Published By: Commission
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MINUTES COMMISSIONERS The Honorable Ann Moller Caen, President |
DEPARTMENTS AND ENTERPRISES Water Enterprise Gavin Newsom Michael Housh |
ORDER OF BUSINESS:
1. Call to Order: 1:35 P.M.
2. Roll Call: Present – Vice President E. Dennis Normandy, Commissioner Richard Sklar, and Commissioner David Hochschild
President Ann Moller Caen and Commissioner Ryan L. Brooks were excused.
The Commissioners then stood and began the meeting by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. Approval of Minutes
Vice President Normandy requested the following changes to the draft minutes: on Page 4, in the 2nd paragraph to clarify if there was to be an update at the January 8th meeting on the Wastewater Master Plan presentation made at previous meeting; and on page 8, to explain the need for the Declaration of Necessity related to the likely participation in the program of some if not all of the Commissioners in the solar incentive program under discussion and on page 10, Vice President Normandy asked if further clarification was needed concerning an observation made by Commissioner Sklar as to the ability of the Commission to act on collections of bids involved in the 525 Golden Gate Avenue Project. Commission Secretary Michael Housh stated the minute’s report of these items would be corrected.
Moved by Commissioner Sklar, seconded by Commissioner Hochschild, to adopt the Minutes of the January 8, 2008, Regular Meeting as clarified; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
4. Public Comments
Members of the public may address the Commission on matters that are within the Commission’s jurisdiction and not on today’s agenda.
There were no comments.
5. Communications
Commissioner Sklar noted and expressed dismay that in the Report of the Controller on the rates increases adopted by the Commission last year that the pass-through proposed at that time was now 8 months later still pending before the Board of Supervisors without action having been taken. Vice President Normandy requested Deputy Manager Tony Irons to encourage the Board to act on the item. Vice President Normandy expressed appreciation that staff had promptly and effectively addressed a billing problem experienced by a Mr. Brady after his property was vandalized.
In response to a follow up question by Vice President Normandy asking if questions posed by Mr. Steve Lawrence had been addressed, the Mr. Irons reported that Mr. Lawrence’s questions, many concerning very technical aspects of the Water System Improvement Program that in many cases required additional research, were being given a response; and those in the public realm were responded to as required by the Sunshine Ordinance.
6. Other Commission Business
Commissioner Hochschild requested an update on the CT’s Program at the next meeting. Vice President Normandy asked if the Solar Incentive Program might likely be placed on the ballot and inquired of the Deputy City Attorney regarding the Commission’s appropriate stance in regard to this situation. Ms. Ambrose proposed to provide the appropriate opinion offering guidance as to what would be appropriate. Vice President Normandy commented that given recent rain and snow that our water outlook has now improved and Michael Carlin Assistant General Manager for the Water Enterprise presented a short response.
7. Honoring Dedicated Public Service
Vice President Normandy requested Acting General Manager Tony Irons introduce the meeting’s honorees. Mr. Irons provided a brief profile of the dedicated public service provided by these three distinguished public servants.
a) Mr. Don Larramendy, 35 years Deputy Manager, Water Enterprise
b) Mr. Richard Johnson, 40 years Senior Water Service Inspector
c) Ms. Carmen Magana, Supervising Photographer, San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Authority and Municipal Railroad
Mr. Irons commended Mr. Larramendy’s decades of exemplary contributions and leadership and acknowledged Mr. Johnson’s rise through the ranks to make many important contributions to the Agency throughout his 40 years of service. The Acting General Manager then applauded Ms. Magana for her critical role in preserving the photographic archives of the PUC when they were under the care of MUNI and called attention to her assistance which had greatly facilitated their transfer back to the care of the Public Utilities Commission where they have proven to be absolutely crucial in understanding the as built nature of many of our ongoing projects. Vice President Normandy recalled Mr. Larramendy’s assistance when he first joined the Commission and recounted a humorous incident involving too much lunch and a helicopter tour. Vice President Normandy lauded Ms. Magana’s exemplary contributions in preserving the PUC Archives as well as those made by PUC staffers Harlan Kelly, Kathy How, Karen Watson, and Karen Dutiel, noting that 10 years ago pioneering efforts to preserve our historic records was begun by Joseph Cowan, Jonathan Chow and Andrew DeGraca who took the lead in preserving critically important drawings held in the Millbrae office.
Vice President Normandy noted that President Caen was following this meeting online from on board a ship in South America and sent greetings.
