LIHUE — County Housing Agency Director Kanani Fu resigned her position with the county effective March 31. Fu has worked for the County of Kauai since January 2012 and has been the housing director since March of 2016.
She stays with CHA as housing development manager.
Fu has served in a variety of positions for the county, including in the Agency of Elderly Affairs, as special assistant to the housing director, housing director,and now housing development manager.
“I am honored that Mayor Carvalho has afforded me this opportunity to continue the work of the housing agency,” Fu said when she was appointed housing director three years ago. “We have an ambitious vision, and I look forward to working with the administration, the County Council and the community to see these projects come to life.”
Fu implements PLOP, or Policy, Leverage, Opportunities and Partnerships, when addressing the island’s affordable housing needs, and has been involved in several projects during her time as housing director, including assisting in the development of the Koa‘e project and the addition of 30 units to the Kaniko‘o senior housing complex in Lihue.
Fu, who is from Anahola, is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapalama Campus, has a bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics from Pacific University in Oregon, and a master’s degree in organizational change from Hawaii Pacific University.
Fu has two daughters and is married to Ryan Fu. They live in Hanamaulu.
Steve Franco will now serve as the acting housing director effective immediately, according to a press release from the county.
“I’ve been with the housing agency just over 10 years now,” Franco said. “For the last two years, I was the Development Division coordinator. I’m hoping to go ahead and continue all the good work that we have done in the past and push forward with all the possible projects we have on the horizon.”
Some of those projects include the completion of the Koa‘e project.
“That will be a 134-unit rental project out in Koloa,” Franco said. “We’re also working on moving forward with phase one of the Lima Ola project in Eleele.”
Franco added that the Lima Ola project is going through the request for proposals and procurement processes to hire a contractor to start building the infrastructure for phase one of the project.
“Those are the two on the near horizon,” Franco said. “We’re also partnering with providing some home investment partnership program funding to the Waimea Hoaki project, which is the Habitat (Hawaii Habitat for Humanity) parcel in Waimea.”
Franco came into the CHA 10 years ago as a home-buyer specialist with a background in the mortgage-lending field as an underwriter and loan officer.
“I’ve previously worked for companies like Bank of Hawaii and American Saving Bank in that capacity,” Franco said. “I have had lending experience, that’s how I came to the housing agency.”
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Ryan Collins, county reporter, can be reached at 245-0424 or rcollins@thegardenisland.com.
