San Francisco County Transportation Authority - Regular Meeting

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the May 12th, 2026 regular meeting of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority Board. I am Commissioner Myrna Melgar, chair of this board. Our vice chair is Denny Sautter. Welcome, everyone. The clerk today is Amy Sayong. I would also like to acknowledge Jaime Echeverri at SFGov TV for staffing this meeting. Madam Clerk, please call the roll and then make your announcements.

Commissioner Chan. Chan absent. Commissioner Chin. Chin absent. Commissioner Dorsey. Dorsey present. Commissioner Fielder. Fielder absent. Commissioner Mahmood. Mahmood present. Commissioner Mandelman. Mandelman absent. Chair Melgar.

Present.

Melgar, present. Vice Chair Sauter? Present. Sauter, present. Commissioner Sherrill? Present. Sherrill, present. Commissioner Walton? Present. Walton, present. Commissioner Wong? Wong, present. Chair, we have quorum. Also, the Transportation Authority welcomes your attendance here in person at the Legislative Chamber, Room 250, second floor of City Hall. When you can't be here, the proceedings are streaming live at sfgovtv.org. or airing on SF Cable Channel 26 or 78. Written public comment may be submitted by sending an email to clerk at sfcta.org or by mailing comments via U.S. Postal Service to SFCTA 1455 Market Street, 22nd Floor, San Francisco, California 94103. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. At this time, I'd like to excuse Commissioner Fielder from this meeting and also Commissioners Dorsey, Mandelman, and Chen from the portions of the meeting that they will miss because they have to leave early and Commissioner Chen is coming in late. So before calling this next item as chair, I'd like to invoke rule 3.26 from the rules of order to limit total public comment per item to 30 minutes. For today's meeting, each speaker will have two minutes to speak on any given item. For those watching, a heads up that I will be calling items 9 through 11 out of order. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Item 2, approve the minutes of the April 28, 2026 meeting. This is an action item.

OK, I don't see anyone on the roster with questions or comments. So let's go to public comment on this item, please, Madam Clerk.

Is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on item two, the minutes? There is not.

OK, public comment on this item is now closed. Colleagues, may I have a motion and a second to approve this item? Moved by Cheryl, seconded by Dorsey. Let's go ahead and call the roll, Madam Clerk.

On the motion to approve item two, Commissioner Chan? Chan absent. Commissioner Dorsey? Dorsey, aye. Commissioner Mahmood? Mahmood, aye. Commissioner Mandelman? Mandelman absent. Chair Malgar? Aye. Malgar, aye. Vice Chair Sautter? Aye. Sautter, aye. Commissioner Sherrill? Aye. Sherrill, aye. Commissioner Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Commissioner Wong? Wong, aye. There are seven ayes. The minutes are approved. Thank you so much.

Madam Clerk, let's go to item three, please.

Item three, community advisory committee report. This is an information item. Thank you.

We should have Kat Siegel, our CASC chair, joining us remotely. Welcome.

Yes, good morning, Chair Melgar, Vice Chair Sautter, and Commissioners. At our April meeting, the CAC approved the Prop L fund allocation for the D2 Turk Boulevard pedestrian safety project and the curbside electric vehicle charging program with one abstention. This followed discussion about concerns raised by the Sierra Club, Bicycle Coalition, and transit rider groups about the curbside EV charging program and some confusion about why a special funding allocation was needed for city staff time to be spent on this work. The CAC voted to approve the proposed programming priorities for San Francisco's SDA county block grant funds with an amendment requesting that if one or both of the transit funding measures does not pass this fall, the CAC would like to revisit the programming recommendations if allowed to do so. This followed a discussion about how these funds can be used for transit operations and suggestions from some members that service investments might outweigh some of the current priorities in the worst-case funding scenario for Bay Area transit operators. The discussion also included concerns about whether the elevator attendant program wages were sufficient and whether the attendants could become city workers. The CAC also unanimously approved both the Prop L standard grant agreement for the Woods-Islayas Creek yard electrification and the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget amendment. The CAC approved the state and legislative update with one vote opposed. Several CAC members and public commenters expressed concern about illegal e-bike modifications and unsafe use of e-motos, particularly by youth. Members were interested in both education around safe operation of e-bikes and penalties for illegal modifications. Finally, we received a presentation on the preliminary 2025-2026 budget and work program. There was a request that any capital investments related to resuming the Central Subway Extension project include an independent or third party review to help build trust with the public. Thank you, and I can answer any questions.

Thank you so much, Chair Siegel. I don't see anyone on the roster with questions or comments. So given that, I want to note that we have been joined by Commissioner Mandelman. And let's go to public comment.

Is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on item three, the CAC report? There's not. Okay. Given that, public comment is now closed. Let's go to item four, please. Item four, appoint Diana Lovaro as the District 11 representative to the Community Advisory Committee. This is an action item.

Okay, we have Senior Program Analyst Amelia Wally here to present.

