LIHU‘E — Did you hear the one about a hotel to be built on the picturesque meadow at Koke‘e State Park? Right next to the helicopter landing pad? Ron Agor, the Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau representative on the state Board of
LIHU‘E — Did you hear the one about a hotel to be built on the picturesque meadow at Koke‘e State Park?
Right next to the helicopter landing pad?
Ron Agor, the Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau representative on the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, has heard them all.
The rumors are not true, he said, challenging anyone to “pick up the phone and call to meet with me and discuss your concerns with an open mind. I can be reached at 651-5764.”
He is getting tired of hearing four persistent rumors surrounding the controversial Koke‘e Draft Master Plan, he said last week.
In addition to the hotel and landing-pad rumors, he has also fielded many questions from Kauaians about an entry gate and four-lane, highway-like entrance at the park.
Also both false.
“There has been much said about the Koke‘e Draft Master Plan since it was approved for public hearings by the land board back in 2004,” he said.
“It has been my observation that most of the contempt for the proposal has been sparked by false information given to the public by those advocating to do nothing for Koke‘e, and by those who feel the mountain should be exclusively for them.
“Since 2004, I personally have been approached by many people concerned about Koke‘e. Some were cashiers at the markets, clerks at the airline counters, fellow beach-goers, passengers on the plane, and the like,” said Agor.
“I get questioned at least two to three times a week,” he said. “Whenever I have a chance to respond to the false assumptions, most concerned people thank me for clarifying the situation and wonder why they were informed wrongly.
“A few did not believe my clarifications and say they got their information from reliable active sources in the community,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is that none of the above four mentioned assumptions are true. I should know, I made the motion and amendments to the draft master plan that were approved by the board in 2004,” he said.
Regarding the meadow hotel rumor, Agor acknowledged that a lodge for overnight stays is planned, though it would be on the same footprint as the existing Koke‘e Lodge.
“The board heard testimony from the public (in 2004) about wanting a lodge for overnight stay. As a result of listening to the public, I made an amendment to the plan to include a lodge basically to replace the existing ‘lodge building.’ The intent was to have a restaurant with rooms above.
“This new lodge would not exceed the footprint of the existing lodge,” he said.
“The board approved this concept so that the local people, who would lose out on acquiring a cabin lease, would have equal access to the mountain in terms of overnight and weekend stays,” he said.
“There was never a proposal for a helicopter pad to accommodate tourists, and there was no motion to include one during the hearing.
“The above top four mentioned misconceptions about the draft master plan were done away with at the land board’s meeting on Kaua‘i in 2004,” he said.
“Yet, to get support for doing nothing for Koke‘e, activists have resorted to misinforming the public in order to get support for their agenda and incite this madness.
“At a recent informational hearing on Kaua‘i, for example, a reliable active resource of a person testified against ‘the gate’ and a four-lane highway with people cheering on. That person knew that there is no gate or four-lane highway planned,” he said.
“It is time to set the record straight on the intent of the draft master plan for Koke‘e.”
