we are fortunate today to have nicole lavara, business development director of the greater bay area division of the american heart association with us today. i hope i'm not butchering your name too much here. please step up to the podium. thank you. >> thank you so much. [inaudible] i want to thank them for all they've done to implement change within the agency. i personally have seen some of the effects that have gone on such as folks being able to walk on the staircases and stretching rooms, on the great programs that have been implemented, like zumba and really focused on

heart health. i want to thank you and present this class to the sfmta. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much for being here to present this lovely award. >> absolutely. >> thank you. the next item i need to brief you on is related to the board of supervisors who last year requested that management audits of each m.t.a. division be conducted. the first of these audits was related to our sustainable streets division, and i'd like to ask the director of the sustainable streets division to give you a quick briefing on the audit. vaughn? >> good afternoon. good afternoon, mr. chair, members of the board. as mr. ford has mentioned, a

management audit of each of the sfmta divisions was requested by the board of supervisors in 2010. mr. ford and his office and also the city services auditor from the controllers selected sustainable streets as the first of the divisions to be audited. to be followed each year by another division within the agency. the audit set out to assess five areas. one, how well the division maintains the city and county of san francisco's traffic markings, signals, and signs. compliance with major contracts with basic city contracts. whether the division prevents scheduling conflicts. and whether the division's off street model is advantageous to the city. finally, the adequacy of the division's performance measures.

the auditors' staff has been working very closely with my divisions. i want to thank them for their diligence and also their spirit of collaboration. and i think a lot of the results that come out of this audit would be very useful in helping us to do great measure of self-improvement. we are a relatively new division that was formed i think toward the latter part of 2009. so we brought together a group of divisions and put together the division. i think we're overall doing pretty well. obviously there's a lot of room for improvement and we welcome the opportunity. i want to share with you roughly five findings. the last two are of more note that i want to highlight toward the end. the first one, the auditing found that we need to more

closely monitor the contracts and we intend to do so. working more closely with the conpagency, making better use o their contracts data base. the second finding, our performance measures were found in some cases to be relatively unreliable and unrepresentative of the work we're doing. the background for these measures were the outcome of the quality review that is mandated by prop e, and it was suggested at that time since all the measures were reflective of muni's performance that it would be great to include some measures of the other divisions so that we could have a broader view of the entire agency's performance. and we were, of course, very glad to be included in the review, and because of resource

issues, we took as an expeed i can't the -- expedient the measures previously used by the s.f. staff program. so we transferred those over knowing that the data is easy to collect and also very easy to explain. already we have a process set up to do that. we do agree that some of them could be refined and we look for the opportunity to do so as we update our strategic plan in the coming year. that would be a great opportunity to update that. also, the audit team noted our ability to coordinate a vast array of often complex inner agency multi-year projects, but they did find that we lack the one complete mechanism for managing all of them uniformly 68 this is a result of us coming from different places with legacy systems that we use to

monitor and track our progress of our various projects. we do agree with this recommendation and we are working with the capital programs and construction division who is investigating the propriety of the overarching software system that the entire agency can utilize to manage its various programs and projects. it's going to be somewhat of a challenge, because as you know, the projects that we deal with come in a variety of sizes and shapes. not only capital type with construction. grant-funded construction. planning projects. and also small scale traffic projects of that nature in the various neighborhoods. so it will be a challenge to see this overarching software package that can help us manage all of them uniformly. the next two items are more

noteworthy significance. the audit team found that we are apparently are not complying with what we call our best practices and doing scheduleed proactive type of preventative maintenance. now, i want to assure you we do do preventative maint nance, but in different forms. i also want to assure you that we rely on traffic signals and marksings and also the signs were not in a state of disrepair. there's no iminnocent sign of collapse. so we are doing it in different forms based on the resources we have and the mechanisms and tools available to us. the most significant item that was pointed out to us was the sign system, the sign inventory. there isn't currently a national standard for reflectivity, how well the signs will reflect in the evening when the headlight shines on them. but we understand that the

federal government who prom el gaits the license, which mandates standards and types of usage signs are installed throughout the country, is thinking about establishing some standards for reflectivity in the near future. it's an unfunded mandate, they usually allow several years for us to comply and we would normally do that over time as we do maintenance. one of the impediments is we do not have an up-to-date signed inventory system. the system that we have is carried over from public works and part of it used to be in public works. it's very good at tracking work orders and repairs, but it's not very adept at extracting information on inventory type of

information, like how old is the sign, how many times it's been repaired. so we are aware of that. we have been investigating, working with the vendor to come up with a software package that will help us transform our existing data, migrate over to this new system, and then being able to use it to help us do exactly that purpose. once we have that online, we expect to have that in place by september, october of this year. then we can start tracking the signs by age, which is the primary way to make sure that we keep up with the standards of reflectivity. once we do that, i think our next goal is to tackle the traffic markings. it's a similar type of situation. we have a manual software to keep track of that information, but not to the extent that we

