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tv   [untitled]    April 26, 2015 2:00am-2:31am PDT

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position of authority, it would be a peer feedback group to staff and i think they get a lot out of that, we converse with each other and we bring professional and community experience to the table, they bring staff and technical experience and that's the role we help them set policy and programs and hopefully it's influential at some level. we have made a lot of emphasis on community listening meetings, so at minimum, every grant year, we have two, sometimes three community outreach meetings in different parts of the city and staff has been intentional about scattering those around over the years and having opportunities to hear what folks are experiencing, what's working, what's not, and then the other thing as a role is we have to deal with the fact the federal government continues to cut money. we're at a time here in san francisco, we're talking about economic progress, the coffers
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are bigger yet the federal government cut 16% of cdbg this year and 20% of our [inaudible] fund, we had to deal with that fact because some people are not going the get their grants. what we did this last month was to take a compelling argument to the mayor and it will come to you hopefully too to backfill that lost funding, it's essential to keep community development stable because the other option is to cut those critical grants to the ground. >> i would say that it's a critical time to do that because we're seeing widening disparities in wealth and it is a time when the federal government is giving back, we have to add more and this is a critical time to do that. >> we crafted a letter and it was framed around that, supervisor avalos, in a time of prosperity, the last thing we can do is start cutting
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critical community development grants, so unfortunately in so many ways, it falls to local government. that is what's happening at the federal and state level, it's a retrenchment that is disheartening. my last point, we're in an annual grant cycle so this is a rat wheel we're on, the grant cycle comes up, we figure how much money it is t staff makes a proposal for allocations, we review them, we're done and start over, there's an opportunity to take a longview and the consolidated plan which is a guide post, almost like a general plan document was just updated, it's a five year update, we went through several community workshops which were well attended and satisfying to talk about a bigger picture as oppose today how much money am i going to get for my program next year and there was a good effort to rethink that consolidated plan and reorganize it, reenvision how community development is
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articulated and how that guides the program work that was done and i felt that was a successful process and it was a time when the committee members could play more of a policy role, i would say with a little p, we were discussing community development, economic development at a higher level with the idea this is going the shape some of the work that's done at an annual level going forward the next five years so that's something that i thought was satisfying. >> and i think the work of looking at that higher level also acknowledges the city does a lot of things already that have a community development aspect but it's really about how to acknowledge that and coordinate them together to achieve that greater level of community development work that the city can promote, so i think the committee did a great job of that. .sing one of the things on that note we emphasize today consultants that were hired by the staff to do that, they synchronize their thinking on this consolidated plan with all the plan that is are out there, there's the housing element and
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the commerce and inventory report and various planning documents and it may not be surprising to you but they live in all different little places so you don't want to reinvent the wheel but i want to think how these align in a community development vision for the city. i think they did a great job of trying to roll that stuff up into one vision. >> thank you, mr. cohen. supervisor cohen? >> a couple of questions, there's a few things here i'm a little uncomfortable with by the seat you're occupying, it coulder reflect the needs of low-income and community, do you feel you represent the needs or the concerns of low-income constituents in san francisco? >> certainly in termser of my work and my perspective, i would not consider myself low-income. in my own professional work, i'm working in many of the communities that are impacted by the cdbg grants that come out each year and the
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particular program areas we emphasize, so i understand that and i have no questions about my own sense of reading the landscape and being able to understand what those needs are. i connect very well with folks and people come to the committees, they are asking me particular questions and for advice and the committee meetings, i attend all of that and i find enriching. >> how do you relate to people who need this information, literally people that are on the ground, particularly those who who are most vulnerable who are living in public housing? >> one thing, where we live as a committee is two degrees rerouted from that kind of thing so we have to make an effort as a committee to be able to have those conversations which is why i
