2.

President’s Announcements.

President Walker said that the next item would be election of officers and said that she wanted to say that it had been an amazing experience for her to serve for the last two years.  President Walker said that she really appreciated the support of the Commissioners who served during that time and said that she wanted to specifically thank Commissioners Grubb and Theriault who were replaced. President Walker said that some of the accomplishments over the past two years were:  Hiring Director Hasenin, Reinstating the CAPSS program to focus on public safety and approving the Reengineering process and its recommendations.

 

President Walker stated that there seemed to be some divisiveness and pressuring from the political body outside of this Commission, but stated that she is committed to continuing to move forward on behalf of the tenant community that she represents. 

 

Secretary Aherne called for public comment on the President’s Announcements.

 

Robert Haaland said that he was a Commissioner on the Board of Appeals, a member of the Democratic County Central Committee and Co-Chair of Pride of Work and said that he wanted to echo President Walker’s comments about how important it is that Commissioners work together.  Mr. Haaland said that he was sorry to say that there are not enough lesbian leaders in the City and said that in recent months he had seen an undermining of lesbian leadership in the City. Mr. Hall stated that he wanted to support President Walker as one of the strongest lesbians that he has known in his life and said that he honored and respected her integrity and courage.  

 

Denise D’Anne introduced herself as a former Commissioner who worked with Debra Walker and said that she was impressed by Debra’s intelligence, fair mindedness and excellent leadership skills.  Ms. D’Anne spoke in support of Debra Walker continuing as President of the BIC.

 

Hale Thompson introduced himself as a member of the Mental Health Board and said that he wanted to express his support of Debra Walker’s continued leadership as President of the BIC.  Mr. Thompson stated that President Walker has demonstrated that she can bring different parties together to move this Commission and the Department forward with improved efficiency and social justice.

 

Secretary Aherne announced that this item was for comments on the President’s announcements and if the public was present to speak on the election the proper time to speak would be on the next item.

 

3.

Election of BIC President and Vice-President.

 

President Walker called for discussion or motions from the Commissioners.

 

Vice-President Lee said that he wanted to thank President Walker for facilitating contractors working with tenants and said that he felt that it was time to get the contracting industry more involved.  Vice-President Lee said that in light of that he would like to nominate Mel Murphy for the presidency.  Commissioner Murphy said that he was honored, but would respectfully decline.

 

Commissioner Sattary made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Murphy, to nominate Commissioner Lee for President.

 

Commissioner Sattary said that Commissioner Lee had shown his commitment and dedication to the Commission and the Department and urged everyone to support him.

 

Commissioner Romero nominated Commissioner Walker for President.

 

Commissioner Romero said that Commissioner Walker had done an excellent job as President and would be able to move the Commission beyond outside pressures so it would be in the best interest of DBI and the Commission to have Debra continue as President.

 

Commissioner Walker said that she enjoyed serving as President and would leave her name in the running.  Commissioner Walker said that it had been wonderful having Commissioner Lee serve as Vice-President as they worked very well together.  Commissioner Walker asked if it was a challenge of some sort that Commissioner Lee is an Assistant Director of DPW.  Deputy City Attorney John Malamut answered that it was not a conflict.   

 

Commissioner Mandelman seconded Commissioner Romero’s nomination of Commissioner Walker for President.

 

Commissioner Mandelman said that this was an unfortunate introduction to this Commission and said that however this turned out everyone would have to work together.  Commissioner Mandelman said that he had heard and read disturbing things about the process around lobbying from the Mayor’s Office regarding the next presidency and about people being removed from this Commission because they refused to oppose President Walker.  Commissioner Mandelman stated that he is President of the Harvey Milk Club and said that Debra Walker is a phenomenal leader.  Commissioner Mandelman said that he would be supporting Debra Walker for President and thanked her for all that she has done. 

 

Commissioner Sattary said that he appreciated what new Commissioner Mandelman had said, but stated that he wanted to stress that this issue is not about what happens outside the Commission’s doors, but is about seven Commissioners working together.  Commissioner Sattary said that he had the honor and privilege of working with both Commissioners Grubb and Theriault, but said that he wanted the Commission to move forward with what is best for the Department.  Commissioner Sattary said that Commissioner Lee gives everybody a voice and does not want to dominate or control anything.  Commissioner Sattary stated that Commissioner Walker has been wonderful in her leadership during a very turbulent time, but said that every organization needs a new leader sometimes.

 

Commissioner Lee said that he appreciated the nomination and said that a few weeks ago there was a piece of legislation before the Board of Supervisors that proposes to prohibit City employees from serving on Commissions. Commissioner Lee said that he testified at the committee on behalf of the union and said that he testified that it is a lot of work being on a Commission.  Commissioner Lee said that serving on a Commission as well as being a City employee gave him some advantages and insight on how things work in the City. 

 

Commissioner Murphy said that he thought that Commissioner Frank Lee would make a very good President as he has always been fair and honest.  Commissioner Murphy said that other Commissioners talked about politics influencing the presidency, but said that Commissioner Grubb was one of the finest gentlemen he had ever met and that Commissioner Grubb knew the inside workings of the Department.  Commissioner Murphy said that he did not understand why Commissioner Grubb was not present and said that he was saddened that he was no longer on the Commission.

Commissioner Romero said that he would agree that it was a shame that Joe Grubb was no longer on the Commission, but said that this really had a lot to do with what happened outside of the BIC.  Commissioner Romero stated that he is the senior person on the Commission and was on the Commission for some very bad meetings.  Commissioner Romero said some of the meetings made the papers and cast the BIC in a very bad light.  Commissioner Romero urged the Commissioners to consider that outside influence tends to contaminate the work of the Commission.  Commissioner Romero said that he believed that the best way to move forward would be to continue with Debra as President. 

 

Commissioner Hechanova said that he looked forward to working with all of the Commissioners and said that he felt that growth and change is always good and positive so he would support Commissioner Lee for the presidency.

 

President Walker called for public comment.

 

David Compos introduced himself as a member of the Police Commission and said that he had not heard any explanation as to why Debra Walker should not continue as President.  Mr. Compos said that the public would be watching and warned the Commission about setting a precedent of advancing political agendas and the objectives of the Mayor’s Office. 

 

Karen Kircher said that she was present to support Debra Walker and said that she thought the move to remove Commissioner Walker from this position was because there is some feeling that Commissioner Walker is too political or too passionate to be predictable or to be controlled on this Board.  Ms. Kircher stated that the Commissioner has done her job and said that the public was present today to speak up for President Walker as President Walker has spoken for the public.

 

Mr. Michael Goldstein said that he was the former President of the Harvey Milk Club, sits as Vice-Chair of the Democratic County Central Committee and is an appointed member of the Oversight Committee at City College.  Mr. Goldstein said that he was present to support Debra Walker for President as she is one of the hardest working Commissioners in this City.  Mr. Goldstein stated that Commissioner Lee being a paid staffer by the Mayor was a little bit of a concern for him and said he wondered why the Mayor would want to unseat a totally independent individual.  Mr. Goldstein urged the Commission to do the right thing and allow President Walker to continue doing the great job she has been doing. 

 

Mr. Paul Melviscad introduced himself as a former member of the Board of Appeals and the Ethics Commission and said that when he was working on those Commissions he was in frequent contact with Debra Walker discussing issues of concern to the public regarding the Building Department, particularly ethics issues.  Mr. Melviscad stated that he found Debra to be one of those rare individuals that was able to put aside her strong political feelings and beliefs to do what is right for the Department and the public.  Mr. Melviscad said that the wrong message would be sent to the public if Debra Walker was replaced as President.

 

Ms. Krissy Keifer introduced herself as an officer of the Harvey Milk Club, an artist, activist and contractor.  Ms. Keifer said that most people knew that the sexism in DBI reached a National level and said that it was a sham for a City like San Francisco to have such a hideous display that happened in these chambers a couple of years ago.  Ms. Keifer asked that those Commissioners voting for Mr. Lee flip to voting for Debra Walker for their daughters, wives and the citizens of San Francisco and the Country. Ms. Keifer suggested that San Francisco get more women on the panel and take leadership from other countries that insist that 50% of all political bodies be women. 

