LIHUE >> A Kauai prosecutor wants to target suspected drug houses with a special investigation unit.

The proposed unit would hire an investigator and legal clerk if a $131,000 federal grant can be secured, the Garden Island reported.

“We get a lot of feedback on drug houses and illegal drug activity happening in our community,” Kauai Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar said. “We get concerned people calling our office on a daily basis … as to what they perceive as inaction on those houses. It’s not that KPD isn’t doing anything, because we know they are. But an investigation needs to occur before action can place.”

The unit would work with the Kauai Police Department and prosecutors to investigate complaints.

Kollar said the unit will also inform the public about the best ways to provide tips.

The pilot project could launch in less than a year and last as long as four years.

“The challenge is sustaining the cost of the unit, which will be dismantled once grant funding runs out,” Councilman Mason Chock said. “Our government needs more resources like this to make a difference on the illegal drug activity in our community and I am supportive of our judicial system being proactive on it.”

Kollar said taxpayers wouldn’t fund the unit and that openings in other departments could prevent layoffs when the grant funding ends.

“It’s at no cost for the county,” he said. “We’ve been adamant about that. The positions come with a grant. We would try to have openings available at the time the pilot ends.”