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Political

Molokai and Hawaii – Island Politics

Water Service Resumes

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Water Service Resumes

Community rallies to conserve water as county pump is repaired.

By Melissa Kelsey

Contractors from Beylik Drilling and Pump flew in an extra crew to allow for both day and night work shifts to replace the pump at Kualapu`u Well.

After more than a week of uncertainty, repairs to the pump at the county well in Kualapu`u were completed last Saturday. The county well began pumping water into the one million gallon Kaunakakai water tank at a rate of 800 gallons per minute after the fix, according to county spokesperson Mahina Martin.

“It is so amazing to me how this community pulled together and handled the situation,” said Maui County Mayor Charmaine Tavares.

Tavares explained that a Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) well had been temporarily supplying the Kaunakakai tank with water, ever since repair work to Kualapu`u Well began last month. The real problem occurred when the DHHL pump broke, leaving Kaunakakai and Kalae without a stable source of water.

If residents of Kaunakakai and Kalae had not been able to conserve water, their taps would have run dry within 24 to 36 hours, according to Tavares.

Molokai General Hospital and its 28 dialysis center patients would have been most severely affected if the Kaunakakai central water tank had gone dry, Martin said. During the water shortage, most of the dialysis patients were relocated off-island to minimize risk.

“The correct decision given the information at hand was to move the patients out,” said Tavares.  

Last weekend, county officials praised the Molokai community for their water conservation efforts. Work crews from the Department of Water Supply, the Department of Public Works and Beylik Drilling and Pump who worked for nine days straight to avert a potential crisis were also lauded. Officials said Fire Captain Travis Tancayo led disaster prevention efforts. The Department of Hawaiian Homelands generously allowed the county to make use of a second well. Liberty Dialysis worked with the county to care for Molokai dialysis patients. Firefighters, hospital and community volunteers went door-to-door to inform the Molokai community about the situation. Queens Hospital and Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA) donated $2500 each to help dialysis patients with travel costs.

Molokai Pizza Café stopped using their ice cream machine because it requires water to operate, and began using paper dishes to avoid dish washing, according to Martin. Monsanto voluntarily turned off water sprinklers even though their water comes from a different source than Kualapu`u Well. Although their water supply was not at risk, Martin said they wanted to avoid misdirecting others.


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Water Conditions Remain Fragile, but Improving

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

Water Conditions Remain Fragile, but Improving


Maui County Press Release

With the help of Kaunakakai and Kalae residents and businesses, the level of water in the Kaunakakai water tank has somewhat stabilized. However, the situation remains very fragile. Until the repairs to the water well pump are completed, efforts must continue to avoid unnecessary water use that can cause the water level to drop. Saving the water that is in the tank is critical because it helps meet hospital and dialysis center needs and provides water to fire hydrants. Contractor crews and personnel from the county’s Department of Water Supply are continuing to work days and evenings to expedite repairs. 

Kaunakakai and Kalae residents and businesses are advised to take the following actions:
•    Continue to avoid unnecessary water usages
•    Alert your family, friends and neighbors
•    Use water from the water tankers provided

The water tankers are located at Kaunakakai Regional Park. The potable drinking water tanker is available 24 hours per day. The non-potable water tanker is available daily from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Residents should bring their own containers, labeling separate containers for potable drinking water and non-potable water for everything else.


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Wharf Woes

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Community debates possible renovations.      

By Melissa Kelsey

From canoe races to weekly barge deliveries, Kaunakakai Wharf is a bustling center of island activity. Keiki swim in the surrounding waters to cool off on hot days, and passengers arriving on the Molokai Princess ferry enjoy their first walk on the Friendly Isle. All this activity has lead the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to target millions of dollars to improve Molokai Princess ferry facilities at the wharf.   

The renovations have been proposed as a result of inadequate restroom facilities for ferry passengers and substandard mechanisms for fighting fires at the wharf, according to Valery Suzuki, the DLNR engineer coordinating the project.  

“Existing commuter ferry operations are vital,” said Suzuki. “Current facilities are inadequate.”

The Proposed Improvements
Suzuki explained that with the volume of passengers arriving on the ferry each day, the current restroom facilities do not meet the needs of passengers. As a result, she said the DLNR hopes to turn the existing ferry waiting station into a new and larger restroom. A new ferry station would be built further away from the barge docking port. Suzuki said this change would reduce safety hazards resulting from the barge docking so close to where the ferry docks.  

The new restrooms would include janitor and storage closets and new underground sewer lines. It was unclear what would happen to the old restroom facilities.

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Molokai Pharmacy At Risk

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Quality of health care is also at stake as community rallies to convince state agency not to restrict union members from doing business with the island’s only drug store.

By Molokai Dispatch Staff

A state-wide plan could require Molokai union members to order prescriptions through the mail. Unless Molokai is granted an exemption from the plan, the island’s only pharmacy, Molokai Drugs, could teeter on the brink of closure, according to the establishment’s owners.

A few weeks ago, the greater Molokai community became aware that the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF) had entered into a contract with InformedRx, Inc, a mainland-based company. The move will prevent members of United Public Workers (UPW) and Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA) from filling their maintenance drug prescriptions at Molokai Drugs.

