Haʻikū fire station construction expected to go out for bid in September

A notice to proceed with construction of the Haʻikū Fire Station is scheduled for April 2026, if all permits and entitlements are approved. Then, in July 2028, the fully outfitted station is expected to be ready to house firefighters, fire trucks and other equipment, Fire Chief Brad Ventura told Maui County Council members in an April 4 letter.

Ventura and other personnel from the Maui County Department of Fire & Public Safety appeared before the Council’s Budget Finance and Economic Development Committee as the panel continued its department-by-department review of Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed $1.5 billion fiscal 2026 budget.

Today’s Budget Committee meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the eighth-floor Council Chambers of the Kalana O Maui Building. The meeting will be televised on Akakū Maui Community Media, cable Channel 53. The committee is scheduled to meet from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and review the Maui Emergency Management Agency and the Department of ʻŌiwi Resources.

Later today, committee members will travel to Lāna‘i for a 6 p.m. meeting at the ILWU Hall in Lāna‘i City.

Overall, the Fire Department is seeking an 8.3% budget increase from almost $70.2 million in fiscal 2025 to $76 million in fiscal 2026, an increase of $5.8 million. For personnel, the department is requesting 11 expansion positions, increasing its personnel from 478.5 to 489.5, or by 2.3%.

In his letter to council members, Ventura reports that fiscal 2025 funding for the construction of the Haʻikū station amounts to $14.5 million, none of which has been encumbered or expended so far. In the department’s capital improvement budget, proposed funding for the station in fiscal 2026 is nearly $15.2 million.

The department is in the process of applying to the US Department of Agriculture Rural Development for $15 million to build the Haʻikū Fire Station.

The project is located on six acres of a 28-acre parcel located at 3550 Hāna Highway. Maui County acquired the property in January 2008. The need for a Haʻikū station was determined in the late 1990s. Site selection didn’t begin until 2006.

The project design is complete, and consultants are working on entitlements and permits, Ventura reported. The project is expected to go out for public bid in September.

The department has already contracted funding for new fire apparatus at the Haʻikū station, he said.

According to the project’s final environmental assessment, completed in the summer of 2024, the new station is needed for faster response times and more efficient deployment of emergency vehicles for fire suppression, prevention and protection in an underserved area of Pāʻia-Haʻikū where it will complement services already provided by the Pā‘ia and Makawao fire stations. Both of those stations are undersized to meet the increasing needs of the Haʻikū-Paʻuwela area where the population increased 23% from 6,579 residents in 2000 to 8,595 in 2020.

When asked about the status of relocating the Kīhei and Pāʻia fire stations, Ventura said a project consultant for the Kīhei station is conducting site selection studies and will provide five sites for consideration. The project’s total cost is estimated at $8.65 million, which includes the site selection study, land acquisition, design, construction and construction management, he said.

The project site search area is bounded by the Kīhei Police Station to the South and North Kīhei Road.

For the Pāʻia Fire Station, the department is considering relocating it to a mauka location, given the age of the building and its location in the tsunami inundation zone, Ventura said. A site selection study is planned to begin in fiscal year 2027. The total cost for the Pāʻia station is the same as the Kīhei station for the same scope of work.

As for the status of the Olowalu Fire Station, Ventura said the West Maui Improvement Foundation has secured a contract to build the station.

“The department worked closely with WMIF to ensure the design of the station would meet the department’s requirements,” he said. “The Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation has generously donated the apparatus for the Olowalu Fire Station.”

The department will ask for funding for six positions after the station is built. Currently, the department is awaiting review by the State Historic Preservation Division.

Council members asked Ventura to elaborate on a statement in the department’s budget proposal. The statement said: “Permitting, approval, and other administrative processes of external entities that slow our department’s ability to grow and reorganize to better meet developing challenges.”

Ventura said: “The permitting and approval processes for building new fire stations, lifeguard towers or renovating existing ones often involve multiple layers of bureaucracy, environmental impact assessments, special management area use permits, State Historic Preservation Division (reviews), flood assessments, etc. These lengthy approval timelines also increase construction cost due to inflation. The department also encounters delays in hiring due to civil service requirements, union negotiations, as well as archaic processes required by other County of Maui departments.”

Ventura also responded to questions about replacement of a 14-year-old tanker truck on Lānaʻi.

A tanker truck takes three to four years to build, he said. And, when preparing the fiscal 2025 budget, the department prioritized two engines, one tanker, and three mini pumpers costing more than $5.3 million and 29 expansion positions over a tanker truck for the Lānaʻi Fire Station, he said.

Also, during preparation of the fiscal 2025 budget, the department was working with the Daniel R. Sayre Foundation for the donation of a tanker truck.

“This tanker truck is supposed to serve as a primary back-up or surge capacity for our front-line tankers on Maui,” Ventura said. “However, if the current tanker truck assigned to Lānaʻi Fire Station were to become inoperable, we would send a reserve truck from Maui to Lānaʻi.”

In other matters, the Budget Committee received public testimony in support of budget requests from the Maui Humane Society, the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council and the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens.

Dr. Lisa Labrecque, chief executive officer of the Maui Humane Society, asked for $2,236,000 for animal sheltering, instead of flat funding of $2,033,000 for a second year in a row; and for $150,000 that was previously earmarked for the Hawaiʻi Animal Rescue Foundation, which closed in December.

The society wants to “continue the critical work of providing housing and care for the homeless animals in our community,” she said.

Animals, including beloved pets, have experienced an uncertain future after the August 2023 wildfire disaster, including longer length of stay, especially for dogs; families facing difficult choices to give up their pets; and strain on veterinary care, Labrecque said.

Lahaina resident Bill Nelson said Maui Nui Marine Resource Council monitors water quality at 41 beaches across the island of Maui.

“This regular monitoring informs us not only on how healthy our ocean is, but also if our streams are carrying contaminates into our ocean,” he said. The council conducts reef health surveys throughout the year, “which helps us know if our reefs are healthy and growing or if they are dying.”

He also credited the council for developing Hawaiʻi’s first reef friendly landscaping program and establishing a new coral restoration area in South Maui.

“The cultural importance of the reefs cannot be overstated,” he said. “Without our reefs, we will have no more honu or fish that depend on the coral for food and protection.”

Jake Sipes wrote in favor of a Department of Agriculture line-item grant for the botanical gardens in Central Maui.

“The Maui Nui Botanical Garden plays a critical role in the stewardship of native Hawaiian plants, preserving invaluable genetic resources that might otherwise be lost,” he said. “Their dedicated management and staff ensure that these plants — many of which are vital to Hawaiʻi’s cultural and ecological heritage — continue to thrive.”

How to participate:

Oral testimony is limited to three minutes at the beginning of the meeting. Testifiers can speak on any agenda item, in this case the proposed fiscal 2026 budget.

Online testimony can be offered via Teams link: http://tinyurl.com/BFED-Committee; or by calling 1-808-977-4067 and enter meeting code 420 614 452#

Written testimony is accepted via eComment. (Search for the meeting date on mauicounty.us/agendas, click on the eComment link, then select the agenda item to submit comments on.)

Testimony also can be submitted via email to BFED.committee@mauicounty.us or postal service to BFED Committee, Maui County Council, 200 S. High St., Wailuku 96793.

For more information on testifying, visit www.mauicounty.us/testify or contact the Office of Council Services.