of, and fee streamlining as a mitigation is going to be another tool i think this body needs to brainstorm. so please keep in mind, i'm going to be part of those meetings and i would love support. the first one is planned at the end of the month. we can talk offline about that. second thing, new business, i would like there to be more information about how to prepare merchant or merchant organizations for potential rfps for the city. there is going to revenue from the sugary beverage tax and we should try to support merchant organizations to get some of that money. if there is a tool or workshop we can do or presentation, that would be awesome. >> president adams: does that involve lbe? no? >> commissioner zouzounis: they'll have to be registered

nonprofit or entity of which then the merchant association could have a sponsor who takes the money, administrative -- fiscal agent. thank you. >> if i understand properly, you're suggesting that we have better outreach so that -- or enable merchants or small businesses to get a piece of this action? >> commissioner zouzounis: also merchant organizations. there are two examples i'm thinking of. the healthy retail program still has a pilot for fresh produce delivery model they want to develop. so it would be rfp for somebody already delivering to store. how do we outreach and make sure that is open to somebody already doing that. and then -- >> just to be clear, anybody

who -- any entity to receive money from the city needs to be registered with the city as a compliant supplier, vendor. bidder. and i think in this -- then they also have to be a registered entity and have a business registration. to have a business registration means for any of the merchants associations, then they need to have a 501 c-3. but they have to have some sort of business structure. so is maybe something that is also brought up with the council of district merchants. if you were thinking about merchant areas being able to access some of that money, then to me that sort of seems like a good entity to help be a fiscal

agent. >> right. we're having discussions about that. >> but i can -- we can ask the office of contract administration or the controller's office. and rick has done actually a phenomenal job working with our legacy businesses on putting together -- putting together a document on how to become registered with the city. and because we are now marketing in the legacy businesses as vendors that departments can do business with, because for those that become 12-b compliant, then the city can do business with them. so we're also -- rick is also going to be putting together over the next 2-3 months, a guide on how best to do business with the city. so understanding how the payment

process works, all of that. because it's very different than your traditional b to b. >> commissioner zouzounis: one last new business -- sorry, this should have been part of my report. i went to the reopening of the sav mor market on 3rd street and they also won their board of appeals for moving their license. so they are now viable in their new location. >> awesome. ok. any other new business items? >> this is not a new business item, i just wanted to add for the record, sonny made great points about district areas that are having problems with construction and you know, owning a bar and restaurant on polk street and owning a bar and

restaurant, i do a pop-up at may's oyster house. she's definitely onto something with the pop-ups to try to get some of these store fronts filled. i highly encourage anybody that wants to try a pop-up or something to that effect, that they -- you know, we give them a chance, because that's a great way to find out if they want to do small business in san francisco. >> great. i have one new business item. so it's my understanding that corporations can sponsor government activities, correct? is there a mechanism for corporations to sponsor things like the legacy business program? >> well, there is. there is a process of doing

accept and this happens with specific programs. >> the reason i ask is because one of the things that we could do to accelerate the legacy business program is to get more support on the onboarding side. we have one person who is not his sole responsible to onboard legacy business candidates. and so i think that if we wanted to reach out to a number of the large companies that have expressed interest in preserving small business in san francisco, like airbnb and square, they're making significant donations to activities in the merchant corridors to individual merchant associations as well, that we could outreach to them and others if we had a specific ask. so for example, if we could fund

a full-time position to assist with onboarding legacy businesses. i just think that program is such a hallmark of our commission and an area where we can have real significant impact, but it cost money and we're forever going to be budget constrained, and one of the best things we could do is have one or more sponsored positions. also internships. i was at square earlier this week, or last week, for a cdma meeting with square. and they had a number of interns in our meeting and i chatted with one of them who is a princeton student, she was about to go back, but she said my internship has been awesome and i've been tagging around with the government outreach team and learning how this company is interacting with the city. it occurred to me, how could

would it to be a get an internship at airbnb and you were to help legacy businesses? i think we should look into how could we facilitate these companies helping at a level making donations to san francisco city and county, and you know, all the p.r. benefits that come from that. especially with our program which is really, i think, shaping up, especially as we're finishing our branding program and start to roll that out. it will become a lot more visible. i know that the legacy business is grateful for the support they receive getting through the process. if nothing else, there is the gratification of documented your history which you've never taken the time to do. not only for yourselves but for your children and grandchildren. there is nothing but feel-good

