the park system. it will have a long-term ranging impact on the park system citywide and we're honored to be of assistance for making that contribution, as well as others coming out of the event. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> any other public comment on the item? being none, public comment is closed. >> commissioner levitan. >> just a comment, the reason that operations put this on the general calendar was to make sure we all had an opportunity to hear, just as mr. o'grady said, the extreme value this partnership brings us and that event brought us and we're very grateful to everybody. >> with that is there a motion. >> so moved. >> seconded. >> moved and second, all in favor? >> aye. >> so moved. >> we're on item 8, union square parking garage lease.

>> good morning commissioners, property management for the department. the item before you is approval of the lease with the uptown garage association for the management of the union square parking garage. uptown parking garage association was formed to assist the city in building the union square and sutter stockton garages. it remits all of the revenues above expenses back to the department for use and they are managed the garage diligently for the last 60 plus years. they have been operating it under an agreement that was si 1999, for the past 13

years. that 1999 agreement included provisions that if certain debts that were held by uptown parking were paid off, that the the lease would be terminated and therefore, last year, you may remember we brought a short-term extension of that lease and we have negotiated for them to continue to operate the union square garage. the initial term of the lease is 10 years. it does have a two 5-year extensions. they do pay a base rent of $1. each year, uptown's budget is approved not only by department staff, but also by the mta's off-street parking division. and then as i said earlier, all of those revenues above their expenses are remitted to the

department. excitingly, we think, in this new lease, we are creating a capital account, where we will be depositing up to $250,000 per year into that account. so that we can have ongoing maintenance funds for any challenges that we may face unexpectedly out there at garage as the first time we're doing this for this property and i think you will see more and more, as you have been seeing this across all of our properties, establishing dedicated maintenance accounted. so that we can be assured that we are taking care of our properties. lastly, the last point i wanted to talk about is that since 2002, uptown parking has contracted with mjm management to provide supplemental services on the plaza above the parking garage. these services are janitorial, a little bit of gardening, and they assist us with the managing of vents on the site.

that is a structure that we have found to be very helpful in helping us to manage we well-loved and very well-utilized park and this agreement -- this new lease continues that structure. and with that, i would make myself available to any questions that the commission had. >> we'll take public comment. >> any public ghent on comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. >> nick i had one question. : >> are there any city gardeners that work on that square? >> yes, in 2002 we set up a structure, where we provided a baseline of services certainly in a communities benefit

district and mjm provides services above that and we do have gardeners at the site. >> at square it's performed by city staff. >> thank you. >> and nick, i just noticed, in the supplemental maintenance agreement, that was executed in 2007 and had a five-year term with four automatic extensions. did they request an extension in 2012? >> we did an extension in 2012. >> that is the question. that is fine. thanks. okay. entertain a motion. >> so moved. >> second. >> moved and seconded, all those in favor? >> aye. >> so moved. thank you. >> we are on item 9 union

square park central subway station memorandum of understanding between the recreation and park department and the san francisco municipal transportation agency. >> good morning commissioners, katie petrucione, here to ask for our approval of a memorandum of understanding between the department and the san francisco municipal transportation agency regarding construction of the central subway union square market street station. last september, as you will recall, the commission approved mta's proposal to construct a central subway station in the southeast corner of the park. construction of this station is going to affect both the surface of union square, as well as the parking garage. this proposed mou authorizes construction active in union square plaza and garage and define "compensation" to rec

and park for the temporary and permanent loss of parking spaces in the garage, and it addresses maintenance of the station once it's complete. the mou gives mta and its contractors permission to enter parks and recreation property to i stall equivalent on the garage and surface of the park. there was a diagram in our packet that shows a section lower terrace of union square plaza along market and geary will be fenced for the duration of the project, which mta is currently estimating to be 66 months. mta anticipates that they will issue a notice to proceed to their contractor for the union square station at the beginning of june. construction as i will rking ga

approximately 21,500-square-feet of parking spaces to be fenced during the project. under the mou, mta has 12 months to complete the construction in the parking garage. work in the garage will include installation of a temporary construction wall, demolition of an existing circulation ramp in the garage, and the temporary loss of 129 parking spaces. at the end of construction in the garage, mta will replace the ramp and they are going to restripe a portion of the garage to restore approximately 20 spaces. but all told, union square garage will permanently lose 109 parking spaces as a result of the construction of the subway station. using funding from the federal transit administration, mta is going to compensate rec and park for both the temporary and

permanent loss of parking spaces. they hired an appraiser to determine the value of the parking spaces that will be taken to build the station. and the appraiser used a methodology known as the income approach to value, which looks at the annual net income of the property, as well as an estimate of the value of the property and a capitalization rate. using this methodology, mta's appraiser determined that the value of the temporary use of parking spaces is about $450,000 for that 12 -month period. and that the permanent use of spaces by the garage is worth about a little over $6.6 million for a total of $7,055,000. rec and park has agreed to offset this amount by $67,376 to reflect the value of some

