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Under a bill being heard by the Maui County Council on Friday, bond funding for the Wailuku town four-level parking structure will be halved, with some council members pushing for a two-story structure instead.
The bill undercuts the long-debated Wailuku Civic Complex project, which includes a four-story parking structure and a three-story civic center for county office buildings and public use space at the site of the municipal parking lot in Wailuku town.
Maui County Assistant Communications Director Chris Sugidono said late Wednesday afternoon that a two-story parking structure could not be built with the $14 million decrease in bond funding. If the structure does not move forward as currently planned, it would impact the infrastructure work that was scheduled to begin this month.
The two-story structure also would leave fewer stalls than are currently available in the municipal parking lot, he said.
If the bill passes its two readings before the full council, "the administration is going to look at the various options and move forward from there."
The bill to reduce the structure's bond funding comes amid opposition to the $80 million price tag for the parking structure/civic center project, as well as concerns about its size and aesthetics.
The project has been decades in the making. Supporters say the complex is needed for revitalization and more parking for the town.
In 2018, $44 million was approved by the Maui County Council for the first phase, including surrounding infrastructure improvements and the four-story parking garage. Bond funding of $42 million also was approved for the first phase.
Last December, the council appropriated another $40 million for the second phase for which bond funding has not yet been approved. The second phase involves a three-story civic building and plaza.
Last week, the council Economic Development and Budget Committee took the unusual action of amending the already approved general obligation bond authorization ordinance. Bids have been issued for the infrastructure work and were closed Tuesday for the parking structure; preparations were being made for the impacts of the project.
The committee decreased the appropriation for the Wailuku Civic Complex by $14 million, which would leave $27.8 million for the first phase. According to council documents, this would totally fund Phase 1A infrastructure improvements and 50 percent of the Phase1B parking structure.
The committee report said that "Phase 1B's scope will need to be scaled back by half."
The bill will be taken up for first reading at Friday's council meeting at 9 a.m. in Council Chambers. The bill needs two approvals before heading to Mayor Michael Victorino's desk.
The deadline for bids for the four-story parking structure was Tuesday. The lowest bid came in at $30 million.
So far, the county has contracted out $13 million for the infrastructure work, which includes construction management and land survey work. Another $255,000 is expected to be needed for temporary parking, Sugidono said.
If the budget is reduced to the proposed $27 million, it would leave only $14.5 million for the parking structure and related improvements, such as the access road, American with Disabilities Act accessible walkways, lighting, landscaping and security, he said.
If the parking structure were reduced to two levels, there would be fewer stalls than currently exist. There are 214 stalls at the municipal lot; the two-story version would have only 185 stalls, Sugidono said.
In addition, the infrastructure plans call for fewer on-street parking stalls, which were to be offset by the larger parking structure.
"If the parking structure does not move forward, it is unlikely the roads projects can move forward as designed," Sugidono said.
At last week's Economic Development and Budget Committee meeting, the amendment to halve the parking structure bond funds was described as a "compromise" by budget committee Chairwoman Keani Rawlins-Fernandez. In March, an effort to scrap bond funding for the parking structure was turned away by council members.
She was skeptical that the civic complex would be built and therefore fewer stalls would be needed in the parking structure. Rawlins-Fernandez suggested transferring the funds saved from the parking structure to a county employee parking lot closer to the Kalana O Maui building.
Last week's committee vote was six in favor and three opposed to the amendment. Those voting in favor were Kelly King, Rawlins-Fernandez, Tamara Paltin, Alice Lee, Mike Molina and Shane Sinenci. Those opposed were Riki Hokama, Yuki Lei Sugimura and Tasha Kama.
"I get a growing sense for phase 2 (the civic complex) there are concerns," said Molina.
The public may be OK with funding parking and sewer work, but "the big albatross for a lot of people is the proposed civic center, most of all the cost and the aesthetics of it."
King said there isn't a need for county offices with the Maui County Service Center in Puunene being built. She supported increasing parking, but spreading it around Wailuku.
Scaling back the structure would delay work on the project a year or longer, especially if the project needs to be redesigned, said Hokama, who supported the parking structure as budget chairman on the last council. He said funding could lapse and costs could rise with delays.
Hokama noted the decades of discussions and various plans for more parking in Wailuku town. He looked to the civic complex to take care of county employees' future needs with parking and offices.
"I can tell you, it's popular to vote 'no' today (against the project). In God's heart, I believe that's the wrong thing to do," he said.
Sugimura noted the input and community involvement for the existing plan. She was concerned about how decreasing the bond funding would impact the whole project.
"We are gradually strangling it, and killing it, and eventually it will be dead," she said.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.