Maui County buying park but passing on another

WAILUKU » Maui County announced it was buying Waihee Ball Park but passing up an opportunity to purchase Waiehu Beach Park for $750,000.

The $449,000 deal with Wailuku Agribusiness Co. for Waihee is scheduled to close next week.

The 1.8-acre park is used for softball leagues, pickup basketball games and physical education classes for Waihee Elementary School.

"We want it to remain in the community, because it's the only park in the community for actual ball play," Mayor Alan Arakawa said.

County officials said aren't buying Waiehu because they thought the 1.6-acre beach park was not worth the $750,000 asking price.

"They wanted $700,000 for a parking lot," said Dave DeLeon, executive assistant to the mayor. "It's not like they were offering us a gift or anything."

Company President Avery Chumbley disagreed.

"It's a bargain, frankly, for 1.6 acres of oceanfront land," he said.

DeLeon said he thought it was unlikely that the property would be bought or developed because the community plan designation of "open space" would have to be changed, and because of erosion in the area.

He said in 25 years, "it might not even be there, the way it's eroding."

Chumbley said the Waiehu property will probably be sold to a private buyer if the county doesn't want it.

"I'm hoping they'll reconsider and acquire the parcel," he said.

The land is zoned "urban-interim" and could be developed with a community plan amendment.

"I'd hate to see the county miss out on a park they've used for years," Chumbley said.

Both Waiehu and Waihee have been leased by the county since the 1960s and were put on the market in 2003 as part of the Wailuku Agribusiness' divestment of all of its properties in Wailuku and Central Maui.

The county is also in negotiations for several other properties including 7.4 acres at Murphy's Beach, also known as Morris Point, on the east end of Molokai.