improvements that mta is going to make to the sidewalk/curve ramp and traffic signals right on the northwest corner of stockton and geary street. the total amount that the mta proposing is toal, i'm planning to budget this in the budget next year in a project that rec and park will draw upon annually to back fill the loss of parking revenue from the spaces. is it also addresses landscape in union square after the construction is complete. as well as ongoing maintenance of the station that is going to be incorporated into the park. the station will include a glass roof, that is going to have artwork imbedded within it, and staff from the arts

commission is actually here to make a presentation after this one, radicaling the artwork in the roof of the station. we have -- the department of has agreed to provide routine maintenance to the glass deck, including cleaning and graffiti-removal, but mta will have responsibility for the repair or replacement of the glass deck. we believe that the mou addresses the key issues that may result from construction of the union square station and we believe it provides fair compensation for the permanent loss of parking spaces and establishes a cooperative framework. so we ask for your approval of the mou. i have alec cliff beyond cliff

>> the net revenue that the department receives from the parking garage will be likely reduced d and so

&that money is specifically and only for that purpose? >> correct. >> commissioner low? >> that was part of my question in taking a look at the appraisal and look at the revenue in perpetuity, do you feel that the appraisal report is fair or whether there is an opportunity for additional funds? >> i do feel that the report is fair. there was also a separate -- mta hire a separate appraiser and the appraisal also took two methods. it took the income approach, as well as the sales comparison approach and determined that the income approach actually gave the department a higher value for the property. >> it seems like the income approach would be the right approach to reach the appraised value for the taking of the property. >> i agree.

>> okay. >> commissioner bonilla. >> yes, katie, would you please speak to what benefits there will be to the general fund from this lump sum amount? >> well, so the revenue that union square parking garage generates on an annual basis is a general fund revenue. it supports department operations. and what this lump sum approach -- sorry the lump sum that we're receiving from mta will allow the department to basically back fill the loss of revenue from the loss of the parking spaces. so we'll be made whole. so we will not see an annual loss in parking garage revenue as a result of the lost spaces. >> i understand -- i understood that from your presentation, but what i am referring to is that because

you are receiving a lump sum of over $6 million and you will only be using a portion of that to back fill; there is money there, sitting there that i assume is acquiring some interest. >> commissioner, because this money is going to be sitting in the general fund, it will be sitting in a project in the general fund that is only for this use. but as a general fund -- as money in the general fund -- the interest will accrue to the city's general fund. >> right. >> this does not accrue to the department. >> so the general fund overall will see some benefit? >> yes. >> it's not only the department, but general fund as a whole? >> yes, we'll receive, i think interest earnings are like now in the 2%ish range. so some

small benefit. >> that is what i wanted you to address so we have the whole picture. thank you. >> thank you, katie. to the commission. >> so moved. >> it's been moved. >> second. >> seconded. all those in favor? >> aye. >> thank you. we're on item 10, the union square park central subway artwork. >> here with us this morning is jennifer lavorn, from the art commission and seahawk to us about the process of identifying the artwork for the glass deck of the station and also show you what it looks like.

>> good morning commissioners. >> good morning,. i am here from the arts commission, jennifer lavorn and i am here to present an art project that we are in the process of planning for, and i will let you know what it looks like and let you know the process that has taken place to get us to where we are today. if we could have the image back up, thank you. the arts commission is charged with reviewing the architectural designs for civic structures, and while our arts commission was approve -- reviewing and approving the design for the subway, the commissioners recommended that the glass that is included in this subway station be enhanced with a design treatment. so that was initiated through the civic design review process and

approved by the arts commission and then it came ovto my program to initiate a process and so we issued a national call for artists. we included a member from the union square business improvement district on our selection panel, as well as another community member, who is involved in the central subway citizens' advisory committee and representatives from the mta and from our arts commission, as well as arts professionals. and we received hundreds of applications, and the panel reviewed those applications and narrowed the finalists down to three finalists, and those artists submitted the proposals. we put them on display for public comment and we also

sent them to the union square business improvement district and they could provide comment back to us before we had our second selection panel meeting. through that process the panel selected local artists jennifer starkweather and amanda, the artist team and together they have produced this design, that features -- unfortunately the image is quite blown out. there is very fine line work that references maps and topographic imagery. can you see the line work? so it's very fine line work and it does show up over here on this computer screen. so if it's worth it to you, you are welcome to come down and take a look at it on the screen. and there are parts the map that are marked with red and

orange dots that reference commute patterns and they worked with the gather ta on ho transit in san francisco, and also in the bay area. and so then they located some of the dots. this is not a map and it does not refer to any specific geography. it is map and commute pattern-inspired artwork, that if someone were to look at it, they might be able to start to recognize forms that seem like the geography of the bay area, but they won't be able to navigate from union square or anywhere else using that as a map. so that is the visuals for it and i wanted to also explain to you physically where the artwork is going to exist. i know there was of concern when we were first discussing with rec and park staff would their maintenance folks be

