LIHUE — Kauai Community Correctional Center needs more space, and should Gov. David Ige’s executive supplemental budget proposal be approved by the Legislature in the upcoming session, the jail could get $15 million to expand housing. “The money we are
LIHUE — Kauai Community Correctional Center needs more space, and should Gov. David Ige’s executive supplemental budget proposal be approved by the Legislature in the upcoming session, the jail could get $15 million to expand housing.
“The money we are requesting from the Legislature would be used for the design, development and construction of a new secured housing building for minimum- security inmates,” said Toni Schwartz, public information officer for the Hawaii Department of Public Safety.
Schwartz said the project isn’t even in the planning stages yet, so it’s too early to say how many beds a new building would contain.
The jail’s current operating bed capacity is 128 and the in-house population, as of Dec. 21, is 184 inmates, Schwartz said.
“It’s no secret that our jails are overcrowded,” Schwartz said. “A new building would help us alleviate some of the overcrowding in our current facility.”
The new building wouldn’t replace any current structures on the property, but would be in addition to existing housing.
The state money could also be used for construction of support offices, that would be in the same building as the housing.
“Support offices can include area for program space for the inmates as well as a security control area for corrections officers,” Schwartz said.
KCCC was built in 1977 with the intention of housing no more than 16 inmates. Module B joined the main building’s three holding cells in the mid-1980s. That module was converted from what was once a recreation yard.
The next addition to the jail was in the mid-1990s. Temporary cabins that had been used by island residents who lost their homes in Hurricane Iniki were moved to KCCC when they were no longer needed. Those cabins house up to 40 inmates.
An 80-bed minimum custody dorm was built in 1997.
According to the Department of Public Safety, the jail’s aging infrastructure presents a laundry list of maintenance issues. Recently, KCCC replaced the central air conditioning system with a temporary unit, and are searching for a permanent replacement.
The facility’s sewer pumping system was also recently replaced with an updated, more efficient model. More of those types of necessary improvements are expected in the future, according to the Schwartz.
Right now, Schwartz said, the department is concentrating on the jail’s potential new addition.
“We are hopeful they will approve the funding request so we can begin planning and design,” Schwartz said.
