issues, who are a little bit worried about dropping items in the gap. one tenant, in particular, i know mr. sirosh is aware, a tenant had dropped her keys inside this gap, and she had lost her keys in there. i believe it was the 23rd of august of this year that mr. sirosh, who was talking, they did have a meeting with the tenants in the building. what i was told by tenants is that that meeting included discussion about voting on what needed to happen to fix the elevator, how tenants would feel about being charged for the costs of the elevator. one of the tenants, in particular, she was like, well, if we have to pay for the cost of the elevator, maybe it's better if the elevator is not fixed. it kind of sounded like tenants

were being dissuaded from raising the issue of the worrisome elevator. in addition to this, i was also told that tenants were asked by mr. sirosh and his representatives if the tenants who had put forward complaints about the faulty elevator, if they could please withdraw those complaints to better expedite the process that y'all have in front of you here today, and i sent a communication to mr. sirosh and -- of the same company as well as charlie goss of apartment association who we work well with, to please cease and desist asking tenants to withdraw complaints and kind of coercing them and pressuring them. so that was kind of what i found, my findings, doing outreach and discussing this issue with tenants.

>> and you attended that meeting? i did not talk to them. i talked to them after the meeting. >> i have a lot of people who call me and say, the elevator permit has expired, what do we do? well, you send a letter and they send a form letter back saying having an expired permit, there's a new inspection scheduled. they adjusted the area of the gaps on each floor, which is the left side, six inches on most of the floors. codes reads the gap has to be a minimum of an inch, and a couple

of those floors where there's a gap there's a piece of filler that's missing on the left side, not the main walkway, but the left side when the door is fully open. that exceeds an inch, and that will be corrected in a timely manner, and the state will issue a permit. i wanted to address the gap and the permit. and nobody was coercing anybody at that meeting. i was there. >> can i ask a question? >> commissioner walker? >> one of the issues that came up at the last hearing was the response time if people are stuck in the elevator. let's say somebody is in there and can't step up. they're in a wheelchair or whatnot. it seemed like it took an exorbitant amount of time to have someone some and help them get out of it. so i just want to know if you guys have come up with an alternative response to people being stuck in the elevator.

>> well, first of all, i would like to know when that was because we haven't had anyone stuck in quite a while. i'm in the city every day. i respond as fast as possible. i was there last night, making sure things are in good shape. levels are -- >> i guess the question is: is there somebody in the building that can respond? >> yes. the building manager. we talked in the meeting. he'll deal with tenant when they move in. he'll be there to tell people not to overload the elevator. yesterday he texted me about 2:00 in the afternoon, and i was there by 5:00 to do an adjustment. if somebody is stuck, i drop what i'm doing and race over there. i can't recall a time when somebody was stuck. >> on the issue of adjustments, you know, it's been brought up that moving in or moving out creates problems, and if you're saying that a 225-pound limit is what you're recommending for

this, i would image most people moving in and out exceed that. there's no freight elevator at this building? >> that's correct. this is the only building. >> they're going to use that. it's a six- or seven-story building? [ please stand by

>> i don't have the date. >> approximately? >> it was after the last hearing. yeah, there was. there isn't elevator company or entity, except the governor of california that can influence the frequency of those inspections. i'm serious. >> the expired permit, will that get replaced? >> yes, and that is 100% up to

that date to do that. it's not the responsibility of the building. we send a letter. it's not for us to say, issue the permit now, none of that. you have to pay the fee and wait for them to inspect it. >> i think it's respectful to ask the tenants what they think. sometimes the cure is worse than the problem. but you probably want an outside person sitting in the meeting. it's good idea. maybe someone from housing or someone from the tenant housing association to sit in and listen to make sure it was a fair vote. but i think it's respectful to listen to the tenants. thank you. >> good morning, commissioners.

my name is richard parker, architect. i was present at the last hearing. i was also a part of the meeting with the tenant. and we presented plans that showed what it would take to provide a fully compliant ada elevator. the purpose of putting in a wheelchair accessible elevator is a significant structural impact. probably just a million dollars for the structural work. the owner has assured me that he will authorize us to move forward with a pre-application meeting with dbi, fire, electrical and mechanical department to figure out what is the appropriate strategy for this elevator in this building.

and we will move forward in that area. work within the city's parameters for modernizing this elevator. >> ok. you were present at that one when i read, you know, i guess the closest thing to a transcript of it, it read to me like we were presenting an option of it's a 1.3, a 1.5 million to redo it and it's going to be inconvenience and the apartments are going to be reduced. the option of modernization that may be considerably hardship to the tenants and lower cost that may be passed on over a 10, 20-year period was really not discussed in the same manner. while i agree with the comment from mr. buscovich that either tenant's unit or someone from

our group should have been notified about it, it would have been helpful, so that we're not trying to interpret maybe imperfect transcript. i have to tell you, my reading of what i got was that if i'd been one of the tenants listening to that, i'd have been, let's just live with it, kind of. so, setting up these meetings and being sure that they present everything complete and fair and have the oversight of all parties and all interests well represented, clearing is in everyone's interest so there is not speculation after the fact. >> understood, commissioner, president. we did discuss the concepts of repair, replace, shut down,

signage, modernization options were discussed. if it did not get accurately reflected in the minutes, my apologi apologies. thank you. >> i wanted to address the modernization scope >> additional public comment from people who have not spoken. then rebuttal from the department. >> senior housing inspector. yeah, i had some of the same thoughts before looking at the transcript and hearing the testimony this morning. and it really struck me that the estimate that was put up on the screen, which was the first time i'd seen it from gr clark, escalator, elevator consulting step, clearly says the solution is modernization.

modernization does not involve displacing people. so our business here is the safety of the people in the building. our role is to request that an order of abatement be issued in this case to protect the people that live there. thank you. >> i know we're looking at this specific case, but i'd like to again have perspective on it. both in terms of, you know, possibly expanding some of your comments about the building's history, but you know, really placing them in context. you know, my questions would be pretty much how many buildings are there with similar aged elevators? and in relation to that, how does the post history of complaints, service outages or performance deficiencies compare? and then a second question is

really, are you aware of any such restrictions really, you know, quite to this level of gap of no more than two people, scales, 220 -- >> given the -- >> let him answer. >> that's a very unusual situation. never heard of that before. been working here over 20 years. so, yeah, never seen that, never heard of that in cases that we're working on. getting at the universe of elevators in the city, that information is only available at the -- we did a survey a couple of years ago on sro elevators, so we have numbers to that extent, but there are more elevators in the apartment buildings. we've got 8 or 9 active cases with elevators.

there are two other ones that have a similar complaint history. that's what i was able to find since the last meeting. >> thank you for this. we have a lot of older buildings in our city, so i think that all of us are interested in this. do you see an option for a short-term and a long-term solution in these kind of situations? it is a likely disruption of use for everyone in the building to replace it. and it will incur some sort of costs that will have to be pushed through, the pass through, would have to be looked at by the rent board. those are real things for the folks who are living in the building. it's not -- it's real. i mean, it's a real consideration, whether they were properly advised in the tenant

meeting. it is the reality. so how do you look at that when you see one of these projects? i mean, i get that what we're looking at is that there is a deficiency. so we have to issue the notice of violation. do you look at a staged response from the building owners, what they could do in the short-term to make it usable, versus a long-term plan for replacement or modernization? >> well, thank you. you know, our district inspectors have the knowledge and the history of the district. and so they are looking at how frequent they're called out to particular buildings. so if you get called out to a building, see the elevator is not working, notice of violation. they have technician come, adjust it, works again, we give the abatement notice of the violation. when elevators are consistently unable to meet a normal

standard, when you have people falling out, as we -- someone hurt themselves in this case. and that you're invited to come back, oh, it's fixed now, you get there, and you saw the picture with the tape measure, that's a different level in that case. and you know, we're encouraged that someone is talking here in modernizing the elevator, so that's what needs to happen here. at the last meeting commissioner lee talked about his volvo and that was a very telling analogy and important statement that at what point are you going to address something? we do have a 12-year history of problems with this. this would be a good time for us. >> so you're saying there is a 12-year history of problems -- >> with this elevator.