out of that exercise. so the more of that we can do, beyond rent mitigation, all the potential financial benefits, but the mere benefit of going through the process of getting on the legacy business registry, i think is a beneficial one and one that we should try to do more than we do. because right now i feel like we're in a little bit of a reactive mode. again, that's part of your new supervisor orientation. here we are and one of the best things you can do is nominate legacy businesses, that gives them an opportunity to meet the businesses. a lot of times those owners are the most active in their districts because they've been there a long time, and they've been fighting the good fight. those are the people the supervisors need to know any way, so it's a reason for them and their staff to outreach to them and say, hey, you're not on

the legacy business registry, how can we make that happen? >> is 365 a legacy business? >> good question. >> commissioner dwigh >> commissioner dwight: look, i went to the opening of the terminal and closing of gumps this weekend. and it's just proof that even the most longstanding of institutions, whether it's fao schwartz, you name it, they come and go. and we all have to remember as small business owners and business owners in general, we're the first line of defense for our companies. we have to fight for ourselves. and you know, whether it's the internet or amazon or a formula retailer or the city doing things that are kind of counter to our business interest. at the end the day, if we don't

fight for ourself, we're going to go out of business. we can provide support. but even the most venerable businesses are vulnerable if they don't keep up with the times. and gump's admittedly didn't keep up with the times. whether they survive bankruptcy or not is to be seen, but there is a lot we can do to support businesses. >> can i ask a question of rick? >> commissioner dwight: sure. >> i'm the third or fourth owner of may's oyster house, it's the second oldest bar and restaurant in san francisco. would i qualify for a legacy business? or you know, for the fact that i kept the name and kept the seafood going, et cetera, et cetera? >> there are three business criteria on the application

process we look at. the business has to be 30 years old or older. there is exception for 20 years if they're at risk for displacement. they have to have added to the community or the city and then the third thing is have maintained their business model. so we look at all three of those. >> change of ownership is not a disqualification. >> that's what i'm asking, i'm sorry. >> change of location is fine. those don't affect the criteria. >> commissioner dwight: the answer is yes. >> i probably will do that with a blue light cafe, too, there is another one. interesting. >> and so, commissioner dwight, we have met with both new supervisors' offices, we did meet with the aides of

supervisor brown and i think one of their questions is always what is the outreach that you're doing? and at this point we're none, because we can't facilitate it. so i think to your point is, even the ability to take on new applications and help with that, but also the process of outreaching, and educating businesses of this opportunity, i think that's a good point to bring. and i think to your point of engaging the private sector, i don't know if commissioner corvi wasn't on the commission at the time, but when the discussion of the creation of the legacy business was created, professor giles from usf had talked about engaging, especially with the larger legacy businesses to help support because we do have some

very small businesses that, you know, probably would love to be on the legacy business registry. and especially those where english is not the first language, so the challenge of writing the application can be a challenge. so getting more support in that area to also bring on those -- >> you don't have to be writer to write a book, you just need to talk to someone who is a writer. so i think if we could fund again this onboarding and also to your point, outreach, we could fund more outreach efforts, especially as we have our tool kit with all the branding. it would be much easier for us to really show, here's the package, here's the extra little bit of gloss you get to put on your business related to legacy business. that is helpful. but we should talk about how we can start outreaching. what is our ask to these

businesses, corporations, who want to and have a stated goal of supporting small business? i think that there -- there is a huge demand for the ability to say we are putting our money where our mouth is to support small business, whether it's buying employee lunches from local restaurants to funding programs like this one. and this is low-hanging fruit if you're in the government affairs department of any of these companies to be supporting legacy business programs in san francisco. as unique as it is as well. and to be shouting that out to not only within san francisco, but beyond where all of your others say, hey, look what we're doing in san francisco. we're not unique in the fact that small business is an endangered species in our city.

every major city throughout the united states is experiencing gentrification and the displacement of small businesses. all the same reasons that we are. anyway, let's see how we can go reach into the pockets of our generous local businesses and have them support a very specific program. it's a lot different than saying we're going to levy a tax on you to pay for general things, or already heavily funded things like homelessness. big problem, you kind of hard to get your arms around that. you're throwing money into an awfully big pot there. but when you're donating money and you can donate a smaller pot highly directed and really see the results, that's where you can get powerful -- it's a real powerful story and ability to sell that. enough said. >> but i think your point is, we could specifically reach out to

the city attorney, so that you fully understand what we can do, what kind of ability to allow for the visual identity of the association of those that are contributing the money in terms of joint marketing. >> what i want staff to do is talk to the city attorney and any other departments that have to weigh in on this. what can we offer corporate san francisco to support the legacy business program specifically? because then we'll have -- here's what we're asking for. we want this to do this. we want this money to do this. and i think it would be onboarding and advocacy, two major things, there may be others. let's find out. and does that mean can we fund a position? what are the -- i'm sure there are always kinds of issue with that, because there is the pension program. but it has to be sustainable.

