tv [untitled] March 5, 2012 5:30pm-6:00pm PST
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you may need to be saving money for the long term. but it is your obligation to plan for the long term as well as the short term. the ada has a set of priorities that guide you on how you will be serving your property. the ada says a certain party of getting in the front door, but you are logical, you want your customers to access your services. be that steps, be that ramps, if the door is not wide enough, if the landing is not level enough. priority two is actually travel. once you get into your business and start speculating the wits of your files. access to all of your services.
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[inaudible] rearranging furniture. that is something we would call readily achievable, if you move your table out of the way to allow a person with a wheelchair access to your space. restroom facilities only come into play after you have already made the entrance accessible and you have trouble accessible. restaurants only have to be accessible if they are available to your customers and clients. and actually does not cover employee access to the restrooms. we have other priorities that come into play. [inaudible] you want that inspected to come out before you get a that
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letter. it is not only your obligation, but it is the right thing to do. you want to be disability accessible. you want more customers. the best way to do that is to start planning. when you are choosing, ideally, your inspector would have a background in inspection, design, and construction. that means we have some excellent general contractors out there that could be excellent task inspectors or building inspectors as well. in order to get the legal benefits, the protections that are important, you want your inspection to be under that theory that is how you can get that 90-day [inaudible] as you start to interview your
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inspectors, i would ask them to a lot of questions. do not rely on just the resume. what you're really need to do is ask a series of probing questions. you want to know what their area of expertise is, how many times -- you want to ask them if they have any references, and if you follow through on those references, you should call the people and have a heart to heart conversation. [inaudible] you also want to ask to see a copy of the tass report.
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some recommendations that i think are pretty basic. you want to make sure that the inspector is pulling a full building permits. it is being felt as how accessible it should have been in the past. it is the context. you also want to make sure [inaudible] because we all are very visual people. you are going to be working on problems. you want to be able to see it. they should also be following the party's in the ada -- the priorities in the ada. your task report should also be giving you some constructive solutions. they should be tailoring it to your very specific
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circumstances. [inaudible] also, you want to make sure that your task inspector has a relationship with an attorney. it could be beneficial to have that legal expertise readily at hand. the task inspector may have learned some useful information. it is also helpful if your task inspector knows the contractor because the contractor can provide you with a construction bid for what is going to take. so i want to leave you with some closing thoughts.
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one of them, as mentioned at the beginning -- be proactive. do not wait for the letter. get the inspection now. the second is keep really good records. [inaudible] they had actually been doing work over the years. they have been removing barriers. but because they were not keeping good files documenting the reasons why they widened a door or replace the hardware or remodel the bathroom, tracking exactly how much money they spend, they do not get a whole lot of credit for the work they have done so far. but you also want to keep good records tissue products you will be taking on in the future. maybe you cannot remove that step this year or next year. maybe it will take you five years to get there.
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but you are providing yourself protection. >> good evening. we have a loan fund for small business owners facing ada compliance issues. opportunity fund is a non-profit organization sponsored by [inaudible] to help small businesses that could not obtain a loan from their banks. we created a loan program for small businesses who are trying to become compliant. under this loan program, we can provide financing for small businesses up to $100,000.
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those are the small businesses who have been sued, and there are small businesses trying to preempt of a protect themselves against these issues. i will talk about the second rocket first. for the small businesses out there that have been hearing about compliance issues and what to protect themselves and make the improvement and have inspections done, we are willing to work with you and willing to look at the plans that you have any inspections you have to enable you to have tenant improvement to become compliant. for those folks, we would recommend that you go and get a task report done and see whether the contractor can lay out the plan and complete the requirement and then come to us and show us your plan.
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[inaudible] and have had complaints against them because of compliance, we are also able to work with your peer the fundamental requirement for those is that we need you to finish the lawsuit or settle the lawsuit before we can work with you in terms of providing financing. the reason for that is the conversations and these issues can go on for a long time, and we want to make sure that you fundamentally understand what you need to comply with and what are your obligations as part of the settlement of the lawsuit. obviously, it can cost a lot of
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money. we have provided financing before. it is a lot of money. so come and talk to the office of small business and make sure you have professionals and task inspectors and contractors lined up so that we can be part of that conversation in terms of helping you maintain your business and helping to stay in business despite the fact that a lot of businesses are being regulated by now. if you have questions, my information is in the packet. we are more than happy to field any questions, but again, because there are different parts of this whole saga, we are all in different parts in terms of financing, but the loan
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program will be available. it will be available until the ada compliance issues are no longer there. >> thank you. any questions? [inaudible] we do have legal expertise and individuals with our mayor's office of disability. if you do have any questions at all about things that you might have heard about or issues you are facing, it might be the opportunity to ask questions. any questions? >> thanks, supervisor.
