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Kapolei_Regional_Park_cropped

Kapolei Regional Park serves as home to many sports and recreation teams, and is heavily used by residents, families and community members. However, the limited parking stalls in the Park are inadequate to support the community and park users have continued to reach out to us regarding the difficulties they encounter when looking for parking.

That is why Councilmember Pine introduced Resolution 15-171, to urge City administration to conduct a feasibility study on the addition of 100 parking stalls within the Park and obtaining the use of alternative parking stalls that are available but not used on weekends at nearby local businesses for users of the park.

Resolution 15-171, CD1 was recently passed at the Parks, Community and Customer Services Committee. Your support and testimonies are much needed at the upcoming July 8, 2015 City Council meeting at Kapolei Hale, where Resolution 15-171 will be up for adoption. Feel free to call (808) 768-5001 or email kmpine@honolulu.gov.

 

Today, Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced a major new park initiative during his third State of the City speech.  The initiative, E Paka Kakou, or “parks together” will be a city partnership with community organizations to step up and revitalize parks.

 

“This parks initiative works hand-in-hand with the Adopt a Park Bill – Bill 58. Together, these will ease the process for groups wishing to adopt and make major capital contributions to our parks. We are looking forward to working with Mayor Caldwell in the upcoming budget process to see our proposals succeed,” said Councilmember Kymberly Marcos Pine.

 

Councilmember Pine introduced Bill 58 on September 29th, 2014. If passed, the bill will create a more transparent and clearly defined process for park adoptions, donations and capital improvements, making it easier for organizations to improving specific parks in their communities.

 

Mayor Kirk Caldwell also revealed that $2 million in the fiscal 2016 budget will be dedicated to making improvements at park comfort stations.  According to Caldwell, these funds will be used to refurbish 24 restrooms at parks and 16 sets of existing playground apparatus throughout the island.

 

The Department of Parks and Recreation will be installing Microguard, a protective coating that is graffiti and rot resistant, on 24 comfort stations, throughout the next year beginning with Asing Park, in Ewa Beach.

 

KYMBERLY MARCOS PINE
COUNCILMEMBER, DISTRICT 1
(808) 768-5001
(808) 768-1217 (fax)
e-mail: kmpine@honolulu.gov

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Councilmember Kymberly Marcos Pine
January 12, 2015 Tel: (808) 768-5001

Long-Delayed Makakilo Park to Be Accepted by the City

Councilmember Pine introduces legislation to streamline park dedication process

MAKAKILO — Plans for the long-awaited opening of Kahiwelo Park in Makakilo will finally be put in front of the City Council for approval tomorrow in the Parks, Community and Customer Services Committee at 10:30 a.m. The City’s long delay in accepting the park, as well as the new district park at Ocean Pointe, Ewa, has prompted Councilmember Kymberly Marcos Pine to introduce Resolution 15-9, which requests the city streamline its park approval process, so completed parks can be opened faster.

The 3-acre park, located near the corner of Kuluhi Street and Welo Street, had been promised to residents years ago, as part of the D.R. Horton – Schuler Division’s Kahiwelo at Makakilo community. The park, constructed by D.R. Horton, contains a large grass field, play court, playground structure, comfort station and parking lot. However, prominently placed throughout the park are ‘Keep Out’ signs, letting the public know that while the park appears finished, the City has not-yet accepted it for public use. Kahiwelo Park was completed in May 2014, and originally expected to be turned over to the City in the summer of 2014, however, City delays held-up the park’s opening until today. Similar delays held up the opening of Ocean Pointe Park until January 2015, though the project was completed by Haseko in August 2014.

“The Makakilo community has waited years for this park, and they have watched this park sit vacant for months because the City does not streamline its park acceptance process,” said Councilmember Kymberly Marcos Pine.

The City Council’s Parks, Community and Customer Services Committee will vote on whether to approve the park dedication in tomorrow’s 10:30 a.m. meeting. The full Council will then vote on the park dedication at the next full-Council meeting on January 28th, using the Committee’s recommendation as a guide.
Councilmember Pine represents residents of District One (Ewa, Ewa Beach, Kapolei, Honokai Hale, Ko Olina, Nanakuli, Maili, Waianae, Makaha, Keaau, Makua) and chairs the Parks, Community and Customer Services Committee.

“Ewa families can now enjoy a community park that’s been more than a decade in the making.”

City officials and community members dedicated the new district park Monday morning,

located at 91-201 Kaimele Place at the corner of Keoneula Boulevard and Fort Weaver Road.

The 18.75-acre space is filled with amenities, including basketball courts, volleyball courts, a baseball field, comfort station and a parking lot with more than a hundred stalls.

“I am very excited to see the families in our community enjoy this much needed and anticipated new park,” said Honolulu City Council member Kymberly Pine, who represents the district. “Our children are able to have their little league practice and play games immediately in the park because of the generous giving of our community partner… The park will impact our community for years to come.”

 

“I am very excited to see the families in our community enjoy this much needed and anticipated new park,” said Honolulu City Council member Kymberly Pine, who represents the district. “Our children are able to have their little league practice and play games immediately in the park because of the generous giving of our community partner… The park will impact our community for years to come.”

