LIHU‘E — Consultants presented Wednesday to the Kaua‘i County Council a proposed master plan and a study for the feasibility — or unfeasibility — of a $45.09 million sports complex in Waimea that would cost $380,000 annually to maintain. And
LIHU‘E — Consultants presented Wednesday to the Kaua‘i County Council a proposed master plan and a study for the feasibility — or unfeasibility — of a $45.09 million sports complex in Waimea that would cost $380,000 annually to maintain.
And the land for the proposed Waimea Sports Complex — 78 acres — are neither factored in the price nor secured.
The project, developed over the course of many community meetings in Waimea, would be built in five phases. The end product would have a baseball and softball complex, soccer complex, track and field infrastructure, football field, covered basketball courts, pavilions, bathrooms, bicycle and pedestrian path, circulation and parking, and landscaping and water features.
Several members of the Waimea community testified in favor of the complex, including student athletes who spoke of a lack of adequate sports facilities in Waimea and saw the project as an opportunity to attract off-island sports teams.
The project received mixed reaction from council members. Some were critical of a single project that would cost nearly the same as the county’s entire proposed budget for capital improvement projects in Fiscal Year 2014. Others saw it as opportunity to promote health, tourism and business on the Westside.
“We’re trying to build a park that’s going to service the community,” Councilman Mel Rapozo said.
Councilman Ross Kagawa, who is originally from Waimea, also supported the project.
But the multi-million dollar construction price tag and the subsequent operational expenses concerned Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura.
“How would we even begin to cover that?” she said of the operational expenses.
Yukimura also questioned the traffic infrastructure and the lack of an estimate for the price of the land, which is owned by Kikiaola Land Company.
Kaua‘i Planning and Action Alliance prepared the study under a contract with the county. KPAA President and CEO Diane Zachary said in order to move forward, there has to be further discussion with the landowner.
Kikiaola Chair Mike Faye said he doesn’t want any “false expectations” about rumors that the company would donate the land.
The company has zoning to develop 200 visitor destination units across the street from the proposed project, in addition to their 50 or 60 units at Waimea Plantation Cottages, which would further congest the area and increase traffic.
Despite saying he has not taken a position on the project yet, Faye said the company is willing to work with the county and the community to reach a “win-win” situation.
As far as traffic impacts, Zachary said, it would be addressed during an environmental assessment.
Councilman Tim Bynum said he didn’t recall approving funding for a feasibility study for a Waimea sports complex. It was rather for an islandwide study, he said.
But County Parks and Recreation Director Lenny Rapozo said the funding was “specifically for this particular project.”
Zachary said construction doesn’t have to be all with county money.
“If we’re getting really creative, there is a possibility of some private dollars,” she said.
Rapozo said the Waimea community came forward, didn’t ask for the county to pay for the full project, and rather mentioned various sources of private, state and federal funding.
“It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, we can go to the state (for funding),’” Yukimura said. “The state is trying to take county money.”
The project will be heard again after the council finishes fine-tuning the budget for Fiscal Year 2014 sometime after mid-May.
