WHEREAS, built in 1916, the Oahu Community Correctional Center no longer properly serves the needs of its overall inmate population or the surrounding community of Kalihi; and

WHEREAS, as the largest jail facility in the State, the 16-acre, 950-bed Oahu Community Correctional Center has outdated security infrastructure and is overcrowded, which has contributed to conditions that have allowed multiple inmate escapes; and

WHEREAS, the Oahu Community Correctional Center cannot accommodate current and projected detention needs, and this situation has prompted the State to request more information on the construction of a new Oahu Community Correctional Center, with a capacity of 1,500 or more beds, in a location other than the current Kalihi site; and

WHEREAS, Kalihi is not an appropriate place for the Oahu Community Correctional Center since its immediate surrounding area contains a park, schools, homes, small businesses, and other commercial establishments; and

WHEREAS, the Director of Public Safety has stated that rebuilding the Oahu Community Correctional Center at its current Kalihi site is not a viable option and that the administration has expressed willingness to consider its relocation; and

WHEREAS, the presence of the Oahu Community Correctional Center has historically discouraged development in Kalihi and currently jeopardizes the Kalihi community's opportunity to benefit from transit-related development and redevelopment projects; and

WHEREAS, the State is currently evaluating proposals that would expand the Halawa Correctional Facility, including by combining it with the Oahu Community Correctional Center, to take advantage of the efficiencies of consolidation; and

WHEREAS, consolidation is fiscally prudent because upgrading the aging Oahu Community Correctional Center has the potential to be equally or more expensive than building a new facility in another location; and

WHEREAS, relocating the Oahu Community Correctional Center would generate land development opportunities on the current Kalihi site and spur private-public partnerships that could improve Kalihi and offset the cost of a consolidated jail without an undue fiscal burden on the State through the sale or long-term lease of the Kalihi site; and

WHEREAS, if developed appropriately, the Kalihi site is well situated to become a major center of economic activity, generate tax revenues and lease-rent income for the State and property tax revenues for the City and County of Honolulu, and benefit from private development related to transit-oriented growth; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the Senate concurring, that the Governor is urged to develop a modernized Oahu Community Correctional Center within the Halawa Correctional Facility through a public-private partnership; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in conjunction with development of the modernized jail facility, the Governor is urged to:

(1) Issue a request for proposals for the private construction of the community correctional facility for the State on a turnkey basis; and

(2) Facilitate redevelopment of the land that is currently occupied by the Oahu Community Correctional Center to benefit the Kalihi community and the State, including through partnerships with the private sector, to generate revenue and innovative development opportunities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Public Safety, and chairperson of the Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board.

Report Title:

Halawa Correctional Facility; Oahu Community Correctional Center; Consolidation; Redevelopment; Private-Public Partnership

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	178
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII