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Natatorium work concerns
tree group
The city will replace trees removed
during upcoming construction
The Outdoor Circle is raising questions about what the city's construction plans to shore up the crumbling Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium will mean for nearby trees.
And Andrew Rossiter, director of the Waikiki Aquarium, said the city has yet to address his questions about the effect construction will have on the aquarium and its sea life.
The city hired a contractor for the construction work after closing the restrooms at the Natatorium in May because a section on the pool deck collapsed, leaving a crater at the edge of the bleachers on the mauka wall. The contractor is scheduled to begin staging equipment in the area at the end of the month.
The Natatorium, built in 1927, is a memorial to World War I veterans.
A Circuit Court judge allowed the city in 1999 to continue with part of an $11 million restoration that included renovating the facility's restrooms, but not restoring the saltwater pool until the city abides by state rules for saltwater swimming pools, a requirement that has stalled the project.
The Outdoor Circle met with city parks officials yesterday after hearing that the contractor planned to remove trees to make way for equipment for the construction.
Outdoor Circle President Mary Steiner discussed the organization's concerns over the trees in the area. Steiner said the city agreed to replace three coconut trees targeted for removal, remove but then replant a kou tree after construction is completed, protect a line of hau trees and erect an 8-foot-tall fence around a banyan tree that has been designated as an "exceptional tree."
An exceptional tree by state law is defined as a tree, stand or grove of trees with historic or cultural value because of its age, rarity, location, size, beauty or endemic status.
"They are really quite beautiful. They add so much shade and beauty to the location," Steiner said.
Meanwhile, Rossiter said he has been waiting for a month for the city to call to set up a meeting on his concerns that pile driving could damage the aquarium structurally and cause stress and even death among fish and other sea life, some of which are rare.
Rossiter said that even with extra precautions the aquarium took about 10 years ago when the facility's shark tank was constructed, it was not enough to protect some of the fish.
"We're not making up things here. We know what we're talking about," Rossiter said.
City spokeswoman Carol Costa acknowledged that the city's attempt to contact aquarium officials fell through the cracks.
"It's our fault," Costa said. "We will make every effort to contact them and set up the meeting."
Costa said that there is still time to address the aquarium's concerns before construction begins.
