we have to be sensitive to those concerns. >> [inaudible] >> i am not -- i have said more than you will never hear me say about the interim mayor. she is still close. i talked to them all the time. we share the same campaign manager. i have great confidence in what she did. that means i have great hope that she actually pulls this thing out. we will only know that in a week or two. both sides are prepared. >> [inaudible] >> i have never liked it. you know that. i cannot explain it. how do you measure it? when i ran for mayor, i said, i don't know what will happen to me. you said, it is all done. i was lucky.

if i had 49% of the vote, i might of lost the election. it is strange. i cannot figure it out. it is not a knock to the winner. when you cannot explain something, and even the people who put together -- it is easy. you ask them to questions and it embarrasses them. you know it is not a positive sign. i will admit this. i did the rank choice thing. i went, same person, same person, same person, and they said i could not do that. this is the incumbent mayor person who ran himself. i had forgotten. half of them are ranked choice. half or not. why are to the judges ranked choice? i doone, on -- can i do one, one, one? will that hurt the candidate? make it easier and more

transparent. we are making it a little harder. there are people working on that right now. trust me. i am open to it. i was open to a legal challenge. that was processed unsuccessfully. you know, it is not just because of oakland. even in local supervisor races, people are wondering what is happening. it is confusing. i don't know that is a good thing. i think you should make it less confusing. >> [inaudible] >> that is another thing. now you get into district elections. when i ran for supervisor, it took a 110,000 votes to get elected. that gave me a sense of responsibility to the city. now you can get 2000 votes for the same job. i get paid $30,000, and then i

get paid $100,000. it is something i have always been concerned about. every other city has district, but no other city is the small. their districts in l.a. county bigger than the city and county of san francisco. this is a city of neighborhoods. we were all connected. we have 11 supervisors when there was a homicidal inbayview. now you have one. it has proven itself, district elections. there is a more ideological reason to support it. addirv -- you add irv, and you have someone elected with a couple of thousand votes. i am a little uneasy about all of it. i think i told you guys this.

i have drafted legislation. it is on my desk right now. i will hand it to someone if they want to carry it and go a different way. there are two options for changing. old irv we just dusted off. these questions we raised a number of years ago when we were concerned about it are now coming home to roost. this could dramatically change the mayor's race next year and dramatically change the face of politics in the east bay and here in a way that might be unintended. >> [inaudible] >> what i said -- i hate to say it again. i promised myself not to talk about this. i said enough. the city is going to be fine matter who is in it. i think it will work itself out. it seems to be working. it is working itself out.

>> [inaudible] >> no, i can't. i could, but i'm not. >> [inaudible] >> yeah. yeah. >> [inaudible] >> there is no limitation to what you can do with the money. you can hire your best friend and pay them 50 grand per month and take the public money, and it is legal. that is time and budget deficits. it is a tough pill to swallow. i support public financing reform nationally. i understand it probably better than most. >> [inaudible]

>> you know, let's see how it fleshes out. we have not seen that in the past. you saw some supervisors use it. this is all just -- i am the guy that is leaving. talk to the people coming in. they have more to say. not yet. i know. i will just get in trouble. i want friends. i don't need enemies. i hate having opinions.

>> hello, commissioners, good afternoon. victoria bell, neighborhood parks council. i am the deputy director. we want to congratulate the park's trust and the commission on such a success of last night's event, and just to

express that we are absolutely reinvigorated by seeing so many park supporters come out and really step up and have a great time last night and we're excited to continue the good works with the parks trust and the commission and the parks department. thank you. president buell: thank you. >> is there any other public comment on the president's report? being none, public comment is closed. we're on item number three, which is the general manager's report. president buell: why don't we put that item over until we have a general manager. >> sorry i didn't see him come in -- or not come in. so we're on item number four, which is general public comment. at this time members of the public may address the commission on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter and jurisdiction of the commission and that do not appear on the agenda. with respect to agenda items, your opportunity to address the commission will be afforded when the item is reached in the meeting. so i have katherine howard, lindsey, rachel herbert and then jamie whitaker in that

order, please. >> good afternoon again, commissioners, katherine howard. i'll take off my early 1900's hat with a feather and put on my 21st century hat for the golden gate park preservation alliance. there will be a meeting on september 23 at 7:00 p.m. at the senior center on fulton street and 37th avenue to talk about the west side water treatment plant and the environmental impact report. this plant will build a 40,000 square feet of buildings in one corner of golden gate park. the tallest building will be 30 feet in height. there will be new paving for the entry road and parking, nightlighting and gates. the purpose it is to use the aquifer water for drinking and treated water from the oceanside waste water plant for irrigation. we would like the people to come. we'd like the people to comment on the e. the i.r. and to turn

in written comments. there's more information on our website. we are particularly concerned because the plant is being built above ground in gold epigate park where the master plan says it is supposed to be below grade. we would like to find another location for plant and fit absolutely has to be in the park, we would like different design alternatives so it can be built below grade and we have a lot more information on our website. thank you very much. president buell: thank you. >> lindsey? followed by rachel and followed by jamie. >> good afternoon, commissioners. >> i need you to speak into the mic. >> my name is lindsey. i'm a longtime resident and activist advocate at delores park. i'm here to speak against rec and park's permitting process for the commercial food vendors in our neighborhood park. but also, their general practices for permitting. even though there are several

