O'ahu's newest neighborhood board — Nanakuli-Ma'ili Board No. 36 — became complete this week with nine at-large members elected over the weekend from a field of two dozen candidates.

The election marked the culmination of a controversial split from the Wai'anae Coast Neighborhood Board No. 24, which formerly represented Nanakuli-Ma'ili as well as the Wai'anae-Makaha area and the entire coast.

Members of the new board expressed optimism about working with one another.

"I'm excited about it," said Nanakuli resident Patty Teruya, who chaired the Wai'anae Coast Neighborhood Board 24 at the time of the breakup. "I'm looking forward to finding solutions. Otherwise, we formed this whole board for nothing. Put the personalities on the side and let's get down to business — that's the way I look at it."

Teruya and others had said the split was necessary because Nanakuli residents were not having their concerns adequately addressed on the Wai'anae board.

Eight of the nine members of the new board are from Nanakuli. Ma'ili resident Cynthia Rezentes — also a former chairwoman of the Wai'anae board and a critic of the split — also said she thinks she will be able to work effectively with the other members.

"I wish there were more people from Ma'ili who were on the board," said Rezentes. "But I'm glad that we have at least some representation from Ma'ili. And I do believe that some of the other people from Nanakuli who have broader perspectives will try to make sure that it's not just Nanakuli that they are speaking for."

Rezentes said she and other Ma'ili residents supported a candidate slate that included five Nanakuli residents and four Ma'ili residents. Although she was the only candidate from Ma'ili to make it, all five Nanakuli candidates were elected.

Still, there were some who questioned how the entire switch-over process was handled.

Ma'ili resident Walterbea Aldeguer, who was narrowly defeated in her bid for a seat on Board No. 36, said to this day she doesn't know how Ma'ili ended up as part of the Nanakuli board. There was never a public discussion about where Ma'ili would go, and virtually 100 percent of her neighbors were opposed to the split, she said.

"We protested the way the petition to split was done," said Aldeguer. "In December, when the Neighborhood Commissioners came out and met with the community at Nanaikapono Elementary School in Nanakuli, I asked them to come to Ma'ili Elementary School to meet with residents there. And they said, no, they would only have one meeting."

Now that Board No. 36 has become a reality, though, Aldeguer said she's able to accept it and move forward.

Teruya said she sees no reason why committees on both boards working on issues such as transportation that affect the whole coast cannot team up effectively.

"If we can work together, I see this as a plus for the whole coast," she said. "You will see a lot of great changes. There are very intelligent people on both boards.

Officials at the Neighborhood Commission Office said the exact date of the first Nanakuli-Ma'ili Board meeting has yet to be set, but it will likely be during the first week of April.

The Neighborhood Board system was established more than 30 years ago as a grass-roots effort to give individuals within communities a means of holding public meetings and have a voice in decisions affecting their neighborhoods.

Only two times before has a single board split to form two boards, the last time being more than a decade ago.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.