GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM The Hawaii Kai sign at the intersection of Kalanianaole Highway and Hawaii Kai Drive bore the correct lettering yesterday, with an okina instead of an apostrophe.

Corrections to Hawaii Kai
entrance sign completed

The sign's architect will pay for
all fixes, according to the city

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By Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com

The final fix to the city's sign marking the entrance to Hawaii Kai was completed yesterday, but disagreement as to who made the errors still lingers.

Sign-maker Architectural Stone and Design properly carved out an okina (glottal stop) yesterday, which was backward when originally cast.

Another problem was that the original L-shaped sign, which was also vandalized, was not visible to motorists heading into Hawaii Kai from town.

The fixed sign is V-shaped and visible to motorists traveling in either direction along Kalanianaole Highway at Hawaii Kai Drive.

While the architect Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo took responsibility for the placement of the sign, city spokeswoman Carol Costa said, the sign-maker erred when the okina was put in as an apostrophe.

But the contractor CC Engineering and Construction Inc., who subcontracted Architectural Stone and Design for the job, blames Wimberly for the blunder.

"We made it according to the design, but the design was wrong, so the architect agreed to pay us to redo it," said John Cheung, president of CC Engineering and Construction.

Wimberly would not comment, instead referring calls to the city.

Costa said Wimberly will pay for all the corrections.

The sign was part of a $190,000 three-sign package, including two others in Aina Haina.

Costa said she could not give the exact breakdown yesterday, but estimated the Hawaii Kai sign cost between $60,000 and $70,000.

The sign will be dedicated Saturday when a time capsule will be buried inside, and a brass plaque will be placed on top.