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INDEX
VOL. 47, NO. 175
18 PAGES
VIRGINIA
KNOTS UP
SERIES
SPORTS, 1B
PALAMANUI
CULINARYARTS
RECEIVES GIFT
PAGE 8A
Kamehameha Schools
plans to begin demolition
of the shuttered Keauhou
Beach Hotel in early 2016
as the trust moves forward
with plans for its educa-
tional complex known as
Kahaluu Ma Kai.
Demolition
of
the
300-plus-room hotel, as
well as remnant Kona
Lagoon Hotel facili-
ties, is expected to occur
between spring 2016 and
2017 at a cost of $11.5
million, according to
a final Environmental
Assessment
released
Tuesday that also received
a finding of no signifi-
cant impact from Hawaii
County.
Kamehameha Schools
plans to take down the
seven-story hotel, which
closed in 2012, in a con-
trolled manner from the
top down. Crews will com-
plete as much work as pos-
sible from the shore side of
the hotel, officials said.
A form of “soft demoli-
tion” of the interior would
take place first to remove
all wood, plaster, glass,
drywall and other items,
including hazardous mate-
rials, leaving only the
building’s exterior walls
and structure, according
to the assessment. The
building shell would then
be taken down by a large
crushing machine working
from the exterior inward.
About 2,550 square
feet of the hotel located
over the lagoon would be
removed using chipping
guns and wire saws in a
manner to keep debris,
dust and resulting particles
out of the water. Existing
columns in the tide pool
would be first cut off at or
near the footings, and the
remaining concrete foot-
ings removed to bring the
concrete level with the bot-
tom of the tide pool.
Finally, they would
demolish the building’s
basement, then stabilize
the site of the excavated
area for redevelopment as
part of a new basement
supporting the project’s
facilities and operations,
the assessment said.
The demolition con-
tractor will separate waste
materials generated from
demolition at the site, and
recyclable materials, such
as scrap iron and steel,
would be placed into recy-
cling containers and taken
to recycling centers on the
Big Island. Concrete would
be processed at the site by
removing reinforcement
bar and then crushing the
material for reuse.
“Most (estimated at
about 80 percent) of this
BY CHELSEA JENSEN
WEST HAWAII TODAY
New rules in the works for
public use of Mauna Kea
Vandals damage miles of feral animal fencing
The Office of Mauna Kea
Management is rolling out a set of
rules that will for the first time give
the office the legal tools to govern
public and commercial access on
the mountain.
Under rules the office would like
the public to consider — and the
governor to sign following at least
an upcoming year of process —
four-wheel drive vehicles would be
required for trips to the summit,
vehicles would have to be cleared of
invasive species, groups larger than
10 people would require a permit,
and snow play would have to be
done with safe equipment made
for the purpose rather than with
improvised sleds that lack steering
and brakes. Access to the summit
could be limited to daylight hours.
The eight commercial tour
operators who take visitors to the
peak will have to reapply for their
permits, and rangers will crack
down on a proliferation of illegal
tours, under the provisions.
Fees for access and parking may
be charged in the future, with
rangers and University of Hawaii
officials vested with the power
to temporarily close sensitive
and damaged areas and limit the
number of vehicles on the summit.
Drones and remote controlled
vehicles and paragliding would be
prohibited on Mauna Kea, along
with other prohibitions in a list of
rules similar to those that govern
natural resource protection, traffic,
parking and other human activity
at some national parks.
The provisions are designed
not to curtail public or Native
Hawaiian access but to create
a safe environment for all users
while protecting cultural and
natural resources, say officials with
OMKM, which manages about
Nearly two miles and
more than $110,000 worth
of ungulate-proof fencing on
the Big Island was cut and
destroyed by vandals recently.
The fencing, surrounding
thePuuMakaalaNatural Area
Reserve, was built to keep
feral goats, pigs and other
invasive animals away from
native plants. The reserve
comprises some of 18,700
acres of forest in South Hilo
and Puna — one which state
officials have described as a
prime remaining example of
a native wet forest ecosystem
in Hawaii. It is also an area
popular with pig hunters,
although officials have not
indicated whom they suspect
in causing the damage.
