Manoa park center to open
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
After months of sitting closed and empty, the new $5.78 million multipurpose center at Manoa District Park will have a "soft" opening this week, according to city officials.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
But there are a few problems: needed repairs to the building have not been completed; the contractor says the city hasn't paid for all the work; there is no staff assigned to run it; and the principal at Manoa Elementary School, which holds classrooms in the building, said the gym is unsafe.
A new multipurpose center at Manoa Valley District Park was to open in June. However, additional repairs were required. The city plans to open the center this week, but community activists say all work should be completed first.
"My understanding is the reason it wasn't opened was that a number of things needed correcting," said Manoa Elementary Principal Victoria Bannan. "The drainage is dangerous as it currently exists and needs to be put underground. The fire alarm system on the school side is not connected to the school. The Fire Department will not allow use of that building until the alarm system is connected to the school."
Drainage around the building was poorly planned, according to city workers, and large areas flood every time it rains.
Rae Loui, director of the city Department of Design and Construction, said the city has a certificate of occupancy and that the building is safe for use.
"We finished it essentially in September, but there is still some 'punch list' items that the contractor was responsible for fixing," Loui said. "There are still two major items that need to be corrected — the louvers and the drainage on the outside of the gym. The Parks Department is willing to open the gym without having those things fixed, but the contractor and/or consultant are still responsible for paying to have those things fixed."
Manoa District Park, which has a 50-meter swimming pool, a gymnasium, softball and soccer fields, and basketball and volleyball courts, is heavily used by sports teams across the island.
The city and the state co-financed the new facility. The building straddles the boundary between the school and the park and will provide much-needed play courts and assembly rooms as well as classrooms in its 29,712 square feet.
The building includes two full-size play courts set between the school's offices and a performing arts area on one side and the city's Parks Department offices, a meeting area and an arts and crafts room on the other side.
Work began in June 2001 and was expected to be completed in June. In August it was turned over to the city for inspection. A check list of items that needed work was then created before the building could be opened.
Charles Djou, attorney for contractor KD Construction, said the city has asked KD to perform additional services and work at the center, but that KD is hesitant to do more work without being paid.
"There is about $300,000 of work that the company has not been paid for," said Djou, who was elected to the City Council in November. "The city has asked us to do a few more things, and we are willing to do them, we just want to get paid for them."
Loui said she was not aware of any late payments.
"I don't know what the hell he is talking about," she said.
Tom Heinrich, chairman of the Manoa Neighborhood Board, said the master plan for the district park involved several years or planning by many people in the community and it should be completely finished before opening.
"It is the crown jewel in the conceptual master plan for that area," Heinrich said. "Let's not accept any liability and open before it is completely done. When it is opened, let's make sure it is 100 percent open and not just have a song-and-dance opening."
Heinrich said there are no budgeted positions for a new city recreational manager or maintenance person for the new building and personnel are already short-staffed.
Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi said the city administration recently boasted that it had increased public parks in the county by 28 percent.
"That means a 28 percent increase in maintenance and operational costs," she said. "I didn't see the request for that."
Kobayashi said city parks director Bill Balfour's staff is stretched very thin.
"He doesn't know if anybody can do any more than they are doing now," Kobayashi said. "It's no wonder we are behind in road resurfacing, sewer repair and ADA curbing if we spent so much more on park construction."
Loui said the city has received so many letters and phone calls from the public asking when the project would be completed that she decided to partially open the building.
"There are a lot of people anxious to use the gym," Loui said. "My feeling was let's try to open it. We will still have to fence off the landscaped area where the drainage still has to be fixed. Over Christmas break I was thinking it would be nice if the kids could use it."
Bannan said the bottom line is safety.
"The thing is, it will be so wonderful when we have the use of the area for both the city and the state. The facilities are really going to be great," Bannan said. "But I have strong safety concerns, not just for the children, but for the community."
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
