The public is invited to attend a Wai'anae Coast town meeting with Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann at 7:30 p.m., tomorrow at the Nanaikapono Elementary School Cafeteria to discuss the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill, which is set to shut down next year.

However, Hannemann has insisted that expanding the landfill, near what is now Ko Olina Resort, is the city's only real alternative. Hannemann has said if the dump were shut down, which some have urged, a new one would probably have to be opened in Nanakuli or Ma'ili.

The landfill, which opened in 1989, has been a thorny issue for residents on Wai'anae Coast, many of whom feel the community has been used as O'ahu's dumping ground.

At the Wai'anae Coast Neighborhood Board meeting earlier this month, the issue became so intense that board chairwoman Patty Teryua decided to call for a town meeting. A number of the people who attended the board meeting were upset about having any landfills in the community, she said.

"They want to see the Waimanalo Gulch landfill closed," said Teruya. "And they don't want to see any more landfills coming into the Wai'anae Coast."

The board did not vote because it was felt the community as a whole needed to be part of the discussion, she said. Also, Teruya said she has her own concerns.

"Do we want to close the Waimanalo Gulch when we're not prepared to have a management alternative plan, and then relocate it in the heart of Nanakuli? Is that the intent? My question is where are you going to put it?"

The mayor is asking for the community's support in keeping Waimanalo Gulch open, and says he wants to come to discuss the community's benefits package. The city has already spent $2 million on improvement projects on the coast as a form of compensation for having the landfill in their region. And an additional $2 million has been appropriated for further projects.

"I invite and encourage Wai'anae area residents to join us to hear about what we're doing for this part of the island, and to exchange ideas on what we can do to make this an even better place to live, work, and raise our families," said the mayor.

But others, such as Honolulu City Councilman Todd Apo, want residents to let the mayor know that they disapprove of either extending Waimanalo Gulch or opening a new landfill anywhere on the coast. Apo, who has led the fight to have Waimanalo Gulch shut down as scheduled next May, argues that the city needs to find alternatives to handling its solid waste.

Apo says the city needs to begin a curbside recycling program. He also calls for improving H-Power's operation, and he would like to hire vendors to ship garbage out of the state until appropriate waste-to-energy technologies have been found and can be implemented on O'ahu.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.