>> yes, this is about maintaining. >> ok, and i had another question. with this extensive study that you have done, which i really commend you for, is it your intent -- and this is following up on some of the questions raised by commissioner lee -- is it your intent to use this as a guideline for prioritizing future funding? once the dust settles and you have the real numbers to work with. and i know that it will probably be a while, probably not this year, but in the next couple of years, it will really be looking at this more in an earnest, so is it -- what is

your intent? are you really going to use this as a tool for establishing your priorities in the future? and for this year, do you see any kind of impacts where you might, in terms of establishing your core values and setting your priorities, where you would use this to guide you? >> we definitely plan to use this. as we mentioned in the beginning, and i think there is a slide on this powerpoint, it talks about we had a mandated three-year cycle. then the second year is use the needs assessment to come up with exactly what you're talking about, the action plan. so what will our department specifically do in terms of prioritizing what populations, what types of services, and that is a public document called the children service allocation plan, which we do then present

to commissions, just like we do with the needs assessment, to get feedback, that sort of thing. part of that process is also gathering information from each of the city entities about how much money they spend on services, so there can be a mapping of resources. then, looking at what departments are currently spending on children, youth, and families, we can look at the children's fund to figure out where the gaps are, where are the needs that are not being addressed by existing expenditures. that is something that will be out next year, called the children service allocation plan, and that is what we used to then inform the next year of the cycle, which is drafting a proposal for administering funds to a nonprofit agencies. >> thank you for your outstanding work. >> i have one question. i'm curious. in the ages 14 to 24, under mental health and violence concerns, the number of referrals to the juvenile probation department are on a

decline. 33% drop in the last 10 years. is there any empirical data on that that would inform us on that? >> yes, actually, this is the question that comes up at many of our meetings. one of the reasons why -- for the drastic decline was because back in the early 1990's, the city and community advocates, the community partners came together and really worked on policies and legislation around a desire and a principle that the city will not detain young people with low-level crime, and instead, we created something called a community assessment and referral center. we covered all those low-level crimes into this community- based assessment center that we at that time had -- the d.a. had a juvenile probation officer, a share, represented a, as well as a public defender

working together to really provide services to that young person. over the years, with funding, active list, and particularly in the last couple of years, under dcyf work, we have been trying to revitalize the partnership again. but specifically for that declining trend, is primarily because of those initiatives that we did 10 years ago. >> thank you very much, and thanks for the very enlightening presentation. appreciate it. >> thank you so much for having us. and if you have any other questions for us or if members of the community have questions for us or any feedback, the last slide of our presentation, there is our contact information for our extremely able policy analyst, who clearly can go through this data much better than i can. if you have any questions, please call her, or better yet, send her a quick e-mail. for us, in terms of this is the

third commission hearing that we have presented. we have two more commission hearings -- two more commissions we will present to, and in april, we will be presenting the presentation to the board of supervisors. hopefully with full approval so we can then move into our next phase, which is allocation of funding and prioritizing phase. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> is there any public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. this was discussion only, so we are now on item 12, trust for public land. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i would just like to present jessica of the trust for public land. she is director of the parks for people bay area program. the trust for public land has been doing tremendous work with the department over many years,

since the 1970's, in fact, and they have contributed many millions of dollars to renovating our parks and playgrounds on behalf of the department. i thought you should get a better overview of the work they have been doing because they are one of our most extraordinary partners. with that, i would like to introduce jennifer. >> good afternoon. thank you for having me, and i will just reiterate -- my name is jennifer, not jessica. you said it right the second time. but for the record. i would love this opportunity to reintroduce you all to our longtime partnership. and remind us all of our share accomplishments together because it has been pretty expensive. and a little bit about our core services. and thank you for your continued support for our work in san francisco. for nearly 40 years, the trust for public land has been conserving land for people to enjoy as gardens, parks, and

