to the botanical garden. this new improvement will allow 10,000 children a year to create a new generation of environmental students to make sure we are protecting that greenery in our city. supervisor chu: the rest of the items i have submitted, but i would like to ask we adjourned in memory of [inaudible] who was laid to rest last week in oakland. he was a janitor and employee of hours at san francisco international airport at night and was also going to nursing school in the daytime. i would like to make sure we adjourn in his memory and send our condolences to the six other individuals who were slain and hope for a speedy recovery for the three who were injured. supervisor avalos: i just have

one item for the imperative agenda which i think we can take in combination with our 330 special. not to give away what our 3:30 special commendation is going to be, but my imperative agenda item is making today is susan messner day. >> i think you just gave it away. why don't we move into that. president chiu: unless there are any roll-call items, let's move to these 3:30 item but start with the item it supervisor avalos just began. >> would you like me to read the item? we have a resolution declaring april 10, 22 of -- 2012 to be

susan misner day. supervisor avalos: i would like to clarify some of the main point. she's moving on from the city and county of san francisco and maybe you can talk all but about where you will be going. i have had the pleasure and honor of working with you these past three and half years, plus those years i was a legislative aide. i think you have been a wonderful public servant and have been really dedicated to your work in the mayor's office of disability and what was wonderful about working with you as we did not always agree on things but we always had a great rapport working together and that cuts to the heart of what a lot of the work here at city hall is about. while we grapple with policy, to be effective in our work, it's

based on our relationships and working together and you exemplifies that immensely and i want to congratulate you on your great work here and wish you the best of luck in years to come. you are just going to have to sit there and listen. declaring today april 10 susan misner day in honor of her work for the mayor's office of disabilities. she has made it the fight for the civil rights and civil rights of her passion and continuing our work at the homeless advocacy project, she has been a leader in the city's efforts to fill the mandate of the americans with disabilities act of 1990 and ensure the city's programs, policies and procedures are accessible to and

usable by people with disabilities. whereas she joined the city family at the mayor's office on disability in 1999 -- i did not know that. to advocate from the inside as a champion for disability rights and built a strong and productive relationships between the city and the disability community. relationship to put a human face on the issues and helped informed the city's policy makers as they make critical decisions that help and improve the lives of all citizens. she was responsible for the americans with disability act sub evaluation plan crafted by each individual department which led to the development of the city's comprehensive transition plan. she has appeared before the board of supervisors on numerous occasions, advocating powerfully with grace, articulation -- grace, humanity, and humor. therefore, be it resolved today

, that the board declares this day susan misner day. we look for to hearing all the wonderful things you do in your future. [applause] >> before you speak, i think there are a couple of colleagues who like to continue to embarrass you today. i would also like to say a few words i had prepared -- a proclamation signed by all of our colleagues in anticipation we would all want to support proclaiming today in your name and san francisco. thank you for the work you have done in my office, not just with constituents to have various issues -- we get a lot of work together making sure local enforcement of the ada

that could be done with our small businesses. from transit issue as to how our sidewalks could be better improve it, to making sure storefronts are accessible, and i just want to thank you for doing that and doing it with extreme grace and selflessness and competence. we look forward to working with you in your new capacity, but you will be sorely missed year in san francisco. supervisor chu: i also want to express my profound thanks for all the work you have done. anybody who goes throughout our city streets and are able to see a nice new car brandt, who is able to get into the public health building really ought to thank susan. it's put the city a place to make sure our facilities are as accessible as possible to all individuals.

whether you are in a wheelchair or pressing a baby stroller, frankly, thank you for pushing the city in that direction. it was a big deal to get that meeting. it is why we have funded and prioritized making 88 improvements in our public right away and facilities. also, thank you for the work you have done in the small business world, helping to strike the balance between making sure our businesses are complying as best as they can and understand what their obligations are. thank you for that. you have always been the person to steer is in the right direction. sometimes policy-makers don't know what the right answer is and we throw all sorts of stuff out there and you have always helped us make sure we are getting down the right way and we were not going to pass had unintended consequences. we will miss having you as our resident expert.

week always count on you to know everything about laws and our cities' plans, so we will miss having you here. i know you have left your apartment and work to very capable hands, so congratulations to carla and thank you in advance for your work and i know you will be able to continue susan's rework. i want to wish you the best in your upcoming role and hope you will not be a stranger to us. [applause] president chiu: and there are still others. supervisor kim: i only got the chance to work with you for a short time. but in the short time i've been here, i've heard from some of the community advocates about how they tremendously respect you and the work and leadership you have it taken on for the disability community in san francisco.