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sorry for being late. i heard the gentleman say that the help for small business maximum is $100,000. someone else mentioned a repayment plan. a sort of interest rate and so on and so on. business people show up here. a lot of restaurants and small businesses, and i am certain those members are very interested in this program. i myself have been faithful so long. that is why i am interested.
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hopefully i will be able to learn something and pass on to the people who need my assistance. if there's any way the supervisor would be able to generate a little more activity, maybe the location might not be perfect for the small orders to attend, and hopefully, we have another similar occasion to notify all those people to attend. but thanks so much for being here. thank you. >> yes, so, the typical loan for small businesses, these compliance issues, the term depends on the loan amounts. the most we can do -- in terms
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of other qualifications, again, this is a loan program, loan fund. these are not grants. they are credits. we will look at the capacity to avoid loan payments and also the totality of the situation, taking into consideration whether there are legal fees or remediation fees that need to be paid. but i will say that we want to be an alternative for folks that cannot obtain financing from a bank. this may be a combination of that. maybe they need to go to a bank and get something and we can fill the rest or if they get decline by a bank, we can come in and assist with financing. >> [inaudible] you can only do so much to get people here. that is why we are asking for help from not only our media partners, but those of you in the room.
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people do not often come to ask for assistance until they are hit with a lawsuit. until they receive a complaint letter or a threat of being sued, they do not take the issue very seriously. by that time, a lot of your investments are gone. you will be exposed to lawyer's fees, exposed to having to make copier repairs immediately. these are all things that are very hard for small businesses to weather. what we are trying to promote today is the fact that you can protect yourself as a small business if you are private about it. it is a hard mentality to get people to think about, but that is what we're hoping people will accomplish. we know if you get inspections and that you really put together a plan, that over time, we might not be able to do it today, we might not be able to do it in one year, but if we can make changes over five years or 10 years, that really helps to improve accessibility issues.
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that is something that is really helpful going forward pierre the other issue that was mentioned is the fact that if you are a business that has received [inaudible] from a certified individual, you received a 90-day stint. the things that would not be counted for peer you can help to remedy the problem and get help, so that your liability at the end of the day is a very small one, hopefully. we know we will be heard from from our experts on a legal side. a lot of them can really add up here this gentleman again had heard about a situation where someone had already racked up $40,000 with of legal fees. became an issue. we are not talking about what it costs to fix up which in itself would be excess of, but also the legal component. your word of mouth and the people you know will really
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help. and, of course, to our media folks, people will read your articles and understand that they can really do a lot to protect their businesses early on. >> i just want to add one comment about getting our association involved. we put together a really great training. we have a panel available to you. it is only going to cost you $35 for a 30-minute conversation, and that might be the best $35 you have already spent to avoid something that will be happening in the future. that is just part of the collaborative process with supervisor chu's office, and i am very grateful to her. there is a panel of lawyers that
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have all attended training and know-how to represent businesses and give you some expert advice. >> when we were first looking at the issue and working with different systems, we realize that there was an issue with how you get loans to be able to make those improvements, how you get expertise to help walk you through what you're supposed to respond to. one of the components we saw that was missing was that legal component. how do we find lawyers -- where can i find quick information -- it is not very typical that someone already automatically knows a lawyer who can help them, so they might not know who to reach out to. they really put together a huge effort to train their lawyers that they become experts in this topic. that is something that i think is really important. as julie manchin, there is a $35
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çççç>> want to welcome you . of course, we have former mayor willie brown joining us. we have former supervisor sophie maxwell here as well. we have charlotte, a protocol officer. we have all the members of our board of supervisors, our current board. we have naomi's . harlon, kelly, the kids are
