UH forced to shut dormitory
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
When 214 University of Hawai'i-Manoa students return for the spring semester today, they'll be required to move out of their rooms in the Gateway House dorm and into quarters elsewhere on campus and in a Waikiki hotel.
Because of recurring electrical problems during the past week that started with an aging transformer that regulates power to the 40-year-old Gateway House dorm, the campus is shutting the two buildings down for this semester.
"It became a safety and security issue," said interim housing director Margit Watts. "The power has been on and off in Gateway for extended periods over the last few days and our electricians have not been able to determine what the cause is."
Watts is concerned that the Gateway problems are "the tip of the iceberg" at the Manoa campus because of a number of aging dormitory buildings constructed in the 1960s and 1970s when the university was expanding rapidly after statehood.
"They're all old," she said.
A virtual "SWAT team" from the housing staff and auxiliary enterprises will meet students when they return this weekend, said Watts, who has been fielding calls from parents all over the country worrying about their children's housing situation.
"We'll do everything we can to make sure they're looked after," she said of the Gateway residents. "I said we'd make sure they've got a roof over their heads and a bed."
Watt said the housing staff did not want to move students back into the dorm after the Christmas break only to have to move them out again.
There is no estimate yet of the cost involved in repairs to the electrical system, but it's expected to take three or four months to custom-build new equipment if necessary.
The Gateway dorm includes twin towers of 10 stories each and offers shared residential suites with private baths. There are six rooms per floor, and they primarily house upperclassmen. There are no freshmen living in the dorm, said Watts.
Alternative accommodations have been found both on and off campus, with 101 spaces available in other residence halls on campus (made available as students move out, graduate or leave school for other reasons); 82 beds in 41 double rooms at the Anuenue Conference Housing complex; 15 single rooms at the East-West Center housing and the remainder at the 'Ohana Reef Towers in Waikiki and other locations still to be determined. The 'Ohana Reef Towers has already been utilized as a partial dormitory during the fall semester to accommodate overflow.
Students checking back in today and through the weekend will be offered alternate accommodations on a first-come, first-served basis.
Students who choose to cancel their housing contracts for this semester will receive full refunds, said Watts. There will be no extra charges for students who move into more expensive rooms, but those who move into less expensive rooms will be refunded the difference in cost.
Boxes, van service and extra campus shuttle service has been arranged to help move students to new quarters.
The transformer in question is old and rusting and needs replacement, said Watts. But at the same time, there may be other problems in the electrical system serving the two buildings.
"It could be that last week's heavy rains contributed to the problem," she said. "It could be that we're just dealing with an old building that needs some work.
"Beyond the power problems, we see this as an opportunity to do a complete survey of the building to address an assortment of maintenance needs. This is a long-term closure. We don't anticipate that Gateway will be occupied again until we can assure that it is totally safe and sound, or — in the worst-case scenario — start planning for a replacement building."
Siemens Westinghouse engineering consultants have been retained to work with UH staff to conduct an exhaustive floor-by-floor inspection and testing of the electrical system, according to Wayne Fujishige, director of UH Manoa Auxiliary Enterprises.
The consultants' initial report on the electrical failure is expected in a day or so, said Fujishige, and that should offer some explanation.
"At that point we may issue bids for a new transformer, but best estimates indicate that it might take as long as three or four months to custom-build the equipment," he said.
"Engineers considered bringing in a generator with enough capacity to power the building during the interim, but there was no guarantee that the generator itself might not fail if the cause of the problem is somewhere within the building's power distribution system. This will definitely be a long-term challenge."
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
