Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 11, 1 November 2004 — Mū’olea purchase [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mū’olea purchase

In September, the Maui County Council unanimously approved a $1 million contribution towards the purchase of Mū'olea Point in East Maui, the rich cultural and coastal resources of whieh the county plans to preserve. The county's contribution is the last of the $3 million dollars needed to purchase the 73-acre parcel, whieh contains a heiau and King Kalākaua's summer home. The property is temporarily in the possession of the nonprofit group Trust for Puhlie Lands (TPL), whieh obtained a $4.05 million loan to buy the property from Hanahuli Associates ine., in order to remove it from the private market. TPL, a national organization founded in 1972 to conserve land for people, has agreed to sell the land to the County of Maui for a little more than $3 million. The group is planning to raise money to make up the difference. The National Oeeanie and Atmospheric Administration awarded the county a $2 million grant for the purchase, and OHA's board provided a $342,000 contribution, with the recommendation that the county consider transferring management and control of the land and its waters to the sovereign Native Hawaiian entity upon its recognition by the U.S. and the State of Hawai'i. "OHA's contribution to the purchase serves two purposes," said board Chairperson Haunani Apoliona. "First it ensures that our important coastal and cultural resources are protected for future generations, and second, it empowers our Native Hawaiian community for the kuleana (responsibility) of land stewardship, as has been committed to by the County of Maui." Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa's assistant on environmental concerns, Rob Parsons, said that the county will work with community nonprofits to manage and maintain Mū'olea Point.

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