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2:00 ‑ REGULAR MEETING ORDER OF BUSINESS 1. Call to Order Chairman Vaughns called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Present:
3. Announcement of prohibition of sound producing devices during the meeting. Chairman Vaughns announced that the ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers and similar sound-producing electronic devices are prohibited at the meeting. She advised that any person responsible for the ringing or use of a cell phone, pager, or other similar sound-producing electronic devices might be removed from the meeting. She also advised that cell phones that are set on “vibrate” cause microphone interference and requested that they be placed in the “off” position. 4. Approval of Minutes On motion to approve the minutes of the August 16, 2005 Regular Meeting: unanimously approved. 5. Communications Board Secretary Boomer stated that a closed session item regarding the Dominguez case had been added to the agenda after the agenda had been published. The agenda was re-published with the additional item in the manner specified by the Sunshine Ordinance. 6. Introduction of New or Unfinished Business by Board Members Director Din requested clarification between Mayor Newsom’s comments regarding processing time for the Residential Parking Permit program. A.E.D. Sunshine stated that he would look into it and would report back to the Board. Chairman Vaughns acknowledged receipt of information requested by the Board. She noted receipt of memos regarding crime statistics, staffing, signal timing on Third St., parking citation revenue and the policy on operator holidays and attendance. Chairman Vaughns stated that she had been invited and was privileged to attend the September 1, 2005 Citizen’s Advisory Council meeting and characterized the meeting interesting and very informative. She requested that staff make every effort to “bird dog” sidewalk parking as it was an expressed issue that should be prioritized. Chairman Vaughns also stated that there should be a concerted effort to enforce sidewalk parking. She requested information regarding deputizing disabled citizens to alert offenders that they are illegally parking on the sidewalk. Additionally, she suggested that board members accept the invitation to attend the CAC meetings when invited. Director Mezey stated that the recent SPUR report regarding Muni’s downward spiral contained detailed suggestions. No progress on the fiscal problems could be made without a meeting of the minds with management, employees, labor, the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor. A.E.D. Sunshine stated staff was already engaged in a broad analysis of the whole system, including ways to make it better. Staff will present the system analysis to the Board at a future meeting. Chairman Vaughns requested that A.E.D. Sunshine initiate the budget process in October and to involve the CAC in the budget process. She requested a timeline for how the budget process would be rolled out. Chairman Vaughns requested that Director Kasolas shepherd the budget process. Director Kasolas requested a cost benefit analysis regarding Los Angeles’s efforts to curb rear door boarding. Director Din requested information regarding workers compensation cases in the MTA security division. He expressed concern regarding the possibility of assaults and the MTA’s efforts to protect employees. Chairman Vaughns commended staff for their publicity effort regarding the September 1 fare increase. 7. Executive Director’s Report -Annual Rider and Employee Survey -Annual Marketing Plan -Ongoing Activities Acting Executive Director Sunshine stated that the September 1 fare increase went well and that there were very few incidents. He credited the work done in advance by employees. Director Din requested that staff provide information regarding missed service on September 1. A.E.D. Sunshine invited the Board to the Central Freeway and Octavia Boulevard opening scheduled for Friday, September 9th. It will be at 11:00 p.m. at the intersection of Market and Octavia. The San Francisco bicycle race was held over the Labor Day weekend and greatly disrupted traffic. Over 70 Parking Control Officers worked on Sunday and Muni had to reroute its’ service. A.E.D. Sunshine commended staff for the great job. A.E.D. Sunshine informed the Board that during the month of October, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) would be conducting a biennial audit of Muni’s rail and cable car divisions. The CPUC audits all transit properties that have rail divisions. A.E.D. Sunshine will present the final audit results to the Board. The MTA is standing by to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina. The City expects 300-500 people to be relocated to San Francisco. The Mayor’s office is coordinating efforts and has asked the MTA to provide transit vehicles, fast passes and maps. Chairman Vaughns commended the effort and urged staff to be proactive. The Committee of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) recently presented the MTA with the “2005 Employer of the Year” Award. Chairman Vaughns, along with A.E.D. Sunshine, accepted the award on behalf of the organization. Chairman Vaughns stated that it was no small honor to be recognized. She expressed hope that the public relations staff informs employees and the public about the honor. David Binder, President, David Binder & Associates, presented the annual Muni Rider and Muni and DPT Employee survey results. The overall ratings show no change from 2004 with most riders saying that service had stayed the same over the last six months. There are three areas that showed substantial improvement within the last year: safe operation of vehicles, operator helpfulness and communication with riders. 