The public will have a chance to comment on change orders for Honolulu’s rail project if the amount exceeds $1 million under a policy passed Friday by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation Finance Committee.

HART has already had to pay for a $15 million change order to Kiewit Pacific because of delays in starting pre-construction work on the first phase of the 20-mile rail line. Runaway costs are the biggest concern of the public about the project, according to a recent Civil Beat poll.

The resolution approved Friday aims to ensure the funds supporting HART’s activities are utilized as efficiently and effectively as possible. The Change Order Process, Procedure and Financial Policy establishes a procedure for the review and approval of change orders to ensure that expenditures are properly controlled and accounted for.

“We want to ensure we have oversight. We want to ensure we have sunshine. We want to ensure we have due process,” Finance Chair Don Horner said before the vote during the committee’s regular meeting at the Mission Memorial Annex Conference Room.

If the change order/contract amendment is under $50,000, approval only requires an engineer from the consultant managing the project and the HART contract manager to sign off. If the amount is between $50,000 and $100,000, just the HART Deputy Project Officer Administration and Controls (DAC) and the HART Deputy Project Officer Engineering and Construction (DEC) need to approve it. And if the total request ranges from $100,000 to $1 million, the Change Control Board is the designated authority.

A question arose over whether there was a dispute between the contractor and the board over, for instance, a $500,000 request. In this case, HART administrator Frank Doyle said, there is a contract resolution procedure that would kick in. This process involves efforts to mediate the controversy before heading to court.

There are some $15 million in change orders pending, Horner said.

As an aside, the chair underscored the importance of receiving monthly reports on a regular basis. He noted that the last one the board received was in November.

“I’m looking forward to more timely reports,” Horner said.

Doyle assured him that this would be resolved by next meeting.

Check out these documents from today’s meeting:

• Contract Allowance Change Order and Contract Amendment Procedure
• Contract Change Order Procedure
• Contract Change Management Procedure

— Nathan Eagle