Notices

In order to keep resources focused on fire recovery efforts, the August Malama day at the playground is canceled. Stay tuned for a rescheduled day in September.

The following news release is from Hawaiian Electric. For the full press release, with further details on the program, click here.

We are pleased to share this news release to announce the permanent Special Medical Needs Rate Program, offered to 2,000 residential customers across the five islands served by Hawaiian Electric. The discounted rate is available to customers whose medical condition requires special equipment or increased heating or cooling, which leads to higher electricity bills. 

Participants in the 2017 pilot program have been automatically enrolled in the permanent program. Customers who are interested in enrolling in the program are asked to visit our webpage at hawaiianelectric.com/specialmedicalneeds. For additional support, participants will be referred to Hawaiʻi Energy, which provides resources to help customers reduce energy use and lower electricity bills. 

Mahalo, 

KŪHEA ASIU

Public Affairs Specialist, Government and Community Affairs 

Maile Davis of the HCA organized a work party for the Kalakupua Playground on June 19th. The Maui News wrote up an article on the work party. You can read it here.

The next work party is slated for 8 a.m. to noon on July 17.  Stay tuned to the HCA website for more details.

Maui County is establishing the new Department of Agriculture and they are seeking the public’s input on some of the activities that new department will be involved in. If you are interested, please take a moment to fill out their survey here.

Hawaiian Electric has put a program in place to help with electric bills. The notice is below.

Hawaiian Electric welcomes payment arrangements for those struggling to keep up with their electric bill during the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers can arrange to pay an outstanding balance over a 12 or 18-month period by calling us at (808) 871-9777, going to our website www.hawaiianelectric.com/paymentarrangement or by downloading the Hawaiian Electric mobile app. Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi customers may contact us toll-free at 1-877-871-8461.

Additionally, starting in July, to further help customers with outstanding balances who have not yet contacted us to establish a payment plan arrangement and who meet the threshold for disconnection, Hawaiian Electric will automatically place their account on a 12-month payment plan to avoid disconnection. They may choose to opt out of this plan if they wish.

We urge customers to seek financial assistance that is currently available through partner government agencies and nonprofits, which is designed to assist renters and landlords with rental and utility payments. A list of resources can be found at www.hawaiianelectric.com/COVID19 . Information on the County of Maui’s federally funded assistance program can be found at https://mauicounty.gov/MauiRentHelp or by calling (808) 873-4673.

Little fire ants have been found on a property on Kaupakalua Road. MISC (Maui Invasive Species Committee) is asking people to be on the lookout and to also send samples in to them. Here is how:

• Put some peanut butter on a stick.
• Put the stick in your yard for 45 minutes.
• Put the stick, including ants that it caught, into a plastic bag.
• Label the bag with your name, address, and contact information,
• Freeze the plastic bag overnight.
• Mail it to MISC at PO Box 983, Makawao, HI 96768

For more information, go to the MISC website. See also the Stop the Ant website.

Speak up for better water planning this Friday Oct 9  9am  Online Only via BlueJeans link https://maui.bluejeans.com/295235670. 

Individuals may provide oral testimony by phone or videoconference. To join the meeting by phone, call 1 408-317-9253 and input meeting code 295235670.

e-mail: county.clerk@mauicounty.us

The County Council will hear from the public ONE LAST TIME on the Draft Maui Water Use Development Plan (“WUDP”) before the first of two votes needed to adopt the plan HCA is proposing some very needed amendments to the WUDP about:

• 1) Updated data and a clearer solution to Upcountry water meter list; 
• 2)  Public management of the East Maui ditch system;  
• 3) True costs of the proposed Ha’iku wells, and who will foot the bill if local wells and springs are dried up:
• 4)   More details about private water agreements the County Water Department has with A&B and others and how they affect who gets what water?

These amendments are really needed if the Plan is to give clear guidance to our lawmakers over the next 20 years.
the agenda Item is CR 20-128 Please ask the Council to refer the Water Plan back to committee,  so that a few needed amendments can be added before it is adopted.

The entire text of the proposed changes are in this document.

Maui’s long-in the-making Water Use and Development Plan (WUDP) left Haiku and Paia residents with more questions than answers after a two-hour Haiku Community Association (HCA) Town Hall discussion Thursday.