responsible for taking care of this? and i just wanted to pull up another image. so this a conceptual sketch that shows how the glass for that glass deck is actually manufactured. so there is a top layer of glass that has a non-slip on it that people actually walk on and just a little bit of air and a center layer of glass and that is the layer that has the artwork. it's a digit image output on film and it's laminated between two pieces of glass and then it's slid in there and it is the central piece of glass. and then there is a bottom layer of glass, which is the ceiling for the station below. so if the surface of the deck

is graffitied, the graffiti is not happening on the artwork layer, but the top layer that people are walk on and likewise, if people tried to graffiti from underneath, they would graffiti on the outer layer of glass. i wanted to mention how this artwork would appear both during the day and at night. glass is a reflective tell and during the day, when the sun is shining on it, it's going to be quite subtle. however, from within the station, the imaginary will be very clear and back housing -lit and you can imagine a cathedral and at night mta plans to have the

station illuminated and back-lit and be visible and more brilliant from the outside at night. i think i have covered all the details on this piecing and i am happy to answer any questions and i want to let you know about approval process. we brought this proposal to union square business improvement district this week one more time just to check in with them and they appreciated it was the subtlist of all the three design and they didn't want anything garish and so they liked the design. and i bring it to you today and next stop in our approval process is to go to the committee level of the arts commission. it's the visual arts committee and they are meeting may 23rd, i think. if it's approved there, it would go to the full commission june 1st. so if you have any comments or concerns i would certainly be happy to bring those to the commission to

share those. >> maybe before we get public comment, go ahead, commissioner bonilla. >> could you show that design again? i am going to go down, because i'm having difficulty conceptualizing this. >> maybe as commissioner bonilla is looking at, that i can ask you, i have been told this is a little bit of a gray area about this commission's authority, but if we didn't like something, we actually would have the authority to kill something. and so it seems to me that asking a rec and park commission to weigh in on an art piece is maybe the inappropriate place and you are mentioned it's going to go to the commit tee and then the full arts commission and i would ask as an information item, that you come back after the next meeting of the art commissions and perhaps let us know what they thought. >> i would be happy to do that and i should mention that once

the artist is placed under contract, it goes under three phases of design. so if there was something in this particular design that really didn't work for, we can work with the artist to try to minimize that. in terms of jurisdiction, the art commission strives to be a good partner with all other city agencies and we certainly hope that you guys would support this design. >> right. you may have heard me mention in my own comments about the piece and still asking this commission to weigh in might be the wrong place to do it. thank you for your presentation. commissioner levitan, you had a question. >> it was very interesting to hear how the artwork is between two pieces of glass. that is the floor?

>> commissioner bonilla? >> i guess it's difficult to really conceptualize this, because we're not really looking at visual from the standpoint of how this design is viewed when we're seeing the reflections. you know, light changes and so

on. so aesthetically, it's difficult to kind of wrap myself -- i can't wrap myself around it because i'm not really seeing the practicality, meaning how does it look when there is light reflecting on it? and what are people seeing and will they comprehend what it means in terms of all -- the intent of the design. you know? >> i can speak to that a little and i would also be happy to bring a material sample when i come back and we could both hold it up to the window and then hold it on other side of the wall, so you can see differences. but with regard to the meaning of the artwork, the arts commission does install interpretative plaques for all

of our installations that does give a brief explanation of the artwork. but then, also, this artwork at the end of the day is an abstract image. so it's going to be a pretty open-ended type of design for people. hopefully they will understand it's map-inspired, but beyond that, it's kind of image color. >> thank you very much. >> is there any public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. this was discussion only. so we're on item 11, golden gate park san francisco botanical garden lease and management agreement >> good morning commissioners,

nick kinsey >> speak into the mic. >> sorry >> you are too tall for the mic. >> every time, nick kinsey, director of property management for the rec and park department and happy to bring before the commission today a new lease and management agreement with one of our longest and cherished partners the botanical garden society and since 1955 the botanical garden society has provided crucial support to the department as we have managed and operated a really living museum. the botanical gardens support for the garden has included building and operating the hellonen crocker library and funding the botanical garden master plan that was completed as a submaster plan to the golden gate park master plan and providing important educational programss for youth

and outreach to visitors. also importantly paying for an 11th gardener each year at the gardens to help us maintain it in world-class condition. and then providing critical curatorial and plant collection development support to assist the department in keeping that living museum thriving. most recently, the botanical garden support has included developing plans and beginning capital development program to build a new nursery at the site, which will be a shared-use nursery and will help us, again, keep that world-class living museum thriving for generations to come. that is