DIA_Airport_Roof Stan Koniz, a top administrator at Denver International Airport, has been placed on leave and is being investigated after he says he was asked to resign but refused. That’s according to CBS4, which quotes Koniz, who has worked at the airport for a decade, as saying, “I couldn’t believe it. I was dumbstruck.” Koniz, who claims he has always received positive employee evaluations, says he’s not quite sure why he was suspended, but claims he was accused of insubordination and overstepping his authority after questioning the affordability of a redesign at DIA. The Denver Post reports on the possible $1 billion effort to upgrade DIA and Airport Manager Kim Day’s efforts to solicit support from members of the Denver City Council. The grand plan includes construction of a hotel at the airport, a new commuter rail station, and other transit improvements. Koniz claims Day made decisions without consulting with him on the financial implications. “I told her, ‘Kim, we can’t afford this,'” Koniz says.

A DIA spokeswoman declined to discuss the suspension in detail, calling it a “personnel matter,” denying, however, any conflict over finances between Koniz and Day. Koniz isn’t the only one concerned about the costs. Earlier this month, 5280’s Julie Dugdale posed the question, “Is DIA’s Great Hall renovation really necessary?”