>> thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i am here in support of snow lake. this is this is something that we need to support. i don't want to regale you with all of the things the -- the place needs support and it needs the new oncession and it means to do what needs to be done. it has lost the luster and pop that used to half. it needs to be redone. the old concessions have had over 60 years to do something. it is time that we stand up and

say that we need to make this self sustaining as something that you will want to come to. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. i am the koner of rustic bakery. i had the pleasure of working with ortega family enterprises year after year. i have to say that in every way, it has been a pleasure working with them. they are a wonderful company and i think that if you look at the job they have done at muir

woods, they are extremely sensitive to the environment. it is hard to see where it changed at all with the takeover of the group. the other thing i will say is that they cannot compromise at all on the quality of food that they order from us. we are an organic bakery and cafe and everything that we make is local. price has never been an issue. they have always said that quality comes first and they have always treated us very fairly. i am here to support this concept and have them involved in snow lake. >> i am one of the other owners of rusted bakery. i also want to endorse this

project. ortega has been wonderful to us. we have been using the delivery items in all of our packaging. the price range is between $3 to $8 and this appeals to all. we hope that you approve this. >> i'm not affiliated with anyone here. i am a regular to the lake.

i think that the corporation has a lot of good ideas and we all agree that the boat house and the concessions could use an upgrade but i am opposed to having an outside corporation come in. i agree with the idea that this is about recreation, not just about food. i think that parks and recreationi] should be the one d i hope that they have some ability and they guide the family of whatever would be managing it. i would like to know exactly what the standards we are looking now at in terms of having a new building. i resent that i was lobbied

coming into here and i was handed this pro ortega information. i agree with restoring the lake. we are all in part of this community. i think that this speaks very poorly against the family and i am not affiliated with the family in any way. >> thank you very much. >> i am here in support of ortega recreation. building is an essential part of

the lake. this is in desperate need of renovation. we need a high-quality fleet of boats and highly trained staff. the plan includes a minimum of 50 new boats for the lake with a commitment to get more to meet the demands if necessary. the staff is trained in cpr, first-aid, and other safety certifications and training. the new goal -- boats will need less maintenance. thank you again and i respectfully ask you for the staff recommendations to the family.

>> i just want to say that i have not been to snow lake in years. i go by there once in awhile, i run by it. the taurus really like it. -- tourists really like it. [singing] we are just ships that pass in the night i wanted this to turn out all right we are together and these past in the night we are just ships that pass in the night

makes this item work out right we are still here, make the item turn out right like ships that pass the night stow lake will be fixing up all right don't be out of sight with this item please fix it sailed away in the night please, make it right >> thank you. >> i will try to do my best. hello, commissioners.

i'm a parent of two public school children. i am also the executive director of the activities leak. for over 50 years, we have partnered with healthy sports and activities. they have 5000 use every year and many are at the facilities. this has put severe pressure on our nonprofits and city governments. it is more difficult than ever to meet the increasing demand for services. it is necessary to find new solutions, new partners, and new ways to meet the needs of our partners. we are partnering with ortega family enterprises to make a much-needed improvements and to help attract new patrons. this'll go back into improving

our system. i look forward to ensuring that this is an attractive destination. i want my kids to experience this as it was for their parents, their great grandparents, all of them used the facility. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. i have been involved with the concession for 61 years since receiving my first paycheck there. due to the spin f p r that has been going on, i request this agenda item be tabled until there is public disclosure.

the response to the rfq and much of the spin is addressed. i am extending a copy of the august 16th memo that you will see containing many issues and requests and i request that it be included in the official minutes so it will be available for public view. we will e-mail to anyone the requests. the three most significant items in this memo are the unknowns guaranteed rent revenue to be paid by the family. the corporation offered a minimum annual rent of $215,000. historically, the corporation has always exceeded its minimum guarantee. the second item is a material change to the historic nature of the building.

this is the boathouse. this is not a cafe and a gift shop. the third significant item is a reduction in the fleet size from 85 votes to 50. they say they will have the leeway to the need. we have been there 67 years. 50 boats will not adequately service the public. who will make the decision? in conclusion, the staff is recommending the severing of 67 business relationships. they have always paid their rent, provided first-class service to the citizens and visitors, maintain the historic nature of the building, never had a lawsuit, and willing to

bring the building set up to as new, the store conditions. all this is being thrown out the window in favor of an absentee operator the proposes to convert the boathouse into a gift shop destroying its historic presence. >> i have a prepared statement that i will spare you the details. you know the signs.

my son and my daughter among decided to be a graduate of stanford and they came down here and they took my granddaughter. this is still a nice place. i don't know what he will do. i recall john kennedy st. that by the time the decision as to his office -- same -- saying that the decision will get to his office. we would really like a chance. in the end, that might that be

what you want to do. maybe, what i can say is that we will do the best we can. we would like you to look at the international park. what we do and we don't know in area, they did not understand in ferment of problems. we figure out how to solve the problems. i would like to suggest that you check this out very carefully. we will commit to stand with the process, this one is in death valley. we are here.

