Mayor Billy Kenoi, Chairman Dru Kanuha, Councilwoman Karen Eoff, Councilwoman Maile David and others ready to break ground Wednesday for the Alii Kai park project. (Image courtesy of Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation)

MEDIA RELEASE

Mayor Billy Kenoi and County Council Chairman Dru Mamo Kanuha joined other dignitaries and Kona community members Tuesday, Aug. 12, for a public blessing and groundbreaking ceremony for a new park that will be built in Holualoa’s Alii Kai Subdivision.

The 1.6 ­acre neighborhood park will feature a keiki playground, accessible bathrooms, parking lot, pavilion, lighting, fencing, a security gate, landscaping, and an irrigation system.

Work is expected to be finished and the new park opened to the public in March 2016.

“This is not just a park,” Kenoi said. “This is a puuhonua. This is a safe haven for our families.”

When completed, the park will be another example of Kenoi’s administration delivering new and improved recreational facilities across Hawaii Island.

Kanuha said it will provide recreational opportunities that did not exist when he was growing up in the Alii Kai neighborhood.

“You can bring your families and come and play here,” he said.

Kona­Ka‘u Services and Supplies Inc. has been hired to build the new park at 76­6183 Pakalana Road.

Kumu Keala Ching delivered a moving blessing to cleanse the land.