Please do not remove trees
I’m writing in concern as the County has plans to remove trees at Magic Sands Beach.
Comments can be submitted by May 26 for the Draft EA for Magic Sands Beach Park Accessibility Improvements to kevin.sakai@hawaiicounty.gov and rterry@hawaii.rr.com.
I read this EA and have concerns, our shoreline needs protection, and stabilization. We need to prevent erosion, not enhance it. Sea level continues to rise, coastal storms intensify in the coastal zone. The beach is located within the VE Flood Zone.
Trees are natural for stabilization, we need to strive to protect and preserve. Please do not remove trees.
Simmy McMichael
Kailua-Kona
Inaccurate portrayal
We at The Michaels Organization felt compelled to respond to a letter published May 10. The letter inaccurately portrayed Lei Kupuna, a newly built, affordable housing community offering spacious, modern apartments for seniors in Kona, which Michaels owns and manages.
The community, which was developed and built just three years ago, has energy and water-saving features in the apartments and common rooms, including high-efficiency washers and dryers in the laundry facilities.
Each of our buildings has three washers and three dryers which equates to one set per floor and one machine per every five residents, a higher ratio than many rental communities on the island. Michaels’ on-site management team includes a professional maintenance supervisor and maintenance technician, and we also have a contract with a professional service company that services our laundry facilities regularly. At no time have our senior residents been without hot water or a working washing machine within close proximity to their apartment.
We sincerely believe that the majority of our residents are satisfied with our management services and are indeed very happy to live at Lei Kupuna. The apartments and grounds are beautiful and well-kept and, perhaps best of all, provide affordable living for seniors in a very-high cost housing environment.
Our residents also have access to supportive services, through our partnership with Better Tomorrows, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing health, wellness, financial stability, and educational opportunities for our communities’ families and seniors.
Better Tomorrows works with several local community resources in Kona, all of whom have been incredibly generous and supportive, especially during this unprecedented time of the coronavirus. Our senior residents have meals delivered at no cost to them three days per week by Better Tomorrows as well as masks and gloves.
All of our residents — including seniors — are also eligible and invited to apply for educational scholarships we offer annually through The Michaels Organization Educational Foundation.
Michaels has been a leading developer/manager of affordable living communities for more than 40 years; we serve more than 145,000 residents in 400 plus communities across the country, including several in Hawaii.
Stacie Brach
Regional Vice President
The Michaels Organization
Letters policy
Letters to the editor should be 300 words or less and will be edited for style and grammar. Longer viewpoint guest columns may not exceed 800 words. Submit online at www.westhawaiitoday.com/?p=118321, via email to letters@westhawaiitoday.com or address them to:
Editor
West Hawaii Today
PO Box 789
Kailua-Kona, HI 96745
