December 2019 Minutes
City of San Francisco
JAPAN CENTER GARAGE CORPORATION
Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors December 19, 2019, 11:00 a.m.
Seoul Garden Restaurant
22 Peace Plaza, San Francisco
MINUTES
PRESENT: Rodney Chin, Edward Ong, Arcadi Kolchak, Green Chang, Hagen Choi,
Kimberly Kolbe, Jan Masaoka, Keiko Murase, John Noguchi and Jerry Ono
ABSENT: Vas Kiniris
ALSO PRESENT: Claudine Cheng, Corporate Counsel; Rob Malone, SFMTA; Fred Bekele, Francisco Lira and Allen Gu, IMCO and Richard Hashimoto, Corporate Manager
GUESTS: Steve Nakajo, Japantown Task Force and Grace Horikiri, Japantown Community Benefit District
The board of directors meeting was called to order at 11:07 a.m. President Chin introduced Ms. Keiko Murase, who was nominated to serve on the board and shall be voted under an agenda item. Ms. Murase provided a brief bio and her connection to the community.
Due to the lack of quorum at October’s meeting, the August 15, 2019 minutes was not approved. Director Ono made a motion to approve, seconded by Director Noguchi and the motion was unanimously approved.
2. Approval of Minutes
The board proceeded to take action on the October 17, 2019 minutes. Director Noguchi made a motion to approve, seconded by Director Ong and was unanimously approved.
a. President Chin stated that the lack of a quorum at the October 2019 meeting, the election process for Ms. Murase was not conducted. Therefore, President Chin called for a motion to accept the Nomination Committee’s recommendation for the approval of Ms. Murase to serve on the board.
3. Board President’s Report
Director Noguchi made the motion, seconded by Director Choi and the motion was unanimously approved.
b. Director Ong stated that the Marketing and Community Participation committee met in November recommending board action to approve $5,000 to the Japantown Foundation event and $2,500 to Seoul Sister City Committee Gala.
Director Noguchi made a motion to approve $5,000 to the Japantown Foundation from the Community Fund, seconded by Director Kolchak. The motion was approved with Director Ono abstaining.
For the Seoul Sister City Committee request, Director Chang made motion to approve $2,500 from the Marketing Fund which was seconded by Director Ong. The motion was approved with Director Choi abstaining from vote.
c. President Chin then requested an update from Mr. Nakajo of the Japantown Task Force.
i. Mr. Nakajo shared with the board the Japantown Cultural District information sheet and informed the board that there are now 11 legacy businesses that have been approved in Japantown.
The Legacy Business Program was established by former Mayor Ed Lee for businesses that have operated in the City for over 30 years. The registration will qualify legacy businesses to receive assistance from the city towards employee salaries, other city programs and services.
ii. The Japantown Task Force will unveil their Grand Launch of the Japantown Cultural District during the Cherry Blossom Festival on April 11th. Staff will conduct numerous interviews to provide the city a Cultural Heritage and Economic Strategy and Sustainability (CHESS) Report which is a three year sustainability plan for the community.
iii. The Japantown Peace Plaza committee is continuing to pursue inclusion on the 2020 Parks Bond in the November election at $25 million dollars but there is competition from other park projects. There is also discussion that the parks bond may be replaced with a mental health bond in the upcoming election.
Director Noguchi asked if the garage corporation can support the Peace Plaza project and the parks bond with a letter. Mr. Nakajo replied that a letter would help to show there is additional support.
Mr. Malone inquired as to how the community is approaching support from the city.
Mr. Nakajo stated that when the parks bond was first introduced, the Japantown Peace Plaza was not included as one of the top five projects. Through community advocacy to the Recreation and Parks Commission, the Board of Supervisors and other city departments, the Peace Plaza was successfully added. Therefore, continued support from the community is needed to make sure the project is fully funded through the parks bond.
Corporate Manager deferred his report to items on the agenda.
4. Corporate Manager’s Report
(a) Ms. Cheng stated that due to the vacancy of the position of the Secretary, the Board of Directors adopted a Bylaws amendment in August, 2019 authorizing the Board president to make an interim appointment to fill the position for up to four months.
5. Corporate Counsel’s Report
Director Kolchak was then appointed to serve as the Interim Secretary during the August 2019 Board of Directors meeting and therefore his term would conclude by end of December. Ms. Cheng reminded the Nomination Committee to nominate a candidate for the position to be voted by the Board of Director at its February 2020 meeting.
(b) The Contract Review Committee will need to meet regarding the CPMC Agreement when the agreement has been accepted and signed by CPMC.
(c) Since there are new directors joining the board in the past few months, a Sunshine Ordinance and Brown Act training is in order. The workshops will be conducted during future meetings.
Treasurer Ong summarized the October 2019 financial statement.
6. Treasurer’s Report
The October numbers represents six months of the fiscal year and reflects 50% of income and expenses.
In the Profit and Loss statement, Transient Revenue is at 46.35% (-3.65%), Monthly Parking is at 55.03% (+3.05%), Non-taxable Monthlies is at 81.22% (+31.22%) and Taxable Misc. Parking Revenue is at 35.75% (-14.25%) to the approved budget.
