Caldwell reaffirms support for Ala Moana playground

Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Thursday doubled down on his support for a playground at Ala Moana Regional Park, issuing a statement defending the plan and the nonprofit created to find funding for the project.

“The idea the city is allowing rich people to take over park land to build a luxury playground is ludicrous,” Caldwell said.

Pa‘ani Kakou, a nonprofit led by residents and developers of the upscale Park Lane condominium at Ala Moana Center across the street from the park, “is raising money from all kinds of people to build this inclusive playground as a gift to the city,” Caldwell said. “It will eventually be turned over to Parks and Recreation, and Pa‘ani Kakou should be thanked, not vilified.”

The mayor’s statement was prompted by the Honolulu City Council’s 7-0 vote Wednesday to approve Resolution 19-263, which calls for the Caldwell administration to “provide alternate sites for a playground serving the Kakaako area.” The resolution, introduced by Council Vice Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi, was adopted 7-0 with members Brandon Elefante, Joey Manahan, Ron Menor and Kymberly Pine voting “yes with reservations.” Council Chairman Ikaika Anderson and Councilwoman Heidi Tsuneyoshi did not attend Wednesday’s meeting.

Malama Moana and Save Ala Moana Beach Park Hui — two grassroots groups composed largely of park regulars who oppose a master plan of improvements Caldwell has planned for the park — supported the resolution and took exception to the mayor’s comments.

Shar Chun-Lum of Save Ala Moana Beach Park Hui said Caldwell’s comments show he is out of touch with regular citizens. “It’s pretty clear he is not representing the local people who voted for him expecting him to listen and address the real issues that can make our island better,” Chun-Lum said. “The amount of time he has spent defending the playground could be better spent addressing the maintenance issues in parks throughout the county — for all the people of his watch.”

All but two of about 25 people who provided oral testimony on the resolution Wednesday supported the resolution. Those who opposed the playground said it would take away much-needed and valuable open green space in what’s traditionally been a passive park for a playground that would cater to the affluent living across the street. They also criticized Caldwell for being influenced by politically influential interests that have donated to his campaign coffers as well as that of Council members.

Community advocate Natalie Iwasa, who opposes the playground, said Pa‘ani Kakou made a series of false, inaccurate or questionable statements to several government agencies, including telling the Ala Moana- Kakaako Neighborhood Board the group was a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with the Internal Revenue Service before it had filed to do so. It also made false or inaccurate statements to both the IRS and state Department of Attorney General, she said.

“If somebody files incorrect information one time, maybe it’s a mistake, but when you have a pattern of providing false information over a period of months to different government agencies, I think that’s a problem,” Iwasa said.

Tiffany Vara, Pa‘ani Kakou executive director, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the organization has operated properly from what she understands, has been told by the Attorney General’s Office that it saw nothing improper, and is checking with its legal counsel about other issues Iwasa raised.

Vara said she was pleased with Caldwell’s statement of support. “I think I appreciated most that he said this is a community-funded gift to the city,” she said. A playground might otherwise need to be funded through city funds, she said. “This is an opportunity to not spend taxpayer money for this new (type of project) for children.”

Vara has not disputed that leaders of the Pa‘ani Kakou board are affiliated with Park Lane or own units there, or that they have made political contributions to Caldwell and various Council members over a number of years. However, she said, those involved with the project are volunteering their efforts without any personal benefits for a facility aimed at being inclusive and inviting to everyone, including children with disabilities.

More playground supporters had planned to show up to testify at Wednesday’s hearing, Vara said, but couldn’t rearrange their schedules when the Council unexpectedly decided the previous evening to discuss the playground resolution in the morning rather than in the afternoon as originally planned.

Caldwell held out some hope for those who oppose locating the 1-acre playground elsewhere in Kakaako as requested in the resolution. “I’m open to compromise on other ideas as to where the playground can be located, but it has to make sense to the people funding it,” the mayor said.

But Vara said her group conducted a thorough analysis of relocating the project to Kakaako park lands the city agreed recently to take over from a state agency and concluded it would not be feasible or viable there. She said the timetable for the playground to be built is open-ended and dependent on when enough funding can be collected to proceed.

Nathan Serota, a public information officer for the Department of Parks and Recreation, said the playground and other Ala Moana improvements sought by the administration will need to obtain a major special management area use permit from the Council.