For the second week in a row, the University of Hawai'i-Manoa Faculty Senate has delayed taking a formal position on a proposed contract between the Navy and UH, which also likely pushes back UH Board of Regents consideration by at least a month.

Sara Rutter, chairwoman of the senate ad hoc committee on the Navy university affiliated research center, said yesterday that her committee has yet to receive a final report from outside legal counsel hired to review a draft contract released Oct. 7.

That has delayed the publishing of the committee's final findings, she said.

"They (legal counsel) have been struggling to analyze the contract and put a report together," Rutter said.

As a result, a special faculty senate meeting on the UARC scheduled for today was canceled. Instead the senate is expected to meet and take a formal — but advisory — vote on UARC at its next monthly meeting scheduled for Nov. 16, said Robert Bley-Vroman, faculty senate chairman.

Manoa interim chancellor Denise Konan has said her decision on the UARC greatly hinges on the advisory position of the faculty.

But the delays in the senate's recommendation also derail administration plans to send the UARC proposal to the Board of Regents for consideration at its Nov. 17 meeting, said Manoa spokesman Jim Manke.

Even if the faculty senate were to take a vote on the UARC on Nov. 16 , it is unlikely that the board of regents would hear the proposal this month, Manke said.

Gary Ostrander, vice chancellor of research, said the delay would not sink the deal between the Navy and UH. "There is no deadline, and if it slows down on our end, I don't see that as a deal breaker," said Ostrander.

Before the proposal goes to the board of regents, the UH administration would still have to schedule a public forum, said Carolyn Tanaka, a university spokeswoman.

And the earliest regents could hear the UARC proposal would be January, because the board traditionally does not meet in December, Tanaka said.

But "there are possibilities if it (the UARC proposal) is not heard at the November meeting, we can request a special meeting of the board in December," said Kathleen Cutshaw, vice chancellor for administration.

Two resolutions will be posed before the faculty senators — one against the UARC contract and the other against it unless certain terms are met, said Bley-Vroman.

There will be no "yes" resolution, he said, mainly because most faculty members fall into two camps — they are either against it or do not oppose it.

If both resolutions fail, the senate essentially will have voted in favor of the UARC, he said.

But a final decision on the UARC could be delayed further if at least 100 members of the Manoa faculty petition to overturn senate action, Bley-Vroman said. Since the issue is so controversial, he said, factions could rise up against the senate's decision no matter which way it goes.

"I can well imagine that happening," Bley-Vroman said.

UH officials have said the center could bring in an estimated $50 million in research money, a number that has been disputed by opponents of the UARC.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.