State law enforcement officers are now present around the clock at the abandoned Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel.
The state owns the run-down hotel, which has attracted or enabled trespassing, drug use and other illegal activities.
A fence was recently installed around the hotel property, but it has been breached several times, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a news release.
Now, officers from the DLNR's Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement are being used to keep people out.
“We’ve asked people repeatedly not to enter or occupy the abandoned building for their own safety," DLNR Chair Dawn Chang said in a statement.
"We will have DLNR DOCARE officers begin an around-the-clock presence and patrols of the Uncle Billy’s area to keep people out. For everyone’s safety, we urge people to stay out of the building and to not expose themselves or first responders to the unsafe conditions there.”
Uncle Billy's was built in the 1960s and stopped operating in 2017. The last month-to-month tenant vacated the property in 2020.
Hawaiʻi Island police responded to nearly 6,500 calls for service or incidents in the area between September 2018 and April of this year. DOCARE has conducted multiple sweeps in the area.
The DLNR's announcement to increase its presence follows an emergency proclamation issued Friday by Gov. Josh Green. It extends an emergency proclamation signed in July to help facilitate the demolition of the hotel.
A hazardous materials survey of the hotel also indicates the presence of asbestos inside the building.
Chang said it is even more important to keep people from the property now that asbestos has been found.
