Part one of a two-part report on public reaction to a proposed state plan for park lands at Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon. Local residents are voicing support for – and opposition to – a controversial state plan that if implemented
Part one of a two-part report on public reaction to a proposed state plan for park lands at Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon.
Local residents are voicing support for – and opposition to – a controversial state plan that if implemented would revamp Koke‘e and Waimea state park lands over the next 20 years.
They had a chance to give their input to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources at a meeting held at ‘Ele‘ele School this week.
At the meeting speakers all spoke of anger and frustration over the format being used by state officials to draw public opinion.
Over 150 residents turned out at the school’s cafeteria, with many complaining that the “open house format” used denied them due process, and prevented them from voicing their concerns collectively.
But state officials said they felt the format allowed residents to provide sufficient input and to voice concerns that were of the highest interest to them.
The DLNR and R.M. Towill Corporation, a Honolulu-based consultant, developed the draft master plan and sponsored the meeting.
The format involved using six information stations at which people met DLNR officials and a consultant to voice their concerns. Maps also were provided.
The format irritated some residents and prompted a quick departure for some from the meeting “Bah, it is a waste of time,” blurted one resident before leaving. “How can?”
The meeting format seemed to create animosity and distrust among residents and state officials as DLNR takes steps to nail down a final plan.
That plan will determine the feel and look of the 6,100-acre state park complex over the next 20 years. The park complex is world-renowned, and has been a key recreational refuge for generations of Kauaians.
The state Land Board must approve a plan before work on the park complex can start. The work is to be done in phases and when funds are available.
The Land Board plans to hold a public hearing soon on the plan, which could be revised based on public comments, said Jim Niermann, a representative for R.M. Towill who attended the meeting.
And on the same day, the board could make a decision on whether to approve a plan or not, Niermann added.
The draft master plan calls for four options, although preference is being given to one.
It calls for major improvements at lookouts, creation of a new lookout, road improvements and more infrastructure, an entry gate, charging of fees and possibly short-term or long-term leasing of 105 to 100 cabin leases.
Residents wanted to talk about that option and three others at the meeting.
They came to the meeting expecting DLNR or R.M. Towill representatives to make a presentation on the plan, to address the drafters of the plan and to have a question-and-answer session held.
Instead, no presentation was made, and folks got their information from the information stations.
Officials manning the stations discussed improvement of trails, expansion of fishing seasons, improving interpretive signs throughout the park, increasing public uses of 105 to 110 recreational residences and charging entry fees.
Ron Agor, the Kaua‘i representative on the board of the DLNR and chairman of the Kaua‘i Republican Party, said most of the people he came across at the meeting found the format “unacceptable.”
Brian Atendido, who was accompanied by his wife, Katie, both residents of Wailua Homesteads, said the format caught him off guard. “I have never been to a meeting like this,” he said.
The format used was “insulting” in light of the large number of people who came to the meeting, said David Kuhn, a Kalaheo resident who uses one of the recreational cabins.
Craig Millett, a resident of Kalaheo who is a cabin leaseholder, said, “R.M. Towill and the DLNR wasted people’s time.”
Millett said it was his impression DLNR holds meetings but doesn’t necessarily use recommendations made by the public in the planning of projects. “I came to a similar meeting, I think, a year ago, and we made all kinds of recommendations, but none of them was included in the master plan,” Millett said.
DLNR officials have disputed such claims, saying all input is considered in developing a final plan.
Millett said he recommended DLNR continue to talk with Koke‘e leaseholders on the continued use of the cabins after December 2006, when the leases expire.
James Alalam of Kapa‘a said the meeting format showed that “the meeting is only a formality and that decisions about the park have already been made.”
Vince Flores, a Lawa‘i resident who hunts in Koke‘e, said the format built barriers between residents and the government.
“Who is responsible for the format?” he asked, arms folded and body tense as he stood outside the cafeteria. “The people we recently elected to office. Do they know about this?”
Niermann of R.M. Towill said the open house format was selected to enable folks to focus their attention on parts of the plan that are of highest interest to them.
“The open house format is a typical process that allows us to focus on areas of interest,” he said.
Niermann said the future of the Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon state parks is a touchy and controversial issue with residents, and emotions have boiled over at previous meetings on the subject.
“It (the open house format) is to prevent grandstanding,” and to reduce the possibility of confrontations at meetings, Niermann said.
A key concern for Frank Hay, leader of the Koke‘e Leaseholders Association, is the status of the leaseholders’ use of 105 to 110 residential cabins after December 2006.
Hay said most association members have held the state leases since 1985, and that they have been “good stewards” of the parks.
Over the past five years, members of the leaseholders association have donated $100,000 in labor and materials to maintain, repair and beautify trails, restroom facilities and other park structures.
State officials are looking at short-term and long-term leases for the cabins, as a way to increase use of the units by more people and to generate more funds.
Carrying out that objective would break up the Koke‘e cabin community, Hay said.
“The plan (related to the cabins) would appear to ensure the destruction of an historic community,” Hay said. “I do not think that is the intent of the state constitution or historic preservation statutes.”
Mary Lu Kelley, a cabin leaseholder and a neighbor of Millett, said the state proposal to convert 30 cabins by the Koke‘e Lodge into rental units is faulty.
“I have not seen the evidence that there is a need for that many cabins (to be used that way),” she said. “Ninety dollars a night for kama‘aina? One hundred and twenty dollars for tourists is ludicrous.”
The consultants project a 90 percent occupancy for such units, a claim questioned by Kelley. “There is no evidence that there will be a 90 percent occupancy.” She predicted visitors won’t pay that much for units that are in poor condition and won’t want to drive on dirt trails that may become impassable during times of rain.
“What about security?” Kelley asked.
Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and lchang@pulitzer.net
Part two of this report is scheduled to appear in the Monday, November 22 issue of The Garden Island.
