• Whining doesn’t change reality • Garden dispute not over yet
Whining doesn’t change reality
I understand Jim Martin’s sadness expressed in his letter published Tuesday, April 18. But if he assumed the private owners of the Makahuena Point land mauka of Pe’e Road would never be able to develop the land, he was naïve.
In the early 1990s, every one of the 72 units at Poipu Sands had 25 to 120 degrees of open ocean vistas. Many of the owners had been told by their real estate agents — incorrectly as it turned out — that the land south of Poipu Sands could never be developed. As president of Poipu Sands starting in the early 1990s, we had to deal with and watch as Mr. Martin’s condominium (The Point at Poipu) was built directly south of Poipu Sands, totally eliminating ocean views from inside over half the Poipu Sands units, and reducing the view planes to about 10 degrees to 30 degrees for most of the rest of the units.
Reality required our owners to just get over it, and move on. That is my suggestion to Mr. Martin who, as a one- or two-week timeshare owner on Kauai who has enjoyed a large ocean view for 20 years … get over it. Whining is non-productive … that is my learned and experienced opinion.
Vince Jones, Koloa
Garden dispute not over yet
Regarding the Malama Kauai Kalihiwai Community Garden dispute, I would like to add some clarity: Bobby and I did not refuse to sign a contract. We declined to enter into a written agreement before the term of our current verbal agreement is over. It expires on May 23.
We have been exemplary members of the community garden, as attested to in a petition we started on change.org (search “malama kauai”). 138 community members have signed and 55 have written personal testimonies in support of us.
We came into the garden five months ago, put in a ton of work to clean the place up, are doing a great job with our plot and we have good relationships with everyone. But Megan Fox, executive director of Malama Kauai, is evicting us. We are seeking a fair and inclusive resolution in our petition, and we have addressed it to the Board of Directors of Malama Kauai as Megan Fox is clearly unable to rectify a situation she has so badly mishandled.
The petition asks the Board of Directors of Malama Kauai for an open meeting during which they can make the case that we should be evicted, we can respond, and the community can decide whether we should go. We have submitted our petition to Keone Kealoha, president, and the other three members of the Board of Directors and are waiting for a response.
Mariah Leslie, Kilauea
