refuge church of the united church of christ, but the three honorees are incredible peace makers in our community. sharon hewitt of community works west and ruth morgan and also their youth peace maker award is going to yosenia. she's a 14-year-old student at mercy high in san francisco that's been working closely with glide church in activities that bring about peace and social justice to the communities in san francisco. so that's an important event that i'll be acknowledging the organization in a few minutes. i also just wanted to tag onto supervisor campos' hearing that he just explained on wage theft that will be coming up soon, i just wanted to acknowledge that the wage theft hearings and efforts to create stronger policies and legislation predicting low wage worning -- protecting low wage workers in

the city comes largely out of research and organizing within low income communities and the research done by the chinese progressive association was highlighted by a study called check please, one out of two workers making below minimum wage. i know supervisors avalos, campos and chu and i were there for the kickoff of the incredible research done by workers, worker-led research that was action-based to lead toimpro. s in policy and legislation -- to lead to improvements in policy and legislation. uc-berkeley's department of public health, dr. meredith and others, created the largest studdy of its kind, interviewing with peer research and other innovative methods 400 workers in one neighborhood but though it was focused on chinatown, i know we know it's a citywide issue and even the national employment labor project and supervisor campos laid out shows that this is the national epidemic of wage theft and that we lose millions of dollars each year to our local economy unless we improve the protections and

enforcement for workers. lastly i just wanted to say that a number of workers testified at the hearing and have led much of the earths to create better policies -- efforts to create better policies in the city. the chinese progressive association often kind of repeat along with my colleague in my office, lynn chow chin, they say we have to hold government accountable and that local government has to step up for better enforcement of our labor laws. so i would just say that this report and the action research that leads to the hearing and hopefully it will lead to bet wither policy and better -- letter policy and better legislation as well. thank you. the rest i'll submit. >> thank you. seeing no other names on the roster, mr. president, that concludes roll calls. president chiu: thank you, colleagues, when we go to our 3:00 special orders, would you call items seven and eight? >> item seven is a public hearing of persons interested in

a resolution authorizing the redevelopment agency's city-owned public right of way improvements of the arelious. item eight is the resolution making certain findings pursuant to health and safety code and redevelop -- authorizing the use of tax incement funds in the amount not to exceed $62,000 and this is the board of supervisors sitting as a committee of the whole. president chiu: supervisor cohen, do you have any introductory remarks? supervisor cohen: yes, mr. president, just a few. thank you. colleagues, this resolution makes certain findings required by state laws authorizing the use of tax incement funds for the proposed public improvements in the bayview redevelopment project area. the arelious walker stairway is an important access route for the residents of the housing authority's westbrook

development. this development connects hunters point hill within with its avenue and as well as route 19 for the muni bus line. this resolution will dedicate by a vue generated tax incement money to the event ration of the stairway. which will foster a safer pedestrian environment for residents and visitors of the housing authority development in the area. with that i ask that the redevelopment agency staff provide a brief summary of the proposal before with us. thank you very much.

president chiu: do you need any assistance or are you good? great. >> can everyone see what's on the laptop first? hi. good afternoon president chiu, board of supervisorses. i'm lyla hussein. i'm here today to present on the arelious walker stairway improvement project and provide findings for section 33445 which requires the board of supervisors to hold a public hearing to consider making certain findings for the use of tax incement for public improvements. these findings must include that the proposed project is a benefit to the project area or the immediate surrounding

neighborhood in which the project is located. two, no other reasonable means of financing for the project are available to the city. and three, the payment for the funds for the project will assist in the elimination of one or more blighting conditions inside the project area and is consistent with the bayview hunters point implementation plan adopted pursuant to section 334490. so, the san francisco redevelopment agency is before with you with a request for authorization of tax incement for $6,1,500 for the use of bayview hunters buoyant. for contract administration for the arelious walker stairway improvement project as well as construction bid management and project closeout for this city-owned public right of way. and on the projecter you have a map of where it's located. it's adjacent to india basin, it's within the bayview hunters point project area.

