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Tuesday, April 17, 2012
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>> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the meeting of the san francisco municipal
transportation agency board of directors.
>> director bridges is anticipated.
[ Roll call]
item three.
The ringing and use of electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting.
Any person responsible for one
going off May be asked to leave the room.
cell phones said on violet --
vibrate position will affect the microphones.
Ladies and gentlemen, due to the
fire code, we cannot allow
people to stand on either side. To the extent there are seats available in this room, if you would please find one.
Otherwise, we will ask you to adjourn to room 416.
You' ll be able to observe the proceedings.
If people could find a seat, that would be appreciated.
>> motion to approve.
>> item 5, communication.
>>
because of the great interest
in item having to do without --
the free muni for
youth, I
would ask that we skipped down to item 11.
and then to the regular
calendar, and then come back.
The newer continuing business, the executive director' s report, and the like.
I would like to say that at the last board meeting, two weeks
ago,
the board closed comment -- public comment on a staff recommendation.
The board has received new
information about the impacts of that approval.
Therefore, I board reopened only
that part of the public hearing
for that particular -- we do not
want to hear anything but your comments on the report. At. -- if you start talking about
something other than that, I will ask you to stay specifically on that, ok?
the board has received extensive public comment on this.
A great deal of written correspondence, personal correspondence.
I will ask members of the public to speak on that issue. One minute, ok?
>> directors, moving on to item 11 on your agenda.
Authorizing the director to
execute the contract for the radio system replacement
contract for a term not to exceed 1200 calendar days.
directors, there has been no one
that offered an interest to speak to you.
>> as he gets the brief
presentation ready to go, I want
to preface this with emphasizing
how when pour into this is to
the functioning -- important this is to the functioning of the mta.
This contract is a much larger
undertaking that will bring us
into the modern age in terms of real time communications that we used to manage the system.
This has impacts, not just for radio communication, but for our
transportation management center, which you have approved.
I know if it has been a high priority for this board.
making sure we have a new system in place when we bring the central subway online.
It is an incredibly important project for the city.
It has been a long process to get to this point.
>> good afternoon.
i am with the capital construction division. I am pleased today to be in
front of you this afternoon with
a brief presentation on one of our most essential projects.
Today it marks the combination of several -- culmination of several years of staff effort to
bring a modern state of the art
visual, audio, data communication system to the sfmta.
>> [Inaudible]
>> by way of background, our
current mta system is a 30-year- old conventional analog system that is way past its useful life.
It is no longer being supported by manufacturers.
We have difficulties finding parts for maintenance.
it is limited in the features
that it provides and accommodates the very limited number of users.
There are only seven voice channels, including one in the subway.
Beginning in 200013, it will fail to comply with the federal
communications commission -- 2013, it will fail to comply with the fcc.
We will no longer be in compliance with that and we will need to replace the system.
the new radio system and will
bring sfmta with a modern digital voice and data communication system that would
not only the requirements, but
will bring a host of other
modern features that will help us in our operations.
There will be a new computer aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location system.
It will bring in new features to
us, things including the ability
to monitor routes and schedules ,
enabling operations personnel to manage and make changes to the system to improve on-time performance.
It does have an incident reporting system that will
automatically reports route information, location information, and a lot of different information and help prepare an incident report.
it also allows transmission of messages through a push of a
single button to bring alerts to provide alerts regarding
situations on a real-time basis.
It will also bring us into
oxalate ada compliance -- a
complete ada compliance system.
The new system will bring a
fully compliant ada compliance system to both our subways and are surface.
Also, it also meets federal
requirements for p25.
It is an open architecture
system that would allow interoperable date between other
compliant -- program 25, I apologize. It is a federal requirement.
And the structure, regardless of manufacture.
It allows us to add or services
to other p25 city agencies, such
as the public works emergency braking system.
-- raising system.
-- rating system.
Highlighting some of the
important features, it would cover all critical areas in the
city, routes, and locations.
Giving us up to 95% geographic coverage in the city.
Thank you.
By comparison, the fire department and the police
department has 97% coverage. 95% coverage is really good for us.
There is only one channel available in the subway for voice communication and that
allows only one conversation to occur.
The new system will make all 14 channels available.
because of its capabilities, it allows more than one user per channel. People have a lot more
capabilities, especially in the
subway -- we will have a lot more capabilities, especially in the subway.
There will be a new digital, a visual announcements and the system throughout the system.
Moving on, there are a lot of capital programs within the
agency that depend on air radio system to continue. Some of them are anxiously
awaiting the completion of this so that they can bring some of those requirements in to their own system.
As an example, the central control and communication
program will depend on the radio
system, to the new transit
management center on market
street in order to bring all the
dispatch and monetary services .
The central subway program also
heavily depends on this project. The systems will be deployed
into this project and the design elements and the frequencies designed into the system will be used by the central subway. They have to build the same requirements into their design specifications.
The traffic signal priority, there is an option for a pilot program under this program which
will enable the agency to take
effective use of these stranded -- stranded signal priorities.
-- transit signal priorities.
Also, our system will be greatly improved to the radio system.
currently, as the train enters
the system, there is a manual
operation by which there is information communicated.
With this new radio system, all the data will be automatically
downloaded as vehicles entered the territory.
there are also a number of optional items that have been
negotiated and priced under this contract.
These optional items will bring even newer features to the
agency, expanded features to the
agency, it should finding be identified.
as part of this request, we are requesting this board to
authorize use of those options
and allow the director of transportation to exercise those
options if and when the funding is identified.
It will bring a host of new features to the agency,
including some radio coverage in service tunnels.
i know that is an awkward term.
I mean places like the broadway
tunnel, for which we currently have no coverage.
We could provide that coverage in the future.
because of the -- we have an aggressive schedule in this contract. All work is to be completed
within 1100 days of notice to proceed to the contractor.
There are damages associated with failure to meet those deadlines.
moving on to the budget, the budgets -- funding has been
identified.
All the ancillary services for
this project through a combination of federal, local, and state funds.
In the past, we will still look for certain additional funding
to hope -- to exercise some of those other options.
With that, I conclude my remarks. I am available for any questions. >> members of the board?
Are the members of the public who have requested to speak? >> no, Mr. Chairman.
>> just to clarify, this will
cover not only the underground, but surface as well? >> yes.
I apologize if I was not clear.
Geographic coverage is 95%.
Including the around 1400 vehicles. >> this will help us with one of our operational goals we have talked about.
It is done to allow the control
center to communicate on a driver to driver basis. >> yes.
Real-time direct communication with vehicles.
It allows them to monitor the routes and schedules.
>> members of the board? Is there a motion?
>> motion to approve. >> second.
Thank you.
>> item 12, authorizing the director of transportation to initiate a pilot program to
provide free muni to either of
low-income use or to all --
youth or to all youth.
>> thank you.
At the last minute, members of
the board as the director of transportation to come back and talk specifically about how this would be paid for.
The free muni for all youth.
you have sent out a report.
I want you to respond to some of the comments we have received recently about [Inaudible]
>> thank you.
Let me first say in the process
of developing a proposed
balanced operating budget and capital budget, that was
presented to you last time,
along the way, the issue of the
need ofyouth and the extent to which the decline of the yellow school buses and the costs of the fast pass and the state of the economy had converged to
create a situation where affordability seem to be a real
issue
for our youth.
I think it was very compelling.
The feedback, it was very compelling.
i was very pleased working in large part because of the leadership of the organizations
representing youth to have been
able to include in the proposed budget to an opportunity for us
to pilot subject of receipt of
some regional funding free muni
for half the kids in san francisco.
That was a tremendous, a significant proposal. Half the kids riding free for the next 22 months.
I want to commend the folks who
brought this issue forward, to the point where we are not discussing whether we should do this, we are discussing to what extent.
That coming to me, is a huge leap forward.
I build a budget based on what I
thought the responsible way was
to address that jury compelling need.
-- a very compelling need . The direction from the board at
the last meeting was for me to
discuss how I would recommend modifying the budget to
incorporate a pilot that would
make muni free for all yout h.
As was the case to the development of the entire budget, the development of this
proposed modification to the
budget is something that I took very seriously.
I endeavored with my staff in good faith to develop what I thought was a responsible
recommendation.
The basic difference is a 22-
month pilot to make muni free for low income use only.
We identified a revenue
lossthe
.
What is not included in those numbers are any increases in service that we May have to
provide as a result of increased ridership.
it was bad delta of $6.6 million of the two-year budget that was
the gap that needed to close.
What I did, looking at the operating budget and a capital
budget, was propose the following.
From the operating budget, I had
proposed a very significant assessment and maintenance of the system. That is the core theme of this budget and it remained so regardless of the outcome today.
$30 million of annual funding to
enhance the level of maintenance we need to provide to our system to make reliable and safe.
because that was something that
was added to the budget, and is not part of the base, and because I have taken all the
steps I could take responsibly
to cut the base, including
reductions in management,
reductions in overtime and workers' comp and equipment
costs, I did not feel like there
was any more base to cut without cutting service.
What I am proposing is $3.8
million production in planned increase expenditures for bus maintenance.
The reason I selected bus maintenance, and this is after
discussions with staff, while we
certainly have needs that far outstretched the generous budget
that we are trying to propose,
in the area of bus maintenance, we have our best and new
opportunity for advancement of fleet purchases to try to
address the underlying bus costs.
Of all the areas I was proposing for increased investment with regard to
maintenance, this was probably
the lowest priority.
That has a lot of assumptions built into its .
In proposing a reduction in what I thought was an important expenditure is not something I take lightly.
I certainly do not mean to be
putting one important versus another. In order for us to find the
additional $6.6 million, there are trade-offs that we have to make.
I know some folks May be do not like that or do not like what I
have chosen, but there are real trade-offs that we have to make.
That is $3.8 million of the $6.6 million.
The other is to reduce from the capital budget.
these are from the lifeline
funds.
$2.1 million would be a
reduction of state prop 1-b
funds that are intended for use
of capital improvements in low- income neighborhoods.
As many of those advocating for
free muni for all youth have
suggested, we have more lifeline funds now that we have that in the past.
If we were to be prioritized the
use of funds, which is not what I initially recommended, this would be a way to do it.
that $2.1 million, up where we not to every prioritize it to expand the free muni for all
youth pilots would be otherwise funds that we would seek
authorization to use for transit improvements in low-income
neighborhoods, such as mission mobility project.
We have gone some funding for the mission mobility project, but it is not for the fund did.
That is a project that would speed up muni through the mission corridor.
again, in my proposed budget, I prioritized that over expanded free muni for all youth.
It is a reasonable path.
The other portion of the capital budget was the $700,000
reduction in state funds that we
would otherwise have used to attach bicycle and pedestrian
improvement projects to paving projects.
Often, but we were about to repave the road, we would come to the mta.
are there any improvements in your queue?
And do with less disruption and less cost than doing them separately.
The answer that came back, we have those needs, but we do not have the funding.
we would otherwise , were the sons not we prioritize, to
expand this pilot, we would use these funds for that purpose.
That is the sum of the $6.6 million.
i know I have read some comments
to the extent that this proposal
is creating a false choices.
I would respectfully disagree with that.
I have endeavored in very good
faith to present what I believed
our real options that the board
can consider and that our real policy decisions.
There are trade-offs.
once we expand beyond the $5
million that the advocates, to their great credit, have identified as being available
from the empty seats, and --
mtc, to go beyond that, there are budget impacts.
we could disagree over whether these are the right trade-offs to make.
These are the most responsible.
The most responsible ones.
I do not know
-- to what extent I need to address other comments at this point.
It May be helpful for me to
clarify things at the end of public comment.
>> we hear from the members of the public.
The public comment period is
closed except on what he is just saying at this point. I would ask that you keep strictly to that.
we will hear from the public and
then we will come back and have the conversation and make the decision. I see we are joined by
supervisor campos.
>> for people who are standing,
the fire codes require us to ask
that you moved your room 417 is a seat is not available.
You will be able to fully hear the proceedings. People standing, if you could please move to 417.
416.
>> good afternoon, Mr. President. It is good to see you. I hope you are doing better.
as I understand, it had nothing to do with muni.
Whatever happens, we have a safe system.
I do want to thank you for the opportunity to say a few words.
I also want to thank the staff and the director of transportation. you have a great opportunity
today to take the mta in a very different direction in terms of how it deals with children and
families and youth.
We have articulated as to why we believe the right approach is to
make muni free for all children
and youth in the city and county of san francisco.
That is the right policy approach for a lot of different
reasons but the message we got from that end of the aisle, if
we -- if you find the money, we will do it.
