June 27 Meeting on Options for Waiehu Golf Course

The Council’s Parks, Recreation, Energy and Legal Affairs Committee will host a meeting next week to consider options for the Waiehu Municipal Golf Course.

Waiehu Golf course sign. Photo by Wendy Osher.

The Mayor had proposed the closure of the course because of financial and operational shortfalls; but the Council decided to keep the course open and included the item in its budget during recent negotiations.

Parks committee chair Don Guzman said, “Each Budget session, the Council’s Budget and Finance Committee is faced with numbers that show the golf course is falling short of the goal of becoming self-supporting, as envisioned by Section 13.16.040 of the Maui County Code,” said Guzman. “Options to address financial and operational expectations and improvements simply cannot be handled during discussions on the County’s annual budget. For that reason, the PRL Committee has been given this task, and Tuesday’s meeting will get the conversation started.”

Representatives from Kauaʻi and Oʻahu will be on hand to contribute their insight and expertise on municipal golf course administration, finance, greens, and maintenance.

“We can learn from our sister counties,” said Guzman. “They confront the same challenges we do when it comes to managing municipal courses. It’s my hope that folks familiar with the Ala Wai and Wailua Golf Courses will provide the Committee with good information on which sound decisions can be made for Waiehu.”

No proposed legislation has been posted for this meeting. The Waiehu Golf Course Superintendent and Maintenance Supervisor will also participate, and the Committee anticipates hearing from representatives from the County’s Department of Finance and Budget office.

The meeting is set for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 27, 2017.

The meeting is open to the public. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend or view the meeting on Akakū. Written testimony may be emailed to [email protected], referencing PRL-30.