abandoned dock removal. on the abandoned docks, there are some docks behind the vegetation there. those were old docks that were reachable from the shore line. and they were derelict over the years and eyesore. and we worked close with rec and park to get those removed. we took care of the permitting for the removal and rec and park provided the manpower to get those out of the lake. and now that corner of the lake doesn't have floating eyesores out there. i think that's a big step forward. on the recreation front, rec and park has been actively programming recreation there during the summer and fall. classes and kayaking and active

recreation around the lake. and that's an important thing they started doing that they had not been doing for. proposition "b" was on the ballot in november, which provided for recreational funding. and $2 million of that is for lake merced. that was passed. and that's to be managed by the recreation park department. and you will hear from stakeholders that you manage that, but the city is clear that this is recreation for them to manage. they recommended that they go through stakeholders for the use of the funds. and there are recommendations for those funds. the boat house advocates mentioned starting work on the boat house. that's a possibility as well. that's something that rec and

park will manage to determine how to spend those funds. we are working on the rod and gun club, and reached an agreement to establish a business relationship. and they have agreed to not contest. i got a note that, that passed the board of supervisors a few minutes ago. that's approved by the board and on its way to the mayor's signature. this is what the shooting club and the facilitiefacilities. we will be moving forward to obtain the funds to achieve that. move -- moving forward we will complete the boat house improvements. and expect to get to the second

phase and have a totally usable facility by this summer. and we need to address rod and gun club contamination issues and build on what was talked about before. rec and park has been doing more, and we have some momentum there with the activity caring about the lake, and that's a good thing. >> thank you. >> any questions of mr. ritchie. >> the rod and gun club, the board just approved the month-to-month lease? >> yes, it was a package settlement agreement. so the lease is part of that. it's an attachment to the settlement of litigation that we filed based on the eviction notice. as part of the settlement, they have waived any potential legal

challenge. ultimately if we ask them to leave the property. we won't have a hank-type of situation. >> was the clean-up part of the settlement? >> no, we provide the reports to the regulators and develop a clean-up plan with them over the next year to year-and-a-half. and at the same time work with the rod and gun club to find out through their own insurance if resources to help bear the cost. we hope there are. >> we don't know who is liable on the clean up? >> we think that the gun club is liable. that's part of the 1934 lease, there are issues there. but how to get it accomplished and who has the resources to pay for it. >> thank you. >> the department of rec and park contribute anything to that clean-up? >> no, the activities there

started well, when the puc managed the lease from 1934 to 1950. that's when the gun club was in full swing. and handed over to them as the manager of the lease, we still own the underlying property and have the ultimate responsibility for that. >> all right, on this item we have first mr. dick allen. if you can take a seat on the front row. mr. tim colin. and mr. jerry (inaudible). mr. allen, welcome. >> good afternoon commissioners, dick allen. lake merced, i am out there four or six times a week rowing in

the morning. there are other issues at lake merced you may not be aware of. and today i will comment on them. first i would like to quote a statement from the january 2011 watershed report referring to the boat house. the downstairs no longer adequate for the space. and it's unanimous for the need of a new boat house to improve the quality of the lake. >> can we have the slides? >> no. 1, quickly you will see a crowded situation. that's a bay of a high school. that's the bay of the club i belong to. and under here is two bays with one gate. and underneath is two bays that face towards the lake.

saturday there were almost 200 rowers pulling boats out. you have them from the front, and front and side. and you have the club with only one gate trying to swing those big 65-foot rowing shelves around. it's chaotic and dangerous. this is a completely inadequate storage facility. please show pictures of boats. no. 2. you here you can take a look at overflow storage. i think that tells the whole story right there. and this limits the club of how many rowers they can have on their team, because they can't get boats. they are subjected to vandalism and deterioration when you have to leave them outside. and not just the rowing community that needs additional

storage. please note that the $2 million boat house renovation has not increased boat storage capacity. instead the rowing community got a small exercise room. this is a boat house outside of philadelphia. [bell] if i may continue. after three years of planning and approval. the ceremonial groundbreaking took place a few weeks ago. these people thought three years was too late. the rowing community is very tight. and by comparison our watershed report is already two years old. and one reason why the rowing community is growing, is reflect in the quote from page 20 of the watershed report.

