Testimonial for Paia

Aloha,

My name is Teri Larronde and have been the owner of Nuage Bleu in Paia since 1987.

I have a lot of safety and health concerns for Paia.

There have been violent acts that have happened in our county parking lot that’s at the beginning of town.

We have residents, employees that work at the businesses in town as well as visitors park in there.

Since the homeless are allowed to camp in the area next to the parking lot there as been a rash of violent acts and harassments. I know most of the homeless there have mental illnesses, but that’s not an excuse for violent acts toward people.

I hear everyday from employees that work in Paia and well as visitors that they have been harassed from homeless and asked for money to have there car protected in the parking lot. Also lots of comments about how much rubbish is all around.

Also, there is the sanitation issue.
They are using the area in and around the parking lot to defecate.
I know the mayor gave out mask there the other day and that the food bank delivers food there to the homeless, so is that making it ok for them to live there? County should at least put in Port a Pottys then.

I feel like the businesses and residents of Paia pay a lot of taxes to the county.

We need help taking care of the parking area , clean up , possibly fence it in, no loitering signs that are ENFORCED, Police officers doing drive by through parking lot 3-4 times a day if possible, surveillance cameras.

We used to have Tony Perez our town beat cop and the town was doing well then. No loitering on sidewalks, enforcing the 2 hour parking etc..
Is there anyway we could have another beat cop cruising our town and enforcing illegal activities? I sure would feel safer.

One more thing...
Anyway a new parking lot close to the businesses of Paia could be in the works? The ratio for parking with the amount of businesses in town is way off.

Thank You,
Teri Larronde

Aloha mai kākou, I kakoʻo Aha Moku O Maui on a volunteer basis and Iʻm not a paid lobbyist. A number of Lāhainā nonprofit organizations and Kānaka Maoli cultural practitioners contacted the Poʻo of Lāhainā moku and the Poʻo of Kāʻanapali moku asking those representatives to oppose the request from the Mayorʻs office to amend Maui County Code 3.38.020 ordinance relating to funds reserved for Mokuhinia and Mokuʻula. Aha Moku O Maui agrees that capital improvements to Kamehameha Iki Park are important HOWEVER funding for Parks should not be sourced from the Hawaiian Cultural Restoration Revolving Fund.

Testifying as an individual, I currently serve on a voluntary basis as the Lāhainā moku representative for Hui Na Manalima, a working group partnered with SHPD for reburial of iwi kūpuna who are currently under curation by SHPD. I was asked to serve this Hui after doing similar volunteer work for recognized descendants to burials in Lāhainā moku. Some of the work included the iwi kūpuna at Puamana Park, where the County Archaeologist helped the Parks Dept, Planning Dept shoreline team, and Corp Counsel navigate a complex, sometimes adversarial situation with SHPD and the hui of descendents and cultural practitioners.
- I support Councilmember Sinenciʻs proposal to increase funding for the Principal Archaeologist because the County would be best served by maintaining a salary commensurate with qualifications (there are state archaeologists at SHPD with lower qualifications and higher compensation), and also support funding for adding equipment or technology so the County spends less on hiring private sector services such as drones, and it would be great to add a position such as a level II Archaeologist or other support staff perhaps with experience in geomagnetism technology or operating LIDAR. 


- I support Councilmember Paltinʻs bill to amend County Code to support a vacancy tax ordinance (Subsection B of Section 3.48.305 Maui County Code)
. The community has been asking for this a long time and similar measures have had strong results in other places such as Vancouver which experienced a 15% reduction in vacant homes, where the majority of empty homes went back into the rental market according to Vancouverʻs Director of Financial Services M. Kerr.

- I live in an area identified as one of the high priority fire zones (south of Lahaina) but I oppose any public-private partnership which involves a developerʻs donation of parcel(s) in exchange for FRAGMENTATION of Agricultural land, and/or approvals for building outside the planned growth framework identified by the county planners & West Maui CPAC. The growth framework was already a huge compromise as there are many constituents who call for a total moratorium on new construction, especially outside of existing infrastructure. If we plan for adding fire services in the areas south of Lāhainā, we should not do so at the expense of urban sprawl which increases demands on water, fire, and emergency resources.

