there. homeland security has been continuing with multiple meetings and exercises. in december, chief cochran continued to facilitate police academy, fire operations instructions so we worked together on the scene of a fire. he is continued his work with d.e.m., the office of resiliency, coast guard, and others to bolster our planning and response coordination in a disaster. he is also expanded that of late to include boma and to include large companies that have thousands of employees whether it's the sales force building, twitter, those kinds of companies and all this pre planning is going to empower their employees so they're not part of the problem. and they can actually be part of the solution during a disaster. and enable us to do the most good for the most number of people. last but not least, chief cochran has been studying hard and getting ready for pilot

school for his drone class. that concludes my report. happy to take any questions. >> thank you, very much for your competence reportment we'll ask for public comment. seeing none. the commissioners will chime in at this particular point. vice president covington. >> thank you mr. president. thank you for your report, chief. i just have one quick question. what is the office of resiliency? >> i'm not sure who they're under? are they under the city administrator? they work on building a more resilient san francisco in terms of disaster, homelessness, neighborhood outreach, that kind of thing. we've been working with them.

they have a neighborhood empowerment network that we've been working closely with them on with nert to ensure that everyone is cared for in a disaster. >> thank you. >> commissioner hardeman. >> than{t

and i'm sitting there very happy and someone behind me started talking about a.w.s. and the bond money and d.p.w. and it was a conversation i wasn't too good at. i lis end more. i probably would like to talk to someone about -- like what you were saying. you will do a further explanation on the $125 million. who would i talk to? it would be best to talk about with that. >> you can talk to myself, chief rivera, olivia scanlynn. they're well-versed in it. >> james ready. >> he has been off for a little bit. >> that way in case i -- she is close to tom and upset with the fire department for the way the

western half of the city is not prepared for a fire. anyway -- i got to update myself on that. the other thing was you talked about the drones with chief cochran. another airport yesterday, newark i think, was hammered with that. these drones are becoming sort of -- with london getting shut down, we have these idiots out there having fun shutting down airports. their purpose is not known. that's sad to see because i'm a drone proponent but you hate to see that kind of activity going on. >> that will not happen with a drone in chief cochran's hands. you can guarantee that. >> thank you. >> that's very reassuring. [laughter] >> thank you, very much, commissioner hardeman. commissioner veronese.

>> chief, what's the update on 35? >> on 35? >> yeah. >> so, it is, of course i didn't put it in here. >> if you know. if you don't know. >> we are currently working with the port on an agreement, an m.o.u. agreement, for the new station 35. they also wanted to include the old station 35 in that m.o.u. agreement and we wanted to separate the two out. we are in discussions with them to get that all hammered out. the chief has been in contact with elaine forbes as has olive yan scanlan. we've had meetings with them to hammer that out so it doesn't delay any of our timeframe for getting station 35 done. >> is it under construction?

>> no. it's not. >> we haven't started on that yet? >> no, we haven't. that has to be, i believe the platform has to be shipped over from china and then it will be constructed over at treasure island. >> do we have a time frame? >> not yet. >> how does that m.o.u. work? is there a payment between the two entities? >> yes. again, that may be separated out. the operational part. yes, the port does want -- the port currently pays us some funding for our personnel staffing the fire boat. for those operations. they want, as part of this m.o.u. for us to pay rent moving forward on the new fire station. >> is that a new thing? >> yes, we've been paying very

bill, i believe, in terms of rent. if any at all. >> so they want rent for a floating fire station that floats in the bay? >> yes, correct. renting the water space, as i understand it. >> i would be curious to see that m.o.u. when it gets done. if you can send it over that would be great. those are the two departments that involved negotiating with each other. is there any other city agency that is involved? the mayor's office or the board? >> right now we're working it out between ourselves and i think we have a good handle on t we're making good progress. >> the two new fire trucks, have they been assigned to a station? >> we have a list of the six stations they'll go to, yes. >> has that been announced? >> no. >> i guess all the ambulances are going 49.

