that our -- unless you have specific questions -- supervisor you are doing is fine,#÷ especially the executive summary. it= face, well-defined mission statement. &ji think you are going on the right track, so just continue. >>ñ thank you, and if i missed something not need to address, pleaseh- just jump in. we absolutely agree with what mñthe budget analyst said about the lack of stability here we are very aware that thisq] wasn operation that, despite its importance in our view to the t f are happy that we have been the stewards entrusted with it over the last t1q÷ years and look forward to growing with it and building of one in moving forward in the future,u we like that we have been able to provide some stability. we acknowledgeat in the last

three and a half years we have not accomplished everything we would like to, and we have had "$vááuqj with staff turnover, for example, and things like that. committed to providing training for the folks wev÷÷ have there. we feel like we have a good nucleus of a team, and we are hopinglç to see that stabilityn terms of staffing, and again, continue to be a home for the very important operation of the city. we agree again withm&ñ the advet code sections being updated. that is something we have been working on in partnership withmq dph. we have been exchang:+ drafts back and forth. we have a draft that we think is about ready to submit to the iwboard. there may be additional things you all will want result of this, but we do have the nucleus of a draft]o almost ready to submit to the board. giñthe facilities maintenance ad

revenue enhancement -- we have certainly submitted requests=÷ o the capital plan each year. we have been successful in we were able to do a major + were just horrible, when we got the market back under real estate three and a half ye ago. we were able to secure money from the capital plan. bathrooms, which turned out very well. 45the roof repair worksw is unr way right now. wekt have got folks out there right now doing more comprehensive roof repair there, so we have tried to(iñ see capil funds. we have to be just within the o general services agency for this request that move forward, and once general÷oñ services agency

submits all their requests, we have to compete with all general fund departments for the3rv(s@&i and limited fund salaries that are available. we are happy to be, moe aggressive, to be more comprehensive in putting together a wish list. ÷ -- i'm also cognizant of the factwm tht we need some help. we will keep that running wish lie@ we will make it more robust, and we will advocate as much as we oeñcan for it. some of those decisions are outside our hands, unfortunately. lnñsupervisor maxwell: have you done an assessment of theih farmer's market? and a capital improvement

assessment? have you done an assessment? kwa wish list is wishing, but these are small businesses. thisñ=q is something that bringn revenue to the city, so it cannot just be a wish list.úh it has to be means you need that will in france and improve the abilityñ" of the city to make revenue and to give this service togd its citizens, so it is not just about a wish list. so do you have that? ícñwith a lot of the things youe talking about, i want to have timeline, a frame. when are you thinking about having these things done so that we have'/ something to work on? what is your goal? and when you work with other departments9? in a way that wen >> certainly, supervisor. no, we have noty1 done a formal engagement with someone from dtw to do that facilityei needs

assessment. we have used our own knowledge from running othersóy facilitie, from managing other facilities to put together things lic3 the bathrooms being in horrible condition. we beautification, like putting murals in there. j2we just replaced the cited in front. signage in. we have8@y not commissioned a formal facilities assessment, and that is subject to budgetary restrictions. +xñsupervisor maxwell: i am concerned that you only fix the sinkhole only gets fixed when it becomes a problem. know they are coming, kind of need to do a thing before we get there. that is my concern. front of things. if we&(wo say, why don't we

allow you to keep so much money for a whilebj -- well, we need o know what that is. wywhether it is formal, whether you spend $150,000 from dpw>?y i am not saying that at all. i justxxñ hope that we can get n front of the obvious things. >> wesc addressed the simple problem as soon as possible. -- sinkhole problem as soon as possible. the roof, we got the funds in ]y÷the capital plan before it fl recently. we had permission2c carry those funds forward because we had difficulty getting the contract in place> to do the work. now we have read and park -- ret right now. it is a challenging, it is not

an issue of health only fixing 12ssomething once it breaks. this is the process we have to work with. i understandq7r what you are asg for, and we will work with that. with respect to ana÷ timeframe,e will flushes out further. again,.qñ we want to do this in partnership with the cac. at least for the next nine $+months, here is what we thougt we could tackle, to work on the recommendations fromigñ the budt analyst report. i would certainly welcome any input from all of you. 2dthe first thing -- because we form the cac. supervisor maxwell:® do you have any hard copies? >> yes, içmç do. gwork on that has already begun.

