Kula Agricultural Park addition completed

262-acre addition for $6M to grow site to 709 acres

Maui County completed the purchase of 262 acres of old Alexander & Baldwin sugar fields to increase the size of the Kula Agricultural Park to 709 acres for $6 million, the outgoing mayoral administration of Alan Arakawa announced Monday.

The state has put in $5 million in general obligation bonds with the support of state Rep. Kyle Yamashita, and Gov. David Ige released the funds in early December, the county news release said.

The county is putting in $1 million, which was approved by the County Council for the last fiscal year with funds needing to be encumbered by Monday, Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura said in a Nov. 11 "Chair's 3 Minutes" column in The Maui News. The council approved the acquisition Nov. 2.

The new addition is located at the intersection of Pulehu and Omaopio roads, said Guy Hironaka, county Finance Department Real Property manager.

"Expanding land availability for small diversified farmers has been an important goal for me," said Arakawa, "The county can provide low-cost, long-term leases, which provides the farms with stability."

Teena Rasmussen, outgoing director of the county Office of Economic Development, said the county has been in negotiations for four years on various parcels near the Kula Agricultural Park.

"None of the parcels previously considered were ideal. Once HC&S (Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co.) shut down their operations, the focus turned to their lands," she said, noting that Arakawa negotiated directly with A&B executives.

The addition to the Kula Agricultural Park comes about a week after the closing of A&B's sale of 41,000 acres of former sugar fields to Mahi Pono, a joint venture of Pomona Farming LLC and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, for $262 million.

Hironaka confirmed that the Kula Agricultural Park sale was with A&B and not Mahi Pono. He said that the 262 acres will be added to the current 447-acre park.

In her column, Sugimura said that 26 farmers work 31 farm lots from 10 to 30 acres. Items grown include a variety of vegetables, turf grass, landscape nursery products, flowers, bananas and dryland taro. The sites are leased primarily to small farmers for $100 per acre per year.

The new phase will allow for conventional and organic farmers, she said. Nearly 100 acres will be set aside for organic farming in an area carved out by natural buffer zones.

An agreement with A&B will provide an additional 1 million gallons of water a day to the new land, she said. This will not affect the water availability for the current park, which draws 1.5 mgd.

Sugimura said that the county has plans to expand the park to more than 1,300 acres.

* Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com.

** This story includes a correction from original publication on Jan. 3, 2019.