State awards elevator maintenance contract
By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Citing "health and safety" concerns, the state has awarded a non-bid emergency contract to Hawaii Vertical Transportation for up to $1.2 million to perform repairs and maintenance on public housing elevators.
The Hawai'i Public Housing Authority has been without an elevator maintenance contract since March. The lack of regular repairs left residents at Kuhio Park Terrace, two 17-story highrises in Kalihi, with no working elevators late last month, state Comptroller Russ Saito said.
Two freight elevators were working but had to be operated by a security guard. "They were not intended to be normal passenger elevators," Saito said. "People got backed up and had to wait or walk up the stairs."
More than 1,800 people live at Kuhio Park Terrace, and residents say the elevators have long been prone to breakdowns. More than just an inconvenience, they say the elevator problems have also slowed down paramedics or firefighters trying to help sick tenants.
Hawaii Vertical Transportation fixed three of the four resident elevators last week as part of a separate $25,000 emergency contract, Saito said.
The fourth elevator is expected to be up and running soon.
Interim public housing Director Patti Miyamoto said the lack of a regular maintenance contract was "costly, time-consuming and inefficient."
In her Oct. 3 request to the state Procurement Office for the $1.2 million contract with Hawaii Vertical Transportation, Miya-moto said, "The frequency of the breakdowns and the down-time of the elevators poses a health and safety issue to the residents, especially the elderly and infirm."
The contract starts Tuesday, and ends Jan. 31. According to the request, it will cover 15 elevators at public housing projects.
Saito said the contract will give public housing officials enough time to bid for a long-term competitive maintenance contract.
This is the second time the housing agency has had to ask for a non-bid contract to repair elevators at public housing.
In September 2005, housing officials hired Vertical Transportation under an emergency contract after canceling a maintenance agreement with Thys-senKrupp Elevator Corp., on Ualena Street.
At the time, former housing director Stephanie Aveiro said the contract was canceled after officials became unhappy with the company's "quality of service." A ThyssenKrupp official could not be reached for comment.
In May 2005, housing officials hired consultant Horst Bartmann for $19,000 to review the agreement with ThyssenKrupp and determine the need for repairs at Kuhio Park Terrace elevators. His report detailed a long list of potential safety hazards with the elevators, from doors that failed to close completely to pits full of trash. It's unclear if the hazards persist.
Bartmann was subsequently hired in September 2005 for $188,288 to review elevators at 16 housing complexes. The contract went through March, but Bartmann died in January. A final report was never completed.
Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Correction: Consultant Horst Bartmann got about $19,000 to evaluate elevators at Kuhio Park Terrace and $188,288 to complete a review of elevators at 16 other public housing complexes. A previous version of this story incorrectly listed higher figures.
