you can be. don't say i can't do it, you can excel and do whatever you want. just put your mind into it. >> president buell: please call the roll. >> clerk: [roll call] this is the recreation and park commission meeting of december 17, 2020. please note that due to the covid-19 health emergency, and to protect the board members, the city employees and the public, that the meeting rooms at city hall are closed. however, the commissioners are participating in this meeting remotely at the same extent as if physically present. we ask listeners to turn down your televisions and/or computers while listening on the phone. we ask for your patience if we experience any technical issues.

public comment will be available for each item on the agenda. each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak. comments are opportunities to speak during the public comment period and are available via phone by calling 1-(415)-655-0001. and the access code today is 146 860 8421. when you hear the agenda item that you would like to comment on, dial star, 3, to be added to the queue to speak. you will be lined up in the system in the order you dialed star, 3. while you are waiting, the system will be silent. and the system will notify you when you are in line and waiting. all callers remain on mute until their line is open. and everyone must account for the time delays and the speaking discrepancies between the live covering and streaming. you may submit public comment in either of the following ways,

email recpark.commission@sfgov.org. if you submit by email it's included in the legislative file as part of the matter. and subject via the u.s. postal service to san francisco recreation and park commission 501 stanion street, san francisco, california, 94117. please note that this commission meeting is recorded and will be available on sfgov-tv.org. we are now on item two, the president's report. >> president buell: thank you. i will be brief, but to tell you that i so enjoyed the william hammond hall awards this last week. and i simply wanted to congratulate all of the staff that put the work into making those awards happen, and to vince courtney and to larry mazzola and kat anderson for participating in presenting those awards.

to phil and the staff. and i particularly want to call out ashley summers for really making that event on zoom and in these challenging times a very heartwarming and pleasant experience. so, thank you all -- all who participated. with that, i know that there's lots to cover today. and i'm going to include my report, thank you. >> clerk: okay. is there any public comment on the president's report? as a reminder, if you are here to comment on this item please dial star, 3. there will be a time for general public comments. paul, is there anyone on the line? >> there's only one other person dialed in and i do no they do ne their hand raised. >> clerk: we are now on item 3, general manager's report. >> thank you, ashley, good morning, commissioners. we have a few items for you and then some special recognition at

the end of our report. let me start with a covid upda update. some san francisco recreation park features are closed or restricted under a stay-at-home order that went into effect sunday, december 6th. san francisco joined counties across the bay area to impose rather significant restrictions across the region in an effort to mitigate the current surge in covid-19 cases. the city's case rate and hospitalizations have continued to increase rather significantly since early november and prompted san francisco to take further actions. frankly, today the entire bay area hospital region joined san francisco and a few other counties that did this earlier because the region's hospital capacity rate has dipped below 15%. park features that closed under this order include all skateparks and, unfortunately,

the san francisco zoo. park activities that can continue but with new restrictions include small -- well, small outdoor gatherings, meaning two people. golf, tennis, pickle ball and botchy and volunteer groups. so we can still operate but with additional restrictions under the tier and the most important thing is that there are supposed to be no gatherings. the -- to that end, the department of of public health updated its stay-at-home order to allow two individuals from two different households to spend time together outdoors and masked and physically distanced and to participate in certain outdoor activities with safety protocols in place. this is an evolving concern and while there's very good news in that, the vaccine arrived in san francisco, we still do have a long way to go. and we are in it now, we are seeing the impacts of -- in case spikes and in the reproductive

rate of the virus because of thanksgiving travel. san franciscans are urged not to travel during the winter holidays and if you do travel, there is going to be a required quarantine for people. so we're really in this now and we have to remain quite diligent. one bit of good news with respect to all of this new round of restrictions is that while playgrounds were originally closed as part of the december 6th stay-at-home order, they have now reopened after an amendment that closed them. this is really good for kids and families and, frankly, furthers our commitment to equity. because playgrounds are the most equitable and democratic form of recreation that we've got and while some families have the capacity and means to register their kids in out of school time programs and/or, you know, grab

a mountain bike and head someplace, in certain neighborhoods, particularly neighborhoods without a lot of open space, playgrounds are the only thing that some families have. and we are very excited and thrilled. there was a lot of advocacy from san francisco families and advocacy from this department, there was advocacy up and down the state to reopen them. so we really want to thank the governor and the mayor for making a decision based on both science and equity. and prioritizing the well-being of families. and i also really want to thank the department of public health which gets this, without a doubt, and they've had to make so many difficult decisions on the fly. but with the state order revised we are allowed to keep playgrounds open. but you can visit but only with members of your own household. everyone over 2 must wear a mask at all times and must practice social distancing and must

comply with the adapted capacity limits that we now have in our play spaces. this is not a time to schedule play dates or meet others at a playground. all of our playgrounds have a restroom or hand sanitizing stations and we just asked san francisco families to do their part to keep everyone safe and to keep these play spaces open. for more information, you can visit our playground safety page at sfriskandpark.org. and speaking of adaptations of amenities in our parks, as you all know the golden gate park's 150th year and while it's not the celebration that we had hoped and planned for we have been able to do a number of things within the construct of the health order to create specialness in the park. which means that it's as busy as it's ever been, for the holidays, while unable to have a formal tree lighting ceremony for maybe the first time in the tree lighting's five-year

history, our uncle john's tree is lit. and we are very pleased to share the light exhibit that is in peacock meadow in golden gate park. it's a public art installation. it's open to visit with no tickets or reservations required, but only with members of your own household and everyone must wear a mask at all times and practice social distancing. it is really a remarkable, whimsical light exhibit that you can enjoy and just get a little bit of a taste of the holidays. it's outdoors and spread over an acre of open space and we have ambassadors on-site after sundown to ensure social distancing. lights turn off at 8:30 to make sure that everyone can leave and get home safely in compliance with the 10:00 p.m. curfew. we have rangers present on-site

and it may go dark for short periods of time to prevent overcrowding. we want everybody to see it, and while we remain in the purple tier, if it seems crowded, delay your visit. the exhibit will be around to the end of february and maybe longer and it will always be free. consider visiting when the covid-19 surge has subsided. it is -- it is special and it is joyful, but, again, we ask san franciscans to do their part, to keep us all safe. and, by the way, it's not the only exhibit that has lighting in the park. so go see something else. golden gate park is now illuminated than ever with new and old from uncle john's career and the mclaren lodge and to the band shell, and we have mentioned entwine and there's the conservatory of flowers. so there's lots of things that you can explore safely with your own household to experience just a little bit of safe holiday joy. commissioner buell noted the

successful william happenedond d -- hammond hall awards that happened this week. i want to extend my thanks to all of our partners and the staff and the commission secretary for organizing a really successful event under trying circumstances. the 12 awardees are truly exceptional, and we're very, very, very proud of them. this year's award winners are josé alvarez, mofai bastidas, daniel deragodas, and jessica clock, and robert mckinney, nick olgerson, who i saw in the park earlier. and jeff tom and vincent webster. congratulations to all of our award winners. these achievements are a testament to the work that they are doing in our parks every day. and we're very grateful.

