Government Audit and Oversight Committee Regular Meeting – November 4, 2021
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Government Audit and Oversight Committee Regular Meeting – November 4, 2021
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee, chaired by Supervisor Dean Preston and including Vice Chair Connie Chan and Committee Member Supervisor Raphael Mandelman, held a regular meeting on November 4, 2021, at 18:15 UTC (10:15 AM PST). The meeting addressed four agenda items, including annual reports from two improvement districts, a hearing on Muni service restoration, and a hearing on the seismic retrofit of 301 Mission Street (Millennium Tower). The meeting was held remotely due to the pandemic.
Consent Calendar
- Resolution approving annual report for the Tourism Improvement District (TID) and Moscone Expansion District (MED) for FY 2019-2020 – Unanimously approved with a positive recommendation to the full Board of Supervisors (3-0).
- Resolution approving annual report for the Japantown Community Benefit District (CBD) for FY 2019-2020 – Unanimously approved with a positive recommendation to the full Board (3-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Muni Service Restoration (Item 3): Over a dozen callers spoke, including representatives from Japantown for Justice, Senior & Disability Action, Transit Equity SF, and community members. All urged full restoration of all Muni lines to pre-pandemic levels, criticized shortened routes and increased transfers, and called for more inclusive community engagement. Speakers emphasized that the current “transfer-most” approach disproportionately harms seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income riders.
- Millennium Tower Seismic Retrofit (Item 4): One caller, David Williams, raised concerns about potential risks from the foundation upgrade, including asymmetric stiffness and durability of the mat slab.
Discussion Items
- Muni Service Restoration: SFMTA Director Jeff Tumlin, Transit Director Julie Kirschbaum, and Board Chair Gwyneth Borden presented a proposed Winter 2022 service restoration plan. Key points included:
- The plan recommends restoring six of eight suspended all-day routes (e.g., the 6 Parnassus, 28R, 23, 43) and partial restoration of the 2, 10, 21, and 31, while not restoring the 47 or 3 Jackson.
- The J Church line pilot (surface-only with transfer) is under review, with options for full subway service at lower frequency.
- Staffing shortages due to operator vacancies and the vaccine mandate (110 operators unavailable) remain barriers. 95% of staff are vaccinated.
- Federal funding (including $29M from MTC) buys time but does not cover long-term structural deficits; ongoing funding is needed.
- TWU Local 250A President Roger Marenko and Executive Vice President Pete Wilson criticized the agency for an “austerity approach” and failure to meet and confer on service changes, and argued that enough operators exist to restore full pre-pandemic service.
- Supervisor Preston urged a clear commitment to restore all lines and full routes, not just partial services, and called for transparent future outreach.
- Millennium Tower Seismic Retrofit: Supervisor Aaron Peskin, sponsor of the hearing, led discussion. Presentations from:
- Charles Litt (HOA attorney) defended the fix as having expert consensus.
- Ron Hamburger (Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, structural engineer) detailed the perimeter pile upgrade (52 casings/piles) which caused accelerated settlement (building tilted ~28 inches NW). New installation methods (pilot tested in October) reduced settlement to negligible levels. He stated the building could safely tilt up to 40 inches (serviceability) or even 80 inches west under extreme earthquake, though these figures have not been fully reviewed by the city’s Engineering Design Review Team (EDRT).
- Matt Dutro (project manager) reported ongoing interior monitoring and repairs.
- Neville Pereira (DBI) and Patrick O’Reardin outlined DBI’s oversight, including daily inspections and a new threshold (0.25” settlement per installation) triggering a pause.
- Greg Deerlin (Stanford professor, EDRT chair) described the team’s independent review of design and monitoring. He noted the EDRT has not yet validated Hamburger’s latest safety thresholds.
- Ben Turner (Dan Brown & Associates, drilling expert) confirmed the pilot casings were successful, and the next step is a 24-inch pile test.
- Supervisor Peskin expressed concern about relying on the same geotechnical firm (Treadwell & Rollo) for EDRT review given original design errors, and called for a third-party independent assessment of the “point of no return” for tilt.
Key Outcomes
- Muni Service Restoration: The hearing was continued to the call of the chair (passed 2-0, with Member Mandelman absent). No final decisions were made; the committee will revisit after further developments.
- Millennium Tower Seismic Retrofit: The hearing was continued to the call of the chair (passed 2-0, with Member Mandelman absent). Supervisor Peskin requested a future hearing to review the EDRT’s analysis of new tilt thresholds and potential legislative action for independent oversight.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. This meeting will come to order. Welcome to the November 4th, 2021 regular meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I'm Supervisor Dean Preston, Chair of the Committee, joined by Vice Chair Supervisor Connie Chan and Committee Member Supervisor Raphael Mandelin. Our committee clerk is John Carroll. And also want to extend our thanks to Maria Pena and Kalina Mendoza from SFGov TV for staffing this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do we have some announcements? Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. The minutes will reflect that committee members are participating in this remote meeting through video conference to the same extent as though physically present in their committee room. The board recognizes that public access to city access is essential. Anyway, following along with Carl's microphone. Hang on one moment, echo that I'm going to. Sorry about the interruption. First, public comment will be available on each item on this agenda, either cable channel 2678 or S or uh 99, as well as sfgovtv.org. Uh we'll be streaming the public comment call-in number across the screen. You should see that now. Each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak. Comments or other opportunities to speak during the public comment period are available to you via phone by dialing 41565501. The meeting ID for today's meeting is 249211 8986. Following that, you should dial the pound symbol twice to be connected to the meeting. When you're connected, you will hear the meeting discussions, but your line will be muted and in a listen mode. When your item of interest comes up on our agenda, dial star, followed by three to be added to the speaker line. Best practices are to call from a quiet location to speak clearly and slowly and to turn down your television video streaming device and whatever you may be using to access to these proceedings. Alternatively, you may submit your public comment in writing. You can do so by emailing them to me. I'm the government audit oversight committee clerk. My email address is J-O-H-N period C-A-R-R-O-L-L at SFGOV.org. Or you can send your written comments through the post to our office in City Hall. That is the clerk's office from 244. City Hall's address is one Dr. Carlton V. Goodlit Place, San Francisco, California 94102. Any written comments that I receive either via email or through the post, I will add them to the file for the item on which you are commenting, and I will distribute these documents to the supervisors. And finally, Mr. Chair, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of November 16th, 2020. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Please call agenda item number one. Agenda item number one is a resolution receiving and approving the annual report for the tourism improvement district and Moscone Expansion District for fiscal year 2019-2020, submitted as required by the property and business improvement district law of 1994 and the district management agreement with the city. Members of the public, Mr. Five Public Comment on this resolution should call the public comment caller number, which I'll repeat 415-65501. Today's meeting ID 2492-211-8986. After you've entered the meeting ID, dial the pound symbol twice to connect to the meeting. And I request that you now also press the star key, followed by the number three if you wish to provide comments on this item. Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Clerk.
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