boats. one of the applicants had six years' experience leading tours in golden gate park. ortega, 20 years experience of preconceptions and public park lance. for the snow lake, 67 boats operating. for boat rental, one firm sites experience of one other principals working in all aspects of boating such as public safety, rental.

67 years' experience for the still lake corporation. experience managing capital projects, one of the principles was an architect and had 15 years of project management experience for that work. for the ortega families, they have managed 11 properties including your wouldst -- including muir woods. lastly, the stow lake

corporation has done improvements to the boathouse, they have rebuilt the boat quist system. the proposed improvements, they propose a cafe, outdoor patio seating, the existing snack bar window would be retained and the existing office where it would be converted into a kitchen. for or take it, they proposed to run as a sense all portions of the building. -- for ortega, the proposed to renovate all portions of the building. they would make the available to

the public as a lounge area, comfortable seating for people to read or relax. they would also build an accessible bathroom. also the creation of a new indoor dining area and this would upgrade existing kitchen and also replace the floor. there was not too much disparity between the different respondence for the meal prices.

as for the proposed menu, we have order established that all of the respondents error error. -- fair out there. this would feature predominately soup, salad, sandwiches. the ortega corp. would model their services on another salad bar that they operate which would have freshly made food from foods grown or raise to 40

miles away. consistent with what was made to the community, the department convened the following selection panel to review the proposals that were received. after reviewing the proposal,,

the panel selected the ortega family enterprises as the highest ranked responding to and there was a gap between them and the second or third rank respondents. someone to give a brief overview on what we chose. the chart we see here is a list of their experience operating businesses. you can see that there is extended experience operating in public parks.

you can see that one of the department's primary goals of soliciting a partner whereas experience managing reservations -- renovations on historic buildings. i have a significant number of historic buildings on which they have undertaken capital renovation projects including a home that was built in 1610 which is the oldest house in the united states. they undertook substantial renovation of this home. moving on to the boating operation, they propose to have the operation manage with their legal partners that have

operated carnival cruise line for the past 22 years and there is an on the fleet of boats including 30 paddle boats, 15 rowboats, more votes than was dictated. they would follow all applicable boating safety regulations and they would train all staff members in cpr basic or general first-aid and the use of operated -- and the use of external defibrillators. we would see the existing boats be upgraded so that they would go from this to this.

the proposed capital improvements were significant and substantial. they did propose to retain the snack bar as well as all external features of the boathouse. the traditional paint color scheme, they have proposed to keep those, the value of their improvements were a little bit over $230,000. they would require the approval of the recreation and park commission as well as the historic preservation commission. additionally, they would include the creation of the indoor seating area including historic repair memorabilia and

historic pictures of the lake and furniture made from reclaimed materials such as old peers and boats. they would propose to of great the existing kitchen necessary to operate a full commercial kitchen on site. they propose creating a lounge area with comfortable seating to provide patrons and a little bit of rest by from the weather that we have been joined. -- a little bit of respite from the weather we have been enjoying. this is an overview of what the proposed floor plan would look like. if you can take a look at it, you can see in joining the existing snack bar.

moving to the far right corner, you can see all looks aside as part, this is the lounge area where there would be comfortable seating and a proposed including a library on golden gate park so that part of visitors can know about the wildlife.

this was to the exterior of the building and the charm. the existing snack bar, if the capital improvements were implemented as proposed, it would go off from looking like this to looking like that. we have seen this dark elements still retained and frankly from the exterior, not much of a difference. where the dominant change would be is on the inside, on the top floor where it currently have the area used as a maintenance shed. veeco from this to this if the proposed plans were approved by the commission.

they would be performing the renovations standards. the selection panel was particularly impressed with the

food and beverage service operation that the ortega family enterprises before and this would be operated by a local business here in san francisco. the food-service would retain the snack bar atmosphere while also increasing the range and quality of the menu offerings so we would go what we currently have which is really a snack bar and limited meal options to a place where people could obtain sandwiches, salads, etc.. they would propose almost nearly exclusively the use of pliers to be able to source of -- suppliers that would be able to source within a hundred miles of the cafe using organic produce

and meats. some of those local suppliers would be a cowgirl premier a., heirloom organic, etc. none of the parties was to protect the site within the park space. this is a nesting site for the blue herons. the selection panel was very impressed with the proposed environment put forward by ortega family enterprises which included certifying the area has an audubon sanctuary. which means that they would follow practices which are designed to limit the impact on

nesting and migratory birds. the ira certified a system which is at best managed and practices designed designed to limit the effect of a business operating in a natural habitat. they would have a goal of 85% which exceeds the city's own goals. they would utilize recyclable or other food service products as well as development education programs which includes youth education and nature tours and all work would be done to these standards as well as their proposed to certify the concessions as a cream restaurant within one year of opening operation. they proposed a number of community partnerships that

would provide educational opportunities for the general public. these would include wildlife watching opportunities, opportunities for park agents to surround -- protect the surrounding area. to offer the naturalists and hotness demonstration space, for five lectures and workshops as well as to partner with the unified school district to provide educational awareness programs and to offer the reduce cost of field trips to students. also they will open up the lounge space and the main dining area for committee meetings.

