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2:00 ‑ REGULAR MEETING ORDER OF BUSINESS 1. Call to Order Chairman Vaughns called the meeting to order at 2:07 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 Director Kasolas expressed disappointment with the minutes and stated that his requests were not noted. He requested a transcript of the meeting and that the minutes be carried over to the next meeting. Consideration of the meeting minutes of November 1, 2005 was continued to a future meeting. 5. Communications Board Secretary Boomer stated that the Quarterly Financial Report scheduled for presentation under the Executive Director’s Report had been continued to the next meeting. Chairman Vaughns acknowledged and thanked MTA staff and the Police Officers Association for their efforts to recognize Rosa Parks. Chairman Vaughns requested that the board secretary read the article entitled “Same Boat Different City”, published by the San Francisco Examiner on November 13, 2005. Ms. Vaughns stated that the budgetary difficulties experienced by the MTA are shared by other transit properties across the nation. Director Kasolas expressed appreciation to the Transportation Authority for the October 11, 2005 memo that discussed long-term operating budget trends for Muni and requested that staff cooperate with the Transportation Authority to address the potential cost savings discussed in the memo. He requested a report on the matter in 60 days. 6. Introduction of New or Unfinished Business by Board Members Chairman Vaughns announced that the Board would hold a special meeting on Friday, November 18th at 3:00 p.m. and requested the board secretary to distribute the agenda. 7. Executive Director’s Report (For discussion only)
A.E.D. Sunshine stated that the Triennial Rail Safety Audit was complete. The CPUC made few recommendations and stated that in some areas, the MTA was way ahead of its’ peers in California. They called the audit a significant improvement over the 2002 audit, and a tremendous improvement over the 1999 audit. A.E.D. Sunshine stated that the audit validated staff’s efforts over the past few years regarding safety and thanked staff for their efforts. The 2005 Public Managerial Excellence Awards, sponsored by the Municipal Fiscal Advisory Committee, SPUR, and the Chamber of Commerce, will honor city employees for their efforts at a lunch with Mayor Newsom on December 7. The MTA nominated Jack Fleck, Marty Mellara, and Kerstin Magary for their leadership, vision, and contributions to the larger San Francisco Community. Ms. Magary was chosen by MFAC to receive the MFAC award for 2005 because of her outstanding project management skills. Chairman Vaughns congratulated the nominees on behalf of the board. A.E.D. Sunshine introduced the revised Quarterly Service Standards report. The report has been combined into a single document to reflect “one MTA” and reflects the first quarter of fiscal year 2006. Director McCray arrived at the meeting. Debbie Denison, Acting Manager, Transportation Technology, presented the MTA quarterly service standards report. In response to a discussion regarding whether the goal of 85% on-time performance was achievable, A.E.D. Sunshine stated that staff would identify and compare what means other transit properties were using to achieve on-time performance. 8. Citizen’s Advisory Council Report Daniel Murphy, Chairman, CAC, stated that the CAC had no new recommendations to present. The charter requires that the CAC review the budget. The CAC will present their recommendations on the budget to the Board soon. He stated that the CAC’s position regarding on-time performance has been that if the MTA eliminated the early arrival of vehicles, the MTA would be close to achieving the 85% OTP goal. The MTA is far from proving that 85% is not achievable. He noted that changing the on-time performance goal would require a vote of the people. 9. Public Comment Norm Rolfe stated that today, both the Chronicle and the Examiners carried stories about a parking lot operator that was being chased by the “feds” for not paying taxes. He suggested that the MTA get together with the City Attorney to make sure the city goes after the operator for evasion of parking taxes since those taxes are a source of revenue for Muni. Mr. Rolfe stated that the business of buses arriving early has to be taken seriously and suggested that leaving early should be counted against the operator. Taso Zografos spoke about the paratransit debit program. He stated that the original author and architect of the project followed the Department of Transportation standards to design a new technology so that taxicab operators could talk to each other. The Taxi Commission embraced the approach, however, the project was changed after the contract was awarded. This has made taxicab companies furious. He has filed a federal complaint regarding the project. Bruce Oka stated that the paratransit debit project would equip taxicabs so that all taxi drivers could take advantage of the