Cracked Hawai'i Kai sign to cost extra $26K to fix
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
HAWAI'I KAI — Taxpayers will have to pay an additional $26,000 to fix problems with a crumbling community sign at the entrance to Hawai'i Kai.
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The 2-year-old sign, which cost $117,623 to build on the corner of Kalaniana'ole Highway and Hawai'i Kai Drive, is cracked down the middle. It's been that way for nearly a year while the city decided what to do.
The city has plans to fix the sign in Hawai'i Kai, which has a crack because of vandalism.
First it was to be a quick fix of epoxy. Then the community complained, saying that the builder should pay. Then the city determined it was cracking because of vandalism and people sitting on the sail that rises above the words "Hawai'i Kai."
"The contractor installed the sign according to the plans," said Eugene Lee, deputy director of the city Department of Design and Construction. "The city, at the last minute, made changes to the size of the sail."
To ensure the sign is not vandalized again, the city has instructed contractor C&C Engineering to make the identification part solid. Right now it's made of fiberglass and blown-on concrete. The same materials will be used, but the inside won't be hollow, Lee said.
The city is hoping to have the sign in place in two months, Lee said, but the timetable depends on the sign fabricator.
City Councilman Charles Djou was disappointed to hear that more taxpayer dollars were going to be spent to repair the sign.
"It's extremely embarrassing," Djou said. "This is why the city shouldn't be involved in glamour projects. We need to stick to the basics. But now that we started this ... this eyesore, we have to make it right."
The sign has been plagued with problems. First the rocks were the wrong color, then the sign faced the wrong direction. And then the 'okina was an apostrophe and had to be replaced.
Elizabeth Reilly, a resident and founder of a grassroots group called Livable Hawai'i Kai Hui, was dismayed to learn that the city again will use the contractor who put up the sign in the first place.
"It's just poor craftsmanship and poor use of the city's money,' Reilly said. "I can think of so many better uses of the taxpayers' money."
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
