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Committee debates park fees and dedicated funds to support maintenance
Summary
The committee reviewed companion bills to allow DPR to set certain park fees by administrative rule and to create two revolving funds for parks maintenance and botanical gardens; DPR supported the concept but asked for technical fixes and the bills were amended and postponed for further work.
Committee Chair Tupula presided over a lengthy discussion March 31 on two companion measures that would let the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) collect and use fees to support proactive park maintenance and botanical-garden operations.
Laura Thelen, DPR director, told the committee that a predictable revenue stream is needed to move the department from reactive repairs to scheduled asset management. “If you have a dedicated revenue stream that you can plan on from year to year, then you can go ahead and set up a master agreement to do certain actions,” Thelen said, citing needs from mower and playground replacement to restroom upkeep.
Thelen proposed keeping rulemaking authority for many fees to allow flexibility while protecting residents. She recommended treating botanical-garden entry or parking charges similar to Hanauma Bay’s model — fees targeted at visitors while exempting kamaʻāina — and stressed that administrative rules require public hearings and review by the state Small Business Regulatory Review Board.
Council members asked for guardrails. Council member Kehaina said she supports the concept but is concerned about delegating fee-setting authority and urged explicit protections so local residents would not be charged. Council member dos Santos Tam and others pressed for neighborhood input on garden-fee changes; the committee chair said the bills would be refined to reflect those concerns.
Bill 32 would amend Revised Ordinances of Honolulu provisions on fees and charges for parks, recreational facilities and botanical gardens. Bill 33 would establish two special revolving funds — a Parks Maintenance and Recreation Services Revolving Fund and a Botanical Gardens and Urban Forestry Revolving Fund — and specify flows for certain revenues. DPR proposed technical amendments: preserve existing concessions managed by the Department of Enterprise Services, deposit only private grants into the special funds (leaving federal and state grants in central city funds), and consider an explicit proportion of transient accommodations tax (TAT) revenues if the council chooses to assign them.
The administration requested changing Bill 33’s effective date to July 1, 2027, to allow time to set up the accounts and coding. The chair agreed to amend both bills to incorporate DPR’s technical language and postponed them to a later committee date for further amendment and neighborhood consultation.
The committee did not take a final vote on policy or fees; the measures were amended to hand-carried CD1 versions and held for additional work.
Ending: The bills were amended to CD1 language and postponed to dates to be determined by the committee chair so DPR and council members can negotiate technical edits and local input.
