Posted on: Friday, December 6, 2002

Residents miffed with police station planners

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — Residents have gotten their first look at designs for the new $5 million police station that will serve East Honolulu, and many are surprised at how the plan has changed since the community last heard about it a year ago.

To keep costs down, the size of the station has been reduced by about 20 percent, Karl Godsey, assistant police chief, told residents last week. In the process, some features the community had asked for were eliminated, primarily a public meeting room and a headquarters office for emergency personnel and city lifeguards.

But that didn't concern residents nearly as much as being left out of the process.

Charlie Rodgers, chairman of the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board, chastised the city and the police for coming to the community after the designs were completed and the city was soliciting bidders.

"On behalf of the community, we'd like some opportunity for input," Rodgers said. "We've been left out of the loop and now it's out for bid."

Residents had been involved since the city proposed building a police station in East Honolulu in 1998. As police looked for the right site, residents, including the area's City Council representatives, joined a task force to evaluate locations in 'Aina Haina, Kaimuki and various sites in Hawai'i Kai. They finally settled on a site on Keahole Street.

That was a year ago, and the community had heard little about the project until Godsey attended last week's neighborhood board meeting. Police have said that the department had been preoccupied since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York City and the Pentagon.

Today, the city is soliciting bids from contractors, and construction is expected to begin next summer, taking about 18 months to complete, Godsey said.

The police station, the first in the diverse East Honolulu district — it spans from Manoa to Makapu'u — will be complete with holding and booking facilities. The building will be 15,000 square feet, with room for 109 parking spaces for officers and 15 spaces for the public.

The station will be located on Keahole Street adjacent to the Park and Ride facility, with easy access to Kalaniana'ole Highway.

Money for design and construction is locked in, and the Honolulu Police Department must now go before the City Council to get money for furniture and equipment, Godsey said.

The building still needs an environmental assessment report, and once it is ready the public will have 30 days to comment on it, he said.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.