Department of Accounting and General Services

L to R: Honokaʻa crew workers break ground Nov. 18 with Senator Herbert “Tim” Richards III (second from left), DAGS’ West Hawaiʻi District Office Engineering Program Manager Ramzi Mansour (middle), and West Hawaiʻi Governor’s Representative Ililani Foree (second from right).

HONOKAʻA – The Hawaiʻi Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) this month broke ground on a new base yard in Honokaʻa. The nearly $8 million project is an 8,352-square-foot facility that includes several offices, storage and dedicated workshops for plumbers, electricians, carpenters and painters.

The new base yard is on a parcel that formerly housed a vacant warehouse behind substations for both the Hawaiʻi County Fire Department and the Hawaiʻi Island Police Department.

“It’s about twice the size of the current base yard, which is a few miles down the road. We are excited at the promise of more space to work, which we expect will result in more efficiency for the state buildings we service,” enthuses DAGS Comptroller and Director Keith Regan.

When the construction is finished in about a year, the base yard will be managed by DAGS West Hawaiʻi District Office. The Honokaʻa base currently has a staff of nine and DAGS plans to hire two more workers.

“The Honokaʻa base supports state facilities from Laupāhoehoe to North Kohala and Waikoloa — roughly a 110-mile stretch,” said Ramzi Mansour, engineering program manager for DAGS’ West Hawaiʻi District Office. “In that area, we maintain eight state buildings including state libraries, courthouses, Honokaʻa State Office Building, Kohala State Office Building, Waimea State Office Building complex, and nine public schools from Laupāhoehoe to the Kohala Coast.”

“This part of the island is under our office’s jurisdiction, but Hawaiʻi Island is large and travel times are significant,” Mansour added. “Having a base yard in Honokaʻa allows us to respond faster. The drive from our Kailua-Kona office to Honokaʻa alone is about 75 minutes. This facility means we can support the community more efficiently and cost effectively.”

DAGS thanks members of the Legislature for funding this project. Regan says, “Through their foresight in appropriating monies towards this base yard, they are giving us the resources to better serve this community. We are grateful.”

DAGS also thanks Sen. Herbert “Tim” Richards and Rep. Matthias Kusch for their continued support.

Third-generation DAGS Honokaʻa worker excited for change

One of the workers excited about the change is longtime DAGS worker and lifelong Honokaʻa resident Wesley Murakane. “It’s a major bonus for not just the crew and me, but also for those we serve on the Hāmākua Coast. We are happy to improve our services to the State Office Buildings and the Department of Education,” he says.

Murakane has been the Honokaʻa supervisor since 2009 and he comes from a line of men who have also managed the same base yard.

“My grandfather, Thomas Murakane, was the county’s Public Works supervisor for the schools. This was in 1943, when it was the county’s role to repair school facilities. My dad, Manabu Murakane, took over in 1968. He was there when the responsibility shifted to DAGS and he opened the first Honokaʻa base yard in 1969,” the younger Murakane said.

“My grandfather, Thomas Murakane, was the county’s Public Works supervisor for the schools. This was in 1934, when it was the county’s role to repair school facilities; he opened the first base yard in that town. My dad, Manabu Murakane, took over in 1968. He was there when the responsibility shifted to DAGS the next year. When they needed a bigger facility, my dad opened the second Honokaʻa base yard in 1976,” the younger Murakane said.

“I grew up around DAGS,” he continues. “My father was instrumental in passing along his knowledge to me over the decades.”

For decades, the base yard had five workers. “We have long since outgrown the space, which is why we need a new place,” explains Wesley, who will become the not just the third Murakane to supervise the Honokaa baseyard, but also to build one.

Manabu died three years ago. “I wish he was here to see it. My dad would have been so thrilled and proud to see the new space come to life.”