Maui County · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Maui County public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Youth-led Commission on Children and Youth
A Maui High School student testified with 56 signatures for turning the Commission on Children and Youth into a youth-led body, giving young people a standing voice in county decisions. Council Member Johnson voiced support.
County Parcel Adjacent to Kihei Police Station — Passive Park vs. Housing
About 140 undeveloped acres next to the Kīhei police station could become a passive park protecting rare wiliwili dryland forest and cultural sites — but Housing is preparing an affordable-housing RFP for the same land. The committee paused for the administration to weigh in.
Kulamalu Park stairway injury and missing railing
A woman fractured her hip at Kulamalu Park in Pukalani after reaching for a railing that wasn't there on a stairway landing. The park was privately built, dedicated to the county in 2011, and met code then — but no repairs have been made since the 2024 accident, and kids use those stairs regularly for Pop Warner football.
Public campgrounds in South Maui
The 'support public campgrounds' policy has sat in three county plans for years with nothing to show for it. The committee kept it — with an asterisk marking it as redundant-but-wanted — after CPAC Chair Rob Weltman and members tied it to unhoused residents and lost traditional beach camping.
Public shoreline and beach access
As shoreline parcels get walled off, the plan now pushes for unobstructed public walkways and beach access, with wetlands protection carved into its own policy — plus questions about the old 'government beach reserve' in Kīhei where homes have encroached.
Lahaina Royal Complex Restoration Fund
Theo Morrison asked the committee to support $9 million in the Office of Recovery budget to rebuild the Lahaina Courthouse and old prison, historic county sites her group has maintained for decades.
Makahiki season funding
The Mayor's budget includes $1 million for a countywide Makahiki program — $850,000 in community grants plus $150,000 marketing. The committee cut the marketing piece to $100,000 after testimony from the Office of ʻŌiwi Resources explaining Makahiki is far more than games.
Parks capital projects and vacant security positions
The committee trimmed parks salary lines including long-vacant park security officers, kept most court resurfacing money, and cut the shoreline park adaptation project and a Kamaole parking project the department said wasn't ready.
Camp Maluhia scout camp repairs
Scouting leaders asked for $500,000 to fix roofs, the pool and aging buildings at Camp Maluhia, a generations-old youth leadership camp in West Maui.
Mediated Mala park parcels
A Kahoma Village mediation produced four county-owned parcels in the Mala area for a park honoring David Malo and the Alamihi Fish Pond; a resident asked the council to at least name the parcels in the parks budget to get planning started.
Nonprofit Grant Funding Requests
Nonprofits packed the testimony queue: Adaptations Dance Theater (its fourth budget year), Mental Health America of Hawaii, the ONI Foundation (asking $161,800 total), Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center, and wetlands groups. Members flagged that rural areas like Hana and Molokai get less access to services.
West Maui Senior Center Rebuild
The Department of Human Concerns is planning a multi-year rebuild of the West Maui Senior Center using $27 million in FEMA public assistance funds — restoring a vital hub lost to the 2023 wildfires.
Kipahulu Community Association community land purchase ($109,000 request)
The KCA wants $109,000 of a $226,000 project (rest is in-kind) to buy 2.64 oceanfront acres for $50,000 next to Palapala Hoomau Church and build a traditional hale, safety fence, garden, and food forest. The out-of-state landowner family offered a generous price, but time is of the essence.
Queen Ka'ahumanu statue deterioration in county park
Claudia Kalaola testified the county-funded Queen Ka'ahumanu statue in a Hana park is deteriorating from the wrong construction material near the ocean — and nobody at the county will take responsibility. She says it's a black eye to the county and to Hana, the queen's birthplace.
Kalaupapa Memorial Monument
The congressionally authorized memorial honoring roughly 8,000 people sent to Kalaupapa has a $5 million state appropriation but now carries an $8-million-plus price tag, and its land lease remains unscheduled with DLNR. The council floated county help to close the gap.
Parks and Public Facilities Appropriations
Budget bills passed final reading adding money for War Memorial gym and stadium improvements, a Lower Paia parking lot, countywide park facilities, and police facilities.