Posted on: Wednesday, May 7, 2003

City sued over awarding of Waimea Falls contract

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

A company whose application to operate the Waimea Falls Park was rejected last month has sued the city, saying city officials violated procurement laws and did not act in good faith.

The lawsuit was filed in Circuit Court yesterday on behalf of Waimea Management Corp. by attorneys Andrew Beaman, Allen Sakai and Susan Cachero Sakai. Named as defendants were city Managing Director Ben Lee, Budget and Fiscal Services Director Ivan Lui-Kwan and Parks and Recreation Director William Balfour.

Waimea Management Corp. is asking for a temporary injunction to prevent the city and City Council from proceeding with a long-term management contract with the National Audubon Society. The company also is asking that it be awarded the contract, or that the city be required to reopen the bidding process.

City spokeswoman Carol Costa said city officials had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment. But Corporation Counsel David Ara-kawa said through Costa that, "the request for proposals process was conducted properly under the law."

The lawsuit was filed a day before the City Council was to vote on a resolution to authorize the selection of the Audubon Society to operate the park. The resolution was approved by the council's Budget Committee April 23.

On April 16, Mayor Jeremy Harris announced that the Audubon Society was picked by a five-member selection committee to take over operation of the 1,875-acre park on June 26. The society was chosen over Waimea Management Corp. after a long evaluation.

The city plans to complete acquisition of the park in a condemnation trial set for July 7. The trial will determine the value of the land.

Waimea Management has a lease agreement with the city to run the park, but that agreement expires June 25. The company was one of four firms to respond to a request for proposals, along with the Audubon Society, Volume Services America (VSA) and the Royal Order of Kamehameha I.

The lawsuit says the Audubon Society and VSA bids should have been disqualified because they submitted multiple proposals that stated they would "partner with each other" to operate the park. The two entities colluded and violated provisions of the state procurement code, the lawsuit said.

At an Aug. 27, 2002, meeting with the selection committee, the lawsuit said, the Audubon Society was granted a request to resubmit a bid because officials said they misunderstood the provisions of the request for proposals. Waimea Management was not given the same opportunity, the lawsuit said.

Five days after the Audubon Society was selected, Waimea Management filed a protest. The lawsuit said the city at that point was required to stay the award of the contract, but failed to do so.

Correction: The condemnation trial to determine the value of Waimea Falls Park land is scheduled for July 7. A previous version of this story had a different date.