It is said that a long journey begins with a single step.
Where the Kamalani Pavilion construction project is concerned, that journey begins with a decision before a single step is taken.
Thomas Noyes, Kamalani Pavilion general coordinator and member of the Friends of Kamalani and Lydgate Park, said on the eve of the next community build at Lydgate Park that the pavilion project has been moving down three different paths:
- Actual construction of the pavilion, which requires around 40 volunteers per shift. Shifts are 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday;
- Placement of ceramic fish, carvings, and other decorative elements into the structure, which requires 40 people per shift Wednesday through Sunday;
- Constructing fences and other items to mitigate the vehicular-traffic issue at Kamalani Kai Bridge, which requires 10 people working until the fixes are in place.
The third of three paths was one that was assigned to the volunteers as the result of community meetings aimed at getting a community-based fix of the safety issue of continued vehicular access to the beach flowing directly under Kamalani Kai Bridge, where children often play.
Community members came together and agreed to open up an alternative beach-access point for vehicles north of the bridge, erecting fences to separate the vehicular beach-access route under the bridge from bridge users, and then re-open the vehicular beach-access route under the bridge.
The formal part of the community build of the Kamalani Pavilion begins today, Thursday, March 18, and is expected to run until Wednesday, April 7. A blessing is planned for 8 a.m. today at the site.
The building site is just north of the Kamalani Kai Bridge at Lydgate Park in Wailua, and a visitor check-in site has been established near the restrooms at the site of a campsite designated as compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, Noyes said.
In advance of today’s formal construction start, though, work on the pavilion began in earnest. The site was graded last week, and concrete foundation footings have been poured.
The advanced preparation was to enable architect Bob Leathers, who helped design the pavilion with community input and is something of an expert in community-built projects, and the volunteers, to get right to framing the structure beginning today, Noyes said.
Leathers arrived yesterday.
“A few experienced carpenters are needed on Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19, to get the framing well advanced before the weekend of March 20,” Noyes continued.
“Any community-minded carpenters willing to volunteer on one or both of those days should call me at 639-1018, or the YWCA at 245-5959,” Noyes said.
“All volunteers will be well-fed and greatly appreciated.
“Since building new fences to separate play areas from the beach-access route under the Kamalani Kai Bridge has been added to the scope of work for this community build, it is essential that large numbers of volunteers come to the build,” he added.
With 80 people needed for each shift, and an additional 10 folks needed for the access solution, around 170 people per day are needed, said Noyes, admitting that not that many people have signed up so far.
“We’re relying on media presence, word of mouth, and getting off to a good start” as ways of encouraging more volunteers to come out, he said.
“It’s nice if they call the Y, because that gives us a clue about the number of people and their specific skills, and allows us to capture their telephone numbers” and other personal contact information, he said.
But it’s OK for people to just show up at the build site, he added.
All volunteers of any skill level are welcomed starting today, and every day through the 21-day community build. And all kinds of people with skills other than carpentry are also needed, he said.
Coffee and refreshments are offered at 7:30 a.m., and lunch is served daily at noon, for all volunteers.
In addition to the contact numbers above, more information is available at the Web site, www.kamalani.org.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis can be reached at pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