we project that could be in place- year. once a cac is put together, we statement. we have some staffmáx ideas, but again, we want the input of cac. we would6÷ formalize with theme short and long term agenda for addressing these iságé&e%ei the st. vacation is something that we have already been working on. @dthe budget analysts report cd issues with an ability to>b÷ secure the perimeter with traffict/ñ control, pedestrian safety, things like that. one of ther@x factor that contributes to that is there are actually on vacated public market site --dnñ unvacated cl@i

the marke[public streets runninh the market site. mbefore we do anything with a poor record, for example.th a setting aside thedz cost for that, we cannot do this for a street that has not been vacated legally. z dpt to get a traffic management plan. we did not have the1[ money to move forward with that. but we will get that rfp ready to go1a out. as part of vacating, we want to do something moreu'ñ comprehense to deal with traffic management. nee with puc to secure the use of twoz adjacent vacant propertis oní& putnam street. they severed from -- suffer from

similarqsu issues, illegal dump, and we would like to take control of them and% additional parking for the market, and in exchange,q maintain them and include them in the market site that we would manage. weñm would welcome your assiste with that. qtñwe already are working on an update of policies and procedures with the new market éqmanager. we have already reached out to uc-@uñdavis and uc-berkeley. there are some relevant classes refresh the training program for our staff. ÷p÷we have done best practicesq, research, if you will, through the california association ofç>ñ farmers' markets, through discussions with other markets. that. we also had a productive relationship with the

is here today. if you want to hear from him will be here to answeruó questions. this showsy these time periods, and into the future,tfu which is something tt you have to keep on doing. we plan to do the first y)zretraining before the end ofe calendar year. market, without any outstanding jj dph is slated] return this saturday to the farmers' market. they were out there on the 16th. í violations found. food sampling was one ones. we have been trying to do

education with ourx? vendors. we hope not to have any ofvoñ those violations when staff returned. did involve educating and provision of fresh water to the vendors. we have taken care of that. and again, capital plan. we are in the process right now and are getting ready to submit f?k next year's capital plan. we will be sure to submit a r2wñ set of requests through that process. turning to the beginning of9 calendar year, continue to engage the cac?d÷, hopefully see the approval of the street vacation: bid down and avoid the traffic management plan, introduced the óuz the admin code that addresses not

onlylbç the management of the market, but also the cac. complete the81ñ update of the rs and regulations for farmers and foodarñ vendors. we do have processes in place forw(ñ discipline and appeals. that is not to say they are not outdated, but that will be a part of ÷ our trading efforts, securing those capital plans. turning[ó to the second quartef 2011, continue working with the  out and bid out the perimetev+÷ fencing. then we can turn to what it will take to secure the site. 3 funded capital projects, what we are successful in obtaining for, and continuing training. that is our short-term goals.

had report on longer-term goals as we get a better senseh! of fung in some of those things, moving forward,9é constituted and starts to weigh- çin. supervisor mar: i had a j0eáp&ei for ms. brown. in the accomplishments section, the farmer's market is very0uz h a model of promoting fresh fruits in a key area in tj: southeast part of san francisco. first to allow the use of food , other monetary ways to purchase at:8ñ fresh food. we also have strong participations women and children as well. i had a question of howq coordinate with the city's overall taskzm forces and how ty

could pay closer attention to that to serve4a as an example to other markets? could you comment on that? 's wholesale produce market sits on land that is z on real state jurisdiction. we work closely!r with the nonprofit board. 4lwe have sought input and adve mcon it issues in the past reld to the farmers' market. beyond thatxcñ -- i am not surei can address the specifics. >> john@d update --updike. !pi am the liaison with dph. k on a number of initiatives. shek0x been helpful guide the issues that we have been trying

to address at alemany, and at other4uy farme'' markets. we have a direct relationship on security and on the policy issues jfñsupervisor maxwell: how many people do you have workingd÷ on the farmer's markets? ?cy>> the budget analyst did it excellent job of summarizing that ont)÷ page 7 of the report. we have a chief manager for the market. program manager. s3zwe have three 1408s, although right now. we have had a public service aid, apm÷ 9920, who has been helping we have a couple of people

helping out with the traffic at alemany. assigned to work out there.5 full-time people do you have altogether? ñ be four f. supervisor maxwell:z&y so everything is full, you have four full-time people the farmer's markets, fleave market, and un plaza. rç>> correct. and then others whoe[z support - supervisor maxwell: but now you have three. s been here since -- >>0ññ june 12.

rdthe prior manager took a promotional opportunity. supervisor maxwell: is it your intention to fill the vacant position? >> yes. we thought we obtained the mayor approvals office. our hr department informed us that they had not yet had the yes button. one of my jobs today is to call the budget analysts office and remind him we are still awaiting that approval. supervisor maxwell: ok, that is all i have. supervisor mar: thank you. should we open this up for public comment? supervisor maxwell: i do want to thank you both, all of you, again. i feel your passion and commitment. i just want you to know that

everyone thinks that our farmers markets are extremely viable to us, especially as we see a market starting in almost every neighborhood. even restaurants are helping out. this one is a prime. i appreciate the fact that you are looking at it again and read committing ourselves to make sure that three years from now, we are not saying the same thing. i do not want anyone having to go through the same thing, especially the people and farmers who work there. >> certainly. thank you for your support on this. we hope to continue to have your patronage. supervisor maxwell: most definitely. the agricultural commissioner? >> good morning, supervisor maxwell.

