it can't be great and it can't be on the verge of essentially undermining to the point of extinguishing the program. there's clearly some big problem and i think that you look at where we go from here. i mean, there's clearly a lot of unanswered questions. what are the -- what's going to happen to the apprentices that [inaudible]. there's a big issue that we started to learn with respect to contracting out when the serve is he are contracted out. it's not at union scale. [inaudible]. ~ services because it's definitely a problem [inaudible]. sitting here today, i got [inaudible] we heard an hour from the department. i would have loved to hear an hour from the union. but, again, if we're to parse it, i think you disstill the issues, there is a real problem with respect [inaudible]. talking about the

apprenticeship program, the landmark, landscaping, apprenticeship program [inaudible]. there is clearly a problem. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. and anyone else who would like to comment, please line up in front of the tv set by the window. thank you. i think we're going to use the overhead, is that right? we can use the mic next to the computer. good afternoon, supervisors. my name is john [speaker not understood], i'm a member of 261, district 5 resident [inaudible]. 261 [inaudible].

i serve as field foreman and supervisor. i also do all the administration of the program. [inaudible]. liaison in between city college, the state, both departments, the union [inaudible]. and the mayor's office of workforce and economic development. we are a state certified program and co-founder with [speaker not understood],. the union's job is to apprentice workers. ~ [speaker not understood]. so, we need to do something about this. it what over four years ago at this point. [speaker not understood] local 261, need to go about doing this. all the partners, all the players who made it happen. we launched in december of 2010 with 10 gardeners at rec and park. to date we've hired 22 at rec and park. presently 11 are employed.

of the 22 total hires, five have promoted to gardner. five were released for not performing, and one resigned. over 70% of our hires are local , budgeted. 60% are women and people of color. we are 100% professional. we're 100% business. we are a zero tolerance for gaming the system. as evidence the by our 22% release rate. [speaker not understood] in scope and location, we work in parks, open space, golf, [speaker not understood], bowling greens just to name a few. we build trails, install plant material, metals, we are heavily involved in stewarding golden gate park with a strong focus -- >> john, that was your time.

i have to say a couple more things. >> for the apprenticeship program? i will let you continue. okay, thank you. it is with a strong focus on legacy, people like john [speaker not understood] that we try to live up to. no job is too big for us. we take on any and all projects. restoration, have restored over 60,000 square feet, correction, of the [speaker not understood] hall. thousands of feet of trail built and maintained. examples of interior greenbelt of 17th and stanyan with [speaker not understood] park two sites along [speaker not understood]. we are prepared harding tpc golf course for the schwab cup, that was a six-month assignment. in addition to really big jobs, when there's a fire to be put out, the department calls apprenticeship.

as exampled by the great highway when supervisor carmen chu's office, homeless. we specialize in transforming dead space. we activate huge areas, we have huge community involvement and outreach. we're working with volunteers. we wear a uniform that i wear every day. [speaker not understood]. we have promoted five incredible individuals who are some of the department's best gardeners. we also have another 11 -- >> can you wrap up? i have to go. half a sec, half a minute. all of these 62 individuals are truly interchangeable, which is the biggest gift to operations. what the program needs is three things. more apprentices, field captains to assist in supervision, and trucks that dump that can handle the weight we throw into them. we are not reinventing the wheel, we are using the wheel. thank you.