registration is now open, the winter virtual recreation club. while things have not yet returned to normal we're offering a number of virtual online programs for youth and adults this winter, including programminprogramming with the d the sharon arts studio, and golden gate park senior center and the young people musical theatre company. to register and to view classes visit the website, and i want to take a second to celebrate our recreation division who is just doing it all under the great leadership of lauer even danford, and not just emergency child care but offering learning hubs and doing virtual programming. it's really quite impressive. all right, we have a special guest in our midst. he's wearing a san francisco recreation and park department hat. he is none other than the wonderful, terrific, amazing

chuck holmes. and i'm a bit melancholy about the mix of sadness and gratitude that we're honoring chuck today. this fall chuck stepped down as president and chief executive officer of the ymca director of san francisco that he held since 2004. he led the y to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities by enriching the lives of all people in spirit, mind and body. he did this through programs and services for over 183,000 children and adults in the 14 major branches of the y and san francisco san mateo counties and over 120 other off-site program locations, including several rec and park sites. including bodecker park, and allis-chalmers playground, and the newly amazingly renovated margaret hayward playground. in normal times these sites have

provided homes to ymca programming and to teach kids to swim. and today the y and r.p.d. are working together on the front lines of the covid response, providing community hubs. and at argon playground and at margaret hayward playground. and i want to take a second -- i know that jamie is on the call. chuck's successor, who is already stepped up and will just continue chuck's amazing legacy as a close partner and friend of the recreation and parks department. and i'm sure that he may say a word or two before we're done here. working together at our clubhouses and pools, chuck has always emphasized the importance of nature and the outdoors in children's lives, knowing that time -- >> hi, julia. >> good morning. >> if we could all stay on mute. knowing that --

>> no -- >> clerk: hello, if you could mute yourself if you're on the call. >> in any event, in addition to working together our clubhouses and pools, i do see the last name collins there -- chuck -- chuck is always emphasized the importance of nature in the outdoors and in children's lives, knowing that the time has helped to us become our healthiest and best selves. in 2016, together with the presidio trust and the recreation and park department, we co-founded the san francisco children and nature collaborative through the national league of cities connecting children to nature initiative, to move forward our shared vision of equity and nature connection for children and youth in san francisco, building support for collective impact with over 30 san francisco organizations. and a very apt simple mission statement that every single san francisco child deserves a nature-based experience every single day. chuck has led the y in becoming

a leader in fostering connections to nature through programming and early childhood and after-school programs, field trips, to the parks and the ocean. and the y ranger summer program in partnership with the national parks where 50% of youth come from our highest needs and most underserved neighborhoods. and the outdoor leadership program at camp jones gulch that has community awareness and wonder through backpacking and other outdoor adventires. we are part of a national cohort of cities really focused on equitable nature access and we, chuck, in your honor, the national team leadership from c.c.n. offered the following words. on behalf of the cccn national team we want to thank chuck for his leadership and vision to connect children to more nature. and cities connecting children to nature relies on the city leadership and community leaders who help to realize these possibilities. we thank him for being a voice

for the movement, the local and national stage, to inspire the city collaboration across the u.s. that's from andrew moore, the director of youth and young adult connections for national league of cities and monica, who is the engagement for the children in nature network to recognize your accomplishments, chuck -- and let me stop here and add a non-resume reflection -- chuck, for 10 years i've had the pleasure to work closely with you and to learn from you. you have -- you've in many respects been a rabbi for me and you have offered guidance, perspective, and you have contributed so much to my own professional development, and i'm grateful, and you are just such a kind and a caring soul. and i just love the work that we've been able to do together over the last 10 years.

you are a true friend and you are a true friend of the recreation and park department. so to recognize your accomplishments we have a little present for you. i hope that everyone can see this. what we have for chuck is that we have an amazing nature kit for you, otherwise called nature in a box, put together by our very own children in nature coordinator maria darona. and the commission also -- also issued a proclamation for serving our parks and community. and this box here, chuck, it's not just for you. we know how proud of a grandpop you are, and so our hope is that you share this with your loving family and to help to connect your own family with all of the parks and nature that you love. and so on behalf of the recreation and park department, on behalf of the san francisco

children and nature collaborative, we are just -- we couldn't be more grateful for your leadership in our city. we love you. and with that, i'm going to turn it over to others who might want to say a brief word to you, or turn the mike over t mike mic o. >> president buell: let me take a moment to say that i have had the pleasure of working with chuck in the past across many frontiers in san francisco, in politics and (indiscernible) and when i think of chuck, i think of the word integrity. i say that because i've seen him stand up against odds to express the right views of justice and particularly social justice. so i want to add my congratulations. and i would say the other observation is that he's married to a remarkable woman, and i think that shows very good taste

on his part. and so, chuck, congratulations for what you've done. >> i would like to adda this is jamie -- the (indiscernible) and a proud legacy of chuck collins. you have unpacked something specific about his vast and impressive legacy and the ability to connect to youth and to lift up youth voices. not just lift them up but hear them, see them and connect them to nature and the environment and the changing world around us. chuck is not done. this is an honor, an important honor, but he's still vibrant and he'll continue to push the envelope of social justice for all of us for years to come. so, chuck, thank you for your legacy. and thank you for what you're doing. and i look forward to what is next with you working together. >> we shouldn't belabor this --

>> it's not your turn yet, sorry. you got to indulge us another minute. [laughter] just want to add to the kind of, frankly, reverence of the amazing legacy, chuck, that you have created in the bay area. and the frame that i hold where you are concerned is truth to power. that you have always stood in a place of rightness. and equity and access. centering in particular but not only young people with their voices, their role, their agency, and the agency of people of color even more broadly. and so i certainly have for a long, long time looked to, looked up to, and have learned from all that you have meant to our community. so i certainly personally thank

you and also i am confident that you are not done yet. so i'll look forward to the third or fourth quarter that you still have to play. and look forward to the ways of continuing to learn and lead alongside you. so, thank you so much. >> thanks chuck. this is alan doyle. and i want to say and i want to thank you for your leadership on completing the chinatown ymca. that is a great asset for the community. that project languished for almost 20 years. it was your leadership that got that project built, fundraised and financed and up and running. so i do want to give a special thanks for your contributions to chinatown and the asian-american communities. i guess that i'll see you more on the slopes or maybe at a presidio y spin class or body

pump. >> so let me take off my hat to all of you. and really say thank you. you know, alan, you know, when we were little boys in san francisco in 1940s, this town was a different town. it was segregated. but the place that the collins boys could go from the western edition from the philmore and feel that we were in another world with chinatown. and we were always welcomed in every single restaurant. we always had wonderful -- wonderful sense of belonging. and so when i came to the y and had an opportunity to do something in honor of who i became as a person in this chinese-american community, it was a no-brainer. it was hard work, but it was really genuine in my own feelings about what this city is really founded on and the relationships that we've all carried now for multiple

