>> good afternoon, rules committee. ♪ sweet dreams. may you pick a good can of this task force. but in your dreams, whatever your dream, dream a little dream of green ♪ and -- ♪ the city hyatt -- the city tide is high and you are moving the task force on i want you to pick your number one, the best one year so it just one guy that wants better boards. and fix it up at the cannabis store the city tide is high and you are moving on fix it up, and i want you to

pick no. 1 city can of this task force number one -- secant is task force number one -- city cannibis task force number one ♪ supervisor kim: thank you, mr. paulson. >> i am here to speak on behalf of mr. watkins because he is a great candidate. he has donated time has passed the years taking patients to the cannabis hospices because they cannot get out. he also picks them up so they can have their medication or whatever. i was totally against this because i have nothing to do with cannabis. i did not think it was true that it did what it does for people, but i am totally a believer now, because it does. it helps people feel better, helps them get through what they have to get through because it

helped him. it was the only thing that kept me sane when i had to deal with what i had to deal with with him. it kept me from going crazy. i am here on his behalf, and i think he would be the greatest for this job. thank you very much. one more thing -- he has no problem getting in because he comes here three times a week every week. supervisor kim: thank you, mrs. watkins. any other public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed during my understanding is we will be hearing this item again on thursday, november 17. if you have spoken today, you certainly do not have to speak again. i will not be calling your name. we may have follow-up questions, and then we will be forwarding our recommendation to the full board. thank you so much for being here. i apologize for the continuance. i know there has been a number

of conflicts going on currently with the task force, and supervisors have been asked to take sides on the issue. i certainly do not have issues with that. my preference is to move forward thursday, and we will see what happens then. thank you for your time. if we do not have any opposition, if we could continue this to the call of the chair, we can do that without opposition. thank you. madam clerk, can you please call item four? >> item four, ordinance amending the administrative code to been each reference to the bureau of architecture, bureau of engineering, and bureau of construction management in the san francisco municipal code to be a reference to the department of public works. >> good afternoon. i am the city engineer and deputy director for public works. back in july, a division, which is the engineering division, we

organized and merged the three bureaus' referenced in this order it's to create two divisions. one focuses on building and the other on infrastructure. we did this mainly to create integrated teams with diverse experience to deliver projects from beginning to end, including design and construction. in the past, legislation referenced the three separate bureaus, and we intended, through this vision, to reference in the future of the department of public works instead of each individual bureau. if you are interested in additional information about the organization, i have a power point presentation i would be happy to share with you if you need. supervisor kim: are there any questions from colleagues? i think this is a pretty straightforward item.

i did not have questions myself. at the time, we will open up for public comment. thank you. >> ♪ the mayor and supervisors make it happen, and sfgovtv, too don't you remember we built this city we built this city with good management we built this city with good construction management we built this city on good engineering, too we built this city with good management ♪ supervisor kim: thank you. is there any other public comment on this item? >> i am a senior engineer at san francisco public utilities commission. i was formally -- formerly part

of dpw engineering. this is san francisco's history. history has been decimated under the proposal. here is a report from 1923 by the city engineer at the time. the organization does not mean we have to destroy the history and part of san francisco, okay? i am here to speak for myself and on behalf of local 21 on this agenda item. engineering and construction management, the reorganization proposal would permit the race over a century-old institution of the city from the annals of the department's history. san francisco's dtw has a bureau of engineering and bureau of

architecture design and manage the construction of the city's infrastructure and have done that, proudly serving the city's residents. over the years, the bureau's have undertaken not only small and medium but single projects worth over $200 million. in those days, the golden gate bridge, and lots more. that is under the name of the bureau of engineers. the bureau has received national awards of excellence for some of the projects they have completed over the years from many national organizations like the american institute of architects, the american association of civil engineers, the american association of landscape architects, the public works association, the water works association, and many other local chapters of professional and trade organizations. what is more important than recognition of this national

organization than recognition by the city residents to the bureau serves? i remember going to a retirement of a landscape architect, mr. john thomas -- supervisor kim: if you do not mind wrapping up because your time is up. feel free to finish your points. >> it is the history of dpw and five years. its legendary accomplishments can be noted all over the city. there is no need to delete the name from the history books. they could reorganize and have this integrated delivery of projects, but, you know, it does not have to be at the expense of deleting the history -- supervisor kim: may i ask a question? has local 21 taken an official position on this? >> not yet. supervisor kim: is there any other public comment for this item? seeing none, public comment is now closed.

we have a motion to forward with positive recommendation, and i believe we can do that without opposition. thank you for being here today. madam clerk, please call item 5. >> item 5, ordinance amending the administrative code to establish the san francisco sentencing commission, set forth the commission's purpose, powers, and duties, and establish membership criteria. supervisor kim: the sponsor of the ordinance has asked to continue the item for the thursday november 17 meeting. we will do that, but first, we will open up for public comment so you can comment on this item. >> ♪ go ahead and hate your city neighbor. it will be justified, justified

in the end there will not be any trumpet blowing on the judgment city day and you will get it some way ♪ supervisor kim: thank you. is there any other public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is now close. we had a motion to continue thursday november 17, and we can do so without objection. madam clerk, are there any other announcements? >> no, madam chair. supervisor kim: thank you. meeting is adjourned.