due to its length and calm waters, south lake is a premier location in the bay area for rowing. i know this because i practice and race on these other venues. if rec and park is going to manage the $2 million to lake merced, how soon will you give them permission to build a new boat house on the john muir site. we know about the toxic information as you have dealt with this for years due to the memo in jean -- 1991. in july, 1989 memo dealt with the option to deal with the contaminated soil of the crystal

lease water at lake merced. the reason for referencing this option is to provide you with a solution so we can move forward to build a much-needed boat house. and encapsulate soil without waiting another eight to 10 years. we cannot wait for eight to 10 years. here is a recommendation for the boat house, i have a bid that is less than your watershed report. what is not included in the landscaping and bathroom and an apron that goes in front. conclusions, let's get started in the new boat house, please no

delays. the use is issue, the use issue has already been aggressively debated and studied. thank you. >> mr. moore. >> my name is dick morgan, i have been engaged in lake merced for 13 years. and i have spent thousands of volunteer hours on lake merced. when i first got engaged it was about 10 to 12 feet deep. it was rapidly going to a lake merced mud flat. there was denial and delay by commissioner and staff at that time. only when cal-pal brought to the

commission in 2001, that the community finally had some clout to enforce a permanent solution. cal-trod still have that power. it's not up to this commission. they can go back to the state quality board with that permanent solution. i joined judge cahill's mediation on the lake merced issues. and a lot of progress was in that. the lake merced water task force in 2000, recommended almost everything that has been done. these were volunteers who knew what needed to be done to restore the water quality and lake level. other activi tiactivities and a collectively call ourselves

cowboys. the golf course's daily water plant, and west side hydrological model, and the wells, and saltwater intrusion models. some gathering dust, largely, and i think it's the $588,000 watershed report, not being activated. other activities. we were confident in 2008 that with the water being addressed and the watershed report, that we could ban the lake merced task force. that was a big mistake. the board of supervisors resolution in 2007, there is no mru, it's five years and counting. there no stakeholder involvement in the $2 million that is going into the boat house.

no one has talked about that in advance. i was on the 2008 rec park bond working committee. i advocated strongly for lake merced money. nothing happened. 2010, again advocacy, and i think largely because i banging them that there is $2 million. and assurances at that time, that you, the owners of the property about that $2 million. the regional water quality board asked this commission for a work plan for the site, meaning the gun club and characterization and implementation. that was 21 years ago. 21 years ago. there is still no plan and schedule. talking about a year-and-a-half from now. staff has said it will be eight to 10 years for a gun club site

remediation and boat house. that's too much time for me. i have made a personal decision i will only focus now on the remaining water issues. judge cahill mediation, and i encourage you to get a full-time manager out there. there are too many issues at that lake. that steve ritchie can't deal with. i am not interested any more in the mou. i am not interested in the $2 million i helped get for the bond. i am not interested in the watershed report. i am not interested in site planning. but i will stay involved in trying to keep the lake level up and the water quality better. we are now at 22-24 feet versus

10-12 feet heading towards a mud flat. let's keep working on it. >> mr. collin. >> good evening, i am tim colin. i am going on 13 years of volunteerism at lake merced. and the good news is that puc staff deserves enormous credit for the improved water quality. and the levels sustained. that's the good news for lake merced. as far as the future as how it's managed as a resource. i am confused. and i am not sure what to say. it was my understanding that supervisor elsbernd asked that an mou be negotiated between this agency and rec and park, and that was five years ago. in 2007. i am mystified what would prevent two agencies from

implementing a simple mou of who has management over lake merced. i don't know how to explain it. it's our view that you have sole management of lake merced. it's an important asset in your portfolio. it doesn't make any logical sense that this important responsibility should be divided between two agencies. we are not aware of what role that they play but to collect rent. it's odd to watch a presentation here of another agency of what they plan to do being made by one of your staff people. where is rec and park? why are they not speaking for themselves here? i want to say that you should manage your own assets.

and i think that steve ritchie is one of the best and most capable people in this town. but he's got enormous responsibilities. and it's not clear how this issue gets put on his plate. and it's not clear that anyone knows who is running this asset. why would you want to share responsibility for it when it involves two commissions in making the simplest decisions on anything that is supposed to happen? you got watershed report that costs half a million dollars. a lot of people put a lot of input in it. we don't know where it is. or what going on with it. please take responsibility for your asset. you would find a lot of support from us. >> thank you. jerry. >> thank you, jerry cadahan. from the city of lake merced. these guys are young. i have been at it 19 years,

1993, october 1993. my daughter volunteered me. because she thought i knew something about aquifers and water drafts and still this. i got involved in 1993, first thing i did is find out there had been a study done. this is the basic study, this is the appendixes, by jill resources consultant, inc. i got this from a parent that it was buried somewhere. and then what happens next. we starting having public meetings out there. i would organize public meetings and in the conference room. no progress was made whatsoever with one exception.

