HANAPEPE — A few weeks from now, drivers going up Ali‘i Road in Hanapepe Heights probably will notice some differences. Plenty of drivers will see the new playground equipment that will be going up, and a couple of people may
HANAPEPE — A few weeks from now, drivers going up Ali‘i Road in Hanapepe Heights probably will notice some differences.
Plenty of drivers will see the new playground equipment that will be going up, and a couple of people may notice the new paint job on Cliffside and Hanapepe Heights parks.
But Kathleen Hurd hopes people will see a ton of kids playing in the two parks, less than a mile from each other in the diverse neighborhood mauka of Kaumuali‘i High-way.
Hurd, who lives directly across the street from Hanapepe Heights Park, has been working hard with her neighbors to get the two parks to turn from a bunch of weeds and thorns, and a cracked basketball court, to a place where the community comes together.
So far with help from the community, there’s been plenty of progress, Hurd said recently.
Saturday, they’ll be a lot more obvious signs, with the beginning of construction on playground equipment on the two parks.
“A year ago,” Hurd said at the park recently, “the swings were faded blue. I’ve seen the grass so high, kids could lay down and hide from each other. “
It’s amazing what a little community input and a grant writer can do. Now, plans for the two parks include basketball courts, a pavilion, new tables, a walking path, and some skateboard ramps.
Funding for new play-ground equipment has already secured and, within a few weeks, Hurd said, kids would have something else to climb on other than the bathrooms at Hanapepe Heights Park.
Hurd, an professor of economics and land-use planning who retired to Kaua‘i two years ago, is an experienced grant-writer whose hard work on behalf of the neighborhood has led to over $100,000 in funding from various sources, including the county and federal governments, and private donors like Hawai‘i Community Foundation. Representatives from many companies, including ITT, have donated equipment and work time, she added.
After looking out her window at the park for a while, a little over a year ago, Hurd and some neighbors started organizing park days to clean up and paint existing play structures.
“Our first painting day (at Hanapepe Heights Park), 32 people showed up for varying amounts of time,” Hurd said. “Talk about bonding. It was incredible fun.”
People young and old started turning out for the park days, and ideas started flowing.
“We asked neighbors what (their) priorities are for fixing up the park,” she said. “You’ve got to think ahead.”
With the ideas, volunteer labor and materials started coming. And from there, the grants started coming. First, the swings and bathrooms were painted. Then county workers pitched in to mow the grass. Soon, the kids were back.
“Not only have we drawn attention to the park, we’ve given the impression it’s a safe place, a fun place,” she added.
Her delight is when kids come to play and stay to paint. One group came to Cliffside Park on a paint day, a few 6- and 7-year-olds, and they stayed. Then their friends came.
“Next thing you know, there’s 10 kids,” painting legs of swing sets, Hurd said. “They had so much fun. They were able to take ownership, to do something for themselves.”
With new playground equipment with a padded ground and other safety features coming soon, Hurd hopes the kids come back to help.
“Are we going to be able to take time to put our hand in the concrete? I think we should,” she said. “We should have one adult carry a pipe and two kids (help out) too.”
Recently, when members of the County Council allocated more than $15,000 for play equipment, council-members congratulated her on her work.
“What a wonderful story,” Councilmember JoAnn Yukimura said. “We get calls from other communities inspired by your work.”
Councilmembers Mel Rapozo and Chair Kaipo Asing also congratulated Hurd on her work. Asing even volunteered to get his hands dirty.
“I will be there to help” when the concrete is poured, Asing said, “because it’s a great project.”
“It was really a no-brainer,” Hurd said. “Gee, the kids are here, if we work on the park, fix it up, kids will use it.”
And every day after school, she said, the kids are on the basketball court at Hanapepe Heights Park, riding bikes, playing basketball, or rollerblading and skateboarding.
“The basketball court is a neighborhood resource,” Hurd said. “I’ve seen as many as 15 kids on that court.”
Sounds like a couple of good neighbors and a can of paint are good resources, too.
Tom Finnegan, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.
