negotiated in the past to do it in the beginning of may. to the extent that you do not want to put a certain amount of money into training, and you have the ability -- i have the ability to go back to the mayor's office and say the commission does not want to put this amount of money into training, and therefore, we need to have them make changes to the budget. but the charter and admen code require that we submit something to them on the 22nd -- the charter and admin code. i apologize if is not to the level that you wanted. commissioner murphy: thank you. >> ok, we have a motion on the floor. we will take a roll call vote. commissioner murphy: no.

commissioner hechanova: no. commissioner clinch: no. commissioner mar: yes. commissioner romero: [inaudible] commissioner walker: yes. >> the vote is 3-3, and we need a vote of 5 to put forward the budget, so the motion fails. [inaudible] ok. at the end, on part of future agendas, we can discuss about having a special meeting or what we are going to do. commissioner murphy: ok. >> is there any public comment on this item? all right, item 6, election of

the bic president and vice- president. we will take nominees for president first and then the vice president. commissioner murphy: commissioner lee is not present today, and i feel all seven commissioners should be present if we are going to have an election. i would like to continue this to our march meeting. >> i would just like to remind everyone that we have done that twice in the past when we have not had seven commissioners present, but we would have to take a vote. for a continuance. commissioner walker: i want to just thank you, president murphy, for taking on the

leadership of the commission as you have, the challenge and, i appreciate that you have been there, so i just wanted to say that, and then, i'm happy to differ -- happy to defer. i agree with that. commissioner murphy: thank you, commissioner walker. coming from you, that means a lot. [laughter] that is that a form of a motion -- >> is that a form of a motion? >> i, too, have a belief that all seven should be here, for both a combination of not only votes, but also, the voice that should be expressed by all seven commissioners. i am in support of the continuance. >> ok, though -- okay, so, can i

take it that commissioner walker is making a motion for the continuance and commissioner hechanova commissioner walker: -- walker that is fine -- commissioner has genoa -- commissioner hechanova -- commissioner walker: that is fine. >> all those in favor? all those opposed? we will continue item six. item seven is review and approval of the minutes of the special meeting of november 29, 2010. >> move to approve. >> second. >> all those in favor? the minutes are approved. we are now on any public comment

on items 7. item eight, commissioner questions and matters. 8a is increase staff. commissioner walker: thank you. i would love to have a gin diced -- agendized an update from the mayor's office of the follow-up on the committee -- they made a notice that they were forming a committee, so if we could get the update from -- i guess it was the city administrator's office, now the mayor, on that, including the action they are taking on tax for recommendations. and i would love to see on the agenda may be a recommendation about how to speed up getting reports, doing what was recommended about maybe there

are certain things we could have as a separate over-the- counter issue. i think that is its for now, for me. commissioner murphy: i talked to ann a little bit about a couple of weeks back. there were volunteers, and i would like if we could identify these volunteers and maybe give them a certificate of appreciation for their volunteer time. again, as i looked at that and read through it, one of the things i noticed was again, the absence of the homeowners and

property owners. i still say, and i am always harping about this, but i do not think that we are represented as well as they could have been. anyway, i thank the people who stepped up, not people who are getting paid. the volunteers. suggestion. and we could put that on the agenda and kick that around at the next meeting. >> and you would want this to be from the bic, not from the department? commissioner murphy: that is right. >> my only question would be that somebody identify those volunteers. i would hate to be responsible for leaving anyone commissioner murphy: out murphy maybe commission -- i would hate to be responsible for leaving anyone out. commissioner murphy: maybe

commissioner walker could help us with that. commissioner walker: i would be happy to. commissioner clinch: talking about the disaster recovery unit brings to mind something i have been curious about. they are plans to bring in help from private engineers to a man of the inspection, and that sort of thing, and i'd just curious if there is a plan in place. >> yes, we have a plan in place. we have the program where private engineers will be part of, but we also have a mutual aid with other cities and counties were qualified inspectors. >> this is a nationwide mutual aid society for inspectors. we went to louisiana. we went to new york. it is a mutual aid for inspectors and for people in this industry. >> can i follow up on that?

