LIHU‘E — County officials again heard criticism during a briefing to the Kaua‘i County Council Wednesday on the progress of repairing Kilauea Gym’s leaking roof. But the project seems to be moving forward — and apparently on schedule — despite the administration rejecting the first proposal from the consultant hired to do formal recommendations.
The gym’s roof was redone in the 1990s, and in 2003 a second roof was placed on top of it. But the gym still leaks. Additionally, the east-facing doors let in moisture, damaging the wooden floor. The last time county officials updated the council on the problem was Aug. 22, when the most optimistic scenario was for a plan of action to be ready in six to eight months; sometime between the end of February and the end of April.
According to county Parks and Recreation Director Lenny Rapozo, the administration has hired a consultant firm to identify the root of the leaks and to make formal recommendations on how to fix them, including an estimate.
Rapozo said the administration received resumes from five design consultants, and selected the firm Will, Janney, Elstner Associates for the job.
WJE’s long resume includes consultant work on San Francisco’s Alcatraz prison, New York’s American Museum of Natural History, the Art Institute of Chicago, California State Capitol, Ala Moana Shopping Center and Aloha Stadium, according to WJE’s website.
“We send them the scope of work, and they sent us a proposal,” Rapozo said. “We were not satisfied with what they sent to us.”
Since them, the administration has had additional talks with the consultant, and on Tuesday, WJE sent a revised proposal, he said.
The administration has $120,000 available to pay for the consultant work. But ultimately, a contractor would still have to be hired to do the work that will be recommended by WJE, at an additional cost, according to Rapozo. And it was exactly this — hiring a consultant to tell a contractor how to proceed — that was bothering some council members and a few public speakers.
“Why did not the county go to a general contractor or roofing contractor, or someone like that rather than interjecting a consultant?” Councilman Gary Hooser said.
Rapozo said “it appears” that the county had gone through that route in the past, and the contractor put a new roof over the old one, which did not fix the problem.
Hooser suggested that the county just give the $120,000 to the Kilauea Community Association to let them figure out a solution. It may sound “kind of wild” but it seems like it’s not money well spent to hire a consultant, he said.
Rapozo said he did not talk to any general contractor about the issue, but it is his understanding that those steps were taken in the past and the roof still leaks, so the administration decided to go with a consultant first. And as far as putting a brand new roof, he said it would cost somewhere between $600,000 to $800,000.
Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura did not criticize the administration for hiring a consultant, but wanted to make sure there will be accountability from someone in case of failure.
“It’s going to be a separate contract, right? You follow the (consultant’s) recommendations, you do a separate contract with the contractor, and then it doesn’t work, then?” she said.
Rapozo answered with one word — “lawyers.”
“That’s what I’m trying to avoid, because our goal is to get the leaks fixed,” said Yukimura, adding that the issue has been around for a long time, and there has been consultant after consultant that gives advice that doesn’t work. She said she was wondering if there was anything to hold them accountable.
Councilman Mel Rapozo lashed at the administration for hiring a consultant — and never even talking to local contractors. To him, a new roof should be the solution.
“At this point, if you ask me, tear that roof out and build a new roof,” he said.
But perhaps the heaviest criticism came from public testimony.
Kapa‘a resident Ken Taylor said it as “absolutely ridiculous” that the problem with the doors, a “no brainer,” hasn’t been fixed yet.
Lihu‘e resident Joe Rosa said the problem with the water coming in from the east-facing doors should have been taken care of already.
“Just put a little canopy over that door,” he said. “Where are the carpenters? You hired carpenters … but were are they?”
Kapa‘a resident and self-described nitpicker Glenn Mickens called the project an “18-year boondoggle.”
“I recently spoke to one of the best roofing contractors on Kaua‘i and he was upset to hear that any legitimate roofing contractor would need a consultant to tell him the proper way to install a roof, especially for $120,000,” said Mickens, adding that “this whole mess,” including legal fees, consultants, contractors and replacing the roof three times shows “gross incompetence” in a system that needs change.
Council Chair Jay Furfaro defended the process, and said the administration is taking a lot of “false cracks” on the issue, and that there must be some reasons the administration is going through a process of using a consultant.
He said government moves a lot slower, with procurement laws and so forth.
“Can you imagine if we went ahead and took (other people’s) recommendation and put an $800,000 roof up there and it still leaked?” he said.
Lenny Rapozo agreed with Furfaro and said he did not answer to the criticism because he was brought up to let people talk, and that they should have a right to speak their mind. But he said the administration is moving as quickly as possible as allowed by procurement laws, and it’s all documented.
Also, the gym’s floor is 18 years old and is still in good shape for a wood floor with that age and used with a lot of frequency, Rapozo said.
Yukimura said there is certainly a history of “should haves” but all the administration can do is move forward to try to solve the problem.
But she also said it could be helpful to seek advice from local consultants, and this approach has worked in the past.
Councilman Tim Bynum said many were experiencing deja vu for the fourth time, and this is just one of those situations that causes frustration.
“I know everybody related to this item is frustrated,” said Bynum, adding that the roof keeps leaking after fixes, so he understands the administration wanting to be very systematic with the process of finding a solution.
A quick look of the gym Thursday morning showed some rot on the wood floor right next to the east-facing doors. Throughout the playing court, the wood floors do have some separation between planks, but appeared mostly flat in the entire gym, except for a few small bubbles on the finish next to the rot by the east-facing doors.
Outside the gym, none of the side doors have a canopy.
The two east-facing doors receive constant rain from the tradewinds. From inside the gym, it is possible to see light coming in from between the midsection of at least one of the double doors, which could mean water may be coming in through there.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
