Question: I am trying to get any information about new baseball fields opening at Sand Island State Park in 1998 (https://archives.starbulletin.com/1998/07/03/sports/kwon.html). I was at the park recently and was dismayed to see the baseball fields completely abandoned, overrun by weeds and homeless and the signs of drug use on the ground. They look like they haven't been used since before they were built, and even the driveway and parking lot to the fields are barricaded 300 feet away by giant concrete bars. There are no more bleachers, the fields are entirely destroyed, and walking through them was truly saddening. What a shame! How could such goodwill get destroyed so quickly? What happened?

Answer: This looks to be an example of good intentions and a public-private partnership just not working out.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources' State Parks Division says the fields were abandoned, basically because volunteers lost interest in maintaining and using them.

However, we were told by a third party that it was never the intent for community volunteers to be responsible for the upkeep of the fields.

The six baseball fields were the idea of the nonprofit Ka Lima Kokua organization, which promoted extramural sports for public school students in grades six to eight, said Deborah Ward, spokes-woman for the Parks Division, which oversees Sand Island State Park.

Ka Lima Kokua, formed by Marvin Wong, has since disbanded.

As reported by former Star-Bulletin sports columnist Bill Kwon in 1998, “;Two civic-minded citizens - Marvin Wong and Dennis Mitsunaga - combined their efforts to help build, with a number of labor unions donating their time, six youth baseball fields at Sand Island State Park.”;

Mitsunaga, whose architecture firm designed Rainbow Stadium at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, told Kwon in 1998 that it would otherwise have cost about $2 million to build the fields.

The fields, plus a new parking lot, were built on 15 acres at the Ewa end of the park. Two of the fields were within the improved area of the park, while four fields were built in a circular four-plex pattern on undeveloped land at the far Ewa end.

Then-Gov. Ben Cayetano said the fields would be developed at little or no cost to the state.

“;The objective of the baseball fields was to create a private/public partnership to build and maintain the fields, using volunteer labor and contributions of materials from the private industry, and in-kind coordination by several state agencies,”; Ward said.

“;Sports user groups worked with the state to create, and were to help maintain the baseball diamonds, base paths, striping and replacing the dirt/cinder mix as needed,”; Ward said.

Meanwhile, park workers covered regular maintenance, such as watering and mowing.

“;We were counting on there being volunteer maintenance,”; Ward said. “;In other locations we've had community groups, which have actually gone so far as to sign stewardship agreements ... We've got a number of them throughout the state ... Consistency is what makes (the partnership) work.”;

The baseball fields were used and maintained for several years.

“;But gradually, interest by sports groups in using and maintaining the fields waned, and eventually they migrated to baseball fields elsewhere, so no further volunteer maintenance was done at Sand Island,”; she said. “;After a while, the land under the four-plex fields began to settle and the uneven surface was no longer a safe playing field environment, so those fields were closed.”;

We were not able to speak to Mitsunaga or Wong directly. But in answer to our questions and relayed by a third-party, Wong said the community got together to help create the fields, but it was the state's responsibility to maintain them.

We were told there was no written agreement that the volunteers were responsible for the fields' upkeep.

After the baseball players stopped coming, Ward said New Hope Christian Fellowship stepped forward to turn the area into football fields. The group worked on refurbishing the two fields within the improved area of the park, while doing some work on the four-plex, she said.

But that effort stopped in 2006.

Meanwhile, in November 2006, the park was hit twice by thieves, who stole copper electrical wires, damaging the electrical system that powers the park's sewage pumping system, Ward said.

“;The wire theft also disabled the automatic irrigation system for the ball fields, and due to lack of funds this was never restored,”; she said.

There were never bleachers at any of the baseball fields, but high backstop fences still stand, as do the dugouts. The fields may be abandoned, but some of the dugouts appear to be housing people.

Ward said the park caretaker has observed people near the dugouts during the day, but not at night.

“;From time to time, we do see the presence of people who might be considered homeless,”; she said, but staff have never been able to ascertain if they actually are living at the park.

As we approached the fields, we saw a large scoreboard on the ground, propped against a shipping container.

Asked why the scoreboard was abandoned there, Ward said the scoreboard belongs to New Hope Christian Fellowship. She said last week that the church would be contacted and asked to remove the scoreboard.

It's still uncertain what's going to happen to the fields.

DLNR is involved in a five-year review and updating of the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, which includes surveying users and holding public information meetings statewide.

The public meetings have ended, but people can still give their opinion of what's important for state parks, forests and the ocean by completing a survey by Oct. 31.

You can fill out the survey and get more information online at http://pbrhawaii-consult.limehouse.com/portal, Ward said.

After assessing public input, DLNR will develop “;a plan of action for addressing recreational demand and issues confronting outdoor recreation in Hawaii,”; she said.