and those. >> you said we have 15 that will be en route. >> hopefully 10 will be in route in february and then five following that, i'm not sure if march or april or when. yeah. >> ok. >> thank you, chief. >> thank you, very much, commissioner veronese. i have a couple of comments. i very much appreciate your comprehensive report. i know that you know that this commission is very interested in the training facility that we're talking about. when there's more to report, in terms of progress, of what is going on, it would be very much appreciated and i know that in terms of the information for the commission. i also wanted to let you know that beyond commissioner veronese's question on station 35, there was a question on the

art work that has been projected. at some point, when is appropriate, if we can have some information in terms of that as well. the other important information is 2019 easter bond. this easter bond, as i hear it, correct me if i'm wrong, has a lot to do with the training facility in terms of the dollar figure. i think you threw $150 million out on that. my question to you, chief, is $150 million adequate for us in terms of the training facility? >> right, we are still looking at that. it's not set in stone just yet. we're having those conversations within other departments within the city about that. >> again, with the commissioners' favor, if there's an opportunity to enhance that figure to our needs, that is

utmost in terms of importance. i also know that the awss as we know it is part of that easter bond. >> correct. >> in terms of commissioner hardeman's comments in terms of the easter bond, i think there needs to be a continuing dialogue with the neighborhoods on the south side as well as richmond that this department is paying attention and that there's a lot of detail and information in terms of it being a big price in terms of the that. i think chief, the concept of close tenders is an important concept for the public to know about that we are trying to do something about it within the range. not just sitting around waiting for the complete awss system out there. i think the citizens out there need to know this commission is serious, the department is serious and we're trying to do something about it. finally, chief, i know that there's a volunteer appreciation

luncheon january 30th. could you give us a little more information. is that volunteer appreciation for any particular component of the department? what is that? >> do you have more information, chief. >> i believe so. lieutenant baxter has organized it. it is to highlight some of the volunteers that show up to a whole variety of different events to support -- whether it's the toy programs, to accompany us on a parade. that kind of thing. i don't have the invite list. i don't know if it's -- i think it may be an open invitation. i can get you more information. i'm looking on my calender and you are right, it's january 30t. first flor of headquarters. >> i just wanted to remark on that as well because, the department knows chief

hayes-white. we talk about nert but those volunteers out there, i think it's a great thing for us as a department to recognize the volunteers and so commissioners, if you are available on january 30th at 11:00, i have every intention to come by and thank those volunteers. there's usually good food as well. i think that that goes a long way. i just wanted to be able to say that as well. at this particular point, chief nickolson, i don't have any other comments. thank you for your report. >> vice president covington. >> thank you, mr. president. i just have a follow-up question regarding the training facility and the 150 million-dollar potential pricetag. since a location has not been identified and locked down and we don't know how much it will

cost to purchase the facility, how much it will cost to do any grating, all of that prep work and whether or not there's toxic that need to be removed, how long do we have to determine wht the real number is? >> it's on the 201 bond. 2019 bond. that's coming up quickly. those are concerns of ours as well in terms of what the land is going to cost, is there any clean up necessary. we're having those discussions. we know that it may play a part in cutting into that $150 million. so we don't want it to. so, we are still -- again that number, $150 million is not set in stone. we are going to advocate,

continue to advocate for ourselves. >> what is the timeframe? since the bond has been moved from 2020 to 2019, there has to be a figure attached to that so that the voters can say oh, yayo nay. i expect they will say yay. san francisco -- >> i can get you the timeframe that was from the meeting that i went to yesterday. i'll make sure to forward that to maureen. >> i would assume that's coming up fairly quickly. >> yes. >> ok. >> there's a meeting, i'll be sitting down with the mayor's chief-of-staff next monday afternoon. >> ok. >> on this topic. and on the awss topic. on the elements of the easter bond. >> thank you. >> thank you mr. president.

