San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Meeting - September 24, 2024
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San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Meeting - September 24, 2024
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) met on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, at 9:30 AM with a quorum of three commissioners (President Paulson, Vice President Rivera, and Commissioner Stacy). The meeting included a land acknowledgment, approval of the September 10, 2024, minutes, general public comment, reports from the General Manager and staff, and action on several consent and regular calendar items. The commission also recognized three retiring employees with 25+ years of service and heard public comments on the city's lawsuit against the EPA and other matters.
Consent Calendar
- Item 7a: Amendment No. 4 to Contract CS-1101 with Yardi Systems, Inc. – software as a service agreement – approved unanimously.
- Item 7b: Award Contract WD-2844 for 12-inch ductile iron water main installation on Parnassus Avenue to Basset Engineering ($8,118,045) – approved unanimously.
- Item 7c: Accept work performed by D’Arcy & Harty Construction, Inc. under Contract WW-724 (Panhandle and Inner Sunset sewer rehabilitation) – approved unanimously.
- Item 7d: Approve Modification No. 1 to Job Order Contract JOC-90 with GSW Construction, Inc. (additional time) – approved unanimously.
- Item 7e: Award Contract WW-755 for Sunnydale Pump Station Safety Improvements to Anvil Builders, Inc. – approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lane Figot (Sierra Club California, District 9 resident) urged the Commission, Mayor Breed, and City Attorney Chu to drop the lawsuit against the EPA, arguing it threatens the Clean Water Act and allows sewage releases into the Bay and ocean.
- Francisco de Costa (45-year veteran) criticized the removal of commissioners, stating it undermines the SFPUC and cited billions in cost overruns (e.g., the source system rising from $8 billion to $12 billion).
- Peter Dreckmeyer (Policy Director, Tuolumne River Trust) thanked outgoing commissioners, expressed concern that staff do not respond to Public Records Act requests and have not followed through on resolutions from 2019-2020 regarding biological goals and adaptive management for the Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement.
- Peter Dreckmeyer also commented on Item 5A, questioning why the drought surcharge was not planned to be removed given the wet conditions in January 2022 and total system storage at 81%.
Discussion Items
- Item 5: Report of the General Manager
- 5a: FY 2023-24 Q4 Budget Status Report (Laura Bush, Deputy CFO): Water enterprise projected a net negative $12 million impact due to removal of drought surcharge, lower demand, and billing delays; wastewater and power enterprises showed positive results. Revenues delayed by $6.6 million each for water and wastewater due to meter issues. State grant funding of $8.2 million (water) and $11.6 million (wastewater) offset some shortfalls. Power enterprise saw $72.4 million positive net operating result.
- 5b: Hetch Hetchy Capital Improvement Program Quarterly Report (Katie Miller): 17 projects in various stages; $339 million spent of $1 billion budget. One new cost variance of $13 million for the Moccasin Powerhouse systems upgrade. $85 million spent on major capital projects in FY24. Work continues on the 100-day shutdown of the Hetch Hetchy system (third of five). Tunnel concrete lining repair was 72% complete; contact grouting at 23%.
- 5c: Employee Retirement Recognitions: Three employees with 25+ years of service recognized: Michael Broussard (29 years), Frank Marvich (28 years), and Anthony Scott (29 years). General Manager Herrera thanked outgoing commissioners for their service.
- Item 6: Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) Report (Nicole Sandkulla, outgoing GM): Announced passage of AB 2962 (extending state oversight on water system improvement program) and selection of Tom Smigel as new BAWSCA GM (starting December 1, 2024). Sandkulla thanked outgoing commissioners.
- Items 8 & 9: Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan Agreements (presented jointly):
- Item 8: $120.3 million installment sale agreement (including $8 million grant) for the New Treasure Island Wastewater Treatment Plant project.
- Item 9: $59 million installment sale agreement (including $5 million principal forgiveness) for the Folsom Area Stormwater Improvement Project Phase 2.
- Both loans at 2.1% interest, 30-year repayment, senior lien pledge. Combined with WIFIA financing. Approved unanimously.
- Item 10: Amendment No. 1 to Contract PRO.0168.B (Kennedy/Jenks Consultants & AGS, Inc. JV): Increase of $10 million (total $17 million) for engineering services on five transmission pipeline projects. No additional time. Commissioners questioned cost escalation from original $5 million estimate; staff explained initial estimates were based on limited information and that condition assessments and safety requirements (e.g., double isolation valves) increased scope. Approved unanimously.
