behalf of stu smith. he, like me, he's a native san franciscan. you know, he has seen the tra trajectory of our community, has seen what has gone on in the history of the gay community here in san francisco. and i think that perspective is important. i don't come out here a lot to speak on behalf of anybody but i'm delighted to be here to speak on his behalf. he's a member of the disabled community, the hiv community, he's a small business leader, understands housing, is a wonderful volunteer at shanti, just is an incredible human being and i'm thrilled to speak on his behalf and also offer my recommendation to the folks i already mentioned. thanks so much. >> chair kim: thank you for being here. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is martha knutson chairs

of the democratic club. i want to thank you for creating this important task force. i got to sit here for a while and it's just awesome what is happening here in this historic moment. i want to acknowledge we're sharing that feeling today and i'm sure you are too. i'm proud to speak in support of michael costa who has served on our executive board as our treasurer for many years. from direct experience, michael will be an effective and conscientious task force member who brings his passion and ability to every service he undertakes. his application résume i think were excellent. he'll bring his experience as a healthcare policy consultant to the task force, in addition to all the years that he's had as a healthcare activist in the lgbt community to which i can directly attest. getting healthcare for the lgbt community has been and will continue to be a daunting challenge. our community has faced the challenge of support for hiv

illnesses, addressed the special health needs of less beans and transgender people and must ensure fair treatment of elders whose relationships have gone unrecognized for years. michael will bring actual work exheerns on these issues to the tax force, will bring thoughtful legislative solutions on senior, lgbt healthcare policy and i hope you will appoint him to the lgbt senior task force and now my cochair will speak for another fellow board member of ours. >> good afternoon. i'd like to follow up martha by saying we're here to support two of our long-term board mtious, jim illig and michael costa. they've given so much to this community. and that this concept that you're promoting today is something very important to our club. in fact, we have a meeting next week, where we're joining with the milk club on lgbt seniors issues. and so thank you for putting all this together.

>> chair kim: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is james -- and i'm with senior and disability action, formerly senior action network and planning for elders. we're moving forward, just like you're moving forward, just like san francisco is moving forward with this amazing task force that's being created. i would like to emphatically urge you to appoint two members that we are endorsing, that being senior disability action, those two members are adam parness and jazzie collins. there are many quawched candidates, a lot of them bring very rich policy experience, and administrative experience. what is very critical is to have on the ground, on the sidewalk, community relations and an understanding of what's going on

in the senior lgbt community and for that reason i strongly support jazzie, and aaron. that said, housing is a very critical element to the lgbt community, as well as low income people in san francisco. and with that i would like to add on a couple of personal recommendations, those being another emphatic endorsement for mr. tommi mecca and -- they've demonstrated experience within the policy component as well as the community component. so with that, as we say down at senior disability action about jazzie, jazziec jazzie sí puede. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you for >> hello, board of supervisors. thank you for your patience,

this evening. my name is bartholomew, i apologize my application was late. however i'm interested should there be a committee that i can serve on. i've been in san francisco since the age of 14. when i moved here from it new orleans, i walked all over the city, coming from a segregated place, and ever since that day, this city has been mine. and that's why i've been involved in task force in the past. i'm a recovering alcoholic and i've been living with hiv for 28 years. my concern about this task force and wanting to participate is because lesbians and gays who are addicts and falling through the cracks are being incarcerated for a procession of drugs.

also, take this opportunity to support my fellow colleagues, marilyn, larry saxxon and -- lange. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you. >> hello, supervisors, those of you that i can see. i'm jessica layman, also a senior and disability action, formerly -- i was going to say pretty much the same things that james said but without the same humor that he is able to bring to it. but i do want to pass on our recommendation that you put jazzie collins and aaron parness on the lgbt task force. let me tell you first, i find it really exciting that the task force is coming together. it's clearly much needed in this city. thank you to that. i was in my office until i raced in just now, watching everybody on sfgov-tv.

