Kihei high school reaches EIS stage

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KIHEI - Heads up, the state Department of Education is telling the public, the much-anticipated environmental impact statement for the proposed Kihei high school is on its way.

The DOE is moving ahead with a roughly $120 million plan to build a 1,650-student high school on 77 acres mauka of Piilani Highway at the intersection with Kulanihakoi Street.

"I'm just glad they finally got to this point, so we can finally move forward," said Sen. Roz Baker, whose district includes South Maui and who secured more than $20 million for the new high school's planning, site acquisition and construction over the past several years.

The draft environmental impact statement should be complete in about seven months, state officials said. They have a ballpark schedule to begin soliciting a design and construction firm in April, start construction in July 2012 and open the school in June 2014.

The decided-upon site for Kihei high school is made up of two parcels, each owned by Haleakala Ranch Co. and Kaonoulu Ranch LLP. The state is currently in negotiations to purchase the fallow farm fields and ranch lands, said project coordinator Robert Purdie Jr. of the DOE's Facilities Development Branch.

For the project to move forward, aside from finding a funding source in difficult economic times, the DOE will need to change the site's State Land Use District agricultural designation to urban, proponents said. And Maui County must change the zoning to public/quasi public as well as include it in the Kihei-Makena Community Plan.

"Isn't that just wonderful news?" asked state Rep. Joe Bertram III, who represents South Maui. "I don't know where the funds are going to come from, but we are making progress."

For now, the Department of Education is still pursuing a "design-build" request for the proposal, Purdie said. This would allow the state to partner with a private developer or company that, hopefully, would be willing - as the phrase indicates - to design the project, do the engineering, get the permits and pay to build it and finally construct the campus.

This private entity would then lease back the school campus until the state could purchase it outright, Purdie said.

Considering the tough economy, it might be more of a challenge to find someone with the will and means to accomplish such an endeavor, both Bertram and Baker said.

However, Maui developer Everett Dowling is still considered a candidate despite recent serious financial setbacks with his former Makena Resort project, Baker said. Dowling was successful in constructing Kihei's Kamalii Elementary School in a similar arrangement, she noted.

The idea of a Kihei High School has been bandied about for decades. And Gov. Linda Lingle is a supporter of the new high school and has included money for it in her recent budget proposals.

"The project is coming together, and we've had great participation from the parents and county," Purdie said. "We're working to put it together, but I think people would be surprised by how early in the process we still are."

Last week, the state and its consultant, Group 70 International, issued what's called an environmental impact statement preparation notice in order to collect public input on how the Department of Education should move forward in addressing issues such as construction concerns, location and site design, archeological studies and social impacts.

The plan right now is to construct the 9-12th grade Kihei High School in two phases that would each accommodate about 800 students. The combined four main educational and administrative buildings would encompass about 215,000 square feet.

The school would also have its own gymnasium, football and track stadium with bleachers and tennis courts as well as soccer, softball and baseball fields. Eventually, the DOE wants to add a swimming pool, too, Purdie said. Kulanihakoi Street would be extended mauka across Piilani Highway. It will become the campus's main artery.

The high school would also be the first in the state to be a certified energy efficient building under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.

The EIS preparation notice stated that Kihei is one of the fastest-growing communities in the state, with a population that went from 11,107 to 16,749 from 1990 to 2000.

Bertram said that students who live in Kihei, Wailea and Makena currently travel up to 20 miles to Wailuku's Baldwin High School or Kahului's Maui High School, where they then face problems with overcrowding.

"It's an absurd practice," Bertram said.

Bertram, who is a member of the House Education Committee, has supported the state taking a duel track and helping fund an expansion of Kihei Charter School to accommodate high school students.

Comments must be sent by Dec. 8 to the following agencies: DOE Facilities Development Branch, P.O. Box 2360, Honolulu, 96804. Attn: Robert Purdie Jr.; the DOE Office of the Superintendent, Queen Liliuokalani Building, 1390 Miller St., Room 309, Honolulu 96804, Attn: Patricia Hamamoto; Group 70 International Inc., 925 Bethel St., 5th Floor, Honolulu 96813, Attn: Christine Ruotola or e-mail cruotola@group70int. com.

* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.