8. Report of the General Manager
a) Water System Improvement Program/Capital Program (WSIP)/ Wastewater Master Plan
Mr. Irons reported that at the next Commission meeting Assistant General Manager for Wastewater Tommy Moala would provide an update on the Wastewater Master Plan, and then introduced WSIP Director Julie Labonte to present an update on the WSIP.
Ms. Labonte noted two issues she proposed to address the Construction Management Services to be divided between six regional and four specialized projects such as the Calaveras, New Crystal Springs Bypass and the Bay Tunnel project. Ms. Labonte discussed the final resource allocations for these projects expected to cost $38 million. Ms. Labonte next described the kinds of specialized construction management work needed and outlined how these construction management projects would be managed through allocation of 15% of the total evaluation of the total fee schedule, capping the multiplier, and controlling the maximum billing rate.
In response to a question by Commissioner Sklar, Ms. Labonte and Mr. Irons discussed how this matrix of allocations and maximum billing rate represented the best contemporary model to control costs and facilitate better quality bids. Next Ms. Labonte noted that at the next Commission meeting, she proposed to bring the proposed recommendation of three Water System Improvement Program Workshops for program budget and schedule changes to the Commission for their review and approval in accordance with the requirements of AB1823 and that the required notice of these proposed changes had been posted.
b) Update on Recent Progress at Lake Merced - Mr. David Behar
Mr. Behar presented a detailed overview and update on the background to and the great progress made in the stabilization and restoration of Lake Merced. Mr. Behar reported in detail on the results of the Alternatives Analysis Report concerning proper lake levels and water replenishment. Mr. Behar described how this 600 acre water facility in Southwestern corner of San Francisco could be managed in a manner consistent with a 2006 Resolution by the Board of Supervisors. He next outlined the WSIP project to restore the lake to a functional target level from a low point as a result of the impact of groundwater pumping and hydrologic conditions in this case of a drought. Mr. Behar then discussed how the lake water levels were restored from their low point in 1992. Mr. Behar called attention to the ten year efforts made by the members of the Lake Merced Task Force in restoring Lake Merced. Mr. Behar explained how a cross disciplinary team as well as citizen advisors were moving forward to finalize a consensus plan for the future.
Commissioner Hochschild recalling issues from his service on the Lake Merced Task Force asked concerning the issue of saltwater infusion and was informed that as the bottom of the Lake was above sea level and monitoring instruments were installed to keep watch but it was felt this to be a low risk problem. Next the Commissioner asked concerning lead issues resulting from the decades of use of the shoreline for target shooting by the Pacific Rod & Gun Club. It was reported that while the lead issue was of concern, monitoring would be continued, and the Pacific Rod & Gun Club were close to signing a contract to conduct a study of these issues.
Public Comment
Robert B. Maddow, Attorney At Law representing the Olympic Club applauded the Alternatives Analysis Report (AAR) and expressed the Club’s strong support for efforts to improve the Lake. In addition, he also expressed support for continued dialog for the development the proposed John Muir Wetlands that adjoin the Club property. Mr. Maddow urged that the PUC pursue an integrated management rather than a piecemeal approach.
Mondy Lariz, California Trout and Lake Merced Task Force, expressed support for the AAR and noted that this recommended solution met the best environmental recommendation in that it used Hetch Hechy water last in replenishment.
Tim Colen, Vice Chair and Founding member of the Lake Merced Task Force expressed strong support for the direction that the PUC and the proposed AAR were going and urged that it continue.
DeeDee Workman, San Francisco Beautiful and an original co-convener of the Lake Merced Task Force. Applauded the progress on the Watershed Master Plan and called attention to the serious reversal of fortune since its recovery and stewardship were taken up by the PUC.
Vice President Normandy noted that he served as President when all of this was begun and in particular called attention to the critically important role played by Assistant General Manager of Water Michael Carlin in saving the Lake.
c) Water Main Break in the Mission
Mr. Michael Carlin reported on the staff’s rapid response to a recent break in a 16” main at 26th and Valencia that affected service in the area around San Francisco General Hospital for two hours. Mr. Carlin noted that despite a very congested subsurface site, the water main was quickly repaired thereafter restored to service.
In answer to questions by Commissioner Sklar and Commissioner Hochschild, Mr. Carlin reported the water main was an old pipe and was located roughly 8” below the street and that staff were still trying to determine the cause. In response to a follow up question as to how often this occurred, Mr. Carlin observed that such breaks were relatively uncommon but spectacular when they occurred and drew a lot of attention.
