The Stables vs Hawaiian Shores COMMUNITY CENTER

WATCHDOG © 2011

WATCHDOG © 2011

Since 2005 this controversial topic has seen its ebb and flow. A long time iconic symbol of a once thriving equestrian center and a community gathering place of years gone by, this now dilapidated building riddled with termites and suffering extreme decay has once again hit its ‘flow’.

The building has been so unsafe that it had to be abandoned for use several years ago. The only ones who have legitimate access have been the staff and the occasional Director. 

In 2008 the Board of Directors continued the discussion of how best to deal with the building. With the potential liability factor  -- always lurking about -- the Board decided to send it to the Finance committee for consideration as to its eventual disposition.

Some in the community wanted to keep it, though they were infrequently at meetings and rarely offered their opinions. Some in the community wanted it addressed, somehow, but not left as it is, an eye sore to the community. Some wanted it demolished and to use the area for something else. The Puna Community Development Committee designated this area as a ‘village center’ and called it the ‘Hawaiian Beaches Village Center’. This of course met with some resistance as it is the Hawaiian Shores Community Association’s building/land. 

WATCHDOG © 2011

As the Finance committee seriously discussed their options and brought them forward to the Boards who served from 2008 through 2010 the decision was made to see what the demolition costs would be as there was a clear understanding of what the square foot building/renovation costs would be.  As it turned out, the demolition costs came in significantly less including the hazardous materials removal. In the fall of 2010 the Board entertained a report from one of its Directors, himself a builder, who had been very active and vocal with his feelings "the building should be demolished". In fact, the Finance Committee was certain this decision was the right decision primarily due to his persuasive remarks -- though not solely based on them. He was commended for a great report in getting the cost report put together and then asked for time to add in the removal of the hazardous materials. The Board agreed that they would wait until the next meeting for that report. That meeting came -- the report was not ready -- and went. The next meeting that came -- unbeknownst to the Finance Committee -- this director decided he’d changed his mind and now believed it would be reasonable to renovate the building. As the Board of Directors was coming to the end of the term the Board decided to wait until the next elected Board of Directors to allow for the final decision. This brings us back to the beginning of this discussion, 2005 and the controversial topic.

Many Members who were owners here in fall of 2005 may remember a very caustic flyer that was put into many mailboxes in the community in December of 2005 as an alert to the proposed MILLION DOLLAR COMMUNITY CENTER. The discussion was due to come up for a vote and discussion at the 2006 Annual Member Meeting. At that meeting chaos broke out over this topic and rippled through several months altering the dynamic of the Board and galvanizing an entire group of Members as activists against it. By May of 2006 the president resigned her post. [NOTE: This was not the reason for the resignation but was the catalyst that amalgamated an active group in opposition to the president]  As history would have it, while her Board of Directors discussed the Community Center and was supportive of moving forward with ‘a’ Community Center project, the president had visions of grandeur that would renovate the now abandoned and decomposing ‘Stables’ [which is the name the Community Center had come to be known by] but those costs would be in the ‘million’ dollar neighborhood. 

Back then discussion on how the MILLION DOLLAR building could be used included such things as an ‘emergency evacuation facility’ -- despite the fact one already existed --  Keonepoko Elementary School --  and is directly across the street from the Stables; a certified kitchen [this would most likely be to create an income for the non profit]; a retirement area for seniors – which makes sense as the community is a fast growing seniors area but many of the members felt there was another place for that at the Maikoiko St. Park; a place for Board meetings and other community gatherings which of course was the former use. All of these ideas shows originality, creativity and forward vision on the surface but the ‘activists’ had another view of the same project. It appears they believed it was merely a self serving venture designed to profit the president and her employer, a builder, [the million dollar tag] and be the first anchor to a larger vision for the community which would eventually lead to $1500 annual assessments designed to rid the community of the ‘riff raff’ [READ: modest to lower income families - a statement recently affirmed by one who was present during the discussion] while developing a rural seniors retirement community in East Hawaii. Thus, with the departure of that president and the ultimate change in people and attitudes to that and succeeding Boards the topic of the Community Center met with objections from all sides when the discussion of spending ‘any’ money on it came about.  

