pararts dollars with public utilities commission's goals. i want to thank president vietor, as well as commisssioner caen, who brought up this issue years ago. i appreciate your leadership on this, as well. as far as background, the san francisco administrative code requires that 2% of all above- ground construction cost for new buildings is set aside for arts enrichment. historically, those resources have been through the arts commission. 2% has to be set aside for arts enrichment. that money then gets sent to the arts commission.

they distribute it for us. in 2004, we were advised via the city attorney's office that the p.u.c., unlike other agencies, had full destructiodiscretion. that means we can partner and collaborate with the arts commissions, or we could commission them in house, if we wanted to. it's a different type of authority that the p.u.c. has. next slide. we wanted to give you examples of the types of projects that have been supported in partnership with the arts commission. we've had a productive working relationship with the arts commission. they bring to the table a lot of expertise around art that the p.u.c. does not have. here is an example. you may remember it. it was a large spider.

it was recognized as the best public art piece the year it was put up. this next piece of work may also be familiar. internally, we would always talk about something outside city hall. this one also received recognition in the public arts arena. next you the big peace sign commemorating the anniversary of the peace sign. as another example of p.u.c.- supported art. the next is a picture of our new headquarters. the relationship we have had with the arts commission -- if either goes on to public facilities and buildings, or is

used for other public art. with their headquarters, it's an opportunity to put some amazing public art pieces on the p.u.c. building. next slide. while the public art pieces that have been supported have gotten national and international recognition, there's a lot of interest within the p.u.c. staff and the commission to better align the arts dollars. as a staff, we've been working for the past several months to develop guiding principles that would realize how the arts and richmond dollars get better spent. the criteria and principals are listed on this slide. the artwork, would have a nexus

to the p.u.c. functions. the second principle is around making in alignment with our community benefits policy. that policy looks for us to be a good neighbor in places. we would love to see the arts in richmond dollars be aligned with that. the third area is we're able to focus in geographic areas where we're having impact. whether it is the southeast waste water treatment facility, or the work happening in alameda, there's a lot of areas we are having an impact. the last two principles -- leveraging and developing partnerships with other city agencies. we've been in conversation with efforts in district 10 around the mayor's office of housing, or the redevelopment agency, to look for opportunities to put

arts enrichment dollars in place with city agencies. lastly, making sure the art is accessible to people with disabilities. that has been coming up with folks we have been talking to. historically, the arts enrichment dollars have been administered through the arts commission in the public art program. moving forward, we've been in conversation with them around identifying the resources to go to the community arts and education program. it would allow us to go deeper into districts to support local artist and have a greater impact in particular neighborhoods. we have been in those conversations trying to get a sense of how we can better access that program while still supporting the public arts program. next slide. as far as criteria about how we

will be using the arts in richmond funds, -- arts enrichment funds, one criteria we're looking at is a local artists. the issue about local jobs is super important to us, as well. we will be going over the criteria that will benefit city cultural centers that are often under resource. the bayview opera house, the mission cultural center, as well. we will be in conversation with the san francisco unified school district to look at communities where arts have been pulled out of the curriculum and find opportunities to partner with the school. and also, the community arts and education program that would really maximize our opportunity.

as far as implementation, we have been thinking about this quite a bit. our best thinking today is we will be creating an arts committee in house that would have representation across each of the enterprises. the idea is that at the beginning of each fiscal year, the arts committee, made up of staff and representatives from the arts commission as well, would identify our priority as we think about those dollars each year. we would be able to hear from, for example, waste water. can you think about arts enrichment in these particular districts? the idea would also be that as we are building facilities, we are building an environmental interpreted center -- that staff would be able to say we will need arts money to hire local artists.

we can partner with the local school and the neighborhood. government affairs will also be part of the community. you can identify partnerships with our colleagues on the board of supervisors, or city departments, as it makes sense. that committee would come up with a plan for the priorities. the arts commission would be able to identify projects that would be consistent with that plan. we may say district and is a big priority with us, obviously. the arts commission would come up with projects that are consistent with our community. the external affairs has been less hands on. we will update you in the community benefits program to tell uyou where our community

dollars are going. next slide. there has been a lot of talk around accounting, transparency, and reporting. because there's such a large amount of money in play, there's a lot of interest about increasing the mechanisms in house to be able to check out the dollars are spent. we've been working closely with the finance staff of the arts commission on the accounting and reporting process. the arts commission will maintain separate accounting of the arts enrichment that is p.u.c. they will have annual reports. on a quarterly basis, their financial person will meet with our staff to reconcile what has been happening each year. progress to date. we have reviewed the financial