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emphasize the outreach that is set up, those opportunities is where we get to actually interact with folks. it's the staff that are making those kinds of decisions on which organizations to make the allocations to and those non-profit organizations in turn are working with direct con tifp wednesday si, we're in this middle space working with the bureaucracy and a lot of us feel like we want to go past that bureaucracy and have conversations with folks who are the direct recipients of those services and that ao's what we try to do. >> this body that we're talk k about i think has six members, right? >> no, there's nine i believe. >> there's a total of nine members and correct me if i'm wrong, city attorney, four of them are women? is that right, peter, four of them are women? >> [inaudible]. >> you don't know? one of my colleagues on the board side did not reapply, and
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there are three other women on the committee currently, correct. >> excuse me, i'm sorry, okay. we have a representative from district 10, 8, 1 and 4, so it looks like it's a pretty ethnically diverse committee t reason why i raise this, there's two things that i'm always concerned of, the generalized parity that exists on every board and commission in san francisco as well as the ethnic make-up so it seems to be really balanced in that respect. i wanted to also ask you about the work that yu eve done on low-income communities, particularly in district 10. >> the *f via the committee? >> yes. >> actually, district 10, particularly because of the emphasis on the hope sf program has been a key priority for the committee and, again, i was just reminded that these decisions about how to prioritize use of funds are made by the mayor's office and
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by staff so we're kind of a feedback to that process, but i think geographically, there's been a strong emphasis on district 10 primarily because of the hope sf program, trying to support and the overall envisioning program that's happening as well as the third street corridor work, those are the things that come to my mind as the primary things in the district 10 area. >> there was a time a few years ago that the city was move ining the direction under the leadership of mayor lee to make more of an investment, a significant amount of money or more of an investment in the housing trust fund which would have revitalized public housing, and many affordable housing groups including [inaudible] expressed concerns that it would be going to affordable housing and not
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other affordable housing projects? >> you're speak egg about 2012 when the housing trust fund was created through proposition c, we designed it in a way that it would be used quite significantly for hope sf and that was expected along with other traditional affordable housing. what has changed since then is the so called rad envisioning program which was not anticipated until 2012, it was created about a year and a half ago and it has a heavy price tag to it and that was then programmed into the housing trust fund because of the available funds and that -- there's no other way to do it when the pie is shifted, it comes from another program and those use of funds, that's specifically what we've been speak tog and i think frankly this is a time to increase revenue televising's other revenues out there, we may be able to carry the envisioning
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program without it coming with a tradeoff with our other affordable housing but the hope sf program was always envisioned under prop g. >> the way i see seat 2 is a position to advocate the needs of low-income neighborhoods and i haven't heard necessarily how you advocate or connect with low-income communities and you can pick them, from me, i'm defining low-income communities, we can talk about public housing sites, ingleside, alex griffith, we've had success, groundbreaking, i just don't see you in that sphere and i don't feel supported by you in that vain and in that direction, so i would like to hear -- >> in public housing? >> public housing, working to get more of affordable housing
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on to the line, i feel like there's -- you've demonstrated an advocacy around extreme low-income but i would like the hear more about your ideas about more moderate income housing as well, but specifically first answer this part of the question about just the low-income neighborhoods and public housing, you're representing these folks and i don't see the or hear the connection. katrina said we need a lot of services, what are we doing that's not making this connection. you're on this body, i see you as this connect torx so there's clearly a break in making the connection, from those that have a pronounced need to those who know where the information is and bring them to where the resources are located. >> i'm going the answer the question to the role of this particular committee, my role
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in my own professional world in the advocacy work and working with actual organizations is different but again it bridgebacker brings out perspective. i understand because of that knowledge how an organization like chp connects housing services with job placement s*ftses with community development leadership services so i know under one roof how they're able to do a complete -- >> what is chp. >> community housing partnership, it is a housing organization but they frankly have kind of merged housing, economic development and community leadership specifically foe cushion on homeless people and transitioning from living on the streets to being in supportive housing. it's hard work, so i know from that how under one roof there's a lot of different things going on. what we don't see, what a lot of folks don't see is that the streams of funding that come into an organization like that are all decentralized.
