new playground at the park. the proposed mou, which is in your packet establishes a framework for collaboration between park alliance, the friends, and rec and park and assigned roles and responsibilities to expand design and construction of the playground you have a full copy of the mou but i would like to talk about a few of the highlights. the friends, acting through parks alliance of its fiscal agent proposed to provide funding and services necessary to implement the conceptual plan in one pays. the french group, in collaboration with rec and park and supervisor chu went through a committee process to build some consensus around this plant and it was approved by the commission on march 15. the primary funding sources for the project will be private funds. friends will not rely on public funds to complete the project and rec and park will not be responsible for any responsible -- shortfall in the funding

project. so it is a pretty major kick to the city. the city shall be responsible for maintaining the project according to the proposition fee parkman's standards. in the event that gift funds remained unspent at the conclusion of the renovation project, those funds will be used for the exclusive purpose of maintaining the improvement to the sue bierman park playground. the gifts are outlined in mou as well. the friend, acting through parks alive as its fiscal agent, shall provide funding and services harry to implement the conceptual plan, and that budget of the playground is about $832,000. they will also contribute a cash gift toward the cost of services for 1 rec and park project manager, and that value is 37,005 under dollars. i presented this mou and gift exceptions at the operations committee on may 3, and during that meeting there were meetings -- questions about this item. i believe, at this point, rec

and parks that has answer those questions. last may, i would beg to say one of the founding members, bill, is not able to be here today, but he will be the signing member of this mou. his daughter is graduating from nursing school in new york. so congratulations to hurt. he has submitted a letter that i would like to read out loud. commissioners, as founder and managing manager of the friends of the playground, i wholeheartedly support the memo of understanding that has been crafted between the san francisco recreation and parks department, the san francisco parts alliance, and our volunteer advocacy alliance. i am sorry i cannot attend the may 3 or may 17 meeting to approve the mou, but as a signer of the agreement for the friends, i believe it is a fair and complete agreement for all parties concerned. lastly, i would like to say i've been a pleasure working on this project with other members of

the friends group, including ronnie, who is wholeheartedly dedicated. and also with staff from the parks alliance, matt o'grady, meredith thomas, and maria have been wonderful to work with. of course, my own colleagues, lisa and mary hobson. everyone is hard work to make sure this is a subject -- successful project. if you have any questions, let me know. >> thank you. >> we do have public comment. meredith thomas and ronnie land. >> good morning, commissioners. welcome, commissioner low. i am the director of policy and to -- at the census corporate clients. we're asking that the fiscal sponsor to the friends of the water and put a gun in their effort to provide a playground where there currently is none. we have talked about this project in number of times at the commission but i want to

reiterate, as our neighborhoods and on and families come into spaces, we have to make sure there is good access to safe playgrounds within walking distance of those families. this group of neighbors is getting together and partner with the department to provide a wonderful place for their neighborhood and to meet a need that they have had otherwise go unmet. so i think you in advance for working with us on this mou, and we look forward to remain an active partner on this project and insuring we deliver a gift in time to the department that you can to prop them and can be well maintained and that meets the hopes and dreams of the parents and kids and grandparents and everyone who will enjoy this playground. thank you. >> thank you. >> run the land. >> good morning, i am with friends of the waterfront playground. i want to thank all of you for your ongoing support of our efforts to bring a playground to our neighborhood. since the march commission meeting, when all of the unanimous approved the plan

drawn cause of design as well as our donor recognition plan, the community has been harder work raising the funds for this project, and in addition, we have been moving forward on -- documentation, construction documentation, so we can get bids for the construction of this project. things are moving fast. the mou is a great document that lays out all of our roles and responsibilities for all parties involved. i urge you to approve it, and thank you again for your support. >> thank you. >> is there any other public comment for this item? being none, public comment is closed. >> thank you. i might, before i ask for a vote, the only reason this but not on the consent calendar was because there was one member of the public that had some issues the last time and they did not show up for this. i think those issues have been resolved. i think the french support for the hard work they are doing, which the best in reaching their

financial goals. think it to the park lies for their assistance. i will entertain a motion. moved and seconded. all those in favor. aye. it is unanimous. >> item 10. plaque installation and gift acceptance. >> hello, again. i am here to ask you to approve the permanent installation of a commemorative plaque at boxer stadium in balboa park. d bettyvorson -- betty dvorson submitted a request to honor her late husband. upon review, rec and parks tavis and supervisor ellsberg came to the conclusion that recognizing mel dvorson was a fitting honor to a man that was dedicated to

