>> is there any public comment online item eight moving into -- line item seven, moving into closed session? no public comment. vote on whether or not to move into closed session? >> second. >> all in favor? >> aye. >> before we go into closed session, i would like to vote on whether to invoke the attorney and client privilege for those items as well. >> is there a motion? >> so moved. >> item nine, vote to elect whether to disclose what was discussed in closed session. >> aye. >> is anyone for adjournment? >> aye.

>> can i have a motion and a second, please? >> second. >> aye. [laughter]

[pledge of allegiance] >> clerk: this is a reminder to silence all electronic devices. fire commission regular meeting wednesday, december 11, 2019, and the time is 9:01. roll call. [roll call]

>> clerk: item 2, general public comment. members of the public may address the commission for up to three minutes on any matter within the commission's jurisdiction and does not appear on the agenda. speakers shall address their remarks to the commission as a whole and not to individual commissioners or personnel. commissioners are not to comment on comments by the speaker. the lack of comment does not necessarily constitute agreement with or support of statements made during public comment. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, madam secretary. at this time, is there any member of the public that wishes to give public comment? if any member of the public

wishes to give public comment, please approach the podium at this time. seeing that there's no one from the public who wishes to give public comment, public comment is closed. madam secretary. >> clerk: item 3, approval of the minutes. discussion and possible action to approve the november 30, 2019 meeting minutes. >> president nakajo: thank you, madam secretary. on the item, item 3, approval of the minutes, is there any public comment on this item? seeing none from the public, public comment at this point is closed. commissioners? >> commissioner verones . >> commissioner hardeman: so moved, mr. president. >> commissioner veronese:

second. >> president nakajo: there is a motion by commissioner hardeman, second by commissioner veronese. the minutes are approved. [gavel]. >> president nakajo: madam secretary. item 4, fire director's report. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, madam secretary. on item 4, as tradition, chief of the department will report first, and then deputy chief will report second. good morning, chief nicholson. >> good morning, mr. president, commissioners, maureen, command staff, and that includes the folks not in uniform, by the

way. chief jeanine nicholson. this is my report since november 13. it's going to be a minute longer than it usually is because we have a few more things than we did. november 15, i set up a meeting with the head of d.e.m., mary ellen car ellen carroll, and the head of p.d., chief scott, to collaborate on issues, whether it's dispatch, training, and other challenges and opportunities that we can work on together. so we are going to be having quarterly meetings where we can, you know, work on things together. the retirement ceremony, thank you to the commissioners for coming to that. about 40 people, and it was very well received by those that came. they were very appreciative. on the 19th of november, we had labor management.

things are moving along there. on the 21st, i attended, as well as i believe c.d. 2 and c.d. 3 went to the toys opening event at the newhall hall, 798 hall, so they had a big open day event that i stopped by that evening. that evening, there was an american legion annual 456 annual awards. three firefighters were awarded for a rescue that they made of an elderly woman off her balcony and another for all his community service. we did the bump up badge

pinning at treasure island. approximately -- is it 15? 16 members bumped up to paramedic. on the 25th, we started -- well, i guess we didn't start, but we continued our budget preparation meetings, and we're really trying to distill down our priorities, and we also had a meeting yesterday, myself and mark corso and chief velo and olivia scanlon, and we believe we're getting direction from mayor breed next week, so we'll keep you posted on that. the command staff participated in a turkey carving event at the salvation army, and that was -- that was good fun. we beat the police. we carved more turkeys than

they did, so strong work, command staff. and then, on the thanksgiving, i was with the mayor at glide, carving turkey and then self-help for the elderly in the afternoon. the nob hill firefighter association gave an award as they do each year, and this year, it was raymond ng from station 41. he is as conscientious as they come, so it was really nice to give him that award. several of us were at s.f.o. the other day where a $40,000 check was presented to tony

stefani for the s.f.o. work for the charity golf tournament, so that was super generous to that foundation. i spoke at the hotel council lunch and toy drive on the 6th. on the 7th, santa claus visited station 49, as did i. and then, just for some updates, the firefighter youth academy funds that we were talking about have been transferred, so that's good to go. then speaking with a couple of employee groups about the opportunities for all and expanding that, this past year, we had three high school kids working at station 49 and one working at nert during the summer, so we're looking to see if we can expand that. we have other places to expand that next year. yesterday, i met with chief

tangerlini and a physician and some staff from ucsf to talk about doing research, doing training, and -- and the ability for our members, particularly our paramedics and e.m.t.s to get feedback on calls that they went on, which would be a great learning tool. we released a social media policy, which i want to thank chief wyrsch and chief velo for working on that. it was a big deal to get that out, so we are happy to make adjustments if need be, but we really needed to get that out. as you already may know, doctor terrazas resigned, and we will be advertising that position hopefully within the next week. we just need the commission's

need back on the job announcement as we sent to you, so i'll make sure to send it again if you don't have it because technically the commission is responsible for overseeing that. and then, father greene, just to put this on your calendar, his farewell party is june 20 at moscone center. there will be a few people in attendance, but there will also be a smaller luncheon that i think i'm going to attend. >> commissioner hardeman: do you mean january 6? >> june. >> commissioner hardeman: june. >> we're giving you some time because this is an important day. this is important because this man has been so good to us for

so many years, but there'll also be a luncheon. and then, i just want to say, i sat down with a member who was -- one of our members who was diagnosed with brain cancer. last week, i sat down with him. he's been going through treatment. he's gone through radiation and chemo, and he has three small kids, and he's also a veteran. and while i want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season, i'd like us all to take a moment out of our days and, you know, think a good thought or say a prayer or, you know, reach out to someone who's going through a difficult time, and that concludes my report for today. thank you. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, chief nicholson. at this time, i will ask for public comment on chief nicholson's report. any member of the public wishes to give public comment at this point, please approach the

