HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0693.001 1996-1998
From David L Bi9elew To' John 4ay Dbte C `J= G 36 CO Pf~i Page 2 of 2
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Phone. I CPi[~~ e„~- ,.i ~ ~i
~ February 15, 1998
Hawaii County Councilman John Ray
25 Aupuni St, Room 209
Hilo, HI 96720
Dear Councilman Ray:
As you may recall, I spoke to you about sur~e;i access through Spencer Beach
Park and followed up with a letter copied to Gera g~~~, 1'r,~shida. Since that time, I have
been denied access to the ocean through the be=~;.I l:~ark several times. One of the life
guards told me the county considered it a safety i~.•,. .and has a fear of liability with a
mix of swimmers and hard surf equipment (as opl:c<_rtd to soft boogey boards).
This past weekend, the surf offshore from c l:f r7rers +nres the highest of the
winter. I went there, and found pulled up on the l:r r~ 'n. 3 full sized outrigger canoes. 2
large double hulled sailing outriggers, and nume~.c;.: '~:ayaks. The beach had the usual
weekend crowd of kids in the water. There was ~ !i~"cguard on duty,
I asked what was going on, and apparen'~I~~ ~ beach park was being used by
permit by a private group, but still open to the pnl~i ii~ere appeared to be no problem
with the mix of watercraft and swimmers. The I.°x i'Is~es used the beach to launch and
retrieve their craft, and did not tarry in the shallc~.~:~~ ~ ~I sere the kids were playing. Even
with the large surf offshore, the beach break ~nra: ' ~ it 5 inches high.
I am becoming most resentful of this situ it~• p~,irticularly since I jr.ist sent in over
a thousand dollars in property taxes. It's my unc._ larraing that the parks department is
a public organization and funded by people like: i„ III absurd to tell me I can't put a
piece of surfing equipment in the water at a put'. ' arch to paddle out to the surf, then
give a permit to a private group to load the beoc l I-~•rge heavy craft. It's even worse
not to have a lifeguard on duty.
Also, I don't buy the county fear of liabillh~ ~'~c ,ry when they don't Ewen provide
lifeguard service on week days. Since the rule is. r~inistrative in nature, Yoshida can
very easily memo his employees to allow surfer ;~s through the park ~rrithout having
to go through some complicated public hearing r. - a> If I don't hear something
positive on this matter soon, I will go public witl-i I ~ to the local newspapers. and will
get the local surfing organizations involved.
Since l
.
~L 21 V'~ ;IneOW
cc George Yoshida, Director of County Park:: ration
x4 ~ 93. o /
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w-0t. ~ _ FEB 1 8 1998