Hawaii County spent more than $280,000 on overtime costs to rush completion of the Hilo Municipal Golf Course and Ka‘u Gym projects, Parks Director Charmaine Kamaka told County Council members Tuesday.
After the meeting, Kamaka said she didn’t want to criticize that decision since she wasn’t part of the previous administration. But she said she doesn’t intend to do the same.
“I’d be the last to criticize my predecessors,” Kamaka told the Tribune-Herald, adding: “I will not be paying for any overtime.”
In response to a question from Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung, Kamaka, who Mayor Harry Kim appointed after taking office in December, told council members during a committee meeting that about $56,000 was spent in overtime costs for a new gym and shelter in Ka‘u and $224,189.98 on overtime for golf course renovations.
The county agreed to cover the overtime costs shortly before the end of former Mayor Billy Kenoi’s tenure. A grand opening for the gym was held Oct. 5. The $18 million, largely state funded, project is undergoing a structural review to ensure it meets standards.
The county signed a $100,000 contract for that review in December.
The golf course renovations, initially estimated at about $17 million, is essentially complete. Kamaka said the county is going through “punch lists” with the contractor to ensure everything is finished.
In addition to course renovations, the project included a new clubhouse and other facilities.
Kamaka also read through a long list of projects that recently were completed or are nearly finished.
She said construction of the Kuawa ball fields in Hilo is 70 percent complete, Kukuihaele Park is 60 percent complete, and she noted the county is preparing to choose a consultant to create a master plan for a 20-acre park in Hawaiian Paradise Park.
Kamaka said renovations to the Hilo drag strip remain behind schedule.
“It’s slower than we anticipated,” she said.
Kamaka said homeless use of county parks is another concern that the county intends to address.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.