but then there are some things that don't have to be as sustainable. funding outreach programs, you can turn them on and off. you either buy the ads or you don't. if we could fund a stable position and then also fund p.r. efforts, that would be tremendous. and i think we could round up the funds to do that. so that's my -- that's what i'm gauging as i'm floating that idea with a few of the government affairs people. staff can report back to us. if we have no other new business, commissioners, i'll put it out to public comment. any public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> sf gov tv please show the slide. >> it is our custom to end with a reminder that the off thes of small businesses is the only place to start your small business in san francisco and

the best way to get answers to questions about small business in san francisco. the office of small business should be where you go next. the small business commission is the public forum to voice your opinions and concerns about policies that affect the vitality of small businesses in san francisco. if you are a small business start here. item 8, adjournment. >> all in favor? >> aye. so be it. motion passes 4-0. meeting is adjourned the 6:53 p.m. -

>> shop & dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges resident to do their showing up and dining within the 49 square miles of san francisco by supporting local services within the neighborhood we help san francisco remain unique successful and vibrant so where will you shop & dine in the 49 san francisco owes must of the charm to the unique characterization of each corridor has a distinction permanent our neighbors are the

economic engine of the city. >> if we could a afford the lot by these we'll not to have the kind of store in the future the kids will eat from some restaurants chinatown has phobia one of the best the most unique neighborhood shopping areas of san francisco. >> chinatown is one of the oldest chinatown in the state we need to be able allergies the people and that's the reason chinatown is showing more of the people will the traditional thepg. >> north beach is i know one of the last little italian

community. >> one of the last neighborhood that hadn't changed a whole lot and san francisco community so strong and the sense of partnership with businesses as well and i just love north beach community old school italian comfort and love that is what italians are all about we need people to come here and shop here so we can keep this going not only us but, of course, everything else in the community i think local businesses the small ones and coffee shops are unique in their own way that is the characteristic of the neighborhood i peace officer prefer it is local character you have to support them. >> really notice the port this

community we really need to kind of really shop locally and support the communityly live in it is more economic for people to survive here. >> i came down to treasure island to look for a we've got a long ways to go. ring i just got married and didn't want something on line i've met artists and local business owners they need money to go out and shop this is important to short them i think you get better things. >> definitely supporting the local community always good is it interesting to find things i never knew existed or see that that way. >> i think that is really great that san francisco seize the vails of small business and creates the shop & dine in the

49 to support businesses make people all the residents and visitors realize had cool things are made and produced in san >> this is one place you can always count on to give you what you had before and remind you of what your san francisco history used to be. >> we hear that all the time, people bring their kids here and their grandparents brought

them here and down the line. >> even though people move away, whenever they come back to the city, they make it here. and they tell us that. >> you're going to get something made fresh, made by hand and made with quality products and something that's very, very good. ♪ >> the legacy bars and restaurants was something that was begun by san francisco simply to recognize and draw attention to the establishments. it really provides for san francisco's unique character. ♪ >> and that morphed into a request that we work with the city to develop a legacy business registration. >> i'm michael cirocco and the

owner of an area bakery. ♪ the bakery started in 191. my grandfather came over from italy and opened it up then. it is a small operation. it's not big. so everything is kind of quality that way. so i see every piece and cut every piece that comes in and out of that oven. >> i'm leslie cirocco-mitchell, a fourth generation baker here with my family. ♪ so we get up pretty early in the morning. i usually start baking around 5:00. and then you just start doing rounds of dough. loaves. >> my mom and sister basically handle the front and then i have my nephew james helps and then my two daughters and my wife come in and we actually do the baking. after that, my mom and my sister stay and sell the

product, retail it. ♪ you know, i don't really think about it. but then when i -- sometimes when i go places and i look and see places put up, oh this is our 50th anniversary and everything and we've been over 100 and that is when it kind of hits me. you know, that geez, we've been here a long time. [applause] ♪ >> a lot of people might ask why our legacy business is important. we all have our own stories to tell about our ancestry. our lineage and i'll use one example of tommy's joint. tommy's joint is a place that my husband went to as a child and he's a fourth generation san franciscan. it's a place we can still go to today with our children or grandchildren and share the stories of what was san francisco like back in the

