and i feel this has opened up the dialogue on budget set-a sides and what the impacts are on the general fund as well as on other set-a sides or existing baselines if new ones are add. i think there is a lot of education around this issue. because sometimes budgeting matters get complicated. it's been a great experience trying to explain to everyone what exactly this measure does and how it relates to the rest of the city's budget. with that said, we certainly heard from folks that they wanted more time to chime in on this. at this time, i'd like o continue this for discussion on the -- like to continue this for discussion on the november ballot. i don't know if we table it or discontinue it. >> deputy city attorney. >> deputy city attorney john jon

givner. if you table it to the chair, it's best to amend the date as supervisor safai did with the charter amendment so the clerk doesn't file it after the march deadline. >> per that recommendation, i'd like to amend the date like supervisor safai did on the m.t.a. measure so our intention is to continue the discussion as it relates to the november ballot measure. but of course, as i said last time, if anyone wants to reach out to our office to learn more and gain a better understanding of what this would do or suggestions you you have, please contact my office. colleagues, after public comment, i would like to have you make a motion to that effect. >> thank you, any other colleagues wish to comment on this item? right now? let's take public comment. any memples the public wish to comment, please come forward. waw to line up to the right.

-- if you want to line up to the right, you have two minutes. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i'm co-chair of the [inaudible] coalition. i'm here on behalf of the coalition. we're happy with supervisor tang to continue this item to the november ballot. many of my colleagues stated at the hearing last week, we're strongly opposed to this legislation in the current form for attempting to claw back funding from the dignity fund as it was intended to be as the voters stated in the 2016 per dedicated funding, that's what we wanted it to be. we needed to grow for future needs of the growing disability

and senior community. we are dedicated to having a dialogue with supervisor tang and her office between now and november. we appreciate the supervisor tang wanting us to have a dialogue. we look forward to communicating more with her office in expressing our opposition to any future legislation. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker. >> i'm margaret broadkin and i have a deep interest in the children's fund as i believe you know, having been involved in the creation ever the children's fund.

i'm so happy to hear you are going to continue this. this has not been a conversation, there needs to be a much more robust conversation. i did want to point out that it is a cut when you propose a flat budget to any program or labor group. it's a cut in their ability to provide services. it's a cut in a family's ability to support themselves. i don't think it is fair to say this isn't a cut. i would propose that the current measure has a lot of problems in it. some of which are specific, but very general problem that i see if you want to continue with a discussion, i think we should start again. i think we should ask ourselves the question of why in this very rich city are we talking about budget deficits and that when we have that conversation, that all of the players with who are

stakeholders in the budget participate in that. that would include labor. that would include capital costs. that would include departments. that would include police and fire. not just have a conversation about the very things that the public has voted on as priorities and were voted on because they weren't given adequate attention in the budget. thank you. [applause] >> next speaker. >> goomp. my name is reese, i'm -- good afternoon, my name is reese. i'm with friends of the public library. i want to thanks for continuing this conversation. as we discussed last week, there is a number of concerns, i think, that we would like to address. there is a number of concerns generally that i know you are trying to address. i'd be happy to and i know our organization would be happy to talk with you and work with you further on your interests in

this overall issue and how we can work together on it for the future. again, just like margaret seed, you know -- margaret said, the library happened through this because originally there were a number of cuts happening before the citizens took it to the ballot. we'd like to talk with you further about how this would move forward. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> i'm michael bleker. i want to speak in opposition to the charter amendment and hopefully it will have some changes. specifically, i want to speak on behalf of the dignity fund which is opened the system up for seniors, the growing problem of seniors and disabled adults in san francisco. where i work, we see an

increasing number of seniors. there are approximately 30,000 veterans in san francisco. 30% are seniors. it's a problem that has not been addressed by the current budget process. this is a way, this is what we do, went directly to the ballot and vets were called out in that proposition. it was a way for us to get into the system which hadn't been addressing our needs. it calls for an assessment of the what needs are for seniors in san francisco. that will be -- we'll follow that and look to that for the direction, but again, this charter amendment is not really the way to handle that. we'd love to see, you know, the flawed system addressed in a transparent way. we know that it could be improved and we look forward to that. thank you.