podium? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioners, any questions or comments for the chief? commissioner hardeman? >> commissioner hardeman: yeah -- yes, president nakajo, just real quick. i'm glad to see, chief, that you're doing the hardest part of the job, which is taking your time away and having to go to all the ceremonial -- but for the general public and support of the fire department may be the most department because having the fire chief round is always a good thing. i know it's hard on you. you'd rather be doing a lot of other things -- >> it's part of the job i signed up for. >> commissioner hardeman: thank you for your service. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, commissioner hardeman. madam secretary, could you please note that commissioner cleaveland that's joined us for -- has joined us for a full quorum. commissioners? vice president covington,

please. >> commissioner covington: thank you, mr. president. thank you, chief, for prompting all of us to continue to fight the good fight and keep the member of the department who has brain cancer in our minds as well as other people who may be in need, so thank you for that. you've been very, very busy, and i just wanted to remark that i thought that the retirement ceremony was joyful and just a good time, you know? it was like old home week, you know, people returning to headquarters and looking so well rested in their retirement, and to meet some of their family members. i think it's wonderful that we have this event every other year, and so it's a good tradition for us to have. the toys -- excuse me. the toy events that have been happening all-around town,

since we have a lot of people who watch our meetings on sfgovtv, are there particular places that you can point out that people might be able to bring toys, you know, because they're just beginning to do their christmas shopping? is there a drop-off point? >> so i don't have a list. 798 would have that. if anybody else knows -- >> commissioner covington: it can be any fire house? >> it can be at any fire house -- >> commissioner covington: can it be at any fire house? >> absolutely. it can be at any fire house, but there are events at city hall, as well. >> commissioner covington: well, for those of you out there, please go to your local fire house and give a toy for kids. we would appreciate that. all right. and let's see...a lot of

commendations for everyone at the department. a congratulations to everyone in that for their part work this past month. and the new department physician, we understand that job has been posted. >> not yet. >> commissioner covington: not yet? so the job will be posted very soon, and we will have someone very, very good coming in to take dr. terrazas' place after his resignation. and june 20 for father greene, yes. that's a nice long notice, and moscone center, i agree with you, it's probably going to be full, and i'm surprised it's not being held at the chase center. i thank you for your report, chief. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, vice president

covington. at this point, if there's no other commissioners, i'm just going to ask the question, chief nicholson, you made a comment in terms of the comment for job description. we have that description in our packet. you're asking for comments and questions by commissioners. in terms of this, is there a suggested due date that the commissioners should respond back to you so we can get this process post inded? >> we'd love to get it this week, if possible, yeah. we want to get it right, but we're also looking forward to any possibilities. >> president nakajo: okay. so my question then, and my request to the commissioners is please review this job description as requested by the

chief. if there's some feedback that you can give the chief by friday of this week, it would be timely. and then, just in terms of a comment, since the physician's office has been vacant, what is the process of operation at this time and how is it going with that? concern over losing any type of responsibility. >> yeah. if i could have someone come up and just explain the process. >> president nakajo: thank you, chief. i know we have a capable nurse that's within the department, but just trying not to lose any momentum or responsibility to the membership services, doctor. >> absolutely. good morning, president nakajo, chief. as you mentioned, we are -- we're currently focusing on making sure there's no

interruption of service. stephanie phelps, nurse practitioner, is continuing to see members. additionally, we are referring people out if there's more complex needs, so there's currently being met. i have a strong belief, and i've communicated that to the chief as well as chief ajello, that that's communicated, and we have a robust physicians' office that can support the department, so i think a job description for the department would be very, very helpful. i'm currently serving as the assistant physician for supervisor phelps, and then we have the san francisco general occupational health to refer patients as well as some of the outside occupational health clinics. >> president nakajo: thank you very much for that update, doctor. again, thank you for talking about not losing any of the services that we renders within that point of information.

it is the responsibility and the jurisdiction of this commission on the physicians department, as well as we talked to the chief on the requirements of the candidates. we have a great opportunity at this point. thank you for that comment, as well. at this point, i don't have any other questions for you, chief nicholson. commissioner alioto veronese? >> commissioner veronese: thank you, commissioner. i apologize for the late jump-in, but i wasn't going to say anything, but i think this is really important. this is a position that we all know is critical to this department. it'll be interesting to see over this time period of new hire how impacted this office is with -- with the physician

missing, but doctor, as we spoke before, it's really important that we're not clinicians up here, we're not doctors. our knowledge base is limited as to exactly what this department needs, so your input is also greatly appreciated in the job application description. it's really important. i'm curious, mr. president, to what our ability is to actually recruit specific people as opposed to -- for such a critical position as opposed to just taking from a list of the willing who apply. i know that i've served on commissions before where we've put together a task force of sorts -- i'm not saying it's needed -- but to actually go out and recruit other people perhaps away from other departments or other jobs. this is a critical job to this department, to the mission of the department to take care of its own people, so i think we should be doing everything possible in the fastest way possible to get somebody in this position, so that's all i

have to say to that. >> president nakajo: thank you very much for that comment, and i'm going to ask the chief of the department to respond to your question and concern, which is duly noted. commissioner -- chief nicholson, would you like to respond to the commissioner? >> so respond to the -- >> president nakajo: the question on the robust recruitment and can we -- >> yeah. so we've had a lot of inquiry already from people, and we've had some referrals already, so we're actually feeling pretty good right now, and -- but yeah, we will -- we're looking at that internally in terms of where to post it, as we did with the grant writer, and so we're hoping to post-it in the next week. >> president nakajo: commissioner, any other comments in terms of -- >> commissioner veronese: well, in terms of referrals, that's

