The leaky roof at the Kilauea Neighborhood Center is on its way to being fixed, the result of an agreement Kaua‘i County has reached with Primatech Construction Company, Mayor Bryan Baptiste has announced. The O‘ahu contractor, through contracts with the
The leaky roof at the Kilauea Neighborhood Center is on its way to being fixed, the result of an agreement Kaua‘i County has reached with Primatech Construction Company, Mayor Bryan Baptiste has announced.
The O‘ahu contractor, through contracts with the county, installed two roofs, the first of which was installed years ago without roof insulation apparently because the county didn’t have enough or didn’t want to spend the funds for the extra materials at the time.
The second roof still leaks, partly because the work hasn’t been completed due partly to a contract labor cost problem the contractor had with the county that now has apparently been cleared up.
The agreement apparently ends the threat of lawsuits and counter lawsuits.
Through a memorandum of understanding between the county and the contractor, the repair work is to be done in a month’s time, with work anticipated to be completed by Nov. 4, Baptiste said in statement.
The completion of the work will mean the reopening of the only large recreational facility serving the North Shore of Kaua‘i. The gym is a favorite gathering place among youths and adults from the North Shore.
Deputy County Engineer Ladye Martin said the contractor has indicated it anticipates on-site work to begin by the end of next week.
After the work is performed and before final approval and acceptance of the work is granted, the work will be inspected to make sure the roof is leak-free, Martin said in a statement.
Primatech workers had installed the first roof over the gym in 1987, but did not install roofing insulation at the request of county leaders at that time, Primatech President Peter Ho told the Garden Island earlier this year.
Ho said his company had recommended the installation of the materials, but county officials waived that work, citing budgetary constraints.
Ho said his company had provided “notice” to the county when it had recommended use of the additional material.
Ho said both the company and county eventually agreed that the gym floor was wet due to condensation, and that both sides eventually decided that installation of a second roof over the first one was required.
A settlement agreement to put in the second roof was reached late 2002, and was approved by the Kaua‘i County Council.
The second roof was installed in spring or summer at a cost of $100,000. Ho had said the county paid $50,000 for the materials, but did not pay his company another $50,000 for labor costs.
Ho said most of the repair work had been completed, but because the $50,000 for the labor was not paid, minor work that needed to be done was halted earlier this year.
The roof leaked, and so an emergency flume was installed to take water away from the gym and to keep the facility dry.
The dispute over the payment of the $50,000 labor costs left open the option of litigation to solve the problem.
Members of the Kaua‘i County Council met numerous times in closed sessions with Martin to find a solution.
Martin, an attorney by profession, was not able to comment on the issue partly because it could have gone through litigation.
Martin said, however, her main concern was to ensure the gym was safe to use again.
For one, Baptiste said he is glad to see the problem resolved.
” The roof leakage was surely disappointing, both for myself and the community,” Baptiste said in a statement. ” However, at this point, I am pleased to see that we are headed toward a solution to provide our community with a safe and functional facility.”
Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and lchang@pulitzer.net.
