TV production will
endanger passive parkPublic should be included in
By Douglas Blake
decisions on Mahaiula Park useMAHAIULA Bay was established as a "non-commercial wilderness" park area. It was therefore surprising when NBC/King Productions chose Mahaiula as the site for large-scale filming of a TV pilot, "Wind on Water," with the possible understanding that the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) would support such a permitted "use" for a long-term period.
At no time during DLNR Chairman Mike Wilson's considerations of Mahaiula, for a use that was formerly specifically forbidden, was the planning task force even notified or much less consulted over the administrative reversal of park-use policy.
Then, at a hastily called April 14 Kona meeting on this issue, Wilson assured all that a full "public meeting" would take place in Kona prior to his issuing of any further "fast-tracked" film permits for the ongoing TV series. Despite widespread requests to Wilson to fulfill his promise, no such meeting has taken place.
Our state parks department opposed the use of Mahaiula for an ongoing TV production up until a closed April 25 meeting in Kona, by which time the politics of this issue already had its effect upon the state parks decision to rescind its previous opposition. So much for wilderness area protection at a time of overriding expediency in setting policy.
The capability of Wilson to fast-track film permits despite any prior use policies in any locales has now resulted in the factionalization of the parks planning task force into:
1) Those who are now supporting an ongoing TV production (4-5 days per week, 75-125 people per day on site), who are headed up by members of the Chamber of Commerce, and
2) Those who are attempting to perpetuate the original concept and consensus vision for the park's use, policy and "development."
From the beginning of this controversy we have communicated our sincere support for the film industry here for many reasons. But we, and even many who worked on the "Wind on Water" pilot, feel strongly that there are other more suitable sites than Mahaiula to use for an ongoing, indefinitely scheduled TV film production.
We have repeatedly offered to assist NCB/King Productions, but company representatives have failed to respond to our sincere efforts. There are many other points to this issue that beg for review in a community-wide public meeting as was promised by Wilson.
TO lose the original concept for the park will be compromising policy, bit by avoidable bit. The Hollywood-style Coney Island atmosphere at Mahaiula, if used as a TV film set, will make the formerly rejected commercial uses pale in comparison of precedent and impact.
Mahaiula is not about how much money can be squeezed out of it. It is about preserving the best of Hawaii for the future without compromising that into a state of meaninglessness.
Valuable achievements in continued resource protection and preservation are possible, if everyone involved in Kekaha Kai State Park's creation and management will exercise respect for the vast efforts which were put into the park's establishment and objectives, if the public is not left out of the decision-making process, if foresight is utilized in assessing what the use of a public park area like Mahaiula for an open-ended period TV film set really entails, and if efforts are made by the media to portray the situation fairly, so that our communities have the information they need to discern the real issues at stake.
Douglas Blake is a representative of The Friends of
Mahaiula in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island.