great. it's a small community of doctors here in san francisco, so anybody we can refer, recruit, to get them into this process would be great, and we know the department's going to be working hard on it, but outside of our own resources, people in this world, it would be great to get the word out to them, a great job and a great department. a lot of good stuff to be done here. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, commissioner alioto veronese. thank you very much, chief nicholson. at this time, can we call up chief velo for his report? >> good morning president, vice president, commissioners. this is my october 19 report. seems the holiday schedule has kind of, you know, thrown things -- so i will report in for november and december on my

jo january reports, so i wasn't here for the last meeting, so it's been a while. groups and committees, continue to attend many meetings and committees. i want to show you the report, and it's right after the fleet data page i put for you, a sample of one of the committees that's working on a project, the work group. i put the charter of the work group in that report. just an example of how professional this looks, how dedicated these folks are to make sure all the responsibilities that they're working on align with our plan. it's on page 34 and 35 of your report -- and 36. just an example of how they are working, organizing what they're working on, how they're going to review -- >> president nakajo: chief velo, are you going to be putting that report up on the

screen? >> no, it's just the three pages of the report. i'm meeting with the accident committee, reviewing the accident policy. it's been a long time since we reviewed that. i attended the meeting of the behavioral health committee, as well, too, and also policies and procedures where we're advising our rules and regulations, so we're working on that, as well. working with the chief on staff 2020, working on what's coming up for staff next year, and training that's coming up. we turn in all the fire requirements, e.m.s. requirements, priorities, and go from there. i wasn't at the last meetings. i was at a labor and management committee at the state

controller's office and the state association of firefighters. what it does, the apprentice program, it gives money back to the department. so every year, first year member's year on the job, we get $2.25 an hour back. also, social media was a big topic. conference on that, so that was very helpful to be there. timely conversation, president nakajo, about the interim plan with officials yesterday, and just like dr. ng expressed, we're moving forward. we have a department of occupational health at san francisco general that will see patients, so we have that going forward, too. i attended a health check

presentation at u.c. davis. u.c. davis fire department has been very progressive health check in how they're doing it. they have a company that they use to do scans, and they do it every year. they have an agreement with their local that all the information, it's personal to individuals, and they have to go to the doctor, to their own private physician, and the department will get aggregate data to analyze the information that the department has, then they can push that through programs in the department. we're looking at that process if it works for us. right now, contra caosta and u.c. davis are the only departments that do it. we're just looking at options for us to bring back the health check, and we have another meeting coming up in january with our labor department for that group, too. i met with the i.s.o. inspector

and insurance inspector that rates us on several things. we're again rated number one, so a class 1 rating for our department. the information has come back before we had some things to do, to cleanup and bring it back to the inspector. and once we're done with that, we take that to the chief and the mayor. once we're done, we expect to be a class 1 again, which is good because if you are a class 1, your insurance rates go down for the city. -- we a [inaudible] >> -- kind of management --

approach management, timeline management. and one of the two projects that we're working on right now is our revision of our s.o.p.s and manuals that we're working on, next year to have then revised and completed. we have several other projects that we're working on. basically, we want this person to come in, work at headquarters, work on projects versus just fire house stuff, learn how to work on the management side of things and then come back and have a more rounded background when they promote to higher positions and come out to the command staff, so it's good thing for the chief to bring those positions back here. as you know, we have a 26 academy. we have 51 recruits remaining. one of them failed the m.s. portion of it. two resigned due to injury, and two have failed on efficiencies.

one of them returned to station 49, so we're down from 51 to 46. last month, on october 2, in service training. we had rope rescue and confined service classes. this week, we're having pg&e members come in and help us understand pg&e, pacific gas and electric and understand their equipment, and our citizens, too, and then, we put them through training. i know we saw you last time, we had the yearly drill in october, but we also delivered another -- it was the four-session all in spanish to the community.

it's a lite -- i call it lite version of nert. many families bring their kids because they don't have a way to baby-sit, so they learn life skills, shut off electric, water, fire extinguisher, something they can definitely use in their community and help each other. so that was the last one that we held at divisional training. bureau of division and planning, they had a vacancy list on november 7. and along with that and the new tours, we'll be moving around mid-january, and now we're going through the vacation selection process. and this is the first time i report on this, so the new health and safety wellness chief, who's here. i included that report -- her report on the -- my report, and i will be doing that from now on, so you have information on

what the chief is working on and the department is working on. some information from her. we're able to identify some training for our members, and we have one that's going in january to a week-long class how to deal with these issues so we can make the case for increasing our staff in this unit. we identify -- the last report i showed you -- the stats of injuries that we had. some of the stats we had were stepping up the apparatus, so we're working on proper techniques to step off on the apparatus for fewer injuries. we're working with sfpd with deescalation training. it's a program that they have, and then, we're going to have context with them.

they give us the training, and we're going to adapt to our members. we have concerns about violence to our members in the field, especially at station 49, so they have some issues. so we identified some techniques that we can probably use to deescalate the situation, zso we're going to o forward with that, training of 40 hours, bring them back, create a curriculum for us that's specially for our folks, and station 49, too. we're working with the spca for animal visits at the fire house, and i think the first visit is tomorrow at 4:30. we're going to have animal companion visits at station 49 and go from there.

