>> [inaudible] >> the total property tax collected is about $2 billion. overall, we are doing quite well. >> [inaudible] >> overall, property-tax as have done extremely well the last five, 10 years. we have seen huge increases overall. >> [inaudible] >> no idea. if i did, i should be in las vegas placing a bet, or should be in new york making more money than i am here. the controller's office is probably tracking it more than us. we don't know. we have seen -- we have seen several governments pumped $1 trillion into the economy. it is a huge amount of money. we have seen some improvements,

but not the ones they were hoping for. great. ok. thanks, everybody.

supervisor chu: welcome to the regular meeting of the budget and finance committee. my name is carmen chu, chair of the committee. we will be joined shortly by supervisor mirkarimi, and sitting in for supervisor jim is supervisor mar -- sitting in for supervisor kim.

>> please turn off all cell phones and pagers. if you wish to provide public comment, please submit a card to myself. items acted upon today will appear on the board of supervisors agenda on february 1, 2011, unless otherwise stated. supervisor chu: thank you. call item one, please. >> item 1, resolution authorizing the recreation and park department general manager to enter into a lease with stow lake boathouse, llc, for the operation of stow lake boathouse concession in golden gate park. supervisor chu: i believe the supervisor has some opening comments, and then we will go to the general manager of the recreation and park department, and then to harvey rose. supervisor mar: thank you.

i'm really excited to bring this item before us. i think the efforts of the department have been to improve and restore the stow lake boathouse, and as a neighbor of the area, i have followed the process closely. one of the things i have heard consistently about the project from many community members is the desire to preserve the stow lake boathouse, and i strongly support the efforts to preserve and improve the boathouse. i support that goal, and that is the primary reason i'm proud to be the sponsor today. i know there has been a number of community meetings already on this item before the recreation and parks department but also in the community as well. regarding ortega family enterprises, i believe the city has found a partner that has been capable of putting resources in to preserve the

boathouse so future generations of san franciscans can enjoy a boat ride and the enjoyment around the lake. ortega family enterprises is extremely well qualified for restoring enterprises to their original splendor. i recently took a trip up north with my daughter and one of her friends, and i wanted to specifically try out the concession stand there that is run by the ortega family enterprises, and it really impressed me in many ways and help me -- helped convince me they would succeed at stow lake erie the quality of the food, the with education is used about the environment from the bathrooms to the basic facilities was impressive. it is clear that the link that the ortegas will go to minimize the environmental impact. they feature all locally

sustainably sourced foods. either active displays that make it easy for many visitors from run the world, but especially bay area people to know what should be recycled, what should be composted or sent to a landfill, and they have also successfully used recycled materials throughout the renovation of the concession stand. i was delighted to see the menus as well in the food stand. very healthy, and an effort to reduce drilled food, candy, and sodas, and to have instead fresh sandwiches made with local ingredients by local san francisco businesses as well. has been a long process to get to this point, and i am appreciative of the advocates on both sides of the issue have expressed strong opinions to improve stow lake and to preserve it as well. i know that the budget analyst will be presenting very soon and speak to some criticisms of the

process, which i share as well, and i want to say that while i think we need to invest in cattle improvements and make the facility better, i do share some of the concerns of the budget analyst as well. i have asked the recreation and park department and the ortega family enterprises representative what could be done to address the concerns the budget analyst brought up, and i'm happy to say that it is my understanding that the recreation and park department general manager will be introducing the amended lease today, and it should accept the budget analyst's main recommendations, and it will increase the minimum rent by $20,000 to $160,000. that said, i would like to introduce our general manager for the recreation and park department, phil ginsburg. >> thank you, supervisors. after almost five years of diligence, and very excited

today that the recreation and park department is presenting a lease that restores, revitalizes, and preserves stow lake and its boathouse for generations to come. before diving into the mechanics, i want to take a step back and placed stow lake -- place stow lake in context. for those of us who visit regularly and those of us who may not. it is an oasis of beauty and recreation. it is completely man-made and in engineering miracle. completed in 1893, stow lake was designed for part irrigation on the east side of strawberry hill. the highest point was in the park. thanks to the vision of john mclaren, the initiative of william stow -- the wealthy parks commission president -- and the support of paul p. huntington, our engineers created more than an engineering reservoir. they created a spectacular lake 360 degrees around, and a

cascading waterfall from its peak designed to give visitors a taste of the high sierra. on the north shore stands our beloved boathouse. built in 1936 for $34,000, following yet another philanthropic, the boathouse replace a log cabin at the site, which was originally built in 1883 and demolished in 1937. today, the talks of replacing that $34,000 beloved boathouse stand at $1.9 million in its entirety. stow lake is golden gate park's largest lake, and the top of strawberry hill, its highest point. i climbed it on my running early this morning. it was originally the location of the sweeney observatory, until it was destroyed after the 1906 earthquake and never

replaced. it has become a hub of natural beauty and social gathering. we consider this an opportunity to invest in and preserve the stow lake for our children. we have focused on finding a partner to help us restore the boathouse, to improve the visitor experience, and, yes, increase revenues at the site. in this lease with ortega family enterprises, i'm proud to say we have accomplished all three. ortega has a long history of operating concessions, including in a number of national parks, and you will hear today from a representative from the golden gate national recreation area. they are a company devoted to historic preservation from the environment to local and sustainable food, to local hiring, and to valuing the visitor experience. they will be implementing stringent environmental

protections at the lake and hiring 100% local work force. from the visitor experience perspective, ortega will be purchasing a brand-new fleet of rental boats. they will be offering new menus that feature healthy, tasty, and affordable options, including locally grown foods. we will be able to invite people into -- invite people to enjoy

please stand by

unfortunately, they did not have sufficient qualifications to operate the concession and were not awarded. rather than putting this out to bid for a fifth occasion and expecting different results from the same process, the department felt that what we were prioritizing at the sites was capital improvement, that that should be what we ask for, and with the approval of the recreation and park commission, we published an rfq, which solicited capital improvement plans, suppose it financing for

those capital improvement plans, the qualifications of the entity bidding as well as -- and the qualifications were broken down into their qualifications operating in a concession and also their qualifications performing renovation on historic buildings. as well we considered their proposed operating plans. again, these are some of the things we were looking for -- experience managing capital projects on historic buildings, rental boat managing, as well as concessions. as well as someone to renovate the boathouse, created in or cafe, purchase a new fleet of boats, and offer a healthy menu -- create an indoor cafe. supervisor mar: could you please slow it down a little bit again?

>> sorry. upon selection of the panel, the panel unanimously selected ortega. just a few weeks ago, they took over the death valley national monument. they are well respected and had a history of performing capital improvements on historic buildings, including the renovation of the oldest house in the united states, a 1610 adobe mud building that ortega restored. as you can see from this slide, they and their partners have significant experience in all key areas that the department elicited qualifications.