we sometimes segregate different communities but we don't realize we have disabled individuals and all our communities. this impacts so much of our policy work. it has been exciting to work with you and i'm excited about the partnership we will engage with to make our shelters more accessible as we are acknowledging a large portion of our shelter clients are disabled. i want to commend you for your work and i'm sad you are leaving the city at this point. i know you will do amazing things about where you are at it. but i want to say on behalf of many organizers and advocates, there is a tremendous respect for the work you do that many people are sad to see you go but are excited to see your work will continue in a different capacity. supervisor mar: thank you for

being such a great teacher for me. i saw things through different eyes when you had -- and you did things with my staffs. one thing that you said was this ability is sometimes hidden and as we should not make assumptions about it. i also appreciated the work and your sensitivity with small businesses hit by lawsuits and how to work with small businesses and communities to make sure we are addressing equality for people with disabilities but sensitivity to small business. i also want to say i appreciated my understanding of seniors and people with disabilities and the overlaps and differences as i work on issues, it's helpful, everything i've learned working with you from the years as i have then a supervisor. i'm looking forward to

continuing network. thank you for everything. supervisor wiener: susan, it is my honor to have known you for a long time and have you as my neighbor right down the street. although we work together, in my capacity as a supervisor, we worked most closely together when i was at the city attorney's office. we deal with kwai if youada and that -- we deal with quite a few ada issues. sometimes we mess up and we have claims that would assume we have unlimited budgets and we live in a perfect world and can snap our fingers and make everything perfectly accessible for everyone to day and spend $10

billion doing it. the thing i always enjoyed in working with you is that i always come to you and you would provide a very balanced, measured, and bubble response to say what they're saying makes sense and this is not right and this goes too far. as much as an advocate as you are and a passionate advocate for access, you also understood all of the different things we as a government have to contend with. i always appreciated your thoughtful approach and i know a lot of us will miss you. but our loss is the aclu's gain. supervisor olague: i just want to thank you for all of your work on behalf of persons living with disabilities and seniors

and your office, which you lead and everyone else there who i have learned a lot from. i just wanted to acknowledge your staff and your leadership. thank you. president chiu: before you speak, why we finish the formalities in adopting this resolution. we have a first. is there a second? let me ask if there is any public comment on this matter. seeing none, public comment is closed. walter, did you want to speak on this item? >> ♪ thanks for all the mayors disability work you do, a suit. we really do appreciate it. ♪ thanks for all you do it.

the mayor thinks you, too. ♪ we thank you for all you do, sue. [applause] president chiu: unless there is any more public comment on this item, public comment is closed. >> [roll call] 10 are ayes. president chiu: congratulations,

susan. [applause] now it's your turn. >> this is so sweet and part of what makes it so hard to leave this city. but just as no man is an island, know what is an office. i may have been the face of the mayor's office on disability, but i would like to introduce you to the rest of the body, the arms, legs, the heart. she is our office manager and supports all of us each month. thank you. you don't see him so much because he is in his office poring over piles of drawings to ensure every piece of housing we build with city money is

complying with all federal, state, and local requirements. ken stein, who has worked in the disability rights movement for 40 years. what he doesn't know about disability rights is not worth knowing and who he doesn't know must not have done much. he is the heart, keeping us focused on the central goal of equal access for all. has our, our intern, she is the years and years all of the grievances we get under the federally mandated grievance procedure. they deputy director is not only the mastermind behind a transition plan, but a national expert on the architectural access codes. joanna is an incredibly talented woman who has provided training to managers and directors in every department in the city and

whose hands will be on every policy are office creates. finally, the new head who has an enormous experience with the city and disability rights issues and who has my every confidence she will not only continue the tradition but improve on it and put me to shame. now that i have introduced you to the rest of the office, the mod squad as we like to call ourselves. i just have three more things to say. first is a thank you. the second is a reminder and the final is a request. to the thank you, as you have said, i am leaving the mayor's office to work for the aclu and expand and support their disability rights worker on the country. i will be bringing with me san francisco's approach to disability rights as a model to

emulate. whenever we have worked with you, whether it's on balboa park or keeping vital services in the communities of people with disabilities stay in their homes, on small-business issues, on housing and homeless issues, and service and support animals, i have been impressed by how so many of you consistently choose to do more than the minimum. we always want to comply with the codes and legal requirements, but you have chosen to do what is best for the city and people with disabilities. san francisco is a national model because of those choices. thank you for giving me so many examples of how to do things right. i really appreciate it.