well-established groups that are well known to rec and park, none of the groups for which i work, delores park dogs, delores park volunteers and the liberty hill association were notified of your plans to permit vendors for our park. we are not necessarily against local businesses as a vendor in the park at the busy summer season, but we are against rec and park unilaterally deciding to commercialize our neighborhood parks, especially without attempting to get community input. there is an important distinction between our neighborhood park and the tourist destinations like golden gate park and justin herman plaza, where you have permitted vendors so far. as a further insult, rec and park bypassed allowing others to bid on the job. in general, rec and park has been notoriously bad about outreach to communities, so i think it's time to correct these practices.

therefore, i'd like to request that a hold be placed on all permitstor delores park until the communities have had a chance to have a voice on these decisions. thanks so much. president buell: thank you. and i think you'll be hearing more about that today. >> great, thank you. >> rachel, followed by jamie and then crystal van wal strom, michael mcconnell. go ahead. >> hi, my name is rachel herbert and i wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak again today regarding food vendors in delores park. my interest here is in making sure that the decision-making process around permitting in delores park is fair and transparent and that going forward, the neighborhood is included and considered when major changes are going to be made in delores park, because it directly affects the people that live around the park. in general i believe that the impact of increased commercial activity in the park is a huge unknown and that decision to

put food carts in the park seems premature, given that the park is about to undergo a lot of renovations. i also would like to request that rec and park put a hold on permitting and do extensive community outreach. and if there are to be food ventors considered, let them be local vendors who wouldn't otherwise have an opportunity to have a brick and more tar location. thank you for the opportunity to speak. president buell: thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners, i'm my name is jamie. i came today to say thank you to all those involved in hosting community meetings and not only the rincon hill meeting, but also hosting your own meeting at the ports office building there in pier one on september 7 and also the

opportunity to speak with rec and parks at a meeting with both bill from the barbree coast association and my fellow board members and, of course, the mother and eager playground advocate adamina rodriguez who you may have read about in the october 31 "san francisco chronicle." we are never against the bocce ball courts. there's a lot of folks who live south of market and we just wanted to have an opportunity to hear about the plans and to express our own opinion. and i'm happy to say that we are hopefully moving forward with the children's playground. i think we're all in agreement. if you'll look at the overhead projector in the pink, this little square here, it's a concrete area basically used for parking here and we're hopeful that bocce ball court, assuming it goes through, will

be built on the grassy spot there and will have a children's playground hopefully sooner than later on that concrete spot that's basically used for parking right now. i want to say thank you to the neighborhood parks council, meredith thomas, vicky bell, who we met with this morning, both myself and bill soro, and we're looking forward to raising the money that it takes, whether it be half a billion dollars or whatever to get this funded, built and mabetted for many years to come -- maintained for being years to come. i would like to note that there is a $103,000 balance for embark darrow and i hope it can be used for a project manager. >> crystal, michael, then sam and larry lynch. >> hi, my name is crystal and i'm with delores park works. i'd like to speak with the food vendors and specifically about the complete lack of youth reach to the community and our recent experience with the president buell: and resource

development teams. up until now our experience has been stellar and we know you guys like parks and we are well aware of the financial cutbacks and the impacts they're having on our parks. that said, i have read the document that rec and park provided the commission at the last meeting regarding the outreach to the community organization that was conducted for the blue bottle permit. it was incorrect and misleading. it wasn't until august 25 that i was contacted about bleu bottle's permit. we're opposed to a lack of community input. delores park dogs was not contacted regarding whether we wanted food vendors in the park or about specific permits. along with delores park works, we are all the go-to organizations for this park. one phone call to bob would have told you who those organizations are. the community has not had a chance to weigh in about food vendors in the park. on monday there was a meeting regarding the park's renovation and heard the neighbors' complaints about not being involved. all we heard from him was, i'm sorry, and not once did he say

and this is what we're going to do to rectify the situation. yesterday when i spoke to the partnership and resource development team i was offered, and i quote, "if we put a hold on the permits and we schedule a date for the community meeting right now, will you not address the commission at the meeting tomorrow?" this is highly unethical and freedom of speech should not be a bargaining chip. we are asking the commission to put holds on the permits until we've had a community meeting with rec and parks to discuss the issue in detail so that our concerns and questions may be addressed. thank you. president buell: thank you. >> michael, sam, larry lynch. md more if we have time. >> i want to further the dolores park issuing permits. i have lived in that neighborhood for 12 meetings -- for 12 years. i have gone to meetings and did not know about some of this

stuff. it seems like the inner workings of communication are lacking and that is spilling over into any community involvement. there are a lot of people who already had issues with the park. there were meetings about it. they could have been made aware ahead of time. >> good afternoon. thanks for listening to what we have to say. i am speaking on the issue of the vendors at dolores park. when biggest concern is the infrastructure that is within dolores park currently. it is inadequate and is not meeting the needs and use of the park currently. i feel that adding any more amenities to the park without investing and fixing a lot of the issues that are already impacting the park and the neighborhood should be dealt with before any more impact is