covington.ou vice president madam secretary. thank you very much, chief nickolson. >> item 6, commissioner report. report o commission activities since last meeting, january 9th, 2019. >> is there any report that you would like to offer at this particular time? an update as such? commissioner veronese. >> just briefly. thank you mr. president. i did want to report that, without naming names, i did visit two members of the department at saint francis hospital who were recovering. to wish them well on behalf of the commission. i did, in typical fashion, bring them stella pastries from north beach. that made the visitors happy. and then also today, i did

attend the stress unit meeting. which i thought was very informative. they had some guest speakers there that experts that came and spoke to them about stress management and techniques and that type of thing. i'm pleased to report that the support of this chief, that unit has trained in this department has trained, i believe it's 60 members of the department for stress unit -- or stress-related identification and management. i think that it's a great start to where i'm hoping this department will go in developing a peer support unit pursuant to the resolution that we passed back in october. i'm looking forward to the chief's report. i did speak with the chief afterwards. it's probably going to require a little bit more time than the february 21 date. whatever we can get going for

that february 21 date, to get back to the commission on progress would be very helpful. i was surprised to hear -- i know that we are going to be losing a member of the stress unit. as the commission has been notified and that we are looking for a replacement for that manager in the stress unit. that is a physician that is going to be very hard to -- position very hard to fill and hard to keep because of the level of work and the intensity of the type of work that these two individuals conduct on a daily basis. i learned some interesting facts. i pressed them for interesting information. i know that the recent fire at clay street, where we lost two people, two citizens of the city and one firefighters was injured. i know that from that incident

alone, there were a number of people that contacted the stress unit. upon further digging in, i was told today that on average in the last year, about 140 members contacted, regularly for some sort of outreach to the stress unit last year. now, if you think about that number, that's about 10% of the department. it's a big number. the staffing of th the -- the dy staffing 106 fire stations in san francisco. that's a big number. i say that publicly because i want the commission to know that this is something that is important to the members of the department. it's not something that's talked about regularly and that's the second reason i wanted to mention this publicly.

there's a stigma within all fire departments and police departments and first responders that you don't reach out to people for health. we are seeing our members do that, which is great. i don't think that the members know that so many members are reaching out. i think that's a really good thing. we can catch these stress levels at an early stage as opposed to having to deal with them at a late stage which is what this stress unit, the two members of the stress unit are having to deal with and they're overwhelmed. i'm looking forward to the chiefs continued support on this particular report and her report how we create a state of the art stress unit. and there are state level

resources force that. looking forward and hoping for the best. >> thank you, very much. in terms of this particular report, i wanted to report out, that i have reached out to the president and vice president of the health commission this is in light of the discussion of shared information but shared costs. or some revenue source on the discussion we've had. i wanted to report the president, dr. ed chow, dr. james lawson were very open to that and i have checked out with the commission wally in terms of the proper procedures in order for us to conduct that one of the goals with a joint meeting with the health

commissioners is information. all of the dialogue and information we have on the fire commission i'm not so sure they're a very of that in detail. as point of information as chief hayes-white indicate, 1997 is when we inherited ambulance services and there was a joint meeting between the fire ctmmission and heath commission to launch that particular program. there has been precedent set, i've been trying to find out the proper procedure a again dieing sunshine as to if myself and the vice president from this commission might be able to start conversations with the president and vice president to the joint meeting and start the dialogue in terms of what we're doing and what the cost is with that kind of endeavor. i also want to let you know that i have also reached out to two of the commissioners of the social services commission

because there are lips that we have there. a longstanding commission and commissioner james mawe're also talking to them because the at venturality is if we me meet wih the health commissioners, reach out with the social services commission. that fact with-the dialogue we had tonight, it seems obvious that we should have some relationship with the homeless department as well. the mandate is clear in terms of the homeless population but the shared cost and the concerns are universal if you will. and so i also think that it's important for us to talk to the hospital council as well so this fire commission can be proactive and start dialogue between the health commission, social service commission, the homeless department, but also the hospital council so we can get some idea in terms of costs but

also shared responsibilities as well. so i wanted to report that out as developmental. we'll see how it goes as time progresses. i wanted to report that. on another note, i've been thinking very hard on trying to create a mentorship program from the commissioners to the members of the department. the whole goal of the mentorship program is that we could reach out to the members of the department. in my opinion, it doesn't have to be anybody that's an officer or a ranked member, the concept is to be open to the membership in order to have some relationships from the membership to the commission. when i was a instructor at san francisco state university, i had a program called the faculty state program where they were attached to undergraduate students and a relationship was occurring with faculty members so that there could be communication and coordination

