Damien Kim, wearing the hat of business manager of the electrician’s union, has seen a lot of construction projects in his time, all embedded with risk and worry. Wearing the hat of the chairman of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board, however, means experiencing worry on an entirely different level.
There’s been a series of nail-biting moments for Honolulu’s rail project, with more to come. The need to fill the vacancy of the chief executive officer and, with deputy CEO Brennon Morioka’s recently announced departure, another gap in a top spot. (All told, Kim said, there are likely 10-12 jobs to fill just now.)
There was the report that the effort to save money on the construction of nine stations through smaller contracts may end up as a wash, with project management costs rising.
Topping everything, there’s the worry about a legislative decision on the financing of the project. Lawmakers for now have telegraphed to the Federal Transit Administration, with further construction subsidies in the balance, of their intentions to meet in special session.
“I think the FTA is a little bit relieved — as opposed to, ‘What is happening? Nobody’s saying anything,’” Kim said.
“And we were worried, because we didn’t want FTA to pull the trigger and say, ‘Well, I didn’t hear anything from you, so, sorry, you’re in breach of contract and give us back the money, but no breach yet. We haven’t received a letter yet. Can they? Of course, they could do it at any time.”
Kim, 54, works full time for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1186, is married with one grown son and a grandson. It’s the HART post that absorbs the lion’s share of his attention, though.
Uncertainty about the future of the project has fueled some of the contract price increases, he said. And the CEO applicants have told him that, apart from the factors that always boost costs for Hawaii, this is a national phenomenon.
They seem bullish on the job, and, Kim added, so is he.
“I’m in for the long run. I want to see this thing done and, you know, I feel that our job is to see this thing through,” he said. ”I’m hoping to ride the rail system, and possibly it looks like now I can get a senior pass.”
QUESTION: You are the last remaining original HART board member. What effect has all the turnover on the board had on the rail project?
ANSWER: Every new board member needs to know the history of how we got to our current situation and that is over eight years of history and data. I have to say that we have been fortunate to continue having board members with diverse backgrounds being able to help this project along.
Q: Are you concerned about the turnover?
A: Yes, I am. And the reason is, we’ve lost a lot of good people, and I don’t want to lose any more that’s in there. …
Now, to find the replacements, if they’re city workers it’s harder to replace because there’s a process to go through before they can actually get hired, and it could take months to bring in somebody. …
Q:People will say, “Everyone is fleeing the sinking ship.” Is it the stress of this enormous project, and all the problems?
A: There are a couple of reasons, I think. One is the uncertainty of hearing the Legislature, what’s been happening. Uncertainties: Is this really going to go through, or not?
The second one is, overall, we’re in-between leaderships right now … I guess not knowing who might be coming over, that’s probably on their minds as well. …
Q: How do you answer people you know who may be losing confidence in the project?
A: People didn’t think H-3 was going to be built and didn’t like it at first. People didn’t think our public bus system would work when it was first rolled out. Skeptics have always started to look at things in the negative light, but at the end when it is all said and done, the skepticism goes away with the success of these projects. …
Q:Is the problem more that the expectations were wrong, that the early contracts were rushed?
A: Hindsight, back in 2007 or ‘08, when they first started doing this, they looked at the time and said, “OK, the people voted, and we’ve got to take advantage, we’ve got to push this thing out and get this thing started, because we don’t want anyone to change their mind” …
So, there was a reason for doing what they did, back then, before the board was formed. And I think for the board itself, it’s just to make sure that we’re overseeing the project, trying to control costs as we can.
But I tell people, as of today, this is an eight-year project. It’s hard to predict what’s going to happen, eight years from now. It’s hard to predict what’s going to happen over two years from now, right? We’ve got the governor’s race, we’ve got the mayor’s race, the presidential race four years from now.
Between all those times, what’s going to happen is an uncertainty. The world economy, is it going to be up, going to be down? While there’re experts looking at numbers and trying to figure out the whole landscape of it, it’s harder than a regular construction project. …
Q: How do you balance your role as advocate for rail with the need to provide oversight?
A: I believe my job on the board is to make sure we build what was asked for, which is an elevated rail system from Kapolei to Ala Moana, but do it without “rubber stamping” cost.
Q: Some say the rail project hasn’t produced as many jobs as promised. Do you agree? How do you see the potential for local jobs from HART?
A: HART’s initial job estimates included not only construction but engineering, design, consultants, and eventually transit-oriented development. Being that we have never built a rail system here locally, we rely on the experts with experience and have them train our local people. I have noticed as we progress that we have many more local people working on this project. Ansaldo is also working with Leeward Community College to gear classes and training for their maintenance contract with HART. …
Q: As someone who works in this industry: What can be done to manage cost overruns better?
A: Timing and financing is always key when it comes to construction. When we go out for procurement, what matters is the economy at the time. If construction in general is busy, then expect higher construction cost. If construction is slow, then you definitely would get a better price or bid.
If we are unsure of the financing, the contractor is leery about getting paid and could include their own contingency to cover any shortfalls or not getting paid on time. These are multimillion-dollar contracts that the general and subcontractors front their own money on and expect to get paid in a timely manner.
I admit that some of the change orders have taken years to settle, and in the meantime contractors are left having to borrow money to fund those changes.
Q: Specific to your own field, what is the job market like for electricians? Has it been changed by the green energy movement?
A: We have been blessed that most of our companies have been busy for the last few years, and it looks like work will continue for another few years. Construction and renovations to the Kakaako area, Waikiki and the west side have provided us with a lot of work. We currently have over 500 apprentices statewide training right now.
Green energy has been around for years now and is our work but we have seen good times and bad. The utility companies have had to deal with issues of overloading of the grid and thus creating a danger for their workers. When this happens, they slow down the process of photovoltaic (PV) work. However, the PV farms have started to pick up and we hope for this to continue.
Q: Do you feel conflicted when considering cost-cutting for rail, because it could mean fewer jobs for your members?
A: Cutting cost doesn’t necessarily mean fewer jobs. Cutting cost hopefully means they found more efficient ways to build it faster and better.
When sitting on the HART board, I’m responsible for overseeing this project and cannot make a decision based on my “day job.”
