>> [roll call] >> just as a reminder, we would ask that you turn off all the electronic sounding devices that may go off during the proceedings. if you are having any secondary conversations, we would ask that you take those outside so we can proceed as efficiently as possible. if you want to speak on an item palace filled out a blue card. anyone speaking will have three minutes on each item unless announced otherwise by the president of the commission. please address your comments to the items being heard. if it is general public comment you wish to speak on, that is item four, and then continued on item 11. please address your comments to the commission during public comment on items in order to allow equal time for the

commission or staff to respond. with that, commissioner. >> i will agree -- be brief in my president's report. on tuesday february 28, basically from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. in the green room of the veterans building on van ness avenue, there will be sunshine and ethics training for city officials. while it may sound routine, it is an important issue, particularly for commissions like rec and park. i want to encourage senior staff and fellow commissioners to attend. with that, let's proceed with the agenda. i have a couple of commissioners

want to comment. >> i just want to report to the commission one of our longtime patrons of our parks, member of the portsmouth board, louis passed away. i would request that when we adjourned, we do so in her memory. >> i am on the committee for the community opportunity fund. we have had our first meeting on that. for those of you that would like to apply for those funds, please contact our planning department. thank you. >> is there any public comment on the president's report? item 3 is general manager's report. >> good morning, managers.

spring program registration begins on march 3. summer day camp registration begins on march 17. we ask everyone to log on to our website to browse our catalog of classes for the entire family. to that end, we have some exciting data from the superintendent of recreation which shows in the fall and winter, recreation programming registration continues in a cigna been upward trend. we increased registration from fall 2010-2011 by 15%. our warning of scholarships also continues an upward trend. we are pleased with what is quickly becoming the recreation program of choice in san francisco. this saturday we have a benefit

for a summer camp program for kids in the autumn spectrum. the world renowned pianist and parent and a quartet will be playing. log on to our website to purchase tickets. if you're interested in testing your metal and some of the top pingpong players in the city, join us for the third annual open table tennis tournaments. you can also download the entry form on our website. spring extravaganza. i do believe pitchers and catchers report in a few days. our quarterly family friendly event will be held on april 7, including games, and annual rib cut off between the police and

fire department staff. a more somber announcement. we were informed on january 28 that dolores park suffered a severe bout of vandalism. the club house was packed, two tractors were damaged, lights were busted. the damage cost was estimated at more than $27,000. then on monday, we were informed the park was similarly vandalized again. we are working with a contractor to extend security hours from 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. during the final phase of the plague on construction and they're working with the police department to coordinate additional controlpa. in addition, we will be applying anti-graffiti on all

services in the park. we ask the public to be vigilant and report any activity to the police. damage like this threatens to delay the completion of this incredible capital project, philanthropy, that inflates the cost of maintenance. it is a burden cleaning up after people bad behavior. we continue to ask you to be vigilant and support and patience. more positively, district bond meetings continue. based on the success of the 2008 bond, approved by 76% of san francisco voters and has resulted in $185 million in capital improvement projects, our staff has begun meeting to solicit feedback on priorities for another bond proposal for the november 2012 ballot, including neighborhood parks sites and possible programs

similar to the community opportunity program that you just mentioned, commissioner. the public is more than welcome to view our schedule of the upcoming meetings on line and attend, or send feedback to us at rpd.bondfeedback@sfgov.org. at last month's commission meeting we recognized and honored raquel miller. she is our resident boxing instructor turned olympic hopeful. she is currently in spokane, washington fighting her way through the first-ever women's olympic boxing trials. we are happy to report that the dream is still alive. after an opening loss, she has bounced back with two wins.

she will face off against a fighter from michigan tonight. we are all rooting for her. i am now pleased to recognize self help for the elderly. tomorrow, we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the program at the senior center at south sunset playground. in 1966, self-help provided hot meals to those in chinatown, but today it provides training and social activities to more than 35,000 seniors across the bay area. opened in 1992, our senior center serves an insult -- an important community hub for seniors. our ongoing partnership with self-help for the elderly is significant because of our commitment to provide quality programs to the the elderly.