and also concept of leadership development or just in terms of good relations. so i'm going to try to find some information as to how we can formalize that. the unofficial basis and i'm offering out myself to the membership to those members who are interested in gathering into a concept of mentorship. i have reached out to the black firefighters, i have reached out to the asian firefighters, i will reach out to the rest of the groups to see what kind of interest that is there for us to develop. i just wanted to report that out at this time. madam secretary. >> public comment on that. >> public comment on this commissioners' report? having seen none. public comment is closed. >> item 7, agenda for next and future fire commissioner meetings. >> commissioners, at this particular point, would you like to hear what we have on our docket from the commission

secretary? madam secretary, could you please refresh the commission in terms of subject matters that we've had on our list. >> i've confirmed with the united fire service women and they will present at the first february meeting. and then i believe there's an action item regarding the budget. that's all that is on the agenda at the moment. >> is that for the february 13t? >> correct. >> at this point, i would like to call for a report on the concept that came out today and the press release on the concept of building housing on top of a station. there was a reference in terms of station 13 in terms of housing being built on that particular station. it talked about relocation of station 13 if this concept develops. it also talks about the concept that if there's housing on top,

that we would have a brand new station in terms of 13. in terms of this particular commission, i would like to call, through you chief hayes-white, at the next commission meeting, a detailed report in terms of this concept of housing above station 13 so that the commission can be informed s, so the commission cn be informed, so the commission can ask questions, so the commission can give comments. and part of the report for supervisor peskin as part of the concepts of development. i would like to reach out and invite supervisor peskin, if he wishes to attend that meeting on the 13th, if he wants to dialogue as to how the development of the concept develop and gives this commission an opportunity for us to get information to comment, ask questions. so at this particular point, i would like to have that agenda for february the 13th for this

commission. thank you, very much, madam secretary. >> public comment on that idea. >> may i have public comment on the item 7 agenda for next and future fire commission meetings. public comment. seeing none, public comment is s closed. >> i take a motion in terms of adjournment, commissioners. >> so moved. >> may i have a second, please. >> second by commissioner hartmann. thank you, very much. good evening.

. good evening, everyone. thank you for being here tonight for our very first commission meeting of the year. it's usually the beginning of the year in our january meeting, to do more administrative items like reviewing and approving the budget, reviewing and approving the annual report, and

nominations. what a year it was. we had two more meetings than normal. one was to report on the strategic communities we had. one was a joint meeting on the commission of the status of william to talk about climate change and its impact on women and girls. our commission represented the department and the city at over 18 events at the global climate summit. it was at city hall. it was beautiful and well-attended as well. i'm so proud of the work this department does and everybody that's part of the commission, part of the department, we have extraordinary people. i know that someone is retiring today so that breaks my heart. i'm looking forward to another

amazing year and great progress. so welcome. with that, is there any public comment on the welcome? please come forward. >> this is public comment. >> but we also need to do the roll call as well. >> oh, sorry. i just jumped right in because i was so excited about everything that's going on today. but we have to do the roll call, make sure we're all legal. [ roll call >> this is a meeting on the commission january 22, 2019. the time is 5:07 p.m. roll call quickly. [ roll call ]

>> there is a quorum. a note to the public, there's an opportunity to comment on every item and general comment for items that are not on the agenda, we ask that folks fill out a speaker card. hand them to me. i will hand them to the chair. they will be called in the order received. you have the right to speak anonymously. after we call all the speaker cards, i will call folks up to be able to speak anonymously as well. with that, we'll move to item three, approval of minutes of the december 27th meeting. the explanatory document is a draft. >> i have a motion? >> i move. >> moved by commissioner wald.

a second? >> second. >> second by commissioner sullivan. is there any discussions? okay. we have a motion and seconded by commissioner sullivan. signal by saying aye. any opposed? motion carries. we're going to move back into public comments. public comment on the minutes. >> is there any? seeing none. are we going to take a vote again? we'll do it the next item. >> four, general public comment. the public may address the commission on their jurisdiction and things that are not on the

agenda. >> okay. susan carasof. welcome. >> i'm a resident in russian hill. i wanted to commend and thank the department of environment for your resolution and commend and thank chris campbell at the recreations around parks department for the work he's doing on russian hill. the intention to have that goal of increasing habitat and attracting birds, bees, pollinators, butterflies, and beneficial insects. that goal is wonderful and right in keeping with the biodiversity resolution. thank you from those of us in russian hill. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> any other public comment?