enriching the lives of many with his dedication to recreational activities. for over 40 years, he was a soccer referee in san francisco, refereed numerous games, including the trust for the 1976 olympic soccer games. in partnership with the san francisco soccer league, he was instrumental in the campaign to remain -- renamed balboa stadium after boxer. he won local awards. on a more personal note, he graduated from local high school, and then from uc- berkeley. you may know him. he was a world war ii veteran, char businessman, and a loyal family man. i believe, as does the department, that a plaque at boxer stadium in honor of him would commemorate his contributions to the game of soccer and inspire players on the field to remember the great importance of sport and spit,

values that dv mr.orson valued on and off the field. during the may 3 operations, other members of the community and a family who spoke in honor of the plaque. including a rabbi. today there are other folks here as well to speak in honor and in support of this plaque. please let me know if you have any questions. thank you. >> thank you. >> we do have public comment on this item. betty dvorson, ellen wall. >> good morning, commissioners. thank you for putting me on the agenda yet again. and think it to my supervisor, sean elsbernd, without losing valuable support i might not be here. my late husband mel dvorson was passionate about soccer. he was an extraordinary athlete and an exemplary soccer referee.

he started playing when he was a little kid and he played for lowell, and by the time he was 16, he was all-city. the century club changed their bylaws so that he could be a member of their team when he was just in his teens. he went on to the army, as you have heard. when he became a referee, he was highly respected by other referees, and by players themselves, many of whom he had issues with, yellow cards, but they all said that they deserve them and that he was always fair. mel was always on the ball, literally and figuratively. he did not wait for the ball to come down to the other end of the field. he was at the side of the action. they clocked him once -- i do not know how many miles he did during one game -- but it was extraordinary. soccer was his passion. he refereed all over northern

california as part of the collegiate games. he buried all ethnicities, gay and straight, and he showed them all the same dignity and respect and demanded that of his players, that they walk off the field after shaking hands, that they respect themselves, their opponents, and conduct themselves in a good sportsmanlike manner. he said, play your hardest, but play by the rules. that was his credo. one of his dreams was sunday soccer would be recognized more in the united states, more widely, as it was in europe, and that is actually coming to be. so, i think, a plaque in his memory at boxer stadium, where he spent 40 years -- it was his home away from home -- would be very fitting and would be an inspiration to soccer players, two soccer referees, and the entire soccer family. i think you for your consideration and i brought some

pictures. in case you want to see who you are honoring today. i will just pass these around. >> thank you very much. >> my name is ellen wall. i asked to speak because i know absolutely nothing about soccer. but i knew mel. just hearing her speak makes me weep because he was a great guy. in honoring him, i think, otters all the people of san francisco who try to make a difference in the way the city works. so, thank you very much for your consideration of this. i am very enthusiastic about having something like this

happen. thank you. >> thank you. >> is there any other public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. >> commissioner levitan and? >> there are items that can go on a consent calendar or items that we think we have to put on the general calendar, if their issues or concerns, or matters that need to be heard by the full commission. obviously, this is not a controversial issue, but we wanted to bring betty and this matter before the full commission so that we could have the opportunity to hear how wonderful and fitting this honor is. so my colleagues on the operation committee feel the same way, that this was a good thing for us to do, and it was nice to hear from you, betty, and thank you for the photographs. at a time of corporate, i would move that we approve staff's recommendation. >> i want to say, it sounded like not only did mel have a lot

of support on the field, but also at home. i would second commissioner levitan's opinion that we wanted to hear more about his exemplary life. with that, we have a motion and second. all those in favor. aye. it is unanimous. thank you very much. >> item 11. cayuga park, a memorandum of understanding with public utilities commission. >> good morning, commissioners. i am the project manager with a capital division of the recreation and parks department. as you may remember, back in may, the commission approved two recommendations to the board of supervisors to approve a jurisdictional transfer of the parcels from dpw to the recreation and parks department. this is in conformance with the renovation plan for cayuga park,

which is funded under the 2008 parks bond. the board of supervisors approved the jurisdictional transfer, however, prior to that, they have to approve a street vacation. the plan on the overhead shows the areas of st. vacation and jurisdictional transfer. the areas shown in stripes are areas that when the jurisdiction of the transfer to rec and park, and the bold red area of cayuga st., and that ari would need to be vacated and jurisdiction of the transferred to rec and park. as a condition for the st. vacation of that portion of cayuga st., the board of supervisors pledged a couple of conditions. one is to approve a series easement to the neighboring properties. that is currently underway. the other condition is to an mou between the puc and recreation and parks department for the

sewer lines that are in the dpw parcels, to allow puc to continue to maintain the renovations. that is subject -- that is the subject of today's agenda item. the proposed mou maintains sfpuc's access to maintain, replace its underground waste water lines and sewer box, as well as above for ground clearance for equipment and vehicles. furthermore, the proposed mou, which requires preparation parks department to notify the puc of any future tree and shrub plantings and any future proposed installations in order to protect the puc's interest in the operation and access to its facilities. however, the recreation and parks department reserves the right to operate and maintain cayuga park for public use, including the puc's access, insofar as it is consistent with

the puc's access rights prescribed in the mou. just as a reminder, this is our renovation plan approved by the commission for cayuga park. i am available to answer any questions. >> thank you. >> is there any public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. >> commissioners? motion? moved and seconded. all those in favor. aye. unanimous, thank you. >> item 12. general public comment. at this time, members of the public may address the commission on items that within that the subject matter jurisdiction of the recreation and park commission and that do not appear on the agenda. is there any public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. item 13, commissioners matters. >> seeing none.

