With costly and temperamental plumbing problems, the city’s 21 swimming pools have long been the proverbial thorn in the side for a string of Honolulu mayors.
But warm water is once again flowing from the showers at the Manoa District Park swimming pool while two shuttered pools are scheduled to reopen in the coming months.
City Parks Director Toni Robinson said: "With the McCully and Pearl City pools opening soon, heaters being fixed, hours being expanded and more repairs planned, the city is turning the corner towards providing more Oahu families with access to our public pools."
A $23,586 fix for the Manoa pool shower heater was completed at the end of last week and is now being enjoyed by facility regulars as well as those who may have stayed away because of the lack of warm water, said frequent user Cathy Iwami.
"Everybody is so jubilant," Iwami said.
The tab for that repair was picked up by philanthropist Abigail Kawananakoa, who said she was driven to act after reading a Kokua Line column about the plight of several city pools.
Iwami said her swim group and others have bought a bunch of thank-you cards to send to Kawananakoa.
Meanwhile, Robinson announced the city would be reopening the McCully District Park pool on April 15. The pool was closed for repairs seven years ago for various problems, largely caused by the fact that the pool is "above ground," Robinson said. "That’s just a lot of problems in repairs."
The pool will be open from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until May, when the city is expected to hire more lifeguards for the facility, she said.
Also expected to reopen by summer is the city pool at the Pearl City Recreational Center, which has been closed for renovations for about three years, Robinson said.
In that case, the bulk of the renovations dealt with the shower and dressing facility next to the pool. Because of the way the facility is structured, the pool had to be closed during construction, she said.
Robinson said she is hopeful that the Wahiawa District Park pool will be able to reopen by the end of 2013 after a delay. That pool has been closed for about two years.
"They did all the pool repairs, but now they’re finding that the conduit system is so old they’re trying to figure out how to handle it," Robinson said.
Cost estimates for the repairs at the McCully, Pearl City and Wahiawa pools were not immediately available late Friday.
Heaters for city swimming pools at Kailua, Kalihi Valley, Moanalua and Palolo are out of service, Robinson said. But the city’s policy is to turn on heaters at its pools only from November through February so fixes there are not considered pressing at this point, she said.
Kawananakoa had earlier indicated that she was willing to help with other pool repair projects.
"It would be my pleasure to help finance the pool repairs at Palolo," the Campbell Estate heiress said in a statement Friday. "It is quite evident in this recession that money is hard to come by."
Robinson said while city officials are technically barred from soliciting donations for city projects, the contributions made by Kawananakoa and other private citizens, foundations or private organizations are greatly appreciated.
On a related note, Palolo pool was shut down last week so workers could install handrails along the ramp entry into the water. It is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday.
Even as the city appears to be finally catching up with its pool repairs, new ones are coming over the horizon, Robinson said.
The pool at Kanewai Community Park is scheduled to undergo renovations in the next year, she said.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell has proposed in the 2014 fiscal year budget that $11.8 million go to repairing and improving facilities at city parks islandwide. However, that money is expected to go primarily to fixing restrooms and replacing aging playground and lighting equipment, according to a budget memorandum from the mayor to the City Council that accompanied the budget.
Part of that money, however, may also go to "deteriorating recreational facilities," the memo said.
