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Commissioners ask staff to renegotiate youth‑employment contract with San Francisco Conservation Corps
Summary
Staff recommended a four‑year, $1,060,000 agreement with the San Francisco Conservation Corps to provide paid work experience for up to 10 disadvantaged youth annually; commissioners praised the program but asked staff to negotiate terms to increase the number of youth served, shift more budget to direct participant pay, add accountability metrics and use an initial two‑year term with a renewal option.
Port staff presented a recommended four‑year contract (total not to exceed $1,060,000; $265,000 annually subject to appropriation) with the San Francisco Conservation Corps to administer a youth employment program providing work experience, training and supervision on port property.
Andre Sausalvedo (Finance and Admin) summarized the RFP process and said the Conservation Corps and its subcontractor Larkin Street Youth Services scored 82 out of 100 in the evaluation. The proposed contract would support a workforce of "a minimum of 10 participants" working primarily in property maintenance tasks and provide a program coordinator and two first‑line supervisors; staff said funding for the first two years is budgeted and later years are subject to future appropriations.
Commissioners and staff debated program scale and budget allocation. Troy Henry of the Conservation Corps said that last year the port program rotated about 30 youth through the work opportunities. Commissioners pressed to increase the number of youth served, questioned the share of the contract going to indirect costs and training versus direct participant wages, and asked staff to add accountability metrics and a contract structure that aligns with the biennial budget cycle (for example an initial two‑year term with a two‑year renewal option). Tom Carter (Deputy Director for Maintenance), who oversees the work teams, described the program as successful operationally and noted port staff manages scope and quality with the contractor.
The commission did not finalize the contract at the meeting. Instead, commissioners directed staff to renegotiate specific terms (participant count, budget allocation toward direct wages, clearer outcome metrics and an initial two‑year term with renewal option) and return with a revised contract for approval.
