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COURTESY MAYOR CALDWELL’S OFFICE
Glenn Nohara, chairman of Koga Engineering & Construction, has been tapped by Mayor Kirk Caldwell to replace Colleen Hanabusa on the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell has tapped Glenn Nohara, a longtime local construction industry leader, to replace Colleen Hanabusa on the board overseeing the island’s financially troubled rail project.
Nohara has more than 40 years experience in the local building sector and he serves as chairman of Koga Engineering & Construction, a company he has been with since 1984, according to the firm’s website.
Prior to his time at Koga, Nohara worked at Hawaiian Dredging Construction as a cost and project engineer, as well as a superintendent.
Caldwell notified the City Council by letter today of Nohara’s pick to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board. In a separate statement, Caldwell touted Nohara’s “years of private sector engineering and construction experience, particularly in estimating construction costs for projects.”
Rail in the past two years has been plagued by skyrocketing costs and officials’ seeming inability to keep pace with their estimates. Since December 2015 the projected cost has grown by more than $3.3 billion and rail now faces a budget gap of at least $1.8 billion. The latest official estimates put rail’s total price tag at $8.6 billion.
Koga’s website lists Nohara as a graduate of the University of Hawaii in civil engineering and of Roosevelt High School.
Meanwhile, Hanabusa, a former Hawaii congresswoman, submitted her formal resignation as HART chairwoman on Monday as she looks to return to Congress this fall. Her resignation took effect today.
“It is with genuinely mixed emotions that I submit this letter,” Hanabusa wrote to Caldwell. “I remain confident that HART will address its challenges, complete the project in its entirety, and make a lasting difference for the City and County of Honolulu.”
Caldwell appointed Hanabusa to the HART board in June 2015 and she became its chairperson in April following Don Horner’s departure from the project.
The rail board will now have to select a new chairperson to replace Hanabusa.
Not shocked since this state ONLY seems to understand development. Not smart or proper development, just development with NO plan and No vision. This should be another DISASTER for this so called Rail project. This island sure runs like a 3rd world country !!
100% agree with you. Just look at this “make it up as we go along” rail project. The rail has been a big scam from day one and taxpayers now own this thanks to Mufi, Kirk, et al.
A disaster for the taxpayer, yes! The appointment of a construction executive is a unabashed display of how the purpose of rail is to take money from the taxpayers at all costs and without limit in order to enrich the construction industry! Oahu taxpayers are getting scammed!
Who do you want? A politician, a social worker, a community organizer,, a bean counter?
A possible conflict of interest? I hope not.
But you notice Caldwell has become wealthy.
Yes,they should have selected a DOE principal with 45 years experience. Why would the select construction expert? Why not marine biologist? Geez.
Well they could have picked a construction guy who handled large projects, this guys company paved private drive ways and anything the bws wanted them to do. Seems like a favor to me.
Glad someone with many years of construction experience has joined the HART board. The metro project needs someone with the technical, estimating, and construction experience to oversee and guide the project. With Murthy, who also has many years of professional managerial and constructional transit experience, the metro project should be able to get back on track, have more realistic budget estimates, and more reliable completion schedule.
The rail is not merely “financially” troubled, last I looked. What about 8 percent rebars rusted out, and all those shims that need replacement?
They FINALLY getting some engineers to be involved.
Heist engineers, engineering the most effective way to separate taxpayers from their money in the most rip-off rail system anywhere in the world!
You’d think that they would have done that at the beginning.
Koga Engineering?
They have been around for a really long time, one of the old time construction firms. They do siteowrk construction like mass grading, civil works and the like. They do both public and private construction jobs.
Thank You!
The concrete monster is coming alive. Costing the taxpayers an arm and leg. Yes, this is all thank to Mufi and Kirk. It is so sad to see our State run by people who don’t know what is going on and just dive into something without planning. Now Hanabusa resides and Glenn Nohara takes over and they are glad because they hired someone with knowledge. Not true. Stop this rail and let some artist draw a beautiful picture on it. The runes of Hawaii.
Did he contribute anything to the mayor’s pending election?
Hanabusa is now running for the same position she vacated to run for senate–representative. This is how the state operates, musical chairs for the well-connected.
Rail is proceeding to the new Atlantis Resort. Asians love rail. All of the medial from Krok Center on Kapolei Parkway to Alantis Casino is public transport land, so no $$$ extra. Bring ‘er down to the West Coast. Oahu’s Golden Coast under construction.
Asian love rail? LOL LOL LOL –
Great selection. Glenn is well-respected in the industry.
This guy does not represent the people, he represents the fat cat construction industry.
New flash – to Nomu – he’s not running for a political office. He’s there to do a job. And he has experience, lots of it. And is trained in that field. HMMMM bad fit eh?
IRT Buddy, What field is that the middle of the farm fields in almost Kapolei. the reality is this is not a driveway for the BWS but a choo choo for MUFEE to pull the horn on chooo chooooo Petty Coat junction- for the old-timers out there!!!!! The reality I hate to say it is this is the dumbest project I have ever witnesses in a modern day tax rip off BOONDOGGLE. I would like to ade that Mayor Caldwell should resign in shame before he gets tarred (guave Jan)and feathered on the Kapiolani Ave bike lane. RESIGN CALDWELL OR WE WILL VOTE FOR DJOU
Why weren’t these people hired initially?
They never applied.
Wrong, they were never picked to apply.
THEY WERE GETTING WELFARE AND OBAMA CARE so why apply to this rotting RAIL project. (sic)
why would he want to do that ??????
$3.3 billion blown in less than a year. How can they possibly do that?
We’re talking about projected deficits. There is a lot of money in the bank currently. Rail Construction is proceeding very rapidly.
Money is unlimited, no problem whatsoever.
Another reason Caldwell has to go. This board needs to exercise independent oversight.
Why?
They do… and the mayor cannot interfere. HART is an independent agency.
The Mayor said he would pick the Chairperson!
Good pick by Mayor. The board can use a construction engineer to help on the board’s technical review of projects.
Garbage out Garbage in. Same smell.
Good choice,,,
This whole fiasco called Rail is further proof that the money for a rail project was “forced” on the Democratic Party, i.e. “Government”. Federal dollars were just too tempting to ignore. The point is, this was a top down project from the start, sold to the public as an opportunity to solve traffic congestion and “save out children”. Hundreds of posts here warned about the project, but all were ignored. At first we learned the project wasn’t well defined, and now we learn it was not properly staffed. What a great combination. Who knows how this is going to end. And by the way, I guess all those who posted that Rail was an outdated 10-15 Billion dollar and climbing project, weren’t so dumb after all. Of course, you can always “tax the rich”, or “tax tourists”, or have the feds bail out HI. What’s a few more billion to the national debt.
Great choice!!
Tear it down, give the feds their money back, cut the taxpayers losses.
….about time you(Oahu) got someone savvy in the construction business.I said this from day ONE. Took you long enough to figure that Bankers,Lawyers and Career Politicians are not the answer! Watch out! Your property taxes WILL rise……Oahu should thank Capt. Kirk for an outstanding job…..well done!Thank him at the voting precincts for another 4 more years.