This is the archival website for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). It is not kept up to date. Please visit the SFMTA website for current information. SFMTA Board > Special Meeting March 4, 2011, minutes |
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ORDER OF BUSINESS 1. Call to Order Chairman Nolan called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. 2. Roll Call Present:
3. Announcement of prohibition of sound producing devices during the meeting. Chairman Nolan announced that the ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers and similar sound-producing electronic devices are prohibited at the meeting. He 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. He also advised that cell phones that are set on “vibrate” cause microphone interference and requested that they be placed in the “off” position. Director Oka arrived. 4. Communications None 5. Introduction of New or Unfinished Business by Board Members None 6. Citizens’ Advisory Council Report No report. 7. Public Comment Dorian Maxwell stated that the SFMTA needs to clean house starting with the Board. Negligent upkeep of this system is ridiculous. Operators are out there everyday with defects in the system such as failing lights. The Board compromises safety for service. Please address this ASAP. This weekend a compressor blew up which is a potential safety issue for the driver. It’s the Chairs responsibility to make sure management is doing their jobs. He urged the Board to hire staff that knows what they are doing. David Reardon, Public Service Union, stated that the pension issue is an economic crisis scam. With the recent service cuts and service adjustments, the operators are under pressure to break rules. He stated that operators follow the rules but was received warning letters and suspension letters. Management isn’t engaging the operators. Their only approach was punitive. Contrary to statements by Mr. Ford, safety is not the number one priority. The Budget is their priority. Michael Barrett, stated that he is concerned about safety with muni. The central subway project specifically has drained millions. The construction joke has started through the busiest part of the city. Steve Zelfner, stated that operators have challenged the city for workers safety and health and they’ve been retaliated against. They’ve been shut out! The Agency has been negligent and is not protecting the operators. This needs to be prosecuted. People are going to be killed and injured and the drivers will be blamed. It’s said there are too many pensions but the City has billionaires. It is illegal to retaliate against the drivers Alex Hodson, field rep SEIU, stated that there was a meet and confer held by the city at the Department of Human Resources regarding the parking issue. No representative was present from the SFMTA, so the city couldn’t answer questions. He requested that staff attend the meeting so there can be an open dialogue. Wilma Pang, stated that she is a senior citizen that travels to Chinatown. Senior citizens will have to walk a long distance. She asked the Board to consider better plan for seniors regarding the Central Subway before constructing it. There are a lot of unsafe buildings. Please consider safety for seniors at Central Subway. Malcolm Heinicke arrived. THE FOLLOWING MATTERS BEFORE THE SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY BOARD OF DIRECTORS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR ACTION AS STATED BY THE SFMTA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO OR CITY ATTORNEY WHERE APPLICABLE. EXPLANATORY DOCUMENTS FOR ALL CALENDAR ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AT 1 SOUTH VAN NESS AVE. 7th FLOOR. SPECIAL CALENDAR 8. Presentation regarding CPUC Report on SFMTA Compliance with Safety Regulations and Material Conditions Affecting Safety. (Explanatory documents include an executive summary.) (Reginald Mason/John Haley) Reginald Mason, director, Safety, Training, Security and Enforcement and John Haley, director, Transit Services presented the staff report. PUBLIC COMMENT: Mike Postell stated that he has been a rail operator since 1980 and is here to provide assistance. He has been here through many CEO’s but no one seems to listen. He asked if the bi-weekly safety meetings with CPUC are still taking place and if JLMB is present. He stated that we don’t need the ACTS in the Sunset tunnel because there is too much foot traffic. He has questions for CPUC. The Agency only has single or two car train which isn’t efficient. Rafael Cabrera, Local 250-A, stated that he is glad the CPUC has made the report because the operators have talked to management about the same issues. He asked if this is a complete report because he thinks there’s more. Page 5 of the report states work was finished in 2008, but it wasn’t finished until 2011. These issues should be taken care of sooner. SFMTA waits until the last minute. Safety should be the number one priority. Management has repeatedly deferred maintenance. Cracked rails, loose bolts and defective lights are dangerous. This is not TWU against MTA. Operators are made to be the scapegoats. He wishes the Board would read the whole report to see all of the deficiencies. Steve Zelfner, Public Workers for Action, stated that this report is a statement that this system has serious failures. Management says everything is fine but everything isn’t fine. People are getting killed and drivers are being retaliated against when they complain about defects. The Agency can’t even keep this system running properly. The report didn’t mention union collaboration and he’d like to know if they are involved. Management doesn’t care and drivers and blamed for the breakdown of the system. The Agency negligence is intolerable. He called for an investigation on employees that have made complaints and been retaliated against for making complaints. Bob Planthold, stated that the report says that good things have been done. He doesn’t see the context on page nine of the report and points three and four have numerous deficiencies. He asked if the CPUC stated audits should have been done weekly. The details are not present. He asked what the context for the 98% reliability is and what the industry standards are. He asked how the audit compares with other agencies. 9. Discussion and vote pursuant to Administrative Code Section 67.10(d) as to whether to conduct a closed session and invoke the attorney‑client privilege. On motion to invoke the attorney-client privilege: unanimously approved. RECESS REGULAR MEETING AND CONVENE CLOSED SESSION CLOSED SESSION 1. Call to Order Chairman Nolan called the closed session to order at 10:28 a.m. 2. Roll Call Present:
Also present: Julia Friedlander, deputy city attorney 3. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957 and Administrative Code Section 67.10 (b), the SFMTA Board of Directors will meet in closed session to discuss: PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: Executive Director/CEO Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr. ADJOURN CLOSED SESSION AND RECONVENE OPEN SESSION - The closed session was adjourned at 10:48 a.m. 4. Announcement of Closed Session. Chairman Nolan announced that the SFMTA Board of Directors met in closed session to discuss the performance evaluation of the Executive Director/CEO but took no action. 5. 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 10:49 a.m. A tape of the meeting is on file in the office of the Secretary to the San Francisco 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; 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 220, SF, CA 94102-6027 or the web site: sfgov.org/ethics. |
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