it's a wonderful group of applicants. weaver seen housing is one of the most important issues that lgbt seniors are talking about so it will be critical to have a number of people on the task force who really understand housing, who know how to deal with it from a policy perspective, and who are connected to the grassroots of our community. jazzie and aaron absolutel absot that bill. i want to also encourage you to put tommi and michelle on the task force because of the experience they bring. thank you so much. >> chair kim: thank you, ms. lange. is there any other public comment on this item? >> yes. i am peter warfield, executive director and cofounder of library users association. i am glad that you have a new task force, and are hearing the

candidates. one of the unfortunate things that relates to a previous item that you had, but also here, is that the board of supervisors' clerk has redacted all of the contact information for the applicants, other than what seems to be clearly something to do with business phone numbers and e-mails. so not only has this been redacted, but for anybody who might want to get in touch with the folks who have concerns about lgbt issues, it's difficult to impossible. the redactions in your file do not show that there is any redaction. that's unlawful under sunshine. there's no indication that anything has been redacted from these records. and there's no indication, as required by law, as to what your justification is for these massive redactions.

and these things prevent people from getting in touch with candidates, getting in touch with each other, to discuss issues that concern them in ways that are normal in a democracy. and i think that's most unfortunate. if the task force were effectively operating, certainly i would file a complaint. in any case, it's good to hear the many qualified people, and presumably you will make some good decisions. as i said, our issue right now is that a gay muralist arch williams made a wonderful mural at bernal branch library which the city wants to get rid of and replace with something bland. it's a destruction of history and we would like to get in touch with anybody who is interested. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you. is there any other public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. i just wanted to take an opportunity to thank the many,

many applicants that have applied, and also that are here today, and have sat through a lengthy rules committee and listened to one another. i think certainly i can speak on behalf of the committee in that we are incredibly impressed by the caliber not just of interest in service but of course on personal and work experience that you've brought forward, and just -- i'm personally impressed by the incredible diversity, also of the applicants that have applied and we don't often see that. i don't know if that speaks to the outreach that was done by the offices of supervisor campos, wiener and olague but i want to say i truly, truly appreciate all of your applications. supervisor farrell. >> supervisor farrell: similarly i want to echo everyone a real big thanks for coming out today. i think the enormous outpouring of applicants is a real testament to the enthusiasm for this and i specifically want to commend my fellow supervisors wiener and campos and olague for being the impetus for being

behind this task force. it's obviously something long time overdue and look forward to working with everyone here. i want to make sure i thank everyone for coming out today and whoever does get selected know you will be carrying the torch for a lot of people as well. >> chair kim: supervisor campos. >> co-chair campos: thank you, madam chair. you know, i do sort of see this task force as -- to use a term in basketball, it is sort of a dream teadream team in terms ofe people who will be, on behalf of the city, talking about and strategizing about the future of the aging lgbt community. it is very impressive roster, and as i indicated at the outset of the meeting, i think that any one of the applicants could do an excellent job. in trying to look at the names,

what i have tried to do is tried to look at all the -- not only the applications, but also the different comments that we have received from members of the public, not only here, but also e-mail, and also to the extent that there are different comments from other members of the board, or other members of the community, that's sort of what i'm trying to figure out. and my support of a candidate doesn't necessarily reflect, you know, how i would have chosen 15 people, but it's really based on what is it that we're hearing from the community. because at the end of the day, this task force really belongs to the community. and so to the extent that there is consensus around some names, my inclination would be to be supportive of those names. so that's kind of how imtrying to approach it. i don't know, supervisor wiener,

if you have -- so, you know, i don't know how we want to do this, but we know there are a couple of names that i want to throw out as names that i think, based on what i have seen and based on some of the work that i have experienced firsthand, i think individuals that i think should be added, and maybe you guys can also, you know, list some of the names that you think should be added as well. you know, i've worked with tommi mecca for many years on many different issues, and i do think that, you know, what he said in his presentation about getting things done is true, of how he approaches things. so i would add tommi to the list. we heard a number of people speak on behalf of jazzie collins, and it's not just because of the clever jazzie sí puede, but i think that certainly nailed it for me.

and you know, we have also -- you know, we heard from marcy edellman and the long history of work around these issues. i think points to the kind of experience that you want to see. so let least to get this rolling. >> chair kim: thank you. i would like to support tommi mecca and jazzie collins. i've worked with both of you and i know your work very well, particularly ms. collins in district 6. ms. edellman who i don't know as well but was impressed by your application. i also love to throw mr. stuart smith on there, someone was also very active and has done a lot of outreach to garner support. and i do actually appreciate that level of enthusiasm in wanting to serve as well.