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Veterans Center OK’d

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Veterans Center OK’d

Museum plans approved with kitchen.   

By Melissa Kelsey

Molokai’s veterans are considered by many to be living legends, and with last Wednesday’s green light to build a new Molokai Veterans Center as a museum, these fine women and men will indeed become living history. Dressed in bright yellow t-shirts, nearly 50 veterans showed up at the Molokai Planning Commission (MoPC) meeting to represent their case for the Veterans Center.  

“A nation that forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten,” said Larry Helm, Commander of the Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans.

Voting unanimously, the MoPC approved the veterans’ request for a Special Management Area (SMA) Minor permit, allowing the group to build the center on the veterans’ property located on Kaunakakai Place Road on the way to the wharf.   

“I think what we need to do today is just get this thing going,” said Steve Chaikin, MoPC Vice Chair.

As a result of the SMA approval, which promotes responsible development in the coastline region, the veterans can now apply for their building permit. This process is expected to take less time compared to the SMA permitting, according to DeGray Vanderbilt, former Chairman of the Planning Commission. Once the veterans obtain a building permit, they can start building. The veterans are counting on volunteer labor to build the center, according to Art Parr, the Molokai veteran who is the architect overseeing the building plans. A licensed contractor, plumber and electrician are also involved to supervise the project.

“I think just getting it started is the most important part,” said Molokai veteran Jeff Nartatez. “It just seemed like they were putting the veterans through a lot with just this one project,” he said.

Memories Get a Permit
The property where the Veterans Center will be built is part of the county’s Interim zoning district. The reason it took the Veterans Center so long to be approved is that the Interim zoning district does not allow for its use. Because museums are one allowed use for the Interim zoning district, last winter Commissioner Teri Waros suggested erecting the center as a museum to make the process go ahead more quickly. As a result, the commissioners approved the Veterans Center to be built technically as a museum.

“It has always been our intent to bring our memorabilia over,” said Parr. “When the idea of a museum was suggested, it made sense because that is what we had planned anyway,” he said.

Helm said the veterans also want to build a memorial at the site to honor Molokai veterans fallen at wartime, as well as those who have passed on at home.

Cooking up a Kitchen
As an organization that loves to cook, the Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans were concerned when they were informed that zoning complications could prevent them from being able to have a kitchen as part of their building plans.   

“We want to provide food and hospitality Molokai style,” said Helm.

As a result of the Veterans Center being approved as a museum, the Maui County Zoning Department ruled that the kitchen on the veterans’ plan was too big for a museum use. After reviewing their legal rights to determine the kitchen’s size, the commissioners approved the kitchen on the original Veterans Center plan anyway, including it as a condition in the SMA Minor permit.

“I think it would be a huge oversight if we were to build this without the necessary kitchen accommodations,” said Commissioner Teri Waros.
 
According to Vanderbilt, the MoPC has the final authority over SMA Minor permits, and there is no reason why the Zoning Department can dictate how big a kitchen can be for museum use.

“It seems that kitchens are a reasonable accessory use to a museum,” said Vanderbilt. “Especially a living museum that honors the many men and women who have given so much of themselves so that we are able to enjoy what we have today,” he said.  

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Medical Marijuana on Trial

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Molokai court weighs eviction of Home Pumehana resident.

By Melissa Kelsey

The legal boundaries of medical marijuana use on Molokai were tested at the Molokai District Court in Kaunakakai last Tuesday. Based on her legal medicinal use of the drug, Gloria Molica is facing possible eviction from Home Pumehana, the senior living center where she resides.

“It is dangerous to the health and safety of the residents,” said Home Pumehana Housing Manager Jersula Manaba, explaining reasons why the living facility does not allow marijuana on its grounds.     

Medical use of marijuana is controversial because it is a federal offense, yet since 2000 has been legal in the state of Hawaii. Sixty-two-year-old Gloria Molica said she has suffered from severe depression and post traumatic stress disorder, so much so that her doctor has prescribed her to use marijuana to treat her symptoms. Molica holds a “blue card,” the certificate that allows Hawaii patients to grow, transport and possess marijuana for personal medical purposes with a physician’s approval.   

Judge Barclay MacDonald heard the Home Pumehana versus Gloria Molica case. Attorney Maria Sullivan represented plaintiff Manaba. Defendant Molica attended the trial without an attorney.   

“I don’t buy, I don’t sell, I do not smoke,” said Molica at the trial. “I vaporize at my own discretion because of my health,” she said.

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Fixing the Pipes

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Molokai Irrigation System gets a makeover.

By Melissa Kelsey

For farms to thrive on Molokai, nothing is more important than a reliable source of water. At the Molokai Irrigation System (MIS), significant water pipe upgrades are almost finished, and promise to make water delivery to the island’s farms even more secure, according to MIS Chairman Adolph Helm.

Helm said the state legislature approved over $1 million toward MIS system upgrades several years ago after state audits revealed massive disrepairs. But it was not until this year that the actual repair work began.   