- I support continued funding for Maui Hub. Sometimes I log in and produce is sold out very quickly after the shop opens and I believe expanding warehouse space is crucial for growing capacity. As a westside consumer I benefit from the Hubʻs use of refrigerated trucks to make deliveries and support their ownership of such vehicles as a longterm cost-saving measure as opposed to ongoing lease expenditures.

Thank you for providing the opportunity for Mike Fogarty to testify on behalf of Maui Nui Marine Resource Council at this morningʻs meeting in support of the proposed County expenditure of $5.5 million for the acquisition of the property known as Māʻalaea Mauka.

Here is a written copy of his testimony for your files.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to either Mike or me if you have any questions or need more information.

Aloha my name is Kaho’iwai Kawa’a,

I am a math teacher from Molokai Middle School. I am testifying on behalf of BFED-1 in support of Maui Economic Development Boardʻs Economic Development Grant under the Maui County Office of Economic Development.”

The MEDB STEMWORKS program has been a great support to our Middle School 434 STEM class students for the past several years. They provided teachers with multiple professional development opportunities such as: learning how to implement STEMWorks innovative tools such as GPS Story Mapping; perusing through a STEMworks playground where teachers and students can actively tinker with the variety of stem hands on activities; working with circuitry creating our own greeting cards that light up when the button is pressed; coding ozobots to move across line patterns; and building computers from scratch then programing the computers to play MineCraft. We also learned how to use coding and 3-D drawing programs such as Scratch and SketchUp, all of which we were able to embed into our STEM curriculum. This has been a great way to expose our students to a plethora of 21st century STEM jobs that they will be prepared for in the future.

The STEMWorks program also gives students the opportunity to attend conferences and internships, wonderful opportunities for our Molokai students. These include the annual Hawaii STEM Conference, Girl Power events, and Summer Intern programs.

Please continue to support MEDB STEMWORKS programs for Maui County and Molokai.

Mahalo nui,

Kumu Kaho’iwai Kawa’a
Grade 8 Math Instructor
Molokai Middle School

Please see attached testimony.

Dear County Officials,

I would like to testify in favor of funding an agricultural grant specialist position. I am aware of Claudine San Nicolas being the grant specialist within the OED office. I worked as the Agriculture Specialist with OED for a decade so I am familiar with all of the positions within that office. So, Claudine cannot perform her job with pursuing just agricultural grants. A full time agricultural grant specialist will be able to source outside funding for many agricultural activities. The State of Hawai`i has had success with securing SARE grants. Also, we have many Hawai`i based foundations whose mission is to fund agricultural projects that can be educational in scope or provide for the development of sustainable agricultural products.

I farmed as a conventional fulltime farmer for over 32 years prior to my employment with the County of Maui. Over this time, I have seen the demise of the carnation flower industry, the great reduction in pineapple production statewide, and now the elimination of the last sugar company in the state. I have also witnessed the increased competition from SE Asia to South America growing crops that had flourished here for years. The increased shipping costs for Hawai`i based farmers and ranchers affects everyone in our industry. The one thing that has saved Hawai`ian agriculture has been the quality of products grown locally. For example, our tropical flowers can command top prices if the quality of our products remains high. But in order to insure that quality remains high, farmers and ranchers need assistance in dealing with new diseases and insect pests. As the development of our own Department of Agriculture moves forward, we can spend time to identify those agricultural issues that are not being handled properly and possibly hire new positions to assist with resolving those issues.

If you fund any agricultural positions for Fiscal Year 2022, the hiring of an agricultural grants specialist potentially can increase the budget set aside for the new County of Maui Department of Agriculture.

Kenneth Yamamura

Paia needs your help

Hi. I have been a business owner for 16 years in Paia. We need so much help right now with violence, homelessness, trash, etc. Here are a few things that I deal with regularly:

1. Trash everywhere
2 people sleeping on the property I rent 3. Feces on the property 4. Homeless people screaming at me and trying to intimidate me 5. I dont feel safe parking in the public lot frequently

Thank you for listening to some of the concerns we have.

Lanette

Sent from my iPhone

To whom it may concern:
Aloha,

As a current business owner and former long term resident of Ma’alaea these funds will complete the purchase of the Ma’alaea Mauka for conservation, watershed, storm water management and much needed fire assistance in our community. When fires happen we are a small community that constantly feels the impact anytime there is a fire on the Pali, with the land we could create a fire road to alleviate residents and business owners access to our homes. I feel this is greatly needed as Maui is always changing and growing and this is an amazing opportunity to protect the Land.

