tell us how this program began 20 years ago. >> the program began 20 years ago. our founder was an environmentalist and an activist and an artist in the 1970's. she started these street sweeping campaigns in the city. she started with kids. they had an exhibition at city hall. city officials heard about her efforts and they invited her to this facility. we thought it would coincide with our efforts to get folks to recycle, it is a great educational tool. since then, we have had 95 professional artists come through. >> how has the program changed over the years? how has the program -- what can the public has an artist engage with? >> for the most part, we worked with metal and wood, what you

would expect from a program like ours. over the years, we tried to include artists and all types of mediums. conceptual artists, at installation, photographers, videographers. >> that has really expanded the program out. it is becoming so dynamic right now with your vision of interesting artists in gauging here. why would an artist when to come here? >> mainly, access to the materials. we also give them a lot of support. when they start, it is an empty studio. they go out to the public area and -- we call it the big store. they go out shopping, take the materials that, and get to work. it is kind of like a reprieve, so they can really focus on their body of work. >> when you are talking about recology, do you have the only sculpture garden at the top?

>> it is based on work that was done many years ago in new york. it is the only kind of structured, artist program. weit is beautiful. a lot of the plants you see were pulled out of the garbage, and we use our compost to transplant them. the pathway is lined with rubble from the earthquake from the freeways we tour about 5000 people a year to our facility, adults and children. we talk about recycling and conservation. they can meet the artists. >> fantastic. let's go meet some of your current artists. here we are with lauren. can you tell us how long have been here so far and what you're working on? >> we started our residency on

june 1, so we came into the studio then and spent most of the first couple weeks just digging around in the trash. i am continuing my body of work, kind of making these hand- embroidered objects from our day-to-day life. >> can you describe some of the things you have been making here? this is amazing. >> i think i started a lot of my work about the qualities of light is in the weight. i have been thinking a lot about things floating through the air. it is also very windy down here. there is a piece of sheet music up there that i have embroidered third. there is a pamphlet about hearing dea -- nearing death. this is a dead rabbit. this is what i am working on now. this is a greeting card that i found, making it embroidered. it is for a very special friend. >> while we were looking at

this, i glanced down and this is amazing, and it is on top of a book, it is ridiculous and amazing. >> i am interested in the serendipity of these still life compositions. when he got to the garbage and to see the arrangement of objects that is completely spontaneous. it is probably one of the least thought of compositions. people are getting rid of this stuff. it holds no real value to them, because they're disposing of it. >> we're here in another recology studio with abel. what attracted you to apply for this special program? >> who would not want to come to the dump? but is the first question. for me, being in a situation that you're not comfortable in has always been the best. >> what materials were you immediately attracted to when you started and so what was available here? >> there are a lot of books.

that is one of the thing that hits me the most. books are good for understanding, language, and art in general. also being a graphic designer, going straight to the magazines and seeing all this printed material being discarded has also been part of my work. of course, always wood or any kind of plastic form or anything like that. >> job mr. some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. -- taught me through some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. >> the first thing that attracted me to this was the printed surface. it was actually a poster. it was a silk screen watercolor, about 8 feet long. in terms of the flatwork, i work with a lot of cloddish. so being able to cut into it come at into it, removed parts, it is part of the process of negotiating the final form. >> how do you jump from the two

dimensional work that you create to the three-dimensional? maybe going back from the 3f to 2d. >> everything is in the process of becoming. things are never said or settled. the sculptures are being made while i am doing the collages, and vice versa. it becomes a part of something else. there's always this figuring out of where things belong or where they could parapets something else. at the end goal is to possibly see one of these collage plans be built out and create a structure that reflects back into the flat work. >> thank you so much for allowing "culturewire" to visit this amazing facility and to learn more about the artists in residence program. is there anything you like our viewers to know? >> we have art exhibitions every four months, and a win by the public to come out.

everybody is welcome to come out. we have food. sometimes we have gains and bands. it is great time. from june to september, we accept applications from bay area artists. we encouraged artists from all mediums to apply. we want as many artists from the bay area out here so they can have the same experience. >> how many artists to do your host here? >> 6 artist a year, and we receive about 108 applications. very competitive. >> but everyone should be encouraged to apply. thank you again for hosting us. >> thank you for including us in "culturewire." ♪

