New Hilo High gym stalls

By PETER SUR

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Some day, a new gym on the Hilo High School campus will give students, athletes and their fans the chance to enjoy games at home.

A clean, sturdy, well-lit, modern facility remains the goal, but it’s a goal that keeps receding. The project remains on hold while the architect confers with the county Department of Public Works over remaining details.

The new gym, to be built makai of the track, will replace a wooden, two-court building that was built in 1931. More than 80 years later, that gym is still in use for physical education classes. Administrators have been lobbying for an updated facility since at least 1998, when then-Principal John Masuhara wrote to a state senator, seeking help.

“During events, all spectators have to sit on a wooden floor or stand with their backs against walls,” he wrote. “In many cases, athletes are moving at speeds where the potential for injury exists to both athletes and spectators.”

Former Gov. Linda Lingle released $12 million for design and construction of the gym in 2008, and a final environmental assessment was released in 2010.

Among those who would benefit from the new gym is Jason Mandaquit, fourth-year coach of the boys basketball team and a former Viking standout.

“I have no idea what’s going on,” said Mandaquit.

He said the old gym’s condition is not as dire as people have made it seem.

The only disadvantage is that the gym is too small to host Big Island Interscholastic Federation events. Games are held off-campus in the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

“Every time it’s a home game, it’s always like it’s an away game,” Mandaquit said.

Officials from the Department of Education did not respond to calls seeking comment.

Jai Ho Cheng, interim head of the Public Works Department, Building Division, said the plans are complete, but with minor changes that might delay the issuance of a building permit for a few more weeks.

“After several correspondences back and forth, we finished the review by (last week) Friday, and the architect came to pick up the plans Monday,” Cheng said, adding the division was now waiting for the architect to comment on the revisions.

Changes in the building’s design were the main reason for the construction delays, Cheng said.

Students aren’t the only ones waiting for a new gym. F&H Construction won a $9.5 million contract to build it in September 2010 and since then has been waiting for the state to issue a notice to proceed. The state cannot issue a notice until the county issues its building permit.

Dan Blackburn is the Hawaii Division manager for F&H Construction. Asked if he’s heard anything new since he spoke with the Tribune-Herald in October, Blackburn replied, “No, we’re still waiting.”

“The issue is the hang-up on the permits,” he said. The delay has reduced his company’s ability to guarantee bonds for other projects. And it’s raised the estimated price tag by “over $700,000.”

Hilo High Principal Robert Dircks wasn’t sure what the total cost of the gym would be, but he said it might come in under $20 million because of a redesign that reduced costs.

He doesn’t have a scheduled date for the groundbreaking. An environmental assessment said that work would take about 500 days, or a little less than a year and a half. The first step would be the demolition of old teacher cottages that are being used as DOE Annex office space.

Dircks said he received an email from Cheng on the status of the gym.

“There’s a lot of agencies involved, and of course you have to follow the plans,” Dircks said.

When completed, the gym will serve multiple purposes, he said. It’ll be used by the school’s basketball, volleyball, wrestling teams, for P.E. classes, assemblies and dances. It’ll also be used as a community shelter in times of emergency, including hurricanes and tsunami warnings.

“The exterior has been designed to withstand the weather, whether it be hurricanes or whatever the case may be,” he said.

When the new gym is completed, a bridge will connect the second floor of the facility to the upper high school campus. Plans also call for a wrestling room, a training room, a conference room, locker rooms, restrooms, parking and landscaping as part of the athletic complex.

Email Peter Sur at psur@hawaiitribune-herald.com.