>> hello supervisors, debbie from the san francisco human services network. i also spoke last week. i'm going to not repeat myself and just say that i think margaret put it so well, that i want to parrot everything she said. i also keep thinking about something supervisor peskin said last week that it's a practical matter. this is a ready-made charter amendment with built-in opposition from everybody i can think of. people with children will hate it, senior also anticipate haight it. people who go to the park also hate it. it's going to be a difficult haul on the ballot with such built-in opposition at every level. without a conversation, and a good solid policy conversation with stakeholders, i don't see

how satisfied reform is going to even work or is going to pass. so, because of that, i really appreciate you listening to the stakeholders. and having this deferred to november will take into account all the set-a sides we have in the city and hopefully something can be agreed upon to address those conversation conversationt picking winners and losers. thank you. >> thank you very much. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. my name is lisa. i'm here with the [inaudible] i wanted to thank you first for

listening. last week we came and we spoke and especially to supervisor fewer and supervisor [inaudible] when they said at the moment they could not be in support of this. to you too, because i think that it is great that for the first time in so many years that i've been coming here, i feel like you guys started to listen to the community. thank you. and i hope that something better can happen and that this measure doesn't lead to be impulsed. >> thank you very much. next speaker, please. >> hi, katie norman.

you know me. sueser pfeifer. i'm a member of the fdr democratic club for seniors and people with disabilities. we've been part of the dignity fund coalition since the passage of it. i know the legislation called for real needs to adapt to the changing needs. right now the funds can be rolled over and used for other needs as the year goes on or the next year. the fdr club gave the dig noit - dignity colaition their award because i've witnessed the carefulness with with which this organization issued the funds, they know this is precious money and it saves and enhances lives. this protects people's lives. they have been so careful with administering the funds. i would hate to see it go away.

this is something historic and i'm proud of san francisco for passing. and i hope we can keep it going. thank you. >> thank you very much. next speaker, please. >> i'm the organizer of [inaudible] we'd like to add our voice to everyone who has spoken. also, many of the society-asides built in inequities. hting for the same things and set-asides protect our population. trigger cuts somehow, i don't think we need them because there is a built-in reduction. many of the set-asides go down. that's how i understand it. i appreciate this chance to talk

more about this. i think these are voter han vot- voter-approved mandates. we have to honor that. we are san francisco. we want to protect the programss that are near and dear to our hearts. thank you very much for listening to us and for considering more discussions and make it a meaningful amendment, if needed, thank you. >> thank you very much. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon committee members. i'm john osaki. seeing how the legislation is going to get delayed, i'll represent them. i didn't get a chance to express my views on this last week, so i thought i'd talk a few moments

do that here today. i think all of us should be concerned about the so solvencyf the city and finances. if this measure is meant to help address that, then in the months ahead, i urge you and all of you to look at this, not just from the standpoint of how set-asides effect the solvency of the city, but how many factors affect the solvency of the city. i don't think i have to tell you that the projected deficits we're looking at in the future are not because of set-asides. there are many factors contributing to that. if that is the goal, then let's look at this in a holistic manner and not single out specific issues and, in this case, resources that are -- i have to say this, that many of us feel that when times get

tough, they're seen as nonessential. they're seen as services that are not critical to people and i think what i feel, and i think what many of the people here feel is that the services are vital to the people we serve and well-being of san franciscans. if we're going to address the issue of solvency, let's take it from a holistic view. thank you, very much. >> next speaker and if anyone else wants to comment, please line up by the podium. >> good afternoon. i was here last week. i'm working for the population homelessness for over two decades. 24 years. so what i want to talk about is

our families, homelessness. first thing i would like to ask you or tell you, if you want to do changes, if you want to do these amendment changes in doing something different for better, i would love to see you guys go into the community and involving all the community. i don't think the process is involving the community. it can be at some point, but i really, when you guys go down to the community and assemble with them and collect recommendations from the community, these kinds ever changes can be more valuable. when it comes this way, and doing the changes, this way is not going to work. you want to make noises. we have to understand that we

have so many homeless people in san francisco. we have more than a thousand meme that need to go to a shelter. it's cold like hell. imagine if you and your kids or if you want to go to sleep at night, this a serious issue. i would like to work together and create something more realistic about how we want to end homelessness. how we want to create housing. so i would like to be part of this process and would like to invite the families and homeless people together to come together with us and decide how -- >> thank you.

