San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Regular Meeting: April 25, 2023
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San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Regular Meeting: April 25, 2023
At its April 25, 2023 regular meeting, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) had a quorum with President Ajami, Vice President Maxwell, and Commissioners Paulson, Rivera, and Stacy. The Commission approved the previous meeting minutes, the consent calendar, several contract and budget items, and an MOU with the Local Agency Formation Commission, and then held a closed session. The General Manager reported no current update.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the consent calendar unanimously, which included: (7a) Award of Job Order Contract No. JOC-94 for general engineering construction in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne Counties; (7b) Acceptance of work by Pipe and Plant Solutions, Inc. under Contract No. WW-695, As-Needed Sewer Cleaning and Inspection; and (7c) Approval of a 110-calendar-day increase to the duration contingency for Contract No. WW-715.
Reports
- Revenue Bond Oversight Committee Annual Report: Committee Chair Theodosia presented the annual report for the period July 2021 to June 2022. It led an audit of six revenue bonds representing approximately $2 billion in expenditures, with the audit report released in January 2022. Two audit findings were identified; the reporting finding was fully addressed, and the SFPUC is following up on quality assurance issues. The committee is now beginning a second audit covering a new selected group of approximately $2 billion in bond expenditures.
- Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) Update: BAWSCA reported on historical and projected regional water use. Since 1986, per-capita residential water use has declined 42% while population rose 33%, groundwater use fell 61%, and recycled water use is now about 8 million gallons per day as of fiscal year 2021-22. Looking toward 2045-46, BAWSCA projects population growth of 30%, a 109% increase in recycled water use, and a broader planning update called Strategy 2045. Staff discussed the difficulty of tracking onsite recycling and the need for regional coordination.
Discussion Items
- FY 2023-24 Overtime Supplemental Budget: SFPUC Budget Director Laura Bush requested that the Commission approve an increase of $1.5 million in 2023-24 overtime budget, offset by a $1.5 million reduction in the regular salary budget. The increase is needed because of winter storm response and vacant positions; $800,000 is for wastewater, $450,000 for water, and $250,000 for Hetch Hetchy. Commission members voiced appreciation for the staff working overtime and reiterated the need to fill vacancies.
- Helicopter Services Contract Amendment: SFPUC sought approval for Amendment No. 3 to Contract PRO.0089 with A&P Helicopters, Inc., increasing the contract by $240,000 and extending it by two years, bringing the total contract value to $990,000, for aerial survey, patrol, transmission system maintenance, and occasional emergency response. The Commission approved the amendment.
- As-Needed Spot Sewer Replacement Contract: The Commission approved $9,796,468 contract award for Contract No. WW-000T, As-Needed Spot Sewer Replacement No. 44, to Jackob Flor Construction Company for 400 consecutive calendar days. Staff noted the contract was a sole bid because one other prospective contractor declined due to resource issues.
- CleanPowerSF MOU with LAFCO: Staff requested approval of a revised memorandum of understanding with the San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission (SFOLACF) to perform CleanPowerSF-related work. The $129,000 in remaining funds from an older MOU will be used first, with up to a possible additional $600,000 in new funds, and the agreement term is three years and two months starting May 1, 2023. The study topics include energy storage barriers, natural gas infrastructure decommissioning, electric vehicle charging access, financing through a Green Link connected to the federal Inflation Reduction Act, and other emerging technologies.
Public Comments & Testimony
- A public speaker said that bond oversight as presented was too general and called for clarity on how much of the bond funding is green bonds, including a line item for green bonds, and for an accounting of the $6 billion bond program.
- Another public speaker on the sewer contract, said the public needs to know how many miles of sewer pipe have been replaced, noting there are over 1,100 miles of sewer pipe in San Francisco, and called for replacement work to be done before the next major earthquake.
- During general public comment, a speaker requested an accounting of the Ocean Beach Climate Adaptation Project status and urged the Commission to be transparent about related capital planning.
- Another speaker asked for updates on municipal pump stations and seawall studies, warning that these facilities could be vulnerable if not properly addressed.
- Peter Drekmeier, Policy Director for the Tuolumne River Trust, thanked the Commission for keeping remote access, noted that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case, and requested a future workshop on the Tuolumne voluntary agreement and the 2022 Bay-Delta Plan amendments.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes of April 11, 2023 were approved by a 5-0 vote.
