Work force program kept alive by county

State funds ran out; local resources will be used until end of year

The Maui News
Saturday, June 29, 2002

By BRIAN PERRY
Staff Writer

WAILUKU — Although the state ended its sponsorship of the Emergency Environmental Workforce on Friday, Maui County will continue the program through the end of December to keep the mosquito-carried dengue fever virus in check.

The county will get back approximately $30,000 from the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii and the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit of the university’s Botany Department, according to Myles Inokuma, an executive assistant to Mayor James “Kimo” Apana.

Inokuma said the money returned to the county by the agencies, which have been administering the state program, would be used to allow the Ohana Makamae program in Hana to maintain nine workers.

The workers, who’ve been trained and certified to eradicate dengue-fever-carrying mosquitoes, will continue efforts to educate residents and get rid of potential mosquito-breeding areas.

Inokuma said the mayor decided to continue the program to make sure dengue doesn’t reappear.

“Dengue tends to flare up during the summer months,” he said.

The $30,000 returned from the state should continue the program through the end of the fiscal year July 1. With the new budget year starting Monday, another $250,000 appropriated by the Maui County Council will be available.

Inokuma said the administration plans to use $70,000 of the $250,000 to keep the workers on the job through the end of December.

He said the mayor did not want to commit the county to the effort beyond December in case he’s not re-elected and the new mayor has other plans. If Apana is re-elected, he’ll reassess the program at that time, Inokuma said.

He added that the workers, particularly in Hana, have been “very, very important” in controlling the dengue fever outbreak that came to light last fall.

The Emergency Environmental Workforce was created by the Legislature during a special session after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Statewide, the program employed hundreds of people left unemployed by the downturn in tourism caused by the attacks.

On Maui, workers with the Maui Invasive Species Committee uprooted miconia, helping to prevent damage to the island’s watershed and fresh water supplies. Workers also removed fireweed, a plant poisonous to livestock, from 35 miles of road and from numerous private pastures.

Working with the state Department of Health, work force crews also removed at least 172 tons of bulky items and trash from yards that could become breeding areas for mosquitoes.

The numbers of Maui workers reached a peak of 96 during the early days of the program. In March, the number had dropped to 54.

The Legislature appropriated $1.5 million for the program, but Gov. Ben Cayetano vetoed the allocation. 

David Duffy, professor and head of the UH Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, said the Environmental Workforce “may serve as a model for part of the state’s response to a natural disaster.”

“It showed that we can take ordinary folks of diverse economic backgrounds, give them good leadership and they can work together on tough problems, doing good work,” he said.

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