CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
SMALL BUSINESS COMMISSION
City Hall, Room 400
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place San Francisco, CA 94102
MEETING MINUTES
Monday, November 26, 2007 5:30 PM
Small Business Commissioners:
Michael O'Connor, President
Jordanna Thigpen, Vice President
Florence Alberts, David Chiu, Gus Murad, Dr. Raye Richardson, Richard Ventura
Executive Director – Agnes Briones Ubalde
Commission Secretary – Martha Yañez
Members Absent: None
Call to order:
Item 1 - ROLL CALL
The Small Business Commission special meeting of Monday, November 26, 2007 was called to order at 5:35PM.
Item 2- GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
Marsha Garland, Executive Director of the North Beach Chamber of Commerce addressed the Commission regarding Supervisor Peskin's proposed ordinance creating the Excelsior and North Beach Alcohol Restricted Use District. She said they were never consulted about this, adding that it would greatly impact North Beach merchants. She said the proposed ban in North Beach specifically would impact permits currently in the pipeline, of which there are a few, not to mention the investments already made by the applicants. She also commented on the fact that the ordinance addresses two separate communities, which she felt was the wrong approach and inappropriate. She said these should be separate items. She asked the Commission to consider reviewing the legislation for possible recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Phil Lesser of the Mission Merchants Association addressed the Commission with regard to the Draft Mission Area Plan (MAP). He presented the Commission with reviews and comments on the MAP as submitted by the Mission Planning Collaborative to the Planning Department. He said the rezoning would have significant implication for the quality of life in the Mission for generations to come. He invited the Commission to tour key buildings in the neighborhood in order to better understand the history and the use of the area. Commissioner Murad asked if the proposed zoning would restrict small businesses. Phil Lesser responded stating that the new zoning would like to restrict large buildings form becoming office uses, and said that they should focus on finding adaptive reuses for these buildings. Commissioner O'Connor said he would be in support of placing a discussion on this on a future agenda.
Item 3 – COMMISSIONER AND STAFF REPORTS
Director Briones Ubalde reported that the minimum wage would be increasing effective January 1, 2008. She directed folks to the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement website for more information including work site posters. She also reported that the state Office of Emergency Services was accepting applications from small businesses impacted by the oil spill, and said that folks should call (916) 845-8395 for more information on the program. She announced an upcoming Divisadero Street merchant meeting and invited any merchants from that area to attend. Finally she reported on the Procurement Workshop which the Commission hosted with the help of the Office of Contract Administration and several other key city departments, stating that it was a huge success, with over100 participants in attendance. Commissioner Ventura said the workshop far exceeded their expectations, and said it precedes a proposed similar workshop to be scheduled during Small Business Week.
Item 4 –SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE CENTER
Director Briones Ubalde reported that in November 2007, San Francisco voters passed Proposition I, which defines
the functions and duties of the Small Business Commission's Office of Small Business and require it to operate a Small Business Assistance Center. She said Commissioner Chiu and Thigpen had worked together to draft a resolution to ensure the Commissions participation and input in the design and implementation of the Center. Commissioner Chiu said it is important for the Commission to have input and he reviewed the proposed resolution with the Commission for their consideration. He said one of the things they want to ensure with the resolution is that the Center shall support the full diversity of San Francisco's small businesses. Rich Hillis, of the Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development stated that he and his staff had been tasked by Mayor Newsom to work with the Commission on the creation of the Center. He said Prop. I was a huge priority for the Mayor and the reason he assigned his staff to work on this effort to ensure a timely process. That said, he presented a scope of work and said there has already been a lot of work done around this issue, including a study commissioned by the Commission called Navigating the Maze: Improving the Small Business Experience of the San Francisco Permitting and Licensing Process , the city's Economic Impact Analysis, and SFBizinfo. He said they currently exists, and looking at way to consolidate and improve the process, ensuring all along that the process serves the people it ought to in the best possible way. He said they are reviewing best practices as well as 311, and said the first phase will be to create a business plan for the Center, or how it should function. Phase Two he said would be to look at how agencies can work better together. He said they hope to do this fairly quickly and said he would be open to questions or comments. Commissioner Thigpen suggested creating a work group to review the qualifications for the Director position. Commissioner Chiu reiterated the need to have the Center help all people in many languages. Rich Hillis agreed that this was important and said they would make sure to incorporate this in the business plan. Commissioner Alberts suggested that the Center work closely with the state and federal agencies that offer business support such as the U.S. Small Business Administration, SCORE and State Department of Commerce. She also said it was of great importance that the Center is widely advertised, publicized and marketed, and wondered how this would be done. Rich Hillis said that they would be in contact with the state and federal agencies, admitting they were initially left out of the process. He said they will be seeking to locate the Center in City Hall so that it is highly visible. Commissioner O'Connor agreed that someone involved with the Center should have knowledge of state and federal requirements. Commissioner Alberts wished to confirm that the Commission would appoint the Director and that the new Center would operate under the Commission. Stephen Cornell, a member of the public, former commissioner and small business owner, said the more meetings on the creation of the Center the better.
