association, i want to give an example of what i feel is a failure within the budget you have passed. when the presentation was made, the apprentice partners at how the department had worked for the union had come up. i asked at time because it was something that was noticeable to me -- there was a lack of how we involved the volunteers. you saw that on the video. there is a great reserve out there of goodwill toward parks because people want to feel a part of them. this is not just theoretical for me. last sunday, the mayor came and cut a ribbon for the circular avenue ribbon park. that is not rec & parks property, it was dpw property.

neighbors spent a total, because we had to document it, we know over 810 hours in the last year were devoted to maintaining that three-quarters of a mile strip of land. that is a hundred 10 hours our neighbors donated to the city to maintain a piece of property. i don't know why -- i'm not saying you would have gotten all 800 hours, but i'm saying that was 800 hours the community gave. that was zero hours to rec & parks because when we ask, we have to be approved by our resident advisory council, which is not residents of our neighborhood, it is residents of glen park because we are specifically negated from having

a say in advisory council because our park is more than 1 mile from the recreation center itself. i appreciate the fact this solution was offered and i could become a memory -- become a member of the advisory council. this has not ever been about me. i don't need another meeting to attend and another advisory commission to be part of. what is endemic to me is what is happening is the people who want to use my park, by neighbors, don't have a say in the programs being offered or, because, rightfully so, if you are involved in the glen park recreation center, you should be the people who use glen park. just as my part, because we happen to have a clubhouse, it should also be allowed to have say and what goes on. [tone]

thank you. >> good morning, crashers. i'm with the golden gate park preservation alliance. i would like to inform the general public about the revisions to the open space development known as the rose. this is a policy document that will cover planning for development and the direction all san francisco open space will be taken in. this includes our parks. this is now be reviewed by the planning department. i recommend the public go on line and read the document. we are working with a coalition of neighborhood groups to submit comments. if you are interested in other comments, contact us through our web site. thank you.

>> good morning. i am one of two owners of the tennis partners. my other partner is unable to be here. he is a national competition coach and he is traveling with some of the players in that program. i am here specifically to talk about the process currently underway for management of the tennis pro shop and concession services at the park. a process to give a quick recap from my perspective where we are is that we conducted a process. three firms submitted a bid and proposal underscored by a panel. our firm finished second by a very narrow margin. after looking at the results of understanding the requirements of participation, i noted in believed the other teams did not

meet the minimal requirements to participate in the process. having participated in the many public contract awards with the city and county of san francisco, i believe those minimum requirements are very important for a team to demonstrate they can actually execute on the proposal in front of them. i am here today to request the status of where we are in that process. it seems to become stuck. the second thing is to urge everyone to let's make a decision and move forward. after i wrote a protest letter, i stated the other firms did not meet these them requirements. staff then came back and certified every one of the teams minimum requirements to see if they met them. they went to a very intense process with their team and we demonstrated through written communication from the director of activities at the country club that scott howard, our

director of tennis does have the necessary experience. briefly, the experiences you have managed a program with at least 3 tennis professionals that you have two or more years of experience and in demonstrating this, you meet the requirements to participate. we confidently assert we meet the minimum requirements and we do not believe the other teams do. i think staff would have moved forward already with the other team if it were the case. my request is you consider a request to move forward and, if it is true the other teams do not meet those requirements, please allow us to move forward into great things at golden gate park. >> thank you. >> good morning. i wanted to speak alit to the meeting that was held on june

29th and many of you were there. they broke us up into little groups. this was the town hall meeting. it was occupied by a lot of least two to one rec & parks staff, which was not a good thing. the striking thing to me about was the questions they had us discuss were submitted by the department which i thought was odd. more so, once the breakout groups were finished, it was staffed it was reporting. these tables were occupied by more staff and public but the one i wanted to speak most it was the last question which asks this. i understand this was a two-part question. what would be the best approach for the department to support friends of groups when conflicts arise between two groups serving

the same part? those are very loaded questions. the first part is how was it the department to work more effectively with friends of groups. the second part is when there are conflicts in the neighborhood. i have been at this every day for my life since 1986 when i moved into my neighborhood and found a war zone in my part. what i have found is the problem is not the residents. the problem is of the neighbors. these people come out of their houses and i showed you petitions who are the movers and shakers in the neighborhood. these are people who come out all the time and to work in the neighborhood. they are not the problem. they're reasonable people. most of the time they're scared to death or they are disappointed. they are afraid to pass off somebody or they are tired and worn out and don't want to do this anymore. when there are conflicts between the bread groups or

residences, i have found it is because no solutions are presented. this just drags on add-on and i think sunnyside's renovation of the surpluses are a prime example. no answers, the solution. rec & parks will make administrative decisions or clarify policies. everything is in conflict and after three years have gone by, the neighbors start bickering. then nobody could work with anybody and when the department wonders why there is so much anger out there and wide ballot measures are being presented, it's because they're disappointed and tired and want to stop all this and find a better way of doing things. the issue is not with the residents. the issue is how the department going to [tone]