70% of the Muni employees are satisfied with the job Muni is doing serving its riders. 78% of Muni employees value their job and the majority of employees feel that management appreciates their work. Mr. Binder stated that with respect to the DPT employee survey, the overall results were slightly weaker than for Muni employees. When asked about how proud they were of the work they were doing, DPT employees saw a little dip from 2004. Job satisfaction saw a slight downturn as well, however a majority are satisfied with their relationship with their supervisors. Nearly half feel appreciated by management staff yet only one-third of DPT employees feel that the public appreciates their work. Director Din requested a breakdown of the survey results between old vs. new staff. Director Kasolas inquired if other agencies conducted surveys that could be used by the MTA as a basis for comparison. He requested that staff get back to the Board regarding the matter. Chairman Vaughns stated that the DPT survey results did not reflect favorably on us as an Agency and suggested that staff use the survey as a database to make immediate improvements. Marc Caposino, Marketing Director, presented the MTA Marketing Plan. Staff is focused on developing a “One MTA” website and more user-friendly transit maps. Chairman Vaughns requested that Mr. Caposino present a marketing plan to the Board that states and details goals, how staff is going to accomplish the marketing goals, how riders would be benefited and the cost involved. 8. Citizen’s Advisory Council Report Dan Murphy, Chairman, CAC presented the CAC’s report. Chairman Murphy expressed the CAC’s appreciation to Chairman Vaughns for attending their meeting. He stated that Paul Czechowicz had done an extraordinary job as the CAC’s staff liaison. He stated that the CAC would be discussing the SPUR report. Mr. Murphy stated that the warning that citizens put on cars parked on the sidewalk were not successful in changing behavior. The CAC had previously recommended a pilot program to establish the scope of fare evasion. Over time, the CAC expects that the scope will be larger than previously believed. The CAC also recommends that staff investigate using Translink for paratransit uses rather than using a separate debit card system. 9. Public Comment Sally Frye stated that she had been told that cutting bus lines and schedules and raising fares and laying off driver were necessitated by a bad financial situation. She stated that she was not in agreement with these measures as they could backfire and could cause riders to go to their cars. Last week’s news that one quarter of the buses were out of commission exacerbates the problem significantly. She inquired about the cost to employ the police on September 1 and wondered if the new Director of Transportation could be required to use Muni on a daily basis. She stated that revenue from the fare increase could help people hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barry Taranto stated that traffic engineers do wonderful work. He stated that DPT is understaffed which puts a lot of burden on staff. There are two wonderful dispatchers but the others are rude. The Enforcement department needs an overhaul. Recent changes to the paratransit debit card program have created turmoil amongst the taxicab companies. Howard Strassner, Sierra Club, stated that not changing the fast pass rates will be beneficial over the years and will speed up service. Mr. Strassner recently sent a letter that discussed how to resolve Muni’s financial issues. He stated that making more money from parking was easy to do. One area that the MTA hasn’t pushed it far enough is with downtown parking fees. THE FOLLOWING MATTERS BEFORE THE MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY BOARD ARE RECOMMENDED FOR ACTION AS STATED BY THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION, AND CITY ATTORNEY WHERE APPLICABLE. EXPLANATORY DOCUMENTS FOR ALL CONSENT AND REGULAR CALENDAR ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AT 401 VAN NESS AVE. #334. CONSENT CALENDAR 10. All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Calendar, are considered to be routine by the Municipal Transportation Agency Board, and will be acted upon by a single vote of the Board. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Board or the public so requests, in which event the matter shall be removed from the Consent Calendar and considered as a separate item. (10.1) Requesting the Controller to allot funds and to draw warrants against such funds available or will be available in payment of the following claims against the MTA:
RESOLUTION 05-138 (10.2) Approving the following traffic modifications:
