Bolton, a former Los Angeles police officer, promises that the person who is suspected of setting a fire in a storeroom last week will be caught.

When he is, if prosecutors do not file criminal charges, Bolton promises owner Holiday Retirement Corp. will pursue the culprit with a civil action.

He also attributed the complaints coming from residents to fallout from a new direction in management. Kalama Heights opened in 2001 and "has never made money" under a series of owners, Bolton said.

He and his co-manager, wife Pat, are dedicated to making Kalama Heights a five-star property according to Holiday's rating system. The Salem, Ore.-based company has more than 300 retirement homes, but only nine get five stars, Bolton said.

That includes the one in Fresno, Calif., where he and his wife were in charge until December.

Kalama Heights is a retirement home but not a care facility. It does not meet the triggers for state licensure even at the lowest level, an "Adult Residential Care Home."

There are two classes of ARCH in Department of Health rules, Type 1 for five or fewer residents, and Type II. Roselani Place in Kahului is the only Type II ARCH on Maui.

At one time, part of the ground floor of Kalama Heights was an assisted-care home, but a previous owner discontinued that business.

Today, Kalama Heights provides no medical care or supervision at all, Bolton said, although residents can hire "certified nurse assistants" to help them with daily tasks.

CNAs must pass a course (which can be taken at Maui Community College) and be licensed. Marguerite Norris, a CNA with a client at Kalama Heights, estimates there are about five CNAs working there now.

Norris is critical of the food service at the residence. Last week, she said, her clients, a married couple, were provided a tiny meal of lasagna, half a roll and salad without dressing.

She says she told Bolton that "this is not an acceptable dinner meal."

"I wasn't very diplomatic. I was fuming," she said Monday.

Bonnie Vaky, whose parents employ Norris, agreed the meal was inadequate, and she said residents are not being kept informed about changes at Kalama Heights.

She also said she was at lunch with her parents when the fire alarm went off, and that the staff "never let anybody know" what was going on.

Ray Noel, who was in his apartment on the third floor, says a staff member knocked on his door to tell about the alarm.

Bolton says evacuation decisions are made by the Fire Department, and no evacuation was ordered – although when the alarm sounds residents are supposed to move to a ground floor with direct access to the outside.

He agrees that food service is a problem, although he denies the amounts or quality are inadequate. "We're not there yet" on reforming the kitchen, he says.

The discontent at Kalama Heights broke into the open the day after New Year's when there was a crisis in the kitchen at lunchtime.

At the last minute, liquid from the meat spilled onto the vegetables. The chef considered that contamination and decided not to serve the food.

Finding replacements (sandwiches) took awhile.

Bolton, who was at a managers' meeting in the Caribbean, says the chef "made exactly the right decision."

But he says he understands that older people don't like to have their routines upset.

For example, although the most and loudest complaints have been about food, there were also complaints about an abrupt decision to end awarding prizes at the regular bingo games.

Bolton says most Holiday retirement homes don't give prizes for their bingo games.

He says his social director budget is (and was when Holiday took over last March) $1,000 a month for everything (such as musicales). Bingo prizes were costing $1,700.

That had to be reined in, he says, if the business were to become profitable.

Similarly, residents complained that the bus service was being cut back. Bolton said the bus is still available, although not for church on Sundays, because no one on the Sunday staff has a commercial driver's license. Kalama Heights has a staff of 49.

The home has a nondenominational chapel and is making arrangements for Catholic communion to be provided from St. Theresa's Church.

The fire in a storeroom on Jan. 16 is being investigated by the Fire Department as suspicious. Bolton has no doubt it was arson, since paper products were piled up in the center of the room.

He says the sprinkler system suppressed the fire but all of the products in the room were damaged by water. The fire was squelched so quickly, there were not even any scorch marks on the floor.

Bolton says a computer also was ruined in a separate incident, and there was a theft of food from the kitchen.

He believes one ex-employee is responsible for all the incidents. He vows to pursue the culprit. He says he has put employees in jail before, for thefts, including a head housekeeper.