information to give us a sense of where the dollars have gone. we have come up with this new reporting relationship. we have been have been several meetings, both with the arts commission staff, as well as several other commissioners, as well as a liaison from our commission to start thinking about what this relationship would look like and if the p.u.c. wanted to have a more hands-on approach. we have developed this arts enrichment review for you today. as far as the next desksteps, hopefully the resolution will be adopted by you today. we are close to finalizing the mou between the two agencies to the hope is that will happen by the end of the summer. the arts committee will begin to meet and identify what the priorities will be for the upcoming fiscal year. we will be coming back to you on a semiannual basis to be able to

report back as to the type of projects that have been supported. nothing that would get you to much -- you would be able to provide oversight and accountability on how the resources are leveraged. questions? president vietor: i want to make one additional comment, especially as it relates to the community. there will be a lot of construction going on. if you could translate, for the benefit of who is here, what kind of dollars we're talking about, and what that could mean for programming for the arts and potential job opportunities in the arts community. >> sure. not being great at math, i will not pull out a number. i will say that since 2006, almost $4 million has gone to the arts commission for public art. we know that $3 billion is

potentially coming to rebuild the waste water facility -- not all of that will be above ground, but a lot of it will be above ground. 2% of $3 billion is a lot of money. [laughter] president vieto>> it could be a0 million. when you talk about above-ground and below ground, you're talking closer to the $20 million to $30 million, but is still a lot of money. >> we have been looking at opportunities 3 we know that a lot of the construction itself will be happening right next door. it has been everything from looking and having conversation with the bayview opera house about their needs, and talking with the san francisco unified school district about what it would look like if we put additional arts dollars in the

schools in district 10, to looking at a rotating gallery in this space and be able to commission local artists to looking at murals. there are a lot of opportunities. the question is, what are the priorities for the community? there are plenty of opportunities and there are plenty of resources. it is exciting. president vietor: i think it is a really exciting opportunity. the community arts and education programming -- we have seen so many cuts for arts education. district 10 could become a model for a recipient of some dollars. i think it is a wonderful opportunity. thank you for your work on this. the steering committee and the decision making process -- just to make sure there's an

opportunity for public input. community members or artists or programs that they might not know about. somehow, in the process, make sure that component is there. i did see the semiannual presentation to the p.u.c.. maybe even ia regular meeting to ensure public input. >> let me give a little more context. the idea is that the steering committee within the p.u.c. allows us to identify what is happening within the agency. what we have been very clear at, as we've been in conversation with the arts commission, for the most part, the p.u.c. staff does not bring a lot of arts expertise and we're not trying to.

i do not think there's interest in doing that all within the p.u.c. i think we are gracious and appreciative of the arts expertise of the arts commission. the steering committee is responsible for identifying, as an agency, where we are having impact. where are we tearing up roads? where are communities disproportionately impacted by the p.u.c. operations? it is that kind of thinking, that kind of broad stroke around agency priorities, and then those priorities will go over to the arts commission and the community arts and education program. their director is here today. they will be able to say, ok, if you're having an impact in district 10, they have over 40 years of expertise funding, grass-roots, local, on the

ground efforts. they have their own process, which we will make sure it's consistent with our community benefits policy. as far as from the standpoint of the p.u.c. of being in the weeds identifying artists, we do not have the expertise, so we will lead partner in -- so we will be pondering with them. president vietor: thank you. that is helpful. any comments on this item? >> is this saying we have approval? >> who has approval? >> the p.u.c. >> in the past or moving forward? >> the past is already over. >> pretty much. this is saying the p.u.c. has

approval over how we spend our arts enrichment dollars. if we wanted to, we could say we want to support francisco to do an art project right now. we have the discretion to do that. the idea is that we want to continue to collaborate with the arts commission. we will provide more oversight. the relationship in the past has not been a lot of engagement with them to do the work and what type of work to support. we have the ability to be able to do that. >> i still do not have the right answer. my question is, can we approve whatever art they have selected? >> yes. >> i want to add one other thing. i do not think we should micromanage, but i would like the major art that has been selected for 525 to come before the commission. >> sure.