>> actually i wanted to ask him a question. i really appreciate the blog and the letter that you sent to us. and i know that in the letter you say that we have to stop gaming ways that some people are gaming the system. and i think one of the local 261 leader mentioned that there's nepotism and crone iism. i wonder if you can go into a little more detail about that. i'd rather not get into that political discussion at this time. ~ i'm more than willing to discuss that -- >> >> gaming the system, if you can explain it so i understand it better, it would really help me. okay. for example, i would just defer to how long have you been involved with the city, supervisor mar? there's a lot of game going on. >> just answer the question, mr. early. what are you talking about? i'm talking about, um, special deals. i'm talking about direct dealing.

i'm talking about certain classifications, certain trades are treated better than other trades. i could write you a novel. >> i'm just giving you a little bit more time to explain it. i'd rather not [speaker not understood]. visit us at the blog. [laughter] >> thank you. >> okay. next speaker, please. i think my timing is really good. [speaker not understood] morgan. i'm with friends of the park in the richmond district. i started it 15 years ago with my daughter rosa when i was 18. i have been through -- i have been through jewel, elizabeth, yome and you know i'm usually here to complain. i am here to tell you that i think phil is doing a fabulous job, especially given what he

has to work with. i would also like to state after listening to this gentleman speak this is precisely the problem. i was reminded of the demonstration out front. and i want to thank all of our gardeners. you guys have a really, really tough job, okay. (applause) and we want our gardeners to be well trained and we want them to work hard and be accountable. we need our gardeners. i'm telling those gardeners they do not need the leadership of that person who just spoke and i don't even know his name, okay. i trust phil to do his job. and we actually love you gardeners. come to roshambo park on 26th and california and we'll do a workday. thank you very much. >> thank you. next speaker, please. good evening, supervisors. my name is ramon hernandez from

local 261 and i work with over 4,000 members in the city and county of san francisco. i just want to -- i hear they go back and forth, back and forth. the park and rec director [speaker not understood]. let's fix this problem and let's get it over. let's fix this problem, please. thank you. >> mr. hernandez, can i ask the question i asked mr. early who can't talk about it, but could you just go into a little more detail explaining what the cronyism and the ne advertise many is and gaming the system? i'm just trying to understand that. like how they hire the individuals. the way they hire the individuals i'm very unhappy. you see the [speaker not understood] we have outside. we're here for a reason. they can be bigger than that. the reason we did that, because the way to be hired are

gardens. [speaker not understood] go through the hoops to fix all these problems to go forward with the apprenticeship and get the best of the best that the city and county of san francisco and residents. the way they've been picking up the guys, [speaker not understood] they're not even apprentices. that's pre-apprentices. and we're working for those apprentices on dpw, with the mayor. we hire the pre-apprentices for the pre-apprentices, we are together to, to select and pick and choose those individuals that want to be the good for the city. that's what we ask to be done on the park and rec side, too. i say maybe some 75% san francisco residents will hire 99% of the residents and we have the training, we offer the training together with park and rec to make it happen. so, unfortunately we see it

doesn't happen and we haven't seen all these patterns going back [speaker not understood] instead of going forward. let's fix the problem. thank you. >> next speaker, please. good afternoon, supervisors. my name is oscar grande. i'm an organizer with people organizing for he can no, ma'am economic [speaker not understood] rights. [speaker not understood] parks really has saved my life. i'm familiar with all the parks in my neighborhood from excelsior to the mission. and, you know, similar to supervisor avalos's comment, the quality of the parks are just, just great, especially now that i have an eye as a father. when you're a kid, you really don't care, you know. and i also know that i come from the union family and i know union and great parks go together and go hand in hand.

i think we're here to support that you continue and push this conversation and dialogue between whatever discrepancy problems are happening between the laborers and rec and park management. that push this conversation. this seems like this is an easy fix. the framework is there. the talent is here in the audience. the know-how. we're going to have to get together to come up with fixes. i heard from sprayers some of the young brothers who came up here who work on rec and park from the program side. they're from the neighborhood, they know the neighborhood, they can connect with the kids. that's exactly what we want to see with the maintenance and the gardening program. we want to see locals, folks of color, people that are having a hard time in this economy because we know what's happening in the city with the hyper gentrification and disparity of income and this one sided economic development that the city is pushing. this is one way that we can get

