support of this resolution. i think in california, every available mental health service is necessary, and i think everyone that troubles the streets, especially at night, has seen the obvious need for more services for the mentally challenged people in california. one cautionary note i would like to make is that in regards to the different programs for mental health services, i would like to caution that the providers of mental health services need to use the services efficiently. one of the projects i have been studying for the last few years deals with the possible misuse of psychological services against whistle-blowers, and i feel that we should make sure that these psychological services are given to the most needy and possibly -- and not

possibly misused, especially by local government. thank you. supervisor avalos: thank you very much. any other member of the public who would like to comment? we will close public comment. we can move forward with recommendations. we will do that without objection. item three please. >> item 3, ordinance amendment portions of the san francisco public works code, administrative code, and health could to consolidate and streamline department of public works enforcement, abatement, and cost collection processes for public nuisances, including amendments to administrative code chapter 80, public works code sections, and health code article 6, revealing public works code sections 1 74.2 through 1 74.13, 728 through 734, and seven 35.1 through 735.4, remembering public works code section 707.1 as 706.9, and

making environmental and other required findings. supervisor avalos: bank you, madam clerk. >> good morning, committee members. in a legislative aide in a supervisor mirkarimi's office -- i am a legislative aide. he entered this is this legislation at the request of the department of public works. briefly, i will describe what it does. immense fortunes of the public works vote, the administrative code, and the health code to streamline the enforcement of public nuisances and lights. it centralizes the of forssmann of nuisance and light through a consolidated citation appeal -- it centralizes the enforcement of nuisance and blight. the city's comprehensive 2008 ordinance focused primarily on the abatement process, but did

not consolidate the process for issuing administrative citations for nuisance law violations. supervisor avalos: ok. we also have a presentation from the director of dpw? >> good morning. i have a presentation if you want or need it. otherwise, just happy to answer questions. supervisor avalos: i think briefly if you could discuss the benefit of the ordinance for your work and the work of your department. if you could briefly talk about that, that would be great. >> it is really -- the enforcement responsibilities that the department has for maintaining the public rights of way to be safe and clean and accessible are scattered amongst a number of different parts of the municipal code and health code, the police code an ad in

code, the public works code. we have two pieces of the existing legislation. the blight ordinance and our sidewalk inspection and repair ordinance, which actually work very well. they are very effective because they are designed to enable us to, once we have identified a problem, if the property owner does not address it, it allows us to address it and recover the city's cost. we do not have that ability with the myriad of other aspects of the codes that we are meant to enforce. they have cumbersome processes and the legal means of cost recovery, so they are, frankly, not very effective. what this proposed legislation does is for all those other elements of public right of way in enforcement that we have responsibility for, it basically holds them into the plight ordinance, allows us to use that process, which we have found has been very effective. just so you know, i know you have had questions about blight, and i think have called for a hearing on it.

the plight ordinance was initially intended to address kind of a wide range of issues of non-building code property blight building code issues. what we found in practice is the great majority, well over 90%, of the use of the plight ordinance so far, has been graffiti. we had an existing graffiti ordinance, and we used that first, but when people do not comply with the graffiti ordinance, we then issue a blight notice. it has been very effective. we are not getting a lot of requests from the public for non-graffiti blight issues here that said, it has been very effective. our sidewalk repair program has been very effective. we want to use the benefit of those ordinances to be able to address all the rest of the

aspects of right of way enforcement that we are responsible for. supervisor avalos: ok, very good. just one brief question. you and i met in my office about a month ago. i gave you a few sites to look at in terms of blighted properties. not in public right of way. it was actually the top of edgar street. there were two, maybe three properties, just completely abandoned buildings on the top of the hill that are very visible from a lot of sites around the city. i'm not sure if anyone owns the property at all, or is just sitting there for a long time. how would we go about getting the property been -- is that where we look at dpw or dbi? >> somebody at the town hall meeting the other night sent me some info after the meeting as well. we would send an inspector out,

and the way we design the process is our inspector will determine which things fall within the admen code, the plight ordinance, and if there are things beyond that that are building code related, we have a process set up. there may be both in these instances, and we would be able to move forward and site immediately based on what is under our jurisdiction, but if we identify building code issues, we would allow that to dbi, and they would send an inspector out. i gave my contact info. he has already followed up. i have already sent it to our inspectors, so they will be checking that out this week. supervisor avalos: very good. great to hear. we will open this item up for public comment. no one coming forward, we close public comment. we move this forward with recommendation without objection. item four please.

