By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui Bureau
KIHEI, Maui — Mayor James "Kimo" Apana has excused more than $138,000 in fines imposed on a property owner whose Namau‘u Place houses were considered unfit for human habitation and a health and fire hazard for more than three years.
Apana acknowledged yesterday that Rogelio Evangelista of Kahului was allowed to pay the original Feb. 8, 1999, fine of $400, plus the $5,453 amount it cost to clear the properties in January, leaving no obligation to pay the rest of the $144,000 due the county through the accumulation of $100-a-day fines.
Apana said the settlement was intended to encourage action from the property owner rather than risk dragging out the situation in a long court battle.
"Our goal is to have the situation remedied," the mayor said.
But several neighbors said they believe the owner got off too easily.
"The property should have been seized by the county a long time ago," said one Namau‘u Place resident. "If he doesn’t pay up, why should anybody else? It will set a bad standard."
Evangelista, who is chairman of the state Office of Veterans Services Advisory Board, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Ralph Nagamine, chief of the county’s land use and codes administration, said Evangelista’s properties are under investigation for further violations of county housing and beautification codes. He said his investigators responded to new complaints this week.
But Apana visited the properties yesterday and said they appear to be in decent shape.
Regarding his decision to give the property owner a break, Apana compared the situation to when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency forgave millions in dollars in fines against Maui County for sewer spills in the 1990s. That decision was based on what’s best for fixing the problem, he said, and that’s what he wants to accomplish for Namau‘u Place.
"I’d rather give a chance for a clean community," he said.
Had the mayor taken a hard line on the fines, the situation could have been delayed in court much longer, said Richard Minatoya, the county attorney handling the case.
Minatoya said he recommended that Apana approve the settlement with Evangelista. He said it was likely a judge would have thrown out many of the fines because the county didn’t go to court to attempt to enforce the matter from the beginning.
Minatoya, who joined the county in January, said predecessors apparently allowed the case to slip through the cracks, and he has been assigned to keep on top of violators. He has filed dozens of suits to back up recent enforcement attempts.
Apana said his administration is preparing to bring in a new computer system that, among other things, will prevent such instances from recurring.
Namau‘u Place, a half-mile-long street in central Kihei, has been in the news in recent years. Several hundred residents rallied there nearly three years ago and posted anti-drug signs in an effort to cut down the drug dealing on the street.
In January, a fire in a cottage at one of Evangelista’s two properties resulted in injury to two teenagers. Residents went to the Maui County Council with complaints about the homes, and officials responded by clearing the properties.
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