natural areas. and it was founded right here in san francisco in 1972 and has grown into a national nonprofit conservation organization with about 40 offices around the country. our model basically comprises three elements. there is a conservation vision in model, conservation finance, and on the groundwork for transactions and park design and development. with conservation visiting, this is mostly work that we help cities around the country map parks and open space deficiencies and to fund conservation priorities for new parks and open space. we identify lance to be protected and help plan networks of conserve plan that meets public need. something we have not done too much with the city of san francisco i think is an opportunity for us as we move forward. for conservation finance, will help agencies identify and generate funds for conservation from federal, state, and local sources. hear, cpo was the sponsor of the

neighborhood safe and clean park fun. we were the sponsor of the park development and revitalization act and responsible of making sure that $400 billion was in proposition 84 for urban parks statewide. actually, we have the city, and we have all gotten some grants as part of that. our federal staff is now working in washington with the obama administration to create similar programs at the federal level. as far as transactions go, structures negotiate and complete land transactions that create parks and playgrounds in natural areas. our first urban transaction was here in san francisco, actually. in 1976. in addition to that, we have played a role in the acquisition or facilitation of dl sol park, alioto park, michelangelo part, the parcels of the visitation

valley greenway, and the gardens. mostly early, from the 1970's to the 1990's on most of this. and for part design and development, which has become an apartment, which transfer newly acquired sides in existing city parks into thriving parks and playgrounds. we played an extensive -- employed extensive community outreach and purchase of the tory design process and manage design through construction to insure that the projects are built. we worked very closely with the department, with phil's staff. we appreciate your contributions to the project. because we not just want to create parks that are going to last for a long time, that are going to meet city standards and be something the city is proud of, but we want to try to help communities connect with recon park said they can support the department and the ongoing stewardship after a park is built. some of the past projects include we are the sponsor and fiscal agent for the renovation

of to the elkhart, and work in the southeast neighborhoods. master planning in visitation valley freeway and design and construction of two parcels. india basin shoreline park, and then for charo hill playground where commissioner martin was at the grand opening. our current work includes just a few comments, and our current work includes a $15 million initiative to rebuild his belly playground in the hayes valley western addition neighborhood of the ballpark in the excelsior neighborhoods. sounds like that will be a great addition to other wonderful things going on there, and part of the wonderful heart of the tenderloin. the city's contribution towards this project have leverage $12.2 million that were raised as partner with the city to raise in private and public funds, and we are working quickly in cooperation with the department

to fund a remaining million- dollar gap. we appreciate fills generosity, to meet with some of our potential donors and speak to the strength of our partnership. we are also doing about $500,000 in master planning and community services for grant canyon park, which was the recipient of on funding for trigger for improvement. we are thrilled to be involved in this exciting project. it is such a great treasure of san francisco. we want to help nurture the department -- one of the best examples of wilderness in the city. we will offer design reviews to the city on the trails and produced a comprehensive community-supported park improvement plan that can help the city figure out how to identify projects for the bond funding and projects that we can all fund raiser for for the long term. we also are currently working with staff to develop a role that maybe we can play in

helping to continue fund raising to a woman some of those projects. in summary, the fundamental mission of our parks for people bay area program is to ensure that every child lives within walking distance of a great part, a natural area. we have had a great success and partnership with the department. we look forward to continued success together. a few months ago, someone introduced me to -- somebody found the city and introduced me as the silent partner of the city. in preparing this list of accomplishments we have made together, i think why? why should we be so silent? from our end, it is because we're working hard to get this stuff built, but we have really accomplished a lot together, and we would like to have this overview so we can start thinking more about how we can be useful, how we can add value to the city, not just for part design and development, but these other areas as well, so i would encourage you to come to us if you have ideas for potential projects.

