Aloha!

I’m writing in full support of the budgeted amount for Malama Hamakua Maui to continue its work at Peahi. I’ve been attending their clean-ups for many months and the man power behind them only works with the financial support to haul the trash away and maintain the work that is being done.

An area that for years has been over run and used as a dumping ground without any help is now being transformed through sweat and needs all the support it can get.

It’s also a major psychological boost to the community to see the positive community action in creating a healthy and welcoming space out of the unsafe former dumping and hangout place of those sick with addictions and mental illness.

Thank you for your time.

This comment is in regards to the Hamakualoa Open Space Preserve. The preserve is one of the very few publicly owned pieces of land in the stretch between Maliko Gulch and Hana. It contains three important gulches: Kaupakalua, Konanui, and Kuiaha, each of which contain many archeological sites. It was a highly populated area in pre-contact times. Malama Hamakua Maui is working to improve the Open Space for educational, cultural, ecological and public benefit. We encourage the County Council to keep funding the effort to save this treasure. Mahalo, Scott Werden, Malama Hamakua Maui.

I strongly support all the good that’s going on with this project! I have been helping myself for the past year and have seen immense change and would love to see continual growth and change in this area. Thank you for your time!

Testimonies received from BFED Committee.

Malama Hamakua Maui, in support of budget proposals in this Open Space Land Area.
Great things are happening in the Hamakualoa area, in thanks to many in partnership including Maui County Council, Mike Molina, Maui County Parks and Rec, other County branches and our entire community!
With your support a real difference has been made on all areas but especially Lot 1 of this county land with Malama Hamakua Maui, a non profit dedicated to its vision. During our monthly workdays we have residents and visitors filling at least three dumpsters with trash, tires, ect.
Please allow us to continue to Malama the area with your support! Mahalo

Testimony in Strong Support of Funding for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art (“HOA”)

My name is Wailani Villas-Boas and I was born and raised in Maui, Hawai'i. Mahalo for the opportunity to state my strong support of funding for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Arts in the proposed FY 2023 budget.
The Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art would provide long-overdue support for the culture and practitioners that make our home so special. Hula – a constitutionally protected traditional and customary practice– is not only integral to Kānaka Maoli, but the culture of Maui County, as well. It is a nexus for so many of our ʻŌiwi arts and practices to thrive. Over many decades, Hālau Hula and Kumu Hula have contributed to our community. They recognize the importance of environmental stewardship, educate ʻohana from keiki to kūpuna, tell and celebrate the stories of our home, and bring both joy and pride to our larger community. Cultural practitioners like Kumu Hula are experts and leaders of our community. The Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art would support and celebrate these arts and practices. An investment in Hula is ultimately an investment in community. Our island once again has the chance to be a leader for our state and global community. Providing a space dedicated to and designed through the lens of Hula creates a visible and reliable space for education, performance, preservation, and excellence of art and culture in our own home. Further, as a cultural center for our community and the world, the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art will foster pilina, inspire connection, and uphold cultural excellence. This space is not only an investment for the near future but will have lasting impacts on our community identity for generations to come. It is important that we fight to protect and expand our culture for generations to enjoy.

Mahalo for your service to our island home. Please vote to support full funding of the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art.

Mahalo nui,
Wailani

Molokai rural health

I would like to endorse the Molokai Rural Health Community Association and ask for continued support for the program.

My husband and I are both retired and have benefited from the generous services that the “Kupuna Program” offers. Many other older people that we know have also expressed their gratitude for the help, which has seen them through some difficult times.

Thank you for supporting and funding the Association this far, and hopefully it can
continue to make a difference in the lives of so many people on Molokai.

Sincerely, Nancy and Wren Wescoatt

Supporting our Kupuna Program

Aloha, my name is Mapuana Aquino and both my husband and I support this program here on Molokai. We find this program helps many of our Kupunas from all walk of life and there is something for them out there. I myself enjoy this program very much it keeps us older folks young at heart and keep on moving. Kuulei Arce and her team is doing a good job here on Molokai making sure we are doing well . I hope to see this program continue in our future while we all can make the best of our blessings 💕.

Mahalo and Take Care
Mapuana Aquino

Molokai Rural Health Community Association

As an elderly person, I would like to let you know how important the Molokai Rural Health Community Association is to me. In August 2021 I developed a heart condition and could do little for myself. Molokai Rural Health Community Association provided house cleaning, podiatry and Lomi Lomi. I also received gift certificates for gas and food. I hope these services will continue to be provided to the kapuna on Molokai.

