will be an ideal tenant for the place, keeping in some place the tradition of educating young minds for the future. town provide and outstanding education and teachs a strong sense of community and civic responsibility in an inclusive environment. town and the exploratorium share the ideals of creativity, and the joy of learning, as well as the zaire for the greater public good. i hope this partnership between the department of rec and park and town school is an example of civic cooperation, as well as a unique experience for our students. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> good morning. i have a coal, so pardon my voice. my name is angela taylor and i'm a parent of town school. i have been a parent now for two years.

when looking at schools in san francisco and i walked into town i was immediately taken by the sense of community within the school, respect. i was -- my son and i were greeted by the head master, and as we stood in the lobby waiting for the tour to begin, i noticed the boys coming into the school shaking the hand of the head master and this really caught my attention, because you don't feel that so much these days in other schools and especially with children. not only does children -- town have a commitment to education and curriculum, but it has a commitment to diversity and community. it is fostered within town and it's part of the curriculum and it's something that i really

appreciated about the school. there are various celebrations throughout the year, celebrating diversity. the students are involved in community activities and there is a true sense of appreciation for the community at-large. and that, to me as a parent, is extremely important. my son loves the school and he has thrived there both academically and socially. i think town would be a wonderful tenant within the palace of fine arts building and i think it would foster a beautiful relationship between the two parties. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> hi, my name is nim cofar and i'm the assistant head of school at town school and parent of a kindergarten student. my family and i reside in the excelsior neighborhood and my wife and i are natives of san

francisco. one strand that we employ is the inquiry approach where students develop their own questions based on something that they are interested in, figuring out what data or information that they need to work, how to work through that information and how to present it attorney generall. and the core of our teachers are actually trained at the exploratorium institute at the -- excuse me, the inquiry institute at the exploratorium. so we have had this partnership with the exploratorium in the past. being in the exploratorium space next year had will allow us to try out some different kinds of lessons, experiences, learn experiences for our students and bring some of those idea s back after our renovations are complete. we have been looking for how to create that space and if we're able to occupy the exploratorium it would really fill a need for our skill that has been around a long time. in addition to developing our students intellectually through

academic programs and inquiry learning experiences we're committed to developing the socioemotional skills for our students. we want students to develop into empathetic and caring individuals. we're committed to being excellent stewards of the exploratorium site, preserving the outdoor spaces for public use and provide something use for the public as required in the lease; of the internal space as well. and again, we're very, very excited with the possibility of this lease being approved and we very much hope that happens today. thank you very much for your time. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> hello, i'm a student at town school. i'm in the 8th grade. even though i will be graduating this year and i won't be there to use the new facilities, i think everyone at

town school would love to have a new space to work at. i came in the 6th grade, but i feel like i have been there the whole way. all 8 or 9 year end i feel like i have been with my group of friends. i think the reason we would like to have this area so much, i would say that we can't really sit in one area all the time. we love to move around, use your hands and do things besides just looking at textbooks and memorizing what everyone writes down. if you ask me, the one word that would describe town best would be "community." because we have such a nice community at town school. i feel like we'll respect the space that we are being offered right now.

and that is all i have. >> thank you very much. >> next speaker, please. >> thank you andy for giving up one day of your february break to be here. good morning commissioners. like my of my classmates in kenya i was fortunate enough to experience diversity at an early age. this opened a world of new opportunities leading to my coming to school in america, 10,000 miles away item the director of community building and inclusion at town school for boys of the commitment to diversity -- to diversify the student body is at the heart of what we do at town school. our statement on diversity knows that the best education for students requires a diverse experience. recently our students had an opportunity to interact and

learn from two african teachers from capetown, south africa. this experience underscored what i knew all along of town school's commitment to provide broad platform of diverse experiences. the committee is comprised of parents, board members, faculty and administrators is a vehicle by which we actively seek to set goals and streamline or commitment to diversy the student body. we do this including having parents volunteer to be on outreach, ad missions commit to reach the broader san francisco preschool communities. as a school community we host affinity for lgbt, asian and african-american opportunities and have activitis to celebrate cultural events including the chinese new year. our commitment to socioeconomic

diversity is equaly vital and to that end town school has board approved tuition assistance. town school is a place where learning is prized and love school is essential and where boyhood is indeed celebrating. we hope you grant town school use of the exploratorium to continue our important work on diversity, inclusion, equity and community-building. thank you for your time and consideration. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> good morning, i am jennifer lew and i'm the director of the new institute at town school for boys. when i think about town, i think about the important role plays in teacher training. the new teacher institute is the fruition of heat master's vision when he first arrived atown. his goal was to establish a

teacher training program that combines the practical and theoretical aspects of classroom teaching. it is the school's conviction that independent schools have the responsibility to train teachers for both the public and private school worlds. the new teacher institute has been in existence for 23 years and i was personally involve first as a 5th grade humanities teacher who worked as an intern and now as director. there are 15 interns at our school in all classes k-8. many enter into the world of teaching with barely any practical teaching. i was such a teacher. many new teachers have little or no . guidance. great teachers do not emerge after two years in the new teacher institute, but the

