Recent Newsletters

About 80 people showed up on Saturday, February 9, with their gardening tools to help with the planting and grooming of what will be one of the biggest draws for East Oahu pups - Hawaii Kai Dog Park. .. (Read More...)

The vacant lot adjacent to the Hawai'i Kai Park and Ride has been bustling with activity for the past month since the City, along with private contractors, began working nonstop to build the Hawai'i Kai Dog Park.
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Question: What ever happened to the dog park planned for Hawaii Kai?
Answer: The dog park, which was first proposed in 2004, is under construction and should be opened by spring, according to the city Parks and Recreation Department.

The park, next to the state's Park and Ride on Keahole Street, will open thanks largely to a local nonprofit group, Hui Ilio, that entered a public-private partnership with the city, which needed more funding for construction costs. (Read More...)

After three years of planning and fundraising, the non-profit group Hui ‘Ilio Hawaii has finally got its permits to construct a dog park in Hawaii Kai.

The city Department of Planning and Permitting issued permits Sept. 26 for the construction of the park, which will be located at the vacant city-owned lot adjacent to the Hawaii Kai Park and Ride.With issuing of these permits comes approval for lots of work to be done, including grubbing, planting, irrigation and fencing.Work is expected to start in the middle of this month. (Read More...)

The Department of Planning and Permitting has issued building permits for construction of the Hawai'i Kai Dog Park, to be built on the vacant, city-owned lot adjacent to the Hawai'i Kai Park and Ride. The permits include approval of the grubbing, planting, irrigation and fencing plans. The first phase of work begins this month.

The dog park is being built as a public-private partnership between the City and local non-profit Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i. Hui 'Ilio has been spearheading the community effort to establish a dog park in Hawai'i Kai for the past three years. The group is responsible for providing the park fencing, benches, part of the landscaping, and other park amenities. The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), who will begin grubbing the lot this month, is also installing the irrigation system and will plant the grass. The Department of Urban Forestry will remove the kiawe trees and provide new trees from its nursery.

Hui 'Ilio's president, Elaine Dobashi, said, "The team at DPR has been fantastic to work with. Once we got all the permissions, they began regular meetings to work out a schedule for grubbing and construction. We can hardly believe the project is finally coming to fruition." This joint effort has taken the cooperation and coordination of many city departments, including the Department of Transportation Services, Maintenance Support Services, and the Department of Urban Forestry, as well as the services of many private sponsors. The project coordinator from DPR, Toni Robinson, "has really pulled it all together," said Dobashi.

Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i began its first organizational meetings in August 2004, and presented a dog park proposal to the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board a month later. After receiving a unanimous endorsement from the Board, Hui 'Ilio enlisted the help of the Department of Parks & Recreation and various city officials to pursue the necessary permissions and funding to build the Hawai'i Kai Dog Park.

The City Council subsequently approved a small capital budget for dog park planning and design, but did not include sufficient funds to cover construction costs. As a result, DPR invited the community to join the City in a public-private partnership to build the park. Hui 'Ilio has been working closely with DPR ever since and organized the community effort to raise funds and find sponsors for development of the dog park. Once the park is opened, it will be maintained by DPR, while Hui 'Ilio will recruit and train community volunteers to monitor the park.

The grubbing and construction plans were developed by Jim Lyon of Lyon Associates, a civil engineering firm, as a gift to the community. Dennis Hashimoto of DJNS Surveying & Mapping, Inc. provided a free topographical survey and perimeter staking, and Ben Lee of Brownlie and Lee, landscape architects, donated the irrigation plans. Because of these generous contributors to the planning and design phase, DPR was able to use its small capital budget to cover part of the construction and planting costs.

Hui 'Ilio is still raising funds, Dobashi said. "Our total budget to cover the fencing, fixtures, park benches and other amenities, and to pay for a small part of the landscaping, is over $57,000. We've raised enough to cover the fencing, but we still have a way to go before we can purchase the benches and other park amenities." Hui 'Ilio can be contacted via its website, www.hui-ilio.org or by emailing hui-ilio@hawaii.rr.com.

Question: What ever happened to the dog park planned for Hawaii Kai?
Answer: East Honolulu residents, trying to find a place for their dogs to play in since 2004, passed a major milestone Oct. 25 when Mayor Mufi Hannemann helped break ground at the 1.5-acre site designated for a dog park in Hawaii Kai.

