>> good afternoon. thank you so much for being here. it is really an honor to work with the department of environment on the san francisco home improvement program. we hope it becomes they hit this program in the city. we really are here to talk about the financial, as well as the environmental benefits of going green. in san francisco, as well as across the country, what we forget is often our home and the real estate that we own is normally the most valuable piece of wealth that we have in our family. but we also for get that real- estate and buildings also have some of the largest carbon footprint in san francisco, as well as across the country single-family homes are almost 22% of the carbon footprint.

in my understanding, we have actually been miscounting the carbon footprint, and we actually undervalued the carbon footprint of real estate in those homes. we're here today to talk about how you can go green with doing some very simple things. some improvement items did you can get a rebate of up to $7,000 just by putting in new water heaters, and doing ventilation, and we have margaret here, who is a homeowner and a contractor, just to tell you really how easy it is. it is so important when we're looking at our home. our home is one of the most valuable things we have to continue to invest in. many of these minor investments will make huge returns on investment and a huge savings down the road. on average -- most of you know that i am a huge solar advocate

and i have solar panels on my home. the return on solar is even more than the return on energy efficiency. energy efficiency often times will return your investment in three years. it is so fast and so easy. we're really here to encourage energy improvement. we want you to be part of this. we did in the assessor's office, we have an annual noticed of the best evaluation that went out to every single property owner in the city and the county. over two hundred thousand letters, and each of them got a brochure. there is a copy of the brochure that we mailed out with this wonderful family here, talking about how you can get $7,000 in rebates just by participating in this, just by going ahead and working with solar city and being a part of this. is it is so important that we take the first step that we can take to become greener in our own lives, because we forget how

big an impact just our small little, as on the environment when you add it up with all the people in san francisco. i am honored to be joined by the director of the department. she is going to walk you through the program and talk about the great things they are doing. >> before i talk about the program, i really wanted to thank phil for is leadership on these issues. he has been a champion for solar in san francisco as well as for energy efficiency. we are excited to have partnered with the assessor's office to get this information to homeowners in san francisco. my name is melanie, the director of the san francisco department of the environment. in an effort to help our city's homeowners afford energy efficiency in their homes, my department has partnered with energy of great california to develop the san francisco home improvement and performance program. this is a program that does

offer financial incentives of up to $7,000 for san francisco homeowners, which is an exce looking to do energy efficiency in their homes. as you all know, making home energy improvements will all to save money on electricity bills, as well as gas bills. doing energy efficiency of grades in a home also makes comes more comfortable as well as more healthy. ultimately, as he said, if you do energy efficiency upgrades in your home, it does increase the value of your home. the first up in terms of participating in the sf hip program is to call one of our specially trained contractors who can come out to do an energy assessment, to basically look at what some of the measures are that you could do in your home to see these types of energy savings. this is an apparent factor in the program, because the more energy that you say, the more money that you can receive, up to $7,000.

it is here with the percentage of energy that you can save, connected to the rebate that you can get. some of the projects that contribute to energy efficiency that could be part of your home energy upgrade includes adding insulation, air sealing around windows, walls and crawlspaces, upgrading or installing high efficiency heating and cooling systems, as well as a grading a water heater or a boiler. i did want to urge homeowners to take a vintage of these savings now. we're offering up to $7,000 in rebates for energy efficiency. after august 21, it will go down by about $1,000, so there really is reasons to participate in the next five weeks. ultimately, by helping homeowners make these upgrades, we're working together with the assessor reporters office to ensure that we can meet our carbon reduction goals here in san francisco. we are working to reduce their carbon emissions in the city by

20% below 1990 levels by the end of next year. that is one of the reasons to put together this program, to aggressively how to do energy efficiency in homes throughout san francisco. ultimately, this program, sf hip is a great example of our commitment to visionary and burn the to programs that help to promote social equity, to protect human health, and to leave their way towards a sustainable future. we're working very hard -- we have more direct -- very hard to get where we are, but to set our goals, we need to keep pushing the envelopes thef hip -- we need to continue pushing the envelope. sf hip will help us to do that. thank you. >> thank you. my name is margaret wilson. i have been a resident of san francisco for eight years. my husband and i bought a house. we did it with my daughter and

her husband, and we share an old victorian with my husband, daughter, son-in-law, and their three children. since we bought the house, we have had a lot of maintenance just to repair damage and stuff. but we have been also very conscientiously trying to do environmental upgrades. and we had been a solar city customer. we put solar on our house two years ago and were able to do so with almost no out-of-pocket expense. and we have seen, you know, basically not a reduction in our energy bill, but flat on our energy bill, and we know that is from solar. so when i received a flier from solar city that announced the energy audits, i talked to my

daughter and we decided that we would go and do that right away. so we replied and a requested the energy audit. we had a team of solar city people come into our house and go through the whole house, through the heating, you know, the windows, the drafting, how we used heating and stuff like that. and as a result of that audit, they designed a program for us that included ceiling cracks and weather stripping, reducing its draft from a fireplace by putting something in to block the draft. replacing in 1950's vintage heater that i had been told in the past was about 50% effective. they replaced it with a new height efficiency furnace, and

in doing that, it also had the asbestos removed from the house. i was delighted to get rid of the asbestos, too. that heating system also allows us to better modulate the temperature in the house because it is a multi-story house. it is very hard to keep both floors comfortable. but the system that puts in allows us to better modulate the temperature and keep the house comfortable. also, as part of the energy audit, they identified a very hazardous situation we had with an old stove that is leading carbon monoxide. we planned on replacing dead in the future, but we have now budgeted to do an immediate replacement of that stove, so they identified a very hazardous situation, and we now have the opportunity to correct that. so i have been very thrilled

with the work that solar city did. they also completed the work in a timely manner. the people were very pleasant but there was absolutely no mess left. i am delighted in the looking forward to our energy savings. so thank you. >> i will just say a few words about how solar city. it is one of the leading full- service solar energy efficiency and now electrical vehicle charging providers in the united states, and we're delighted to be working with s the environment and energy agreed california, providing homeowners with incentives to make it easier for them to make energy efficiency and upgrades to their home. we have about 2000 energy efficiency customers in the u.s. and 15,000 solar projects completed are underway -- or under way. i think margaret wilson as a prime example of a homeowner who has seen comfort and health benefits, in addition to environmental and monetary savings.

d want to tell us about some of the rebates from the program? >> absolutely. in addition to the san francisco home improvement program, there's a program called the energy agreed california program, and it is designed to help all want -- homeowners make energy efficiency improvements to the home and offset the cost. up to four thousand dollars for pg&e utility customers available for doing things that you might want to do already, adding insulation or reducing traps in your home, replacing the water europe -- water healeheater. not only do you save energy and money and reduce your current footprint, but you'll be much more comfortable in your home. >> grade, thank you. again, in san francisco, we're actually a prime target for this program, because the folks who should consider this program the most are folks who are owning older homes. margaret's home was built in the 1880's. we have a lot of homes built in

the 1920's and in 1930's. those homes are prime targets for this program in terms of having a leaky windows and older furnaces and water heaters, all the upgrades we would normally do. in addition to this program, we're also going to be working on a green grade. we are encouraging residents to homeowners to do a certification process through our office, where they can actually get a certification to show that their house has gone green. obviously, when people sell those homes or or refinancing those homes, we anticipate that green homes will obviously be more valuable, just like energy- efficient homes of the more valuable immediately once those improvements are made. let me stop there and see if you have any questions for any of us. >> when do you begin recording

this information? >> i think we're looking at the next few months to do that. >> so they will have to come to the city and that you guys know about the improvements -- collect just like through commercial properties and their certification. we're looking to do something similar for san francisco. >> are other municipalities already doing this or is this considered the best practice? >> i am not aware of that. >> and not just going to be a best practice. no other questions? ok, thank you very much.

grex good morning, ladies and gentlemen. my name is tom nlan. i am very happy that i am joined by my colleagues here, the vice chair jerry lee. cheryl brinkman and bruce oka. the director would have been year, but he was away on business in oakland. thank you, directors, for being here. we really appreciate the input we got -- over 650 responses to the questionnaire, which we put

through the citizens advisory committee and other interest groups, and we are very pleased. we believe we of dawn and else standing at job. -- we believe we have done an outstanding job. [applause] i think that was the honeymoon right there, guys. [laughter] before we talk about today's event, i want to meet -- i want to mention debra johnson, who unfortunately had a medical appointment this morning. she wanted to extend our congratulations. ms. johnson has served this agency so incredibly well. particularly, our work with the union negotiations recently, successfully completed. she is an outstanding, dedicated member of the team here. we look forward to working with

her for a long time in the future. i want to say one thing in particular. i think a lot of people from staff are here for the mta. one of the highlights for me was to meet with about 50 of the senior managers and directors, getting input in an incredibly awful experience. i came away more proud than ever. i appreciate the input. i believe our selection reflects all the qualities you talked about. let's talk about the candidate himself. he is one of 30 or 40 applicants for this job. we see in him someone that is a very fast learner, who has proven time and again 311 and also at his previous employment in washington.

he and his family are daily muni writers -- riders. it is a 24/7 operation. he has done an outstanding job their. he also manages more than $2 billion of capital projects. let's welcome him here. we're going to major capital projects. he is a truly gifted leader. that is the most important thing to was. wanted someone who san francisco understood, the dynamics of city government, and so we knew the city and was passionate about being a san francisco and. the many challenges he faces -- implementing the new labor contract, reaching out to all labour organizations at all levels.

