The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is planning to consolidate its West Hawaii services in a new administration building and baseyard near Honokohau Small Boat Harbor in Kealakehe.
The more than $17 million project is expected to begin construction by the end of 2017. A separate building for a community conference center is expected to be completed later, once funding is ensured. That building is expected to cost more than $4 million.
The proposed facility will be mauka of the existing Honokohau Small Boat Harbor and makai of Queen Kaahumanu Highway. The project site is immediately adjacent to undeveloped land that is part of the Kaloko-Honokohau Harbor Facility.
DLNR expects a finding of no significant environmental impact, consultant Limtiaco Consulting Group said in an environmental assessment published Oct. 23.
“DLNR’s project is not expected to displace any federal or state of Hawaii listed species of plants or insects since the project site is devoid of these protected resources,” the report stated. “AECOS Inc. conducted a biological field survey of the project site and detected no federal or state of Hawaii listed species during the course of its survey, which extended beyond the project site boundaries.”
DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement and Division of Aquatic Resources are currently located at the Honokohau Small Boat Harbor.
Both DOCARE and the Division of Aquatic Resources would relocate to the new facility, which also will house the Commission on Water Resource Management, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Division of State Parks, Engineering Division and State Historic Preservation Division.
It’s not known how much the state is expected to save on leased facilities once the agency’s locations are consolidated.
The seven divisions will share a 19,000-square-foot, one-story custom steel frame building, containing offices, workstations, secure file storage areas, support spaces, dedicated staff areas, shared conference rooms and areas for receiving and meeting with the visiting public. Several smaller conference rooms equipped with video conferencing amenities can be used for agency functions such as regularly scheduled board meetings, bid openings, consultations and staff training.
The Division of Aquatic Resources will have a wet lab for testing and analysis; DOCARE will have an evidence room and library.
The State Historic Preservation Division library is expected to be used by the public for research purposes and consultations with the agency.
There also will be a 3,200-square-foot secure, climate controlled collections warehouse, for the storage of artifacts and ancestral resources such as iwi. The warehouse will provide an archival environment for storing, cleaning and sorting artifacts. An open air space for cultural ceremonies will be nearby.
There will be secured, open baseyards for government property such as equipment, tools, vehicles and vessels and collected evidence including impounded vehicles. The baseyards will include wash down stations equipped with hose bib, drainage systems and oil-water separators. The public will not have access to the baseyards for security and safety reasons.
The proposed facility includes a public plaza on the southern portion of the site, which is aligned with Kealakehe Parkway. It is anticipated that the public plaza can be used as an outdoor extension of the community conference center.
There will be parking areas in front of the building along Kealakehe Parkway and along the makai length of the building on both sides of the internal roadway.
DLNR personnel are expected to use the parking areas located within secured access areas and outside the tsunami evacuation zone. Public parking areas will be aligned along the southern and western sides of the proposed facility. Preliminary discussions with DLNR suggest the public parking areas along the western side of the proposed facility might be sited within the tsunami evacuation zone.
The proposed facility is expected to house approximately 40 to 50 personnel. Public areas within the proposed facility will be designed for staff interactions with visitors for purposes such as acquiring licenses and permits, consultations, bid openings, meetings and general inquiries.
The proposed administration building will initially house the community conference center. The auditorium-style public meeting room will be a flexible space that can accommodate a maximum of 200 people.
Storage and restrooms will be provided to support conference center uses such as public hearings, informational workshops, activities associated with resource programs and community outreach. Video and teleconferencing capability will be available.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
