Q. The Makiki swimming pool has been closed at least one Saturday because what a sign described as "staffing" shortages. A lifeguard said there is a city-wide shortage of lifeguards. I heard that the city requires that two lifeguards be on duty, so if only one is available, the pool can't open. Is this an unusual problem?

A. Yes, city officials said you're right about this issue and that this has only recently become a problem. "For the public's safety, we need at least two lifeguards to open a pool," said city Parks and Recreation director Lester Chang.

He said the city has run short of lifeguards recently. "We normally have had many interested in working as a part-time lifeguard throughout the year," Chang said. But he figures that Honolulu's extremely high employment rates have taken their toll, so not as many people are willing to work part time.

"To add stability, we are in the final process of creating some full-time lifeguard positions," Chang said. He said the city pays lifeguards $11.87 an hour.

"Many of our lifeguards come from our own lifeguard training classes run by our staff," he said. "Last year we did about 20 sessions." He suggests that anyone who is interested call the city pool nearest them.

Q. I heard Kapaolono Park pool repairs have been going on 1 1/2 years now without being finished. When will it be done and at what cost?

A. The Kapaolono Community Park Pool and Buildings Improvements project has run into several problems. The work in Kaimuki started in August 2005 and was to finish by April 2006. The project called for replacing the plaster swimming pool liner with ceramic tiles, re-doing the pool deck, walkways, some renovation of the structures and toilets and new storage space, said city Design and Construction director Eugene Lee. He said the tile work was stalled when cracks in the pool's concrete shell were discovered.

In January, crews found another problem — the pool bottom and sides were skewed, so that meant an adjustment in the tiling work. Now the project is expected to be completed near the end of the year. The original construction contract for this project by Walter Y. Arakaki General Contractor Inc. was $762,000. So far, there have been seven change orders totalling $59,971.94, Lee said.

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