Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of January 11, 2008.

Carried

Claim of Enterprise Rent-a-Car

Carried

Claim of Avis Rent-a-Car

Carried

Subrogation Claim of California State Automobile Association
(Insured: Michael Kurylo)

Carried

Presentation of Retirement Gift to Gary E. Carver, Electrical Superintendent, Bridge Division

President Moylan presented a retirement gift to Gary E. Carver, Electrical Superintendent, Bridge Division, for twenty-eight years of service, and expressed his best wishes for a long and happy retirement on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Presentation of Retirement Gift to Arturo Meuniot, Jr., Ironworker Superintendent, Bridge Division

President Moylan presented a retirement gift to Arturo Meuniot, Jr., Ironworker Superintendent, Bridge Division, for twenty-eight years of service, and expressed his best wishes for a long and happy retirement on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Presentation of Five-Year Service Award to Jake McGoldrick, Director

President Moylan presented a Five-Year Service Award to Jake McGoldrick, Director, and expressed his congratulations on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Presentation of Five-Year Service Award to Janet Reilly, Director

President Moylan presented a Five-Year Service Award to Janet Reilly, Director, and expressed his congratulations on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Presentation of Twenty-Year Service Award to Davie Comaduran, Art Supervisor, District Division

President Moylan presented a Twenty-Year Service Award to Davie Comaduran, Art Supervisor, District Division, and expressed his congratulations on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Presentation of Employee of the Year Award for 2007 to Ron Downing, Principal Planner, District Division

President Moylan presented the Employee of the Year Award for 2007 to Ron Downing, Principal Planner, District Division, and expressed his congratulations on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Authorize Award of Contract No. 2008-B-7, Air Compressors, to Volvo Road Machinery, Inc., dba Volvo Construction Equipment Services

Directors EDDIE/STROEH
Resolution No. 2008-004 authorizes award of Contract No. 2008-B-7, Air Compressors, to Volvo Road Machinery, Inc., dba Volvo Construction Equipment Services, San Leandro, CA, in the amount of $174,421.22, to provide two Tier 3 diesel air compressors; with the understanding that requisite funds (100% District) are available in the FY 07/08 Bridge Division Capital Budget.

Adopted

AYES (17): Directors Cochran, Dufty, Eddie, Grosboll, Hernández, McGlashan, McGoldrick, Middlebrook, Newhouse Segal, Pahre, Reilly, Sanders, Sandoval and Stroeh; Second Vice President Ammiano; First Vice President Boro; President Moylan
NOES (0): None
ABSENT (2): Directors Brown and Kerns

Authorize Execution of Supplement No. 1 to Change Order No. 2, Relative to Contract No. 2007-B-4, Golden Gate Bridge, North Approach Viaduct Suspended Maintenance Scaffolding System, with Safway Services, Inc., for Additional Lift Platform Rental Charges

Directors EDDIE/COCHRAN
Resolution No. 2008-005 authorizes execution of Supplement No. 1 to Change Order No. 2, relative to Contract No. 2007 B-4, Golden Gate Bridge, North Approach Viaduct Suspended Maintenance Scaffolding System, with Safway Services Inc., in the amount of $11,235, for additional lift platform rental charges; with the understanding that requisite funds (100% District) are available in the FY 07/08 Bridge Division Capital Budget.

Adopted

AYES (17): Directors Cochran, Dufty, Eddie, Grosboll, Hernández, McGlashan, McGoldrick, Middlebrook, Newhouse Segal, Pahre, Reilly, Sanders, Sandoval and Stroeh; Second Vice President Ammiano; First Vice President Boro; President Moylan
NOES (0): None
ABSENT (2): Directors Brown and Kerns

Committee Recommendation

At the January 24, 2008, meeting of the Building and Operating Committee, the Committee discussed the above-referenced matter and recommends the following:

“The Building and Operating Committee recommends that the Board of Directors approve the following actions relative to ferry emission standards for the procurement of a new high-speed replacement ferry vessel:

Discussion by the Board

• Director Grosboll made the following comments and inquiries:

  • He inquired as to whether any members of public interest groups that had spoken at the July 13, 2007, Board of Directors meeting on this subject had also attended the January 24, 2008, meeting of the Building and Operating Committee. In response, Celia Kupersmith stated that there was no public comment at the Building and Operating Committee meeting on this matter, but that staff had spoken with the Friends of the Earth/Blue Water Network prior to the meeting to discuss the recommendation regarding ferry emission standards for the new ferry vessel. She also noted that staff had also met with representatives of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to ensure that staff had correctly stated the information regarding CARB’s final ferry emission standards adopted in November 2007.
  • He expressed his support for the recommendation regarding ferry emission standards for the new ferry vessel.
  • He inquired as to when the new ferry vessel would be placed in revenue service on the San Francisco Bay. In response, Mr. Swindler stated that the construction of the new ferry vessel would typically take 14 to 16 months from the date of the award of the Request for Proposals, and that it is anticipated that the new ferry vessel would be placed in revenue service by the end of 2009.

• Director Sandoval made the following comments and inquiries:

  • He inquired regarding CARB’s rule regarding the Best Available Control Technology (BACT) process. In response, Ms. Kupersmith stated that the BACT process will apply to vessels constructed in 2009 and beyond, at which time, CARB will review the available emission control technologies and their use on ferry vessels on a case-by-case basis.
  • He inquired as to whether the BACT process would apply to the District’s purchase of the new high-speed replacement ferry vessel. In response, Ms. Kupersmith stated that it would not apply to the District’s new ferry vessel, which will be under construction prior to 2009.