Thank you,
Marcia McKinzie
808-646-9174

April 7, 2022

RE:  Testimony in SUPPORT of the Proposed Fiscal Year 2023 Budget for the County of Maui – Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art

Aloha Chair Rawlins-Fernandez, Vice-Chair Paltin and Members of the Committee:

My name is Mariah Mossman, and I am a resident of Pukalani, Maui.  I am offering my testimony today in strong support for the funding of Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art.  

In 1991 I was first introduced to hālau when I was given the opportunity to learn from Kumu Hula Nona Kaluhiokalani. Throughout the years I studied Hula under her, we practiced at many different places. The love she had for teaching, sharing, and perpetuating Hawaiian culture was never ending. Finding a place to teach though was at times challenging. We practiced in many different places like the original Kihei Community Center, the old Maui High Gym in Paia, Baldwin Beach, her carport in Makawao, and various other places around the island. I was dedicated to learning and made the efforts to be at practice. At times though it was a strain on my parents to get me to the varying places. I can only imagine the strain on my Kumu Hula trying to coordinate these places with all of her students.

To have a community facility where Kumu Hula and Kumu of other ʻŌiwi arts can permanently have a place to teach, will be so impactful for our community. I do not believe I would be the person I am today had I not had the opportunity to study Hula with Aunty Nona. From that foundation I later went on to dance Hula professionally from Hawaiʻi to Japan. The lessons I learned still serve me and have helped me to become a conscious and compassionate person for those around me. The opportunity to give our community a space to grow, learn, and perpetuate Hawaiian culture is important for everyone. Our Kumu Hula have knowledge that has been passed down to them for generations, they are unique people who have dedicated much of their time to learning our past, they deserve the space to create our future.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify and for your service on the Maui County Council. 

Respectfully,

Mariah Mossman, RN

Aloha mai kākou,

My name is Saydi ʻAʻohe mea ʻimi a ka maka Bulosan and I was born in Wailuku, Maui and raised in Waiehu, Maui. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify in strong support of funding for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Arts in the proposed FY 2023 budget.

The Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art would provide long-overdue support for the culture and practitioners that make our home so special. Hula is integral to the culture of our community. Hula has become an essential activity, even lifestyle, to many ʻōlapa. The art of hula is beyond traditional movements. It is the pilina we build with our Hawaiian culture. It's the deep connection we feel to our kūpuna. It's the continuous moʻolelo and ʻike that we learn. The Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art would support and celebrate the arts and practices of our home.

An investment in Hula is ultimately an investment in community. Our island once again has the chance to be a leader for our state and global community. Providing a space dedicated to and designed through the lens of Hula creates a visible and reliable space for education, performance, preservation, and excellence of art and culture in our own home. Further, as a cultural center for our community and the world, the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art will foster relationships, inspire connection, and uphold cultural excellence.

“Hula is the language of the heart and therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people.”
-King Kalakaua

This space is not only an investment for the near future but will have lasting impacts on our community identity for generations to come. Mahalo for your service to our island home. Please vote to support full funding of the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art.

E ola i ka hula!


Mahalo nui,
Saydi ʻAʻohe mea ʻimi a ka maka Bulosan

Support
I support the funding for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art in the proposed FY 2023 budget. I was born here on island of Maui and started my journey of learning my culture by hula . I think having a place specifically for the learning of our culture and for Kumu to pass on their knowledge to others is way over due. We do live in Hawaii so this just makes so much sense. By hula I’ve learned so much more about our culture more than what I have ever learned just growing up and living in Hawaii . The knowledge of our culture should be top priority for the preservation of Aloha!
Ricky Briones
Resident of Makawao

I support the funding for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art in the proposed FY 2023 budget. I was born here on island of Maui and started my journey of learning my culture by hula . I think having a place specifically for the learning of our culture and for Kumu to pass on their knowledge to others is way over due. We do live in Hawaii so this just makes so much sense. By hula I’ve learned so much more about our culture more than what I have ever learned just growing up and living in Hawaii . The knowledge of our culture should be top priority for the preservation of Aloha!

