PHOTOS: $28M Kihei Police Station Breaks Ground

By Susan Halas

Dignitaries use the traditional pointed Hawaiian O’o digging stick to break ground for the new Kihei Police Station. The stick is customarily made of koa wood. Photo by Susan Halas.

The long awaited and long delayed $28 million Kihei Police Station broke ground today, as a host of stakeholders looked on.

The attendees consisted of MPD officers, county officials and members of the Maui County Council, construction consultants, funding representatives, neighbors and well wishers.

Bill Garcia of Halau Nahanono Kuliki Piilani blessed the site with a traditional water purification ritual. He was followed by local dignitaries who used the ceremonial o’o pointed koa digging sticks to make first marks in the earth where the station will be built.

Opening remarks were delivered by Mayor Alan Arakawa and MPD Chief Gary Yabuta. Both men stressed that it had taken more than a decade to bring the ambitious new building to fruition. They said the new police station would bring much needed improvements to the Kihei district which runs from the Pali Tunnel in Maalaea to LaPerouse Bay in Makena.

Bill Garcia sprinkles water on the ground during the traditional purification chant prior to the ground breaking. Photo by Susan Halas.

They added that they were pleased that the actual constructions costs would be well below the original $40 million estimate.

The new station, located just mauka of the Piilani Highway at Kanani Road, will occupy a 10 acre site that is safely above the tsunami inundation zone.

Bid specifications call for on-site construction involving major site grading, the installation of new underground utility infrastructure, construction of the 50,000 gross square foot (gsf), 2-story Main Police Station building, the 6,000 gsf, 1-story Specialized Vehicle Equipment building, and the 2,200 gsf, 1-story Central Plant building. Also included in the package are additional site improvements comprising a new 207-stall on-grade parking lot, a secured Vehicle Impound Lot, and site landscaping utilizing indigenous plants.

Mitsunaga & Associates of Honolulu is the architectural firm. Michael Wright & Associates of Wailuku is the construction manager, and F&H Construction of Kahului is the general contractor. Dan Blackburn representing F&H said that the project is expected to employ around 200 union workers.

Deputy Chief Lawrence Hudson is credited with shepherding the long delayed station through an approval process that took over a decade. Photo by Susan Halas.

Completion of the station is targeted for early June of 2013. Discussing the financing, Rocky Chenelle, a Loan Specialist from the USDA’s Hilo office, said approximately $17 million would come through a federal loan, with the county providing the rest of the financing.

Assistant Chief Lawrence Hudson is credited with guiding the project through the complex and often contentious approval process. Hudson said that current Kihei commanding officer Capt. Tivoli Faaumu would continue on as the head of the new facility. Capt. Faaumu said that the combined sworn and civilian staff at the current Kihei station number 58. This number is expected to grow to about 100 staff when the new station is fully operational.

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa chats with MPD Chief Gary Yabuta prior to today’s groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Kihei Police Station. Photo by Susan Halas.	Capt. Tivoli Faaumu is commanding officer of the Kihei Station and will continue in that position when the new station opens. Photo by Susan Halas.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD Construction and Finance Team. Left to right: Dan Blackburn and Tim O’Brien of F&H Construction, the general contractors for the new station. Also on hand were Chris Kanazawa and Rocky Chenelle representing the USDA Hilo office which provided $17 million in funding for the project. Photo by Susan Halas	Architects' rendering of the new $28 million Maui Police Department Kihei Station schedule for completion in June 2013. Image courtesy Mitsunaga and Associates.