City finishes
Ewa Villages
demolition project

The last 13 tenants have been
removed from the village core

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By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com

The city has completed demolition of the industrial site in Ewa Villages, the last physical remnants of a relocation scandal.

City Managing Director Ben Lee said at a briefing yesterday that the last 13 tenants have been removed from the village's industrial core and that the city has cleared the 15-acre site of most structures except for five historic buildings, including the block-long sugar mill.

Lee said the city has begun the $2.7 million cleanup process for the mill site. After covering the area with two feet of topsoil, the city will construct temporary ball fields, multipurpose fields and landscaping until the site's future use can be determined.

The city wants input from the community on the long-term plans for the mill site, he said.

Also, the city has begun improvements to adjacent Ewa Mahiko Community Park. Lee said there is $3.6 million set aside for a new gymnasium, four tennis courts, two basketball and volleyball courts and a multipurpose field. A swimming pool is planned for the future, he said.

The city yesterday dedicated a new $660,000 comfort station and 48-stall parking lot at the park.

Lee said the city also has begun demolishing 20 homes in the nearby historic Varona Village. He said these homes were so dilapidated that it would cost too much money to renovate.

"I just really don't think there's much merit in trying to salvage these homes," Lee said. "It becomes a health and safety concern. There were certainly illegal and illicit activities occurring inside those vacant homes, and it becomes a rather unattractive nuisance, and we've had a lot of complaints from the residents of Varona Villages."

There has been an ongoing problem of trash dumping in the area, and the city has removed more than 4,000 cubic yards of rubbish. It was a dumping ground, he said.

Once the Varona Village site is demolished, the city will grade it and cover it with mulch to make it a more suitable environment for the surrounding neighborhoods.

The Ewa Villages housing project was awash in scandal in 1997 when city housing official Michael Kahapea, who was in charge of relocation projects, was accused of rigging bids and billing and overcharging the city for moves that never occurred.

Kahapea was convicted of fraud for stealing $5.8 million from the city's relocation fund. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison and is also serving a concurrent 10 years for stealing from three other city projects.