Director of Public Works (DPW), Faleosina Voigt, was barraged with questions from nearly every member of the House Public Works Committee, last week, on the status of projects — some of which have been on the drawing board for years and some more recent.
Representatives cornered her on statements made in previous hearings about projects she said would be starting soon, but still haven’t gotten off the ground; or about broken equipment in which she said parts had been ordered but the equipment is still not working, two years later; or road projects, which had been at the top of the priority list but have fallen to the bottom of the list.
Committee Chairman Manumaua Wayne Wilson asked for an update on the Tafuna High School building, which was found to have cracks shortly after it was completed last year.
According to the Public Works Director, DPW did not condemn the building and in fact issued a report that was given to the Director of Education stating that the building was safe to use.
She said, while their assessment showed there were cracks in the structure, the classroom building was deemed safe and this was made known to DOE.
Tuala-uta Representative Larry Sanitoa informed the committee that McConnell Dowell performed an independent assessment of the building and a private engineer, Will Spitzenberg provided a report to DOE which said that there were structural issues, which needed to be addressed in order to solidify the building.
KHJ News checked with Tafuna High School and was told that the building, which was constructed by Nana’s company, is not being used.
Committee Chairman Manumaua also questioned the director about crosswalks to schools reminding her that she had testified at a previous hearing, more than a year ago, that special paint for the crosswalks was being ordered. Manumaua said, all of the crosswalks to schools have disappeared and this was an accident waiting to happen.
Director Voigt said that a six month contract has been awarded to Happy Trucking, though this was for road markings from Avau to Utulei.
Manumaua told her to prioritize the crosswalks for the schools. “Prioritize the safety of our children,” he advised.
