LETTER: Let’s All Ho`ohui and Complete Launiupoko Purchase

By Paul Laub, Lahaina

File photo by Wendy Osher.

After looking at the conundrum of whether to purchase the Launiupoko property for the negotiated price or try to renegotiate based on a lower appraisal I have come to these thoughts :

1) The following were good purchases, 17th century Island of Manhattan by John Minuet for $24 worth of beads and wampum, 19th century Louisiana Purchase by Thomas Jefferson from the Napoleonic Government of France, for $3 million. The 19th century Alaskan Purchase from Russia approximately $3 million (Editor’s note: sale price may have been more like $7.2 million). The 19th century Gadsden purchase from Mexico.

2) All of the above were bad deals for the sellers. Sure, I would like the public to pay less for this extremely critical piece of land, but trust me in the future this will look like pennies on the dollar.

Sure I hope the sellers make good money on the deal because right this minute they are the ones keeping this land in trust for us. These guys own the land and we will want other land before this is all over. Let’s live by our deals, let’s communicate better. And Councilman White, to me you saw a discrepancy and investigated it. To me that is what you were hired to do. Thank you. Now let’s all ho’ohui back up imua, buy this and move on.

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