From: Maile Risch <mailecrisch@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 2:29:03 PM (UTC-10:00) Hawaii
To: BFED Committee <BFED.Committee@mauicounty.us>; dlnr@hawaii.gov <dlnr@hawaii.gov>; Mayors Office <mayors.office@mauicounty.gov>
Subject: Haʻiku Ag Land Lots
Aloha,
I am writing today asking that the county protect the 133 acres total of ag land in Haʻiku from being sold and developed for commercial real estate. These parcels contain the traditional access road to the Pauwela Lighthouse, which the county owns. These are historically important lands that hold a traditional Mauka-Makai trail to Puniawa Bay (aka "K-Bay") and the County's Pauwela Lighthouse park. Public trails through private lands regularly end up getting "closed" by landowners. Without Public trail access, this will be a violation of Native Hawaiian gathering rights addressed in HRS SS1-1 and 7-1, and in Article 12 S 7 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaiʻi. These lands are also connected to local Kanaka Maoli Families whose ancestors were awarded the lands in kingdom times. Some of these lands have native plants tended by Hawaiian organizations.
I am asking Maui County to include $6.8 million dollars of open space funding for these three Pauwela parcels and to stand by Article XI, S 1 of the Hawaiʻi State Constitution which states that the "State and itʻs political subdivisions shall conserve and protect Hawaiʻiʻs natural beauty and all natural resources, including land, water, air, minerals and energy sources."
The Maui Invasive Species Committee greatly appreciates and supports the work of the Maui Department of Agriculture. There are many links between local agriculture and invasive species. Growing more food locally helps reduce the risk of importing harmful invasive species. At the same time, stopping or reducing the spread of invasive species benefits agriculture. Collaborating on agriculture-related outreach campaigns helps strengthen the reach and impact of key messages.
MDOA’s accomplishments during its first two years have been truly impressive, including hiring competent, committed staff; hosting educational events; taking a leadership role on the coconut rhinoceros beetle infestation; supporting improvements for the agricultural parks; moving forward on food sustainability issues; and establishing a functional, welcoming office space. I am sure there are many others - these are a few that I am aware of.
MISC has appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with Maui HDOA and looks forward to continuing to do so in the future. Maui County is once again setting the standard for other counties in the State.
Mahalo nui loa for the opportunity to comment.
Teya Penniman, Interim Manager
Maui Invasive Species Committee
From: Courtlandt Gates <courtgates@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 9:03 AM
To: Laura L. McDowell <Laura.McDowell@mauicounty.us>
Subject: Re: FY25 Budget: Fwd: Correction on meeting date! Haiku for sale to outside investors?
Hi Laura:
Please forward my testimony. By the way, one of my private property signs was shot 5 times. The shots were fired parallel to the coast along the cliff through the conservation easement in the direction of the Peahi overlook with no backstop. That could have killed someone easily. Maybe the entire open space should be closed until the management plan is completed.
Thank you,
Courty
From: Reclaiming Balance <reclaimingbalance@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 10:01:07 AM (UTC-10:00) Hawaii
To: BFED Committee <BFED.Committee@mauicounty.us>
Subject: Pauwela Land Sale
Please consider buying the 133 acres of land in Haiku that is currently for sale for a park with public access. We have lost too much of Mauiʻs natural beauty to luxury real estate and donʻt have the infrastructure to support it. At the very least, please retain the easement to the lighthouse & birthing pools with full public access and other special natural resources in this region.
For your consideration, here are the Budget Priorities for the Kula Community Association.
-Bobbie Patnode, President
KULA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
http://www.kulamaui.com/
Bobbie Patnode, President – bobbiepatnode@fastmail.fm
The VISION of the Kula Community Association is to preserve open space, support agriculture,
maintain a rural residential atmosphere, and to work together as a community.
The SPECIFIC PURPOSE of this association is to improve the quality of life for the residents of Ku-la,
to promote civic welfare, and generally to benefit the community of Kula.
Kula Community Association BUDGET PRIORITIES for Fiscal Year 2024-2025
1. Kula Community Center
2. Wildfire Preparedness
3. Water Supply
4. Invasive species control
5. Kula Recycling
6. Road improvements and maintenance
Detailed List
1. Kula Community Center – This is a facility on leased land for which the County has already spent million$. Please finalize the actual allocation of funds to acquire the land under the Kula Community Center, parking lot, gate-ball court, and tennis courts this year. The cost will only rise as the land’s lease-term comes to an end.