>> is there any public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. item 14. new business agenda. >> is there any public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. item 15, communications. is there any public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. item 16, adjournment. >> moved and seconded. all those in favor. aye. that is unanimous. thank you, one and all. welcome, commissioner low. the next meeting may not be as short.

there is a few of uic from the mayor's office. but get that right there. --we want to thank the advanced english academy. thank you, thank you so much. [applause] they helped with the set up and take down. we were doing it all day yesterday. we want to thank them. they're not here but we will give them around of applause. we have people who provided

coffee for the volunteers. and the ambassadors have done so much to transport participants from the bayview to hear and they helped do a lot of outrage for us. thank you to the community ambassadors. you are still outside, i think. we also, i want to identify a couple of other people. i do not know of you know this. we are the founders of something -- there are 200 pages these -- ph.d's who look at us and say, let's do this in our city. there are people from baltimore and new york. i can say san francisco does a better. [applause] we have also some people from -- calif. -- rand, california.

they are remote access medical services. they did one in oakland where they saw how many people, to put you on the spot? 3000 people from medical and dental. we love that. we left people with like minds. congratulations. i also of course would like to thank our notables who will have a chance to speak. people ask me, what makes phc so great that i should fly from baltimore? she did not say it quite like that but i will say she did. i said it is the volunteers. i do not know if any of you know the story. we are the project that is not done only by you. everything that you see here is

done by volunteers. there are 200 nonprofits that are here to serve and the only way this could happen is with your help. we are using some new technologies. you have been on twitter and facebook. you are way cooler than me. i just did this last week. i have six friends and i need more. what we do every week is we have the need at the week @ phcsf. last week, we needed a crock pot. and we got one. things like that that we can mobilize resources and use technology to mobilize resources when we are all limited on funds. like us on facebook and follow us on twitter.

[applause] i want a commitment at the end of today. i need to have more than six france. the first person that we're going to introduce is someone i met in new york. about a decade ago i was running a homeless shelter and i met the next gentlemen. his passion was the same as mine to work with the homeless and he was also pretty good looking, so i married him. just because of his looks. anyhow, he is now the program director and we're going to have -- every event, we will be having a service that comes and talks about what they do. also i am having him come because our next event is july 27 in the bayview. that will be a family connection.

i want him to come to talk to you about what is going on with family homelessness. i would like to introduce my husband. >> thank you. you can see why i am still in love with her. she is as adorable as ever. good morning, everybody. another event which i am sure will be as successful. i have a few things to say. i am the program director at hamilton family residences and emergency center. it is the oldest and largest family shelter in san francisco. i was -- it was established in 1985 and is still going today. hamilton not only operates a family shelter but a transitional housing program and permits supportive housing program and a first avenue

program. it is dedicated to homelessness prevention. our mission is to end homelessness for families and individuals in the san francisco bay area and that is where we're present at every phc event. let's talk about homelessness in san francisco. we have been hearing a lot about a homeless families for the past five or six months in the media. usually harmless singles have been the face of homelessness in san francisco. there is no -- homeless families are one of the most believable groups. the first half of last year when the city conducted its annual survey, out of 6466 homeless persons, 635 of them were families. by november of last year, there were 267 families wishing to access shelter in one of the city-funded family shelters.

that is to under 67 families that did not have a regular place to sleep. -- 2647 famil7 families. the wait list was at 214. now that number on -- in november exceeded 25% more than the number of families seeking shelter at the height of the recession. we have over 190 families seeking shelter. these are families that are attempting to get placement in a family shelter. our schools are telling us we have 2200 homeless children. homeless children have a higher rate of serious and chronic health issues, mental health problems, academic failure, behavior problems, and poor nutrition. given these numbers, it is clear

we have a crisis around family homelessness. as we know, homelessness is first and foremost a housing problem and should be treated as that. more and more families are more open to intervention, more open to social service support once they are housed. we need more affordable housing. as a result of private donations and public funding through the mayor's office, the home for the holidays program over the 2011- 2012 holiday season housed dozens of homeless families that would not have had housing without the support of the mayor's office and individuals like yourself donating for these families. this is not enough. we need more housing for homeless families. until that housing materializes, it is like -- volunteers like yourself and organizations and organizio