supervisor maxwell: what is the general function of what you do? >> in regards to the alemany farmer's market, i am the authority -- supervisor maxwell: do you work for the city? >> i work for the city and county. supervisor maxwell: so we have an agricultural commissioner. did we have one before? >> we had one up until march 2008. he was here for seven months. previous to that you had a commissioner up until 2004. there was a vacancy from 2004 through 2007. supervisor maxwell: tell us about what you do. >> i enforce codes and regulations when it comes to food, pesticide use enforcement

laws, direct marketing, fruit and vegetable quality control, nursery inspection, which and measures --weights a weights and measures. i certify products that are being exported from san francisco. in this case, they are being produced in other counties and they are being exported from san francisco to buyers and receivers all over. supervisor maxwell: give us an example. the produce market -- >> we have one that receives produce and from toledo, stennis

loss. he packages the product. then he sends it off . we have to respect it and then issue a certificate that allows that produce to be imported to switzerland, france, where ever the receiver is. supervisor maxwell: do you deal with safeway? >> no, we do not. produce managers will tell us that they have a shipment that they do not believe meets the minimum requirements. we will then go and conduct an inspection. if it does not meet the minimum requirements, we will reject the load and have it reconditioned to meet minimum standards. supervisor maxwell: so what do you do at the farmers' market? >> we are required to inspect

those markets and ensure the certified producers have thereier certificates posted, tt the market manager is complying with direct marketing laws. supervisor maxwell: that is all of them? >> yes, all the certified farmers' markets that we get. supervisor maxwell: farmers' markets in our city do not need to be certified? >> if you are going to label your market a certified farmer'' market, you must comply with direct marketing laws. but you do not need to have a certified farmers' market. but if you are not sought effort -- certified, you cannot call yourself certified. supervisor maxwell: what does that mean?

is there a difference? >> that is a conundrum, i guess. supervisor maxwell: what does the customer get from being certified, what is the advantage? >> the customer knows that the producer of the commodity they are purchasing was actually produced by the person who is selling it. that person is on a local or regional basis, and they brought that product directly to the consumer. we do not have non-certified markets, if you will. that is not an experience we have, here in san francisco. supervisor maxwell: so all of our markets are certified? >> yes, supervisor. supervisor maxwell: anything

else you would like to add? most people never knew we had one. most people do not necessarily know what you do or how important you are to us. that is why i kind of wanted to get some more information. >> there are 58 counties in california. each county is required by law to have an agriculture commission, weights and measures. some counties share a commissioner between the two. we all essentially do the same job, we have the same jurisdiction. we have a california agriculture commissioner and cedars association where we work together to apply consistently uniformly all bylaws and regulations from the agricultural code of regulations and the businesses

regulation code. in almost every county, in each county, the ccommissioner is assigned to look at the device. supervisor maxwell: parking meters? >> yes. the scales that you see at the farmer's market, that is sealed by staff. they test the skills to make sure that it is type-approved, and then they will seal it so that the consumer knows that if he is paying for 1 pound, he is getting 1 pound.

that is part of my job. i get that question all the time, why do we have an ag commissioner of san francisco? >> i have beei have been here se 2008, and i am glad that you have an ag commissioner again. i am happy to be here. if you have any other information, please call me. i would be happy to speak with you in regards to any other questions you might have. supervisor maxwell: thank you. nice meeting you. public comment? >> hi good morning, supervisor mar. i'm walter.

i mostly go to the flea market on sunday and i just wanted to say -- no farmers market does it better makes me feel sad for the rest no farmer's market does it have as good as you alemany farmer's market you are the best you are the best supervisor maxwell: any further public comment? good morning. >> good morning, folks, supervisors. i want to thank the three of you for allowing us to be here. a few things concern me.

most of it is behind us, and i hope it is behind us. one of the more frontal issues that i see is in the winter, when there is a rainy season and there are empty stalls, certainly, enough to accommodate other food vendors, it seems no one is talking about how we can protect our goods, in addition to providing a service for the vendors that come, the customers that come in the winter. the winter months can be quite harsh. without any protection, it does not work out as well. of course, the summer months, as i indicated, there isavailable when it is not raining. that is one of the issues that i wanted to bring. there is another issue that i am not quite clear on, and necessarily does n f