If anyone were to design a meeting in which the purpose was merely to appear to collect public input for a park plan, while having no intention to alter a plan that had already gone to bid, then that was the public meeting held in Honokaa on Jan. 10.
I had attended the meeting naively believing that any challengers to the county’s plan to build a Little League park in quaint Kukuihaele would finally have the opportunity to have concerns meaningfully addressed — after weeks of unreciprocated communication. However, by the time I left, it was all too clear that the $2.5 million design is being railroaded through with no regard to sincere community input.
Before the meeting, our Kukuihaele Neighborhood Association had submitted two alternative park plans. But any discussion of these plans was excluded. The association had also submitted results of a 55-household poll. The poll showed an overwhelming case against the ball park design. The meeting should have included discussion on at least some of the concerns detailed in the poll. Instead, Park Planner James Komata told association president Colleen Lawrence he did not trust the poll, even though questionnaires were individually signed.
When I asked about financing for the project, when a woman next to me asked about the expense of change orders, and when a man asked for a general idea of expenses related to certain aspects of the project — Mr. Komata had no answers. How pathetic. County representatives should arrive prepared, especially for the tough questions about money. We are the taxpayers. It should not have to be like pulling teeth to get fiscal questions answered from our government officials.
Equally disturbing was Mr. Komata’s unwillingness to discuss the increased traffic brought by the project. Residents know it will threaten the safety of our children and destroy our village’s quiet, rural lifestyle. A responsible county administration considers how an ambitious undertaking, like a regulation ball park, would affect traffic and roads for the next 20 to 30 years. But Komata shirked responsibility by saying that traffic was not under the purview of parks and rec.
This kind of disinterest in public concerns and lack of transparency is no way to run a government.
Koohan Paik is a resident of Kukuihaele
My Turn opinions are those of the writer and not West Hawaii Today