>> anybody wish to comment in seeing none public comment is closed. >> motion to send this forward >> so moved. >> from supervisor mar. >> approved. >> that completes the agenda for today, thank you everyone, we are adjourned.secretary plea call the roll. city clerk: commissioner mcdonnell will be here momentarily and commissioner levitan has an excused absence. >> a few reminders. any sound producing devices please turn them off. public comment, how much time would you like to lou today. >> we don't have a huge crowd.

2 minutes on each item. >> the general manager's report item 5 g >> >> this morning an earthquake drill. it will appear that we are all going to have to leave city hall around 10:30 a.m.. this is a surprise. i don't know the to let everyone around the world.

act surprised with the bells go off. with that, that concludes my president's report. >> would anyone like to comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. when there is an evacuation, if anyone needs assistance you should go right across the hall to room 417. we are now on public comment. does anyone wish to make general public comment? being none, this item is closed. we are on item 5 on the calendar. would anyone like to make public comment on this consent calendar. >> with that amendment, so moved. >> moved and seconded. all in favor say, "aye". >> aye. >> any opposed? so moved.

>> tonya is here. we are on item 6. san francisco zoo. sorry, i didn't see you come in. >> i will make this quick. we are doing the shake out at the zoo as well. >> do the animals have to leave too? >> they can go to room 417 as well. >> okay, let me go through this quickly. we've had some questions about our lion cub, it's confirmed, he is a he. the mother is a pretty nervous mother. we've given her as much time as

we can. we just hosted 200 gardeners if you will professionals around the world at the hort culture conference. this is our natural gardens and settings. there is an old azh exhibit. it was a garden no longer suitable for animals. but all of the browse there go to our volunteers. we are going to celebrate our three red pandas, hilary and hunter. red pandas are coming around the world to

inform us of their endangered status. we have a halloween festival october 24th-25. lots of treats for everyone and animals at the zoo. the polar bear, we have taken two of her grottos. and with lemonade sales and turned this into a wolves grotto. that's the mexican gray wolf. we are providing shelter for

these two mexican gray wolves. they have gotten in a bit of conflict with ranchers. and we have the zoo lights and the fun way to get folks to the zoo during the holidays. that completes my report. >> thank you. >> is there any public comment on this item? being none, public comment was closed. this was discussion only. >> so we are now on item 7, the joseph playgrounds renovation. >> good morning, commissioners, karen, project sponsor -- prince for the landscape andrea landscape architecture. they want you to see a little

bit of a design. i'm very happy that the recreation and parks department were able to bring this together for this department. they are focusing on the civic center plaza and i think this is a really great addition and i wanted to to add that this wording should be discussion and possible action for the approval of the design for the pragd at joseph civic center plaza and approval of the naming of the playground. approval of this proposed action by the commission is the approval action as defined by the sf administrative code chapter one. helen diler playgrounds at civic center. this playground will match all the

images of the presentation and terms of the mou. >> thank you. >> hi. i'm jennifer isaac with the public trust and land. given our information here i just wanted to say what an exciting moment this is to bring new life to a distinguished civic plaza and we are honored to be part of this for this place making process which will bring new opportunities for the plaza and importance for the space and not just for the neighborhood for children and families but also for tours and

children around the city. we want to thank you for this project. it's been a comprehensive effort to bring together the designs. i'm going to run through the project. it's inspiring and fun safe place for families and unique spaces with the civic center. increased programming opportunities with cultural institutions and engage and activate children's sense of play. they are in the north and south corners of mcallister and larken. they are dated. they need to be

revitalized. in our process we sent out hundreds of surveys to collect data about the playground. they are very well used. people like the location there so they are staying there. the context is lacks groups sitting areas and facilities that make it a good place to stay for a while and some strange stuff. view is obstructed and there is unclear pedestrian access. we also had, we had about 14 community workshops and focus groups with a really wide range of people with playground use and opportunities. the schoolwork shops. the kids were given thoughtful design critic to the national architect and what they drew about what would be a phenomenal place they don't see in san francisco yet. this is a lcfs -- list of the

