Natatorium OK’d
with no upkeep plan

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

The Waikiki Natatorium and War Memorial is proceeding without an operations and maintenance plan to the consternation of City Council critics.

The Council yesterday deadlocked on a resolution to have a "viable" management plan in place before executing a construction contract for the $11 million project.

The administration of Mayor Jeremy Harris is now negotiating the final details of the contract.

The resolution, introduced by Mufi Hannemann and John Henry Felix, had called for an operational plan to be finalized and forwarded to the Council within six months of execution of a construction contract.

Councilwoman Donna Mercado Kim, however, said construction should not begin before operational plans are finalized.

The city could be left hanging with a half-built or unused facility, she said.

Instead, she called for the resolution to require an operational plan first.

Kim failed to get the six votes required to change the resolution, forcing the issue to be continued until next month.

Natatorium supporters said the nonprofit Friends of the Natatorium has given assurances it can operate the facility if it wins a contract through the bid process.