South San Francisco City Council Regular Meeting – January 27, 2022

Note: The agenda and transcript list the meeting date as January 26, 2022; the provided timestamp uses January 27, 2022. This summary follows the provided timestamp.

The City Council held a teleconference regular meeting on January 27, 2022, at 6:00 PM, convening virtually via Zoom. The meeting included proclamations, a PG&E update, a redistricting public hearing, a lengthy public comment period on ARPA hazard pay, and several appointments. Consent calendar items were approved except for two pulled items, and three administrative items were postponed to a later meeting.

Consent Calendar

• Motion to approve minutes of December 8, 2021 and January 12, 2022 (item 4).
• Item 5: Resolution amending Bigbelly Solar LLC agreement – additional $120,000 (total not to exceed $270,000) for 10 additional dual-stream trash/recycling receptacles in downtown; pulled for discussion and tabled pending a staff report on cost-effectiveness and long-term plan.
• Item 9: Kaiser Permanente $5,000 grant for "Healthy Places for a Healthy City" virtual event; pulled for discussion; council expressed concerns about virtual format but approved.
• All remaining consent items (6,7,8,10,11) approved unanimously: Firefighters donation acceptance ($20,000), West Orange Ave & Hillside Blvd Pedestrian Crossing Supplement Agreement ($204,800), Parks and Recreation grants/donations ($5,250 and in-kind), Smart Corridors South San Francisco Expansion contract award to Econolite Systems with $1.6M additional C/CAG grant and related agreements, and e-Builder Inc. consulting services amendment (+$373,352).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Over a dozen speakers, primarily AFSCME Local 829 members and representatives, urged the council to direct the city manager to begin negotiations immediately on ARPA-funded hazard/premium pay for essential city workers, separate from upcoming contract negotiations.
• Speakers included dispatchers, preschool teachers, librarians, maintenance workers, parks employees, a tree trimmer, and the Teamsters union rep. They described working in-person throughout the pandemic, risking exposure, and noted that neighboring cities have already provided premium pay.
• Rod Palmquist, AFSCME Local 829 business agent, stated that the union would file an unfair labor practice charge with PERB if the city continues to refuse separate negotiations.
• Kimberly Morrison, child care assistant supervisor, requested that part-time hourly employees be included in any premium pay.
• Benita Christman and others repeated these requests; no public comments opposed the request.

Discussion Items

• PG&E Update (Item 0): Bill Chiang (PG&E local government affairs) and colleagues answered questions about power outages in Westborough and reliability. Mayor Nagales cited specific outages affecting 541, 2,100, 970, and 1,100+ customers; PG&E said they found no consistent infrastructure pattern. Council members raised concerns about prioritizing outages affecting senior housing and businesses, and about PG&E's plan to use Irish Town Green as a staging area for a hydrotest. PG&E committed to seeking an alternative site. Councilmember Flores noted the need for better communication and community outreach.
• Redistricting Public Hearing (Item 12): Kristen Parks of National Demographics Corporation presented four draft maps submitted by the public, with population deviations ranging from 1.44% to 5.19%. She recommended considering whether to readopt the current 2018 map or make minimal changes, noting the city meets federal population equality requirements. Councilmember Flores expressed concerns about dividing Westborough and the C Street housing community; he requested that NDC prepare revised maps considering his suggestions, particularly keeping Orange Park in District 3 and exploring the Hillside area as a community of interest. The council directed NDC to bring revised maps to the February 23rd hearing.
• Postponements: Staff requested and council agreed to postpone items 13 (Automatic License Plate Readers) and 14 (SSF VOICES board establishment) to the February 9, 2022 meeting. Item 15 (City Hall Annex Replacement initial study funding, $800,000) was also postponed to a future meeting.

Special Meeting – Appointments

• Measure W Citizens Oversight Committee: Appointed Jamie Ray to a term expiring October 17, 2025, by a 5-0 roll call vote.
• Parks and Recreation Commission: Appointed Brittany Burgo to a partial term expiring December 31, 2026, by a 3-2 roll call vote (Adiego, Nicolas, Coleman yes; Flores and Nagales no). The council encouraged other applicants, including Jennifer Garstang and Veronica Espinoza, to reapply for future vacancies.

Key Outcomes

• Approved consent calendar except tabled item 5; item 9 approved after discussion.
• Postponed items 13 and 14 to February 9, 2022; item 15 to a future meeting.
• Directed NDC to prepare revised redistricting maps based on council input for the February 23rd public hearing.
• Appointed Jamie Ray to Measure W Committee and Brittany Burgo to Parks and Recreation Commission.
• Council members announced upcoming events and requested a staff report on Bigbelly receptacle ROI and a long-term plan.

Council Comments/Announcements

• Adjourned in memory of several community members.
• Noted upcoming events: volunteer registration for homeless count, scholarships, sister city contests, town halls, and a city council retreat.

Closed Session

• Council held a closed session on labor negotiations as listed in the agenda (Item 16).