2. Wildfire Preparedness – With the recent experience of the August 8th fires, Kula has learned our community was not prepared to survive a wildfire disaster. We continue to need to create firebreaks and have learned we have other needs as well. We need a plan in place to ensure there is water available to firefighters as well as an effective method of communicating with the community. We need the county to address fire hazards on public property and enforce laws related to private property. We need emergency supplies. We request funds be budgeted to both create and implement emergency plans, address emergency communication needs, construct and maintain adequate firebreaks. To ensure safety, we would like additional firefighting equipment be available to fight a fire and maintain water reservoirs at higher elevations in the upcountry area.
3. Water Supply – The KCA continues to prioritize the creation of a system that provides depend-able, quality water for all our residents and that provides water meters for the Upcountry Water Meter List. We would like to ensure that we have adequate water supply for all the meters being requested. We encourage the Council to ensure that funding is available for water storage alter-natives and to request cost estimates for various sized reservoirs and water tanks in the upcountry area. We also request that new water sources be looked at as well as increased treatment facilities. As such, we support funding for an Upcountry water system reliability project.
4. Invasive Species Control – The KCA strongly supports efforts to control, reduce and eradicate invasive species, especially Axis deer, the Little Fire Ant, coqui frogs, glycine, and chickens.
Axis deer are by far the biggest concern in the Kula community. The deer are eating pasture land that should be available for the ranches’ cattle operations. Deer are destroying many small farmers’ crops. They impact the gardens of many residents. And they are a significant danger to automobile traffic.
We support increased funding for Maui Invasive Species Control (MISC) and other pro-grams. Glycine weed is a particular problem Upcountry, as the weed attaches itself to Jacaran-da and other trees and eventually kills them. Coqui frogs are a major concern as neighboring Haiku and Maliko Gulch are facing severe problems that could lead to the spread of the frog to Kula and the rest of the island.
5. Kula Recycling – We request:
a. a recycling site be established in the Kula area;
b. a location for the disposal of appliances, TVs, etc. to be located at the central landfill or simi-lar central location to keep this kind of trash off our roadsides; and
c. expand the support of organic composting capacity for purely non-toxic materials, e.g., green-waste, restaurant waste, etc.
6. Road improvements and maintenance – On the County’s website we would like to see the Public Works Department establish a priority list of roads that need to be repaved and those planned for the slurry treatment within each district of the County, and then budget to build the highest priority road improvements.
From: Maile Risch <mailecrisch@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 2:29:03 PM (UTC-10:00) Hawaii
To: BFED Committee <BFED.Committee@mauicounty.us>; dlnr@hawaii.gov <dlnr@hawaii.gov>; Mayors Office <mayors.office@mauicounty.gov>
Subject: Haʻiku Ag Land Lots
Aloha,
I am writing today asking that the county protect the 133 acres total of ag land in Haʻiku from being sold and developed for commercial real estate. These parcels contain the traditional access road to the Pauwela Lighthouse, which the county owns. These are historically important lands that hold a traditional Mauka-Makai trail to Puniawa Bay (aka "K-Bay") and the County's Pauwela Lighthouse park. Public trails through private lands regularly end up getting "closed" by landowners. Without Public trail access, this will be a violation of Native Hawaiian gathering rights addressed in HRS SS1-1 and 7-1, and in Article 12 S 7 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaiʻi. These lands are also connected to local Kanaka Maoli Families whose ancestors were awarded the lands in kingdom times. Some of these lands have native plants tended by Hawaiian organizations.
I am asking Maui County to include $6.8 million dollars of open space funding for these three Pauwela parcels and to stand by Article XI, S 1 of the Hawaiʻi State Constitution which states that the "State and itʻs political subdivisions shall conserve and protect Hawaiʻiʻs natural beauty and all natural resources, including land, water, air, minerals and energy sources."
Mahalo,
Maile Risch
Aloha Councilmembers,
The Maui Invasive Species Committee greatly appreciates and supports the work of the Maui Department of Agriculture. There are many links between local agriculture and invasive species. Growing more food locally helps reduce the risk of importing harmful invasive species. At the same time, stopping or reducing the spread of invasive species benefits agriculture. Collaborating on agriculture-related outreach campaigns helps strengthen the reach and impact of key messages.
MDOA’s accomplishments during its first two years have been truly impressive, including hiring competent, committed staff; hosting educational events; taking a leadership role on the coconut rhinoceros beetle infestation; supporting improvements for the agricultural parks; moving forward on food sustainability issues; and establishing a functional, welcoming office space. I am sure there are many others - these are a few that I am aware of.
MISC has appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with Maui HDOA and looks forward to continuing to do so in the future. Maui County is once again setting the standard for other counties in the State.
Mahalo nui loa for the opportunity to comment.
