Quarterly Newsletter In this Issue:

Important Project Dates

President’s Report

General Manager’s

Report

Draft Minutes of the An-

nual Homeowners Meet-

ing

Draft Minutes of the

First Quarter Board

Meeting

Board Committee Reports

Local News Stories

Financial Information

2020—2021 MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE AND IMPORTANT DATES

June 1-5, 2020 Lawn de-thatch

September 14-18, 2020 Pool closure (updated)

May 2021 to October(?) 2021 “B” Building ocean side repair

A big thank you to all the owners who participated in the 2020 annual meeting in person and by proxy, representing 86% of the property. Maui Sunset continues the legacy of owner involvement and pragmatic management. Please take a moment to read the Committee and General Manag-er reports highlighting another busy year.

Owner communication and feedback is essential. If you have not already done so please subscribe to the General Manager’s email distribution list; a fantastic way to stay informed. The Maui Sunset owner website is updated each quarter with essential condo documents and fi-nancials. www.MauiSunset.me

Big news is the three year extension of Kari Davis’ contract as General Manager; a big coup for the property as she is an outstanding manager who cares deeply for the employees, building and grounds. The property has never looked better. Congrats to Kari!

Elections at the annual meeting were held for three open positions. Debra Flynn (A504), Steve Meyer (B517), each for 3 year terms and Susan Bharva-ni (B416) for a 1 year term. This was the last annual meeting as a board member for Ed Meyer, Dave Courson, and Leagh Randle. Ed Meyer had served for nearly 4 decades, holding every position on the board. His knowledge and history of the property will be missed. In February, Dave Courson, sold his condo and is moving off island. It will be hard to re-place his insight and Aloha spirit. Leagh Randle was a big part of the re-cent favorable R1 water settlement with the county. We wish them all the best.

Please help us be more efficient, saving cost and resources. You can re-ceive this newsletter electronically and opt out of paper by emailing or calling the front office. Email mauisunsetaoao@gmail.com or call 808-879-0674 to opt out.

REMEMBER TO VISIT THE MAUI SUNSET AOAO WEBSITE FOR COM-PLETE CURRENT AND ARCHIVED INFORMATION: www.mauisunset.me Login- paradise; Password- 96753

First Quarter 2020

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT—SANDRA HOOPER

A warm aloha and welcome to the 2020 annual meeting of the homeowners of Maui Sunset. I think that I speak for all of us that Maui Sunset is a pristine property in paradise that we all love. For myself, I so much enjoy coming to our Maui Sunset home and reuniting with neighbors and meeting and welcoming new owners.

Maui Sunset has seen some changes this year on our Board with the resignation of Director Scott Graves and the appointment of Susan Bharvani as his replacement. Susan has many years of experience on the Maui Sunset Board and is an incredibly hard worker. Welcome back Susan. Today you will be voting on three Board positions that are expiring and on changes to three Association assets. Your vote is extremely important in maintaining an effective Board and considering changes to our property. Please vote wisely.

Your Board has worked diligently over the last year and you will hear of their accomplishments when they deliver their reports to be presented today.

I would like to discuss with you some very interesting facts that as homeowners will be important to you. As you all know we’ve experienced an increase in maintenance fees this year. A fact that is not pleasant for any of us. However, please consider the following facts. Since 2014 there have been just three increases in Maintenance fees and Maui Sunset has never had a special assessment. So what has been done with your money? Reserve contribution in 2014 was $54,600.00, as of 2018, 2019 and proposed for 2020 the reserve con-tribution is $299,921.00 annually. Five and a half times the contribution in 2014. Essentially, we are banking your money to prepare us to complete the necessary projects to maintain our ageing structural and plumb-ing assets. Projects such as maintaining the structural integrity of the corners of both buildings, spalling pro-jects, renovation of the pool and gym and new pool furniture are just some of the projects dependent on ad-equate reserves. Seventy percent of the maintenance fee increases, over the last five years, has gone into re-serves.

Items that were helpful in keeping our expense increases to a minimum were: Bad debt expenses in 2014 were $17,000.00, by instituting policies of diligent oversight of our receivables and strong follow up on de-linquencies our bad debt expense was reduced to $364.00 in 2019.

Over the last five years Directors Expense has gone from $24,500.00 annually to $17,792.00 in 2019, a savings of $6,728.00. The savings due to the institution of a policy of oversight and approval process to assure the correct submission of expenses and avoid errors.

The grounds contract has not had an increase in five years, yet our landscape continues to be maintained in pristine fashion.

Our Repairs & Maintenance expenses have remained flat for five years due to diligent oversight of all ex-penditures.

With respect to Utilities: consider that this expense in 2014 was $437,331.00 and for 2019 was $364,330.00. There were several reasons for this cost savings. First, we have vigorously renegotiated several of our con-tracts, such as propane and refuse resulting in significant savings. Our most significant savings comes in the area of electricity. In 2014, before solar, our electricity expense was $95,000.00. In

2019 our electricity cost was $6,525.00, factoring in the lease payment on the panels of $46,581.00, the total cost of providing electricity is $53,106.00, a savings of $42,294.00 a 44% savings over 2014.

I would like to share with you some thoughts about the reserve study that we have just recently completed. Kari, Susan Bharvani and I accompanied the reserve study specialist on his survey of our property. He com-municated that he was impressed with the property since his last survey and that we have made appropri-ate replacements, repairs and that we continue to build up reserves. A quote for the formal report is as fol-lows: “Based on this Reserve Study, Maui Sunset AOAO has adopted a funding plan based on the cash flow method that provides full funding. The Reserve Study reflects that the Association is fully funded and has complied with the reserve requirements of HRS 514B-148 and HRS 514A-83.6; provided that the Association implements the funding plan and the criteria used reflects the project’s actual operating experience during the life of the funding plan.” I hope you are as pleased as I am with the results of this Reserve Study.

In conclusion, I would like to say that I have been honored to represent Maui Sunset as your President and Treasurer this year. You can be assured that every action I have taken has been taken within my scope of authority and I have exercised high ethical standards and professional management criteria when making decisions representing all homeowners. I would like to thank all of you for your attention and attendance at

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today’s meeting. Furthermore, I would like to thank those homeowners who came to me with their concerns and ideas, all are seriously considered. I hope you will consider all of the information I have relayed in this report useful. I believe Maui Sunset is in excellent shape structurally, aesthetically and financially and is well prepared to move into the future.

Respectfully Submitted,

Sandra Hooper, President

GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT—KARI DAVIS

Aloha Board Members and Homeowners! Happy New Year!

This year seemed to go by so fast. It was a busy and eventful year. I will recap some of the many things that happened and/or changed this year.

Reducing front office hours by 2,400 hours a year, changes to our after-hours check in procedures and imple-menting a new employee benefit package that took effect January 1st, 2020 were large cost saving changes made on behalf of the Association. Created a new employee handbook, installed a new phone office phone system, attended a Federal fair housing seminar, implemented a pet policy program and registration form for emotional support animals and cleaned out old AOAO storage room files. Also completed, in conjunc-tion with Sandra Hooper and Susan Bharvani, a new reserve study.

Elvin replaced the old fluorescent T12 bulbs in the elevators with cost saving LED fixtures. New pool furni-ture freshened up the look of the pool, key FOBs were installed at the pool and gym increasing access hours for the gym and making it possible to deactivate lost or stolen pool keys. Parking passes were reinstated, pool signage was simplified and updated, the 45 main dryer vents were professionally cleaned, and front condo doors got painted. We completed all of the necessary horn, strobe and fire alarm testing requirements. Also completed this year was the spalling project for the A22 stack.

The houseman and maintenance team power washed both buildings from top to bottom, cleaned the solar panels 3 times this year, and painted the pool activity desk. All the coconut trees were trimmed end of Octo-ber and pool closure was successfully completed in November.

New Christmas lights were installed this year that are solar and made it easier for Elvin to install but also made it possible to put them on trees that do not have any electrical outlets nearby. Plus being solar no elec-tricity is needed. I would like to add more strands of lights next year.

Other projects they are working on are increasing the kayak storage area, installing a new pool heater and painting elevator, trash chute and stairwell doors. As well as a big project to paint all the walkway floors. Also Elvin and Segundo will begin working on approximately 90 lanai spalling spots as soon as the holiday rush calms down.

Happy New Year and cheers for a peaceful and blessed 2020!