generations. you know, mark, i am lucky. there's a lot -- i don't know what is causing that -- but there's a hissing going on -- you know, mark, you and paula have really shared a wonderful legacy. and, you know, the work that you have done i think is something that lasts now for generations. and those generations of families that really need access, equitable access to the out of doors is what you and paula have crafted. and what work is going forward. you know, eric, you know, we have been on a long journey and it hasn't stopped and thank you for those really kind and wonderful words. also, you know, ashley, thanks for making sure that we were prepared in advance. i really respect what an agency secretary is all about. every week, you know, we take

our grandsons to the zoo. every week he yearns to go to the academy of science in the middle of golden gate park. when he was a baby he played at clay park every day. he became an outdoor child in mid san francisco, which is an urban city. and he was really gifted by the remarkable resources of rec and park. and also of the collaborations that we have across this city to become a little boy who is deeply entrenched in nature. he feels this every day. you know, the zoo kits and the maps, all of these things, he knows the names of animals at the zoo and he's only 3 years old. and so he is an example of what can happen when children have persistent, consistent and safe and equitable access to our out of doors. they bloom in a different way. thinking about the work that you did in building the park, amid,

you know, the challenges of the tenderloin. or rebuilding margaret hayward in the western edition. you know, places where equity and justice really meet populations and children really can have safe futures because rec and park is there and making sure that they are there in the places where kids are learning. the amazing work that you are leading with maria sew in the department of children and youth and their families with the mayor's office and jenny lam in putting up these community hubs. it's a tour-de-force. it's really looking where resources meet equity and children are learning every single day because of what we're doing collectively, you know, as city governments, and also as community-based organizations to address this escaping equity gap that we have in learning.

that rec and park is there. and building on these years of relationships, you know, i am really confident that this is not just an intervention, but i think that this is, you know, a next step in education of our children in communities, where they're connected with resources in their communities and they don't have to travel so broadly and not have that time and attention to learn. you know, the tennis center. you know, i had a great opportunity to sit on the selection panel and seeing how rec and park works inside, you know, to ensure that we're taking these resources, you know, the staff attention to detail, i feel that as a commissioner also that we never tell our staff that they're doing enough work. they have become essential workers in this. and they have about seconded into the covid response teams and every day there are front line workers right this minute who are making sure that our communities are held safe.

i know this, again, because the work at rec and park, and then you have to go down to the command center and do the work there. and looking at what you're doing in the southeast section of san francisco in the parks alliance, you know, that wonderful necklace of resources that will be a foundation of our city and what we have here in the northwest part of the city -- or the northeast part of the city. you know, it's really that kind of capital project -- karen had the ecocenter and getting deep into the community there. and when i was first the c.e.o. of the y, my dear friend chip rich took me, you know, to many ward centers. and back then it was a safe haven right in the middle of that very delicate community. and it was rec and park that really rebuilt that and really built it on principles of equity and justice. you know, so that children are

held safe in places where they can live and learn and become, you know, into their highest potential. i see this all of the time. and i see the opportunities -- tonight we'll light the virtual christmas tree in bodecker park. what it means for you to have to sometimes fight through the system in order for kids to be safe right now learning and being, you know, their really best. you know, what's remarkable of this story, the lack of violence, the fact that families can engage and children can really, again, you know, feel confident and safe in learning in places that really are in their communities. you know, the city is connecting children with nature, and the work that we've been doing, you know, with phil's leadership and june fraser's leadership and the absolutely young maria darona,

you know, it's seminal work because it's connecting, you know, on a national and really global framework the importance of this work. one of the things that we know is that it should be here and always, education should be here, and access to nature should be inherent. but all of these have systemic barriers that prevent a child and the family and the communities from partaking in that, but rec/park has taken leadership in every single one of those that you mentioned. we have -- for every child in san francisco, it's only five minutes to some place in nature that they can partake. that may be a geographical distance but one of the things that you're doing is removing all of the structural barriers. you're making that really happen. so our children's health is going to be better. you're going to help to overcome the trauma of this time and the

adversity that kids are experiencing because nature as we know is a special vitamin. and you are the best part of this city of giving vitamins to children in nature. you're an amazing group of people. and your staff is phenomenal. your leadership is remarkable. and my dear mentioned friends, phil ginsburg, i would walk across the sahara desert if there was a drop of water, and i would follow phil. you know, and watching what he did in philadelphia and in pennsylvania, i know that we're not supposed to talk about that stuff, but phil really walked the talk. and he is a person of great leadership and a real tribute to this entire city, this nation and to the world. and so whatever gifts come to me, they're given by other people. they're from my ability to

connect with other people, and i see the leverage in the partnership and collaboration and that type of friendship that people-to-people really ultimately makes a difference. the pride every day in my life is my grandson. i watch him grow and live and thrive because of you. >> wow, thank you, chuck. thank you, thank you, thank you. to wrap this up, commissioners, as you know that chuck for you we usually conclude the general manager's report with a short video of things that are happening in our park system. or something topical. today we conclude the general manager's report with a short video in your honor. so if, barry, ashley or sarah or ryan, if one of you could queue it up, i would appreciate it.

(♪) (♪) [music playing] chuck, we love

you so much and we thank you and we wait for i think as commissioner macdonald noted the third quarter. >> if i could say one thing -- i just looked at the people that are on here and i'm really blown away by my staff. thank you. >> well done, chuck. well done. thank you, thank you. >> mr. president, that concludes the general manager's report. thank you very much. >> president buell: thank you. >> clerk: all right, is there any public comment on the general manager's report. and as a reminder you need to press star, 3, to get in the line to speak. paul, is there anyone on the line for the general manager's report? >> there are five people dialed in. but no one has their hand raised

at this time. >> clerk: okay, thank you. seeing no public comment, public comment is now closed. we are now on item 4, general public comment. up to 15 minutes. this item will be continued to item 10. at this time, members of the public may address the commission on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission and that do not appear on the agenda. with respect to agenda items, you will have opportunity to address the commission when the item is reached in the meeting. if you are here to speak during general public comment, please press star, 3, to get in the queue to speak. paul, is there anyone with their hand raised? >> there is one, and i will unmute them. >> clerk: okay, and, caller, please state your name when you begin to speak. >> caller: hello, my name is richard rothman and i want to follow up my comments that i made at the operations committee meeting in reference to the -- i

didn't want to imply that it's always a traffic jam there. it's probably just the commute hours. and on the weekends. and if the v.a. starts having their people come back to work there, the staff, they use that roadway quite a bit. so i look forward to working on that. and the other thing they wanted to talk about is the concourse authority. i don't know if the commissioners know but supervisor fewer sponsored legislation or sponsored a working group to come up with a plan of how everybody could use the golden gate park if we closed the park. and we had a first meeting last monday and i must say that i found it very, very encouraging. and i think that we all want to work together. one of the main concerns is the

concourse authority, and i found out this week that rec and park can set the rates in the garage. so i hope that after we come up with -- we'll probably be finished in march of actually meeting -- that we could come back to the commission with some fair ways to make it equitable for everybody to park in the park, especially the people who need to park in the free zone. so we'll look forward to having this conversation, i don't know, probably in march or april. thank you. >> thank you, richard. >> clerk: thank you, caller. paul, is there anyone else with their hand raised. please press star, 3, to raise your hand to speak during general public comment. >> that was the only raised hand, ashley. >> clerk: thank you. seeing no further public comment, public comment is now

closed. we are now on item 5, consent calendar. commissioners, are there any items that you would like removed from consent today? no? >> president buell: doesn't look like it. >> clerk: okay. is there any public comment on the consent calendar? as a reminder, to please press star 3 to raise your hand to comment on the consent calendar. >> there's still five callers on the call but zero hands raised. >> clerk: all right, seeing no public comment, public comment is closed. commissioners? >> if the chair would entertain a motion to approve the consent calendar. >> so moved. >> second. >> president buell: moved and seconded. all those in favor?

