“The state Department of Transportation is moving forward with plans to tear down the 95-year-old condemned pier in Hana that residents say is a recreational hot spot, but that the department views as a safety hazard. Last week, the department’s Harbors Division released a notice of its plan …”

Letter to the Editor,
Historic Hana Pier

Aloha, I am responding to the Maui News Article dated October 13, 2016, ‘Plans to tear down Hana pier move forward’. I feel it is my responsibility to respond and shed some light on how this entire process developed. The Hana Pier gained notoriety several years ago when the pier was put under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation from DLNR, to qualify for the State Harbors’ Renovation funding, an amount of 20 million dollars. The Hana Community was only made aware of this when the Harbors’ Division came to the community to present their plans. At that first meeting, DOT explained that the Hana Pier would be deemed commercial after renovations, to recoup the funds put into the project. When the community asked what types of ‘commercial’ activities, the DOT could not specify. The Hana bay area is a social and cultural location for the community and the idea of commercial operations in the area was disconcerting for fishermen and residents alike. The community also looked at other commercial harbors like Kahului, Kaunakakai and Kawaihae where there is little or no public access beyond the chain link fencing. Last year, the DOT sent out 732 surveys to Hana residents with the explicit option to either fix the pier and commercialize it or tear it down. This, despite offering 9 different building options in its original construction plans. The community felt hostage to such alternatives and reluctantly chose ‘b’. The Hana Pier is endearing to the Hana Community and is part of its historic storied past—they don’t want to see it torn down. The EIS to remove the decking and leave the pylons in place (to save endemic coral), goes against the DOT’s claim that the pier is a safety hazard because those structures will only attract curious children. The DOT engineers all agree that 80% of the pylons are structurally sound and 80% of the renovation work was going to improving the pier decking. If at all possible, a small group of community residents want to preserve the pier and move it into a historical designation. If you support this move, please send your testimony to Sandra.c.rossetter@hawaii.gov and grenard@hhf.com. For EIS info Hana-Pier-Deck-Removal.pdf

Shane Sinenci, Hana