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Ask The Mayor

Mayor Michael Victorino answers some of the most-asked questions submitted to his office staff.

Q: If someone wants to dispose of a junk vehicle that hasn’t been registered in a long time, do they have to pay a large amount of back taxes to the county?

A: Let me guess — you’re asking for a friend? Regardless, you can tell them that back taxes, fees or penalties are not charged when a vehicle owner permanently junks their vehicle with the Division of Motor Vehicles and Licensing.

The County of Maui’s Metals and Abandoned Vehicles Section works hard every day to encourage and help our residents to dispose of their nonfunctioning vehicles for free. Under the Junk Vehicle Disposal Assistance Program, each resident may dispose one vehicle per calendar year at no charge.

All you have to do is register the vehicle as “Permanently Junked” with the Department of Motor Vehicles and Licensing, complete an Intake form and arrange to have your vehicle delivered to Hammerhead Metals Recycling on Maui Veterans Highway in Puunene.

Instructions and forms can be found at www.mauicounty.gov/2155/Junk-Vehicle-Disposal-Assistance-Program.

We are in the process of streamlining the disposal assistance program to make it easier for the public to dispose of their vehicle. As a reminder, though, it is a crime to dump a vehicle anywhere in the county, whether it’s along the road or in a field. The owner will be fined and will be required to pay all charges for removing and disposing of the vehicle.

To report an abandoned vehicle, call the Maui Police Department nonemergency line at 244-6400 and select “0.” Make sure to have the address or location, vehicle color, make, model and license plate (if there is one) available when you call. If you have other questions, please call the county’s Abandoned Vehicles hotline at 270-6102.

Q: Aloha Mayor, I’m really looking forward to seeing the new Kihei gym and would love to do a volleyball tournament there! What do I do to secure a spot?

A: Mahalo for your question and excitement! I cannot wait to unveil this state-of-the-art facility today to our South Maui community, which has waited long enough for a gym of their own.

Our Department of Parks and Recreation is anticipating an enormous demand for use of the South Maui Community Park Gymnasium and is specifically opening a Tri-Annual Permit Process for the Winter/Spring 2020 season for the new gym.

However, since your request is for a special event (which includes tournaments), you’ll have to wait until Jan. 2 to submit your application. Make sure you submit your application no less than 30 days in advance and no more than a year prior to your event.

To handle the anticipated volume during the initial first-come, first-served period for the new facility, all applications will be accepted and processed at the parks department Main Permit Office at the War Memorial Complex in Wailuku from Jan. 2 to 10. Beginning Jan. 13, applications for the facility will be accepted at all permit offices countywide for the same uses and reservation periods.

Application request packets will be available at all department permit offices and also on the County of Maui website at www.mauicounty.gov/parks. Application requests will be reviewed in the priority order outlined in the department’s administrative rules (also available at www.mauicounty.gov/parks).

For all leagues and requests for recreational athletic use during the Winter/Spring 2020 season, you’ll want to submit your application starting Tuesday. You’ll have until 4 p.m. Friday to claim a spot for the season of Jan. 1 to April 15.

Applications will be accepted at the main parks department Permits Office located at the War Memorial Complex and at the South Maui permit office located at the Kihei Community Center. Complete applications may also be emailed to DPRpermits@mauicounty.gov. Applications must be complete to be processed.

Any applications not received in person or via email by 4 p.m. Friday will not be considered. Applicants having missed the application window may submit standard permit applications for the South Maui Community Park Gymnasium on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Jan. 2, space-permitting.

I know many of you are very eager to begin using this awesome new facility, so I’d like to ask you all to take ownership of this gym and look after it so it may be enjoyed for years to come.

* Want to Ask the Mayor? Submit your Maui County related questions to Mayor Michael Victorino by email at askthemayor@mauicounty.gov, by phone at 270-7855 or by mail at 200 S. High St., ninth floor, Wailuku 96793. Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the “Ask the Mayor” column; to request a personal response to a concern, email mayors.office@mauicounty.gov.

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