Maui Council committee to meet on wildfire recovery, transitional housing, Oct. 4

The Maui County Council’s Disaster, Resilience, International Affairs and Planning Committee will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, to receive updates on recovery efforts in response to the August 2023 wildfires, including temporary and transitional housing.

Committee Chair Tamara Paltin said the body will hear from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the American Red Cross and more. No legislative action will be taken at the meeting.

“I strongly encourage community members to send their questions for resource personnel before Wednesday’s meeting via eComment or by emailing DRIP.Committee@mauicounty.us or Tamara.Paltin@mauicounty.us,” said Paltin, who holds the council seat for the West Maui residency area. “We would like to work efficiently with these organizations to provide answers for our community.”

In-person, online and phone testimony is welcome at all meetings. Testimony instructions are on the meeting agenda, available at mauicounty.us/agendas.

Presiding Officer Pro Tempore Tasha Kama, who chairs the Housing and Land Use Committee, said she canceled her committee meeting on Wednesday to allow more time for public testimony and updates from disaster-relief organizations.

“The recent wildfire disasters in Lahaina and Kula have drastically escalated our community’s lack of housing to a disaster in its own right,” said Kama, who holds the council seat for the Kahului residency area. “We must address this critical housing need now, and I look forward to hearing the ideas, proposals and public testimony on ways to provide temporary and transitional housing for our people.”