1950s. >> i'm the general manager at tommy's joint. people mostly recognize tommy's joint for its murals on the outside of the building. very bright blue. you drive down and see what it is. they know the building. tommy's is a san francisco hoffa, which is a german-style presenting food. we have five different carved meats and we carve it by hand at the station. you prefer it to be carved whether you like your brisket fatty or want it lean. you want your pastrami to be very lean. you can say i want that piece of corn beef and want it cut, you know, very thick and i want it with some sauerkraut. tell the guys how you want to

prepare it and they will do it right in front of you. san francisco's a place that's changing restaurants, except for tommy's joint. tommy's joint has been the same since it opened and that is important. san francisco in general that we don't lose a grip of what san francisco's came from. tommy's is a place that you'll always recognize whenever you lock in the door. you'll see the same staff, the same bartender and have the same meal and that is great. that's important. ♪ >> the service that san francisco heritage offers to the legacy businesses is to help them with that application process, to make sure that they really recognize about them

what it is that makes them so special here in san francisco. ♪ so we'll help them with that application process if, in fact, the board of supervisors does recognize them as a legacy business, then that does entitle them to certain financial benefits from the city of san francisco. but i say really, more importantly, it really brings them public recognition that this is a business in san francisco that has history and that is unique to san francisco. >> it started in june of 1953. ♪ and we make everything from scratch. everything. we started a you -- we started a off with 12 flavors and

mango fruits from the philippines and then started trying them one by one and the family had a whole new clientele. the business really boomed after that. >> i think that the flavors we make reflect the diversity of san francisco. we were really surprised about the legacy project but we were thrilled to be a part of it. businesses come and go in the city. pretty tough for businesss to stay here because it is so expensive and there's so much competition. so for us who have been here all these years and still be popular and to be recognized by the city has been really a huge honor. >> we got a phone call from a woman who was 91 and she wanted to know if the mitchells still owned it and she was so happy

that we were still involved, still the owners. she was our customer in 1953. and she still comes in. but she was just making sure that we were still around and it just makes us feel, you know, very proud that we're carrying on our father's legacy. and that we mean so much to so many people. ♪ >> it provides a perspective. and i think if you only looked at it in the here and now, you're missing the context. for me, legacy businesses, legacy bars and restaurants are really about setting the context for how we come to be where we are today. >> i just think it's part of san francisco. people like to see familiar stuff. at least i know i do. >> in the 1950s, you could see a picture of tommy's joint and looks exactly the same. we haven't change add thing. >> i remember one lady saying,

you know, i've been eating this ice cream since before i was born. and i thought, wow! we have, too. ♪

>> hello! is it afternoon yet? yes. [laughter] you know, the hours just go by so fast now. my name's london breed, i'm the mayor of the city and county of san francisco, and i am excited to be joined by so many amazing people to talk about something that so important. -- that is so important. in july, san francisco became the first country in the -- became the first city in the nation to stop charging administrative fees to people who are exiting jail and the criminal justice system. >> whew! [applause]

and i was really proud to sponsor this legislation when i was president of the board of supervisors. the public defender was working so hard with the committee of folks to come up with a way to address this issue and i want to thank him for his tireless leaderships on pushing to reform the criminal justice system. [applause] but we didn't stop there. today we are proud to announce that we have taken this even a step further. people have been charged these fees for years and a lot of the debt has built up. this burden has been bearing down on thousands of families across our city. [motorcycle engine] today we are announcing that we are eliminating this debt. $32.7 million of debt! [applause]

again, thanks to the advocacy of our public defender jeff hadachi and the d.a.'s office. this debt is owed by over 21,000 people. in our community, an average amount of $1500 per person. i want to make sure everyone knows how important this is. a lot of people don't know what happens when people are released from jail or exit the criminal justice system. they are charged thousands of dollars in fees. fees only meant to recupe costs for our city and our county and our courts. but we know the reality. the fees pile up, thousands of dollars in debt and drive people into the underground economies and make it harder for them to re-enter and be successful in their communities. i saw this time and time again

when i was the executive director of the african american art and culture complex. we believed in the second chance. we opened the doors to opportunity. and i saw how hard many of these employees work after paying their debt to society and receiving a second chance. they wanted to make a fresh start and they grew discouraged when they started to see their paycheck garnished and their bank accounts levied. we also know these fees are not an efficient way to raise revenues for our city. charging people fees who simply cannot afford to pay them is not the way to balance our books. the collection rate for some of these fees is only 9%. there is something wrong with a fee when the collection rate is only 9%. it's important to remember that people paying these fees have faced other consequences. they've spent time in jail.