city agencies and institutions involved with input up to date. i will say the input has been extremely constructive. there is a lot of great design input that we've gotten and we know there is going to be a lot of support for the project moving forward. in summary, what we heard can be distilled into a desire for two equally great playgrounds. right now they are different sizes and they offer amenities but we want to have good bounds within the civic plaza inclusive play for all including all ages and abilities, want to be safe and secure and more fun and active and engaging play experiences and keep the locations where they are and act in more experiences and key experiences

with the playground. it's always full accessibility, safety and high consideration for security operations and maintenance. that runs throughout an absolute given. this is what emily is going to present now for what the new concept design is going to be. >> good morning, commissioners. i'm emily with landscape architecture. i'm going to run through the design. this is a site diagram showing some of the key core site concepts. one we had with the playground is to increase the playground with the plaza and to increase the symmetry with city hall. the main design inspiration is coming from the movement of fog throughout city in the way it gets trapped on buildings and trees and radio

towers. where a forest is a series of slender poles and they are the play structure themselves and the necessitates light and transparent. here is a concept diagram of two equally great symmetrical playgrounds and these tethered cloud structures and become each of the playgrounds. here is an overview of the two playgrounds. the left is the south playground and the one on the right is the north playground. here is an overview of the concepts of north playground and the shapes we have been discussing. in each of the playgrounds we are continuing to have swings. we have two sets of swings in this north playground. one of the main play elements here is called sky punch which is an elevated platform through a series of necessitates -- nets with the

slide at the top. we have a pond which has crawl tubes. we also have a feature called rainbow curtain with the tic-tac-toe elements and a narrative graphic piece for the younger kids. this is an overview of the south playgrounds. we are looking from the corner by the library. we have two sets of swings in this playground. the large play feature we are calling a cloud with a spiral net system that comes back to the ground. the 2-4-year-old area is called

cumulus city and allows kids to crawl through them. there is another piece with fog valley that adds climbing and monkey bars. a piece called stratus area, a performance area. this is a view from larken looking back at the playgrounds and getting a sense of these slender poles. this is a concept for the done or signage along the perimeter. this is a view towards the asian art museum of the staple playground. this is the south playground from the library and again looking back

towards the library. another play feature that's incorporated with the playground design is the light play feature. there has been a big desire to connect the two playgrounds thematically and conceptually and allows us to amplify that connection. there is two features that has a light at the top of the forest that turn on and off according to movement in the playground. and the second piece is called the fluid floor and it's an interactive art piece that's projected on the ground between the playgrounds. you see the yellow dots there. it allows that space to be activated but doesn't get in the way of events and other issues in the plaza. i'm going to show you a quick

video of the fluid floor. >> while she sets up for that, i got a text that supervisor jane kim wanted to be here but she couldn't due to time. thank you. >> we are not going to show you the video due to time. can you see it on your screens? it responds to people's motions projected on the art museum.

you want me to show the other one? >> it will look better. this is the video of the pixel poles. you see the twinkling lights at the playground. the left and south playground on the right. it's the north playground. you can imagine this piece together with the other video that we showed that creates a kind of a continuous movement across the front of the plaza. >> thank you very much.

that concludes the presentation. >> thank you very much. >> is there anyone who would like to make public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioners? >> very quickly commissioner because it's worth noting, i just want to extend my thanks to the diler family for their amazing generosity for the vision in san francisco and to the ptl for their support and tackling one of the most important projects in our city and my own planning staff for the work. our strategic plan is focused on civic center and civic center activation and making it the plaza that it should be and this is one of the most important projects. >> couldn't agree more. >> commissioner bonilla? >> yes, a point of

clarification here. we will still be having in that area the citywide events that we usually have? >> yes. we are working very closely with operation staff to make sure that during both construction of the project but also afterwards that they will be able to withstand the kind of things the plaza goes through. >> we'll provide enough security and whatever is needed to make sure that those new playground areas remain as well maintained as they should be? >> we are working closely with the events. they will all be coordinated during the events but that is all top priority. >> thank you. >> before i ask for a vote. i want to echo what the general manager's comments. i think it's stung. -- stunning. i

don't know if it's given the attention that it deserves. it's a spectacular design and it will get a lot of use and ptl and the effects and the diler family. many many thanks. with that note, i will entertain a motion. >> so moved. all in favor say, "aye". >> aye. >> any opposed? so moved. >>clerk, please -- we are now on item 8. open space fund contingency reserve fund. >> i was asked to give you the bridge version here. the item that is before you is discussion possible action for $885, 665 for open space fund contingency reserve to fund fy 15-16