Good morning, commissioners. The Transportation Authority has an 11-member community advisory committee with members serving a two-year term. The board appoints members to the CAC and each commissioner nominates one member to the committee. Neither staff nor the CAC make recommendations on appointments. Applicants must be San Francisco residents and must appear before the board at least once to describe their interest and qualifications. The District 11 seat is open as a result of the prior representative resigning. Commissioner Chin has indicated her intent to nominate Diana Labarro for the position, and she has joined us remotely today to speak about her interest and qualifications.

Thank you so much. Commissioner Chen has just joined us. If it's okay, Commissioner Chen, I'll give you some time to settle down and have Ms. Labarro speak to us from her remote location, and then I'll turn it over to you. Welcome, Ms. Labarro. Hi, good morning. Just a moment.

Good morning, Chair Melvar, Vice Chair Sautter and Commissioners. My name is Diana Labarro, and I'm very excited to be nominated as a District 11 representative to the Community Advisory Committee. I moved to District 11 when my husband and I started our family in 2024, and in these two years I've been very fortunate to be a part of one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in our beautiful city. District 11 is a special corner of San Francisco where people of all ages and backgrounds come together as one community, and as a Bay Area native from Oakland originally, District 11 reminds me of the diverse working class neighborhoods in which I grew up. I'm honored to give my daughter that same experience and a key part of that is ensuring that our district has access to reliable, safe, and affordable public transit. As a regular muni rider who has wrangled a toddler onto the 29 bus many times, I've been seeking a way to be a voice for parents and commuters in my community I hope to bring a balanced, honest perspective to the committee. As someone who doesn't drive, I understand the challenges of navigating San Francisco without a car. I'm committed to helping support a transit system that works better for everyday riders and keeps our neighborhoods connected. Thank you so much for your time. I'm very excited to get to work.

Thank you so much, Ms. Labarro. Commissioner Chen.

Thank you, Chairman Algar. Colleagues, I am so excited to extend my support for the appointment of Diana Laboral. Diana is a longtime Excelsior resident, a mom, and a daily transit rider. As a member of the Community Advisory Committee, She looks forward to representing the experiences of working families navigating the city on public transportation. Diana emphasized her strong commitment to community engagement and amplifying the voices of transit riders. She is interested in uplifting the needs of young people who take public transportation every day and affordability and the needs of working family accessibility for people with disabilities. bicycle and pedestrian safety, and opportunities to improve services on specific transit lines. She is a working mom with big spirits, and I look forward to her collaboration as a member of the community advisory. I look forward to her collaboration as a member of the community advisory committee. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Commissioner Chen. Would you like to make a motion?

Is it public comment?

Yes, I'm sorry. Let's make public comment on this item, please.

Is there anyone in chamber who wishes to speak on item four, the District 11 CAC nomination? There's not.

Okay, public comment is now closed. Now, Commissioner Chen.

Thank you, Chair. And I would like to make a motion to appoint Diana Laboreau to the seat representing District 11 on the Community Advisory Committee.

Thank you. May I have a second? Mandelman seconds. We have to take roll on this one, Madam Clerk.

On the motion to approve item four, Commissioner Dorsey? Aye. Dorsey, aye. Commissioner Mahmood? Aye. Mahmood, aye. Commissioner Mandelman? Aye. Mandelman, aye. Chair Melgar? Aye. Melgar, aye. Vice Chair Sauter? Aye. Sauter, aye. Commissioner Sherrill? Aye. Sherrill, aye. Commissioner Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Commissioner Wong? Aye. Wong, aye. Commissioner Chen, apologies. Chen, aye.

OK, that motion passes. Thank you, and congratulations, Ms. Labarro. Madam Clerk, as I noted earlier, I will be calling items 9, 10, and 11 out of order. So please call those now.

Item 9, exercise contract options for 17 firms for on-call project management and engineering services in an amount not to exceed $2,700,000 for a combined total contract amount not to exceed $13,400,000. and for 10 firms for on-call transportation planning services in an amount not to exceed $1 million for a combined total contract amount not to exceed $4 million. This is an action item.

Welcome, Ms. Fong.

Thank you for the introduction, Chair, and thank you for the accommodation in allowing me to present my items out of order today. What I have before you all is two routine contract administration items, one for engineering services and the other for transportation planning services. We typically contract for certain professional support services in areas where costs, work volume, or the degree of specialist.

I'm sorry, Ms. Fong. I'm just going to interrupt you for a second. Madam Clerk, did you also call item 10? You just called Item 9, right? I just called Item 9. Can you please also call Item 10, and then we'll just keep rolling. Okay. Okay. Because you're presenting on both. Yes, I am.

Item 10, amend the adopted fiscal year 2025-26 budget to decrease other financing sources by $50 million for a total net decrease in fund balance of $50 million. This is an action item. And we will take two separate motions.

