HILO — The Honokaa swimming pool will be closed until April 2 for repairs and upgrades, announced the county Parks and Recreation Department on Thursday.
Parks and Recreation Director Roxcie Waltjen said work entails replacing the roof, including rafters and trusses, upgrading the total electrical system of the entire building and draining the pool to “fix the cracks that have been there for years.”
Once the repairs to the pool are made, Waltjen said a volunteer group, the Friends of Honokaa Pool, will repaint it.
“We expect everything to be done within three months,” she said.
The work is something that has “been on the books for a long time,” Waltjen said, but the department had to wait for the money and time to do it.
Most of the department’s pools are older, and the repairs and upgrades to make them more energy efficient take time, she said.
But the department aims to do such work at times “when the pool is not used as much.”
“(We) try not to do pool repairs and stuff like this during the summer months, especially if it’s something where the pool is not broken,” Waltjen said. “We try to do it a time of year when it’s not heavily used.”
According to Waltjen, there is a “steady stream of people” who use the Honokaa facility.
“Step by step, we are trying to tackle all the projects we’ve had issues with (in) the past,” she said. “We thank (the community) for their patience because everybody wants their facility up to speed.”
Waltjen said the cost of the project is still being determined and the department is still seeking quotes.
Email Stephanie Salmons at ssalmons@hawaiitribune-herald.com.