commisssioner caen: david had some issue with this. are you here david? >> he raised the issue about the level of specificity of the item on the agenda. commisssioner caen: david, do you want to come up and restate your question? >> sure. i'm very happy with the presentation. i believe the policy and what is proposed is absolutely sound. my concern was that the agenda item description was kind of bare. i do not know if someone else might have seen the agenda and not known enough to come. that was my only concern on whether or not it warranted taking action today. i absolutely believe in the program. i would also notes very briefly on the content, i recently saw a

talk about the wpa and the project's steering the depression and the important art component to construction projects. give me a new appreciation of the importance of connecting art to public construction projects. i think that continues to fall into that. i think this will work. commissioner moran: thank you. president vietor: i think that would hava great to better infom the public. i think that would be quite helpful. other questions or comments? yes, please come forward. >> we met with juliette a couple

times. we understand this is a great opportunity for a continued partnership. i'm one of the few that ventures out throughout san francisco and i understand how a lot of money is put into the arts. art galleries up and down downtown. we would like to see some of that here in this part of the community. we have to continue saying it. win-win and equity to we have some very talented artists. we have filmmakers. we want to see more of that stuff here. we want to be part of the leadership in developing it. keep in mind that we want to be part of that. thank you. president vietor: thank you. it would be nice to have that

kind of a value statement as part of the mou. that is key in this whole process. >> my name is judy. in the program director for community arts and education. i do not have words to say how thrilled i am, on behalf of the arts commission and my program in particular. the program was founded 45 years ago on the premise that there should be art for and by the people who live and work in the communities. we have really tried to abide by that. i would be really honored to perhaps come back and do a presentation on some of the programs we have done thus far. we have a commitment to working locally with a local artists. we only higher san francisco and community-based artists. we focus on children and

families. we focus on economic development. i am really speechless and thrilled at the opportunities in front of us to continue our work with the bayview opera house and to continue our work with the local school and to develop relationships with the local business community. i would be delighted to show you what we've done thus far in a deal and other communities. i really, in response to the comment this gentleman just made and also the work that juliette has been doing, we really will be looking forward to hearing from the community. how can we make a long-term plan for turning the area into a cultural district for the community and for the city and for the world? thank you. i am thrilled. president vietor: thank you. other public comments on this item?

>> commissioners, i filled out my pcard just so i am on record for following the process. let me share with you, commissioners, a few thoughts. we are in the year 2011. unless you do not hear, you are blind, every day, when you listen to the news, it's about our economy. if this government does not increase the debt ceiling, we will all be adversely impacted. commissioners, gone are the days, even though there is a charter,charter ordinance or am, what ever, that so much money should be set aside.

don are the days where we cannot prioritize what has to be done for the community. if you look at the agenda, i know that the chair was trying to say something. it is very simple. you have your agenda and you state clearly so that people who have eyes can read and see how much money you are setting aside for the arts. what we are advocating is this. we need to document the gentrification of this community. if i tell you, commissioners, that over 200,000 kinds of gas are spewing into the air because of a landfill, 1 ton of that gas includes 22 pounds of carbon dioxide. that will shock you yet there are fools of within the department of the environmental

, within other agencies, our former mayor's, they say we are a green city. we are not a green city. we have not done justice to the environment. commissioners, this land begot -- is pristine. within 250 years the land was destroyed. so, go on and put your hard work wherever it may be necessary. but i want some documentary, some film, about the gentrification. the harm done to this community and thousands of children that could have lived healthy but are slowly dying. today in hunters point you may not like what i am saying, the

audience as well, but many are of the living dead. thank you very much. >> thank you. further comments on this item? >> hello. this is wonderful. i think that this is great. $20 million. i am trying to figure out, as i raise my family and want to make this healthy for every one, the curious thing about 2% is that with this memorandum of understanding, the arts commission is going to receive guidance from the steering committee. is that a true statement? >> the way that it works, given the different rules in the city, the public utilities commission could make the different

decisions. but our steering committee will talk about the opportunities and will employ the art commission to develop those different opportunities. there are major types of decisions. one commissioner would like to see those. coming back and reporting, these of the opportunities we have identified and suggestions made by the art commission. they can move forward without coming back in every case. but they could withdraw that if they felt the need to. >> so, what would come out of each commission? is the arts commission representative of the entire city? who will be making this decision, i guess? >> there are 15 and they are

appointed by the mayor. there is a list of the kinds of disciplines that are represented. >> so, the $6 billion, is there any mechanism where the people in this area could exert input? >> yes. >> for the next mayor? >> i think that our plan, the general idea of the arts commission is that typically the work is done on the actual site. we are trying to expand that into the larger community. here in the neighborhood, if they need help we are trying to expand that to be more community oriented. there is not a fixed rule. >> if i was a community member and felt disenfranchised, how

would i express my interests? >> feel free to talk to the arts commission staffers. talk to me. there are two commissions now, is the idea. >> it is interesting, because a couple of things seem to be occurring here. the first is the public input question. possibly there is imbedded clarity on public input. this facility might be another place for the agenda of this item. the other question comes from the decision making process, which i think is still somewhat vague. decision making for the puc will be final. to be as transparent as possible about what is happening,