Council agrees to $1 million county share on Muolea Point

The Maui News
Sunday, September 05, 2004

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer

WAILUKU -- The County Council has approved the purchase of 70 acres at Hana's Muolea Point and moved a step closer to finalizing nearly a million dollars in county funds for the deal.

But Friday's unanimous vote of support came only after an involved discussion on whether or not to halve the county's share of the price tag.

Council Budget Chairman Riki Hokama initially proposed the reduction, saying it would allow the county to spend the money on other important land purchases, while also providing an "opportunity" for the nonprofit Trust for Public Land to appeal to private donors for the money.

But after hearing from a TPL director that the last-minute cutback could kill the deal to buy Muolea, Hokama said he was convinced the county should keep its commitment to provide $996,200 toward the purchase.

"It is clear to me now that we have to take action this afternoon," Hokama said.

Because of delays in the approval of county funds and a deadline to buy the property, TPL took out an emergency loan in July to make the purchase. The deal is now in escrow.

The plan has been for the county to buy the property from TPL for a discounted price of around $3 million. A federal grant will give the county a little over $2 million to use toward the purchase, leaving just under $1 million for the county to supply from its own coffers. The money will come from the county's Open Space Preservation Fund.

But TPL Regional Director Tily Shue told council members that although the nonprofit's loan was for six months, the group's real deadline was Sept. 30, when they were contract-bound to close the sale with Muolea's owners.

She said the group was already struggling to raise about $300,000 to cover sales costs and interest payments, and to set up a stewardship program for the land, and that raising an additional $500,000 in four weeks if the county pulled out of the deal would be an "insurmountable" hurdle.

She said a second buyer was in line to buy the property if TPL pulled out, offering significantly more than the price agreed on for the nonprofit.

"For a million dollars the county will have protected forever more a property worth considerably more than $4 million," she said.

Council Member Robert Carroll, from Hana, was strongly against reducing the county's funding.

"We need to have a reputation of fulfilling our commitments," he said. "Now is not the time to amend (the bill) and go for a lesser amount."

Others objected to cutting the funds late in the game, without warning to community members who had already testified in support of the bill, and without anyone from Hana present.

Hokama missed earlier meetings on the bill for medical reasons.

Friday he thanked colleagues for being open to discuss the proposal, and said that even though he later decided to withdraw it, the discussion had shed light on complex issues surrounding the purchase.

"Isn't it wonderful that we can have a process where we can have this discussion . . . in a manner that is civil," he said.

The county's appropriation toward the purchase is expected to come before the council for final reading Sept. 21.

Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.

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