so it's a 150-foot stairway and it's currently in disrepair and there's tripping hazards, there's been erosion and there's also vegetation overgrowth. in 2009 the agency applied for a grant to improve this stairway through the san francisco county transportation authority in the amount of $1.1 million and we received that award and transferred it to the e.p.w. for implementation. we also worked with e.p.w. on the full cost of the project which resulted in the additional cost needed to complete this project for $61,500. the proposed project seeks to improve the blighted conditions by with installing new hand race, guard rails, as well as removing the safety hazards and

instale stalling lighting and a new design. this publicly-owned stairway with the proposed improvement will be a benefit to the project area by helping eliminate such blight as well as improve access to public transit. the second finding is that the -- there are no other reasonable funds available as i stated that we had to pursue grant fundings because there are no designated capital funds in the e.p.w.'s budget as well as other sources for such stairway improvements. often times a lot of the funds that are dedicated for streets and roads and it's hard to find such funding for stairway improvements. so the agency worked with several other city departments and we concluded that there are no other funds in the city budget available for this project. the final -- the third finding that i must make as part of section 33445 is that these public improvements are consistent with the

implementation plan for the bayview hunters point project area. improvements to deteriorated public facilities, removing public safety barriers and creating access and installing needed site improvements to benefit access to open space and employment opportunities are all listed in the bayview hunters point implementation plan. five-year implementation plan. so therefore we conclude that the project is consistent with the implementation plan because it provides an improved access point to such opportunities. on march 29, 2011, the redevelopment agency commission authorized agency staff to pursue board of supervisors' approval of all of the findings i just listed and we request that the board of supervisors for the city and county of san francisco authorize the redevelopment agency acting through the executive director to authorize us to extend $61,500 of tax increment funds for the improvements.

this concludes my presentation. if you have any questions, i'm available as well as staff from the department of public works to talk about any details of the project. president chiu: colleagues, any questions? ok. at this time let me see if there are any members of the public that wish to speak on this item. the comment on this item is open. walter, do you want to speak on this? >> i hope this city, you know, all that glitters, sometimes you feel it's gold and you're climbing the stairway with to heaven. when you get there you'll find and know that this city's stores are all closed and you can't buy a single thing there. ♪ makes you wonder and you're

climbing the improvement stairway in this city. ♪ president chiu: thank you. any other members of the public wish to speak on this item? seeing none, this public hearing has been held and closed. do you have anything else you'd like to add or should we proceed to the vote on the underlying re-resolution? roll call vote. >> on a item eight, chu aye. cohen aye. elsbernd absent. farrell aye. kim aye. mar aye. mirkarimi aye. wiener aye. avalos aye. campos aye. chiu aye. elsbernd aye. there are 11 ayes.

president chiu: this resolution is adopted. could you please call the second special order at 3:00 which is items nine and 10. >> items nine and 10, is the board of supervisors interested in the redevelopment agency's city-owned public right of way improvements of the plaza in the bayview opera house in the bayview hunters point redevelopment project area for a resolution making certain findings pursuant to the health and safety code authorizing the derofmente -- redevelopment agency's use of tax funds for improvements to the bayview opera house and the bayview hunters point redevelopment project area. supervisor cohen: thank you very much. similar to the last item we just heard, the resolution in front of you today would authorize the redevelopment agency to use tax funds for the eventvation of the bayview opera house and the surrounding plaza. as many of you know, the opera house is located in the heart of bayview town center district. the proposed project will aid in the long-standing objectives of

revitalizing and reactvating a key location in the neighborhood. furthermore the renovations will help ensure that the opera house will continue to provide a wealth of cultural and recreational programming to the community and that the building, which recently was granted a national landmark status, remains a critical neighborhood at he is for -- asset for years to come. again, this involves the use of bayview generated tax increment money, not general fund dollars, which is made available for the purposes of implementing the adopted by a vue redevelopment plan -- bayview redevelopment plan. so if i could ask staff from the redevelopment agency to present to us a very brief proposal. thank you. president chiu: we can now hear from city staff. and sfgovtv, if you could