>> fran taylor. >> i lived in the mission and of a transportation advocate and i work with the walked san francisco and various advocacy groups. i'm speaking about the park on the 17th and folsom. the meeting got bumped back and i know we have several people here and i'm speaking in support of the park. i specifically want to address some of the opposition which has to do with the removal of parking because this is currently a service parking lot. i have a paper point exhibition here. this might be a little confusing.

my bosses look like cockroaches, but i just want to show -- i only highlighted a few of the alliance. there are eight bus lines within walking distance of this park and 12 stops on the corner. the 33 and 22 runs right along 16th street. the mission buses and there's a bart station at 16th and mission street. this is a transit-rich area. it is flat and there is a bike lane on harrison and another on of valencia. it is very easy to reach without a car. like the carmeggdon that did not happen in los angeles, this is overblown. because san francisco is so obsessed with food and restaurant, i want to cite the "chronicle" 100 best restaurant

list. there is one here -- this is not a whole wall. they have a seven course meal for $120 a person. this is on the corner of 17th street. i don't think these people pay $120 are going to come on the 14 mission. i don't want to malign them, but they're probably pretty entitled in their attitude, like they expect to get what they want. it says here in the "chronicle." street parking is generally easy. if these people pay $128 are not going to complain the parking is difficult, i don't see why they would pay any attention to this. this artwork is for you to share. [applause] >> thank you.

after oscar, we have time for one more. >> the morning, commissioners. before i start, can everyone here in support of 70 and folsom part stand-up? [speaking spanish] this is for an item pulled from the calendar. we decided to show up today, knowing the item is pulled into next month. it's going to be harder because school is started and schedules are going to be realigned. a lot of young people are in schools or starting college and we feel like this is a strong lesson. this is why we go to school and get involved in our community and build parks. invest in our communities. thank you for being here and i don't want to take up too much time because i want to allow for

teresa to speak. unfortunately we're not going to hear from other folks, but folks took time from work and dropping off kids to be here today. you can see there is strong support. these are your park users. especially in the northern part of the mission. it is considered an environmental justice community in terms of we have a lot of low and moderate income families, we have a lot of industry, we are very mixed use. we have families live elite -- families living in single room occupancy hotels and not a lot of access to open space and green space. franklin speyer -- franklin square park is great but they don't meet the needs in this part of the neighborhood. we have many strengths and the community. one of your commissioners there is a testament to that. we have major senior centers out

there and a lot of youth organizations, churches, etc., that are ready to invest and ready to build and really build up the and the structure of the neighborhood because it is needed so much. on the policy tip, eastern neighborhoods rezoning plan was passed in 2008 and one of the key priorities was open space. another priority was family serving good dance -- goods and services and we have looked at this as meeting those needs. both in terms of open space and in a transit-oriented corridor, and we are getting all of these new buildings coming on line, there is a lot of people in the neighborhood. this is very needed. i also applaud the planning department for putting in the

time and resources to figure out the differences in design because it is not a moral issue in terms of parking, it's a design different and we can get through that. [tone] >> thank you and thank you all for coming. >> hello, commission, i am the use program coordinator. i want to congratulate you and thank you. those videos we saw were beautiful and inspirational as far as all the activities available in san francisco. 17th and folsom is an opportunity to bring more of those opportunities to the mission. the mission has less than 1% of the parks in the city and we have a high density. we have a lot of use that lives within blocks of 17 that -- we have a lot of youth that live within blocks of 17th and folsom. there's not a lot of access to be able to purchase a paid in

the programs and we want to work with you to create those opportunities. all lot of use has been involved for two or three years. something we participated in is something called ground trouping. we did mapping of our community. there's a lot of pollution and toxicity. there are freeways that create a lot of problems and health problems for families. some of the things we found were a lot of sites that create a lot of pollution. we could talk more about that the next hearing. we want to create green space since we live there and work there and play there, we need to have a balance. we are hoping to give them toward becoming the next city planners and commissioners and that is what they are learning. they're learning about zoning, about how our environment affects our health and we have invested hundreds and hundreds

of hours in designing this park. we feel like as members, we want to not only open a part -- a park for the neighborhood, but park we are invested in. we are continuing in -- continually investing and growing in the neighborhood. please support 17th and folsom and help us work out together whenever issue there is. we want a part in our neighborhood and we want to continue developing the leadership of the youth here in the city. thank you. [applause] >> time for general public comment, we are now on item number five, the consent calendar. is there any public comment on the consent calendar? seeing none, public, disclosed.

