Fire Commission - May 11, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Video can be viewed by clicking this link:  http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=180&clip_id=25…

 

President Covington called the meeting to order at 9:03 AM.  

 

1. ROLL CALL

 

Commission President Francee Covington Present  

Commission Vice President Ken Cleaveland Present

Commissioner Stephen Nakajo Present

Commissioner Michael Hardeman Present

 

Chief of Department Joanne Hayes-White Present

 

Mark Gonzales Deputy Chief – Operations

Raemona Williams Deputy Chief – Administration

 

Ken Lombardi Support Services

Dan DeCossio Bureau of Fire Prevention

Jeff Myers EMS

Richard Brown Bureau of Fire Prevention

Jeff Columbini Division of Training

Rudy Castellanos Airport

 

Assistant Chiefs

Kevin Burke Division 2

Kirk Richardson Division 3

 

Staff

Mark Corso CFO

Olivia Scanlon Communication and Outreach Coordinator

 

 

2. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

 

Lisa Phyllis, Paramedic Captain stated that now that the economy is turning around it’s time to improve the paramedic supervision and put RC-4 back to the filed.  She added that the issues of supervision at Station 49 and returned RC-4 to the filed are separate issues.

 

Tom O’Connor, President of the San Francisco Firefighters stated it’s time to end this game where the Department is holding jobs hostage and not opening the rescue captain position in the southernmost part of the City in order to get a change of shift at another location.  He added that not only have the jobs have been funded to deliver these services to the San Franciscans that depend on them for public safety, but also there are promotions that are being held up for the men and women of the Department and that they deserve and have earned these jobs.  He wants RC-4 back in the field and to sit at the table and talk about the length of shift later and urged the Commission to act upon this and compel the Department to staff these positions.

 

Dan Casey, Firefighter Paramedic stated he thinks it is critical that RC-4 be restored to the Field.  He added that he is on the current promotional list and he feels that his opportunities to promote are being limited by what appears to be a political situation.

 

Mike Whooley, President of the San Francisco EMS Officers Association talked about the immediacy related to 12 hour shifts.  He gave examples of when members call in sick and how hard it is to fill the positions.  He stated that he will be retiring in June and he was hoping something would have been done about putting RC-4 back in the field before he retired.  He concluded by stating the games that are being played by the administration are unconscionable, and he wants no more part of it.

 

3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES [Discussion and possible action]

Discussion and possible action to approve meeting minutes.

 

• Minutes from Regular Meeting on April 13, 2016

 

President Covington asked to continue the approval of the April 13, 2016 minutes as the packets were delivered late.  Commission Hardeman so Moved to continue the approval of the April 13, 2016 minutes.  Vice President Cleaveland Seconded.  The motion to continue was unanimous.

 

• Minutes from Special Meeting on April 25, 2016

 

Commissioner Hardeman Moved to approve the February 24, 2016 regular meeting Minutes.  Vice President Cleaveland Seconded.  Motion to approve above Minutes was unanimous.

 

There was no public comment:

 

4. CERTIFICATES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF APPRECIATION

Certificates and acknowledgement of appreciation to members of the Academy of Art University for the outstanding artwork they provided in support of the Department’s 150th Anniversary Events.

 

Chief Hayes-White stated how proud she was to acknowledge the great work and partnership they have developed with the Academy of Art University and how much she appreciates them stepping up to help with the 150th Anniversary and designing the logo.  She invited Susan Toland, Phil Hamlett and Tom McNulty to approach the podium and she presented them with their certificates as well as the two certificates for the members of the Academy of Art University that could not make the meeting, which included Elisa Stephens and Mary Scott. 

 

Vice President Cleaveland acknowledged the wonderful students that are in the Academy that do wonderful work and produce wonderful art for the City, country and world.

 

Commissioner Nakajo stated his appreciation in the community environment of both the Academy of Arts and the San Francisco Fire Department on the historical prestigious events of the 150th Anniversary.

 

Commissioner Hardeman thanked the Academy of Art for the work done on the logo.

 

President Covington stated it was a wonderful learning experience for the students because they were able to form two teams and come up with ideas, execute those ideas and present them before the SFFD.  She added that she was excited to see the advertisement that read “party like its 1866” on MUNI.

 

5. CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT’S REPORT [Discussion]

REPORT FROM CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT

Report on current issues, activities and events within the Department since the Fire Commission meeting of April 27, 2016, including Fiscal Year 2015-2016 budget, academies, strategic planning, 150th Anniversary update, special events, communications and outreach to other government agencies and the public.  

