improvement program is a bond funded program undertaken by the san francisco public library to upgrade each of the branch libraries throughout the neighborhoods. one of the great benefits of this opportunity is that each of these branches has a unique artwork that has been created specifically for that branch, based on input from people who live near that branch, in the surrounding neighborhood. >> trur- minded. there was a lot of community support for the project. i try to make it about the true

hill and its history. they were something that natives used for making houses. the construction of the pond is based on abalone house construction. at the bottom of the form, it is woven into a rope which transforms into a manufactured rope. that is a reference to the cordish company, a big industry at the waterfront that went along with the shipbuilding industry. other examples of art work in libraries that you might be interested in seeing it is dana zed's glass shatters in front of a library. there are a wall sculptures in the lobby of the glen park branch library.

and then there is an illuminated book on the wall of the mission bay library. >> "ocean current." we are on ocean avenue, so there is a connection to that. that is what this is about. culmination of all lot of dialogue, processing over a five-year period. that is longer than most art projects take, but i really feel like the product was enriched from that. making the sculpture involves forging and fabricating steel. we used to deal to create this flowing, central sculptor, heating, bending, grinding, painting, bending, and adding a patina to it. layers and layers of

craftsmanship that went into this. >> of the artists who participated in this project are all bay area of projects. they work in a wide variety of media. metal, glass, natural elements, photography, just a range of different approaches and aesthetics. so we have created a nice collection of art work that is reflective of the current date. art scenes. and we invite everyone to participate and to see the unique art works that have been developed. >> to learn more, visit >> welcome to coulterwire. the san francisco arts commission and department of public works has joined forces

by battling graffiti by launching a new program called street smarts. the program connects established artist with private property owners to create a vibrant murals which is a proven an effective strategy for combating graffiti on private property. artists, along with his crew, recently transformed a building turn to vandalism into a masterpiece. let us take a look. >> part of me has so much compassion for other graffiti artists. i understand why they are doing what they do. for me, it was something that was so hard to get out of. the lifestyle in general. j and tagging is addicting.

i used to be on these routes. i have compassion for these guys. a lot of these guys are super talented. i am just trying to find the median to still be involved but still do my thing as an artist and work with the city, like we are doing. we are doing this wall in a collaboration with the san francisco arts commission. basically what they are doing is trying to get rid of some of the tags and by putting up murals. they are cooking up graffiti artists with business owners. today, we are trying to get a lot of this wall buffed out and covered it. then we will spray on some sketches of what we are going to do. the rain is coming tomorrow.

it should be here for a few days. we want others to know that there are artists working on this wall. the owner of this building, she has had to pay a lot of money to keep on paying over these attacks. >> we have paid as much as $400. the fed typically have been talk about four times a year. typically, it happened right after we have been notified that we need to remove it. the painter will go up there and paid over the graffiti and make a perfect canvas for the tigers to come back. this program appeals to me because we were looking for a way to stop the taggers and the ugly graffiti. this program has beautiful work done by great artists that we thought would look great on our building. cameron talked about a few

difficulties that he thought would be great. he called me and we talked about a theme of what he could do to the side of the building. he took some pictures and e-mail them to me. >> we are going to do all kinds of animals and plants. also, we are all to doing graffiti letters. if you one other taggers to respect our, you have to respect graffiti art. >> if you had a lot of characters in it, you will get more respect from business owners and stuff like that, but letters will give you the respect of the graffiti artists.

i have actually had in my name in this patch of seaweed. >> what if we did it a giant blue whale? >> i was going to do a puffer fish. >> the program for the children is just so important. this is important, too, but you have to get at the kids to find out why they are doing it and direct them in more positive ways. i think what you are doing is great. >> have a good day. see you later. >> dana has been great, she has been a sport about the project. it was cool for her to see it and actually like it.

as an artist, it means a lot to us. we are going to make it look really clean today. then it should be done. we have had this mural of for about six years and it has not been tagged. it really works as a deterrent. a lot of us graffiti artists have been waiting for an opportunity like this, to express ourselves on walls. and there are so many walls around the city that could be beautified. i am so thankful that this opportunity has come about. >> my word encourage anyone who is thinking about it to really jump on the bandwagon. it is looking beautiful. when i came here this morning, i was notified that taggers were there last night, but fortunately, they did not touch our building.

