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Southeast
Community Facility Commission
M I N U T E S
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2000
6:00 P.M.
1800 Oakdale Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94124
I. Call to Order:
Commission Vice-President Millard Larkin II called the Wednesday, September 27, 2000 meeting to order at 6:14 p.m.
II. Roll Call:
Present: Commissioner Bobbrie Brown
Commissioner Heidi Hardin
Commissioner Millard Larkin II
Commissioner Enola Maxwell
Commissioner Kim Nguyen
Staff Present: Robert Bryan, Dep. City Atty.; Toye Moses, Exec. Dir., SECF;
Kathy Basconcillo, SECF Commission Secretary
III. Approval of Minutes:
Commissioner Hardin moved and Commissioner Brown seconded to accept the minutes of Thursday, August 10 with a minor correction. Motion passed. Minutes of August 23, and Sept. 14 were tabled.
IV. Correspondence:
a) Letter to McCoy’s Security regarding missing Morse Watchman equipment replacement;
b) Letter to Commissioner Linda Richardson regarding resignation from the Southeast Community Facility Commission;
c) Minutes of SECFacility HVAC Upgrade Project Progress meeting;
d) Monthly schedule of events in Alex Pitcher Community Room, Conference Room, and at E.P. Mills Community Auditorium;
e) Flyer/invitation to ’Presidio Stories Workshop’.
Commissioner Larkin took Item V. Presentation next in order to accommodate the presenters’ schedule.
VI. Presentation:
Commissioner Larkin introduced Chancellor Philip Day who thanked the Commission for the invitation and opportunity to update the Community regarding the City College program throughout the system particularly at Southeast campus.
He then acknowledged a couple of Board members in the audience and acknowledged Dean Veronica Hunnicutt for her enthusiasm in leadership for Southeast Campus.
After briefly explaining the establishment of the Southeast Career Link, processing between 900-1000 new students, he explained that Southeast Campus is posed to provide a unique opportunity to link education and (job) training - a win/win situation.
Chancellor Day then briefly touched on -
- Computer Repair & Technology class: was moved to Phelan Campus; didn’t work out; will be back at Southeast for the Spring 2001 semester.
- Preparation of an Educational Master Plan for City College of San Francisco: distributed a yellow draft copy of a master plan; has not yet been coordinated between the campuses, but is in the works to do so; lists what’s happening now and plans for future programs; incorporates was working at Southeast with whole Community College System; Plan currently open to Community feedback for ideas and services.
- Long-Range Technology Plan: Southeast now "digitally connected/wired; pilot campus for planning Tele-courses (electronically broadcast classes) through Community College System.
Chancellor Day then opened his presentation for discussion (questions and answers): a) Currently two non-profit programs are sub-leasing space from City College/ Southeast campus, Renaissance, Parents of Success on 5th flr. and New Directions on 4th flr.; b) Reviewing the yellow draft of the Educational Master Plan, the classifications designating credit and non-credit classes are standard through the 9-campus system; c) Respectively, Southeast campus is responsible for Community Outreach of their programs, courses, etc., and the rest of the tenants and the Commission for their programs. Commissioner Larkin suggested the establishment and voluntary sign-up of a Commission Advisory Group.
Young Community Developers (YCD), Executive Director, Mr. Dwayne Jones also expressed a high level of appreciation for Southeast Campus Dean Hunnicutt. He then suggested a discussion regarding YCD’s continuing partnership with City College of San Francisco, which Chancellor Day agreed to come back and update with the Commission and Community. Chancellor Day also pledged a follow-up meeting discussing the partnership of DHS and City College (update on DHS’s Executive Director Will Lightbourne leaving San Francisco) before turning the floor over to Southeast Campus Dean Veronica Hunnicutt.
