HANAMA‘ULU — Clifford Lee and Ernie Domingo have their fingers crossed. The two players from the Hanama‘ulu Hillsiders, a Kaua‘i Senior Softball League team, have been spending the past few weeks sprucing up Peter Rayno Park in Hanama‘ulu in preparation
HANAMA‘ULU — Clifford Lee and Ernie Domingo have their fingers crossed.
The two players from the Hanama‘ulu Hillsiders, a Kaua‘i Senior Softball League team, have been spending the past few weeks sprucing up Peter Rayno Park in Hanama‘ulu in preparation for their first home game in two weeks.
“The construction crews came Monday and started building the new restrooms,” Lee said. “They even came and changed out the portable restrooms which were kind of stinky. One thing you gotta have in a park is good restrooms.”
Lee, a first-year player with the Hillsiders, said when he joined the team, other team players were complaining about the condition of their Peter Rayno Park home field and the lack of response to their concerns from county officials.
That spurred Lee into action, addressing the numerous concerns the team players had about the field.
“They were wondering about when the new restrooms were going to be built,” Lee said. “I just went to see a couple of guys in the county, and the crews are here.”
He said after they finish the concrete work it will be time to address the roof and plumbing.
Pauline Ibia of the Hanama‘ulu Neighborhood Association said Tuesday the county’s electricians were at the park assessing the electrical work and the park’s lights.
That was a prelude to Wednesday when workers from the contractors appeared with a high lift to start replacing the aging light fixtures.
“Those seniors have been working real hard,” Ibia said. “They spent Christmas and New Year’s working on trying to get the park in shape, and on Martin Luther King Day, they were repainting the dugouts and bus stop.”
Lee said while the Hillsiders enjoy Peter Rayno Park as their home field, the park belongs to the community and he is hoping the work being done to spruce up the park won’t be spoiled by vandals.
“Everyone is going to benefit,” Lee said. “We need the community to watch out for the park so people don’t mess this up.”
Domingo said the team’s efforts were inspired by the work being done by other senior softball teams around the island.
“The Rookies and Kuku’s Aces helped build a new pavilion in Kaumakani,” Domingo said. “They have a new pavilion in Wailua, too. The senior softball players did a lot of the work on these projects.”
Lee said eventually the team wants a pavilion at Peter Rayno Park, but for now, the immediate concern is to upgrade the facility to host the senior softball games on Feb. 19.
“Our base paths are all grass and dirt,” Domingo said. “We wanted cinder for a long time so we could have cinder on the basepaths and in the infield. Now, they delivered not just one, but two piles of cinder.”
The volunteer effort by some of the team members extended into the weekdays when Lee said a Bobcat was supposed to arrive so they could begin the job of leveling and applying cinder to the infield.
“The improvements being made at Peter Rayno Park by the Hanama‘ulu Hillsiders represent volunteerism at its best,” said Lenny Rapozo, director of the county’s Parks and Recreation Department. “We are truly grateful for the work they are doing and are pleased to partner with this hard-working team by providing the materials they need. When this multi-faceted project is completed, the entire community will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor.”
The Kaua‘i Senior Softball program opens with its first games on Feb. 12.
