public comment on this item? commissioners benoquin >> i would like to know if there is any written policy or progress made on the issues or the statements made on behalf of the people. >> i think that she is correct, repairs have taken a tremendously long time. off of the top of my head, i cannot remember the details. at pier 31.

>> [inaudible] >> vari, the room cannot hear you. >> i believe that it exceeded standards there. there are a number of opportunities for them to fuel around the bay. >> does that mean that you are saying they are in compliance? >> i am not prepared to say that at the short notice. >> have you done anything to find out whether they are, in fact, in compliance? >> there are issues, now and then.

there was the location of a vessel in an area that creep up to the front. there have been other issues, over time. we raised those issues and the company responded. support staff checked with the city to make sure that there were no violations. there was an outstanding issue with a sister company. >> finally, there was something about the investigation of alleged firing? >> that was still an open, pending item. mr. wyman probably knows better

than i do. flex my understanding is that it is still under appeal. my counsel tells me that it is an open item. the labor board turned down. there was a subsequent appeal to the human rights commission. going back to the feeling issue, we brought forth a building permit to the port to provide a floating bridge across the damaged area. the building permit was rejected by planning as being inconsistent with the secretary of interior guidelines. we did not try to solve the problem until we could bring four repairs to the

substructure. until we get that access, we are remote refueling off of the property in the east bay. >> thank you. my question to the staff, is there a reason why there has been an emergency in this moment? are we comfortable with the answers to the issues raised? >> it seems that before the final impact report, we will have some claims on roles with in an additional few months. those are not in writing. certainly, they are not a part of a lease.

>> as i read it, it is all very permissive. before we get down that path, i would like to know what the terms would be if they were to transpire. not saying that we will simply negotiate when the time comes. i am concerned that we could enter into something where there is such an intervention. such as the america's cup. >> thank you. >> item number 12. new business. >> is there any public comment on new business? >> item number 13, public comment? >> we do have that. ernest? where have you been? >> busy, city hall.

>> we are glad to have you here. >> my name is ernest white. it is with deep regret that i come before you, to express my deep shock and disappointment, failing to muster the votes from the other supervisors on the board. lesley and testify and verify that there was a failure as the

supervisors lied to me, reported to be independent as brown lost the election. this was an all chinese district. i ask for a unanimous vote. that is how we made the park legal. there was a proposal on the land use committee that was defeated , due to his focus on the part. the audience felt that the board

of supervisors worked tirelessly. but i did all that. i want to thank my supporters for all of the work that we did. no appreciation was ever submitted to us. the park is the most valuable piece of real estate in the city. it brought billions of dollars to the park, as well as the merchants surrounding the park. where is it? it would be timely and very nice, if you did it.

some of my supporters sat in the audience, along with you, lesley. >> thank you. >> steven? >> oh, no. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is steven dreyfus. i represent be entertainers of the court. it has been years since this commission be addressed the performers program.

the program has been well supported by the very able port, once per month, issuing permits. the program has proven to be a plus, as it is a more family friendly atmosphere than existed prior to the program. we do find serious problems that need to be addressed. program rules are clearly stated. this problem brings a lack of monitoring within the program. as approved by the port commission of for -- 2007. there is the promotion and selling of individual artwork,

prohibited by the rules. there are other rules being broken in concert that are out of hand and completely unchecked. court staff are originating this program, did not lout -- allow for the sale of less manufactured individual artwork. violators are opening themselves up to prosecution by entities such as the disney corporation, nfl, baseball, and other entities that have had their logos reproduced. it is understood that court staff inherited the the main in this program with more important

duties. i would ask this commission to please lend support for an equitable solution to this situation. especially when visiting fisherman's wharf. the most recent complaints to mid-level management have been met with a suggestion to disband the program. i would ask that you not throw out the baby with the bath water. >> thank you. hard to believe it has been four years. it would be great to get an update. >> yes. >> kenai have a motion to

adjourn? >> so move. >> all in favor? >> meeting adjourned. >> thank you for your stamina. >> hi, i'm bart may. today we have a speaking event for you as we all the celebrate the placement of the world's largest self-anchored suspension bridge. without any further ado, i'd

like to introduce the cal trans director, malcolm dockerty. >> thank you for coming out and helpling us celebrate the momentous occasion. it is my extreme pleasure to be able to introduce our first speaker today, and that is the honorable mayor, gene kwan. >> good morning. well, we were expecting my friend ed lee. who knows if we see flashing sirens, that will probably be him. this is an amazing event for the bay area's economy. this bridge and this final lane of the final section represents so many things for us in the bay area. it represents an investment in the future of our area, tying oakland and san francisco.

this is the kind of infrastructure work that i know president obama is trying to get in the big that will be coming up this week. about 10 kinds of this type of bridge are being built with federal dallas. the tax payers in the bay area have been willing to finance the retro fit of the bridge. this is a component that came from china. it's a real symbol of the global economy. and it is a complex project. it shows how we're linked together. and thirdly, it's going to be this amazing opportunity for us regular self-defense when the bridge is finished, particularly here on the east side, to ride out here, our bikes, to walk out here across the bridge. to really tie us culturally as well as economically together in the bay area. i want to thank the workers and the cal trans crew that's been working so hard on this project

for over a decade now. this has been difficult. i know the last mayor had a little bit of to say about the design. this has gone through three mayors. this is also when this comes back, it will be a critical part of what we're applying for federal funds. this is part of an overall economic vision, and lastly, we all felt those tremors last week. we have to remember why we're here today. we live in earthquake country. there's so much work that we have to do to retro fit major bridges and roads in the bay area, and so that's why i'm particularly hopeful that we'll have a better outcome this week, next week in congress for the president's bill. we need to retro fit not only this bridge, but a lot of other

