Hawaii County is being offered a $600,000 state grant to buy land for a community center in Waiakea Uka.
Hawaii County is being offered a $600,000 state grant to buy land for a community center in Waiakea Uka.
Consideration of accepting the funds in on the County Council’s agenda for its meeting today in the Hilo council chambers.
Parks and Recreation spokesman Jason Armstrong said the funding also would be used for planning and design of the new facility.
The proposed location is a vacant 5-acre parcel on the Hamakua side of the existing Waiakea Uka recreation center on Ainaola Drive.
The land has an assessed value of $200,600, according to county property records.
Armstrong said there’s no estimate for the cost of construction or a project timeline because the center has not been designed.
He said the community center would host recreation programs for seniors and the general public.
“It’s a growing area there and there are no meeting rooms in that area,” Armstrong said when asked about the need.
“We don’t have a senior center or county meeting areas.”
The Kamana Senior Center is the only other facility of its kind around Hilo, he said.