and also, we appreciate your help connecting with reporters as we continue this work. i'm just going to leave you with a couple of fun reading materials that kind of capture a summary of our work in sentences, and this test came out, which is from that distance to the medical lyle, how urban park system can promote health and wellness. in d.c., they do a lot of research on park standards, park statistics. healthy parts is obviously a key issue in parts right now, but there is a nice little blurb about san francisco in here that i thought you would like to read, and maybe it is something we could talk about later. with that, thank you very much. then and many thanks, and thanks for all the worked you do for san francisco. you have a great reputation. family are pleased to do it and could look forward to continuing to work with you. thank you. >> is there any public comment

on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. this was discussion only, so we are now on item 13, which is public comment on all matters pertaining to closed session 15a one and two. is there any public comment on this part of a closed session. being none, public comment is closed. commissioners, you do need to vote again whether to go into closed session. commissioner buell: entertain a motion. has been moved and seconded. all those in favor? >> for members of the public, we >> could i have a motion? >> now. >> we need a motion not to disclose our actions.

>> second. >> moved and seconded. >> we are on item 19 is, general public comment continued. it's is there any member of this public? we are now on item 20, commissioners matters. are there any commissioners matters? no public comment. we are on item 21, and his business comes agenda set in. any public comment to for -- any public comment? is any member of the public that would like to speak on item 22, communications. item 23, adjournment. >> moved and seconded.

supervisor avalos: good morning. welcome to the city operations and neighborhood services committee. joined to my left by a supervisor elsbernd and to my right by supervisor mar. madam clerk, do we have any announcements? >> all persons attending this meeting are requested to turn off all cell phones and pagers. if you wish to submit copies of materials to members of the committee, please submit an extra copy for the file.

if you wish to submit a speaker card, please put it in the container by the rail in front of you to your left. items recommended out of committee today will be considered by the full board tuesday of next week, march 22, unless another date is indicated. supervisor avalos: very good. thank you. please call item 1. >> item 1, resolution authorizing the department of aging and adult services to accept and expend a grant in the amount of $143,128 from the centers for medicare and medicaid services and the administration on aging, past through the california department on aging, to assist in expanding medicare beneficiary enrollment and out rejectees aimed at preventing disease and promoting health -- enrollment and outreach activities. >> good morning.

i worked as a program analyst with the department of aging and adult services. as was just indicated, we are here to request your approval so that we may accept and expend this grant for the medicare patient providers act. this funding will allow us to continue the work we have been doing for this last year. i should point out that this last year's grant that came through the california department of aging actually was very successful in meeting its benchmarks. the purpose of this funding is to actually do active asserted out reach into the communities -- underserved communities, communities that would benefit from the low-income subsidies and medicare savings plan funding that is available to help offset some of the high costs of health care.

so there is a plan by two of our service providers. one is community service sponsors, aging and disability resource center. they will be continuing the work that they have done, doing a sort of our region to the community, especially limited english-speaking community, communities of color, low-income communities, as will the health insurance advocacy project. they will also continue to do a lot of the publicity through the media and so forth, that we can get the word out to those folks that do qualify for this program. that is our goal here, to try to get your support so that we can,

in fact, expend this fund. this is an 18-month grant, so it will run until june 30, 2012. we do have a specific work plan that we have already set up and added to the state. so if there are any questions. supervisor avalos: just one for me. the program has already begun, so we will be accepting an expanding retroactively -- and expending retroactively. >> yes. supervisor avalos: any member of the public with a comet who would like to come forward? and we will close public comment. motion to move forward with recommendations. we will take it without objection. madam clerk, please call item two. >> item two, hearing to discuss the safety regulations regarding the use of segways in golden gate park.

