Clarify spending on Hanauma Bay

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is one of Oahu’s principal attractions for tourists and residents alike. At its peak the placid beach park, endowed with nearshore reef havens for marine life that are on view to snorkelers, drew some 3 million visitors annually.

Once officials realized how much the natural resource was suffering from overuse, management of the park shifted to what’s needed for a more closely supervised preserve. But even with a lower visitor count, about 3,000 daily, the strain is considerable and the area needs all the upkeep it can get.

At the moment, it seems Hanauma is not receiving its full measure of attention, judging by the evidence of disrepair and shortage of the bare essentials in supplies. The city administration should provide clear and transparent assurances that money in a fund dedicated to its operation and maintenance is being spent appropriately.

It should not be necessary to pass Resolution 14-192, which would place the bay and its fund under a semiautonomous agency. Hanauma Bay remains a city property and as such it should fall under city supervision. But the legislation will prompt a needed discussion this week before City Council, one that underscores how much the administration is being called to account for its stewardship.

As the state’s first Marine Life Conservation District, it required a sustainable fiscal support, so in 1996 the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve Fund was created, an account to be replenished by collections of admission, parking and concession fees. That collection has amounted to up to $6 million each year.

The fees, which are heavier on nonresidents, drew a legal challenge but the federal District Court upheld it in 2002, stipulating that the fund must be used expressly for the preserve and not on other facilities.

The administration of Mayor Kirk Caldwell maintains that revenues are properly accounted for and in accordance with city law, which was amended after the ruling to preclude using the fund for nearby facilities.

However, the Friends of Hanauma Bay asserts it has anecdotal evidence from parks employees that they have come to Hanauma to get equipment used for other city beaches. That’s enough to suggest more detailed record-keeping is in order.

The city budget shows that $3.5 million in the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation budget came from the preserve fund. But the budget does not list the Hanauma uses — and it should. Instead, the document specifies only the amounts from the fund paid into four categories: the Urban Forestry Program, maintenance support services, recreation services and grounds maintenance.

The administration has opposed the notion of a semi-autonomous agency because that entity wouldn’t be able to manage some of the overhead, such as hiring lifeguards. But there is no reason why the city should be excused of its water-safety responsibility here, regardless of which agency has oversight over the reserve fund. Hanauma remains a city property, with city liabilities attached to the safety of visitors there.

The simple fact is that previous administrations have been called on the carpet for management shortcomings at Hanauma, especially in the 2007 audit of the preserve fund. In that document, the city auditor called on parks officials to update the master plan and assure that use of the fund is in accordance with the preserve’s goals and objectives.

If that mandate had been fulfilled as it should, it’s hard to see why some bare-bones projects — replacing copper flashing from rooftops, or even supplying restrooms with enough paper towels — would be allowed to languish.

Such management gives short shrift to Hanauma, rather than treating the bay like the jewel that it is.