Mayor Michael Victorino sent a record-setting one billion dollar budget proposal to the County Council for approval for the upcoming fiscal year.

Within that budget are delineations of millions of dollars to various agendas across the county. That includes $17.2 million for improvements to War Memorial Gymnasium and to War Memorial Track and Field, both located in Wailuku.

Over here on the West Side, the Lahaina Civic Center has reopened — albeit in a cloud of dust and dirt — to public use. The facility has fallen in maintenance to COVID-19 disarray and neglect over the last two years.

The lockers in the P.E. room upstairs have been torn out and removed, and the showers are capped off and inoperable. The walls and the cement benches are sparsely painted and resemble a prison facility more than the dressing room for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Basketball Tournament that is considered the top preseason collegiate tournament in the country.

The floor in this room is partially covered by a carpet remnant procured by one of the martial arts clubs that had used the room for 40 years before the pandemic closure. That same club spent the day shampooing the rug and cleaning the neglected room before the reopening two weeks ago.

The basketball flooring is in good shape but certainly could use some maintenance. This is particularly true as the West Maui Youth Basketball League — a model program that has served some 400 keiki ages 5-15 of the community for over 40 years — tips off again soon.

One can only imagine what the social hall downstairs looks like. That room was the joyous party location for graduation parties, wedding receptions and all of the West Side family gatherings that define the personality of the community.

The amphitheater, the location for concerts and shows for the community, on the mauka side of the building faces the trade winds and the constant battering from the elements. Again, it will take a concerted effort to clean up this section of the Civic Center.

This brings us back to the lead-in to this appeal. Mr. Mayor (remember now, some of your family participated in the WMYBL many years ago). Would it be possible to send a small portion of that ONE BILLION DOLLARS over here to the West Side to fix up the Lahaina Civic Center? Please keep us in mind. Mahalo. (By Walter Chihara)