To the extent, though, that this board decides to go in a
somewhat more measured direction about limiting it to low income
youth, I do hope the goal of making it free and available to
all remains and that we take the time to monitor how this works so that we do get to a point
where it is free for all children. San francisco has the lowest
rate of children compared to any
other major metropolitan area.
I think we have to do better than what we are doing in terms of keeping families.
It is not just low income families, it is all families.
One thing that I would say in
terms of some of the numbers and
the issue of maintenance, which
was added to the equation, if we
go down the road, when we began
this process, we had a very comprehensive analysis done by
the budget and legislative analyst. It was an analysis that we
requested in conjunction with the mta.
we asked the mta to provide the
budget every single piece of information so they could take into account all the possible
costs of this project.
What is frustrating is that the
issue of how much this would
cost and what is implicated seems to be shifting target. the issue of maintenance was not an issue that was identified by
the mta.
It is not an issue that was identified to my office until a couple of days before this vote.
I do take the mta at their word in terms of the importance of the issue.
I think we really need to analyze what exactly is meant by
the trade-off of being -- a trade-off.
This is not something that has been identified before.
That said, I want to send a clear message to this board and to the people involved in this issue. I think we should be very proud of where we are. some of us believe that we
should go farther and make it free for all. But the fact that the city and county of san francisco is
talking about, at minimum, making it free for low income
youth, is something that we should be very proud of.
I especially want to address the
families and youth involved.
it is important for them to have a victory. There should be proud of the fact that we are where we are.
They have changed the conversation. I hope they change the
conversation, not only so that
we take the step right now, so that we continue to move forward on this issue of how we make the
system accessible.
To the extent that you are implementing a program that
allows free public transit to
low income youth, I hope that two things remain a priority.
One is acceptability.
Making sure that in implementing
the program, you are not
excluding the very families that you want to help.
The thing about the low-income families that we are concerned about is that they are the ones that will have the toughest time accessing any type of bureaucracy or process.
Make sure that that accessibility is fair.
make sure also that you make the process as simple as you possibly can.
Simplicity is important, especially for these families.
I' m excited about where we are.
We have some differences of opinion as to how far we should
go, but I am very proud of where we are.
I want to thank the director of transportation and the staff. I think it is important for us to speak with one voice.
Even though this is an important
part of the process, the bulk of
the work remains to be done at the regional level.
We need to make the case, and to
make it successful, we need to be united.
Fully committed to making sure
that we are successful in this effort and that we continue to
monitor this effort.
You have that pledge, and I look forward to working with the
staff, with your staff, with the commissioners in making sure
that we do this project right. To make sure we have the funding needed to make it successful.
And that the implementation
works and there is an operational plan in place to make sure that it is implemented in a way that minimizes the
impact on the ridership.
That is doable.
the last thing, to the extent
that these other issues that are
identified are important. The issue of maintenance been one of them.
I also think beyond this
program, you have an opportunity today, when you approve this budget, to make sure that you do right by this system can do right by the ridership of the mta.
I do hope that you are able to
address issues that remain issues. One of the issues that I think needs to be a focus is the issue
of -- we have an audit that is ongoing right now looking at whether or not every one of those dollars that is being
spent, $63 million, is truly connected to transportation.
Let me identify one area where I think you can do something today. That is something you have for a lot about.
$9 million of muni budget, money
that the writers of this system are putting into.
$9 million of that is going to pay for the entirety of the motorcycle unit.
I believe the motorcycle unit plays a very important role. i believe there should be properly funded.
I do not think it is fair for
the ridership of public transit to pay for the entirety of that program. I think it is appropriate for
some of that money to be paid by
other people who drive other people in the city.
You have the opportunity to reduce that amount by half. That is $4.5 million.
So that you address issues like maintenance, on-time
performance, staffing. I hope those issues are
addressed because I think you owe it to the agency and ultimately to the ridership to make sure that we do right by them. I look forward to working with you.
I know the budget will come to us at the board of supervisors. Thank you very much for this
opportunity. [Applause]
Chair nolan: I want to thank you
for your leadership and your office leadership. I did then on this body for six years.
I have never seen an effort as well organized and respectful as this one. Some people think it is a good
idea to come in and threaten us. It does not work for me.
it has been incredibly compelling cases they have made.
A year ago, this was not even a thought.
I hope that regardless of what
the board does, and my suspicion
is that we will certainly do it
for the low income, and introduce an amendment that would have the board go on record in favor of what you are talking about.
I hope the people who work so
hard atally understand, this is a tremendous
victory for their efforts.
And for all the people of san francisco. It is a great dane. We will let you know a little later today.
>> -- it is a great thing. We will let you a little bit later. >> thank you. [Applause]
>> I have a few and I will ask if there are other people love not yet turned in speaker cards.
-- people have not turned and speaker cards. Please do so.
[Reading names]
>> we are asking you to focus on
the proposals in order to do
free muni for all.
>> I been involved in the transit industry for 45 years.
this issue caught my attention because I am afraid it will
bring a lot of unintended consequences. I will stick to those that deal with the budget.
Others have tried this in the
past, about 30 years ago denver
looked at systemwide free fares.
different than what you are expecting -- suggesting.
Basically, ridership increased tremendously, but it was unproductive.
Three short trips, two blocks.
That entails a lot of expense
and the budget in order to handle it.
Vandalism went up much more than they thought.
What happens when youths turn 18?
There is no transition from a
free to full.
Chair nolan: next speaker, please.
>> good afternoon.
I am the candidate organizer.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak.
We have some disagreement and do not believe the trade-offs are
accurate.
i will speak directly to lifeline.
72% increase in lifeline funds in this third cycle.
Part of it comes from the s m -- sfmta.
$17 million for this third cycle. What we have to figure out is that $10 million of this would
go to free muni.
I want to speak.
Briefly to the fact that the
free muni for all youth is an
appropriate for the funds.
they have consistently identified the high cost of fares as a primary concern of low income communities.
Chair nolan: next speaker, please. [
>> good afternoon.
I want to talk about one of the
other trade-offs, mission mobility project.
We believe from our conversations with the county transit authority that there is
enough lifeline funds to cover the cost of the 29.
The mission mobility project has
received $7 million in regional transit initiative funds.
it would also be eligible for a grant.
You all know that we think that
free muni for all youth is the right choice.
i welcome your amendment to
reopen this in the future if there is more money that comes available.
Thank you very much.
Chair nolan: next speaker, please.
>> welcome back, Chairman Nolan.
It is no longer spring break at city college.
I want to stick to the policy
points wheat expressed. -- we expressed.
the funds our climate initialed -- initiative dollars.
The first two line items in the funding sources charged
t, they are listed as operating dollars.
those are impacts as youth
lifeline funds.
We are grateful for the board
supports, consideration, and hard work on this.
We are hopeful that you will let to go for free for all.
We are excited about the possibility. Thank you.
chair nolan: next speaker, please. >> good afternoon.
I am organizer.
I want to address the staff report that you presented.
One of the big arguments.
making is that making bus
maintenance of a trade-off is a random attempt a last-minute attempt to limit the board' s choice on free muni for all youth only.
Sfmta has presented budget increases for maintenance and other high priority areas.
this is the first time we have ever heard about this.
Given the size of the additional increases, we feel that there should be other options.
If the staff is concerned about
the state of the impact on many services, you guys should look
into the $65 million in other departments.
[Applause]
>> [ Reading names]
>> we opposed free muni for all youth.
We would support for the muni for low-income students during school hours. This would address the problem
of fewer school buses, while preserving funds for maintenance and safety. Thank you.
chair nolan: next speaker, please.
>>
it is a great idea, but the maintenance is a serious issue. This city has one of the oldest fleets in the country.
$3.8 million, breaking down
every single day on the streets.
To take away the maintenance cost is a huge mistake.
We do not know when the new fleet is going to come end.
-- come in.
My other problem with this is we are already in a budget deficit.
How much is this deficit gone to
roll over into 2013?
That is going to roll into 2013 and 2014.
When is the real issue going to be addressed on how much this deficit is gone to be by the end of --
chair nolan: director heinicke:
has a question for you.
Thank you for coming -- director
heinicke: thank you for coming down. did you have a position on the
various proposals? Have you not taken a formal position?
>> I do not have a comment.
>> [Reading names]
>> good afternoon, directors.
I did get a chance to review the budget.
I am impressed with the way you' ve dealt with such a challenging budget this year.
I could not hold my tongue with the medallion a sales program raising more than $20 million.
In new york, I never had to pay
as a student to take surface transportation to go to school.
New york city has agreed and has
approved selling 2000 taxi
medallions and there will raise $1 billion.
this is something I think you really need to take a look at.
You do not have to do not like new york, but we are talking hundreds of millions of dollars.
We are looking to find things
like this, this has to be a top priority.
Chair nolan: next speaker, please.
>> [Reading names]
Those are the last speaker cards.
>> great idea, appreciate you
guys putting in all the time for this particular issue.
To take the money for maintenance is unacceptable.
Right now, as we speak, you can
go over, 45 buses sitting in the barn.
While our position is neutral on
this -- first of all, can I ask for a request to expand -- extend my time?
Chair nolan: we cannot really do that.
>> this is a tradeoff would service. Ubalde agency is going to give
out free rides to the youth, you are taking away service.
do not blame the operator.
Do not blame the operator for this. Good luck.
Chair nolan: thank you, sir.
>> good afternoon. Welcome back.
i would like to remind you!Q4 that this is the city of san francisco.
Named after a st. That has compassion.
I would like to commend the
director of the mta, the
supervisors, especially
supervisor campos, the various organizations, and a
our youth for speaking to the truth.
I am the director of environmental justice advocacy.
Our money must go to serve our constituents.
the most wonderful among our constituents are our students.
You do not have to be a rocket scientist to understand this.
I commend those entities who voted their conscience to help our youth.
chair nolan: next speaker, please.
>> good afternoon.
I want to say a couple of things. You cannot fix a structural
deficit by voting no for the free for all program.
I am disappointed that Mr. Williams left. do not blame the kids who are
trying to get to school with maintenance issues.
We asked not to take it out of
the workers and not to make a fault set of choices.
I am disappointed that the labor
folks would come up here and buy into that rhetoric. It is disappointing.
The choice is not between
fixing this state of good repair.
We cannot address those needs by coming up with some diligence that if we do not vote for this program, there will be
longstanding it of structural issues that will be addressed.
Thank you.
[Applause]
>>hi.
thank you for being so thoughtful about this issue.
I apologize if people have heard me say this before. I was involved a couple of years
ago with power and other groups
that were talking about muni.
The bureaucratic logistics when
we were trying to give out the three month pilot program to
low-income youth was really overwhelming.
Mta and unified school district did not have the staff or the
money to do outreach and to do distribution. Most of it happened by
volunteers and if it were not
for the volunteers, it would not have happened.
I am for seeing that happening.
If it is limited to low income use.
Please did very deeply into the
work order -- dig very deeply into the work order.
I know you have discussed the
possibility of doing it by -- [Inaudible]
>> thank you very much.
>>
my name is roland.
I am in favor of the youth pass.
I have not
heard anything about
helping seniors and people with disabilities that are also on low-income.
Many of them are on ssi and they
cannot even have a pass.
It really needs to be
addressed as far as looking into some type
of discount for seniors and people with disabilities.
i know we do have, you know, -- if you are offering free, it should be for all the parties involved.
Chair nolan: anyone else?
>> it looks like there is one young lady who wishes to come forward.
Chair nolan: good afternoon.
>> it is great to see you guys again.
I want to second one of the comments made earlier.
We have seen it before, we know what it will look like. We have assumptions. it is not going to be a beautiful sight.
What person is going to have the
job to make sure that it is done right?
That is one of the things I want to highlight. I am kind of disheartening to
hear support comes down to trade-offs between maintenance and this program.
We support car drivers. I see drivers all the time and
died commend them for the work -- and I commend them for the work that they do.
I support them, and I hope they support us, too. thank you for your time.
And being involved in that this discussion with us.
A year ago, we were totally not even thinking about this. [Applause]
Chair nolan: I declare the public comment period is over. This will be the last speaker.
>>
[Speaking spanish]
>> good afternoon, everyone.
I did been a member of the organization power for 12 years.
>>
[Speaking spanish]
>> @ power, we speak clearly and
what we are talking about now
are free passes for youth to get to school.
we should stick to that conversation because it is
critical that for youth, who are
our future.
we should not let ourselves -- we should stick to the point that san francisco has enough
money to pay for passes for all youth.
>> [ Speaking spanish]
>> we are not asking for anything but our -- that our
youth and families don' t deserve.
we simply cannot afford the passes.
You have the choice today.
>> [ Speaking spanish]
chair nolan: ok, translate that, and that will be dead.
>> this is the work of a
multiracial, multi rankle coalition of people.
