#Maui County Council

While thousands of wildfire survivors remain displaced, Maui County Council members heard Tuesday a proposal for the state to purchase the former 216-room Maui Sun Hotel property in central Kīhei and convert it into long-term affordable workforce housing and a public prekindergarten facility.

Maui County’s Department of Finance was under-staffed and ill-prepared to collect transient accommodations tax money beginning in November 2021 when a state law allowing the county to tap millions of visitor-generated revenue went into effect, according to a report by the Office of the County Auditor.

The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers and Maui County have reached a negotiated settlement agreement on hazard pay for Maui officers who remained on duty during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a SHOPO announcement.

Another affordable housing proposal is headed to the Maui County Council, but this one is not “shovel ready.” It’s built already, although it’s going to be a multimillion-dollar fixer-upper.

The Maui County Council advanced two affordable housing projects on first reading Friday and referred a third to the Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee for further review.

Fitness and wellness specialist Justin Yanagida and affordable housing developer Highridge Costa were honored as Volunteer of the Year and Benefactor of the Year, respectively, at Maui Economic Opportunity’s 38th Volunteer Celebration held Wednesday.

A bill has been submitted to the Maui County Council that would pave the way for loan of up to $14 million from Maui County for the 212-unit Aikanaha low-income rental housing project in Waikapū.

Six months after the Aug. 8 Maui wildfire disaster, the Maui County Council’s Water and Infrastructure Committee recommended passage of a bill to lower permitting hurdles and allow fire survivors to rebuild sooner rather than later.

The 212-unit, low-income Aikanaha rental housing project underwent review Wednesday morning by the Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee. The project could be the first buildout in the Waikapū Country Town development.

Kate Blystone won a recommendation for confirmation as Department of Planning director in an 8-1 vote Tuesday afternoon from the Maui County Council’s Government Relations, Ethics and Government Transparency Committee.

ʻĀina Lani Pacific is seeking a Maui County grant of more than $4.9 million to help pay for steeply rising construction costs projected for the developer’s 28-home Kilohana Makai project in Kīhei.

The Maui County Council will reschedule its meetings this month to accommodate the National Association of Counties’ Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., Feb. 10-13. The council will meet Feb. 16 and 28 at 9 a.m., and the meetings will be live streamed on Microsoft Teams.

Maui County Councilmember Gabe Johnson announced the introduction of state legislation seeking to mandate access to paid family leave for state and county employees.

Kelly Takaya King officially announced her intent to run for her previously held Maui County Council seat for the South Maui District.

A Hollywood director, Maui County Board of Supervisor and state House member, an influential labor and community leader, a couple who support students and their college aspirations, and a longtime athletic director are members of the 2023 Class of the Maui High School Hall of Honor. Congratulations to: Top (L to R): Destin Daniel Cretton: The Award of Excellence; Bruce Uʻu: The Spirit of Maui; and Charles and Mitch Ota. The Saber Spirit Award. Bottom (L to R): Tom Tagawa. The Silversword Heritage Award; and Michael Ban. The Inspiration Award.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen “promised” Thursday that Olowalu will not be the final site for the estimated 400,000 cubic yards of fire debris to be removed from the Lahaina burn zone.

Bills 121 and 125 will be considered on second and final reading to support the new Office of Recovery and authorize the mayor to enter intergovernmental agreements for public-assistance grants from the state Emergency Management Agency.

Council member Gabe Johnson from Lānaʻi will participate in the Dec. 21 conference to discuss underground powerlines, tax tiers for landowners with fallow land, the use of R1 water and housing concerns.

The Maui County Council on Tuesday passed the first reading of Mayor Richard Bissen’s Bill 131 that provides 100% property tax exemptions to owners of short-term rentals, timeshares and non-owner occupied homes who rent at least one-year to Maui fire survivors.

Mayor Richard Bissen submitted to the County Council a bill to amend a section of the County Code in an effort to immediately increase the inventory of housing available to survivors of the August wildfires.