> Subj: Re:No Unbid Booz Contract
> Date: 12/28/98 7:15:37 AM Pacific Standard Time
> From: Gavin_Newsom@ci.sf.ca.us
> To: BarbRoos@aol.com
>
> Dear Ms. Roos:
>
> Thank you for your message regarding the Booz Allen consulting contract for
> the
> MUNI Metro system. I voted to approve this contract after a very long week
> of
> investigative research, pouring through the proposed and past contracts
line
> by
> line, and asking hard questions of Booz Allen and MUNI staff. My decision
> was
> NOT an easy one, but I feel comfortable that it is the best, most informed
> one I
> can make at this point.
>
> My research led me to the following conclusions:
> 1) MUNI lacks the in-house, institutional knowledge to successfully adapt
> the
> Alcatel system to the Metro system. This is because of turnover in the
> middle
> management staff who were trained under past Booz Allen contracts. Booz
> Allen
> has the experience needed to adapt the Alcatel system to the Metro. Other
> consulting firms do not.
> 2) The current proposed contract differs significantly from previous MUNI
> contracts with Booz Allen. First of all, Booz Allen will be in a management
> role, with the ability to institute needed changes. In previous contracts,
> Booz
> Allen was in an advisory engineering role, whereby MUNI did not have to
> accept
> nor institute their recommendations. Secondly, this management team will be
> composed of 1/2 MUNI staff and 1/2 Booz Allen staff, ensuring the passage
of
> institutional knowledge into the MUNI ranks.
>
> I looked long and hard for ways to improve upon the proposed contract --
yet
> neither I nor any of my colleagues could proffer constructive improvements.
> As a
> businessman, I felt that the provisions of the contract looked better than
> any
> of the past ones, and so on balance, I felt comfortable approving it.
>
> I also felt comfortable approving the overall supplemental for MUNI because
> I
> believe San Francisco needs to uphold its commitment to bringing MUNI up to
> par
> as soon as possible. As you know, MUNI as a whole has been severely
> neglected
> for the last 15 years, and its infrastructure is showing that. This
> supplemental
> is needed to support sagging equipment while the transition to a fully
> functional MUNI is undertaken.
>
> Thank you again for relaying your concern about this matter to me. I rely
on
> your input to help me govern, and I appreciate your taking the time to
share
> your thoughts with me. Please feel free to contact me in the future
> regarding
> any matter of concern.
>
> Sincerely,
> Gavin Newsom
>
>