potentially great ones have developed confidence, humility, a sense of humor, flexibility and patience, as they have developed their own classroom management and teaching style. they know no one ever stops learning about best practices in matter how many years they have been in the classroom. what better place for new teachers to learn than the exploratorium. the students and head teachers also benefit. students see teamwork and collaboration modeled on a daily basis. i know as a head teacher working with an intern i was kept accountability and the no so veiled secret in order for to us have a strong teacher training program we need effective teacher-trainers and mentors. our faculty is comprised of such individuals. 147 men and women have completed the two-year program. many have gone on to teach not just in private schools, but

public schools and international schools. others have gone on to become malloors, program directors and entrepreneurs. i love being a teacher and i love working with new teachers and i want to be part of the new teacher innocent [stao-uts/] at town school. it would be a wonderful opportunity to work with new teachers in the exploratorium space. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker >> good morning commissioners. my name is tammy leong and i have a daughter and two sons. my older son graduated from town in 2010 and my youngest is currently a 7th grader at town school. after my son -- my older son graduated from town school, ron, my husband and i were very pleased with the academic excellence but we also were surprised by a lesson of community from town school.

for my 12 years and counting, because i have one more year there, at town school, i have seen the commitment to the community -- let me start again. i have seen the commitment to the community in various ways. the teachers, the staff, the parents continue to support our boys from kindergarten to 8th grate. our kindergarteners have made sandwiches for the homeless, collected blankets for the homeless as well and the 2nd and 3rd-graders have a program where they would go into the presidio to clear invasive plants in the presidio and we have parent support with the bake sale to help the tsunami victims in japan. as i reflect back from my son

last year, as a 6th grader, he and a group of boys were making bracelets and they produced enough profit that they gave it to the kieva program that makes loans to 3rd world countries. that is something thought through by teachers and it's something meaningful that will resonate the rest of their lives. and lastly, every boy at town raised money for the red cross of america through the sales of raffle tickets. as my three minutes is almost up, again, i just want to say our boys believe in act locally and support globally. i know that town school has taken this message to heart, and i can see that in my sons and our family will carry this

throughout our lives. we are grateful to town in many ways and therefore, we would do everything that we could to support town school to achieve its mission in the years to come. thank you and i'm sorry for going over my time. >> thank you. that little beep you hear is like the 20-second warning so you didn't go over time. >> i am a graduate of town school for boys, as well as a parent and a member of the board. when i first learned about this potential lease, short-term lease with parks and recreation for the exploratorium i was absolutely thrilled. i couldn't think of a better fit if you look at the mission and purpose of both the exploratorium and town school for boys it almost perfectly overlaps. the idea of education

of inspiring youth and shaping lives is what we're all about and i can think of no better place to continue that legacy. i have memories as a chimed child of going to the exploratorium and being filled with awe and western university wonder which dovetails into the purpose of the school. during this lease we will take care of it and also follow in its footsteps and this lease, these actions will touch the lives of our children and help them to hopefully learn, grow and inspire and do wonderful things in the future. while town is rebuilding its own facility, it's going to have to relocate somewhere and what better place than having the monies and funding that

would normally go to some other source come to recreation and park and use those resources to touch the lives of our greater community. you have heard the voices of the people who have spoken you, and seen the faces of the people here. this is our community. and our community in many ways is the greater san francisco community. our mission and purpose overlap, and we very much hope that you will approve this lease and i think it is the epitome of a win-win for everyone. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> good morning commissioners. my name is daman burriss, a parent of a student at town. i stand before you in full support of the leased tint as opportunity as we look for a space to relocate. as parents and teachers and

administrators have tated, stated, town is a diverse community and come from places all over this great city. and so i also believe that they will take care of the city's assets, that we will take care of the places, places where we will take care of the exploratorium. and i stand before you as many of the others have before you and say that it's hopefully a good decision and that you will find it a positive one to vote in our favor. thank you. >> thank you. >> is there anyone else who wishes to make public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. commissioners. >> commissioner low?

>> commissioners, a couple of thoughts on this matter. i would like to emphasize that this is an interim use of the palace of fine arts. there is a very heavy $10,000 penalty, as hold-over so i'm convinced there is enough economic motivation to vacate the property and keep it as a short-term interim use. of importance, keep in mind we need to keep the city's properties and department's properties activated and this does achieve the activation of the site before we can find long-term lease for the palace of fine arts. there is a provision in the lease that provides for public access. and to provide activities

consistent with the park code. should those designs fail there is a requirement for a $25,000 contribution by town school to the department. so i think there will be a good-faith effort by town school for boys at least an economic motive to continue to provide those recreational activities and public access to the palace. last i want to note that the resolution as drafted does require as a condition subsequent approve by the human rights commission, or a waiver from the human rights commission. and so that will be in place in the resolution that is before us. so on those comments, i would like to move this forward to approve the lease and to also adopt the resolution as contained in our package. >> moved and seconded. before we vote, mr. ginsburg.

