Seniors say don’t divert funds for programs

KAPA’A – Seniors urged the Kusaka Administration to continue to fund

recreational and educational programs rather than put more money into programs

serving seniors who are frail and homebound.

Through activity programs,

Kaua’i seniors will remain vital and energetic and live fuller lives, Althea

McCleery, a senior citizen from Anahola, told Mayor Maryanne Kusaka and her

cabinet members at a Tuesday night meeting at the Kapa’a Neighborhood

Center.

Kusaka held the meeting to get input from residents on their

priorities for next year’s county budget. About 15 people, mostly seniors,

attended.

McCleery said it is a mistake for the Executive Office on Aging

with the state Department of Health to require counties to spend more funds

serving frail senior citizens.

“Money will be spent there rather than on

people who are going, seniors going, seniors not sitting in front of the

television and mesmerized by what is flashing in front of them,” McCleery

said.

But unlike other counties, Kaua’i County doesn’t have to change its

focus yet and can continue to implement recreational and educational programs

because there are funds to do so for the next two years, said Kealoha

Takahashi, a representative with the Office of Elderly Affairs.

If the

seniors want to protect funds to continue the activity programs after 2002,

they must lobby the state Legislature, Kusaka said.

For this fiscal year,

nearly $128,000 in federal, state and county funds were appropriated for

senior programs on Kaua’i, Takahashi said. The county has no plans to cut its

share, about $42,000, Kusaka said.

The county should seek more federal

funds to support elderly programs, one elderly resident recommended.

That

is already being done, not only for programs for seniors but for programs

serving the community at large, Kusaka said.

In addition to beefing up

programs for the elderly, more police patrols should be deployed along the

shoreline in East Kaua’i, recommended Rosemary Woodyard, a senior citizen from

Wailua.

Many seniors take walks along the shoreline, but they won’t walk

there if they feel threatened, she said.

Kapa’a businesswoman Anne Leighton

said she and Kapa’a residents feel the Kaua’i Police Department has done a good

job in deterring crime in East Kaua’i. She said she welcomes the installation

of a police substation by the Kapa’a Beach Park.

During the meeting,

Kapa’a resident Glenn Mickens challenged Kusaka’s proposed 14.5 percent salary

increase for her and at least 30 other appointees and department heads.

A

key issue facing the county, said Administrative Assistant Wally Rezentes, Sr.,

is establishing a solid waste management plan to dispose of the island’s

garbage.

The county has received proposals from 23 companies for the

disposal of island debris, and it may take up to six months for the county to

select the right technology to do the job, Rezentes said.

One proposal,

plasma arc technology, which essentially vaporizes debris, would be too costly

to use, he said.

Kusaka listed some of her top priorities:

* The

relocation of county departments into the old Gem’s Store at the Lihu’e Civic

Center once the building is renovated.

* Sale of up to $28.5 million in

bond funds for 13 construction projects, including a new headquarters for the

Kaua’i police, the county’s Civil Defense Office and the county Prosecutor’s

Office, a computer system for the county’s Real Property Tax Division, work at

the Kekaha Landfill and construction of curbs and other improvements related

to American with Disabilities Act requirements.

* A 1.8 mile bicycle and

walking pathway and campgrounds at Lydgate Park.

* Demolition of an old

seawall at Brennecke Beach.

* The $5 million “Gateway” project to beautify

roads by the Lihu’e Airport. It calls for planting of thousands of flowers and

plants along Kapule Highway and Ahukini Road.

* Improvement of the water

safety program to reduce the risk of drownings.

* Construction of new

soccer fields.

Kusaka has scheduled another community meeting on Thursday

at the Kilauea Neighborhood Center and others will be held at various locations

on the island. For more information, call 241-6564.