in 1995 with the help of josh millstein, we got a resolution out of this commission. basically threatening the golf clubs with litigation if they didn't stop overdrafting the aquifer. no progress was made because the manager of the olympic club would have nothing of it. in 2001 i filed in a committee and three lawsuits. and then i had lunch with the executive director of cal-tron. all of a sudden when this was filed by richard, the lawyer, some things came together. and at that time the lake merced task force was formed. and as someone else pointed out, we disbanned the task force

because we were told, don't worry, puc is going to take charge. and we would have this watershed plan and everything woulding hunky dory. and there was a reason for this task force, and at that point in time there was no need to bad mouth someone unnecessarily. the club was stacking the deck, and bringing in quilting fund, and they want to get a majority on the task force to have a vote of resolution so the gun club stay there forever. i will skip and make one comment. steve's presentation said, there will now be a public process to determine how we use the john muir site, all 10 acres. where was the public process

before the decision was made to spend $2 million to do that fix-up job in the picture. no public process, one e-mail. august 15, i think it was. buried in here. all right, i am running over time. like my colleagues. puc should administer the $2 million at bond. i have read the bonds, i am a retired lawyer, that bond does not say that rec and park has to administer that 2 million. you own lake merced. i have submitted megan opus last week, with a proposed mou i don't expect you to adopt them but if you want to, surprise me. they are ugly. quickly, the solution at lake merced is for puc to take

charge. bring back the concessionaire bailout in 1999, a company called urban park concessionaire. i stayed in touch with them, and they would consider coming back on two conditions. one they don't start off with a traditional percentage of the profit. they know there ain't going to be any gross. number two, is highly unlikely that urban park come back unless only one san francisco agency they have to deal with. and finally 12 months ago, november, 2011, i suggested that you folks have a workshop. two hours. three hours. four hours. and learn about your lake. and i remember commissioner moran at least, you didn't sniff

it, you said you may want to consider that down the road. i implore you to spend time and learn about lake merced. and look at what my magnus opum, and do it at the lake. in the culture center. i will buy the first round of drinks. and then we go over and do a visit at lake merced. we look at the gun club site. and look at the boat house. and look at disaster of the current. and then if you want to put icing on the cake, i will take you to show you a really nice boat house. any questions? >> no, thank you very much.

i have one question to our council. can you get back to us on an answer whether or not that $2 million can be utilized by us? or is that issue resolved? >> i am sorry, i meant to pull the bond issue before i came over, and i didn't have a chance. i will get back to you. >> sure, get back to me in writing, e-mail is fine. secondly as we deal with the issues. we invited the park and rec commission to come today. but i don't see anybody from the park and rec commission unless they are in costume. i guess not. >> i can give you an update. i talk to phil ginnsberg. >> how is he doing? >> he's doing well, he wants to come when we talk about the mou, and then talk about everything in the mou. one of the commitments we will make is to come out with that

mou so that we can go and talk through it. >> well, a very dear friend of mine, who shall remain nameless. is a rower out there. and she was hit in the head by one of these darn doors in the boat house. the city is lucky she didn't filed any suit. and she was file in her complaint and the deadline had passed and couldn't have claim to medical expenses. she suffered greatly and i have seen this boat house and it's a mess. and i don't know how people survive there with the doors that don't close properly. and is the potential liability is great. i will turn the chairmanship to

our vice president, i have to get on the airline, and thank you very much. >> thank you, president, torres. quickly on the lake merced item. i will ask staff, because commissioner caen is our expert on this assets. and the nature with our commission and the recreation and park's commission warrants refreshing our recollection and making transparent how we deal with real estate when we have those unique relationships. i hope we get a chance to see that policy again. and obviously we did discuss the mou but that was prior to i

guess roughly $200 million bond that just passed. it's good to get back on the agenda. i have a speaker card here but i see mr. brooks. >> i did want to speak to had item, eric brooks for the san francisco green party. i would reiterate what the other speakers said and dovetail off of commissioner. that the utilities commission has in its possession, real estate, but not just real estate but something that is part of the watershed ecosystem in the bay area. that's how this property should be treated. just like all parts of hetch

hetchy in the mountains. we need to treat it the same way. and along those lines i would reiterate what others said. that the sfpuc should aggressively assert its authorities and rights to oversee the funds and activities. we are hearing that we don't even know if the rod and gun club has enough money to do the clean-up through insurance. when it's the responsibility of that club to do the clean-up. so sfpuc needs to be in charge. so do everything in your power to be in charge. i will reiterate what i said last year, when tim colin and i get up and we agree on something, that's serious business. because we usually don't. this ought to tell you that env