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City officials were to decide this morning whether to reopen the satellite city hall and driver’s licensing office at City Square in Kapalama, shut down Thursday morning because of noxious odors caused by construction nearby.
Four satellite city hall employees felt sick along with a female customer standing in line there, said Dennis Kamimura, city licensing administrator for the Division of Motor Vehicles, Licensing and Permits. Two licensing office employees also felt ill.
The Kapalama driver’s licensing office is the busiest on Oahu, while the satellite city hall is third busiest behind Pearlridge and Ala Moana centers, Kamimura said. People there Thursday were asked to use other satellite and driver’s licensing offices in the interim.
Capt. Terry Seelig, Fire Department spokesman, said fumes from construction in a space between the satellite city hall and Chuck E. Cheese entered the air-conditioning system, spreading the noxious odors to other parts of the building.
The opening of the Kapalama satellite city hall office was delayed for about 45 minutes from its regular 7:45 a.m. time so that the facility could be aired out.
Even so, employees and customers began feeling nauseous, and officials decided to close both offices about 11:15 a.m., Kamimura said.
The two offices employ 40 people. Employees who did not go home sick were sent to work at other satellite city halls and driver’s licensing offices, Kamimura said.
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