The head of the agency tasked with building Oahu’s multibillion-dollar rail project said Friday he’s received no indication from federal transit officials that roughly $744 million they’ve promised for the project is in jeopardy as a result of an apparent criminal investigation that became public this week.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation announced Thursday it had received a subpoena requiring the agency to provide a broad range of records and documents tied to construction of the now $9.2 billion East Kapolei-Ala Moana rail line by March 7.
HART CEO Andrew Robbins told reporters Friday that after he informed Federal Transit Administration officials about the subpoena Thursday, “they just said they would inform their attorneys and their acting administrator (Jane Williams).”
Robbins, who said he first learned about the subpoena when it was served Monday at HART offices at Alii Place, added he’s “not particularly worried” that the subpoena or the investigation will slow down FTA’s timeline for deciding whether that $744 million should be released to HART.
The $744 million is what remains of an initial $1.55 billion promised under what’s known as a Full Funding Grant Agreement. It is a key part of the project’s financing, Robbins said, and the agency is expecting $100 million of that amount to be available to the city by June 30.
In response to the project’s escalating price tag, FTA officials delayed release of the money and required HART to submit a recovery plan detailing how it intends to pay for the remainder of the partially built project. HART submitted the plan in November and has been awaiting approval from the FTA.
Officials with the FTA and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation, had intended to meet in January to review the recovery plan. He said he was informed by FTA officials Wednesday that those meetings will now take place in March.
But Robbins said he’s not worried about that decision, either. “We fully expect that after a series of reviews that the FTA would be in a position to approve that plan.”
He declined to speculate on what HART would do without the remaining federal allotment.
Robbins provided reporters with copies of the five-page subpoena that says the agency has until March 7 to turn over what he anticipates will be more than 30,000 pages of documents. He said the subpoena indicated more time could be granted.
Among the items listed in the subpoena is all the records and documents that the agency already submitted to state Auditor Les Kondo in connection with his office’s audit conducted between March and December. That’s about 30,000 pages on its own, Robbins said.
Other items being sought in the subpoena are archaeological studies, correspondence with FTA, requests for proposals, listings of all contractors and subcontractors, change orders, cost analyses and contracts.
“We see the subpoena as a task that we must carry out in terms of delivering documents,” Robbins said. “We have no other information about how long this will go on, what it’s all about other than producing documents.”
The subpoena has not slowed down the project, he said. “Staff, contractors (are) all focused on continuing to deliver this project, moving forward, and we expect to actually be able to go into service with the first 10 miles of the system out in Ewa in the fall of next year.”
Robbins, who began in September 2017, said he’s not seen any documents suggesting there was criminal activity on the part of city or HART personnel or contractors. “I’ve seen things along the line of the auditors have reported on in terms of judgment issues, mistakes, things like that,” he said. “I haven’t seen anything that I would consider rise to the level of criminal activity.”
He noted that Kondo, the state auditor, made similar comments Thursday during a television interview.
Robbins said he knows of no individuals who received subpoenas or other communications from the Department of Justice informing them they are targets or of interest to the investigation.
In related news, Councilwoman Heidi Tsuneyoshi this week introduced Resolution 19-29, seeking a forensic audit of HART, and on Friday she said the subpoena just reinforces the need for a thorough review.
“We need a clear picture of what happened from the beginning of this project in order for us to move forward,” Tsuneyoshi said on her Facebook page. “Once we have all the facts, then the city, state and HART can work together to get rail back on track.”
Federal subpoena of HART by on Scribd