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there's even within our cdbg portfolio, there could be three or four different grant that is are going to the same organization to fund different programs, on a spreadsheet, they seem disconnected but i do understand how they connect together and i understand how an organization can take that connective funding and do good work and impact folks on the ground because of that, that's how i see outcomes programs in a different way than someone who's a recipient of those services who may not see what the organization is doing and they could find fault, but where i see it from the standpoint of this committee is seeing how all these different grants do come together and in the whole have impacts on folks' lives and i do understand how those things work in very low-income communities and to your point, a lot of the committee is also focused on home ownership and
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moderate income housing needs as well, so i think there's quite a good mix of housing services and housing support, folks that are across the income levels and i know that stuff because that's my area of expertise. >> thank you very much for answering my questions. >> thank you very much, and so at this time then, i think you are our last applicant, we'd like to open up item 5 to public comment and if you can focus your comments on item 5. >> in helping out people in day of difficulties, people in poverty, [inaudible] bfrp they are awakening, (indiscernible). in dangers of everything are on to [inaudible] forever security. establishment of the law of
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[inaudible] humanity, [inaudible] the way government should perform. >> thank you very much. any other members of the public would wish to speak on item 5? alright, seeing none, then public comment is closed. so, colleague, colleagues,, okay, our chair is back. >> sorry, i had an emergency call to deal with, not an emergency though, so thank you, everyone, for your presentations, i'm not sure if my colleagues have talked about who they want to support. not yet? first off, i really want to support peter cohen who has come for reappointment on the committee. mr. cohen as you heard from his remarks
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[inaudible]. >> i also did like hearing from ms. hall and her experience and i absolutely agree with supervisor avalos and that it could be a great forum for her to learn about how funding decisions are made and how it is that we can better bridge sources to communities that need it. in termser of looking at what this committee does, i know that a lot of the decisions that are made has to do around funding and how you allocate grants, so i do see how mr.
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stafford could bring with his background with his strategic planning, background, some value to the community as well and someone who did not appear us before, mr. loftman, i really liked his background and what he brought to the table. he did reach out to our office and i know he couldn't make it because he was out of the country but he's someone who has expertise in affordable housing finance, he works for the oakland housing authority, so i think he brings a good perspective to the committee, so i would have liked to be able to appoint him to the committee, so with that said, i mean, i would agree with supervisor avalos on ms. hall at the moment since she appeared today before us and i'm open to the other three applicants. >> alright, thank you. so, i've got some thoughts and some hesitancies that i'm going to do my best to try to articulate.
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mr. stafford, i appreciate your interest, i think what i would have preferred to hear is a deeper understanding of san francisco and how these communities work and how it works with the cdbg block grant money and i think that you would be able to develop that understanding, one, exploring a little bit further than your neighborhood than sdrigt 6 and engaging in all parts of san francisco but also being able to spend more time haoe, as you live here a little long e you're able to dive deep into the different ethnic communities and the different -- really nuances that exist in the various different neighborhoods, i think you're on the pathway to a desire for service in a very manful way and i want to compliment your interest on that, but there's some steep competition in terms of folks having a deep body of
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knowledge on housing, on low-income community and what life is like, homelessness, a lot of the challenges we're facing in san francisco and also i want to encourage you the continue to dive in deep on the city budget and how it works and how it connects and always pay attention to where the disconnection is because it's where that disconnection is is where we're losing people and people are feeling that pressure and that stress, so with that said, i was moved by ms. hall's comments. i think that she has a lot of passion and fire and real-life experience and she really represents a certain constituency that i feel deeply connected to in a sense that the need and sometimes is far greater than -- and can be debilitating and preventing people to get out to where the resources are and making that connection and helping people make that connection. and my question with her earlier, i asked, what is the
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secret sauce, how do we produce more folks like ms. hall who are able to rise above some challenging circumstances and still be successful. that's what we're looking for because that's exactly what we want to duplicate so so* the residents of district 6 and district 10 and district 5 feel more, bayview hunter's point, people who are living in public housing, we can duplicate that and we can produce more strong members of our city and so empowering you and putting you in a leadership position might be the key to help us get there to continue to move in that direction so people can see themselves in you when you're speaking and when you're out there presenting and talking to people. so, how am i doing, am i articulating myself, you guys are following me? thank you, okay. so, now i didn't really get a chance to connect with mr. loftman because he couldn't be
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here today and that's really unfortunate because i think he could have really been just an interesting personality, so i'm going to say that, i wish i had more of an opportunity to know him, and so that leaves mr. peter cohen who we've done a lot of work with together in san francisco and has been serving for -- since 2011, so for about four years, so my conflict is that you've been serve ining this capacity for four years and have a tremendous body of knowledge and information but i'm afraid that the connection of your knowledge and body of information is not connecting to the community that needs to experience and can most greatly benefit from that knowledge, so i don't know what to do, so -- >> supervisor tang? >> through the chair, i would just say that again, mr.
