LIHU‘E — For years, West Kaua‘i families have enjoyed snorkeling, fishing and picnicking at Salt Pond Beach Park in Hanapepe. If Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste has his way, recreational activities will be expanded significantly in areas around the park in
LIHU‘E — For years, West Kaua‘i families have enjoyed snorkeling, fishing and picnicking at Salt Pond Beach Park in Hanapepe.
If Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste has his way, recreational activities will be expanded significantly in areas around the park in the future. But Baptiste says the biggest challenge is finding funding.
On Tuesday, Baptiste announced plans to develop the Hanapepe/Salt Pond Regional Park within 150-plus acres on the Hanapepe peninsula.
If and when established, the enlarged park would operate in unison with the existing Salt Pond Beach Park, consisting of about six acres, and the nearby Hanapepe Stadium complex, consisting of about 15 acres.
The creation of the regional park would greatly enhance recreational opportunities for West Kaua‘i residents, and would provide more park space for sporting events and practice sessions for competing sporting organizations, Baptiste said during a meeting in his office at the Lihu‘e Civic Center.
New sporting facilities could be built as well to address recreational needs in West Kaua‘i, the mayor said.
Baptiste said he and his staff have worked with officials with the state Department of Transportation Airports Division to lease 133 acres of land in the Salt Pond peninsula area in Hanapepe for the proposed regional park.
A draft lease for the 133 acres is pending, Baptiste said. After review by count officials, including the Kaua‘i Office of the County Attorney, the draft lease will be sent to the Kaua‘i County Council for input and action.
County leaders have applied for an executive order to use the 133 acres, Baptiste added. Because the land would be used for public recreation, Baptiste said he doesn’t believe a time restriction would be inserted in any lease that is consummated.
At the same time, Baptiste is requesting a 17 1/2-acre triangular parcel from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources near the 133 acres, to complete the boundaries of the proposed park.
The smaller parcel was used at one time for a bus operation, and in proposed uses could be the site for maintenance facilities and equipment for maintenance of the new park, Baptiste said.
“I believe the regional park should be the source through which we can develop the recreational resource,” Baptiste said in assessing the future recreational benefits of the project.
One of the benefits of developing the park is “logistics,” meaning compared with neighborhood parks, regional parks would “have a better economy of scale relating to maintenance, manpower and equipment,” Baptiste said.
Because of better maintenance, regional parks “typically have higher-quality fields and facilities,” Baptiste said.
The regional park would allow sports clubs more fields and space for games and practice sessions, Baptiste said.
“It will take the stress off neighborhood parks for practice and games,” he said.
“We are a growing a community.”
Developing the regional park will create challenges, he said. County officials are very likely to face restrictions for projects proposed near Burns Field (Port Allen Airport), which is located on a peninsula in Hanapepe and is managed by the DOT Airports Division.
“Eventually, we would like to turn the whole peninsula into a park area,” Baptiste said. “But at this point, we respect and support the Department of Transportation’s decision to maintain an airport there.”
But even with the restrictions, the community can still work with him and other community leaders in developing a suitable plan that would stay “within the state’s restrictions and guidelines,” Baptiste said.
Baptiste said he would welcome community input, and indicated that community meetings are planned for that purpose “We want to start the process of talking with the community to see what they would like to see,” Baptiste said. “There are no pre-conceived plans here.”
Access rights of fishermen are likely to be a high priority, Baptiste indicated.
“There are great fishing opportunities, and we want to make sure nothing we do violates that,” he said. “We want to make sure fishermen are included in the process, so that the development of the park doesn’t interfere with their sport,” Baptiste said.
He said the proposed regional park is just an idea at this point, but it can become a reality if government and residents are committed to seeing the park developed.
“What we need to do is develop the dream together,” Baptiste said.
Funding for the proposed regional park has not been identified, and more than likely, once the plans are developed and construction is imminent, a bond will be floated to build numerous projects including the park, Baptiste said.
Baptiste also said he wants to see other regional parks developed in Lihu‘e and in the North Shore one day. Related to a regional park envisioned for Lihu‘e, Maxine Correa, a former chairwoman of the council, had proposed something similar to it years ago for the benefit of residents.
She had proposed a sports complex that would have incorporated the Vidinha Stadium.
Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.
