LIHU‘E — Community meetings are scheduled next week on the upcoming demolition of the old sugar mills in Kekaha and Lihu‘e, a news release states. Contractors have informed the mill owners that the requirements of asbestos cleanup, as well as
LIHU‘E — Community meetings are scheduled next week on the upcoming demolition of the old sugar mills in Kekaha and Lihu‘e, a news release states.
Contractors have informed the mill owners that the requirements of asbestos cleanup, as well as structural issues and severe corrosion at both former Amfac sugar mills, will require their removal, the release states. Mill owners Lihu‘e MS, LLC, and Kekaha MS, LLC, expect to file applications for county demolition permits soon.
Community meetings are set at 6 p.m., Monday, at Kekaha Neighborhood Center on the Kekaha Mill, and at 6 p.m., Wednesday, at the War Memorial Convention Hall, on the Lihu‘e Mill. Refreshments will be served.
The meetings will include a presentation on asbestos mitigation, how the demolition will be handled, and a review of the mills’ historical preservation documentation, which have been reviewed and approved by the county Historic Preservation Review Commission and state Department of Land and Natural Resources State Historic Preservation Division.
Sugar cane processing stopped at both mills in 2000. Much of the mill and plantation equipment from both sites was sold off in a single auction in May 2001.
Several of the Lihu‘e Mill structures have begun to collapse due to corrosion and vandalism, the release states. The Kekaha site has also become a dumping ground for old cars.
The Kekaha Mill was the sugar processing factory built for Kekaha Sugar Co. while the Lihu‘e Mill processed cane for Lihu‘e Plantation, and at one time handled cane for several other East Kaua‘i sugar plantations as well. At the end of their productive lives, the plantations and mills were operated together under the name Amfac Sugar Kaua‘i.
There are currently no plans for the development of either mill site, the release states.
The work will be done by NCM Group, a demolition and mitigation contracting organization made up of specialty contractors Nuprecon, CST Environmental, and MARCOR Environmental, the release states. Integral Consulting will oversee and document environmental compliance. Demolition and mitigation experts will be on hand at the public meetings to respond to questions.