thank you. [off mic] i apologize because i have to cut your time off because everybody needs the same amount of time. >> [off mic] >> thank you. thank you for your comments, sir. thank you. and any other members of the public who would like to speak on this item? seeing none, i don't know who the vice chair is here, but if

he can close public comment. okay. >> i think public comment is closed. have we made a motion on this? >> no, i wanted to respond quickly to the members who came out and thawpg for your input. as i -- thank you for your input. when supervisor peskin took up this measure, we knew it was unpopular to do this. but being the two members of the board who care a lot about our city's financial health, we felt it was a conversation definitely worth starting. as you can see, many of you work hard in your fields, care a lot about your work and all of your baselines set-asides that you helped get on to the ballot and successfully reflect the value that all of us share in your work. i want to acknowledge that. we as solemakers, when we're --

policymakers when we're budgeting, we have to make really difficult tradeoffs that i think, you know, members, if you care about the libraries, you don't have to make the tradeoff. if you care about children funds, you don't have to make the tradeoff. we do when it bad budget times, we're forced to decide whether we close the homeless shelter or increase the baseline. that puts us in an unpopular position. but this is a dialogue i think is worth having. with that said, i look forward to the conversation. this is not the only measure or only tool i think to address our budget issues. i know many people are working on a variety of things to address our city's financial health in the future. this is not the only thing. in fact, i don't think this does very much. with at that said, colleagues, i'd like to ask a committee member to make a motion to amend

the november ballot and amend to the call of the chair. >> i'll make that motion. but before we finish this up, i'd like to say again, i want to thank supervisor tang and peskin for bringing this issue forward as a discussion. i think it's only fair, i mean as some of the public mentioned, that when you look at what is causing any type of deficit, is it because of these set-asides alone? or are there other issues. as we all know, one of the things we keep on talking about, as an issue we need to tackle at some point, we just keep on kicking this issue -- kicking it down the line, which is really, the pension issue.

i think at some point, ey a fewf us need to bring it up and say, by the way, to keep us healthy financially in the city, we need to take on this issue. once again, thank you very much. i made a motion. >> i second that. >> okay. can you repeat the motion for me, please? can you repeat -- we're amending iuntil the november ballot. first and seconded the item is moved and ordered. please call the next item. >> we're going back to item three which has been called but for the members of the public, it's a charter amend regarding revenue bonds for the power facilities. >> we've been joined in the chamber by supervisor peskin workinworking with supervisor tn this item. >> thank you. we have one small amendment.

i apologize for not bringing copies. but the city attorney can read it to you and hopefully my staff will come with a hard copy for you to see. it is a very small amendment suggested by the former general manager of the public utilities commission that seems to be acceptable to all parties. >> can i ask a point of clarification on your amendment. will this require us to have an additional hearing? >> yes, any amendment to charter amendment will require an additional hearing. >> is this amendment that you're making, is it -- can you talk a little bit about it? is it something that is necessary? >> so, i think that staff from the p.u.c. feels that it will give them more flexibility.

so to that end, i think -- because you don't have another special meeting. >> we would have to schedule an additional meeting to have an additional hearing. maybe john, can you come forward? or -- i didn't see you there. >> general manager for power. so as the supervisor mentioned, we've taken some additional input from former general manager and controller ed herrington who has been working in his retirement on change tots rules. the rule changes will be coming out. they're the accounting rules that apply, lay the foundation for bonds and our relationship with the bond community. the legislation will provide us with more flexibility, the changes that are coming forward

through the accounting standards board are allowing for additional assets to be capitalized. we want to make sure that the language in the city charter supports that. so we are supportive of the amendment that the supervisor has brought to you. >> now to read it into the record, the language, thank you to my staff. you see in red, and adds otherwise for any lawful purpose of the clean water or power utilities of the city and furtherance of the purposes here prprovided,. >> okay. any additional questions or comments? seems like that sentence repeated itself. but that's okay. they say that's what we need to have. i guess -- or otherwise any