Mahalo! Kari Davis, General Manager

Dear Homeowners,

A vacancy has occurred on the Board due to a resignation. The Board will be appointing a homeowner to fill the vacancy. This appointment will be until the next annual meeting in January 2021. At that time a homeowner will be elected to fill the vacancy. If you are interested in volunteering for this position, please send your resume to Sandra.Hooper2012@gmail.com no later than April 13, 2020. The Board will be review-ing the resumes and make the appointment at the May Board meeting being held May 1, 2020.

Thank you for your consideration,

Sandra Hooper, President

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Included in this newsletter is an article regarding the increased enforcement of tax regulations on illegal va-cation rentals. Borge and Gurli Meyer, and others like them, began renting condos in the early 80’s after the original developer went bankrupt. With nearly 40 years of vacation rental history, Maui Sunset, even though in an Apartment zone, has been grandfathered as an allowable vacation rental property.

However, there are still rules that must be followed. These include:

• Having an on-Island contact

• Property Tax designations

• Paying the correct Transient Accommodations Tax, aka Hotel Taxes.

Please refer to the State of Hawaii tax pamphlet for more in depth info.

http://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/brochures/tat_brochure.pdf

All Rentals are subject to Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) of 10.25% on the gross rental amount plus the 4% General Excise Tax (GET). Any owner renting must have a TAT and GET number and post the number on any advertisement used to rent the property.

HAWAII TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS TAX ON RENTAL INCOME

Each condo at Maui Sunset was designated a specific spot in 1976. Today those spots have been taken up by buildings, ADA required disabled parking, trash bins, reduced in size as cars got smaller and spots mul-tiplied.

This year the A and B parking lots will be resurfaced and restriped. Spaces will be allocated per the ADA requirements and county ordinances. Even so, a surge in requests for “guaranteed” medically necessary parking spots have been submitted. Unfortunately, granting such a designated spot is not always possible given the spaces available and also leaves spots near an elevator unusable when the unit is empty.

If you or a guest needs an accessible space, please bring with you your State-issued placard to the front office. Of course, other owners and users who are mobile are reminded not to park in the designated spots, even temporarily.

ACCESSIBLE PARKING AT MAUI SUNSET

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Association of Apartment Owners

of Maui Sunset

Annual Owners Meeting Minutes

January 24, 2020

Board Members Present: Sandra Hooper, President and Treasurer; Dave Courson, Vice President; Jack Weth erall, Secretary; and Directors Ed Meyer, Leagh Randle, Harry Hecht and Susan Bhar vani

Other Attendees: Kari Davis, General Manager; Ron Kawahara and Joanne Phillips, Destination Maui, Inc.; Shaun Thayer, CPA; and Louise Rockett, Recording Secretary

I. CALL TO ORDER

President Sandra Hooper welcomed the owners and called the Annual Owners Meeting of the Association of Apart-ment Owners of Maui Sunset to order at 8:35 a.m. The Meeting was held at St. Theresa Church, Kihei, Maui, Hawaii.

The purpose of the meeting is to elect three Directors to the Board. Further, the current Board will share their accom-plishment of the past year.

II. DECLARATION OF QUORUM

A quorum was declared with 75 units representing 32.1705 % of homeowners present and 118 units by proxy repre-senting 53.7613 %. The total of 193 units present and by proxy representing 85.9318%.

III. RULES OF CONDUCT

The President announced that the meeting would be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order, New Re-vised. The Rules of Conduct, included with the information distributed to owners at registration, were read.

IV. INTRODUCTIONS

Introductions were made at this time.

V. PARLIAMENTARIAN

Mr. Kawahara was appointed meeting Parliamentarian.

VI. PROOF OF NOTICE

It was certified Notice of Annual Owners Meeting was sent to all owners of record on December 2, 2019, in accordance with the Association governing documents, and it was posted on property in compliance with Hawaii State Law.

VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of the January 25, 2019, Annual Owners Meeting were distributed to owners at registration.

MOTION: To waive the reading of the January 25, 2019, Annual Owners Meeting Minutes and accept the Minutes as presented.

Ed Meyer / Jack Wetherall Unanimous Approval

VIII. PRESIDENT’S REPORT

A warm aloha and welcome to the 2020 annual meeting of the homeowners of Maui Sunset. I think that I speak for all of us that Maui Sunset is a pristine property in paradise that we all love. For myself, I so much enjoy coming to our Maui Sunset home and reuniting with neighbors and meeting and welcoming new owners.

Maui Sunset has seen some changes this year on our Board with the resignation of Director Scott Graves and the ap-pointment of Susan Bharvani as his replacement. Susan has many years of experience on the Maui Sunset Board and is an incredibly hard worker. Welcome back Susan.

Today you will be voting on three Board positions that are expiring and on changes to three Association assets. Your

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE 2020 ANNUAL HOMEOWNERS MEETING

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vote is extremely important in maintaining an effective Board and considering changes to our property. Please vote wisely.

Your Board has worked diligently over the last year, and you will hear of their accomplishments when they deliver their reports presented today.

I would like to discuss with you some very interesting facts that as homeowners will be important to you. As you all know, we’ve experienced an increase in maintenance fees this year. A fact that is not pleasant for any of us. However, please consider the following facts. Since 2014 there have been just three increases in Maintenance fees, and Maui Sun-set has never had a special assessment. So what has been done with your money? Reserve contribution in 2014 was $54,600. As of 2018, 2019 and proposed for 2020, the reserve contribution is greater than $300,000 annually, five-and-a-half times the contribution in 2014. Essentially, we are banking your money to prepare us to complete the necessary projects to maintain our aging structural and plumbing assets. Projects such as maintaining the structural integrity of the corners of both buildings, spalling projects, renovation of the pool and gym and new pool furniture are just some of the projects dependent on adequate reserves. Seventy percent of the maintenance fee increases, over the last five years, has gone into reserves.

Items that were helpful in keeping our expense increases to a minimum were: Bad debt expenses in 2014 were $17,000. By instituting policies of diligent oversight of our receivables and strong follow up on delinquencies, our bad debt ex-pense was reduced to $364 in 2019.

Over the last five years, Directors’ Expense has gone from $24,500 annually to $17,792 in 2019, a savings of $6,728. The savings due to the institution of a policy of oversight and approval process to assure the correct submission of expenses and avoid errors.

The grounds contract has not had an increase in five years, yet our landscape continues to be maintained in pristine fashion.

Our Repairs & Maintenance expenses have remained flat for five years due to diligent oversight of all expenditures.

With respect to Utilities: consider that this expense in 2014 was $437,331 and for 2019 was $364,330. There were several reasons for this cost savings. First, we have vigorously renegotiated several of our contracts, such as propane and re-fuse removal resulting in significant savings. Our most significant savings comes in the area of electricity. In 2014, be-fore solar, our electricity expense was $95,000. In 2019, our electricity cost was $6,525, factoring in the lease payment on the panels of $46,581, the total cost of providing electricity is $53,106, a savings of $42,294, a 44% savings over 2014.

I would like to share with you some thoughts about the Reserve Study that we have just recently completed. Kari, Su-san Bharvani and I accompanied the Reserve Study specialist on his survey of our property. He communicated that he was impressed with the property since his last survey, and that we have made appropriate replacements, repairs and that we continue to build up reserves. A quote for the formal report is as follows: “Based on this Reserve Study, Maui Sunset AOAO has adopted a funding plan based on the cash flow method that provides full funding. The Reserve Study reflects that the Association is fully funded and has complied with the Reserve requirements of HRS 514B-148 and HRS 514A-83.6; provided that the Association implements the funding plan and the criteria used reflects the pro-ject’s actual operating experience during the life of the funding plan.” I hope you are as pleased as I am with the results of this Reserve Study.

In conclusion, I would like to say that I have been honored to represent Maui Sunset as your President and Treasurer this year. You can be assured that every action I have taken has been taken within my scope of authority, and I have exercised high ethical standards and professional management criteria when making decisions representing all home-owners.

I would like to thank all of you for your attention and attendance at today’s meeting. Furthermore, I would like to thank those homeowners who came to me with their concerns and ideas; all are seriously considered. I hope you will consider all of the information I have relayed in this report useful. I believe Maui Sunset is in excellent shape structur-ally, aesthetically and financially and is well prepared to move into the future.

