HILO, Hawai'i — Court proceedings in Kona were disrupted last week when two aging prison vans used to transport inmates from the Hilo jail across the Big Island to court in Kona were deemed unsafe to make the 100-mile trip.

The lack of usable vans from Monday to Thursday prevented nine prisoners from making the trip to Kona, according to Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Louise Kim McCoy.

"It's unfortunate but they're old, and they're quite antiquated," she said of the vans, adding that one of the vehicles had logged more than 300,000 miles.

A newer van was finally borrowed from Kulani Correctional Facility to move five inmates across the island for court appearances on Friday, she said.

Judge Ronald Ibarra said the transportation problem interfered with operations in Kona District Court, Circuit Court and Drug Court, raising scheduling concerns for lawyers and judges.

"It results in the judge continuing the case to another date, and the lawyers have to come again," said Ibarra, chief judge of the Third Circuit. "Also the criminal justice system is based on a speedy disposition for the public's sake as well as the defendant's sake, and because of the defendants not being brought to court, of course it will result in another continuance until the case can be heard."

Ibarra said the jail's aging vans have been a concern before. Courts and police officials discussed the problem with jail officials a year ago, and "we thought the matter was solved because we heard after that they had received new vans," he said.

McCoy said companies were invited to bid to supply new prison vans for HCCC last June, but delivery was delayed when the winning bidder pulled out in December. Two new vans with special security features for moving prisoners are now scheduled to arrive June 22, she said.

Hawai'i Community Correctional Center in Hilo is the Big Island's only jail.

Lester Oshiro, chief court administrator for the Third Circuit, said the Judiciary installed a video link years ago between Kona Circuit Court and the correctional center in Hilo, but the courtroom video link has seen only "occasional use."

Under court rules, the inmates have a right to appear in person for arraignments and other proceedings, and Ibarra and Oshiro said most prisoners prefer to make the two-hour drive each way for Kona court appearances.

The video system finally quit working in February, and courts officials plan to spend $63,500 to upgrade and restore the system, Oshiro said. In the meantime, officials with the Big Island prosecutor office are seeking a rule change that would allow prisoners in Hilo to be regularly arraigned before Kona judges via video conferencing.

Prison officials are also considering building a jail in Kona, but that project will likely take years to complete if it is ever built at all.

The Department of Public Safety has hired a consultant to develop a request for proposal for private companies interested in contracting with the state to build and operate a jail. The consultant is supposed to complete the request for proposal by the end of August, McCoy said.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.