 

Mr. Henry Karnilowicz said that he wanted to applaud Debra Walker for doing a very stunning job, but said that he thought that the Commission needed some new blood. 

 

President Walker called for a vote on the motions.

 

The Commissioners voted as follows:

 

President Walker
Vice-President Lee
Commissioner Hechanova
Commissioner Mandelman

No
Yes
Yes
No

Commissioner Murphy
Commissioner Romero
Commissioner Sattary

Yes
No
Yes

 

The motion carried on a vote of 4 to 3.

 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 005-08

 

Commissioner Walker thanked the Commission and Ann Aherne and Sonya Harris and congratulated Commissioner Lee.

 

President Lee said that he had a few comments before moving on to the election of Vice-President.  President Lee said that some people had commented about his employment at DPW and said that when he appeared before the Board of Supervisors, the Supervisors stated that if employees have civil service protection they are shielded from outside or upper influence.  President Lee said that he had civil service protection as he has been a City employee for ten years and cannot be removed without cause so there is no reason for anyone to fear that he will not do what is best for DBI.  President Lee said that he pushed for DBI to have a Communication’s Officer as he was a Communications Officer with DPW.  President Lee stated that he intends to continue to make sure that the Department continues to work together with all of the different groups in the City.

 

Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Mandelman, to nominate Commissioner Romero for Vice-President.

 

President Lee made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Hechanova, to nominate Commissioner Murphy for Vice-President.

 

President Lee said that he was nominating Commissioner Murphy as he thought that the Commission needed more input and involvement from the construction industry.

 

Commissioner Walker said that she wanted to reiterate that the only reason advances have been made in the Department is because there has been a non-divisive Commission which seems to be disappearing. Commissioner Walker said that one of the ways to ensure to make up for external pressure is to make sure that both of the groups appointed by the different appointing authorities have representation in leadership.  Commissioner Walker stated that she thought that having someone from the contracting community as a leader is the wrong message to put out to the public at this time.  Commissioner Walker said that Commissioner Romero is the longest sitting Commissioner and has a connection with staff which is one of the issues that the Commission is dealing with at this point.  Commissioner Walker urged the Commissioners to support Commissioner Romero as Vice-President as a way to try turn this challenging time into some cooperative energy.

 

Commissioner Sattary said that there has been talk of influence from the outside and divisiveness from within the Commission, but said that this is true only if the Commission accepts that.    Commissioner Sattary stated that Commissioner Grubb was an independent person who gave his best advice based on his conscience and understanding of what was good for the Department.  Commissioner Sattary said that if Commissioner Grubb was still on the Commission, he probably would have voted differently for President.  Commissioner Sattary said that the Commissioners have to have one common goal because the Commission’s business is the Department and dealing with public safety, not with politics.  Commissioner Sattary asked to hear from the two Commissioners nominated to ask what their aspirations would be as Vice-President.

 

Commissioner Romero said that he understood what Commissioner Sattary was saying about not being subject to outside influences.  Commissioner Romero stated that his vision would be that the BIC gets back to being an independent Commission, the way it is supposed to be.  Commissioner Romero said that right now there is a different Commission because of outside influences and said that if former Commissioners had not voted a certain way on issues they would still be on the Commission.  Commissioner Romero stated that his vision would be to get back to the way things were without the outside influences.

 

Commissioner Murphy said that he has always been his own man when it came to voting and has always put the interest of the Building Department first.  Commissioner Murphy said that just like Joe Grubb, who is no longer sitting on the Commission, he has always tried to do the right thing.  Commissioner Murphy stated that he did not see the Vice-President’s role as being much of a role other than to support the President and said he would accept that role if elected.

 

Commissioner Sattary said that he did not think that Commissioner Murphy having a background in construction should be held against him in the vote for the Vice-Presidency.

 

Commissioner Mandelman said that there are different requirements for different seats on this Commission which means that there are many voices that need to be heard.  Commissioner Mandelman said that he is new on the Commission, but said that it seemed to him as if there was one block of votes that is completely taking over and this is different from the way the Commission was run under President Walker.  Commissioner Mandelman stated that he thought it would be good for Commissioner Romero to be Vice-President, good for the Commission and good for the Department.