maybe we can have a presentation. there's also training available for air staff -- i have been to one as a first responder. when you are looking and tagging buildings, it might be something that we just talked about here as an agenda item, with the department is going to do in case of the emergency. family to the party perhaps on the issue, and i am a little bit reluctant to have a louisiana engineer inspecting a home in san francisco. i'm sure it has been talk through, but i would just like to hear more. >> and commissioner walker, if you could let me know, i'd try to find out if commissioner hechanova would like to take the training you took, and i cannot

find who offers it. >> you need to contact lawrence cornfield. i'm on a state committee, i can get you the information. >>, i know commissioner hechanova had mentioned he wanted to do that. is there any public comment on the increase in staff? seeing none -- commissioner murphy: maybe we need to have a little discussion with our attorney regarding the special meeting to hear the budget again in a week's time, work with the mayor's office. is that ok to do that? >> yes. the commission can hold a special meeting to take up the budget again. i mean, if they were closed session items, they would have to qualify under whatever the requisite subject matter was.

commissioner murphy: so we wait until we hear back from the mayor's office for the board of supervisors? commissioner mar: can we get an update about what is happening with that joint meeting with planning? just to put some dates on the calendar. commissioner murphy: i will try to get a date for that, hopefully in the next couple of months. >> yes, it usually takes us a while to get a joint meeting with planning. >> they have to meet when they do not have a planning meeting. >> but my question is -- will i hear from you as to when we are going to have a special meeting regarding the budget? at some point, we do have to -- at some point, does the

commission have to move the budget? that it does not seem to, but if you want to read about the budget, it makes sense that we would do it before the 22nd. it is after, it is already too late. commissioner murphy: that is also a suggestion. i have no problem with that. >> the 22nd is a tuesday. >> and monday is a holiday. commissioner murphy: so it could be done on tuesday. i will not be here. i'm out of town next week. >> and if we do not have frank, which we may not have, then we only have 5 people. >> can i ask a question? is the likelihood that they will use the budget that we have or just come up with their own? i just want to know --

that of past practice has been a will take the suggestions of the department, but the mayor can make changes to the budget. >> and he can anyway, whether we support it -- >> yes, he can. >> he might do some other stuff. just pointing it out. >> i think we are done. commissioner murphy: we will hear back. >> ok. so i will hear from you or whatever or try to make a date or whatever. ok. all right, any public comment on item number b, if there is any public left? item nine, adjournment -- >> i have one more question. could you update the schedule of the subcommittees? >> we probably will after we

vote for president and vice president, the next meeting we will vote for the said committee. there really are not any changes on the subcommittee, accept one woman may not have gone through with being on a board due to the process of going through a waiver. >> all right. thank you. >> director? bamut is it possible to get a list of questions from the commission that they would like answered for the next budget presentation so that staff does know what they want presented to them and what they do not want presented to them, so we can kind of be on the same wavelength? commissioner murphy: i'll have a list of questions for you this afternoon. >> can i ask the other commissioners, if you have any questions, to get them to me by friday. commissioner murphy: i would like the other commissioners to weigh in on this as well if they have questions. >> you can e-mail it to me, and

i can put them together in case there is duplication, and i can put them all together and give them to the director. ok. can we have a motion for adjournment? move to adjourn? all those in favor? we are now adjourned. >> i work with the department of environment and we are recycling oil.

thank you. we can go into a refinery and we can use it again. they do oil changes and sell it anyway, so now they know when a ticket to a. hal>> to you have something you want to get rid of? >> why throw it away when you can reuse it? >> it can be filtered out and used for other products. >> [speaking spanish] >> it is going to be a good thing for us to take used motor oil from customers.

we have a 75-gallon tank that we used and we have someone take it from here to recycle. >> so far, we have 35 people. we have collected 78 gallons, if not more. these are other locations that you can go. it is absolutely free. you just need to have the location open. you are set to go. >> san francisco's buses and

trains serve many riders who are blind or how low vision. muni is their lives line to get around. simple act of courtesy can help them access muni services safely. it is not just courtesy. it is the law. >> i used to take the 21 airlock. >> lot of times, when i would be waiting at the bus stop, the door would open and the driver would announce the bus line. >> 71. >> it is easier and preferable when a driver sees someone who is obviously visually impaired if they stop in front of me and say "this is the 71," "this is the seven." >> our buses are setup to announce the lines when we pull up. when i see a customer with a guide dog or cane, make sure i let them know what line i am.

