The Knudsen Trust has formally demanded that Kahili Adventist School shut down its Kahili Mountain Park cabin-rental operation.
According to information gathered by The Garden Island, the trust that owns the land under the school and park sites near Koloa alleges the school has been operating the income-generating, cabin-rental business since 1985, while its 60-year lease with the trust signed also in 1985 does not specifically allow commercial operations.
Stacey T. J. Wong, trustee for the Knudsen Trust and an attorney, said he could not comment on the situation, which may be headed for court.
Dr. Don Weatherall, principal of Kahili Adventist School, acknowledged receipt of the letter from Wong on behalf of the trust demanding that the school shut down Kahili Mountain Park operations by the middle of next month, and pay by Monday, April 15 some 10 percent of the proceeds from operating the park the past 17 years.
The closing of the park operation would not necessarily mean closing of the school, said Weatherall, who referred other questions about the situation to Arnold Trujillo, president of the Hawaii Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Trujillo said the church has responded to the trust demand with a letter of its own, which he hopes will result in removal of the demand. The trust has not yet responded to that letter, Trujillo said yesterday.
The church owns and operates both Kahili Adventist School and Kahili Mountain Park, while the Knudsen Trust owns the land under the buildings of those two entities.
Revenue from the Kahili Mountain Park cabin-rental business has allowed Kahili Adventist School to keep tuition reasonable for families of students, and if that revenue is lost the school will have to employ other means to balance its budget.
The demand to close Kahili Mountain Park if enacted may also result in the eviction of several park residents the church has offered special long-term rental rates to, in some cases as an alternative to homelessness.
According to someone familiar with the operations of the park and school, the demand if enacted may also cost some park employees their jobs and housing.
Church officials signed in 1985 the 60-year lease agreement with former trustee Valdemar Knudsen, who has since passed away, for the church to operate its Kahili Adventist School at the site.
The school has students in grades kindergarten through 12, and before 1985 operated in Lawa’i.
The church in 1985 also purchased the Kahili Mountain Park cabin-rental operation, and in subsequent years added new cabins, made substantial improvements to the access road off Kaumuali’i Highway near the Tree Tunnel and other infrastructure, and built school buildings including classrooms, a gymnasium and faculty housing.
All of this was done, according to reliable information, with the complete knowledge and approval of the three Knudsen Trust trustees prior to Wong.
Indeed, when Valdemar Knudsen in 1985 journeyed to the park for formal ceremonies announcing the long-term lease, he expressed gratitude for and relief in securing in the church a stable, reliable caretaker for the property.
Trujillo confirmed the “good relations” the church has enjoyed with the trustees, and added it is the church’s desire to continue having good relations with trustees charged with managing the Knudsen family lands under the school and cabins.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