Okay, thank you. Go ahead. No problem. Like I was saying, we have two contracts before you. We have an on-call project management and engineering contract that we competitively awarded back in 2022. What we'd like to do today is recommend an increase in the contract of $2.7 million and exercise the second and final option of this contract. What we would plan to use this contract for would be continued services from various consultants for the Yerba Buena Island Westside Bridges Project, the Torpedo Building, and the Pier E2 Improvement Projects, the Yerba Buena Island Treasure The Yerba Buena Island Treasure Island Road Improvements Project, the Yerba Buena Island Multi-Use Path, the Ocean Avenue Multi-Use Path Feasibility Study, and the Portal slash Downtown Rail Extension Project. The proposed action will add, again, 2.7 million of contract capacity and exercise the second and final option renewal. Moving on, I also have the planning on-call contract before you. This was also competitively procured back in 2022. We would like to exercise the first of two options and add $1 million to this contract. During fiscal year 2027, we anticipate to utilize these contracts to advance projects such as the Bayview Street Safety and Truck Relief Study, the Vision Zero Ramps 3 Study, the West Side Subway Strategic Case Study. Again, this will add $1 million to the contract. In terms of fiscal impact, sufficient funds are included in the preliminary fiscal year 26-27 budget, which you'll hear in a few minutes. These projects will be funded with federal, state, regional grant funding in addition to Prop L appropriations. With that, I'm happy to take any questions on this item.

I don't see anyone on the roster with any questions. Yes. Let's go ahead and present item 10 too, please. Okay.

For item 10, what I am, what I have before you is budget adjustments and a budget adjustment to the fiscal year 25-26 proposed, adopted budget. This is the moment in time where we take time to revise our revenue and expenditures and to reflect any new estimates or any new information since the adoption of our budget in June 2025. As you all know, sales tax is our main source of revenues. We had originally budgeted $108.4 million, and we are looking at an increased trend of 5% at this point. We work closely with our economic consultants, community services, when developing this estimate and have consistently leaned toward being more conservative than rather optimistic in our estimates. In the past years, we proposed adjustments to these revenue estimates, but in the remaining months of this fiscal year, we anticipate only a modest continuation of this trend due to uncertainty in the current economic environment. Therefore, we are recommending to hold our sales tax revenues at 108.4 million, and we will continue to closely monitor this revenue source. Now, in terms of our expenditures, our original budget included a $205 million estimate in capital project costs. This estimate also caused us to need to estimate $110 million of anticipated short-term debt from our revolving credit agreement with U.S. Bank. We have been experiencing slower receipts over last fiscal year and continuing early in this fiscal year, and we do not anticipate needing to borrow the full $110 million. We anticipate only needing $60 million in order to pay our expenses for the current fiscal year. This is why we are recommending to reduce our other finance sources line item for fiscal year 26. With that, this ends my presentation. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Okay, thank you, Ms. Fong. I don't see any questions or comments from my colleagues on either the contract modifications or the options or the decrease. So let's go to public comment on these two items, please, and then we'll make two separate motions.

Is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on item 9, exercise contract options, or item 10, the mid-year budget amendment? There's not. Okay.

Public comment on item 9 and 10 is closed. Colleagues, may I have a motion for approval of item number 9? Moved by Walton, seconded by Chen. Let's do a roll call. Is it at the same house? Okay, let's do a same house, same call. That motion's approved. May I have a motion for item 10, please? Moved by Chen, seconded by Mandelman, and we'll take that. Also same house, same call. Okay, let's go to item number 11, please, Madam Clerk.

Item 11, preliminary fiscal year 2026-27, budget and work program. This is an information item.