like. again, we are fortunate because we see from years ago that we have a synergy with public works. a lot of the pavements are in such poor conditions, the surface is so rough that the markings would not adhere to them. so in some ways, we're tied in with t.p.w.'s work program. so we take advantage when they repave the streets and we go in and remark the markings on fresh, new pavement. and that's last anywhere from eight to 12 years, although we decided several years ago to ask that we turn over the striping every eight years. so on the average, we are doing that. of course it's not perfect because there's certain small areas that we might miss, but we rely on staff and also the public to give us input to fill in those little gaps. that would be the second area that we would tackle once we

have the inventory system for the signs in place. we need some additional staffing to deal with the preventative maintenance issue more closely, because looking at our roster of positions out of the 38 that are not currently funded, 26 of them were originally planned for preventative maintenance type of work. so we're going to have to work during the budget process to see if we can restore some of them or reprioritize some of our other work to make that happen. and then the last item of note is the off street parking /non-profit corporation model that we use currently. the auditing found that the current mode of administering the six garages through long-term leases to five non-profit corporations, they

were originally set up to help us fund the bonding for the building of the garages. the auditing found out it was unnecessarily costing the city an estimated $550,000 annually due to inefficiencies and duplications of some of the draft duties. we have reviewed this portion of the department with the rec and park department who also have jurisdiction over union square and portsmouth square and they agree with the findings of the audit. in the coming months, we will be addressing with them the i did concerns and to eliminate some redundancies in the operations model that currently is in place and help to standardize the row of the garage managers. we don't currently have a standard for specifying their job descriptions and the pay scales and so forth.

that's in a nutshell the audit and i'll be glad to answer any questions you may have. >> thank you. members of the board, questions or comments? thank you very much. appreciate the comprehensive report. >> next item under ongoing activities that i need to cover with you is related to our central subway contracting. as part of our continued momentum on the central subway project, i'm pleased to report that the first contract will be finished this week. this contract was specifically the utility relocation contract for the subway tunnel portal which will be completed by friday. equally as significant, we have achieved the following levels of small business and work force participation on this contract. the contract was 20%, and as of today, small and local businesses have received 84% of the total payments made under this contract. as it relates to work force hours, we had 128 workers who totaled 64,000 hours.

we had minority participation at the 75% level with 96 workers putting in 52,000 hours or nearly 82% of the total. we had participation by nine women, which entailed approximately 3,000 hours. nearly 4%. and san francisco resident participation exceeded 23% with 30 workers accounting for nearly 10,000 hours. non-san francisco resident participation included 97 workers who worked approximately 55,000 hours. we were able to make sure we lifted all boats, small businesses, minorities, women, and san francisco residents. first source hiring, the program where we bring in new employees, made five placements during this contract. we also scored another project first last friday with the relocation and reopening of a

business. the san sun restaurant was impacted by the construction project. we were able to relocate this business and it's only a short distance from its original location, and the project relocation plan provided the owners of the restaurant to expand to a larger space and to upgraded services to include wi-fi internet service. so we helped them improve their business as well as relocated them as a result of the construction project. we were joined last week by mayor lee and -- excuse me, mayor lee was not there. acting mayor scott weiner was there, and we were joined by board of supervisors president david chiu last friday morning to mark this milestone. the next item is related to the pride parade. the city will attract up to a million people to its 41st annual san francisco lgbt pride celebration, which will culminate in a festival saturday

and sunday in the civic center and a parade up market street on sunday beginning 10:30 a.m. at biel street. our marketing teams have partnered with the event organizers to prevent riding muni throughout the week. this will entail expansive rerouting of our muni services as well as a great deal of support from our parking control officers to deal with congestion and traffic issues. next on my report is the return this summer, 2011. we are pleased to announce the reconstruction of the california cable caroline and the propulsion system projects are both substantially completed. this project team is a team that has included transit, corporate communications. we also worked with the department of public works since last fall on these vital projects. and most notably, the california cable caroline returned to service this morning.

media event to reintroduce the california line will be held next monday at 10:00 a.m. at the cable car turnaround on market and california streets. we will be joined by mayor lee, board of supervisors president david chiu, as well as public utility commission general manager ed harrington. they will all join us for this event. we are also by this announcement inviting you to join us on the 27th for the reopening. earlier, supervisor brinkman mentioned the an exexpress is up and running. we launched on june 13 to relieve overcrowding on the light rail line. this has been in operation a little over a week and we are pleased to report the ridership is growing daily and feedback from our customers is positive and constructive.

this service has been a model for what we are considering a proactive line management program and we have achieved record-setting on time performance with the service. also notable with this pilot that the vehicles have special paint schemes and new signage to make the route very simple and recognizable for customers. that seems to have contributed to the growth in rydership. the success has directly translated into reduced crowding and more comfortable conditions on our rail line, and it's helped us with those heavy stops such as carlin cove, and we used m.t.a. ambassadors to support this launch. again, customary information being key here, to make sure it was a success. we have received positive feedback, and we will come back to you in about another month or two to give you an update on how we are progressing with this project. mr. chairman, members of the board and public, that completes my executive director's report.