lawful purpose. that sounds like that's the operative change. deputy city attorney, givner, do you want to opine on this? for those of us who are not attorneys, it sounds like the sentence repeated itself. >> deputy -- >> you say three things in the same way to make it 100 percent clear. i see water, clean water and power. can you tell us why this is necessary? >> it's a policy decision for the board whether to amend this charter amendment. the p.u.c. is requesting it. -- requesting it because of a concern the current charter language constricts the agency's ability to issue revenue bonds

for certain types ever projects. >> it look hr -- types of projects. >> it looks like "for any lawful purpose" is the operative word there in addition to everything else. it repeats "of the water or clean water or purposes herein provided." >> if it was for any lawful purpose, that would be an extremely broad delegation. it is related to water, clean water and power. >> okay. i see a lot of conversations going on. do you want to just -- you feel okay about it? this is what you want? it looks like it says the same thing five times over. i think the -- or otherwise, any lawful purpose, is the operative word. >> as set forth by staff. this will allow for more

flexibility and would recommend it. and i thank you because i know it will require one more special meeting. but i promise it will be quick. >> okay. we can -- we'll -- i think we have time next week, end of the week if you guys are around. we'll work with your staff to make sure that we can. does anyone want to make a motion to accept these amendments? wait, we have public comment. public comment first. any members of the public wish to comment on this item, pleads pleads -- please come forward. seeing none, public comment is closed. >> i make a motion to accept this amend. >> a second without objection. this item is ordered. then this item will be continued to a special hearing either the first or second of february, it looks like. then we'll work with your staff to make sure that works.

any other items before us today? >> it will be continue to the kawfl the chair? >> continued to the kawflt chair, yes, sorry. any other items before us today? >> that concludes our business for today. >> thank you very much. we are adjourned.. >> working for the city and county of san francisco will immerse you in a vibrate and

dynamic city on sfroert of the art and social change we've been on the edge after all we're at the meeting of land and sea world-class style it is the burn of blew jeans where the rock holds court over the harbor the city's information technology xoflz work on the rulers project for free wifi and developing projects and insuring patient state of at san francisco general hospital our it professionals make guilty or innocent available and support the house/senate regional wear-out system your our employees joy excessive salaries but working for the city and county of san francisco give us employees the unities to

contribute their ideas and energy and commitment to shape the city's future but for considering a career with the city and county of san francisco >> if you frequently travel before i van ness i might be surprised van ness will goodwill go the first transit corridor to have brt as more frequently known the goal to get conveniently van ness and geary boulevard one of the most reliable transit systems in the country van ness avenue is a major connecter between potrero hill and mission on the south side of san francisco correcting connecting us to the marina and

state highway in the financial with the western edition neighborhood it is mostly residential a lot of the geography of van ness the rain that is wide it was uses is a firebreak in the 1906 san francisco earthquake a lot of building occasion that helped of hoped to stop the fire from jumping van ness had a light rail or sprash separating and along geary 0 when we came to the question of how to address the needs on haven because of its cost effectiveness we have found in the brt system with the new vehicles. >> the new mr. secretary is a change we will actually have transit in the middle ♪ the far legal unit and a broadly prom >> one of the reasons it is in the center a was it is an clouf

right-of-way a set of pedestrians will cross from the sidewalk to the middle of the street a. >> to move the reliable along the corridor with this travel time had been signifying reduced we think the ripped will go from 16 thousand a day in that portion the corridor up to 22 thousand and we'll have those beautiful new one like this one. >> with the dedication of the signal and lighter saying that between stops we were able to estimate a .32 improvement in travel time and a 50 percent reliability improvement as a result. >> we're pitting u putting in a up to date modern system of new thirty foot high light fixtures and pedestrian lights on the same pole again inviting

a comfortable environment for pedestrians. >> it has become a 3 dimensional street project. >> the water that is my understanding under the ground and the emergency firefighting water system month will be replaced and new street lights and traffic lights and the paving and stripping the trees both in the medium and on the side. >> the main core of the project goes from market it lombard that's where we'll be replying the sidewalks. >> there are a number of trees that need to be replaced and they will be additional new planting. >> we're planting a lemon gum that gets to be 50 or 60 feet tall that comes over the offer head wires that wee when we get done van ness it will look like

a new street it will visit fresh new looks like the grand boulevard again. >> we're going eliminating left turns off of van ness into the side streets and places the left turning traffic backs up the traffic and upgrading the signals to the mini traffic will flow more smoothly and traffic impacts as we execute the construction signed we're working to minimize these but impacts that will likely shift the traffic up franklin and we'll pick up the traffic. >> right now that looks like we're skeleton to start in march ever 2016 are of our construction. >> in the past people prospective of bus traffic that go unreliable and noisy and very fluting we're here to remake the

vehicles are on the streets and with the combination of the brt improvements much more rail like services with the technology. >> the public is in for a