IX. TREASURER'S REPORT

Income:

Maintenance fees reported on the financial statement reflect the budgeted amount of $1,671,454.00. There are no delin-quencies as of year-end. Overall income is over budget by $20,055.00, centered primarily in electrical income.

Expenses:

Payroll and Benefits:

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This area of the budget is over by $35,984. Issues impacting this overall number are: Front desk payroll is under the budget by $12,695, a result of our decision in July reducing office hours and personnel providing for a considerable savings.

In payroll grounds, we came in under budget by $2,200, attributable to a savings in dethatching personnel. In Maintenance, we came in underbudget by $14,972 as a result of not having the second Maintenance position filled. Conversely, our Houseman budget category is over our budgeted amount by $18,158, resulting from a houseman go-ing out on extended sick leave; and, under the employee benefit package, was paid all his sick leave and vacation pay while we needed to fill his position to accomplish all of the Houseman duties. The security budget was exceeded by $16,091, resulting from the addition of a nonbudgeted Security Guard. This addition has made possible the flexing of Security Guards resulting in the ability of Guards to prevent crimes. A new line item, not previously tracked, is Vaca-tion Accrual Expense at $13,063.00 which was not funded in the budget. The addition of this item more accurately reflects the payout of accumulated vacation to employees via cash as opposed to time. Under the employee benefit package, employees had been able to cash out unused vacation. Employee benefits is overbudget by $15,925. We have been providing employee family health and dental coverage which accounts for the overage.

As you can see, employee benefits have been extremely costly and have not been reviewed or revised since 2006, and I believe they are no longer sustainable. The Board met in executive session after the November Board meeting, and the following decisions were made and approved:

1. Elimination of family health benefit beginning on July 1 and dental coverage beginning on October 1. Both of these changes apply to non-salary employees. Kari and I met with the providers and were able to execute both changes effective January 1, 2020, providing additional savings;

2. Under old policy, employees were paid time-and-one-half for hours worked on the day after a holiday if they had the holiday off. Benefit has been eliminated.

3. Elimination of birthday off with pay effective January 1, 2020.

4. Elimination of vacation time cash out.

5. Elimination of 12 hours of annual personal time.

6. Reduction of sick time banking period from five years to two years. Employees to retain existing bank.

7. Requirement that employees must sign up for Medicare when age appropriate.

Some of these changes are quantifiable with present employees, health and dental will result in a reduction of the ex-pense by $16,000. Vacation accrual at present cash out at $13,000. Other savings are harder to predict, such as wheth-er an employee takes his birthday off or uses personal time. What I can state with certainty, however, is that these changes will greatly reduce the liability to the Association. Kari and I met with all employees affected by these changes in December. The employee handbook was revised, contracts with providers signed and accountants in-formed to assure accuracy as of January 1, 2020, and implementation into the payroll system.

Repairs & Maintenance:

This area of the budget is under by $7,389. Several areas that are included in that net total were grounds supplies to-taling $4,200; contracts hydro jet $2,746; and grounds $3,428. Areas of over budget are pool supplies $2,922. Our an-nual cost for pool supplies totaled $12,922, we were underfunded for this year due to a billing error by the supplier in the previous year, which caused the miscalculation in developing 2019 budget. In the 2020 budget, we have increased the funding by $4,200. Tools were also overbudget by $1,517, with a total yearly cost of $2,517. We have increased the 2020 budget for tools to $5,500 to not only more accurately reflect true costs but also to fund the replacement of the sorely needed pool pump and power scrubber for landings.

Utilities:

Total underbudget by $8,627. All categories underbudget: cable by $2,812, propane by $7,874, refuse by $3,577 pri-marily due to contract negotiations. Overbudget includes electricity by $525, sewer by $6,354 and telephone by $322. For homeowner information, our contract with Spectrum expires April 1, 2020, covering our cable and WiFi. Negotia-tions have begun, and we are hoping for a new favorable five-year contract.

Administration:

This area of the budget is underbudget by $2,784. Areas of note are overages in homeowner party expense of $2,500, Accounting by $838.00, Meeting fee for annual meeting $2,467, administration miscellaneous $2,163, non-funded mis-cellaneous $4,628, postage by $1,043 and supplies for administration by $1,558. Underbudget categories include B408 utilities by $1,586, bad debts by $635, elimination of C&J after hours service, which had cost us $3,300 annually, legal fees by $3,292, meeting expense by $1,464 and Director’s expense by $2,207.

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In conclusion, for 2019, our revenue totaled $1,796,329, and our expenses were $1,794,956, resulting in net ordinary income of $1,373.

In addition at year-end our reserves totaled $1,023,390, which includes $299,922 in contributions and $11,741 in interest earned.

The Treasurer answered questions the owners had.

IX. AUDIT REPORT

The Association Independent Auditor was introduced. CPA Shaun Thayer performed the year-end audit, December 31, 2019, and a clean opinion was rendered.

Mr. Thayer reported on changes in audit reporting he has made. He also answered questions the owners had. Some owners asked that the Audit Report be sent to the owners 10 days in advance of the Annual Owners Meeting. One owner asked for comparative expenditure listings, comparing one year’s expenses against the other. The President explained challenges experienced because of month-end and year-end financial report scheduling. A Motion was made to change the next Annual Owners Meeting date to February 3, 2021.

Mr. Kawahara explained that Hawaii State Law governs how the Association is managed. Owners cannot propose changes. The Board makes over 90 percent of the decisions. The owners may not agree, but the decisions made by the Board are binding. The Board will take under consideration, the President said, owner suggestions at the Board meet-ings and Annual Owners Meetings.

Mr. Thayer and the Treasurer answered questions the owners had.

X. GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT

Kari Davis reported that this year seemed to go by so fast. It was a busy and eventful year. She recapped some of the many things that happened and/or changed this year that saved the Association money: 1) Reducing front office hours by 2,400 hours a year; 2) Changed after-hours check-in procedures; and 3) Implementing a new employee benefit pack-age that took effect January 1st, 2020.

Ms. Davis drafted a new employee handbook, installed a new phone office system, attended a Federal Fair Housing Seminar, implemented a pet policy program and registration form for emotional support animals and cleaned out old AOAO storage room files. She completed, in conjunction with Sandra Hooper and Susan Bharvani, a new Reserve Study.

Elvin replaced the old fluorescent T12 bulbs in the elevators with cost saving LED fixtures. New pool furniture fresh-ened up the look of the pool. Key FOBs were installed at the pool and gym, increasing access hours for the gym and making it possible to deactivate lost or stolen pool keys.

Parking passes were reinstated, pool signage was simplified and updated, the 45 main dryer vents were professionally cleaned and front condo doors got painted. We completed all of the necessary horn, strobe and fire alarm testing re-quirements. Also completed this year was the spalling project for the A22 stack.

The housemen and maintenance team power washed both buildings from top to bottom, cleaned the solar panels three times this year and painted the pool activity desk.

All the coconut trees were trimmed end of October, and pool closure was successfully completed in November.

New Christmas lights were installed this year that are solar and made it easier for Elvin to install but also made it pos-sible to put them on trees that do not have any electrical outlets nearby; thus, being solar no electricity is needed. I would like to add more strands of lights next year.

Other projects underway: 1) Increasing the kayak storage area; 2) Installing a new pool heater; 3) Painting elevator, trash chute and stairwell doors; 4) Painting all the walkway floors; and 5) Elvin and Segundo to begin working on ap-proximately 90 lanai spalling spots.

Ms. Davis answered questions the owners had. The President chimed in with answers as well.

XI. COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. Budget

The 2020 budget was developed with assumed expenses of $1,918,883, an increase of $142,609.00 over the 2019 budget. This increase has made necessary an increase in homeowner assessments of 7.69%. All homeowners were notified by letter in December, and the increase commenced in January.

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I initiated the initial budget in August 2019, at which time all Board members were polled and asked to submit for inclusion any budget money requests needed for projects or anticipated expenses to be considered for the final budg-et. No responses were received at that time. At the August meeting, the Board was advised of items involving em-ployees and contracts, and those items received unanimous approval. With the addition of those items, the budget was built on the following assumptions:

1. Income: Under Kayak storage we are anticipating a 40% increase in revenues resulting from Kari’s plan to in-crease space to accommodate more Kayaks. Also, we are increasing weekly storage rates from $5 to $20.

