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Committee questions $2 million in change orders tied to Public Safety Building project
Summary
Public Works staff told the finance committee that a professional-services contract that began as flood mitigation was expanded to include motor-vehicle licensing relocation and hardening of the Public Safety Building; council members pressed on multiple supplemental agreements that together total about $2 million.
Council members pressed Public Works staff Dec. 16 over a sequence of supplemental agreements that together added roughly $2 million to a consulting contract originally described as flood mitigation for the Public Safety Building.
"This contract originally started as a flood mitigation project for the Public Safety Building," Kelsey Kalua Lewis of Public Works told the committee. She said change order number 3 — which "had the $1,800,000 increase" — was added to fund hardening work at the Public Safety Building, while later change orders covered additional Kaiko'o Building work and painting.
Council Member Eustace asked why contract 9781 appears multiple times for different amounts and whether the work should have been bid as a new contract rather than multiple supplemental agreements. "It seems kind of beyond the scope of the original contract," Eustace said, asking staff to check with the project engineer and purchasing review process.
Kelsey Kalua Lewis said staff would consult the project manager and noted the county submitted applications to FEMA for hazard-mitigation grant funding that may be related to the timing and scope of the changes.
Council Member Kimball disclosed that one of the change orders is for Fleming and Associates, identified in the record as her husband's architecture firm, and stated she has no actual interest; she noted that because the report was receive-and-file, no conflict was triggered in the committee action.
The committee moved to close the file on communication 24.23 (motion by Council Member Inaba, seconded by Council Member Eustace). The clerk recorded one no vote (Council Member Eustace), seven ayes and one excused; the motion carried as recorded.
Finance Director Diane Nakagawa transmitted the change-order report pursuant to section 2-12.3 of the Hawaii County Code. Committee members asked for follow-up from project managers and purchasing on contract-selection and supplemental-agreement justification.
