Corrections officials, dignitaries and other prominent community members gathered Thursday at Hawaii Community Correctional Center’s main Hilo campus to dedicate the brand-new Kamana Housing Unit.
The morning ceremony included a Hawaiian blessing of the facility by Kahuna Ikaika Dombrigues, a trio playing Hawaiian and country music, refreshments and group tours.
Originally conceived as a 144-bed dormitory, the new building on the northwest corner of HCCC’s grounds was scaled back to 48 beds because of funding. According to state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Rosemarie Bernardo-Grimes, the cost was $19.5 million.
Tommy Johnson, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation director, called the project “critically needed to address severe overcrowding that has plagued HCCC for decades.”
“In addition to the facility’s new housing unit, we also recently concluded major remodeling of the … administration building, to include intake area, visitation room, administrative offices, records room, added space to the case managers and installed a new armory,” Johnson said.
In the department’s most recent population report, issued Monday, HCCC’s inmate head count was 305, and the facility had a design capacity of 206 and an operational capacity of 226 inmates. Using the latter number, the occupancy rate was 135%, the highest among Hawaii’s prisons and jails. Oahu Community Correctional Center, at 101.4%, was the state’s only other overcrowded facility.
“I think this is one of the best Christmas presents,” said state Sen. Lorraine Inouye, a Democrat representing Hilo who was instrumental in securing funding for the dorm. “Finally, we can say that we got something done to make sure that we address the needs for the system. And, of course, we’re not done, because we’ve still got to look at creating another (jail) like this for Kona, so we can house those who are being arrested in Kona.”
HCCC Warden Cramer Mahoe, who took an earful from neighbors opposed to the project at a public meeting in January 2019, called the dormitory’s completion “a long time coming.”
“This is a journey that started in late 2017, early 2018,” Mahoe said. “The actual construction started in 2022.”
“Today’s head count at HCCC is 304 inmates, 210 of them pretrial, 48 of the 210 probation violators,” he continued. “So we’re (at) 135% of capacity,” he said. “With these new 48 beds, it brings it down to 110%.
“But, nevertheless, we’re grateful for having a building such as this to help us ease with some of the overcrowding, giving us space to run our indoor-outdoor rec, providing an extra space for education for both programs and training.”
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” added county Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen, whose father, Randy, is a retired HCCC adult corrections officer. “You know, it’s the focal point of a lot of discussions regarding overcrowding and public safety concerns. But that’s not new. The facility was overcrowded back in 1985 when my dad started.
“And since then, Hawaii Island’s population has grown exponentially, nearly doubling. HCCC has consistently been the highest over-capacity correction facility in the state, at about 135%,” he continued. “Even with the additional bed space supported by this new Kaumana Housing Unit, it’s still going to be overcrowded. Compounding this issue is something that Sen. Inouye mentioned earlier. We don’t have a facility on the west side of the island — which necessitates two-hour, one-way commutes each day for court hearings, for the police station. And that affects staffing, it affects public safety, and it is a strain on our island’s limited public resources.
“The construction of the Kamana Housing Unit and the renovations to the existing facilities is a large step in the right direction, as mentioned by Director Johnson. It’s definitely going to make a difference. But we still need more resources and services here on Hawaii Island. Hawaii Island is a big island, but it’s a small community. All of us know somebody who’s been impacted by this facility, whether it’s someone who’s worked here, someone who’s spent time or somebody who is serving time here.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
