Kaua‘i County Council members hammered the mayor’s administration yesterday over a lack of responsiveness to questions on the multi-use path — a project to include various segments from Ahukini to Anahola that is in its second phase of construction. County
Kaua‘i County Council members hammered the mayor’s administration yesterday over a lack of responsiveness to questions on the multi-use path — a project to include various segments from Ahukini to Anahola that is in its second phase of construction.
County Administrative Assistant Gary Heu, County Engineer Donald Fujimoto and County Deputy Attorney Harrison Kawate responded to concerns during some three hours of discussion at the Historic County Building that included burial discoveries, liability and a new task force.
During construction of the Kealia to Kapa‘a segment, human remains were found three separate times in two locations, a draft report by the project archaeologist states.
Three burials were discovered during grading for the Kealia Beach comfort station along the toe of the mauka side railroad berm.
“This was not a surprise as the soils in the area are beach sands, typical for a Hawaiian burial site,” states the report, which was made public during the council committees meeting yesterday.
Scientific Consultant Services, which conducts archaeological studies throughout Hawai‘i, recommended the burials be moved away from the site of a proposed septic system.
The state Historic Preservation Department disagreed, the report states, and asked the burials be left in place as long as a 12-foot buffer existed. The contractor built a protective boulder and sand structure at the site.
Councilwoman Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho said the Hawaiian community is displeased with the handling of exposed bones at the site.
She noted the second discovery cited in the report occurred at Kapa‘a Town Park during the realignment of the fence along the makai side.
“Iwi were observed in five of the new post holes dug,” the report states. “Further investigation determined five complete or partial burials and numerous disturbed iwi scattered below the surface.”
The report noted this was unsurprising as the park is within an area known to contain a concentration of skeletal remains. In the past, remains were found under the comfort station and under Kuhio Highway.
The remains were moved to the re-interment site at Kapa‘a lookout.
Iseri-Carvalho voiced her concerns over a makeshift fence that surrounded the site where the remains were found, noting children play in the area.
Disturbed iwi were again discovered in a single hole at Kapa‘a Town Park during the planting of trees along the makai fence, the report states.
Because of a pending Veterans Day Parade, SCS recommended leaving the iwi until a future time when they could be removed to the re-interment site. A single basalt boulder marked the location.
Iseri-Carvahlo said the process needs more consistency and council needs to be better updated.
Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura asked why there was not more input from the local burial council.
Fujimoto said he was “at a disadvantage” due to not being more directly connected to the project’s handling of the findings, and could not provide council with more specific answers.
Councilman Mel Rapozo voiced his displeasure, noting the many months the item has persisted on the agenda due to lack of answers from the administration.
Rapozo then switched to a lingering legal question over enforcement of the completed portions of the path.
He noted a call from a resident who was recently bitten by a dog towing a skateboarder down a portion of the path that runs through Lydgate Park.
“Dogs do not mix with humans on a path,” Rapozo said, adding that laws prohibit dogs in county parks. “Why is this not being enforced?”
Iseri-Carvahlo asked who is responsible to protect the county from liability incidents such as the dog bite when it happens on completed path segments not officially handed over to the county.
“All of ours,” Heu said.
Iseri-Carvalho said she has asked these questions for at least two years with virtually zero response from the administration or county attorney’s office.
“We take liability seriously,” Heu said. “Perhaps we haven’t done as good a job as the council thinks we should’ve been doing (in answering its questions).”
After saying she believes it is administrative agencies’ responsibility to determine liabilities, Kawate told Iseri-Carvalho he has not been asked to handle any legal issues pertaining to the path and is unaware of any ongoing discussions.
“That is why it can never get off the agenda,” Rapozo said. “We can’t get answers to simple questions.”
Heu later pointed to a recently formed task force for Ke Ala Hele Makalae, Kaua‘i’s Coastal and Heritage Trail.
Headed by Bernard Carvalho, team members consist of players from the county departments of planning, finance, public works and newly-created parks and recreation.
High level project oversight will improve internal communication and streamline decision-making while “ratcheting back” back-and-forth discussion with council, Heu said.
“We don’t think we can afford the kind of time and resources that we’ve spent with council over the past year,” he said.
The task force, he added, has held two meetings and performed one site visit in the past couple weeks. It will produce quarterly reports for council to stay updated.
Council members generally voiced support for the task force, but some questioned its effectiveness thus far.
Iseri-Carvalho, noting the task force’s two meetings, asked why numerous questions the council submitted in writing still remain unanswered.
“It doesn’t appear like it’s working,” she said.
Heu said the administration viewed the creation of the task force as a line of demarcation — a point to break free of questions that have lingered for months on end.
Iseri-Carvalho told Heu if the administration had answered the questions on liability and enforcement three months ago, they would not continue to appear on the agenda.
“We’re the ones that have to approve the settlements when we get sued,” she said.
Heu said his understanding was that the questions had been answered, again acknowledging the responses may not have been to the council’s satisfaction.
Councilman Tim Bynum, in supporting the creation of the task force, said many questions were answered during the public process and could be never-ending at this stage.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.
