FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                              
July 31, 2007

Release No. M-76-07

MAYOR SCHEDULES CLEANUP OF HALEIWA ALII BEACH PARK; CITY TO CLOSE THOMAS SQUARE AUGUST 20-24 FOR MAINTENANCE; NIGHT-TIME CLOSURES

BEGIN AUGUST 24

 Haleiwa Alii Park

            Mayor Mufi Hannemann and his cabinet will join members of the North Shore community on Saturday, August 4, for a cleanup of beach parks on the North Shore.

            Volunteers will meet at 7:45 a.m. at Haleiwa Alii Beach Park, on the Mokuleia side of the Haleiwa Boat Harbor.  Volunteers will work through the morning and then the mayor and his cabinet will be available to talk story and have lunch at the park.  Parks scheduled to receive attention that morning include Haleiwa Alii Beach Park and Kaiaka Beach Park.

            Mayor Hannemann said, “We’ll be joining the community to spruce up our parks.  Last year, we did a tremendous job with Pokai Bay and other Leeward Coast parks and expect to repeat our success on the North Shore.  As we did in Waianae, we’ll be removing trash, painting picnic tables and comfort stations, and beautifying these parks.

            “Parks are an important part of our Oahu, our home. We all want them to be accessible, clean, and well-kept, to reflect the beauty of our island and our responsibility as stewards of these public facilities.  I know the residents on the North Shore share in this love for the aina; together, we can make a significant difference.”

            Persons interested in helping should report to the aloha tent at Haleiwa Alii Beach Park before 8:00 a.m. on August 4, or call the Department of Parks and Recreation, at 692-5725.

Thomas Square

The City will close Thomas Square beginning at 12:00 a.m. on Monday, August 20, until 3:00 p.m. on Friday, August 24, to enable City workers to complete extensive maintenance of the park, City Parks and Recreation Director Lester Chang announced today.

Following the overhaul, the City will close Thomas Square nightly from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., beginning the evening of August 24.

The repair and maintenance will include thorough cleaning of all comfort stations and installation of new flooring; painting of the comfort stations, walls, and picnic tables; comprehensive landscape maintenance; evaluating all trees and pruning as necessary; repairing picnic tables and park benches; repairing irrigation systems and other infrastructure; and installing additional lighting.

The closure is part of the department’s “just-in-time maintenance” program that began with last year’s closure of Ala Moana Park.  Other parks have included Maili Beach Park, Pokai Bay Beach Park, Pupukea Beach Park, and Queen’s Surf.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann said, “Everyone agrees that many of our parks are in need of major clean-ups.  Those we’ve tackled with the ‘just-in-time’ program have never looked better.  Our goal is to keep shining all the jewels of our public park system.”

“As for the nightly closure,” said Hannemann, “we’ve had a very favorable public response to our closure of Ala Moana Regional Park, which we began closing in March 2006.  We hope to repeat that success with Thomas Square.”

Said Chang, “We’re putting the word out well in advance to give our park-users enough time to make alternate plans.  We want to provide safe, clean, well-maintained parks for all residents to use.  Parks should be safe and inviting for everyone to enjoy.”

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Contact

Dana Takahara-Dias, Deputy Parks Director, 692-5725

Lester K.C. Chang, Director, 692-5585