- Item 11: Award Contract PRO.0239 (New City Distribution Division Campus at 2000 Marin): Construction management staff augmentation services to Consor PMCM, Inc. for $10,720,500 over 4 years 3 months. Commissioner Rivera raised a question about alternative fuel (hydrogen) for the fueling station; staff agreed to follow up. Approved unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes Approved: The September 10, 2024, minutes were approved with two amendments (adding closed session announcement and clarifying mitigation monitoring program).
- Consent Calendar Approved: Items 7a through 7e approved unanimously.
- Items 8 & 9 Approved: Authorized the General Manager to execute installment sale agreements for SRF loans for the Treasure Island and Folsom projects.
- Item 10 Approved: Contract amendment for transmission pipeline engineering services.
- Item 11 Approved: Contract award for construction management staff augmentation.
- Closed Session: The commission voted to assert attorney-client privilege and went into closed session regarding Gabriel Perez v. City and County of San Francisco. After closed session, the commission recommended Board approval of the settlement referenced in Item 16 and voted not to disclose the discussion.
- Commissioner Farewells: President Paulson and Vice President Rivera acknowledged the pending end of their terms, with Commissioner Stacy thanking them for their service. General Manager Herrera also thanked outgoing commissioners for their professionalism.
Meeting Transcript
Let's start again. Your microphone is not on. Let's get this going before. Here, you're still not on. I hope that uh IT is working on this, please. Uh here, let's keep going anyway. Here. Here. Okay. We have a quorum. Okay, and let's work on that microphone so this can all be heard. Um so the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission acknowledges that it owns and are stewards of the unceded lands located within the ethnohistoric territory of the Mwakla Alone tribe and other familiar descendants of the historically federally recognized Mission San Jose Verona Band of Alameda County. The SFPUC also recognizes that every citizen residing within the Greater Bay Area has and continues to benefit from the use and occupation of the Molecula Alone's tribe's 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 Molecula Alone people have established a working partnership with the SFPUC and our productive and flourishing members within the greater San Francisco Bay Area communities today. So is the microphone working, I hope. Test. Can you hear me? There we go. Okay. So Commission secretary is now in order, and as she acknowledged, uh we do have a quorum, and I do want to acknowledge that there are now as of today officially there are there are four people that are members of the commission. One three of the commissioners, as I stated last week, have not been reappointed to a another term, and then there's one opening because another uh former Board of Supervisors member uh left um the commission area um a few weeks ago. So there are there are essentially four openings on the commission, and I want to thank and I want to I know we have a quorum of three of the five commissioners, and I just want to acknowledge um those that came today because um I think that you know most people know that if you're um working for a multi-billion dollar agency and uh all of a sudden you're told that your services are are no longer um needed, you will you know normally there'd be like a security officer standing next to your desk and you'd be taking your mother's picture and uh your favorite pen and a and and a and uh and a buster posey bobblehead as they escorted you out, but I I didn't see any, I didn't see any um a uh sheriffs at the uh at the area today um you know greeting us on the way in. So um I I I do want to acknowledge that um there is checks and balances, and whoever does end up being on this commission still has to, besides the nominations that is the purview of a mayor, um there's still a board of supervisors, and as everybody who's a student of government knows, there's vetting and the board of supervisors still has to do its part in the commission process. But I know that you know if any one of us not was not here, um, like they might be in the private sector or other organizations that no business would get done. I just want to say that this commissioner in particular, as I've said before, value the public service. There was a time I did come a little bit kicking and screaming on this commission, but I've as I told you before I take this seriously and and um I'm a retired, uh I'm retired and uh and I'm involved in public service. So in as long as whatever that process is takes place so that this body is fully functioning again despite the uh whack that that uh seems to be taking place. I will um be here, I guess, unless uh I'm just gonna say speak for myself that I'll be here under these um circumstances unless there's some other craziness that uh takes place during this wild election season. So can we have the first item um Miss Lanier? Can you read the first item please? Approval of the minutes of September 10th, 2024. Uh Commissioners, do we have any corrections to the minutes? Commissioner Stacy. Uh thank you. I I thought we should add at the end of the minutes the announcement following the closed session. I think it's item 16 that the commission acted to recommend the settlements. Typically that's included in the minutes. I did not catch that, so thank you for that. Um we have an amendment. Would we amend that? Is that fine with us? Okay. And one other small amendment on item seven. Uh it wasn't entirely clear from the record which of the three mitigation monitoring and reporting programs the commission was adopting, and I I think it would help if the minutes clarified that it was the um town of Sennol mitigation monitoring and reporting program that was uh defined as the refined mitigation MMRP in both the staff report and the resolution. So I just thought it would help if the minutes clarified that as well. That makes sense. Um so can I with those two amendments? I would like a motion um to accept the minutes with those clarifications, um, minor clarifications in those minutes. Is there a motion? Uh move to approve.
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