A precise opening date for the pool at Palolo Valley District Park remains uncertain, but stalled renovations mean it will not be ready for Summer Fun, which begins June 23.
Contractors’ dispute
keeps Palolo pool dry
A dispute between the company hired to renovate the Olympic-size swimming pool at Palolo Valley District Park and a subcontractor has further delayed the pool's reopening, which was originally scheduled for February.
Gerry Silva, deputy director of the city's Department of Customer Services, said repairs at the pool have ceased because of the disagreement. Once work resumes, it could take at least a month for the pool to be completed.
Hundreds of Palolo residents use the pool during the summer months. Also, more than 200 kids participate in the city's Summer Fun program at the park, which includes water recreation activities in the pool.
Silva said KD Construction Inc., which was contracted by the city to renovate pools in Palolo and two other neighborhoods, is asking that its subcontractor re-tile the pool because of faulty resurfacing work.
The city, working on advice from a mainland pool expert, will not accept the Palolo job unless it is completely redone.
But subcontractor A-1 Construction says it is necessary to redo only a portion of the pool, Silva said.
An official with A-1 Construction did not return phone calls last week, and KD Construction deferred comment to the city.
"The tile work is not adequate, and we want the entire pool re-tiled," Silva said. "We made it clear that we don't accept shoddy work. The general contractor is committed to redoing the whole pool. At least we've got (that) commitment."
Palolo's pool, along with two others that were reopened in March, was closed more than seven months ago for repairs.
KD Construction got the $288,358 contract to re-tile the pools and had hoped to have all the pools completed by February.
But pools at Booth and Kaneohe district parks were reopened a month behind schedule because portions of the work had to be redone.
Silva said KD Construction is working to persuade its subcontractor to re-tile Palolo pool, but negotiations are ongoing and there is no start date on the project.
An official with KD Construction told the Star-Bulletin last month that the new tiles on the pool will not stick, possibly because the adhesive used was exposed to too much rain.
The contractor also estimated in May that work on the pool could be completed by June 15, and city spokeswoman Carol Costa was optimistic that the pool would be reopened by June 23, when Summer Fun begins.
The Palolo Neighborhood Board has been fielding complaints by residents angry about the pool's closure.
Michael Weinstein, the board's secretary and treasurer, said he has been working with the city for months to speed up the pool's reopening.
"People are being inconvenienced," he said. "We're unhappy."
His wife, an avid swimmer, said the situation "stinks."
"I feel really bad for the Summer Fun program," she said. "It just seems to me that this whole thing could have been avoided."