>> -- to your valuation of the records, there are possibly two or three other buildings with similar or in the same ballpark histories of complaints and issues reported out of all the elevators that exist in the city? >> they didn't file appeals the way this one did. >> i see. >> thank you very much. >> so are these saying now -- are you saying that if the elevator was modernized instead of replaced, it would solve a lot of the issues, especially the gap and the levelling of the elevator? >> yes. and the owner has a statement, more than one, from -- >> so modernization does not mean replacing the entire shaft? >> that's right. >> my next question, in your opinion, how long does it take to modernizing a building, how much planning and how much work would it take?

maybe robbie can help us on that. >> i think an elevator company would know more speaking of buscovich's now, maybe six months. i think they could attest to that better. they're familiar. >> ok. >> can we ask you to step up again? >> thank you. >> it's a good question. so modernizing means we're going to maintain certain elements of the elevator, for example, the elevator car. if that is retained, then everything around it needs to be replaced because it has wooden rails. the safety device on the elevator has shark teeth on it that wears into the wood severely. those rails cannot be retained. the only thing that would remain

is the elevator car. so we're talking about replacement versus modernization, about 80 -- 20% difference. the elevator car is the only thing that would be retained. the rest would have to be replaced in either case. once you replace the main brain, it opens up the requirement for new code, fire light safety, fixtures, all kinds of things. so the modernization is 80% of the replacement. the replacement could entail ada compliant wheelchair to make a full circle, which is 5-foot circle in the elevator, which this does not have and that would require a larger shaft. that's the difference between the two. >> just a follow-up, i'm looking at your letter, the letter from the building manager, owner, you talk about getting possible exemptions to building code and

regulations to relieve or lessen those requirements that you just discussed, some of them, is that possible in this? are there some of those that you just mentioned that could be granted exemptions? >> in my experience, i've never has. been in the business 42 years, never seen that. you're allowed to get a variance, it doesn't mean you don't have to do it, you're doing it a different way, you're still in compliance with the code. >> are those from our department? >> state of california. >> got it. >> commissioner mccarthy: i think i have the answer to this, but when you're revamping these elevators to whatever level that is decided, you will have an elevator that is out of use for what time frame? >> minimum of six months. >> commissioner mccarthy: what is your experience with the

building where an elevator doesn't work for six months, what happens to them? >> it's a challenge. my experience, there is clear and concise and timely notifications to the tenants. you know, it's a little bit beyond me. the projects have been involved in, there is modernization, scheduled ahead of time and they inform the tenants accordingly. >> commissioner mccarthy: is there a lot of seniors in that building? >> i really don't know. also i wanted to mention, talked about wheelchair access, it's impossible for a wheelchair to come in from the sidewalk and enter the lobby. there is a flight of stairs. so i was confused by that. >> got you. >> commissioner mccarthy: i'm wondering if there has to be relocation? >> i don't know. the elevator realm is where i'm at. >> you guys are familiar with the building and some of the tenants in it. how do you see -- how do you see

this roll out if there is modernization? >> so i think in past buildings where there has been modernization or effort to fix up the elevator and there is potential to displace a tenant who is adjacent to the elevator shaft, what is proper to be done is that the landlord gives notification and provides an alter nate space on side. we help tenants through that. what i very much would not like to see in this situation, which i've seen in other situations with landlords, tenants are told you need to leave, we're giving you this amount of money and it's confusing and scary. and they're also given a notice

that essentially says you need to be out by the end of the month. and you'll get a check in the mail and they're not following the proper guidelines, so i would really hope since they've been interacting with the dbi, with you all, with the commission, with everyone here, that they understand that there they need to follow the process, so tenants are very fully aware. we will be in contact with all the tenants, so if anything comes up, we might come back and talk to you guys. >> thank you. >> appellant have rebuttal? >> yes, thank you very much. so i think that we have heard from the elevator expert that the item, you know, may have been 1 out of the 20 items that

were mentioned, would require replacement, but in fact in this instance, that particular item is the item, or one of the items in question, and so it would trigger all those codes which would then become a state issue, which i think it's beyond the scope of any of us here to be able to impact. so that would argue for a project that may be larger in scope than we are contemplating now. the second point that i would like to make, is that while -- i don't know if you can see this or how visible it is -- but what they are talking about for modernizing is a budget of 4 or $500,000 just for the elevator work, not for the engineering, not for the permitting, or anything of the other stuff. even if it is not $1.3 million,