CONSENT CALENDAR
9. All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Calendar, are considered to be routine by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and will be acted upon by a single vote of the Commission. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Commission or the public so requests, in which event the matter will be removed from the Consent Calendar and considered as a separate item.
Moved by Commissioner Sklar, seconded by Commissioner Hochschild, to adopt item (a) listed under the Consent Calendar; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
a) Resolution No. 0009: Ratify the Declaration of Emergency made by the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, dated December 20, 2007 and approved by the President of the Commission. The work consists of replacing the existing sewer located on Henry Adams Street from Alabama Street to 15th Street.
Agenda item 9b was taken off the Consent Calendar. Commissioner Hochschild inquired why. Commission Secretary Michael Housh stated that some additional explanatory paperwork was needed before the item could be released.
Agenda Item 9b was pulled.
b) Staff Recommendation: Authorize the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to request permission from the Board of Supervisors to accept and expend grant funds totaling $995,791 from the Public Interest Energy Research Biofuels Program, as administered by the California Energy Commission (CEC), and to execute all required agreements.
REGULAR BUSINESS
10. Discussion and possible action related to approving a request for a proposed $242,305,000 Supplemental Appropriation for the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) for Calendar Year (CY) 2008.
A substitute resolution with clarified figures was distributed to the Commissioners, staff, and members of the audience.
Moved by Commissioner Hochschild, seconded by Commissioner Sklar, to adopt the following item; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
Resolution No. 08-0010:
Approve the request for a proposed $242,305,000.
Supplemental Appropriation for the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) for Calendar Year (CY) 2008.
In response to a question by Commissioner Sklar, Ms. Labonte confirmed that the supplemental reflected continuation of ongoing expenditure patterns and was not out of the ordinary.
11. Discussion and possible action related to Authorize the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to finalize and execute on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco, a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Forest Service.
Moved by Commissioner Hochschild, seconded by Commissioner Sklar, to adopt the following item; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
Resolution No. 08-0011:
Authorize the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to finalize and execute on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco, a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Forest Service (USFS) for the amount of $92,660 to be completed by February 28, 2009.
12. Discussion and possible action related to authorize the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), between the SFPUC and the City and County of San Francisco (City) to establish the SFPUC’s intent and obligation to provide funding for payment or repayment of Certificates of Participation (COPs) used to finance construction of a building at 525 Golden Gate Avenue. Further, to authorize a lease of 525 Golden Gate Avenue and authorizes the General Manager to execute other agreement(s) and/or document(s) developed in consultation with the City Attorney to complete the COPs transaction.
Commissioner Sklar expressed his appreciation to the Acting General Manager for providing the detailed reports concerning his follow-on to the Commission’s concerns and recommendations for oversight of the 525 Golden Gate Avenue.
Moved by Commissioner Hochschild, seconded by Commissioner Sklar, to adopt the following item; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
Resolution No. 08-0012:
Approve the resolution authorizing the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to execute an MOU, and authorizing the lease and other necessary documents needed to have COPs issued in the amount of approximately $158 million of which approximately $130.6 million in proceeds will be used to construct a new office building at 525 Golden Gate Avenue.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS
Award
13. Discussion and possible action related to approving the selection of Chaves & Associates; award Agreement No. CS-890, Records Management Services for capital programs and projects and authorize the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to negotiate and execute a professional services agreement or, in the event negotiations are not successful or City requirements are not satisfied, to re-advertise the RFP for Records Management Services.
In response to Vice President Normandy, Assistant General Manager of Infrastructure Harlan Kelly confirmed and emphasized the importance of this key step in establishing good record keeping from the onset of the program that he was certain pay big dividends when quick access to these records was needed later in the program. Vice President Normandy then exercised his prerogative as chair to move the item.
Moved by Vice President Normandy, seconded by Commissioner Hochschild, to adopt the following item; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
Resolution No. 0013:
Approve the selection of Chaves & Associates; award Agreement No. CS-890, Records Management Services for capital programs and projects, to provide records management support in capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about the business activities and transactions throughout the environmental, planning, design, construction, and close-out phases of programs and projects, including Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) projects; and authorize the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to negotiate and execute a professional services agreement with Chaves & Associates for an amount not to exceed $1,200,000, and with a duration of three (3) years, or, in the event negotiations are not successful or City requirements are not satisfied, to re-advertise the RFP for Records Management Services.
