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City Council Halts Repairs For Natatorium

Harris Administration Wanted $6M In Repairs To Begin

POSTED: 4:00 pm HST September 8, 2004
UPDATED: 12:31 pm HST September 9, 2004

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The Honolulu City Council Budget Committee Wednesday passed two resolutions to halt emergency repairs on the Waikiki Natatorium until more is known about the full cost of making the pool usable again and maintaining it.

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However, Mayor Jeremy Harris' Administration said it must begin the $6 million repairs because of safety concerns about the crumbling pool.

Honolulu council members were upset because after repeated requests, they still received no information from the city on how much it will cost to bring the pool up to standards.

The city said it plans to immediately move ahead to repair the crumbling pool decks and walls at a cost of $5.7 million.

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City Construction Director Tim Steinberger told council members, "Bottom line, if we don't do something, someone is going to get injured."

The Friends of the Natatorium opposed the council's measures to halt or scale back repairs.

Waikiki Natatorium"If we don't start to get at this, pretty soon pieces will start to fall into the ocean and that will be a real pollution and a terrible endangering threat to people going to San Souci Beach and swimming off there," said Nancy Bannick of the Friends of the Natatorium.

"Clearly there is a better way to solve this problem, a more cost effective way that opens up the beach for greater use by the public, that provides for volleyball enthusiasts, that provides a swimming channel and all of it can be done for under $6 million," said Doug Codiga of the Kaimana Beach Coalition.

The group Friends of Kaimana Beach is pushing a plan to demolish the pool, save the arches and open up more beach shore.

It's a plan opponents said would actually cost $15 million and could damage the environment.

The mayor's office said it will be up to the next administration to decide a final fate for the Natatorium.

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