thank you very much. >> clerk: thank you. we are now on item 6, san francisco zoo. >> hello this is the c.f.o. at the zoo. our report for december is basically that we're closed again. the latest mandate took effect on december 7th and that's in effect to at least january 4th. so nothing going on at the zoo other than taking care of our animals and maintaining the grounds. that's my report. >> clerk: okay, thank you. any public comment on item 6, the san francisco zoo? >> i do see one hand raised, ashley. >> clerk: okay. thank you. caller, please state your name when you begin speaking. >> caller: i'm sorry, i'm not making a comment about the zoo. it's just general comment. >> clerk: okay, that's item 10

so if you stick around for a little bit longer, item 10 is general comment. >> caller: thank you. thank you. >> clerk: okay, seeing no further comments, public comment is now closed. we are now on item 7, covid-19 adjustments to leases and concessions. >> hi, commissioners, the director of property and permits. i'm going to try to share my screen. it's spinning. okay. the screen we want to share is -- i believe that you're seeing the big screen with just the first slide on it, can you confirm? >> clerk: yes.

>> okay, excellent. thank you. so let's see -- how i move this -- okay, so the agenda item is a discussion and a possible action to authorize the general manager to modify existing leases, concession agreements and operating agreements in light of tenant financial hardships posed -- caused by the covid-19 pandemic and to recommend that the board of supervisors adopt an ordinance granting the general manager such authority with respect to those leases where modifications are subject to board approval. before i start into the meat of the presentation, i want to give you all just a little bit of background on leases and concessions. i know that we have some new commissioners and i'm going to be able to do this quickly, but i think that it's just good to review what we have and why we have them before we go into the specifics. so a little bit -- the background on leases and concessions, what are our goals? our goals increase public amenities for our parks, having professional operators to run

and serve our facilities. generate revenues to help with the department's budget. and then we have agreements for the use of our clubhouses with community-serving partners that provide additional amenities to the public. what tools do we have? we have leases, we have concessions, we have one-year permits, we have operating agreements and we have partner agreements. all of those different tools we use to make this work. and so i'm going to run through quickly the different types of leases that we have, and which ones we have, and a quick like fly through of our leasing and we'll cover these subjects as we go through. the first one is iconic properties. probably the most iconic property that we have is the tower. a concessionaire [broken audio]

and the next one is the tea garden update [broken audio] where you can have tea and things like that. [broken audio] i'll talk about it a bit later. and we have the [broken audio] which have been closed generally since march. and then we have restaurants, cafés and kiosks. oh, you can't hear me. hmm. >> now we can hear you now. >> clerk: it was spotty for like the last slide but now it's fine. >> okay, do you want me to go back or are we okay? >> president buell: i think that we're okay. you can keep going. >> okay. and then we have restaurants and cafés and kiosks. we have the beach chalet and park chalet, back to pick-up only, it's the only option available.

and they had outdoor dining for a month and a half or two months and they had done renovations inside, so we never got inside open. and we have the café spaces at union square, closed since march, and we need to find a new tenant for that spaik. and we have the boathouse café which reopened but it was open for a variety of different options, but now pick-up only. and the bi-right café at the civic center is closed. and if you go for a run on the waterfront you can pick up your donuts at the end. and we also have a lot of different food kiosks, from toad trucks and they have been open and continue to be open to provide food to those visiting our parks. other park amenities that we have that enhance the visitors' experiences at parks -- the carousel has been closed under the health order since march. and park wide bicycles, we reopened in may, and people have

been able to rent bikes and enjoy being in parks. i'm sure that all of those people are from the same household in that picture. and the segway tours are opened with limited ability to have that happen. and the boat rentals -- so the café that we talked about with the boats, you could rent a boat and you can rent a boat for outdoor entertainment. and normally we have holiday ice drinks anrinks and this year the none. we made a decision in august that in the end turned out to be a good decision. we would have been able to open briefly and then have to shut down. so none of the ice rinks. our golf courses -- they've been very adaptive. and we're open for twosomes and open for foursomes and open for outdoor dining and then open for indoor dining and now back to twosomes and no dining, and just pick up food. so we have hardy and linking and eagles, golden gate and sharp.

we have waterfront clubs and other amenities on the waterfront. we have the wonderful golden gate yacht club in st. francis who run ways to access the -- access the waterfront. those actually -- these clubs have continued to pay rent. and the dolphin and south end rowing clubs. and the gas house cove in the marina. so you can still get gas for your boat, that is open and one of our concessions. and then we have a number of clubhouse concessions, ranging from elderly services to chinatown community development, to a number of almost all preschool early childhood related and many with the ymca. and let's talk about the meat of the matter, the covid-19 pandemic, which has caused abrupt and serious impacts on the operations of our local

economy and businesses. the small businesses, which are in our parks, have all suffered. and they have experienced significant deficits and hardships due to required closures, limitations on operations, and lower customer demand due to lack of tourists. in march 2020, we had to take interim action because of the health order. the state of emergency was declared, including a shelter hainplace. and our tenants were notified immediately to close operations unless they met certain limits. limited exceptions. i want to give a shout out to my team who are all on this phone call who have worked tirelessly to both close and open everyone up. [reading of names] and i couldn't have done -- we couldn't have done this without everyone pitching in. and tenants were informed that they were eligible to delay payment of rent initially from march 17-april 30th because we

all thought that it would be over by then. that was later extended through december 31. this came -- it was based on a directive that we had from the city administrator's office. and this allowed us time to work with tenants and to assess the impact and to figure out what the best solutions were, which is why it's taking us this long to get to you. we took some interim actions to get things reopened. as shelter in place started to allow certain businesses and our staff worked with our health officers and the concessions to find ways to get open. and they started food pick-ups and boat rentals and golf and the use of the docks by the swimming clubs from outdoors. many, many tenants were concerned about the ability to make minimum rent payments and we agreed to waive them and accept percentage rent. i'll talk more about that in a minute. so what are we proposing to the commission? we are proposing that you authorize the general manager to food few leases and similar