they are paying fines. the job of these fees to recover the costs are additional layer of punishment. and they failed to do the job. so, we need to be more fair, we need to be more just. we need to reevaluate how we do business. i want to thank the people who are a part of making that important legislation a reality. and i couldn't have imagined that we were able to build such an amazing coalition of people from all parts of the city family as well as many nonprofit organizations and community members. thank you to our treasure, jose ciceros. thank you. [applause] thank you to the public defender -- [applause] our district attorney, our

sheriff who immediately, when i introduced the legislation, stopped assessing the fines and fees. the san francisco public adult probation department karen fletcher -- [applause] and i also like to thank the amazing organizations that are here today that came together to make this happen. so many people, so much time. these fees are not what san francisco is about and i am proud that we are first in the nation to end this practice. these reforms started in san francisco but i know they won't end here. other counties are contacting us about what they can do to move this forward. and now i'd like to turn this over to our treasurer, jose cicneros who helped make this possible. [applause] >> thank you, mayor breed. it's a great day for financial justice in san francisco! [applause] >> yeah! let's hear it!

almost two years ago, i launched the financial justice project and began speaking with local community members who were raising the alarm about the impact fines, fees and tickets were having on low-income people and on communities of color. i was moved by the stories of how a single fine, a single fee or a ticket could keep a family trapped in sieblgs of poverty if they could not afford to pay it. our financial justice project convened a task force of community advocates and government leaders to see how we could right-size these fines and fees. through this process, we learned that our city was charging thousands of dollars of fees to people exiting the criminal justice system at the exact moment they were trying to get back on their feet. these fees piled on thousands of dollars of debt on our city's most vulnerable residents and prevented people

from successfully doing things like getting a job, getting a place to live and doing all the things they needed to do to get back on their feet. they often trapped people in debt they could not escape. so i'm the city's debt collector and i believe the collection rates on these fees that were simply as low as 9% on some probation fees were too low because simply people could not afford to pay it. our city leaders came together and because they saw these fees were high paying to the people and low gain for government. mayor breed, when you passed this legislation last month and our partners at the district attorney and public defenders office took a step further, we went a step further and asked the court to eliminate all the debt hanging over familis from the fees that were charged in the past. as the mayor said today, we are proud to announce that the court has eliminated $32 million in debt from 21,000 people in this community.

[applause] this is debt that we never would have collected but has been keeping families trapped in poverty. today represents what our city can do when we work together. this would not have happened without the leadership of our mayor, mayor breed, the district attorney, our adult probation chief fletcher and sheriff hennessy and countless others who made today happen. but honestly these reforms would not have happened without many community groups and organizations that opened our eyes to why it is so important for our city to move these reforms forward. so i'd like to thank the community housing partnership -- [applause] leo services for prisoners with children -- [applause] the lawyers committee for civil rights.

the san francisco human rights commission. the coalition on homelessness. [applause] the young women's freedom center. [applause] our friends at the san francisco foundation and the walter and elyse haas fund and tipping point communities. our friends at policy link and the california reinvestment coalition. [applause] the east bay community law center. [applause] the ella baker center. the insight center for community development. [applause] united playas. university of california-berkeley public advocacy center. and the university of california hastings. [applause] i want to personally also acknowledge the amazing leadership of my colleague anne dryer who commands the financial justice project. [applause] i think everyone, as you see here, knows anne and can appreciate how instrumental her

leadership has been to securing this win today. thank you for your compassion, for your tenacity and your inability to take "no" for an answer. [laughter] now i'd like to turn it over to jeff hadachi who has been another key leader in this effort. jeff? [applause] >> thank you. on the day before thanksgiving, i was working at the front desk. my staff leaves early and so i was working the front desk. [laughter] a young man named joseph came in. and he was holding a paycheck stub in his hand. and i asked him what help he needed and he said look at my paycheck. he says every paycheck, $200 is taken out to pay these fines and fees. he was only making $800 every two weeks. he told me i have two children. i'm a single father.