You have the choice -- multi lintel coalition of people. You have the choice today. [Applause]
chair nolan: this will be the final speaker.
>> I was not going to comment, me that we are discussing this.
This legislation is being
considered 20 or 30 years too late. The day we went away from neighborhoods schools, muni should have become free for everyone.
How did you tell a child, we will not let you go to the school down the street, but you
have to go across town and paid to get there?
It makes absolutely no sense. It is something that should have been done a long time ago.
I hope you factored in at the
cost of determining who is low income and who is not. You will not be able to run a program like that for free. That is going to cost you some
money as well.
I think you ought to do it for all children. i think you ought to do it now. [Applause]
Chair nolan: the public hearing is now officially over.
It is time for our decision.
Recently I had some surgery and I was out the last two meetings.
i want to thank my colleagues,
very difficult issues and the
vice-Chairman For conducting
this with a great deal of dignity and efficiency and hearing your one. I took the time to think about this in recent weeks.
I thought about this for a long time.
the job is -- the ultimate thing is to look out for the entire city.
And its complex components will be mindful of the various communities we serve.
We can adopt a policy that seems
to make sense for the city as far as I' m concerned.
We had occasion for people who
say it does not play out well in our neighborhood or this committee or that. This is one of those examples.
If -- as mindful as we are, the job of the seven of us is to consider what is in the best
interest of the agency as we serve the entire city. Like my colleagues, I have carefully considered the proposals for muni. I am persuaded there is a
compelling need to offer that
service for 22 months, the next two years.
Resources might be there to
provide for low-income students.
I am not convinced as -- as
convinced that the case is compelling for middle and upper income kids.
for the sake of individuals who
have other means of paying for their service.
The case for muni has been well made by a large, well-organized grassroots campaign.
If my view prevails that we
adopt the free muni for low- income youth and a resolution that directs the staff to work
for everyone, that you will celebrate. There is a great victory they have been part of coming year to
these meetings after meetings. I for one think it is going to
be a great step forward in san francisco.
The case for -- the money has to come from somewhere.
I will talk about free muni. It is not free.
Mr. Rieskin
has done a great job of looking for revenue if we were to provide free service for all young people.
I believe these are realistic.
I think -- they' re not at the
expense of other operating programs or other parts of the agency. I will support a motion.
I am open to and I requested a resolution myself.
An amendment that places this
board on record as supporting
the overall goal as quickly as possible. Finding those sources of revenue
that are specifically for this service and not the expense of something else. We' re moving to this as quickly as we can.
My amendment would direct Mr.
Rieskin to find resources available and come to us.
There is wild assertions made about how awful this will be.
We have heard from the critics who are concerned about what this might mean. That is why it is a pilot project.
The money that has been identified, we do not have it yet.
we ought to go with unity and work toward this goal. That is the end of the
conversation we have and the
motion I would make -- I am not
making a recommend -- a motion at this point.
I will go on record as being in
favor of [Unintelligible]
It is time for review of fare structure.
This is not the only one that is inequitable.
We do not have time in the current budget year but I hope
over the next year, your staff could look at how we can address some of those inequities that are truly there.
I -- to do want to any -- add anything else?
>> thank you for that helpful and constructive speech.
i want to echo something you said and I want to speak to
supervisor campos and his staff
and others to answer and others who have come together, particularly the student to of come to see as.
There is perception of a well- founded this building and city leaders do not pay attention to the city' s youth the way they might in other cities where they have a stronger political voice and greater numbers.
I as a parent of three young children feel that and definitely share that perception and frustrations sometimes. I still love the city, however.
I want to say that you folks who have organized, thank you.
as Mr. Reiskin just reported to
us, under the staffer -- staff proposal, it is still a significant measure.
Half of the children ride the muni for free. That is a big deal.
This is something that was not on the table while ago.
This is something that sends a clear message to the children and parents of the city that there are organizations in the community that care and politicians to care and hopefully there will be more
action here today that many cares about families. I will say a simple thank you as a parent.
On the issue that I raised last
time which is we need to see the economic trade-offs. I want to thank you, director
for the very informative and thoughtful piece that we have been given. And in light of those trade-
offs and the fact that this is a
pilot proposal, I am in favor today of the staff proposal
providing these passes for the low-income youth.
First and revisiting what we can do later because of the trade offs. Not only the economic trade-offs but it is important that we take time to review the potential service trade offs that will be implicated year.
And how we can better serve not
only our working commuters but our school-age to compete -- commuters. I say all this and this thank you and this note of respect,
signifying this is the beginning of the discussion and that is how I view it.
I strongly suspect, I do not want to speak for him. One of the recent super kaiser
campos is proposing free muni --
supervisor campos proposing free
muni --
because of concern that
if we limit the free muni to
certain segments, we will create an administrative
bureaucracy and from that, there will be a problem. The very people we' re trying
must to help for whatever
reason, intimidation, fear of
administrative red tape, delay, you name it. Will not access the service we need.
When this discussion started you and I talked about how this is important that it be a clipper based program because that will make it simpler. That will allow us to load it for a longer time.
there are other things as we started this, we need to address.
It is very appropriate we revisit the threshold. We have started from using the
school lunch program threshold as the proper threshold. We need to evaluate whether that
is a proper threshold in a city
as expensive as this one and whether we will be hitting and helping the committees and children that we want to help. I would start with that. Let' s revisit that.
I would also say we need to do
everything we can to learn from
lessons or mistakes, I will call it lessons from the lifeline programs before.
and we need to make this a supreme the easy to access program. The school to lunch program
benefits from a fairmount of aes. I think we can learn from that.
-- fair amount of ease.
We can have dialogue to see what their thoughts are and also to dialogue with the schools.
this to me would be most simply
run as a school based program. We know where our children are during the days when there are supposed to be, we have
information and we should work with them to make sure we have a
program that is easy to administer.
Once we have done that, I think
we need to commit as the
Chairman Has said to visiting this and revisiting this quickly.
We not -- we need to know not at
the end of two years, we need to
know at the end of four or six months whether it is an -- whether it is possible to design the and administer this program. We need to know that. If it is not possible, we need
to revisit free passes for all youth.
In addition, we need to revisit what the impact -- budget impacts are. You did the best to look into your crystal ball but you cannot predict reliably but we need to know what the trade-offs are turning out to be. And also importantly what the service impacts of this are.
and then I would be with you, Chairman Nolan that as time goes on in this pilot program, we need to revisit whether this
program is working, or whether,
given administrative savings,
given trade-offs and the overall policy benefit of having all of
our children write for free if that is the way to go and if so,
can we identify the resources.
something you said -- this is a victory. This is a good day. If you support our children
riding the muni and it May come out more measured than some of you want but this is the start of the discussion.
I will say again as a parent and
i am happy for what is going on here.
Commissioner ramos:
so I do not
think anybody has articulated more support for the concept of
free muni for all youth than myself appear.
I certainly voted for it previously.
and was prepared to vote for it again today. Had there been different circumstances.
It is clear now, however, that the funding mechanisms would
lead to taking money out of maintenance and operations which none of us have been supportive
of, not even in.
It is convoluted, it is a tough
process to follow when you have someone or folk saying the money
is there and theoretically, it is there.
But it is also money that is
competitive for other resources that we need for other things
that are going toward low-income communities, people with
disabilities, and folks who have a hard time getting to transit.
That is what the concept of life in funding is, it is for that explicitly.
-- a lifeline funding is, it is for that exclusively.
That is true, that funding would
go to -- toward the low-income youth there.
there is not enough money within
the lifeline but to handle all
the needs we would need for even just the low income youth given the fact that we' re not receiving funding from these
other sources that we' re hoping to get funding for with regard
to the 108, the mission mobility and all these other programs. If the funding is not there for those programs that we have identified as a need for the lifeline project, we would need to look toward that portion of the $5 million we were talking
about getting from ntc to help move that around, if I' m not
mistaken, to pay for the free
muni for all youth and the people who have means.
It is this strange, we will not get the money from here but we will take it from here but the money from here we have to take it from here.
What ends up coming short is the lifeline funding.
In a strange way. It is unfortunate it has to work out that way but that is the way we are.
i know people of low income and of disability who have a hard time making it to the end of the month.
It is not possible for me to put
those folks a risk for the sake
of doing free muni for all youth.
I do agree with all the comments
that were set here, Chairman
And director heinicke.,
we need to push toward finding that finding and identifying that funding and it can come from a place where it is not
taking -- putting additional burdens on lifeline funding or taking away from the
disabilities or access in that capacity.
And all those needs have been that through the founder and
the ntc funding that has been available.
Hopefully of we have got some
sources for -- from private as well.
A big reason why I voted the way i did this last time was because I was hoping, we were all hoping that private sources and I do
not think anyone has a few million dollars lying around to give to this program to help make it happen for free muni for all youth.
All that being said, I want to
go back to this idea of what
staff is saying and
understanding that we have a working relationship here that we need to respect and trust and move forward.
Staff has taken a hard line the
whole time I have been appear -- up here for year. We' re going to have a difficult conversation about the budget after this.
a lot of you here are not here
for the low-income pass but you' re here for the budget, I am
sure it. We' re counting pennies and dollars is literally where we' re at. If we' re going to go for free muni for all youth, it will be
imperative that we do find those
sources of revenue in creative ways like I was talking about with some of the organizers a year ago. I' m hoping we can still look towards those opportunities to find a free muni for all youth in the future.
And go with what we have got right now. We' re pretty comfortable, we
have funding for given the wonderful work of supervisor
campos in sounding -- signing the funding at ntc.
I commend that and the support from power and the community organizations that are here making that happen. There is a few amendments I want
to make sure to get included in the resolution we passed to address some of the things that we can talk about that more.
I wanted to explain that. Thank you for that time.
commissioner bridges: I would
like to commend the parents and students.
I voted to support this
initiative last time because
growing up in san francisco, I understand that difficulty in
having funds to transport every day to school.
Also the plight of young families and families in general. I worry about the exodus of
families out of san francisco, low-income and middle-income.
Of all economic backgrounds.
After reviewing the budget and knowing where we are with our budget consequences, we know
that we can now support free
muni for half of the students in san francisco. That is the funds we have identified and are available.
Any budget you have to make hard
decisions and make decisions on the funds that are available, not the funds you hope will become available.
the decision we make is based on the funds we have but that does not preclude funds that May be available a year from now.
What I would ask director
reiskin to do is to work
with
the mayor' s office and see if we
can identify private sources that will come through that we
can advocate and we could offer a free muni for all youth.
In two years maybe or maybe one year.
I would love to do it before the next budget cycle. I think it is important that as
a city, we can support families, not just low-income families but middle income families.
San francisco is very expensive.
it is not just low-income that are struggling especially with the downturn of the economy.
The everything I would advocate is simplicity.
The one thing that impacts low- income families is the
bureaucracy of filling out paperwork to get into these programs. We need to offer support to these families so they can get the support they need to
complete the paperwork to get to these programs. Whether it is the school or mta, we need to provide support for them. My last point would be if we cannot do it with the schools, to make sure the mta can offer the service.
I would hate to see low-income families not get the support
they need whether it is true clipper or whenever the process is.
I think the pilot program should not be limited to just low-
income that low to middle. Once we do this within one
year, come back to the board and say we have looked at additional funds.
Staff has identified something but not wait until the next budget cycle.
i truly feel the city
should muni should be free for all use. We should not wait two years to do it.
Commissioner lee: I think
anything that I have to say, my
colleagues have expressed really well.
I want to congratulate the youth that are out there. Your presentations have been awesome.
You are so respectful and so
passionate in what your saying.
-- you are saying. You still have an advocate up here.
you have to look at the entire impact of the ridership.
Thank you for your presentations and for your courtesy.
Commissioner oka: thank you.
i did not want to Miss The
opportunity to
-- first, I think
we have all heard a great
grass-rots
ots
presentation and -- [Inaudible]
From the entire movement to make
muni free for all youth.
This director has heard every word you have said.
i think one thing we have to be
aware of, I asked our cfo to
assure me that this program of
low income does not just mean
public schools low income.
It must include all who are in
school, who are public or
private schools must be put in
this program. Otherwise, I would not support it.
we have to be able to assure thta
at our city remains friendly
to our youth.
Our youth is the future of our
city, and we all know this. We know this, we hear this.
there are places in the budget
that we can cut money, cut -- we
need to cut into the overtime.
We need to work -- work orders
need to be cat -- cut.
sfpd is supposed to serve all the city.
What is paying --
part of it,
police department budget that [Unintelligible]
I will be working hard to make
sure we reduce the work orders.
I think if we reduce the work
orders, lifeline to me is too high as this.
You have heard me from here from the beginning say that lifeline
pass costs too much right now as it is.
$30 a month is too much.
