SAN FRANCISCO MISTAKES COST US MILLIONS
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San Francisco that beautiful City by the Bay has most everything going for it. San Franciscans can pride themselves when they can really say we have it all - the best climate, food, and people. San Francisco has many intelligent people but in one department of late we may not want to take credit for the dumb actions of our Board of Supervisors and some city head of departments.
We all know that these days times are difficult and fiscal constraints force us to save every cent. Our Board of Supervisors (BOS) continues to be penny wise and pound-foolish. Here are some glaring mistakes costing millions of dollars: The BOS is fully aware that the San Francisco Port Authority (SFPA) should exercise the Burton Act and what is more fully endorse the Public Trust Act. These are mandates that the SFPA cannot fail to exercise over the 7.5-mile jurisdiction that it controls. Yet again and again the SFPA has failed and even today it continues to do a poor job. Some years ago I went before the San Francisco Port Commissioners and explained to them about the toxic soil at Pier 92. Some 20 tons of the worst possible toxic soil that lay there for years. The SFPA could have addressed the issue but chose to fight me. The end result the Department of Toxic and Substances Control (DTSC) mandated the SFRA to clean up the site at a cost of over $1 million. Yes $ 1 million. The BOS heard about this issue but did not understand the issue because they did not bother to study the facts when they were provided to them by me. By Pier 80 again on San Francisco Port Authority property the SFRA, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Department of Public Works (DPW) chose to build 3 tunnels called conduits under the Force Main that carries over 180 million gallons of secondary effluents. I went before the Board of Supervisors and told them that this was wrong. No Environmental Impact Report was provided. No soil assessment done. This area is mostly landfill and the contract was given to a contractor from the East Coast. The result the conduit costs us millions and today we cannot use it. The BOS bear responsibility. Time and time again when I pleaded with them to listen they thought they knew better and now I want to know who bears responsibility? Who will pay for the conduits? Who was responsible for the management of these conduits? How many heads are going to fall? Why are they behaving like buffoons? How many millions do this project cost and how many millions have been wasted? As part of the mitigation after the various Energy Companies stole money from us constituents in the year 2000. The State of California took some of the crooks to court and won. As part of the settlement every major city in California had an option take about $10 million or opt for some Combustible Turbines. San Francisco was the only city with another one choosing to act dumb. Why would we in San Francisco choose to get 4 Combustible Turbines (CTs) from the Williams Company? These CTs run on gas (fossil fuel) and again and again we brag that we should stay away from fossil fuel. Fossil fuel is very polluting and our children and adults are dying from respiratory diseases and cancer. More over Williams Company is in the business of selling natural gas so it will more then make up for the devious gift of 4 CTs. Selling us natural gas for decades to come! This deal will cost us millions of dollars and millions more in the years to come. On Islais Creek the Board of Supervisors plan to encourage the powers to be to build a proposed movable bridge. This plan costs millions and will fail. Just like the conduit failed. We have a bridge a few hundred feet away, which is now being retrofitted. This retrofitted bridge will costs us millions and we do not have the money. I will be there when the Department of Works comes to beg for money for this bridge that it had no idea how to handle. The present contracts Mitchell Engineering seems to lay their hands on whatever they can get. Mitchell friends of the corrupt Willie L. Brown the BOS have failed to evaluate the contracts given to this corrupt company and discern. Once again the BOS have proved that they are buffoons who would do well to listen, learn, and be reliable. They use to be paid $120,000 and now $90,000 - too much for very poor decision making. We have a $600 million MUNI 3rd Street Lightrail Project. One must remember that most of the area is landfill. What is paramount is that the landfill contains toxins. Many areas are classified Class One hazardous materials - MUNI has failed to remove the toxic soil. Advocates have spoken and the BOS continue to turn a deaf ear. On the contrary it has defied the constituents, allowed the soil to be uncovered for months on end. We advocates have gone to the Board of Supervisors and to the District 10 Supervisor in particular Sophie Maxwell - only to be totally ignored. Thousands of people are falling sick and have been falling sick. The toxic soil contains mercury, lead, PCBs, asbestos, contaminated soil from diesel and other oil products, toxic remains from chrome plating - you name it you can find it. The Southeast Sector has two old, toxic, spewing power plants. Both of them should be shut down. These power plants have killed our children. They have killed our elders. The Board of Supervisors hears us but do not listen and pay attention. These two power plants have cost the City and County of San Francisco millions of dollars in health expenses. It does not matter who pays for it the Federal and State government or the constituent through their private health insurance. It is a crime in this day and age that the BOS have not done much and continue to pay lip service. Their actions adversely impact the constituents they swear to serve. We have an old raw sewage treatment plant on Phelps Street in the Bayview. This old raw sewage treatment plant takes 80% of all the raw sewage and run off during the heavy rains from the City and County of San Francisco. On top of that it takes a 100% of raw sewage from Colma, Daly City, Brisbane, and Burlingame. The Board of Supervisor dumb as they are does not give a hoot. We have the Precautionary Principle that the City and County of San Francisco have embraced but the BOS will not put it to use. I doubt the Board of Supervisors has read about the Precautionary Principle. I am beginning to doubt if they can read at all? 6 miles on Illinois Street have been asphalted. Under this brand new road lies the worse toxic soil. In fact the area was called Toxic Park. If the City is taken to court they will have to abate and repave this road. Our beautiful Bay is bombarded with mercury from the run off and the old Mercury Mines from miles away. Radiological stuff from the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Even now Parcel F which lies under the water is very toxic. Daily over 180 million gallons of secondary effluents mostly half treated excreta is dumped into the Bay by Pier 80. Our beloved Board of Supervisors hears this when we tell them again and again but the buffoons cannot fathom the reality of the facts. It cost us billions of dollars when we harm Mother Earth. Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is so pollution that it will cost us BILLIONS of dollars to clean it up. The BOS wants to build 1600 Housing Units on a Toxic Dump. Go figure! Once all of San Francisco belonged to the First People before it was stolen from them. The Muwekma Ohlone the only tribe that has Patrimonial Jurisdiction has called upon the authorities to be compassionate and treat the Earth with care. The pleas have fallen on deaf ears. This daily crime is worse then all the killings and other mean stuff that is happening to our City and County of San Francisco. The City and County continue to waste millions of dollars. Many heads of departments brag that they can go Scott free and do as they please. Who will talk to them and bring them to book? Our Board of Supervisors makes a mockery of themselves when they cannot understand the basics yet pretend to talk to the constituents and spew diatribe that reveals their foolishness. Recently they could not handle the Transbay Project - this is yet another project that will cause more harm then good. Again and again the BOS without reading and reviewing an Environmental Impacts Report, Study or Assessment will permit huge amounts to be wasted. This is a crime and the time to stop it is now. The Board of Supervisors continues to waste millions of dollars. This is the City that knows how but the BOS do not fall in that category. |