>> a point of clarification the waiver has been signed by the human rights commission this morning. >> thank you. >> i wanted to add my comment to congratulate the parents, the teachers, the administrators and particularly the students of town school. it is a vibrant, educational community and it's been a pleasure to have you before us. rarely do we have testimony that doesn't have someone who opposes what we are doing and i think that is a reflection on the work that the staff did. so i want to congratulate nick and the rest of the staff because i think the proper outreach was done to make it a reality and with that, it's been moved and seconded. all of those in favor? >> aye. >> thank you. >> we are now on item 9. the golden gate park phase ii tree removal contract no. 3033v. >> good morning commissioners, jeffries & companying, melinda

stockmann assistant project manager capital improvements division, san francisco recreation and park department. i am here for 13-001 in amount of $435,000 to arborwell professional tree management. i just want too clarify that i did present this presentation to the capital committee on february 6th. bid result tabulation was not available at the time that the final staff report was due and i'm here again to present the specific results from the bid. the department as part of the park forestry program the

department completed a prioritization project for all of our park properties, which identified high priority areas. as well as priority areas within those sites. golden gate park was identified as a high priority area. as part of the park forestry program we have had two phases of tree removal and pruning contracts in the park. the first phase concentrated on the perimeter of golden gate park, primarily lincoln and fulton. the first phase was completed in 2012. phase 22 hazardous tree assessment and mitigation work is concentrated on trees along city streets within golden gate park, primarily along jfk, mlk, middle drive. as well as those near children's playgrounds.

this bid was advertised in early january and bids were due on january 31st. we had established a pre-qualified pool of contractor because with this work it's very important to do that obviously for quality control, looking at both the pruning and the removal and disposal work itself and the bid -- the package was bid publicly. and other contractors who wished to submit a bid could submit documentation of their qualifications at time of bid. we received five bids. and the apparent low bidder from arborwell professional tree management in the amount of $435,000. that was in excess of our engineer's estimate was was just under $400,000, but it includes as a one-time mobilization should that they required by the contractor to

accommodate wildlife and bird-nesting. so the scope of work is the removal of 148 trees, pruning of 44 trees, root collar excavation of two trees, debris removal and stump grinding and we're also amending back fill -- we're back filling the tree removal pits at certain areas to allow for more replanting and more regeneration. a large goal of the park forestry program is to remove hazardous and diseased trees and to replant following completion of phase 2 tree removal in golden gate park we'll engage in extensive replanting project and we're committed to replanting at a ratio of 1:1. we have also reported on this project at the urban forestry council. we are working to finalize our

replanting plan. outreach for this project, again, so gook to the budget, the budget for the park forestry program funding from 2008 bonds, our total budget for golden gate park including phases 1 phase 2 and ape separate replanting contract is $1.7 million and the total budget for what i'm here today to present, phase 2 roo moehl contract is $569,250. in addition to hiring the [rao-eurl/]ry contractor to do this work, which will upon approval be arborwell tree management. we have worked with hort science who developed the initial assessment, which guides the work that we are doing. i feel confident in our methodology, hort science has a reputable 12-point risk rating system that takes into account three variables. we are mitigating trees ranked,

9, 10, 11 and 12 and those also ranked and in poor condition and whenever possible we're pruning trees. however, sometimes it's just not always possible to preserve the tree. when you tribune the tree it makes the tree unsound structurally. we had a piric open house in 2012. all 148 trees posted for removal -- excuse me, all 148 trees slated for removal have been individualed posted by myself and an intern and also

in addition to having the primary contractor on-board and the continuing support from jim clark from hort science, we have enlisted the help of larry castillo, who has worked for the university of california, berkeley for 30 years and is a well-established arborist. he is working under a separate consulting contract to make sure that the proper trees are identified and to make sure that pruning meets our stringent specifications. thank you. >> thank you. >> any public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed.

>> commissioners? >> so moved. >> i have a question. >> commissioner, sorry. >> if you could answer the question you have under separate contract when the replanting is going to get started. do you have any idea what that will be let out? >> yes, that will be advertised definitely by the end of year and hopefully in the next few months. >> and they will get started? >> they will definitely start with the replanting by the end of this calendar year. >> thank you. >> mr. ginsburg. >> thank you commissioners only because tree removals are emotional, we have incredibly grand and beautiful trees, i thought it would be worthwhile, to offer just a little bit more context on where we are and why we are here. i think if you are remember in 2009, we contracted with hort science to do this tree risk assessment program. it was part of the 2008 bond

and hort science are the preeminent comments in this field and developed the plan finalized in july of 2010 and actually adopted by this commission. the plan identified park propertis with the highest priority for assessment and methodology. so an assessment was done in golden gate park between january and october of 2011. over 3,000 trees were assessed in over three phases and there were 90 different tree species identified, which i thought were interesting. monterey cyprus and the assessment included three components. one the failure potential of the tree. size of the part of the tree that would fail and the target that would be impacted should a failure occur. so those were the three factors and each component was ranked on a scale from 1,