Public Works outlines causes of Fire Station 35 cost overruns as unions and fire department press for accountability

Public Works on Thursday defended a years‑long, technically complex delivery of Fireboat Station 35 at Pier 22½ while acknowledging a string of late change orders and schedule delays that together added millions to the project budget.

The interim Public Works director, Carla Short, and project manager Magdalena Ryer told the San Francisco Fire Commission that a design‑build contract with Swinerton Power was awarded after a two‑stage procurement and that the project’s budget was increased over time to address external requirements. Ryer said several "extraordinary" impacts — mitigation measures imposed by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, tariffs on steel used for a float fabricated overseas, and a redesign of primary power requested by PG&E — contributed the largest increases.

"The largest impact on the project budget was the former president's steel tariffs," Ryer said, describing the tariffs as unforeseen and unavoidable. She also said DPW negotiated change‑order requests: design‑build entities submitted roughly $15.4 million in change‑order requests, DPW approved about $11.4 million and negotiated approximately $4.1 million in savings off the original requests.

Union leaders and veteran firefighters pressed a different point: those overruns have real operational consequences. Sean Buford, president of San Francisco Firefighters Local 798, told the commission he is "concerned about the cost overruns of many of these DPW projects" and asked why local budgets and future bond projects now face added pressure. Floyd Rollins, a Local 798 captain and former company officer at Station 16, recounted repeated post‑occupancy problems after that station’s rebuild, saying the department continues to incur repair costs from sewage backups, leaks and other defects.

"We had approximately 10 or 11 sewage backups since we've moved into that building," Rollins said, urging the commission to factor those downstream costs into project oversight.

Assistant Deputy Chief Dawn DeWitt, speaking for the Fire Department, said the department’s capital backlog is substantial and that late change orders have eroded the ability to pay for other needed repairs. "The fire department is close to $300,000,000 in need of capital improvements," DeWitt said, and each unplanned million‑dollar change order reduces funds available for other projects.

DPW officials said the design‑build procurement model and the technical novelty of building a station on a float limited the city’s ability to lock in all requirements prior to award. DPW acknowledged it could have set larger contingencies for agencies such as BCDC and said it will consider alternative delivery methods, including a progressive design‑build model, to capture more risk information earlier.

Commissioners pressed DPW on oversight and the selection and role of project managers. DPW responded that project managers are assigned from Public Works based on skill and availability and that, historically, the client department has not had pre‑approval authority over personnel assignments — though DPW said it would consider evolving that practice.

What happens next: commissioners asked DPW to return with more detailed project controls and to agendize related items — including a future review of Station 16 and a separate item on the fire training facility — so the commission can continue oversight.

Sources and attributions: Quotes and figures above are drawn from DPW’s presentation and public comment during the San Francisco Fire Commission meeting. The commission received slide materials in advance and DPW provided the budget and change‑order figures in the presentation.

Ending: The commission did not take a formal vote on Station 35 at the meeting; members requested additional follow‑up reports and promised a future agenda item to review Station 16 and the training facility.