By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — A Maui County Council committee again tabled a proposal to create a one-stop center for county services yesterday, prompting Mayor James "Kimo" Apana to lash out at members for being "petty."
It was the second time this month the council’s Budget and Finance Committee delayed approval of the mayor’s request to issue $700,000 in bonds for renovations to a 12,000-square-foot space for the center at the Maui Mall in Kahului.
Last month, Apana agreed to a 10-year lease for the mall space with A&B Properties Inc., a $200,000 expenditure. The council gave Apana the green light last year to seek the new space, but it reserved the right to approve the financing for renovations.
Two weeks ago, committee members, led by Councilman Alan Arakawa, asked for additional information about the project, and yesterday they told county Finance Director Wesley Lo to come back with more, including detailed interior design plans.
Arakawa, who ran against Apana for mayor two years ago, is attempting to micromanage the project, Apana said. He said the council needs only to consider the plan in concept.
There’s no money to draw up detailed plans at this time, said Apana, who said the council’s action threatens to push back opening of the center until next year.
Arakawa said he’s not trying to micromanage the project. He said he just wants the administration to satisfy the requirement set by last term’s council: provide detailed plans for the project.
"They haven’t done their homework," Arakawa said. "They’ve come to us with nothing."
The proposal would move the county Finance Department’s Real Property Tax Office and the Motor Vehicle Registration and Licensing Division from cramped offices at the War Memorial Complex.
The proposal has been described as a centralized office where residents will be able to pay for water service, trash collection, property taxes and other fees at one place.
Arakawa previously called the proposal "ill-conceived" and "a bad expenditure of taxpayer dollars."
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