It appears that long-awaited construction on court-ordered Americans With Disabilities Act improvements at the NAS Swimming Pool near Hilo International Airport is set to begin.
“We are working with the Department of Public Works and our design team on the final permit, and we expect to begin in the next month or so,” county Parks and Recreation Director Maurice Messina said last week. “Once construction begins, we expect it to take 10 months for completion.”
Isemoto Contracting Co. Ltd. was awarded the contract in May 2020 at slightly less than $6.5 million. The pool, which is popular with senior citizens and recreational lap swimmers, has been closed since March 2020.
Before the ADA improvements can begin, the county will move 31 of 32 micro-housing units off the site.
Those units were purchased with federal coronavirus-related emergency funding, and have remained in the pool’s parking lot for more than year after they served to “minimally shelter unhoused people during the COVID pandemic,” according to Tim Hansen, an executive assistant to Mayor Mitch Roth.
The other unit was damaged or destroyed by fire on June 16, Hansen said.
The scope of the work on the pool under the contract includes:
• demolition of the existing 2,445-square-foot pool house and construction of a new 3,287-square-foot pool house with fully accessible spaces and expanded pump and filter room;
• demolition of existing pool pump and filters, all supply and return lines, main pool drains, perimeter gutters and portions of pool basin and install of new filtration/circulation system, main pool drains, stainless steel gutters and new finish on basin;
• demolition of the majority of the existing concrete pool deck and installation of new ADA-compliant concrete pool deck and system of trench drains;
• demolition of bleachers and bleacher canopy and installation of new ADA-compliant bleachers and canopy;
• construction of new accessible parking stalls and a new accessible route into the facility from the lot;
• replacement and upsizing of waterlines and installation of site drainage improvements;
• and replacing on-site sewer lines and propane tank and lines.
The NAS pool is one of 16 facilities the county agreed to upgrade in a 1998 settlement of a federal lawsuit. Only six of the upgrades agreed to in the consent order have been completed.
The County Council approved a $25.5 general obligation bond float in July 2021 to finance the agreed-upon improvements.
The remaining parks in the consent order include:
• Paauilo Park, $3 million, construction in progress;
• Kahuku Park, $1.7 million, construction in progress;
• Papaaloa Park, $5.5 million; construction in progress;
• Pahala Swimming Pool, $3.5 million, working on final permit with Department of Public Works. “We anticipate having that in the next 60 days; then we will give the notice to proceed,” Messina said.
• Richardson Ocean Park, $4 million; construction in progress;
• Milolii Beach Park, final plans in progress;
• Disappearing Sands Beach Park (also known as Magic Sands and Laaloa), in construction bidding process;
• Kolekole Gulch Park, will issue notice to proceed after Department of Transportation completes work on bridge;
• South Hilo Base Yard, currently in design.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.