‘The Shadow’ is on the lookout

Kapa‘a resident Jerome Freitas retired in 2003, following 15 years with the maintenance division with the state Department of Transportation’s Airports Division.

During his first year of retirement in 2004, Freitas, 62, says he metamorphasized into “The Shadow,” a government whistleblower who scours the island looking for state and county facilities, parks and roads that need repair.

Once Freitas zeroes in on a project he feels needs to be done he badgers state and county government agencies into what he sees as making “right what is wrong.”

Making the repairs is likely to reduce the risk for injuries and liability issues for government, thereby saving the money of taxpayers, Freitas said.

Freitas has found potholes, broken headwalls and unlighted roads that pose traffic hazards, small bridges without guardrails, rusted railings at the Wailua Golf Course and rotted roads leading to state facilities like the Wailua Marina.

Freitas said he believes his prodding has encouraged government to make some repairs and motivates them to move as quickly as possible on other projects.

Government officials, including Deputy County Engineer Ladye Martin, who heads the Kaua‘i County Public Works Department, the largest agency in the county, say they are listening to him, logging his concerns and sending agency staffers to evaluate the problems and to find solutions.

County workers, for instance, have removed batteries from the grounds of the Wailua Golf Course, filled in potholes and restripped roads.

“I look for the unsafe things. I am doing this for the safety of residents and visitors, to keep our aina beautiful for everyone,” Freitas said.

Some repair projects sit idle, and Freitas feels it is his job to get government moving on them. “I am not picking on the workers or anybody,” Freitas said in an interview with The Garden Island. “I don’t want to make more work for the worker. I am trying to create a better environment.”

Frietas said he has a catchy way of making government officials and staffers know he is around. “When I call the county, I tell them ‘The Shadow’ is here,” said Freitas, who sports an Elvis-style haircut and usually wears a T-shirt and slippers.

In an interview with The Garden Island, Martin said Freitas serves a useful function in pointing out problems that may not be obvious to government officials. “We are grateful when the public acts as the eyes and the ears, to report areas of concerns,” Martin told The Garden Island. “We have met with him on numerous occasions, reviewed his photographs.”

Martin said her agency has “responded in areas where there were quick inexpensive solutions, and others are on our do list.”

“Many of his concerns have been addressed, although we may disagree with the solution,” Martin said.

Freitas listed “projects” he feels need immediate attention, due to safety reasons:

• He claimed signs at Anahola Beach Park were not readable. County officials said in a letter sent to Freitas in October 2004 that the signs would be installed;

• He claimed the women’s restroom facility at Anahola Beach Park needed a door. County officials said in the same letter a work order had been submitted to the Building Division of the county Public Works Department, and that the work would be done;

• Freitas claimed “cleanout” by the bathroom at the Anahola Beach Park also was broken and was exposed. County officials said a work order would be sent out to make the repairs

• Freitas said headwalls on Kawaihau Road in Kapa‘a needed to be stabilized. If nothing is done, a vehicle could go over the road and occupants of the vehicle could get hurt;

“Not only that, but the car could hit a waterline and cut off water (to nearby residences), Freitas said. County officials said they would check that area and “do something.”

• Freitas said overgrown trees at the intersection of Kawaihau Road and Kuhio Highway pose a hazard;

County officials said county workers checked an overgrown pine hedge, and that a homeowner must have trimmed it, thus removing a potential traffic hazard;

• Freitas said a section by Laipo and Kanahele roads needs stabilizing. If they aren’t, a vehicle could hit the guardrail and plummet into a house below the road, he said.

County officials said they are working toward a solution they hoped will eliminate erosion and stabilize the posts.

Freitas said motorists may run into a stone wall on Kealia Road that is hidden by high grass.

County workers cut it back once, but the brush has grown back to hide the wall again, thus posing a danger to motorists, Freitas said;

County officials said herbicide use is restricted, and county workers have not been able to keep up with the cutting of guinea grass along county roads. County officials said they hoped the public comes to understand the limits faced by county work crews.

• Freitas said the passage along Kolohala Road by Kapa‘a High School has become dangerous due to parked cars on one side of the road. The engineering folks with the county Public Works Department said they are looking into the matter.

• Freitas said the railing at the Wailua Golf Course is rusted and needs repair. County officials said the railing was loosened by someone and will be reinforced and repainted.

Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and lchang@pulitzer.net.