[roll call] just a few announcements. we ask that you turnoff any electronic devices that could sound of during the proceeding in if you have secondary conversations, please take this outside and in order for the meeting to proceed as efficiently as possible. if you would like to speak on an item, we would ask you to fill out a blue car. he will have three minutes, unless the commission announces otherwise. when you fill out a card for public comment, we ask that you comment on that item. general public comment is actually item either four or 15.

if it is a general comments and not on the agenda, those will be the drop in numbers that you would make comments on. lastly, the commission and staff will not answer questions today. once you are done with public comment, they can answer questions. president buell: thank you. let me announced that we will be hearing on items nine, 10, and 11 separately, but we will be voting on them together. let me give a brief report and i have a couple of certificates to hand out to some honor folks here. my report will be brief. i wanted to comment that i thought the meeting with the mayor went very well on march 22, and i look forward to those

sessions, as well as the quarterly meetings on rec and park. spur has been conducting meetings on the perennial problem of budgets and shortfalls. i want to commend them for that. the other comment i want to make -- john jarvis, the head of the national parks service was in the bay area a couple weeks ago, and he did something near and dear to my heart. he made an announcement the national parks will include a food service and strive to serve local sustainable agriculture in the parks, which is a huge step forward. and he used as a prime example of what can be done the operation run by the ortega family. i think we're in very good company. i was really pleased to see that happen. with that, i have a couple of

certificates of appreciation i am going to read, and then we will hand them out. gordon and john johnson. let me briefly say, we recognize and honor the volunteer efforts of gordon, for nearly five years has dedicated his energy to beautifying parks. gordon has helped were ever needed as many as three days a week, removing fallen trees, invasive plants, shearing hedges, cleaning up after visitors and any task required of him. gorton is unfailing in his son -- enthusiasm and energy, requiring the most arduous task. each year, we depend on more than 129,000 hours from volunteers. mr. cutts has volunteered more than 700 hours of his time.

we thank mr. cutts for his ongoing effort. before we award this fine certificate, i want to read mr. john johnson's, and then we will do that collectively. we recognize and honor volunteer efforts of mr. john johnson, who for nearly three years dedicated his time and energy for improving and beautifying parts of golden gate park, including the rhododendron dell and the botanical garden. he helps staff keep the garden clean. it's in became obvious that he possessed an attention to detail and the creative spirit to move on to some of the finer tasks of maintaining a japanese- style garden. he eventually became a skilled kronor. he is very dedicated to the work, and the japanese tea garden is better for him. he is also a pleasure to be

around. each year, the parts department depends on more than 129 hours from volunteers. we think mr. johnson for his continued effort to improve our park spaces. we thank you both. i think we would like to present these to you and person. -- in person. [applause]

president buell: i understand if mr. cutts could not make it. i have one more that is a special one i want to give and we have a special guest i want to say a few words. with that, this is a resolution to of former commissioner, michael sullivan. [applause] whereas michael sullivan is a practicing attorney and whereas he has lived in san francisco since 1984 and whereas, his wife, and his son enjoy all the parks, and whereas michael

sulliv a tree he did not like in san francisco, and whereas he served on the forestry council from 2003 until 2005 and whereas he served on the board of directors of forestry and nonprofit friends of the urban forest until 2005, including a time as board chair, and continues as an active volunteer with that organization, and whereas he is the author of "petrie's of san francisco," which was published in -- "the trees of san francisco," which was published in 1994. and whereas he has thoroughly analyzed items before the commission providing thoughtful decision making during his tenure, and whereas he will be sorely missed, now therefore be it resolved that the members of the recreation and parks commission, on behalf of the employees and citizens of san

francisco to briefly recognize michael sullivan's contributions and to express to him great appreciation for his high quality and passionate work and wish him success in all his future endeavors. michael. [applause] [laughter] >> oh, that's great. [applause]