2. Expenses:

Employee & Benefits:

A. Base salary increased by 2%, unanimous Board approval.

B. Employee bonus totaling $9,100, which was a reduction from previous years, unanimous Board approval.

C. Elimination of one nonbudget Security Guard position, which was added in July 2019, to be eliminated in anticipation of security camera approval.

D. Addition of one full time maintenance position dedicated to work on spalling and painting. There are presently in excess of seventy lanais which need remedial spalling work. Unanimous Board approval.

E. Budgeting a 3% increase in employee health and dental coverage. A very modest increase in health plan costs.

F. Renewal of Manager’s contract including an adjustment. Unanimous Board approval.

Repairs & Maintenance:

A. Board approved funding of security cameras, which is subject to homeowner vote to approve, as of Au-gust quote of $27,000 for cameras, $200 monthly for maintenance, $1,550 for licensing, which reduces to $200 yearly going forward.

B. There is a 1% increase in Grounds maintenance fees; there has been no increase in this category for the last four years.

C. An increase is budgeted for hydro jet expenses due to additional work being necessary in the B building. The same work was completed in the A building in 2019.

D. An increase of 5% in the Building Account to provide for dry stack work. They have not been done since 1997, and they should be done every five years.

E. An increase of $1,000 is being budgeted in Building Supplies in anticipation of an approval vote of the homeowners to remove the sauna. To renovate the sauna as a sauna, the estimated expense would be in the $8,000 range.

Utilities:

A. Overall reduction of 2.3% in this category due to the renegotiation of contracts and as a result of the in-stallation of the new phone system.

Administration:

A. We have budgeted increases in accounting and audit prep.

B. Budgeted a 3% increase in insurance.

C. Budgeted an increase in legal fees from $5,000 last year to $30,000 to account for what we may be facing in the dispute with the county with respect to our R1 water situation.

D. No increase is being budgeted for Director’s expense.

E. There is a decrease in scribe costs being budgeted. An agreed upon cost reduction by the scribe assuming Director reports are submitted to her prior to the meeting. However, this whole category is now in jeop-ardy as we may be losing our current scribe to retirement, so we will be negotiating new terms with new scribe candidates.

The budget assumptions were presented to all Board members in my August 30th e-mail requesting comments, ques-tions, advise or criticism. None was provided. At the November Board meeting, the draft budget was presented and questions pertaining to employee issues and other items to possibly reduce overall cost were addressed. After discus-sion, the idea to eliminate the homeowner party with a cost savings of $9,000 was raised and received unanimous Board approval. The Treasurer then polled the Board asking if the budget was then approved with the elimination of the homeowner party, and the entire board with no dissenting votes approved.

The Treasurer answered questions.

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B. Insurance

Our Association renewed its insurance coverage for 2019/2020 for the period beginning in August 2019. This year’s total premium was $106,826 and represented a 3% year-over- year increase. The increase was attributable to an in-crease in building replacement coverage cost of $3,382 and other peril deductible, which increased by $1,578.

During this year, we had three water damage incidents in the fourth quarter. One of the three incidents required in-surance coverage when a second-floor unit in the A building had a leak causing damage to the first-floor unit below it. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the leaky pipe that caused the damage was a main sewer line common pipe and is the responsibility of the AOAO to maintain. Our insurance reimbursed the property owner who sustained dam-ages in the amount of $9,400, and the AOAO reimbursed the property owner the $5,000 deductible. The AOAO also reimbursed the second- floor property owner $1,000, the cost of the plumber that he paid out directly to repair the com-mon pipe. We also had a second leak, determined the AOAO’s responsibility, costing $2,000, under our insurance de-ductible, and therefore paid for with operational funds.

C. Amenities

During the past year, the replacement and relocation of the bicycle rack in front of the “B” Building has been complet-ed. The new bicycle rack is stronger and more attractive.

Six new tennis rackets (4 adult and 2 children’s rackets) have been purchased.

The pool will be closed for routine maintenance September 7 – 10, 2020.

Pool furniture has being replaced as needed. We’re thankful for the discount available for the purchase of new pool furniture through the timeshares.

An ad hoc “Pool Rules” Committee reviewed the pool rules. New signs were installed that match the style and format of other signage on our property.

The old pool noodles have been replaced. The activity desk is no longer supplying pool noodles.

The FOB system has been installed and is now operational for the pool gates and gym. The gym is accessible from 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. daily. All FOBS’s are waterproof, do not have batteries and are not GPS tracked. Each condo has been assigned two FOB’s that have an internal number attached to each unit.

New codes and locks have been issued for the kayak and surfboard storage area.

The fitness room equipment has been serviced. Elvin has deep cleaned the A/C. Due to the disrepair and very limited use of the sauna, the Amenities Committee recommends the removal of the sauna due to health and safety concerns, as well as maintenance and liability concerns. The consensus is this space could better be utilized by expanding the usable space of our existing exercise room by moving the two bicycles into the new space. Then, move the rack of free weights to the other side of the room (where the bicycles are currently located). This would allow better use of the mirrors for people who are working out as well as create additional floor space. In-house labor could do the necessary demolition, lighting improvements and sauna repurposing for approximately $1,500.

The Amenities Committee recommends removal of two of our four shuffleboard courts for the following reasons:

1. Lack of use (the maximum number of shuffleboard courts used at any time has never exceeded two).

2. Eliminating two of our shuffleboard courts will reduce our maintenance expenses.

3. Eliminating two of our four shuffleboard courts will reduce our liability (slip and fall) as they are very slip-pery when wet.

New parts for our barbecues were ordered and installed. All are barbecues are currently working well. Other recrea-tional amenities, including croquet, bocce balls, putting clubs, shuffleboard equipment, etc. are in good condition and enjoyed by residents and guests.

Our newest amenity is the lighting of the trees in the courtyard. These lights improve the appearance and safety of the courtyard. The electricity used to power these lights is provided through our solar panels.

Meetings with the General Manager are regularly held to identify and prioritize amenities issues. General Manager Kari Davis is to be commended for her insight and availability in assisting the Amenities Committee in maintaining our high standards of providing the amenities our residents and guests continue to enjoy.

Please feel free to contact Director Courson at any time regarding questions or suggestions pertaining to committee responsibilities and/or actions.

Comments were made and questions were asked.

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D. Beach

At the November Board Meeting, we reported that there were many downed trees and debris blocking the beaches in our North Kihei neighborhood. This condition is a nuisance in the opinion of the DLNR and should be handled by the Maui County Dept. of Public Works (DPW). The contact information for the DPW was placed in the last newsletter in hopes owners would contact the Director of Public Works and lobby to have them remove the debris. Our GM jumped in and called on behalf of the property, but there still has been no action or response from with the DPW. Without the help of the DPW, all we can do is wait and hope nature takes its course and removes some of the debris. Beach walkers have created paths around some of the debris, however unencumbered walking is no longer enjoyable for the commu-nity.

A letter drafted by Ms. Davis to the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources in response to a letter she received about the situation was read by Director Meyer.

On a separate note, we are hopeful that the remaining roots of the morning glory plants will take hold and spread on the beach dunes before any new storms in an effort to control the beach erosion.

Currently the beach surface is in amazingly good shape all the way north and south. There has also been some contin-uing issues with the nearshore water quality. Ocean water testing is ongoing and always on the lookout for a point source. This is also the focal point of the recent SCOTUS case on whether the County has violated the EPA law that polluted water may not enter the ocean as a point source. We will keep the homeowners up-to-date.

The owners had questions that were answered by Director Meyer.

E. Buildings

The design and permitting for the repair of the SW Corner of the B Building started in December 2019. Last month scanning of the Post Tension cables in the corner was completed. The Structural Engineering firm of Erickson Structur-al Consulting Engineers indicates that their work on the structural plans should be completed by late summer or early fall. Our architectural firm of Pili Design LLC should also complete the Architectural plans in the same time period.

Construction:

Construction of the repair could start as soon as the County permits are obtained which will most probably be late this year or early next year. The construction cost is estimated to be approximately the same as the repair of the A Building corner work or about $600,000.

It would be our recommendation to consider negotiating a contract with Viking Construction for the repair. If funding is available to consider doing the repair during the spring of 2021 assuming the permitting by the County is in place and funding is available.

We would also recommend that the Board consider the hiring of a licensed Construction Manager to oversee the con-struction. Licensing is required for construction management of projects over $35,000 in Hawaii. Unless the Associa-tion has a volunteer licensed engineer in charge of the work, it will be necessary to assume a cost of 5 to 10 percent of the construction cost for such professional services ($30,000 to $60,000). The Building Committee provided this service for the A Building at a saving of this amount for the AOAO.

