Maui District Park Planning Open House Meetings in September

A series of interactive open house meetings is planned in September to address parks and recreation facility needs on Maui.

Maui Now graphics.

The sessions are organized by district and will cover two areas: (a) overall district needs and ideas for parks and facilities, and (b) aquatics facilities.

The open houses are part of a Parks Department project to prepare a System Plan, which will define future recreation needs, an overall strategy, and specific capital improvements.

A specific part of the System Plan is the Aquatics Facilities Plan, which was initiated in July 2017. By integrating the aquatics study into the open houses, participants will be able to think about aquatics facilities as part of the overall parks system.

The open houses will offer opportunities for participants to:

• offer ideas to improve parks, recreation facilities, and programs
• suggest the kinds of parks that are needed in each district
• view the results of a 2016 scientific survey of recreation patterns
• discuss ways that aquatics facilities to be improved
• speak with project consultants or Parks Department staff, and
• learn about the condition of existing facilities.

The informal and interactive format for the open house allows participants to attend at any time during the two and a half hour window. There is no formal presentation but there will be five to six “stations” where people can write comments and speak individually to staff.

Following this set of open houses, the Parks Department staff and consultant team will prepare draft District Plans for all of the county’s park districts. In addition, an Aquatics Facilities Plan will be prepared that summarizes the analysis of existing pools, recommends specific improvements and projects, and describes costs for staffing, and maintenance. In addition, the plan will include an implementation plan and potential funding options.

The schedule for community meetings is as follows:

• Monday, Sept. 11, 5-7:30 p.m.: Lahaina Civic Ctr. (West Maui)
• Tuesday, Sept. 12, 5-7:30 p.m.: Kahului Community Ctr. (Central Maui)
• Wednesday, Sept. 13, 5-7:30 p.m.: Tavares Community Ctr. (Upcountry)
• Thursday, Sept. 14, 5-7:30 p.m.: Kenolio Recreation Ctr. (South Maui)
• Saturday, Sept. 16, 9-11:30 a.m.: Lānaʻi Community Ctr.
• Tuesday, Sept. 19, 4-6:30 p.m.: Mitchell Pauʻole Ctr. (Molokaʻi)
• Thursday, Sept. 21, 4:30-6:30 p.m.: Helene Hall (Hāna)