>> to check out the mural in person, stop by 65 polk road. in addition to being a street smarts artist, he has been teaching students about the value for public space and creating public art for the communities through a program called where art lives. for a full list of other in your locations and to learn more about the efforts to combat vandalism, visit >> many people are not aware of this building was built in 1936. as a board to preserve the history and make the students aware of that history.

the partnering between sfmoma and the arts commission means they will be more aware of the artwork that we have here, the artists that painted a, and the history behind this itself. >> students came from george washington, and it was wonderful to have them on a panel. people from the school board, those who have been painting for years, some conservative errors from the getty. to have them tell us about the works of their school was important. it represents african-american artists to during the 20's and 30's used an incredible body of work. it is one of the most incredible works of art in the city, bar none.

it is a huge mural of incredible works. >> the san francisco civic arts collection has been in existence since the turn of the century. it consists of everything from monument to golden gate park to market street, other works in the collection, from the wpa era, the quite tower, the works from the george washington high school. we have the contemporary education, where they depict some of the vocational arts that were taught at george washington high school. what is interesting is the artist's and corp. of some of the -- incorporation of some of the architectural elements. they used the speaker from the p a system as part of the design. on the opposite side of the library, we have a large fresco which depicts the academic subjects that were taught at the

time. it serves as a foil to the other fresco in the library, we have academic subjects on one side, vocational subjects on the other, and result is the concept of a well-rounded education. additionally, what we plan to do is the academy of hospitality and tourism will be part of, so the students can share with other students, faculty, the neighborhood, and others to come by and what to look to the artwork we have. >> by working with the students, we hope to raise awareness of the collection and foster stewardship. we brought diego rivera to the

city. i think the wpa art work is characterized by stylized robustness and a pervasive occupation with a historical. in this panel, we have a depiction of george washington moving west. what is interesting about it is the image of lewis and clark here is in black and white, something that is occurring in the future, painted as though it was in the past. what is interesting about it is the very obvious conclusion of slavery. the number of students were expressing unease around some of the themes. the additional mural would be placed in the school, one with more positive representation of the student body. in 1974, they completed three

panels that were placed in the library -- in the lobby. they depict native, latino, asian american, and african- american heritage and culture. >> that artist was talking about the history coming alive. that is what we want for the students here. i also think they might share that with past alumni and the community, so they could no the treasure that we have here in the schools. many people have the same experience i did when i first walked into this building three years ago, being the new principal. the grandeur of these murals is fantastic. many of the students who have come here have come here and are very proud of these murals. they're so happy that they're still here and are being preserved. >> to learn more about the civic

art collection, visitcommission. welcome to a special meeting of the transportation authority plans and programs committee. madam car, please call item two. >> update on the financial plan for the san francisco municipal

transportation agency's central subway project. this is an information item. commissioner chu: this was an item that we heard last week and we asked for an update. >> this is an item that was continued from last week. i am continued -- happy to say that we have worked with sfmta staff over the past week. i am about to introduce the central manager for the central subway project to show you a presentation that shows you our attempt to close the funding gap as well as an overall context and where regard to the road map of getting the full funding grant agreement from the transportation administration. >> good morning, supervisors, my name is john, the central subway program manager. i'm also joined by mr. carter wrote hand, the director of

construction. they have reviewed this briefing that i'm about to give you. before i start the presentation, i want to provide you with a bit of context in terms of how the financial plan fits into the over all sfga process. i will highlight some of the accomplishments that the mta has achieved in meeting some of the ssga roadmap deliverable. i will discuss the fund's utilize to close the funding gap to fully fund the cap and then the next tax. >the central subway is currently on track to achieving a full funding grant agreement. the sfta process began with the final approval dated january 7 of this year and continues with

monthly meetings fta washington and region 9 staff, along with tsa staff, and it continues to meet and satisfy all the obligations under the ssga road map process. submitted must and that we achieved on november 19 where the project received approval for the letter of no prejudice that would allow us to move forward with the utility relocation contract in the union square area. this is an significant milestone which allows for the federal authorization of an early construction activity. identified before you are the remaining sfga some metals necessary on schedule to receive the $942 million in federal funding. a key milestone in the application is a submission of an updated financial plan, which

is scheduled for february 15 of 2011, that identifies the funds committed to this $1.58 billion project. the sfmta is now moving forward with revisions to the central subway financial plan in order to meet the ssga obligation. the central subway financial plan is comprised of federal, state, and local funding sources, as outlined on this slide. the great majority of the funds have already been committed, and they are highlighted in yellow. as you can see, there is a remaining federal obligation of aid and its $69.7 million. that is the remaining fund that would be authorized under the full grant agreement. what is currently shown is the $137 million funding gap which

