Some long-term residents of Kahili Mountain Park cabins have had to vacate the premises, and those who had worked in management, maintenance and housekeeping positions have lost their jobs. All of this happened when the Hawaii Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists,
Some long-term residents of Kahili Mountain Park cabins have had to vacate the premises, and those who had worked in management, maintenance and housekeeping positions have lost their jobs.
All of this happened when the Hawaii Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, which owns the 30 cabins, felt compelled to close down the commercial operation after receiving a letter demanding it do so from the Eric A. Knudsen Trust, which owns the land underneath both the cabins and nearby Kahili Adventist School.
Faced with the loss of roughly $100,000 in annual revenue from the cabins that helped keep tuition costs low at the private school, the church is now looking at the possibility of having to eliminate some grades at the school in future years if it needs to cut expenses, said Pastor David Pendleton, church spokesman and coordinator for special ministries.
“Eventually, unless we can get this resolved, we’re looking at having to move in the direction of, in future years, cutting expenses by reducing our academy,” Pendleton said. “We’re going to have to start closing down some grades in future years” if the current ban on commercial activity becomes permanent, or lasts awhile.
The intent is to open in August for the 2002-03 school year with grades kindergarten through 12, as currently offered.
“But we won’t be able to do that in future years with the current restriction. And it’s very unfortunate, because if the lease had from the very beginning told us that we’re not allowed to do that (have the commercial cabin operation), then we would have been able to plan,” Pendleton continued.
Knudsen Trustee Stacey T.J. Wong contends that the 60-year lease signed in 1985 does not allow commercial activity on the property, and in a letter to the church demanded the cabin-rental portion of the business be shut down by the middle of last month, and that the church pay the trust 10 percent of gross receipts the cabin-rental business has generated since 1985, when the church bought the cabin-rental business and started the school.
The church complied with the commercial shutdown demand, but has not paid the requested percentage of cabin rent, said Pendleton. “That’s a remedy they’re asking for that’s nowhere in the lease. That’s clearly unreasonable for them to ask for something like that.”
Earlier, Wong said the 10 percent figure is what other lessees pay the trust, based on gross receipts, when engaged in commercial activities.
Wong could not be reached for further comment yesterday.
“At this point, our attorneys (representing both sides) are communicating with respect to where we go from here,” said Pendleton.
“We are concerned that these demands that they have made will lead to laying people off, jeopardizing the school operations, so we are going to do everything we can to try to work with them,” Pendleton said.
“We do not want to have to close down the school because they’re having us close down the cabin operation. We’ve had to lay off some people and severely restrict who can stay at the cabins,” he continued.
“We believe that the lease allows us to rent generally. There have been negative consequences. People have lost work, people have had to move out of cabins, and we’ve actually had to cancel reservations.”
The Kahili Mountain Park Web site advises that no reservations are being accepted at this time, and recommends those with questions call the school.
“We’re not wanting to make people become homeless, so we are letting people stay free of charge until they can find some housing and at least come to an agreement with us as to how long they can stay. We cannot have people staying there indefinitely free of charge. That, too, would jeopardize our school, and we’re not wanting to do that.”
School Principal Donald Weatherall has been handling negotiations with the long-term cabin renters.
“That was a position we were forced into because of the unreasonable demands of Stacey Wong and the others, that we were forced to either send them off and turn people into homeless people, or to follow through with our humanitarian mission, so that’s what we’re doing.
“So we’re going to let them stay at no cost at all, for a limited time, until they can find alternative housing.”
Though Wong said earlier he found no correspondence either to or from the late Valedmar Knudsen indicating acknowledgment or allowance of the church operating the commercial Kahili Mountain Park, Pendleton said church leaders in earlier conversations with Knudsen understood “that those operations were part of the deal,” something church attorneys are trying to prove.
“We are looking at all of our options. Our priority is to allow this lease that we’ve entered into to continue,” said Pendleton. “We want to keep our school there. It’s doing a tremendous service for the church and for the people of Kaua’i. We want to keep that school running.
“The cabin rentals were not our primary goal. They were part of the deal because they are necessary to help support and sustain this school. Our school is our priority, so we are going to look at all of our options to keep that school running and serving people.
“So we’re looking at all of our options. We’re not ruling out having a court definitively interpret this lease,” he said.
The apparent end of Kahili Mountain Park as an away-from-it-all destination on an away-from-it-all island hasn’t passed under the radar of annual park guests, nor has it been dismissed as trivial by Sue Kanoho, executive director of the Kaua’i Visitors Bureau.
“It’s sad that a visitor accommodation is no longer available, but we have to respect the terms of the original agreement,” Kanoho said.
The KVB office has received some calls from regular guests at Kahili Mountain Park, and The Garden Island received calls and e-mails from annual visitors as well.
“I have just heard that Kahili Mountain Park is being forced to shut down all operations,” wrote Kimberly A. Montague of Houston. “I must say this is a huge tragedy,” said Montague, who was married on Kaua’i three years ago and has stayed at Kahili Mountain Park several times since then.
“Each time we have stayed at Kahili Mountain Park and have had the times of our lives. We love the park specifically because it is tucked away and you feel like you could truly relax and get away,” she said.
“We also enjoyed staying there knowing that it was helping out the school. Education is the key to a successful life, and we were proud to be able to help,” Montague continued.
“I don’t even want to think what will happen to those children that will no longer be able to afford the education because of the park shutting down.
“We were even planning on returning to the island to stay at Kahili Mountain Park in May of 2004 to celebrate our fifth-year anniversary, but it just won’t seem the same,” she said. “My biggest fear is that the little paradise I looked so forward to visiting will turn into a place that will no longer bring me the pleasure I enjoy the most,” she lamented.
“On another note, I am outraged that the church would allow the shutting down of the park considering how many people will now be homeless.”
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