added to the park. i have been a member of the community since 1974. my family has been a member of that community since 1964. dolores park is a jewel. i feel all the neighborhoods deserve adequate communication in a process that takes place making any changes to the use of the park. >> thank you. >> larry and then chill. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is larry lynch. i have lived in 18th street for 25 years. this decision to have vendors in the park without community input i think is wrong. i think you guys should put a

hold on it until more community people have been put on it. thank you. >> and jill? can we have the speaking to the microphone? you can move it. >> my name is jill. i am with dolores park and dogs. i am also hear about the vendor permits in the park. there did not seem to be any notice until it seemed to be a foregone conclusion. i agree holds should be put on the permits until this entire process can be done correctly. >> thank you very much. >> is there anyone else under general public comment? general public comment is closed. >> would you like to go to item

three on the calendar? >> we are now on the general managers' report. >> thank you, commissioners. we have a few announcements. why don't i start with the topic of public comment? that is to say, without focusing on what was done, we have heard some of the concerns of the community. we are not going to issue the permit for this coffee cart until there is a community meeting to have more discussion about the issue. our development team is going to try to schedule a development meeting on september 27. i think we are trying to finalize the location. 7:00 p.m.. we can have more discussion of the issue. this has been a topic of conversation for well over a year. nevertheless, we would like to

have that community meeting. we are going to work with dolores park works on making sure everybody who needs to be there is there. i want to thank you for your leadership and advocacy on a number of issues. dolores park is an incredibly special place where we are opposed to invest in capital improvements in the coming years. it has become a destination park. it is the fabulous place. it has its share of challenges. we are all desperate for incredible open space. more conversation will be had. we will be working with supervisor dufty and the friends of delores park playground. by right, the citizens have a say in dolores. we will try to make sure we have a variety of opinions and thoughts as we continue.

we will come back to you at the october commission meeting with some of the feedback we have gotten. you are more than invited to the bataan that meeting as well. -- you are more than invited to attend that meeting. last night was a function in golden gate park. we had 75 enthusiastic part advocates there. it was attended by our mayor. we had the president of our commission serving as our illustrious auctioneer. our preliminary report is that the event netted about $500,000, which is really terrific. more important than the money raised was the level of support, enthusiasm, and passion for our

parks and open spaces. it was a very celebratory event that could not have happened without the leadership of the parks trust. i want to thank them immensely for all of the work and sweat that was put into it. my own staff did a fantastic job in partnering with them and supporting the event. i really want to thank nancy conner, christine gardner, cynthia silverstein, glenn snyder, and many others. this was a team effort. it was a fantastic event. kudos to all who helped pull it off. on sunday september 19 from noon to 3:00, we will officially open the renovated playground. throughout the summer, athletes

from the western addition have been enjoying the new synthetic field. they are lined for softball, soccer, football, and lacrosse. the foundation has been a tremendous partner in the billeting -- in rehabilitating sports fields around the city. city field donated almost $25 million for increasing sports opportunities for our children. please join us on sunday, september 19, for the grand opening. i think you should try to get there. mclaren park tennis block party on saturday september 18 from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. we will co-hosts a tennis block party to celebrate the recently resurfaced tennis courts at

mclaren park, another instance of brecht and park -- of rec and park community partnerships. we will urge enjoy tennis games, music, and prices. -- prizes. we will be hosting "back to rec" site across the city. this is an opportunity for the community to meet the staff of their local recreation center or swimming pool, to sign up for classes and programs, and to learn how community members can participate and help determine the types of programs that would like to see. commissioners, you are invited to join us at all 34 of the sites if you can figure out how to do that.

lastly, and perhaps most exciting, last year we talk about one of our department goals -- improving the way we communicate with the public. our department has been burdened with probably the worst website in city government at a time when it was most important that we have the technology and the tools to be able to communicate with the public. today, at long last, i am excited to share with you our new website. it is more user friendly and intuitive. it is a better communication tool for the public and staff. it is able to provide information on community events and news, better engages the public, and incurred his support where we are asking for people to donate, volunteer, or advocate on behalf of their

parks. we provide an easy mechanism for them to do that. we provide an easy mechanism for park's users to get the information the most want -- how to reserve a space, how to sign up for a program, what parts of what teachers, how to get to that park, and what events are happening that day. this is going to be laid out in a user-friendly format. i want to thank the gentleman you see before you. this was a team effort. content was written by staff throughout our department. we had tremendous technical advice from a lot of folks. but these were our primary people on this project and i could not be more proud of the work they have done. with that wind up, i hope it works. [laughter]

>> you need to speak into the microphone. >> this is the new website. >> where we are taking you right now is our home page. you can see that primary navigation tools, if you can scroll down a little bit, are very intuitive. parks and open spaces. news and events. port improvements, which lays out our capital program for renovating parks and what our timelines are, and information about us. if you scroll down further