our families to continue thriving and putting down roots in the city. ~ so, i support, i support you to continue this conversation and come up with some fixes and bring these sides together. thank you very much. >> thank you. any other members of the public who would like to comment? please come forward. and seeing none come forward, we'll close public comment. so, in this hearing, i actually appreciate the comments of the last speaker, oscar grande, about the city and its one sided development. we have to look at what i talked about in my inauguration speech. not just talk, about implement programs that specifically bring people up from communities that have less opportunities, make sure we can apply -- provide more opportunity in specific ways, with measurable that we can actually see the difference we're making with our policies. without that, with the city on

a run away pathway towards focusing on the downtown, you know, part of san francisco, the developments happening in the central part of the city, we leave out neighborhoods where we have higher unemployment, where we have generations of san franciscans live there looking for the pathway into local jobs. rec and park with the apprenticeship program can provide that. actually has a blueprint for doing that. it looks good on paper, but i'm really surprised to see that the laborers and the rec and park department are not seeing eye to eye on how this program should work. and actually, very surprises me greatly because i have actually done numerous pieces of legislation. i've done numerous hearings involving the rec and park department. i've actually challenged rec and park department on many of its practices, on many of its fees, and programs. always, i feel like i've been on the losing side of many of those discussions. [speaker not understood] the

side the laborers were working closely with rec and park department on the common vision. but it's not happening right now. and actually i kind of think it's important that there is that connection, that relationship for the people who are providing a great service to not just the people of san francisco, but also to make sure the rec and park department is running effectively. and the gardeners are part of that, the apprenticeship program is a vital part of that and to me it makes sense that we figure out how to or rec and park department and the laborer's union 21 can figure out how to get on the same page and to, to bridge this gap, this divide that's between the two. and i'd like to see that we can have, you know, report back at some point, maybe perhaps in the budget process when rec and park comes before us, that we can actually hear what the progress of that is. that to me makes a lot of sense. and i believe that we owe it to the people of san francisco that this is actually

harmonized, that this gets worked out. so, mr. ginsberg, i'd like to hear your thoughts on that last comment and we can close out our hearing. thank you. >> supervisor, we have had and hope to continue to have a great partnership with 261. i think even throughout some disagreements or concerns with each other about how the apprenticeship program is being administered in some of its detail, one, the communication has been open. ~ lines of communication have been open and it will continue to be open. i believe 261 and rec and park share two very important points. i think both the state of the organization and the department are 100% commit today doing what is in the best interest of the public and in making sure that our parks are clean and safe and that our recreation facilities are welcoming. [multiple voices] >> not about how great the

parks are, but how are you actually going to figure out this relationship with your vital part of your workforce? that seems to be a big problem right now. we wouldn't have this room packed with people, we wouldn't have a rally here in front if it wasn't ape problem. how are we going to work it out? >> that's exactly what i was answering, supervisor. if you let me finish the com. one is i think we have some common interests. and the second common interest i think that we have is in developing and recruiting and making sure that we've got the best workforce within the department. and, so, we will continue to try to work through these issues. >> i'm not interested in hearing how you're going to try. i'm interested in hearing what you're going to do. what are with you going to do to make sure you help bridge this [speaker not understood] happening right now with the union? >> so, as i said, we can continue to sit down and talk to 261. we're happy to have the department of human resource toes participate in that process if that will help. what i heard from this hearing is that local 261 wants apprentices hired as full-time gardeners. the answer to that is yes.