agreements to address covid-19 impacts through rent waivers and forbearance. this gives the department the flexibility in the long term by enabling it to retain our tenants who are able to continue operating while they regain the ability to pay rent on a current basis. rather than the department calling them into default and trying to fill vacancies during an economic downturn. it's clearly the sensible way for us to move forward. we have a number of conditions before we agree to lease amendments. and it only applies to forgiving rent, with one exception, coit tower that i'll talk about in a minute. and the general manager has to determine that they have suffered financial hardship due to covid-19. and that this will enhance the stability of the department's operations. we also are confirming that they did not have p.p.p. loans that could have enabled them to make

rent. in fact, we have had some tenants who had them and they have used those loans to make rent payment. so let's talk about the type of rent. and before that i want to give a background on how most of our leases work. most of our leases are with people who provide a service. and the way that the leases are framed, there's something called the minimum annual -- or minimum base rent or the minimum annual guarantee. so they promise to pay us x -- the higher of x or a percent of their revenues. and the base has been set to kind of -- it varies, but, you know, to reflect something that we can both budget for and the minimum level of operations. the types of waivers -- and then we have some leases where it's a regular monthly rent. the type of rent waivers that we're looking at for the typical mag -- we call it a mag -- is

the waiver of the mag that the percentage rent has still to be paid and that's how we got people opened quickly. and the other waivers are waiver of monthly rent while the facility is closed, if they have really no ability to make those payments. in a few cases i'll talk about we are waiving the percentage rent and then we have a special coit tower approval. so back to the mag waiver that i talked about, a classic example is the japanese teahouse and gift shop concession. they have a mag of $261,000 a year and then they have a percent of the gross sales they pay and it varies based on the type of item they're selling. they were closed from march 17-july 28th. and we're proposing to waive that mag. they opened on july 29th, and actually have met mag rent for august and september for a total of over $48,000. but ensuring that they didn't have to pay it if they didn't need it really gave them confidence to move forward, and with these further limitations,

they're still open but back to being very limited. we have done similar waivers for beach chalet, and the boathouse, bike rentals, segway rentals and all of our food kiosks and getting those food kiosks open was important. and so then we also have the structure of a waiver of a monthly rent. and these are almost all of our clubhouses and the palace of fine arts theatre. and so we have waived certain clubhouses, for instance, the nursery school, they don't -- they can't really reopen until sfsud resumes in-person learning. we have a few of these similar situations where we're waiving their monthly rent. the palace of fine arts theatre, ashley got a p.p.p. loan and they paid for six months and that went out. where we have waived percentage

rent and it's complicated. the way that it's been exclusively with our golf course operator it's the way that lincoln and sharp work, they go and they make tee times and collect the revenues for playing golf, and all of that money sweeps directly to us. the only they make money is off of concessions. so food concessions, and then renting out clubs and golf carts. with the limitations that they've had on food concessions -- >> main menu. press star 6 to mute your own line. press star pound to hear the number of participants. >> can you guys still hear me? can you all hear me? >> yes. >> okay. so in this case they came to us and said with our limited operations that we can't make enough money off of these items to cover the cost of opening the golf courses. so we agreed to waive the food

and beverage concessions, our percentage on those, which in each case in a typical year is about $85,000. of course this year it would be way, way less because of the limitations on their ability to -- to open those facilities. so we are proposing to waive that mag rent. and the other is coit tower, and the way that the coit tower lease works is they collect the elevator revenue, they keep 10%, and give us 90%. for those of you who are on the commission way back we did a big economic analysis of what it really costs them to run the facility. if the -- right now, well, we're a long ways from opening the elevator because of restrictiony can't generate similar revenue they just can't cover the expense of opening coit tower or monitoring the murals and

monitoring the people coming into the building. so we need to be able to reduce their percentage rent. so instead of giving us 90%, they will give us a lower percentage until the revenues come up. and we will be working with them on what the appropriate number is as we get to a point where the health order would allow it. so that's the waiver of the percentage rent for them. and the other piece that we have is they were unable to make -- well, everybody else is current and they were unable to make the february 2020 rent payment because they typically make that payment at the end of march and they had no march revenues. so we are deferring that rent until nine months after coit tower elevator is able to be open with no health order restrictions. and then the last piece is this lease is scheduled to expire in march 2022. and we will be asking the board to extend the lease for three years and not put it out to a new r.f.p. to give them a chance

to recover from the covid-19 closures. and also as many of you know that the food kiosks that took a long time to open and to also recover their investment in that. so that is a special coit tower approval. so we will be taking to the board after we get approval here. the leases for approval. some of them -- they were approved by the board and accordingly they have to approve this waiver, but the other piece is that any lease modification which these waivers are considered typically must incorporate any default contracting requirements in the admin or environmental codes that were enacted prior to the modification of the lease, but after we entered into it. so periodically new things go into the admin code what we're doing here is similar to other city agencies, and we are asking the board for authority not to have to add in those provisions,

but just waive the rent payments on the lease. and so the financial impact -- obviously, the temporary loss of revenues has been significant. we have been closely monitoring that with our director of finance to ensure that the department's budget takes into account the impact. the estimates fiscal year 2021 loss is $2.1 million plus the loss of admissions at coit of $1.1 million. i know that our director of finance is planning to talk to you about this prior budget and future budgets i think at the next commission meeting. our recommendation is to approve the waivers and adjustments that i've described. and recommend that the board of supervisors adopt an ordinance granting the general manager such authority with respect to leases in the future. we believe that this is important for small businesses who operate in our parks and having this flexibility because

covid keeps changing. we have things open and now they're closed. so it's very much a moving target. thank you. (please stand by)

>> i think you should invite allison cummings, rec and park staff and the p.u.c. staff to come and give a presentation and talk about this issue, also, the towers should not reopen until the water issue is settled. the tank should be emptied and not used any more. there is an alternative to a smaller tank or i am not sure of the right term. all of the water needed to go to the second floor. i think the tanks need to be drained. who knows what else is going to happen? this is going to cost a lot of money, something the city doesn't have. it is not the end of the world, but, you know, the most

important thing is protecting the murals. take the water out could help. thank you. anyone else with a hand raised? >> that was the only one. >> thank you. no further public comment. public comment is now closed. >> commissioner low, did you have a comment about this? >> yes, what we are being asked to approve, is this for modifications that are already in agreement or is it for future modifications? >> well, we have waived the payment of rent. we have deferred the payment of the rent. this is formally waiving the rent payment. under the directive put out in the emergency, we deferred payment of the rent

requirements. we have spent a lot of time with the city attorney on this. we have to officially amend the leases to waive the amounts. now you need to add new provisions. that is why we are coming to you now. yes, we started to get them open we said don't worry about the payments. we deferred and asked people to pay the percentage. >> these are deals that were already reached with the tenants? >> basically. >> subject to execution of lease amendments? >> yes. >> the only thing i would comment on is that i think it is fine in response to the pandemic of covid-19 and certainly small businesses have just been decimated by the economical