deferred maintenance projects. it was dedicated to deferred maintenance. this year that number $885,600, it's the most significantly deteriorated pathways in our park system. most of the existing hard scapes have fallen into disrepair. upheaval from tree roots and/or soil erosion. great irregularities due to settling and other landscape causes. if approved we are going to review two very important data base, electronic work data base which shows

which parks in disrepair are in the main category and we could not get to them as they are too large or too expensive and the evaluations to see which hard escape areas have failed over time in repeatedly quarterly park evaluations. we pile data from this file and come up with a list with how far we can make this list go in repairing these hard scape areas. additionally with this money as part of the new initiative plan to allocate 5% of the deferred maintenance fund balance to dedicated to analyzing and looking at our annual and historic resources to determine what we need to do for conservation and preservation. if approved, 5% of this fund

balance was $44,280. that would leave $820. we ask that you approve this amount for those two purposes. public is there any additional public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed.. >> it's been moved and seconded. all in favor say, "aye". >> aye. >> any opposed? >> we are on item 9. india basin memorandum of understanding approval. powerpoint, please. >> okay, commissioners, i'm not sure we are going to be able to get through one in six 6 minutes but we'll try our best. two main issues on the calendar

today. the item before you is the memorandum of understanding for the plan on the project. there has been much discussion about the city on growth and the water front. this slide is from the planning department and the economic workforce development and gives you a sense of the incredible growth that is happening in the region in our city by 2040. the planning department representing new households and 50,000 new jobs and open spaces in a variety of areas. we are going to focus on a small piece of it which is the india basin. as you know when this came before you last year or 15 months ago, the city acquired 900 in esnes which the

in the heart of the india basin and to the open space. after acquiring that property we were awarded a conservative grant for public outreach. preparation analysis and environmental studies and a conceptual plan with cost estimates. this is the core elements with our strategic plan with identifying public space opportunities to meet the growth in the city and particularly in communities lacking in open space. we have contracted with the trust for public land for project planning purposes. you are going to hear from them a little bit. tcl has environmental consultants and we are working with other partners. i'm going lay this out in a second to really plan for what will be a

remarkable spectacular new park in the region. that in our mind equates to either a christy field type project or moving across the country, a brooklyn bridge type project. i want to share with you a little bit of background about the india basin water front parks. there are several parse -- parcels in the area with the north side park with the development project. that project is about 13 acres and linear is a good partner in the project. moving north is india basin open space. this is existing open space belonging to recreation and parks. it's an open space project called big green. the developer build was planning

housing and mixed use in the area and that is about 7.5 acres of open space. this is about almost 2 acres of open space right in the middle of the hub and includes the cottage. continuing north india basin shoreline park which is a project that we worked on with ppl many years ago. it's a 6-acre parcel. 100 shoreline trail, this is the old pg & e power plant

commissioner, we are ready to go. >> let us reconvene. >> jackie, margaret can you help jackie with the slide. we are right there. the item before you commissioners is an mou with our partners in the india basin water front vision and planning process. just to describe a little bit about what the key goals about this process are one, to ensure that all the seven properties that you saw before the break, look feel an operate as an integrated park system. so they

are proposals for framing, access, habitat, restoration, ecological and stewardship and planning and we put into community organizations and other agencies to help guide us in our planning and the future development of this pretty amazing park. to talk a little bit about and again the vision process is a meld of community input on design and programming with a lot of technical information about the area. it is a very tricky area to design a park and to make programming choices. so you can see some of the technical work that has happened there includes a brownfield assess many and geotechnical report and topography and surveys --

surveys. >> the park alliance is our partner to make sure we are collecting as much community input as we can and jackie will give a relative short presentation about some of the efforts we have taken on. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i have had the pleasure of working with recreation and parks and the institute in the creation of a wonderful and amazing park. as you can see we have assembled and task force that is very inclusive and representative of the communities in the south east. in addition we've engaged a

variety of stakeholder to have a really comprehensive and robust participatory process to make sure it is inclusive of the needs and wants of the current and future residents. we've engaged a variety of individuals to form, consult, collaborate and partner. as you can see from these slides up here. we are looking for, we have success indicators to determine awareness and engagement and support around the plan. we have a time line which we shared widely with the community and residents there. that kind of outlines the process and the next steps are and how individuals become involved and engaged and give input in the process. we have engaged a variety of partners including property owners and partners including