>> san francisco and the league of california cities 113th annual conference. i'm mike casperzack, vice mayor of the city of mountain view and

your league's first vice president. your league president, jim rightenour, mayor of modesto, who we see on the screen here, could not be with us today. so they called in the second string. jim had some recent health issues, but by all accounts he's doing very well. he's back at home and i'm waiting for him to pick up his blackberry so we can start texting again. let's keep him in our thoughts and prayers, though, as we work together during the next three days. now, won't you please join me again in thanking today's opening ceremony's participants including the san francisco police department color guard and byron pope from beverly hills. we have a great city clerk from mountain view but she doesn't sing like birom. let's give it up for them both. your annual conference is a critical time for our entire league to come together, learn,

and celebrate this year's accomplishments as we plan ahead for the coming year. cities are the cornerstone of our great state, and this year's conference theme is, cities standing strong for cities. we are stronger individually when we are strong collectively, and that is precisely why your league of california cities exists. we are 482 separate cities, but the league's efforts for all california cities ensure that each city is stronger. it's our strength together that has been instrumental in the league's advocacy this year. last year, we successfully passed proposition 22 which provided strong protections for local revenues. did you know that this was our fourth, or depending on how you count, if you include 1998 and 1999 at one and two, fourth or

fifth straight victory at the ballot box. your league has truly become a powerful force in the state political arena. [applause] but who would have guessed that just a few months later, in january of this year, our newly elected governor would announce his intention to eliminate redevelopment agencies throughout california in a way that clearly violates the new california constitution. in the process, his proposal would have killed 300,000 private sector jobs that redevelopment finances each year. the governor's proposal sparked an outcry not only by city officials, but by many others concerned about the devastating economic impact such an action would have on local communities and the state as a whole. despite our collective efforts, the governor's proposal was

modified, in part, and married with another unconstitutional bill to extort huge ransoms from the state if we want to avoid ex extinction of our r.d.a.'s. the league hasn't taken that action lying down, either. but i wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your efforts in passing proposition 22 and for our efforts to save redevelopment and let's give ourselves a round of applause for that work. [applause] now, you'll notice in your program that we were supposed to be joined today by james mitchell, the president of the flacial league of cities, but for reasons of business, he was not able to get out to california from charlotte where he serves as a council member. james is a great guy, a strong proponent of california cities, and i know he passes on his best wishes for us all.

now, turning our attention to the annual conference, the reason why we're all here in this great city. let's focus on what's ahead for the conference this week. the program is designed to provide you with information and resources that you can take back to your cities and put directly into action. we are here in san francisco to learn from the experts and each other over the course of the conference. both the on-site program and the conference-at-a-glance page you received at registration will help you navigate the sessions, meetings and events. look for an expo map to identify the 240 companies exhibiting in this year's expo. i know you won't want to miss the expo tomorrow and friday where you'll find many products and services that can help your city.

if you'll permit me to to make a shameless commercial plug, please look at page 34 in your conference program and circle booth 908. here's the reason for that. we're plugging this booth because it's ours and all of yours. it's california communities and u.s. communities. these organizations provide important products and services to cities at a great discount and both are an important part of the league and help keep your league dues as low as possible. when you visit the expo tomorrow, stop by booth 908 to learn more about how your city can access tax-exempt financing and pooled purchasing power. the expo opens at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow and closes at 5:00 p.m. also, don't forget to enter your city for one of three grand prizes being given on friday afternoon at the closing

session. cardiac sciences is giving away two automated external defibrillators or a.e.d.'s, to two lucky cities. cool 'em technologies, whose founder is richard lowenthal, is giving one lucky city an electric vehicle charging station plus $1,000 towards its installation, and for those people starting to get electric cars, maybe a volt or a leaf, what's going to come in really handy. enter your city in the bin just inside the entrance to the expo hall. it goes without saying that your league staff is here to help with any information or questions you may have about the conference. today, they're wearing black shirts, and tomorrow, they'll be in red shirts. let's give a big thank you to our league partners, the sponsors of this year's prestigious helen putnam awards and the partner's speaker's

theater located on the expo floor. the partners are doing an hourly raffle at the partners village and will be giving away five kindles and five samsung galaxy tablets. you'll want to make sure you're compliant with all of the state gift rules. one item will be drawn every hour starting at noon tomorrow. the league partners village features the companies and organizations that work closely with the league on behalf of cities. your partners provide expert information and help frame issues, develop programs for cities and help influence policy making in the interests of cities. be sure to say hello to the league partners who are here for this annual conference. they're wearing white ribbons identifying them as league partners. so please give them a special thank you as you go around and visit them at the expo and thank

