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Contractors are digging up trenches to reroute the piping of the air condition cooling tower units. The pipes allows for the distribution of cold water to each individual A/C unit in 'Iliahi, 'Ilima and Kauila.

More construction, inconvenience

Old A/C cooling towers will be removed to be replaced with more efficient ones

By: Paige L. Jinbo

Posted: 2/8/10

KCC's 'Iliahi building increasingly continues to be an inhospitable learning environment for students and faculty members.

Students and faculty members must endure an additional construction project for the duration of the fall semester.

For the last two years, 'Iliahi has undergone non-stop renovations.

In late 2008, the Holomua Center received a dramatic makeover. For months 'Iliahi 231 underwent extensive renovations. Students and faculty members anxiously awaited the opening of the new center.

In February 2009, there was no trace of the Holomua Center left, as the Kahikoluamea Center opened its doors. With upgraded technology and furniture - among the many changes that were made - members of the KCC community were more than pleased with the outcome of the new center.

However, work to the building was not complete. Shortly following the unveiling of the Kahikoluamea Center, Phase II of the renovation commenced.

Phase II solely focused on the first floor of 'Iliahi. Last summer, the bottom level of the building was completely bulldozed and two classrooms were gutted. The construction is ongoing and access to the building has become limited.

Estimated completion of the building was slated for this month. However, those who pass by the area will notice that it's not nearly in the finishing stages.

According to Keith Kashiwada, KCC's student engagement coordinator, extenuating circumstances have led to the delay of its completion.

Since the construction work begun, students and faculty members have had to endure the loud noises associated with completely renovating a building. The sound of drills and bulldozers are not uncommon during class hours.

"The noise, dust and vibration from the construction is just ongoing," said Mavis Hara, English professor. Hara teaches some of her classes in 'Iliahi.

Students and faculty members who utilize 'Ilahi shouldn't expect the bustle around the building to calm down any time soon. With the launch of a new project, the next few months will only bring about more construction and inconvenience.

One of the three air conditioning cooling towers in 'Iliahi is being replaced.

Last week the tower was removed. Shortly after, faculty members in 'Iliahi received an e-mail informing them that the A/C would be shut down on the bottom floor classrooms of the building. The e-mail instructed them to open the doors and windows and switch ceiling fans on to compensate for the lack of A/C.

"That e-mail was too much; it was beyond what we could deal with," Hara said. Hara was 1 of 11 instructors who protested the A/C shut off.

There are 10 A/C cooling towers on campus - three at 'Ilima, another three at 'Iliahi and four at Kauila -and eventually they will all be replaced by more efficient towers.

According to Milton Higa, vice chancellor of administrative services, one of the goals of this project is to consolidate the number of towers. Upon completion there will only be four towers.

Replacing the A/C towers has been on the docket for more than a year.

"The idea is to try and replace these things before they break," Kashiwada said. "The units were getting old and decrepit."

While replacing the towers may seem simple in theory - unearth it and install a new one - it's complicated and will require a lot of work. This project is scheduled to be complete in May.

Contractors have already started digging trenches in back of 'Ilima and 'Iliahi in order to re-pipe the existing pipes underneath the ground. By consolidating the towers, the pipes to each existing A/C unit must be rerouted.

Currently, there are A/C units in each of the rooms in 'Iliahi, 'Ilima and Kauila. The A/C towers produces the cold water that circulates through the pipes to each unit.

The towers are also being removed from Kauila during this time.

"It's unfortunate that we have two projects going on at once, that students and faculty are subjected to this A/C project," said Sandra Maeda, Auxiliary Services officer. "These projects are actually not supposed to overlap, but we can't hold off the contractors."

Jill Abbott, English professor, said that the ditch digging going on outside of Kauila has already started to create loud noise in 'Iliahi.

"I believe that the message here is that the college needs to take into account the timing of its renovation projects," Abbott said.

With a number of concerns coming from faculty members regarding the A/C shut off, Auxiliary Services, along with Kashiwada, have devised a plan to compensate for the A/C shut off.

Each classroom that doesn't have A/C will have a window A/C unit installed. On Friday, electricians came to KCC and beefed up the power in 'Ilima 103, 104 and 105 in order to support the window units.

Over the weekend members of Auxiliary Services installed the window units to the classrooms needed.

"For all intents and purposes the bottom level of 'Iliahi is supposed to be done," Kashiwada said. "This project was supposed to start when 'Iliahi finished; there's no question about it, the timing is bad. Both faculty and students have endured a lot, but I think that everyone recognizes that this is for the greater good."