>> [roll call] mr. chairman, you have a quorum. >> thank you, and let me take this opportunity to welcome director riskin to your first board meeting. we are where you are busy meeting a lot of the people who make and he worked every day. we are delighted to hear your

report in a few minutes. >> announcement of prohibition of sound-producing devices during the meeting. any person responsible for the ringing of one going off in the meeting may be removed from the meeting. please be advised that cell phones that are on the right position to cause microphone interference and the board respectfully request they be placed in the opposition. adam of york, approval of minutes of the august 2, 2011, regular meeting. director nolan: is there motion and discussion? >> item 5, communications. i know of none. item six,, introduction of new or unfinished business. >> coming off of the labor day holiday, i would like to have the department present an

analysis on the holiday enforcement we are doing, what has been the trend since we started this. is it really effective what we're doing, really meeting the needs of the constituents out there? ok, this is for the holiday enforcement. >> as it stands right now, there are only three holidays -- is that right? >> good afternoon, members of the board. new year's, christmas, and thanksgiving. the port has no holidays. it is 24/7/0365 days a year. >> [inaudible] >> the policy and governance committee would be a good place. >> other committee reports? >> just wanted to request that a

report be presented to the board by it -- about the status of the real-estate analysis, particularly as it responds to the balboa park of bernard -- upper yard. there's still a lot of talk, a lot of hope from the community. in the stand there was an event that took place near the upper yard, and i understand there was a memo that discusses the future needs of the upper yard, including future redevelopment of the yard across the street and also needing that in the future for anticipated growth. nevertheless, there has been a community plan that was formally adopted, developed and adopted by the city. it seems there was a conflict between uses. i think that it merits at least a report on the status to make sure that the analysis that is happening really includes and

gets to the heart of the issue in terms of restricting space. >> members of the board? as the director to come up with a report. >> i just want to say congratulations and thank you to you for being sworn in on the peninsula corridor board. you're so sure we all appreciate how busy all of the board members are, so to give up your time for yet another meeting and another board is much appreciated. thank you. >> thank you. i attended my first meeting this past week, and i was there years ago when it started. it is a remarkable success story with lots of problems. the main problem is the dedicated source of revenue. it is really up to the goodwill of the three counties to kick in when they can. there are a lot of efforts under way right now to have people -- you know, to try to find that kind of dedicated revenue. i will definitely keep you

informed about that. thank you for your kind words. anybody else? director oka: i direct you to have the staff report back on what effect the bicycle lands on motor street and other parts of the city are having on our bus zones. particularly people with disabilities who have complained to me that they cannot get to their calves or close enough to the buses to ride, so i wanted to see why those barriers are constructed the way they are and whether we can do something about the access problem.

>> thank you. that with a report on that. director heinicke: this is not merely a request for action but a follow-up on something we discussed earlier. mr. haley i know has been working on addressing some of the issues we have seen with the metro service, particularly the problems that have risen out of the infants and the system. one of the things we all have discussed was notification to customers that previously was really going only to the stations. hopefully, these will be few and far between. but in a few delays i have been caught in recently, there has been communication in the trains themselves. i think that is very good. i am have a that was implemented as quickly as it was requested, so wanted to report back on that. the biggest issue is avoiding delays, but i think it is a good step to communicating with our

passengers on the train as well. >> item 7, directors report. >> thank you very much. i will just say that it is certainly an honor and privilege to be here, not just at this meeting today, but in this position. i thank you again for your confidence and support. in my first few days and weeks at the agency, i have been very pleased to meet so many great, creative people who really want to see transportation work in san francisco, so i think everyone from management and labor to the various stakeholders all more or less what the same thing. it is just a matter of how we get there. there is really a great body of staff at the mta who are working hard everyday to try to make

that happen, and it is an honor for me to be able to work with them, and i am very pleased to be in this position. perhaps fittingly, although i guess it was already on the agenda this way anyway, i am happy to start my report by recognizing just a few of those employees who exemplify the work of many others. to start off, i would like to ask mr. jose alvarez to step forward. it's a transit operator at the presidio division. he has been with the agency just about three years. he exhibits a lot of the great things that we look for in our operators, including safe driving record and great customer service, but in particular, going above and beyond the call of duty. he has had a couple of cases in the past where he had passengers

on board that needed medical attention, and he was able to secure that for them. but going beyond that, we have had a recent problem throughout san francisco and our transit system. this is really a national problem of copper staffed -- copper theft. it is impacted transit apartments. our school district. we have had a number of incidents that have impacted service where people have gone to various places in our system to steal copper wire for the scrap value that it has. jose was driving his boss on august 24 and noticed some activity around the manhole that looked suspect to him. what would have been easiest for him to do is to keep on driving. he has a bus full of passengers, traffic, a lot of things to deal with, but instead, he made a

call into central control that enabled them to alert the police to come out and investigate the activity that he identified as suspicious. not only that, on his way back, he saw the police there, and they were not able to readily locate the folks that he called it, so he held them find those folks. that did subsequently lead to an arrest. it may be that the folks that were arrested were responsible for not just that one event but for others that were impacting our system, so that was really above and beyond the call of duty, self pleased to acknowledge jose -- so please join knowledge jose -- so pleased to acknowledge jose.