 

President Lee said that he would make sure that everyone has a voice.

 

Commissioner Walker said that she would consider the election of Commissioner Murphy to Vice-President as a step backwards and said that there has been outside pressure on the Commission lately.  Commissioner Walker stated that she thought that Commissioner Grubb and Commissioner Theriault were no longer on the Commission because of undue pressure from the Mayor’s Office and that kind of pressure would continue to erode the good working relationship that the Commissioners have had in the past.  Commissioner Walker said that it would now be a huge challenge to convince the BIC’s City family to support the BPR considering how divided the Commission had become.

 

Commissioner Murphy stated that he wanted to make it clear that Commissioner Grubb was not removed by the Mayor or the Mayor’s Office.

 

Commissioner Hechanova said that the arena for collaborative effort is in the hands of the Commission and said that as a Commissioner he would try to move this Commission forward in the best interest of the City. 

 

President Lee called for public comment.

 

Mr. Henry Karnilowicz said that this is the Building Inspection Commission and not the Arts Commission and asked who would be more qualified than a contractor to sit on the seat of Vice-President.  Mr. Karnilowicz said that Commissioner Murphy’s professional expertise would make him an excellent candidate to take the position of Vice-President.

 

President Lee called for a vote.

 

The Commission voted as follows on the first motion, which was Commissioner Romero for Vice-President:

 

President Walker
Vice-President Lee
Commissioner Hechanova
Commissioner Mandelman

Yes
No
No
Yes

Commissioner Murphy
Commissioner Romero
Commissioner Sattary

No
Yes
No

 

The motion failed on a vote of 4 - 3.

 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 006-08

 

The Commission voted as follows on the second motion, which was Commissioner Murphy for Vice-President:

 

President Walker
Vice-President Lee
Commissioner Hechanova
Commissioner Mandelman

No
Yes
Yes
No

Commissioner Murphy
Commissioner Romero
Commissioner Sattary

Yes
No
Yes

 

The motion carried on a vote of 4 - 3.

 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 007-08

 

President Lee congratulated Vice-President Murphy.

 

4.

Director’s Report.

Director Hasenin congratulated President Lee and Vice-President Murphy and thanked Commissioner Walker for her support of his efforts to bring reform to DBI.  Director Hasenin said that the Department had come a long way and said that he hoped that this would continue with the new Commission.   Director Hasenin stated that the Commission sets the policies and philosophies for the Department, but had let him run the day-to-day.  Director Hasenin stated that he has gotten unanimous commitment and agreement from everyone about working to make the Department transparent, efficient, and effective in giving equitable service to all San Francisco citizens.  Director Hasenin said that DBI deals with the enforcement of technical issues and not land-use issues so there should be no politics involved; his role is to make DBI as “unpolitical” as possible. 

Director Hasenin welcomed the new Commissioners and said that he looked forward to meeting with both of them to show them around the Department and to develop a good working relationship.  Director Hasenin thanked Commissioner Theriault and Commissioner Grubb for their service and support over the past year. 

a.   Introduction of new Support Services Manager Neal Taniguchi.

Director Hasenin introduced the new Manager of Support Services Mr. Neal Taniguchi who comes to the Department from City employment for over twenty years.  Director Hasenin said that Mr. Taniguchi was with the San Francisco Superior Court as the Chief Financial Officer and brings an extensive amount of knowledge in budgeting and financing to DBI.

Mr. Taniguchi said that he looked forward to working with the Commission and said that he would work towards efficiency and effectiveness. 

b.   Status of MIS.

Director Hasenin said that there was not much to report that was different from last month; the Department continues to look at options for MIS and staff continues to make enhancements and improvements to the existing system while management assesses options.

c.   Financial Report.

Director Hasenin stated that the financial report was for the month of December which is half way through the year; the Department’s efforts to contain costs and keep a hold on vacancies is helping to avoid dipping into the reserves as much as possible.  Director Hasenin said that if things continue DBI would use about $140,000 of the reserve rather than the anticipated $6M or $7M.

d.   Update on interdepartmental coordination meetings and recommendations.