To the revamp the system, Helm said the primary pipes that connect the MIS from the east end of the island to the west end are being replaced. These lifelines, which service all of the MIS pumps on Molokai, have never been replaced since the MIS was first constructed more than 40 years ago. The MIS system electrical wiring has already been amended to better handle water moisture. As an added perk, a telemetry system will be installed that will allow for remote control of the pumps and give MIS workers the ability to monitor the water flow inside pipes and wells.     



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Planning Commission Votes to Eliminate Stacking.

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

By Melissa Kelsey

Two motions passed by the Molokai Planning Commission (MoPC) last Wednesday could prevent certain types of businesses and homes from being built on small areas of Molokai land.    

No More Stacking
Coffees of Hawaii in Kualapu`u is a business that includes retail and restaurant operations, but it is built on land zoned for purely industrial purposes. A planning concept called “stacking” keeps Coffees of Hawaii legal. Besides manufacturing operations, stacking allows other business classifications to operate on industrial zoned land. These businesses include retail, restaurant and entertainment enterprises.

The first motion passed by the MoPC recommended that the Maui County Council no longer allow non-industrial businesses on Molokai land zoned for industrial use. Stacking  in these areas would be discontinued, with two important exceptions. First, businesses already existing on industrial zones would not be affected. As a result, Coffees of Hawaii and other non-industrial businesses already on industrial zones are safe. However, if those businesses ever cease to exist in the future, they could only be replaced by those that are industrial based. The second exception permits quasi-public organizations, such as the Molokai Veterans Center, to be allowed on industrial zones.

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County Not Producing Maps

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Planning Commission without important reference materials     

By Melissa Kelsey

For a body of leaders who make important decisions on Molokai land use, no tool is as important as maps. That is why members of the Molokai Planning Commission (MoPC) expressed exasperation when the Maui County Planning Department failed to produce Molokai zoning and special management area (SMA) maps on deadline last Wednesday. 
Commissioners had given County planning officials a June 10 deadline to produce the maps after consistent previous requests did not produce results. 

“Shame on the Department for not giving us the appropriate tools,” said Chair of the Planning Commission Joseph Kalipi.  

In his announcement that the maps were still not available, Maui County Planning Department Administrator Clayton Yoshida cited the reason for not providing the maps as an issue of “allocation of resources for the long range.” In particular, he was concerned about how producing maps to the MoPC would affect the County if other commissions were to request similar maps.

Maui County Planning Director Jeffrey Hunt declined to go into the details of why the maps were still not available, but called supplying the maps a “complex issue.”

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National Park Service Announces Date for Kalaupapa Barge

Monday, June 15th, 2009

National Park Service Announces Date for Kalaupapa Barge

By Melissa Kelsey


For Kalaupapa residents waiting to hear if and when this year’s barge delivery would be made to the peninsula, an announcement last Friday assuring their life-line delivery came as a relief to many. The settlement’s annual barge that delivers fuel, food and equipment will sail on August 1 from Honolulu to Kalaupapa, according to Kalaupapa National Park Service (NPS) Superintendent Steve Prokop. Because of a shortage in the fuel supply delivered last year, the settlement has already been observing strict fuel rations since last winter.

For the first time in Kalaupapa’s history, Prokop said the NPS secured a five-year contract with Young Brothers to manage a barge delivery to Kalaupapa every summer through 2014. Before this year, the NPS has negotiated a barge delivery contract and sailing date on an annual basis.

Normally set in the spring, the announcement of the sailing date was delayed this year because the extended five-year contract needed special approval from solicitors at the NPS regional headquarters, according to Prokop. Over the next four years, Prokop said the barge sailing date will be determined earlier in the year, probably in the fall.

Choosing the Boat

The five-year contract is between the NPS and Young Brothers to manage the annual barge delivery. However, Prokop said Young Brothers has not had a barge small enough to fit inside Kalaupapa’s narrow harbor since 2007. Last year, Young Brothers subcontracted a company called American Marine to supply the barge itself. American Marine won the subcontract again this year after at least three vendors competed to supply the barge. Young Brothers will still have to negotiate a vendor to provide the barge on an annual basis for the next four years.

“Young Brothers will tow the barge, but not their barge,” said Prokop.

Securing the Future

Prokop said American Marine is the only company located in the State of Hawaii that has a barge small enough for the Kalaupapa harbor. The other vendors who bid on the contract are out-of-state companies. To secure reliable barge service for the future, Prokop said the NPS is working with Hawaii Senator J. Kalani English to determine if there is a legal route for the State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to require Young Brothers to provide barge service to Kalaupapa.

“We are seeing if there is some way a state agency can require safe and reliable barge service for the Kalaupapa community,” said Prokop. 

Last April, the NPS conducted a series of public scoping meetings to discuss the possibility of Kalaupapa harbor improvements, including dredging. The dredging caused environmental concerns, but would increase the width of the harbor, allowing larger barges to service the peninsula to increase delivery reliability.

Prokop said the extended contract “solves the dredging problem for five years.” While the contract does not solve the long-term problem of the dwindling availability of barges for Kalaupapa, there is now no immediate need to widen the harbor’s channel.

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