South Maui District Council Representative Tom Cook Town Hall 5/15/23

5/16/23 #kihei

Last evening at 6:00 PM, about 50 concerned residents gathered at the Malcolm Center to hear from & question the freshman councilor nearing the midpoint of his initial year at the County Council. It was a bit unusual as most of the event consisted of two presentations from private entities.

Ryan Churchill of Pacific Rim Land – which owns the Research & Technology Park, where this meeting was held – addressed recycled and storm water issues on and around the property. 

Ryan Churchill, President of Pacific Rim Land

He was preceded by the other presenter, Michael Reyes of Maui Environmental Consulting, who released the South West Maui Watershed Plan at a KCA meeting a few years back and is now heading up the Malama Haleakala (MH) project to mitigate “mudfloods” in Kihei.  (Michael will be accompanied by Tova Calendar, also of MH, this evening at the KCA meeting to address the MH effort

Michael Reyes

A flurry of questions  from those attending to Councilmember Cook concerned the homeless situation in South Maui and other matters.

Working around the presentations, he addressed topics such as transportation infrastructure, including the status of the North South Collector Road (also on at KCA this evening) and what could be done to mitigate the recurring stormwater mud floods and purchase of wetlands and stream gulches for open spaces and preservation. He advised he intends to have theseTown Halls quarterly.

Councilman from South Maui, Tom Cook