amity. i think emergency response is necessary. i do think there should be maybe a reporting back to the operations committee just to give the operations committee an update as to the deals that were struck and entered into. >> commissioner low, it was such a fluid situation that getting our orals around where we are was hard. >> i am not criticizing anything that you did because certainly in an emergency it calls for extraordinary measures. i am not criticizing you. don't get me wrong, not at all. once you enter into a deal on these lease amendments to report back to operations committee to update the commission as to what

deals were struck. that is all. there is a much bigger question about how to make, you know, leasing more efficient. i don't think we have to see subleases. that is for the general manager to and proof. that is a different discussion than what is agendized. any comments or questions? >> hearing none, seeing none, the chair entertains a motion to approve. >> if i could amend. so moved with reporting on what lease amendments have been entered into to the operations committee, just a report. >> second to that motion. >> second. >> moved and seconded. all in favor. aye. >> thank you so much. thank you, commissioner for the

observation. >> thank you. we are now on item 8. 900innes avenue. india basin. contract award. >> good morning, commissioners, san francisco recreation and park capital division. i will share my screen. it is a pleasure to be here. item 8 is discussion and possible action to award a construction contract in an amount not to exceed $7,099,700 for the 900 innes contract 16641. going quickly through some

background for the new commissioners as well as all of you. the project is consistent with department's strategic plant. strategies 1, 2, 3, 4 to inspire public space, play, investment and stewardship. for some history. in 2014, the department acquired the 900 innes site for the park to fill the gap in the bay trail network. it is a spectacular location with existing parks and open spaces. for history. the 900 inness was home to european my grates. between 1875 and the 1930s they constructed allow bottom boatboat boats question gral toe

bay. over time the schooners became obsolete with growth of automobile industry. 900 inness remained an operating boatyard constructing and repairing vessels into the early 2000. that legacy of boat building and repair led to contain nation of ground surface. that left contaminated sites resulting in higher level of environmental health burden in the community. since 2014 with the basin waterfront study and design ideas we have been engaging the community to understand the needs for recreation, amenities, programs and in general how the collective open spaces could serve as beacon for place making, capacity building.

out of that process resulted a waterfront park design with the blend of active recreation including basketball courts, playgrounds, boat launches and open spaces to gather and celebrate on lob lawns and decks. it will increase access to nature while increasing habitat value and honoring the rich history of the bayview hunters point neighborhood. in august 2018 it was approved for the parks and ad adopted the findings associated with environmental review. prior to any park redevelopment phase, the cleanup of the 900 boatyard site is the first milestone stage of work. the remedial action plan for the site is approved by the water board, search offing as the lead

oversight agency of the work. approved remedy is compatible with the future use of the site as public park and offers the highest level of health protection as the entire surface will be scraped and backfilled to support the future park grades. for further details the up land areas will be excavated and new clean backfill imported to eliminate any chemical exposure pathways for future users. all contaminated timber, like those associated with the fence posts and march reason rails will be removed and disposedded of. the rails will be preserved, metal and restored for i corporation to the future park design. some of the other activities will remove any dump debris and remnant parts.

the tide dal areas dredged had pete and clean sediment imported to help support the future restoration marsh planting in the seconded phase. finally, the cottage will undergo hazardous building materials abatement prior to full restoration. secretary of interior standards and the second phase of work. it has receivedness permits from state and federal agencies army corp of engineers and the water board. now this remediation is supported by a number of state and federal funding partners. to date we received $7 million in public grant funding for the cleanup with the largest contribution from the san francisco bay restoration authority of $5 million and federal of $2 million. additional funding for remediation from the state of california controller's office. we can say this project has been

truly partnership with the community working with apri, trust for public hand and san francisco parks alliance. since 2014 with the waterfront study, the project team and partners worked and will continue to work together to do something unprecedented for the city to develop the park under an equitable development plan to inspire stewardship and support place making. in terms of bidding, rec and park supported by public works advertised the bid on june 15th and held four pre-bid meetings. they received bids september 23. the request for relief was submitted there after accompanied under penalty of perjury indicating clerical error. in consultation with the office of contract administration all

bids rejected. it was readvertised november 13 with a job walk on november 17 and bids opening on december 2. total of three bids received. tabulation is attached for reference. rubicon builders of san francisco was determined to be the lowest responsible bidder with a bill of $709,970. remediation is to begin in spring 2021 and ramp-up to be underway in june 1 when the environmental and water seasonal work windows open. with that, staff recommends the commission award to rubicon builders. that concludes my staff report. i am available for questions if you have any. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> if anyone is here to speak on item 8, please press star, 3, to

be added to the cue to speak. >> hello. my name is jill fox. i am here to speak on the environmental cleanup. i live on innes avenue across from the park. i have been speaking on behalf of acquiring and making this land to a park since 1999. i am very happy to see that this is moving forward. i would just ask that we have very clear signage or information given to me to share with the neighbors during

environmental cleanup so that we can easily contact someone if we see something a.m.i. ss during public comment or if there are problems. before the pandemic during the six years rec and park owned the land we have had trouble getting ahold of the right people to contact when there was graffiti and break-ins and problems on the land. i just want to say that i am very happy this is happening. we are moving forward. please give us a clear way to communicate with the company that is doing the cleanup so that we can make sure the neighbors are all safe and everyone feels really positive about this latest action. thank you. >> next caller. state your name.

>> good morning, commissioners. eric. i am a community organizer with the trust for public land. we believe everyone deserves a high-quality park within a 10 minute walk from their home. we are grateful for the partnership to transform the local parks and the communities that are making it in the city. the trust for public land is proud to work with bayview-hunters point community and partner organizations in this project since 2015. in this process we have. [indiscernable] to create a community with trees in the neighborhood and restore hall three habitat. this project represents a down

payment on the continued needs investment in parks and open spaces that are directly tied to the public health and well-being of bayview-hunters point community. they have faced decades of environmental ineckteens. community health is intensified by covid-19. with that said we are thrilled that after a competitive birding process the contractor was selected for the project. this opportunity to hire locallal loins with the equitable development plan by the local leaders representing the broad work force of the neighborhood. this project will strengthen the hunters point community and avoid the gentrification for park sites. without this investment to the local community.

the remediation of this is in the equitable development plan to ensure healthy conditions. we would like to share our support for the remediation and urge the commission to approve the remediation contract. thank you for your time. >> thank you. anyone else with a hand raised? >> no, just those two. >> in you further public comment. >> i would like to make a comment. so sorry. >> okay. is this jackie? >> this is jackie. >> okay. you are in the meeting. most of the public comment is coming from the call in numbers. that is why paul didn't see you there. you can speak. palm put up a two minute timer,

please. >> thank you so much. good afternoon everyone. i am jackie flynn executive director of the institute of san francisco. apri. i wear another very important hat on this project as the equitable development plan manager. i am here to really thank the rec and parks department charlene and omar have been tremendous support. i don't think the staff get enough credit for the work they do. i want to applaud them for every day work and commitment to the excellence of parks and open spaces and general manager ginsburg, you are a visionary. i am one of many organizations leading the conversation with the community. this community has been one that

suffered injustices for decades. we are unpacking the diverse and unique layers while building a future park that looks pretty in every as secretary. i appreciate the thorough process the project delivery team has committed to listen to the community, hire local low for craftsmen and women in the neighborhood. we see this contract awarded the great effort and first step to committing to building an equitable park. there is still so much work to do to complete this park, we look forward to that as a model for other major cities that want to make meaningful changes to the historic timeline of their city and ours. we are also in very much support

of this contract award and would like to continue to see that commitment moving forward. thank you. >> thank you for your comments. there is another speaker with their hand raisedded on the call in line. please state your name. >> hello. i am richard fong. i want to make a few comments. i had a conversation with charlene. i like very much the title is going to be preserved and a learning activity for the youngsters in the neighborhood. i will keep it short like they said to do. it is going to be moved pretty good and everything else seems to be in the right order. the building, shoreline.