♪ >> supervisor jeff sheehy and i represent district eight, the castro, diamond heights. ♪ ♪

for me i think district eight is different than other districts because of the castro, right? that is really the birth place of lgbtq civil rights movement in san francisco. it's historic for that reason. it's a great district because it's very diverse. you have booming night life in the castro, a lot of families, we have an amazing array of parks, rock climbing wall in glen canyon is super cool. it was the first facility with a rock climbing wall. the book stores are treasures, charlie's corner is unique. >> charlie's corner is a children's book store but so much more, community space where care takers and children come together over storytelling,

books, it's a gathering center. i am charlotte and we are at charlie's corner on the corner of castro and 24th. the type of books we carry at charlie's corner range from prenatal to young adult, 18. we have musical books, art books, all built around children of course. history, nonfiction, we have a wonderful picture book section. >> i love going to charlie's corner, number one, because you can find a whole range of books. my kid loves to read books. >> i always envisioned a space like this, surrounded by children's books and storytelling. we offer storytelling four times a day. we do curate well, we do a lot

of time reading, researching, beyond the story time, it's going back to picking out a book, helping someone find the perfect book, unwrapping it and sending it off. there are people from all over the world and that's what i find so exciting. you see that every day in our story times. it's literally a melting pot. >> more and more families come into the district, whether it's the castro, strollers every where in the valley and tons and tons of kids in glen park now, with the canyon and a great library. >> i describe it as this village, i tell people i live in a town but i work in a village. >> one thing i really think is great about this district, it's a safe district, it's a clean district, it's great for kids, it's great for families and has a bit of wild life in it, too.

>> i look forward to watching these kids in this neighborhood grow up and new kids come in and meeting new people from all over the world because that's what we're all about. ♪ ♪

>> look at that beautiful jellyfish. the way to speak to students and motivate them to take action, to save the planet, they do, they care and my job is to speak to them in a way that they can understand that touches their heart and makes them feel powerful with simple actions to take every day. ♪ ♪

>> i was born and raised in the desert of palm springs, california. my dad was the rabbi in the community there. what i got from watching my father on stage talking to the community was learning how to be in the public. and learning how to do public speaking and i remember the first time i got up to give my first school assembly, i felt my dad over my shoulder saying pause for drama, deliver your words. when i was a kid, i wanted to be a teacher. and then when i got into high school, i decided i wanted to get into advertising and do graphic art and taglines and stuff like that. by the time i was in college, i decided i wanted to be a decorator. but as i did more work, i realized working my way up meant a lot of physical labor.

i only had so much energy to work with for the rest of my life and i could use that energy towards making a lot of money, helping someone else make a lot of money or doing something meaningful. i found the nonprofit working to save the rainforest was looking for volunteers. i went, volunteered and my life changed. suddenly everything i was doing had meaning. stuffing envelopes had meaning, faxing out requests had meaning. i eventually moved up to san francisco to work out of the office here, given a lot of assembly through los angeles county and then came up here and doing assemblies to kids about rainforest. one of my jobs was to teach about recycle, teaching students to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost, i'm teaching them they have the power, and that motivates them. it was satisfying for me to work

with for the department of environment to create a message that gets to the heart of the issue. the san francisco department of environment is the only agency that has a full time educational team, we go into the schools to help teach children how to protect nature and the environment. we realized we needed animal mascot to spark excitement with the students. the city during the gold rush days, the phoenix became part of the city feel and i love the symbolism of the phoenix, about transformation and the message that the theme of the phoenix provides, we all have the power to transform our world for the better. we have to provide teachers with curriculum online, our curriculum is in two different languages and whether it's lesson plans or student fact

