Maui County Council considers bill on post-fire cleanup options

The Maui County Council is considering a bill that would give residents and businesses the option to have the government remove fire debris from their properties for free.

Bill 86 will head to a council committee for more discussion on Sept. 26, despite some Upcountry residents and Mayor Richard Bissen seeking to move the bill through more quickly. Some West Maui residents, however, asked the council not to pass the bill yet, saying it is too soon and some are not aware of the bill.

"There is a lot of questions. I don't understand this," Lahaina resident Kelli Keahi said of the bill. "So I'm not for this being passed today. I really do feel Lahaina needs questions and answers and before we make a decision what's right for us at this point."

Bill 86 also sets a framework for an alternative removal process done at an owner's expense. The bill also discusses penalties, such as fines or declaring a property as a nuisance and a health hazard, if a cleanup done by alternative means is not done by a certain time period.

Keahi, who lost her home in the fire, said there is a lot to take in from the bill, including the ability to opt out of the government program for debris removal, along with penalties.

Napili resident Jennifer Pederson said she was not trying to be divisive but knows there are different needs between Lahaina and Kula fire victims. She said many West Maui residents may not know about the bill or may have found out about it late.

"I did have a chance to read it, and I red lined a lot," she said, asking for the bill be sent to committee Friday.

She said it is important for details to be addressed and questions to be answered so residents can understand what they are willing to support.

But some Kula residents asked for their cleanup process to be expedited, over concerns of the lingering toxic materials in neighborhoods where some residents still live, along with possible environmental hazards if the debris gets into gulches.

Kyle Ellison said residents want the county's help in removing hazardous trees, which could be covered under the government program.

Ellison has been one of the leaders of the Kula hub, which has served as a collection and distribution site for donations and a gathering spot for groups of volunteers who have been removing green waste from affected properties.

"We are one rain event away from the next preventable disaster," he said, speaking about the urgency of removing the large green waste debris.

Kula resident Andre Fehlman, whose home burned in the fire, said the neighborhood is eager to clean up the debris.

"I personally feel strongly that the entire process is moving along way too slowly," he said.

Fehlman said there are also neighbors whose homes were not burned, but they still live in the neighborhood next to the burned areas.

"The longer it takes, the longer people have to live in that toxic dust," he added.

Noting that Kula and Lahaina have different needs and time tables in the cleanup process, some council members raised the question of addressing each community separately in the bill, which Deputy Corporation Counsel Michael Hopper said could be a possibility.

While the bill is under consideration, the county is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other groups on getting the free debris removal program set up for people who want it, said Erin Wade, who is handling enrollment and outreach for debris management as part of a debris task force. She is also chief of planning and development for the county's Department of Management.

Wade said Bill 86 addresses the alternative plan if property owners do not want to go along with the government program.

She also understands the hesitancy to take action on the bill and the need for time to absorb it. However, she said the county wants to be expeditious and put forward the bill.

In a letter to the council, Bissen asked that Bill 86 and another measure "be considered expeditiously given their importance relating to the ongoing wildfire emergency."

When Wade spoke to Kula residents about debris cleanup, she said she did not have an alternative plan to offer to Kula residents impacted by the fire. But most residents decided to go along with the free government program.

Wade said she wants to have an alternative plan to offer residents, including those in Lahaina.

The county announced Thursday that it hopes to get the first groups of residents and possibly businesses in to Lahaina see their fire-damaged properties on Sept. 25. These are properties that the Environmental Protection Agency has inspected and removed hazardous household materials from.

With hazardous materials removed, property owners and tenants can visit their properties for closure and to gather any personal effects, the county said. Debris removal will follow.

Cole Glenwright, recovery operations section chief for the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, told the council Friday that cleanup of fire-stricken properties may run in the $70,000 range, though it depends on the size of the structure and the cost could be different in Hawaii.

Glenwright added that from his experiences with California wildfires, only about 15 percent of people opt out of the free debris removal government program and do it themselves. This tends to be corporations and or those who are highly insured and may want to use their own contractor for cleanup.

The cleanup bill was one of several measures related to the fire that the council considered Friday. The council also approved a resolution "urging the mayor to hire a qualified CPA firm or similar professional entity to ensure Maui County maximizes its access to federal disaster relief funds."

The resolution said that with county officials focused on recovery efforts, they may not have the capacity to develop the expertise required to access all available funding. Employing a firm with expertise in helping clients obtain federal grants may be an asset to the county.

Council members also referred two resolutions relating to the wildfires for more discussion in committees, including a resolution "authorizing a council committee to conduct a formal investigation of county agencies on the county's response to the August 2023 wildfires on Maui island." The resolution was referred to the Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee.

The other approved resolution "urging the governor and the mayor to expedite manufactured and modular developments in areas support by the West Maui Community Plan," was referred to the Disaster, Resilience, International Affairs and Planning Committee.

The resolution says the housing crisis has been exacerbated in West Maui and that "expeditious permitting of manufactured and modular housing developments in areas supported by the West Maui Community Plan will provide meaningful relief to those displaced during the August 2023 wildfires."

* Staff Writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.