Citing the need for extensive repairs and renovations, county officials said in a press release that the Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center will be closed for two months starting Wednesday. That means dance classes, senior-center activities, and many other special events and
Citing the need for extensive repairs and renovations, county officials said in a press release that the Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center will be closed for two months starting Wednesday.
That means dance classes, senior-center activities, and many other special events and regularly-scheduled activities there will have to relocated.
Extensive repair and maintenance work are planned for the popular center, with the reopening scheduled for May 1.
Built in 1970, the Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center is one of the oldest neighborhood centers on the island, and serves as the hub of numerous community activities and events.
“After 36 years of heavy use, there are a lot of things that need to be fixed at the Kapa‘a center,” said Bernard Carvalho, director of the county’s Offices of Community Assistance.
“I’m glad that Mayor Baptiste and the County Council are working together in providing funding for the necessary repair and maintenance work at Kapa‘a, as well as the other neighborhood centers.”
He pointed out that, while all nine of the neighborhood centers and the Anahola Clubhouse around the island are undergoing some amount of repair work, the Kapa‘a center will be having the most extensive work done, necessitating the two-month closure.
Last year, Carvalho and Baptiste visited each of the centers and spoke with regular users, seniors and center managers about the conditions of their centers, asking them for input on center improvements.
After discussing the repair and maintenance requests with County Engineer Donald Fujimoto, county Department of Public Works Building Division Chief Douglas Haigh and DPW Building Officer Brian Inouye, an action plan was devised.
“We’re taking care of the R&M (repair and maintenance) work that really needs to be done at the centers, and are doing whatever we can in-house,” Carvalho said.
“With construction costs at an all-time high, everything is costing two to three times more than we originally budgeted for. The proposed work for all the neighborhood-center improvements is expected to run about $2 million,” Carvalho said.
At the Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center, leaders of Pacific Blue Construction LLC were hired to do the major repair work.
Included on the list of items to be handled by the contractor are the following: roof repairs; window and door repairs and replacement; wall siding repairs and replacement; interior and exterior painting; construction of a new roadside sign; repair and painting of the main hall floor; restroom repairs; replacement of benches; and kitchen-cabinet repairs.
All of the Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center’s regular users have been notified about the temporary closure, said Carvalho, and those inquiring about using the facility for one-time events while it is undergoing repair work are being referred to other centers on the island.
For more information, call the county’s Recreation Agency at 241-4460.