paratransit debit card system. Currently only Yellow Cab can use the technology. He urged the MTA to re-look at this project. He stated that the community doesn’t want to delay the project but the current project is going to hurt the community as a whole if we don’t get cooperation from all sides. Dan Hinds, President, National Cab Company, stated that he supported the project in the beginning but Muni shifted to a single vendor approach without informing or consulting cab companies and Muni cut out DBE participation. Despite united opposition from cab companies, Muni seems committed to continuing with the project. He expressed support for a debit card project and urged the MTA not to force a solution down the throat of cab companies that will be an untenable and outmoded solution. Francisco DaCosta stated that a good transportation document from the Planning department was necessary. The MTA should study the housing element of the Master Plan to understand quality of life issues. He noted that safety on buses had increased and wondered about the stress level of operators. Real issues affecting driver and passenger safety and that affect quality of life are not being addressed. Herbert Weiner stated that Muni produced horror stories daily. Buses aren’t adhering to the new schedule. Management staff should be held accountable for achieving the standards under threat of suspension. Everything should be done to restore service that has been slashed. The MTA should focus on fixing Muni management rather than its’ operators or passengers. 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 05-169 (10.2) Authorizing the Director to execute the First Amendment to the Operating Agreement and License with the Friends of the Cable Car Museum, Inc., to extend the Agreement for one year, from December 1, 2005, through November 30, 2006. (Explanatory documents include a staff report, resolution and amendment.) (MUNI) RESOLUTION 05-170 (10.3) Authorizing the Director of Transportation to transfer $3.2 million in Regional Measure 2 grant funds between two E-Line projects, from the project to rehabilitate 5 double-ended historic streetcars to the project to purchase and rehabilitate 11 historic streetcars; and approving the Initial Project Reports and Cash Flow Plans. (Explanatory documents include a staff report, resolution project reports and financial plans.) (MUNI) PUBLIC COMMENT: Peter Ehrlich stated that the double-ended PCC’s were more flexible than single-ended cars. He is appalled that the money to rebuild the remaining four “torpedoes” has been yanked or pushed aside. This has gone on for years. There are people on Muni staff who seem to be indifferent to the E-line project. He urged the Board to find the money and move ahead as soon as possible. At the request of Chairman Vaughns, this item was continued to the next meeting. (10.4) Authorizing the Director to execute Amendment No. 6 to the Agreement with ATC/Vancom to lease 17 accessible vans to ATC, with an option to lease three additional vans, for sublease to Lift Van/ADA Access service providers participating in the City's paratransit program. (Explanatory documents include a staff report, resolution and amendment.) (MUNI) RESOLUTION 05-171 On motion to approve the Consent Calendar (Item 10.3 severed): ADOPTED: AYES – Black, Din, Kasolas, McCray, Mezey and Vaughns REGULAR CALENDAR DEPARTMENT OF PARKING AND TRAFFIC 11. Approving the following traffic modification: ESTABLISH - TOW-AWAY, NO STOPPING, 5 AM TO 9 AM, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY - Trumbull Street, north side, from Congdon Street to 100 feet easterly. (Explanatory documents include a staff report, and resolution). Bond Yee, deputy director, DPT, presented the item. Since the November 1 meeting, DPT staff discussed the matter further with Muni and the neighbors. He recommended that the project be further scaled back to begin at 6:00 a.m. rather than 5:00 a.m. He stated that this solution is the best that DPT could do to address both Muni’s needs and the needs of the residents. PUBLIC COMMENT: Steven Inferrera presented a petition from 51 people from different households who are opposed to losing any parking spots. He stated that he had many suggestions regarding how to resolve the problem and would like to work with staff on an alternative solution. The suggestions include moving the sidewalk, rerouting the bus to Alemany, and turning the bus back at Silver and Mission. Referring to the earlier report on on-time performance, Cindy Toste stated that she hadn’t had a problem with buses being on time and that she could set her clock by the buses. With respect to the Trumbell St. modification, she stated that the buses don’t seem to be having a problem with the current configuration. She noted that during the Christmas holiday, parking would be worse. She urged reconsideration of the modification. The Board accepted Mr. Yee’s recommendation to restrict the hours of the tow-away zone from 5:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. and