I have been trying to get that reduced since I have become a member of this board. I will continue to do that.
We have to find money.
i have heard from last week since we last met.
I have heard from many of my colleagues.
Many of my friends in the other
areas, free muni, free for all
youth will not work.
we tried it many times and it does not work.
I am one that says because it did not work before does not
mean that it will not worked.
We have to find a way to do it.
i will tell you this.
You have got my word as well as
all of our board that we will go
on record as supporting free
muni for all youth in the city and county of san francisco.
We have to make that happen and
we cannot wait two years.
I totally agree with director bridges. We cannot afford to wait two
years to make this happen. We have to make sure that this
program is going to work. and the other thing that is
important that I heard supervisor campos,
say, make it easy, make it easy to access for
all people.
I do not like [Unintelligible] Either.
if I do not like filling out
forms, I know that particularly
if you are not a native english speaker, it is hard.
It is almost impossible.
To fill out the forms -- is
almost impossible to fill out the forms in a timely manner t
without assistance. I look at what'
s is it going to cost as administratively to do the paperwork -- what is it
going to cost us administratively to do the paperwork?
so that everyone who needs the program is getting it. I do not want extra paperwork to be foldout.
-- filled out. Let' s do it in the most
paperless, everyone is going paperless. Let' s make this program paperless.
the final thing I would
say it is congratulations to all the
youth in this city t
hat
impacted our decision today and in the future. Believe me, we have heard you.
Thank you.
Vice President Brinkman: thank you, Chairman Nolan.
I will echo what my colleagues have said and I think it is important that we make this
easily accessible, that we have the burden of paperwork as low as we possibly can so that we catch the students and families that we want to catch.
Having said that, I think -- I
will say I support the staff
proposal for low-income free muni for use and I will make a motion to that. I want to again thank everyone
involved because you taught us a lot of things we did not know. Especially those of us on this
board to do not have children in the san francisco school district system. I did not realize there was
such a crunch on a lot of the
families, so I appreciate you showing us that. I did not realize there' s no
money available for field trips for kids.
i think director heinicke
mention his kids or class gets one trip a day.
I wonder if there was is that sit unused and kids would love to go on field trips we could work towards. Someone in city hall brought that we do not have a good sense of where the kids are moving in the city. The gentleman brought up the fact that we do not have neighborhood schools any more so kids are going all over the city. I do not think the school district or the city has an
idea or plan or a map of what kids move where. There always will be children who are too young to travel on muni by themselves and their parents are going with them to school and on to work or their driving them because it is easier to do.
I think it would be -- benefit
the entire agency and the school district to do a study and figure out where the kids are going and maybe there are some
synergies we can work out. Thank you very much and you
have -- you did teach us a lot.
I wish that you will have that as well.
I think moving toward free muni
for low-income youth is a good idea.
I will make a motion to support the staff recommendation.
>> is there a second?
the motion is seconded. Before we t
do that, I would like to propose an amendment that
encapsulates the sense of the board about going forward and
that is relative to free muni for all youth. This is the language I have proposed. Where' s the board of directors has been impressed by the compelling case for providing
any services for free for low income youth, the board recognizes the merit pursuing the goals of being able to provide service free to all youth as a way of getting young
people into the muni system and a step toward broadening the
appeal of muni for all, creating a lifelong commitment to the transit first policy.
Therefore be it resolved that
the sfmta board supports exploring new revenue options and supports broadening the base of those eligible for services
and further that the board direct staff to pursue all
possible revenue streams that do not negatively impact the
overall service delivery system of sfmta and be a further
resolve the staff is directed to report back to the board on such
prospects in a timely fashion with a clear intent of
implementing the program for all youth. At any time should those revenues be found for that
purpose and be of further
resolved that the director of transportation begin the process of dealing with the larger issue
of their equity drop the system and present a proposal for the board' s consideration for the
next budget or sooner if practical. Is there a second? >> I will second.
Let' s talk about that amendment and see if we have support.
>> does that encapsulate the intent of the agency to move
forward to direct staff? >> I am happy to support that amendment. I would note that I do not think we need to write this in.
At least to me, one of the important things to consider is we are doing this as a service
impact and your managemall leak -- mostly on the financial implications which is great. We need to have feedback from our transit professionals about
the what -- about what the service impact is.
>> as you mentioned, the income level we' re aiming at and where we get there -- how we get there. >> to get back to that, I see as what we'
re doing under the proposal that has been moved and
seconded is endorsing free muni for low income youth today.
Directing your staff to create
an administrative proposal to implement that, hopefully hearing some of the direction we have given on that.
as a third thing here, creating your men and that dictates what we will do in the future.
>> -- your amendment and that dictates what we will do in the future.
Commissioner bridges: also identify that threshold for low income, that will be crucial.
president nolan: I could put
that in there somehow.
>> I think we have given the
staff clear direction, it is there to look at that.
>> if this passes and the whole thing passes, we can talk to mr.
reiskin.
Such as the simplicity and
outreach >> h.
>> I think we have. You' re a big task type of guy.
>> anything else on the amendment I proposed? >> we will talk about the
threshold.
>> the idea if this passes, the overall direction is there and we will talk about individual directives.
with that understood come on the motion of the amendment, is
there -- is there a second?
A motion and second. All in favor, said aye.
State-0
-say aye.
is there any further discussion? We have a motion and second. All in favor, aye.
The ayes have it. Q
>> some of the items
mentioned are the threshold,
simplicity, outreach to make this happen.
Other comments that members
have that we want Mr. Reiskin to come back with? >> if I May.
We did previously modified the staff report to provide the
flexibility to look at different income thresholds, that was
feedback we got from some of the proponents and from supervisor campos'
s office that May be that
free lunch threshold is too low.
We have a suggestion of 125% --
120% of area median income. We made sure the wording of the resolution provided us the
latitude to not be locked into that lower-level.
We will absolutely be looking at that.
The making it easy and
simplicity is something that we
have a great incentive to do that as well.
We have been talking to the school district about that. We do recognize the need to reach other schools.
not just school districts but other schools and we will have
to work with and through cpo' s
because not all our youth are in school.
We will have other outlets by
which we can do this.
in terms of the charge to seek alternative funds to develop a plan to look at the fare structure in terms of equity more generally, that is
something that I have noted as well.
Finally, to come back in six
months or so and report on both preliminarily how the pilot is
rolling out as well as what progress we' re making in these other areas, that is a great idea. One thing we have had strong commitment from supervisor
campos and the advocates for is our rigorous evaluation program of this pilot.
There are a lot of goals that we have all established for the pilot.
There are impacts positive -- impacts, positive and negative that we want to monitor closely and we are fully committed to working with the supervisors'
office and the school district to make sure we have good information, good feedback that
we can adjust as needed to make it work better.
But we provide that information to you and the public.
Those are the highlights of the notes I have.
>> any comments on that? Thank you.
Commissioner ramos: I do also want to make sure that we' re
clear that we make this pass available to low income youth to
happen to be over the age of 17 but still in high school.
because they turned 18 earlier, what have you. Is that going to be a problem?
>> I do not believe we have a way to do that right now.
It is something we can look in.
the youth ther -- fare is the sense it.
You go up to 17, that is structured within the past pass.
It is a hard wired arrangement where your birthday is tied to that pass so you are eligible for it. Up to the last day of the day
before your -- your 18th birthday.
i cannot commit to that now.
I can add it on the list to what we should be looking at as we go forward.
>> the threshold, when we start
talking about 100% -- 120% ami, i am looking at the office of housing.
That office issuing 120% for a family of four is roughly
around $123,000 per year.
I think that represents a
moderate income.
It is a working families kind of approach. i do not know that we can go that high.
I certainly would like to go in a direction like that to include moderate income families.
As high as we can go and not be disqualified from the lifeline
funder, the climate fund.
>> a question raised in one of the town hall meetings that was raised here this afternoon by one of the speakers was when the
kid goes from 17 to the next
day, that will be something we need to plan for.
We also had one person spoke at one of the town hall meetings
about water -- what if you are a city college student?
There are questions and that is why it is a pilot.
i think it could be a big issue
when the end of this comes and people turn 18 to go from
nothing to that. We need to figure that out. We have time to think about this. Thank you for your suggestions.
Commissioner oka:
I would like
to say that if we
can possibly
look at the
lifeline pass for
the community, [Unintelligible]
A $30 pass.
We need to look at that and lower that.
I do not think it is -- I was
told a couple of years ago and I will not mention who told me
this, but we are trying to [Unintelligible]
Youth and that is why we are
raising you guys to the lifeline.
That is not the way we do things here.
We are much more humane that n
that, I hope.
Lifeline, $30 is too high for
most low income people who
use the program, we need to lower that and we need to lower that significantly. we need to find money to do that.
And we need to have that on the
table the next cycle.
>> thank you.
With that, thinking members of the board, members of the public. We' re taking a 10 minute break.
-- thank you, members of the board, members of the public. We are taking a 10 minute break.
>> certifying the budget is adequate to make substantial
progress for approving various fees and fines.
Amending the transportation code to reflect this [Unintelligible]
Changes, waiving fares on new year'
s eve for fiscal 2013 and 2014, authorizing the director to implement short-term
experimental fares with controller certification for various contracts offering -- authorizing the director to make necessary corrections and
allocating revenues and-or revenues that the director shall return for approval that in
aggregate exceed 5% increase in the total budget. >> thank you.
The last time the board met, there was a detailed
presentation on the budget following four or five town hall meetings.
The board did not act on it that day. Two weeks ago.
because we were waiting to see
what we would do with the free
muni for all youth, there would have been significant changes in the budget required. They' re not.
>> what is before you today is substantively the same budget that was before you two weeks ago.
there were a couple of minor things I had mentioned verbally
at the last meeting that have
been incorporated into the legislation. But you have is substantively the same.
This is a proposed balanced operating budget for the next two years that significantly
advances the board adopted strategic plan, particularly with a significant investment in
the maintenance of our system
and the safety of our system and
other things that I think are fairly consistent with the city' s transit first policy.
>> we have had a presentation
and two weeks ago, the vice chair close to meeting with the
recognition for the interest -- will hear it from the public the same as we did from the other issues.
Do members have anything to say?
>> I will read several names as
-- at once.
The first three speakers.
Karen
olivetto, david brown, and others.
>> as pastor
of one of the largest churches in san francisco which requires double
parking to accommodate
parishioners, including sunday parking enforcement proposed in the budget would be a logistical
nightmare and have a devastating affect not only on our
celebrations but the capacity to
provide needed services to the most vulnerable and marginal in the city.
If we have to worry
the entire -- it is hard to
imagine this city without the
undergirding of joy that glide brings to it.
participants are moved to
volunteer in our programs. Without their help, the aid we
give others would be greatly diminished.
Our meals program would be
hampered by a decrease in
potential volunteers do to send a parking meter enforcement.
glide is not the only church to be affected. It would cause a spiritual
breached that would be felt across the city.
Their training grounds for civility and relationships.
They provide centers of care and
compassion for those in need.
Religious communities provide a
home where people can know and be known. I urge that you remove the sunday parking meter enforcement from the budget.
Chair nolan: thank you very much.
Clucks my name is david brown.
i am a pastor at -- >> my name is david brown.
I am speaking against the
parking meter -- the enforcement of parking meters on sunday.
When our church moved from union
square in 1902, we chose not to
buy land or parking lots and to
rely solely on the use of on street parking.
Many in our congregation use public transportation, as for many, that is not a viable option.
calgary would definitely experience a negative impact should this proposal goes forward as currently drafted. The quality of life for many of our members would be diminished.
Chair nolan: next speaker, please.
>> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
I am a member of congregation emanu-el. I ask you to rethink the
proposal to activate parking meters on sunday.
Such an action will affect sunday services and make it more
difficult, if not impossible, to worship and participate in services.
Why am I concerned?
It does not affect the synagogue
or me, why should I care? I care for two reasons.
It affects people in the city.
They are my neighbors, colleagues, and france.
Such an action opens the door to other discriminatory proposals.
When one group is affected, it is easy to regulate something which demonstrates -- discriminates against other groups. We' re all proud of the diversity that makes san francisco a special place.
this action puts that diversity in peril.
Read the first amendment to the constitution of the united states.
Do not take this action am.
-- action. [Applause]
>> my name is michael. I' m the executive director of
the san francisco interfaith council. I am your to voice opposition to this initiative to institute
commuter parking on sundays.
It is a violation of due process. The board' s failure to invite a
single leader to its meetings was an egregious infraction.
Dusting off an ill-conceived
idea that failed to successfully been passed deliberations and giving no voice to those directly impacted was wrong.
For the record, the majority of congregations impacted by this proposed action are located in some of the most economically challenged neighborhoods in the city.
