2.

President’s Announcements.

 

President Hirsch said that there was a request at the last meeting for the Director to report on the status of the fees for inspection of City Hall.  President Hirsch said that Ms. Lee could not be present today because she was attending a training session, but had asked him to report that the matter is being researched.  President Hirsch stated that there was an arrangement between ex-Mayor Willie Brown and the Building Department to waive the fees.  President Hirsch said that the audits have been done, the books are closed and this happened in 1999 so there is really nothing to report beyond that.

 

3.

Discussion and possible action to appoint and swear in Mr. Patrick Buscovich as a member of the Unreinforced Masonry Appeals Board on the seat requiring experience as a Structural Engineer.   Mr. Buscovich has obtained a waiver from the Ethics Commission.

President Hirsch announced that the next item was to appoint and swear in Mr. Patrick

Buscovich as a member of the Unreinforced Masonry Appeals Board.   Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Romero to appoint Mr. Buscovich as a member of the Unreinforced Masonry Appeals Board on the seat requiring experience as a Structural Engineer.  President Hirsch called the question and the vote passed unanimously. 

 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 059-05

 

President Hirsch read the Oath of Office to swear in Mr. Buscovich and asked him to repeat the statements after he read them.   The Commission congratulated Mr. Buscovich, and Secretary Aherne gave him a copy of the Oath of Office to sign.

 

4.

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

 

Senior Housing Inspector, Robert Noelke introduced himself to the Commission and said that he was at the meeting to report on 4734 Mission Street as was required when the Commission met as the Abatement Appeals Board.   Mr. Noelke stated that the Commission wanted him to report back on October 3, 2005 to give an update of what was going on with this appeal.  Mr. Noelke said that to briefly recall what happened, this was an appeal of the Franchise Tax Board’s Notice of Non-Compliance.  Mr. Noelke stated that the Commission granted the appellant 45 days to delay the transmittal of the Notice of Non-Compliance in order to allow for an inspection and to make further comments.  Mr. Noelke said that Mr. Fred Horsfield who is the representative of the owner was present to make a few comments.  Mr. Noelke stated that as background information this case goes back to February of 2002 when the Housing Inspection Division issued a Notice of Violation because there were four illegal units added bringing it to a total of five units and a commercial space.  Mr. Noelke said that he was not sure if the Commission recalled this case or not, but it was a pretty extensive notice and what the Department is looking for is a building application to legalize or remove those units, and Mr. Horsfield will give the Commission an update on this.  Mr. Noelke stated that in addition he went out to the site and looked through every unit in the building, including the commercial space.  Mr. Noelke said that Chief Building Inspector Carla Johnson was not able to make it to that inspection, but said that Ms. Johnson did some review of the plans and made a determination that based upon the occupant load which was less than ten that a second means of egress was not required for the property.  Mr. Noelke said that based on the comments that were made at the last hearing this was one of the big contention points, and he said Mr. Horsfield would tell the Commission about their progress on the permit and how things are going.

 

Mr. Fred Horsfield introduced himself to the Commission and said that he was representing the owner of 4734 Mission Street.   Mr. Horsfield said that following the last Abatement Appeals Board meeting the structural engineer had continued with their drawings and this is based on conversations that he has had with Carla Johnson, Bob Noelke, and the Fire Department.  Mr. Horsfield stated that the owner is ready to submit this as a site plan with all of their comments on it, as well as an intake for a conditional use.  Mr. Horsfield said that there are five units there now and what the Planning Department has agreed to support is four residential units, as well as commercial and this would not involve any change to the existing commercial space in the building.  Mr. Horsfield stated that it would involve converting one of the illegal residential units to a legal office space consisting of two rooms with handicap access and would require a conditional use to waive the parking requirements for the building.  Mr. Horsfield said that there is currently only one parking space in the building and Planning Department staff has indicated that they would support that move based on four units not five.  Mr. Horsfield stated that what the owner would like to do is proceed with the project and as he indicated last time has gathered his funds together for this conversion, and the submittal can be made as soon as Mr. Horsfield completes his update to the Commission.  Mr. Horsfield said that the conditional use time frame is somewhat of an unknown with the Planning Department, but everything else is fairly straightforward as far as the Building Department, Fire, and Planning requirements go.  Mr. Horsfield stated that the owner would like to either continue this item again or ask the Commission to withdraw the referral to the State Franchise Tax Board, based on the progress that has been made since the last meeting.  Secretary Aherne said that it was okay to give the Commission an update under public comment, but the Commission cannot take any action because the Commission is not sitting as the Abatement Appeals Board.  President Hirsch stated that this was not listed on the agenda as an action item.  

 

Mr. Noelke asked President Hirsch if they could agendize this item for a future Abatement Appeals Board meeting, and per the Commission’s decision Mr. Noelke and Mr. Horsfield were just keeping the Commission abreast of the situation in a timely manner.

 

Mr. Pat Buscovich said that he read an article in the newspaper and said he knew it had been discussed before, but said he wanted to reiterate this point.   Mr. Buscovich stated that the newspaper had a hit piece about the new Assessor this weekend and his valuation, and said he thought that the Building Inspection Commission should go on record saying that if the Assessor wants to work with the BIC, then the BIC would work with the Assessor’s Office on the issue of data transfer between CFC’s (Certificate of Final Completion) being issued and the enlargement of buildings.  Mr. Buscovich said that he did not know if the Assessor’s Office was interested in doing this, but said that the City is losing a tremendous amount of money by not properly tracking when a permit is finaled.  Mr. Buscovich stated that whenever a building is enlarged either vertically or horizontally a CFC is issued and it would be a very easy computer transfer of information from the Building Department’s computers to the Assessor’s Office computers.  Mr. Buscovich said that he did not think that it was the Commission’s obligation to do this, but was the Assessor’s obligation.   Mr. Buscovich stated that the Commission should put the Assessor’s Office on notice that this would be a good source of information, instead of three years later trying to figure it out and recoup the money because that money is old, and the Department needs to be able to do this instantaneously.  Mr. Buscovich said that in today’s world no one does business this way. 

 

Commissioner Walker said that she knows that Acting Director Amy Lee is working with Assessor Phil Ting on this issue regarding both the computer and the data management and also the process.   President Hirsch stated that since Phil Ting is an ex-member of this Commission he would hope that he was aware of these issues.

 

Mr. Buscovich said that this is a great source of money and if someone buys a piece of property, everyone knows that they have to pay property tax increases and it is just a question of when it is paid.  Mr. Buscovich stated that he was pretty sure that the City of San Francisco would want the money now, instead of three years later.

 

5.

Discussion and possible action to choose an Executive Search Firm for the purpose of hiring a Director for the Department of Building Inspection.  [Presentations by Mr. Stuart Satow of CPS Executive Search and Mr. Regan Williams of Bob Murray & Associates]

Mr. Stuart Satow of CPS Executive Search and Mr. Regan Williams of Bob Murray & Associates introduced themselves to the Commission and gave presentations discussing how their respective firms could facilitate the Department of Building Inspection in their search to hire a new Director.   Mr. Satow and Mr. Williams also answered various questions from the Commission.

 

President Hirsch called for public comment. 

 

Mr. Henry Karnilowitz said that in the general contracting business one of the things that is required is a timeline, and this means a timeline as the work progresses with an ending date.   Mr. Karnilowitz stated that he hoped the Building Inspection Commission would have a timeline in selecting a Director for the Department of Building Inspection, with deadlines set in place.  Mr. Karnilowitz said that the deadlines that he would like to see are:  First selecting an executive search firm, second the executive search firm submitting the candidates to the Commission, and third the BIC deciding who the new Director is going to be.  Mr. Karnilowitz stated that was very important that these deadlines be set in place and not continue on and on, because as one of the candidates said today it is going to take four months to get everything together and that means it would be February before the search firm even gets back to the Commission.  Mr. Karnilowitz said that this has been going on for quite a long time and the selection process should have been completed already.  Mr. Karnilowitz stated that after listening to the two candidates that he felt of the two Mr. Williams was probably the better candidate, because it seemed that he would be personally involved in the selection process but this was just his suggestion.

 

Mr. Joe O’Donoghue of the Residential Builders Association said that April, May, June, July, August, September, and October had past and that was seven months in deliberation, so to speak, of what has been an inane discussion that has actually been injurious to the ears of listeners in the public.   Mr. O’Donoghue stated that the Commission has deliberated about a choice for a Department head that in the past several years ago, with the involvement of the industry, only took one month.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that the Commission’s choice of deliberations that they have cast in the cloak of judicious, objective discussions, of course is a joke because underneath from the very beginning there was intent to delay this process of choosing a Department head.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that the choice of the Department head is politically set and the public should know this; it would be like choosing a Michael Brown to run this Department because right now it is being run as if Michael Brown and his henchmen were in charge.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that when you look at what is happening in the Department, the industry can not get their permits through, everything is chaotic, and right now this Commission is only filling seats not filling a need as the Charter called for but going through a process much like Nero did when Rome burned.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that the Commission was just sitting there mouthing platitudes, smiling as Commissioner Walker does who was a known perjurer in the past and should not be sitting on this Commission.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that the Building Inspection Commission was just going through a whole charade, and not telling the public that the person who will be chosen will only be at DBI for two years.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that contrary to what Commissioner Romero said this is not a Civil Service Commission appointment or a long-term appointment, but it is an exempt position, which is different.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that this is an exempt position that is political and the qualifications are already laid out in State law, so nothing needs to be done beyond that and the qualifications are also listed in the local San Francisco law.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that the candidate is supposed to have a minimum of 10 years of experience, including five years of engineering or architectural experience, and 5 to 10 years of plan check.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that those are the requirements and the Commission has spent six to seven months which is a disgrace, and Mr. O’Donoghue also stated that the Commission was a farce, and fortunately now he would be going back to writing in prose and getting away from the poetry because the RBA is going to take a different tact and the articulation will be a lot more versified than that which he has done already.

 

President Hirsch asked for any comments from the Commission. 

 

Commissioner Walker clarified that she was referring to the search itself.   Commissioner Walker said that she called several of the references for both of the applicants that presented today and both come highly recommended and have provided really good directors, applicants, or candidates.  Commissioner Walker stated that they have provided the clients with people that were chosen and served in the positions.  Commissioner Walker said that each of the references that she talked to said that they would hire them again, and Commissioner Walker stated that she is satisfied with the quality level of both firms.  Commissioner Walker said that she likes the fact that Bob Murray & Associates is a smaller organization and the Commission would actually be dealing with the person who presented today.   Commissioner Walker said that Mr. Williams also seems to know a little bit more about the background of the Department, which she thought was essential in going forward and talking to applicants because it is a unique situation here with the cost of living in San Francisco and the challenges of the history of the Department itself, so she would most likely support Bob Murray & Associates based on these reasons. 

 

Commissioner Fillon said that he believed either of the firms would probably do a great job, but said the main thing that he would like to see was for the Commission to choose one of the firms today and get them started.   Commissioner Fillon stated that of the two firms, Bob Murray & Associates has had the familiarity with the local situation and said that he liked the fact that the Commission would just be dealing with a small group of people.  Commissioner Fillon said that Bob Murray & Associates was not a big company and recruiting was not only 10% of what they do, and he liked the fact that the firm has had experience in appointing a big position already so they know the ropes. Commissioner Fillon said he thought this was going to be real important in finding someone that would be willing to come to San Francisco. 

 

President Hirsch said that he believed the Commission could choose a firm today, but they would not be able to hire them today.   Commissioner Walker said that this was correct and that the firm would have to follow certain procedures.  Secretary Aherne stated that the Department would have to go through the Civil Service process and said she could ask for an expedited approval from Civil Service, but it all hinges on getting the job description.  Secretary Aherne said that she had everything else ready to go once the Department receives the job announcement.

 

Commissioner Romero said that he actually liked the CPS Executive Search presentation better, but one of the key answers that the Commission received about being familiar with the Building Inspection Commission was that CPS Executive Search was not familiar and Bob Murray & Associates was.   Commissioner Romero stated that Mr. Williams understood the nuances of the Department and regardless of how people feel; people will read the papers and google the information as to what has been going on with the Department for the last few months.  Commissioner Romero stated that there would be a management consideration for anybody who would be coming in to the Department, because right off the top they would be dealing with some very serious management issues so it seemed that Bob Murray & Associates understands that and that CPS probably did not.  Commissioner Romero said that he was a little surprised that Mr. Satow was not very familiar with the Department.

 

Commissioner Lee stated that he actually called a couple of the references himself and throughout this whole process he has learned quite a bit about what the Commission should be looking for in choosing an executive search firm.   Commissioner Lee said that both firms actually come highly recommended by their references so he appreciated that, and said that what stood out to him besides the characteristics that Commissioner Walker and Commissioner Fillon mentioned was that Bob Murray & Associates is a smaller firm and said he felt that they would probably fit better for the Commission at the present time.  Commissioner Lee stated that the Commission probably has to work very closely with the executive search firm and he said he felt that they could do better with a smaller firm.  Commissioner Lee said that there were two things Bob Murray & Associates mentioned and one of them was interviewing the staff, and he found this interesting as he thought it was acceptable to see what the staff’s point of view was. Commissioner Lee stated that the second item Mr. Williams mentioned was an extensive background check, and some of the references that he called suggested that the Commission should include that along with the regular credit check.  Commissioner Lee said that the Commission should also check the media, what is shown on television, what is written about the person, check the web sites, the local newspapers, as well as checking with the local townspeople where they come from, and see what they say.  Commissioner Lee stated that he would recommend Bob Murray & Associates as well. 

 

President Hirsch called for a motion.   Commissioner Walker made a motion seconded by Commissioner Romero that the Commission approve Bob Murray & Associates as their choice for an executive search firm, and forward it on through the proper channels for approval. 

 

The Commission voted as follows:

 

Commissioner Romero 
Vice-President Hanrahan
Commissioner Fillon    
Commissioner Lee
Commissioner Walker
Commissioner Guinnane
President Hirsch

Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

 

The motion carried with a vote of 6 to 1, with Vice-President Hanrahan dissenting.   President Hirsch asked Secretary Aherne to notify Bob Murray & Associates and to start the paperwork.

 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 060-05

6.

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 061-05

7.

Review and approval of the minutes of the May 16, 2005 meeting.    

 

Secretary Aherne announced that Commissioner Walker would have to abstain from the vote because she was not yet a Commissioner, and stated that Vice-President Hanrahan was absent on May 16, 2005.  Commissioner Guinnane made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Fillon to approve the minutes of May 16, 2005.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 062-05

8.

Review of Communication Items.  At this time, the Commission may discuss or take possible action to respond to communication items received since the last meeting.

• Memorandum dated September 22, 2005 from Jim Hutchinson, Deputy Director to Amy Lee, Acting Director regarding a Request by Community Members to Have DBI Distribute and Place on Our Website Information to Help Stop Job Site Thefts.

 

Deputy Director Jim Hutchinson said that he tried to outline for Acting Director Lee a meeting that he had attended at the Mission District Police Station.  Mr. Hutchinson stated that it was a wonderful public event that came about as a result of contactors experiencing the theft of tools in an area South of Market.   Mr. Hutchinson said that these contractors contacted the police department and worked with Supervisor Dufty and came up with some guidelines for job safety and the protection of tools that they wanted DBI to distribute.  Mr. Hutchinson said that he informed these individuals and the Police Department that the Building Department could not really do anything to protect equipment or materials on job sites, but they said that DBI has a website and a Commission meeting that could get the word out and help distribute the information.  Mr. Hutchinson said that he also learned from the S.F. Police Department that people could actually file a police report online, and this could be linked to DBI’s website so Mr. Hutchinson recommended this idea to Acting Director Lee and said he thought it would be a wonderful thing for the Department to help get the word out.

 

President Hirsch said that it was not just South of Market where thefts are occurring because he knows of a site on Russian Hill that had experienced the same problem, so these thefts are an epidemic.  President Hirsch asked if this item required action by the Commission and Mr. Hutchinson replied that it did not.

 

9.

Review 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.

There were no inquiries to staff.

 

 

Commissioner Guinnane said that at the last meeting he had asked for some items to go on the agenda.  Commissioner Guinnane stated that one of the items was discussed before he arrived at the meeting, which was the City Hall waiver of fees on the improvements and said he did not know what was said but said he did not understand how this was covered under President’s Announcements when it should have been listed as a separate line item.  President Hirsch said that Acting Director Amy Lee could not be at the meeting today so she asked that President Hirsch convey her findings so far, and it does not sound like this could be an action agenda item because it is a closed item.  Commissioner Guinnane asked how this could be a closed item if there was a waiver of fees, and he questioned who authorized the waiver of fees.  President Hirsch stated that it was an agreement between former Mayor Willie Brown and former Director Frank Chiu, at the behest of the Mayor to waive the fees.  President Hirsch said that the fees were waived under an agreement, though there was no record of it.  President Hirsch stated that the audit was done in 1999 and it is closed so there is no action that could be taken.  Commissioner Guinnane asked if the Director had the authority to waive over $1 million dollars in fees, and President Hirsch responded that he did not know.  Commissioner Guinnane said that he did not understand how this was a closed item and said it should be explored, because the Commission was never informed of this agreement.  President Hirsch stated that this was a closed issue, and the Director was not at the Department anymore and the Mayor was no longer in office.

 

Vice-President Hanrahan stated that she would like to suggest that Acting Director Lee talk to the Commission directly about this issue, and that the item be agendized yet again because she thought that it was important enough to do a little bit more research.  Vice-President Hanrahan said that whether the Commission tasks this to the City Attorney or interviews some past Directors who were part of that decision making process she thought it was important to get more information and to have a fuller discussion on this.  Commissioner Guinnane said that this item never came to the Commission and there was never a waiver, and said that the Commission knew of it but it was never decided at a Commission meeting.  Commissioner Guinnane stated that neither he, Bobbie Sue Hood, or Commissioner Fillon ever waived any fees, so he could not figure out how this was done.  Commissioner Guinnane stated that he did not believe this item was time barred.  President Hirsch said that he guesses that the Commission could ask former Mayor Brown to attend the next meeting.  Vice-President Hanrahan stated that she did not think that the responsibility lies with the ex-Mayor, but probably with the former Director of the Department; and there should also be a legal reading to decide if the books are really closed and it did not seem like that should be a barrier.  Commissioner Guinnane stated that there should be some documentation and President Hirsch replied that there is no documentation.  Vice-President Hanrahan said great, then the Department needs the money back and President Hirsch stated that there was no money to get back.  Commissioner Guinnane said that he would like to put this item back on the agenda again, as a separate item.

 

Commissioner Guinnane stated that he had also asked about penalties on unlawful demolitions on the different jobs that were outlined, and said he questioned Acting Deputy Director Wing Lau as to what had been done to assure the Department that the liens were in place or that the process was in place to get the money from the owner/builder.  Commissioner Guinnane said that there was another item regarding the inspections for the Department, and if one looks at the building inspectors scheduling process the inspections are made through the clerk, but in looking at the scheduling of the electrical and plumbing division, the inspections are made directly with the inspector.  Commissioner Guinnane stated that he thought it would be consistent to have all of the divisions schedule their inspections directly with the inspectors in order to save time.  Commissioner Guinnane said that he also asked for a list of jobs where there were fee deferrals or waivers for non-profit organizations.

 

Acting Deputy Director Wing Lau said that he would talk to Acting Director Amy Lee about the matter of the fee deferrals or waivers for non-profit organizations and maybe they could present this at the next meeting.  Mr. Lau said that he already did his research and is taking action on the time that was spent on the cases for unlawful demolitions and he did have the previous time listed ranging from 15 hours to 45 hours of staff time.  Mr. Lau stated that those could be listed under assessment fees, one of the issues that was brought up earlier in the meeting.

 

Commissioner Walker interrupted Mr. Lau and stated that as a point of order she did not think the Commission could discuss this issue, but that Commissioner Guinnane just wanted it to be agendized for the next meeting.  Commissioner Guinnane said that what he was really after was that there are two parts on the unlawful demolition because there are two penalties in place:  One if you have a case that is ruled an unlawful demolition then there is a penalty of $5,000 against the contractor and the other a $1,000 penalty against the owner.  Commissioner Guinnane stated that what he wanted to know was what had the Department done, have they placed liens on the property, and what is the procedure to collect that money.  Commissioner Guinnane also mentioned that he listed all of the jobs at the last meeting.  Mr. Lau said that he would also report on how much the fee was that the Department deferred.

 

President Hirsch stated that he had an item that he would like the Director to report on at the next meeting and that was on 422 – 31^st Avenue, because he had received some correspondence on this and asked if the Department could research the case and report the situation.

 

Commissioner Fillon said that he would like to follow up on the 3-R report issue that has come up before and the Commission previously discussed that the Director should talk about this issue with the Planning Department, in order to come up with a more streamlined process.  Commissioner Fillon stated that he would like to get a report from the Director on activities in that direction in order to find out what is being done or if she has had some meetings with people at the Planning Department.

 

Commissioner Guinnane asked if he could do a friendly amendment to Commissioner Fillon’s request because the 3-R division has been a big problem.  Commissioner Guinnane said that he received another call last week where a taxpayer had a problem with the unit count again.  Commissioner Guinnane stated that there has to be some hands-on from the Department, instead of having to go through the Planning Department because this is really a clerical issue.  Commissioner Guinnane said that people are getting caught up in a cycle for six or seven months and they cannot get through the process, so the Commission needs to have the Director or someone with authority to approve this and get the clerical changes done.  Commissioner Guinnane stated that the Commission should really expand the scope of this item at the next meeting, and they should also discuss staffing in the 3-R division because there are a lot of problems there.  Commissioner Guinnane said that at one time a customer could get a 3-R report in 48 hours and now he was told that it could take up to two weeks; he also said that maybe the Department should raise the fee.  Commissioner Fillon stated that he does not think it is fair to dump it on staff because it is not the staff that is at fault, but it is just an unclear process and the Commission needs to “hammer this out” until it gets solved since there are a lot of people being hurt by this right now.

 

President Hirsch called for public comment on item 9b. 

 

Mr. Joe O’Donoghue of the Residential Builders Association said that for President Hirsch’s edification Mayor Brown had no authority whatsoever and had no authority under the Charter, over this Commission, so to suggest that there was an agreement made between the Department or the Commission and Mayor Brown would be to assume that something illegal actually occurred.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that he was not sure where President Hirsch got his facts today, but said he was not surprised that this issue of $1 million dollars that is owed to this Department was being swept under the rug.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that Vice-President Hanrahan was right to ask that a hearing be scheduled on this matter, because if an illegal action was done by the Mayor’s office then the public should know about it.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that he did not know where the facts came from today to presume that this case was closed, because he can assure the Commission that Mayor Brown never once talked to one member of this Department or the Commission regarding the $1 million dollars.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that he does not remember if Acting Director Amy Lee was in fact the Financial Officer at that time, but if she were the Financial Director then it is absolutely incumbent on this Commission to get the information directly from her about what happened to that $1 million dollars.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that this issue never came before the Commission and there was never any agreement made with the Director, because the Director did not have the authority to just suddenly say excuse the debt of one department to another, and since there was never an action before the Commission and they were never notified then it did not happen.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that suddenly it was now being swept under the rug just like the 3-R reports.

 

Mr. O’Donoghue said that he disagreed with Commissioner Fillon that maybe it was not the staff’s fault regarding 3-R reports, but it is the Director’s fault and the people who help her because they are changing and setting policy.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that the policy is that if you have to make a hard decision then throw it over to the Planning Department; forget that the function of this Department is to get permits filed and processed in a timely manner.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that procrastinating on decisions and sending them to another department is the new policy.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that the way this new administration works is if they can blame the old administration for ills or crimes then blame the old administration; yet if they can steal the thunder of the old administration then steal the thunder.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that this is how the new administration has been operating, and what he means by “new administration” is the Mayor’s office and of course his appendages or protégés who are now carrying out their tasks as true, good, and loyal minions.

10.

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

                     

Mr. Joe O’Donoghue of the Residential Builders Association said that some months ago a case came before the Commission regarding 82 Natoma Street and said he was going to talk about it because this Commission moved, contrary to what happened at the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor’s Office.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that the 82 Natoma Street case was a taking of a property in which Jack Meyers went to court.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that at the time Jake McGoldrick, since the Mayor was inactive on it, said that at the worst this property was going to cost the City $32 million dollars, but that figure is now up to $57 million dollars on an illegal eminent domain and it could rise further.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that money has to come from the general fund and with the attitude of this administration, including many of the new commissioners on various commissions; money is like manna from heaven.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that all we have to do is become a prophet and in a biblical sense ask the Lord to send us manna from heaven and we will suddenly be able to get the money.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that $30 million dollars is coming from the general fund as a result of a bad decision which was just like the F.E.M.A. decision of $100 million dollars that they paid for ice that they could not deliver.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that people should understand that the government is no longer responsible to the people; we have government because of the infusion of self-interest groups like unions who today do not care about the public or even their own workers.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that there is a government within a government that is separate from the public, so the public is not getting the service from government as illustrated by the 82 Natoma Street case because this is just the first case of eminent domain and is going to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but what do they care because the money that comes from the business sector through the construction industry and through selling of high rises.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that  the surpluses that should go to give the quality of life, are now going to pay bad, stupid decisions by bureaucrats from the Mayor on down, as well as his commissioners.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that there are commissioners and supervisors who are not qualified in basic economics and know nothing about business, but just sit there and offer generalities.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that the public is at threat, because the contract that people made with government to provide them with services and quality of life, minimize their expenses and increase the services are not there anymore.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that we could witness this at the Department of Building Inspection because all members’ permits in the industry are being delayed and they are not getting the same service that they got months or years ago.  Mr. O’Donoghue said that if you do not get your permit in a timely fashion, then you can go to the Planning Department to make their department make a decision on matters that are not within their jurisdiction.  Mr. O’Donoghue stated that he merely wants the public to know that there is a whole dysfunctional government so the people need to either take care of themselves or kick the bums out.

 

11.

Adjournment.

 

Commissioner Guinnane made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walker to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried unanimously.

       

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 063-05

 

The meeting was adjourned at 11:24 a.m.

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

______________________

Sonya Harris
Assistant Secretary

 

Edited by,

 

 

______________________

Ann Marie Aherne
Commission Secretary