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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Lanai Budget Listening Session – April 16, 2026

County Council & Committees — Thursday, April 16, 2026

BodyMaui County, Hawaii

SessionCounty Council & Committees

DateThursday, April 16, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 49:21

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Okay.

0:04

Welcome everybody to the Lanae residency area.

0:08

Thank you for being here.

0:10

The Budget Finance Economic Development Committee.

0:13

We're very grateful to be here.

0:14

My name is Yuki Lee Sugimur.

0:16

I'm the chair of this committee.

0:18

And I will let Member Johnson introduce the members.

0:24

And aloha everyone.

0:26

So happy to see Lanae community coming out and speaking to us about what your what your budget priorities are.

0:33

I'll introduce everybody from our left.

0:35

So from my left here, we have Councilmember Shane Senancy from HANA, aloha councilmember.

0:42

Following up, we have Councilmember Kiani Rollins Fernandez from Molokai, Aloha Councilmember.

0:49

To my left here, we have Councilmember Paulton from West Maui, aloha council member.

0:55

You met the budget chair, Councilmember Sugi Murray from upcountry.

0:59

Aloha.

1:00

We have from Kahaloui, Councilmember Batangan, Aloha Councilmember.

1:05

And then from the Pay Haiku Makuao District area, we have Councilmember U Hajjans, aloha councilmember.

1:13

And last but not least, we have Councilmember Cook from South Maui.

1:16

Aloha Councilmember.

1:18

And turned it back to the chair.

1:20

Thank you, uh Member Johnson.

1:22

So assisting us with today's meeting is the Office of Council Services staff.

1:27

Oh, they're there.

1:29

Um, and there.

1:32

Sorry.

1:33

They're there and there.

1:34

Oh, maybe that's uh your staff.

1:36

Thank you there.

1:37

Also with us from my staff, we have uh um we have Axel Beers and then uh we have uh griffis and in the back we have Roxanne Marita.

1:50

Okay.

1:51

Oh, and then we have Uncle Don here, also a staff member.

1:55

He's a uh mean bowler, so be careful with the man in the hand.

1:59

We also want to thank Vinny from Akaku, who is um filming this in every live.

2:04

Thank you very much.

2:05

And whoever's helping you on at the uh office to make it live.

2:10

Appreciate their help too.

2:11

Thank you, Jen.

2:12

Thank you, Casey from the Office of Council Services.

2:15

Um we have one item on the agenda, which is BFED 1, which is the entire proposed fiscal year budget um as given to us by the mayor uh with the county of Maui.

2:25

And any of you who would like to testify, please identify yourself by name, and you will have in the organization you're from, you will have three minutes to testify.

2:33

And if you're not done, you have another 30 seconds to complete.

2:36

We um we call this our listening session.

2:39

So we're anxious to hear from you uh for what you may think of as concerns for your community that we as the county needs to take into consideration.

2:49

So your voices are very important to us.

2:51

Some of the council members may have questions just to clarify what you testified on, but um it'll all be taken into consideration um as we go through decisions, which is next week.

3:03

So at this time, can you please call the first testifier?

3:06

Yes, Chair.

3:06

The first testifier is Neil Tomashiro to be followed by Auntie Heather Durham.

3:19

Thank you.

3:25

I'm here representing Dr.

3:28

Cook Deren, retired professor and assistant baseball coach, University of Hawaii Manoa.

3:35

Subject sports programs proposal for Lanaye Field House.

3:40

Lanai's community and high school coaches have asked me to represent them tonight at the annual Maui County Maui Council budget committee meeting, Yellow on Lanae.

3:49

First, we would like to thank you for the thank the committee for last year's support for the Lanae Field House Houses Architectural Design Appropriation to construct an extended roof and gutters to the existing facility.

4:02

Second, we believe in Mayor Bison's 2027 budget.

4:07

He may include an appropriation for the construction of the facility's extended roof and gutters.

4:13

Please support this coming construction appropriation.

4:17

Lastly, Mike Proxy, me, we'll provide the committee with our field house sports programs proposal.

4:24

Last year, 2025, Maui County's Park and Recreation Department only approve approved two sports, baseball and softball to be conducted in the facility.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Agriculture███████████████████████████████████████39%

Community Engagement██████████████14%

Parks and Recreation██████████10%

Procedural█████████9%

Youth Programs█████████9%

Economic Development██████6%

Health████4%

Workforce Development███3%

Infrastructure██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Lanai Budget Listening Session – April 16, 2026

The Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee of the Maui County Council held a listening session on Lanai to hear community priorities for the fiscal year 2027 budget. Chair Yuki Lee Sugimura opened the meeting, and council members introduced themselves. The sole agenda item was the entire proposed county budget. Ten public testifiers spoke, and council members asked clarifying questions. No votes were taken; the committee will use the testimony in budget deliberations the following week.