the self-help director betty fung is here. i just wanted to congratulate her on 20 great years and present this certificates on behalf of staff. [applause] >> commissioners, on behalf of self-help and the many seniors we serve, we thank you.

thank you for your help for the past 20 years. we have been operating at the sunset playground, providing daily hot meals and activities for seniors in the sunset. for some of the scene is we serve, that is the only hot meal they will get during the day because of their financial situation, and also with activities and socialization opportunities we provide, it helps promote physical and mental health. we are thankful for the partnership that has been expanded to the chinatown portsmouth square where we run a center offering a variety of physical activities. we would like to invite all of you to our 20 anniversary celebration tomorrow at the self-help center.

we are very happy that supervisor carmen chu and capt. of long from the terror of a police station will be joining us. it would be a great honor to see all of you there. again, we think you for the support and hope that this partnership will go on for another 20 years. thank you. >> thank you. as we always do, i would like to conclude with a short the video that is aptly called, this month in parks. ♪

>> make sure we are working in concert with our government agency. that collaboration will be a constant theme, not only of how we do business in our neighborhood, but how we want to do the business of the city. i want you to know that from here on, the community will always be included in the way that we think and do our work in city hall. with this kickoff, i am excited to follow the team for the rest of the year. i will be part of this.

♪

>> and that was just february. happy valentine's day, happy february. that concludes the general manager's report. >> is there anyone that would like to make public comment on the general managers' report? seeing none, public comment is closed. item four. general public comment. members of the public may address the commission on items of interest to the public and are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission and do not appear on the agenda. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is mr. dillon. i live in the sunset area here in san francisco. it is a great managers over --

report we just heard from mr. ginsberg, and the audiovisual presentation was great. i noticed there was a cameo appearance of the newly elected mayor ed lee in there. i also heard he mentioned community would not always be involved in our parks. that comment hit me because, coming to san francisco for the past 35 years, the equestrian community has always been a part of san francisco, historically and culturally. ironically, they have been aborted out of san francisco. kind of the way it does politics, if it is something

that is not 100% politically correct, they just abort it. the politics of abortion. that is what we are experiencing here in san francisco. basically, we have run out of time listening to you folks dillydally around. 2012, we are going to impact the recreation and parks commission. we are going to impact your lives, just as you have impacted hours. we are going to reconnect you to nature and to what is important, which is this moment. not living in some historical fantasy about we want to change things 50 years after the fact. not going to happen. thank you very much for your time. have a great day.

>> thank you. >> is there anyone else that would like to make a general public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. item 5 is the consent calendar. do we have any public comment on the consent calendar? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioners? >> entertain a motion. >> i wanted to offer some brief acknowledgment before you take a vote on the items in the consent calendar. we have some representatives present today from the usda norcal and we are pleased to be excepting a gift they are presenting involving tennis. this will encourage kids to stay involved in the sport. improvements will also allow kids to engage in even more

healthy activity. i know we have today in the audience the director of competitive play, usta norcal director, and president. thank you very much for your support, for our tennis programming, and most importantly, for our kids. >> thank you. would you like to say a few words? >> i am michael cook, and the president of the usta northern california. i want to thank you for allowing us to get on the court. a bit of a misnomer that it is just 10 and under. where we are finding when we put these courts down, we're introducing tennis back to some seniors, through their inability to move, are covering the court again, but grandparents playing with their grandchildren on and

of corporate court size. it became much more inclusive and inviting by these new rules put out by dennis for 10 and under. usta thanks you for accepting our gift and we look forward to working with the city as much as we can. >> thank you. thank you for your gift. motion. second? all those in favor? it is unanimous. >> we are now on items six, for san francisco zoo. >> good morning. executive director of the san francisco zoo. we closed in january on a high with visitor attendance over butted by 65%, 22,000 visitors. february has been doing well, in large part, too many events.