>> every time i get on the bus, i tell the driver where i need to get off, even if i think there digital voice system is going to announce that. just so they know in the event that it is not working. i would say a good amount of the time, i do get acknowledgment, actually. >> good morning. >> morning. is your announcements system working? >> i'm sorry, it is not. >> could you let me know when we get to van ness and sacramento? >> i sure will. >> i have had a number of drivers be really helpful in terms of getting passengers to move down a few seats so i can sit in the front. >> can somebody give this lady a seat? >> the bus driver was say, "please wait a moment. i want to make sure you have a seat." and i hear him or her announced that he needs a seat for a person with a disability. >> as soon as the person gets on the bus, i ask the passengers if

we can have a seat for this person. >> anybody help us? thank you, sir. >> thank you. >> sides, federal law requires that the customers give their seats to the elderly and disabled if they should need it. >> buses should stop in zones that can accommodate multiple lines will stop behind one another. i cannot see what bus is behind -- i'm not even sure if there is a bus behind. the second bus does not come up to the front. oftentimes, it has caused me to be passed up by bosses, by trains, and again, it makes me late for appointments. it makes me late for my job. >> i'm often anxious that i'm going to miss the bus that i need, simply because i'm not fast enough to scamper down and find out which bus is lined up

behind the bus that is currently in front of me. what i'm going to work and i take the van ness street buses to work, sometimes, one of them will pull up right next to the other one. not in a bus stop, but parallel to it. and i do not know it is there. i also do not feel comfortable walking out into the street. >> is that my boss over there? i think that is my boss -- bus. i'm going to miss it. i don't know how many times i have missed buses because of this. >> i do not double park. it is not safe for our customers, and especially the visually impaired. anything could happen, and it is muni's policy not to double park. normally what i do, if i can safely go in behind, i pull in the zone, offload my customers,

load the customers that are waiting for me. when the bus in front of the leaves, i will pull to the front for the customers that did not see me. >> sometimes, the bus pulls up, and there is stuff in my way because the boys -- bus has not pulled up right in front of me. i have to figure out how to get around or through. i have to navigate through all of that in order to get onto the bus. >> when i pick up a visually impaired customers, i like to pull up right in front of them, make sure nothing is in the way so they can walk right on the coach. >> okay, take one big step forward. >> when i drop off a visually impaired customers, make sure you do not pull up at the shelter. you want to give them a straight shot so they can go to the left or the right. you want to pull in front or behind the shelter. never around any trees or pose.

i usually let them know that they have about 10 feet before you. a straight shot, and wallace 10 feet away, and they can make the decision what they want to do from that point. every now and then, and visually impaired customer wants to be dropped off right at the shelter. so they can go to the left or the right from there. >> ok, you want to take one big step when you step off. the shelter is straight ahead. >> if i get on the bus and asked a bus driver to please tell me when to get off at seven straight, the bus driver very often will tell me to just look at the sign, and i will say that i cannot see the sign because and visually impaired. sometimes, the bus driver gets it. some of the time, the bus driver does not get it at all. it is really difficult when you do not see well to understand where things are. it is one of those issues where

people do not see it from the outside. so when they see me having problems stepping off of curbs or stairs or running into the side of a building or things like that, it would appear to them as though maybe i had been drinking, but the problem is that there is no contrast between a great building and a sidewalk. >> it is difficult for some drivers i think to understand that i am blind. although i may look like i'm getting along very well, and it did happen to me on several occasions with drivers, questioning my ability to see. they would say, "well, you really are not that blind." not only is that infuriating, but it is just something that cuts to my core. >> there are times that visually impaired customers get on the bus, and they are moving so well that makes me wonder how blind they are, but that is not for me to decide.

i'm just here to take them some point a to point b safely. >> i moved all the way across the country specifically to live in san francisco because i knew they had great public transportation. i had the greatest interactions with muni drivers because i was thrilled to be on a bus and be able to get some more independently. i think the drivers can really feel proud that they are making people's lives possible in a way that it is not possible in other parts even of this country. >> the americans with disabilities act of 1990 is a wide-ranging federal civil- rights law that prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities. title two of the ada addresses access to public services, including public transportation for persons with disabilities. tips for respectful communication for people with disabilities brochures are

available. call sfmta accessible services at 415-701-4485 for copies.