Panel Tackles Hau‘ula Flooding Complaints

In response to mounting concerns about severe flooding in the area, Hau‘ula Community Association will sponsor a panel discussion on the issue Dec. 2 with invited state and federal officials.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Hau‘ula Community Center. Panelists are state Board of Land and Natural Resources chairman William Aila Jr., Army Corps of Engineers’ Derek Chow and area lawmakers. On the agenda are short- and long-term proposed solutions to the chronic flooding problems, which have caused up to $500,000 in property damage, and that some residents say are getting progressively worse.

The official topic is ACE’s 2008 study, “Flood Hazard Evaluation and Drainage Analysis for Punaluu and Hau‘ula.”

All those affected or at all interested in the issue are invited to attend, urged HCA president Dotty Kelly. The meeting is a follow-up to the Oct. 28 town hall meeting attended by about 60 people, who questioned why mitigation efforts are taking so long to get started.

It was a “spirited,” standing-room-only crowd that offered many examples of the worsening conditions, according to resident Elizabeth Borge.

For more information, call 255-6944.