when they have the kayaks in there how will they know about the tidal pool? how much will they retain and take away from it? that is all i have to say. thank you. good-bye. >> thank you. anyone else on the line? >> that was the last raised hand on the call. >> thank you. commissioners. >> any comments or questions? seeing none, the chair would entertain a motion to approve. >> so moved. >> seconded. >> all those in favor. aye. thank you so much. >> thank you. we are now on item 9. racial equity action plan. >> good morning.

i am lorraine ban ford superintendent of recreation and community services and employees working hard to create a shared understanding of the important role that we as civil servants play in creating a shared understanding of the importance of promoting practices and policies that are racially equitable in our organization. i wanted to say that some of the words from the previous presentation resonated. remediation and restoration. that is what this group of employees known as dice members. diverse and inclusion committee on equity. we have been working for the last three years to really make a difference in the organization. this three areas of focus. hiring and promotion, resource

allocation and access to services. what we would like to do is present a draft of racial equity action plan to help us operationalize all that we have been talking about and discussing. we had meetings and presentations and trainings internally with city employees in our department to get the information to get a focus how we as the department can do better. one of the things i learned over the years to understand a thing whether it is a problem challenge or group, it is important to get the history of it. part of what we learned through dice. individuaindividual civil serva. it was government decisions

deciding who could vote, who could marry whom, where people might live. we weren't immune from being engaged in that nonsense. to share more about history i will turn it over to sarah, director of policy and public affairs division. >> thank you. good morning, commissioners. i have been working with this team on the chapter of the racial equity plan about the history of racism in our industry and why it matters. the process of inning the roots of systematic racism is fundamental to dismantling systematic racism. the fob derf the center for race and democracy at the university of texas explains this in the research i have done explains it best. his words. if you are going to dismental systemic racism you have to

understand the pipeline and why and how it keeps reproducing inequality and marginal session, poverty and racial segregation. so in this section of the report we examine the impact of racism on parks and recreation. to start, the location and distribution of parks and open spaces, design, quality, management and our evaluation of success or failure are infused with the racist history that places the white experience not only primary but superio. by way of example the national park system was created as a way for people to escape cities during the industrial revolution. that park system was created by removing indigenous people from their lands and creating refuges

for white people to get away from cities which we were becoming at the same time increasingly black and brown. our department running the urban park system we must acknowledge that for years parks and recreation were domain of white, wealthy and those who had significant leisure time. this is true in the conservation movement as well. no more telling example of the big getted roots than the movements the godfather who we have a daily reminder of his looming presence in this industry across the bridge. while he is considered father o simty and founding member much see ara club he called first people dirty and lazy.

he believed from the founding grew a system and movement that not excluded people of color but dismissed experiences. today we see a through line to the foundational principles in who visits and works in national parks. over 100 years after john mirrors founding only 23% of another another park people are color, 79% of employees white as of july 2020. more diverse than parking or recreation there is a history of bias, too. from swimming pools to hiking and camping. segregated recreation had a lasting significance on social strat fiction. perhaps this is seen in aquatics. because of racist and

exclusionary policies at public pools. black children are less likely to learn to swim and three times more likely to die of drowning than white children. this pattern of segregation in recreation runs not just through aquatics but in tennis and other forms of recreation. they are perceived as the domain of private clubs excluding people. this is rampant in public recreation until the 1964 civil rights act desegregated the municipal facilities. the racism didn't disappear and segregation did not magically disappear and took a more insidious form in the form of disinvestment, privatization of recreation, people moving away. in many cases in inner cities the complete closing of public

facilities. we have this stories of christian cooper and too many others to show that these roots still pervade our industry. it is really important for us to examine those foundations so we can move on and really have a systematic way of trying to approach this. thank you. >> thank you, sarah. >> a little rough in the sequencing here. i am going to finish this slide and just acknowledge that i am

uncomfortable presentation sarah provided has living legacies today. even though we are subject as the city and county of san francisco to equal opportunity rules, we are stuck in the workplace policies, prohibitions of harassment as well as state apfederal laws, of course. these things are deep in us, centuries old. one of the in addition to doing that research about the history, we also are using a central and fundamental source of information for our racial equity plan two different medi mediums of employees do that. one was employee focus group.

invitation was sent to everyone through staff connections. really fun newsletter that is informative and has gone a long way to connecting people who get their e-mail. invitation too participate. it was curated for diversity. diversity in race, age, tenure for the department, and had guided discussions. in total there were 27 participants. it was small. it was an hour of time talking and listening. i want to combine that with we conducted our first ever racial

climate survey focused on the race of employees. some of the questions were personal about your own perception, your own comfort, your own knowledge. applied to the work team, department and the city as a whole. from these two forums of feedback, there were real alignments, repeated aligned requests from staff. some of those were. mentoring black, indigenous, people of color staff. developing a volunteer staff mentoring program to help people integrate to our culture, to their job, feeling connected. as a form of support. there was also, you know, repeated requests to learn more about equity. to spend work time on it. this is particularly true for

members of -- the people in our organization who have volunteered on their time. iit is unpaid time. they have to do their job as well to participate in learning and teaching these concepts. there was a request to keep pushing for more diverse hiring with new and different ways, evaluating mqs, panels, and there was one final theme that emerged that certainly anyone who is engaged in communication with our staff has confronted before. depending how you count, 65% of our staff at a minimum do not have screen time as part of their job. they do not have access to city-provided hardware, phone,

tablet, computer. nor an element of the job description that allows time on the screen. if you include all of our temporary seasonal part-time employees that number goes up to 85%. do not have screen time. in an era when more and more is going digital, we invested on rpdu, teaching and learning module on intramet. we revised that. hr forms, performance evaluation forms are all digital. when you think about that disparity of access, there is a real racial element to that as well because most of those people who do not have access to screen time are in the entry level classes, which as you will

see, we took the history, looked at the legacy of that. what employees were says, and then we added that to some analysis about our work force when is what ariana will take us through. next slide. >> these are examples of statistics we were able to gain from data points in the hr database. i have been working closely with taylor on these efforts to be involved in equity efforts with groups and workshops. most importantly, working with hr data.