>> anthony? >> the next item is item 5, presentation of the commission on and the service award. this item is for discussion. >> commissioner? >> thank you president vallejo. it's my honor to present this award to our retiring sustainability -- an anchor in our city's conventions and other important events that come to san francisco. kathleen was a pioneer in

sustainability. she obtained state grants totaling a million dollars, as well as ensuring that a million pounds of surplus goods were donated to nonprofits. she served as a chair of the san francisco recycling committee for several years, and she played a key role in the lead project team where mos conian north and south achieved gold status after obtaining her credential. she was part of the recycling team in san francisco's solid waste management program for several years. she also devised a commercial recycling strategy for san francisco's large businesses and key industry sectors. oversaw government recycling programs, the emergency preparedness plan for disaster management and conducted building design workshops for architects, engineers, and contractors. we want to say thank you on behalf of the commission of environment for your 30 years of service. we wish you the best of luck in your retirement. [ applause ] >> i would like to ask the commissioners if there's anything they would like to add regarding kathleen. director rafael? >> thank you. thank you, president vallejo.

katherine, come up so we can see you and speak to you. i know there are other people here who want to express their gratitude for you and all that you have done. i want to say from my perspective, you have been running a mini city within a city. and that mosconian center is such a visible part of this city and how many millions of people you have touched, i don't know. to me, your impact is so far beyond the borders of our city. through your tenacity, i would call it, and your belief in the importance of the work that you do around sustainability, you showed what's possible. i can't imagine how they're ever going to replace you. i don't know that they can. they will try. and my gratitude is not only for what you have accomplished but what you've left behind. you have created a legacy of systems, a demonstration of what we owe the city and the planet to do, and you've done it consistently with a smile and warmth and belief in the importance of everyone doing their part. i just want to say thank you so much. i can't believe i'm really going to not have kathleen hennessy at mosconian center. it's not real to me.

i'm sure it's not real for your colleagues either. thank you. >> thanks so much, debbie. >> and i know there are other people who would like to talk as well. >> here comes a heckler. [ laughter ] >> i wrote four pages, and you guys covered it all. i'm very proud to have spent the last 20 years as kathleen's colleague. you've heard most of her accomplishments. i will fast forward from 1998 when she started at mosconian center. it was very much a one-woman show when she started. she had a small group, perhaps three, of attendants who shared her passion and her loyalty, who created the culture and who created the environment that we

are all enjoying at mosconian center today. since kathleen came to mosconian center, there's been more than 20 million attendees that have come through the building. they've all been touched in some way by kathleen's good work. that was one way. [ laughter ] >> that all started when recycling and reclaiming and diverting and donating were all strange words to many of our staff. kathleen's legacy in addition to seeing 5 million pounds a year diverted on a regular basis, and every year we've kept statistics, which she's done very well, we've exceeded convention center's national recycling percentages in probably some of the most difficult and challenging

situations you could see in a convention center, tho. those of you in the center have seen how small the dock areas are in comparison to the exhibit floors. it's an active building, one of the most active in the country. it's considered fully booked and has been for many years. 75% use is considered fully booked in the industry. i don't think we've been below 78% in 20 years. kathleen has, in addition to all of that, developed a group of over 40 sustainability staff throughout northern california with whom she speaks in her way every month in terms of developing initiatives and solutions and thoughts. so she has touched not just

mosconian and the center and county of san francisco and each of us and certainly the convention and trade show industry as we know it, but she has extended that reach throughout northern california and throughout the entire country. we're very proud. i am personally very proud to have had the opportunity to know you 21 years. all i can do from our perspective is wish you all the same excitement and challenge and passion in your next 21 years. so thank you so much. >> thank you so much for that. >> absolutely. absolutely. [ applause ] >> i do, before he heckles me, want to thank you all. i wanted to say a few minutes ago that i could say a few words. so i was thinking about some major influences on me. one is certainly where i grew up. i was born in jersey city, which, at the time, was very industrial, heavy manufacturing,