 

Chief Hayes-White report covered events since the last meeting on April 27, 2016.  She stated that in regards to the Budget, on April 19, 2016 they met with Supervisor Farrell, who is the chair of the Budget Committee and had a productive discussion and on April 20, 2016 she presented before the Budget and Finance Committee and acknowledged that Commissioner Hardeman was in attendance at that meeting.  She added that they are working closely with the Mayor’s Budget Office and they have presented all of the Department’s priorities and specifically the need for a fleet replacement plan.  The goal would be, not just for next year but to have a fleet replacement plan that would somewhat mirror what is currently being done with the hiring plan.

 

She mentioned that although she was not at the April 27, 2016 meeting in the Mission, she wanted to assure the commission that she is working very closely with the Department of Building Inspection, in order to be more responsive to the community and the need for additional resources.

 

Chief Hayes-White touched on the academies, stating that the 119th Academy is in their 16th week and should be graduating June 9, 2016, the H-3 Level 1 Academy which will be graduating June 3, 2016 and that they are hoping to start the 120th Academy on June 20, 2016 with 54 recruits, 12 from Station 49 and 42 from the eligible list.

 

Chief Hayes-White announced that the Strategic Planning Committee met on May 2, 2016 and discussed formatting and they agreed that the subcommittees would reconvene and resubmit for further discussion on May 21, 2016 and by then they should be very close to having a final draft.

 

Chief Hayes-White gave a brief overview of the events for the 150th Anniversary, including the well-attended kick off at Union Square, the Chief’s panel at the Main Library, which included five former fire chiefs, Commissioner Nakajo, retired Commission Secretary Ray Connors and Moderator of the panel, the iconic Belva Davis and the lunch that followed.  She acknowledged Assistant Chief Dave Franklin who chaired the event for the great job he did.  She added that the next 150th Anniversary meeting is scheduled for May 26, 2016 and they will highlight EMS Week in conjunction with the 150th Anniversary, and they will be donating an out of service Ambulance to Galileo High School for their medical academy.

 

Chief Hayes-White mentioned that she attended an event hosted by Riordan High School honoring fallen SFFD firefighter Vince Perez.  She also attended the Merced Extension Triangle Neighborhood Association community meeting, met with Mr. Tom Hui from Department of Building Inspection pertaining to Supervisor Campos’ proposed legislation and she is scheduled to meet with Supervisor Campos, as well as stakeholders in the Mission on May 18th at 1:00 a.m. to talk about after action items resulting from the Commission’s Meeting in the Mission.

 

Public Comment:  Captain Phyllis commented on her assignment at Station 49 and how it’s always a busy place and although they have gotten more staff she disagrees on what the shift length should be.  She added that they need at least two captains on duty at a time and they should be 24 hour shifts.

 

Vice President Cleaveland asked Chief Hayes-White if she could talk about what she learned at the Visioning Summit she attended in Newport, Oregon.  Chief Hayes-White gave a brief overview of the conference and sated they talked a lot about the future of fire service and relying on data to be more efficient.  She added that she thought it was very valuable and she came back with a refreshed perspective.

 

Vice President Cleaveland stated he thinks after listening to public comment on the RC-4 issue at Station 49 that the Commission, the Chief, Local 798 and perhaps somebody from the Mayor’s office sit down and resolve the problem.  He added that he is tired of hearing the comments from the public and the rank and file and there is no excuse for not coming to some resolution on this problem.

 

Commissioner Hardeman thanked Chief Hayes-White for her excellent report and is very supportive of members going to training and conferences.  He also mentioned how he enjoyed the 150th Anniversary event at the main library with the Chief’s panel and he thought it was very educational and wanted to congratulate everybody involved in that event.  He also volunteered to participate in the Strategic Planning Committee.

 

Commissioner Nakajo thanked the Chief for her report and talked about his ride along with Captain Whooley and how it reinforced the education of his comprehension.  It amazed him how professional the members are, both from fire suppression and EMS.  His goal was to understand how the rescue captains and the supervision at Station 49 are related.  He suggested that the administration and labor forces, should resolve this issue as appropriately and as soon as possible as we have a responsibility to the citizens of San Francisco and the neighborhood RC-4 affects.

 

President Covington stated that on the matter of RC-4, she thinks it is something that is going to require some Commission oversight and assistance in order to get a resolution.

 

REPORT FROM OPERATIONS

Report on overall field operations, including greater alarm fires, Emergency Medical Services, the Bureau of Fire Prevention & Investigation, and the Airport Division.

