KEKAHA — A blessing to mark the completion of Kekaha Gardens’ Kaleimanu Park was held last Friday.
When the improvement project began a little more than a year ago, the county’s western most park, a four-acre facility near the end of Ulili Road, consisted of a pavilion, fencing and an open field.
Now Kekaha Gardens’ Kaleimanu Park is completely landscaped with a basketball/volleyball court, baseball field with accessible dugouts, playground, comfort station, picnic area with benches and tables, and a paved parking lot, the county announced in a press release.
Funding for the $1.46 million project was provided by the County of Kauai.
“This a beautiful park, especially for our keiki, and I’d like it to stay that way for a long time,” said Lu Koerte, who lives across from the newly improved park and added that she intends to keep a watchful eye on the community asset.
“This project has been a collaborative effort in both planning and funding, and is a true sign of the success we can accomplish when we work together and welcome input from our community,” said Kaulana Finn, Kauai liaison for U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who shared some of Gabbard’s thoughts about the improvements.
The design consultant for the project was SEY Engineers, who incorporated some of the community’s ideas into the design. The general contractor Tomco Corporation took the ideas and made them a reality.
Kekaha Gardens’ Kaleimanu Park is one of 38 projects that are part of Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr.’s Holo Holo 2020 vision for Kauai.
“It’s so exciting to see how this park has been transformed into a facility that the community can really enjoy, from keiki to kupuna,” Carvalho said. “It’s a long-awaited project that has finally come to fruition.”
