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PRESS RELEASE FROM KIHEI COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION 6/14/11
Mayor Arakawa’s meeting with KCA Board of Directors on the trees on South Kihei Road
The KCA board would like to express our appreciation to Mayor Arakawa and his staff for meeting with us on Monday concerning the fate of the four monkey pod trees on So. Kihei Road. We value the fact that the administration took the time to meet with the local community to help structure a plan moving forward.
The KCA board asked for, and the mayor agreed, that the four trees will not be removed during the time necessary for the community association to help design a comprehensive street tree program for South Kihei Rd. The KCA is proposing the formation of a street tree committee that will be charged with helping to design a overall street tree plan for the community. The committee will be working with the mayor’s executive assistant John Buck on this process. Mayor Arakawa also committed to fund this process with the amount of funding dependent on the proposals made by the committee. Eventually, after the plan is in place and we are well on our way towards planting many trees, it might be necessary to remove certain trees to accommodate the infrastructure required for South Kihei Rd. The administration has assured the KCA that our new street tree committee will be involved in every decision necessary along this process.
The KCA would like to see a comprehensive street tree plan designed, and feel that the first trees can be planted within a very short period of time. The mayor said that depending on the input from the street tree committee- ” We could start planting next week!”
Our organization will be reaching out to the Maui Outdoor Circle, Arborists Committee and other groups and individuals for input on the structure of the committee and if anyone in the community would like to participate, we suggest contacting the Association via our website, www.gokihei.org.
An overall plan for South Kihei Rd., including new street trees, will involve coordinating with a variety of county departments concerning location, best species and planting locations. KCA president Jon Miller also mentioned that “it only makes sense to include in the plan the irrigation of these trees with recycled water.”