LIHUE — County officials hope the old police substation at Kapaa Beach Park will be moved by Wednesday. “I spoke with the owner this morning, who said he was hoping to get it out no later than next week,” said
LIHUE — County officials hope the old police substation at Kapaa Beach Park will be moved by Wednesday.
“I spoke with the owner this morning, who said he was hoping to get it out no later than next week,” said Wally Rezentes, managing director. “The progress they’ve made so far is taking out the ADA walkway and utilities — water, sewer and electrical. They’ve contracted with a construction company to do the hauling.”
Rezentes addressed the Kauai County Council Wednesday about the future of the police substation. His presentation was at the request of Mel Rapozo, council chair, who said he is frustrated about how long it’s taken for the substation to be taken off the property.
The building was sold for $1,125 at the county auction last year.
“It needs to get out of here. It’s a safety hazard,” Rapozo said.
When Rapozo started asking the administration for information about sale of the building in January, Police Chief Darryl Perry was the only person to respond.
“He told me the building had been sold at auction, and the owner was waiting for the permits to move it,” Rapozo said.
Then, in September, after a number of follow ups, Rapozo said he heard from the owner, who said he was planning moving the building the next week.
“That was in September. The building is still there,” he said.
Rezentes said part of the hold up was that there was confusion about what kind of permits were needed to move it.
But Rapozo said that’s not an excuse.
“If you go to Home Depot, and buy a shed, you better know whether or not you need a permit for the shed,” he said. “And if you don’t know, you just don’t leave it there until you get a permit.”
He suggested writing a clause in contracts for items sold at auctions that require the owners to move it by a deadline.
“There needs to be some sort of remedy that this county can do,” he said.
KPD moved out of the Kapaa Beach Park substation to the Kapaa Armory three years ago, but their agreement with the Department of Defense expired earlier this year.
The council is expected to discuss the Kapaa Beach Park police substation on Dec. 14.