>> thank you, mr. ford. members of the board, questions or comments? >> mr. chairman, you do have members of the public that wish to address you. roland wong >> good afternoon. >> i'm having a technical difficulty. there you go. >> you want to try now? >> ok. >> there you go. >> i'm here to speak -- >> could you state your name for the report? >> oh, roland wong. i represent municipal services. today i'm here to speak about

the judah express. i heard that it was very successful. when i first heard the announcement of the pilot express line, i liked the concept whereby passengers can get to downtown very quickly. sfmta has done a good job of providing this service to judah street corridor to relieve the crowdedness on the trains. passengers including seniors and people with disabilities riding between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 would also like speedy service. sfmta can seriously consider

expanding this model along m oceanview and j church where accessible sideway ramps are extremely limited for wheelchair users. we always heard the saying we're still researching it, it costs too much. too many decades have passed to find solutions for equal access to bus stops. it's time to find a vieable solution. i think this may be amongst the -- thank you for listening and your support. >> thank you. next speaker? >> good afternoon, members of

the board, executor ford. one of the non-profit parking corporations referred to in the audit. the board of directors has received a copy of the city services auditor audit. we appreciate the need to perform the audits on city programs. the board does not have -- excuse me, the board does have questions and concerns on a number of the issues and its findings. therefore, for the record, the japan center garage board would like to send our comments and response to the audit. at the same time, they appreciate the authority and his staff. we look forward to working with him to address our concerns as well as recommendations to the audit. since the audits do affect

public parking corporation, we hope you will accept input from non-profit parking corporations in discussing any action that the board being considered to take in response of the audit. thank you very much. >> next speaker. >> barry toronto. he is the last person to speak to you. >> good afternoon. >> i wanted to address the request to work closely to the unit inside the m.t.a., but also how about working with the outside contract services unit. and with h.r.c. what happens if there's a discrepancy with what contract services at m.t.a. is doing and what overall city contract h.r.c. requirements are? i will mention something like that in my public comment. i want to say that i think

contract services needs to work closely with one that is actually official, which is out of h.r.c. and if there are conflicts, it may draw into litigation against you and your staff. he mentioned pride. did we make arrangements -- i don't mean maybe two. but are cab stands around the celebration so cabs can stage and pick up people? have you made arrangements for cab stands? just like you probably did not bring the meter increase today but you delayed it for a week or more. it wasn't mentioned in the report so we know what's going on. in closing, something that i request of mr. ford in his meeting next week. mr. ford always seems to read from a script.

i would like him to ask kindly to be more extemporaneous next time. >> next speaker? >> no. moving on to item eight, citizens advisory council report. >> mr. murphy is here. good afternoon, mr. murphy. >> good afternoon, mr. chairman and directors. i'm daniel murphy, i'm the chair of the m.t.a. citizens advisory council. first of all, i want to extend the welcome to director ramos. welcome to the sfmta and also to invite director ramos to attend any of our c.a.c. meetings. all members of the m.t.a. board are always welcome at these meetings, and if you're interested in when they happen, they're on the m.t.a. website and also ms. boomer can direct you to the correct time and date

and what's being discussed at those meetings. so welcome. we look forward to meeting you. >> thank you. >> i also want to express my thanks to executive director ford. it has been, as i was reminded before this meeting, 5 1/2 years. we have worked very productively with the executive director. we have made many demands on his time and staff time and he has been most aecom dating in those. -- most accommodating in those. we have been glad to be included in many of the major undertakings this organization has gone through in the last 5 1/2 years, particularly the transit effectiveness project and as you may know, once a month, i and the vice chair of

the c.a.c. and dan weaver sit down with mr. ford and give him a hard time about the signs on the subway platforms to the daily service report to, well, everything you can imagine. and that has always been a relationship i believe of mutual respect between the c.a.c. and mr. ford, and we wish him the very best in his future efforts. we feel the c.a.c. is more integrated into if agency now than it was before you arrived, and we would like to thank you for your efforts in that regard. we appreciate it very much. i do sincerely wish you well as you leave the agency.

also want to express the c.a.c.'s best wishes to mr. roham, who i understand is departing, and who is somebody who has also given a lot of time to the c.a.c. also sometimes in those meetings with mr. ford, giving a hard time about whatever the c.a.c. has told me to give him a hard time about. and we wish him well. he is certainly without question the c.a.c.'s favorite texas rangers fan. i don't think there's any competition that comes even close on that. so that said, i have a number of recommendations to present to you. three. one pertains to the thorny issue of switchbacks. we recognize that to the agency

does a lot to try to prevent having too many switchbacks. that this is something that we all recognize as being a less than optimal situation. we recommend that when switchbacks involve vehicles that are next to each other where the one vehicle being switched back is right there with the vehicle that is going to be continuing forward, that the vehicle with fewest passengers be switched back in order to inconvenience the smallest number of passengers. this may seem like a small thing, but sometimes people who experience switchbacks see that the vehicle with a huge number of people is the one that switched back and everybody has to get off, and the vehicle without very many people is the one that goes through. and we hope to the extent possible that it would be the full vehicle that continues through. just to inconvenience the smallest number of people possible. possible. nobody likes these switchbacks.