Thank you. SFGov TV, I'm sharing slides. Good morning, Chair Milgar and commissioners. Lily Yu, finance manager. Today I'm here to present our preliminary annual budget and work program for fiscal year 2026-2027. This is an information item and will return next month to present and seek approval for the proposed fiscal year 2026-2027 budget and work program. OUR FISCAL YEAR 26-27 BUDGET COVERS THE PERIOD FROM JULY 1, 2026 TO JUNE 30, 2027. THE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY ADMINISTERS THE SALES TAX PROGRAM. WE FUNCTION AS THE CONGESTION MANAGEMENT AGENCY FOR SAN FRANCISCO, ADMINISTER THE PROP AA VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEE AND THE TRAFFIC CONGESTION MITIGATION TAX OR TNC TAX. WE ACT AS THE LOCAL PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE TRANSPORTATION FUND FOR CLEAN AIR AND OPERATE AS THE TREASURE ISLAND MOBILITY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, OR TIMA. OVERALL, THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026-2027 IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2025-26 BUDGET AMENDMENT OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION RECENTLY JUST PRESENTED. Our main source of revenue is the half-cent transportation sales tax, and we collect about $110 million each year. This slide shows how much we've collected in sales tax revenues over the last eight years with budgeted information for fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2027. We're projecting sales tax revenues for fiscal year 2027 to increase by 6.5% compared to fiscal year 2026. And the increase reflects an overall strengthening across various business sectors, including food and general retail. In addition, the increase of artificial intelligence-related employment in San Francisco has improved daytime workforce estimates. However, we still remain cautious as economic uncertainty is heightened due to inflation, tariffs, and geopolitical conflicts. Total revenues are projected to be 191.9 million and is budgeted to increase by an estimated 376,000 compared to fiscal year 25-26 adopted budget or less than 1%. This slide shows the fiscal year 2026 adopted budget estimates in gray columns and the preliminary fiscal year 2027 budget in blue columns. The increase of revenues is mainly attributed to the increase in sales tax revenues. Vehicle registration fees are projected to be in line with current year revenue estimates and reflects a stable number of vehicles registered in San Francisco. Traffic congestion mitigation tax or TNC tax revenues are projected to be the same as fiscal year 2026 at $9.8 million. TNC tax revenues have gradually increased since the start of collection, as shown on the revenue trend graph on attachment six of this memo. Our budget estimate for fiscal year 2027 is also aligned with the city's controller's office. Program revenues are budgeted at $59.6 million in fiscal year 2027, which reflects a decrease of $7.3 million compared to fiscal year 2026 budget. Program revenues are mostly project-specific under our role as the San Francisco's congestion management agency and includes federal state and regional grant funding. The majority of the decrease is largely related to grant funds for our major capital projects on Yerba Buena Island, The Westside Bridges Project and Pier E2 Parking Lot Construction Project and the Hillcrest Road Construction Project all have progressed past their most active periods. The decreases in program revenues are also offset by increases for additional federal, state, and regional grant funds to support the first year of construction activities for the YBI Multi-Use Path Project. Included in program revenues are revenues from the Air District for the Transportation Fund for Clean Air Program, and in fiscal year 2027, the Air District will provide San Francisco with an additional $1.6 million specifically for bikeway or bike parking projects. Moving on to the expenditure budgets, total expenditures are projected to be 249.1 million, an increase of 6.9 million, or 3% compared to fiscal year 2026. Of the total expenditure budget, capital project costs are budgeted at 206 million. And these are expenditures that are awarded to grants like SFMTA. CAPITAL PROJECT COST IN FISCAL YEAR 2027 IS BUDGETED TO INCREASE BY 1.4 MILLION OR 0.7% COMPARED TO FISCAL YEAR 2026. THAT'S PRIMARILY DUE TO ANTICIPATED HIGHER CAPITAL EXPENDITURES FOR SALES TAX, TFCA AND TNC PROGRAMS. I'LL DIVE DEEPER INTO THE BREAKDOWN OF THESE CAPITAL PROJECTS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES. Administrative operating expenditures include personnel and non-personnel expenditures and are budgeted at $15.7 million. This is an increase of $1.6 million compared to fiscal year 25-26 budget. Operating expenditures include our rent, personnel, and administrative related expenditures. In the upcoming year, we have included a budget of 43 full-time positions to support the agency's work program. And the increase is primarily due to the implementation of the revised salary structure approved by the board in March 2026 and the anticipated hiring of a capital projects program manager. We're also budgeting debt service costs of $27.3 million, which is an increase from fiscal year 25-26 budget by 16%. This line item assumes fees and interest payments related to our revolving credit loan agreement and a scheduled bond principal payment of $16.4 million. We're projecting higher interest costs on our revolving credit loan agreement with the anticipated $60 million drawdown and with our current revolving balance of $92 million. Because revenues are $192 million and expenditures are $249 million, we anticipate the need to draw down $60 million from our revolving credit agreement in order to fund our expenditures. Back in October 2024, we entered into the revolving credit loan agreement with U.S. Bank for $185 million, and we budgeted to draw down $65 million in fiscal year 2025, $60 million in fiscal year 2026, and another $60 million in 2027 if needed. This is also signaling to us that we may need to issue a sales tax bond or extend our revolving credit loan agreement in fiscal year 27-28. The revolving credit loan agreement supports the Transportation Authority's interim borrowing program on a pay-go basis, and with each drawdown, we'll seek approval from the board to specify the amount of the request and what we plan to spend on. Sales tax capital project costs are budgeted at $132.7 million and makes up more than half of the total expenditure budget. The primary drivers of the sales tax capital expenditures include the muni new vehicle procurements and vehicle maintenance, as well as the TJPA portal project. All the other projects here shown on this slide make up the largest reimbursements in this fiscal year. Moving on to our next largest capital expenditures is the Congestion Management Agency Program at $54.5 million. And the primary drivers under this program include various projects on Yerba Buena Island, as well as the Gary Fillmore Underpass Community Planning Study. Capital project costs for the TNC tax program are budgeted at $9.1 million, and the primary drivers of this line item include SFMTA's Vision Zero quick bill program and SFMTA's application-based residential traffic calming program. Finally, capital project costs budgeted under the Prop AA program are budgeted at $7.5 million, and the main drivers of this includes San Francisco Public Works' various pavement renovation projects and the Japantown Buchanan Mall improvements. This concludes the numbers portion of the presentation, and now Director Chang will present the agency's work program.