These are the very congregations
are providing support services when the city cannot.
The sfmta action will place another obstacle in
congregations already challenged. But christ congregations will
pay for the sfmta plan -- the
price congregations will pay will be devastating.
It is easy to take aim at those
who do not have the voice to defend themselves. This was a flawed process. This is bad policy.
I urge the sfmta to go back to the drawing board and come up
with another way to solve its budget shortfall. [Applause]
>> matt d. Henderson.
-- maggie henderson.
>> I am representing the muslim community of the city of san francisco.
as a muslim, I believed the
question should not -- should not be penalized for going to
the church and having to pay for metered parking.
We have to help out each other. We always stand up for each other.
Thank you.
>> good afternoon.
Old first presbyterian church.
I am one of the few places where
I have a parking lot, but this is not an issue for me.
But my brothers and sisters do not have access to that. It will cause chaos.
People need to be spiritually fed and we take care of
neighborhoods and people.
You are not going to make this
much money from it. Why don'
t you have grace on sundays? [Applause]
>> I am the pastor of the mount zion church of san francisco.
I am here in opposition of the
parking meters been activated at such times.
there are currently around parking meters are run by church because we are adjacent to the dmv.
I stand before you to say that the time in which you are
indicating 12:00 to 3:00 is in the middle of our worship service. That would cause people to get
up to go out and feed parking meters, interrupting her services.
San francisco already is
presenting itself as a non- family friendly city.
Discouraging people to come to
church, not having a place to park, or having to pay for parking, would discourage them
from further worshiping with our congregation.
That would impact our current congregation severely.
We are already struggling as a day is. We urge you not to pursue.
>> good afternoon.
I am rev. Robert lucas.
I am President Of the san francisco baptist ministers' conference.
speaking for those pastors in
the city, we are struggling as it is now to try to reach people for christ.
Any impediment that is wrong in
our way it makes our task a monumental difficulty.
to initiate a parking fee on sunday, when we are trying to get people focused on their
souls and focused on trying to deal with the challenges of
their life, it is a monumental and sold to the church.
i think it is something that you need to look at and reconsidered
because the one organization that tries to get people to do
good in the city is the church.
When you do things that inhibit
us from being able to carry out
that charge, it is a detriment to san francisco. i love this city.
I want to see this city prospered. This is something that will not help this city move forward.
I encourage you not to go forward. [Applause]
>> [ Reading names]
>> good afternoon.
I am the pastor of providence baptist church.
I have one statement to make to this board.
Is this board willing to
sacrifice the moral, social,
spiritual, and the life tinging
lessons that are being talked -- life changing lessons that are being taught at our church on sundays.
In order to collect some easily dollars.
Is that the sacrifice you' re willing to make in order to
bring this city into some sort of economic balance? Thank you. [Applause]
>> good afternoon. Thank you for this opportunity.
i am the pastor at tabernacle faith church in the mission district.
I am in agreements with the
meters being sent at a certain time, the charging people.
We already have enough distractions trying to get people to come to church. That would be a huge distraction. And detour.
the second issue I have is where
I am pastor, between 26 and 26 street, there is a church
between 24th and 25th that has no meters at all.
I am concerned how one block can
have meters and any other block can have no meters at all.
There is a church also on the
block between 2014 and 2015.
I would urge you to reconsider pushing this.
-- between 24th street and 25th
street.
i would urge you to reconsider pushing this.
>> I am representing mta employees. I am here to address the
disparity in funds allocated to local positions in this budget.
216 new operator positions proposed. This budget has cuts to
custodians, clerical staff, a parking control officers.
They generate revenue and do far
more than write tickets. Further vacant positions already
funded remain unfilled, adding
extreme stress to our members, increasing workers' comp claims.
There are millions in so-called salary savings.
it should be used for hiring, as specified in your budget.
This budget designates of millions to date sfpd.
I urge you to hold the administration accountable and
to require that they fill budget approved positions as soon as
possible and to retract these cuts on middle-class workers.
>> anthony wagner .
>> thank you.
My name is anthony wagner.
i lived in a beacon at third
baptist church for the past 35 years.
-- begin at the third baptist church for the past 35 years.
We were accommodate all faiths in one chapel.
The city of san francisco should be able to accommodate the
people of faith on sundays.
I am requesting that the commission would not pass this part of the budget.
You saw me get up two times to go feed a meter. I do not want to do that in my service.
I am asking that you give the
same accommodations that you had
given to various marathons' , walks, a bicyclist, street closures, and accommodating worshipers on sunday. Thank you very much. [Applause]
>> good afternoon.
I pastor the home baptist church in san francisco western addition.
It seems to me there is a heightened level of
insensitivity from the political establishment and from this board to. that would even suggest that you
would have parking meters
around the churches, and especially activating them at
the time when you have listed, I
do not know if you understand
how value -- the services we
present to san francisco.
you wonder why families are leaving. When you have that kind of
insensitivity, I do not know if you understand the lessons of history.
Whenever you do this kind of
thing, you also continued to be
-- devalue what is going on in our religious community.
I urge you, there are so many things going on that you could address. [Applause]
>> [ Reading names]
>> greetings, everyone.
I stand here to speak of a lady
who I know who left san
francisco due to out migration of african-americans.
She drives and every sunday to attend the church where she has
been a member for the last 47 years.
She has an aging vehicle, she is unemployed.
She asks her friends and
individuals to give her -- to allow her to have enough money to pay for gas money and the toll for the breads. She does it every single week.
-- for the br idge.
She doesn' t every single week.
-- does it every single week.
>> [Reading names]
>> good afternoon.
i am a practicing jew.
You want to have -- you want to
take part in money out of people' s hides and it is disgraceful. Why don' t you go after the bicyclist said?
you should charge them for licenses and also charge them for parking.
They have gotten away with it for too darn long.
What are you doing with your proposal? It is the courage is supposed to hold services on buses?
-- is the clergy supposed to hold services on buses?
this is outright disgrace so.
You tried to get money anyway you can short of gunpoint. I really resent this. [Applause]
>> good afternoon.
I am the pastor of the
missionary temple christian at the episcopal church.
When I think about the proposal to put parking meters or to activate parking meters on sundays, I think about our senior citizens. many times, they have to
struggle to get into their churches. They have to walk around the block.
To force them to have to get up
in the middle of the service,
struggle at of the church, it down the hill, around the corner
to feed the meter, and struggle
to go back up the hill, to get back into their church.
If there is an afternoon
program, make the trip again.
I think it is an injustice. [Applause]
chair nolan: next speaker.
>> thank you, Mr. President.
I am associate pastor at without walls church in the city of san francisco. Let me say a couple of things.
this kind of action is the kind
of action that suggests an open hostility towards the faith community.
And also towards families. We are already impacted on
sunday.
a couple of my friends have had to finally throw in the towel.
They now have to have church on saturdays.
A 2000-year tradition of having church on sunday.
We have a bicycle race, the marathon, the car race a few years ago.
it already makes it difficult for us to get there. Now you propose a parking meters.
If you have parking meters, you would not -- we will not be able to double park.
Where did those cars go in neighborhoods that have no parking facilities?
it is an absolute impossible
think and I am overwhelmed that you all would come to even discuss this.
Please, change your mind and do the right thing. [Applause]
>> you picked a heck of a group to go against today. You know the lord don' t play. >> [Inaudible]
>> oa
I have come before you of
representing seiu.
Equity is still important.
As my colleague pointed out to
you, there has not been equity.
I have been fighting near the four years for equity.
Some of you have caught me in my
most -- let me explain this to you, folks.
We need to to be equitable. You cannot have budgets where
you hired 20% more employees in
one category cannot find others. I ask you to consider this.
this is probably my last time I
come before you as an employee.
I ask that you consider this.
We all need to find muni correctly.
There will be more difficulties ahead, but I want to be able to
be supportive of you as an advocate. Let' s find some ways to do advocacy.
Chair nolan: good look.
-- luck.
>> good afternoon.
I have not been here for a while.
a higher power asked me to come
here today to address you on the
fact that there are not as many jewish people here in this city.
A lot of the synagogues and
places of worship are in residential districts.
It has not impacted them, but there are far more people in
other religions and their places
of worship are not -- have to be in commercial districts in
areas where people cannot live.
-- do not live.
god said anyone should go up or ship and have spirituality and stay out of trouble. What you are doing, you are
asking us
him to put 10 plagues on you.
>> thank you very much.
I am a former member of the board of supervisors.
you refer my namesake, david brown.
-- you heard from my name' s sake, david brown.
I am amos brown.
The prophet.
The profit has come to prophesy.
-- prophet
has come to prophesy.
It is unimaginable that you will
would have the gall in this
city to come up with a measure
that would adversely impact the
quality of life -- of life in the city.
my wife had to get up and go out to feed the meter.
It is sexist against women to have this kind of a measure.
60% of the membership in faith communities are women.
I am appealing to you to have a heart today.
new york city has 8 million plus people.
They get a face leaders
-- we
are in san francisco going to
charge people for parking on sunday.
i beg you, please, pretty please come and kill this measure.
Naked dead on arrival and do the right thing.
" -- make its dead on arrival and do the right thing.
>> good afternoon. Judgment day is coming.
i am looking at the devil.
The double in sheep' s clothing in this room.
-- devil in sheep' s clothing in this room. You have to make it -- an
intelligent decision. reject this budget.
Go back to the drawing board.
Tallinn to go to his buddies
downtown and -- expand the transit impact development to the mission bay bridge make them pay.
They are getting subsidized services from the city, from us.
Bus rides, they are not paying a dime. Make the police pay.
Make them pay. [Applause]
when they collect the shoplifters downtown, the businesses do not pay them.
The taxpayers pay the police. Homeowners pay the police.
Chair nolan: thank you.
Everybody gets the same amount of time. Thank you very much. [Laughter]
>> I am rev. Donna wood.
If you implement parking meters
on sunday, it would have a seriously negative impact on my congregation.
It has been in the same place since 1908.
All the surrounding area was mostly sand dunes.
We have a lot of people to come from outside the city.
You have heard all the
wonderful stories from all the other folks.
I want to point out that they
come to church and worship and
provide services to the people
of san francisco and also spend their money here.
They go out to eat, they get
their hair cut, they go to the grocery store and the shop.
That is another thing that would probably go away.
If they have to pay for parking, they will not come.
I urge you to take this out.
Chair nolan: next speaker, please.
>> good afternoon.
i am the past President Of san
francisco ministers conference.
As I travel across this country, san francisco is constantly on people' s lists.
They have good -- because of our
diversity in this city and
because it is a city that people like to come back to once they visit.
I used to be proud of this city. I' m beginning to think differently.
There is a negative spirits in this city and it starts right here.
Anywhere we can get some money, let' s try to get it.
Even if it means closing churches because the people will
not be able to pay to park. Thank you. [Applause]
>> he is the last person.
>> good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
i am a taxi driver.
I would like to support -- they
are the mainstream of this city.
Sunday, a lot of people come to
the city, they eat in restaurants, shopping.
Everybody feels safe for sunday parking.
you are going to lose a bunch of money for the city revenue.
We have 10,000 american people retiring every day in this country.
They are only driving on sunday
now because they still sunday is a safer day for driving.
I look at your budget, $840 million.
850,000 people live here.
It is about 4% of their income. Thank you.
chair nolan: we will declare the public hearing is closed on the budget issue.
One more.
>> i have been a resident for the last 44 years. I' ve spoken before this commission for a number of years.
I am back here to talk
about the
operating budgets, which has
been approved of the last three
years by deborah johnson, who is not qualified to approve it.
You have gone up by 7% a year what you have taken over the taxi commission.
And begun to squeeze the drivers
beyond any reasonable basis.
They are not part of the income producing part of the city and
county of san francisco.
They have no salaries, pensions, medical' s, unemployment. They are paying for yours.
Thank you for your time.
Chair nolan: that would conclude the public testimony. We have before us the budget as
presented, including these items.
Director heinicke: let me start with this.
At the beginning of this
process, we ask you to scrutinize the work orders and make sure these were situations
where there were was a proper
nexus to the agency and this was a proper expensed to our money.
We were looking at relatively lean times.
Let me focus on the police work
order and the motorcycle unit.
i will ask you to address that work order. Your view that it is a proper
work order for us to be pain.
Follow up with the two
questions -- is this something we could revisit during the budget cycle as we discuss things with the police department?
I assume it is, but I want to make sure.
i realize that is a broader discussion about staffing priorities, but there was
comment raised that perhaps we
could be using pco'
s instead of police officers to handle certain tasks.
that would be less expensive to the agency.
I have a few more questions, but let' s start with this.
