(BIVN) – Repairs to a pavilion that has been shut down at Mahukona Beach Park could benefit from a recent Capital Budget re-appropriation by the Hawaiʻi County Council.

During a June 5th special council meeting in Hilo held in give final approval the County budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Kohala councilmember Tim Richards introduced a measure to re-appropriate the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Mahukona Beach Park Renovation project in the amount of $2.55 million.

The pavilion at Mahukona Beach Park has fallen into severe disrepair and remains boarded up and closed down.

According to a March 27 North Kohala Community Development Plan PW&R Group report, “Surety Kohala once prepared an Environmental Assessment for new restrooms but that project failed to materialize. We now need a new pavilion as well.”

“We need to again try to have the repairs / renovations / replacement as the priority on the CIP list of P&R,” the report stated. “We noted that this has been the #1 CIP recommendation by the NKCDP Action Committee for at least the past 11 years.”

Councilmember Richard’s move to re-appropriate funds into the Capital Budget was supported by the entire County Council.