KAUAI COUNTY, Hawaii (KHON2) — Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami gave his seventh State of the County Address on Thursday, March 13.
KHON2 caught up with him to touch more on key issues and share what’s next in his political future as he nears the end of his eight-year term.
With Phase 1 of the master-planned community in Eleele almost complete, Mayor Kawakami mentioned more development partners are needed to start more projects to add to the affordable housing inventory. We asked the Mayor how he plans to get those partnerships.
“Our whole business model around affordable housing was to make it profitable and less risky for developers, because the previous model of letting private property owners develop left us with a backlog and a lack of inventory. So what we’ve been doing is land-banking, getting all the infrastructure in, having our team securing all the entitlements, and so we’re actually coming to the table to lower the cost of goods sold. And in that business model, we’re already attracting developers to come and help us build more affordable housing for families that work, live, and play right here on Kauai. And so as we proceed and wrap up our final year, we’re just going to be working quicker. And we’re just putting the development community on notice to be ready with bids when we send them out because we’re thinking outside of the box,” said Mayor Kawakami.
After his term as mayor ends, Kawakami said he wants to continue to serve his community.
“There’s no real, clear big picture. In the political world, it is often times a cloudy outlook, not that it’s bleak. But I do have a burning desire to serve and continue to serve, and there are many different ways to do it.”
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“I only got one year left and I really want to focus our efforts on wrapping up loose ends. Leaving the next administration with a good foundation so that he or she can build upon that. And I do have a burning desire to serve. Our Senate President Ron Kouchi is a person I look up to. And he can stay there as long as he wants, but I’ve always been patient.”