F. R1 Water Issue

The owners participating in the R1 water battle against the County were commended, including a letter-writing cam-paign, petitions and attendance at the appeals hearing. It was announced that after six-years, “at the end of the day, Maui Sunset will not be having R1 water in its courtyard.” Irrigation, however, with R1 water will be used in the park-ing lot.

Leagh Randle and Harry Hecht were highly commended for their many hours, days, weeks and years of work to win this fight against the County without engaging the services of an attorney.

A written report was submitted, but it was not read at the meeting.

“A hearing on our waste water appeal in front of the Variance and Appeal Board Meeting was held on October 23, 2019. As reported in November meeting, our appeal was not approved even though the Board voted in our favor by a vote of 4 to 2 as it requires 5 votes of the 9-member Board to grant the appeal. The Appeal Board, at that October meet-ing, requested a continuation of the appeal till December 12, 2019 for additional information, a verbatim transcript of the hearing, and for the remaining Appeal Board members to be in attendance.”

“The full transcript of the four-hour meeting of October 24, 2019, was directed to be completed prior to the meeting date of December 12, 2019. This was to include every word for the over 4-hour testimony, rebuttal, and Appeal Board

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discussion. As of December 12, 2019, this requested transcript was not completed. To our knowledge to date, it has still not been completed.

“One week before the December 12 hearing date, the County attorney, Thomas Kolbe, for the County Department of Environmental Management verbally and by email proposed a settlement of the dispute by offering to allow Maui Sunset to only be required to irrigate the parking lot areas with R1 treated waste water and to not require irrigating all of the property with R1 water. Thomas Kolbe also stated verbally and by email that there would be a letter from the Department confirming his verbal and email promise.”

“We testified at December 12 hearing that we were likely to settle the dispute and, if so, would withdraw our appeal. The Appeal Board scheduled a status meeting to review the progress of a settlement on March 26, 2020.”

“The negotiations are going very well, and it appears that the County will recognize that Maui Sunset had unique irri-gation setup, and that the County would accept an irrigation system that only uses R1 waste water for the parking lot areas to satisfy its irrigation needs and comply with the County Ordinance. We are proceeding with the design and application to the County and the State of Hawaii Department of Health.”

“We believe that our appeal will have saved Maui Sunset over several hundreds of thousands of dollars and has pre-cluded the required irrigation of our central court yard from using waste water for irrigation. In addition, we believe we have saved substantial legal fees, extensive disruption of our landscaping, and tearing up the paved areas of the parking lot for the necessary underground piping.

“We will be recommending a motion in executive session of the Board to consider the approval the expenditure of funds to complete the required irrigation system for the parking lot areas and areas along South Kihei Road for full compliance with the County Ordinance 20.30. The construction to be carried out by a combination of in-house labor and outside contractors. The work to be performed immediately after the approval of the County of Maui and the approval of the State of Hawaii Department of Health.”

G. Communications

Director Meyer reported that an easy link was emailed to all owners wishing to opt out of receiving a hard copy of the newsletter. Thus far, 30 owners have opted out. The next newsletter will go out by the middle of February.

H. Grounds & Design

Since my appointment to the Board in May 2019 I’ve done three property inspections. My first inspection focused on front doors needing attention. Our GM found a local painter who gave her a proposal for painting front doors and frames. About forty owners took advantage of that. In addition, all the American Resort Marketing and Kumulani doors are in the process of repainting using their own staff. If your front door paint is more than five years old take a critical look at it. Most door frames also needed painting; rust grows rapidly near the ocean. These doors are one of the first impressions for guests.

During the past year, our GM, Kari Davis, has managed to remove many of the drip pans under walkway ACs. She also diligently worked to get rusted ACs replaced. Many thanks for that work. Proper AC maintenance is important to keep the units working without leaks. If your unit is a vacation rental a scheduled annual cleaning can keep you from midnight phone calls from disgruntled guests. I particularly enjoyed the video on AC cleaning Kari shared with her email blast some months ago.

After the November Board meeting, I received an email list from our GM to use to notify owners of violations of the design standards section of the House Rules. I used this to notify several owners of non-compliant draperies. Owners who responded were happy to comply as soon as they are able.

The Maui Sunset grounds continue to look great. Thank you to Sonny and his crew for their diligence. There are ques-tions about maintenance of the lawn in the park. Certain areas are being overrun by an invasive grass. I hope to have a discussion with the Parks Department to determine what could be done. Currently Sonny’s personnel mow the park grass under their contract with the AOAO. They do not fertilize or apply any other chemicals in the park.

Parking lot crack repairs on the B side did not occur. Late in 2019, Kari contacted the vendor for a proposal to do a to-tal sealcoat on both parking lots. This includes crack repair, asphalt repair where needed and restriping. The total cost is $42,905. This item is in the Reserve Study as due in 2020 with an estimated cost of $45,000.

I. Human Resources

Director Courson presented the Human Resources Report.

The Maui Sunset staff continues to adhere to “the highest standards of excellence” in their various responsibilities.

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Residents and guests repeatedly comment on their professionalism, cordiality, and efficiency.

Director Courson and his wife, Robin, have been blessed beyond measure to have made Maui Sunset their home since 2004. It’s been a wonderful privilege to represent you as a member of the Maui Sunset AOAO Board of Directors since 2008. With each passing year, we have come to more deeply appreciate the truths “Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ‘Aina i ka Pono” (the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness) and “Maui no ka ‘oi” (Maui is the best).

Due to their increased involvement in the Republic of Vanuatu (South Pacific), the Coursons are relocating to Colorado to more effectively network with individuals and organizations across the United States interested in providing educa-tional assistance to some of the most remote and least educated villages in the world.

Our respect and appreciation for our Maui Sunset ohana is strong. We are deeply grateful for opportunities to have served our community over the past 16 years.

Director Courson will be resigning from the Board next month and will be submitting his letter of resignation.

J. House Rules & Regulations

Director Wetherall reported the House Rules are posted online.

The new Board of Directors over the next six to eight months will solicit from all owners what preferred additions or deletions in the House Rules they may have. These suggestions will be collated by “Mary” and provided to the new Board. The Board will then review and decide what changes will be made. Notice will be posted in the Newsletter of this process.

K. Time Share

Director Wetherall read a report from the Time Share Owners

The Maui Sunset Timeshare owners associations and the nearly 1,000 owners would like to thank the AOAO Board for the opportunity to include our report at the Annual Homeowners Meeting.

Security has been a point of emphasis. Projects planned are modernization of the key locks on all 43 condo units to an FOB or Code system and converting the 40-year-old bedroom slider doors to half wall with a double pane window.

We are also, updating in condo literature regarding emergency procedures and contact information. Finally, increased participation with AOAO Board regarding working with UMBRA association, the volunteer group that patrols the land and beaches to the north of Maui Sunset.

Amenities at the Maui Sunset are a major reason for owning and traveling each year. A big thank you to the grounds crew and Sonny for the manicured grounds. It is Important to the owners to keep and improve the amenities at the Sunset. The new key fobs are wildly popular, especially access to gym without having to go the front office.

Communication regarding acceptable poolside behavior and clarity of rules have helped. Hopefully this winter season will continue the Aloha at the pool.

A common theme we heard during 2019 was the concern regarding the Spectrum TV service. The change to digital and the new cable boxes created a major and ongoing headache with the combination of “Smart” TV’s and the cable boxes and its operation. With the service up for renewal, we are thankful to have Stacey Vandell assisting in the contract ne-gotiations.

Parking remains a concern during the evenings and the tightening of availability. Owners have been reminded of lim-its of one car per condo, and a second car on space available. Demand for accessible parking is on the rise; timeshare owners have requested addition of “limited mobility” parking spaces.

L. Internal & Public Relations

In addition to serving as Vice President of the Maui Sunset AOAO, Director Courson serves as a Commissioner for the County of Maui. Many owners and residents are concerned about the increase of illegal entry into the Maui Sunset con-dominiums and trespassing on the property. It’s been observed that individuals trespassing and illegally entering Maui Sunset condominiums are the same individuals engaging in other illegal activities throughout the day at the Waipui-lani Park, immediately adjacent to the Maui Sunset property.