the trust for public land. we have apri here and parks 94124 and green action that has helped us with the community going door to door and providing transportation to residents of public housing and we are boots on the ground going door to door to make sure residents of the southeast neighborhoods are aware of what's happening. we produced flyers in english and chinese. we have a website available. the social media updates and

regular e-mail and newsletter and surveys so residents can provide input in a method that works for them. we have areas in the southeast neighborhoods. we are trying to penetrate all the hills in the very meaningful and robust way. outreach today we've had task force meetings with a lot of insight with what the residents would like to see. in addition we've done streets in the bayview and another task force meeting and additionally we've done a variety of other out reaches. we've gone to the ellis association meetings and this saturday at eco center and really just trying to solicit feedback and make sure that residents know once again what is going on and know where they can provide input and feedback and help really design the look and feel of

this amazing park of which they deserve. >> jackie, thank you very much. we want to talk about the task force to create a design. it starts with an rfq process with minimum requirements that include wetland experiences, experience with contaminated process, historic preservation and install multi-sites and this is going to be a pretty big project. the rfk rfq process and we are

going to get submissions and we have a competition advisor and we are going to reduce these to three finalist and they are going to be provided with a design brief which is one of the reasons we have this vision in process and task force to help us create the design brief and the finalist are going to prepare their proposals publically and they will be exhibited and we have a selection jury which is going to be comprised of three professionals and three community members and we are going to collect a winner. the submissions are going to be evaluated on the criteria developed by the task force through the pros, design excellence, focus on conservation and habitat restoration, respect to

the character of the site, sustainability and some of the processes, the more technical aspects of the site and community engagement. so we are really excited about that next step. now, very briefly to the mou. the key partners to the mou are the primary land owners in the project areas which are build inc. which is the park designs. to establish the work plan and roles and responsibilities with the partners because this is a complex project with a number of partners and to really focus on to really nail down some of the financial relationships of the project. i'm going to take you through another slide. we are thrilled an gracious to build inc. for their commitment.

they have expressed a really significant and noble commitment to the open space and the project and they understand that they are blessed enough to have a sight which is a part from an open space perspective. as part of some of their engagement with the city they are working with the economic and workforce development. this is what they are making to the open aspects of the project. the project area we mentioned all of those other partners, the pg & e and port parse -- parcels. it's what we refer to as the project core in our meetings. turning to the next slide you can get a sense of the financial commitment to the project which is helping us advance

the planning and community outreach and the preliminary design of this rather monumental undertaking. their commitments add up to $1 million. it will take us to the design composition. they are our primary funders along with the grant from the coastal conservancy grant to $500,000 and the project which is the real source of the fund for the preliminary outreach and design and the work that needs to be done and their commitments will take us to commitments and will take us through schematic designs. we are really grateful for their support and of course always thankful to park and lands for their support on the project. the project has a lot of support. i think you are going to hear from some folks during public comment in

a second. i feel really really pleased with the level of outreach that's happened through the process. i want to conclude, is to invite our partners to speak for a minute or two. i'm going to start with gina, from public land who is the director and grew up in this neighborhood and has been very very focused on this project success. >> good afternoon. president buell and commissioners, thank you. we have worked in partnership with you for over 40 years to help craft san francisco's excellent city park system. as a project partner i'm compelled by this project importance on so many levels. the shoreline is to provide access and equity to the most historic neighborhoods in the city's southeast. projects like this are brought

me from the position in the ymca in san francisco to the public trust and lands. this gives the community in partnership with others to ensure a health climate smart california with access to nature for all. developing the india basin in water front parks are problematic in priority through california. this will be a project of the national trust republic land as well. our local parks where people team, this is by jennifer andal alexandra and the recent success of the park. in addition to the local expertise we bring, state and national

expertise, state and federal lobbyist who can advocate for and help develop funding and through california and national experts on climate, to create a place for public health. we are pleased to codify this partnership with the city. thank you for listening and thoughtful leaders and those who come together to make this work. >> thank you, of course you already heard from jackie representing the park alliance on their critical role. i would now like to invite michael from their perspective. >> commissioners, great to be here today and we are very excited about this partnership. it is a true partnership. i just want to personally thank phil who is one of the more entrepreneurial partners in the city. i want to say the india base and neighborhood association and

