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A consultant for Aloha Stadium has reimbursed the state more than $441,000 after an audit last year found that the firm charged the state for exorbitant travel expenses and excessive costs.

The audit, completed in June, was the result of a Civil Beat story in March 2023 that detailed the costs of a contract with Crawford Architects, the state’s primary consultant for the new stadium development. Chris Kinimaka, a special projects manager for the state Department of Accounting and General Services, said there was some confusion over how travel expenses were being applied.

“They were treating us more like a private sector type of entity, where they included expenses we don’t normally allow as the government,” said Kinimaka, who formerly headed the public works division. 

Crawford returned $441,000 to the state in August, Kinimaka said. Those funds represent travel-related expenses that weren’t supposed to be reimbursed.

The audit questioned a multitude of expenses and said that it was not clear how some were related to the contract. Here are some of the audit’s findings:

• Reimbursements for first-class airfare violated contract provisions, and price quotes for flights weren’t obtained.
• Some meal receipts lacked details including one at Nico’s Upstairs that included people who were not on the project team.
• The $22,000 in rent the state spent for 71 nights at a Kakaako condo cost more per night than the average hotel room in Waikiki at the time.
• Questionable rideshare expenses included travel to restaurants, walkable locations, a midnight ride from a Hawaii Kai home and a $148 Lyft Lux Black ride at the same time the team rented an SUV.
• Discretionary payments, premium fees and exorbitant charges included entry to the Delta Sky Club, tips for rideshare drivers, optional resort fees, HDMI cables and umbrellas from Walmart and “batteries, sunscreen, baby powder, Tums and sore throat lozenges from the ABC Store.”

The audit also questioned a 15% markup the consultants applied to certain expenses. Kinimaka said those markups weren’t allowed and were part of the funds that Crawford reimbursed to the state.

“We went through with a fine-tooth comb,” Kinimaka said. “Line by line, every expense, corroborated meetings and what was approved and not approved.”

The audit recommended that the state only approve economy fare for flights, provide per diems in lieu of reimbursing meals and set a hotel allowance.

It also called for the state to approve travel itineraries and ensure that expenses are related to actual work on the contract. The audit noted stopovers in other cities, and that it wasn’t clear how those trips were related to stadium work. The audit also pointed to hundreds of dollars in airfare change fees — all reimbursed by the state — in March 2019 as well as other short but frequent trips that racked up expenses on airfare.

The state should also require justification for rideshare and taxi expenses, the audit said. The consultants submitted some Uber receipts for reimbursement with questionable addresses and no explanation, according to the audit.

The audit said the state should also exclude gratuities, optional fees and similar payments from reimbursement as well as require clear and legible receipts and supporting documentation for all costs.

All of the audits recommendations on tightening what consultants can be reimbursed for are being implemented as part of a new policy meant to standardize oversight of state consultant contracts.

Public Works Administrator Gordon Wood said each branch in DAGS handled its consultants differently. He hopes this new policy provides a clear path for state employees evaluating travel expenses. For example, what happens when a consultant has multiple legs of a trip, or needs to stay on different islands.

“We try to look ahead at all the various types of combinations that might occur so we already have guidance to whoever is reviewing invoices for travel so they can be applied consistently across the board,” Wood said.

Meanwhile, The Stadium Plan Goes Forward

The state is sticking with the Missouri-based Crawford Architects as the project enters its next stage.

“They’re going to continue as per the original contract,” Kinimaka said.

The state will be evaluating proposals from two development teams competing for the rights to build a new stadium and develop housing and an entertainment district in the surrounding area in Halawa.

Proposals are due in September with a contract expected to be awarded in June 2025. The Crawford contract is now worth about $31 million, and the consulting team will soon be transitioning to a construction management role once the development contract is awarded.

Crawford is expected to stay on as the state’s consultant until the stadium is constructed, according to Kinimaka. Crawford declined to comment on this story. Its contract has been amended to comply with new state guidelines on travel expenses.

Read the audit below: