August 13 2014 Operations Committee Meeting Approved Minutes
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
COMMISSION ON THE ENVIRONMENT
OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
APPROVED MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014, 5:00 P.M.
CITY HALL, ROOM 421
ONE DR. CARLTON B. GOODLETT JR. PLACE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Commissioners Angelo King (Chair), Heather Stephenson, Sarah Wan
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Public comment will be taken before the Committee takes action on any item.
1. Call to Order and Roll Call. The Operations Committee meeting convened at 5:56 p.m. Present: Commissioners King and Stephenson; Excused: Commissioner Wan. Director Deborah Raphael was in attendance at the meeting.
2. Approval of Minutes of the May 14, 2014 Operations Committee Rescheduled Meeting. (Explanatory Document: May 14, 2014 Operations Committee Meeting Draft Minutes) (Discussion and Action) Upon Motion by Commissioner Stephenson, second by Commissioner King, the May 14, 2014 Meeting Minutes were approved. (AYES: Commissioners King and Stephenson; Absent: Commissioner Wan).
3. Public Comments: Members of the public may address the Committee on matters that are within the Committee’s jurisdiction and are not on today’s agenda. There were no members of the public present at this time.
Item 7 was heard before Items 4-6. Items 5-6 were heard before Item 4.
4. Planning for the Commission on the Environment’s Off-Site Community Meeting. Sponsor: Commissioner Angelo King; Speaker: Donald Oliveira, Public Outreach Program Manager (Discussion)
Public Outreach Program Manager Donald Oliveira reported that the Commission off-site community meeting would be held on September 30, 2014 at City College of San Francisco, 1125 Valencia Street. He provided an overview of programming for the meeting that would include translation services, department tabling, information distribution by Department staff and grantees, and participation by key Mission neighborhood stakeholder and business groups. Mr. Oliveira reported on the various agencies that would be invited to the meeting to discuss interaction and partnerships with Department programming. He suggested that there be a specific agenda topic to hear from the community.
Commissioner King suggested (1) inviting members of the Bicycle Coalition to discuss clean transportation policies; (2) focusing meeting discussions on community concerns; (3) connecting each topic of discussion with Department policy; and (4) hearing from community groups that are funded in the neighborhood to discuss their work. Commissioner Stephenson suggested (1) utilizing social media outlets to advertise the meeting; (2) discussing the neighborhood’s demographic issues and concerns; and (3) inviting green business partners to attend the meeting.
5. Department of the Environment Hiring and Staffing Update. Speaker: Joseph Salem, Program Manager, Finance and Administration(Informational Report and Discussion)
Program Manager of Finance and Administration, Joseph Salem, reported on the Department of the Environment’s hiring status as outlined in the hiring chart, high-priority vacancies and hires that are being worked on, and scheduled interviews. He reported on the current process for converting Department permanent exempt positions to permanent Civil Service positions and the work involved in filling those positions both by the Department and Department of Human Resources. Mr. Salem discussed positions that have been converted to full time before current funding is in place and plans to secure funding.
Director Raphael reported on the hiring freeze that was in place until a Department Director was hired and the large number of vacancies to be filled. Commissioner King suggested that newly hired staff attend a Commission meeting to introduce themselves.
6. Department of the Environment’s Fiscal Year 2014-15 Budget Update. Sponsor: Commissioner Angelo King; Speaker: Joseph Salem, Program Manager, Finance and Administration(Informational Report and Discussion)
Program Manager of Finance and Administration, Joseph Salem, reported on Department of the Environment’s Fiscal Year 2014-15 budget variances from the previous discussion held at the February 19, 2014 Operations Committee meeting and that have been approved by the Board of Supervisors and Mayor. He discussed unfunded mandates that have been resolved and variances in appropriations, revenues, and expenditures in Toxics Reduction, Clean Transportation, Climate and Renewables, and Administration program areas. Commissioner Stephenson suggested adding a column to the budget document noting changes from the prior budget version.
Staff and Commissioners discussed how grant funding only applies to staff work hours directed to the program but not staff benefits and ways to resolve this issue. Commissioners suggested that a Committee, Task Force, or round table of departments with the same concerns discuss how to resolve billable employee hours that grants do not fund for services that are mandated by the City. Commissioner King suggested that funders and the City should be approached for additional funding to cover staff benefits, and that the Commission should create a letter making this recommendation.
7. Update and Review of Department of the Environment’s Request for Proposal(s) (RFPs) and Outreach Efforts. Sponsor: Commissioner Angelo King; Speakers: Shawn Rosenmos, Senior Environmental Specialist and Donald Oliveria, Public Outreach Program Manager (Informational Report and Discussion)
Senior Environmental Specialist Shawn Rosenmoss noted that there were two separate but overlapping processes. There is the process for issuing Requests for Proposals to award grants and a slightly different process for releasing RFP’s and Requests for Qualifications to award contracts. These often are targeting very different audiences. Ms. Rosenmoss reported on the Department of the Environment’s processes for issuing, advertising, and outreach for Requests for Proposal(s) for grantmaking. She reported on Toxics, Zero Waste, Carbon Fund, and Environmental Justice grantmaking.
Commissioner King suggested (1) creating a GIS map of grantees, (2) inviting grantees to discuss their work at the September 30 Commission community meeting; and (3) requesting grantees to provide outreach for Department programs. Ms. Rosenmoss reported that there is a list of grantees from the past three years by districts they are in, but that there are no resources available to create a GIS map. Contracts Coordinator Rachel Buerkle reported on the notification list that she utilizes to send out Request for Proposals for grants and contracts.
Commissioner Stephenson suggested creating a Department wide or central contact database of community organizations, grantees and potential grantees. Ms. Rosenmoss reported that she sends RFP’s out to other City departments that makes grants. She also reported that recently the City has created a working group of all City departments that issue contracts and grants, and these departments will also forward each department’s grantmaking RFPs if they are not currently. This will further expand the outreach.
Public Outreach Program Manager Donald Oliveira reported on the Department’s outreach process for issuing Request for Proposals and Qualifications for contracts through industry contact lists, social media, and Department and City Purchasing website postings. He reported on the overwhelming response received by agencies that want to work with the Department. Contracts Coordinator Buerkle reported on requirements for hiring Local Business Enterprise (LBE’s) and outreach to that sector. She discussed newspaper advertising requirements for contracts over $100,000.00. Director Raphael reported that 83% percent of Department contracts have been issued to LBE’s.
8. Director’s Updates. Speaker: Deborah Raphael, Director (Informational Report and Discussion)
Director Deborah Raphael discussed plans to reorganize the Department’s Energy, Climate and Green Building program teams and the Request for Proposal that is being crafted for an outside consultant to create a workload and funding analysis and organizational structure before vacancies are filled. Additional information should be available at the November Operations Committee meeting. Commissioner Stephenson suggested grouping the Energy and Renewables teams. Director Raphael reported on funding that would be set aside to perform a technology assessment of the Department’s IT section and reorganize the Energy and Climate team and discussed plans to resolve issues with grant overhead and the personnel system for hiring. She reported that the scope of the Deputy Director’s job would be a Chief Operations Officer.
9. New Business/Future Agenda Items. (Discussion)
Commissioner King requested a discussion with Director Raphael on how to differentiate between agenda items that are scheduled for the Policy and Operations Committee. Commissioner Stephenson discussed the appropriate date for hearing a presentation on Urban Agriculture.
10. Public Comments: Members of the public may address the Committee on matters that are within the Committee’s jurisdiction and are not on today’s agenda.
There were no members of the public present at this time.
11. Adjournment.
The Operations Committee meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m.
Minutes submitted by,
Monica Fish, Commission Secretary
TEL: (415) 355-3709; FAX: (415) 554-6393
The next meeting of the Commission on the Environment Operations Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, August 13, 2014, 5:00 p.m., at City Hall, Room 421, San Francisco, CA 94102.
** Copies of explanatory documents are available at (1) the Commission’s office, 1455 Market Street, Suite 1200, San Francisco, California, 94103 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Photo identification is required for access to the building; (2) on the Policy Committee’s website http://www.sfenvironment.org/commission/agendas, or (3) upon request to the Commission Secretary at telephone number 415-355-3709, or via e-mail at [email protected]. The meeting audio can be reviewed at the website link by meeting date http://www.sfenvironment.org/commission/audio.
Approved: November 12, 2014
