County task force develops plan to clear homeless from Old Airport park

KAILUA-KONA — County Parks and Recreation Director Charmaine Kamaka doesn’t yet have a concrete strategy to reclaim Old Kona Airport Park from the homeless population that commandeered it through sheer numbers.

But the outline of a plan is beginning to take shape.

Under the direction of Mayor Harry Kim, the effort will begin with a two-day closure of the park for an extensive cleanup. No date has been set, but Kim said the administration is looking at the end of April.

Prior to the closure, the Office of Housing and Community Development will canvass the area to make the homeless aware they must vacate the premises, and at the same time will distribute outreach information from housing possibilities to rehabilitation.

Once a date is established, Kamaka will ask police to provide enforcement on the eve of the cleanup, evicting any homeless who refuse to vacate the park.

“This is not a beach cleanup program. This is to make this a better place to live,” Kim said. “If it’s a nice place to live, it’s a nice place to do business. If it’s not that, then everything else crumbles.”

Kim added the effort will include not only staff from Housing and Parks and Recreation, but also the departments of Public Works, Environmental Management, Police and Fire.

The two questions that remain after the plan is implemented, however, are how to keep the park clear of homeless after the sweep and where to send those evicted.

“One of the real concerns about the homeless is if you just go in and tell them they can’t be here anymore and they go someplace else, then you haven’t really solved the issue,” said Lance Niimi, assistant housing administrator.

Kamaka said if she can find the money, she will station at least one security guard in the park on a night shift. One man or woman won’t be able to corral dozens of homeless, but will be able to report their locations to police who can come in and evict on an as-needed basis.

“This (strategy) could also work at other locations,” Kamaka said. “(But only) if I can find the money in my budget. You’re taking from one place to give to another.”

Kim has been given estimates that between 50 and 70 homeless call one of a series of tented encampments throughout the park home. He conceded trying to move them all out without affecting other areas is a massive endeavor and there is not yet a clear answer as to where they’ll go.

“It’s going to be a continuous program developing different levels of housing assistance,” Kim said. “We don’t have much now.”

Londa, a homeless woman who calls the park home, said Monday that homeless in the park often are scapegoats for the problems there, claiming she’s seen locals who come to the park, leave it trashed, then blame it on homeless already stigmatized.

She also raised doubts about where people evicted would end up.

“Where you gonna go?” she posed. “There’s no place to go. The shelters are full. People are gonna end up in the streets.”

Housing will assume the leadership role for homeless outreach, and Niimi said while nothing is set in stone, there are new people in authority with new directives who are kicking around new ideas.

One such idea is developing an employment element to outreach efforts — trying to create opportunities for paid work for homeless to help them establish a sense of accomplishment and responsibility, as well as earn a little money and build trust between homeless individuals and county officials.

Niimi said he’s seen evidence of the efficacy of such an approach elsewhere, but couldn’t confirm any specific details of the outreach that will take place prior to clearing the park.

“We must assess this very well before we take action,” Niimi said. “But the other side of it is we have to be responsive to the public’s request.”

Niimi was referencing a meeting called by the mayor’s office last week that he and Kamaka attended, along with a representative of County Councilman Dru Kanuha, who represents the district in which the park is located.

A handful of concerned community members were the catalyst for the meeting after they reached out to several county officials to express their fears and disgust with the park’s current state of disrepair.

Margaret Smith-Pierce was one of those residents. She first started walking in the park in 1977, when she said it was “the hub for everything in Kona,” from concerts to hula performances to birthdays.

She said when she walks there now, she sees piles of rubbish everywhere and homeless encampments popping up along the beach, with nefarious goings on taking place in plain sight.

She added the point of the meeting with county officials was simply to pose the question as to why such illegal scenes and the accompanying health hazards were being allowed by the county.

But as Kim noted, the discussion is bigger than that now and the solution must be geared toward the root cause. He asked for volunteers interested in helping to call the Parks and Recreation Department at 961-8311.

Still, Smith-Pierce is doubtful the proposed plan will produce immediate results.

“I doubt this is going to be enough,” she said. “I think it’s going to have happen continually, over and over, before (the homeless) get the message that they cannot be there.”

Email Max Dible at mdible@westhawaiitoday.com.