The improvements were gifted to the city by developer Haseko totaling over $5 million.

The opening of the new park comes at a critical time for the Ewa Community.

The James Campbell High School athletic field will close for repairs this month. With a shortage of playing fields in the area, athletic programs were scrambling to find a place to hold practice had the park not opened this month.

The park has not yet been officially named.

KHON2 News Article

Ewapark2

The City hosted a park dedication ceremony on Monday, December 15, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at the long awaited new District Park in ‘Ewa at the corner of Keone‘ula Boulevard and Ft. Weaver Road.  The park’s official address is 91-201 Kaimele Place.

 

Over ten years in the making, the park open with improvements including basketball courts, volleyball courts, a baseball field, comfort station, and a parking lot with over one hundred stalls.

 

The improvements were gifted to the city by developer Haseko totaling over $5 million dollars.

 

“I am very excited to see the families in our community enjoy this much needed and anticipated new park. Our children are able to have their little league practice and play games immediately in the park because of the generous giving of our community partner.  The park will impact our community for years to come,” said Councilmember Pine.

 

“We are very happy to give this beautiful park to the community to enjoy for years to come.  This new park is a great example of a public private partnership benefiting O‘ahu residents. With millions of dollars of improvements by Haseko, the developer of homes in the area, and with the assistance of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, we are pleased to open this new park that ‘Ewa families will enjoy for years to come. I thank Councilmember Kymberly Pine for bringing this project to the finish line so we are able to open the park now,” said Tom Sagawa.

 

The opening of the new park comes at a critical time for the ‘Ewa Community. The James Campbell High School athletic field will close for repairs this month. With a shortage of playing fields in the area, athletic programs were scrambling to find a place to hold practice had the park not opened this month.

HONOLULU (AP) – The Ewa community on Oahu will soon be getting a new park that spans nearly 19 acres and is complete with athletic fields.

The park is over ten years in the making. It will have basketball and volleyball courts and a baseball field.

Courtesy: City & County of Honolulu

The improvements were a gift to the city from developer Haseko totaling more than $5 million.

The new park comes at a critical time because the James Campbell High School athletic field will close for repairs this month.

Councilwoman Kymberly Pine who represents the area says the park will impact the community for years to come.

A dedication ceremony will be held Monday at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of Keoneula Boulevard and Ft. Weaver Road.

– Hawaii News Now Article

Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Honolulu City Councilwoman Kymberly Pine and leaders in the Makaha community don’t want to just expand the city’s traditional Adopt-a-Park program; they want to turn the concept on its head.

Not satisfied with merely painting over graffiti on walls or picking up trash, they’re ready to reshape Makaha Community Park into a central gathering place for Wai­anae Coast residents by tackling roof repairs and other capital improvements, and starting programs and classes for youths and adults.

Nonprofit, Makaha-based Active Hawaii Organization recently adopted the park through the traditional means set up by the city Parks and Recreation Department. Cedric Gates, the group’s co-founder (also a Green Party candidate running for the state 44th House District seat), said he was told his group will now be able to hold cleanups and paint over graffiti.

“Just adopting a park isn’t good enough,” Gates said. “We want to actually get to the root of the problems in our community.”

Pine said if she had her way, she’d want every park in her district from Ewa Beach to Makaha adopted.

“But not your typical adopting-a-park,” she said. “Our vision: We’re going to combine numerous nonprofits for every park, with financial resources that will come from maybe foundations, businesses or even unions that are willing (to provide) the funds needed to improve facilities, not just clean parks.”

Makaha Community Park is the first example of that. Pine cobbled together folks from all segments of the community to make the changes at Makaha Community Park.

An estimated $60,000 in equipment and sweat equity was donated by the Laborers International Union of North America Local 368 and other groups for a series of improvements, including repairs to the leaky community pavilion roof and bathroom sinks, replacement of broken light fixtures and installation of water fountains. Meanwhile, groups like Gate’s Active Hawaii and Kaala Farm are set to offer classes for youths and adults on a range of topics from financial literacy to cultural awareness.

Getting the necessary approvals for all the capital improvements took time, Pine said, requiring the volunteers to go to three different city agencies over a period of several months.

Enter Pine’s Bill 58, which puts into ordinance a broad description of what a person or entity that adopts a park can actually do, including the ability to “engage in other approved activities and projects, subject to the director’s approval.”

“The program we are hoping to implement as the bill evolves will simplify large and small donations of goods services,” Pine said. “Right now it is almost impossible to do, and procedures change from one administration to the next. When we are done with this legislation, it will be very clear to large and small donors and groups of the exact procedures they need to follow based on the type of help that they want to provide to parks.”

The bill will get its first airing at this month’s regularly scheduled Council meeting on Wednesday.

In response to the Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser’s request of Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration for a comment on the bill, Managing Director Ember Shinn said in a statement, “We are happy to work with Councilmember Pine on this bill which is substantively similar to the Adopt-A-Park program established by (Department of Parks and Recreation) rules.”

But there are no written criteria or rules pertaining to community adoption of city parks in either city ordinances or parks rules.

