Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: Why is there no sand-cleaning machine at Sans Souci Beach, fronting the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel and the Sans Souci apartments? Also, why hasn't there been new sand trucked in to refurbish the beach that is always used to its capacity by local people and tourists? The beach needs major cleaning. As it is, the apartment owners provide a big dumpster at its expense and several retired people help to pick up the trash. Line drawn at
beach park
for cleanupAnswer: A private company contracted by the city Department of Parks and Recreation cleans the beach fronting Sans Souci Beach Park every evening, daily, said Parks Director William Balfour.
The area fronting the hotel and apartments is not within what's considered the park boundary, so is not cleaned by the city, he said.
That was not always the case.
A member of the Sans Souci apartment owners association said the city-hired beach contractor "for years" would clean the entire Sans Souci Beach area. Then a few people, particularly one resident in the apartment building, complained that the noise was keeping them awake, he said. At that point, the city said the beach there was not its responsibility "so the contractor backed off and he would only come down as far as Kaimana Hotel."
"No agency is responsible for cleaning all the beaches around Oahu daily," Balfour explained. Some areas fronting public parks are cleaned daily or weekly; some beaches fronting private property, such as those in Waikiki, are cleaned by hotels; while the federal government cleans the beach fronting Fort DeRussy, he said.
But if unusual debris, such as logs, washes ashore in front of private property, the city Department of Facility Maintenance will do the cleanup. The area fronting homes along Kahala Beach is only cleaned if "undesirable debris" washes up, Balfour said.
The Sans Souci owners association was willing to pay the city's contractor to clean the area fronting the apartments but was told the owner declined for fear of jeopardizing his city contract, the board member said.
"The parks people are very cooperative and they had no problem with us having us contract these people," he said. "But the private contractor won't do it."
The alternative has been to have "a maintenance man who each morning goes out and cleans up as much as he can," he said. But, "that doesn't do the job of the cleaning machines, which dig down four inches and turn (the sand) up."
The apartment owners board considered buying its own beach-cleaning machine, but the cost of that is prohibitive, he said.
"So we more or less have put this (issue) on hold. There isn't anything we can do to break this gridlock," he said.
As for replenishing the sand, Balfour said that matter will be taken up at the same time as the Kuhio Beach Park expansion project.
Mahalo
To an excellent bus driver! He was very nice and helpful to us during our three-month stay in Honolulu. We hope to see him when we return next January. -- Duane and Vonnie Lengkeek, Madison, S.D.
Auwe
To whoever walks a dog on Loulu Street in Manoa at night. It appears to be a regular habit for the dog and owner to use people's yards to do their dirty business. You know who you are. Your thoughtlessness doesn't belong in this neighborhood. -- Mrs. W.
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com