RESOLUTION 05-139 (10.3) Authorizing the Director to execute an Agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to obtain up to $657,991 as reimbursement for MUNI's participation in the 2005 Spare the Air/Free Morning Transit Commute program. (Explanatory documents include a staff report, resolution and agreement.) (MUNI) RESOLUTION 05-140 No public comment. On motion to approve the Consent Calendar: ADOPTED: AYES – Black, Din, Kasolas, McCray, Mezey and Vaughns REGULAR CALENDAR MUNICIPAL RAILWAY 11. Authorizing the Director to execute the Tenth Amendment to Contract No. CS-116, Design and Construction Support Services for Muni Metro East Light Rail Vehicle Maintenance and Operations Facility with Gannett Fleming, for an amount not to exceed $3,313,629, for a total contract amount not to exceed $12,262,990, and for a contract extension of two and one-half years, for a total contract term of ten years. (Explanatory documents include a staff report, resolution and amendment.) No public comment. In response to questions by Director Din, Vince Harris, Deputy General Manager, Construction stated that the contract is associated with the Metro East construction contract. The consultant’s work was broken into three pieces: conceptual engineering, detailed design and construction support services. It is typical in construction contracts to have either city employees or consultant staff provide construction support services which amounts to 2-5% of the cost of construction. This contract provides engineers who will assist the Stacy Witbeck, the construction contractor, throughout the construction of Metro East. Director Din stated that he was not in favor of providing additional funds for these services at this time. RESOLUTION 05-141 On motion to approve: ADOPTED: AYES – Black, Kasolas, McCray, Mezey and Vaughns NAYES – Din 12. Approving the lease of approximately 34,685 square feet of space on the basement level of 1 South Van Ness Avenue at a total annual rent of approximately $408,135 plus an estimated $27,600 per year in payments for utilities and other services for storage space converted to adjunct Revenue Center space; and authorizing and approving the expenditure of moving costs and tenant improvement costs relative to the exercise of Options #2 and #6 in an amount not to exceed $1.8 million. (Explanatory documents include a staff report and resolution) No public comment. RESOLUTION 05-142 On motion to approve: ADOPTED: AYES – Black, Din, Kasolas, McCray, Mezey and Vaughns RECESS REGULAR MEETING AND CONVENE CLOSED SESSION CLOSED SESSION 1. Call to Order
Chairman Vaughns called the closed session to order at 4:12 p.m. 2. Roll Call Present:
Also present:
3. Discussion and vote pursuant to Administrative Code Section 67.11(a) as to whether to conduct a closed session and invoke the attorney‑client privilege. On motion to invoke the attorney-client privilege: unanimously approved. 4. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9 and the Administrative Code Section 67.8 (a) (3), the Municipal Transportation Agency Board will meet in Closed Session to discuss and take action on attorney‑client matters in the following case: CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL Existing Litigation: (4.1) Aurelio & Jobina Tongol, Superior Ct. #430007 & 440234 filed on 10/15/04 for $2,500,000 RESOLUTION 05-143 On motion to approve: ADOPTED: AYES – Black, Din, Kasolas, McCray, Mezey and Vaughns 5. Pursuant to Government Code Sections 54956.9, and Administrative Code Section 67.8 (a) (3) the Municipal Transportation Agency Board will meet in closed session to discuss attorney‑client matters in the following case: CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL Anticipated Litigation: ______ As defendant __1__ As plaintiff 6. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9 and the Administrative Code Section 67.8 (a) (3), the Municipal Transportation Agency Board will meet in Closed Session to discuss and take action on attorney‑client matters in the following case: CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL Existing Litigation: Humberto Dominguez, Superior Ct. #422963 filed on 7/31/03 ADJOURN CLOSED SESSION AND RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING - The closed session was adjourned at 5:08 p.m. 13. Announcement of Closed Session. Chairman Vaughns announced that the Board met in closed session to discuss the Tongol and the Dominguez cases with the City Attorney. The Board voted unanimously to settle the Tongol case and took no action on the Dominguez case. The Board also met in closed session to discussed anticipated litigation with the city as plaintiff. The Board took no action on that matter. 14. Motion to disclose or not disclose the information discussed in closed session. On motion to not disclose the information discussed: unanimously approved. 15. Approving the Third Amendment to Contract No. MR-1034R and Settlement Agreement with Alcatel Transport Automation to resolve claims and disputes between the City and Alcatel regarding the nature and extent of contract work remaining to be performed, system performance specifications and requirements, work schedules, payment schedules, liquidated damages for non-performance, and release of retention related to the Advance Train Control System Project. (Explanatory documents include a staff report, resolution and contract modification.) No public comment. RESOLUTION 05-144 On motion to approve: ADOPTED: AYES – Black, Din, Kasolas, McCray, Mezey and Vaughns ADJOURN - The meeting was adjourned at 5:11 p.m. A tape of the meeting is on file in the office of the Secretary to the Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors. Roberta Boomer Board Secretary The Ethics Commission of the City and County of San Francisco has asked us to remind individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance [S.F. Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code section 2.100 et seq.] to register and report lobbying activity. For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, please contact the Ethics Commission at 415-581-2300; fax: 415-581-2317; 30 Van Ness Ave., Suite 3900, SF, CA 94102-6027 or the web site: sfgov.org/ethics.
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