During the past year, residents and guests have been encouraged to write letters to the Maui Police Department and Mayor’s Office if they have observed trespassers and / or violations of Waipuilani Park rules. If the Mayor’s Office and Maui Police Department are notified in writing by enough owners, residents and guests of the Maui Sunset, the County will allocate more resources towards the enforcement of laws pertaining to the adjoining park, including the illegal consumption of alcoholic beverages in the park, camping in the park, indecent exposure, sale and distribution of illegal

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substances and a general disrespect towards recreational park users and Maui Sunset residents and guests.

The committee has also recommended the elimination of bushes and undergrowth between the Waipuilani Park pub-lic parking lot and the Maui Sunset “B” Building, where much of this illegal activity originates. Emails and telephone calls are also effective, but a personal letter has the greatest impact.

These are important addresses and contact information:

Mayor Michael Victorino Chief of Police Tivoli Faaumu

55 Mahalani St. 200 S. High St.

Kalana O Maui Bldg., 9th Fl. Wailuku, HI 96793

Wailuku, HI 96793 Tel: 808-244-6400

Tel: 808-270-7825 Email: crs@mpd.net

Email: Mayors.office@co.maui.hi.us

XII. RECESS

There was a ten minute “recess”

XIII. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

With the terms of Susan Bharvani, Ed Meyer and Leagh Randle expiring, there are three vacancies on the Board. The slate of candidates introduced themselves, including: Susan Bharvani, Perry Brassington, Debra Flynn, Ed Meyer and Steve Meyer. Two owners were appointed to serve as Inspectors of Election, including Walt Smith and G. L. Bubbs the owner of A121. Cumulative voting procedures were explained by Ron Kawahara. Mr. Kawahara noted that the two candidates with the highest percentages votes will serve three-year terms. The candidate with the third highest voting percentage will serve the one-year term.

XIV. THREE AMENDMENTS TO THE ASSOCIATION GOVERNING DOCUMENTS

Mr. Kawahara explained that there are three amendments to the Association Governing Documents included on the Meeting Agenda. The owners, he said, will not vote on the amendments at the meeting today; however, he noted that the pending amendments were sent to the owners with the proxy when it was mailed out several months ago.

At this time, there is less than 40% of the owners returning the amendments’ ballot. If owners present haven’t voted, the DMI administrative staff will provide these owners with a ballot at the meeting. Owners can also change their vote if they wish and request a new ballot.

XV. RECESS

The meeting recessed at 11:30 a.m. to cast and collect the votes. Business resumed at 11:50 a.m.

XVI. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

A. Amendment Ballots

Mr. Kawahara answered questions from owners about the Amendments proposed. The Board can establish a dead-line to vote any time; however, it is reasonable for the Board to set a one-year deadline. He suggested the new Board establish a deadline date.

In order for the Amendments to pass, 67% positive approval by common interest percentage is required.

B. Newsletter

Director Wetherall explained protocol for newsletter content approval. The obligation, he said, is to give all Directors the opportunity to have input. Once the Board approves mailing, there is no other approval required.

C. Decision-Making Protocol

There were questions about decision-making protocol. Mr. Kawahara explained that certain motions made at the meeting can be made by owners; however, most decisions have to be made by the Board, and owners must comply with the Board’s decisions. Owners, however, can make suggestions to the Board. Suggestions should be made prefer-ably in writing, so the Board can act on the suggestions.

Further, Mr. Kawahara said owners can make suggestions to the Board through the General Manager in writing throughout the year, and the General Manager can pass these suggestions on to the Board/President for inclusion on the Agenda. It is the President’s decision to put it on the Board agenda for the next meeting.

Further, Mr. Kawahara explained, owners can make resolutions at meetings; however, the decisions made by the

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owners are non-binding.

D. Recognition of Leagh Randle & Harry Hecht

Leagh Randle and Harry Hecht were recognized for the hundreds of hours spent on appealing to the County against the installation of R1 Water on the property and preserving the clean water system.

XVII. ELECTION RESULTS

Election results were announced two times, as follows: Debra Flynn, 84.4977%; Steve Meyer, 67.3323%; Susan Bharva-ni, 56.4675%; Perry Brassington, 42.0303; and Ed Meyer, 1.5585%.

Debra Flynn and Steve Meyer were elected to serve three-year terms. Susan Bharvani was elected to serve a one-year term.

Ed Meyer and Leagh Randle were recognized for their dedication and years of service on the Board.

XVIII. ANNUAL RESOLUTIONS

MOTION: Resolved that any excess of membership income over membership expenses for the year-ended De cember 31, 2019, shall be applied against the subsequent tax year member assessments as provided by IRS Revenue Rules 70-604.

Jack Wetherall / Susan Bharvani Unanimous Approval

MOTION: To ratify the actions of the Board for the year 2019, including this Annual Owners Meeting.

Dave Courson / Ed Meyer Unanimous Approval

The President said that the New Board of Directors will determine the date of the next Annual Meeting at the Organi-zational Board of Directors’ Meeting following adjournment of the Annual Meeting today.

MOTION: To approve use of Association Funds to pay members of the Maui Sunset Board of Directors for their travel, Directors’ fees and per diem in accordance with the conditions of Article 3, Section 9 of the Bylaws of the Association of Apartment Owners of Maui Sunset Condominium for the remainder of the calendar year of 2020 after February 1, 2020.

Leagh Randle / Harry Hecht

The President explained that for every meeting Directors attend, a per diem of $250 is paid along with coach round trip airfare. The President noted this information is published in the Minutes and in the Newsletter. This year $17,000 was spent. Directors living on-island do not receive reimbursement for airfare.

It was noted that some Associations hold meetings electronically. It is legal by State Law to have electronic meetings. If the Board can attend electronically, owners are permitted to attend electronically as well.

The pros and cons of telephone conference Board meetings were discussed at length.

The Motion was read again by the President.

There was a Secret Ballot vote using Special Ballot 1. Mr. Kawahara explained balloting procedures. The meeting recessed for 23 minutes to cast, collect and count the ballots.

The results of Special Ballot 1 were announced two times.

There were 100 Yes votes, 41.9758%. There were 77 voting no, 34.6837%. The Motion passed by a majority vote.

XIX. DIRECTORS’ EXPENSES

The following were reimbursable expenses for the January Meetings: Ed Meyer, $547.01; Jack Wetherall, $546.48; Sandra Hooper, $362.21; Susan Bharvani, $406.40; and Leagh Randle, $699.67.

XX. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 1:20 p.m.

Louise Rockett,

Transcriptionist

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DRAFT MINUTES OF THE FIRST QUARTER BOARD MEETING

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In the August newsletter we reported that the Grand Wailea is planning to expand the resort by 224 units; adding swimming pool enhancements and restaurant facilities. Native Hawaiian activists are against the pro-posed expanded development at the Grand Wailea Re-sort, believing it will disturb buried human remains.

Members of Malama Kakanilua, the Pele Defense Fund and Hooponopono O Makena have filed a petition in late November to intervene on a Special Management Area (SMA) Use permit that the resort filed.

According to Maui County, an SMA Use permit is regulates construction projects valued at $500,000 or more, or that can have a significant adverse environmental or ecological effect on a specially managed area.

The resort spokesman states that the hotel wants to improve the hotel while being good stewards in the community. However, community organizers claim that the resort, which opened its doors in 1991, was built on sacred burial grounds. They claim several hundred remains have been detected throughout the site and relocated for construction.

The native organizers are also demanding that the remains be returned to their original resting places.

During the first week of December, the Grand Wailea Maui, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, said it is scaling back its expansion plans from 224 proposed rooms to 151 and adding one instead of two new parking garage levels to its nearly 40-acre resort, according to the resort in a letter the resort sent to the Maui County Plan-ning Department in September.

The revised plans also include retaining the hotel’s beloved Seaside Chapel, which had been slated for elimination. Other plan changes include removing 40 bungalow units; a lagoon wing, which will add 33 rooms, limiting improvements of the luau area to the addition of artificial lawn turf and renovation to ex-isting restroom facilities.

The resort says it is reducing proposed rooms by nearly 33 percent, graded areas from 6.65 acres to 3.53 acres, a 47 percent decrease and parking stall additions by 50 percent to 158.

Even with scaled-back plans, Clare Apana of Malama Kakanilua is still concerned about the potential harm to burials at the site. She also stated that the groups still are asking the hotel for reports on what happened to the previous burials needing to be reinterred.