if not, we are ok with that as well. thank you. hfeu& >> i would develop high-end restaurants. i know ortega for his son at stanford and i got to know the family, i got to know them really well.

he brought me to the national parks, something that i thought that i would never do. a woman talked earlier today about a sustainable system. this is not only about local and healthy foods, this is about the sustainability of trash, composting. the national park service had this rebuild to our specification which will be the first lead certified building in the national park. we are not greedy, we are not a corporation. we decided not to sell candy, bottled water, even though the of 20% of the sales for the previous concessionaire. when we came up with the plan,

we decided to add a restroom. we want to create a fun and friendly approach, $3-a dollar food. -- $8 food. we want people to know where their food comes from and we want to give people an opportunity that it would expect when they come to san francisco as they see in other venues. thank you. isn't any other public comment on this item? -- >> is there any other public comment on this item? >> hali am writing in support of

the recreation and parks department -- i believe that this will be a much more attractive destination for families and tourists visiting golden gate park. i strongly urge you to prove the recreation and park department recommendation and proposed to invest a sizable amount of funding. a fleet of 50 new boats and to install a cafe serving locally sourced food. the boathouse has seen few changes since it was built. taurus, bikers, other visitors will have access to a variety of local and organic food and vegetables while still being

able to purchase other items. with this new items, the boat house will be able to attract a wider range of customers and is expected to increase concessions and revenue. this will grow the amount that goes back into our park system to maintain the open spaces. this is essential during the $12 million deficit. i hope that you will approve this proposal and insure that snow lake is an attractive destination. >> thank you. >> is anyone else who would like to make public comment on this?

>> i have been listening to both sides of this all day. i go to snow lake for mental health reasons, usually. there are pros and cons on both sides. what i think is extremely important is to respect the tradition of san francisco and the family that actually build the boat house. we are dealing with a boat house. upgrade the boats. the other thing is it is reasonable and important to include the bathroom. on that point, i would like to see as people love wheelchairs' is instead of having all of the

nice stuff in the boat house is to do something about the paging on the path because it is difficult for people who have mobility issues. that is all i have to contribute. thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. i have been listening on both sides today to try to find some understanding for myself. i don't see a distinct or clear vision of the direction of what the department's would like. they are separate things. ortega's is coming in with some money to develop capital and to improve things. i have a question about what really needs to be improved.

i did not really see the representation of that. it seems seeing subjective as to what we want. do you want to have it be something that is an enterprise situation versus seven years the people who have been running it? those are very distinct. one of the missing parts of this is the evaluation criteria which involves the length of the leases and what money is coming in. icy capital improvements that i don't see what is coming into the city. that is what you were all about, how do we balance these things. i am not seeing that. we lived in a few city. all of those things can be put into play i think locally.

i asked that you look at this again. i know that this has been in a process and people have devoted time but this does not fit, it is not seem like these things are being considered so i asked that you do look again at this. >> is anyone else don't like to make public comment on this item? seeing non, public comment is closed.

>> i got involved in the selection committee, i have been on this commission for at least a few of the previous iterations that we then had to withdraw. i effort frustration from the committee and i volunteered to be on the selection committee. selfishly, i want to be involved with this at snow lake. -- stow lake. we would like to know what this will look like.

in san francisco, we are very open-minded and progressive. if you try to change something, everyone says do not. one side says, it is find a way it is, don't change it, it has character. the other side says, we can do this. i don't see why this is utility exclusive. this is where i disagree with the opponents. i think that we can achieve maintaining this. i would not be sitting here, i would not be on this commission if i did not feel strongly about maintaining the integrity of the assets in this department. i am all about family friendly. that is a very fair argument. people say that they don't want

the magnets for tourists, i'm sorry for those who do not support the tourist industry. i want this to be an important destination or locals. i don't know that this is a fair thing to say. one of the charges of the commission is to bring people to the park. if the new and improved part does this, this is part of our commission. i don't want this to be a f oodie destination.

is it so wrong for it to offer some good food and a place to sit down. i went to muir woods to the other day to look at their cafe. this was a very understated, very simple. i found the menu which was wonderfully affordable. there were several things under the price of $8. i was pleased with the message in that cafe. this is about history.

the take away for me in that cafe was that this is a historical space, this is a space that is mindful of the environment that it serves. it did have a lot of souvenirs' and frankly moving forward from this process, we will be doing public meetings and i understand the process, that is a valid concern. i don't want to see their -- there a lot of -- in stow lake. there were three very good proposals. this is extraordinary. this hit on a lot of things that are important to the department and san francisco values. this is affordable, this is enjoyable, i think if we can improve upon a treasured place