Commission extends Plaza East project-management and resident-services contracts amid tenant complaints about hiring and transparency
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Summary
The commission approved a one-year extension and additional funds for Oak Brook CA LLC (project management) and FRH Consulting (resident services) for Plaza East. Public commenters and some commissioners pressed staff about Section 3 hiring, local-hire tracking, procurement transparency and whether services should have been procured via an open RFP.
The San Francisco Housing Authority commission on Feb. 5 approved two contract amendments linked to Plaza East rehabilitation and resident services after presentations from procurement staff and resident-service providers, and after extensive public comment.
Procurement analyst Karina Suarez asked commissioners to approve Amendment No. 1 to contract 25-0002 with Oak Brook California LLC, exercising a second option to extend the firm's term for one year and to add $250,000 for a new not-to-exceed cumulative amount of $630,000 to continue project-management services for public-housing capital improvements. Suarez and SFHA staff said Oak Brook has supported vacant-unit rehab at Plaza East (30 vacant units, 20 completed and 10 remaining) and is slated to help manage an upcoming exterior painting phase and security improvements. SFHA staff estimated the vacant-unit project cost at roughly $3,000,000 and the pending painting scope at about $1,500,000.
Commissioners questioned how to assess the reasonableness of the project-management fee without fuller reporting on the scale of capital projects; SFHA staff agreed to return with more context on oversight responsibilities and project budgets. The commission then approved the Oak Brook amendment by roll call.
The commission then considered Amendment No. 1 to the authority's contract with FRH Consulting (presented in the meeting as FRH/FRAH by staff) to extend the term one year and add $400,000 for a cumulative not-to-exceed $800,000 to continue supportive resident services at Plaza East. FRH staff presented an annual services report saying the program reached 100% of the 160 occupied units, delivered workforce development and food-stability services, enrolled 17 residents in a workforce cohort (70% of cohort participants secured employment or entered a job pipeline), and identified 19 households at risk for instability (11 of them stabilized through services).
Several commissioners and public commenters raised procurement and equity concerns. Dennis Williams and other public commenters said resident-rooted organizations were not given a fair opportunity via an open RFP and expressed frustration with repeated contract extensions for the same provider. Commissioners pressed staff to explain Section 3 hiring outcomes and asked for more transparent data tying resident-services spending to measurable local-hire and economic outcomes. SFHA and FRH staff said federal funding imposes HUD rules, that procurement includes Section 3 expectations, and that some short-term contracts may only yield a small number of section-3 hires because of the size and duration of scopes; staff committed to return with clearer performance reporting.
Despite the concerns, commissioners voted to approve the FRH contract amendment after staff said the current contract was expiring in early February and that delaying approval would interrupt services. Commissioner Lye abstained from the FRH vote; remaining commissioners approved the extension and funding increase. Staff agreed to provide a follow-up report with additional performance metrics and procurement history for commissioners to review.