Total revenue income for the month is $374,068 vs. $344,242 in prior year/month which is a $29,826 increase over same period last year. For the six months ending October, Year to Date reports income at $2,265,820 for 2019 vs. $2,172,765 in 2018, which is an increase of $93,055.
Expenses should be at 50% to budget however, overall expenses reports 52.88% which is linked to expenses associated with the new PARCS equipment. Transient Vehicles has increased 4,684 from last year and Monthly Parking increased by 5 new accounts.
Director Masaoka asked what determines taxable and non-taxable income. Mr. Hashimoto stated that non-taxable income is those derived from tax exempt government vehicles such as consular corps and taxable monthlies are all other monthly income.
Director Noguchi made inquiry if the board should take action on the Treasurer’s Report. In order to follow good practice pertaining to Corporate Governance, Ms. Cheng recommended that the board should take action to approve the report.
Director Masaoka recommended that the board accepts the report rather than approving it. An approval could be construed to mean the report is a true statement of the revenues and expenses. An acceptance is that the board accepts the financial statements as reported but does not serve as an approval.
Mr. Hashimoto stated that the board currently approves the annual audited report, which is a detailed financial statement that scrutinizes all revenues and expenses. Therefore, monthly financial statements may not require an approval. Ms. Cheng recommended the item for future reference.
7. Committee Reports
Mr. Hashimoto distributed the 2 year budget which was approved by the MTA. A 12% increase is forecasted for Taxable Monthly Parking which reflects the recent rate adjustment. The estimated increase does not take into account the proposed reduction from CPMC which has not yet been confirmed. Overall revenues are forecasted at 5% increase in 2020-2021 and 3% increase in 2021-2022.
(a) Audit and Finance Committee
Under Expenses, Health and Welfare is projected to increase 4% in FY 2021 and 2% in FY 2022. Pension will also increase 3% for the two fiscal years. These expenses are authorized under the collective bargaining agreement. Utilities will increase respectively to rate adjustments and addition of internet service at annex garage required for PARCS. Services will escalate in line to the Minimum Compensation Ordinance. Credit Card Fees will increase immensely as more people move towards electronic payment methods combined with the increase in credit card processing fees.
Supplies will increase from replacing dated office and maintenance items and SFMTA Administrative Cost recovery is expected to increase.
Overall, expenses are projected at 6% increase for FY 2021 and .02% increase for FY 2022. Net Revenue is expected at -6% decrease over the Actual/Anticipated for FY 2021 and 2% increase for 2022.
President Chin made inquiry as to the decrease in net revenues in 2021. The decrease is associated with anticipated rising expenses.
Director Noguchi asked why there is decrease forecasted in Security.
Mr. Malone stated that since the installation of PARCS, the cashiers are no longer limited to cashiering. They are now unrestricted to perform other tasks such as security and janitorial.
Director Choi asked if the upcoming Geary Rapid is reflected in the budget. Mr. Hashimoto replied that we have no knowledge how the project will impact the garage at this time.
Director Masaoka made inquiry as to the forecasted increase in revenues. Mr. Hashimoto stated that increases are based on historical trends and does not include rate adjustments or how Geary Rapid will have an impact on the garage revenues.
Ms. Cheng asked if the budget requires Board of Supervisors approval. Mr. Hashimoto stated that the budget does not require Board of Supervisors approval. It is approved by the MTA Board after the Director of MTA has approved it.
Although the Lease does not require garage board approval, Director Noguchi made motion to approve the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 budgets with Director Ono seconding. The motion was unanimously approved.
Director Noguchi stated that the committee met on December 17, 2019 but could not establish a quorum. Nonetheless, the committee dismissed items on the agenda and prepared recommendation to the board on items requiring action.
(b)Contract Review Committee
i. CPMC Parking Agreement
Corporate Manager stated that he had met with Rigo Hurtado, Parking and Transportation Manager for CPMC. Mr. Hurtado will reassess their parking needs and will decide the number of space to reduce. Mr. Hurtado will contact Mr. Hashimoto in March with the revised number.
Currently, CPMC pays for 400 parking spaces and only use 250 to 270 spaces. Should CPMC decide to reduce from the current 400 to 300 spaces, it would result in loss in revenue of $246,000.
Director Masaoka asked the reason for the reduced use. Mr. Hashimoto stated that CPMC has distributed all 400 parking access cards to its employees but some employees go back and forth to other CPMC campuses and do not park in the Japantown garage.
Logistically, CPMC would not be able to manage the cards of employees that report to other campuses. They would need for rotating doctors and employees to pick up and drop off cards on a daily basis which would be very problematic for CMPC and the garage operator.
CPMC’s plan is to shift those rotating employees to another location and maintain their daily use employees at the Japantown garage.
ii. Corporate Counsel’s Annual Performance Evaluation
Director Noguchi stated that the committee has completed the annual appraisal report and will continue to perform the task without rate adjustment at this this time. Committee recommends approval of the report with Ms. Cheng continuing her duties as Corporate Counsel.
