5/10/18 #kihei
After Maui News’ front page coverage last month of community proposals and actions for a much less expensive yet improved way to replace the deteriorated box culvert in the Kulanihakoi river gulch, we are preparing for the next step. This Monday afternoon at 1:30 PM in the Council’s eighth floor chambers, committee chair Elle Cochran will call to order her Infrastructure and Environmental Management (IEM) committee to include item IEM-43. The item examines the contract awarded to Wilson Okamoto Corporation of Honolulu for “Kulanhakoi Bridge Replacement.” It is our understanding the contract originated in 2011. but the proposal was brought forth to KCA by the contracted firm and the Public Works Department in 2013.

To be clear, and it seems to need repeating, KCA has remained active in the process since the first meeting in 2013, and our first official correspondence was in January 2013, so no, WE ARE NOT COMING IN LATE TO THE PROCESS! Look at the documentation. You can find numerous historical reports on the KCA website here:

https://gokihei.org/?s=Kulanihakoi+bridge&submit=Search

While our all-volunteer unfunded community association has been actively involved for OVER FIVE YEARS, and we testify to the Council to that effect, and submit documentation to the Council verifying that and after several hours in chambers, we hear the Council Chair on April 20, 2018, state “the community needs to participate early on and be continuous”! WHAT?

So we will be back in those same chambers on Monday afternoon to restate once again – maybe louder – and resubmit the documents going back well over five years and see just what is meant by “early and continuous.”