Concessionaires may run
3 Big Island state parks
KAILUA-KONA >> The state doesn't have enough money to run its parks system properly, so it's looking at the possibility of concessionaires running some of the facilities.
The Board of Land and Natural Resources, which has overall responsibility for the parks, tomorrow will consider granting approval to look further into the concession idea for three Big Island parks, at Hapuna in West Hawaii, in the Saddle Road area at the base of Mauna Kea, and at MacKenzie, south of Hilo.
The Land Board is being asked to approve public meetings at which ideas would be gathered, said state parks Administrator Daniel Quinn.
Several state parks already have some form of concession, Quinn said. At Malaekahana on Oahu, a series of nonprofit organizations have run camping at part of the park, he said.
The cabins at Kokee on Kauai are concession-run, he said. Hapuna has a food concession.
By allowing a concessionaire to take over some functions, money could be generated for the state, and existing state funds would be freed for needed uses.
"The concept is not intended to replace any state employee," Quinn wrote to the Land Board. If a concessionaire takes over duties now being done by state workers, they and funding associated with them "will be redirected to nearby areas where they are needed most," he wrote.
Cabins and camping are the primary concepts being explored for the three Big Island parks, he said.
At Hapuna are three-decade-old A-frame cabins that need improvements. Camping is envisioned but not currently allowed.
At Mauna Kea State Recreation Area, cabins are closed because of insufficient water, a problem that would have to be resolved.
MacKenzie has very few facilities, but camping is a possibility.
Land Board Chairman Peter Young said the Big Island sites will be followed by consideration of other sites around the state at a Land Board meeting Oct. 24.
Sites to be considered then for new or expanded overnight usage will be Malaekahana, Mokuleia, and Kaena Point on Oahu, Wainapanapa and Makena on Maui, and Kokee and Wailua Reservoir on Kauai.
