Ask the Mayor: Can You Find Funding for Kokua Pool?

The Kōkua pool is located at the Kahului Community Center in Central Maui. File photo by Wendy Osher.

Mayor Alan Arakawa answers some of the questions submitted to his office staff.

Submit your own questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa via email at [email protected], call 270-7855 or send them by mail to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793. Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the “Ask the Mayor” column.

Dear Mayor:

Q: Can you please find the money to resurface the Kokua Pool? It’s had a problem with black algae staining the bottom for some years now. The entire bottom of the pool is affected, and it’s really unsightly.

The county’s response has been to have MCCC inmate labor come through once a year or so and scrub the bottom, which makes some of the stains go away, but the black algae is so entrenched that it doesn’t stay away for very long.

I’ve been told the pool needs to be resurfaced in order to eradicate the algae.

A: We have been planning to resurface Kokua Pool, and we anticipate funds will be included in next fiscal year’s budget for that project.

For now, as you mentioned, the workline crew will again be brought in later this month and the pool closed for a few days to allow the water level to be lowered, the algae scrubbed with steel brushes and extra doses of chlorine applied to help kill the algae.

Since the algae will indeed grow back—even faster here in our warm and sunny climate—we are planning for funds to resurface the pool. Since other pools also need major repairs, projects must be spaced out as funding allows so that we can also continue the necessary maintenance and emergency repairs that sometimes occur.