spca, yeah. support services, you won't recognize it, station 35, but all the piles are removed there. everything is to be on track. station 49, latest pictures of 49, we have a concrete floor on the fourth floor. all interior walls and exterior framing have been completed and actually we're working on the ducts on the first floor and second floor, and it's moving right along to schedule in anticipation of completion next winter, next fall. apparatus updates. the host and specs have been completed. currently, o.c.a., they're supposed to go out to bid this month. hopefully, that's the case and they go out to bid and start getting some vendors that start

the bids. we have some engines that have been ordered in the preconstruction process. we're identifying some things that the staff eidentified tha had to be corrected. once we get that, we're good to go. mobile air, we finally -- the vendor finally found a chassis that will work for them, so it's peterbilt, so now we're moving forward on the motors, too. on december 17, we have a demonstration for all electric engines on the d.o.t. technology is always -- we're always looking at new technology to see if it meets our needs. if not, but we have a vendor coming in december 17 to show us. and last month, station 17 received their brand-new engine. they were very happy to see that, so my first meeting here,

i provided you with the stats of our apparatus, and i included on your report on page -- let's see...page 33, 34, and 35 -- 34, an updated chart with our apparatus. so i have the pie charts here, and what you see here is that we're moving forward, we get new rigs. we're still behind, and we're asking for those updates in the budget. we have five hose extenders there, and a light unit, and a p.c.o. unit. we're looking at different models for that, and we're looking at having the fleet become more green, yellow, than red. so this is an update from last time, but i'm going to continue

bringing this to you every six months, the update on the fleet and the status. here you have, a pie chart, all apparatus engines and trucks. obviously, we have a need mormore trucks, so that will make -- need for more trucks so that will make our comments and numbers much better. we continue to work with high schools, learning all kinds of skills. we hope that program is a model that we can incorporate into other schools in the district and make a way to come into the department with some preexperience with that, too. very excited about that. international high school and also at three rivers in october, but we had a booth there, too. chief mentioned the turkey carving that we did -- and yes, we did, we beat p.d. on that by

a lot. and then -- true, that's true, commissioners. we're used to the kitchen. also, we had a -- chief and i visited the troops and then went to the kincade fire. it was good to support our neighbors to the north and it was interesting to be there in the camp with members not just in the state but out of state, as well, too. this finishes my report. chief cochran is going to give you an update. if you have any questions or you want to wait until after the drone update, up to you. >> president nakajo: commissioners, i think we'll take that update at this particular point, and then, we can ask our questions. chief cochran, welcome. good morning to you. >> good morning, mr. president,

commissioners, chief nicholson. chief cochran, on the drone update, the work begins operationally on training. we want to get the most members trained to cover the city on a day-to-day basis. the general order went out on november 1 looking for members of the department that want to become pilots that aren't on specialized groups. we've got 14 members approved by the deputy. now we've got to find a training program and a school. we've identified one, the costs associated with it. make sure they're a city vendor, awaiting approval with that. now we've submitted the fire service drone. o.c.a. kicked it back and said you can't give a specific model number, you have to write your own specs. internally, m.i.s. helped me,

we got those specs written, and as of today, the drone is not posted on o.c.a. yet. that's the latest update, but we're moving forward. >> president nakajo: all right. thank you very much, chief c cochran. we're going to forward -- you still have your report to go through, chief velo. i'm going to ask for public comment, but if you could both remain so the members can ask questions on that as well as chief velo's report. at this point, i'm going to ask if there's any public comment on the public report from chief velo. seeing no public comments, i'm going to ask the commissioners if they have any comments or questions. commissioner alioto veronese? >> commissioner veronese: chief, on the drone stuff, you identified a drone you want to

purchase, and it is currently being posted with the city agency that requested bids for these things? how does this work? yes. this is from mark corso who's been coaching me on this. because it's been grant funded, and researched far and wide, the specific drone we want, lights, cameras, batteries, we submitted a specific model. apparently it has to be, i'll say vanilla, just the specs, and then, it does go to open bid. i'm not exactly sure how many days, so we had to rewrite the specs and resubmit, and it's not posted as of this morning. so basically, people -- it's like a request for proposal you're putting out, basically for people to submit -- drone companies to come in and say yeah, we have this drone, and this is what it costs. is that the idea? and how long does it take? because that sounds like an

entirely new process as opposed to a single source process, this is the type of drone we need, which is sounds like what you did. these are the specifications, this is the drone we want -- it looks like mr. corso -- >> yes, sir. i'm going to have to refer to c.f.o. on that. >> absolutely. good morning, commissioners. mark corso, finance and planning. due to it being a department of homeland security grant, we can't single source it out. as chief cochran had mentioned, we had thoroughly reviewed the specs to make sure we had everything we need, but we are turning it over today. it will be posted -- it's not like construction or r.f.p. vendors can sell drones with their model and their pricing,

and can be rather -- pretty straightforward. we want to ensure in our specifications that the equipment that's being submitted meets our needs, and so that's why it's taken a little longer for a thorough review of the specs. >> commissioner veronese: once it's submitted -- do we anticipate purchasing a drone in the next few months? six months? a year? >> oh, yes. the next few months. it's a fairly straightforward. there's very minor contracting or anything like that that's required, so it's a pretty straightforward commodity purchase there. >> commissioner veronese: assuming they're a city vendor. >> correct. >> commissioner veronese: if they're not a city vendor, there's a process to make them a scity vendor? >> absolutely. a they're given an amount of time to say if you're interested in pursuing this process, you have

an opportunity to become a city vendor, and if not, we're going to move on. >> commissioner veronese: thank you. and then on the training courses, you've identified 14 individuals that have been approved to take this course. is this a course that's going to happen in the next month? two months? six months? a year? >> so actually, we have identified a school that is in treasure island that can do that. so within the next month, we expect to start training these folks. >> commissioner veronese: so how long is the course? >> so it's to prepare for the f.a.a. course, it's two days. 16 hours of study and then homework. then you get sent to the local airport to get your f.a.a. license. two more days of flying because we want people to practice. that's daytime flights, nighttime flights and a specialized course which they have to pass, then they're licensed.