Dean Hunnicutt stated that it was her job to make sure residents/the community know about programs and courses at Southeast Campus. Since becoming Dean at Southeast in August of 1998 several program have been implemented or presented. These programs were developed to provide training for "good-paying jobs" and are not limited to entry-level training. Namely: Working Adult Day Program (WPAD); dual Drug & Alcohol Program; presented 1st Bio-technology Conference (planning to provide ’bridge’ classes to enable teaching and training for bio-tech. Career; partnered with community Community-based organizations (YCD, SLUG); establishment: Southeast Literacy and Language Program (for 8th graders from Martin Luther King middle school) providing special courses in science, math and resume writing; County Community Service dual-enrollment for high school students offering option of high school diploma or GED.
Dean Hunnicutt then introduced members of the Southeast staff and faculty in attendance and members of the Southeast Community College Advisory Committee and opened the floor for comments from the audience. After brief remarks from one of the tenant programs and community members, Dean thanked the Commission for the opportunity to keep them abreast of programs, classes and plans at Southeast.
VI. Update - Fire at the Hunter’s Point Shipyard, Byron Rhett, Project Manager- Bayview-Hunter’s Point, San Francisco Redevelopment Agency - Began by thanking the Commission for the opportunity to update the Community on the status of the fire. Mr. Rhett proceeded to briefly explain the ’inception’ of the fire, (distributed an information packet to the Commission) and proceeded through an update of the current status:
On Wed., Aug. 16 a grass/brush fire broke out on Parcel E near the South Gate/Navy Road-Crisp Ave. Shipyard Entrance (now closed off). Federal firefighters originally responded to the fire and were able to what they thought at the time was put out the fire with the assistance of the San Francisco Fired Dept. (with whom there is a reciprocal arrangement) after about 6 hours. However, over the next few days Federal firefighters had to put out hot spot flare-ups discovered what originally began as a brush fire was actually a fire over landfill. When they realized it was the material under the grass that was burning, they then tried over then next couple of weeks different methods of dousing the fire (water, digging up areas, etc.) and were still not able to put the fire out.
The main problem for the community was that at no time was there any notification to the community (including the SFFD, shipyard tenants, residence immediately in the vicinity) that the fire was still going on. After about three (3) weeks federal EPA was notified; EPA insisted the community be notified and then the first fact sheet appeared. (Factsheet No. 1, 9/8/00, No. 2, 9/18/00 available for inspection in Commission Office.).
Included in the handout is a letter dated 9/11/00 from EPA to the Navy complaining of: a) the "lack of timely communication"/notification to the Community and the Regulatory Community re the fire "on a hazardous waste landfill at Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard (the Shipyard)", the possibility of burning contaminated materials and smoke permeating the surrounding Community; b) lack of an emergency response plan calling for notification to both the Community and the Regulators; and c) soil testing and air monitoring did not occur until after the EPA was notified. The fire began 8/16 and air monitoring didn’t begin 8/31. While results reported in Factsheet #2 (dtd. 9/18/00) state that smoke emissions as of 8/31 were not dangerous to health of those working in and around the Shipyard, no one knows what the report would have shown had the air been tested the day the fire broke out or the conditions during that first week.
Finally the last document in the packet is a notification of the Community Hearing at Milton Meyer Recreation Center called by San Francisco Board of Supervisor Tom Ammiano on Wed., 9/20 with representation from the City, the Navy, and local and federal regulators along with the public. Summarizing the meeting: This was an opportunity for the Bayview-Hunter’s Point residents and Shipyard tenants to voice their concerns about the fire directly to the Navy, the regulators and City representatives.
Primary concerns/complaint raised were:
a) Lack of communication (literally no community outreach) re: the on-going fire, problems with controlling it, the possibility of health concerns raised by the fire. Although there is much Community skeptism, the Navy promised to produce an emergency response plan and will work with Community to produce it.
b) Air Monitoring - Concerns that there are six monitor stations on base around fire, but none in the Community (why is monitoring just limited to the site?).
c) Response to the Fire - As of Wed., 9/20/00, the fire still was not out. The second factsheet describes using ’Landfill Capping’ (to cover the fire with soil and a synthetic covering/cap to stop oxygen from getting to fire thereby putting the fire out) as a solution. Using this method, the Navy expects to have the fire out by next week.