Director Ono made a motion to approve, seconded by Director Kolchak and the motion was unanimously approved.
iii. Agreement for Development of Garage Website
Since the Japantown Community Benefit District has assumed the Japantown website from the merchants association, Ms. Cheng stated that a dedicated web page is needed to focus on marketing the garage and, to provide the necessary information such as rates and parking programs.
Greg Viloria, who developed the current Japantown website and has worked on other community websites, has been tasked with helping to build the garage’s website since he has history with the garage and community. An agreement was distributed and cost is very reasonable at approximately $1,300.
The goal is to have the website launch before the Cherry Blossom Festival so that visitors know where to park during the largest community event.
Director Kolchak asked for clarification that the website is for marketing purposes and not intended for the community. Ms. Cheng clarified that the website is strictly for garage marketing purposes. Since there are existing websites for community and its events, there will be links added to those resources.
In addition, the website will provide information on parking rates, historical information about the garage, the relationship between the city and garage corporation, public information and notices.
Once the site is launched, a monthly maintenance agreement for content updating will be proposed at $35 hour, estimated at 2 to 4 hours a month.
Director Masaoka made motion to approve the agreement from the Marketing budget with Director Chang seconding. The motion was unanimously approved.
(c) Community and Marketing Funds Committee
i. Director Ong reported that there is no funding request received since the
last board of directors meeting.
ii. The committee has met and recommends that funding for the new website comes from the Marketing budget. Since there will be a separate agreement for website maintenance, that contract can be discussed at a later date.
Director Ong confirmed the remaining amount in the Marketing budget will satisfactorily cover the website expense as well as anticipated requests through the fiscal year.
Director Kolchak stated that with the website expense, the remaining amount in marketing may not cover the remaining requests especially with one particular organization that will be celebrating an anniversary year and will be increasing their request.
In addition, the contract seems to be for general operational purposes and not for a nonprofit which the funds were intended for. Therefore, the website expense should be disbursed from the operating budget.
A question was raised if the operating budget could absorb the website cost. Unfortunately, due to PARCS launch, many of the budget items that would fit the description of this expense are overextended.
Director Masaoka made a motion to approve the expense for the website contract from the Marketing budget, seconded by Director Ong. The motion was approved with Director Kolchak voting No.
8. Community Updates
i. Ms. Horikiri from the Japantown Community Benefit District (JCBD)
announced the addition of two new staff members assisting her in the areas of outreach and grant funding.
ii. The JCBD was present at the Dec. 16, 2019 Mayor’s Press Conference for improving street conditions not only in the city but Japantown as well.
iii. There are two ambassadors maintaining the streets but it has been challenging to keep them at minimum wage compared to other CBDs and BIDs (Business Improvement District) since they pay a higher rate.
iv. The safe city camera system is in the final stage of installation in Buchanan Mall which is scheduled to be completed in two weeks. In the next fiscal year, the camera program will be offered to property owners to expand to other parts of the community.
v. The JCBD Marketing Committee has engaged Leah Goldstein Public Relations (LGPR) to market and promote the community. Their first assignment will be to promote Japanese New Year events in the community as well as subsequent events and festivals in numerous publications.
vi. The old Japantown merchants website was refreshed with a new look and will be updated on a regular basis so it does not appear neglected. The website will be linked to the garage’s new website when it is launched.
vii. JCBD is currently working closely with the SFMTA Geary Rapid Project on the removal of the Steiner Street pedestrian bridge and to ensure the construction project will not adversely impact the merchant community. Wayfinding signs and banners will be displayed so that can find their way to their destinations.
viii. The boundary of the JCBD is primarily includes commercial properties only from Geary to Bush and Fillmore to Laguna.
9. Garage Operations and Security Report
In the absence of Mr. Wong, assistant manager, Allen Gu provided the report.
i. In October there was one reported break in and none in November. ii. There were 35 incidents of homeless in October and 40 in November.
iii. The fire sprinkler head replacement program was completed and received the five year certification from the fire department.
iv. PARCS Version 12 Upgrade was installed and completed in November. A language package is on order to include Japanese and Korean, which will be implemented after all of the city garages have PARCS installed.
10. Recess to Closed Session
There was no Closed Session for this meeting.
11. General Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda There was no general public comment.
12. Old / New Business / Future Board Agenda Items / Announcements, etc. i. Corporate Counsel suggested adding action item on next agenda for
Treasurer’s Report.
ii. Board should consider time to conduct Brown Act / Sunshine Ordinance.
iii. Nomination Committee to make recommendation for Secretary.
iv. Other Announcements
• Santa Claus Visit – Dec. 21 & 22
Arcadi Kolchak Claudine Cheng
Arcadi Kolchak and Claudine Cheng
Na Leo Concert – Dec. 21
Japantown Pin Rally – Dec. 21 & 22
Japantown Foundation Osechi Ryori – Jan. 9, 2020
13. Regular Meeting Adjournment
Director Masaoka made motion to adjourn meeting at 12:30 p.m., seconded by Director Ong and was unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Arcadi Kolchak
Claudine Cheng
Arcadi Kolchak and Claudine Cheng