>> commissioner veronese: okay. so putting these two processes together, are we going to have a drone flying in this department by the end of january? >> first quarter of next year for sure. >> commissioner veronese: first quarter of next year. okay. thank you, chief cochran. >> thank you, sir. >> commissioner veronese: i had a question in regards to the mobile health care unit that's been deployed in the tenderloin by the haight-ashbury free clinic. have we seen that has affected in a positive way our call volumes or our response times? we know that that's an affected model? >> i'll refer to dr. ng for that one. >> hello again.

so the units that you're referring to, commissioner remember owe nie veronese is the healthright 360. they're not currently receiving volume from the 911 system, so we're not -- for instance, 911 ambulance are not delivering patients to this clinic, so it doesn't have that sort of an impact. on the other hand, their mission, as i understand it, is to provide better access for primary care, so that's another access for patients in that area who don't have access to another clinic that they can go to. if that would prevent a person from requiring 911 services, that would be a benefit to us. but to answer your question, we don't strictly monitor the influence of that particular unit. specifically anecdotally, i don't think we're seeing an impact on that.

it's not for patients that are seeking emergency access, it's to provide non-911 services to people. >> commissioner veronese: thank you. you brought up an interesting point. i'd be curious to know how many of our calls require a hospital vist visit as opposed to -- you know, you require a hospital visit, and then, those calls that should require some sort of a physician but not an ambulance ride, for example, and you think this type of clinic could serve those types of people. i'm wondering if the department is looking at those numbers and determining whether or not a mobile health care unit like this would be useful to the department, especially now that we're getting into budget cycles and stuff. and it seems to me as though the mayor's office -- i'm just hallucinating on this, but the mayor's office and the budget

office would look favorably on doing something like this. now i'm going to say this is not our job, but like e.m.s. 6, if we can create units that help us down the line, then maybe this is something we should be looking at. but we can't answer that question until we know whether or not this type of service will positively affect the type of service that we provide to the citizens of san francisco. so maybe there's still some questions to be answered on that, but i do think it's something we should look at and be prepared during this budget cycle to perhaps ask for money for or for that matter, if we don't do that, and we know it's going to positively help us and provide services to the city, then maybe this is something we should be asking the department to step up to the plate and actually do. so -- >> if i can respond, i agree. i think it's a concept

definitely worthy of exploration. i think it's also good that we're developing a need that can be met and it's compatible with our mission and also an operational and regulatory environment, but indeed, if it's something that can help the patients that we serve, it's definitely worth exploring. >> commissioner veronese: well, i ask the department to be ready to answer those questions before we get into the budget cycle, but as soon as possible so we don't find ourselves in a position of providing those services, which we do already, in an unfunded way, which we already do, which is causing more stress to those in station 49. so thank you. >> president nakajo: chief nicholson, so you had input on a couple of things? >> yes. so this is definitely something that we've been talking out,

looking into on the budget and all that. i've had quite a few conversations with the doctor and a couple of chiefs about the model that we could use out there. so i've asked the doctor to do a couple of ride alongs with chief pang to see if there's -- looking at are there other ways to address this, what's effective and what's not? i know it's been effective to have psych nurses riding along with e.m.s. 6, psych nurses from d.p.h., so i know that's been done. i also know we're having a community paramedicine class either in january or february. once our test captain list comes out, we're going to have people take that class, and they will be part of this --

you know, this program, whatever kind of expansion we're going to do, and yeah. i mean, we've thought about, is it -- would it be successful to have -- to bring, you know, one of our sprinters out to turk and taylor and set up shop with, you know, a physician, social worker, like -- i don't know. so we're -- we're looking at all sorts of different ways to address it, and it is top priority, so -- >> commissioner veronese: thank you, chief, for working on that. chief, if you could address -- i know the sirens went offline, and there was some social media about it. are those offline for the next two years while they're working on that? there's going to be no siren system for the next two years? >> that is correct.

they're technology from i want to say the 50's, and basically anybody could hack into them at any time is what we found over the past year or two -- what the d.e.m. found, and so they needed to be -- they need to be upgraded and taken offline, so yes. there's 100 and -- i can't remember how many of them, 120 of them or something like that, so yes, they all need to be upgraded. >> commissioner veronese: and if you could reassure the public, which is true, there's other technologies that we're using where in there's some sort of emergency where those would be deployed, that they'll get notice. >> absolutely, there are. there's sf alert, there's push notification on other people's phones, and there is a way for the city to -- to push out notifications like they do now with -- with flooding in different areas or the like, so -- >> commissioner veronese: okay. thank you, chief.

appreciate it. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, commissioner alioto veronese. that concludes your questions at this point. commissioner hardeman? >> commissioner hardeman: yeah, real quick, president nakajo, i read that article in the paper that commissioner veronese is referring to. that article existed because glide could no longer staff in their facility what we're doing in the mobile unit right now, so that's why that facility exists. but it sounds like they're doing very, very minor stuff. didn't seem like there was any narcan being administered or anything like that. they referred to it as minor cuts, things like that. it seems like a very insignificant number of people that have been served, at least

elicited in the papers. it seems like it would be a very nice thing to have in san francisco -- not criticizing it, but just repeating what i read in the article. it was a good article. it's nice to see people being helped if they needed. i only turned the mic onto thank you again because pie charts and graphics and photos are, you know, like 10,000 words or a thousand words, like you say so, especially in your report. so thank you. >> thank you, commissioner hardeman. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, commissioner hardeman. commissioner covington? >> commissioner covington: thank you very much, chief. your report is very organized. i do appreciate the organization of the report. it's very good to see this.

i just had some questions regarding the ageing fleet of the department. i guess that wrote be on page 33, the page that's not numbered. >> mm-hmm. yep. >> commissioner covington: so i see that this is all broken-down into apparatus that is one to five years old, five to 15 years old, 15 to 25 years, and more than 25 years. how do you prioritize what needs to be replaced? because a long time we had a fleet plan, and then, we didn't have a fleet plan, and we need funding for that, but these

numbers are still high. >> it's still high. it's going to take us a while to get from the hole we were a few years ago. a plan was drafted last year, and we're following the plan. we're still behind. it's going to take some funding from city hall and supervisors to help us get to where we are, so we're going to advocate for that in the next budget cycle. we're drafting a new plan to make sure our needs are met. one of the things that's going to help us is the hostings that's coming in. those are just specialized units are used rarely infrequently. we might not need a whole unit or truck. it might be a trailer that we can attach to a pick up truck.

so we're looking at things that are in the market that are more cost efficient, more effective for us. >> commissioner covington: before you leave the hose tenders, there are five hose tenders here, one, two, three, four, five. >> yes, mm-hmm. >> commissioner covington: so five hose tenders, i have heard from the chief of the department and other people that we need six hose tenders, but at the same time, i've heard that we have no place to put them if we get new hose tenders. so is there something else that needs to happen in order for these hose tenders to be deployed? >> so some of these hose tenders will replace ones that we have right now. other ones will go into relief. we're having meetings to learn exactly where we're going to put them. >> commissioner covington: that was what i was thinking exactly, with the space crunch.

we as commissioners, we --

[inaudible] >> commissioner covington: and i also wanted to ask about the mass casualty. is that the mass casualty bus or what is that? >> so we have two mass casualty units and two mass casualty buses. >> commissioner covington: okay. so this is the unit or one of the buses? which one, in the 11-to-15-y r 11-to-15-year -- >> yeah, the m.c.u. is one of the buses. >> commissioner covington: okay. but above that m.c.u., two steps, you have mass cas. >> that's one of the two that i'm talking about, mass casualty here. >> commissioner covington: okay. i have some concern about that

because just about every day on the nes, there's a mass casualty someplace in the united states. it's really quite distressing so what is the plan to update these units? >> one thing i would say is these units, they're not used all the time. they're still in good shape. >> commissioner covington: i'm sorry? they're what? still in good shape? >> yeah, they're still in good shape. trucks for certain companies are our highest demand. we have to always put priority for the engine trucks so we have use for every day and as the budget functions and the money allows from city hall, we see items here on the list that we can update, so we're working with the chief here and mark

corso, we have some updates that we can identify, and we're going to put in the request. >> commissioner covington: okay. what you have outlined is a logical plan, okay? and i agree with the plan. so when the plan is put on paper in january, i suppose -- we have a plan to come for that. we have a plan in the budget that we're going to ask for. for the fleet update, we have a plan for the one that's going to expire in june. >> commissioner covington: okay. so it expires in june, and we're going to have one in place in april, may? so the push for new money, that's going to begin fairly soon, though. >> mm-hmm. yes. >> commissioner covington: okay. well thank you for that response. then, i had another question

regarding the drone. >> excuse me? >> commissioner covington: the drone. so chief cochran. >> good morning again. >> good morning. good morning thank you for your progress on this. it's amazing to me that things take years. you know, the most needs in order for them to be met, it takes years. so on the up side, for the second drone, things will go much more quickly. >> that's the plan, commissioner, commissioner, yes, ma'am. >> commissioner covington: okay. well, i'm hoping for a second drone because it's been a steep learning curve to get that first drone in the air. i think we will all feel much

better and all feel a sense of accomplishment when it takes its maiden voyage. >> absolutely. >> commissioner covington: okay. well, thank you. >> thank you. >> president nakajo: chief cochran, you want to stay up there for a sec? >> yes, sir. >> president nakajo: okay. commissioners, if there's no other questions or comments, i'll ask my question. okay. chief cochran, you were talking about 14 candidates that were designated for training. is that number sufficient in terms of what you're trying to establish? >> well, we'd always like more service. it's starting out as a program, hoping people catch on, but for us, it's like a tens medic or k9 handler. they get on the chief's list, but we have to start somewhere, and i think that's a good number right now.

>> president nakajo: okay. just in terms of some good information, i imagine that -- is it a position that would be titled as a drone "specialist" or how would they operate? would that member be on duty during the course of time, depending on circumstance? could you explain some process if you have a process? >> i'd have to refer to deputy for that, sir. >> president nakajo: okay. yeah. i'm curious as to how we're going to get there, since we're getting close, and we're getting close to operation. chief, did you want to respond? >> yeah. we have some designated drone operator every day on duty that the chiefs can refer to and special call for the operation. we're still having discussions on where to locate that drone. we're thinking somewhere on the western side of the city for the cliff rescues that we have

out there. but having 14, it will allow us to have somebody on call every single day that can respond to a specific incident and then use the drone for that specific incident. >> president nakajo: where would that come out of? would that be department chief of operations? okay. so that would be department for us in terms of coordination. okay. >> yeah. >> president nakajo: i think that's enough information that we can feel good to move forward to the next step. i think we've got it in operational phase, and as soon as we can have that in some kind of working order. >> yeah. >> president nakajo: chief velo, in terms of your specific report, there were a couple of things that came out. one of the things that came out is what i call a newer picture of the e.m.s. station. i guess we identified it as -- what is the label? is it 49 still? >> 49. station 49. >> president nakajo: okay.