- Consent calendar items 7a through 7c were approved unanimously.
- The overtime budget transfer for FY 2022-23 was approved unanimously.
- Amendment No. 3 to the helicopter services contract was approved unanimously.
- Contract No. WW-716 for as-needed spot sewer replacement was approved unanimously.
- The revised CleanPowerSF MOU with LAFCO was approved unanimously.
- Following closed session and the necessary motion, the commission voted not to disclose closed-session discussions.
Next Steps
- Staff will begin the second Revenue Bond Oversight Committee audit and expect that a Ombudsman will continue its public protection work.
- BAWSCA’s strategy update under long-term water supply planning will be reported to the Commission as it progresses.
- Commission initiated a future request to compile a table of which SFPUC bonds are identified as green bonds and to explore how more bonds could qualify as green.
- The commissioners praised visits to the Mountain Tunnel and saw a desire for expanded tours of ongoing utilities projects.
Meeting Transcript
Umer um Maxville and I had a chance to visit the mountain tunnel. Uh revitalization, and it was just so well done, so impressive. It was wonderful to be able to visit all the infrastructure and see all the hard work that goes into it. And uh and I personally came back more energized than ever. I want to appreciate really thank and appreciate the staff who made that happen and took a day to take us there and uh create such a great agenda, and I personally very much enjoyed it. So thank you. If I may yes, go ahead, please. I better pile on also because um because I went up also in the in the Brown Act van. And uh and Kay and I were up there, I guess a week and a half ago, um, Commissioner I and I want to you know I'll have an official email as a commissioner. Uh thank you to the entire team, not just you guys who are uh in the crowd, but also you know the folks that were up there that took us through the the marvels and you know again as uh commissioner jumi said the uh um you know just to see the infrastructure you know totally, even as somebody who comes from construction just to see all the all the all the uh you know all the bits and pieces of of the historic system being retooled as uh just really shows San Francisco doing it the right way. So it was a good that we went up there. Absolutely just want to say I'm I think I cut through the process. I apologize. We need to have a roll call first before making comments. But we were so excited. Um so um Madam Secretary, could you please call a roll? President Ajami? Here, Vice President Maxwell? Here, Commissioner Paulson? Here, Commissioner Rivera, here Commissioner Stacy. Can you have a quorum? Members of the public may make up to two minutes of remote public comment on an item by Darling 1 415 655 000 one, meeting ID 2590 5862917 pound, followed by pound again. To raise your hand to speak, press star three. Please note that you must limit your comment to the topic of the agenda item being discussed unless you are speaking under general public comment and remind you if you do not stay on the topic, the chair can interrupt and ask you to limit your comment to the agenda item. We ask that public comment be made in a civil and respectful manner. Please address your remarks to the commission as a whole, not to individual commissioners or staff. On behalf of the commission, I would like to extend our thanks to SFGTV staff and SFPUCIT staff for their assistance during this meeting. For those present, please silence your electronic devices if you've not already done so. Okay, before calling the first item, I would like to announce that the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission acknowledges that it owns and are stewards of the unceded lands located within the ethnohistoric territory of Mockma Alone tribe and other familial descendants of the historic uh federally recognized Mission San Jose Verona Band of Alameda County. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission also recognizes that every citizen residing within the Greater Bay Area has and continues to benefit from the use and occupation of Moach Maalone tribes aboriginal lands since before and after the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's founding in 1932. It is vitally important that we not only recognize the history of the tribal lands on which we reside, but also we acknowledge and honor the fact that the Moach Ma Loney people have established a working partnership with the SFPC and our productive and flourishing members within the many greater San Francisco Bay Area communities today. Madam Secretary, could you please read the first item? Item number three, approval of the minutes of April 11, 2023. Colleagues, any comments, questions, edits to the minutes. If not, can we have public comment, please? Members of the public who wish to make two minutes of remote public comment on item number three. Please press star three to raise your hand to speak. Do you have any members with the public present to provide comment on this item? See none, Mr. Moderator. Do you have any callers with your hands raised? Madam Secretary, there are no callers wishing to be recognized for item number three. Thank you. Public comment on item three is closed. Colleagues, if there are no comments or edits, could you could I have a motion and a second on this item? Move to approve minutes. Thank you. Can we have a roll call, please? President Ajami. Aye.
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