Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s plan to have the city take over ownership of roughly 41 acres of Kakaako Makai parks, roads and other parcels from the state Hawaii Community Development Authority might need the approval of the Honolulu City Council.
Several Council members are questioning why the
administration did not discuss the transfer with them before agreeing to an arrangement that likely will add costs to the city budget in ensuing years.
Meanwhile, Council
members Wednesday
unanimously approved
Resolution 18-91, asking
the administration to consider taking the land under the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center as part of the transfer.
The administration and HCDA last month announced that they had agreed to the transfer, hailing it as a means of ensuring the city would be in better position to conduct its enforcement of the area’s sidewalk clearance ordinances and park closures against the homeless who have camped there. For years, homeless individuals ordered off city sidewalks in Kakaako by city crews have simply moved onto nearby state park property, knowing it was beyond city jurisdiction. That changes if the land is transferred to the city.
Both sides noted that transferring the parks to the city has been the plan since they were developed in the 1990s. HCDA was never set up to manage facilities that big.
While the transfer has not been made final, the HCDA board last week agreed to give the city right-of-entry authority to conduct its sweeps, which it did over several nights last week.
The 41 acres include
Kakaako Waterfront Park, Kewalo Basin Park, Kakaako Gateway Makai Park and
Kakaako Gateway Mauka Park, as well as three smaller parcels currently leased out as parking and storage for area businesses, and a host of road remnants, HCDA Acting Executive
Director Garett Kamemoto told the Honolulu Star-
Advertiser.
The HCDA board voted
to OK the transfer on May 2, but city Corporation Counsel Donna Leong told Council members Wednesday that the city was still doing due diligence on its end.
The Council voted unanimously to approve the resolution to include the Children’s Discovery Center as part of the exchange — an addition that did not raise objections from Caldwell officials during the meeting — but not before two Council members raised questions with the transfer.
“My concern is that I’m having a hard time getting the attention for my parks and the things that need to be done in my district,” said Councilwoman Kymberly Pine. Parks officials have told her that there are not enough personnel or resources to deal with issues in her district, she said, so “to add a very large area to our responsibilities when we can’t do what we need to do now is very concerning.”
Leong said that at the city’s request, HCDA agreed to extend its contracts for maintenance, landscaping and security services of the properties through June 30, 2019. From that point those services would be the city’s responsibility, and the costs would need to be factored into the city’s annual operating budget, she said.
The annual costs of the maintenance and security contracts, as well as support services, total about $600,000 annually, HCDA
officials previously said.
When Councilman
Brandon Elefante asked whether Council approval
of the transfers is required, Leong said it was a question she is researching. “Personally I need to confirm that … the City Council’s approval is required for the transfer
of the land.”
Leong said besides the four parks and now the Children’s Discovery Center, the transfer also includes three roads in Kakaako Makai as well as “53 remnant road
parcels on the Kakaako Mauka site unbeknownst
to me.”
After the details are ironed out, the administration may return to the Council, she said.
Kamemoto told the Star-Advertiser that if the city were to change its mind about accepting ownership of the land, the right-of-entry would be good for a year. Any arrangement beyond then would need HCDA board approval, he said.
Elefante said after the meeting that given the financial implications of a transfer, it would have been more appropriate for the administration to brief Council meetings about the exchange. “We already struggle as a city to maintain our existing resources,” he said.
Council Chairman Ernie Martin late Thursday also said the Council should be able to review and approve the transaction because of “the substantial financial
obligation” it would place on the city starting in July 2019. “Given the challenges of maintaining our existing inventory of parks, we need to be reassured that we are not taking on more than we can afford or handle.”
City spokesman Andrew Pereira took issue with the criticism of the maintenance at city parks, noting that Caldwell’s “Kakou for Parks” initiative has been successful in improving facilities across the island.
