Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen will give his state of the county address Friday, hoping to make clear his vision for this next stage in recovery following the deadly wildfires a year and a half ago. Bissen spoke with The Conversation about the latest progress being made by federal and local agencies.
Interview Highlights
On the focus of his state of the county address
MAUI COUNTY MAYOR RICHARD BISSEN: We talk about three categories, and for us, that's kamaʻāina housing, which is keeping our local residents, you know, in their communities here on Maui, Molokaʻi and Lanaʻi. Of course, a big focus is going to be on advancing recovery and our well-being, the well-being efforts to help us all heal and to rebuild as well. And then the third category we're going to focus on is cultural and natural resources being protected and preserved, you know, for our future generations, so being mindful of that aspect as well.
On restoring Lahaina harbor
BISSEN: The governor did put into his budget request to the Legislature funds, they won't pay for the entire restoration, or, you know, rebuild of the Lahaina Harbor, but it's a substantial amount. I believe it was $10 million. The overall project, I think the estimate was maybe $25 million to $30 million, and they put a little bit in already up to this point. So we did support, through testimony, the governor's budget to include the Lahaina Harbor restoration. We are definitely working with the state to support their efforts.
On bills he's watching at the Legislature
BISSEN: There are a lot of moving parts at the Legislature right now, and some of them have to do with building in the SMA (Special Management Area) along the shoreline. Some of these are state responsibility or state-held rules and regulations. The governor has been really good to help us in his emergency proclamation, take action to assist us in, for example, moving our temporary debris site to a permanent debris site — from Olowalu to the Central Maui Landfill. That's a pretty critical step for us to be able to move forward, and the governor included that in his emergency proclamation, as well as clearing the way for us to make building quicker in certain areas of Lahaina town by relaxing some of the SMA requirements... We are monitoring as well bills that are moving at the Legislature that would impact our rebuild and our recovery.
On federal cuts and FEMA
BISSEN: I would say that the federal cuts in Washington, D.C., indirectly impact the county government, but it's definitely impacting our county. So for example, MEO, Maui Economic Opportunity, Dislocated Workers Program, their funding was cut, and that impacted folks that were hired by MEO. The Council of Native Hawaiian Advancement, CNHA, also had a program that was federally funded that was also impacted. I believe they have made up that difference through philanthropy and through other donors in order to get that program stabilized. So I would say those are the two right off the top of my head that I know directly were impacted by the federal cuts. And I believe the MEO solution is still being worked out. Now, just to also mention, the county did provide a $2 million grant to MEO to help them with some of their programs there. I don't know if they're going to shift that over to what was lost there, or if they're going to continue to use it as it was planned, but I would have to say those are the ones that come to mind.
BISSEN: I was just on the phone with FEMA Region 9 Administrator Bob Fenton this past Saturday, and again, it was to ask about a program having to do with rental assistance for our survivors. It seems obvious that FEMA, like many of the other federal departments, are also being cut. We have not yet felt that on Maui and our disaster. I mean, I know they were standing up an office, a regional office here on island. As far as I know, that's still moving forward. That, of course, could change. You know, the FEMA folks have been a big part of our recovery, and still are... As far as I know, as of this moment in this call, those positions have not been impacted.
County and state meetings about fire recovery efforts can be found here.
This interview aired on The Conversation on March 5, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. HPR's Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this interview for the web.
