HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0429.003 2024-2026P/Council
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Hawaii Island Safety and Security Professionals Association CA�N.9p
September 12, 2025
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HoIeka Goro Inaba, Chair
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Dennis Fresh Onishi, Vice Chair
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Hawaii County Council
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25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720
Comments on Bill 75
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Dear Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi and Members of Hawaii County Council,
The Hawaii. Island Safety and Security Professionals Association (HISSPA) would like to comment on Bill 75,
extending the temporary suspension of fares for all mass transit riders through December 31, 2028.
Our organization is comprised of: the security directors of the hotels and resorts along the Kohala Coast and in
Kona; the security directors for Hawaii Preparatory Academy and the University of the Nations; the security
directors of private homeowners associations and communities along the Kohala Coast and in Kona; non-profit
organization leaders from the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau and VASH Hawaii Island; and our government and
public partners — Hawaii County Civil Defense, Hawaii Police Department (South Kohala and Kona districts), the
State Department of Land and Natural Resources / DOCARE, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
First, we truly appreciate that the free fares allow our colleagues and team members from across the island to utilize
Hele On to travel safely to their workplaces at our hotels, schools, airport, shopping centers and more. And we are
grateful for the expansion in the number of routes, the addition of important stops, and the frequency of service,
which allows our visitors who don't have vehicles to more easily access the airport, beach park facilities, shopping
centers, as well as our member properties. Mahalo for your support of working families and our industry.
We would like to share, however, that there have been challenges associated with this free fare system. Since the
program began we have seen a notable uptick in the number of incidents by bad actors, who access our properties
utilizing Hele On, that have required security intervention. It became such an issue that our association organized a
collaborative training session between Hawaii Police Department, Hawaii County Mass Transit Agency, Hawaii
County Mayor's Office (Roth administration), Hawaii County Prosecutor's Office and our member properties, in
order to clearly define the appropriate way to handle those individuals who were breaking the law, so that they could
be effectively trespassed from our properties and hopefully prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. To give you a
sense of the scale of this issue, collectively our members respond to dozens of complaints each month, usually
coming from people who have used Hele On's free service to access our properties, residences, and centers.
Therefore, we would suggest that if this fare free program continues until 2028, that the County of Hawaii also consider
investing in onboard security personnel for the buses. During our monthly meetings we've heard stories where some of
our employees, Iocal schoolchildren, and even the drivers of the buses themselves, have not felt safe. There needs to be a
system for balancing the unfortunate negative impacts of a "free for all" system.
consideration of our comments, as you deliberate on BiII 75.
;tafford Y %
of Security, Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa Comm.
t, Hawaii Island Safety and Security Professionals Association (HISSPA) Ref. 70:
Ref. Date 2