Public Comments & Testimony

Neil Tomashiro (representing Dr. Cook, retired professor) asked the committee to support the construction appropriation for the Lanai Field House extended roof and gutters, and requested that more sports programs (e.g., archery, golf) be allowed in the facility. In response to Councilmember Paulton, he confirmed the two currently approved sports are baseball and softball.
Heather Durham (representing Kupuna) thanked the committee for funding MEO, Kini Ole, and the community health center, and urged deeper funding to allow seniors to age in place and to train youth in healthcare careers.
Michelle Winehouse (owner, Kapua’s Farm) reported that agriculture programs (FAM, MEDB, MEO, etc.) helped her farm achieve 900% sales growth from 2024 to 2025 and increase squash production from 100 lbs to over 700 lbs in Q1 2026. She requested interim payments for the Lanai Food Stimulus Program (currently reimbursed every six months) and advocated for increasing the agriculture budget (currently 0.2% of the total). She also expressed interest in applying for the farm-to-family grant.
Natalie Ropa (UH Maui College) did not request funding but sought to repurpose the old Lanai Youth Center building for UH Maui College’s early college dual enrollment program. She noted that 30 of 50 students in the class of 2026 participated in the program, and seven earned associate degrees. She also highlighted the need for a permanent CNA/LPN lab. Councilmember Johnson offered to discuss further.
David Embrae (farmer, 50 years) criticized the small agriculture budget and called for a hotel tax to sustainably fund farmers. He said microgrants and stimulus programs do not help commercial farmers, and urged a program that pays farmers upfront to grow crops. He also noted the loss of a commercial kitchen on Lanai.
Butch Gima (Chair, Lanai Planning Commission) made six requests: (1) allocate funds for planning and permitting to convert the First Hawaiian Bank property into a multi-purpose facility with overnight stays for visiting agencies; (2) fund hybrid planning commission meetings (currently only Zoom); (3) fund public works for cemetery maintenance; (4) fund changes to boards and commissions code; (5) thanked the council for working with the administration on affordable housing; (6) criticized the Department of Agriculture for not conducting a survey of produce demand to match farmers. Councilmember Paulton asked about including a commercial kitchen.
John Janikowski (family physician) supported Lanai Kino Ole home health agency, noting a waitlist, and thanked the committee for past appropriations. He also reported that the agency’s medical assistant program led to one MA entering nursing school.
Rose Jane “Cheddar” (MEO branch manager) asked the committee to continue funding MEO’s transportation services for seniors, which provide rides to medical appointments, shopping, and the senior center.
Stan Ridis requested a community center with emergency shelter below the skate park, and a vehicle maintenance base. He emphasized that Lanai is last to receive support services. Councilmember Johnson responded that the military is considering building a Category 5 shelter on county land and that the Kaikohana affordable housing project includes a community center open to all residents.
Fran Odochi Wade (Lanai Farmers Market, Hawaii Farmers Union United) supported all previous testimony, especially Natalie Ropa’s building request. She asked for shorter payment timelines for farmers, continued funding for the Lanai Food Stimulus Program, repair of the green waste composting machine, and a commercial kitchen/processing center. Councilmember Paulton clarified the compost ask; Councilmember Sonansi suggested contacting the Department of Agriculture about an aggregation center.

Discussion Items

Council members asked clarifying questions of several testifiers, including about the field house sports, stimulus payment frequency, possible building use for UH Maui College, and the First Hawaiian Bank property. No substantive debate on the budget occurred, as the session was designed for listening.

Key Outcomes

The committee will use all testimony received during the listening session to inform its decisions on the fiscal year 2027 budget, which will be deliberated the following week. No formal motions or votes were taken.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Welcome everybody to the Lanae residency area. Thank you for being here. The Budget Finance Economic Development Committee. We're very grateful to be here. My name is Yuki Lee Sugimur. I'm the chair of this committee. And I will let Member Johnson introduce the members. And aloha everyone. So happy to see Lanae community coming out and speaking to us about what your what your budget priorities are. I'll introduce everybody from our left. So from my left here, we have Councilmember Shane Senancy from HANA, aloha councilmember. Following up, we have Councilmember Kiani Rollins Fernandez from Molokai, Aloha Councilmember. To my left here, we have Councilmember Paulton from West Maui, aloha council member. You met the budget chair, Councilmember Sugi Murray from upcountry. Aloha. We have from Kahaloui, Councilmember Batangan, Aloha Councilmember. And then from the Pay Haiku Makuao District area, we have Councilmember U Hajjans, aloha councilmember. And last but not least, we have Councilmember Cook from South Maui. Aloha Councilmember. And turned it back to the chair. Thank you, uh Member Johnson. So assisting us with today's meeting is the Office of Council Services staff. Oh, they're there. Um, and there. Sorry. They're there and there. Oh, maybe that's uh your staff. Thank you there. Also with us from my staff, we have uh um we have Axel Beers and then uh we have uh griffis and in the back we have Roxanne Marita. Okay. Oh, and then we have Uncle Don here, also a staff member. He's a uh mean bowler, so be careful with the man in the hand. We also want to thank Vinny from Akaku, who is um filming this in every live. Thank you very much. And whoever's helping you on at the uh office to make it live. Appreciate their help too. Thank you, Jen. Thank you, Casey from the Office of Council Services. Um we have one item on the agenda, which is BFED 1, which is the entire proposed fiscal year budget um as given to us by the mayor uh with the county of Maui. And any of you who would like to testify, please identify yourself by name, and you will have in the organization you're from, you will have three minutes to testify. And if you're not done, you have another 30 seconds to complete. We um we call this our listening session. So we're anxious to hear from you uh for what you may think of as concerns for your community that we as the county needs to take into consideration. So your voices are very important to us. Some of the council members may have questions just to clarify what you testified on, but um it'll all be taken into consideration um as we go through decisions, which is next week. So at this time, can you please call the first testifier? Yes, Chair. The first testifier is Neil Tomashiro to be followed by Auntie Heather Durham. Thank you.

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