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Tam clarifies role
in memorial park

THE July 17 Star-Bulletin story about the Honolulu Memorial Park and my involvement with the cemetery did not include all the facts.

My involvement with the Honolulu Memorial Park began when the cemetery filed for bankruptcy. Its reorganization plan called for the demolition of the pagoda, which contained many niches owned by constituents in my City Council district. The niche owners were fearful that the final resting place of their loved ones would be destroyed and were frustrated because they were receiving no communications from the cemetery. Out of frustration they began calling my office for assistance.

Ann Ono, a small group of plot and niche owners and I decided on a plan to try to save the pagoda by getting it listed on the state and national lists of historic places, and we succeeded. Now the goal is to find the funding necessary to initiate repairs to the pagoda.

A group was organized called the Friends of the Honolulu Memorial Park, which would serve as a fund-raising organization for the restoration of the pagoda. It initially raised about $56,000 for the restoration and these donations were subsequently transferred to Kyoto Gardens Park, the original fund-raising entity of Honolulu Memorial Park because of its nonprofit designation.

The Honolulu Memorial Association (HMA) is an entity of the original Honolulu Memorial Park that serves as a legal trust whose responsibility it is to oversee the maintenance of the cemetery through the use of the perpetual care funds deposited by every plot and niche owner. It has access to more than $1 million in plot and niche owner funds that are supposed to be used only for the maintenance of the cemetery. Through its trustees, Bruce Matsui, Vicky Kim and Sonny Poe Ching, HMA has stopped water service, rubbish pickup, landscaping and clean-up services. That is why I have requested the state Attorney General's Office to investigate HMA for mismanagement of the perpetual care funds.

Since HMA was not providing any services for the cemetery, I took it upon myself, along with a handful of volunteers, to go to the cemetery each day to pick up the rubbish. Eventually we realized that we could not do without some services, so Kyoto Gardens Park decided to donate some funding for maintenance at the cemetery. However, Kyoto Gardens Park cannot continue donating funds for the park maintenance because Hawaii Memorial Park is a "for profit" corporation and donations beyond its ownership interests would jeopardize Kyoto Gardens Park's nonprofit status. Thus, there will no longer be any maintenance services provided to plot and niche owners unless HMA decides to restore those services.

It has been a gratifying experience working with the volunteers but also frustrating that the financial and legal problems have not been resolved. I will continue to follow up with the Attorney General's Office in trying to return the cemetery back to normal operations. However, as requested by the plot and niche owners, I will no longer be responding to individual requests for maintenance and service at the cemetery. I respect their wishes and offer them my support and encouragement.

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