requested that the resolution be revised to reflect that change. RESOLUTION 05-172 On motion to approve: ADOPTED: AYES – Black, Din, Kasolas, Mezey and Vaughns NAYES – McCray 12. Authorizing the Director to execute the contract with Pacific Park Management, Inc. for the management of the Mission Bartlett Garage, for a term of six years commencing January 1, 2006, with extension options not to exceed four years, for a monthly management fee of $1,000 dollars, and with an annual incentive fee not to exceed $25,000 dollars per contract year. (Explanatory documents include a staff report, resolution and contract.) PUBLIC COMMENT: Luis Granados, Mission Economic Development Association, stated that MEDA was interested in working with DPT to make this a win-win situation. Rosabella Safont stated that she had grave concerns about the process of putting contracts out to bid. They have worked for 14 years to make a safe garage for the Mission district. The bid process disadvantaged MEDA. Provisions should be made for minority firms. Gloria Bonilla, San Francisco Latino Coalition, stated that many Latino organizations worked hard to establish the garage project. She just learned that a private contractor might be awarded the contractor due to technicalities. It is important that Mission neighborhood organizations and residents be given an opportunity to weigh in on the matter. Robert Stang, President, Pacific Park Management, stated that his company is 100% minority-owned. The company also manages the garages at 16th and Hoff St. and San Francisco General Hospital. Through partnerships in the community, they have increased revenues by 100% at the 16th and Hoff garage. His company is excited about the opportunity to manage the Mission-Bartlett garage and will continue their long history of involvement in the community at this location. The bid process was open and fair. Chairman Vaughns requested that the item be continued to the next meeting. MUNICIPAL RAILWAY 13. Adopting the FY2006-FY2025 Short Range Transit Plan. (Explanatory documents include a staff report, resolution, summary of comments and plan.) No public comment. Director Kasolas stated that he had five pages of comments regarding items that he was not comfortable with. He reviewed his recommendations and stated that he would like to hear from the Transportation Authority on this matter. He called the document a “work in progress” that wouldn’t be an effective tool if it wasn’t fixed. The MTA needs to show that we want an effective relationship with our local funding agencies. He requested that the document be returned to staff and that staff provide a letter from the Transportation Authority that shows that the TA is supportive of the plan. Bill Lieberman, deputy director, Planning stated that the Transportation Authority had seen all the changes and that they had raised no issues with him regarding the document. Chairman Vaughns stated that it would be in order for Director Kasolas to meet with the acting executive director and staff to discuss his issues. She requested that the item be continued to the December 6 meeting to allow Director Kasolas time to meet with staff. This item was tabled for consideration at the meeting of December 6, 2005. MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY 14. Presentation of MTA Division Budget Plans for FY2007. (Explanatory documents include a staff report.) Bill Lieberman, Deputy Director, Planning, presented the division work plans and goals for FY07. Bond Yee, Deputy Director, Department of Parking and Traffic, presented the division work plans and goals for FY07. Ron Szeto, acting Director, Parking Authority, presented the division work plans and goals for FY07. Chairman Vaughns requested that language be inserted into the Parking Authority’s work plan that acknowledges the Board of Directors as the body that sets policy for the Parking Authority. No public comment. RECESS REGULAR MEETING AND CONVENE CLOSED SESSION CLOSED SESSION 1. Call to Order Chairman Vaughns called the closed session to order at 4:59 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) WPK Third Street Consultants, dated July 12, 2005 for $825,000 RESOLUTION 05-173 On motion to approve: ADOPTED: AYES – Black, Din, Kasolas, McCray, Mezey and Vaughns ADJOURN CLOSED SESSION AND RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING - The closed session was adjourned at 5:19 p.m. 15. Announcement of Closed Session. Chairman Vaughns announced that the Board met in closed session to discuss the WPK Third Street Consultants contract with the City Attorney. The Board voted unanimously to settle the matter. 16. Motion to disclose or not disclose the information discussed in closed session. On motion to not disclose the information discussed: unanimously approved. ADJOURN - The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 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 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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