Neighbors come together to spruce up Old Industrial area

KAILUA-KONA — Local businesses along Pawai Place in Kona’s Old Industrial area joined Hope Services and police officers for a street cleanup Tuesday morning.

Trash cans, brooms and dustpans donated by The Ironman Foundation lined the street as business owners and employees joined forces with shelter residents to pick up debris including cigarette butts, broken bottles and discarded food containers.

Stacey Aguiar, Operations and Development Manager for Manini Holdings, spearheaded the effort. She said the cleanup is a proactive approach between business owners and shelter residents.

Instead of just talking about cleaning the neighborhood up, people got together to get it done.

“We were the catalyst to get to know our neighbors and work together,” Aguiar said. “Rivco Construction has volunteered to wash the street down behind us.”

The area fronting The Friendly Place and emergency shelter was littered with remnants of homeless encampments. The Community Policing branch was contacted by Aguiar to make sure things went smoothly and didn’t get out of hand.

CP Officer William Vickery was helping dump bags of trash.

“We gave them a one-week notice to get their things out,” he said. “The message went out: ‘Don’t set up camp here.’”

“It’s just too dangerous with all of the construction equipment going in and out,” Vickery added, referencing the grading and construction at the footprint of the former Kona Rent-All.

Kona Brewing Company was also on hand.

“This is our community,” said Chad Bell, the company’s maintenance manager.

The popular brewery and restaurant are located at the end of the street and a new brewing facility is being built a block away.

“Tourists are coming up and down the road,” Bell said. “It’s important to see we are taking care of our aina, our place.”

Marie Hughes, a volunteer with Hope Services summed it up.

“A clean community is a better life,” she said.