Cemetery owners look
for swift reopeningThe nonprofit group awaits
an agreement with a shareholder
A nonprofit association plans to reopen Nuuanu's Honolulu Memorial Park within weeks and could make a decision soon on whether to move forward on a $1 million restoration project for the cemetery's landmark pagoda.
The park officially closed in late September when its bankrupt majority stockholders relinquished their 90 percent ownership and donated their shares to nonprofit Kyoto Gardens Association.
Niche and plot owners have been able to visit their loved ones' final resting place at the cemetery. But water and electricity have been turned off. And with only volunteer garbage pick-up, trash is accumulating on the grounds and overflowing from cans.
Attorney Nils Katahara, whose family owns the remaining 10 percent of the park, is in negotiations with the association, but has not yet pledged his portion of the cemetery to the group, pending an agreement on how the park will be managed and maintained.
Officials with Kyoto Gardens had hoped to reopen the park with 100 percent ownership so that they could convert the now for-profit entity that controls the cemetery's operations -- the Honolulu Memorial Park Association -- into a tax-exempt nonprofit.
But City Councilman Rod Tam, who is also the group's vice president, said Kyoto Gardens is moving ahead without the Katahara shares.
"Every day that goes by basically means a discomfort for the family of the deceased," he said.
Vic Hejmadi, president of Kyoto Gardens, said the park could be reopened within a few weeks.
Kyoto Gardens officials expect to spend about $15,000 to restart the park's utilities, purchase liability insurance for the cemetery's grounds and take care of other incidentals. The group has estimated the monthly cost of maintaining the park at $5,000.
As the park's majority stockholder, the association could make a decision on whether to move forward on an estimated $1 million restoration project for the park's pagoda.
The structure, visible from Pali Highway, has been badly neglected over the years because of the cemetery's financial problems and is in danger of falling apart.
At a meeting with plot and niche owners on Sept. 27, Katahara said he would be willing to donate his shares of the park if the association agreed to a number of conditions, including the formation of a voting system that would allow each owner to help decide how the cemetery should be managed.
He said the park's members should also decide whether to demolish or repair the pagoda.
Kyoto Gardens responded to Katahara's concerns in a fax last week, saying many of his conditions could already be found in the association's bylaws. Katahara has since requested a copy of the bylaws, Hejmadi said. Katahara could not be reached for comment yesterday.
