, for joining us today. president chiu: we have the item in front of us that has to do with a charter amendment passed by 60% of the voters requiring the mayor to appear monthly at the board of supervisors. we are considering an ordinance to held this policy with open government, dialogue, and transparency. it was drafted in consultation with the mayor. those of us on the board can as k meany mayor -- any mayor in private conversation. that being said, voters wanted

questions to be asked and answers to be given in public. i don't think that san francisco is looking for a question time to be an opportunity for the exchange of sound bites. the language is clear. when we have question time, they are supposed to engage in formal policy discussion with the mayor. with questions provided in advance of the meeting said that american be prepared to give in- depth answers -- so that the mayor can be prepared to given that answer in-depth answers. this is a balance of what many of our colleagues wanted and what the mayor wanted. there were some that thought that we ought to have more formality, others that we

thought wanted less formality. hopefully this tries to strike that balance. i just circulated a couple of technical amendments, and let me just go through them. unless you would like to go through them. >> i have a brief presentation about the process portion of that. but the president asked me to review the actual amendments. page one, line 24 should read "his or her" to retain gender neutrality. in those instances, they shall

communicate to the clerk of the board. that is just to indicate the board president will be the entity of the individual communicating in the event that the agenda is still in draft form. the context is that we want to make sure that it be known that the communication happen with me by 11:00 a.m. thursdays. the other amendment replaces 5:00 with 12:00 noon. we want them by noon on wed nesdays.

this is important for the clerk's office because it will allow us sufficient time as it is generated on wednesdays at 12:00 noon. president chiu: we would be happy to hear any public comment. president kim: questions or comments? let's open up for public comment. >> i am speaking in opposition to the proposed ordinance. i don't believe it is in the spirit of prop c. there are too many restrictions. regarding what they can ask, i would have loved for you to elaborate more, that supervisors

would be limited to 2.5 minutes of questioning. and the questions are prepared a week in the advance. what would that tell you have regarding their positions on fundamental issues? is clearly a prior restraint on speech. the super majority can do without, bringing forth the mayor. speaking in opposition, clearly, it is not the intent where the spirit of what the voters passed in november. president kim: thank you. any other public comment?

public comment is closed. supervisor elsbernd: one question on this one. page two, line 11. the clerk and the board president [unintelligible] with the utmost respect, mr. president, why do you need to be a part of that? why can't the clerk and the city attorney do that? president chiu: i am happy to not be a part of it. good change. supervisor elsbernd: if we could just strike -- i would make the motion to adopt the amendment

and add to that striking "and the board president" on page two. and i make a motion to send this item forward as amended with recommendation. president kim: without objection. thank you, madame clerk. ok. madame clerk, can you call on items 6-21 together? >> regarding existing litigation. would you like to convene in closed session? president kim: the committee will enter into closed session unless there is public comment on any of the items.

two minutes. >> item 21, a litigation settlement with office depot. i read the documents, the controller says that office depot and defrauded the city. the settlement -- the city will take $4.2 million? and continue business with office depot? that makes no sense to me. there is a budget crisis. how can you settle after they defrauded you for over $5 million?

in continuing business with them is not sound fiscal policy. president kim: we will be moving in the closed session so moving in the closed session so would you please and said the >> i understand the committee will look items 6 through 21 forward with recommendations. all we need is a motion regarding disclosure. without objection, so moved. thank you, colleagues, for your work today. meeting is adjourned.

>> being a pedestrian in san francisco is not easy for anybody. >> [inaudible] people push

tables and chairs outside the sidewalk. >> i have to be careful not to walk the sidewalk. it is very hard. >> sometimes people get half way across the intersection. >> you have to be alert because there is always something coming up that you need to know about. >> i learned to listen to the traffic patterns. sometimes i notice the other pedestrians, they are crossing, on occasion, i have decided i'm going to cross, too. i get to the middle of the intersection, and i find out that the light has changed.

>> we need to be able to work and go from one place to the other and have public transportation. the world needs to be open. >> people on disability has the task of addressing all the disability. when we are talk about the sidewalks, ramps, we have very specific issues. for people blind and low vision, we have the issue of knowing where they are and when the cross. it can be hit or miss. >> at hulk and grove, that sound the the automatic -- it helps people cross the street

safely. >> now we have a successful pedestrian signal. >> i push the button, i get an audible message letting me know that i need to wait. when it is safe to cross, not only am i going to get an audible indicator, this button is going to vibrate. so it tells me it is safe. there is the driller sound and this trigger is vibrating. i am not relying on anything but the actual light change, the light cycle built into it.

>> it brings san francisco from one of the major cities in the u.s. to what is going to be the lead city in the country. >> city working on all sorts of things. we are trying to be new and innovative and go beyond the ada says and make life more successful for people. >> disability rights movement, the city has the overall legal obligation to manage and maintain the accessibility and right of way. with regards to the curb ramps,

bounded by a groove border, 12-inch wide border. for people with low vision to get the same information. the shape of the domes, flush transition between the bolt bottom of the ramp and gutter. >> we have a beveled transition on the change in level, tape on the surfaces, temporary asphalt to fill in level changes, flush transition to temporary wood platform and ramp down into the street under the scaffoldinging. detectable ramps. they are all detectable.

nothing down below or protruding that people are going to get snagged up on. smooth clean that nobody is going get caught up on. >> our no. 1 issue is what we see here, the uplifting and shreufting to concrete due too street tree roots. here is another problem we have with street trees. if i have i was a person blind, this would be an uncomfortable way to find out. >> we don't want to create hazards.

>> sometimes vendors put sidewalk cafes where people push the chairs too far out. >> sometimes it can be impassable. so much foot traffic that there is no room for a wheelchair or walker to go by. >> san francisco is a lively street life, it can be an issue with people with visual disabilities as well. they have these diverting barriers on other side of this tables and chairs area. if people can find thraeur way around it without getting tangled up, it is still fully accessible. >> we don't want anything special. we want people to basically adhere to the regulations and laws as they are on the books

now. people can also, just be cognizant if they have stuff on the street, they thaoed to have 48 inches so we can pass, think outside your own spectrum of yourself that there are other people you need to share the sidewalk with. we will all get along better. >> although san francisco is a hilly place for a whraoel chair user, we seem to be better at most. that doesn't mean we can't continue to improve upon ourselves. >> the public has a clear are -- of travel. we can't be every to make sure that is the place. we have to rely on the place.

call 311. give them your name. that goes into a data base. >> it is difficult, still, um to make the case that the disabled community isn't being represented. in some ways we are not. we have a long way to go. >> the city of san francisco is using the most innovative technology available. these devices allow people to remain out in their communities, doing things like shopping. it is great to be able to walk as a pedestrian in this city and cross streets safely.