From: American Resort Development Association of Hawaii (ARDA Hawaii) Re: Testimony in Strong Support of Funding for the Halau of Oiwi Art ("HOA")

April 7, 2022

Re: Testimony in Strong Support of Funding for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art (“HOA”)

Aloha mai kākou,

My name is Chelsey Leilani Natividad Kahaleauki. I was born on Maui and raised in Kaʻonoʻulu ʻahupuaʻa, Kulakai (Kihei). I’d like to begin by extending my gratitude to the County of Maui for the opportunity to testify in strong support of funding for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Arts in the proposed FY 2023 budget.

The Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art would provide long-overdue support for the culture and practitioners that make our home so special. Hula is integral to the culture of our community, and I experience this first hand because I am currently a hula practitioner myself. Hula is the foundational medium that preserves knowledge and traditions passed down for generations. Hula is the link to our ancestors, therefore, is an integral piece in recognizing and rediscovering our identity as a native people. Hula and hālau hula also represent our islands throughout Hawaiʻi and the world. On Maui, so many of the hālau hula, kumu hula, and practitioners have brought so much joy and pride to our island and to our people. The Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art would support and celebrate the arts and practices of our home.

Rightly so, an investment in Hula is ultimately an investment in community. Our island once again has the chance to be a leader for our state and global community. Providing a space dedicated to and designed through the lens of Hula creates a visible and reliable space for education, performance, preservation, and excellence of art and culture in our own home. Further, as a cultural center for our community and the world, the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art will foster relationships, inspire connection, and uphold cultural excellence.

This space is not only an investment for the near future but will have lasting impacts on our community identity for generations to come. Mahalo for your service to our island home. Please vote to support full funding of the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art.

Mahalo nui,
Chelsey Leilani
Natividad Kahaleauki

Please see my letter of support for full funding of Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art attached.

Aloha mai kākou,
My name is Kuʻuleialoha Alcomindras-Palakiko and I was born and raised in Lahaina, Maui. I am sharing my testimony in STRONG SUPPORT of funding for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art in the proposed FY 2023 budget. Not only am I a kamaʻāina of this place, but I am also a hula/cultural practitioner.
I have danced with various kumu from Oʻahu and Maui for most of my life, since about the age of 4, and most recently have been with a kumu and Hālau from Maui for the past almost 20 years; and also serve as poʻo puaʻa or understudy of our kumu. It is through my life and education experiences, magnified by all my experiences and teachings/learnings in hula that I have made strong connections to and realize the importance of our culture, language and arts-you can not separate those things from Hawaiʻi! Our kumu and hālau have been asked to perform numerous times for gatherings as "simple" as a pāʻina, or performace and a shopping mall, or even performances at the county level.
The Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art would provide long-overdue support for the culture and practitioners that make our home so special. Hula- a constitutionally protected traditional and customary practice- is not only integral to Kānaka Maoli, but the culture of Maui County, as well. It is a nexus for so many of our ʻŌiwi arts and practices to thrive. Over many decades, Hālau Hula and Kumu Hula have contributed to our community. They recognize the importance of environmental stewardship, educate ʻohana from keiki to kūpuna, tell and celebrate the stories of our home, sing of its beauty, and bring both joy and pride to our larger community. Cultural practitioners like Kumu Hula are experts and leaders of our community. The Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art would support and celebrate these arts and practices.
An investment in Hula is ultimately an investment in community. Our island once again has the chance to be a leader for our state and global community. Providing a space dedicated to and designed through the lens of Hula creates a visible and reliable space for education, performance, preservation, and excellence of art and culture in our own home. Further, as a cultural center for our community and the world, the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art will foster pilina, inspire connection, and uphold cultural excellence.
This space is not only an investment for the near future but will have lasting impacts on our community identity for generations to come. Mahlo for your service to our island home. Please vote to support full funding of the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art.
Mahalo nui,
Kuʻulei Alcomindras-Palakiko

100% support

Support for Hālau of ‘Ōiwi Arts. I feel this is long over due and much needed in our community. This will lend support to our cultural practitioners as well as our small local businesses. This is something positive for our community. Mahalo, Kaena Brown

I strongly support Councilmember Kelly King's proposal to amend the Mayor's proposed FY2023 Budget to include funding for a new Ma`alaea Regional Wastewater Reclamation System. Stopping wastewater pollution from injection wells is paramount to preserving and improving the health of the marine life of Maui. As Councilmember King says, "There is a known connection between what we inject into the ground and what appears in our ocean water." We need to take much better care of our ocean water if we want to be able to preserve reefs and their complex web of life so that future generations can benefit from them too. Please amend the budget as she proposes.