Mayor Alan Arakawa answers some of the most-asked questions submitted to his staff.
Dear Mayor Alan Arakawa,
Q: The drag strip at Maui Motorsports Park is undergoing renovation. It looked like a 2 to 3 month project, however they started in November of 2017 and it does not look like the job will be completed this year. First question is: what kind of a contract is this that weeks go by with no work being done? And for the 2 million dollars (round number) there will be no running water restrooms. What gives? Can you help expedite this project? Mahalo.
A: The drag strip is part of Maui Raceway Park, which is a part of the Maui Motorsports Park complex, a County park. The Maui Raceway Park is managed by the Valley Isle Timing Association or VITA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. From what I understand the VITA is working side-by-side with its contractor on this and are looking to open up the park for an event in October. As for no running water in the restrooms, that was a choice made by the association as far as how they wanted to allocate funds, and they choose to put more money into the construction of the track itself rather than park amenities. If you would like to see pictures of the work being done out there by VITA and the contractor they are posted on the Maui Raceway Park Facebook page online. Or for more information check out the Maui Raceway Park website at www.mrp.org.
Want to ask the Mayor? Submit your own questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa at AskTheMayor@mauicounty.gov, (808) 270-7855 or mail them to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793. Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the “Ask the Mayor” column.