so i will also add his name. also would like to add larry saxxon, someone who i don't know, but i've heard a lot about through other individuals, and was very impressed by your presentation today as well. i do want to give opportunity to other committee members, if -- we have 15 slots. >> i do -- will certainly be in agreement with that. michael costa is subpoena tha cd love to see on this committee. do you want to start with a motion? >> it would make sense to get to 15 and then make a motion but i certainly agree with all of the recommendations that were made. i think stu smith, very impressive presentation and the level of support from the community as well as larry saxxon, michael costa.

i think he probably will play the role of the policy wonk and i think that's something you want to see as well. someone that i've always been very impressed with, because of what she means to the community, is felicia elizondo. i think it's important to have representation from all sides of san francisco. i also want to add jorge rodriguez. supervisor wiener probably has some. >> supervisor wiener: i can crash the party. there are a few i want to mention. one is bill ambrunn was in a lot of ways wasn't the only moving force behind this but he was the one who cracked the whip on all of us from the very beginning and made sure this happened. so i think he would be a

phenomenal addition. daniel redman, who is just done tremendous work. i think it's also important on the diversity of the committee to acknowledge this is an intergenerational thing and there are young people doing tremendous work on senior issu issues. and ashley mccumber, meals on wheels, i think food and security, and isolation is a very significant issue with a lot of seniors. and then i could list like 10 more but i don't want to hog the microphone. >> chair kim: thank you. so while supervisor wiener cannot make a motion, we certainly would like to take into consideration, as author of this legislation, i certainly support all of the names that you have just mentioned, as part

of that motion. supervisor campos. >> co-chair campos: so i have a couple of other names. and again, in retrospect, maybe we should have made a committee of 25. i don't know. but i certainly would add to the list kaushik roy of shanti. i would add that name. and also michelle alcedo. >> chair kim: two more names, i think we're actually getting close to 15 and i have to count. but i'd like to add into the consideration scott hits you cana. we don't necessarily appointed this many people at a time. usually we do staggered terms but because this is a creation

of a new task force that makes it a little more challenging. >> i think i have 15. >> chair kim: yeah. so we do have 15 applicants before us, currently. and i'm comfortable with this group. i think it represents a diversity in the lgbt community. it looks like it can be a consensus motion moving forward. i do want to say, and i'm sure my colleagues would like to speak as well. i think this is an incredibly hard choice and part of the consideration is not just your experience but also the diversity that you will add to the committee because we do want a diversity of perspective, whether it's from the medical field, as a social worker, as a senior, and also from the variety of different members of

the lgbt communities, as was eloquently put by you think one of the committee members. but i want to thank everyone so much for your application. actually many of you work in the district that i represent, district 6 in the south of market and the tenderloin. i don't know what our communities would do without the services you provide either as a volunteer and staff member. i'm grateful as someone who represents our constituents particularly in the lgbt community, so many organizations to refer, so many of our constituents depend on the services i provide before they come to us. thank you so much for the work that you've done and the tremendous history, and depth that you've brought today. i want to thank the coauthors of this legislation. i think it's really highlighted the unique needs of our aging lgbt community, some of which i was not personally aware of and i'm appreciative of the many issues brought to light, whether it's the isolation and many of the experiences those going back

in the closet to retain a lot of services that are needed for seniors. it's been educational for me and i hope will shape the services and the policy considerations that we as a board take to really take care of our communities, and particularly our senior community. supervisor campos and supervisor wiener. >> co-chair campos: madam chaish, i don't know if this motion has been made but i'm happy to make a motion to recommend the following individuals, and let me say before i read the names, that i am very, very thrilled by the caliber of the names that are being put forward. the sad thing to be honest is that i do think that we are leaving off the task force pretty impressive people that i actually think would be great to have them, whether it's nikos diaman, veronica fimbres and so many other folks here. i feel horrible about that but i

hope you understand we're trying to make -- choose from a pretty amazing group of people. so the folks that would be a part of the motion to move their names forward with a positive recommendation would be ashley mccumber, daniel redman, felicia elizondo, jazzie collins, jorge rodriguez, kaushik roy, larry saxxon, lawrence michael costa, marcy adeleman, michelle alcedo, larry lange, scott haitsuka, tommi, and william ambrunn. do i have all of the 15? >> chair kim: so we have a motion to move forward these 15 names with positive recommendation. >> second that. >> chair kim: we have a second to that.