Motion: Approval of the Resolution (Commissioner Chiu)
Seconded: Commissioner Ventura
Ayes: All
Item 5- Café Tables and Chairs Permit Fee
Supervisor Carmen Chu presented her proposed ordinance that would update the café tables and chairs permit fee by reducing fees. She said they are able to do this because they have been able to have some cost savings due to improved inspection services, which have allowed inspectors to utilize their time more effectively. She said this is due to a three tiered fee structure depending on where businesses fit in, either new, no prior violations, and renewals. She said there is an annual fee and a per square foot fee. In closing she said it is a good thing for small businesses and she asked for support from the Commission. Commissioner David Chiu thanked Supervisor Chu, stating he did not know anyone in opposition and said he would be in support of it. Commissioner Ventura asked what the average square feet of space of these permits is. Commissioner Chu said these spaces are very small and said on average they are 10x10 feet or 100-300 square feet. Commissioner Alberts asked about the process and how they got to this point. She said it is not usual for the city to find savings and decrease fees, stating that it is usually the opposite. Supervisor Chu introduced Barbara Moy of the Department of Public Works, and said that she could probably respond best to this, but said essentially they analyzed their data and used their time appropriately. Barbary Moy said the objective is not to take a businesses money, but to ensure safety and right of way access. She said the truth is there are a two tiered system, one for folks that comply and one for those that do not. She said they are able to save money off of those people that do not comply. Commissioner Murad thanked Supervisor Chu for bringing this forth. Commissioner O'Connor asked how this ordinance relates or compares to Supervisor Mirkarimi's legislation from last year. Barbara Moy stated that his was a planning code amendment that broadened the scope. Marcia Garland sated she was happy to see this on the calendar and said it was something they proposed a long time ago. Rob Black agreed with Commissioner Murad and said it is definitely a move in the right direction. Carolyn Diamond, a member of the public and Director of the Market Street Association said this would be great for their district and said they are in favor of it. Stephen Cornell agreed with the previous speakers stating it is a good thing, but said there are a lot of businesses that are not able to put stuff out on the sidewalk for display and said it is discriminatory. Barbara Moy said she was not 100% sure, but said she would look into the issue of sidewalk displays and report back.
Motion: Approval of the proposed ordinance as presented (Commissioner Chiu)
Second: Commissioner Alberts
Ayes: All
Item 6- Construction Contracts Improvement HRC Subcommittee
Commissioner Chiu stated that it has been reported that over 70% of city contract go to businesses located outside of the city and said he and others from this HRC Subcommittee are examining why this is the case. He said this is the purpose of the subcommittee. Joe Cheung, DPW Deputy Bureau Chief of Construction Management explained that the contracts in question are construction contracts and include the following city agencies: PUC, Library, and Rec. & Park. He said the contracts were getting larger, but the number of bidders fewer. He said they identified 9 areas that needed improvement and HRC was one of them for its cumbersome process. He said one of the things they have found is that the 10% bid preference for local or small businesses was discouraging folks from bidding. Another thing discouraging folks from bidding is the issue of prompt payment, or lack thereof. He said the latter has improved and folks are reporting getting paid far more quickly than before, but said there are other improvements to be made. He said the big question is how was the 10% preference derived, and should it be higher or lower. He said there are good faith efforts, but contacts are still large. Furthermore he said the contract should be simplified if they want to encourage local and small business bidders. He said they are looking to make changes on several fronts, and said they have started to make recommendations including that creation of an EZ form among others. He said he would like to come back at a future meeting with formal recommendations for the Commissions review and consideration. Commissioner Murad asked for clarification on Prompt Payment. Joe Cheung said that there were reports of contractors not being paid in a timely manner, very commonly 60-120 days before payment was issued. He said there was a lot of internal signing off of sorts that goes on, but reported that invoices are now able to be processed electronically and said that the record now is 2 days, with average being 10 days. Commissioner Chiu said he would like to have Mr. Cheung come back with recommendations and wondered how many of the recommendations may be able to be applied to other department and other contracts such as the Professional Services Contracts. Mr. Cheung replied, a lot!
Item 7- New Business
None
Item 8 - ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:13PM.