sue ellen, the president is here today and will speak during public comment. i want to give them credit. they came to us with their vision and we embraced the vision and it was easy to pick up the phone and call phil and he's the kind of guy to say, this is a crazy idea but i would like to try it. by being proactive and taking some risk and funding money we can have a park a lot faster than a normal process. we can have ceqa happen and much faster through the capital planning process. these are windows of opportunity. you understand we are developing our site, there was an amazing acquisition that happened. teaming together, everyone wins. we are thrilled that public parks and land is

helpful and we are folked -- focused on nationwide plans and happy to share that vision. thank you. >> while they are not here before i conclude my report i want to thank the port, pg & e linear. these are all going to create a spectacular park in the basin. city clerk: we have public comment. one card. linda richardson. if anyone else would like to speak, please come upfront. public speaker: good morning. my name is linda richardson. i'm a long time resident and here today representing the morgan high

homeowners association. i want to make a quick comment here. what an outstanding leader you have in your manager and mr. ginsberg. everybody loves working with him. on that note, the alliance that your commission has sphere headed and what you heard a minute ago, the trust of public land and the bayview's hunters point and san francisco alliance. this is an opportunity for the residents of san francisco to realizes a world class water front park in the west coast. something that will have a national prominence. the purpose of the wetland is

to key this development and for the residents that you are going to hear from really appreciate that we have a consolidated effort to plan this thing and we know this is a legacy project. all we are asking is for your blessing and endorsement and we'll be back to let you know about the progress. thank you for your time. >> thank you. city clerk: if anyone else wants to comment, please come up and line-up up here and c'mon up. we are on a bit of a time crunch. thank you. to the city's capit

planning committees. the measure also addresses. the charter amendment requires the department to submit an

operational plan to the commission with our annual or maybe biannual moving forward every 2 years budget submissions. the operational plan will be based on the strategic plan and will include a list of the strategic plan objectives and initiatives that the department intends to accomplish during the next fiscal period. finally this legislation proposes that the controllers city services auditor conduct a performance audit of recreation and parks every 4 years under our strategic plan. if the audit finds the department did not comply with the plans in the charter, the board may place up to 5% of the department's new baseline appropriation on reserve until the department can demonstrate progress needing the requirements in the

charter. this measure obviously contains some really important benefits for the department. for me the single most important thing is that it creates stability for our budget and insulates us from having to make cuts from economic down turns. we would no longer be subject to mayor's instruction requiring reduction to the general fund subsidy. the 2015-2016 budget is a particularly strong year to baseline with the general fund subsidy to $2.4 million which is a 2-year high for the department. however it's important to note that the baseline does come with a trade off. with guaranteed general fund support comes the requirement that

recreation and parks absorb this. it will be $1.3 million annually over the baseline. the proposed $3 million an increase to our general fund support will benefit the department. once we have covered our cost increases we will have between $1.3 million for park rangers to diffuse the maintenance backlog. we estimate approximately $200 million in net revenue to support the capital plans. this propose changes to the

planning requirement and simplify the processes. in particular aligning the plans with strategic plan and the budget cycle, support strategic plan implementation and

>> grew up here in san francisco. our recreation and parks it was obvious. as we spent the last few months talking about this idea. it's great to see how important

parks are to them and to their quality of life in san francisco. this has been a very inclusive process and i really want to thank not only the recreation and parks department and all for their advocacy around this issue. we spent a lot of time on the language and the measure itself. this is not going to cure everything within our recreation and parks but will make sure our recreation and parks department is on stable footing for the next generation for my children and grandchildren. i have never been one of a fan of set asides. but i have seen firsthand as our city budget has grown, the recreation and parks has not kept up pace. from my reference parks is a priority for me. i want to make sure this is on

going in the future. this has been a very collaborative process and very excited about moving forward with this. thank you for being part of this. >> supervisor, thank you, we appreciate your lynch -- leadership role in all of this. >> to conclude our presentation a thanks to the mayor's office for this. i had the pleasure to be with the mayor at the walk through at the joe demaggio playground that he mentioned the importance of our open space. i appreciate his leadership and understanding of the importance of taking some steps to make sure that we have some sustainable funds for