supervisor wiene. >> supervisor wiener: this is a strong list and there are additional people who i think were disappointed on there. but to reiterate we said at the beginning i assume there will be an advisory committee so other people can be involved. in addition to -- we have various ways of measuring diversity but i think one of the important ways of measuring diversity here is political diversity. this town, and city hall, you know, it's a very diverse place in terms of people's politics. and as we saw with the housing trust fund, when we get a broad spectrum together and come up with a product, maybe not everyone's thrilled with everything, but everyone can get behind, we have a lot of strength. so i think on this task force when i look at the different people and different perspectives i think will make this task force incredibly strong. and have a product that will come out that -- as many people

as possible, i can get behind. one thing that i -- in terms of -- and i'll say this to mr. nolan who will be staffing the task force, that the one thing that is missing from -- i think we only had one person who applied and she wasn't here. i was looking forward to advocating fer hear adele agostino. i don't believe there are people on the task force with a ton of background of housing issues. i was very much wanting to have someone on who actually -- someone who with an affordable housing developer, someone who had done the nuts and bolts of building, and creating physical affordable housing, because things like eitherura architectl barriers, is extremely important. the fact ms. agostino wasn't here and that's the way the

cookie crumbles. i request the task force engine folks from that world -- engage folks from that world to be intimately involved because i think that's a very critical thing. thank you. >> chair kim: supervisor campos. >> co-chair campos: i don't want to belabor this point because we've been here long enough but i want to add two points that i'd like to direct to the task force. one is to encourage the members of the task force to maximize the use of the people who applied but who did not make it to the task force. i think that you will be well-served, if you have a very strong advisory committee that has some of these amazing people. i see ms. fimbres. everyone has something to offer. so i encourage you to do that. that's one thing. the seconds point, which i think is a very important one, at

least for me, we're focusing on issues facing the elder seniors within the lgbt community. i think it's important to think about seniors generally but also within the lgbt community there might be opportunities or solutions that allow for inclusion of other segments of the lgbt community. i'm looking at tommi mecca, earlier today we were having a meeting talking about the issue of homelessness within the lgbt community and how the fact that 40% of all homeless youth in san francisco are queer or lgbt. so to the extent that you're talking about solutions that address specific problems or needs that seniors within the lgbt community have, there might be opportunities to do things that also address the needs of other age groups like our young people. so i hope that as the work continues that those opportunities are being considered. but i'm very excited and look

forward to assisting the task force in any way possible. >> chair kim: thank you, supervisors campos and wiener. i'm also interested in how we address homelessness in our lgbt community as well, having spent time in many of our shelters. there are a number of lgbt homeless individuals in our shelter system and it's difficult to get them the services they need and of course other residents in our shelter. i would be interested in the work and recommendation in that arena as well. so we have a motion before us. we have 15 candidates to move forward to the full board with recommendation. and we can do that without objection. thank you so much to all the members of the public that are here and all th applicants. we look forward to working with you. we have several more items on our agenda so if you can take your conversation outside. i don't want to lose quorum -- i just lost quorum. we will recess for five minutes.

>> there are kids and families ever were. it is really an extraordinary playground. it has got a little something for everyone. it is aesthetically billion. it is completely accessible. you can see how excited people are for this playground. it is very special. >> on opening day in the brand- new helen diller playground at north park, children can be seen swinging, gliding, swinging, exploring, digging, hanging, jumping, and even making drumming sounds. this major renovation was

possible with the generous donation of more than $1.5 million from the mercer fund in honor of san francisco bay area philanthropist helen diller. together with the clean and safe neighborhood parks fund and the city's general fund. >> 4. 3. 2. 1. [applause] >> the playground is broken into three general areas. one for the preschool set, another for older children, and a sand area designed for kids of all ages. unlike the old playground, the new one is accessible to people with disabilities. this brand-new playground has several unique and exciting features. two slides, including one 45- foot super slide with an elevation change of nearly 30 feet. climbing ropes and walls, including one made of granite. 88 suspension bridge.