february 14, thousands of visitors came to the zoo which puts us at 30%. one of the reasons for the high attendance is the appearance jack hanna. he appeared to a sold-out, standing-room-only crowd. many had paid money to see and receive autographs from him. he focused on 20 animals from the children's zoo and call the san francisco zoo a diamond in the rough. we thank him for being here. we recently lost a male lion. the silver lining, he left behind a female companion that would have been by herself. we had the idea to copy a pride, which you often find in the wild. we carefully introduced the

female to the couple next door. it has turned out to be a wonderful trio and pride. they are now napping together and it is an incredible sight. i encourage you to come and see them. a squirrel monkey has been returned to his exhibit. with a few minor hiccups, he is acclimating well with his 17 companions. a visitor brought him a valentine's day card and receive $1 off. our annual zoo fest gala is underway. our chair would like to make this a black-tie affair. this will be interesting at the zoo. that is my report. >> hass is there any public comment on this item?

seeing none, public comment is closed. this was discussion only. item seven, golden gate concourse part garage. -- park garage. >> good morning, i chaired the board of the music community partnership. the garage was opened in 2005. construction was funded through a combination of $36.4 million in private philanthropy. $26.5 million in bond anticipatory notes. in december 2010, we refinanced with a big-qualified tax-exempt loan. debt is schedule to be retired 2039. at such time, the garage will be transferred to you. use has steadily increased after

the de jong opened in 2005, and that significantly when the academy opened in 2008. use has now leveled off and someone declined. it is a common pattern among new cultural institutions. peak use is in the spring and summer, when tourism is high. usage is also heavily dependent on events. maybe the weather. our revenue is way down for december and january. they were all at the zoo. expenses are very basic. we have debt service, staffing, city rent, utilities, and insurance. we are and non-profit with their responsibility to operate in the most prudent way possible for the visitors to the institutions in golden gate park. currently, we are not able to cover our expenses, even though they are right on budget.

we have a revenue problem. the rate increase is necessary to carry the garage in winter months and between special exhibits. rates. -- initially were said by ordinance in 2003. there have been two increases since then. a 25% colon increase in 2009 and a 75 cent increase approved in august of 2010. the proposal before you today is to increase the weekday rate by $1, up from $3.50 to $4.50 an hour, a dollar increase per hour on the weekend. from $4, to $5 per hour. after our even parking would increase to $15. that is pegged to the for the performing arts garage. the daily maximum rates are unchanged. that would remain at $25.20 $8. monthly rates are also

unchanged. -- $25 and $28. there were 20% fewer parkers in december 2011 than in 2010. the impressionist was at the de jong in 2010, not in 2011. december 2011 revenue was 36% below the revenue in 2010. january revenues were 27% below january of the preceding year. your to date, we are 17% behind on revenue. i will say there has been a little bit about take lightly. -- a little bit of up to take

lightly. the proposal is before you for your approval. >> maybe we will have public comment and then questions. >> it is there any public comment on this item? thank you. >> it good afternoon, commissioners and members of the public. golden gate park concourse. traditionally, the heart of the park. here we are, living in times of scarce resources and we have one of the greatest architectural examples of a non-motorized,

non-fossil fuel transportation concourse, the carriage concourse. that is what the music concourse is. it has been diluted down to a museums' car park or an academy of science car park, a drive in utopia when we're trying to get people out of their cars. we drive everywhere. we don't have to get out of our cars. we don't even have to look for a parking spot. we have a grosz built right into the carriage concourse -- we have a garage built right into the carriage concourse. yet we are getting run over and it should be non motorized. once again, 180 degrees from where we should be.

we drove carriages in that park and around the concourse for over 100 years, a perfect example of classical, non- motorized, non-fossil fuel dependent transportation. what do we see going around there now? zero of that type of activity. of that type of community. because we have had our community stolen and it has been occupied by you people, who really do not belong here. except politically, you belong here, because you are living in the past. retribution for a past you don't like. you don't like history. but i tell you what, it's coming to bite you back.

thank you very much. >> is there anyone else who would like -- richard? >> at the good morning commissioners. i was looking into this garage issue and what we could do to gain additional income. one thing i look at would be would we ever have a row tear off of people who go in and pay road tear off and this would have a bonus to it such as a lottery at the end of the month, maybe somebody would get free parking for a month. but i would not look so much on the prize of it, i would look to the legality