Commission approves $229,570 contract to locate displaced households for Certificate of Preference outreach after extended debate

After a lengthy presentation and detailed questioning from commissioners, the Commission on Community Investment and Infrastructure approved a not‑to‑exceed $229,570 personal services contract with Links/Insights & Investigations, Inc. (LINX), the New Community Leadership Foundation (NCLF) and Elise Vincent Consulting to search for and contact persons displaced by the former redevelopment agency and to support outreach for the Certificate of Preference (COP) program.

Pam Sims (Housing Division) summarized the RFP process and evidence base: staff used prior Keene Organization records (2010) and recent RFP evaluation to identify responsive teams; the LINX/NCLF team scored highest. The scope includes bulk database searches, training and hiring investigators from impacted neighborhoods (Western Addition and Bayview), telephone outreach, creation of outreach materials and a final report. The term is up to nine months with an anticipated start date of Jan. 3, 2022.

Commissioners spent the bulk of the discussion probing four areas: methodology and success rates (LINX described use of third‑party people‑finder databases, probabilistic algorithms and follow‑up telephone outreach), the geographic scope (LINX said the search and outreach would be nationwide, not limited to San Francisco), privacy and source records (staff acknowledged many site occupancy records contain private information and agreed to follow up with MOHCD on what summary data can be shared with the COP subcommittee), and the contract budget breakdown (LINX provided an approximate allocation: about $70k for database work, $73k for investigators who will make calls, about $40k for NCLF and Elise Vincent Consulting for training/management, and the remainder for expenses and contingency).

Commissioners expressed particular concern about capturing dependents and descendants (children and grandchildren) of displaced persons who may now live out of state. LINX/NCLF emphasized a layered approach: database work first, then direct calls to identified household members, then lateral outreach through community networks, targeted social media, a registration website and broader marketing if pockets of displacement prove hard to locate. Commissioners requested that MOHCD present available aggregated records to the subcommittee and urged staff to ensure the search effort is as comprehensive as possible given the one‑time budget.

The commission voted to reopen public comment on the item; one member of the public (Don Staley) called in and made allegations about building conditions and city permitting enforcement; the caller’s concerns were outside the COP scope but were recorded for the record. Following the public comment, Commissioner Beiser moved to approve the contract and a second was recorded. Roll call: 2 ayes, 1 no (Commissioner Brackett), 2 absent. General counsel advised that a majority of a quorum carries the vote, so the item passed.

Next steps: LINX/NCLF will begin bulk database searches and onboarding; staff will follow up with MOHCD on source records and present additional summary data to the COP subcommittee and commission as requested.