The Hawaii Police Department requested $2 million from the county to purchase a new animal shelter in Puna to improve its animal control capabilities.
Since HPD took over animal control responsibilities last July, following the county’s firing of former contractor Hawaii Rainbow Rangers, their ability to respond to calls about animals has been limited, said the Maj. Aimee Wana at a county council meeting Wednesday.
In particular, Wana said the lack of available facilities to house animals in eastern Hawaii has prevented the department from responding to all but the most serious calls.
Priority one calls — involving injured animals, animals that pose a risk to public safety, or animal cruelty — will elicit a response from HPD, but the department cannot respond as effectively to lower priority calls.
The county currently leases an animal shelter in Volcano that contains just 21 kennels, Wana said. Since the county’s lease for that site ends in June, she said the department needs to find new space soon.
County Chief Financial Officer Deanna Sako said the county is in negotiations to acquire a kennel in Puna pending an allocation of funds to the department.
Although Sako did not specify the location of the facility, documents submitted before the council meeting indicate that it would be located on 35th Avenue in Orchid Land Estates, on three 2-acre parcels.
Sako said HPD is asking for $2 million to purchase the facility, with the remaining funds to be used for necessary improvements to the property or for the animal program itself.
“We would have to do to comply with the law,” Sako said, adding that the size of the plots will allow the facility to be expanded in the future.
Sako added that the funds would primarily benefit animal control activities on the east side of the island, as there are already several kennel facilities in Western Hawaii available to the county.
The board supported the award, voting unanimously in favor of the first reading of a bill authorizing the release of the funds. Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali’i-Kleinfelder noted that it’s been clear for years that animal control facilities in eastern Hawaii are deficient compared to western Hawaii.
Kaneali’i-Kleinfelder had concerns about the location of the new facility in a residential development, saying residents often complain about noise from the kennel, but supported the proposal nonetheless.
The bill having passed its first reading, council will vote on its final reading at its next meeting.
Wana said that while the new facility will enhance HPD’s ability to carry out its animal control responsibilities, the department has successfully acclimated to these new duties.
“We were able to save a dog that was stuck in a lava fissure in Mountain View or Volcano. We were able to rescue a calf that was stuck in a bay in Hamakua,” Wana said. “We’ve had a lot of success so far.”
Email Michael Brestovansky at [email protected]