>> moved to approve. >> it moved and seconded? it is unanimous. >> we are now on item number six, the san francisco zoo. >> i am the cfo of the san francisco zoological society. tonya peterson is an out of the country. i will make the update on the zoo. on the financial front, we are in the process of closing our fiscal year which ends june 30th, 2011. although our attendance was below budget by 8% last year, we anticipate a break-even or better financial results for the year. as we begin a new year, i am happy to report attendance for the month of july is tracking over 2% ahead of budget.

the july 4th weekend, we generated 15,000 visitors that came out to see our new tarantula exhibit and our beautiful new siberian tiger. this is national zoo keeper week. it's a national celebration and recognition of zookeeper's and animal care professionals in our nation's zoological parks. zookeeper's serve as animal care experts, up from line educators and conservationists. we are proud to have zookeeper's recognize for the important work they do on behalf of wildlife andwe are particularly proud ofr one hand -- 100 and innkeepers. should you be at the zoo, be sure to thank the zookeeper's for the work they do. on a sad note, working cooperatively with the rec and park department, we have had to

euthanize two of our five female bison in golden gate park. this is an aging herd of animals -- from 20 to 28 years old. the symptoms in the two animals were similar. they voluntarily separated themselves from the rest of the herd, laid down, very hard to get back out. little or no interest in eating or drinking. the entire herd is quite elderly with captive life expectancy of 20 to 30 years. one animal was 20, the other was 28 years old. these bison are descendants of a 1984 birthday present to them mayon-mayor dianne feinstein frm her husband richard blum. we will have costume bears to

meet and greet zoo visitors. there will be a bear themed event and crafts at the zoo. in addition, on july 24, should you get hungry for ice-cream, the ben and jerr's scoop truck will be out there and an ice cream. why they learn how to take fish from the exhibit areas and then they wobble to penguin island to join the rest of the herd. that will happen on saturday july 30.

that concludes my report. >> thank you. commissioner lee. >> are there any plans to replenish the heard you have lost? you have lost two out of the five, so you only have 3 left. i recall there was a donor who may have been interested in donating some buffalo to replenish their herd. >> despite the sad news about losing two of our aging bison, we have some positive news on the horizon in that regard. we are hopeful we will be receiving seven new bison sometime this fall. usda regulations have changed over time, so before accepting the bison, we worked closely with our zoo officials.

we have to make some changes to the bison had it for better nearing care. as you recall, we brought to this commission six months ago with a very generous gift from dick blum, who is helping us fund the paddock improvements. that will happen early fall, the paddock construction. late summer. then we hope to have the bison in november, after they have fully weened from their mother's -- [laughter] >> so this would be a much younger population. you still have the three that are going to be the elders. the zoo will continue to

maintain the herd? >> absolutely. >> is there any public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. we are on item number seven. 2011-2012 deferred maintenance projects. >> good morning, commissioners. the item before you is discussion and possible action to approve the list of deferred maintenance projects to be funded by the open space fund contingency reserve and this fiscal year 2011-2012. back in february 2010, the commission approved the use of 50% of the available balance in the open space fund could it's a reserve to fund managed projects have the commission approve the ongoing use of the 50% annual allocation of this research in future fiscal years.

so for the year just completed, fy10-11, you approved a list of projects that total $2.2 million, estimated cost in contingency. a progress status report of those deferred maintenance projects that you approve are in attachment a of your package. with your concurrence, i will brief you walkway through these projects to see where we are at the moment with the deferred. there are 12 projects. china's playground is complete. there was a bit of a cost increase due to a waterproofing of the roof which also serves as an outdoor court. that is now complete and open to the public. the park slope stabilization is almost complete.

that has also incurred a bit more money than allocated, but that was taken out of the contingency. the pool planning is complete. . that will begin once the poll closes for its annual maintenance. roof work at garfield pool is complete. you had authorized a substantial amount of money to replace the deck at one property. the cost and scope of the project put that project into the ada realm. so it is now considered an alteration, rather than a repair. so we are removing this project and moving it back to rec and

park planning to further address the ada requirements, the scope of that work, which may also require an accessible path of travel from the concert meadow to the deck. that money will fall to the contingency balance. balboa pool. the planning is complete. that work will start in september of this year when the poll closes for its annual maintenance. mayor llama clubhouse, the roofing is almost complete. a bit of a cost increase out of the contingency for hazmat and asbestos removal. union square. the replacement of the failed light fixtures in the pavement has been planned out. the department has, at the request of commissioner harrison, identified an

alternative funding source. the downtown park fund can fund this work, rather than having it come up for a meet its budget. work will proceed from the downtown park fund, so that money will fall to the available balance as well. terderloin recreation center is open to the public. that is the update on the projects you had authorized for us in the past year. we are close to completion on all of those, with the two editions of the new square project and the park. the available contingency budget is about