i've heard local 261 says that we want equipment and materials and supplies. and the answer to that is all of our staff want equipment and materials and supplies. and we try to provide all of our staff with as much materials and supplies and equipment as we have. so, we are already working together on the next class of apprentices. we've worked together on changing civil service rules to make sure ensure apprentices to be placed as full-time -- >> the next time you communicate with leadership of 261? >> in the back of the room. [speaker not understood]. okay. so, after this hearing. >> thank you. so, thank you for the [speaker not understood]. thank you to the staff for being here, director callahan. colleagues, i'd like to request that we continue this hearing to the call of the chair and we can bring it back, hear a report back during the budget process. if we can just line up when rec and park comes before us and i think we will be able to have a

quick discussion and see how the progress is and we can file [speaker not understood]. >> i think we can do that, supervisor wiener. do you have a comment first? >> yes. thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank everyone who came out today. and i hope that the department and local 261 will be able to work out their differences. i think we've seen a terrific partnership between, between department and the union on fairly different issues. i think it's been a healthy relationship. and i'm confident that folks will be able to work it out and support the apprenticeship program and support the department and get back on track. and i understood from the union leadership that there are some specific issues that they talk about and i'm sure that they will do that. i do just want to i think second the comments earlier from supervisor mar about making what sounds to me like

fairly reckless accusations of ne nepotism or whatever else about the department and declining to actually back up those accusations. i think it's really easy ~ to come in and make those kind of allegations and then decline to actually detail them. so, i do agree with that, what i understood to be supervisor mar's response to that. and i agree with his approach in his comments. but that aside, i do hope that everyone will be able to work this out. >> thank you very much, supervisor wiener. thank you for being here today. we have a motion to continue this item to the call of the chair. can we do that without opposition? so moved. [gavel] >> >> mr. clerk, do we have any other item? s? >> that completes the agenda. >> thank you. we are adjourned. [gavel]

>> pilaties. it's a creation, an old regimen of exercise. really based on core engagement and core structure and core development. we do a lot of exercise in developing that and

think about lengthening of the spine and our muscles. if you're a runner, if you're into kayaking, martial arts, cycling pilates are for you. >> programs are variety year around at various locations and to learn more come to the richmond athletic cente >> we came to seven straight about 10 years ago. -- 7th street about 10 years ago. the environment is huge. it is stronger than willpower.

surrounding yourself with artists, being in a culture where artists are driving, and where a huge amount of them is a healthy environment. >> you are making it safer. push, push. that is better. when i start thinking, i see it actually -- sometimes, i do not see it, but when i do, it is usually from the inside out. it is like watching something being spawned. you go in, and you begin to work, excavate, play with the dancers, and then things began to emerge. you may have a plan that this is what i want to create. here are the ideas i want to play with, but then, you go into the room, and there maybe some

fertile ideas that are becoming manifest that are more interesting than the idea you had initially set out to plan. so there has to be this openness for spontaneity. also, a sense that regardless of the deadline, that you have tons of time so the you can keep your creativity alive and not cut it off and just go into old habits. it is a lot like listening. really listening to watch what is going to emerge. i like this thing where you put your foot on his back. let's keep it. were your mind is is how you build your life. if you put it in steel or in failure, it works. that works. it is a commitment. for most artists, it is a vacation and a life that they have committed themselves to.

there is this notion that artists continue to do their work because of some kind of the external financial support. if that was taken away, artists would still do their art. it is not like there is a prerequisite for these things to happen or i will not do it. how could that be? it is the relationship that you have committed to. it is the vocation. no matter how difficult it gets, you are going to need to produce your art. whether it is a large scale or very small scale. the need to create is going to happen, and you are going to have to fulfill it because that is your life.

>> the annual celebration of hardly strictly bluegrass is always a hit now completing itself 12 year of music in the incredible golden gate park. >> this is just the best park to come to. it's safe. it's wonderful and such a fun time of the year. there is every kind of music you can imagine and can wander around and go from one stage to another and just have fun. >> 81 bands and six stages and no admission. this is hardly strictly bluegrass. >> i love music and peace. >> i think it represents what is great about the bay area. >> everyone is here for the music and the experience. this is why i live here. >> the culture out here is

amazing. it's san francisco. >> this is a legacy of the old warren hel ment and receive necessary funding for ten years after his death. >> there is a legacy that started and it's cool and he's done something wonderful for the city and we're all grateful. hopefully we will keep this thing going on for years and years to come.