Kinau Hale, the state Department of Health's Punchbowl Street administrative building, will switch to four-day-a-week office hours and close on Fridays beginning next week as part of an expanded pilot project, state officials announced yesterday.

About 270 state Department of Health employees who work in the building will make the temporary switch, which will start Monday and run through Dec. 5.

The office joins a state experiment that began in early August to determine whether switching to a four-day, 10-hour-a-day work week will save enough money to make the change worth implementing across the state system. Early reports from the test, conducted thus far only at the Department of Human Resources Development, have been mostly positive, but inconclusive, state officials said.

For the public, the greatest impact from this latest change will be on the average 250 to 300 couples who go to the Health Department's Punchbowl office for marriage licenses every week, and those seeking birth, death and marriage certificates.

To make up for the Friday closure, hours of the birth, death and marriage certificates window will be expanded to 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The hours of the marriage license office will also grow, to 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

State officials said those wishing to obtain a marriage license on Fridays may be able to do so through one of two private marriage licensing agents that already provide the service on weekends and evenings.

Other offices in Kinau Hale will be open from 7:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the trial period.

Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona Jr. said the state hopes to decrease its electricity costs and other expenses, and reduce traffic congestion by switching to a four-day week.

"The expansion of our pilot project is about being able to better assess the benefits and challenges of a four-day work week," Aiona said.

A report issued by the state of Utah estimates it will save about $3 million annually in utility costs as a result of switching to a 4/10 work week.

On Aug. 4, about 111 employees of the Hawai'i Department of Human Resources Development switched to a four-day, 10-hour-a-day schedule.

Marie Laderta, director of the Department of Human Resources Development, said public and employee feedback from that experiment, which is scheduled to end Oct. 31, has been mostly positive. A number of employees even appear to be happier when they return to work Monday morning, she said. State officials have not yet decided whether to extend the department's four-day work week beyond its Oct. 31 deadline, and Laderta said doing so remains a possibility.

While more definitive numbers have yet to be obtained, the electricity bill for the five stories of the State Office Tower occupied by the department offices that switched to four-day work weeks were lowered by 2.3 percent during August, the first month, Laderta said.

Employees and customers at Kinau Hale yesterday were mostly positive about the new hours that begin Monday.

Matthew Espinda, 46, of 'Ewa Beach, was getting duplicate birth certificates of his children. "That's a great idea if it saves the state money," he said, adding that the longer hours will make it easier for him.

Health Department employee Katie Richards, 28, of Kaimuki, said she'll miss being able to surf after work every afternoon but looks forward to having a third day off to be in the water. Richards, physical activity coordinator for the Healthy Hawaiian Initiative, said she thinks employee morale will be boosted by the new schedule.

Ginger Kahunahana, 59, a secretary for the communicable diseases division, said her only problem with the switch is that on holiday weeks, she will only get paid for an eight-hour holiday and then have to reach a 40-day week by working the hours elsewhere during the week.

Randy Perreira, Hawai'i Government Employees Association executive director, said the union has been receptive to the idea of a modified work week. The only issue has been trying to accommodate those with childcare, elder care or other situations that made it difficult to switch to a 10-hour day.