it's still a significant number, or maybe a very significant number for the tenants in the building who would wind up paying each month $100 more, whether it was the bigger or the smaller number, 10, year, 20 year, all of those. we did the calculation, it's between 250-350. it's not trivial for tenants who are paying $1,000, $2,000, i don't know. the other question regarding -- what is it? disabled and elderly. we do have some tenants who are in the 50s or 60s, i suppose much like myself but there is no possibility of anyone in the building having a wheelchair because there are the steps that

have to go up just to get into the building. they'd have to navigate that before think being the 1 inch, 2 inch, they have to step out of the elevator. they've already navigated it much, much more. with all of that, i would like to request -- i'm not sure whether the order has to be -- [bell ringing] -- i'm not sure what the language is, but whatever the language, i'm requesting that action from you. >> at the last hearing, i asked if you had a long-term plan for this because clearly, whether it's now or whether it's a year from now or two years from now, this elevator is going to have to be dealt with. it can't go on forever. it clearly is on the last legs, so have you thought about that, as i was talking to our housing inspector, the concept of a short-term versus a long-term

plan of really dealing with making sure that this is a modernized elevator for your tenants? it's going to have to happen at some point, have you thought about that? >> yes, ma'am. >> and? >> what we are doing is to, you know, with mr. parker and city officials, to examine what all the requirements may be, which requirements maybe waived, which requirements may be adjusted, et cetera, so that we actually have a pretty close idea of what we actually wind up having to do. once we have that, then we can figure out how to deal with it. at this point in time, in the absence of those waivers of those exemptions, or expected waivers or exemptions, we're unable to be precise about what we have to do and so we have --

to plan for it, we have to know what we have to do. that's a precursor step. >> right. >> and we're in that process. >> ok. thank you. >> thank you so much. >> ok. so... >> i'm sorry. >> i'd like to thank the owner for reaching out to his tenant, i appreciate that you held a meeting and invited your tenants to learn about the situation and what you're trying to do. i'm also thinking there is a solution that doesn't require a full replacement of the elevator. i feel thmodernization is a solution, a possibility. we heard from the contractor

saying he's unsure what components need to be replaced, or how, and what type of waivers can be obtained so that they can fix the elevator. so in the interim, i appreciate that the owner is trying to speak to a tenant about mitigation matters. and maybe ask that the department, give us an update of the process in maybe 6-9 months time. >> commissioner lee, i kind of

concur with the direction you're going. i mean, it's pick your poison. it's one of these situations where once again to commissioner lee's point, everybody's heart is in the right place, trying to do the right thing here, i think it's very compelling that the tenants are involved in this decision. i'm cognizant of the costs being added onto the tenants' bottom line. i'm kind of leaning towards if we could give more time based on everybody's involvement here with the caveat, this is probably inspected every month and make sure it's levelled and due diligence is done to make sure that continues. which i believe based on the testimony twice here, everyone

will do that. i would be interested if the other commissioners are interested in the same format that commissioner lee pointed out there. >> commissioner walker: again, thank you for the process, it's really important to all of us. i would ask that we, in addition, really do engage our code enforcement outreach folks and maybe housing inspector when it comes to keeping the tenants as part of this process. they will be inconvenienced. they are being inconvenienced somewhat the way it is. and i think that it would be good to recognize that. i think you're doing that. but even going forward with a fix, it's one that will benefit everybody. it will inconvenience the people living there, so as you go forward, i hope that you keep that in mind in looking at things like the pass-through and

what not, that there are inconveniences. it's their home and they will be inconvenienced. so i tend to support the motion. i am also ok with even more time than that, because i realize it's a complicated issue as long as there is a constant communication with folks living in the building. i think that is the point here, is that doing something collaboratively, that makes sense for people. it's a hard situation, but it's one that we're trying to help you address now as opposed to later when it's more of an emergency. so i appreciate your input on that. so... >> president warshell: question to deputy city attorney. is one year the maximum amount of time? or more than one year?

