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Bayview residents press SFPUC for accounting and control of Southeast Community Facility Commission
Summary
Public commenters at the March 11 SFPUC meeting urged the commission to clarify who controls the Southeast Community Facility Commission and to account for money and programs removed from the community; staff said it will present the facility's history, legal framework and financial records at a future meeting.
Public commenters at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s March 11 meeting pressed staff to clarify governance and financial oversight of the Southeast Community Facility Commission and to explain why programs and buildings once serving Bayview Hunters Point are no longer under community control.
Doctor Espinola Jackson opened public comment by asking the commission to investigate where monies collected for the Southeast Facility Commission have gone and who controls the commission and the greenhouses. "You all have been practicing apartheid against Bayview Hunters Point," she said, urging a formal accounting and stronger community involvement.
Members of the public and longtime neighborhood residents backed that concern. Mister DeCosta told commissioners he had observed staff and some commissioners "try to do things without any meaningful dialogue with the community," and warned litigation was possible though he preferred a "holistic approach of a meaningful dialogue." Robert Woods, who said he has worked in Bayview Hunters Point since 1972, urged the commission to fund orientation and training for appointees so they grasp community history and needs.
SFPUC staff responded that they will bring a formal presentation that includes the facility's history, the administrative-code framework that defines the commission’s role, and an accounting of fees collected and operating costs. The general manager's office said John Roddy will be asked to present the history "so that we are all on the same page," and that staff will outline the process for broad community input when the facts are presented.
The public also asked a technical question about whether "secondary" (recycled) water is being piped into the Southeast facility building; staff stated there is no secondary water going into the building and said they would follow up to correct any confusing wording in prior reports.
What happens next: staff told commissioners they will present the administrative-code provisions, legal documents and financial information at an upcoming meeting and will engage the Southeast Community Facility Commission and community stakeholders in further discussion.
