Contracts to conduct a poll of 900 residents and to buy a half-hour of TV time on three local stations for Mayor Mufi Hannemann's "State of the Rail" speech are not subject to direct public scrutiny because the agreements were conducted through rail contractor Parsons Brinckerhoff.

In response to an Advertiser Freedom of Information Act request, city Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka said in a letter dated Nov. 18 that both contracts were arranged by Parsons Brinckerhoff, and therefore, no "record of procurement" exists in city files.

The values of the two deals are relatively small compared to the project's estimated $5.5 billion cost. However, the way the contracts were awarded makes it difficult for the public to review whether the city got the best deal for the money, how much competition was solicited or other information typically available from records kept on government contracts subject to open- records laws.

The city has said it spent $10,000 to broadcast Hannemann's Oct. 29 speech on KGMB, KHNL and KFVE. The city did not disclose how much was spent on a QMark Research poll of attitudes toward rail that was released during the speech. However, Parsons Brinckerhoff recently said the poll cost $18,000.

Parsons Brinckerhoff De-puty Project Manager Mark Scheibe said the company contacted three TV stations before agreeing to buy air time on KGMB, KHNL and KFVE. However, Parsons Brinckerhoff may not have solicited competitors to QMark for the poll because Parsons Brinckerhoff was satisfied with the services provided by QMark for a prior transit poll, Scheibe said.

New York-based transportation engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff has received two city train-related contracts worth about $100 million. Under its transit contract, the firm has awarded work to 64 subcontractors, according to a Nov. 2 letter from Yoshioka to City Councilman Charles Djou. Djou asked Yoshioka for an updated list of subcontractors Sept. 30.

QMark Research & Polling, which conducted the poll, was not included on the list of the Parsons Brinckerhoff subcontractors. Neither KHNL owner Raycom Media Inc. or KGMB owner MCG Capital Corp. were listed as Parsons Brinckerhoff subcontractors, either. Scheibe said the poll and TV air time were purchased via vendor agreements rather than through subcontracts.

Buying those services through Parsons Brinckerhoff is legal, but "makes it more difficult to follow the accounting and to follow the money trail," Djou said. "We would prefer to have a more transparent government and have everything done on the up and up."