>> thank you very much, mr. president and commissioners. that was very, very kind i just want to say, it was a real pleasure to serve on this commission. among the many reasons i would say is the incredible professionalism of the department'. folks i have worked with over three years -- the entire department, but particularly the senior staff. there is nobody better at city hall. it was a pleasure to work with all of you. it was also, as was mentioned, i was perhaps occasionally to 0 in my review of certain matters related to trees -- to throw in my review of certain matters related to trees. along those lines, i hope we all

tried out for the opening of the canyon trail. that is going to be amazing. bad news and it seems like our job as been to figure out what things to cut, and it should be really great news to provide that great amenity to the city of san francisco. lastly, i want to say -- i would be dishonest if i did not admit it is nice to have a little more time in my monthly schedule, but one of the pleasures of working on the commission was getting to know all of you on a personal level. that was our real pleasure. i hope i get to see you frequently in the future. i wish you well in continuing the courage that you all have shown over the past few years. it has been a tough few years. oftentimes, you have to sit here with dozens of people out there, behind me, and in front of you, there regrettable of

decisions that are important. -- very critical of decisions that are important. you know the importance of making decisions. the soccer field is another one. it was a pleasure to serve and see the courage the commission showed in doing what was right for san francisco, even when it did not seem to be possible. i wish you all well. i look forward to seeing you in the future. thank you. president buell: thank you. [applause] president buell: i know we have been joined by supervisor wiener. i want to give him the courtesy of the floor. he probably has a busier schedule and all of us. supervisor. supervisor wiener: thank you.

good morning, commissioners. thank you for your work on behalf of the city. people were not that interested in hearing from me or the mayor. they were interested in hearing about the parks-related questions. this really does matter. i am here to speak in support of the delores' park playground project, which i know is on your agenda today. this is a project that is very important in my district, in this community. this is something that people have worked very hard to make a reality for a long time. we talked about being a family- friendly city. wanting to be a family-friendly city. this is an opportunity to take playgrounds that are rundown, to actually modernize them and make them useful by the surrounding

community, and it is incredibly hard to raise this money. financially, it is balancing on the head of a pen. i know you have a proposal before you today, and i urge you to move forward expeditiously to make this project a reality. thank you very much. president buell: thank you, supervisor. [applause] moving right along. that is the end of my report. >> is there any public comment on the president's report? seeing none, the item is closed. item number three, the general managers' report. >> good morning, commissioners. it is a pleasure to be here. it has been a while. i missed the last meeting because i was it in washington. -- i was in washington. we often focus on some of the small, the controversial issues , the tough decisions that

former commissioner sullivan talk about that you all have to make and confronts. so, today, i offer you a non- controversial report, are reports that gives you a flavor of all the great work and the great programs and the great things that are actually happening in our recreation park department every day, which we do not often have the opportunity to celebrate. with that -- last sunday, i would like you all to know you were in special company this morning. i am officially part of the world record holding group of 87 in-line skaters who said the guinness book world record for the longest in my skating line -- in-line skating line at golden gate park, organized by the fabulous david miles, who calls himself "the godfather of its eight." -- "the godfather of skate."

my daughter grace and i had a great time. i was struggling to keep on my feet and not embarrass the other 86 skeeters. of particular note was a really compelling article that said only 3% of adults between the ages of 20 and 57 -- just 3% -- are meeting the center for disease control's recommended amount of daily physical activity. just 3%. and only 6% or 7% for children under 12. really stunning data. need to encourage people to get out and play. other great things happening in golden gate park -- the farmer's market. every wednesday, i have the pleasure of being there for the opening. i think dennis kern was

involved in the ribbon cutting. it is a wonderful family event with music and congregation. thursday, at the same site, it is off the grid, a collection of mobile phone -- mobil fund vendors. to see this very area filled with families and communities is wonderful. wicked plants is the most recent exhibit opened on april 9 at the conservatory and will be there until october 30, featuring living examples of infamous plants that have left a mark in history and claimed many an unfortunate victim. including white snakeroot, which is on display. it actually killed abraham lincoln's mother. other happenings in golden gate park. this saturday is eggstravaganza.