>> item four, ordinance waiting san francisco public works code section 724.1, which imposes temporary street space occupancy fees on saturday may 7 and saturday may 21, 2011, for certain streets in san francisco, as part of small business week sidewalk sales. supervisor avalos: bank appear this is an item that one of the members of the board of supervisors sponsors every year so we can have the conditions to have different stands around the city during small business week. i am offering this legislation this year. it came from the office of small business administration office, headed by regina. >> good morning. annually, the small business commission comes before you to request the sidewalk fee waiver for small business week shop

your neighborhood day. this is taking place on may 21. before you, you have a list of streets in the legislation that we are requesting the block fee waiver. i have submitted to you a list of the merchant corridors that are participating, and we have a total of 23,000, 100 -- $23,182 in sidewalk sale at the waivers. just to note that the commit -- this is a commission-initiated projects, so if the commission was not initiated the project, the sidewalk sale at the waivers would not be happening. i have also provided you just a document of this year, the small business week committee, we are doing additional promotion for the sidewalk sale day, the shop your neighborhood day, and i have provided you with a list of the promotional materials. supervisor avalos: very good. thank you. the first day of the sidewalk sale will be in district 11.

we are going to combine it with our our walk event, which will start that evening along ocean avenue. our events in district 11 have been really fabulous. lots of great participation from district 11 artists and neighborhood residents. we have had hundreds of people on the streets at each one of our events. this will be our fourth. >> correct. we wanted to make sure that ocean avenue was able to partake in the sidewalk sale at the labor to be able to do their part what -- their art walk, even though they were not able to join us for the may 21 date. supervisor avalos: very good. thank you, regina. we will open this item for public comments. and we will close public comments. and this item we can move forward with recommendations. so done. madam clerk, do we have any other items before us? >> no, mr. chairman. supervisor avalos: we are

adjourned. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to city hall. the great city hall of san francisco. [applause] we have been busy this morning but it has been a pleasure all morning to greet so many people love the city. i cannot think of another 10 people who love this city. i want to thank each and everyone of you because your volunteering -- i know that

word. volunteer for one of the greatest cities in the world. what you will be doing, sacrifices in time, interactions with you, with various commissioners, it will be a wonderful experience, one that many of you will continue to do, and some of you about to do for the first time. i see former supervisor bevan dufty is here. david from the department of the barnett. emily. commissioner shorter, thank you for being here. bruce, thank you for being here. tom, roberta from the mta, thank you for being here. please forgive me, i am still young. [laughter] i have so many others serving on different commissions already. thank you. we have city departments that are here. i know we have the department of

the environment, film commission, commission on the status of women, health status board. we also have -- department of the environment, mta, and of course, the asian art museum. there are six commissions that will received today here 10 new commissioners. i want to thank you for your service. that may go through some of your names. good to see you again, jim. for the asian art museum, which is responsible for determining policy for the administration of our asian art museum, the city's duel that holds one of the most comprehensive collections of asian art in the western world.

jim, you will be joining 26 commissioners who all share a fellowship based on the conviction that the asian art museum is unique, the best of its kind, and a tremendous asset to our city. your expertise will be a substantial supplement to the work of your fellow commissioners, and notably, your background in finance and work cochairing the campaign for the san francisco ballet will be an extremely welcome asset. like all the other commissioners, the import work done by the 27 commissioners, the strength of the museum greatly benefit our whole city. it enhances our quality of life, a reputation as a cultural center, and also -- an important point -- city appealed that brings in visitors and millions of dollars a year. thank you for your work and for what you will be doing with the commission. thank you for being here. [applause]

on the commission of the status -- on the status of women, what an important commission. san francisco is the birthplace of the united nations and the first and still only city that has enacted a local ordinance reflecting the principles of the united nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. i am confident my appointment to this body will enhance and support the continued efforts of the department and commission to ensure equitable " treatment of women, as well as to enhance women pause health and safety throughout san francisco. felicialicia gamez. a new addition to the city family. commissioner brown has already has professional ethics. that is bar none, impressive.

she has founded her own firm, serves on the board of the city's lawyers association, and above all else, has proven herself to be a leader, utilizing some of her best attributes, analyzing, collaborating, and offering solutions. as a latina attorney who had dedicated a significant amount of her time working on issues that impact the immigrant, latino, and lgbt community, i am confident commissioner gamez will add a unique and needed perspective to the san francisco commission on the status of women. she has set herself, change starts with stronger individuals. with that chsaid, i generally look forward to seeing the results of your work on the commission. thank you for being here. [applause]

nancy kirschner rodriguez. thank you for serving. with over 25 years of experience in national, state, and local policies, and as a former director of governmental affairs in my office, and the is uniquely qualified to expand the work of the commission on the status of women. she currently shares her expertise by serving on a variety of bodies from the city, including the board of directors jewish community council center, and is a driving force behind the work being done by the san francisco collaborative against human trafficking. her experience with government on all levels and your desire to better the lives of all of those we certification leaves me confident that and to make an incredible mark on this community and will move forward policies that create many new and continued opportunities for

women of san francisco and beyond. thank you, nancy, for your service. [applause] stephanie simmons. thank you for reupping, as they say. appointed to the commission four months ago, it is my pleasure to reappoint commissioner simmonds to her post. stephanie is someone who has great ties to our city. whether it is to the business community, african-american community, or our community of women, she is a strong advocate for all. we look forward to stephanie's continued service to the city in her capacity as a commissioner. thank you for your service. [applause] the commission on the environment. what a commission that keeps me busy, but busy with positive things because it is all about

