Budget and Finance Committee forwards airport bond authorization, technology contract increases, Union Square lease amendment and DPH grant to the Board

The San Francisco Budget and Finance Committee on Thursday forwarded a package of fiscal items to the full Board of Supervisors, including authorization for airport bonds, increases to several technology-store contract caps, a 180‑day amendment to the Union Square Garage lease and a retroactive Department of Public Health (DPH) grant acceptance.

Carmen Chu, chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, opened the meeting and asked staff to explain differences in funding for the airport items. Kathy Weidner, representing the San Francisco Airport, said the airport had prior Board approval for a supplemental appropriation that covers the difference between the bond issuance and the appropriation. "It's my understanding that the airport has prior board approval, on a previous supplemental appropriation that would cover the difference between the two," Weidner said. The committee was asked to consider a resolution authorizing the issuance of up to $502,200,000 in San Francisco Airport Commission capital plan bonds and an ordinance appropriating $543,200,000 in proceeds for fiscal year 2012–13 capital projects; the budget analyst reviewed and recommended approval. With no public comment, the committee moved both items forward to the Board with a recommendation.

Bill Jones of the Office of Contract Administration asked the committee to approve three contract amendments to the technology store program that would raise not-to-exceed caps and extend terms by one year. "With your approval, the contract amendments will increase the contract not to exceed limits, extend the term by one year to December 31, 2013 and update standard contractual clauses," Jones said. The amendments seek to raise contract caps (as presented to the committee) for Computerland to $34,460,000, for OnPoint to $54,150,000, and for XTek to $67,890,000; OCA said it based the requested increases on average expenditures from January 2009 through July 2012 plus a two‑month contingency. The budget analyst concurred with OCA's calculations and recommended approval. The committee forwarded all three resolutions to the Board with a recommendation and no objection.

On the Union Square Garage lease amendment, Sonali Bose (MTA) told the committee that redemption of outstanding revenue bonds for several nonprofit corporations left prior leases ineffective and that the amendment would provide a 180‑day window to return with a negotiated lease without bond debt service. "So this amendment before you gives us a 180 day window to come back to you with a new negotiated lease, without the bond, debt service," Bose said. The budget analyst referenced a June 2011 controller's report that found leasing city garages to nonprofit corporations "is unnecessarily costly to the city" and noted that the MTA's direct management of the Union Square Garage could yield estimated annual savings of approximately $102,600, based on the analyst's figures showing an Uptown management cost of $135,600 for fiscal year 2011–12. The committee approved amendments imposing the 180‑day limit (counting from the Board's approval of the lease amendment), accepted revised language about creating an advisory body if needed, and forwarded the amended resolution to the Board with a recommendation.

Nicholas Moss, director of clinical prevention in the HIV prevention section at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, described a retroactive Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grant of $747,833 for year three of the STOP study, a three-site research project comparing laboratory technologies to detect acute HIV infection. Moss said there are no required matching funds and no new staff hires for the grant. The committee forwarded the grant acceptance resolution to the Board with a recommendation.

All items acted on at the committee will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda on 10/23/2012. The committee took the actions without recorded roll-call votes (motions were passed without objection at the committee level).