>> where there is not a safety hazard, you can give up to 18 months. >> you want to do that? >> commissioner walker: yeah, i would say 18 months. that should give time to have a long-term solution in effect, that is one that is worked on with the building tenants as well the management i think. >> ok. >> maybe an update in a year? maybe something like that. >> ok. >> commissioner konstin: great. >> commissioner moss: i support the 18 month as well. the only thing i would add is that, can we require proof of regular updates from the tenants? please stand by.

>> to keep them informed of developments on the elevator situation. >> are we asking for any further check ends with us? >> i don't think we can. >> anything else? >> we have to say why you are doing it. >> state a basis for the motion. >> uphold. >> with the basis for your motion be that the order of abatement was properly issued? >> yes. >> the order of abatement was properly issued. >> yes, it was properly issued. >> sorry. our testimony is closed. >> ok. >> ok. so we have a motion by commissioner lee. is there a second? >> i will second. >> ok. we have a motion and a second.

we will do the roll call vote. [roll call] >> motion carried unanimously. next item is item f. general public comment. it is general public comment for items that are not on the abatement appeals board agenda. seeing non, item g. is adjournment. is there a motion to adjourn? >> moved to adjourn. >> second. >> we are now adjourned. it is 10:30 am. we will take about a ten minute recess and reconvene as a building inspection commission.

>> all right. good evening, everyone. first of all, good evening, everyone. welcome to compass family services. [applause] >> my name is chris wagner, and i'm the board chair of compass family services, and i promised myself i wouldn't get choked up, but today, by far, is the proudest moment of my volunteer career. i'd like to acknowledge our distinguished guests, mayor london breed, supervisor jane kim, who i think is my

supervisor. [applause] >> rafael mandelman, assembly member david chiu, and representatives for senator's feinstein and kamala harris, abigail and june harris. thank you so much. so today, we celebrate the official opening of our new service hub for homeless families and families at risk of becoming homeless in san francisco. [applause] >> we are really thankful for so many of you who have been here with us every step of the way and to create what we see here before us. this facility represents our commitment to san francisco's homeless and vulnerable families, telling them we see you, we are committed to

serving you in san francisco, and we are investing in your future. securing a permanent home for compass is a perfect example of private public partnerships and how they can benefit our community. one partner has been the city of san francisco. the city itself was one of the first to recognize the importance and significance of this project with a lead grant of $1 million. [applause] >> i'd like to thank and express our deepest thanks to joaquin torres for the office of workforce development for not only their strong support, but for their lead support in this project.

[applause] >> we gratefully acknowledge the let's make it happen spirit of our partners and the compass board for getting this project off the ground. our next very important step -- you knew this was coming -- is to raise the funds we need to pay for this project. we will be out in the community, you can rest assured, shortly with a major campaign to seek the help of the philanthropic community and all to assure our service hub is here to stay. he can assured we are part of the solution -- you can be assured we are part of the solution. it's my extreme pleasure to introduce and welcome our city's honorable mayor london breed and invite her to say a few words. [applause]

>> the hon. london breed: i have got to say i am truly honored and excited to be here today. what an amazing, beautiful facility, a welcoming environment for so many families that we all know struggle with homelessness, and that should not be the case. a kid should not have to do their homework in situations that sometimes are not the best. when i first became a member of the board of supervisors and visited our family shelter in our district, i was really heart broken at some of the scenes that i saw and some of the frustration that i had for many of those kids that they were in, many of those kids attend schools right here in san francisco. and one of the things that i'm most proud of is working with our late mayor ed lee is to give $2 million to the housing authority to remodel 179 unit

to place 179 formerly homeless families in units to call home. but we didn't do it alone. we did it with organizations like compass point because it takes a partnership in order to help our homeless families who live on our streets in san francisco. as mayor, addressing this challenge is really important to me, finding solutions, finding partners, trying to figure out the best ways possible. when we developed our coordinated entry system, compass point has been there for us, helping to lead the way so that we can produce the types of services that we truly need to make a difference. so i want to thank each and every once of you for being here today to support this