Good morning chair, commissioners. Let me go ahead and present some highlights of our coming year fiscal year 27 work program. Our executive division supports you all at the board as well as a host of activities including federal and state ledge and advocacy. This year we look forward to supporting the educational objectives around potential revenue measures for transit systems in November. We also support a lot of work at the Caltrain and other regional agencies, as well as autonomous vehicle policy and rulemaking and federal policy work that you've already approved. Next slide. We have a robust planning program that involves a number of corridor and regional studies. These include the freeway network management study and managed lanes policy support for the regional work, advanced Treasure Island mobility management agency work. We are excited that this year we will see the start of bike share as well as initiating shuttle service planning and preparing for ferry services to begin next year. Next slide. Our long-range plan will be wrapping up this fall alongside the recently adopted Regional Plan Bay Area 2050, and that effort will then roll into a 2060-plus cycle of long-range planning at the regional and local levels. Our Geary 19th Avenue subway and regional connection studies is getting ready to complete as well, and we're preparing the Bayview Caltrain Station location study for further outreach and adoption. We will also be bringing forward the Brotherhood Way study for adoption as well as the West Side Network study. Next slide. Several of these studies as well are ongoing. The Gary Fillmore Underpass Community Planning Study is well underway and we anticipate beginning the Mission Alamany community-based transportation plan. Some of these other ones are also underway. We hope to adopt the Vision Zero ramps phase three project this year alongside the district six mission-based school access plan later this year as well. Next slide. Our forecasting and data analysis team does a lot of work not only for our agency but other project sponsors and other city departments. For example, they will be supporting a Treasure Island development application to support TIDA and the planning department. Next slide. Our fund programming team, led by Enola Foer, is always busy and will continue to implement Proposition L sales tax and wind down the Prop K program. This is a big year also for bringing programming recommendations for the One Bay Area Grant regional program, as well as later in the fiscal year, that is next year, the Prop AA vehicle registration tax programming. and we'll continue to work together with the debt program side under Cynthia Fong so that we can make sure that sponsors continue to receive timely reimbursements. Next slide. Our capital projects team is busy as well. You'll see quite a few exciting events this year with the delivery of the Treasure Island Ferry Terminal Enhancements Project, the Bimla-Reinhart Vista Point, and torpedo building projects, and then later calendar year this winter, the completion of Westside Bridges, so alongside it as well I think the Hillcrest Road project, if I'm not mistaken.

Next slide.

Yes, a lot of these will also culminate in a multi-use path that connects all of the different projects that we've been building on the islands so that pedestrians and cyclists can make that connection from the current Vista Point down to the TI and then ultimately San Francisco ferry terminals. Next slide. We've got a lot of projects here that we're supporting and providing some oversight and partnering support, for example, to California High-Speed Rail and Portal, downtown rail extension projects, as well as Central Subway Extension, Potrero and Presidio Yards work, and BART core capacity, among others. Next slide. And then finally, as always, our reporting and finance team do a lot of great work all year, keeping the funds flowing as well as ensuring that we're involving as many of the local businesses, DBEs and LBEs as possible in our work. Thank you very much.

OK, thank you so much. And thank you for the very thorough informational presentation on our budget. I don't see any questions or comments from my colleagues. So let's go to public comment on this item, please, Madam Clerk.

Is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on item 11, the preliminary budget and work program? There is not. OK, public comment on this item is now closed. Madam Clerk, let's go back to item 5, please. Item five, state and federal legislation update. This is an information item.

We're now joined by our public policy manager, Amber Krapp. Welcome.

AMBER KRAPP, Great. Good morning, chair and commissioners. So this will be a short update today, since we're not recommending any new positions or have any updates on the legislation itself. But it is a very busy time of year, and the legislature is really focused on state budget matters as well as on getting bills out of their house of origin by the end of the month. So we are expecting the governor's May budget revise by the end of the week, so we'll be able to report on this at our next report to this body. But we did want to report on one major budget-related issue that we're tracking, and this is engaging on a recent California Air Resources Board proposal to amend the state's cap and invest program. So last year, the state approved the extension of the program. And this was kind of seen as a big victory, as it was going to stabilize and preserve funding through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for programs that are really critical for transportation and other infrastructure, like the Transit Intercity Real Capital Program and the Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities Program. So outside of the legislative process, CARB is now proposing to amend the cap and invest program to add new manufacturing offsets and allowances. And these are meant primarily to prevent certain industries from leaving the state, most notably those that are high greenhouse gas emission producers, like refineries. It is expected to result in modest consumer benefits as well through rebates on the scale of around $70 a year. So if CARB approves this at its May 28th meeting, the changes are supposed to dramatically impact the amount of funding available through the cap and invest program. So it's essentially going to cut in half the revenues that would be available through 2030 and beyond. So because of the way the new expenditure plan is structured, however, and the way funding is prioritized, the vast... I'm sorry, Ms. Krapp.

I don't mean to interrupt you. We just have someone remotely who has not muted, and we're getting a lot of feedback on the line. We're just trying to fix it.

My apologies.

No, it's not your fault. Okay, go ahead and finish your presentation.

I was almost done anyway. So this would essentially, because of the waterfall kind of expenditure plan, there is zero out the amount of cap and invest funding for the Transit Intercity Rail Capital Program and the Affordable Housing Community Program. This funding is critically important for San Francisco, in particular for future funding for the portal and other SFMTA capital projects. As you can imagine, there's widespread opposition from transit interests, as well as environmental organizations and other groups. Many elected officials have also come out in opposition, including San Francisco's Mayor Lurie. So with that, this is an information item. I'm available for questions as are remotely Martin Reyes, our principal planner, and Mark Watts, our state legislative advocate.

