Pioneer Mill gets reprieve

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

WAILUKU, Maui — The historic Pioneer Mill in Lahaina won a reprieve yesterday, although perhaps just a brief one.

The lack of a quorum by the Maui County Cultural Resources Commission resulted in postponing consideration of a demolition permit request by Amfac's Pioneer Mill Co. Ltd.

While five of the nine commissioners attended yesterday's meeting, Chairman James "Kimo" Falconer recused himself from voting because he is a vice president of Pioneer Mill.

The agenda item, which was to include a presentation by Amfac Land Co. on its demolition plan, was rescheduled to 9 a.m. Oct. 4. The meeting will be held at the Lahaina Civic Center to allow more West Maui residents to attend.

Amfac, which closed its plantation in 1999, is hoping to flatten most of the old sugar mill, including the 200-foot brick smokestack, to make way for either commercial or industrial development.

Some Lahaina residents have suggested that the factory be spared for a museum or commercial reuse or, at the very least, that the smokestack be preserved as a historical landmark.

But John Higham of Amfac Land Co. said yesterday that the mill buildings and the smokestack are in ill repair and rehabilitating them would be too costly.

Higham said the smokestack has not been used, repaired or maintained since 1965 and is in danger of collapsing in a hurricane or earthquake. One structural engineer noted that the stack likely does not meet earthquake standards, he said, and another consultant estimated it would cost $200,000 just to fix the obvious damage.

"It's a landmark, no question. But it's in bad shape,'' he said.

Higham added that the company has an obligation to its shareholders to make the most money out of its land.

The demolition is planned to include the factory building, machine shop, blacksmith building, sugar bin, cane washer, carpentry shop and several other small structures. Some buildings currently occupied for the production of the company's Ka'anapali Estate Coffee will be spared, Higham said.

The West Maui plantation was founded in 1861, and at one time farmed more than 14,000 acres spread across 16 miles on the slopes above Lahaina.

The State Historic Preservation Division is not opposing the demolition but recommended that the county require photographic and oral histories of the mill.

Any decision by the commission acts as a recommendation to the county Department of Public Works and Waste Management.