With the discarding of the two-year effort to procure a public-private partnership to finish Honolulu’s now $11 billion-plus rail line, Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Honolulu rail chief Andrew Robbins met for nearly two hours Friday at Honolulu Hale to discuss the troubled project’s future.

At a joint news availability after their meeting, Robbins said it’s still his belief that proceeding with a “P3” partner would yield cost savings and lessen the time needed to complete the 21-mile line, but that he had agreed to step away from the process if Caldwell objected and issue a “re-procurement” for a more traditional design- build contract.

Robbins’ push for the public-private partnership also was opposed by a majority of Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board members and most of the City Council.

The Council adopted a resolution urging a halt to the search for a private partner. Meanwhile, seven of the nine voting members of the HART board voted to withdraw from the P3 process, but that motion failed because city attorneys have determined that eight votes are necessary for them to take action.

Robbins had made a last-ditch effort to save the P3, sending a letter to Caldwell earlier this week detailing his reasons for wanting to continue. But Manny Valbuena, the city’s acting director of budget and fiscal services, sent a reply Friday morning reiterating the Caldwell administration’s concerns that a P3 contract would be more expensive.

That prompted Robbins to tell the HART board midday Friday that he was keeping his promise to scrap the P3 process if he could not convince the mayor to support it.

“It was a very productive first meeting,” Caldwell said Friday afternoon. “We’ve agreed to work together, starting this weekend and coming back on Monday.”

“It’s all about going forward now together, and it’s very important that we remain close partners in this very important project, and that’s certainly what we intend to do at HART and, I know, the city as well,” Robbins said.

The HART chief told reporters that he anticipates formally telling P3 bidders about the decision Monday, and he’s hopeful they will still be interested enough to do the work through a design-build model.

Robbins said he thinks it will take about 12 months to secure a bidder.

The priority now is to come up with a plan for how the city will complete the last 4 miles of the 21-station line, a segment that runs from Middle Street to Ala Moana Center, in order to persuade the Federal Transit Administration to release $250 million in federal grant money for the project before the funding lapses Dec. 31.

Caldwell said he does not expect his top lieutenants and HART officials will be able to provide FTA with a detailed plan by the end of the year. Instead, the parties are hoping to send a unified explanation with enough detail to FTA officials in hopes they will allow a one-year extension on the funding’s availability.

Even with the promise to work together, a key difference has emerged over how the project should proceed now that a P3 is no longer in play.

Both sides agree the entire line from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center needs to be built, with the remaining stretch constructed in segments as funding allows. But details of the phased work still need to be hashed out.

Caldwell has proposed that the line be built and operated to a point in downtown Honolulu first. Robbins said it makes more sense to build from the eastern end of the line first, leaving the problematic section through the Dillingham Boulevard corridor for last.

Asked about the difference of opinions Friday, both men declined to answer the question directly.

“That’s the subject we started talking about with the city today,” Robbins said. “We’ll certainly have more in-depth discussions with the city about that. I think we all agree that some sort of phased approach is necessary, but there are different ways to phase the project.”

In another area of disagreement, Caldwell thinks separate contracts should be created for the Middle Street-to-Ala Moana section of guideway and the Pearl Highlands parking facility and station. Robbins said his staff concluded it would be more efficient to have a single procurement for both.

During the HART board meeting, Robbins made clear that he is done fighting for the P3.

“As we committed, it’s time to move on, to move forward,” said Robbins, whose contract is not expected to be renewed by the HART board when it expires at the end of the year.

Under questioning from board members, the HART chief said it cost between $9 million and $10 million to conduct the P3 process over the past two years. But that time and expense were worth it because internationally renowned contractors offered their evaluations of the project.

“I think, in general, we had really good discussions about costs on the project, about risks on the project, where bidders saw risks and where they had to put contingencies, and in some places where they didn’t have to put contingencies,” he said at the afternoon news conference.

That information will make for a better bid solicitation when the city puts out a new call for contractors, Robbins said.

While Robbins might not remain at HART beyond Dec. 31, Caldwell’s term ends Jan. 2, when Mayor- elect Rick Blangiardi takes over. Caldwell said while final decisions on the last segment won’t be made until next year, it’s necessary to set a direction now.

“To wait until the new mayor comes in to even begin discussions is very dangerous when we’re trying to convince the FTA not to let the $250 million lapse,” he said.

In a letter to the FTA last week, Caldwell said he and his staff now think the project could cost $11 billion, including financing costs, and take until 2033 to reach Ala Moana Center.

An interim segment, from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium, is expected to open to the public late next year.

Robbins has disagreed with those estimates.

Caldwell, when asked Friday whether he was standing by his projections, responded, “We gave some very conservative numbers both on costs and on schedule. One of the things I’ve learned over the years is to underpromise and over-deliver when we’re talking about rail because of the difficulties this project has encountered from Day One. These are outside numbers which I hope we do not actually hit. I hope the project’s completed well before 2033 and that it comes under $10 billion, or $11 billion including financing.”

Response to HART's Report Redacted 20NOV2020 by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd