this fall again our plan would be po proceed with community workshops to finalize the detail deseen for the playground, for the landscaping, those other improvements, and start construction as soon as possible. we estimate that to be approximately summer of 2012. summer of next year. and again i really like to extend our heartfelt thanks to chellsa who is here and everyone at trust for public lands and the california conservation -- coastal conservancy who funded a portion of that outreach through the trust for public lands. i'm also going to send around letters you saw previously from jane from the glen ridge preschool, the glen park association board, which provided a letter of support, and the coastal conservancy just submitted this in support of the project. i'm going to submit copies to all of you.

i also like to mention the last time this was heard at the capital committee, julie wanted me to reiterate the supervisor's participation and support of the process and also we are going to continue to work with both the m.t.a. and the p.u.c. to try and make -- find funding to -- add as many improvements as we can to the first portion of the project. the p.u.c. may be very interested in funding some of the daylighting of the creek and the ball field renovation, guess there's an opportunity to provide water storage for further irrigation, store water to irrigate the ball fields. that's something they are interested in partnering with us on. the m.t.a. would like to partner with us for some of the improvements. thank you. commissioner buell: thank you. commissioner harrison?

commissioner harrison: just a question. i noticed that there's some concern about tree removal. >> he yes. commissioner harrison: how have you addressed that? >> great. i have a couple of slides. this is an image of existing tennis court and some of the undermining of the adjacent structural walls around the tennis courts. more close up image of the park. here's the current entrance to the park. let me see if i can get to one of the ones.

so the relocation of the tennis courts would affect this set of trees in a thin strip of two access roads between the park, between the tennis court area and upper area. there's a series of seven trees. two trees have already fallen. one on to a house across the street and one across the tennis court. jim clark has gone out and looked at these trees. they are problematically swailted for that reason, but also the -- situated for that reason, but also the tennis court situation which would open up this area. so this came up at the last community meetings and we discussed it. in addition the glen park association asked myself and t.p.l. to come out an speak to the community about this.

we talked about the fact that with the relocation of the tennis court, a few trees would be affected. would be he removed. and we provided these images on the website, on that bulldog -- blog i talked about to discuss the fact that this would result in that. as you can see currently the tennis courts are located just right beside the ball field. so by pushing them back we would affect these trees. at the same time we provide new trees that are more appropriate to the area. because right now those large eucalyptus drop on to the tennis court right a bit. and again one has fallen across the tennis court and one has fallen on the street. it's one of the houses you can see in that image. here's the new playground in yellow and the new tennis courts in green. . there's the location of the old tennis courts. commissioner harrison: thank

you. >> we do have public comment. ashley hathaway. >> good morning, commission. i'm here basically as a representative from the glen park association board of directors. of which i am a member of the board. as park and recreation co-chair. you-all have a copy of our letter in support of these improvement plans. both for the trails and for the general park improvement plan. we just as a board want to reiterate that we support. we are generally in support of these plans. however we do recognize there are some community concerns.

which we have tried to state as clearly as possible in this letter. some community concerns have sort of come up post drafting of this letter. some of which are these concerns about the trees. we also just want to reiterate that these comments are -- the position of the g.p.a. board and they are not an official position of the membership of the association, which is an important distinction. however we do recognize also that we feel there is a general overall positive reaction from the community members that we have seen at these meetings. in just recognizing that the general community also does support these plans. commissioner buell: thank you. >> is there anyone else who would like to make public comment on this item?

these come forward. >> hello. my name is frank. i had the pleasure of attending eight of the nine meetings between the trails and the renovation. i could say that all of them were extremely well attended. i would say that the first one was sort of a frustration venting in that everyone brought up what they thought was wrong with the park. and after that we kind of broke down into focus groups. and through teamwork tried to come up with some consensus of what should be done. the priority it should be done. i can tell you that -- we agonized about the location of the tennis courts. there is no way you can ever please everyone, unfortunately. i think by and large these well attended meetings came up with basically very good plan. as karen pointed out, the

emphasis is going to be on the entrance of the fields to start with. unfortunately the building itself is fairly dilapidated and i think there is a hope that with a bond issue next year maybe some funds will come to work on the building. the only thing i would add is that in my opinion that it would be wise to retain some amount of funding to paint the exterior of the building and fix the roof if the bond issue doesn't come through next year, because to have a grand entrance to a rundown building is not much interest to anyone. by and large i strongly support the plan. i think it was well-done. i think the community turned out very well for it. and i think we did agonize over the issues that are being discussed today. thank you. commissioner buell: thank you. >> is there anyone else who would like to comment on this item? richard?

