Fields of dreams County kicks off park planning process

West Hawaii residents say they imagine a regional park featuring not just the usual sporting facilities and fields, but splash parks, disc golf courses and a dog park.

All told, the plans for full build out on the Kealakehe Regional Park could cost about $200 million, according to Bo Kahui, president of nonprofit park advocacy group West Hawaii Parks and Athletic Corp.

By early next year, Hawaii County should complete the long-sought park’s master plan, the consultant helping draft the plan said during a meeting Thursday at the West Hawaii Civic Center.

The park will be located between Queen Kaahumanu Highway, Ane Keohokalole Highway and Kealakehe Parkway. The county owns about 190 acres of land there, originally intended as a community golf course.

Deidre Robbins advocated for disc golf.

“It’s a growing, popular sport,” Robbins said. “It’s low cost, it’s family friendly. It’s dog friendly. All it requires is some grass and some baskets. You go out there, you play, it’s social, you talk, you walk from one hole to the next.”

South Kona Councilwoman Brenda Ford handed out literature on an award-winning splash pad park. She said children have also asked her to add water slides to the park. The location is a hot one, and water features would help keep kids cool, she said. Ford also suggested an area for people to practice archery.

Several commenters said the county should be looking for either concessions that can raise money, or other fund-generating activities to help the park remain self-sustaining. Kimura International President Glenn Kimura said sporting tournaments, especially statewide youth baseball and soccer ones, can be an economic driver for the entire community, just by bringing families to Kona from across the state.

When Hawaii County began planning Old Kona Airport Park several years ago, Kimura International consultants heard lots of comments about what the community wanted in the beach park, Kimura said. Not everything would fit, particularly enough sporting facilities to accommodate the need here, he said.

The Kealakehe regional park would definitely have a tennis, soccer and football complex, he said.

Kimura outlined the planning process for about 40 people, during a meeting at the West Hawaii Civic Center. The next step is a weekend-long series of meetings, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 15-17.

Parks and Recreation Director Bob Fitzgerald said he wanted a planning process run the same way as the one the county took on for the Old Kona Airport Park, which the county now refers to as Makaeo Park. That process included a three-day group meeting in which community members provided input on what the park should include, and what should be excluded.

The land set aside for the park is a somewhat odd shape, Kimura said, with three “fingers” of land forming a sort of crooked W shape. The shape was selected years ago, when the property was to become a golf course. Those “fingers” of property would have been fairways for the course, he added.

Fitzgerald, responding to a question about artificial turf as a way to save money by avoiding irrigation costs, said heavily used turf fields can be prone to harboring bacteria.

Kahui asked community members to stay involved in the process.

“Our kids are being shortchanged on those (existing) fields,” Kahui said. “We have a chance to make a difference.”

Kimura said it may be possible to find outside groups to pay to build some of the facilities. He said the cost needs to be “reasonable” because the county doesn’t have unlimited funds.

“There’s no budget,” he said. “We come up with a vision, a dream plan for 20 years down the road. We will price it out, give you a cost estimate for the whole thing. Keep in mind that that’s just a guess as what it’s going to cost and things are going to be built in phases.”

Information about the planning process will be available at kealakeheregionalpark.com.