A top University of Hawaii executive accused of favoritism and unethical conduct related to construction of a UH-Hilo dormitory project has been cleared of any alleged wrongdoing in a state attorney general’s report released Wednesday by the university.
UH had requested the probe after Honolulu engineering executive Dennis Mitsunaga publicly accused UH Associate Vice President Brian Minaai of potentially wasting millions of dollars in public funds through what Mitsunaga called blatant mismanagement of construction projects, including steering contracts to firms of friends.
Minaai, who oversees the system Office of Capital Improvements, was placed on paid leave for six months after Mitsunaga made the allegations in February 2013 as lawmakers were considering a bill about UH construction projects.
The attorney general’s 137-page report concluded that "while the management of the project by the University of Hawaii was deficient in several key respects, there is no evidence of intent to suggest any criminal behavior by Minaai … nor is there evidence that any of the actions were for a malicious or improper purpose to suggest any civil or administrative wrongdoing."
It added, "There is little doubt that UH could have handled this project’s planning, procurements and contracting in a more efficient, rational, coordinated and conscientious manner."
Minaai returned to work at UH late last summer but in a staff support position with no decision-making authority over projects and no supervisory authority over employees in his office. He was instructed not to have any involvement with the Hilo dorm project. He resumed his full duties Tuesday, according to a UH spokeswoman.
Interim UH President David Lassner said the university is working to improve management of its construction projects.
"We are very pleased to have Brian Minaai return to his full duties. Moving forward, we are completely committed to transparent, accountable, efficient and effective processes for our entire capital improvement program," Lassner said in a statement.
Mitsunaga’s firm, Mitsunaga & Associates Inc., was hired in mid-2011 to design the $28 million UH-Hilo dorm project, which opened to students in the fall.
In his written testimony last year to lawmakers, Mitsunaga called Minaai’s process for selecting consultants for nonbid projects highly suspect and, with the exception of Mitsunaga’s firm, said Minaai picks only friends from a pool of hundreds of qualified Honolulu architects and engineers.
Mitsunaga described working with Minaai on the Hilo dorm as a nightmare for his staff, and accused Minaai of ordering the replacement of two project consultants and hiring a third one after the selection process had been completed, adding to the cost.
Mitsunaga also claimed that his affiliated construction company was replaced by Minaai with Albert C. Kobayashi Inc. as the project’s pre-construction consultant and contractor.
But the attorney general’s report said Mitsunaga’s contract was limited to design services and that its affiliated construction company did not respond to UH’s solicitation for pre-construction/construction services, so it could not be considered. The report added that Minaai was not a member of the selection committee that awarded the contract to Kobayashi.
The report highlighted time and money constraints the dorm project faced, resulting in a "stripped-down facility" that didn’t match what the designers initially envisioned.
"No doubt, a certain degree of hard feelings persist because the designers believe the ultimate finished product does not fully represent the vision of the dormitory they had designed for the Hilo campus," the AG report said. "Problems that were encountered during the course of this project can be attributed for the most part to the inherent flaws of the design-assist process, especially when applied to a project with a tight, limited budget with a short, very difficult schedule for completion."
Dennis Mitsunaga’s daughter, Lois Mitsunaga, a structural engineer at the firm, said in an email to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the company "takes exception" to the findings and would be issuing a response. Nothing was received as of Wednesday night and she could not be reached for further comment.