Director Hasenin reported that he continues to meet with the Planning Department and has established an excellent working relationship with the new Planning Director. 

Commissioner Walker said that the BPR talks about having a joint taskforce including a couple of BIC Commissioners and Planning Commissioners to start working on the implementation aspects of inter-departmental issues and said that it would be helpful to get that started.  Commissioner Walker said that she would like to expand coordination between the two departments.

Director Hasenin said that he wanted to clarify that he is not working with the Planning Commission on anything.

Commissioner Walker said that she thought it would be helpful to set up a Committee of the Commissioners to move a lot of the issues forward that the departments are working on. 

Vice-President Murphy said that he did not see very much come out of the Joint Meetings between the Building Inspection Commission and the Planning Commission.  Vice-President Murphy said that the new President should set the agenda for the next Joint Meeting if there is going to be one.

e.   Update on the overall plan for the reconfiguration of DBI.

Director Hasenin said that he was happy to report that the Department has City forces working on the fourth and fifth floors at 1660 Mission Street.  Director Hasenin stated that he wanted to thank his colleagues and other people in City departments that helped get this project on the forefront to have those spaces remodeled and ready for staff in the next few months.  Director Hasenin stated that as far as a long-term plan the Department is still waiting for a commitment from the landlord on a building on Market Street. 

Commissioner Walker asked for more details to be presented on the proposed move as there is a huge City deficit that is bound to affect DBI.  Director Hasenin said that at this point the Department cannot move forward without knowing that there is a commitment on the landlord’s side, but once that is received the Department will get back to the Commission with more details and bring the proposal forward for approval.  Commissioner Walker said that in 2000 the Department had numerous meetings about expanding 1660 Mission Street and there were millions of dollars put into that process and then it was decided that it could not happen because of financial constraints in the City.  Commissioner Walker stated that she did not want to see that happen again. Commissioner Walker said that it was her understanding that the Mayor’s Office was saying that there was to be no hiring, no increased spending and that all departments would have to cut back.  Commissioner Walker said that in light of this the Commissioners should talk about this before there is a commitment from anybody.

Director Hasenin said that he had been talking about this issue for the last few months.  Commissioner Murphy asked if the Director was out there spending millions of dollars. 

Director Hasenin said that he was not and said that over the past year the Department had been watching money very closely, but said that DBI is a separate, enterprise fund department that controls its own expenditures so the Department is not affected by those City-wide cuts and freezing of hiring.

Commissioner Romero said that he agreed with Director Hasenin that DBI is an enterprise department, but said that he was hearing that enterprise departments would be affected by the budget cuts.  Director Hasenin stated that he would have more information on this issue at the next meeting.

f.   Update on Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPSS).

Director Hasenin said that the Department continues to meet with the Advisory Board on a monthly basis and progress is being made to have ATC start work on the next phase of CAPSS.

Commissioner Walker said that she attended the last Advisory Committee meeting and said that people are interested in finding a way to redirect the funds from the Unreinforced Masonry fund towards the next defined risks.  Commissioner Walker thanked Director Hasenin for moving along the process to restart the contract.

Commissioner Sattary said that he also attend the meeting and said that he wanted to make sure that the CAPSS second effort should be watched closely so that San Francisco ends up with a complete, actionable report that can be used.  Commissioner Sattary stated that he wanted to see the Committee use information that has been done nationally and to specialize that information for San Francisco so as not to embark on new research.

Director Hasenin said that he appreciated Commissioner Sattary’s attendance and expertise at the meetings and said that he would look at the contract and assess it to assure that at the end of the day there is something substantive to work with.

Commissioner Walker thanked the Director and DBI staff for securing a $1M grant for seismic work.  Director Hasenin said that it was actually the Mayor’s Office that helped push for a FEMA grant and stated that this would help the Department to secure other such grants.

g.    Update on the implementation of the Business Process Reengineering (BPR).

Director Hasenin reported that he continues to have weekly meetings to look at each recommendation of the BPR for timelines and responsibilities and should be able to come back next month with a complete report.

