Committee approves amended PUC emergency declaration to complete Calaveras watershed fence repairs

The committee voted to forward to the full Board an amended resolution extending a San Francisco Public Utilities Commission emergency declaration for fence repair on watershed lands damaged in the SCU lightning complex fire, with the not‑to‑exceed amount reduced from $11,000,000 to $10,900,000 at the BLA’s recommendation.

Tim Ramirez, Division Manager for Natural Resources and Lands Management at the PUC, reviewed the August lightning‑strike events and explained that field inspections and contractor availability had increased cost estimates; the PUC said repair work is underway and will likely continue for another two years.

Vice Chair Asha Safaei asked whether the contracts should be covered by the citywide Project Labor Agreement (PLA). Greg Lyman from PUC construction contract management said the contracts were initially small enough that PLA terms were not included; after follow‑up research PUC staff reported that the PLA explicitly excludes emergency work (cited clause 2.7(h)), so the emergency contracts remain exempt.

The Budget & Legislative Analyst recommended reducing the resolution’s ceiling to $10.9 million to align with detailed budgets shown in the BLA report; the committee adopted that amendment and voted to forward the amended resolution to the full Board with a positive recommendation.