Gov. Josh Green just signed a bill into law that stands to change the way we manage tourism in this town.
Senate Bill 1571 makes the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority Board of Directors an advisory board again, no longer a policy-making board, following criticism about governance and oversight.
One issue high on the priority list is the contract for the Hawaiʻi Convention Center repairs.
Keith Regan, the state comptroller at the Department of Accounting and General Services, has been tasked with taking over the project of fixing the flagship venue's leaky roof.
Regan may be well-positioned to do that, given that he previously served at the HTA before taking on the job as director at DAGS. He said the deadline for bids may have to be extended past June 20.
Interview highlights
On DAGS stepping in to assist the repair project
KEITH REGAN: We were asked to step in and support the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority and DBEDT (Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism), as well as the convention center, when it became apparent that there was a need for some additional support on this particular project. And given some of our background, my background, in particular, having worked for the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority for many years and having been involved in some of the CIP (capital improvement plan) work in supporting those activities within the center, the reason why they reached out was because there was some familiarity with the convention center. Plus, this is what we do at DAGS. We handle large CIP projects, we build buildings, we handle complex projects, such as this rooftop project, and we have a team of people within our operation that have that experience and that knowledge and that background.
On the current stage of the project
REGAN: We’re reviewing the documents that have been created. There were over, I think, 34 documents that were part of this RFP (request for proposal) for the rooftop project, and then some additional contract documents that they were working on prior to our stepping in to help. We have to spend some time going through those. We literally just sat down with the HTA last week and the convention center and their consultants to go over preliminary topics related to the rooftop project. … We're asking for a couple of weeks to review these documents. During that time, we’ll be going back and forth with the HTA and with the convention center. We will have some questions about what we are looking at within those documents, and hopefully, it won't delay the project by too much. ... It is a complex project, and it's a critical project for the state. We recognize that. I recognize that, with my background, having been there for, like I said, for many years, that getting this convention center up and running and not leaking into these ballrooms is essential and critical for our economy.
On the time frame of the project
REGAN: I believe it's going to be approximately a two-year process. This is a huge undertaking; this is not something that is going to be done in a month or two. It's going to require extensive work on the rooftop, essentially removing the materials, getting down to the base pan that's there, fixing whatever rotten material might be underneath there that is causing some of the leaking, and then putting back all the waterproofing material and the concrete and the pavers and and everything else. ... We are aligned with what the convention center, the HTA and DBEDT have proposed as it relates to the closure of the center.
On the value of the Hawaiʻi Convention Center
REGAN: I think it has proven itself to be a multi-use facility, including being used during crises. We saw that during hurricane season, that facility has been stood up as a shelter in the past, including some tremendous support for COVID when we had to shut down and move the entire unemployment insurance operation over from DLIR (Department of Labor and Industrial Relations) and stand that massive operation up in the convention center. So I think the facility itself has really proven that it is much more than just a convention center.
On the possible effects of tariffs on the project, currently anticipated to cost between $55 million and $60 million
REGAN: There's a lot of material in this project that may be subject to tariffs, and we keep hearing sort of this back-and-forth discussion from Washington about steel and aluminum, right, and these 50% tariffs, and now they're on, and now they're off, or now they're 20% or whatever they may be. It is definitely causing some concern within the project team.
This story aired on The Conversation on June 4, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