Mr. Rhett further explained that to date, an Emergency Response Plan has not yet been developed; hopefully regulators will continue to work on getting that out. When a copy becomes available, Redevelopment will assist is disseminating it to the Community. And since air monitoring was not conducted when the fire was at its worst, exactly what chemicals if any were released into the environment can not be determined, the Navy and regulators can state that as of 8/31 (when fire was pretty much under control and just smoldering) the levels of toxins emitted into the environment were not hazardous to anyone’s health.
The floor was then opened for questions and comments first from Commissioners, then the audience: The Navy said that part of the reason the Navy didn’t communicate what was happening at the Shipyard was that besides the Navy Fire Dept. there is no on-site staff - all the Navy staff has been either furloughed or transferred. There is no Bay Area presence managing the base; it is managed from the Southwest Division located in San Diego. It has been explained that the local Navy firefighters didn’t communicate to San Diego that the fire was on-going. Although this may have true for at least a couple of days, it certainly was not true for three weeks - and when they did notify someone it was the Federal EPA and the EPA insisted the surrounding Community and locals be notified.
This whole situation seems to be indicative of the relationship the Navy has with the City. The Navy does what they want when they want to without any feeling of obligation to inform or communicate to the City what’s happening. Negotiations for the transfer of the base to the City have been going on for years and the treatment of the situation of the fire is not inconsistent with other situations. For instance, the security/entrance gates to the base that were once controlled by base police are now ’controlled’ by McCoy’s Security through a contract with the City because Navy police staff that operated the gate and controlled access have walked away from that responsibility.
This treatment of the City by the Navy has been acknowledged not only by the Mayor’s Office but also by both the District’s Congressional and Senatorial representatives. Redevelopment will provide this Commission with a copy of the letter sent by Senators Boxer and Feinstein and spearheaded by Congressperson Pelosi to Secretary Danzig of the Navy (dtd. 09/12/00) raising the issue of this treatment to the City. Congressperson Pelosi has been especially instrumental in trying to get the Navy to either continue providing the base services they have been providing or come back and begin providing them again. As mentioned in the EPA letter of Sept. 11, the Navy was intending to stop providing fire-fighting service to the base effective August 31; however this fire broke out August 16 and was not put out by August 31 so the federal fire fighters could not leave. The EPA letter also mentions "the Navy should be providing adequate security to ensure that access to hazardous areas, such as the landfill, is prohibited." It has already been reported that McCoy’s Security has been contracted to man the gates. The Navy still has the responsibility to patrol the base, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of that as witnesses (or not witnessed) by tenants.
It is anticipated that the Mayor will re-visit the subject of ’base responsibility’ with Secretary Danzig when he is in town for Fleet Week in early October. Perhaps responsibility for notification and communication of what’s happening on and around the base will be discussed/clarified at that time.
After a few more comments from Community members, Commissioners requested staff to prepare a letter from the Commission on behalf of the Community to Secretary Danzig echoing the concerns raised in the letter from Senators Boxer, Feinstein and Congressperson Pelosi. This letter should reflect the Community’s dissatisfaction with the delay in communicating the potential danger to the Base tenants and the residents in the immediate and surrounding area.
VII. Director’s Report: Tabled to next meeting since Executive Director had to leave unexpectedly.
VIII. Old & On-going Business:
a) Commission meeting schedule for remainder for 2000 - Commission secretary requested the wishes of the Commission during the holiday season. Commissioners decided to move the Wednesday, November 22 meeting to Monday, November 20, 2000 and combined the Thursday, December 14 and Wednesday, December 27 meetings into one meeting on Wednesday, December 20, 2000.
IX. Introduction of New Business by Commissioners: None presented at this meeting.
X. Public Comment: None (further) presented at this meeting.
XI. Adjournment:
Action: Commissioner Hardin moved and Commissioner Nguyen seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted: _________________________
(Commission Secretary)