this is basically our spring carnival. of the last two years we have created a core of family evidence. we have this, and we have -- i will think about the next one. street lighting. thank you, kate. there will be music, entertainment. and there will be up cookoff, including many of our district and fire stations. we will be joined by many judges, including supervisor eric mark, supervisors got wiener, -- supervisor eric mar and supervisor scott wiener. please come out and join us for

this very special dead. we accepted a generous donation of 17 coit fish for the japanese tea garden -- koi fish for the japanese tea garden. steve, you are heading up to to go next week to pick up the fish and transport them back to their new future home. it is an estimated value of 300 to $4 per fish. -- $400 per fish. we will have some celebration. on may 7, from noon until 3:00 p.m., we will be coasting at the "access to a venture -- adventure." our department is very proud of the work we are doing to meet the needs of families with

children with special needs. we will be debuting camp adjour, which is designed specifically for kids on the autism spectrum. commissioner levitan has not arrived yet. stanford has been a tremendous partner, and i want to thank and acknowledge everyone from the stanford team and from rec and park for organizing this event in bringing a little luck to our historic stadium. a particular shot out to commissioner levitan, who was as excited as anyone out there.

we had cheering squads. we have the varsity men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, members of the bands. our kids had the opportunity to participate throughout the bay, including the competition before the game, and we had the women's basketball coach give the coin toss. she stood on top of our logo at midfield. it was a great day. and it did not heard one bit to root for the cardinals last saturday. this last weekend, the department of environment and department of public works hosted the great compost giveaway at four locations throughout the city. members of the public were given free buckets of compost. and we are not talking about any old compost. a premium custom blend that is proven to be a good mix for outdoor gardens and home

planters. it is 75 -- it has a 77% diversion rate that we have achieved. we are the leader in the country with a 77% diversion rate and the compost is a big part of it. can this past weekend -- and this past weekend, spade-o-rama, held at our very own anglers park. the very best fly fishermen and women gathered for this three- day event. including myself in the very novice categories. this was just a beautiful reminder of the quirkier events going on in the parks every day. next saturday morning, and our friends of the department of public works and supervisor kim

and lots of folks from the district six events that that's victoria -- that net at victoria park, on top of the old carmichael site in district 6. in order of victoria, a two- time olympic medalist in diving. they took on projects at our new rec center and one at south park, just a few blocks away. we have a great event coming together. i really want to thank our partners of the department of public works. the relationship between dpw and rec and park has never been stronger. as we have advised a couple of

times, and i think you have approved, we received a very generous gift to make some special upgrades to the rec center at seventh and folsom. we have a brand new weight room and court facility. the ribbon cutting has been scheduled for may 12 at 11:00 a.m.. we will be celebrating the sports court and the weight room. we want to thank them for their generosity. as all of you know, our first ever apprentice garner's began in december of last year. in march, they began working on projects throughout the city. this week, the group began work at dolores park, working on the western slope to improve visibility at locations that have historically attractive nuisance behavior.

they removed 12 truckloads of debris. they repaired and replaced irrigation devices and couplers. also, we've been undergoing a renaissance in anticipation of the spring and summer season. 6 porta-potty 7 installed -- have been installed. our manager has been logging regularly above all the -- blogging directly about all the activists at delors park. every year, the commission as i asked to grant a permit for the north beach festival, and it has often been a contentious issue. but i am pleased to announce that because of the great work by dana ketchum and the

leadership of michael sullivan, we have forthwith festival producers and the neighborhood, and there'll be no controversy this year. i would like dana to give you an update. >> good morning, commissioners. i am going to put up a map so you can see what is changing. hang on. so, you will see on this map -- and i am going to pull it up for years -- a revised north beach festival that is no longer using washington square. so, the festival has moved. i will point out of the things in a minute. it went in stages. the first proposal has this

festival not in washington square, but circling it on three sides. our position was you cannot take street closures around one of our parks and not get a permit for a park. in the end, they have moved it a block away. you can see on this map. this is all open streets. the festival starts down here. i am moving my cursor. the beer garden is in this parking lot. it comes up here and it continues down parts of columbus. so, it is now more of a street festival. it is out of the park. the friends of washington square are very pleased and support this. it has approval. last week. we said we are going to monitor its