Question: On Saturday, Sept. 17, the “Eat the Street” lunch wagons came to Mililani Recreation Center 7. Whoever planned the event did not take into consideration the number of people attending, not to mention the number of cars involved. My frustration is with the parking lot on the school grounds, across from the food site. The lady at the gate kept signaling people to come into the school lot. I waited in line, but when I got to the gate, she told me, “No, sorry,” and waved me away. Who and why were only certain cars admitted? With so many much larger recreation center grounds in Mililani, why have an event in a small, confined area?
Answer: The first-ever food truck vending event in Mililani overwhelmed everyone involved, said David O’Neal, assistant general manager of the Mililani Town Association.
No one expected the estimated crowd of “close to 10,000 people” — not the organizers, nor the vendors, who ran out of food.
O’Neal pointed out that Eat the Street is held in parking lots and that the Sept. 17 event was held in the largest recreation center parking lot.
With that 125-stall lot unavailable for parking because the vendors set up there, the school lot was opened for public use on a first-come, first-served basis.
It was filled within nine minutes of the event’s start; thereafter, cars were let in as spaces became available, O’Neal said. “It was total random luck” when a space opened up.
The number of people that attended was “absolutely crazy,” exceeding the crowds at Eat the Street events in Kakaako, he said.
He promised the next Mililani event, on March 17, will be “bigger, better and everything improved.”
“It was our first event,” O’Neal said. “We learned a lot. I think we did the best we could not knowing what to expect.
“And now that we know,” he said, organizers will be more prepared.
In the future, sun shades will be provided; multiple parking lots will be opened, with shuttle bus service; and there will be two parking lots of food trucks “so there will be more food,” O’Neal said. “The vendors will be better prepared.”
Eat the Street is expected to be held twice yearly in Mililani, in March and September.
Question: Regarding charges for water exercises at the different city pools: I have friends who go to the Manoa and Pauoa pools, and they are not charged anything. However, the charges at the Kaneohe pool run about $30 for six weeks. I don’t understand that. Can you find out why?
Answer: It depends on who’s conducting the class and the availability of staff to run the classes.
If the class is run by a regular city staff member, there is no charge for the class, said Craig Mayeda, administrator of the city Department of Parks and Recreation’s Parks Maintenance and Recreation Services.
If it’s run by a “nonregular” city employee, there is a $2 per hour/per person charge.
“Our first option is always to have staff members run the classes, but there are times when the demand is great or staff members are not available that we will hire outside parties to give our classes,” Mayeda said.
Auwe
To two thugs. Every morning at dawn we walk/jog the beach from our home to Ewa Beach Park, picking up trash, doing exercises and chatting with the “regular” fisherman. The week of Aug. 29, 86-year-old “John Y.,” who has come to the park almost every morning for years to fish and feed his plover and doves, was beaten and robbed by two local males just after dawn. This well-liked and gentle person suffered cuts and abrasions and was taken by ambulance to Pali Momi. It is a sad commentary when our elderly aren’t safe in our parks. Other than more vigilance by the rest of us, I can’t think of an easy answer. — Ewa Kahuna
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