North Shore NewsTo kick off his second four-year term, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi delivered his fifth State of the City address on Tuesday March 18 with a huge announcement for the North Shore. He declared the Cityʻs intent to purchase the parcels across from Sharks Cove for the future North Shore First Responder Center. He described the project as “transformative for our North Shore communities.”
The bold announcement sparked loud applause from the crowded auditorium of dignitaries, which included Governor Josh Green, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, the entire CityCouncil, the Mayor’s cabinet members, and Senator Brian Schatz. Although rumors had swirled for weeks that the landowner was interested in selling the parcels next to Foodland in a friendly negotiation with the City, the Mayor’s dramatic announcement made the dream for a first responder center miles closer to becoming a reality.
Here is the Mayorʻs statement:
“For decades, our lifegauards have saved countless lives despite being asked to do more with less, especially when it came to facilities. And our commitment to the men and women of Ocean Safety is to upend that status quo in our second term. So in addition to Ocean Safety’s new Windward Operation Center in Kailua, we anticipate spending millions of dollars over the next four years on the planning, design, and construction of improvements to existing Ocean Safety facilities as well as on the construction of new facilities — including one very special facility on the North Shore.
After countless conversations with community members, public safety officials, and City Council Vice Chair Matt Weyer, we are anouncing tonight our intent to purchase a highly coveted piece of land across the street from Sharks Cove for the creation of a world-class first responder hub.
Now these plans are subject to a negotiated sales price with the current landowner but this facility will be transformative for our North Shore communities.
The proposed first responder hub would serve as a base of operations for our North Shore lifeguards, and it will feature a brand new ambulance station, dramatically reducing emergency response times. I want to thank . . . the members of the community who fought so hard to make this happen! I look forward to working with you. I know you thought it would never happen – I look foward to working with you, our Council, and our lifeguards to execute this vision.” Council Vice Chair Matt Weyer commented: “I look forward to working with the Mayor and his team to make this project a reality. With the support of my Council colleagues, acquisition funds would be available in July.”
Look forward to updates in the North Shore News.