University of Hawaii officials showed off $1.3 million worth of repairs to UH’s College Hill mansion eight years ago and said that "nothing major" remained to be done.

But today, $680,000 worth of "major" repairs are under way at the UH president’s unoccupied mansion — and running two weeks behind schedule.

The work includes asbestos and lead paint removal that was never done, and repairs to a leaking roof just 11 years after UH installed a new one.

"(C)onsidering that the project cost exceeds $500,000, and the building is a historic building, it may be categorized as a ‘major’ repair project," UH spokes­woman Lynne Waters wrote in an email to the Star-Advertiser about the current work.

The new repairs follow years of costly work and renovations to the 110-year-old, two-story, 4,500-square-foot mansion, which has been unoccupied since M.R.C. Greenwood was hired in 2009 to oversee the 10-campus system as UH’s president.

UH supporters were angered by the cost of renovations to the mansion during the presidential tenure of Evan Dobelle, when $328,000 of work that began in 2001 mushroomed to $1.3 million and included $9,600 for outdoor wicker furniture and $484 for a decorative bird cage.

Greenwood also sparked controversy when it was revealed that she isn’t living in College Hill and instead is paid $5,000 a month, or $60,000 a year, to rent a Waikiki condo, in part because it would cost an estimated $1 million to upgrade the second story of College Hill for Greenwood’s partner, who has special access needs.

The current repairs include installation of an accessible wheelchair lift to the main floor’s lanai area as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act for public access during public events held at College Hill.

But none of the work will make the second-floor residence ADA-compliant for future tenants, Waters said.

The Legislature appropriated the $680,000 in repair money through general obligation bonds that Bonnyjean Manini, the UH-Manoa Faculty Senate chairwoman, said appears "appropriate for items that seem necessary to maintain the integrity of the home and protect the property that’s owned by the state. But I would hope the university would invest in making the home ADA-compliant so any future president who has ADA needs would be able to use the house, since that’s one of the reasons it’s not being occupied now."

While the current repairs will not make College Hill fully ADA-accessible, they do involve:

» Installation of a new roof over the lanai and "selective but expensive repairs" to the siding and windows, Waters said.

The original work in 2001 to install a new roof at a cost of $92,343 was done correctly, she said. But because College Hill is regulated by the State Historic Preservation Division and state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the new roof has to be made out of cedar shakes, which tend to "dry, shrink, and curl, and lose their ability to function as a roofing or siding material," Waters wrote.

"Any repair or renovation to such regulated buildings must use the same materials as the original construction, and must have the same look and character as the original construction," Waters said. "Therefore, the university does not have an option but to make a like replacement of the cedar roof shingles."

Bob Cooney, last year’s chairman of the UH-Manoa Faculty Senate, said, "Surely you can get some shake and shingles that would last longer than 11 years. That doesn’t sound right to me."

While the lanai roof leaks and experts continue to look for the source of the leaks, Waters said there have been no problems with College Hill’s upper roof.

But the leaking lanai roof forced UH staff to place buckets on the lanai during rainy days and caused safety concerns that prevented them from turning on the lanai fans and lights.

» "Asbestos abatement" and containment of lead-based paint.

UH officials probably knew about the presence of asbestos and lead-based paint during the 2001 renovations, and the work likely disturbed both materials, Waters said.

College Hill hosts about 10 community functions per month.

Asked whether visitors to College Hill over the years should be concerned that asbestos and lead-based paint may have been disturbed by previous renovations, Waters said, "They (asbestos and lead-based paint) may remain because they are non-hazardous unless they become friable (powdery) and become airborne. … Unless hazardous materials become friable and are airborne, there is practically no chance of any toxic contamination of humans or animals."

The current work had been scheduled to be completed by Dec. 6 but is already two weeks behind schedule because of the discovery of termite damage to "structural framing and plywood sheathing" underneath the roof shingles, Waters said.

She could not say whether the cost of the current repairs won’t go up further.

"With an old and historic house, cost overruns are difficult to avoid or predict," she said.

Cooney called the current $680,000 worth of repairs to College Hill "a lot of money."

"It’s a valuable piece of property that can be useful to the university," Cooney said. "Unfortunately, for the last 10 years or so, it’s been vastly underutilized."

But long after UH President Dobelle and his wife, Kit, left the islands, the furnishings they bought — including the bird cage and four lounge chairs each costing $2,500 — remain behind at College Hill.

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Star-Advertiser staff writer Rob Perez contributed to this report.