The intervenors cite a Maui Burial Council report that says there were 300 burials still needing to be rein-terred prior to the hotel opening in 1991. The report also says that potentially, a couple hundred more buri-als have been disturbed in the hotel’s first 20 years.

For some history, the Grand Wailea was built in 1991 by Japanese billionaire Takeshi Sekiguchi at a cost of $600 million. In April 2012, the Maui Planning Commission granted approval for the resort to add 300 guest rooms, but construction of the project never began and the approvals expired in April 2015.

The resort was sold most recently to BRE Iconic Holdings in April 2018, for $1.1 billion. BRE is a portfolio company of New York-based Blackstone Group LP, a private equity firm.

While room and parking expansion plans have been reduced, other proposals remain intact, including ren-ovations to the Hibiscus Pool and deck area and to the facades. Additionally a new spa pool at Spa Grande, a new lap pool next to the Wailea Wing and a new grand stairway in the Napua Tower and 30 new beach parking stalls also will be built.

The $150 million renovations project is expected to take place in phases over three years. The project will generate 250 new construction jobs as well as 80 new permanent full-time jobs in key areas, including food and beverage and recreation, the resort said. Oliver said the resort is “the largest private employer on Maui with over 1,450 team members.”

GRAND WAILEA DEVELOPMENT REQUEST STRIKES OPPOSITION

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NOVEMBER 2019 YTD TENANCIES IN HAWAII

According to statistics by Fidelity National Title & Escrow, median prices for homes, condo and land all in-creased in 2019 vs. 2018, with median home prices at $743,000 (up 4%), condos at $515,000 (up 3%) and land at $500,000 (up 5%). While the number of 2019 recordings fell for all property types vs. 2018, West Maui Dis-trict is the sole district where home, condo and land recordings increased (up 5%, up 9% and up 16%, respec-tively).

On Maui in real estate, we are in the start of high season, where investors, visitors and second homeowners arrive back to our island. Low inventory continues to be a factor in this market and well-priced listings go pending very quickly. Also with low inventory, we are finding multiple offers on those listings that hit the market.

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Data collected from South Maui’s beaches by Hui O Ka Wai Ola show that every single site exceeds the state standard for allowable amounts of sediment and that some offshore waters contain potentially harmful nutrients. Resultant turbidi-ty is the greatest problem.

The turbidity of the near shore wa-ter is a huge problem. Nutrient lev-els can be linked to agricultural run-off or sewage. High amounts can lead to algae blooms, which threat-en reefs by blocking sunlight, and promote bacterial growth harmful to coral. flooding and other runoff. We have experienced the brown water event that blocks sunlight to reefs.

The park that is most impaired is Cove Park. This is the area where one sees all the paddleboard les-sons. Cove Park waters contain lev-els of nitrates, nitrogen, ammo-

nium, phosphorus and turbidity significantly above state Depart-ment of Health limits, according to Hui O Ka Wai Ola data.

The state Health Department’s standard for nitrate content in the ocean is 3.5 micrograms per liter, but Cove Park samples had 350 mi-crograms. Nitrogen levels were 450 micrograms per liter, while the state standard is 110 micrograms, and ammonium levels, which could be a marker for sewage, were 10 mi-crograms per liter, exceeding the 2 microgram standard, data showed.

Nitrogen standards were exceeded at Haycraft Park, Kihei Canoe Club beach, Mai Poina Oe Lau, Kalepolepo North, Kihei South (Lipoa), Kalama Park, Cove Park, Kamaole Beach I and III, Ulua Beach, Palauea and Makena Land-ing.

Hui O Ka Wai Ola is co-managed by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, The Nature Conservancy and West Maui Ridge to Reef Initiative. The program also collaborates with the state Department of Health Clean Water Branch.

The goal is to gather enough infor-mation to provide remedies to the problem of coastal pollution. More testing and fundraising is necessary to find out if the pollutants are from wastewater or fertilizer.

The Hui O Ka Wai Ola team, also known as the Clean Ocean Team, has been taking samples in South Maui for over a year to test water quality along the coast from Makena to Haycraft Park in Maalaea.

Data from the Nature Conservancy on the amounts of sediment, nutri-ents and other pollutants from land-based sources entering the ocean are collected every two to three weeks. The Hui team tests for 13 water quality parameters, including ocean salinity, pH, temperature, organic nutrients, dissolved oxygen and tur-bidity. Samples are extracted in knee-deep coastal water.

The team hopes to begin testing for bacterial parameters, like enterococ-cus and clostridium, which could indicate the presence of fecal con-tamination and can make people sick.

ALL SOUTH MAUI BEACHES EXCEED SEDIMENT STANDARDS

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COMPLETED STUDY ON THE BOTTOM OF AUAU CHANNEL SHOWS GOOD CORAL GROWTH

The Auau Channel is located between Maui and Lanai. It lies on huge mesophotic coral reefs. The term mesophotic comes from the words “meso,” which means middle, and “photic,” meaning light. The coral in this area is in good shape.

What’s fascinating is the patchwork of different plate-shaped corals that thrive in a dark environ-ment, receiving less than 1 percent of light from the surface.

From 2010 to 2011, University of Hawaii at Manoa, together with the University of Washington re-searchers completed studies of the deep-ocean reefs between Lanai and Maui. What surprised the scientists is these corals are thriving even when there is so little light. In addition, there were many fish in the reef area as well. The University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sci-ences explained that corals have microscopic sea-weed living inside their tissues. The seaweed per-form photosynthesis and obtain energy and there-fore don’t need much light. But without much sunlight can photosynthesis still happen? The an-swer is yes.

The researchers found that different corals in the mesophotic zone, in depths of 100 to at least 500 feet, have different mechanisms to adapt to the low light. Some change the type and size of the microscopic seaweed and other corals change the amount of pigments at deeper depths.

The mesophotic coral reef in the Auau Channel is indeed huge measuring 4 square miles with scattered reefs. The plate shaped corals in meso-photic reefs in Hawaii are much different than shallow coral reefs with arms. The larger, flat or plate shapes are better for taking in as much light as possible for photosynthesis.

We all have heard about coral bleaching. It con-tinues to be a topic of concern as seawater temper-atures rise and land-based pollutants increase. But the researchers did not find any bleaching in their study.

The study was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation.

Known as the mesophotic zone, found in deep

water of the Auau Channel, with minimal light,

prove that not much light is needed to survive.

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The vote allows the framework

for the tiered system but does

not set new rates, council

members have said. Rates will-

be set with public input

through the spring budget ses-

sion. However, if the public

decides no tiers should be implemented, each tier can be

set at the same rate.

The effects of the property tax changes will occur until next

fiscal year, beginning July 1.

At a recent community meeting, county officials said that

the real property tax provisions that will not change in-

clude the home exemption program, the circuit breaker

program, agricultural use valuation assessments and classi-

fication of all properties receiving the home exemption.

Things that would change:

* Homeowner class will be renamed “owner-occupied.”

* Parcels with dwellings that do not have a home exemp-

tion will be in the “non-owner-occupied” class, including

agricultural and rural-zoned improved land with dwelling

(affecting more than 4,000 properties); conservation-zoned

improved with dwelling (more than 90); condominiums

that are second homes or are rented long-term (more than

7,700); and vacant land condominiums not zoned commer-

cial, industrial or hotel (more than 950).

* Tiered real property tax rates will be established for the

proposed classifications: owner-occupied, non-owner-

occupied, short-term rental, commercial and industrial.

Some of the Maui Council members claimed other munici-

palities have successfully used a tiered system for property

taxes.

Maui County officials created bills that

change property tax classifications and

create tiered rates, with the goal of

making county revenue more equita-

ble to Maui’s diverse property owner-

ship.

County officials said if all goes accord-

ing to plan, tax and tier rates will be

established around June 2020. Property

owners will see the impact on 2021 tax

bills due in August and in February.

These are the areas that will change are

the following:

• Homeowner class will be renamed

to “owner-occupied.” “On March 15,

when you get your assessment notice,

you may see ‘owner-occupied’ instead

of ‘homeowner,’ “ Martin said. “Take a

deep breath; make sure your exemp-

tion is on the assessment notice form.

It’s $200,000 if you have one exemp-

tion; it’s $400,000 if you have two ex-

emptions.”

