KEKAHA — If Kaua‘i County gave you $730,000, what would you do with it? Kekaha residents had the chance to chew the question over this summer, voting from a list of 24 items on how they wanted to put the
KEKAHA — If Kaua‘i County gave you $730,000, what would you do with it?
Kekaha residents had the chance to chew the question over this summer, voting from a list of 24 items on how they wanted to put the money to use. Recent survey results indicate a strong majority of the town’s populace are in favor of using the funds to improve the Kekaha Beach Park and the Community Center.
“These results are statistically sound and show what our community is interested in improving,” Citizens Advisory Committee Chair Randall Hee said.
The County Council allocated $650,000 to Kekaha in July 2008 as a way of compensating the community for hosting a landfill for the past 56 years. In 1991 the Kekaha Landfill became the only existing on the island after others were closed down.
“We didn’t want the landfill, you know, so that’s why we got this money,” said A. “Big Boy” Kupo who is part of the nine-member CAC team. “It’s good we can use it for something to improve the community.”
Beth Tokioka, executive assistant to the mayor, said the county would likely allocate an annual payment to the town as long as the site remains open.
In July 2009, Kekaha received an additional $80,000 — a dollar for every ton of trash the landfill buried.
Approximately 41 percent of Kekaha residents ages 25 and up responded to the survey polling them on their top five improvement choices.
“This is a high number of people to respond,” said Neil Pflum, a consultant with Aecom paid for by the county to help the CAC decide how to use the money.
Improvements to Kekaha Beach Park received 39 to 45 percent of the votes and improvements to Kekaha Community Center received 37 to 43 percent of the votes. Residents’ desire for a new community pool, renewable energy programs/projects and improved drainage on Kekaha Road ranked as the third, fourth and fifth most popular choices, respectively.
Not all CAC board members were happy with the survey results. A reiterated gripe amongst audience members and some board members was that the polling results were not completely accurate.
Committee Vice Chair Jose Bulatao Jr. said certain items on the poll should not have been there because they are the county government’s responsibility to fund, such as improving the drainage on Kekaha Road.
“That’s 150 votes that could have gone somewhere else,” he said.
Pflum said this was not a vote but a tally to get an idea of where the community stands.
CAC member Bruce Pleas pushed to move forward with the process of deciding what to do with the money.
“We are here to do what the people voted for,” he said, adding that many times the government was slow in responding to its civic responsibilities. He pointed to the incomplete Kekaha Gardens Park as one such example.
The CAC brainstormed more specific details of what the top five projects might include, such as a photovoltaic system for the Kekaha Beach Park or better ventilation for the community center, assigning CAC members and audience participants to research rough cost estimates for each bullet point.
This was the committee’s fourth meeting since they were appointed by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and first convened in April. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 14.