project the projecter. thank you. >> thank you. good afternoon, members of the board of supervisors. i'm the project manager for bayview hunters point. this hearing has been long awaited and is the final action required for the agency to invest in two key public spaces in the bayview hunters point redevelopment project area. a total of $1,185,000 was included in the agency's 2009-2010 budget for improvements to both the bayview opera house and the surrounding plaza. before you is just a quick map just to orient you as to where the opera house is located. this is the opera house, this is oakdale and this is third. built in 1888 and recently placed on the national register for historic places as supervisor cohen mentioned, the opera house is located at the corner of third and oakdale and

is in the heart of the town center redevelopment project area. the opera house offers a full spectrum of recreational arts, entertainment programming. it is truly a gem in the bayview community. just a few pictures of the opera house itself. given its cultural significance, investment in the opera house and the plaza are strategically important to the revitalization of town center. the agency is committing $400,000 to the arts commission for seismic upgrades and accessibility modifications that will help ensure that the doors of the opera house remain open. the agency is also committing $785,000 to m.t.a. as a required match for federal funds secured by the department of -- from the

department of transportation for the renovation of the plaza. as lyla mentioned, code sections 33445 as well as 33679 in this particular case of the opera house require that the agency make particular findings and obtain board approval before releasing a tax increment to other city departments. requested actions conform with the provisions of california redevelopment law by meeting the three tests that lyla mentioned. the opera house, with its redesign plaza, is key to eliminating blights and activating the town center. secondly, the improvements to the opera house and the plaza are set out in the agency's current implementation plan for the project area. additionaly, they support a number of significant agency investments in town center. and finally, given the significant budget challenges

facing the city at this time, no alternative funding sources can be identified to complete this important work. this concludes my remarks regarding these actions, staff from m.t.a. and e.p.w. are both here to answer any technical questions you might have concerning this request as well as ricky, the senior development specialist who has been shepherding these actions along and at this time i would like to turn the mike over to judy, the community arts and education program director for the arts commission. thank you. >> president chiu and members of the board, thank you for your attention to this. in the late 1970's the arts commission purchased four cultural centers on behalf of the city. the african-american art and

culture complex, mission cultural center for latino arts, cultural center on brannan street at ninth and the bayview opera house. as many of you know, especially those of who you have a facility housed in your district, what didn't come with the purchase of the building was any kind of funding to support the long-term facility needs. so this is a wonderful opportunity for us to do long overdue work with at the bayview opera house. it's been work that we have been struggling to do and we're very pleased that these two projects are coming together at a time when the tenant organization is really producing extraordinary summer programs, after school programs, performance opportunities, gallery exhibitions. so this is really wonderful timing for us and most importantly wonderful timing for the community. so i really encourage your support and thank you for your time. president chiu: thank you. colleagues, unless there are any questions to city staff, let me open this item up to public comment. if you want to speak on this

issue, please line up on the center aisle. >> good evening, supervisors. let me start off by saying i support without a doubt the renovation of the opera house and it's long history in the african-american community. but primarily i'm here speaking to show a parallel, not only for just the opera house, you have someone from the arts commission come up here and say how the city has bought four centers in the city. one of them happen to be in the western district and the opera house we're talking about today. but not only, that the city owns buildings in which i'm up here speaking on a different level. my question is to the city, how the city is so selective on what building that they own, that they support? i'm here supporting that but i'm just saying, in my community, along with the african-american

culture center which they own, just a block away your city owns cup of community center which looks like a grave yard but represents the african-american presence. i say to myself, there seems to be some kind of a selective funding source here. it must be some time of -- type of conspiracy going on here that the city and county funds one building but won't fund another which you own. i'm here supporting that. but the art commission -- i have problem with the arts commission. when we summon them to buy issues in the western addition, i'm saying i'm here supporting. that let that be the reason. but i wanted to show a parallel to let them know that i'm watching and others are watching how the city and county could fund one center, one area, and not do another center. is there some reason behind that? president chiu: next speaker.