14. Discussion and possible action related to approve the selection of ESA; RMC Water and Environment; URS; and Winzler & Kelly Consulting Engineers; award four Water Enterprise Water System Improvement Program-funded/Wastewater Enterprise 5-Year CIP-funded Agreement Nos. CS-883A, CS-883B, CS-883C and CS-883D, respectively, for As-Needed Environmental Services and authorize the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to negotiate and execute these four professional services agreements or, in the event negotiations are not successful or City requirements are not satisfied, to negotiate and execute a professional services agreement with the next highest ranked proposer.
Moved by Commissioner Sklar, seconded by Commissioner Hochschild, to adopt the following item; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
Resolution No. 08-0014:
Approve the selection of ESA; RMC Water and Environment; URS; and Winzler & Kelly Consulting Engineers; award four Water Enterprise Water System Improvement Program-funded/Wastewater Enterprise 5-Year CIP-funded Agreement Nos. CS-883A, CS-883B, CS-883C and CS-883D, respectively, for As-Needed Environmental Services, to provide environmental survey and analysis services; and authorize the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to negotiate and execute four professional services agreements with ESA; RMC Water and Environment; URS; and Winzler & Kelly Consulting Engineers for amounts not to exceed $2,450,000, and with durations of 36 months, or, in the event negotiations are not successful or City requirements are not satisfied, to negotiate and execute a professional services agreement with the next highest ranked proposer.
Amend
15. Discussion and possible action related to Approve Amendment No. 2 to Water Enterprise Water System Improvement Program-funded Agreement No. CS-730, Specialized Tunnel Design and Geotechnical Services and authorize the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to execute this amendment.
In response to a question by Commissioner Sklar concerning the size of the increased costs, Ms. Labonte explained that the scope of work had expanded and as this was underground work there was always a possibility that unknown and unknowable conditions might be discovered as work progressed but that this proposal fell within project expectations.
Moved by Commissioner Sklar, seconded by Commissioner Hochschild, to adopt the following item; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
Resolution No. 08-0015:
Approve Amendment No. 2 to Water Enterprise Water System Improvement Program-funded Agreement No. CS-730, Specialized Tunnel Design and Geotechnical Services, New Crystal Springs Bypass (Polhemus) Tunnel, with Arup Brierley Associates, JV, for 1) Additional engineering design support, 2) Additional engineering support during environmental review for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) certification, and 3) Additional engineering support during construction, and authorize the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to execute this amendment increasing the agreement by $973,000, for a total agreement amount of $2,799,191 with time extension of two years and seven months.
CLOSED SESSION
16. Public comments on matters to be discussed in Closed Session.
No comments were offered.
17. Motion on whether to assert the attorney-client privilege regarding the matters listed below as Conference with Legal Counsel.
Moved by Commissioner Sklar, seconded by Commissioner Hochschild, to assert the attorney-client privilege and go into a closed session; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
The Public Utilities Commission went into Closed Session at 2:36 P.M. to discuss the following items.
18. Threat to Public Services or Facilities – Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54957 and San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(a). (Ambrose)
Present were Vice President E. Dennis Normandy, Commissioner Richard Sklar, Commissioner David Hochschild, Acting General Manager Tony Irons, SFPUC Legal Counsel Noreen Ambrose, Deputy City Attorney Josh Milstein, Assistant General Manager of Water Michael Carlin, Assistant General Manager of Finance Scott Macdonald, and Commission Secretary Michael Housh.
Consultation with: Agency Chief of Security concerning security of SFPUC Water and Power Systems.
There was no discussion on this item.
19. Conference with Legal Counsel – Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54956.9 (b) and (c) and San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10 (d) (2) (Ambrose)
Anticipated Litigation: As Defendant.
There was no action taken.
20. Conference with Legal Counsel - Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54956.9(a) and San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(d) (Rothschild)
Moved by Commissioner Sklar, seconded by Commissioner Hochschild, to adopt the following item; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
Resolution No. 0016:
Christine Nakatani/Briar Rose LLC – City Attorney
File No 08-01292 - Filed November 27, 2007
The Commission reconvened in Open Session at 3:13 P.M.
21. Announcement following Closed Session.
Following Closed Session, Vice President Normandy announced the actions taken during Closed Session as no action on Items 18 and 19 and approval of Item 20.
22. Motion regarding whether to disclose the discussions during Closed Session.
Moved by Commissioner Sklar, seconded by Commissioner Hochschild, not to disclose the discussions during Closed Session; passed (3-0 Normandy, Sklar and Hochschild) unanimously.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 3:14 P.M.
Michael Housh
Secretary
