The Time has Come!
We need you to stand up publicly on Monday, July 21, for repairing and reopening the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium.
An open public meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. that evening in the Kaimuki High School cafeteria at 2705 Kaimuki Ave. Please mark that date on your calendar right now!
This two-hour meeting won’t determine the Natatorium’s fate, but it can get the conversation back on track.
Here’s the background:
Honolulu’s government wants to tear down the Natatorium. [Can you imagine? Demolish an official state war memorial?] Before it can act, the city is required by law to conduct an “environmental impact study.” That study must look at a range of options for the Natatorium site. A first step is to define what alternatives the study must consider and what questions it must answer.
WCP Inc., a planning firm working for the city, has asked some of us what we think those alternatives and questions are. The Friends of the Natatorium gave WCP a detailed response. We also told them face-to-face that an objective, thorough review will show it’s smarter to save the Natatorium than to pull it down. Environmentally smarter; financially smarter; smarter in any number of ways.
At the July 21 meeting, WCP will release its findings so far. It also will open the process to members of the general public for their views on what the EIS must address.
What You Can Do
That’s where you come in. Please attend. Join us, and our friends at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Historic Hawai’i Foundation. Insist on a fair shake for the “repair and reopen” alternative. You can say something like:
I welcome the Natatorium EIS process, but the preferred alternative must be preservation, NOT demolition of the War Memorial. Preservation is the most responsible choice financially and environmentally. It is also the choice that honors our veterans, respects our history, and enhances our future. Let’s repair and reopen the Natatorium.
There are some bullet points here that you can use, if you wish, to add to your statement.
You can also refer, if you wish, to the documents that the Friends, the NTHP and Historic Hawai’i Foundation submitted to WCP.
Thanks for your steadfast support for the Natatorium! Please let us know as soon as possible if you can be present. We will distribute Natatorium Rally T-shirts to our supporters to wear at this meeting and future events. Please let us know what size shirt you would like.
Mahalo and aloha!
More Things You Can Do to Help
Please share this post with anyone you think would like to come out to support the Natatorium on July 21.
If you cannot make it to the public meeting, please send your written comments to Mr. Derek Yasaka, President, WCP Inc., 99-061 Hoaha Way, Suite 208, Aiea, HI 96701. If you wouldn’t mind, please also share a copy with us.
And you can also buy a Natatorium T-shirt online to support the Friends and help us visually demonstrate the depth of support for reopening our national treasure.