that. we would not be here without our partners and san francisco alliance. i will let them talk about their journey about taking this piece of add vocey as a goal. we are so grateful to have the long-term open space in san francisco. i thought i would bring up, we are very lucky today in addition to the park alliance and ceo, we have the current board chair, kelly nice and the founding board chair rosemary kammen who knows about this. i'm going to ask them to come together to give a joint presentation. >> okay. bring them on up. >> in the interest of time,

president buell and members of the commission, i just wanted to make three very quick points because i believe all the important points have already been said about this. but on behalf of the board of the san francisco parks alliance and as the chairperson of our north star committee which set this large goal of placing on the ballot at some future date, now we have a future date. next year a sustainable funding measure for recreation and parks department for the much needed and much loved department. our board put it's money where it's mouth is for financial resources and incredible staff and countless hours by our board to ensure this can help. we have published still seeking green which is a follow up to the

spur report of 2011 really underscoring the incredible need for additional funding for maintenance for recreation and parks. we committed to working closely with the board of supervisors. we could not have had a better author in supervisor farrell who is chair of the budget committee knows more deeply to what has happened to the recreation and parks department historically and crafted a really i think excellent solution at least to make significant differences in the funding levels for the department inform -- for over the next 15 years. we are also as a board deeply committed with the mayor's office. that was extremely different for our board and the entire approach revolved around working closely with the mayor's

office. in closing what is very important for all of you to hear is that not only are we hoping that you will endorse this significant measure today, but we as the san francisco parks alliance board are committed to work to get this approved by the board of supervisors and we are also committed financially and on a very personal level to support this as it moves forward to the voters in 2016. so you have our commitment to that. we do hope you will be offering your endorsement for the measure today. >> thank you. >> thank you, rosemary. commissioners, please take a quick look at the charter that was distributed to you earlier. this is an update to the now rather famous chart. i'm looking at this version here. four key accomplishment that this charter amendment would be put

into place and katie highlighted to you. the first one is no more cuts. with this baseline put into place, even in an economic down turn the city would be prohibited from reducing the department's budget from the previous year's level. that's the first thing and that stabilizes the funding stream and grows the budget on a gradual bases $3 million each year and that's slightly gradual in the city's budget over all. third, it protects the earned income that the recreation and parks makes through its concessions and program attic activities to retain the income over the next few years. that is a comparison change to the practice. and finally in addition to the fine tuning of the planning

requirements in place, a couple of key changes is that it mandates that planning work be funded. quite a concept and finally it mandates that the controllers office perform that audit that the plan is being performed in order to protect the growth in the funding. together the stabilized through the department's financing and put a path of our north star goal of maintenance and operations in the parks. we are very excited to be moving with this charter department. thank you. >> president buell commissioners, i would like to reiterate what mark farrell sell. -- said. this was truly a team effort. the mayor's office, parks alliance and our community advocates as well as most if not all of your members and commission. our parks have over $1 billion

in value in san francisco. we are really looking forward to support the parks. thank you. >> thank you very much and thanks for your personal attention in getting this done. >> is there any additional public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> commissioners? >> commissioner low? >> just a quick question, phil. how does this play out when we go to the voters on the 2016 charter amendment and then for another bond? >> i think that's more of a political question than a policy question. we are scheduled to go to the voters in 2018 for the next bond. and there is precedent in city history for both operations.

muni has had different types of funding measure, the school district has had it and there are very different needs. >> do think that there has been a little bit of data gathering whether that is an issue and i don't think it is. >> seeing no other comments, entertain a motion. >> vote to approve. >> second. >> all in favor say, "aye". >> aye. >> any opposed? so moved. thank you very much. city clerk: we are now on item 11. south park renovation project. >> good morning. i will be brief. the item before you is an award of construction contract for the south park renovation and the community opportunity fund grant in the amount of $200,000 to go

towards the construction of the project. this project is that 2012 identified capital project. it was brought to this commission back in february 2014 with a conceptual plan as well as an agreement with the department and the improvement association for the design and construction. we've been working for the past year in developing the plans as it went out to bid back in july. in september open bids received an astounding eight bids for the project within our reach of the $2.5 million construction budget. since then we have received a protest and evaluating the bids and staff is ready to recommend award of the contract to