SEWER UPGRADE

Return to Main Page

Project: MBC Trees

Higher purpose (things we can all whole-heartedly agree on):

  • To enhance the natural beauty of the Mokulēʻia Beach Colony

  • To be sure any changes made satisfy most owners, residents and visitors

  • To wisely spend limited resources (money, effort, time)

  • For the MBC BOD to respectfully listen to all knowledgeable and interested parties, understanding their perspectives

  • For the MBC BOD to discover & nurture the “best ideas & strategies” for moving forward, wherever those ideas & strategies might come from

Project discussion reset?

  • Perhaps engage MBC Tree questions as though they’ve never been discussed before

  • Imagine there are no past agreements about anything

Call to action

  • Rhinoceros beetles devastating coco palms

  • Rhinoceros beetles are an ongoing, perhaps worsening threat

Wider context

  • Hawai'‘i is the “extinction capital of the world” — threat to fauna & flora will be ongoing

  • Climate change will increasingly threaten our fauna & flora

  • Some actions (e.g., agreements, commitments, contracts) might currently be in motion

Question: What to do about existing coco palms?

  • Do nothing, remove coco palms when dead — cost?

  • Work to preserve current coco palms — cost?

  • Remove all coco palms now (assuming the rhino beetles will, eventually, kill them) — cost?

Question: What to do about the “empty spaces” created by removal of dead coco palms?

  • Do nothing, leave the spaces empty — cost?

  • Replace coco palms with other palms vetted as rhinoceros-beetle resistant — cost? — cost if wrong & beetles eat them?

  • Replace coco palms with palm tree alternatives also vetted as rhinoceros-beetle resistant — cost? — cost if wrong?

Question: How urgent is this project?

  • Not urgent — important — somewhat urgent — urgent — extremely urgent

  • How urgent are related issues (e.g., trees need to be trimmed, but havenʻt been trimmed since June 2024)?

Moving forward

  • Add issues not noted above

  • Estimate costs for all options

  • For each MBC BOD member and property manager to individually think through each question, develop her/his personal perspective for each option

  • To meet and discuss all relevant questions, issues, approaches, etc.

  • To develop an action plan for moving forward