The Wailuku Main Street Association appreciates Council Member Mike Victorino's response to a loaded question asked of him at a Kula Community Association forum.
Victorino was questioned about the council's alleged lack of oversight of nonprofits receiving county grants in light of the recent allegations about WMSA. The council member responded that grants to nonprofits often leverage county grant money to produce much more value than would be achieved by the county acting alone.
A county expert estimated WMSA provides a return on investment of at least twice the value of county money granted to our 27-year-old organization. In other words, for every dollar granted WMSA, the county receives more than $2 of value.
WMSA will respond to unfounded allegations against us when we present our case to an objective Maui judge. We have been informed that we will have our day in court, and we are working on detailed responses to all allegations. We greatly appreciate the council member's willingness to keep on open mind until we have had our opportunity to respond.
WMSA has not received fair treatment from Maui newspapers nor the state's deputy attorney general. Both have relied on the unsworn testimony of an individual of questionable character who previously caused great turmoil during the Sprint tower controversy when serving Haiku Community Association chairman.
We appreciate those willing to wait for both sides of the story before casting judgment.
Tom Cannon
Haiku