>> richard, i just want to tell all of you i'm in favor of this project. i have looked it over and i like it very much. one -- i like when you plant new trees you get them down deep enough so they get into that water shed you got around there and the soil and everything else. and there was another having to do with direction, north, south, tennis courts. and selection of trees and such. maybe could try and see the general manager's stroke is any good. thank you. commissioner buell: thank you. >> is there anyone else who would like to make public comments on this item? being none, public comment is closed, commissioners. commissioner buell: commissioner lee, this came before your committee. came out unanimously in favor. commissioner lee: yes. we viewed it as our committee

and we heard from members of the community. and i know that the subject of the tennis courts and where they are located and particularly with either the sun rise, i think that was the issue, with so many differing opinions, i think the plan that we have in front of us is probably closest to when we'll have some community consensus. i think this is a good plan and i -- it deserves our support. commissioner buell: thank you. commissioner harrison. commissioner harrison: i would like to commend karen for her outreach. these obviously in numbers that you did and the people that were there obviously did a good job. i thank you for that. commissioner buell: seeing no other comment, can i have a motion? >> so moved. commissioner buell: moved. seconded. all those in favor?

opposed? hearing none, it is unanimous. >> item eight, the rest room bond program. >> good afternoon, commissioners, dan mauer with the capital division, i'm standing in for marvin yee who is the manager for the rest room program. as margaret alluded to, this particular item on the agenda is to award a construction contract for the renovation groups one and two of this multiphased program. what i passed to margaret is some additional information that came to us after we submitted the package to you for your review. essentially it's a summary of bid results that came in as part of this process. and it also includes h.r.c.

review of the bid from their aspect. as part of this we sent this package out which included six rest room facilities at six different facilities -- parks, and the term renovation work with respect to the program is basically to renovate the interior spaces of these rest rooms to bring them up to code and freshen them up so they meet the neighborhoods' needs. as part of this bid process we received nine proposals on the front cover sheet of the application you can see the range of bid prices. we had d.p.w. staff and h.r.c. review the top three in anticipation one would be the appropriate contractor. of the top three the lowest bidder, ahave a lon, and the third lowest bidder, alpha bay, did not adhere to h.r.c. requirements so they were disqualified. and so we are focused today on asking for your approval a ward

this contract to cogent construction in the amount of $550,000 d.d. $550,100 for -- $550,100 for all these projects which is underneath the engineer's estimate which was set at $579,000. ask for your recommendation to approve. commissioner buell: thank you. >> is there any public comment on this item? being none public comment is closed commissioner buell: commissioner lee? commissioner lee: we didn't hear this at capital? >> yes. you heard it as a general item. commissioner lee: thank you. commissioner buell: entertain a motion? >> so moved. commissioner buell: seconded. all those in favor. opposed? hearing none, it is unanimous. thank you. >> we are on item 9, a gift acceptance from henry mayo newhall foundation.

>> good morning, commissioners, nicole avril. i'd like to present a gift of $15,000 from the henry mayo newhall foundation in support of camp azure, a summer camp for children on the autism spectrum. every family -- every summer families of children with autism in san francisco face a critical challenge. the well structured environment provided during the academic year has come to an end and the need to maintain and improve upon the skills gained turing the year is crucial. unfortunately the expensive summertime options are despairing. at the same time the need for services is growing as rates of autism increase. in response to this community need, r.p.d. created and incorporated camp azure into its regular camp programming. it is based on the philosophy that all children, regardless of ability, can successfully participate in and benefit from community-based recreation activities if they have the support.

