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

Carried

Claim of Tamarah Seielstad

Carried

Carried

Approve Actions Relative to Petition from the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local Division No. 1575, for Recognition of Employee Unit Comprised of Unrepresented Non-Professional Employees, excluding Managers, Supervisors and Confidential Employees

General Manager Celia Kupersmith reported that on July 7, 2008, the District had received a petition for recognition of an employee unit comprising all currently unrepresented non-professional District employees from the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local Division No. 1575 (ATU). Ms. Kupersmith stated that having reviewed the petition from the ATU, she is satisfied that the unit in question is an appropriate one for bargaining purposes. She also stated that there is an adequate showing of interest for the petition by at least 40 percent of the members of the employee unit. She recommended that the Board of Directors ratify the determination that the unit of unrepresented non-professional District employees constitutes an appropriate bargaining unit and authorize that a secret ballot election be conducted by the State Conciliation Service, in keeping with customary practice at the District.

Discussion ensued, including the following:

• Director Pahre inquired as to how many total employees would comprise the unit of all currently unrepresented non-professional District employees. In response, Ms. Kupersmith stated that approximately 30 individuals would be in the unit, including the following positions: Office Specialist, Office Assistant, Office Coordinator, Safety/Training Coordinator, Transit Scheduler, Scheduling Coordinator, Lead Route Checker, Casual Checkers, Reproduction Assistant, Lead Storekeeper, Storekeeper, Assistant Vault Supervisor, Vault Officer, Stock Clerk, Sales Associate and Timekeeping Specialist.

• Attorney Madeline Chun noted that the employee unit excludes managers, supervisors, confidential employees and professional employees.

Directors STROEH/BORO
Resolution No. 2008-067 approves actions relative to a petition from the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local Division No. 1575, for recognition of an employee unit comprising all currently unrepresented non-professional District employees, as follows:

Authorize a secret ballot election to be conducted by the State Conciliation Service to determine whether or not all currently unrepresented non-professional District employees desire to be represented by Amalgamated Transit Union, Local Division No. 1575.

Adopted

California Coastal Conservancy Commemorative License Plate

Celia Kupersmith distributed to the Board of Directors postcards and applications for the California Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy) new commemorative license plate featuring the Golden Gate Bridge. Ms. Kupersmith announced that the District has signed a formal agreement to enter into a partnership with the Conservancy so that a portion of the proceeds from the commemorative license plate program will be used to fund improvements to visitor amenities at the Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza East Visitor’s Area. She also stated that the new commemorative license plate design was unveiled at a kick-off ceremony on Crissy Field on July 22, 2008. She further stated that the Conservancy’s goal is to sell 25,000 of the license plates in the first year, in order to raise $1 million to protect and restore natural habitats and open space throughout the Bay Area. She noted that the District will participate in the promotion of the commemorative license plate program by advertising the program on the sides of Golden Gate Transit buses, and by making the program applications available at the Golden Gate Bridge Gift Center.

District Engineer Denis Mulligan reported that all items contained in the Engineer’s Report were informational.

At the meeting, Mr. Mulligan reported that a significant milestone had been reached with the Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project, Phase II (Phase II Project), with the filing of Notices of Completion for the project. He noted that the award-winning Phase II Project was closed out in a business-like fashion, with no claims resulting from the work. He commended the Engineering Department staff led by Deputy District Engineer Ewa Z. Bauer for the excellent work on the Phase II Project.

In addition, Mr. Mulligan stated that in conjunction with the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment (Draft EIR/EA) for the proposed project to construct a physical suicide deterrent system on the Golden Gate Bridge, the District held two public meetings to receive comments on the Draft EIR/EA, one in Marin County on July 22, 2008, with 120 members of the public in attendance, and the other in San Francisco on July 23, 2008, with 100 members of the public in attendance.