 

Chief Gonzales reported on the Month of April 2016.  He started by describing the two greater alarms.  The first was a third alarm on April 21, 2016 at 3515/3517 17th Street, Assistant Chief Siragusa commanded this incident.  Everyone performed to the highest standards of the Department.  There were no injuries. The second was a second alarm on April 22, 2016 at 143-147 San Jose Avenue, and again, Assistant Chief Siragusa commanded this incident. All interior units did an outstanding job in keeping the heavy fire conditions from doing extensive damage to the flats and there were two minor firefighter injuries at this fire.  He also mentioned that Battalion Chief Hayes did an excellent job notifying members of the condition of the floor that burnt through the third and top floor.  He also touched on other incidents, including a bay rescue at Pier 35, a bay rescue at the Gold Gate Bridge, a high angle rescue at fort Funston, and the rescue attempt at Ocean Beach for two teenage boys that were swept out to sea and the fatal car collision at Bryant and Embarcadero.

 

He touched on Community outreach and how they continue with weekly public service announcements regarding surf rescue safety, fire prevention tips regarding electrical heating, cooking and child safety and putting it on social media.  He mentioned that yearly wildland training is in progress along with yearly surf rescue training. 

 

He mentioned that proposed legislation from Supervisor Wiener and Supervisor Cohen passed and that the Department is going to need additional resources to implement and enforce what is required.  He also talked about the MTA projects in the works, including the Taraval project, Geary corridor project, Masonic Streetscape project and the lane reduction of Stockton Street as well as all the other street design projects in the works.  He also clarified the information from Fire Investigations that there are currently 145 open investigations, not 307, with 16 awaiting final review and signature by the supervisor.

 

Public Comment:  Captain Phyllis talked about her history as a firefighter and stated she truly feels blessed to have this job.  She added that they can’t work without the proper resources and that they need more paramedic supervision and urged the Department to get RC-4 back in the field.  She stated in the end, they serve the citizens and they need the resources to that, but she needs support to do her job.

 

Firefighter Casey spoke on behalf of Local 798 as President O’Connor was unable to stay and he wanted the Commission and the Chief to know that speaking for the Executive Board of Local 798, they are gratified by the attention to the RC-4 matter and they stand ready to continue working in the process to restore RC-4 to the field.

 

Vice President Cleaveland wanted more clarification as to why fires occur and where they occur and to find out if there is a program that will get this information out to the public as he thinks it important that there be more public access to fire reports.  Chief Gonzales suggested that they work with the Fire Marshal to develop a program that would provide the information once the investigation is complete.  Vice President Cleaveland also suggested that the Fire Commission be provided more details when there are situations and street design changes that may compromise the ability to respond to an emergency.  Vice President Cleaveland also stated his concern that the Fire Commission was not given the opportunity to review and respond to the fire code violation changes that have recently occurred.  Chief Gonzales stated that it was brought up at a prior meeting and the Fire Marshal was directly involved as well as Chief of Department.

 

Commissioner Nakajo expressed his confusion with reference to the recent legislations that have an effect on the Department and agrees that there should be a way to peruse it if there is something in terms of a red flag that might come up with coordination between the Chief’s office and the Commission.  He also asked about the ambulance unloading bays with curb heights too high and facility protection pillars too close to the ambulance loading area at the new SFGH.  Chief Gonzales explained that the hospital is not open yet and they are working with other city agencies to mitigate the problem before it opens.

 

Commissioner Hardeman thanked Chief Gonzales for his great report and acknowledged Chief Siragusa for the great job in handling the 2nd and 3rd alarm that was described in the report.  He also mentioned he was disappointed that at the Commission meeting in the Mission, he was surprised that very few people took advantage of the new free smoke alarms that were being distributed.   He also mentioned locations where smoke detectors should be placed in the house.  He also asked about the new station at the Airport.  Chief Castellanos expressed they are progressing quite well and the projected move in date is going to be January 2017.  Chief Castellanos spoke briefly regarding other updates at the Airport, including paramedic on bicycles and underground hydrants.  Chief Castellanos reminded the Commission that he was preparing a comprehensive complete report and PowerPoint presentation  to bring them up to date of everything that is going on at the airport for the June 8, 2016 Commission meeting.

 

President Covington asked for more information about the Transportation Advisory Staff Committee.  Chief DeCossio stated that the TASC consists of two members from the Department, and is headed by Captain Balmy, along with MTA, and other city jurisdictions, however, all fire issues do come before the Fire Department and they weigh in on every single proposal that may affect the Department.

 

6. 2016 HEALTH BOND [Discussion]

Update outlining the scope of the 2016 Health Bond.

 

Chief Lombardi introduced Brian Strong, Director of Capital Planning and Gabriella Judd Cirelli, DPW Project Manager for ESER.  Mr. Strong gave an update on the general obligation bonds and how that system works.  He explained that the plan was passed in 2006 and is required by the admin code, to prioritize all debt financing that come before the City.  He discussed the differences between general obligation bonds, revenue bonds and Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bonds.  Commissioner Hardeman asked what the City rating currently was.  Mr. Strong responded that the City has the highest bond rating at least in the past 20 to 30 years and it’s currently at double plus A.