>> good afternoon, president chiu, board of supervisors. eye name is barb rafment i'm the director of the bayview opera house and i would like to speak in support of approving the funding proposal. the bayview opera house is a very important community resource for the bayview. it is the only institution in by a vue that provides arts education, especially to children on a large scale. as you probably know, arts are mostly not in the schools because emphasis is all on reading and mathematics because that's so important. so the children get no arts education whatsoever except when they come to the bayview opera house. last summer we had about 300 op last summer, we had children take classes from everything from dancing, healthy cooking and gardening. we had at some live chickens

there and created some nice ambience for the children. we offered an after-school program all year round and it is going to be limited by the funding we have for such programs. the bayview opera house is surrounded by quite a bit of blight, unfortunately. improving the facility as far as we have already gotten has done wonders to improve the whole situation, not just for one building, but for the entire community. last year, we spent $150,000 that the organization raised for the -- to restore the 122-year- old douglas fir. we also restored at this stage, so things are looking good there. if you have not been to the

opera house recently, i would encourage you to come visit us. a good opportunity to do that would be this coming may -- [tone] president chiu: next speaker please. >> ♪ god bless you. ♪ you make the brand new opera house in new. ♪ thank you president chiu you may get redevelopment lead speak during a brand-new. ♪ president chiu: this is not the

general public comment -- this is about the bayview opera house. this hearing has been held and closed. item number 10 is in front of us. can we take a roll-call vote? >> [roll-call] there are a 11 ayes. president chiu: the motion has been adopted. i understand we have a commendation from member mar.

supervisor mar: i would like to ask the following to come up -- [reading names] i think some others from the community boards. i would like to, along with a supervisor mirkarimi, recognize an incredible 35 years of work in the communities building peace. their slogan i think is building community through conflict resolution. their big 35 is coming up with their peace center. the community board helps over 1000 people to peacefully resolve conflicts through innovative mediation model that has been adopted nationally and internationally. they have 300 committed volunteers who go through extensive training to help the

volunteers. there has been an army of 16,000 people, trained mediators in our community and the mediate conflicts with organizations and schools. it has been the department of environment, the police, the san francisco unified school district, there has been a lot of conflicts. many community-based organizations. you are a great example of multilingualism as well. i, along with my colleagues, are greatly to have the successfully mediating and resolving conflicts throughout the city. we need to edit time when there are limited resources and communities are pit against each other, often fighting for crumbs. it is my honor to acknowledge 35

years and the great people in the community boards. if you would like to make a few comments? >> of the community board is a uniquely san francisco institution. we started off on the back of a napkin 35 years ago when someone thought there had to be a better way to resolve conflict in san francisco. we were the first community mediation institution and 400 others have followed under our motto. we do not take money from the city of san francisco. we are funded through the courts through people who choose other means of resolving conflict. we are here to serve the city but not draw from the general fund. we do have one request -- we ask for you to send the conflict to us. much of it comes to you and we are here with 300 trained

mediators and facilitators who standby ready and willing to help you come to decisions and resolve problems. we are here as a resource and request you take use of us. i would like to introduce our executive director. >> it is an honor and privilege to receive this recognition. community board has been supporting the board of supervisors for over 35 years, working in almost every district, helping to resolve thorny disputes and facilitate community dialogue. we would love to be on your radar to make sure you call on us when you need to. conflict resolution skills are not things most people are born with. we perceive these skills to be progressive and part of the values people in san francisco

have the capacity for. we look forward to 35 more years of your support. thank you. [applause] supervisor mirkarimi: i am quite familiar with the work community boards does. if we were a more enlightened government -- when we talk about public safety budgets, there should be an assigned for the public safety board for what community boards does. the service they provide is considered an afterthought. that's a mistake. considering how effective they have been through many pockets of san francisco, especially communities where there is chronic distress by crime and