Kona newspaper sues
to obtain Nansay
property letter

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

KAILUA-KONA >> The Kona newspaper West Hawaii Today has sued Hawaii County and its Department of Finance seeking disclosure of a letter allegedly about $3.9 million in property taxes owed by would-be resort developer Nansay Hawaii.

Mayor Harry Kim says the letter deals with a broader range of topics than taxes, could lead to litigation, and is not being disclosed because of the possible lawsuit.

Nansay proposed a resort at Kohanaiki north of Kailua-Kona in the early 1990s. Problems, including a court decision on shoreline access, prevented the company from building it.

A mortgage company called Kennedy-Wilson International now holds the deeds to two Nansay parcels totaling about 450 acres. "Nansay is still very heavily involved," Mayor Harry Kim added.

Seeking payment on the back taxes, the county initiated foreclosure on the properties, Kim said. Nansay and Kennedy-Wilson then proposed a payment schedule and the county made a counter-proposal. The letter in question deals with broader issues and county attorney Lincoln Ashida advised against disclosing it publicly, Kim said.

The West Hawaii Today says the letter deals with "sensitive" information about the previous mayoral administration of Stephen Yamashiro, but it is a "government record" and should be disclosed.