second, here is the brief reminder and you have already absorbed this. if i always want to emphasize that while architectural access issues are a critically important part of the community, the wheelchair users and people with mobility disabilities only comprise about 12% of the disability community. most people with disabilities like myself have hidden disabilities like hidden elvises, chemical sensitivities, heart conditions, lung conditions, all sorts of hidden orthopedic problems. i asked you remember the disability community is like an iceberg. what you see is only the tip of it and we are about one out of every 5 constituents. disability issues are woven throughout the fabric of everything the city does. finally a request. i believe the mayor's office on

disability has been successful because we are team players to act as a resource for the city, not an enforcer against the city. with the budget crisis in the past few years, we are team players in giving up to adam are five general fund positions. the irony is as people have come to us more often and ask for help, our staff has shrunk. now that i am leaving, i can be shameless and i ask as my parting request that you work with the mayor's budget office to restore at least one, if not both of those lost positions and backfill my position as quickly as possible. the staff works really hard and they need that support so they can continue to do their work and assist you and the public when you have projects, questions, and concerns.

the mod squad works hard, but we also know how to throw a great party. when you adjourn, i hope you'll join us for food and drink in room 305 upstairs. again, thank you for this honor, it is incredibly touching and i appreciate having worked with you all so much. [applause] president chiu: congratulations. we do have one other special commendation today i will be offering for the department of

emergency management, is stephen golden here? colleagues, this week is public safety telecommunications week. every year during this week, the department of emergency management helps to recognize an employee of the year at our board of supervisors reading. this year, they have decided to select stephen golden. i have a little background for him and let me just state a little bit as to why they selected him. imagine the following on december 13, 2010 -- a 911 call to a visitor in san francisco needed medical help. she was a guest at the golden gate hotel and had just called her home in columbia, maryland. her three year-old son answered the phone and said that was lying on the floor in the

closet. she also had a 1-year-old child home. stephen made it comes to notify emergency services but to no avail. he asked the caller for the name of the next largest city, which was baltimore. he attained the home address another contact information and was able to have the neighbor and baltimore emergency services call the home and they responded the same. emergency services confirmed that the caller's husband had passed away, but fortunately the children were fine. when steven advise the caller is going to disconnect the line, the caller asked him to remain on the line. he assured her he would stay as long as she needed and provide comfort and solace. while the average 911 call is about two minutes long, he was on the call for 39 minutes. while the outcome of the call was tragic, it was this outstanding work that sent emergency help to the caller's

home on the other side of the home while providing compassion and comfort. steven has worked for dispatch and has consistently demonstrated extraordinary skills in the in life- threatening police calls in a manner and a skill that befits the entire profession, and on behalf of the board, i want to congratulate you for all of the work that you do, and i want to also congratulate all of the men and women at d.e.m. for all of the work they do every day. thank you very much. [applause] >> well, thank you very much, president chiu, and i think you, the board of supervisors, for this honor. it is great to be here to share this with my co-workers at the department of emergency management.

ross taylor joins me today, and also my sister julie goldman and my brother-in-law dennis joins me from minnesota. several people from work to join me, including director lisa and the operations manager cecile. i have been a dispatcher for 11 years. i became a dispatcher after a career in information systems with pacific bell, because i needed a second career that was relevant to real life and because i wanted the challenge of having to function in real time. i did answer this particularly difficult 911 call in 2010. the caller did say she was visiting san francisco to speak at a symposium and that she had just call home, as president chiu stated.

her three-year-old son had entered the phone and said that his daddy was lying on the floor in the closet. i launched a call from there, notifying baltimore e.m.s., with my exceptional manager to contact a neighbor as well as to contact a colleague in the hotel. i believe that contacting the colleague was particularly important. president chiu: by the way, stephen. could you pull the microphone so that the entire san francisco public can hear you? thank you. >> sorry about that. i asked my mgr. janice to contact a neighbor as well as a colleague in the hotel. i believe that contacting the colleague was particularly important. no one should be told of a loved one's death and then be alone. i stayed with my caller because i sensed what was coming.

this call was an ultimate challenge, and my training served me well that day. hillary clinton has famously quoted, it takes a village to raise a child. it also takes a roomful of dispatchers to create another dispatcher. finally, they all joined in in one way or another to help mold the trainee into the dispatcher that they need to become. two of my own trainers are present today. one dispatcher encouraged me, giving me the courage to do this job. a retired dispatcher, kathy webb, was a call taking diaz, because she understands the human heart. kathy gave me a very high standard to live up to. i accept this award on behalf of all of the dispatchers in san francisco who train so selflessly.

i also accept in memory of my friend, cheryl, and in memory of my beloved colleague and classmate, a dispatcher francine widely. again, thank you. [applause] i am so pleased to meet you.

president chiu: colleagues, why do we now not move to general public comment? madam clerk? clerk calvillo: now is the time for the public to make, , without reference to the committee calendar. please note that public, is not allowed on those items which already been subject to public comment by a board committee. speakers seeking translation assistance will be about twice the time to testify, and if a member of the public would like to have a document displayed on the overhead projector, please states and remove the document when it should return to live coverage of the meeting. >>