he is concerned with the basic reliability and key functions of. -- and key functions. is said that while improving -- he said that while improving functions was a basic key measure, we will look into what that entails. it is a thoughtful look from someone who cares about the system, but is coming from outside. the most important thing to him is the most important to our customers, transit and parking and traffic. pedestrians, the whole thing. is a comprehensive view. we are confident we have chosen exactly the right person at this time. the next part of the agenda was to invite mayor lee to say a few

words. that actually, he is on jury duty. i would think it would be a benefit of mayor that you do not have to do that, but evidently not. he is a real citizen, the mayor. instead, we have from the board of supervisors, david chiu. [applause] supervisor chiu: thank you, and first of all, i want to thank the incredible men and women who are serving at the leadership of the mta. many of us at the board of supervisors were anxious and curious about the position that would be announced today. i can tell you from the board and, we are all incredibly gratified with the wonderful decision made today. congratulations for that. i also want to obviously say a few brief words about ed, and then we all want to hear from

him. i have known him for three years. before i was elected to the board of supervisors, he was someone i knew was incredibly well respected not only in my district, but throughout the city, and as someone who understood the details and the big picture. we have worked closely together on improving our roads. i have cycled with him. i know he is very committed to making sure we will see great safety and great industry ahead, and he is someone who rides the bride and walks the walk. we have sat on the knee -- on muni and talk about what needs to happen to improve the system. he has a great team at the mta to pop into this. i think today the future of transportation in san francisco

is in good hands. with that, are we about to hear from the man himself? >> that was probably a bad career move on my part, but we're also pleased to have two other members of san francisco leadership with us, supervisor scott wiener from district 8, who has a great interest in uni. would you like to say a word or two? sueprvisor weiner: i really want to congratulate the mta board for making an inspired choice your. another has been discussion in the press as to whether he wants someone who has experience running a transit agency, but i think it is important to keep in mind mta is not just about muni. muni is the 800-pound gorilla. but it also encompasses the

taxi system, the roads, and, of course, muni. need someone who has the vision to integrate all of that and have a great global transportation system in san francisco. i have worked with him for a long time, back to when i was the president of my neighborhood association and we were planning in our first parts project in the castro. i cannot think of a better, more dedicated public servant, someone who truly gets the big picture. i am so excited about the selection. ed, congratulations. i really look forward to working together. [applause] >> i would like to ask our city attorney dennis hererrera to say a few words. >> thank you, tom. i would like to congratulate the

mta board on all wonderful joyce. how i got involved in public life in san francisco, i was appointed as the predecessor to this board by mayor willie brown back in 1996. back then, the budget was much smaller. that the mission was just as important. in the two or three years i served on the board, and then as city attorney, were muni happens to be my largest client, i cannot tell you how much i appreciate the work that the organization does. scott talk a little but about his experience -- talked a little bit about his experience. to me, that is what it is about. to have the stick to it of this -- sticktoitiveness to stick

with an organization. i cannot imagine a better addition for this organization. we have had the opportunity -- i've had the opportunity to volunteer working for him on neighborhood cleanups, and i see how much he cares about san francisco, in respect of of his role. he has the leadership skills, the drive, the vision, the people skills to take muni to the next level. i want to congratulate him on his new position and the mta board on a truly inspired selection. i know he is going to inspire nothing but confidence in the riding public of the city and county of san francisco. thank you. [applause] chairman nolan: a couple more quick thank yous. thank you for putting this all together for speeding even then

the mayor is not here -- i want people to understand this mayor truly respects and appreciates the will of the people on prop. 8. he respected the board's decision, and i thanked the mayor for that. anyway, if he had been here, i would only say good things about him, about ed. ed says the first 45 minutes of the stock would be praising the board of supervisors -- the board of directors. [laughter] i am very proud of the selection made. please join me in welcoming the new director of transportation and. [applause] >> thank you. obviously, my mom was up late

last night what -- writing talking points for everybody. thank you to her for doing so. [laughter] i am honored and humbled to be here before you today. i want to thank the mta board for their vote of confidence in appointing me to this position. i came to local governments, to public service and local governments 10 or 11 years ago because i love cities. i think cities are incredibly important. they will be potential to enable people to access education and jobs and culture and diversity, interaction and innovation. they also hold the potential to about us grow so that we can grow in ways that we are not spreading out to the west out -- to the rest of the planet that we need to sustain itself.

for those reasons, i decided about a dozen years ago to devote my professional life to trying to make this work, to make them better places to live and work in. for me, thinking about how that applies to san francisco, because of our density, because of our hills, our strong opinions about everything, transportation is essentially important to maintaining and enhancing the quality of life for the people of san francisco, people whether they are visiting or working. people need to be able to get around. mobility is exceedingly important when we are packed so close together in this beautiful city. what is so attractive to me about this position is the great opportunity that it holds to really make transportation work for san franciscans. people should be able to pop on

the and unique bus -- on a muni bus or cable car. people want to ride muni. they like it. it is pleasant. in keeping with the transit first policy of the city, which i think is really for were thinking, we also want people to be able to feel comfortable if they want to bike where they want to go. if people want to what to get to where they want to go. in order for those things do happen, the streets and sidewalks need to be inviting and welcoming, and we want people to use those modes, because it is good for the city, it is good for the climate and environment. is good for the health of the people who are biking and walking. it went all around.