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 environmentalists and people who care about the lake are on the same page about this. and to finish on the gun club. we have a lot of pollution in a public park because of the gun club. i sincerely hope we can end that relationship. if the gun club continues to operate out there, it will continue to build up more pollution. even if they use better ammunition and all of that jazz. we are talking about shooting guns in an outdoor area. and also just the fact that we

have had so much gun violence all over this nation recently. it's really frightening. and san francisco is a different kind of place. and i would think in a public park where people are coming to a natural area to enjoy a park. that having a gun club where people are outdoors and shooting gun in a public park area is not the best use of san francisco's land. and if we get rid of it, and focus on doing the clean-up as rapidly as possible. and focus on important things like fixing up the the boat house and its equipment. we will head in a much better direction. and please sfpuc govern as much as this as you can. >> dr. jackson. >> thank you very much, dr. jackson is here.

i agree, that need to be a workshop. what happens in san francisco, people come here late and don't know the neighborhoods. and what is been going on in the neighborhoods. and it's the neighbors that can tell you. and i support the idea that you, since you were responsible for water and sewage, that you take charge. that is your responsibility. the water sheds is your responsibilities. so i am here supporting the residents from lake merced, because the lake is the most -- was at one time the most beautiful lake in any city. because i used to go over there and fish, i am a fishing woman. and i would like to continue. and i agree about although i do own a gun. but i don't believe that there should be a place out there where there is a park, where people are shooting bullets. bullets can go anywhere, because

it don't have no name on it, in the direction it should go. i feel as though when i go and practice for my shooting, it's inside. it's not outside. and it's there in davis city. so i hope you listen to what the people are saying here. and support and be a part of which we are a part of you. and do the right thing. and if the gun people don't want to clean up, then move them out. thank you. >> any other public comment. >> i want to comment on the request of the city attorney to look into the bond. during the working group on the bond that was just adopted. i was concerned that the puc would not be on equal footing

with the port of san francisco that is getting substantially more money out of that bond. i asked supervisor elsbernd, would you please amend the bond. but it was right down the wire, and he said if we start amending the bond, it will open up all kinds of things. but assured us that this commission, it's your bond money. and i assume that you would like to use your watershed report and your intelligence to come up with a viable plan. i also had that same kind of assurance from the lead staffer at rec park. so it wasn't written into the bond, but that was the intent. >> mr. decosta. >> first and foremost, i would like to thank our elders for

being very articulate in giving us a history of some that is a treasure. now people at home, when you say watershed, they may think it's a shed on a water. no, a watershed is an underground lake, and in this case stretches from the persidio all the way to lake merced. now when we worked out of persidio, we had a lot of reports done by the corp of engineers and others, dealing with these issues. dealing with the windmills. dealing with valves. so i know pretty well what is happening in this area. i also know what is happening with the boat house. because our young men, and some of them came here, some meetings ago. they asked about the destruction of that boat house.

now it is time that this commission listens to those who volunteered thousands and thousands of hours. that they get something where they can pass on their legacy. they are warriors, they need to pass this legacy to our younger people. our younger people when they use that lake in the right way, they will pass it on to their children. much like the first people. i go to that lake. i see (inaudible). the connection between that lake and the first people. just like there is a connection between that lake and mountain lake at the persidio. and so on and so forth. but commissioners, let us not allow rec and park to control our