great new step. a $1 million grant from the city, and i, of course, deserve $1 million more for the work that you continue to do. thank you all so much for being here today, and i'm looking forward to opening this building so that we can get started on this very important work because we have people who need homes. thank you all so much. [applause] >> thank you, mayor breed. oh . so last fall, erica and i had the pleasure of meeting with supervisor jane kim, and we presented our plan and our vision. i'm delighted to welcome back her -- or welcome here to see firsthand what we've done, and we'd love to hear your thoughts. [applause] >> supervisor kim: actually,

you are welcoming me back for the space because for those of you that don't know, i spent six months here in this space back in 2016, and so i'm very familiar with this site. and so i was truly delighted when you both came to my office to say that there might be an opportunity to turn this vacant retail site into a hub for so many of our families and those that are needing services here in the city and county of san francisco. mayor breed talked so much about the importance of this work and also the initiative that mayor ed lee had begun during his time as mayor, which is for san francisco to end homelessness in san francisco in the next five years. and we talk so much about homelessness as being an issue of single adults but for those of you that are in the field, you know that families are often the fastest growing

demographic in homeless counts in cities throughout the country, whether it is san francisco, new york, and l.a. it is the silent demographic that we don't get e-mails from our constituents about, asking us to solve that is often one of the most critical in the issues that we must address here. we know that children who are homeless are more likely -- five times to be more likely to be homeless as adults. we've seen what it means for children to be able to complete their homework, having a place to call home, calling in sick regularly, having a place to shower. i have to tell you one of the most heartbreaking stories that i heard from some of our young mothers is actually having to bathe their children in a sink at their local church because they have nowhere else to take their children before they get ready for school.

and compass family services has been at the forefront of ensuring that we are providing these critical services to families to so many of our clients that need it the most. in order to provide those services, it's critical to have a home and a space to walk into. so i'm so excited that compass family services will be opening here in this district, and i really want to recognize the leadership of the board chair, chris wagner, and of course to our wonderful executive director, erica kisch, who's been running this century old organization so critically in san francisco. we are making a dent, we are finally reducing the immense wait list that we are reading about in 2015 for families that

are sleeping in shelters, sleeping on the streets, sleeping in our cars and making sure that we are addressing this issue. when the l.a. times said that the new face of homelessness is single mothers and children, we heeded to that call. we need to get women and children off the streets, and i am just so proud to be a strong partner along with mayor breed and assembly member david chiu. this is an issue that we all care deeply about. we can end homelessness, and i'm so glad that compass is going to have a seat in the middle of our city that they can provide the services. i just want to take a moment to thank the staff at compass family services. this work is so difficult to do. [applause] >> supervisor kim: and you are at the front lines of doing this work, and it's always amazing to ask staff members how long they've been at this organization. and i think it's pretty

astounding, the tenacity, and the faith of the workers in the field. i was pretty touched when one of our compatriots used to serve, when the chronicle asked him if it was incredibly depressing to work in the field of homelessness over 40 years because it doesn't get better, and he said i don't view hi work as ending homelessness, i view my work as ending homelessness in the lives of people. for those of you that have viewed the moment, i've been lucky to watch an individual walk into their permanent home for the first time or a family to walk into their permanent home for the first time, we are ending homelessness in their

lives, so thank you for all doing this incredible work, and congratulations. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor kim. as you know compass works with the city as a partner in our comprehensive continuum in care of homelessness or to help end family homelessness. for families that are already homelessness, and now i'd like to welcome jeff kosinski, the director of family homelessness to say a few words. jeff? >> thank you so much for being here today. you know, just a few years ago, one in every 20 students in the san francisco unified school district was experiencing homelessness. it's one in every 20. every single school in the school district had at least one homeless family. some schools had over 10% of

the families in that school were experiencing homelessness. but thanks to the hard work of many people including compass, we've reduced family homelessness by 15%. by the end of this year, our goal is to have no unsheltered families at all, and we're very close to achieving that goal, and by the end of 2022, our goal is to have no family experiencing homelessness in the city and county of san francisco. [applause] >> thank you. we're not going to do that without organizations like compass. compass is one of the anchor institutio institutions in our homelessness response system, and this facility is just absolutely amazing, and what's really -- i came by to visit a few weeks ago right when it first opened up, and the physical structure is really amazing, but what's really just so heart warming is to see all of the families here and all of the staff here using the space.

