year-to-date is 727,374 visitors verse projections of 627,800 visitors. so as we end our fiscal year we are nearly 100,000 visitors ahead of schedule and quite an amazing job by everyone and i know a lot of it had to do with the tiger cub coming at the time. it's that time of year, that is actually a little penguin poping there and popping there and you will be able to work with the penguin and teach them how to be hand-fed. for memorial day thanks to

red [ro-fr/] we'll have rover, we'll have three days events. san francisco zoo board is very appreciative of mr. buell's efforts on saturday. there it is, taking it by storm. this is the most we have ever raised at the zoo in a zoo fest and president buell knows when to ask for an item twice and boy, can we work a room. so the tiger was not named mr. buell, but instead, we have her name is now jillian after the big stoner, but the board wanted to send a contribution

to the sumatra tiger fund and it's not the real thing, president buell, but thank you again for your help. it was just an amazing evening. >> you can't sell something if it's not popular and you it the right people in the audience and items. it was great. >> thank you. >> so this fall, we are seeking during our fiscal year a $2 price increase to apply to all categories. i have a powerpoint. there it is. the reasons for the price increase, we set them here -- let me give you some background. we won't change? some of the free programs that we have for san francisco residents. you see children under 3 are

free and there is a rider discount and there is free access for certain groups that apply through the department of children, youth and families. so we will be happy to continue that throughout the fiscal year. like everything, prices and operating costs are going up for the zoo and we have not had a price increase since september, 2008. when we did that, we saw minor breakage. we made up for it in differences through an increased revenue and bottom line. we believe that the proposed pricing is competitive both with zoos in the area and local attractions. cumulative costs of living for example, has increased 27.5%, our labor costs have increased 2.5%. we continue to make capital

investments and improvements both at the exhibits and animal wellness and improvements and unfortunately all of those cost money. thus the increase right now an adult who does not live in san francisco is $15. an adult who does live in san francisco is $12, but we'll be increasing that by $2 come fall, if it is approved. you can see the other categories there. i outlined more specifically the cpi increases since our last price increase in 2008. there were some big increases in 2008, as well as 2011. again cumulative, cpi increasing 27%. in all categories our costs are going up, not a surprise that one of the biggest is health insurance. but at the bottom there, the water rate, because of a change in the law. now we now actually pay for water. when we first took over zoo

operations we did not have to pay and that has made a big adjustment in our operating costs. i will show you where the other folks in town are. you see there is our rates at the top. starting with the museum of modern art and going down to the big guys, we say the academy of sciences at $29.90 and we feel for a san francisco resident moving to $14 will be fairly competitive with the local institutions. and here those for look visually you will see where san francisco falls out compared to our peer institutions, certainly not anywhere close to the top. here we are comparing ourselves to other zoos and again, even right now the oakland zoo, a much smaller zoo is more expensive than the san francisco zoo and you drop down to some of our peer zoos, philadelphia zoo, minnesota zoo at $18 and $20 and also,

different urban settings. and again, visually, where we would fall out with our peer zoological institutions. we will be, if all goes well, we would be making this price increase in conjunction with a temporary bug exhibit, as well as a new playground, so that the customer feels that there is still value. that would be the fall. also the bulk of our attendance is the summer months and we have left the summer months untouched. again we'll be starting our fiscal year like yours july 1st. with that i have finished my presentation. >> public comment? >> is there any public comment on this item? being none, public comment is closed. commissioners. >> commissioner low? >> miss peterson i just had a question with the fee increase and there is a certain price elasticity that is associated with fee increases. do you anticipate there is going to be a drop in

attendance with this fee increase? >> yes, we had a slight breakage as we say or drop in attendance when we did it in 2008. it was more than made up for by the revenue gain we got by increasing the ticket. we also feel by doing it in conjunction with the temporary exhibit and the flay playground there will be a provided value and looking at exploratorium, we would still be competitive [stkwr*-frplt/] the drop-off in attendance, is that by resident or non-resident. >> at the start of the recession in 2008, there was minimal dropage because of it. >> and does this -- this has to go to the board for approval? >> no, this is us. >> just us. >> so let me comment as the member of zoo committee, commissioners arata and i sit on the zoo committee and i

thought the staff did a good job of presenting the economics of the situation. i think when you see the cpi going up over the period of time since the last increase at 27%, this doesn't represent a 27% increase. so i think they are trying to be efficient and yet be competitive and so i want to compliment the staff on trying to stay within the limits to allow the maximum public enjoyment of the zoo. with that, seeing no other questions i will entertain a motion. >> so moved. >> seconded. >> all those in favor? >> aye. >> so moved. thank you very much. >> we are now on item 7, grant acceptance, the afghanistan san francisco parks alliance. >> commissioners i am lisa bransten and i am here today to

ask discussion and possible agency to accept $67,011 in the for of no. 1 a cash grant of $32,011 to suspect a new venting system in the parks greenhouse, two pairs of dual stream recycling containers for golden gate and rec and park and in-kind grant of $35,000 to support various rec and park projects. this is part of the event held at the angler's lodge. the cash portion would fund three important projects for the department. no. 1 is $15,000 of this gift would go for installing an automatic venting system in the greenhouse in the golden gate park nursery. and this is very important

because right now the venting system is manually operated and if there is a temperature change, which there is likely to be in golden gate park, if there is not someone there to open or close the develops, then the temperature in the greenhouse can change dramatically, and that hurts the flourishing of the plants inside. another $10,000 of this gift would go to install two sets of recycling containers in golden gate park, so that visitors have a place to dispose of paper, cans, bottles and other recyclables and thus keep them out of the local landfills. and lastly, just a bit over $7,000 of this grant would go to rec and park scholarships, which as you all know is a very important program of the department that allows access

to recreation and specifically the department's programming for all san franciscans regardless of their ability to pay. and then the second part of this grant will be used to fund special projects for the department throughout the year and these are generally unexpected expenses and also used to recognize the hard work of rec and park staff. >> do we have park comment? any public comment on item 7? >> good morning commissioners, executive director of the park alliance and on behalf of the board and staff and volunteers and 700 plus people who attended the party last fall, including i think all of you wanted to just acknowledge the hard work of the rec and park

department, and the value of this as an example of public-private partnership and highlight value of the ventilation system. it's not very sexy, but it's the kind of thing that a little bit of private philanthropy can go a long way at nursery and at the same time improving the productivity of the nursery itself, in terms of lisa pointed out the quality and the productivity of that in terms of nurturing new plants into 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 signed in 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 said will have a direction impact on the parking garage, with 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 going forward 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? garage l, so the revenue ha

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