KANE'OHE — A second request by the city to transfer the Ha'iku Stairs to the state recently was turned down, leaving the disposition of the 3,922-step climb up in the air.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann made the request to Gov. Linda Lingle in a Sept. 11 letter, and Lingle declined the following month.

"This basically sends us back to the drawing board to consider what options to pursue," said city spokesman Bill Brennan, adding that funding for a security guard at the stairs is about to run out.

The historic stairs were built as a World War II access to radio equipment, and the public was allowed to climb there until 1987 when the facility was closed for refurbishing at a cost of $875,000 in 2002. It was never reopened, which led to trespassing and other problems.

Since completion of the repairs, the city has come close to opening the stairs several times but kept running into problems, the biggest of which has been access. Having several landowners in the valley complicated the access problem.

While working through this issue, trespassing became so extensive that neighbors were pleading with officials to intervene, close the trail permanently and tear down the stairs.

Supporters continue to say that opening the stairs and providing access and parking would end the neighbors' problem.

Meanwhile, the city has been spending about $1,500 a month to keep a guard at the site to stop hikers. The number of people turned away or cited was not immediately available on Friday.

"I think we have enough money to keep a guard there through March," Brennan said.

In his letter, Hannemann said the city doesn't have the experience or expertise to operate and manage the nature hiking trail.

"Prior to finalizing a decision on the disposition of Ha'iku Stairs, I wanted to provide a last offer to transfer ownership of Ha'iku Stairs to the state for inclusion in the Na Ala Hele Statewide Trails and Access Program," Hannemann wrote.

Peter Young, director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which manages the Na Ala Hele trails, said the Ha'iku Stairs doesn't fit into that program.

"Our Na Ala Hele trails are essentially nature trails out in the wilderness," Young said. "They're not manufactured stairs going up the side of a mountain."

Brennan said he thought the city would have to make a decision about what to do with the stairs before formulating the city budget, which must be submitted at the beginning of March.

One option the city has considered in the past was to have a community group operate the facility, but that would have to include a partnership for operations, maintenance and liability, he said.

The Friends of Ha'iku Stairs was interested in the concept several years ago but it never materialized as the city struggled to resolve access issues, said John Flanigan, a member of the Friends. The Friends maintain the stairs three or four times a year but aren't pushing to open it, Flanigan said.

"We really don't have anything that we can push because access is the problem," he said. "Unless there's access, then nothing else works."

Although hikers don't have access to the valley, other people may soon be able to go there. A charter school is leasing Ha'iku Valley land and buildings owned by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and Ko'olau Foundation, a community group, is proposing to set up a cultural preserve in the valley, Flanigan said.

"If those things happen, clearly there has to be access to the valley," he said.

In declining the mayor's offer, Lingle wrote in an Oct. 4 letter, "It is our understanding that the nonprofit community organization Friends of Ha'iku Stairs is prepared to take over the responsibility for the operations of this city facility. As you move forward on management of this facility, we encourage you to contact and work with the Friends of Ha'iku Stairs."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.