Oahu officials puzzled by city’s withdrawal from rail plan

The city’s unexpected withdrawal from a public- private partnership for the troubled rail project means that the incoming mayor and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation likely will have to seek yet another extension from federal officials to keep the project moving.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s announcement on Friday that he had notified the Federal Transit Administration of his decision was a surprise and represented yet another hurdle for rail, but not an insurmountable one, several current and former city council members said.

The Federal Transit Authority has set a Dec. 31 deadline — its third — to see HART’s plan to create a so-called P3 partnership to finish the final leg of the $9.2 billion project. The deadline is scheduled just before the next administration begins of either mayoral candidate Rick Blangiardi or Keith Amemiya.

“This certainly demonstrates a clear lack of support from the current city administration,” said newly departed Council Chairman Ikaika Anderson. “But we will have a new city administration in just a little over three months. While I understand there’s that Dec. 31 deadline, I believe there’s some room to work with that Dec. 31 date. The next mayor could certainly reach out to FTA.”

Amemiya said he did not want to speculate on what may happen next until he hears from HART officials, but said the city’s announcement “doesn’t mean the project is dead by any means. I continue to support rail because it’s important for our communities, especially our working-class families from West Oahu.”

And with Hawaii’s tourist- based economy at a standstill because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amemiya said, “we need to push for the rail project because construction will be our economic driver until tourism rebounds.”

Blangiardi said in an email, “The disconnect between the Mayor’s office and HART’s CEO over the fate of the P3 does not instill confidence in the City’s rail project. Both serve the same taxpayers and transit riding public and I call on the HART CEO and Mayor to come together on a unified message to the FTA regarding a path forward.”

HART executive director and CEO Andrew Robbins said in a statement last week following Caldwell’s announcement that “while the city has announced its withdrawal, I need to emphasize that HART is not canceling the procurement and is instead considering its options as to how best to now move forward with the construction of the City Center segment and completion of the project. HART is very disappointed in the city’s decision to withdraw. World class teams of developers and contractors stand ready to complete the project for the people of Honolulu.”

Caldwell said in his statement Friday that he supports “a more open and effective approach of continuing the construction to Ala Moana. I hope to see the timely development of an alternative bid strategy, such as a more traditional design- build approach, so this important transportation infrastructure project can continue to move forward.”

Anderson and others said it’s unclear exactly what the ramifications are of Caldwell’s decision, which came one day after the full HART board rejected a motion to let Robbins go after his contract expires on Dec. 31, the same date as the FTA’s deadline. Robbins’ future after Dec. 31 is unclear.

Newly appointed Council Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said that Caldwell’s announcement appeared personal and intended to hamstring HART and Robbins for no obvious reason.

“It seems that way,” Koba­yashi said. “It is a city project and usually everybody works together and permits are issued. But in this case permits are not being issued and questions are not being answered about the under-grounding of sewer lines and power lines. HART keeps getting stymied.”

On the eve of the board’s vote on Robbins, Caldwell issued a statement that said, “I have not been involved in any decisions regarding Mr. Robbins’ employment contract. … I have not had any discussions about this matter with the HART Board Chair or other members of the HART Board.”

But to Kobayashi, “it seems like the administration versus HART. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“The state procurement is working with HART, but our city people don’t seem to be coordinating and working with HART to keep this project moving,” Kobayashi said. “The city taxpayers are left out because millions of dollars of bonds have been issued. It’s very hard to understand.”

Councilwoman Kym Pine, who represents Leeward constituents likely to benefit from rail, said there was no clear objective behind Caldwell’s announcement.

“It’s a mess and continues to be a mess,” Pine said. “I’m especially concerned that it was an abrupt announcement with very little warning to state, city and federal elected leaders. We have to bring everyone together with a way forward without politics. I believe these decisions are being made with politics in mind and not in the best interests of the people of Honolulu.”