Maui mayor questions Apana loan

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

WAILUKU, Maui — Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa yesterday said a fund-raising initiative by his predecessor James "Kimo" Apana to place computers in every public classroom in Maui County is heading to default and likely will cost taxpayers nearly $500,000.

ARAKAWA

APANA

But Apana said in a statement that he's continuing to raise money for the Maui Tech Ready program and, in fact, had spent the past two days in Honolulu making grant application presentations to private foundations.

"I'm doing this on my own time and at my own expense because this program is good for our kids and for our community,'' Apana said.

The $1.5 million Maui Tech Ready program not only brought computers to Maui County schools but also supports the award-winning Project EAST high-school computer laboratory project.

Arakawa, in a statement released yesterday, offered excerpts from a television interview quoting the former mayor as saying Tech Ready was based on a personal loan that he and his wife took out and that it would be paid off by private donations.

"We were shocked to learn that the former mayor had obligated the taxpayers of Maui County to pay off what had so frequently been described as a private loan,'' he said.

Arakawa, who took over from Apana less than a month ago, said that while the effort to upgrade the schools was laudable and for the most part successful, he questioned the appropriateness of obligating the county for the debt without informing the public.

In addition, Maui County Managing Director Jack Kulp said there were a number of last-minute attempts by Apana's administration to use money to pay off the Tech Ready debt as well as to allocate money to the Project EAST program. But, he said, they were blocked for reasons that included not having Maui County Council authorization and using money from an inappropriate account.

Arakawa said he must now ask the council to appropriate the necessary money. "Failing to pay this loan is not an option, because to do so would negatively affect the county's bond rating,'' he said.

Former Finance Director Wesley Lo said that while he never heard Apana say he had personally taken out the loan, the county technically is not obligated to pay under terms of the lease. He said the "recourse loan" is subject to annual appropriations by the council.

Apana could not be reached for comment, but in his statement, he said Arakawa's news release is "full of misrepresentations and errors of fact, which we can and will refute.''

"The political campaign is over,'' Apana wrote. "Personal attacks are no longer appropriate and they certainly aren't productive. I think Mayor Arakawa could better serve Maui County if he stopped trying to find someone to blame and started doing whatever he can to make sure the Tech Ready program is continued. I would be happy to have him join with me in the effort.''

State Sen. Roz Baker, D-5th (Kihei, Lahaina), who helped administer the Tech Ready program, said she's disappointed Arakawa would cast aspersions on the program.

"The election is over," Baker said. "Let's move on and do what we have to do for the county and the state."

The Tech Ready deal is part of a number of actions taken by the former administration in its final days that are being scrutinized by Arakawa and his staff.

Arakawa called off the $3.3 million purchase of the old Kress building in Wailuku as a new home for the Department of Water Supply, saying he was upset that a major real estate acquisition was initiated without the knowledge of the council or the mayor-elect.

In recent weeks, Arakawa's new planning director, Mike Foley, revoked several shoreline development permits granted in late December and is reviewing others.

County officials also are looking at a $1 million purchase-to-option agreement for the Old Wailuku Pool property also signed by Apana in December without council knowledge.