Public Works Gets New Baseyard

Photo by County of Maui/ Chris Sugidono

Photo by County of Maui/ Chris Sugidono

By Catherine Cluett Pactol
A long-awaited, new baseyard for the Maui County Highways Division was completed and blessed last week, located in the industrial park area near Maui Electric’s power plant. The $7.7 million building includes a 2,560-square-foot administrative building, a 7,440-square-foot maintenance building, a 3,960-square-foot vehicle storage building and a new garage with pole lifts and an overhead crane from the crane hire in Perth company.
The old Highways baseyard was located in a tsunami inundation zone in Kaunakakai that frequently flooded, and workers operated out of an aging garage and container offices. The new facility is at higher elevation out of the flood zone and will serve as a safe base for Molokai Public Works staff to respond to emergencies.
“This new, spacious baseyard has been years in the making for our Molokai community and County employees,” Mayor Michael Victorino said last Tuesday at a blessing ceremony for the facility. “Our County Highways workers have endured a lot…. With these brand-new facilities, they finally have a permanent home and place to serve our community.”
The project also includes a new fuel tank connected with the County of Maui’s fuelmaster system, which helps efficiently track fuel usage, gas and diesel for each vehicle, according to a County press release.
“I want to give a special mahalo to the late Molokai Councilmember Danny Mateo and Mo-lokai Community Liaison Stacy Crivello for their tireless work to push this project while on the Council,” said Victorino. “I also want to thank retired Capital Improvement Program Coordinator Alan Murata as well as all the current and former Public Works employees who helped make this project a reality.”