By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — Maui County wants to assign street addresses to properties in rural Kula to make it easier for police, firefighters and paramedics to find homes in emergencies.
Many properties in the Upcountry community have rural route mailbox numbers and sometimes their own addresses. But they don’t have numbers issued by the county.
It’s a problem that leaves 911 dispatchers sometimes describing a far-flung residence as being "the second left off Kula Highway, past the first fire hydrant and around the bend until you see the brown house with the red Honda Civic parked in the driveway." Residents often must stand on the road to make sure emergency vehicles find their destinations.
There are times when the instructions have to be repeated and precious minutes are lost, said Kurt Morimoto, Maui County operations manager for American Medical Response, the county’s paramedic contractor.
"A restructured, organized address system is definitely what we need,’’ Morimoto said.
The Maui Police and Fire departments are supporting the project. Fire Chief Clayton Ishikawa said a uniform address system should result in less confusion and quicker responses.
A presentation about the county’s project will be given during a Kula Community Association meeting at 7 tonight in the Kula Community Center. A more detailed presentation will be made at the association’s April 19 meeting.
In the coming weeks, letters will be sent to more than 2,000 Kula residents asking for information to help the county accurately assign street addresses, said Lance Taguchi, executive assistant to Mayor James "Kimo" Apana.
Taguchi said he’s working with the Postal Service, the Kula Community Association and a group called Community Voices Upcountry to launch the project. The Postal Service will distribute surveys, while the community groups will encourage their members to supply the information.
In addition to assisting emergency services, he said, the effort will result in better mapping of Kula for a geographic information system the county is working to implement. The system is being designed to assist county employees with keeping track of zoning, permits and other government functions.
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