Aloha Wailea Ekahi Homeowners,
It feels like Summer is over now with quiet roads, serene beaches, and cooler trade winds in the evenings. There’s been a little bit of rain on the windward side, but Wailea remains dry, and the continued water restrictions are taking a heavy toll island wide. West Maui was recently increased to a Stage 2 water restriction, which only allows irrigation once a week even for multi-family housing. With the increase to Stage 2, and continued drought conditions impacting Maui, came the announcement that PGA pulled out of the annual Kapalua tournament sponsored by Sentry that was scheduled for January 2026. Our area is still on a Stage 1 restriction that limits our irrigation to twice a week.
The recent Wailea Community Association meeting was well attended with close to 200 participants, and an introduction to the new General Manager Matt Chiarek. Wailea Community Association does not support the Bill 9 legislation to ban STVR in Wailea condominiums that were well intended for visitors, and has submitted testimony stating so. They deferred questions about proposed golf course developments at the meeting, to Wailea Golf LLC, and the developer Ledcor. With the recent confusion and congestion around the tsunami warning, WCA is looking to implement an updated emergency and disaster preparation guide for nearby properties. A new WCA website is also expected to be launched soon.
Our work down the main driveway with removal of 7 speed bumps has been completed, and 3 lower and less disruptive speed deterrent strips have been installed. The Coconut Trees have all been trimmed by David’s crew, and the shower trees in the upper phase by the 4-way stop are scheduled with What Tree LLC this week. Jordan is the professional arborist we have been using for a couple of years to trim the monkeypods and royal palms and will be back for the rest of the tree trimming at the end of October.
BBQ lighting adjustments were completed in September with the removal of the overhead flood lights, and timers installed on the LED strip lighting. The operating hours were extended for months with prolonged daylight, so users can grill at the outer BBQ areas until 9 PM from May 1- October 31. From November 1st to April 30th the BBQ areas will close at 8:00 PM. Pavilion BBQ’s are always available until 10 PM.
The maintenance team is keeping busy with stucco repairs ahead of the painters, and other paint work that is outside of the vendor’s scope. We have also stayed focused pressure washing buildings, courtyards, and stairwells areas to prepare for our busy season.
Ekahi’s landscaping crew has worked especially hard over the past few weeks to get the main fairway dethatched and composted. We are aerating this week, while we wait for more compost to be delivered and spread out in front of buildings 33-39. We will be spraying a new liquid surfactant to assist with turf maintenance, restoration, and water conservation. At the October 22 Board of Directors meeting, Robert Miskae of Hawaii Inspection Group will be a guest speaker, presenting the summary of their consultation and on-going efforts with irrigation improvements and drought tolerant planting recommendations. We hope you will join us at about 9:30 AM HST for this report.
Recent updates from our Design Committee Chair, Susan Raterman Easley, can be reviewed on the minutes attached from July and August. We have been meeting with different pool and tile vendors, and the intent is still to resurface the Pavilion pool deck area next year with a main pool closure for about 2.5 months. As soon as we have more detailed information about the targeted date range, we will certainly let you know. I understand that our 3 other pools can provide some relief while the pavilion pool is closed, but shutting this popular amenity for a couple of months will have an impact on owners and guests that often visit during August/September/October.
Right down the road, the Kea Lani at Fairmont is renovating Ko, and they have a dinner buffet offering while this popular restaurant remains closed. I had the opportunity to try it last weekend and enjoyed a 25% local discount. With 3 types of poke, 4 different styles of shrimp, a carving station with both prime rib and ahi, this was tremendous value for money. If you are visiting Maui in the next few weeks, I would try and take advantage while it’s available. I made our booking on Open Table, and kids under 5 eat free.
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Maui Academy of Performing Arts is officially opening its theatre season in November with a performance of Cabaret, and tickets are on sale October 8th. Formerly housing the Dollar General Store on Main Street, The Naylor is Maui’s new state-of-the-art black box theatre opening soon in Wailuku town, thanks to individual donations and grants totaling $15 million dollars.
Our Social Committee will be hosting a keiki Halloween Party at the beach pavilion on Friday October 31st. We will get some spooky decorations up ahead of time, and flyers will be posted property wide inviting all guests to dress up and participate.
Don’t forget to update your occupancy and door codes with Evelyn now that we will start getting busy. Please review the painting schedule and remember your unit must be vacant of guests by 5 PM the day before the painting starts!