Veterans meet with Kim over cemetery fees, weekend service gripes

HILO — A group of veterans’ organizations left a videoconference meeting with Mayor Harry Kim on Monday optimistic that a laundry list of problems at West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery will be addressed.

Most pressing was an edict Kim issued early in his term banning overtime for county workers. This resulted in burials no longer allowed on Saturdays, even though the deceased’s family paid the overtime for the extra hours.

The lack of Saturday services is a real burden for families, especially for those coming from off-island, said David Carlson, Commander of Kona American Legion Post 20.

Kim said after the meeting that he had been unaware of the problem, which stemmed from an interpretation by management at the Department of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the cemetery.

“It was a blanket policy, when all overtime was curtailed,” Kim said. “When you make a blanket policy, you create things you don’t mean to.”

Parks and Recreation Director Charmaine Kamaka said she’s meeting with Kim today to go over the concerns.

“We’re short-staffed,” Kamaka said. “There needs to be staff willing to work overtime.”

Kamaka added the county has the only veterans cemeteries offering Saturday services.

Another problem raised by the vets is the institution of a $250 refundable deposit that’s hard for indigent vets’ families and volunteers to pay upfront even if they get it back later.

“A veteran is entitled to a funeral at a veteran’s cemetery,” Carlson said. “The deposit has never been instituted before. … We’ve never had a problem in the years I’ve been in the honor guard.”

A third issue deals with a long-ago agreement for nearby developments to provide free water to the cemetery in exchange for allowing water pipes to cross the property to the developments. The cemetery is now paying for water, Carlson said.

And the last issue, which would probably have helped stop so many other issues from coming to the foreground at once, is the lack of members for the county Veterans Advisory Committee, Carlson said. He said the committee hasn’t met in about three years.

Board members are nominated by the mayor and confirmed by the County Council.

With 17 members and a wide range of organizations, it’s a challenging board to fill. There must be one representative from each of the following organizations: American Legion, Big Island National Guard Retirees Association, Big Island Retired Military Association, Club 100, Disabled American Veterans, 442nd Veterans Association, Hilo Interpreters Club, Hawaii Island Women Veterans Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Veterans of the Vietnam War, Hawaii Island Veterans Memorial, Inc., Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Korean War Veterans Organization and the Camp Tawara Detachment 1255 of the Marine Corps League.

Kim said he’s tasked two county officials to find nominees.

Carlson understands it’s a long process. But returning the Veterans Advisory Committee to active status could help the mayor keep tabs on veterans’ issues and provide an outlet for aggrieved vets, he said.

“All the things we questioned him on, he’s going to look into,” Carlson said. “These things build up and we get a little upset.”