Residents,
council mull over
Aina Haina land
The council OKs the land
By Mary Adamski
buy, which some residents see
as a waste of money
and Gordon Y.K. PangThe City Council's decision to pay up to $5 million for 95 acres in Aina Haina where a cemetery was once planned is "a terrible idea," says a resident of the East Honolulu valley.
"Not with the way the economy is now. That's simple business sense," said Dan Jarrett of Aina Haina. "No one can tell you when the economy is going to turn around, nobody."
Mayor Jeremy Harris returned the Council bill unsigned, saying he thought the purchase price needed more discussion. Without his signature, the bill becomes law automatically.
Those who have opposed the purchase, such as Councilman Jon Yoshimura, note the property was assessed by the city Real Property Tax Division at less than $500,000, while an outside appraiser put its value at $5 million.
Two years ago, the Council rejected the proposed cemetery after more than 200 Aina Haina residents turned out to oppose it. An attorney for landowner Volume Services and cemetery developer National Housing Corp. of Hawaii subsequently threatened legal action. Council members favoring the purchase have said they wanted to avoid litigation and create new park land.
Yesterday, the park issue met with mixed reviews among customers at Aina Haina Shopping Center.
Ilima Kim of Aina Haina, mother of four young children, said she's in favor "if it's a playground park. They're taking away our school playground equipment." She was describing the recent decision to remove outdated slides, swings and climbing equipment from public elementary schools. "We already have a ballpark in Aina Haina. That's not what we need."
Momi Lum of Aina Haina said "It's a critical time now. We've got a lot of poor ... take care of them. I think the money should go elsewhere."
Curtis Anderson of Aina Haina, father of two youngsters, said his family hikes in the area of the proposed park and he wants the city to keep it a "a nature reserve with hiking."
Keanu Kreutz of Punchbowl said he grew up in the valley and remembers the park site as "rocky terrain, not much of a park site. To me, it's a waste of money. They have $5 million to spend, but they're going to charge us to pick up the rubbish and raise property taxes."