Thank you, Ms. Crabb. We will be looking forward to seeing what CARB does on May 28th. I know for my colleagues who sit on the Air District, this has also been a hot topic of conversation. and we have received correspondence in addition to the groups that you stated from the building and construction trades folks who also oppose the instability that this would cause to the cap and invest program. So I don't see anyone on the roster with questions or comments. Thank you for the presentation. Let's go to public comment on this item, please, Madam Clerk.

Is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on item five, the state and federal legislation update? There's not. Okay. Public comment on this item is now closed. Let's go to item number six, please, Madam Clerk. Item six, allocate $350,000 in Prop L funds with conditions for two requests. This is an action item. Welcome, Mr. Pickford. Thank you.

Good morning. Mike Pickford, Principal Transportation Planner. And SFGov TV, you should be able to see my slides now. So the first request is from SFMTA for $200,000 in neighborhood program funds for the District 2 Turk Boulevard Pedestrian Safety Project. This request will implement recommendations from the District 2 Safety Study adopted by the board in February by funding design and construction of pedestrian safety improvements on Turk Boulevard between Naito and Lyon Streets. Specific improvements would be new concrete median islands to replace the current painted islands at Naito and at Lyon Streets, and a new rectangular flashing beacon at one of the intersections along the segment, which would be determined through planning, site assessment, and accessibility evaluation of the candidate intersections. SFMTA expects this project would be completed by September of next year. Next, SFMTA requests $150,000 for development of a permanent curbside electric vehicle charging permit program, which the city is launching in alignment with the climate action plan. In 2025, SFMTA, SF Environment, and partner agencies completed a curbside EV charging feasibility study and curbside EV charging pilot that both helped shape the framework for this new program, which is envisioned as creating a permit program for qualified vendors who can propose locations for EV charger installation in the public right-of-way subject to city agency review and approvals. Requested funds would be used to develop and finalize the application packet, review vendor eligibility, create selection criteria to evaluate the qualifications of those vendors, and reflect equity considerations, as well as assistance scoring and provide administrative support. As part of this request, we recommend a waiver to Prop L policy to allow funds to be used for retroactive expenses starting May 1st, 2026, as these funds would support a summer intern at SFMTA and SFMTA's internship program began in early May prior to this action. The SFMTA and SF Environment, which will do a lot of work to set up this permit program, expect to complete the scope by late summer or fall this year. With that, I'm happy to take any questions, and we have staff available as well from those agencies.

Okay. Thank you so much, Mr. Pickford. Commissioner Walton.

Thank you so much, Chair Malgar. Just a question. Why do we have to pay for the curbside charging?

That is a great question. And I think a lot of the intention is to work with the private sector. But maybe someone from SFMTA would be better equipped to respond. Oops.

Good morning chair and supervisors. My name is Nicole Appenzeller and I'm here on behalf of the San Francisco Environment Department. I serve as their city's electric vehicle ombudsperson with a mission to help expand public charging access in our county. And we are progressing from our San Francisco curbside EV charging pilot to help plan this permanent program after lot of interest from private vendors this permanent program set up so it is paid for by vendors and this planning support will help our city staff structure the program but once we launch in the summer the Vendors will pay for the operations, installation, and maintenance of those chargers, as well as associated permit fees. And those permit fees will help maintain staff support through the life of the program.

Thank you. I guess a different question. Why is MTA not paying for this?

I'm joined by a colleague online from MTA that might be, can speak to that question.

Hello, everyone. Elena Baranoff from SFMTA. SFMTA is not in a position to pay for the installation of these chargers. As you know, we are kind of on a fiscal constraint at the moment. So this is simply intended to help launch the program and the permanent application process. So the fees that we will earn from the operator permit and site permit are intended to help offset some of our costs, our staff time in setting up the program. But once the charges are installed, all of that will be handled by the operators with oversight from SFMTA.

Thank you. Definitely just curious. Don't necessarily have a concern. But it is only $150,000, so I know MTA has issues, but it is only $150,000. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Commissioner Walton. I don't see anyone else on the roster with questions or comment on this item. Let's go to public comment on this, please.

Is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on item six, the Prop L allocations? There's not.

Okay, public comment on this item is now closed. Colleagues, may I have a motion moved by Mandelman, seconded by Sherrill. I think we have to do a roll call vote on this.

On the motion to approve Item 6, Commissioner Chan. Aye. Chan, aye. Commissioner Chin. Aye. Chin, aye. Commissioner Dorsey. Aye. Dorsey, aye. Commissioner Mahmood. Aye. Mahmood, aye. Commissioner Mandelman.

Aye.

