you can see the transformation, so it is amazing for the city. so i know there has been talked about coordination among the various institutions in terms of maybe allowing people to have -- purchase one past so they can go to everything -- one pass so they can go to everything, and create synergy. is there a status on that? >> i cannot give you our report right now, but we're always working on it. we love, appreciate, and admire our workers. in the botanic garden and the japanese tea garden and the conservatory of flowers. you know, designing a ticket for general admission for a number of organizations is like a committee designing of coura ho.

i also want to extend my deep appreciation as i did earlier to the san francisco rec and park department for all they do in terms of the beautiful properties on which we sit. they have certainly been a player for us. right now we're working with the california academy of sciences on dealing with the continuation and the management of a shuttle service, which we like to provide within golden gate park, so that individuals coming to the facilities there have the ability to park out at the beach in be shuttled into the park, thereby alleviating traffic and other parking in the park. that is one of our greatest projects right now. it is ongoing, and particularly good in the summer months. supervisor wiener: thank youl.

. supervisor chiu: supervisor chu. supervisor chu: i want to thank you for your considercontinued leadership. i was struck by your last bullet on the opportunities and challenges pages around the shipping user demographics and having attended york friday night's at the de young, i think that has been a tremendous success. can you talk about the things you're doing to increase participation among the first constituencies? that is over a three-year period? >> it is over a three-year period. the themes or the contents of each of those friday night's is driven in large part by the diverse schedules that we maintain, as well as the permanent collections. for the winter time, for

example, it is focused on mexico, latino art, all driving inspiration and origins from our colossally exhibition -- our colossal exhibition. as we put these together each season, they may change depending on the programs. the programs are not determine not only by staff, but a loose knit informal set up committees, which represents big holders of each of those exhibitions, the that thbe that be france or whatever. they serve as input, as well as ambassadors coming into their constituencies to advertise the programs. we also use all efforts and resources in our command in

terms of marketing and public resources to target vercommunits that we believe would have a great interest in our programming for a particular set of friday night's. as i said, what we thought would be particularly good at ol mec was to get free admission for seven nights in a row. we advertise that all of the hispanic and spanish-language publications that were available to us, as well as all of the social networking outlets that were pertinent as well. so it is noot a broad brush, but rather more targeted marketing the we were the constituents might be interested in a particular friday night. then there is the ongoing pressure of generbrush of gener.

i have had the privilege for being the director for almost six years, and i have seen some fantastic things occurred there, but i will tell you friday night's is my proudest moment. as you know, when you come you are a grain of sand on the beach of humanity, and it is a fabulous way to welcome people into museums, breakdown the inhibitions and barriers that often surrounds going to an art museum and allow families from all walks of life to come together in that fabulous building. and so it costs us -- the program is between $600,000.800000 dollars annually to put on. -- between $600,000 and $800,000 annually to put on. supervisor chu: -at is- supervisor chiu: that is the balance of the presentation.

i want to thank you for the presentation. i do want to appreciate the work you are doing, as well as the whole experience for visitors. thank you very much. we look forward to the ensuing week conversation, and we will see you back next week. thank you. the next apartment is the academy of sciences. -- department is the academy of sciences. >> good morning. my name is chris andrews. thank you for this time this morning to talk to you. i know you have a busy agenda, so i will try to keep my remarks brief. if you have any questions, please do let me know. i believe we are giving out additional documents. we opened in 2008, so we have been open to the public for nearly three years now, although

the building has been operational for four years. as you will recall, we had a very successful first year with 2.4 million visitors. since opening at the end of 2008, we have had a total of 5 million visitors. 60 percent of those have been free. that also includes 16,000 children. -- 16% have been freed. we're looking at stabilizing the bay area and also a growing tourist visitation and insuring access for disadvantaged citizens around the bay area. we're very keen on leveraging the city funding to increase educational outreach, and so we now have five after-school programs, four of which are new. including our careers in science program for

disadvantaged youth. we have partnerships for the office of math and science. also the art and science integration program. we also have an excellent program of enhanced field trips for fourth and fifth graders. we have also developed some preschool kids for early childhood education and as a part of the first five programs. as a director of the aquarium, i am delighted to say the aquarium and rainforest is a very popular component of the academy of sciences. 90% of the guest visit the rain forest and the aquarium. these of the highly-visited areas were guest. people like penguins and even like snakes. thanks in support of the city of san francisco, steinhardt has a long and illustrious history going back to 1923.

over that time has been able to develop an excellent reputation. we focus on providing diversity with many different kinds of animals, not just fish. we also feature small exhibits, which although they are high maintenance, they allow us to display a high range of animals we would not otherwise be able to display. we also pride ourselves in high- quality animal care, and focusing on the breeding of unusual hard to breed species. as well as creative and nobble expedition -- exhibition techniques. as you might anticipate for an organization going into its fifth year, we are undergoing a planning process for we have posed three questions to steinhardt in particular. that is what will look like in 2015 and beyond? what we want it to be known for, and what subjects do we want to own? we are in a traction, and

therefore, what do the guests tell us about what they like and want to see and enjoy in the future? under the umbrella of the academy's mission to explore and protect the natural world, the mission is to make known the world of water. we have six underlying gold under that. they are to exhibit and emphasize a diversity and importance of global ecosystems. to develop novel creative exhibition techniques and related programs that support our mission. most importantly, to practice science-based animal management and provide high-quality animal care. we are continuing to develop sustainable management practices that would insure long-term viability of the academy in steinhardt aquarium. we want to recruit, develop, and most importantly retain experienced and professional staff. also, develop partnerships around the world that will enhance the development of steinhardt and further its mission and also reputation.