An inspection of the fenc-
ing by reserve staff from the
state Division of Forestry and
Wildlife revealed that van-
dals had cut through multiple
sections of fence in 15- to
30-foot chunks sliced top to
bottom. The steel fencing is
four foot high and is corro-
sion and rust resistant.
Officials with the state
Department of Land and
Natural Resources say this
isn’t the first time fencing in
two units within the reserve
was vandalized.
“Whatever point these
vandals think they’re mak-
ing, they need to realize that
they and every other taxpayer
in Hawaii, ultimately ends
up paying for the replace-
ment of this fencing,” DLNR
Chairwoman
Suzanne
Case said in a statement.
“Additionally, significant staff
time will be spent to repair
the damage which could take
several months and takes
staff away from other sched-
uled projects and regular
duties.”
A first degree criminal
property damage case has
been filed. Vandalism or
destruction of state property
is a class B felony with fines
in the thousands of dollars
and a possible five to 10 years
in jail.
“This damage was done in
one day and the cost esti-
mate does not include the
labor cost needed to remove
ungulates that may have
slipped through the damaged
portions of fence,” said Nick
Agorastos, a NAR special-
ist on the Big Island. “It’s
BY BRET YAGER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
BY BRET YAGER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
Watering that lawn or filling that
swimming pool is about to get a
little more expensive.
The county Water Board, meet-
ing Tuesday in Hilo, unanimously
approved a five-year water rate
plan that hikes rates 3 percent on
July 1, followed by 4 percent next
year and then 5 percent annually
for the next three years.
A typical family on a 5/8-inch
meter using 9,500 gallons monthly
would see their bimonthly bill go
up from $101.75 to $104.96 the
first year.
Currently, Hawaii Island’s typical
$101.75 bimonthly bill compares to
$86.40 on Maui, $93.45 on Oahu
and $129.55 on Kauai, accord-
ing to consultant Ann Hajnosz of
Brown and Caldwell. The actual
cost to produce the water is about
$4.13 per 1,000 gallons, she said.
“Nobody likes to see rate increas-
es. It’s sort of a fact of life …
that as costs increase, and espe-
cially as revenues decrease, due to
reduced water sales,” Hajnosz said.
“The Department of Water Supply
has an obligation to be financial-
ly self-sufficient, to plan for not
only current operations, but future
operations.”
But Mike Flaherty, testifying at
a May 26 public hearing in Kona,
questioned why the Water Board
anticipated a 24 percent increase
over five years, compounded.
Flaherty was the only person offer-
ing testimony at public hearings in
Kona and Hilo.
“I wish I could find an invest-
ment that I could make 24 per-
cent,” Flaherty said. “I know stuff
costs money.”
The Water Board took heed
of Flaherty’s comments, and on
Tuesday agreed to have staff evalu-
ate the rates after the first year,
although without going through
another full-blown rate study.
Water rates
to rise
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
SEE
DEMOLITION
PAGE 3A
SEE
MAUNA KEA
PAGE 9A
SEE
FENCING
PAGE 3A
SEE
WATER
PAGE 3A
Kamehameha Schools is moving forward with
plans to demolish the former Keauhou Beach
Hotel. Work is expected to begin in spring 2016.
CHELSEA JENSEN/
WEST HAWAII TODAY
SEE
PROTESTORS
PAGE 9A
Artist rendering by the TMT Observatory
Corporation shows the proposed
Thirty Meter Telescope.
TMT OBSERVATORY
CORPORATION
/FILE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters vow to stop
telescope construction
from resuming
HONOLULU — About 20 people
opposed to building what would be one of
the world’s largest telescopes on a Hawaii
mountain are camped out near the con-
struction site, vowing to stop work from
resuming.
They are sleeping in vehicles or on
BY JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