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Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i's groundbreaking ceremony celebrated the future Hawai'i Kai Dog Park. Senator Fred Hemmings attended with his dog Makai, a Portuguese water dog, and Hemmings gave the blessing along with Reverend Kordell Kekoa. Councilmember Charles Djou introduced Mayor Hannemann, who praised members of the city for their private partnership with the business community. Senator Sam Slom and House of Representative, District 17, candidate Gene Ward congratulated Elaine Dobashi, president of Hui 'Ilio and all of those attending who worked effortlessly to establish the park. The dogs that attended were tail-wagging happy. (Read More...)

Over 80 volunteers turned out on October 28, 2006 to participate in a Work Party at the future Hawai'i Kai Dog Park. The work day, co-sponsored by the Department of Parks & Recreation and non-profit group Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i, was organized to begin clearing the land makai of the Hawai'i Kai Park and Ride to prepare the site for construction and landscaping.

October 28th was Make a Difference Day, a national day of volunteerism promoting support of grass-roots community projects. The goal for Saturday’s dog park work party was to clear the first of four sections of the one-acre park.

The work area had been marked off into small plots so that volunteers could be assigned their own plot where they would remove trash and dig out weeds . . . .
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October 25, 2006: The Department of Parks and Recreation and local non-profit Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i joined forces today to hold a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the future Hawai'i Kai Dog Park.

The dog park will be built on vacant, city-owned land adjacent to the Hawai'i Kai Park and Ride. Mayor Mufi Hannemann presided at the ceremony which included opening remarks by District IV Councilmember Charles Djou. MC Mike Buck introduced the major sponsors and donors who have contributed to planning, design and development of the dog park.. (Read More...)

Groundbreaking Planned for Hawai'i Kai Dog Park

The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) announced today it will break ground on the Hawai'i Kai Dog Park on October 25, 2006. Mayor Mufi Hannemann will join Parks department officials, private sponsors, and park supporters and their dogs, for the ceremonies at the makai end of the Hawai'i Kai Park and Ride at 9:00am. The dog park will be built on vacant, city-owned land adjacent to the Park and Ride. A few days after the ceremonial groundbreaking, the community will get down to work by participating in Make a Difference Day on October 28th, to help prepare the land for planting and construction.

The Hawai'i Kai Dog Park is a joint project of the East Honolulu community and the Department of Parks and Recreation. Due to insufficient funding in the Parks capital budget, DPR Director Lester Chang met with the Hawai'i Kai community last summer and invited them to join in a public-private partnership to help raise funds and find other resources to build the dog park. Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i, a local non-profit group, has spearheaded the community effort. Once the park is opened, it will be maintained by DPR and monitored by volunteers.

The park project was initiated two years ago when a group of East Honolulu dog owners approached the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board with a proposed location for an off-leash, public dog park. The dog owners’ group subsequently founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i, to promote public dogs parks and to promote responsible dog ownership.

Following the Neighborhood Board’s unanimous endorsement of the dog park proposal, the City Council approved a resolution, introduced by Councilmember Charles Djou last year, to designate the land parcel makai of the Park and Ride for use as a dog park. Hui 'Ilio members then testified on behalf of a Capital Budget amendment to include dog park construction funding in the 2006 budget. A small budget of $12,000 for planning, design and construction was approved by the City Council. The actual cost of construction was estimated to exceed $90,000.

Hui 'Ilio’s first challenge was to get design plans approved for the dog park. Jim Lyon of Lyon Associates, a civil engineering firm, offered his firm’s pro-bono services to develop the park plans. Dennis Hashimoto of DJNS Surveying & Mapping, Inc. provided a topographical survey and perimeter staking, and Ben Lee of Brownlie and Lee, landscape architects, donated the irrigation plans. Because of these generous contributors to the planning and design phase, DPR has determined it has sufficient funding in its capital budget to purchase irrigation materials for the dog park. Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i is leading the community effort to raise funds for park fencing and landscaping. Construction plans have been approved by DPR and are now being submitted to the Department of Planning and Permitting for final approval.

Hui 'Ilio Hawai'i is soliciting business sponsors as well as individual donors to help fund the construction costs. The group is asking contractors to include either donated services or discounts in their construction bids, as a donation to the community. The group is also calling for volunteers to participate in Make a Difference Day on October 28, 2006, from 8am to noon. Hui 'Ilio can be contacted via its website, www.hui-ilio.org or by emailing hui-ilio@hawaii.rr.com.