A $10 million state appropriation to repair vacant apartments at public housing developments cannot legally be spent as intended, even as the number of vacancies at public housing projects hovers at just under 600 units that could be used to house low-income people.

About 100 of those units are set to be demolished or undergo large renovations in coming years, but some public housing tenants and advocates say the pace of repairs at housing projects appears too slow, and also say a $10 million appropriation would have gone far to solve the problem.

"There is still a lot of vacant units," said Faith Daniels-Tafisi, president of Island Tenants on the Rise and a tenant of Kamehameha Homes in Kalihi. "They should get these places in so they can get these homeless in there. That's what they should do."

Rep. Michael Kahikina, chairman of the House Housing Committee, said the original intent of the legislation was to repair public housing units. However, an apparent last-minute change now means the money can't be spent as intended, according to a state attorney general's office opinion.

As currently worded, the law states the $10 million should go to repair "existing federal and state buildings for transitional and emergency shelters."

Kahikina said the wording is causing some confusion.

"When the money was appropriated, there were some concerns on the wording. We saw there was a typo error," said Kahikina, adding the apparent mistake was noticed only after the session was completed. "It's part of the casualties of legislation."

Kahikina said he was not sure when the wording of the appropriation was changed or who changed it.

State housing officials asked the attorney general's office in May how the appropriation could be spent. An opinion came back this month, saying the money should go to shelters.

State Sen. Ron Menor, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing Committee, said he did not know how the wording of the appropriation was changed.

It appears to have been altered after a conference meeting between the state House and Senate, said Linda Smith, senior adviser to the governor and a member of the housing board of directors.

She pointed out the housing agency did get $3 million in state funds for maintenance of public housing projects, which could go to vacant units. Next year, the agency is set to get $2 million.

She also said the housing agency has been allocating more internal maintenance funds to repairing vacant units.

"We know the number is too high," she said. "We need to get the turnaround time down."

Pam Dodson, executive assistant to the director of the housing agency, said $1.5 million of the appropriation will go to renovating a transitional shelter set for Kalaeloa. A consultant will be hired to assess needs for five other state-funded homeless shelters.

How the rest of the money will be spent, however, has not been determined.

The renovation of vacant public housing units long has been a concern for advocates.

On the Big Island, some 94 units have been vacant for as many as 10 years, when the state ordered sections of the Lanakila housing development be demolished and rebuilt in phases.

Funding for the demolition and reconstruction of the units was not appropriated until the last legislative session.

"I think the frustration in the community is they pass by them every day," said Steve Bader, executive director of the East Hawai'i Coalition for the Homeless. "Our emergency shelter holds 60 people a night, and there are over 50 families on the waiting list.

"When people are sleeping at the beach and we have a waiting like that in Hilo, it's frustrating to see units empty."

Miyamoto said the apartments are set for demolition sometime this year. The federal government approved the demolition in 1997, which meant families could no longer live in the complex.

Other portions of Lanakila have been renovated over the past few years. Some $4.6 million was appropriated for fiscal 2007 to rebuild the 60 units, part of phase IIa and IIb.

George DeMello, Lanakila association president, said the demolition of the last units was originally scheduled for May, then reset for September. He hasn't yet heard a new date for the demolition.

"It's just empty and sitting there," he said, adding community members have volunteered to renovate the units if the state can't find the money to move forward. "We want it down or something."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.