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here. naomi's mom is here bang today. thank you for being here as well. mrs. lee is here. [laughter] >> yeah. >> of all, today has been a very active day of the just wonderful announcements, of decisions being made that really reflected the values of the city. i have another one that reflects the value of this city, someone that i have spent privileged to work with for so many years, one began her career as a special assistant, worked her way up as the purchaser, director of purchasing. before that, one of the most difficult task, kind of reminds me of my dpw day is, she had a difficult task of being the director of the taxicab administration. [laughter]
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so she has earned some strides there. going on to director of purchasing and becoming deputy city administrator. most recently, and acting city administrator. and now my nominee for city administrator for the next five years, naomi lelly. -- kellyl. [cheers and applause] ayman >> to first and foremost to thank her family who have been part of her life. throughout this time, she even raised a family and keep harlon and kelly out of trouble. [laughter] but also, i want to especially thank the whole board of supervisors for just now voting unanimously to confirm her
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appointment. [ears and applause --years and applause] they have seen in her the leadership, integrity, putting forth that verse communities of san francisco first, all the time, making good decisions, working in our communities to lift up everybody and to find those rays of hope. she has never been about herself. she has been about everybody else. whether it has been her family or helping several layers of, including me, adopt the right engine thct or keeping is very focused on what we need to do to make sure the city is administered well, she has been in there and she has done that. she is extremely qualified for this job. and she is one that i have interested for some time now to
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help me get out those jobs for people who are struggling, to find those business opportunities, people who did not have those opportunities, to focus on a community that had raised their voice to ask for help from this city for so many decades. she has been there. she has been there is part of the city family, but she has also been there as our own advocate, advocating for people to be a part of the city in some anyways. and it has been difficult. it is the one we recognized during the month of february, black history month. it is appropriate at this time. and it is also appropriate that we recognize her appointment as part of a history of new appointments. because it is not lost on us that during the month that we celebrate black history, not only the history, but we
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celebrate soç much of opportuny that we haveçç in it the cityo join in with everybody else,çç african-american city administrator in the city. çççç[mççççcheersç çç] ÷-c8attorney for joining us as . çu!;ççit is the whole city ft recognizes the ra(ortance of this. ççso,çççç withoutç furthe mu$ey know naomiç get to work right away. çzççwe all [laug&ter] the businessçç done it for everybody. fos0theççç moment,yçççi]ç the requirement of being sworn
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inç before this is fulfilled,t it is one that i fully enjoy t(ççdoingçç in the presencer willie brown and people who have helped naomi in her first career, her family and friends. it is my privilege to swear in ms. naomi kelly. raise your right hand and repeat after me. i --is a solemn lease where -- that i support and defend -- the constitution of the united states and the constitution that against allçw3ççfáçççç ea domestic -- u!çthat iççç wir trueçççççç faith and alleo the constitution of theççççd çççstates and the constitutif çççsthte ofç california -- t
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çççsthisçw3 obalifornia -- t or purpose of evasion -- and that i will well and faithfully discharge --q which i am about to enter -- s i hold the office of -- ççóçççcity admi for theççç;ççóçç city andn ççç[cheers and applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, history in our city is being made again, welcome the new city administrator, naomi kelly. [applause] >> thank you. w3ççñrççthank you, mr. mayof
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supervisors, members of the community, colleagues, and friends. i am very pleased to deliver my first remarks as your new city administrator. [applause] t(çççççthis has beenççxd. earlier today,ç i am sure you heard t, downxdç proposition 8,çç and affirming judgeççç walker's decisiní. [applause] in their ruling, the court started out that proposition 8 served no purpose and had no effect other than to lessen the statusç of gays and lesbians in çcalifornia. this really does not have come atç a battered time as we celebrate black history month çand the civil rights movement- i]and this cannot have come at a better time. as we celebrate meeting the first african-american city administrator in san francisco.
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[applause] as many of you know, i hold maya angelou's words to heart. members of the means rich tapestry, and all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value. special thanks to my husband. >> whoa. [laughter] [applause] he has >> been my biggest tavon, along with my mother, my sons, my family. antiwhite to mayer brown, whose job potential in me when i was right -- and thank you to mayer brown, who saw potential in me right out of college. i would like to thank allçççu have assembdee hereççç raisee from the beginning of my career to this juncture. you supported me. you shared with me, you laugh with me, you stood by me. and because of you, and i am committedç
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