HONOLULU (AP) - A popular mule tour that has been operating in Hawaii for more than 40 years could be forced to shut down over a rent dispute.
Kalaupapa Rare Adventures in Molokai guides visitors on mule rides down a 1,600-foot cliff to the Kalaupapa peninsula. Eldon “Buzzy” Sproat started the company back in the 1970s. His family has kept the business running since he died in 2014.
Now, Sproat’s daughter, Kalehua Sproat, says the companies that own part of the land where the tours are held — RW Meyer Ltd. and Miala Inc. — want to increase the rent from $1,800 to $3,000 and are demanding 20 percent of the business profits.
“If anyone knows how it is to raise animals and to run a business here in Hawaii, they’ll know that you’re lucky if you even take home 20 percent after everything is paid out,” Sproat told Hawaii News Now (https://bit.ly/2kl9LHT ). “They basically want to up our rent and charge us a toll fee.”
State Rep. Lynn DeCoite has voiced her support for continuing the tours and said losing them would be a major loss to the community.
“I would hope that both families would sit down and come up with a reasonable way to have the company still exist,” DeCoite said.
RW Meyer President Paul Meyer said in an email the matter is in dispute and the company has sought legal help.
The company’s board members voted 7-2 on Saturday to raise the rent.
“The demand didn’t come from the board, it came from Paul,” said Timothy Stack, a board member who voted against the rent increase. “That’s the way he sees it and that’s the way he wants it. Why? That’s still a mystery.”
If both sides fail to reach an agreement, the decadesold mule rides could come to an end.
“The purpose of carrying this out and going on with this business is to carry out my dad’s legacy and that’s all we want to do,” Sproat said.
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Information from: KGMB-TV, https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/
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