>> we paid to the police department through a work
order, which is the phrase the
city uses in its budget process
when one city department has services from another. $9 million of the work order
supports a large portion of the traffic company of the san francisco police department. These are the motorcycle police
officers who do traffic enforcement.
the decision
-- work orders are
for specific services, order of
purchasing, or certain city-wide function that are allocated to all departments.
Most of those cases, it is not a
choice of the individual departments. It is an allocation from city
hall. It is an issue of where we
believe the city department providing the services is best
able to provide it.
For us to do so, it would be more expensive.
We would need to outsource the function. The traffic company is a little bit different than all of the other reporters.
It is based on a policy decision
that was made by city hall a
number of years ago as part of their budget process.
It identified a nexus between a large number of the functions of
the traffic company and the city' s transportation
department. The theory behind the nexus is
that to we are charged with having a safe transportation
system. We are charged with implementing the city' s transit first policies. There is an argument to be made that the traffic companies
supports both of those charter goals of this agency.
In terms of making sure that transportation in the city is
safe and enforcement works to the benefit of safety and the benefit of transit.
there is a nexus for the use of mta funds for the service.
There is also as many public
speakers indicated, a justifiable position that the city' s general fund should pay these costs.
that is not a decision that we
can make unilaterally with the this -- at this board.
It is something I have discussed
with the mayor, would some of the members of the board of supervisors, and with the mayor' s budget office.
The challenge is, the reason why
the decisions were made, the
traffic company, and the way and work orders are allocated, was
to protect general fund dollars there providing safety net
services to our most challenged populations.
The decision about mta police department work order was one of those decisions.
The city is looking at the next
fiscal year has $160 million general fund gap they need to close.
To the extent they assume responsibility for this work
order, are fiscal
challenge there are policy arguments to be made on either side of the issue.
The way the budget is currently
structured, the
responsibilities -- it has been recommended to me that I
include in my transmittal letter
to the mayor and the board of
supervisors, and articulation of how we could otherwise use those
funds if that policy decision more different. If you gave us another $9
million, how we could put it to
work to benefits the people of
san francisco for the transportation department.
That is something, I think comment that is a good idea.
The other thing I been talking with the mayor and the budget office about is the fact that there is a unit of the police
department that has been providing direct services to
muni for security on the system
did have been grant funded for
which the grant is expiring at the end of this fiscal year.
We do not have the funds
budgeted for that. The police department does not
have the funds in their department to continue that service.
that is a direct service provided to muni. I' ve also been seeking their
assistance in the form of loring the traffic come --
lowering -- to make room for us
to be able to find this direct service. i know that is a long answer.
I think there is an arguable policy call in terms of where the funding comes from.
It is a decision that needs to be made by city hall.
>> I very much appreciate that answer. I am not suggesting that this
money is falling into a sewer hole somewhere.
It is being used for our police officers. The question is where it comes from.
I have a little bit of tissue
with the notion that this is a city hall decision. -- issue with the notion that this is a city hall decision.
Not to have funds allocated for transit purposes used for other city hall purposes.
Again, I am not suggesting this is an el purpose.
We need to support our police officers and we need traffic enforcement. The question is where this money comes from. I think we could make a unilateral decision to strike this from our budget and say, we will not pay for this because we do not believe there is a nexus.
I think that would be an extreme
mood and it would be one taken
without enough -- extreme that move. I also want to turn up the temperature a little bit on this issue.
The transmittal letter you are talking about is the appropriate step to take. i think we need to make clear
that we as a board are reviewing these things and not simply accepting them as the city hall decision.
Of course, we will value the opinions of the mayor' s office and others to construct these budgets. We will pay our fair share for services.
We need to revisit the notion of whether this is our fair share or not.
We are an independent agency for that very reason. We' re not a single agency in the traditional sense.
I would ask that we continue to debate this and maybe we get a
report back in several months on these negotiations to see if we want to take more extreme measures or see if we are
reaching some sort of agreement
and understanding where the
nexus -- understanding.
That is the place I would like to get. One step in that process, I do
not know this proposal, if they
say there is money to be saved I would like to look at that.
That is my first set of questions. I appreciate the long answer.
This is one where many to push
back a little bit more than saying this is a city hall decision. I know you are sensitive to that and I think the trend in a letter is a good for start.
-- transmittal letter is a good start.
Put my second question concerns the parking proposal.
i believe I have asked this question before. The plans for sunday parking is
not -- will not have the deakin running in and out of his church. You will be able to buy the entire block of time.
Do I understand that correctly?
>> we are proposing for our meters. it is not the entire time.
-- four-hour meters.
It would be able to load the meter of to four hours.
We will make it easier to pay
for parking, credit cards, paid by phone.
We are in the process of
upgrading all the meter said they can be prepaid. If you'
re right at 11:00 the meter will start drawn the money down at 12:00.
Chair nolan: time for the board to discuss this. I will remind you of the last hearing.
director heinicke: I am not sure we have the answer.
One of the main reasons we are increasing the citations for the
parking, sorry to switch
topics, the courthouse the that the state has imposed on us.
the last time around, I ask the question of whether san francisco is receiving that
money back or whether we are finding other counties courthouse.
-- funding other counties courthouses.
I think we need to our part state legislature with informations they can understand where this money is going.
If it is going back to find san francisco, that is one thing.
If it is going to fund courthouses and other counties, that is something we need to know. If we could give an answer on that question, I would appreciate it.
chair nolan: any other members of the board?
>>
I, too, am prepared to vote on the budget.
I have still below major concerns. The work order.
i would urge you do look at that work order because I think it is unfair that we are offsetting
that when we are in a budget crunch. That is $9 million.
Maybe we can offset it with other agencies.
I am not sure, but I would urge you to take a look at it.
the second thing, as you
know, I think san francisco is a great city, a diversity.
But promote diversity. We promotes families.
my concern is that it' s -- the sunday parking impacts the quality of life for families to move around the city.
It is a time when families move
around with small children, senior citizens.
When you start stipulating and implementing parking on sundays, it does have an adverse affect.
will the money that we raise
from parking meters, it will not
close that much of the gap?
The quality of life is very important. I worry that the impact the
quality of life, not just for
people that are here, but people come into the city to
appreciated and enjoy.
I would like us to think about what we are trying to tell
people about who we are, what we are, and what we offer.
I want people to enjoy it.
i am not sure of the fact that we promote other activities in
the city that impact services.
What is the impact of overall quality?
If we want to support other
organizations and functions on
sundays, we should look at the quality of life for everyone.
sunday is something that provides that opportunity. Now we' re taking that away.
Many social programs that are
provided throughout the city --
as we take away and people, and to volunteer for the social
programs, now they would have to
pay for parking and volunteer or get a ticket.
If you are coming into
volunteer, for example, how does
that impact the quality you are giving back?
It is something to think about.
i urge the board to think about that.
>> one of the things we need to look at to
-- do we have
a contingency plan, Mr. Director?
If we do
not pass the parking
meter part of the budget, do we
have a contingency plan to fall back on?
how do we get that $2 million back?
Are there ways we can do that?
>> I did not make contingency
plans for different line items in the budget.
We just went through an exercise of identifying what choices we
where -- we would make sure our revenue situation change.
I guess I would make the same choices. I would recommend the same choices.
Were we to forego the revenue is hgs
:::::::~
revenues, I would like to make the same recommendations for
where we would make expenditure reductions accordingly.
>> the other thing, we used to have a rainy day fund.
Nobody was supposed to be able to touch it.
based upon the recommendations
in the past, that rainy day
fund should be put back in
because it is our money to use
for things like maintenance.
If we have a hole in the
means department, we could use that funding to fill that.
-- maintenance department, we could use that funding to fill that.
>> in this budget, we are
proposing to fund $2 million a year towards trying to get back in line with the board' s reserve policy.
We will know at the end of the fiscal year but we have been there.
right now, we have $37 million in the balance.
We have not been adhering to the boards approved reserve policy. We are attempting in this proposed budget to get ourselves back on track.
>> ok.
Director ramos: thank you.
I can count on my hand how many
times and missed church' s growing up as a kid.
i happen to live about two blocks away from st. Ann' s.
Never farther than an arm' s length away from a rosary.
I been called many things in my
life, but never the devil.
it is shocking to hear that from a community that lives by judge
not lest ye be judged.
I have gotten minimal sleep
trying to put this thing together.
Trying to fight to keep people
from being displaced in their communities. Fighting to get people to church
so they can get to where they need to be.
I think it is very disingenuous
and unfortunate that we took the kind of comments that we did
given the direction that we have said we want to go.
making the city a place for everyone.
The reason I am on this board is because my christian
teachings, we should look out for those who are the least among us.
People that do not have a car cannot afford a car are being pushed out of this city because they cannot even take the bus. We have been told that if we do
not pass this budget
, it results in a service cut.
an addition from the revenue side, I want to speak to the
idea of what is happening in this city.
49 square miles.
Our city is not the same city that it was when it was sand dunes. It is not the same city that it
was 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago.
We are jammed packed to the gills.
On sunday, it is is about as bad as it ever is.
That affects our transit.
When we cannot find the support
that we need from communities
like yourselves, I am going to
sacramento in -- on May 2. I am going to talk to those people.
They can keep us from having to
transfer these painful sources of revenue on to the community because we have to protect what we have.
we do not get the kind of funding that we need and we are in these positions, we have to make tough choices.
I am thinking about the folks who do not get free transit.
They do not get free transit on holidays.
They have to pay for a trip to get to where they need to go after 6:00 on a sunday.
or 10:00 on a weekday. Or any time.
I really do, and and very
sensitive, to the needs of this community and the services that you offer.
I want to support you 100%. I' ve been there with you in the past and I will be there in the future, but at this point in time, we have to start thinking
about a different way that we use our streets.
In a way that it does not make the transit service more expensive and difficult to provide.
I do support the idea of sunday meters. Hopefully, at some point, we will get to a place where we can have more money than me know what to do with.
When we have people like you who
are active, all the folks who
came here and expect us to
extend the program, and you were
there to fight for more funding,
we might be able to see things differently.
At this plant, we are in a desperate situation and we have to do what we have to do.
In addition to thing about the long-term needs of providing
service to the people who are least able to get a around.
we'
re not talking about congestion fees.
We would charge people just to drive your car into the city.
That is maybe the next stop. I am asking you all to be engaged and to help us fight to keep us out of these predicaments.
And to come to more welcoming solutions. At this point, we have to do what we have to do. Thank you.
Director lee: this whole thing
on meters on sunday, I have seen areas where streets are just packed.
I went down to the financial district on sunday to help my wife " at a for office.
Every -- moved out of her officeevery spot was taken.
We were not charging for the meters.
I do understand the need for the faith community.
I do not know if it is possible,
you know, we have these smart
meters, if we can identify where these locations are at, what is the impact if we did not put these meters into effect at the churches?
I do not know.
a huge impact? It May not be.
Is that available?
>> logistically and
technically, that would be possible. Legally, I am not sure.
that it would be defensible.
It would be theoretically and administratively possible to do that.
I am not sure would be on solid legal ground to do that.
director lee: one of my main concerns that you have areas
that people part and they leave their vehicles there all day.
There are areas where I will not
even shop at because I know there is no way to get in there.
i go outside the city to do my shopping. It is impossible. Ok?
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
>> to let them know that it has been going on for a number of years. It is time to look at it and
maybe to share the pain would some other city agencies. Share the pain with the general fund.
It will be a hole in somebody' s budget that will have to be plugged. it is unfortunate that needs to be our budget.
It would be great to continue to look at that. I am ready to go ahead and make a motion to approve the budget.
I want to state that I am still completely in favor of the sunday parking meters. We have been doing a lot of work
around parking policy on this board.
We had a lot of goals and we have strategies in place as an agency.
Managing parking is one of them.
Just because it is a sunday does
not mean that we turn our backs and we stopped managing parking.
We need to keep our transit vehicles moving. We need to keep people moving
around the city and the most efficient manner.
bernie madoff will find that it is easier to find a meter
parking spot -- we May find that it is easier to find a metered parking spot once those are enforced.
People are paying for muni on sunday evenings.
It is -- you cannot make policy
changes without finding some group that seems to be hurt by this policy change.
It is always interesting to look at it the other way.
If we currently had a free muni on sunday for everybody, what position would be be taking to defend that for everybody?
I would like to look at it in the reverse.
if we were paying for sunday
meters all of these years, what would be the arguments we would suddenly be used?
I do not think it is gone to be
as bad as everybody thinks.
It is going to help our commercial areas. It is going to manage our parking. It will keep our transit vehicles running. and it is good policy.
I am willing to make a motion. >> is there a second? >> second.
Director bridges: I have a quick question.
is it possible -- to have some
type of exemption from a period of time?