Teya Penniman, Interim Manager
Maui Invasive Species Committee
From: Courtlandt Gates <courtgates@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 9:03 AM
To: Laura L. McDowell <Laura.McDowell@mauicounty.us>
Subject: Re: FY25 Budget: Fwd: Correction on meeting date! Haiku for sale to outside investors?
Hi Laura:
Please forward my testimony. By the way, one of my private property signs was shot 5 times. The shots were fired parallel to the coast along the cliff through the conservation easement in the direction of the Peahi overlook with no backstop. That could have killed someone easily. Maybe the entire open space should be closed until the management plan is completed.
Thank you,
Courty
From: Reclaiming Balance <reclaimingbalance@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 10:01:07 AM (UTC-10:00) Hawaii
To: BFED Committee <BFED.Committee@mauicounty.us>
Subject: Pauwela Land Sale
Please consider buying the 133 acres of land in Haiku that is currently for sale for a park with public access. We have lost too much of Mauiʻs natural beauty to luxury real estate and donʻt have the infrastructure to support it. At the very least, please retain the easement to the lighthouse & birthing pools with full public access and other special natural resources in this region.
Thank you,
Deborah Eudene
For your consideration, here are the Budget Priorities for the Kula Community Association.
-Bobbie Patnode, President
KULA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
http://www.kulamaui.com/
Bobbie Patnode, President – bobbiepatnode@fastmail.fm
The VISION of the Kula Community Association is to preserve open space, support agriculture,
maintain a rural residential atmosphere, and to work together as a community.
The SPECIFIC PURPOSE of this association is to improve the quality of life for the residents of Ku-la,
to promote civic welfare, and generally to benefit the community of Kula.
Kula Community Association BUDGET PRIORITIES for Fiscal Year 2024-2025
1. Kula Community Center
2. Wildfire Preparedness
3. Water Supply
4. Invasive species control
5. Kula Recycling
6. Road improvements and maintenance
Detailed List
1. Kula Community Center – This is a facility on leased land for which the County has already spent million$. Please finalize the actual allocation of funds to acquire the land under the Kula Community Center, parking lot, gate-ball court, and tennis courts this year. The cost will only rise as the land’s lease-term comes to an end.
2. Wildfire Preparedness – With the recent experience of the August 8th fires, Kula has learned our community was not prepared to survive a wildfire disaster. We continue to need to create firebreaks and have learned we have other needs as well. We need a plan in place to ensure there is water available to firefighters as well as an effective method of communicating with the community. We need the county to address fire hazards on public property and enforce laws related to private property. We need emergency supplies. We request funds be budgeted to both create and implement emergency plans, address emergency communication needs, construct and maintain adequate firebreaks. To ensure safety, we would like additional firefighting equipment be available to fight a fire and maintain water reservoirs at higher elevations in the upcountry area.
3. Water Supply – The KCA continues to prioritize the creation of a system that provides depend-able, quality water for all our residents and that provides water meters for the Upcountry Water Meter List. We would like to ensure that we have adequate water supply for all the meters being requested. We encourage the Council to ensure that funding is available for water storage alter-natives and to request cost estimates for various sized reservoirs and water tanks in the upcountry area. We also request that new water sources be looked at as well as increased treatment facilities. As such, we support funding for an Upcountry water system reliability project.
4. Invasive Species Control – The KCA strongly supports efforts to control, reduce and eradicate invasive species, especially Axis deer, the Little Fire Ant, coqui frogs, glycine, and chickens.
Axis deer are by far the biggest concern in the Kula community. The deer are eating pasture land that should be available for the ranches’ cattle operations. Deer are destroying many small farmers’ crops. They impact the gardens of many residents. And they are a significant danger to automobile traffic.
We support increased funding for Maui Invasive Species Control (MISC) and other pro-grams. Glycine weed is a particular problem Upcountry, as the weed attaches itself to Jacaran-da and other trees and eventually kills them. Coqui frogs are a major concern as neighboring Haiku and Maliko Gulch are facing severe problems that could lead to the spread of the frog to Kula and the rest of the island.
5. Kula Recycling – We request:
a. a recycling site be established in the Kula area;
b. a location for the disposal of appliances, TVs, etc. to be located at the central landfill or simi-lar central location to keep this kind of trash off our roadsides; and
c. expand the support of organic composting capacity for purely non-toxic materials, e.g., green-waste, restaurant waste, etc.
6. Road improvements and maintenance – On the County’s website we would like to see the Public Works Department establish a priority list of roads that need to be repaved and those planned for the slurry treatment within each district of the County, and then budget to build the highest priority road improvements.