CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Kalihi Valley Homes tenants are frustrated with the slow pace of renovations at the housing complex as well as poor maintenance in existing housing. As her son, David, took a nap Thursday, June Tauaefa lifted a piece of carpeting to show where centipedes, cockroaches and other pests enter her bedroom.

Kalihi Valley Homes residents
fume over the pace of renovations

---

By Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com

Through Paco Alafonso's living room window, you can see a two-tone green and yellow painted building with light posts along the sidewalks and planted grass -- a result of the first phase of buildings fronting Likelike Highway of the Kalihi Valley Homes renovation project completed last November.

The newly renovated buildings are in stark contrast to Alafonso's apartment in the same complex.

Chipped paint continues to scale off Alafonso's apartment walls. Inside the unit, urine leaks through the kitchen ceiling onto a counter near containers of Nestle Quik and Lipton tea bags.

"We feel like we're really low," said Alafonso, a native of Micronesia.

Alafonso and other residents at Kalihi Valley Homes have complained about the poor living conditions to the public housing manager and wonder why it may take 10 to 12 years to renovate the remaining units.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM The initial phase of renovation at Kalihi Valley Homes, done to units facing public roads, has brought impressive results.

Officials from the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii, which runs the project, say the long timetable is necessary because the funds for the project were not given in one lump sum, and the agency has to apply every year for new federal money.

"We're trying to do it in an expedient matter with the funds that are made available to us," said housing information officer Darrell Young. "We're trying to help as many people as possible."

Four years ago, residents and planners worked together to come up with a renovation plan to improve conditions at the federal public housing community built in 1953.

Phase 1 included renovations to five buildings -- a total of 45 units. Those units got new plumbing fixtures, kitchen and bath cabinets, upgraded electrical systems, solar water heating systems, removal of lead-based paint and small private yards for each unit.

Housing officials decided to first improve conditions to buildings fronting Likelike Highway "for visual effects so the public could see the good that's being done there," Young said.

Authorities wanted to build momentum among Hawaii residents and to demonstrate their commitment to public housing.

"We're trying to improve the way people feel about the neighborhood," he added.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Hidden behind the renovated homes are the older units that remain in disrepair, the majority of homes. Taua Fautaga, in front of his unit with granddaughter, Vela, 3, is among those waiting.

Officials plan to demolish 11 buildings to create open space and parking areas for tenants and a playground for children. Young said the six-phase project will include 301 residential units, with renovation costs estimated at $46.8 million.

Clementina Ceria, chairwoman of the FACE (Faith Action for Community Equity) public housing committee, said about 55 families approached the church organization with housing concerns.

Immediate repairs are necessary for the tenants after they waited more than 50 years for improvements to their homes, Ceria said.

"They feel like they're being jerked around," she added.

Sealant around the bottom of the toilet has deteriorated, allowing leaks through the kitchen ceiling, said Alafonso, who lives in a three-bedroom unit with his wife and five children.

Leaks from rusted bathroom pipes that curl down the kitchen's ceiling drip water onto the counter at Saina Tauaefa's two-floor unit, slated for the second phase of the renovation project.

Also, "centipedes come out of the faucets," said Tauaefa's daughter, June, who regularly visits her 74-year-old mother, a 43-year tenant of Kalihi Valley Homes.

Paint continues to flake off the ceiling in the bathroom located on the second floor. Roaches and centipedes crawl through cracked floors, while mice scurry through dilapidated kitchen cabinets, June added.

"This is the worst I've seen it," said June's brother, Rusty.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Despite efforts by Paco Alafonso and his family to keep a clean home, they cannot stop the toilet from leaking downstairs directly into their kitchen at Kalihi Valley Homes.

Other residents who were transferred to vacant units while their apartments underwent the first phase of the renovation project were bewildered that housing authorities did not permit their return to their original units.

The Rev. Alu Faamasino said he was told by the housing manager of two housing violations at his residence: ownership of a dog and a canopy perched in front of his home. Faamasino corrected the violations but still was not allowed to return to his five-bedroom unit.

"Is that simple violation strong enough to stop me from moving into the new place?" asked Faamasino.

Public housing manager Gail Lee declined to comment on the residents' issues.

Aipopo Aipopo Jr., president of the Kalihi Valley Homes Association and on the board of directors for the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii, said, "I don't see the manager treating people that bad."

"Those kind of complaints are usually common complaints. Sometimes they (maintenance) come right away, sometimes you gotta wait," said Aipopo Jr., who has been a Kalihi Valley Homes resident for 33 years.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM A close-up of the drainage pipes shows leakage from the corroded plumbing in the kitchen, directly above the cooking area, which tenants say drips onto counters and stoves.

Every tenant is required to abide by housing regulations, he added. Moreover, tenants are shifted from one apartment to another on the basis of family size as members join or leave the unit. Each unit ranges from two to five bedrooms.

Rents at Kalihi Valley Homes are based on the ability to pay, usually about 30 percent of the tenant's monthly income. They range from $150 to $960 a month, Ceria said.

"Everybody is pleased with the renovations," said Aipopo Jr., adding the project is bound to spur complaints from other residents.

"It's not 100 percent," he said. "Sometimes we do have friction between tenant and manager."

Last year, classification problems with renovations to another public housing project on the Big Island indirectly affected plans for Kalihi Valley Homes, said Young. Housing officials decided to shift money slated for Lanakila Homes in Hilo for the second phase of the renovation project. Earlier, housing authorities were able to roll over funds received from the federal housing department, Young said. The focus under the new housing administration is to spend federal funds as awarded within a two-year period, he added.

The second phase of the renovation will target seven buildings and includes 63 units. It is slated to be completed within 12 months, Young said. Currently, housing authorities are administering the bidding process, and construction is expected to start by this July.