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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0338.000 1998-2000 Alice L. Moon 121 Lokoaka Street RE_C _ ~ V ~ ~ Hilo, HI 96720 ~ ' - 933-1905 (ohff'ce) ~99 JUN 16 P17 1 13 COUI~Ii'~ c~„ - 000NfY Of= HA1N~111 June 16, 1999 Councilman Dominic Yagong, Chairman County of Hawaii Public Works and Parks Committee 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, HI 96720 Dear Councilman Yagong, I am deeply concerned with the concept currently being considered by Mayor Yamashiro to move the East Hawaii Cultural Center located in Downtown Hilo at 141 Kalakaua Street to the JC Penney building in the Kaiko'o Mall. After reading the Hawaii Tribune-Herald article in yesterday's paper, you may be aware that this is a very emotional issue, you may not be aware, however, of some of the background on this issue. Thank you for taking a few minutes of your valuable time to consider the following. Last year, when I was asked to sit on the Board of the East Hawaii Cultural Council (EHCC -the body which, among other things, manages the East Hawaii Cultural Center), my father's legacy was used as a motivational tool to inspire me to join the board, which I did. Please indulge me as I recollect the memory of my father, Carl Moon, and what he did for the EHCC and the center. His story is but one among the hundreds which detail the thousands of hours and dollars that our community has contributed to the center over the last eighteen years. In the early 1980s my father was one of the many who was active in turning the Old Police Station, which was originally scheduled by the County to be condemned and demolished, into a thriving center for culture and arts. He and many others spent long hours developing, planning and working to renovate the building. Hundreds of people from all walks of life, from diverse ethnic, social and economic levels and backgrounds, have supported and continue to support the efforts of EHCC at the center. Comm. No. 3 3 S1 File No. F ( N Ref, To: fISED ~ Ref. Date. '~N 1 8 199. I'd like to provide some numbers and make a very conservative estimate as to how many hours my father put into the council 2nd the center. At 10 hours a week (more often than not it was close to 40 hours a week) multiplied by 52 weeks, he put in at least 520 hours a year. With an _ estimate of his salary as an associate professor of English at the University of Hawaii at Hilo (where he taught from 1960 until his retirement in 1983) of let's say about $30 per hour multiplied by 520 hours, the value of his time spent helping the center to grow would equal $15,600 per year for a period of at least five years. The total dollar estimate of the blood, sweat and tears my father put into that building in just five years equals $78,000. He spent even more time working for the center up until his death in 1996. His is only one example of what type of commitment has been and continues to be illustrated at the center. Frances Sherrard, who dedicated much of her life to the center, not to mention hefty financial contributions, is another clear example of someone making a huge investment in the center. The 6/15/99 Hawaii Tribune Herald article regarding the potential relocation of the center, quotes the mayor's spokesperson Marcia Reynolds as saying that the EHCC board was told "there were other ideas for the building and that they should maybe look around." The EHCC board and the community at large is essentially being given the message that all the time, talent and money (thousands and thousands of dollars) invested by the hundreds of people who have been involved means nothing. I'm being given the message that my father's legacy means nothing. While the article noted our EHCC Chair Vicki Rohner as saying that we see 15,000 visitors every year at the center, it did not cite the thousands of volunteer hours and thousands of cash dollars invested by our community into the creation, management and upkeep of this beautiful historic building, not to mention the programming we provide to the community. It did not cite the Young At Art program which celebrated its eleventh year last April, a program which receives hundreds of entries every year from young people aspiring to improve their lives through art. Eleven years multiplied by (a conservative) 300 entries per year equals over 3000 children in our community, in your community, whose lives have been positively impacted by the center. The article did not cite our Big Island Slack Key Guitar Festival, now in its tenth year, which has attracted crowds of up to 2000 people. Admittedly, and thankfully, the county has supported many of our ventures, including the Festival (the mayor himself has made personal contributions to that event), for which we are truly grateful. But make no mistake, the lion's share of time and money invested in the center and its programs has come from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and from community, from people like _ Frances Sherrard, and my dad. Our investments need to be acknowledged and rewarded, not turned away as "nothing in 20 years." I would suggest that rather than relocate us, the mayor, through your Public Works and Parks Committee, continue the negotiation process which was started last year to renew our lease at 141 Kalakaua Street. After all, we did go into the lease with the understanding that it was renewable and our investments are strong proof of our commitment and our desire to continue providing exce4lent and varied cultural offerings fo our community. If you would like to further discuss this matter, please contact me at any time. Please, help us to protect our investments and our I~gaeies at the East Hawaii Cultural Center. Mahalo, /~iJ Gce L. Moon cc Mayor Stephen Yamashiro Members, Hawaii County Council Members, EHCC Board of Directors Genf Tao, ea~i~or, Hawaii Tribune-Herald