Thank you for your time

Kristine Peterson
132 Ma’alaea road
Wailuku, hi

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My name is Robin Leihuanani Kealiinohomoku and I am current student with FAM-Hawaii’s Farmer Union United.

Please continue to support this program in Maui so our community can move toward the direction of food sovereignty and sustainability. We need the FAM program to grow our own food. Through this program, we can attain and begin to move toward this goal and not be dependent on outside food sources to feed our island people.

Please cite to support our FAM program on Maui!

Robin Leihuanani Kealiinohomoku

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~Aloha, Leihuanani~ Phone:808-446-5637

Aloha mai,

My name is Kaui Krueger. I am a Kupa (Native) of Wailuku. I am the Cultural Programs Coordinator for Hui No Ke Ola Pono, Maui's Native Hawaiian Health Care System. I also, am a student of the Farming Apprenticeship Mentoring Program.

This is my testimony in support of this program. It is fantastic. Our leader Sara Gilligan is maika'i loa and all the instructors who teach us are truly inspiring. My life has improved from these lessons and my 'ohana has been growing more and more food ourselves. Naturally, our health has improved. Proper nutrition is what our Native community needs to address the health disparities that have plagued our people since the first arrival of white settlers in the 18th century.

I find this program to be vital and so enjoyable. Mahalo to the county for supporting it!

Me ka mahalo,
Kaui Krueger

Dear County Councillors,

I’m writing to support funding for a playground at the Eddie Tam park in Makawao. I grew up in upcountry Maui and have many fond childhood memories of playing at Eddie Tam. My sister and I spent a lot of time playing on the jungle gym and monkey bars the were on the field by the pavilion past the tennis courts.

Decades later, I now have a toddler of my own and was very disappointed to find out there’s no longer any kind of playground at Eddie Tam. In fact, there are no public playgrounds in Makawao at all. The closest one is in Pukalani and it is falling apart.

Eddie Tam is a huge park. There are lots of families that live in Makawao, Haliimaile, and upper Haiku. There should be a playground for young kids to play on. There are lots of very nice playgrounds downtown but other than the new one in Kula (which is often over-crowded) there is a dearth of options for upcountry kids.

Please allocate funding for a new playground for the youth of upcountry!

Thank you,
Jake Grodzinsky

Testimonies received from BFED Committee.

Dear Maui County Councilors,
I am a resident of Makawao and a caretaker for my 18 month old grandchild, I am amazed that there is not an appropriate playground for young children at Eddie Tam .
I encourage you to include funding for a playground at Eddie Tam in the 2022 budget. .
Thank you very much,
Alan Grodzinsky
Makawao HI.

Dear Maui County Councilors,
I am an Upcountry resident and grandparent of a 2 year old. I am writing to encourage you to include funding for a playground at Eddie Tam in the 2022 budget. Currently there are no public playgrounds in Makawao and all of the playgrounds within 15 min of Makawao have signs stating they are designed for children aged 5+. Our community of parents and keiki would greatly benefit from this enhancement of Eddie Tam. Please allocate funds to move this project forward. Thank you so much for your consideration and hard work on this year’s budget!
Thanks,
Susan Garland
1670 Olinda Road
Makawao, HI 96768

Aloha Maui County Council,

My name is Trinity Mead and I am writing to you today to express my gratitude and appreciation for the Hawaii Farmers Union Farm Apprentice Mentoring Program.

I cannot emphasize enough how thankful I am for this program and the knowledge and skills that I have gained so far(and we are only 2/3rds through!).

From pest control to seed saving to Korean Natural Farming, the skills that we are learning through this program are going to allow us to grow more food for our communities, bring life back to the depleted soil, positively impact the ecosystem and help us continue working toward a sustainable future for Hawaii. Its is more important than ever to carry on these skills for future generations and to ensure food security and sovereignty.

I whole-heartedly support this program, all of the amazing mentors, and everyone who contributes to the FAM program and HFUU.

Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ‘Āina i ka Pono
"The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness"

May we as stewards of this Earth continue to care for each other and the planet.

Thank you for taking the time to read my testimony.

Love & Aloha,
2021 FAM student,
Trinity Mead

(Please feel free to use this testimony any way you would like, as long as my name is mentioned. Mahalo!)