in terms of station 49, that brief picture, where are we at in terms of implementation of that program, utilization? >> so it's scheduled to open fall of next year, 2020, and we're still on schedule. there's things to every project, but we're still on track for that project. >> president nakajo: and then the reference in terms of what the vice president asked, rigs in terms of trucks or parking, you mentioned the availability of old station 49. just a point of clarification. is the old station 49 within our fire department jurisdiction still? >> yes. so the plans for that facility is to become the new b.o.a., and then, we can upgrade that and have some access to that, too. >> president nakajo: as we talk about not total replacement, but parts replacement, which would need to me if anyone in

the department visits where the current bureau of equipments are, it's small and old. so in terms of that transition to the old station 49, that helps me visualize larger room, more capacity. it doesn't change the personnel numbers there, but it changes the atmosphere in terms of -- >> and we still plan to keep all b.o.e. of 25 street, but now we're adding that capacity of the new b.o.e. facility at old 49 for apparatus. we have a lot of plans. our s.b.a. can still be there. a lot of plans for that facility that can help us. and space is the key. we're going to have much more space to have apparatus plugged in there properly, so we're in good shape. >> president nakajo: okay. and that's your reference to old station 49 which will be the future bureau of equipment. just to keep going, what happens to the old bureau of

equipment that's just off the freeway? >> that's the place where tools are fixed, little things happen there. we're still planning to use that building. eventually, that building has to be retrofitted to use, but until we have bonds for that, we're still use the space. >> president nakajo: all right. thank you very much for that. i also wanted to remark that the picture that you showed about the nurturing, the picture with the mothers and the children. >> yep. >> president nakajo: that makes total sense to me. if we really want indeed community participation and if mothers are going to come, the whole object is what are you going to do with your kids? and if the fire department -- and i love that picture. it seemed of a welcoming nature just beyond their, you know -- education trickles down to the kids, as well, but i know our

department -- our mission statement is in terms of suppression, prevention, medical, but i know in terms of e.m.s. 6, we're encompassing ourselves into needs of families of sfrichk. a -- san francisco. and to see that picture, i know the mothers there, they're concentrating. i don't know if you throw a snack in there somewhere or a toy for the kids? >> so i would say the concept includes the family brings a meal, and the firefighters bring a meal, too, so the community is helping each other, because it's normally at dinner time when they come. so they bring meals and we all share the meals and the breaks that we have. >> president nakajo: i like that. that's what we call community relationship.

lo thank you very much for your comprehensive report, chief. madam secretary? >> clerk: item 5, amend fire commission meeting calendar 2020. discussion and possible action to amend the 2020 calendar to reflect a change of date and room number from november 11, 2020, which is veterans holiday to tuesday, november 10, 2020, in room 408 at city hall and adopt the 2020 fire commission regular meeting calendar. >> president nakajo: all right. thank you, madam secretary. at some point, there was a calendar in your docket -- i don't know if many of you have it or not, but this issue on the veterans day conflict came about. i'm going to call for public comment, and then, we'll have some questions or comment. anybody wishes to speak on

public comment on item 5 on the calendar? seeing none, public comment is closed. what is your desire? >> commissioner cleaveland: move to approve. >> president nakajo: i've got a motion from commissioner cleaveland. i need a second. call for the vote. any approvals? madam secretary. >> clerk: item 6, comment on information on things that have happened since last meeting? >> president nakajo: is there any public comment on item 6, commission reports? seeing no one that wishes to give public comment, public comment is closed. commissioners?

commissioner alioto veronese? >> commissioner veronese: i understand we're going to be using paramedic larry to retirement, which is a bummer. he's a great guy and he's done a great service for this city. i just want to thank you, chief, for coming up with that program -- under your administration, certainly. it's a great program that we now have paramedics on bikes in the airport. it made me feel more secure in that airport because it's kind of siloed out there in its own little world. great job on that. larry's a great guy. really made me feel and my family feel good about having those paramedics in there. >> president nakajo: thank you very much. commission vice president covington? >> commissioner covington: thank you, mr. president.

i just want to say that last week, we had a very

reference and acknowledge our commission secretary, marie comfrey who really worked very, very hard on that retirement to make it as nice as it was. it is a great thing to see members come in and actually smile when they go out, as well, and look just great, and there is life after the fire department, and we all know that. but it's just great to be able to see that kind of

relationship. the other thing i wanted to remark, just as a point of information, no negative remarks in terms of intention. i attended a recent commission meeting, another commission meeting, and i was there five minutes before the start time, and then, it got to five minutes after, and then, it got to ten minutes after, and then it got to 15 minutes after, and then they started. and i'm just so proud that this commission, with our colleagues on the commission, when we say the train leaves at 9:00, the train leaves at 9:00. i'm proud that we start our mission and our meetings on time to our responsibility to the charter but also to the public, and i just want to thank all of you commissioners for that cooperation. ever since i've been on the commission, we've been starting the meetings on time, so thank you, commissioners, and to the command staff, as well. madam secretary -- i'm sorry.

commissioner hardeman? >> commissioner hardeman: thank you, president nakajo. i just wanted to have -- i have nothing to report except a comment on a couple of retirees. so at the last 49er game, i saw retired chiefs c.d.-2 and c.d.-3, ramona williams and mark gonzales. they were there together. chief williams sits near me, so she came by and reported that she was going to be the grandmother of a little girl, so she's very excited because she has the four-year-old grandson who she just worshipped and spends a lot of time with. i look any closer, and i swear she looks ten years ago younger. and then, mark gonzales, in the short time, i'd say about two years younger, and i told him about it. so it's one thing about those jobs, everybody in the fire department seeks to move up. i mean, a lot of people do, and

they take tests and earn it. but there's also a lot of reference about the big shot, big job, they get paid a lot. but once you retire from that type of job, then you realize how you never aren't working, you're always thinking c.d.-2 and c.d.-3. and i think i commented a couple times about mark gonzales, i would be down two weeks in a row, one on saturday, one on sunday. he's at 11:00, noon, going into work on a saturday or sunday, which you're supposed to be off, and that's what happens with those types of jobs is you're either thinking about it or you're putting in the extra time somehow, so i just wanted to comment on how the proof of it is and how good they look now, so they're getting their glow back of not working and enjoying their retirement. thank you.

