KAILUA — Ten years after planting its first loulu palm tree on the Kailua Road median, the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle is ready to landscape the entrance to this beach town — but a costly obstacle must be overcome.

The group, which has created about a half-dozen landscaped oases in Kailua, was told it would need a $50,000 water meter for its latest project at the main entrance to Kailua. A similar project there cost about $57,000 10 years ago, including the water, but this one could be in excess of $120,000 if the price of the water meter can't be reduced, said Margaret Brezel, vice president of beautification for the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle. The cost of curbing would have to be added to that estimation as well, she said.

"We need to negotiate with (the Board of Water Supply) because it's just way too expensive for us," she said, adding that the organization is looking into other options and hopes it can reduce the cost of installation.

The Board of Water Supply said the cost of the water meter sounds about right and is standard for the type of project the group wants to do. Irrigation uses more water so bigger meters are required, said Su Shin, BWS spokeswoman.

"It probably would run close to that, but obviously they would have to provide us with more information ... before we can give them a firm figure," Shin said.

The plan calls for building an island surrounded by curbs in the existing median and planting two groups of loulu palms and naupaka bushes, echoing two other groupings that were planted 10 years ago, Brezel said. The groupings will be about the same size as the first two that are mauka of Hamakua Drive, she said.

Irrigation is necessary, especially during dry weather common to Kailua in the summer, Brezel said. The existing irrigation stems from beneath the bridge at Hamakua Drive, and if extended, wouldn't have enough pressure to pump water up the road's incline so a new source is necessary, she said.

The Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle hopes to negotiate with the Board of Water Supply to drop the cost.

The state Department of Transportation, which owns the road, said it has been advising the group on its plan.

"Our department's landscape expert is working closely with them," said Scott Ishikawa, DOT spokesman. The DOT isn't contributing any funding to the project but it supports the work of the group.

Formed in 1948, the group has spearheaded beautification projects, tree plantings and efforts to protect important view planes in the community. The Alala Point landscape project, the preservation of Boettcher Estate at Kalama Beach Park and tree plantings on Mokapu Boulevard, Kailua Road and Hamakua Drive are only a few of the interests the group has pursued.

"I think that over the 57 years there was easily $500,000 spent on projects, but perhaps half again as much on maintenance, repair and replacement plants," Brezel said, adding that the inmates from the Women's Community Correctional Center maintain many of the projects, saving the group thousands of dollars a year.

In return, the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle supports educational programs at the center, including plant propagation and care.

The group initiated the I Love Kailua Town Party to generate income for the beautification projects, some of which also received support from the city and various Kailua businesses.

Once this latest project is finished the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle hopes to complete the rest of the median, which ends at Castle Medical Center. The groups want to change the theme, making it more of a mountain landscape and plant trees such as the monkeypod, Brezel said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.