A Hawaii County Council resolution urging the governor to take action to remove the derelict former Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel received wide support Wednesday.
The resolution, introduced by Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy, requests that the governor issue an emergency declaration regarding the dangerous condition of the former hotel in order to expedite its eventual demolition, which state officials have said will cost $13.5 million.
At a meeting of the County Council’s Governmental Operations and External Affairs Committee, Lt. William Derr of the Hawaii Police Department said that there have been 6,479 calls to police regarding the building between September. 2018 and April 12, but added that that number is still underselling how troublesome Uncle Billy’s is.
“That’s just the number of calls people are making to the police,” Derr said. “But officers do patrol the area and can initiate cases on their own, so the number is a little misleading, and probably should be a bit bigger.”
Meanwhile, Derr said that calls to the building — which include sexual assaults, suicides and more — are resource-intensive. Officers have to search the building and control access to it during an investigation, which requires multiple officers working “hours and hours.”
Hawaii Fire Department Chief Kazuo Todd added that the hotel is “a multistory building full of combustibles that has squatters who start fires.”
According to the resolution, the county has spent roughly $122,000 on nearly 1,000 fire calls in the Banyan Drive area since May 2018.
The prospect of the blighted hotel finally being removed drove several residents and local business owners to testify in support of the resolution. Kurt Asaki, owner of Banyan Drive business Ali‘i Ice Company, wrote that since the hotel shuttered in 2017, the property has become dangerous and has degraded the surrounding area.
“The current state of the area is deeply concerning,” Asaki wrote. “The deteriorating conditions have led to increased theft, vandalism and unacceptable behavior around our property, adversely impacting our business operations. Most importantly, the safety of our customers and employees has been compromised on several occasions. … We cannot afford to wait until a serious incident occurs before taking decisive action.”
Another business owner, Jim McCully, added that the lack of movement regarding Uncle Billy’s — as well as other troublesome properties including the former Country Club Hotel — underscores the necessity of a proper master plan for Banyan Drive outside of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, which manages the state land on which Uncle Billy’s sits.
Two Big Island lawmakers — state Reps. Mark Nakashima and Richard Onishi — also submitted testimony supporting the resolution.
Nakashima wrote that he is working with the DLNR and the Hawaii Community Development Authority to develop a Banyan Drive redevelopment plan, something Onishi wrote he has pursued for the past six years, but lacked support from the state Senate and the DLNR.
Dawn Chang, chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, spoke at the meeting via videoconference, thanking residents for their patience and voicing support for the resolution.
“I believe an emergency proclamation will put us in a much better position to address the people’s concerns,” Chang said.
The committee voted unanimously in support of the resolution, which will be discussed again at the next meeting of the full County Council.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