• Director Newhouse Segal made the following comments and inquiries:

  • She inquired as to whether the Tier 2-20 engine that the District is purchasing for the new high-speed replacement ferry vessel will be able to be upgraded to Tier 3 engine in the future when those engines become available. In response, Ms. Kupersmith clarified that the Tier 2-20 engine is actually an early version of the Tier 3 engine. She noted that when the Tier 2-20 engines reach the end of their useful life in approximately 10 years, the ferry vessel would be re-powered with the most advanced engine available at that time.
  • She inquired as to whether the District would be receiving a discounted price on the engines due to the fact that the District will be early adopters of the new engine technology. In response, Mr. Swindler stated that the District would not receive any discount, but would instead benefit from increased technical support from the engine manufacturer.
  • She inquired as to whether the contract for the engines would provide liability protection to the District in case there are problems with the engines after the District begins using the Tier 2-20 engine. In response, Attorney Miller explained that the contract would contain customary indemnities and warranties that are typical for ferry engine procurements, and that the District would be protected appropriately.

• Director McGlashan made the following comments:

  • He expressed his support for the recommendation, noting that once the new ferry vessel is constructed, it will help solve the ferry capacity constraints that the District has been experiencing and help keep more vehicles off the road.
  • He described Marin County’s experience with using Biodiesel in its fleet of diesel buses over the past five years, and expressed his gratitude that the District would be undertaking the test of Biodiesel in a high-performance ferry engine environment.
  • He described the environmental advantages of using Biodiesel, noting that the use of Biodiesel significantly reduces particulate matter and carbon dioxide in fuel emissions. He also noted that Biodiesel is a renewable “biospheric” fuel, rather than a fossil fuel, which in his opinion, is critically important in the context of climate change.

• Director McGoldrick made the following inquiries:

  • He inquired regarding the availability and storage of the Biodiesel fuel. In response, Mr. Swindler explained that Biodiesel is readily available, and that the District would initially use a truck to fuel the ferry vessels until such time that the 600,000-gallon fuel tanks and pipelines at the Larkspur Ferry Terminal are thoroughly cleaned and converted for Biodiesel storage.
  • He inquired as to the costs associated with the use of Biodiesel in the ferry fleet. In response, Mr. Swindler stated that only the operational costs, not the capital costs, of using Biodiesel have been included in the budget, and that the District would seek clean air grants from agencies such as CARB and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to cover the costs for the conversion of the tanks and fuel pipelines to Biodiesel.
  • He inquired as to whether the engines would need to be upgraded if the District switches among different blends of Biodiesel. In response, Mr. Swindler explained that the reason that the District will be starting the Biodiesel test with a lower 2 percent Biodiesel blend, is that through in-service monitoring, staff will be able to carefully gauge the performance of the engine and the level of emissions as the type of Biodiesel is slowly ramped up to incrementally higher-percentage blends.

• In conclusion, Ms. Kupersmith reported that the Marketing and Communications Department will be producing a new brochure that highlights the District’s “Green Initiatives” that are being implemented throughout the District, such as the use of vegetable oil in the District’s scooters.

Public Comment

John Kaltenstein expressed the opinions of his organization, Blue Water Network/Friends of the Earth (Blue Water), regarding ferry emission standards for the procurement of the new high-speed replacement ferry vessel. He stated that Blue Water does not oppose the recommendation to use Tier 2-20 engines, but they believe that the use of SCR equipment provides greater emission reductions. He also stated that Blue Water conditionally supports the use of Biodiesel fuel for the District ferry vessels, as long as waste vegetable oil be used in the Biodiesel blend, rather than virgin crop-based sources, the production of which has greater impacts on the environment. He further stated that other pollution control devices be considered in order to further reduce emission levels.

Action by the Board

Directors EDDIE/STROEH
Resolution No. 2008-006 approves the following actions relative to ferry emission standards for the procurement of a new high-speed replacement ferry vessel:

Approve testing Biodiesel fuel in the new ferry vessel, as well as preparing status reports on the testing results in order to analyze the possibility of expanding this type of fuel to all other ferry vessels in the District’s Golden Gate Ferry fleet.

Adopted

Approve Actions Relative to a Proposed Toll Increase

Ms. Kupersmith briefly described changes made to the recommendation, which was revised to not include a specific date for the public hearing, but to seek approval to hold a public hearing, as the proposed date for the public hearing listed in the original staff report was a date that conflicted with the schedules of many of the Board members. She stated that staff would inform the Board of Directors when a new, more convenient date for the public hearing was determined.

Directors STROEH/MIDDLEBROOK
Resolution No. 2008-007 approves undertaking a public outreach process relative to a proposed toll increase by conducting three informational Open Houses, as follows; with the understanding that the date of the formal public hearing will be set at a later date:

City and County of San Francisco
Thursday, February 28, 2008
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Fort Mason Conference Center, Landmark Building A, Golden Gate Room
San Francisco, CA

Sonoma County
Thursday, March 13, 2008
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Petaluma Community Center, Assembly and Activity Rooms
320 North McDowell Boulevard
Petaluma, CA

Marin County
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Pickleweed Park Community Center, Multi-Purpose Room
50 Canal Street
San Rafael, CA

Adopted

AYES (17): Directors Cochran, Dufty, Eddie, Grosboll, Hernández, McGlashan, McGoldrick, Middlebrook, Newhouse Segal, Pahre, Reilly, Sanders, Sandoval and Stroeh; Second Vice President Ammiano; First Vice President Boro; President Moylan
NOES (0): None
ABSENT (2): Directors Brown and Kerns