Mayor wants to replace
Waianae Police Station

The mayor is pushing to replace the outdated Waianae Police Station with a modern $5 million facility, and has included $50,000 in his budget proposal for the project's planning funds.

The existing station "requires extensive structural improvements," said city spokesman Bill Brennan.

"We're proposing to build a new facility that will not only address ... all the modern technological issues, but in the end be a cost-effective solution."

The Waianae Police Station was built in 1961.

Planning funds for the project were included in the fiscal year 2006 budget that's now before the City Council. Mayor Mufi Hannemann also wants to allocate about $400,000 to the facility's design in fiscal year 2007, and an estimated $5 million for its construction over fiscal years 2008 and 2009, Brennan said.

It's still not known whether the station would be built in the same location as the existing facility, at 85-939 Farrington Highway, or in a new spot, he said.

It's also unclear whether more officers would be assigned to the area.

Maj. Mike Tamashiro, commander of police District 8, which stretches from Kaena Point to the Ewa plain, said the Waianae Police Station "hasn't stayed up with what we have in other stations."

Tamashiro also said a renovation of the station completed in 2002 hardly got the facility up to speed for the needs of the community.

Officials emphasized that plans for the station are preliminary, and the City Council hasn't yet approved funds for the project.

The Waianae Police Station used to be District 8's headquarters, before the $13.5 million Kapolei police station was built.

That facility is able to hold 90 detainees, and has offices for personnel from the police department's Criminal Investigation, Juvenile Services and Narcotics/Vice divisions.

By contrast, the Waianae Police Station is described as a "base of operations" for officers who patrol the Waianae Coast.

There are about 11 patrol officers assigned to areas along the Waianae Coast.

Cynthia Rezentes, chairwoman of the Waianae Neighborhood Board, said she's behind the project if it means providing the area with better police coverage and security.

"I'm all for whatever it would take to do that," she added.

But the board's vice chairman, Albert H. Silva, is a little more skeptical of the plan.

He said the money could be better spent on renovating the existing station. He also said the funds could easily finance more police personnel for the Leeward Coast.

"There's other priorities," Silva said. "If they need space, maybe they could alter the building ... Spending too much money is not the way to get the job done."