very polluted. so even as a little kid in early grammar school, i knew what pcbs were because i couldn't jump in the hudson because of them. i knew about lead paint. we had air pollution inversions, you know, that were so severe that you couldn't go out. another influence was my dad who raised me to say that it was important to know what you are passionate about and then to figure out how to get somebody to pay you to do it. i thank is city and county of san francisco and i thank the mosconian for the opportunity to work in this wonderful city. another huge influence was my brother who really believed in how precarious and short life is and that if we had to work, we better make sure that we live someplace that the few hours we

had off really meant something to us. and that drove me to drive across the country and move to san francisco as one of those many people who left their heart here. it gave me the opportunity to work with some really innovative, talented, wonderful people and departments in city government, but some of the greatest business leaders that i can imagine in terms of their support of the environment, the property managers in the downtown corridor of our office buildings, hotels, and certainly the convention industry itself. so it's been nothing but joyous. i look forward to lots of new adventures. i like to quote david osmond, many of you know, when he retired. he said something to the effect that he had worked his entire life in the environment. he just wanted a little time to enjoy it. that's truly how i feel. i'm still in the bay area. i'm just looking forward to new

adventures and enjoying it every day. so thank you for this recognition. i greatly appreciate it. >> thank you. [ applause >> good evening. i'm robert hailey, the manager with sf environment. back in 1993, two jobs were simultaneously announced at the san francisco recycling program. kathleen came from the northeast, and i came from the southwest. she became the commercial person. i became the residential person. it's been a great adventure ever since. we had crazy political times together. kathleen went to smg. i stayed with the san francisco recycling program, which then with the solid waste management program merged into the

fledgling department of environment. jack macy came over at the time. kathleen was at mosconian for 20 years and did a lot of amazing things there. a lot of environmental progress. i just want to say that mosconian's success being a leader in terms of facilities is mostly due to kathleen. we had the pleasure of helping kathleen in that effort, supported her where we could, had some great times. if you know kathleen, she really has amazing energy and an amazing sense of humor. she's a force of nature. that's what it takes in an environment like mosconian where big things are happening in a fast time frame. she'll be missed. we know where to find you. look forward to more adventures with you in the bay area. thank you so much, kathleen.

[ applause ] >> thank you. >> hi. i'm jack macy. it's been my privilege and joy to have known kathleen since i came to work for the city 20 and a half years ago. you helped orient me to san francisco and to the business community. i have just always been impressed by the joy and gusto you have with work. your smile and laugh, it's carried you a long way, no matter what the challenge is. you've really made quite a difference. i think about how far the city has come during your time and how you have really helped transform the culture and practices of the business community, working with beaumont, helping to create the recycling committee, the commercial recycler of the year

awards. a lot of that work you really help lay the foundation on. then you went to work for mosconian, taking on that huge challenge. and while you were taking on that challenge, you had a stint of heading up the beaumont committee and inspiring all those colleagues. your work at mosconian has been incredible. i just have a wonderful memory of coming to visit you on different occasions and will walk the halls of mosconian, and everyone she sees, it's hi, jose. hi. people love seeing her. you can see the relationships and the rapport -- >> it makes it work. >> it gets it done. you've created that glue in mosconian. you will be missed. one of the things that has not been said was mosconian one, the state of california resource recovery award for outstanding practices in event resource recovery in 2016.

and, you know, mosconian, for the type of complex it's had, it's had impressed recovery. to have you help lead and meet the command for more sustainability events, you've rippled out. we'll look forward to more fun times in another locale. thank you for being such a great colleague. >> thank you again, everyone. [ applause ] >> any other comments? if it's okay, at the end of the second presentation, then we'll take photos. is that okay, kathleen? >> absolutely. >> perfect. thank you. next item. >> item six. [ reading ] commissioner?