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loftman did reach out to our office, as he shared with us, he does have 25 years of experience and the cdbg funding, and all of that, that was really attractive to to me, he understanding that structure, his day job working for the oakland housing authority, he is out of the country, he's someone i'm interested in having sit on this committee but i think we're all in agreement with ms. hall. >> let me ask a question. >> supervisor cohen? >> is it possible to move ms. hall forward and reserve -- i don't know if this is seat number 2 that we're talking about, so that mr. loftman can come when he's come and talked to us while he's in the country? i'm just looking to gather all the information. >> do we know when he's coming
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back into the country? >> i believe it's at the beginning of may. i can double check that, may 1, yes. >> do we know when we have the next committee meeting? >> may 14th. >> so, we wouldn't be able to put a person before -- our next meeting is may 12th. >> just so i have an opportunity to gather all the facts, if he doesn't measure up, i will take your recommendation and we can move forward. >> okay. if the committee wants to do that, i will, you know, if there's agreement about that, i'm ready to support mr. cohen based on his experience and i don't intend to vote for the other candidate, so we could have that vote right now, we can have it later, we'll have that vote. >> the motion that i'm proposing is that -- what seat did ms. hall apply for?
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>> one and two, okay. >> so, what i'm proposing is possibly -- >> if the committee wants to review mr. loftman? >> yes. >> we should choose to do that, it means that that seat will be empty when the committee meeting next, we'll have to go to the full board to approve these appointments ultimately, that seat will be vacant when the committee meets next. >> the committee will still have a quorum. >> i don't think it's a quorum issue. >> perfect, at this point, i would like to move a motion that we move ms. hall's nomination forward to the full board with a positive recommendation and that we bring in mr. loftman to come back and present and mr. cohen can also come back as well. >> just to clarify, so you want
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to appoint -- or recommend patrina hall to seat 1 and continue seat 2? >> just another point of clarification, does mr. loftman only qualify for eat 1? >> 1 and 2 have the same qualifications. >> alright, thank you very much, let's make a motion to appoint ms. hall to seat number 1 and we will table -- >> continue seat 2 to the next -- >> may 14th. >> may 14th meeting,. >> do you want to continue it to the call of the chair just to confirm that mr. loftman can be at the next meeting. >> we'll continue to the call of the chair and that's seconded by supervisor tang. and i will vote in favor of the motion because the committee actually wants to meet and i will honor the committee's request that we meet with mr. loftman, so i do intend to vote
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for mr. cohen based on his work and his experience and his -- i think he really brings something that is a good asset for this committee to really make good decisions moving forward and integrating those decisions with the department, so we can take that without objection. okay. >> thank you. >> our next item, please. >> item number 6 is a hearing to consider appointing three member, terms ending april 29 2019ed to the children and families first commission. there are three seats and three applicants. >> okay, very good. we have first five commission before us and some very, very qualified people applying. ms. linda asato is first. i don't have my notes in front of me will not attend. suzanne
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giraudo, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors to understand a little bit about who i am i have been on the commission, i am a practicing child and adolescent psychologist and i am director of the child development center at california pacific medical center, we're the largest provider of child development services in san francisco and in northern california. last year, serving, we had over 20 thousand visitors of children in the birth to 18 age range. i have an increased concern with birth to 5 services. since currently, one in 68 children are now diagnosed on
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the autism spectrum. at our pilot program at nems that we started in july, we screened 2000 children under the age of 5 and 16% of these children were in the high risk range needing further services, assessment and treatment. first five needs to continue the work in both developmental and mental health services for kids. what first five has done since developmental and behavioral services have significantly been overstretched in the city and county is first five has browsing together a consortium of ucsf, san francisco general,