sheets, teachers can use them and we've had great feedback. we have helped public and private schools in san francisco increase their waste use and students are working hard to sort waste at the end of the lunch and understand the power of reusing, reducing, recycling and composting. >> great job. >> i've been with the department for 15 years and an environmental educator for more than 23 years and i'm grateful for the work that i get to do, especially on behalf of the city and county of san francisco. i try to use my voice as intentionally as possible to suppo support, i think of my grandmother who had a positive attitude and looked at things positively. try to do that as well in my

work and with my words to be an uplifting force for myself and others. think of entering the job force as a treasure hunt. you can only go to your next clue and more will be revealed. follow your instincts, listen to your gut, follow your heart, do what makes you happy and pragmatic and see where it takes you and get to the next place. trust if you want to do good in this world, that >> they tend to come up here and drive right up to the vehicle and in and out of their car and into the victim's vehicle, i would say from 10-15 seconds is all it takes to break into a car and they're gone. yeah, we get a lot of break-ins

in the area. we try to -- >> i just want to say goodbye. thank you. >> sometimes that's all it takes. >> i never leave anything in my car. >> we let them know there's been a lot of vehicle break-ins in this area specifically, they target this area, rental cars or vehicles with visible items. >> this is just warning about vehicle break-ins. take a look at it. >> if we can get them to take it with them, take it out of the cars, it helps.

♪ >> about two years ago now i had my first child. and i thought when i come back, you know, i'm going to get back in the swing of things and i'll find a spot.

and it wasn't really that way when i got back to work. that's what really got me to think about the challenges that new mothers face when they come back to work. ♪ >> when it comes to innovative ideas and policies, san francisco is known to pave the way, fighting for social justice or advocating for the environment, our city serves as the example and leader many times over. and this year, it leads the nation again, but for a new reason. being the most supportive city of nursing mothers in the work place. >> i was inspired to work on legislation to help moms return to work, one of my legislative aids had a baby while working in the office and when she returned we had luckily just converted a bathroom at city hall into a lactation room. she was pumping a couple times a

day and had it not been for the room around the hallway, i don't know if she could have continued to provide breast milk for her baby. not all returning mothers have the same access, even though there's existing state laws on the issues. >> these moms usually work in low paying jobs and returning to work sooner and they don't feel well-supported at work. >> we started out by having legislation to mandate that all city offices and departments have accommodations for mothers to return to work and lactate. but this year we passed legislation for private companies to have lactation policies for all new moms returning to work. >> with the newcome -- accommodations, moms should have those to return back to work. >> what are legislation? >> we wanted to make it

applicable to all, we created a set of standards that can be achievable by everyone. >> do you have a few minutes today to give us a quick tour. >> i would love to. let's go. >> this is such an inviting space. what makes this a lactation room? >> as legislation requires it has the minimum standards, a seat, a surface to place your breast on, a clean space that doesn't have toxic chemicals or storage or anything like that. and we have electricity, we have plenty of outlets for pumps, for fridge. the things that make it a little extra, the fridge is in the room. and the sink is in the room. our legislation does require a fridge and sink nearby but it's all right in here. you can wash your pump and put your milk away and you don't have to put it in a fridge that you share with co-workers.

>> the new standards will be applied to all businesses and places of employment in san francisco. but are they achievable for the smaller employers in the city? >> i think small businesses rightfully have some concerns about providing lactation accommodations for employees, however we left a lot of leeway in the legislation to account for small businesses that may have small footprints. for example, we don't mandate that you have a lactation room, but rather lactation space. in city hall we have a lactation pod here open to the public. ♪ ♪ >> so the more we can change, especially in government offices, the more we can support women. >> i think for the work place to really offer support and encouragement for pumping and breast feeding mothers is

necessary. >> what is most important about the legislation is that number one, we require that an employer have a lactation policy in place and then have a conversation with a new hire as well as an employee who requests parental leave. otherwise a lot of times moms don't feel comfortable asking their boss for lactation accommodations. really it's hard to go back to the office after you have become a mom, you're leaving your heart outside of your body. when you can provide your child food from your body and know you're connecting with them in that way, i know it means a lot to a mommy motionlely and physically to be able to do that. and businesses and employers can just provide a space. if they don't have a room, they can provide a small space that is private and free from intrusion to help moms pump and that will attract moms to working in san francisco. >> if you want more information

visit sfdph.org/breastfeedingatwork. ♪ ♪