LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i County officials said they are taking steps to ensure the Wailua Golf Course will be properly maintained following an Oct. 25 fire that gutted a maintenance shed and destroyed equipment and materials. During a meeting of the
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i County officials said they are taking steps to ensure the Wailua Golf Course will be properly maintained following an Oct. 25 fire that gutted a maintenance shed and destroyed equipment and materials.
During a meeting of the historic County Building on Thursday, Ed Okamoto, who runs the municipal golf course, told the council that $237,836, excluding taxes, would be used for emergency equipment purchases.
At the same time, Okamoto noted another $13,185 also will be used for equipment purchases.
Because of an emergency situation required to keep the course properly maintained, Okamoto didn’t need to get council approval for the repairs, and merely reported the funds will or have been used.
County officials want to establish a temporary maintenance site on the golf course near Kuhio Highway, Okamoto said.
Large equipment will be stored at the site until the burned-out shed can be replaced by a new facility with modern touches, he said. Also planned is a structure for employee lockers and a rest area for workers, Okamoto said.
Because the temporary site sits on state conservation land, county officials are requesting that state Department of Land and Natural Resources officials grant a Conservation District Use Application permit, he said.
Currently, equipment that was not damaged in the Oct. 25 fire has been stored in a barn, Okamoto said.
The lack of storage facilities at this time is creating hardships for his division, Okamoto said. “We are just keeping our heads above water,” he said. “We are just getting by.”
Some audience members said the facility hasn’t been able to make it on its own financially, and has required subsidy from other county funds.
Kaua‘i resident Richard Stauber said that because the facility has been run at a sizable deficit each year, county officials should close down the golf course.
Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura said she can remember the days not so long ago when the county golf course made “lots of money.”
While the facility is operating at a deficit these days, and must draw on other county funds to operate, she voiced her preference to “close the gap” on the deficit, and keep the facility in operation.
Council Vice Chairman James Tokioka said the county golf course “help put money into the (county’s) general fund” during healthier economic times.
Tokioka said that as “long as I am here (on the council), the facility will not become a private-operated facility.”
Council Chairman Kaipo Asing said he didn’t like the direction the discussion was taking, noting it improperly moved away from the focus of the agenda item, that of the purchase of the emergency equipment.
In the 1980s, a leading national golf publication classified the county golf course among the top 10 municipal golf courses in the nation.
The condition of the golf course went downhill in the middle-to-late 1990s, due partly to an outdated irrigation system.
The system underwent a $2 million upgrade in the late 1990s, a project that had been advocated by the administration of former Mayor Maryanne Kusaka. The county golf course is popular among residents and visitors because of its closeness to the mountains and the ocean, and because of playing rates that are lower than what is charged at privately owned golf courses.
Yukimura said she felt the facility is still popular because it is well designed and has been well-maintained under the direction of Okamoto.
Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or mailto:lchang@ pulitzer.net.