it's just such a beautiful facility, it uplifts people's spirits when they're here, and the energy was just really phenomenal. we had families in here facing a crisis, i can't even imagine as a father or as a parent not having a place for my children to go that evening, but just the vibe here, and the way staff were treating people, and just the attention to detail is really extraordinary and very fitting for an organization as spectacular and committed to doing this work as compass. i've worked as a nonprofit executive director for many years, and i know that it's often challenging as an e.d. or even as a board member to come up and ask people to support your organization. no matter how much you're commit today it, it's a scary thing, but since i'm not a executive director anymore, maybe it's easier for me to encourage you to please support compass, please support their capital campaign. this is really important work they're doing, it's really life

changing work that they're doing, and we're so appreciative to everybody at compass and to all of you as well for being here today. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much, jeff. it's now my pleasure to introduce, without a doubt, one of the most amazing and dedicated individuals i've had the pleasure to work with, the executive director of compass family services for the past 24 years, erica kisch. [applause] >> good evening, everyone. thanks. this is such a great turnout, it feels very great to be celebrating with you all here tonight. about 400 days ago, i toured this building. it was kind of a shell, and a former gym, and i imagined it as being the new permanent home for compass family services, a

service hub for san francisco families facing homelessness. it was centrally located, easily accessible, just a block from city hall and very closely located to other locations in the city for other families facing homelessness. little did i know that 37 grove would turn out to be so much more. it's a safe and welcoming and healing environment where families experiencing the trauma of homelessness can access a myriad of interrelated and complementary services that address housing, support, stability, jobs, child care, legal, and i could go on and on and on, all under one roof, and all with the ultimate goal of helping families to achieve

economic stability, self-sufficiency and economic well-being. so we stand here tonight not in front of but beside so many of our friends, our partners, our colleagues, our supporters, who join together to help make this project come to life and who have been committed to this every den and committed to this effort to end family homelessness in san francisco. first and foremost, i want to thank nafir and namidi. they're somewhere way in the back. [applause] >> so they and the sun hill corporation, they had an amazing vision, amazing generosity, amazing vision, and without them, we would not have this project, we would not be able to get it off the ground, and hopefully they'll make the way up to the front for the

ribbon cutting. i'd also like to thank compass's board of directors who had the vision to address our real estate need head on in their 2015 to 2018 strategic plan. every one of them has been supportive in this project and has supported it financially as well. and on our board, i especially need to call out brian mcenerny, who's also way at the back. brian really spear headed and guided this project. he was here night after night for months, and without him, we would not be here today. i also want to thank especially our board chair chris wagner and our board vice chair allison engel.

[applause] >> both of them put in many, many hours over the past year, and i joked to chris over the last year that he was going to lose his day job because he was always at compass. i also want to mention equity community builders, opportunity fund, chase, and the low-income investment fund and our quality board. i want to thank -- [applause] >> -- first republic bank, the northern california community loan fund, the world's greatest real estate broker, paul pechani. [applause] >> our brilliant architects at t.e.f. design who turned this building -- as wonderful as it is, it's a strangely shaped building. they turn it had into something really amazing.

ken white of glazer wild, who always has our back, and our fun dl fun-tastic staff. we just heard tonight that j . jpmorgan chase has awarded us a grant of $25,000. most recently, chase provided the equity investment through our new markets tax credits deal for the building. thank you, j.p. morgan chase and mike kimball, who i think is here with us tonight. [applause] >> so next on our agenda, we're going to cut this ribbon, and after that, we invite you to explore the building. you can go back that way, you

can go down, you can go up, and we'll have staff that are wearing compass name tags that are scattered throughout the building who can give you more information throughout the programs and the services we offer here and answer any questions, and then we've got refreshments on the second floor in the conference room. so thank you again for celebrating this and it's time to end family homelessness in san francisco. thank you. [appla five, four, three, two,

>> good morning. today is wednesday, september 19 th, 2018. this is a regular meeting of the building inspection commission. i would like to remind everyone to turn off all electronic devices. first item on the agenda is roll call. [roll call]