Not all churches are located in those commercial areas.
A limited amount of churches.
>> administratively, it would be theoretically possible.
Legally, I am not sure we could do that.
I am happy -- I hear the question.
I have offered to address
specific location concerns with any party, not just faith based.
just as we do generally it with our parking policies are having
some adverse or unintended impacts. I am happy to explore that.
Faith based waivers probably would not be legal.
Director bridges: they could apply for that specific thing. We should explore the possibility.
It would not be in every district. It is a limited amount.
If we could see if there could
be some relief provided for
communities that could get away
with exemptions we have a motion and second on the floor. I will support it. I think we absolutely need to
get a budget passed to get to the budget -- order supervisors and the mayor.
I have several thoughts.
I think between now and implementation, and January of
next year, there is time to work out some details.
Along those details I have
heard are the powers of
enforcement, take a look at that again.
Possibility of
white zones and
this needed to be all over san francisco.
On the basis this is not going to happen until January, it will
not happen until all meters are
equipped with a capability and you' re able to pay by phone and all these other ways.
I would support the amendment.
The work order thing, I will identify with that one.
It is a good question to raise.
I think the seiu proposals that
were suggested are something we should look seriously at as well. If there are no more comments, I have a motion and a second.
>> does it mean that director
reiskin will come back?
>> does that sound reasonable to you?
Members here agree with that, I
would be happy to participate in any conversations around this as well. We have a motion and a second. No further issues? All in favor, said aye.
-- say aye.
we have a budget. >> item 14.
Approving a two year capital
budget and they fiscal year 13
budget, 477 million.
--
$477.8 for fiscal year 2014.
The capital budget is adequate to make substantial progress
toward meeting various goals and performance standards. And making the same
authorization to the director of transportation as you just did in the operating budget.
No one has indicated an interest in addressing you with regard to the capital budget.
>> are there any changes? There were some small changes made last time. >> that is correct.
Like with the operating budget,
you are looking at the same capital budget.
it is $1.10 billion capital budget. We have in the interim since last meeting refine some numbers
based on some updated
information from the mtc which
added to the overall amount.
it is $582.3 million.
It is as was proposed last time.
President Nolan: no one from the
public has expressed an interest? Is there motion to approve?
>> just a couple of comments.
director reiskin did explain my
concern around street safety, bike and pedestrian, some of those projects to fall under the
headings of other projects as you explained.
Some of them fall under transit
project and others under street redesign. It continues to be a concern to
me that you fund pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements to
the level that will get us to our stated goals that we have.
The board of supervisors has
adopted 20% bike trips by 2020 .
If you judge market street at 9:30 A.M., where there already.
We still have some work to do.
As I look through the capital budget, we have a lot of money
going toward projects to redesign our streets to make
them safer which I am 100% in favor for.
We are -- the thing that concerns me is we' re doing this
to keep us safe from cars and car drivers to cannot be trusted
to drive at an appropriate speed with an appropriate level of
safety.
I will circle back again to speed cameras and trying to get
those on our legislative agenda for 2013. We'
re going to have an example
from the city of chicago that
passed legislation which is very narrowly written and some interesting.
-- it is interesting.
We can save money in our capital budget if we can trust the
people in cars to drive in a safe and appropriate manner for the city. We do face the challenge that a lot of people are coming from
other areas, other regions and they are not used to driving in a congested urban environment.
to have a tool for the city and county of san francisco.
That will help us remind those
people that have transitioned to a different environment and what they might need to do and to have that be automated. We' re talking about the work order for the police department. How much money could we say there if we have some automated speed enforcement we could trust? we cannot afford to have a police officer on every block.
I know there is so -- some concern around pedestrian and bicycle safety. Concern for pedestrians to be
safe from cars and unfortunately, say from bicycles.
There is a lot we can do to yank the choke chain and remind the users that have to be concerned about every single
street users.
We need something that will get people'
s attention, talking
about automated speed.
We will have to redesign streets
we spent 40 years designing to facilitate the fast movement of automobiles. It is something that [Unintelligible]
We need -- a want to call that out in the budget.
We are going to have more people
on foot and on bicycles, b
people walking to and for -- from fabulous transportation options.
>> is there a second?
But I would like to --
>> lets make sure we have a second.
Director oka: one thing I am concerned about and have been
for a long time is we have
bicycles who on a regular basis
ride the red lights and we still
have that. what is going to happen if we do not stop that?
How can we stop bicycles -- bicycle riders who do not care
what decisions, they say it is too hard for me to stop so they speed through.
we have seen fatalities on both sides of that.
I want to see all the traffic in
san francisco obeying the law.
And some bicyclist do not care.
We want to make sure that hurts when they do not care.
that
is the only way that this bitter can change.
That is all I will say on that.
President Nolan: thank you. We have a motion and second to improve the capital budget as described by Mr. Reiskin.
is there any further discussion?
If not, we have a motion and a second. All in favor?
The ayes have it, we have a capital budget.
>> item 6, introduction of new or unfinished business by board members.
director heinicke:
my question
on new is -- or unfinished business relates to the taxis and the plan for how we' re going
to address medallion transfer and reform, all the things that are in the pipeline.
My understanding is we as a
board are waiting for a staff proposal for what to do next with the medallion reform proposal.
at the same time we have out the study to review public convenience and necessity, how
many more cabs either peak time
or full time.
Primarily full-time can be accommodated and are needed by
the people who run our cab companies.
After that point it would be a means of coming up with the
proposal that addresses the
needs within the context of a new proposal.
And the last time we spoke about this, I got the impression that
we were going to be on a more heastie time line that appears we are. I would like to check in with the director and see where we are. >>
president nolan: what we are planning to do at the May 15
board meeting --
it is our
intent to bring host of taxi
related matter to the board for its consideration. It would be the follow-up on the issues regarding credit cards,
electronic bills and backseat monitors. There is a number of other police code or other legislative
changes, some are clean up, some are tightening. But also bring up proposals for
the medallion sales.
They are the permanent medallion sales program.
As you mentioned, the public needs and necessities summer -- study will not be done until summer. We need to take environmental review. The recommendation that comes from that study in terms of if
and how, if
-- how many additional taxis we should put on the street, the fall. What we' re intending to do with
the medallion sales program is
develop it so it will work for whatever the outcome of the study is a we do not have to wait.
We should be bringing that.
We believe that the May 15
meeting will be a lot of taxi
issues on the agenda within a pcnm and
other aspects of the study.
director bridges: nkman:
I had a meeting
about the permitting process.
We had every brief conversation about this. They' re going through the
process -- for different saturdays or sundays when they close one block. It does not have any cross streets are transit.
There is a barrier for entry with all the costs involved.
I have an interest in this as it
relates to play street.
there was a block that seemed
to be crying out for place st. Wrightwood like to streamline the process so it is possible for a neighborhood group that
would get a permit to cover one sunday a month or every sunday without going through an onerous process.
>> will Mr. Reiskin look into that? >> item 7, executive director report.
>>
i was wondering if there was public comment on item 6.
President Nolan: we do not usually do that, do we? Go ahead.
>> thank you. A few brief updates.
Maybe I will start speaking to director oka'
s comments on the capital budget. We have been working closely
with the police department, with the D.A.' s office, the bicycle
advisory committee and
pedestrian safety committee, walk sf and our coalition.
-- the bike coalition.
People on both sides of the issue. Motorists, pedestrians, bicycles.
I did participate in media event
that david chiu held a week or
so ago in advance of his
introducing a resolution calling for a six streets program that would include enhance community
education and enforcement, a
target using data to target the most dangerous intersections and
all modes of traffic. Something we have been working on with the police department which is the development of a diversion program so that what
our goal is to change behavior and have spoken very well to the
behavior out there that is not acceptable.
It is happening by all modes of traffic.
We do not have traffic school for cyclists or pedestrians. We have been developing a
program that would enable us to do just that and it is something we will be bringing
back to the board in a couple of months.
Enforcement is part of the solution.
So is design and education.
we are trying to take a holistic approach and some of these
things are recommendations that came out of the bicycle plan that we' re getting to implementation. A few other notes.
Last week, nancy pelosi, mayor
lee, the fta
administrator
joined with david campos and the
chair to tour the central subway alignment. The administrator was in town
for a series of things he was doing in the bay area.
as we are one of the next if not
the next funding grant agreement
of for consideration, $942 million agreement, he took the opportunity with the leader and the leader offered strong
support for the project and the city' s ability to spend these dollars well and generate jobs and improve transit.
it was a good event.
It was an opportunity for the administrator to get an update on where we are with the project. My take is they were pleased with where we are.
There was a number of comments about family friendliness.
we see it as our role at the mta
to enhance quality of life and family friendliness as part of that. The board of supervisors adopted
a resolution urging that we
review our policy with regard to strollers on muni.
so we are in the process of doing that.
We had started working with some board members to understand the concerns that were hearing from their constituents.
We are currently evaluating a
couple of options that we will
review with our cac and the
accessibility advisory council with our labor unions and others
and bring back to the board once the review is complete.
>> that is not a new issue.
We revisited that two years ago.
We as a board after I was instructed on the stroller policy when I had a kid young enough to be in a stroller.
I raised it with the cac and made a recommendation. I am happy to hear the york
consulting with the cac but do not be under the impression this is a new issue. This is ground we have tried before.
i do not think the policy is perfect. >> that is good to know.
A quick update on high-speed rail.
The mtc a week or so ago
approved a multi agency memorandum of understanding that
charts a course for
electrification of the caltrain corridor an extension of
caltrain 2 as a first step
toward accommodating high-speed rail and developing stations from san jose to san francisco.
This is something that was a huge step forward in terms of
the region coming together and
doing so in a way that worked
for the high-speed rail authority and for the communities of the bay area.
Particularly san francisco to
make sure that we could advance and benefit from high-speed rail and realize the vision of
having the terminus in the transit center we are building at transbay. It follows a similar agreement was reached in southern california and those to bookends
of the high-speed rail I think
were hopeful in the passage --
helpful in the passage in approval of the revised business
plan just last week.
we have a very major stake in
that upgrades to caltrain, the connections to fourth and king
and the new connection of the
transbay terminal are very
important part of our overall transportation network in the city.
We have been actively engaged in that process at the staff level,
working with the city family and our regional partners and we see that as a great step forward.
I wanted to alert you and that
the public of some pretty significant work happening on
the doral drive -- doyal drive
to make way for its successor, the presidio parkway.
The big work will start April 27
at 8:00 P.M. And go through until 5:00 A.M. The following monday, April 30.
Which will completely close that road. The golden gate bridge will be
open during that time there will
be regional communication to urge people to avoid the golden
gate bridge since it will be --
have limited access.
Within san francisco, all traffic will be routed to park presidio boulevard.
I am using that as the only
point in or out of access of the golden gate bridge. it will be heavily congested.
We are joining with the region and urging folks to find other ways to go. We' re working closely with the
highway patrol park police, the police department, and our own pco'
s to coordinate and minimize to the possible extent we can.
We will be adjusting traffic signals, deploying pco'
s will be rerouted and facilitating the
caltrans use of science. A pretty significant
transportation impact.
Bond yee and his staff are working with that. They have found some additional
work they need to do and that work was going to be starting
last night where they are taking
a lane of doyle drive from
8:00 P.M. Each night through noon the next day.
To do some hazardous material abatement. we have been working closely with them on that and more nurturing the impact as the lead
up to this major weekend shutdown.
And then finally, as we come off
the heels of our own centennial
celebration, we are joining with the port of san francisco to jointly celebrate our respective
anniversaries in addition to our 150.
-- for 100, the port has 150. They have a jump on us. We'
re joining them tuesday, the
24th, as they kick off their
sesquicentennial with a photo
display in the ferry building.
We will have features from the
port and sfmta archives dating
back to the 19th century that
depict this energy that has been in place since before san
francisco existed between water
based transportation and surface transportation. We'
re happy to be joining with the port and jointly
celebrating and urged folks to check out that exhibit. That will be kicked off on the twenty-fourth of April.
That concludes my report.
President Nolan: comments or questions from members of the board? >> you do have public comment on the executive director' s report. Qu
>> francisco de
costa, eric
williams, no.
Gordon rowe, herbert weiner,
emile laurence.
President Nolan: who else?
>> tone lee.
>> commissioners, good evening, once again.
I want to speak on one topic very briefly that is not discussed but can be brought up under ongoing business.
you have a new directive to the
ramp taxing holders which are threats to remove the ramp or the rap taxes if they do not pick up enough handicapped.
I do not know how many bands are
out there but they cost -- vans
are out there but they cost
2000 bucks. If you do not pick up enough
paratransit, you can be suspended.