>> president nakajo: thank you very much, commissioner hardeman. madam secretary? >> clerk: item 7, agenda for next and future fire commission meetings? >> president nakajo: all right. the only thing i see on our calendar -- which today is the last meeting of this year -- is that in january, we traditionally have our commission elections. there are only two meetings scheduled in january. the first, i believe, is january 8, 2020, and the second commission meeting is january 22. seeing that january 8 we would come back after the break, i'm not quite sure if we could schedule -- and the next one, i know we could if we wanted to, but at this point, i thought perhaps we would look at perhaps the second meeting of january, which is january 22. the only point of information -- and i'll share my information -- is that hopefully in january, i'm assuming we'll have a full

quorum. point of information, myself as fire commissioner, on january the 15, by the charter, my term is complete. i believe, commissioner hardeman, you are in the same situation. so commissioner hardeman and myself, our terms are complete on january 15, and from that point moving forward, it would be up to the perrogative of the mayor for us to continue, and i'm sure that commissioner hardeman has that intention, as do i, but it is up to the mayor, that decision. having said, th that, i assume we'll still be here in january. we'll still be here the first meeting in january, i believe. but having said that, commissioners, my

recommendation is to schedule and calendar the elections on january 22, which would be the second meeting of january. is there any comment or -- comment on that? >> commissioner cleaveland: very good logic. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, commissioner cleaveland. and vice president covington? >> commissioner covington: thank you very much, mr. president. i think traditionally, the elections were held on the first meeting in january, and so i think this year, we did it on the second meeting. but before that, it was the first meeting, so. >> clerk: so for the last five years, three have been on the first wednesday and two have been on the second. so in 2015, it was on january 22. in 2018, it was january 24, and

then, on the 19, it was on the 9th. the 17, it was on the 11th, and on the 16th, it was on the 13th. >> president nakajo: okay. commissioners, what is your pleasure? commission vice president covington? >> commissioner covington: okay. i think that just following the timeline that you have given, and knowing the great responsibility that this commission has, that it would be prudent to have the election on the first week -- excuse me, the first meeting. >> president nakajo: okay. >> commissioner covington: that way, we're not hampered by a lack of a quorum. >> president nakajo: okay. so vice president covington, you are suggesting we have election on january the 8, the first meeting of the

commission. >> commissioner covington: yes. >> president nakajo: okay. commissioner hardeman? >> commissioner hardeman: yes. i agree with you, president nakajo. if i'm not reappointed, it doesn't make sense to vote on who the next commissioner is going to be. if there's a new commissioner, they should vote on who the new president and vice president should be. that's just my opinion. >> president nakajo: okay. so commissioner hardeman, just so i'm clear, you're suggesting the second meeting in january. is that what you're saying? >> commissioner covington: either way, it's going to be january. >> president nakajo: okay. so commissioners, this is not up for a vote because it's an item of discussion. commissioner cleaveland, commissioner veronese, is there any flavor in terms of your feeling about this subject matter? and we don't have to schedule it today.

i'm just saying that we're having a discussion. but point of information, we won't meet again until the first meeting in january, so it would be prudent for us to at least come to an idea of when we want to do this election. all right. if i don't get any input, then i'll take the prerogative. >> commissioner covington: like i said, it's january. >> commissioner hardeman: can i get the mic again? >> president nakajo: please. >> commissioner hardeman: actually, it's the prerogative of the chair to schedule a meeting, but you're like me when i was president. you wanted the opinion of everyone else. but it is your prerogative, and you choose to get the opinion of the rest of us, so it's fine. >> president nakajo: i appreciate that, and i appreciate that very much. i do understand it is the prerogative of the chair, and i'm going to suggest january 22

for the elections. >> clerk: and we do have sf vice coming in for a presentation. >> president nakajo: okay. commissioners, you know what the lineup is in january, what it looks like, as well. madam secretary? >> clerk: you need to call for public comment on that. >> president nakajo: all right. i'm calling for public comment on item 7. seeing none, public comment is closed on item 7. item 9? >> clerk: public comment on item 9, whether to hold item 9-b, closed session. >> president nakajo: at this particular time, if any member of the public wishes to approach -- i do not see any. public comment is closed. [gavel]. >> president nakajo: madam secretary? >> clerk: vote on whether to

conduct item 9-b in closed >> president nakajo: okay. we're back in open. madam secretary, item 11. >> clerk: item 11, vote to disclose any or all discussions held in closed session. >> president nakajo: all right, commissioners, i'm going to need a motion and a second, please. >> commissioner cleaveland: motion to not disclose, mr. president. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, commissioner cleaveland. >> commissioner covington: second. >> president nakajo: thank you very much, commissioner covington. call the question. all

shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do their shopping and dining within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services within our neighborhoods, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> my name is ray behr. i am the owner of chief plus. it's a destination specialty foods store, and it's also a corner grocery store, as well. we call it cheese plus because there's a lot of additions in addition to cheese here. from fresh flowers, to wine, past a, chocolate, our dining area and espresso bar.

you can have a casual meeting if you want to. it's a real community gathering place. what makes little polk unique, i think, first of all, it's a great pedestrian street. there's people out and about all day, meeting this neighbor and coming out and supporting the businesses. the businesses here are almost all exclusively independent owned small businesses. it harkens back to supporting local. polk street doesn't look like anywhere u.s.a. it has its own businesses and personality. we have clothing stores to gallerys, to personal service stores, where you can get your hsus repaired, luggage repaired. there's a music studio across the street. it's raily a diverse and unique offering on this really great street. i think san franciscans should

shop local as much as they can because they can discover things that they may not be familiar with. again, the marketplace is changing, and, you know, you look at a screen, and you click a mouse, and you order something, and it shows up, but to have a tangible experience, to be able to come in to taste things, to see things, to smell things, all those things, it's very important that you do so. >> good morning, everyone. the meeting will come to order. welcome to the december 16th, 2019, meeting of the rules committee. i am supervisor hilary ronen, chair of the committee. seated