that question very seriously among staff and trustees. supervisor chiu: can i ask you a quick question about attendance? even despite nearly 2 million visitors, but 72% are entering free of charge. is that pretty typical of museums of the caliber of that that we have? >> it varies from museums to museum, depending on the structure. i would say one-third of de young is open free of charge. our royalty court, observation tower, so we see a great deal of visitors coming for those particular features of the building. it is still a huge attraction. the bloom is not off the rose jet sellers syet shall we say.

our disabled and disadvantaged audiences as well. i was going to just comment that i think that maintaining and elevating the quality of our programs over the next couple of years will be among our greatest challenges, as we have generated this tremendous desire and need to come to the museum and see our collections and exhibitions. of course our special exhibition program, as i mentioned, is one of our top engines and driving that, and we're looking at a very ambitious program for 2013 that will commence with our presentation of the girl with the parole heariearl earinga, ag with the america's cup. really elevating the quality of

work that we're doing is a huge challenge. our second challenge, or shall i say opportunity will be the maintenance and repair of both museum buildings, which as i mentioned, the city of san francisco loans, particularly in the wake of this huge visitation. -- which as i mentioned, the city of san francisco owns, particularly in the wake of this huge visitation. over this past winter and spring, for example, we had an amazingly popular program of the legion of honor. over 56,000 visitors came to see that between early february, just a few weeks ago. i had my fingers crossed the entire time that some piece of masonry does not fall off the building in the courtyard of the legion of honor. in fact, it's about making safe harbors for not only the

collections, but also for our visitors as well. third, and perhaps for most of the challenges and opportunities over the next three to five years, is our ability to secure in late in ongoing support for our friday night's at the de young. these are incredible programs that have allowed us to embrace a multi-cultural and diverse audience here in san francisco. late night programs featuring tours, hospitality, and education. over the past 11 months, 95,000 people have availed themselves, with 10,000 coming to see the great ol mex exhibition. in truth are real aim is about availability and accessibility

to the broadest in thst adnd deepest audience as possible here in san francisco. we are proud to attract our culturally diverse citizens. i just want to say, in conclusion, that we accept the mayor's proposed budget of $15.7 million. as you know, it is outlined coming from the additions fund, was a transfer of art and missions to the city netting out on behalf of benefits and cash and overhead. a return of admissions of 2.7 to the museum. in addition to that expenditures from the general fund that includes salaries, which are about 72% of the budget, services of the departments, which include utilities on both

of the buildings, as well as insurance on our collections and building maintenance of about 4%. the balance of the museum's overall budget, which combined with the city portion and the private sector portion, stands at $56,372,000 projected for 2011 and 2012. that will be funded by the private section of the corporate arts sector of san francisco. as i said to you earlier, my board president is here, and she provides the leadership to work with the trustees, the foundation, and the staff in bringing those private sector funds. fund-raising, earned revenue, and in down the income to balance out the $56 million. -- endowment income to balance out the 56 million. we stand ready to work with the supervisors and mayor's office

to finalize any details that we need to in order to put the budget to bed, but i appreciate you letting me introduce the fine arts museums of san francisco. we are here to answer any questions that you might like to ask us. supervisor chiu: thank you. i do want to say thank you very much to your president of trustees because of the work you do. is there any work you would like to present? >> not really. it is just that i have appeared before this board of supervisors many times in building this museum, and i am so thrilled to find a warm reception and friendly voices and not negative poinvotes, which we encounteredr so long. all of the supervisors at that time called me after the building opened and said they loved it. it was incredibly gratified for me after those long, arduous

bytes to get it built. we are very proud to be here. we're very honored to be here and give this presentation to you, and i hope you all enjoy the shows at the museums and take it vantage of what ever we are able to offer you. thank you. supervisor chiu: why don't we go to the budget analyst report. >> madam chair and members of the community, i recommend the details on page 6, totalled $79,936. they are 100 general% -- 100 percent in general fund reductions. this would allow an increase of $888,660 or 6% in the department's budget, and we will certainly work with the department and the pursuing week on this matter. supervisor chiu: thank you. supervisor wiener pyridi. supervisor wiener: are you in agreement with the budget analysts? >> there are few details and the

grass we would like to work out, per to billy as it regards attrition and how that affects overtime pay for our guard force. secondly, i think there is an item regarding uniforms that is also outlined in our mou's that need a little fine-tuning, and i think the third item deals with vendor contracts, which are an issue of going to contracts and making sure that both the budget analyst and our office understand the details of those contracts. as i understand it, those are the three general issues that we need to bear down on. supervisor wiener: i just want to say that i think we have seen a real renaissance in holding these museums.

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