Natatorium resolution proves elusive

THE ISSUE The city is contemplating options for the World War I veterans memorial.

BY the time the city completes a shoreline study that could determine its fate, the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium will have been shuttered for nearly 30 years, a testament to neglect, political fecklessness and vexatious litigation.

And if past discord holds true, the natatorium likely will be stuck in limbo even longer.

A history of dereliction has produced the current situation at the natatorium, which was closed in 1979 because of safety reasons.

Since then, the deteriorating monument to honor veterans of World War I has been a battleground between state and city governments, the administration of Mayor Jeremy Harris and the City Council, and citizen groups that want it torn down and others that want it restored. Through squabbles about funding, water quality regulations and a host of other issues, the natatorium has sat unused, save for restrooms that only recently were reopened to the public.

On the first day he took office, Mayor Mufi Hannemann, seeking to cut city expenses, canceled Harris' $6.1 million plan to restore the 1927 pool where Duke Kahanamoku once swam laps.

The Hannemann administration now is considering removing the pool, but keeping the natatorium's arch as a remnant of the memorial. The Council appears ready to approve funds for a study of the shoreline to see what needs to be done. A report is expected to be completed in 2008 with recommendations for relocating the structure or removing part or all of the pool.

The Star-Bulletin has long supported full restoration of the natatorium. Whatever comes of the study, we don't hold out much hope for a smooth resolution. Activists on both sides of the issue can be expected to balk at proposals, taxpayers will object if costs are high -- which is likely -- and environmental concerns will have to be deliberated. But we'd be delighted to be proven wrong.