San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Moving the City

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FINANCE COMMITTEE

Rescheduled Meeting Notice
Date: 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Location: Room 263, City Hall
Commissioners: Ma (Chair), Gonzalez (Vice-Chair), Alioto-Pier, Ammiano, Elsbernd, McGoldrick (Ex-Officio)
CLERK: Pooja Jhunjhunwala

1. Roll Call

2. Approval of Minutes of the August 17, 2004 Meeting - ACTION* (attachment 1)

3. Recommend Award of a Contract to Parisi Associates, in an Amount Not to Exceed $75,000, to Provide Transportation Planning, Traffic Analysis, Public Outreach, and Conceptual Design Services for the Central Freeway Replacement Project - Ancillary Project Study, and Authorization for the Executive Director to Negotiate the Non-Monetary Terms and Conditions of the Contract– ACTION* (attachment 2)

The ancillary projects are an essential part of the Central Freeway Replacement Project (CFRP). The ancillary projects are intended to improve safety and enhance the neighborhood character on streets that are affected by the construction of the CFRP. The Authority issued a request for proposals (RFP) for transportation planning, outreach and conceptual design services to assist with the selection and prioritization of the ancillary projects. We received two proposals. A five-member selection panel comprised of Authority and City staff scored each of the firms based on the evaluation criteria defined in the RFP. Based on the technical scores, plus the calculated cost score, the panel recommended award of the contract to Parisi Associates. We are seeking a recommendation for award of a contract to Parisi Associates, in an amount not to exceed $75,000, to provide transportation planning, traffic analysis, outreach, and conceptual design services for the Central Freeway Replacement Project - Ancillary Project Study, and authorization for the Executive Director to negotiate the non-monetary terms and conditions of the contract.

4. Recommend Award of a Three-Year Contract with Two Additional One-Year Extension Options to Nossaman, Guthner, Knox and Elliott, in an Amount not to exceed $120,000 Per Year, to Provide General Legal Counsel Services, and Authorization for the Executive Director to Negotiate the Non-Monetary Terms and Conditions of the Contract – ACTION* (attachment 3)

The Authority contracts with the City Attorney for certain routine legal matters and it also has retained the outside firm of Nossaman, Guthner, Knox and Elliott as general counsel specialized in transportation matters. The current contract will expire September 30, 2004. In August 2004, the Authority issued a request for proposals for general counsel professional services. Four firms submitted responsive bids, which included both a technical and cost component, by the proposal deadline. One out-of-town firm withdrew its bid because of geographic hardship. Oral interviews with the remaining three firms were conducted by a selection panel comprised of representatives from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Authority. Based on the competitive selection process, the panel recommended award of the general legal counsel professional services to Nossaman, Guthner, Knox and Elliott. We are seeking a recommendation to award a three-year contract with two additional one-year extension options to Nossaman, Guthner, Knox and Elliott, in an amount not to exceed $120,000 per year, to provide general legal counsel services, and authorization for the Executive Director to negotiate the non-monetary terms and conditions of the contract .

5. Bay Bridge Cost Overruns – INFORMATION* (attachment 4)

In mid-August, Governor Schwarzenegger announced a proposal for a November 2004 ballot measure that would require Bay Area voters to consider redirecting Regional Measure 2 (RM2) funds (the third dollar toll) to cover the cost overruns on the Bay Bridge seismic retrofit project. The proposed measure would also transfer responsibility for retrofit of all state-owned toll bridges in the Bay Area to MTC, without contributing any additional state funds to cover the costs, and would call for a program and fiscal audit of the Bay Bridge retrofit project. The Governor's proposal elicited a strong oppositional response from the Bay Area. The Governor's proposal ignores the role of Caltrans, the state agency that is managing the Bay Bridge project, in the project delays and overruns. It also inappropriately offloads 100% of the state's responsibility to maintain the state-owned bridges onto the Bay Area. Ultimately, the Governor was unable to find a legislative vehicle to place his proposal on the November ballot and the Bay Area's proposed interim solution contained in AB2366 wasn't approved either. As a result, a major portion of the Bay Bridge project is in limbo - award of the sole bid contract for the self-anchored suspension element of the new east span, since Caltrans has not been given the authority to award the contract - and a solution to the cost overruns has not yet been reached. At the September Finance Committee meeting we will provide an update on this issue. We are seeking input and guidance from the Committee. This is an information item.

6. Public Comment

7. Adjournment

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