President Lee called for public comment on the Director’s report.

Mr. Henry Karnilowicz said that he was looking forward to the BPR coming to implementation which would result in DBI being the best in the nation.  Mr. Karnilowicz said that structural plan check has a backlog and asked that something be done about it as construction makes the economy work.

 

5.

Public Comment:  The BIC will take public comment on matters within the Commission’s jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda.

There was no public comment.

 

6.

Report, discussion and possible action on the proposed budget of the Department of Building Inspection for fiscal year 2008/2009.  [Director Isam Hasenin & John Madden, Acting Manager of Support Services]

Mr. John Madden said that since the last meeting on the budget the Department went through the BPR and identified a number of additional positions that would be necessary in order to carry out the desired level of service as outlined in that BPR.  Mr. Madden said that concurrently the Department is having an outside consultant performing a fee study and it is anticipated that fees will increase across the board on June 1^st.  Mr. Madden stated that there had been no increase in fees since 2002 and DBI is barely covering incremental cost for many services.  Mr. Madden reported on the additional positions needed, but said that whenever possible existing positions currently in the budget that are unfilled were substituted for any new positions.  Mr. Madden stated that this supplemental to the budget was suggesting 32 new positions.

Director Hasenin said that the stakeholders that participated in the BPR process want a higher level of service than the Department has been providing and in order to do that it was agreed to have additional staffing levels available. 

Commissioner Walker asked if the item being presented was a supplemental to the budget that the Commission reviewed at the last meeting.  Mr. Madden said that was correct.  Commissioner Walker said that she thought that this was like putting the cart before the horse as she could not support a supplemental until the Commission discusses the implementation process of the BPR. 

Director Hasenin asked for clarification on the process of the budget with respect to the Commission. Deputy City Attorney John Malamut said that the budget was heard at the last meeting and this meeting would constitute the second hearing in which case the BIC could approve the budget.

Commissioner Sattary said that he knew that there would be a cost to implement all of the changes suggested in the BPR, but asked if it was possible to vote on the budget and get a continuation of the supplemental in order for the Commission to have more time for review.

Mr. Madden said that DBI must submit a budget to the Controller for submission to the Mayor by March 1^st so any items not included in that submission would have to go through a supplemental process which would delay the implementation of the BPR anywhere from 3 - 6 months. 

Director Hasenin asked for the Commission’s approval of the budget to include the Supplemental submitted at this meeting.

Commissioners expressed concerns over the City’s budget for the coming year and the large deficit.  Commissioners expressed concerns over not moving forward with the BPR and stalling the process supported by so many stakeholders.  Commissioner Walker stated that she could not support a budget that has a $13M deficit.  President Lee said that he would like to put the status quo budget and the supplemental forward as a package, but stressed that the Commission would have oversight as to when additional positions would be added to the Department.

After much discussion Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Romero that the BIC approve the status quo budget, but hold off on the supplemental until an implementation plan along with cost of the BPR is submitted along with the results of the fee study.

There was no public comment.

The Commissioners voted as follows:

 

President Lee
Commissioner Murphy
Commissioner Hechanova
Commissioner Romero

No
No
No
Yes

Commissioner Sattary
Commissioner Walker
Commissioner Mandelman

No
Yes
Yes

 

The motion failed on a vote of 4 to 3.

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 008-08 – Rescinded

Vice-President Murphy made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Hechanova to approve the status quo budget and the supplemental as presented today.

Commissioner Walker asked for a clarification of the vote needed to pass a budget.   Deputy City Attorney John Malamut said that a majority vote was needed.  Commissioner Walker stated that she thought that the budget needed five votes to pass.

President Lee called for a vote on the motion.  The Commissioners voted as follows:

 

President Lee
Commissioner Murphy
Commissioner Hechanova
Commissioner Romero

Yes
Yes
Yes
No

Commissioner Sattary
Commissioner Walker
Commissioner Mandelman

Yes
No
No

 

The motion carried on a vote of 4 to 3.