Deputy Parks and Recreation Director Jeanne Ishi­kawa, through Caldwell spokes­man Jesse Broder Van Dyke, said the Adopt-a-Park Hoa Paka program is a long-standing program that is not subject to city ordinances and therefore not required to have written rules.

There is, however, a two-page application available at the department for those wishing to adopt a park. By signing the application, the adopters agree to “assume partial maintenance responsibility for the park” and to do so “in a safe and reasonable manner.”

As of July there were 274 participants in the Adopt-a-Park program, Ishi­kawa said.

But bureaucracy can get in the way of community do-gooders, according to Pine.

The Ewa Beach Lions Club, which adopted One­ula Beach Park, offered repeatedly to water the grass there, a request that fell on deaf ears, Pine said. Today the grass there is dead and the fields unusable, she said.

Pine said it makes sense, during a time of fiscal austerity and dwindling resources, to encourage community interests to help with the parks in their neighborhoods in whatever way they can.

“The departments need to somehow simplify the donation and permitting process,” she said.

Click here for the Star-Advertiser News Article:

http://www.staradvertiser.com/newspremium/20141006__Proposed_bill_looks_to_transform_AdoptaPark_program.html?id=278204311

 

“The Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority (HCDA), in partnership with the Kalaeloa Heritage and Legacy Foundation, is working to create the Kalaeloa Heritage Park (KHP) in ʻEwa, Oʻahu. Located just east of the Kalaeloa Airport, the 77-acre KHP contains significant cultural, historical, and natural resources unique to the ʻEwa Plain.

“Proposed actions for developing the KHP complex will include a multi-purpose cultural center, botanical greenhouse, maintenance shed, and caretaker/security cottage. The KHP complex will support the existing “interpretative area” where visitors are guided along a trail which includes remnants of an ancient Hawaiian village. The majority of the proposed development will be located in an area that has been previously bulldozed for military purposes in order to minimize disturbance to the remainder of the site.

“The proposed project will not have a significant cumulative effect upon the environment. The proposed project will have short term impacts on traffic, noise, and air quality during construction, but will be mitigated through use of Best Management Practices. No long-term impacts are expected. The KHP will promote the stewardship of natural, cultural and historical resources on the ʻEwa Plain, an d educate visitors about the past. The proposed development of the KHP will support the goals of the HCDA and City and County of Honolulu to preserve open space and provide recreational and educational opportunities in ʻEwa.”

Statutory 30-day public review and comment period starts; comments are due by August 7, 2014. Please send comments to the proposing/determination agency and consultant.

Kalaeloa Heritage Park Draft Environmental Assessment
(Click link above to download)

Proposing/Determination Agency:

Hawaii Community Development Authority
461 Cooke Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

Contact: Tesha Malama, phone 808-620-9643 or e-mail tesha@hcdaweb.org

Consultant:

Townscape, Inc.
900 Fort Street Mall, Suite 1160
Honolulu, HI 96813

Contact: Gabrielle Sham, phone 808-536-6999 or e-mail gabrielle@townscapeinc.com

Construction Executive Assistant to the President

Fernandez Entertainment and Fun Factory, Inc. is seeking a highly-motivated individual that requires minimal supervision to provide advanced, diversified, and confidential administrative support to the President of the Company. The responsibilities of this position are highly confidential in nature and requires board comprehensive experience, technical and organizational skills, and administrative knowledge.

Qualifications:

• Excellent Executive Level Secretarial Skills
• Experience in either Business Development, Construction, Leasing, Facilities or Project Management

Responsibilities:

• Must provide construction and facilities management administrative support
• Must be able to read plans, take off materials to provide job estimates in an itemized format
• Must be knowledgeable in reviewing bid proposals to award contracts
• Must be experienced in the preparation of project reports

Minimum Education & Experience:

• High School Degree or an Associate degree with 3-5 years of documented experience in project or construction management

Skills:

• Excellent communication verbal and written along with telephone skills
• Must be able to work with minimal direction
• Ability to multitask on a variety of projects, balance work load and prioritize

Analytical Skills:

• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instruction furnished in written, oral or diagram form
• Computer Literate: Must be Proficient in MS Word, Excel and Outlook
• Must be able to work some Saturdays as schedule or as projects dictate
• Must have reliable transportation and valid driver’s license

Qualified Applicants Only: Email resume to hr@funfactoryinc.com

lions, club, logo, ewa, beach

‘Ewa Beach Lions Club

Easter Bash at the Park

‘Ewa Beach Community Park
91-955 North Road

Saturday, April 12, 2014
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Sack Races, Egg Hunt, Food, Door Prizes, Jan Ken Po

Bring a Camera and take pics with the Easter Bunny when he visits.

Entertainment featuring: Ilima Intermediate Cheeleaders

Sponsored by the City and County of Honolulu, D.R. Horton, Generators Hawai‘i, Gentry Homes, Grace Pacific, Haseko (‘Ewa), Makana O Ke Akua, McDonalds (‘Ewa Beach), Paradise Lua, State Farm (Frelynn Kahalehili)

For more information, contact Lion Kurt at (808) 864-4634