as the planning effort, which is still under way, some priorities are reemerging. we want to continue to improve and enhance exhibits, posing on the public interest in live animals. to do this we will need additional quarantined space, and we have focused on the need of an additional 4000 square feet of space to quarantine new animals. the aquarium has been operational since 2007, so make its fees will increase over time, and we're very aware of that. -- so maintenance fees will increase over time, and we're very aware of that. this is a unique opportunity and strength of the california academy of sciences. in conclusion, i would like to say we have been working hard with the budget analysts, and we are in agreement with the suggestions, but i would be happy to answer any questions you might have. supervisor chiu: thank you very

much. supervisor winner. why don't we go to the budget analyst report. -- supervisor wiener. >> on page 9 we have a recommendation of attrition sabin -- attrition savings. i am withdrawing that recommendation after discussions with their department and documentation, and we are recommending a reduction of $100,000 in the professional and specialized services account. as i understand it, at the department concurs with the $100,000 in that account. supervisor chiu: just to be clear, the proposal shows attritions savings worth about 100,000. you are withdrawing that recommendation and instead requiring or suggesting we cut $100,000 and professional and specialized services? >> that is exactly correct. supervisor chiu: any questions

from the committee? if there are no questions at this time, i want to thank you for your work. i think the academy is a wonderful addition to san francisco's wonderful attractions. thank you for the work you do there. without objection, we will take those recommendations and will not be seeing you next week. thank you. we have the war memorial. >> good morning, chair chiu, members of the committee. i am beth mar. we operate and maintain the major institutions. including the opera house, veterans building, davis symphony hall and a rehearsal hall. our mission is to provide safe,

first-class facilities that promote cultural, educational, and entertainment opportunities in a cost-effective manner for maximum use and enjoyment by the public. and to best serve the interests of the beneficiaries of the war memorial trust, which include veteran organizations. for the coming fiscal year we are projecting to have 854 performances and defense and the rental facilities, opera house, davies hall in the green room. we projected attendance of 1.2 million patrons. in addition, we anticipate there will be a total of 400 meetings of various veterans' organizations and the veterans buildings attended by 8000 veterans and their guests. an additional estimated 15,000 persons will attend exhibits of the rest of arts commission gallery and museum of performance of design and to our

programming. -- sf arts commission in gallery and museum of performance and design and tour programming. as provided in the city's ten-year program plan, the war memorial will begin the development phase of the seismic upgrade in july 2011. we have been actively involved in pre-design for the past two years and have developed a post- retrofit plan for the veteran's building that increases and improves space utilization and increases our earned revenue generation from the building. in this coming fiscal year the war memorial will be dedicating engineering and administrative support to this design development phase and coordinating the move out of

all veterans building occupants, which will begin in october 2012. also in this coming year we will be moving forward with construction of the san francisco veterans memorial in the courtyard between the opera house and the veterans building. i would encourage you to look at the three designed by the list. you can run over to the lobby, and there are actual models of the three final artist designs on display through friday. that is a $2.5 million project, entirely privately -- with private funds. our proposed operating budget for 2011 and 2012 is 1.2 below the current operating year budget. our proposed current revenue is 8.5% more than current year operating revenue.

our increased earned revenues include a 3% rental rate increase, which was approved by the board of trustees specifically to offset the new annual cost to the war memorial for the recently approved civic center community benefit district. that increased cost of about $57,000 is included in our operating budget. we also anticipate ongoing cost savings from recent energy efficient projects, including $25,000 reduction in the light, heat, and power costs, and 15,000 in the lighting supplies. ifinally for the coming fiscal year, we are continuing to broaden and trying to maximize the rental of our facilities. you may have noticed looking at the pink section and different promotions and the last year, we

have increased the outside uses a davis symphony hall and opera house. -- outside uses at davies symphony hall and opera house. if you have any questions, i would be happy to answer them. i believe we have reached agreement with the modified recommendations of the budget analysts. supervisor chiu: thank you for your presentation. i do have a question about the project of the veterans improvement project. that will be understandably a very large project coming in particular because of the complication of having to move out existing functions that are currently in the war memorial -- veterans building. are beginning to work with the real-estate department to see if there are identified city spaces that could accommodate some of those functions? >> yes, we are in communication with real estate.

supervisor chiu: it looks like the move will not happen until the next fiscal year -- >> that is correct. supervisor chiu: do you see any problems with finding locations? how will that play out? >> we have been in touch with real estate in connection to offices, including our offices and other city entities that are in our building. we have also been in touch with the presidio to provide temporary facilities for veteran organizations, and we have been in touch with several other presentation facilities, including the new sf jazz building that will be constructed, as to their ability to accommodate some of the troops theater licensees, which will be out of the house for two years. supervisor chiu: is the general direction tried to find as much

city space as possible to accommodate functions? >> yes. supervisor chiu: thank you. why don't we go to the budget analyst report. >> as the department indicated, we are now in agreement or the department is in agreement with our revised recommendations, and i will run through those for you. on page 12, of their current expenses, instead of recommend day -- recommending a reduction, we're recommending a reduction of $3,700. we are withdrawing the recommendation for scavenger services of 10,000. we're leaving our recommendation for other baby -- building maintenance of a cult thousand. similarly, we're leaving recommendation for the attrition savings and related fringe benefits of one of his 16,239. the bottom line is is instead of one a purported 2539 come out the recommended reductions we

are recommending a reduction of $131.9039. -- $131, 939. supervisor chiu: given that the department has recommendirecomme reduction, withdrawing the scavenger services and keeping the abatement process, can we take those changes without objection? great. given that this is a non-general fund, this will go to your fund balance. thank you for your presentation, and we will not be seeing you next week. supervisor winner. -- supervisor wiener. supervisor wiener: can we take a

two minute recess without killing the quorum? supervisor chiu: absolutely. we will take a two minute recess.