is part of today's discussion. earlier this year, sfmta convened a mind the gap committee, which was comprised of members of the sfcta, mayor's office, and others to explore a number of the funding options we are about to present to you today. this slide show the proposed capital funds committed to fully fund the program. only capital programs are -- funds are being used to fund the central subway program. no operating funds are being utilized for the central subway program. the alliance structure of the funds used to fill the remaining gaps of the funds are used here. $31 million in prop k, $32 million in problem be. the combination of these funds, along with a projected savings from current capital projects are what is identified as a

solution for closing the remaining funding gap for the central subway program. as a maximum -- since central subway have received the maximum allocation under prop k, as you can see, the items identified under kapor reprogramming, a number of projects would require the reprogramming of prop k and sfmta, along with the sfcta will be working on a reprogramming efforts that will start immediately and conclude prior to the submission of the financial plan in february of next year. a $34 million in prop 1a is part of the $61 million state funds for high-speed rail. one of the conditions of that funding was connectivity. central subway provides a direct link to caltrain and imposed high speed rail station at fourth and townsend.

earlier this year in march, we put in a programming request to the california transportation commission for $27 million, and we were approved by the ctc to move forward with $27 million of the $61 million. a $31 million represents the balance of that funding source. prop1b, there is $78 million left in the program listed as uncommitted. 72.3 of that $70 million of and committed funding will be allocated to the central subway program. we have been receiving $9 million in savings from this been climate for project phase one, so we will be looking at reprogramming that prop k effort back to central subway.

phase two, we recently received federal allocations that allows us to unallocate some of the funds for islais creek. geneva can be project, that project is in close out, $1.2 million in savings for that effort that would be allocated to the central subway project. finally, the its radius system replacement program. there will be some lower-cost program that will be allocated back. some of the lower priority options are like a digital, visual announce the system for cards, along with using their radio system as a means of mapping out the yards. these are lower party options that will be deferred.

commissioner campos: commissioner dufty? commissioner dufty: what does that mean, lower priority option. can you go more into what you mean with its? lower priority? i do not know what that means. >> the radius system project is a replacement program read the agency will replace its motorola system with a modern, upgraded system, as mandated. we will be replacing the radio system by 2012. commissioner dufty: and this is a large project? >> it is a large project, essentially replacing all the radio systems within the fleet. we are currently operating under a 1970's-based system. that said, the base effort of that program is fully funded and there are some out-year options

that our options in the contract that are listed as whether or not -- sort of enhancements -- to the system. if the agency would like to move forward and assign those options to the program. $10 million was assigned to this option effort. because of the deferment of these options, it will not have an effect on the overall delivery of river systems. the agency is proposing to move forward to defer some of these lower priority out year options to central subway. commissioner dufty: is this something that is future, down the road? >> it is currently approved under prop k under the radio

replacement project. before you is the proposed central financial plan showing the additional capital funding, and demonstrating a fully funded central subway financial plan. as you can see in yellow, under committed, $29.5 million currently assigned under local, regional, other. that is the pool of funding that will be working with the sfcta to reprogram. identified here are the actual project expenditure needs for the program. the expenditure needs are shown in light blue, so you can see the expenditure begins in fiscal year 10, 11, and concludes in

2017 through 2020. what is highlighted in dark blue on the top, beginning in fiscal year 2013, is when we will be spending the money we are committing today to close the 1 and $37 million gap. the first spending need for the 137 will be in fiscal year 12, 13, 4 $38.7 million. as you can see, it is proportioned out for the next seven years. concerning cost, central subway is fortunate to take advantage of a competitive bidding environment and has realized $8.5 million in savings for its second contract, contract 1251, that we are about to award on december 7. we also anticipate receiving

approximately another $10 million in savings to our largest contract that we are planning on issuing for bid in the first quarter, february 2011. at this stage in product development, fta requires cost savings be carried in the program as program contingency. the mta is also controlling cost through its utilization of what is known as a contingency management program -- commissioner chu: just to clarify, you commented that cost savings must be carried as contingencies. would you are saying is, even if we are realizing cost savings, as we are seeing with $8.5 million, hypothetically, the $10 million coming up in the second million coming up in the second quarter of 2011, we cannot count