the benefits to the city of the order taker proposal would be a capital contribution in the first year of over a quarter billion dollars to renovate the boathouse. additionally, there is a proposed annual maintenance budget that ortega would set aside for the boat house of $20,000 each year and that is significant. this will help to meet our deferred capital needs in the first year and also having a boat house but also your tan as well when i assume that we will be facing budgetary constraints and still have quite a significant deferred maintenance needs within the departments. they would purchase entirely new fleets of boats. benefit would be rejuvenated boathouse experience for everyone to enjoy.

i've spoken briefly about some of the other reach that has happened but i wanted to go through in detail the process. we have met with the existing concession mayor as well as his representative. the place to the aforementioned at in the february edition of

the "san francisco chronicle." we also posted this on the department's web site and on the trips city a ministration database, we have sent this to bidders as well as all identified interested parties, met with the leaders of the boat house coalition, met with the leader of the sf nature organization, so all of that was done prior to the issuance of the rfq. upon announcement of the recommendation, we undertook subsequent community outreach. that includes on july 22, notifying that ortega family

enterprises was selected as the respondent. that same day, we notify the office of president chiu, supervisor chu, supervisor mar, and supervisor mirkarimi. that same day, we notified susan dumans of the selection panel's recommendations. busy day. we did a lot. again, on july 22, we issued press releases to all major sfpd outlets and then posted said press release as well at the selection panel competition. on august 6, we notify nancy destafanis of the selection, and on august 6, we posted a

boathouse -- a poster at the boathouse. as well as staph's contact information, should anyone have any questions regarding this project and process. again, on august 12, the revised poster with renderings to the proposed improvements at the boathouse, and then, additionally, we e-mailed all parties and notified the department said their interest in the concession of today's meeting, and we also throughout this process have phone calls and/or first person conversations with over 70 individuals not identified in this. i thought i will spare you that. in addition to the staff- conducted outreach of this project, i'm sure you have seen that it has received significant media coverage. it has been the subject of an

august 17 column regarding the selection of family enterprises. there was a july 23 "san francisco chronicle" selection as well as a july 22 article in the "san francisco examiner." there was a column in december of last year. the "sunset begin" featured it and the rfq process in their february, july, and august issues. there was a march 2010 article in the "marina times." as well as there have been posting on the sf citizen blog. as well on sfgate on their -- i think it is a "inside scoop," their dining blog. moving forward, staff is committed to continuing this

community outreach process. we viewed today as an important but preliminary step in moving forward with securing a long- term contract with ortega family enterprises. should the commission a full selection, we would immediately convene community meetings to present the proposal, as well as to receive feedback from the community that could be incorporated during the lease negotiations process. we would meet individually with all interested community associations and stakeholders, including particularly the zero house coalition and sf nature, who have been the most watchful community organizations following this project. then, upon successful negotiation of a lease, they would again convene community meetings and meet with the

community leaders to discuss the proposed lease before taking said least to the recreation and parks commission for your approval. next steps -- should the commission approve this, staff would convene the aforementioned outreach process and then began the lease negotiations upon successful negotiation of the lease. we would bring that back to -- bring said lease to the recreation and park commission. should this commission approves said lease, it would then require a hearing before the board of supervisors, budget and finance committee, and then the full approval of the board of supervisors. between now and contract approval excluding today, we have three more public hearings, and those will be opportunities

for members of the public to attend a mandatory hearing to express their pleasure or concern with the proposed contract. additionally, any proposed improvements would require approval of this commission and the historic preservation commission and would go through a separate entitlement process that would be linked and have a number of mandatory meetings as well. -- that would be lengthy. lastly, i wanted to share some of the support and opposition we have for the project. in opposition, we have the save

salt lake boat house coalition, the san francisco chapter of the sierra club, the telegraph hill dwellers, the haight-ashbury neighborhood council, and the neighborhood coalition, and it should be noted those entities have showed concerns with the process, but they have not necessarily expressed formal opposition to ortega family enterprises. their concerns have been with staff, the process, and retaining the historic building and historic operator. >> thank you. commissioner lee, you had a question period commissioner lee: first of all, i want to thank you for your work. i know this was a difficult process. we have announced four times

now, and i should mention we should move forward and every time, we have been back here. as a look at the proposal, i do have one concern, and this is something i see as a potential flaw in the process, which is the rent. i see that you have laid out the capital improvements of each vendor and the qualifications and so forth, but has there -- in the past, -- you know, it is after all a lease. was there any consideration for the rental fee? what can this department expect on each of the bidders in terms of rent? i do recall looking back to the rfq, that we had been financial projection, and what with the

financial revenues before each bid? i just do not see this in the packet. i'm wondering, have you factor that into consideration? obviously, this department is -- has financial needs and ultimately, we want the concessions not only to be a service to the community, but also to generate revenues for this department. can you address that question? >> absolutely, commissioner. as you alluded to, the rfq is intentionally silent on meant to be paid to the city. that was a policy decision made by staff to prioritize the needs at the building. you are right in saying that there were financial