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Hawai'i Kai Dog Park Nears Completion

by MICHELE VAN HESSEN
Sun Correspondent
Archived January 2008 article

The vacant lot adjacent to the Hawai'i Kai Park and Ride has been bustling with activity for the past month since the City, along with private contractors, began working nonstop to build the Hawai'i Kai Dog Park. After the building permits were issued in early October, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and its public-private partner, Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i, went to work setting up a construction schedule for the dog park, which had been in the planning stages for three years.

The Department of Urban Forestry (DUF) came in first to remove the kiawe trees, followed by DPR's Maintenance Support Services personnel, who grubbed and graded the lot. Hui 'Ilio's contractor, HSMS Construction, then began installing the fence posts. The fencing work was suspended last week to allow DUF free access to begin planting monkey pod and shower trees. The mature trees were transported from DUF's nursery in Waiawa. "Everyone working on this project has been incredibly cooperative and flexible with their time," said Hui 'Ilio's president, Elaine Dobashi. "It took a lot of coordination between different city departments and private contractors to get this much work done in so little time."

Hui'Ilio Hawai'i has been spearheading the community effort to establish a dog park in Hawai'i Kai for the past three years. The group is responsible for providing the park fencing, part of the landscaping, benches and other park amenities. The Department of Parks and Recreation, in addition to completing the grubbing and grading, is installing the irrigation system and will plant the grass.

The biggest challenge for Hui 'Ilio was raising sufficient funds to pay for its part of the development costs. While the group has held various fundraisers, its efforts were boosted by significant contributions from a few major sponsors: Jim Lyon of Lyon Associates; Dennis Hashimoto of DJNS Surveying & Mapping, Inc.; Ben Lee of Brownlie and Lee, landscape architects; Stanford Carr, through the Stanford Carr Development Fund; James Patterson of the Patterson Family Foundation; 21st Century Homes; HSMS Construction.

The local community has generously contributed to the construction fund, Dobashi said. "We already reached our funding goal to pay for the fencing, but we are still accepting donations to help pay for benches and other park amenities." Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i can be contacted via its website, www.hui-ilio.org or by emailing hui-ilio@hawaii.rr.com.