The online meeting, broadcast on Facebook, attracted almost 1,000 viewers who watched presentations from Maui Department of Water Supply’s Jeff Pearson and Eva Blumenstein about the strategy outlined in the 1,200-page WUDP to drill wells in the Haiku aquifer to supply the future water needs of Central and South Maui.

Moderator Dick Mayer asked questions gathered from community residents.  Among primary concerns:

• The WUDP was created without data on the actual amount of water available in the Haiku aquifer. The plan’s assumptions that 8 million gallons per day could be sent from Haiku to South and Central Maui without impact are unproven.

• No studies have been conducted on the aquifer’s overall water quality, which lies below lands contaminated by pesticides used in pineapple cultivation.

• Some 400 Haiku residents are still waiting for water meters.  Others who have installed private wells or who use springs are concerned about the impact large County wells will have on those resources. The plan did not appear to have guarantees that Haiku residents will have adequate access to water resources before well water is removed from the region.

• Traditional practitioners worry that the plan does not address potential impacts to streams, or to the interconnection of fresh water and the ocean, which is critical to taro farming and limu harvesting. Others voiced concern that the plan doesn’t take into account future growth of farming in Haiku.

Water Department planning program manager Eva Blumenstein reiterated that 51 meetings had been held on the WUDP—though none in Haiku—and said she was “sorry that Haiku feels left in the dark.”

But she had no specific answers to the community’s questions. “This is not a master plan for development,” she said. “It’s a guide to the council and county agencies.”

Blumenstein acknowledged that “where development is, is not where the water resources are,” and that the WUDP had “many unknowns.  We tried to address water conflicts, but these aren’t easy solutions.” Later she conceded, “There’s really no one way to know exactly what the impact [of drilling wells in Haiku] is going to be,” adding that there were “methods and tools” that could be used to “mitigate scenarios.”

HCA president Lucienne de Naie told the Water Department officials that she had been attending water meetings for almost two decades. “Why we don’t have some studies after 17 years?”  She added that she was “disgusted” to hear of people “waiting 30 years for a meter.”

Participant Shay Chan Hodges, chair of the Board of Water Supply which advises the Water Department, called the WUDP “gigantic” and suggested that future plans be synthesized “for a lay person.”

The people “want a voice in their own community’s development,” County Council member Mike Molina commented, referring to a bill under consideration to create a Haiku/Paia Community Plan advisory committee.

Molina suggested that, instead of voting to pass the WUDP, which is scheduled before the Maui County Council on October 9, the Council could decide that it needs to go back to committee for more work. ”I’m all for that.” He added. “I personally believe we need a plan that is fair to the community, limits diversion and takes advantage of other resources.”

He urged those watching to attend the online County Council hearing and share their views on October 9^th.

Joyclynn Costa, who heads the Aha Moku Council for the Hamakualoa Moku, told Blumenstein and Pearson,  “Haiku doesn’t have a [water] problem. You’re bringing a problem to Haiku.  Ask Haiku for help and let’s work this out together and find a solution.”

Congratulations to HCA President, Lucienne de Naie for winning the Nature’s Voice Award from Greater Good! You can read the full press release of the award here.

The Ha’iku Community Association has been awarded the Gold Leaf Award from the Western Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. This award is in recognition of the tree planting done in 2019 at Giggle Hill. Congrats to all involved!

Citation:

Tree planting gift to the community led by Maile Davis, volunteer project manager of the Haiku Community Association in  partnership with the Maui County Parks Department and Maui Green & Beautiful, an environmental non-profit focusing on the urban areas.The seed for this project started January 2019. Maile Davis and Kim Nowicki, a member of Maui Green & Beautiful tree planting committee worked together to add trees for more shade & beauty in this park in Haiku. The park history started during World War II when many thousands of US Marines set up camps in this area. The trees were donated to the park by Maui Green & Beautiful in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2020 with the goal of planting 50 plus trees in community spaces in Maui County. The trees planted were endemic native trees-5 Koaia & 2 endangered Pokalakala trees. The trees were planted on December 15 which is in the rainy season in the islands. Volunteers included Maile’s family and several members of MG&B. Tree loving care will continue from the Davis family & Kim. 5 trees are planted by the playground to provide more shade for families to shelter under & 2 trees were planted on the road side to beautify the entrance to the park.