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 009-08 – Rescinded

Vice-President Murphy requested a break.  The Commission took a break at 11:18 a.m. and reconvened at 11:25 a.m.

After the break President Lee stated that Deputy City Attorney John Malamut had an announcement to make regarding the votes taken on the budget.

Deputy City Attorney John Malamut apologized to the Commission stating that Commissioner Walker was correct in saying that the budget needed five favorable votes for approval; therefore, both motions regarding the budget failed according to Charter Section D3.750-6.

Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by President Lee to reopen Item #6.  The motion carried unanimously. 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 010-08

Commissioner Romero made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walker, to approve the status quo budget and not the supplemental budget.

The Commissioners again discussed their concerns over putting forward a budget and a supplemental without enough information to address the deficit, the number of additional positions to be filled, the possibility of moving the operation and the cost of that move along with the impact of the fee study.  Commissioners expressed concern over not moving forward with the supplemental thereby delaying the implementation of the BPR and the transformation of the Department as a whole

Director Hasenin said that he did not control the timelines for budgets, but said that if the budget and the supplemental were not approved the implementation of the BPR could be delayed for an entire year.  Director Hasenin stated that the Commission had directed him to identify and make these improvements and said that he wanted the record to show that changes would not be implemented without the resources.  Director Hasenin said that he would be happy to provide more information at the next meeting and would look to the Commission to support moving forward. 

 

Commissioner Walker said that the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors have voiced their support for the Department and the BPR, but said that if the Department does not submit an entire package that justifies and explains what is going to happen she did not think that the budget would pass.  

 

Deputy City Attorney John Malamut advised that if the Commission could not get five votes for the status quo or status quo/supplement budget then the position would be that DBI does not have a budget and there would be nothing to forward to the Mayor’s Office.  Mr. Malamut stated that the Department could not present a budget other than a draft if not supported by the BIC.  Director Hasenin said that he did not want to go in that direction and would prefer to have a consensus.    

 

President Lee called for a vote on the motion.

 

The Commissioners voted as follows:

 

 

President Lee
Vice-President Murphy
Commissioner Hechanova
Commissioner Romero

Yes
No
Yes
Yes

Commissioner Sattary
Commissioner Walker
Commissioner Mandelman

No
Yes
Yes

 

The motion carried on a vote of 5 to 2.

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 011-08

 

7.

Discussion and possible action concerning the status and role of the Litigation Committee. [President Walker]

Commissioner Walker said that this item was requested by former Commissioner Grubb to give the Commission an explanation of what the Litigation Committee does.  Commissioner Walker said that at the Litigation Committee meetings DBI staff and the Director bring projects and issues to the Commission in a Closed Session to bring possible legal action for Code Enforcement issues that are not being resolved.  Commissioner Walker stated that often times just notifying people that legal action could be pending is enough to encourage them to resolve issues with the Department.  Commissioner Walker said that there are a lot of cases that are in different processes of resolution. 

 

Commissioner Murphy said that he had been sitting on the Committee for two years and did not see that much has been done.  President Lee stated that he sat on the Committee and said that the Committee is a very useful sounding board for the Department.  President Lee said that the Committee guides the City Attorney’s Office as well as staff on how to handle certain sensitive cases against property owners or contractors. 

 

Commissioner Romero said that he thought that the body has been an opportunity for members of the public to come before the Committee to have a say before a case goes to court and becomes a more serious issue. 

 

Commissioner Sattary said that it would be good if the Litigation Committee could report to the full Commission periodically.  Commissioner Walker said that the Committee could discuss this issue at the next Litigation Committee meeting and come back to the next BIC meeting along with the City Attorney for further clarification.

 

There was no public comment.

8.

Discussion and possible action to make appointments to the existing committees and sub-committees of the Commission including the Litigation Committee and the Appointment Sub-Committee.

 

President Lee said that in light of the previous item coming back to the Commission at the next meeting he would like to continue this item.  The Commission was in agreement.

9.

Discussion concerning the creation of new BIC sub-committees.  

 

Commissioner Walker said that there are items in the Business Process Reengineering that ask Commissions to get together to discuss policy and said that she would like to have the BIC think about creating a Committee of BIC Commissioners that engages in that process as it is implemented. 