our future, what we are leaving behind as the city continues to pursue our goal of zero waste by 2020, we can boast we are leading the nation with a 77% signed diversion rate, thanks to the department of the environment. innovative policies such as this, the city's energy efficiency policy, green jobs, and many more thank you for being and reupping yourself on the commission and the environment. while who describes itself as a serial entrepreneur and start-up executive. his work spans from his current job as chief operating officer of earth aid ink -- inc., a proprietary universal platform that gets households to track their water usage to advising

many prominent, elected officials across the country to energy and policy technology. he's a talented individual, and i'm pleased to be one of those elected officials raul has chosen to advise. i look forward to more advice in the future and i'm pleased to appoint raul today. thank you, raul. ruth ger vanous, -- gervanis, thank you for reupping. ruth brings years of experience teaching in the public school system, wogging as an environmental consultant volunteer and ruth has also proven she is a wealth of knowledge on all things related to her environment. she's focused much of her attention on maximizing sustainability in the redevelopment of treasure, efforts that may just come to fruition someday soon. she's focused much of her attention on maximizing sustainability in all of these

represent development projects but i'm sure how much she will advance our innovative policies and i continue to look forward to seeing this come out of the commission in the very near future. thank you, commissioner. [applause] our film commission, thank you, direct robertson for being here today and leadership that you have been providing. i'm seeing more and more films and been on the set of a last one was a very, especially thing because i got a picture can nicole kidman. how many of you did? [laughter] but another reup, a good friend of mine, one has led not only labor but a great community and great labor leader, bob morales. thank you, bob, for reupping on the film commission. bob was appointed in 1996 by my good friend willie brown, making him the longest serving film

commissioner i know. tpwhorn el salvador, central america, he came to the u.s. in 1958. after completing his education in san francisco, he joined the united states army where he served for two years. commissioner maradis is president of the steam electrics, hispanic caucus and california teamsters hispanic caucus and brings a valuable labor voice to this commission. rightly so. bob's work has been honored by various groups including the united way of california, martin luther king society of san francisco, the united states congress and state of california. his talents are great and we're happy they reside here on our film commission. thank you, bob, for being here and reupping. don, thank you very much for reserving on this film commission. you have been here since 2000 when you were appointed by

former mayor willie brown. why is there such a connection? don has previously served as a board member of the museum of the city and county where he took part in establishing a world class history museum. is a tireless advocate for gay rights and strong supporter of the film industry here in san francisco. don, it's a pleasure, you're advising me, doing great work and i want to welcome you again to the film commission. thank you very much. [applause] our health services board will continue to be a very, very important board for our city. karen breslin, thank you, and congratulations for being elected to that board. pulling from her 26 years of experience working for the city, karen was elected to the health service board in 2001, was

re-elected by members in 2006 and this year ran uncontested. commissioner breslin is a former president of this board and is currently serving as vice president. she's also served as chair of several health service board committees, including the budget and finance committee and rates and benefits committee. karen, thank you for your service and i will look forward to your continued work with the board as we pursue structural changes to our city's benefit programs. thank you very much and congratulations, again, for being elected and appointed. finally one of the most difficult commission board for the city, our m.t.a. board of directors, and i saw nat ford here, good to see you, and i number of commissioners. jerry, you're rejoining here and

you're reupping and talk about the military you need to reup on for m.t.a. but have you my faith and you have my confidence, jerry, in bringing forward to this board a wonderful perspective, one i think you have held and we talked about had many, many discussions about. first and foremost i want to thank the board of supervisors for their support for jerry's reaappointment. jerry was unanimously approved yesterday, making it possible to take over today. that's a great accomplishment, sir. a native of san francisco, lifelong user of our transit system and currently the m.t.a. board's vice chair, jerry's being reappointed for many reasons. but at the top of this list is his willingness to step up to the plate and work through some very thorny issues and adequately addressing neighborhood and community concerns. jerry's worked to address community concerns related to

some of the lines addressed in the t.e.p., transportation improvement project, is a perfect example of the valuable service that director lee provides on the m.t.a. board. jerry's experience with u.p.s. as well as his work with former mayor agnos, including helping establish a newly formed department of traffic as well as serving as chairman of the mayor's taxi demitty has been proven to be a valuable addition to this board. today at a time when the m.t.a. is dealing with very substantial issues, jerry's willingness to ask tough questions and his inquisitive nature encourages the board and m.t.a. staff to create solutions outside of the box. thank you, jerry, for your hard work. i look forward to your continued leadership on this board. thank you very much. [applause] with this, i will ask all of our appointees to stand up and take the oath of office together.

and if you can repeat after me and after each pause, you will state your name in order and also at the end, state your commission in order when it gets to that phrase. please raise your right hand. i i, do solemnly affirm that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of california against all enemies foreign and domestic , that i will bear truth faith and allegiance to the

constitution of the united states and the constitution to the state of california, that i take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and i will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which i'm about to enter, and during such time as i hold the office of -- for the city and county of san francisco. congratulations. [applause]

i present to you the new class of commissioners! [horns honking] [siren wails]