WATCHDOG © 2011

Now fast forward to the fall of 2010 when the ‘builder’ [now the chair of the Finance Committee] -- who was responsible for the updated report on demolition including the hazardous materials -- decides he has forsaken his previous strong opinion to demolish replacing it with a desire to ‘renovate’ instead. On Saturday, June 11, 2011, the Board approved $45,000.00 be used to tent and re-roof the Stables building, leaving the purpose for its future use to be decided later. No one from the ‘let’s not spend money’ crowd spoke up a word in opposition including those from that mind who now sit as Director’s on the Board. Every single Board from 2007-2010 has had to deal with those who attended the meetings questioning every decision and discussion -- every intent to spend a dime on anything having to do with the Stables. Many of those now sit at the Board Table. Except for one comment made two months ago -- during initial discussions about the overall price tag that may be run up on the finished Community Center of approximately $150,000.00 -- no one has so much as made a peep about the expenditures.

SOMETHING must be done with the building. But, did you know, NOTHING or VERY LITTLE would have to be done with it if the Boards and General Manager for decades leading up to its being closed for use [prior to 2006] would have exercised the least bit of maintenance to the building for all that time? No tenting? Why? Termites are a matter of life here. Why weren't the General Manager or the Field Manager not proactive enough to see the potential for destruction of this asset during their years of oversight? Why did the Boards not exercise their responsibility to ‘manage and maintain’ the building as the Governing Documents require? 

These questions have been asked. The answer? Apparently the practice was ‘low annual assessments’ to keep the local Members happy. While one cannot go back and undo the poor fiscal and structural management over the decades, perhaps the knowledge that now in order to bring this building back up to a standard to be used for anything may wind up costing in the ‘hundreds of thousands’ of dollars [though gladly not in the millions of dollars] it is money that could have been spent in maintenance and management over the decades. 

Caught between a hard place and rock, SOMETHING must be done. At least renovating it will put dollars in the pocket of some construction crew keeping a job or two for a couple of months and then ultimately provide a gathering place with updated facilities for the community’s use. 

What next? This is not the only decrepit asset this association is responsible to manage and maintain. For decades the ‘Maikoiko Street Park’ has also been in varying stages of decomposition as restroom facilities, a pool etc either did not get finished or were and were left to rot! In 2008 the Community Relations Committee began using the facility for exercise classes for members. By using it for Swap Meets and other events over the past couple of years under the auspices of the Community Relations Committee, the interest in developing the park has come to life. But, again, whatever is decided it will costs money. And again, each time the discussion to spend money came up the same ‘expenditure monitors’ from the community would chime in and berate the ideas and Boards for considering it when the ‘current’ park is so underutilized. Times and attitudes have changed with many of the 'expenditure monitors] seated on the Board a $5000 expense to put in new toilets and repairs to the fence around the hole in the ground that was supposed to be a pool seems ‘nothing' and 'quite doable’. Saturday, the ideas for use that have been discussed but pooh poohed seemed a reasonable alternative to leaving it lay ‘fallow’ while continuing to decay. 

The Watchdog is pleased to see forward motion being made in each of these projects.  Curiously, the very same individuals who opposed the million dollar community center and who have actively and verbally opposed any sort of progress and discussion of progress by the various boards from 2008-2010 now sit quietly by while each of these facilities are gaining momentum and appear to be heading towards resolution, albeit costly, and now laud the Board for ‘moving projects’ along while the former boards were ‘do nothing’ boards. It is comical to watch the self appointed historians who whip out their individual recall of history now engaged in revisionist practice. What is most amusing in all of this? Sadly, it is watching those who have acted willfully to impede any progression by former boards now initiate and advocate expenditures for these projects with little to no objection. 

Again, the Watchdog is pleased to see the way open for these projects. It is interesting that the boulders against this in the past have forsaken being an impediment and have become the bulldozer in full throttle moving monies from discussion to approval as they work their agenda. 

In the end, history notwithstanding, it looks as though stasis has finally been curbed and things may start to come back to life again. It does take money and it is in the bank, thanks to the foresight of Boards and the Director of Operations and Management since 2008 -- when annual assessments began to be raised to accommodate ‘depreciation costs’ and earmarked for savings in our infrastructure and reserve bank accounts, despite the constant complaining of some of the very people who were elected to the 2011 board and who are now able to put into motion their agenda! When it is all over, the previous boards can take pride in knowing they exercised fiduciary oversight as best they could and built the financial foundation for the next phase, the renovations. It is a community effort.