 

Director Hasenin said that the Department will be working closely with other City departments and the Commission as the BPR is implemented and will be bringing any policy questions before the Commission for approval.  Director Hasenin stated that he did not think that there would be anything wrong with individual Commissioners participating as a public member working on the various task forces. 

 

Commissioner Sattary said that he did not think that having a subcommittee of three Commissioners would provide the level of expertise needed on some of the policy issues. 

 

Commissioner Walker said that this was just a proposal and said she thought that the Commission needed to talk about this issue.  Commissioner Walker mentioned problems with the demolition policy where Planning differs from DBI. 

 

President Lee said that he would work with Commissioner Walker to bring back something in writing outlining exactly what is being proposed and then bring it back to the Commission to see if a new Committee should be formed.

 

There was no public comment.

 

10.

Discussion and possible action regarding the Statement of Incompatible Activities (SIA) for the San  Francisco Department of Building Inspection, San Francisco Building Inspection Commission, Access Appeals Commission, Board of Examiners and Unreinforced Masonry Building Appeals Board.

Deputy City Attorney John Givner said that he was present as he understood some of the Commissioners had questions about the SIA for DBI and the Commission.  Commissioner Walker said that it was over a year ago that the Commission had last seen the SIA and that there had been significant changes made in that time. Mr. Givner explained the history of the SIA since its inception in 2003 and said that he believed that the Department of Human Resources was now working on SIAs across the board and is sending the most current version with the tweaks to the Department and the unions to make sure everyone is on the same page.  Mr. Givner said that he understood that there were no more meet and confer meetings necessary. 

 

11.

Discussion and possible action to approve Director Isam Hasenin’s appointment to the Board of Directors of the International Accreditation Services (IAS), an international non-profit professional organization responsible for approving products, testing labs and special inspection agencies.

Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Murphy to approve Director Hasenin’s appointment to the Board of Directors of the International Accreditation Services.

 

The motion carried unanimously.

 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 012-08

12.

Review and approval of the minutes of the December 19, 2007 regular meeting.

Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Sattary that the minutes be approved.

 

The motion carried unanimously.  

 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 013-08

 

13.

Review and approval of the minutes of the January 16, 2008 regular meeting.

Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Sattary that the minutes be approved.

 

The motion carried unanimously.  

 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 014-08

14.

Commissioner’s Questions and Matters.

a.    Inquiries to Staff.  At this time, Commissioners may make inquiries to staff regarding various documents, policies, practices, and procedures, which are of interest to the Commission.

President Lee asked when the Form 700’s would be due.  Secretary Aherne said that they would be due on April 1, 2008 and said that Ethics Training should be coming up soon.

 

Commissioner Sattary said that the Department collects a vast amount of information with every project submitted regarding soil reports and asked if there was any way that this information could be made available on-line.  President Lee said that he thought that there might be some copy write problems with these reports.  Director Hasenin said that he would look into the issue.

 

Commissioner Walker said that she had e-mailed the Director regarding valuations and in particular jobs that have been undervalued at the Department.  Director Hasenin said that the Department was working on the valuation internally because there has been inconsistency in those fee tables. 

 

Commissioner Hechanova asked about the legality of having public information, such as plans available on-line.  Deputy City Attorney Judy Boyajian said that no one can make copies of plans without the consent of the owner, the architect or the engineer; they can review them, but not make copies.  President Lee said that this was not an agenda item, but should be treated as an inquiry for a report from the City Attorney as to what can and cannot happen.

 

There was no public comment.

 

 

b.   Future Meetings/Agendas.  At this time, the Commission may discuss and take action to   set the date of a Special Meeting and/or determine those items that could be placed on the agenda of the next meeting and other future meetings of the Building Inspection Commission.

 

15.

Public Comment:  The BIC will take public comment on matters within the Commission’s jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda.

 

 

There was no public comment.

 

Adjournment.

Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Romero that the meeting be adjourned.  The motion carried unanimously. 

 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 015-08

 

The meeting was adjourned at 12:31 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

__________________

Ann Marie Aherne
Commission Secretary