The revenues from your van will go to the city and county of san francisco. The letter is not signed.
it is not signed by any person from the sfmta. It has a group of different amalgamations in terms of who put it out.
There is this.
Even the sfmta admits that the paratransit pickups that the van
picks up are not necessarily wheelchair. 80% are not.
It is not clear whether they have to pick up wheelchair pickups or fare transit pickups
or force the drivers to start hanging around hospitals, handicapped centers, general hospital, the veterans hospital and I will state this emphatically.
In order to get my ramp in, i
spent seven months around the
veterans administration taking veterans almost for free trade
when I lived in my car at national cab because I did not make enough to pay date on sundays.
When I attempted to get my ramp van.
That is what you are pushing drivers to do with this
directors -- directive.
I leave you with that to be analyzed. Thank you for time.
President Nolan: thank you. Next bigger, please.
-- next speaker, please.
>> good afternoon.
the bicycle has a very low brick system.
The capacity a lot heavier than the bicycle.
180 pounds is the bicycle is running down the hill, 35 miles per hour.
A lot of bicyclist in an accident. Some of the people do not know and they get hit.
it is like a big heavy metal. If you'
re an old person like in the newspaper, you are finished.
If you would like to raise revenue, you have to target the bicycle people.
Bicycle people is a good target to make their money.
Licensing, liability, everything you say like taxi.
Taxi has a lot of liability and to have to put the speed bump on
some of the downhill lanes for
the bicycle hills -- lane only.
You have been to the airport.
Go down the ramp and they have a speed bump.
To let you know, this is you have to slow down.
The same in san francisco.
i saw you draw a lot of bicycle lanes ever were.
I saw you drop a lot of bicycle lanes.
I do not even see one single
bicyclist using that area.
But now it is [Unintelligible]
They half to merge into two lanes.
They make one small [Unintelligible]
The others have stopped.
They had to open one bicycle lane, not even one person was using it.
Thank you for your new system on market and mason. Now barry smith.
I turn left on though -- on the light.
-- now is very smooth.
Now he goes along with them a
draw a lot of bicycle lanes.
Some are nice and some are not very nice. You have to educate them.
>> the last person, herbert weiner.
>> now,
how many people on the board are bikers?
Mr. Ramos is, I believe he rides a bike. Are there other members? Ok.
i am sick and tired and ed fed up
of the board pandering to the bikers. You have ruled out the carpet to them, you have given them by clients, you have given them a free pass. What do we get for it?
two pedestrian deaths in the last year.
I do not think this board can afford to protect them anymore. There are hot potatoes. Neither can the board of supervisors.
What they have to do now is they
have to practice safety rules but they also have to contribute to the pot.
this is -- as this last gentleman pointed out. Why did not pay parking fees?
Why do they not pay for bicycle license?
There are 10,000 mike -- 10,000
members of the bicycle coalition. Multiply that and you have revenue. You have parking fees.
You also have parking fines.
they are demanding equal privileges and rights as
automobile riders, and yet they' re ducking their responsibilities. I am sick and fed up with this.
And the city as a whole is
prejudiced against them and for good reason. they have a lot of cleaning up to do for their act. One thing they can do is
contribute to the pot. Which is this budget.
And I believe it should be part
of the muni budget and it should be part of this one this year.
President Nolan: thank you.
Next item.
>> there will be no student advisory report.
Now you are moving on to
comment.
Our next speakers.
>>
afternoon -- good afternoon.
You have to have a lot of endurance to speak here at
public comment. I' m going to take this opportunity to focus on things we have talked about which I think is very urgent.
i did not do myself much service
by coming up here and
criticizing part it -- parking entrance practices.
I want to invite any member here
to come down to be set a cab, my company. If you have any questions about
how the industry works, questions about impact -- dispatch. People did not understand it. They do not understand the economic model, how it works in san francisco. I want to be open as a fleet
owner to invite any of you and have an open-door policy in terms of helping understand how this industry works.
Having said that, I am quite
amazed we are at a place right
now where we have so many
medallions that May be available for drivers that are lined up. They are lined up to purchase them.
The city is contemplating moving toward replacing working
drivers with themselves as the monthly income earner. The city can raise an enormous amount of money.
i mean enormous and I and politically correct ways.
Inpouring working drivers. I' m warning you that if you take away what has been great about san francisco' s medallion system, where the working driver
gets the medallion and replace
it with the city, there will be
an enormous backlash, whether they are sold or given away, working driver gets medallion and if you move toward a model that replaces the opportunity for working drivers to get medallions, there is going to be an enormous backlash in this industry.
Something that I myself foresee. I am hoping before we get to that place where you have a
concrete plan that you take more input from the industry and talk
about what should go forward in terms of medallion reform. There' s a lot of money here and I hope it is done correctly. Thank you.
>> our next speakers.
>> good afternoon.
I compliment you on your endurance and mine.
I have been in the cab business for 50 years or so.
It has been my habit over the
years to once in awhile stakeout and see what is going on.
-- sneak out and see what is going on.
I said if you have anything for me, I wanted to see how this batch is and how traffic is.
There were 2000 drivers waiting to drive and he did not have any calves.
I said I will forgo that. Maybe some other time, maybe on a sunday.
What I want to bring to you is some of their regulatory
impediments that seem to affect us.
just one. I had a chat with a fresh
manager -- a garage manager.
Cabs were ready to go.
They do not have that important thing from the airport that makes them a cab. what the heck is going on?
He said, in order to do that, I
need to have a permit from the
tax division of the sfmta.
Some piece of paper saying it is
ok for you to go to the airport
to get the detail decal. How long does that take?
sometimes two or three weeks. That is absurd.
You need to go any time you have a cap ready, get it inspected and let them know it is done.
I think that ought to be changed. Thank you.
President Nolan: next speaker.
>> good evening, almost.
Barry toronto.
I want to welcome Chairman Nolan back.
I hope everything is working.
President Nolan: it seems to be so far. >> we' re not getting specific here.
Anyway, I want to point out --
President Nolan: time is up. >> I need to seconds anyway. I want to bring up several issues.
One, I applaud you on how you
handled the use pass issue. At the same time you did not put
money in the budget for chaperones. I have taken the 48 before and the number of kids on the bus
and how they behave sometimes
is a long route and it goes on 24th street. It is uncomfortable being on the bus when they start acting out and start harassing the other passengers in the bus. It is an issue you need to do
with. Once this starts getting implemented.
It will lose other passengers on the bus who are paying the fare.
The next is the double parking issue. You worry so much about enforcing meters and putting
more meters and doing sundays. What about the fact the double
parking still exists, even in the evening hours?
you go one block on diamond
street, there is so much double parking.
You get somewhere their tagging, you' ll make so much money.
Also the white zone and taxi zone.
The taxi people are voting for
white zone enforcement. Why' d you get them to enforce the zones around hotels and other places where the
limousines and town cars are parking. You' re closing your eyes to all the money.
And also the future of
tac is important. we should take -- keep something in place.
Before May 15, it is important
to make sure you schedule and of town hall meetings so that
enough of it is vetted out by the industry and stakeholders before it comes to you at the mta.
You have people coming here and screaming they did not get a chance to this. Thank you.
>> our next speakers.
>> one thing that was not
examined in the budget, I am wondering about the 311 service.
Before that was instituted, the
municipal railway had a special section for taking complaints.
Now it is directed toward 311. I understand it is expensive. $1.97 for col.
There are a lot of calls that come in.
I am wondering if it is more
efficient to move that to the
municipal railway where it was before.
The second thing, just a general
comment, a reflection.
People go to helen minibuses but they never arrive on time and I am wondering if the devil has
not called Mr. Reiskin to complain. Thank you. >> a euronext speakers.
-- our next speaker is.
>> in communist countries, the college brainwash. In america at it should be called retraining, refresh.
I have been living in this city for 25 years and driven a cab for 22 years.
you
have thousand muni drivers, your hiring. A lot of them are young folks.
I saw many times they are more and more younger.
They always forgot.
Sometimes it has happened occasionally trade you need to
have -- occasionally.
you need to solve the problem.
Safety on the is mind training. They have a good hand and good leg, not like old folks but they forget about their mind.
They never remind themselves because they have [Unintelligible]
All the time from you. i have to drive every day to
make my on cam -- my own income.
I have to keep my car in very good condition.
The only lawsuit, you lose 10 million or 20 million.
They' re laughing, they had to
raise -- they lost another.
[Unintelligible]
All these folks are coming.
That is the truth.
Also,
this is a good city.
i think we can do better.
The fares are pretty low already.
In hong kong, you have to go far. You have to pay more money.
Every block a stop in san francisco. You' re on the schedule that you are combining some of the muni
stops, that is very good, too. Thank you.
>> our last speaker. >> good afternoon.
>> good afternoon, Chairman And directors.
There is a staff proposal out there. Maybe it has not gone out to yet.
the main feature is that it
would entail the leasing overtime of one-third of the
taxi fleet, over 500 medallions to cab companies rather than
issue to the drivers as his been the practice for over 30 years.
In 2010, you approved the sale of taxing medallions and I have
some profound problems with that program and that policy.
Nonetheless, one that was put
forward, it was sold in large part as a means of freeing up medallions for drivers.
This current proposal is irreconcilable with the policy
behind the italian sales -- medallions sales.
It will vastly reduce drivers'
chances of getting a medallion. The only thing they have in
common is revenue for your agency, the mta.
also, I have to say that leasing
medallions to certain favored
companies is going to have some grave consequences. When you' re getting rental income from the operation of medallions, you will be
partnering with these companies, these chosen companies. You' ll be giving them an economic advantage over the others and how does that square
with your role as an impartial regulator? Can you avoid the perception and
the reality of favoritism?
Will these companies be treated differently from -- for
regulatory and participatory issues?
What about liability issues? It is a huge can of worms. Unless it is a very light
meeting on the 15th, give us a time certain for these tax
issues so that drivers can
attend and also give us separate agenda items so all these things are not lumped together.
>> after I assured you we would
be here on May 15, for this item, it is possible it will not be until the first meeting in June. Whenever it is, we will make
sure to do outreach to all the
stakeholders.
Our intent is to try to keep the
agenda as clear as possible of non-taxi items so we can focus
on the many and challenging tax the issues we will be facing. I apologize for that misstatement.
President Nolan: I would support
if we can do it -- at a certain time.
People will not have to sit around for too long.
The idea of breaking up some of
the items in particular, this might be helpful.
Go ahead.
i would like to state this basically to you. As well as the rest of the commission.
Do not use the taxi business to solve your problems. It cannot solve them.
your problem limp -- your
problem basically remains with
wages and pensions of two-thirds of your employees that are taking your budget into the sky. Secondly, if you look at the overall changes that have taken
place in the taxi business sense
gavin newsom, and peskin got into a feud and put the mta in
charge of the taxi business, the
rules are changing so fast, most drivers do not know what is going on.
You have ataxia by azeri group that does not pay any attention
to any thing because they have no power whatsoever.
You make rules sitting back here in the back office that no one sees.
you have got to stop that.
If you look at the increases and I have looked at piles of them,
the phase in the taxi business,
we have fees that have grown up 800% since to have taken over.
We see fees now that we never saw before. That just popped up out of nowhere.
The actual cost to a driver and keep this in mind is running his
cab as a business, it is a small business?
I hear rumors that you want to
give medallions to taxi companies?
keep in mind [Unintelligible]
Because of the corruption in the
taxi business when medallions were controlled by firms and not drivers. Thank you for your time.
President Nolan: anyone else care to address the board backs
seeing none -- care to address the board?
>> maybe wec could
give him a
response in terms of what this is. >> I made a note and would be glad to report back to the board.
president nolan: next item.
>> the consent calendar.
Are -- Mr.
Grimes has requeste
d10.3 -- requested 10.3 be severed. >> second.
President Nolan: a motion and second. All in favor? All opposed? 10.3.
Who is going to speak to this?
>> that afternoon.
-- good afternoon. I know it is getting to that time of the day.
I will be quick.
I am the program manager at [Unintelligible]
in san francisco. We serve many of the disadvantaged communities as
well as -- within the southeast sector of the city.
We performed many outreach
efforts and programs to engage in our community that we serve.
we are looking to engage our community to ride bicycles or taking many of the pathways that connect our city. I encourage you not only to
accept this act but to reach out
and work with cbo'
s to perform
and plan outreach efforts and conduct educational programs for the entire city.
these programs connect our city. Thank you.
President Nolan: is there a motion on 7.3? >> yes.
President Nolan: any further discussion? All in favor?
Next item.
>> moving to close session.
President Nolan: is there a second? any further discussion? All in favor awe?
Will -- we will go into closed session. Thank you.
clerk: closed session.
The board of directors voted unanimously. The board also discuss litigation and labor negotiations but took no action.