>> thank you, president. this evening i'm so pleased to present the award to -- as the daughter of educators myself and the parent of a public school student here in san francisco and the chair of the operations committee, i've had the great pleasure of hearing and following your progress over the years. before arriving at the department, tamar was the executive director of the rain forest act and tamar rebranded the school education program. as you will likely hear in her presentation in a few minutes, tamar developed a world-class program that's been effective and won numerous awards and become a template for other cities around the world. tamar, you've been a mentor to countless employees of the

department. you're innovative and positive and you've moved the needle on waste. you've trained a generation of environmental stewards, a benefit we'll see for years to come. to put that in perspective, for the last 16 years, 20,000 students across the city every single year have been touched by the work tamar is doing. last year, it was 50,000 students as the new zero waste program was rolled out. it's a fantastic impact that's going to affect our city for decades. your departure is a great loss to the department and to the city, but as with any teacher's retirement, it's so well-deserved. >> thank you. [ applause ] >> so tamar, i was looking at some of the things you said before. i want to paraphrase something do you eve said in the past.

teaching students, their actions have the power to transform nature by embracing environmental behaviors and practices that these students are transforming the culture of their schools to places where being a good steward of the earth is becoming a part of everything they do. i think that's everything that you've done. so thank you for your service. commissioners? >> i didn't know the reason why you were getting this award, tamar, was because you were retiring until i came here tonight. i was, to be perfectly honest, pretty shocked. tamar has been at the department as long as i've been at the commission.

we started at virtually the same time. the commission had a history. you were virtually the school and the program, and you built it from nothing to what it is today, as commissioner stevenson said, a model for the rest of the country and the world. the work you do is so incredibly important. we have failed, as a commission, to recognize it as often as we should have during the time i've been here. you have been an incredible asset to the department and the city over the years. you've had a huge impact on the department and the city and our

kids who are now -- many of whom are now young adults. it's hard to think of this school and program without you. it's hard to think of the department without you, but as a retired person myself, i'm very, very happy for you. thank you for everything you've done, and i hope you have a fabulous time. . >> director rafael? >> tamar, you know, both commissioners said it so beautifully. i want to just put my layer on top to say that when i first interviewed you for the job back -- way back, and the department was six big -- i don't know. maybe we were 30 people big. it was pretty small. you were coming from rain forest

action network. it was a radical group of people. you were out there scaling buildings and putting a stop to things and, yet, you were coming to work in government. i remember thinking, oh, is that a good fit? because not everyone can work within government.

>> i like to say you are not retiring. you are retiring from the department. and so, i am excited about the next phase of your life. you and drew have so much to offer the world and the two of you together are going to make ripples where you go. so thank you, thank you for the 16 years you gave to us and the city is not the same as it was when you started and i am not the same.

so thank you. >> they say what you work in government and they say you have to color within the lines, but if you do a really great job, they give you a lot of colors to play with. so thank you. would you like to, my fellow commissioners have nothing to add would you like to say something before we have public comment? >> thank you, so much. i am so honored and touched by this outpouring of appreciation and recognition and you see the work we're doing on the team and you value it. i've been able to play my role these past 16 years has been one of the greatest opportunities of my life. the work we do in the schools matter and the work we do in our state and city matters. when we get to the part of the ecosystem. -- and i always say

we're all part of a ecosystem. we all can't do everything. if we work on the thing we do best, the ecosystem flourishes. here in san francisco, we have a very vibrant, healthy dynamic powerful ecosystem. i have been honored to play my role doing my part to help our city be the best it can be and help young people to understand how important it is to protect nature and our environment and to be active citizens in our world. i want to thank debbie for your leadership. i think that having gone into schools for the past part of my -- many, many years now. it's all about leadership. you walk into a school community and you can tell if it's -- what the leadership of the school is. you are like the principal of the department of environment. you've just done such a great job, really allowing us to be who we are and allowing us to do our best. you've challenged us when we can do better in ways that make

sense. you are not unreasonable in telling us to be better. you are encouraging and inspiring. that's the true mark of good leadership and really brilliant leadership is when you inspire us to be our better selves and you've done that with me. i really thank you for that. yes, i am retiring from the city of san francisco. i am not retiring from being a contributing member to society. my husband and i are started our own communications agency. i want to help other communities and municipalities implement environmental education programs. i actually have a woman from new york contact me and wants our help with a food waste initiative that they're doing in their community and working with the schools there. i'm actually excited to take what i've learned here in san francisco and spread it to other places around the country. it's an honor. i just want to say thank you. the work we do is so important. the