supervisor avalos: thank you. this is an item sponsored by supervisor mar. supervisor mar: thank you. we have a number of stakeholders from the public here today. i'm also pleased to introduce sncc from the recreation and parks department to talk about the vendor currently providing segway tors -- tours in the park, but also the process gone through to prove they use in the park. also, my limiting of the discussion here today is that we are talking about golden gate park only, not any other areas of the city, but also, we are trying to focus on the safety of

the technology. i did go on a great tool -- tour by the vendor, i have ridden the segways, and i did see some of the routes that were used last year. also, i think this is an important issue that impacts the park. also, i know the recreation and parks apartment is a little bit understaffed right now with one of the main staffers out on leave right now. said he might not have all the answers to the questions that we have today, but thank you for being here. >> thank you, supervisor, for holding this hearing today. we are excited about the opportunity to discuss safety regulations. there has been a lot of conversation and newspaper articles about this. we are very excited about offering segways in the park.

to back up a little bit, in 2008, the department began a yearlong trial program where we first offered segway tors -- chores -- tours in the park. we have literally hundreds of people participate over one year, and the program had a perfect safety record. there were no incidents or collisions. also, the department received zero complaints about the pilot program, which i think is something we are very proud of and is not always the case, as we implement new programs that we receive such a little negative feedback from the general public. it is approximately 9 miles in length, and it took people to a lot of the areas of the park that people do not necessarily always go to, which i think, for

us, is one of the exciting elements. it offers people, especially people of limited mobility who might not have the ability to go and do a nine-mile walk in the park -- it offers them the ability to go and see what is really the crown jewel of our public park system in san francisco. with a year of operating data to evaluate the safety, house if this operation is, and its impact on the part, the recreation and park commission last year approved a contract with the san francisco electric tour company to begin offering these guided tours on a more permanent basis. we're working with community stakeholders, including some of those the supervisor mentioned just a few moments ago. we amended the route to eliminate some of the more sensitive areas, so the route originally took people up to the

top of strawberry hill. we eliminated strawberry hill. working with the golden gate park preservation alliance and friends of the music concourse, we revised the route so that it no longer went through the lower bowles of the music concourse, and we also worked with the company to develop safe operating procedures, building on a year of knowledge of how this operates within the park. just a little bit about the company. they are the largest segway tour company in san francisco. they have offered tours since 2004 in some of our busiest neighborhoods -- fisherman's wharf, of north beach, and all along the northern waterfront. they have had over 65,000 people take their tours, and in all

that time, there have been no collisions between segway users and collisions. -- users and pedestrians. in general, while they are a new form of transportation and as such have drawn some scrutiny, the studies we have seen are showing that segways themselves are rather say forms of transportation. a u.s. traffic study found that among motorized and non- motorized transportation devices they use both roads and trails, they have the second shortest braking distance, the best sight lines, and the best response time to user input, making them among the most maneuverable of devices that use our roads and trails. a 2005 study found that segways

present the same level of risk to other path users as joggers or children playing. notably, the segways are designed so that the tire pressure is very low, so they can actually run over a person's toes without injuring that person, further reducing the risk of injury to pedestrians for other park users -- or other park users. in working with the concessionaire to develop the proposal, we identified a number of safe operating procedures that we are acquiring the concessionaire to employ. all riders must wear helmets and reflective vests. they're equipped with radios so that the guide can communicate instructions. rather than a certain weight and

age is being committed, all eyes are trained in cpr and first aid. all riders are instructed on the etiquette of writing the segway theriding -- riding the segway in city parks. the -- namely, that this is not a race. they will slow down when approaching park users, and everyone has the right of way over segway users, so when a guided segway tour group, the practice we have implemented this that the group will come to a stop, let the pedestrian path, and then, they will continue on with the tour. in addition, before any of the groups embarked on their tour of

the park, all riders must undergo at approximately 45- minute training session. they are instructed on the basics of operating the transportation device. they learn how to perform emergency stops. they are required to navigate a slalom of cones, to learn and demonstrate their ability to navigate in tight corner in situations, and again, they are informed to cede the right of way to all pedestrians -- supervisor mar: i recall how difficult that was during the 35 to 40-minute tour, so again, the training is still about 35 to 40 minutes? >> it is exactly that. 45 minutes or so, i believe. i think that the training is actually a little more difficult than what you encounter in the real world. trains are set very close together, and riders