Discussion ensued, including the following:

• Ms. Kupersmith expressed her thanks to all of the Board members who had attended the two public meetings, noting that the public sincerely appreciated the opportunity to speak one-on-one to Board members on the topic of the physical suicide deterrent system. Ms. Kupersmith also commended Public Affairs Director Mary Currie, District Engineer Denis Mulligan, Supervising Civil Engineer John Eberle and Senior Civil Engineer Jeffrey Lee, for their hard work on the physical suicide deterrent system project.

• Director Pahre expressed her thanks to District staff and the consultants involved in the Draft EIR/EA, noting that she was very impressed with the presentation of informational materials at the public meetings.

• Director Cochran suggested that the Governmental Affairs and Public Information Committee consider advocating for legislation that would require suicide hotline information on web sites that promote different methods of suicide.

Receive the Independent Auditor’s Engagement Letters as Submitted by Vavrinik, Trine, Day & Co., LLP for the Annual Financial Audit

Directors STROEH/EDDIE
Resolution No. 2008-068 receives the Engagement Letter as submitted by Vavrinik, Trine, Day & Co., LLP (VTD) for their upcoming annual audit of the District’s Financial Statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008.

Adopted

AYES (10): Directors Cochran, Dufty, Eddie, McGlashan, Newhouse Segal, Pahre, Sanders and Stroeh; First Vice President Boro; President Moylan
NOES (0): None
ABSENT (8): Directors Brown, Grosboll, Hernández, Kerns, McGoldrick, Reilly and Sandoval; Second Vice President Ammiano

Approve Actions Relative to the Execution of Change Order No. 2 to Contract No. 2008-BT-3, Fare Collection System, with GFI Genfare, a Unit of SPX Corporation

Directors STROEH/COCHRAN
Resolution No. 2008-069 approve the following actions relative to Contract No. 2008-BT-3, Fare Collection System:

Adopted

Ratify Appointment of Raymond Messier as Trustee to the Golden Gate Transit–Amalgamated Health and Welfare Trust and Retirement Board

Directors BORO/STROEH
Resolution No. 2008-070 ratifies the appointment of Raymond Messier as Trustee to the Golden Gate Transit Amalgamated Health and Welfare Trust and Retirement Board, effective July 25, 2008, due to the resignation of Anthony R. Withington as President of Amalgamated Transit Union, Local No. 1575.

Adopted

AYES (10): Directors Cochran, Dufty, Eddie, McGlashan, Newhouse Segal, Pahre, Sanders and Stroeh; First Vice President Boro; President Moylan
NOES (0): None
ABSENT (8): Directors Brown, Grosboll, Hernández, Kerns, McGoldrick, Reilly and Sandoval; Second Vice President Ammiano

Attorney’s Report

Attorney Madeline Chun, at the request of President Moylan, stated that the Board of Directors would convene in closed session to discuss matters related to the performance evaluations of District Officers, including negotiated compensation, listed on the agenda as Item No. 6.B.1.

After closed session, President Moylan called the meeting to order in open session with a quorum present. Attorney Chun reported that the Board of Directors met in closed session, as permitted by the Brown Act, to discuss the matters listed above. Attorney Chun stated that the Board received a report from the Advisory Committee for Review of Officers of the District (Advisory Committee) regarding the performance evaluations, including negotiated compensation, of the General Manager, the District Engineer, the Auditor-Controller and the Secretary of the District. She further reported that Chair Boro would present the Advisory Committee’s recommendation relative to those performance evaluations.

Approve Actions Relative to the Performance Evaluations of the Officers of the District

Directors BORO/STROEH
Resolution No. 2008-071 approves the following action relative to the employment agreements with the District Officers, as recommended by the Advisory Committee for the Review of Officers of the District at its meeting of July 25, 2008, relative to their performance evaluations:

Discussion by the Board

• First Vice President stated, for the record, that the members of the Board of Directors are particularly proud of the four Officers serving the District, and are pleased and thankful for the exemplary work they do for the District.

• President Moylan also expressed his appreciation for the fine work performed by the Officers of the District.