 

Commissioner Nakajo asked for clarification on how the ESER bonds are funded.  Mr. Strong explained that ESER program is almost exclusively funded by general obligation bonds and the voters are told what that money is going to be used for.  The funds are set aside for earthquake safety emergency response which includes fire and police facilities.  Commissioner Nakajo asked Ms. Cirelli if she could explain how ESER Bonds get formalized.  She stated that she’s been managing the portfolio projects also known as Earthquake Safety Emergency Response and the Neighborhood Fire Station’s portfolio.  The 2010 and 2014 bonds passed with very strong support among San Francisco voters.  The 2010 bond included $65,000,000 earmarked for fire stations, and subsequent to the passage of the bond, there were also funds identified by the controller’s office of proceeds and interest earned on unexpended funds from previous bond funds, completely unrelated to the ESER and the voter approved general obligation bond in the amount of about 7.3 million.  That increased the amount that they had to work with for the neighborhood fire stations portfolio.  She mentioned that subsequent to that, the ESER 2014 bond passed in June of 2014 and $85,000,000 was earmarked for neighborhood fire stations.  She added that the Health Bond includes $14,000,000 for neighborhood fire station, and if it passes, it is not ESER money, it would be Public Health Bond Emergency Response money.

 

Chief Lombardi continued by showing the attached PowerPoint Presentation:  http://sf-fire.org/sites/default/files/COMMISSION/Fire%20Commission%20S…

 

Chief Lombardi explained that the Public Health and Safety Bond is a $350,000,000 bond and covers five projects which includes SFGH seismic improvements for $220,000,000, the Southeast Center expansion for $30,000,000, the Community Health Center for $20,000,000, Homeless Service site for $20,000,000 and San Francisco Fire Department for $58,000,00.  Of that $58,000,000, 44 million will go towards building a new ambulance deployment center, aka Station 49 and 14 million would go towards bringing firehouses up to modem day technology.

 

Vice President Cleaveland thanked Chief Lombardi for his presentation and asked if there was room for growth at the new Station 49.  Chief Lombardi explained that during planning, they took into account and decided the actual growth on the site will be maxed out once the property is built and the actual growth within the building is accounted for.  He also suggested that the Commission be kept apprised on how exactly the bond money is spent, if passed by the voters.

 

Commissioner Hardeman thanked Chief Lombardi for his presentation and stated he loved the pictures much more than the words and he appreciated how important Chief Lombardi is to the Department.

 

Commissioner Nakajo thanked Chief Lombardi for his comprehensive report.  He thought it was good to educate the community in terms of the importance of this Bond as it’s not just the Fire Department, there a other very worthy issues that are attached to it.  He also mentioned that it was probably a good time to start looking at ESER 2020, particularly since the Training Facility on TI not being available to the Department in the coming years.

 

President Covington acknowledged that with the upcoming bond measure, she feels it’s an indication of not only the needs of the department but also how other members of the City Family have come together to help ensure that we get monies that we need for the new ambulance deployment facility.

 

There was no public comment.

 

7. AGENDA FOR NEXT FIRE COMMISSION MEETING [Discussion]

Discussion regarding agenda for the May 25, 2016 regular meeting.

 

• Possible action item for paramedic supervisor position

• Discussion and graphics of the 150th commemorative  badge

• 150 Anniversary update

• Airport update

• Supervisor Campos’ legislation

• Presentation on inspection process

• Presentation and update on street changes

• SFFD infrastructure needs

 

Commissioner Hardeman commented that at the meeting in the Mission on April 27, 2016, he felt the community was venting and asking a lot of questions and because it was a regular Commission meeting the commissioners were not allowed to respond the questions and he thinks not much was accomplished.  He suggested that the next time they do an informal meeting in the community with two commissioners and department staff that can give answers to the questions that the concerned community members brought up.   President Covington reminded everyone that it was a regular commission meeting because that is what Supervisor Campos wanted.

 

Commissioner Nakajo acknowledged some of the public comments made at the Mission meeting suggested that there was some resistance by the Department and Fire Commission to meet in the Mission and he did not feel that way.  He added that it was a matter of logistics and what concerns him is that public access costs money and the fact that we are now televised costs additional money and it’s part of the budget.  It’s always a budget issue and if Supervisor Campos follows through with his policy of trying to have the Fire Commission come once a month to different neighborhoods, perhaps he can add a budget item to cover those additional costs as well.

 

President Covington stated that sharing with the community is the reason that we are now at City Hall, so that the people have access to us more freely and even those who may be house bound will have the advantage of hearing the proceedings on SFGOV TV.

 

8. ADJOURNMENT

 

President Covington adjourned the meeting at 11:30 a.m.