Indoor air quality concerns force nearly 100 employees at Honolulu Hale to work remotely

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - An entire office at Honolulu Hale is now off limits while air quality tests are done — and until a new temporary space can be secured.

The city Office for Corporation Counsel is now locked with signs on the door directing people to call instead of visiting. On May 10, all 90 employees in the office were notified by email that they were to “collect everything they need to telework” until further notice.

It started when two new hires complained about allergy symptoms.

The departments of Facility Maintenance and Design and Construction identified the source of the symptoms as the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, or HVAC, system.

The HVAC system is 50 years old.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said it feeds only the space occupied by Corporation Counsel Office because it is a separate system from the one that feeds the rest of Honolulu Hale, built in 1928. The Corporation Counsel staffs the city’s civil attorneys.

“There wasn’t anything called air conditioning for buildings,” he said, adding that over the years, different HVAC systems were put in on different floors.

For now, the employees affected will continue to work remotely until the city can find a more long-term solution that allows the attorneys and legal staff to work in-person.

“There are people preparing for team trials,” Blangiardi said, adding the city is currently negotiating for office space close to Honolulu Hale.

The estimated cost is nearly $1 million a year.

Testing continues next week and a final report on the air quality samples won’t be ready until mid-August. The results will help the city develop a remedy plan.

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