The embattled Wailuku Civic Complex survived another proposed funding cut Friday, Sep. 6 as members of the Maui County Council voted down a bill to halve funding for Phase 1B of the project, the parking garage. The proposal previously passed the council’s Economic Development and Budget Committee by a vote of 6-3 on Tuesday, Aug. 27, and would have cut total funding for Phase 1 of the project from $42M to $27,766,312, allowing for a downsize of the parking structure.
After the lowest of the two submitted bids for the full buildout of the garage came in approximately $3M higher than anticipated, however, the funding cut came into question. Based on the bid, the proposed lowered budget for the garage of $14,233,688 would not be enough to fund even a downsized, two-story structure, county managing director Sandy Baz and WCC planner Erin Wade said.
Citing a need for further discussion in committee, Councilmembers Kelly King, Alice Lee, and Mike Molina changed course from their previous positions and voted no on the budget reduction for the WCC, along with Councilmembers Yuki Lei Sugimura and Tasha Kama, meaning the motion to pass the bill failed, 5-3. Councilmembers Tamara Paltin, Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, and Shane Sinenci supported the funding cut.
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Image courtesy County of Maui
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