>> today we will points on mr. alvarez -- i think ed covered it, but when i called him to congratulate him and find out, get his version of what happened, he refused to talk to me because talking to me would have made him late from his -- for his pullout from the terminal. i think that speaks volumes about his commitment. second, i would point out a quick visual -- this is the heart of our power distribution network. this is what the cable looks like underneath that is in the 1400 or so manholes. in this day and age in the middle market, this is very important. with that, mr. alvarez, thank you very much, and you are on. >> gentlemen, thank you. [applause] i just wanted to thank the mta

board for the recognition. i just felt that i was doing my part as a driver working for the city and county of san francisco, working for my division, which i have a lot of pride for, and, yes, thank you. >> mr. alvarez, i understand your family is with you today. would you like to introduce bill? >> my fiancee, my two daughters, and my little son who cannot speak because he is small. [laughter] [applause] the lot on behalf of the board of directors, thank you so much for your outstanding service to the city of san francisco. >> thank you. the next award is being presented to deedee owens, a 20-

year veteran of the mta. she is here, i would like to ask her to step forward. she is being recognized for her leadership as a supervisor in customer service and -- in the citations and residential parking permit office. not an easy area to work in, let alone to excel in. she has led a team of citations that in reducing the backlog of 30,000 citations, basically saving us money and enabling us to process those and collect the money more quickly. she has got a 100% on-time fulfillment rate for online purchases of meter and transit cars, which means when people order these online, they get them in the time we would say that we get them because of her leadership. she has been a supervisor in several different units of these offices and is known throughout the department as a subject

matter expert in citations processing, parking violations,dmv registration, and all kinds of stuff most of us do not understand, but she works hard to make sure the agency still functions and processes efficiently. congratulations. i would like to recognize our cfo, sonali bose. >> deedee is a little upset today because she thought it was 2:00, and her family was supposed to be here. it will probably show up at 2:00, and hopefully, we can acknowledge. i just want to say something -- one of the things this unit has been very involved with are the many business process changes and new ideas, new revenue ideas we have been implementing, so it is easy to adopt them, but after you adopt them, things have to happen on the back end, and she is key to making that happen. she has been very flexible and moving.

one of the many changes we have had to have her employment. thanks for your hard work. it is a pleasure to have you. >> it could not have happened were it not for all my past managers. i have been through a lot of managers, and the staff. i have an excellent staff, and it was a team effort to get those citation protests down. >> on behalf of the board of directors, thank you for your fine work. [applause] them mr. director, finally, i would like to ask -- >> mr. director, finally, i would like to ask lucian berger to step forward. he started in 2007, and he is the lead for capital controls.

coming from an agency that was doing a lot of capital work, the capital controls function within the capital program, i appreciate, is one that is extremely important but often overlooked. he has distinguished himself by designing custom tools to help track the many millions of dollars and dozens of projects that the agency influence. he assists in the design and development of a new quarterly reports that it leave you all received about a month ago. it is up on our website. very easy snapshot, easy way to see and get a sense of each of the agency was the capital projects and where they are in their timeline. he is known for his effective coordination with the project managers and senior management throughout both the capital programs division and department. he has been recognized for his fine work with both staff and consultants and developing and implementing the new project

control software system. i want to thank him for his great work and the acting director of capital programs is here to introduce him. >> thank you. good afternoon. truly pleased to be here today, especially because we are recognizing one of the younger members of our team. as mentioned, he is a relative newcomer to the organization, but he has already proven that he can get down whatever we throw at him. in the beginning, it seemed he was being asked to do a lot of things that senior management did not really have time for, but he took it all in stride, and you all recognize his work. he is the soul man behind you in the quarterly reports that goes to all of you these days. i want to congratulate him, and i hope to see him here again many times. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much.

pleasure to be here. congratulations also to josse and d -- jose and deedee. it truly is an honor to be here. i take great pride in what i do. i came here from the very different industry of racing and engine building and testing and management into public transit. i really embraced it. more challenging than i could have expected, but i look forward to continuing to xl. thank you very much for your recognition. >> thank you. on behalf of the board of directors and the people of san francisco, thank you very much for your outstanding work. [applause] director reiskin: if i may, continuing the theme of of knowledge in the work of the women and men of the mta, i want to run through a number of awards that the agency has received mostly since the last

meeting. i will try to do this quickly. the city department of environment gave two awards to the sfmta as part of their prestigious award program. they had a big event to acknowledge the awardees, and the m.t.a. was proud to win two of those here in one of them was for the green taxi ordinance and the fact that we have a fleet of over 3/4 of which is hybrid vehicles, which is, i think, far away a leader -- makes us a leader in the country. the sustainable streets division won an award for the climate at some strategy, which was deemed to be one of the best in the city. obviously, the transportation system we oversee has a big role to play in the city's overall

efforts to positively impact the climate, and because of the good work done by the mta throughout all the divisions of the mta, our climate action strategy was identified as one of the best. those with two awards from the department of the environment. the institute of transportation engineering gave us the western district employer recognition award for superior mentor ship of young transportation engineering professionals, and this basically has to do with the internship program that brings in love in -- young engineers while they are still pursuing their degrees. they get practical hands-on exciting experience.