Aloha,

My name is Lori Feiteira and I am a current FAM participant. I would like to express my gratitude for this program and the importance of its continuation. I am in it to learn more from those farming the land I want to farm. I have very little experience but the knowledge I've gained in the last three and a half months makes me so excited for the future.

I am a Native Hawaiian and I work for a Native Hawaiian serving organization working to improve the health of our Native Hawaiian community and one way is connecting us back to the land. Getting our hands dirty and working the land growing native medicine and food crops. This is a project Hui No Ke Ola Pono is working toward and I am fortunate enough to be a part of it.

The FAM program is giving me a glimpse into the wonderful world of farming with the great mentors, program director and assistant and fellow program participants. It is guiding each of us toward our visions of a better, more diverse, enriching future for Maui.

Mahalo nui loa for this awesome opportunity.

Lori Feiteira

I support full funding for Hui No'eau Visual Art Center's Art with Aloha & Youth and Family Programs, which are listed as line items in the Mayor's proposed FY22 Budget.

This year, Covid has completely disrupted arts education in schools. I worry that the coming school year may be worse, as fundraising efforts that typically provide the arts programs have been adjusted & island families might not be able to donate/participate as they have in the past. It is more important now than ever to have financial support from the county. During the 2020-2021 year, many elementary schools have not provided art classes, due to restrictions and other challenges. The Hui No'eau Visual Art Center has worked hard to bridge that gap, by offering virtual field trip experiences with specialized supply kits. I am hopeful that with the county's support, we will be able to reach just as many, or even more underserved students next year.
This years art projects were designed to spark curiosity in animals and endemic species on Maui, promote environmental stewardship, and provide self reflection. All while integrating grade level curriculum.

Our full day, on campus program offered during school breaks, allowed parents to work, which helped our devastated economy. For other parents it provided much needed respite, enhancing mental health and strengthening ohana. Funding for this is also more important than ever, as we are restricted to enrolling a fraction of the students we used to accommodate.

Despite this covid disruption, our presence has remained in preschools through virtual field trips, and we've provided monthly uplifting art experiences within homeless shelters. It has been more costly and time consuming to create lessons in a virtual format and prepare & pack supplies indiviually, but the community response drives us.

Arts education leads to creative, well rounded, complex thinkers. Through the diverse programs available at the Hui N,o'eau Visual Art Center, our local community will continue to creatively analyze and communicate feelings about the world around us, invent useful and beautiful products and solutions, inspire and challenge others to reflect and grow, perpetuate Hawaiian culture and crafts, elevate those experiencing hardship, and continue providing arts integrated experiences for public school children. I humbly ask for the County of Maui's support in enhancing our community through arts education and funding the Hui No'eau Visual Art Center's programs. Mahalo!

Julie Matheis
Art Instructor at Hui No'eau

I am in support of full funding for Hui No‘eau Visual Art Center's Art with Aloha and Youth & Family Programs, which are listed as line items in the Mayor's proposed FY22 Budget.

My name is Annie and I am a Teaching Artist with the Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center.

The Hui's youth art programs vital for Maui Youth because they provide a way for children to express their thoughts, perspective, emotions, and process the world around them in a unique and creative way? Drugs and alcohol are sadly widespread throughout the islands. If more children find creative means of processing emotions and connecting with others, they will be less likely to become addicted to drugs and abuse alcohol.

Cultural programs are important for our community because it allows children to form a deeper relationship with Maui. The more people are in tune with their surroundings, the more they can make positive changes currently or in the future. If you care about where you live, you treat it with respect. The youth can find positive solutions for recycling trash, mitigating waste, using renewable energy, growing food, and developing incredible jobs and unique industry throughout the islands.

How do the Hui's art programs benefit the youth in so many ways. In my classes, I have seen changes in confidence and self-esteem. They children make friends feel a sense of belonging, peace, and joy when they do art. They’re so excited to learn and share with other children in their communities and their families as well. The parents are grateful to have a place where their children can grow a broader understanding of art and the process of creating and experimentation. This helps benefit the realms of science, engineering, education, medicine, and much more. If you are an artist, you can think for yourself which is essential for living a healthy, well-rounded, and wisdom-guided life.

I humbly ask for your support and to continue funding Hui No‘eau’s programs.

Sincerely,

Annie Macpherson

MTurner
Haiku
Writing in support of the hub. A great resource to the community... we sell and shop weekly.
Mahalo

Testimony attached