GOVERNOR LINGLE RELEASES $350,000 FOR COMPLETION OF KITCHEN AND RESTROOMS AT MOUNTAIN VIEW SENIOR CENTER

For Immediate Release:  August 16, 2005

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle has released $350,000 for construction of kitchen and restroom facilities at Mountain View Senior Center on the Big Island.  The expanded facility will provide a wide range of nutritional, recreational and social programs for elderly citizens living in the upper Puna District communities of Mountain View and Kurtistown. 

“We are glad to see this project receive the funding it needs to finish the center and benefit our seniors on the Big Island,” said Governor Lingle.

In 1999, the County of Hawai`i, which administers elderly programs at 24 centers around the Big Island, requested and received a grant from the Legislature to build the Mountain View Senior Center. That original $200,000 appropriation was used to help fund construction of a main hall and features such as access ramps and handicapped parking stalls.  The original project was completed in 2003, but the main hall remains underutilized because it lacks sufficient kitchen and bathroom amenities. 

The funds released by Governor Lingle will enable the Center to construct kitchen and restroom facilities as separate buildings that will be connected to the main hall by covered walkways.  Part of the funding will also go toward the installation of a septic system to handle wastewater.

The completed facility will allow for expansion and improvement of elderly programs and increase the number of participants in the center’s activities.  The facility will also be available for use by community groups for evening meetings.

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For more information, contact:
Lenny Klompus  
Senior Advisor – Communications  
Phone:  (808) 586-7708

Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone: (808) 586-0043