i have the sole responsibility of taking care of them and i can't feed my kids because of this. broke my heart. at about that time, we had already started an initiative to change the way that san francisco collects fines and fees. we weren't sure at that point what was going to result. it was a very ambitious idea and i wish i could take credit for it, but james tracy from the community housing partnership came to me -- [cheering] [applause] and he said we're going to wipe out fines and fees. i'm like are you crazy? who are we going to get to agree to that? so we started meeting and fortunately at that time, jose and his staff had already begun looking at this issue and issued a report and we decided to try to focus on fines and fees and we thought how are we going to get the board of supervise source and the mayor to agree to this.

and so we brought it to then president of the board and supervisor london breed. and she didn't ask for a report. she didn't ask for a hearing. she just said we're going to make this happen. she got it right away. she understood how these fines and fees crushed families. crushed individuals who are trying to turn their life around like joseph and destabilize communities. you know, even though when you get a call from our treasurer, it's usually not good news, he got it right away, too. so we were able to go to sheriff hennessy, d.a. gacon and probation chief fletcher and they all agreed. so, that was very important. and it sends an important message. you have to remember that san francisco is a place where ban the box first started. [applause]

that initiative within two years went statewide. and this week, there is a bill in the federal government that's going to be introduced in congress. so we can do the same thing here. there's now an initiative to bring this statewide. and to bring this nationwide. there are people suffering all over this country. because they are charged with these fines and fees and mind you these have nothing to do in most cases with the conviction itself. we're not talking about restitution or paying back money for property damage or injury. that's still required under the law. most of the things are for like court fees, for courtroom construction, things that are not related at all to the criminal conviction. the time for reform is now. we're seeing the pieces of reform happen. this is huge.

but you really need to hear it from somebody who has experienced it, who knows the impact and i'm very pleased to introduce marie vandergrif. mary? [applause] >> good afternoon. my name is mary vandergrif. i am assistant lobby supervisor for community housing partnership. this law fruili affected my life. i, too, have a past. i'm a single mother who is just trying to make it financially and worrying about these court fines and fees made it hard to sleep at night. i was always wondering when my cheque was going to be garnished when i was trying to be successful in my life. today i no longer have to worry. this law was passed. we have a brilliant amount of people working on it and we all came together and did this. so i think everybody who worked on this project -- thank everybody who worked on this project and i'm thankful to everybody behind me who has

affected and eliminated these fees for them. thank you. have a nice day. [applause] >> thank you very much for coming out. again, we still need to continue to suffer. this only gets rid of about half of the fines and fees. the others are imposed by the state. >> [inaudible]. >> yep. that's what we'll do. thank you for being here and you can ask any questions of the speakers after the press conference. >> thank you. [applause] >> the teams really, really went above and beyond and is continuing to do that today. this past year, the san francisco public utilities commission water quality division started receiving many more requests to test for lead

in the public school system here in san francisco as a result of legislation that had passed from the state requiring all of the public schools to do lead testing. and so as a result, the public utilities commission and the water quality team in particular was asked to meet with the san francisco unified school district to begin to prioritize which schools to test to meet that state mandate. >> the team that tests, we're a full service environmental laboratory, and we take care of both the needs of the water quality division and the waste water enter price. and on the water quality enterprise, we have to also have drinking water that meets all federal and state quality regulations. and lead in schools, we're playing a problem in remediating this problem of lead in schools. >> our role here in communications is being able to take the data that we have that

we know is protective of public health and safety and transmit it, give it to the public in a way they understand we are really doing our jobs well and making sure that they are safe always. >> the public learned very quickly all the accurate facts and all the critical information that they needed to know, and it's up to these individuals and their agencies and their commitment to the city. >> i enjoy the work because i can help people, and i can help the utilities to provide a better water quality, make sure that people feel that drinking hetch hetchy water is actually a pride. >> hats off to the water quality team because between them working on late nights, working on the weekends when the schools are closed, and working as a partner in the school district for the times they found a higher lead sample, they worked through to address that, so the team went above and beyond and is continuing to do that today.

>> president kwon: good afternoon, everyone. welcome to the august 28 meeting of the san francisco public utilities commission. before we take roll, we have quite a few public speakers here today. and public comment, i should