Ocean View’s Safety Essentials

By Jessica Andrews

Michelle Galimba isn’t seeking re-election to the Hawaiʻi County Council, but she’s confident her successor will see how important a dedicated animal control facility and a police station are to Ocean View (OV). Galimba assured the public and members of the Kaʻū Community Development Plan Action Committee on March 24 that both are priorities for Mayor Kimo Alameda, though they’re both in the conceptual stage currently.

“I think they’re both just really important public safety needs,” the District 6 Representative told Kaʻū News. “Especially the animal control piece, because I feel like that needs more advocacy than the police station. It’s become broadly accepted that we do need a police station in OV, whereas the animal control facility, I think, is not so top of mind.”

According to Galimba, a full police station in OV that includes holding facilities is an “official priority” of the mayor, though a potential site hasn’t been identified yet.

Action Committee member Catherine Williams was enthusiastic about that concept. “As a resident of OV, I fully support that motion,” she said. Galimba, whose district includes parts of South Kona, Kaʻū, and Volcano, said that establishing an animal control facility in OV has been one of her priorities since she was elected to the Council in 2022.

The county was close to buying a house in OV that already had kennels available and was in escrow, “it slipped through our fingers,” and sent the county back to the drawing board, Galimba said. The owners decided to sell, she said. County-owned property on Kamaoa Road near the Waiʻohinu transfer station is another possibility Galimba has proposed. But, she said, the facility would need to be built.

“We could start small and work up from there,” Galimba said, urging Kaʻū residents to inform her if they know of another potential facility or property that could provide space for animal control. “I think the main thing is really just to have some kind of facility and a small office space for an animal control officer to be out here in Kaʻū full time, otherwise they have to drive if they live in Puna or Hilo to come out.”

During the March 24 meeting, Kaʻū CDP Action Committee Chairman Jason Masters said the Community Development Plan doesn’t explicitly address animal control, but it does call for the need for a new police substation in OV. Still, Masters said he and his colleagues could provide a support letter stating that an animal control facility is needed in Kaʻū.

Masters said the former jail property in Waiʻohinu may be a good location for animal control. He also asked about whether it’s against the law for people to abandon their animals. “That’s what these dogs are,” he said. “They’re abandoned and oftentimes hunting dogs that people no longer want.”

Established in 2023, the Animal Control and Protection Agency is the county’s newest agency and reports directly to the mayor’s office, according to the county’s website. Knowingly or recklessly abandoning a dog or a cat is a violation of the Hawaiʻi County Code.