major structures in the bay area. thank you to the engineering crew. thank you to the iron workers. thank you to international workers in china for building this last section. this is really a great day for the bay area 678. >> thank you, mayor. we could not let today pass without major representation from the bay area city, since this is a significant link here between the bay cities. i'd like to introduce from the city of san francisco, mohammed nuru. >> good morning, and thank you for having us out here. i'd like to start by first of all expressing mayor lee's regret for not being able to come here. unfortunately, he got stuck at city hall. but with that said, we are very, very happy to be here for this

event, and to join our partners. this celebration today marking installation of the 28th piece of the piece of bridge completes the driveway, bringing the rage into san francisco. as we heard from the mayor, it is a very, very important part of the project because it does connect san francisco. as you know, of 100 million people use this bridge in a year to come to san francisco. but the construction of the bridge itself brings a lot of jobs to the bay area and we're very, very happy about that in support of all the work that our president is doing in washington to bring more of projects of this type. this bridge marks a huge improvement to connecting san francisco, and also connecting

treasure island, which is the development that will be -- it's a development that's under way, and will hopefully be a place where everyone can also enjoy and ride their bicycles. next year we'll be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the bay area bridge. i want to remind everyone to look forward to that celebration. it should be huge. i know there's a number of projects, some lighting of the bridge and all sorts of celebrations. with that said, i'm very happy to be here and san francisco is proud to be part of this project. thank you. >> thank you very much. i'd like to talk about the significance of what's been

accomplished here today. it's another major milestone in the construction project that is replacing the san francisco oakland bay bridge. another major step forward in the completion. obviously, it's very important, and as was mentioned earlier about the number of motors that use this bridge, it's 280,000-plus motorists that use this every day and it's an important economic lifeline, and this extraordinary work done today will ensure that this lifeline will be safe for generations to come. as we speak behind me, you can see that the final deck section is being listed into place. all 28 deck sessions will be in place and this is a massive step toward the completion of this engineering icon bridge. it closes the gap between the s.a.s. and the skyway, which we are standing on. it will give us a clearer picture of what the skyway will

look like and the opening of the bridge late in 2013. we've been work at this. the department of transportation as well as the contractor and many workers and the subcontractors. we've been work on this for 21 months. on february 3 of 2010, the first deck section was put into place. and i want to thank all of cal tran's workers, whose efforts over that period of time has led to this point as well as the contractor and the subcontractors for all the continued great work. the engineers and construction crews will be working night and day to livet all those 28 deck sections into place for this world class bridge and they deserve a lot of recognition and our sincere thank you. i'd also like to give a specific thank you in recognition to american bridge and floor enterprise, the main contractor on this project and to all the employees who have made this achievement possible, and we'll hear from the project manager of that endeavor a little bit later. i want to thank the oversight

committee. we'll hear next from steve hemmingger. but i'd also like to thank mr. rinehart, who was not able to be here today. i want to thank the residents for their patience and support on this important project. i'll close with message to all the driving public. we ask you to drive safely and move over when it's safe to do so. at this time, i'd like to introduce, as mentioned before, the executive drecktor of the bay area toll authority, >> good morning, everybody.

we broke ground on this project, or broke water, i don't know what the right phrase is for a bridge, in the year 2000. today is a big step toward completion of the project. i think it's important to mark milestones, especially when a project lasts this long. but the only milestone that really matters, as mayor kwan says, is when we can move traffic from that bridge on to this one. that seismic safety imperative has always been uppermost in our mind. and it continues to be with the reminders that we've seen with recent seismic activity just over the last few weeks. mayor kwan, i want to assure you we are going to open this bridge when you are still mayor. as for mayor lee, i guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

we are going to open it as quickly as possible. we certainly hope by late 2013, or sooner if possible, and let me conclude, if i could, because we'd be introducing brian peterson next, the project manager, that i sure hope now that we've got all the steel in place, we can really put the pedal to the metal. congratulations to all the workers who have gotten us this far and let's get the last stretch done now. thank you. >> before i introduce our last important speaker, i want to close my comments on a safety

note and acknowledge other partners that are here, the california highway patrol. i do know that seward is here for the california highway patrol and i want to extend my appreciation to them. at this time, i would like to introduce our last speaker, the project manager for this great project. brian peterson. >> good morning, everyone. it is a very exciting day. i appreciate the attendance we have here. it's a great day here. it's a beautiful day. we've got a lot of this evenings ahead of us here. today is one of many great days for the project and american bridge floor marks the erection of a last piece of bridge stack. and the final major piece of the

fabricated steel for the project. today's piece will allow us to start the cable work in the months to come. so you'll see a dynamic change again in the bridge. we are proud of the fabrication that has been provided by dpmc and we thank them for all of their efforts. we're also very fortunate to have an experienced work force here on the project that can accomplish great feats like you see going on behind us. without their skill, without their effort, this wouldn't be possible. milestones like today are only achieved through the spirit of cooperation, communication, and coordination. and for that, american bridge floor appreciates the team work of everybody that is here today and some special ones that couldn't be here as well. finally, i express our gratitude

for the support from cal trans, the california transportation commission, and all of the elected officials that have supported this project, and like steve said, we look forward to continuing the work on this project to drive forward to a possible opening to traffic and seismic safety. the paramount that's left for the joint venture to complete. i thank everybody for attending and i hope you enjoy the day. >> thank you all again for coming out to mark this momentous occasion. now i'm going to turn it over to bart for logistics. >> at this point, that concludes the speaking part of the day. and i know that some of you are going to remain on the deck with us and do your live -- we're

going to go ahead and adjourn the speakers. brian, if you want to go ahead and allow them to take a peek at the segment, it looks like it's moving pretty well, actually.