Rail CEO says her staff was ‘distraught,’ ‘outraged’ after clash with HART board
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The CEO of Honolulu’s rail project says her staff was “outraged” and “distraught” after a clash with rail board leaders last week.
Frustrations over leadership and staffing erupted at a HART board meeting — and some are worried about the future of the $10 billion project.
Last Friday’s Human Resources Committee meeting at the HART board came to a head after board members learned a key project leader had suddenly quit citing family reasons.
Kahikina spoke on The Rick Hamada Program on NewsRadio 830 KHVH on Friday.
“I was disappointed at how that meeting went,” said Kahikina.
She added that her staff watches the meetings.
‘Bleeding out’: HART board members express concern after key project leader quits
“They were very distraught by the time I came upstairs. One of them was actually crying and I had about six people lined up in my office after that just so outraged at how I was treated,” she said.
Kahikina says she wrote an email to “calm the nerves down of our staff because they did not think that that was appropriate whether you’re a rail fan or not,” she said.
There were tense exchanges with Kahikina, HART board Chair Colleen Hanabusa and Human Resources Committee Chair Michele Chun Brunngraber.
Board member Natalie Iwasa described it as “yelling” while Chun Brunngraber described the meeting as “an energetic discussion about Nate Meddings’ resignation.”
“I’m not sure if the last report included Nate’s departure or not but members, we are not in a good place,” said Hanabusa, at a board meeting on Friday.
In a statement, Chun Brunngraber called it “shocking” that a critical HART leader had resigned. She says the situation had gone on for at least three weeks without Kahikina informing the board, working to accommodate the employee, or working with the board to come up with ideas.
“It brought to a head the frustrations the board has had over a year regarding personnel, leadership and reporting/transparency,” she said.
Kahikina says she met with that employee four times, but he already made up his mind.
“Here we are with a HART board battering our CEO and creating this corrosive atmosphere. It is not good for HART, it is not good for the bidders, it is not good for us,” said Iwasa.
On Wednesday, at a City Council hearing, Iwasa defended Kahikina and raised concerns about rail’s future as the last major contract to build into the city center is out for bid.
“What is going to happen if Lori decides to leave? I think she’s worked really hard to rebuild relationships that were destroyed when we had billion dollar costs coming out of the wood,” said Iwasa.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi appointed Hanabusa to the HART board and has been a supporter of Kahikina. His spokesman told Hawaii News Now he’s not going to comment.
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