Capitol lacks enough staff to clean up after homeless

Question: I recently visited the Korean and Vietnam War Memorials on the state Capitol grounds and was taken aback by seeing cardboard sleeping material and trash belonging to homeless people strewn along the memorials. What was most disgusting and disrespectful was human feces on the walkway fronting the memorials. I have heard this may be a somewhat frequent occurrence there, as well as on the Capitol District grounds. There should be more due diligence in preventing these occurrences in what should be a special district and memorials. Can anything be done?

Answer: We visited the site shortly after receiving your complaint and did not see any feces.

The memorials themselves were free of debris, but we saw signs that homeless people have been in the area, such as a pillow left on the walkway and trash in the bushes.

A shortage of staff has made it "a challenge to provide the level of service that we would feel would be acceptable," said James Hisano, manager of Central Services for the state Department of Accounting and General Services.

In the past a volunteer group of veterans went weekly to clean the granite stones at the Korean and Vietnam War Memorials.

"However, due to the advancing age of the veterans, the Central Services Division retained a contractor to assume this weekly task," Hisano said.

Meanwhile, the policing and maintenance of the surrounding grounds continues to be the responsibility of the division’s grounds maintenance section, he said.

However, there are only two groundskeepers assigned to the unit, which is responsible for maintaining the landscaping at most of the state office buildings in the downtown Civic Center, including the state Capitol, Iolani Palace and the Hawaii State Library.

"Fortunately, we have received approval to fill two vacant positions, and we are now in the recruitment process," Hisano said. "With this additional manpower, we should be able to pay more attention to the war memorials."

Until then "we will check the area more frequently," Hisano said.

Question: We live in an established neighborhood where, as a result of renovations and new construction, some homeowners want to take advantage of "view channels" to enhance the value of their homes, among other reasons. In order to protect the views that their homes have, some homeowners have taken it upon themselves to severely prune city-planted shower trees growing on city sidewalks fronting these homes, to the point where tree growth has become deformed and the branches are now growing horizontally, into the sidewalks, blocking the pedestrian thoroughfare. Is it against the law for homeowners to take it upon themselves to cut the city’s trees this way?

Answer: Private parties are not allowed to prune or cut down city street trees.

Concerns and complaints regarding maintenance of city trees should be sent to the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Division of Urban Forestry.

Call 971-7151 or report it online at www4.honolulu.gov/cityhallonline/DIT0200/DIT0200_frmProblemReport­FormInitiate.asp.

Mahalo

To everyone who was so kind and pleasant to us during our two-week visit in Waikiki last month, particularly the staff of the Aqua Park Shore for their repeated kindnesses. The spirit of aloha is alive and well! Having grown up during the ’50s and ’60s on Oahu, this trip brought back many happy memories. My mother, Barbara Bishop, was a broadcaster on KPOA, and through her I met many of the stars of the day: Lucky Luck, J. Akuhead Pupule and many others, all who were genuinely kind. We shall be back, all due to the spirit of aloha. — Bill Bishop, Canada

Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.