the lot.
The proposal also calls for
landscaping on the oceanside of Hanama’ulu Beach Road and construction of a
rock wall to replace a wooden sign bearing the name of Peter Rayno Sr.,
namesake of a county park in Hanama’ulu.
Rayno was a longtime Hanama’ulu
resident who coached youth teams in the 1950s when there were no public sports
programs on the island, according to committee member Eddie Sarita.
As part
of their effort to upgrade the electrical system and to help beautify
Hanama’ulu town, Kaua’i Electric has agreed to remove an electrical substation
by the landscaping project site.
The beautification project is aimed at
encouraging Hanama’ulu residents to work together for the good of the
community, Sarita said.
“There are 3,000 people who live here. When it is
completed, it will instill pride,” he said. “The community will take
ownership.”
Sarita said the work should start in the middle of November and
be completed by the end of the year.
The project is being funded with up to
$20,000 from the county’s Ho’olokahi project, Kauai Power Partners, which is
developing a power plant in East Kauai, and Kaua’i Electric, Sarita
said.
Amfac is expected to donate equipment for the project, he
said.
He said he hopes the work will spur residents, organizations and
businesses to work and fund other public improvement projects at Laukona Park,
Wiliko Park and Hanama’ulu Beach Park.
“We want to make people aware that
we have recreational assets that need attention,” Sarita said. “And that they
can play a significant part in keeping these areas in good
condition.”
About 40 people attended the meeting. Before it adjourned, a
dozen people volunteered for the project, Sarita said.
The committee that
drafted the plan includes Stan Oana Jr., Linda Salvador and Peter Rayno Jr.,
son of the man after whom the park was named and a surveyor for Lihu’e
Plantation Co.
The latest project is among several projects that have been
implemented through the Ho’olokahi program, started in 1995. So far, volunteers
have beautified a parcel in Wailua Houselots. Volunteers also plan to install
an automatic sprinkler system in the Hanapepe Cliffside area.
Staff
writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and [
HREF=”mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net”>lchang@pulitzer.net]
Staff photo
by Dennis Fujimoto
EDDIE SARITA, director of the Ho`olokahi program,
explains the process of beautifying the “7-11 Corner” to about fifty Hanamaulu
and Lihu`e residents who turned out at the Kalepa Village Community Hall
Thursday.