them for being league partners because they do help make your league a better organization so that it can help all of california's cities stand strong for cities. now, before i introduce our host, san francisco mayor ed lee, i want to highlight tonight's activities. first, from 6:00 to 7:00, we have the host city reception conveniently located right outside the hall here on the third level foyer as you exit the session. at 7:15, head north up mission street one block to the saint regis hotel for the sixth annual leadership gala casino night which helps support city pack and without city pack, we wouldn't have had proposition 22. so, enough of the public service announcements. we are excited and honored to be in san francisco, consistently rated as one of the most popular

cities in the world, for this year's 113th annual conference. the state's fourth largest city has hosted our conference several times and we are thrilled to be back. please help me in welcoming san francisco mayor ed lee. [applause] mayor lee: good afternoon. and welcome. welcome to the world series champion city and county of san francisco. i may not be much of a politician, but i certainly know how to trash talk. and i want you to know that that's how i introduce myself when i'm at the u.s. conference of mayors. i kind of say, hey, i'm ed lee, i'm the mayor of the world

champion city of san francisco, what are you mayor of? i wanted to welcome all of you here to moscone center, our center of conventions and also to san francisco. and i hope you are enjoying the weather. as mayor of san francisco, i like to welcome you to our city. it's a small city that dares to dream big, bound only by our capacity to imagine. and i would also like to welcome you to the greenest city in north america. i'm so pleased that i'm able to welcome you here today and many of you know, i used to be the city's administrator before i became mayor. and as a result, i've seen things from both sides. as a long time public servant, and now as mayor. so i have a pretty good idea on how and what it takes to make a city run so i want to thank each and every one of you for all of

your good work because your commitment to your communities and your maintaining the citizens' trust in government, that's what we have to do as cities today. whether you've been in government for just a few days, a few months, or for many years, it's always nice ton that your work is appreciated and i do appreciate all the members of the california league and everyone that works in our cities. and we'll be celebrating some of that good work here today when the winners of the helen putnam awards are honored. in these challenging economic times, we're all faced with unacceptably high unemployment, the demands of a shrinking budget and the potential for tough choices in making public sector layoffs. despite all of this, we are working hard to maintain the quality of services and programs our residents deserve while

balancing the economic constraints that we're all facing. san francisco, like most cities, has significantly been affected by the state's budgetary crisis. i continue to be very concerned about redevelopment, public safety realignment and the programmatic reductions that have been enacted, all of which will harm our ability to create jobs, building the housing and infrastructure we need, and hurt the residents of our communities. on redevelopment, i, like many of you, have been focused on protecting important development projects that are working to create jobs, invest in our infrastructure and affordable housing and rebuild our communities. the league of california cities has played a leadership role in the fight against the unwise elimination of redevelopment, and i want to thank all of you for that. in san francisco, we are focused

on transformational projects which will have a major impact on san francisco, as well as the entire region, projects that will connect our communities, connect our cities, connect our regions, and connect our states, projects like the transbay terminal which will be the northern terminus of our california high-speed rail, or the central subway project, which will help san franciscans create a world class 21st century transportation system that realizes our transit first policy, or projects like treasure island, a base reuse project that will create thousands of new housing units and an entirely new neighborhood in san francisco, or projects like our hunters point shipyard project that will be transforming communities, revitalizing neighborhoods, keeping our families in our cities with thousands of units of housing, parklands, and allow

us to build a world class stadium to keep the san francisco 49ers right here in our city, projects like these throughout the state will make a big difference in our economic recovery. as you may also know, i'm a big supporter of high-speed rail. i believe it really needs to be part of our transportation future. this issue is critical to me as a mayor because our economic future depends upon people being able to move throughout our state with ease on roads, rails and in the skies. currently, nearly one-third of all of our air traffic from san francisco international airport is for flights from san francisco to the los angeles area. for those of you who have flown into s.f.o., you have noticed that our airport has no room to expand. what this means is that we have

to find ways to shift the san francisco-to-los angeles air draft out of the skies and on to the rails. by moving towards high-speed rail, we not only improve the transportation system in the state, but we also improve our local economy by providing more opportunities for commerce and tourism. i hope that, as leaders in our communities, we can work together to ensure that the promise of high-speed rail is delivered to all californians. finally, i'd just like to thank you for coming here to san francisco and to invite you back. as many of you know, we are hosting the 34th america's cup, the third largest international sporting event in the world. thank you. [applause] america's cup will be a spectacular event and i hope that you will come back to san francisco and to the other communities around the bay area

to enjoy world class sailing on our bay. by the way, if you're from southern california, there will be preliminary races this november in san diego, so you can get a taste of what these competitors can do. and i also want to welcome my good friend who's going to be speaking this afternoon on your keynote. that's chris vene who used to be our chief information officer, and now he's working at the white house as the deputy information officer, technology officer for the white house. i welcome him in, as well. again, thank you for being here. the league of california cities, thank you for enjoying our weather, our convention center. and i wish you well in all of the subjects you cover today and again, thank you for every contribution you make to improving the quality of life for everybody in our state. thank you for coming here. [applause]