• Parcels with dwellings that do not

have a home exemption will be in

the “non-owner-occupied” class, in-

cluding agricultural and rural-zoned

improved with dwelling (affecting

more than 4,000 properties); conserva-

tion-zoned improved with dwelling

(more than 90); condominiums that are

second homes or are rented long-term

(more than 7,700); and vacant land

condominiums not zoned commercial,

industrial or hotel (more than 950).

• Tiered real property tax rates will be

established for these proposed classifi-

cations: owner-occupied; non-owner-

occupied; short-term rental; commer-

cial; industrial.

Tax tiers are similar to tax brackets but

instead of making categories for a

range of income levels, it creates a

range of property values.

Three equivalent or ascending tiers of

tax rates are being considered.

“The assessed value of your property

wouldn’t stick you in only one ti-

er,” said Rawlins-

Fernandez. “Everyone is in Tier One

up to the threshold and would be as-

sessed that rate, at Tier One. And if

they go above that threshold, the

amount that goes above Tier One

threshold would then, that amount,

would be assessed at Tier Two. You

wouldn’t only be in Tier One, or Tier

Two, or Tier Three, everyone would

first be assessed at Tier One rate.”

Because Maui holds everything from

small “mom-and-pop shops to large,

multinational corporations,” she add-

ed, tiers should be applied to commer-

cial and industrial classes “so that we

can create a more equitable tax pro-

posals that will not put our locally

owned small business owners at a dis-

advantage, while also asking these

large corporations to contribute their

fair share to our island community.”

Rawlins-Fernandez said tax reform has

been in the works for years by both the

council and the administration. The

council finance committee voted in

May to create a temporary investiga-

tive group to explore tax reform ideas.

The group comprises Rawlins-

Fernandez and council members Alice

Lee, Tasha Kama and Tamara Paltin.

At this time the issue is not confirmed

since the Mayor has vetoed the Bill.

NEW PROPERTY TAX CLASSIFICATIONS

MAUI COUNTY COUNCIL WANTS PROPERTY TAX REFORM BILLS

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Sediments are the greatest threat to coral reefs and scientists from the Maui Environmental Consulting division a consulting company and the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, are hoping to reduce sedi-ment runoff and pollutants in Maal-aea Bay and Harbor by introducing oysters beginning in January.

Oysters are great at pumping large volumes of water through their gills, and they’re able to remove all kinds of pollutants and impurities from the water. Oysters also have the ability to digest the type of bacteria that cause skin-borne illnesses, such as staph and MRSA. One oyster can filter 50 gallons per day. The initial plan is to introduce 500 to 1,000 oys-ters to will remove sediment, bacte-ria, heavy metals, oils, small plastic bits and other nutrients from the water through their gills. They will be distributed in six cages and hung in Maalaea Harbor in January for testing.

The inedible, noninvasive Pacific oysters are being propagated at the Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Re-sources Center at UH-Hilo and will be shipped to Maui when they are mature enough to live in Maalaea waters.

Hodges added the oyster project is multi-year and will go beyond two

years.

The massive Pohakea Watershed begins at approximately 4,600 feet at the summit of Hanaula on the West Maui Mountains, covering about 5,268 acres up slope from Maalaea Bay, and has several gulches that connect to the Bay and Maalaea Harbor, as well as discharging into Kealia Pond National Wildlife Ref-uge. Besides the oyster planting plan, there will be 11 surface water monitoring stations in the water-shed to sample the water being dis-charged into those areas. If the dis-charged water can be intercepted and filtered before entering the bay, this is the best plan.

The Pohakea Watershed was divid-ed into four main discharge path-ways, including Waihee Ditches, Kanaio Gulch, Maalaea Gulch and Malalowaiaole Gulch, and addition-al unnamed gullies. Within each of these areas, Reyes found sources of sediment vulnerable to erosion dur-ing high stormwater events.

Through field observations, MEC staff found that the main sources of sediment are unimproved or dis-used roads, Maui Electric Co. power line corridors and downed lines, agricultural roads, windmill access roads, firebreaks, stream diversions, dirt or gravel parking lots and fal-

low pastures.

During storm events, water is flowing down these gulches and backing up at the culverts under Honoapiilani Highway, and that water is becoming almost like a wash cycle and causing a large source of sediment pollution.

The management plan also men-tions the 15 injection well permits that exist within the Pohakea Water-shed boundary — 13 are used for sewage and two are used for indus-trial wastewater. These wells are relatively shallow in depth, and it is widely believed that sewage wastewater effluent from these wells is making its way to the shoreline and mixing with nearshore coastal waters.

When too much nitrogen is present in water, algae blooms can occur. New alga blooms are the last thing we need drifting on to our beaches. Additionally, leaching from nearby cesspools from the Maalaea condo-miniums may be contributing to the high levels of enterococcus and nu-trients observed within Maalaea. Cesspools can leak contaminants into oceans, streams and groundwa-ter, which can cause algae blooms as well.

USING OYSTERS TO HELP CLEAN UP MAALEA BAY MAY BE A REALITY

RECENT DROUGHT HAS HURT THE HAWAIIAN SILVERSWORDS

Despite efforts to save more of the silverswords on the upper slopes of Haleakala, their number has dwindled by 60%, since 1991. The upper slopes are a harsh con-dition and the new hope is to sow the seeds in areas with more moisture. The seeds germinate but once the young plant continues to grow, the lack of moisture kills them. The project to transplant silverswords from higher elevations to less harsh conditions at lower elevations did not work. A study by the University of Hawaii grew seeds from different elevations under drought and non-drought conditions. They found that wherever the seeds originated, those that sprouted in moister soil and then grew under drought conditions had the highest mortality. The conclu-sion is that planting seeds in areas than retain water, such as those with gentler slopes was the remedy to successful growth.

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FUTURE MEETING SCHEDULE

MAUI SUNSET MASTER ASSOCIATION:

MEETINGS WILL BE HELD AT ST. THERESA - 25 W. LIPOA ST, KIHEI, HI 96753

Second Quarter Meeting May 1, 2020 8:30 AM

Third Quarter Meeting August 14, 2020 8:30 AM

Fourth Quarter Meeting November 6, 2020 8:30 AM

All owners are welcome to any meeting. Aloha,

Steve Meyer Director and Communication Committee Chairperson Lindsay Meyer - Publisher

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POSITION NAME/ADDRESS PHONE/FAX TERM

ENDS

COMMITTEE

ASSIGNMENTS

President and

Treasurer

Sandra Hooper (Joe)

27678 Avenida Maravina

Cathedral City, CA 92234

Cell: 401-500-2183

sandra.hooper2012@gmail.com

2021 Chair - Human Resources

Vice-President Susan Bharvani

2019 E Glenwood Ave

Fullerton, CA 92831

Cell: 808-463-8516

Susan_maui@yahoo.com

2021 Chair - Amenities

Security

Secretary Jack Wetherall, J.D. (Linda)

1485 Majestic View Drive

McCall, ID 83638-0263

Res: 208-634-1342

jwetherall@gmail.com

2022 Chair - Timeshare Liaison

Rules & Regulations

Director Open position 2021 Please email Sandra Hooper if interest-

ed in position by April 13 2020

Director Dr. Harry Hecht (Karen)

1032 S. Kihei Rd B116

Kihei, HI 96753

Res: 808-264-9294

Cell: 510-376-4230

hechtkh@gmail.com

2022 Chair - Building

Long Range Planning

Director Steve Meyer (Lindsay)

1495 NW Gilman Blvd

Issaquah, WA 98027

Cell: 206-604-2790

steve@mauisunset.com

2023 Chair – Communications

Newsletter /Website

Beach Committee

Director Debra Flynn (Jim)

990 SW Flora Belle Lane

Stuart, FL 34994

Cell: 312-715-4988

debra.flynn@me.com

2023 Chair—Insurance

General

Manager

Kari Davis

1032 S. Kihei Rd

Kihei, HI 96753

Office: 808-879-0674

Cell: 808-264-4088

Fax: 808-879-0676

gmmauisunset1032@gmail.com

General Manager

Front Desk Summer Jago,

Office Manager

Shirley Spanier

Lore Morris

Office: 808-879-0674

Fax: 808-879-0676

Office Hours:

Mon-Sat: 9am - 6pm

Sun 9am - 5pm

Night

Watchman

Christ Hoerner

Larry Conlu

Killian Kuhaulua

Cell: 808-298-9291 Hours:

6pm - 6am

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Maui Sunset 1032 S. Kihei Rd Kihei, HI 96753