Mandelman, aye. Chair Melgar. Aye. Melgar, aye. Vice Chair Sauter. Aye. Sauter, aye. Commissioner Sherrill. Aye. Sherrill, aye. Commissioner Walton. Aye. Walton, aye. Commissioner Wong. Aye. Wong, aye. There are 10 ayes. The motion is approved. Thank you. Let's go on to item number seven, please. Item seven, approve programming priorities for up to $4,548,974 in San Francisco State Transit Assistant County Block Grant funds with conditions. This is an action item. Thank you. Again, Mr. Pickford, welcome.

Thank you. And SFGov TV, you should be able to see my slides again. So as congestion management agency for San Francisco, the Transportation Authority is responsible for programming STA county block grant funds to San Francisco projects. Revenues come from the state sales tax on diesel fuel, which is a volatile funding source, which I'll come back to later. And only transit operators are eligible to receive these funds. Notably, this is one of the few funding programs the Transportation Authority can use to direct funds to support operating programs rather than just capital infrastructure investments. We're bringing this item to you now because MTC requires that CMA submit programming recommendations in May of each year. I mentioned that STA is a volatile funding source. It goes up and down with the price and demand for diesel fuel, which can be hard to project. For that reason, MTC recommends that we program 95% of the estimated revenues as a buffer in case revenues end up lower. Final revenues are determined at the end of the fiscal year. The revenue forecast for this fiscal year is slightly lower than last year at $4.1 million, but this is offset by about $430,000 in accumulated interest on prior year STA funds. So our fiscal year 26-27 recommendation is for a range from about $4.3 million to about $4.5 million. Here is our recommended programming in priority order. The first recommendation is about $492,000 for WIDA's Treasure Island Electric Ferry Service. In May 2024, the board programmed about $1.4 million in fiscal year 24-25 revenues to this project. However, the actual revenues ended up being well below even that 95% level of the state controller's estimate with only about $925,000 available for the project. So these recommended funds would fulfill the board's prior programming commitment and allow this project to move forward. Our second proposed priority is programming about $2.8 million to SFMTA's paratransit program to support operations in fiscal year 26-27, complementing programmed Prop L funds. Finally, we recommend a range of about $1 million to about $1.2 million if revenues come in at that 100% level to BART's elevator attendant program, which operates at the shared BART and Muni stations downtown. BART and SFMTA share elevator attendant program costs equally. and I'll get into a little bit of information about each project. As I mentioned, the recommended funds for the new electric ferry service to Treasure Island would realize the initial commitment approved in 2024. These STA block grant programs were intended as seed money towards operations of a zero emissions public ferry service that would benefit the equity priority community of Treasure Island by reducing emissions. and this service would support the expected increase in population from 2,000 residents to more than 20,000 residents in 8,000 new homes, 27% of which will be affordable by 2042. The ferry service is expected to begin in 2027, and future years of service are planned to be funded by a combination of fare revenues, an operating subsidy from the private developer on Treasure Island, as well as other public fund programs and revenues a congestion management system once that program is adopted. Next, SFMTA's paratransit program provides mobility to persons with disabilities in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It includes the shop around shuttle, van go shuttle, and ramp taxi incentive programs, as well as the essential trip card, and the users of this program find it critically important, of course. The recommended funding is about 15% lower than last year's STA recommendation. However, this difference is expected to be made up for by a combination of SFMT operating funds and over $13 million in programmed Prop L sales tax funds specifically for paratransit. When taking the recommended STA and Prop L funds into consideration, this results in the Transportation Authority providing 55% of the fiscal year 26-27 paratransit operations funding, which is similar to last year. Finally, BART's elevator attendant program provides attendants to monitor each elevator at the four downtown shared BART Muni stations, Civic Center, Powell, Montgomery, and Embarcadero. In 2025, BART approved a contract with a new operator, District Works, to provide elevator attendance at these stations seven days a week during all revenue hours. Attendance help improve safety, mobility, and accessibility for customers who rely on the elevators to access the transit system, discourage undesirable behaviors, and improve elevator cleanliness and reliability while decreasing fare evasion and reducing maintenance costs and elevator downtime. This program also supports downtown economic recovery, and our recommendation to fund this program is essentially the same funding level as last year. Our recommendation to fund the paratransit program with a combination of STA and Prop L funds leaves enough STA funds for this elevator attendant program, which is not eligible for Prop L. And as I mentioned previously, the recommended range accounts for the final level of revenues, whether that 95% level or 100%. And with that, I am happy to take any questions on this item.

Thank you so much, Mr. Pickford. Commissioner Sautter.

Thank you, Chair. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe these county block grant funds are funded by gas tax, particularly diesel tax. And so I wonder when we have leading candidates for governor talking about suspending or eradicating these taxes, when we look at these priorities and what we want to fund, How certain are we of the funding? I know there was the note in there of the 95% funding, which I think is wise. But again, if it goes away completely or is suspended, how do we shift course? How have you anticipated that?

This is specifically a diesel sales tax, which is one point, but I think we can't speculate on what political decisions would be made. This is for revenues collected in fiscal year 26-27, so if there was a change to policy during the middle of the fiscal year, that would potentially result in reduced revenues.

Thank you. Ms. Laforte, anything to add? Okay. Okay. Thank you so much. Let's go to a public comment on the cited. Please, Madam Clerk.