the mission of camp azure is meet the individual and diverse needs of children on the autism spectrum so they can enjoy the benefits of a safe, supportive, challenging, and fund day camp experience. in appreciation of this need and the mission of camp azure, the henry mayo newhall foundation hasen isly supported camp azure with a gift of 15d,000. the san francisco bay foundation was created in 1963 by fourth generation desendsents of california entrepreneur and pioneer henry mayo newhall. the foundation's purpose is to fund projects that improve the quality of life within the geographical areas associated with the career and legacy of henry mayo newhall. since its inception the foundation has awarded grants to more than 14u7bd organizations in communities where mr. newhall originally established his businesses or where those enterprises are active today. since the fall of 2010 the department has actively cultivated support for the camp. in addition to this gift from

the newhall foundation, the department has received a $50,000 grant over two years from the city's department of children youth and their families, 84 -- $8,430 from autism fund bay area, $1,500 from c.v.s. care mark, and of $5,315 from various donors. together these gifts totaling $80,245 have fully funded camp azure. on that note i would like to recognize a camp azure parent and a musician who did a benefit concert which raised considerable funds for the camp. i'd also like to introduce vicky, camp azure's manager, who has extensive expertise working with children on the autism spectrum and moved here from tennessee specifically to run the camp program. >> thank you. i don't know if your teleprompter will pick up on a

southern accent or not, but we'll give it a try. i want to thank you for the opportunity to come here today. i humbly accept the donation on behalf of the recreation and parks department. when i started working with children with autism 15 years ago, the statistics showed that one in 600 children were being diagnosed on the autism spectrum. currently it's 101 in 120 children. and of that 75% are boys. and of the 32 families that we were able to provide respite care of over 2,200 hours this summer, four of our campers were female. you can see that the statistics hold true that three out of four boys of the 120 of the autism

spectrum are males. it's amazing of the families that we worked with how appreciative and how grateful they were of the opportunity to be able to be in the outdoors and participate in the setting. i think we did reach our mission. i wanted to share just a few comments. i was receiving emails even as early as this morning from parents when i sent a request could you share some outcomes that you have seen in your family as a result of camp azure. and i won't take much time, but some of the comments, and i'll just read a few, my son roger is initiating conversations. asking how are you rather than just saying hello, because of camp azure. he is more social and using please and thank you and generally has more appropriate social skills.

and he only attended two weeks. thank you for the great summer. my son julian had at camp. every day since it ended julian says he wants to go to camp and asks when he can go back there. i think he had a really great experience and look forward to having one next summer. he attended four weeks. elijah has never slept as well as he's sleeping this summer. camp azure has moved to the top of his favorites. it used to be swimming and the trampoline. now it's camp, swimming, and the trampoline. my child's endurance was so low the first day he fell walking up the hill. by friday he was running down the hill and his therapeutic horseback riding lesson that week, his therapist noted he had made gains with his balance, his posture, and his strength in his hips. and we expected certain outcomes, especially with conversation skills, with social skills, making friends, but the

physical endurance i really hadn't predicted that much. but with the hiking, the walks we were doing, and the climbs up the hill, and i can't tell you how many times i almost fell and i hope that some of this improvement we are going to do at the camp will allow. i know that i talked with mr. ginsberg and he saw the bill that we have to go down that maybe we could put some steps there because it is kind of treacherous. and i had several counselors fall down as well. a couple more comments. and this particular family took the time to send this this morning. it increased endurance for walking and hiking, jake has an awk wardgate. he's usually wearing knee length orr thodics and could not walk long distances. he made friends. jake has a hard time making friends in his autistic classroom given some of his students were not interested in

being social. he often resorted to attention seeking behaviors to make friends by teasing or pushing. at camp azure his counselors were able to help him facilitate positive relationships. he became very close to three boys that he was grouped with. he has decreased in negative behaviors. jake has learned to have fun. it seems that his negative behaviors have decreased and he's choosing to participate and have fun instead of throwing tantrums and resorting to negative behaviors and attention seeking behaviors. and the last one, the camp appeared to provide a well supported and safe environment for kids with different abilities. after a month absence from his karate class that coincided with camp, jake returned to his private karate class where the instructor and i both immediately noticed that he demonstrated improved coordination, balance, and

possible upper body strength. as an occupational therapist who has worked with persons with physical disabilities for 15 years, i'm fairly sensitive and knowledgeable in observing and assessing motor skills and i'm quite confident in this observation. so i want to thank mr. ginsberg for the dream that he had and for his visit that he came out to the camp and was able to experience and see the children playing together and working together in inclusive setting. i appreciate the opportunity for being able to be a part of this first summer at camp azure. thank you. i'd like ton't dues steven -- introduce steven at this time. >> thank you. thank you, my name is steve and i'm a parent of a 10-year-old beautiful boy with autism. and i remember march of last

year went by mclaren lodge and i saw you, phil, and i know you have told this story a couple of times how i brought my boy, a.j. there, and said, can you help us? my boy has autism. what can you offer him in the summertime as a camp experience? and that sort of began a long relationship and wonderful time working with you and lucas and a number of other people here that spent time and effort trying to find ways that we could involve both the community, the private sector, and so on, to get this a reality. because it is expensive. the stats are really daunting that you heard from vicky. one in 120. mostly boys. that means one in 40 boys in san francisco has autism. and that's -- if there was some kind ever external threat that was neurologically damaging our children everybody would be up in arms.

because it's mysterious, we don't know where it comes from. it's partially genetic, partially environmental. the needs are still not met. so what we needed 20 do -- to do is try to find a way that we could have this one-on-one with an aide and camper experience, and wonderful glen canyon's the ideal place, i have to tell you, rather than a flat land, because of its location and the fact it is in a canyon that most of our kids, our special campers, are runners. that means if they are let go, they go. and because of this natural surrounding, it's almost like nature is giving them a big bear hug there in glen canyon and they can't run up the hill. they are safe, they are enclosed. vicky put together marvelous program. had some special tents just for kids. when meltdowns did occur because kids with autism often like being in closed areas. they feel safer. and a lot of the typical camp, why can't i have autism? i want to go into that tent,

too. so i would like to just tell you a couple of the benefits and play a three-minute video on it. it of course prior to this year those four weeks were summertime in general are really difficult for parents. if you have a child with autism, you really do have to dedicate your life to that. my wife -- very successful venture capitalist, but she had to let that go for a while to take care of her boy. here, sally, very successful lawyer, with her boy, jonah, had to let that career go for a while. she's come whack to it. -- back to t it's a full-time job. what do you do in the summertime? we don't see autism in san francisco so much because the kids and their parents are in their homes. the kids don't want to go out. they feel threatened by unknown spaces. parents are exhausted. they are overwhelmed. and this was just such a

wonderful opportunity for these kids. to be outdoors, to get exercise, to sleep better, therapeutic for them. great for the parents. if you counted the number of hours, i think it was 2,600 productive hours given to the community. those parents can work or take care of themselves, exercise. that's a great gift the city of san francisco. also a great gift to the one on one aides that seek employment. they learned and developed as human beings. learned something from this. and finally, it's a great gift also to the neuro typical campers there at silver tree because what we need to continue to do, as we know 80% of awe at this timists are under 18 years old. we need to cultivate this relationship between the autistic community and the neuro typical community. as many kids really don't understand autism. this was a great opportunity for them. in four weeks to get to know some and make friends with them

and understand it is a developmental disorder. but these are kids just like any other kid that want to be outdoors and loved and have a really, really good time. one of the other things that we did is we did -- were able to get releases by parents who felt comfortable with their children being videotaped and have a private utube channel so that these parents who were quite frankly many parents were a little bit scared. the first time, and to drop their kids off, their new camp experience, 20 of them all together. they didn't know what was going to happen. we were able to have some video footage there so the same day they could log on to that private youtube channel and see what's going on. see what's happening. and a little bit of that was put together in a three-minute clip. is alvin here? no.

just so that parents actually could feel comfort and. -- comfortable. i have to say i also received lots of notes from parents. it's just a sampling of what vicky put together. i do want to say thank you for taking this big risk to provide -- other cities, i have looked what the city of vancouver has done for their camp, their kids on the spectrum, and they are way ahead of a lot of cities and states, now san francisco has really come to the front and it's something i do want to -- help fundraising, whatever way we can do. i got tons of ideas. and i'd like to see the camp grow from 20 campers per week to hopefully more. just to say it would be great to

have more options. this camp filled up in two days. this was in march. it went on line, bam, there was a long waiting list. it would be nice to expand the age range to include kids from 13 to 18 years old. there's many, many, many directions we can go to see this very successful project grow. this is a little three-minute clip.