HONOLULU — Officials in Hawaii want to build a massive first responder training complex for state, county and federal agencies.
HONOLULU — Officials in Hawaii want to build a massive first responder training complex for state, county and federal agencies.
The facility, which would cost several hundred million dollars to complete, is being proposed for a large plot of former plantation land on Oahu.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the operations and training base would be for law enforcement, fire, defense and other emergency response agencies.
The proposed facility would include a hotel, a helipad, an indoor shooting range and other training centers.
Construction could take 15 years or more to complete.
Nineteen agencies are participating in the planning. Local departments include Honolulu police, fire and EMS. Some of the state agencies include the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Federal participation includes the U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Office of Homeland Security Investigations, among others.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesperson Louise Kim McCoy said the agency’s current training facility is insufficient.
“A large, centrally located, shared campus would allow not just the HFD, but all response agencies at the county, state and federal level to plan and train together, increasing efficiency and ultimately the safety of the citizens of Hawaii,” McCoy said in an email.
If you think the people want to fund a program like this? I don’t think they want to waste their hard tax earn dollars funding a thing like this. This type of program is not needed. Training for them is a useless thing.
I think the public will object to this.
This is a “make-work” gimmick for Hawaii contractors. 15 years to complete a construction project, even a big one, is the red flag here. You’re not really interested in a training facility as much as you are keeping construction workers employed at the expense of the taxpayer.