Is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on Item 7, the STA Block Grant Program Projects Recommendations? There's not.

Public comment is now closed. Commissioner Dorsey, you know, I love the Treasure Island Ferry, so having it be electric and better, that would be awesome. Would you like to make a motion that we approve this item before you?

Thank you, Chair. Yes, I would like to make the motion to approve item number seven.

May I have a second, please? Seconded by Chen. We need to take a roll call vote on this, please, Madam Clerk.

On the motion to approve item seven, Commissioner Chan. Aye. Chen, aye. Commissioner Chen. Aye. Chen, aye. Commissioner Dorsey. Aye. Dorsey, aye. Commissioner Mahmood. Aye. Mahmood, aye. Commissioner Mandelman. Mandelman absent. Chair Milgar? Aye. Milgar, aye. Vice Chair Sautter? Aye. Sautter, aye. Commissioner Sherrill? Aye. Sherrill, aye. Commissioner Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Commissioner Wong? Aye. Wong, aye. There are nine ayes. The motion is approved. Okay. Thank you so much. Let's go now on to item number eight, please. Item 8, amend the Prop L Standard Grant Agreement for the Woods-Islays Creek Yard Electrification Phase 1 project to update the project scope, schedule, cost, and funding plan, and change the project phase from design to construction. This is an action item. Okay, our last action item. Go ahead, Ms. LeClaire.

Good morning. I'm Erin Slechter, Transportation Planner, SFGov. I'm sharing my slides. This item is an amendment request related to sales tax funds that were previously allocated for SFMTA's Woods-Islayas Creek Yard Electrification Phase 1 project. In 2024, the Transportation Authority Board allocated about $2.4 million for the design phase of this project, and the original scope at the time of allocation was to install 18 battery electric bus charging stations and related charging equipment at the Woods and Azlaz Creek bus yards for the purpose of transitioning Muni's fleet of biodiesel hybrid buses to battery electric. These 18 charging stations were intended to support the 18 new electric buses that SMTA is currently procuring. The charging stations were planned to be pantograph style chargers, as you can see in the diagram on the right. The buses are charged through a unit on the roof of the vehicles, and this charging infrastructure would have been supported by a structural steel frame, electrical distribution equipment, and an elevated platform. At the time of the original allocation, SMTA estimated that the total construction phase cost would be $30 million, which would have been almost entirely funded by a federal bus and bus facilities grant in the funding plan. But in fall of last year, the SMTA unfortunately became aware that the bus and bus facilities grant could no longer be used for zero emission vehicle infrastructure. This required MTA to modify the project so that it can support the infrastructure needed that will be used for the 18 new buses being procured within the funding that is available. The way that that works is that 12 of the electric buses being procured are 40 feet long and can be charged at MTA's existing chargers at the Woods facility, but the other six are 60 feet long and cannot be charged at Woods without significantly disrupting the facility's operations. Because of this limitation, the revised scope focuses on installing six chargers at Islay's Creek where there is enough room to service 60-foot buses. Additionally, the revised scope will install plug-in dispenser chargers rather than the overhead pantograph style to reduce cost. I will also note that the MTA is working with the FTA to request using the Bus and Bus Facilities Grant to procure diesel hybrid buses instead. With that revised scope, the total project cost has decreased to about $6.2 million, and SFMTA has sufficient project funds in hand to cover the $1.3 million design phase. So given that, MTA is requesting to use the previously allocated Prop L funds for the construction phase instead. The revised construction phase cost is $4.6 million and will also be funded with Senate Bill 1 State of Good Repair funding as well as Prop B general funds in addition to the sales tax. If funding permits, the project will install additional charging stations at Woods, and the project is expected to be open for use in early 2028. With that, I'll conclude my presentation, and myself and the project manager are available to take any questions.

Okay. Thank you so much, Ms. Lichter. I don't see anyone on the roster with questions. Let's go to public comment on this item, please, Madam Clerk.

Is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on item eight, the Woods Islays Creek Yard Electrification? There's not.

Okay, public comment is now closed. Madam Clerk, okay, can I have a motion? Colleagues, please approve this item by Mahmoud, seconded by Vice Chair Sautter. And we have to take roll again.

On the motion to approve item eight, Commissioner Chan. Aye. Chan, aye. Commissioner Chin? Aye. Chin, aye. Commissioner Mahmood? Aye. Mahmood, aye. Chair Melgar? Aye. Melgar, aye. Vice Chair Sautter? Aye. Sautter, aye. Commissioner Sherrill? Aye. Sherrill, aye. Commissioner Walton? Aye. Walton, aye. Commissioner Wong? Aye. Wong, aye. There are eight ayes. The motion is approved. Okay, that motion passes. Thank you. Now, Madam Clerk, let's go on to item number 12. Item 12, introduction of new items. This is an information item.

OK, I don't see anyone on the roster to introduce new items. So please, let's go on to item number 13.

Item 13, public comment. Is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on public comment? There is not. OK, public comment is now closed.

Let's go to item number 14, please. Item 14, adjournment. OK, we're adjourned. Thank you, colleagues.