generally, they are examples of the data points to inform our roots and equity efforts. we have been able to attain these by developing dashboards that compare the labor market, gender, race statistics how we look across the department compared to bay area as well. here this is just a representation of the overall look at demographic representation. gender representation in the department. here is another example of entry level employees looking -- our first layer. direct service, front line community facing individuals compared to the employees. how we really were able to develop the analysis with the tool of the equity dashboard to take into consideration the

level of autonomy, responsibility, reports, pay grade and organized the department in different layers and look at the demographic representation of each one. really informed us on where we might be improving and comparing statistics from previous years past. these tools have been important to making our decisions as data informed as possible and to echo what lower rain and sarah mentioned, the history to take into consideration the numbers and figures and how we can be best and adquately informed to make decisions moving forward. most importantly, it is really important to get the data points and focus groups rather than just statistical analysis. we want to hear quality of data,

feedback in person and those were over six different periods or weeks. it has been enlightening and informative and helpful to understand trends. where we might be needing to look into, consider, and hoping into how can we make sure the data informed as possible moving forward with equity efforts? as important as the history that we have to consider about san francisco, what does that history, how is it embedded in figures like the pool analysis with the drowning rates? that is all i have to say. antonio. >> thanks.

i am antonio from the acquisition section in human resources. the racial equity action plan consists of these seven focus areas that are on your screen. human resources staff has been working diligently with the support of other staff such as lorraine from recreation, sarah and our racial equity leads as well. as we have worked towards the final implementation portion of the plan we have used the following framework. first is being forward looking. we want to make sure we celebrate the programs we already have implemented. we also understand we need to continue to make improvements upon those programs and initiatives as well as make progress in other areas using the data that she just mentioned in a way that is sustainable for

many years to come. second is attain ability. we want to be progress over and visionary in our approach. we want to be realistic of the resourceses we expect to have as we continue to work on this plan over the next few years. just briefly, i would like to hype light some of the deliverables you are likely to see when the plan is published. first is using what we know about inequities in our job classes to develop classification specific outreach plans that focus on fostering relationships with nontraditional outlets likely to produce more applicants for job opportunities. increasing communication between the lower and upper level staff, due to development of department-wide mentorship program. third, exploring equitable

alternatives to discipline air reactions such as peer to peer mediation. four. professional developments opportunities with employees. finally, expanding the knowledge of diversity, equity inclusion and belonging by leveraging di ce and development of the racial equity library for self-guided learning. these are what we hope to accomplish with support of our leadership. i will hand it over to lamonte bishop for the next step in the journey. >> thank you. we are now at the next step in moving the plan forward. first, december 31st, our reap is to be submitted to the office of racial equity. we are not going to wait until that is filed for us to begin

strategies and actions to move our job forward. at this time we will be rearranging the hr assignments for support for actions. we formalize the dice. action leads will continue to advocate for new positions through our budget process and on june 30, 2021 we will receive our report card from ore and we will begin phase two of our template. it has been shared. this is a two-phase process. first phase of the process is focused on internal reflection. phase two will be reflection to make sure that we are being proactive and being -- we are

working to ensure we are addressing issues in the community and the people we serve. in conclusion, we want to thank the commissioners to update you on the racial equity action plan. staff will complete the template and produce the first of what we hope is never ending oversight and focus on racial equity within the department. next level of government's duty and obligation to be fair in all dealings. we want to make sure our policy really does affect the public. we know bad policies can have effects for generations to come. this document is just the beginning, not even beginning but important milestone in the journey understand the effect and correct harms. work that began decades an go with civil rights and will continue in the future.

racial action plan document will be submitted on december 31st, 2020 to the office of racial equity. we are working on walking our talk now. we are starting these projects despite reduced budgets and pushing ahead on the work that is part of the public record. our work plans will go forward on the website. with that our presentation is complete. our staff is here to take questions on what was presented. we also invite you to think about the last chapter, chapter 7 dealing with boards and commissions. we welcome your discussion on these important issues as they come into commission operations and activities. thank you. >> thank you. just as a reminder if you are here to speak on item the, bless star, 3, to raise your hands to be put in the queue to speak.

anyone on the line for this item? >> there are callers on the line and one hand raised. >> please state your name before speaking. >> hello. i am edna zing. from the omi. my concern was that three or four years ago there was a plan about diversity in the program. i am wondering what happened to that plan and how is it

different than what you are planning now? >> thank you,edna. normally we don't respond to questions as they are asked. i might ask the general manager if there is a response forkedna on that issue? >> thank you. hi,edna. a couple closing reflections. in specific answer to the question what i think she is referring to in 2016 when proposition b was on the ballot. equity plan was mandated for a lot of external programming and services. that remains in full effect. all of our external equity work including the equity zones and metric and programming like our scholarship programming, some of

the community hub work we are doing now and the india basin with the equitable planning process, what this is a response to the creation of the office of racial equity. a city-wide effort to coordinate at department level and internal and external focuses on equity. the report is broken into two phases. second phase is external. this is actually on our own internal work. what this document actually does is similar to whattedna was alluding to to create a strategic plan for racial equity. with specific initiatives transparent and measurable. some we have been doing. the first phase is focused on the department's internal work

as the team mentioned recruitments, hiring, retention and discipline and training. the internal work is on training and development and culture is very important. it is hard. it requires us to acknowledge that systematic racism exists in these rules and policies and in our history and culture. as i think lamonte noted and this is the beginning of journey, particularly on internal work. we are learning as we go. what i thought i would offer is my own perspective and vision for this internal phase. that is for us to have an organization in which access to employment, training, development, opportunities and representation access to the highest level of leadership in the organization is as available to our black and brown and indigenous staff as white staff

in every occupation in our department from field staff to it staff, project managers and capital division to executive team. as you heard today from the team to do this, we have to listen and understand experiences. we need to have honest conversations about race. we have to collect and analyze data and initiatives which dismantle existing barriers and equitable opportunities for all. we would love to have a little discussion or have you guys have a discussion, the commission about how we can strengthen equity from the perch of this commission and other boards.

we hope to get into that a little bit. i want to thank the members of the team working on this report and all of the racial equity leaders. we are having a lot of conversations and learning in our department. that is an important step of the journey. a special thanks to lorraine doing this work loc work long be office. founded our group a few years ago. i want to say thank you to commissioner mcdonald who offered his own perspective on the importance of the endeavor and challenges to the group and leadership team. to return to the comment, in the coming year after the internal

phase we will submit phase two focusing on external work where we have made more progress because of the. [ inaudible ] proposition b. >> before i turn it over to commissioners. is there anyone else with a hand raised to comment on this item? >> one hand popped up. >> please state your name before speaking. >> i am paul. i am a san francisco resident. i wanted to say that it seems like you guys have been very introspective about this and that is very valuable and you are approach anything the same way and i support it. i wantedded to lend some possible thought as to the

impact that the organization is having on its community as being another source of something that might be deserving of introspection. from my perspective as a resident i feel like the parks and rec community and the permit process in general associated with that indeed working in entertainment, i feel it is extremely racist and classist. i am frustrated with the city's interaction with their various producers, and i think they produced an exclusionary environment. i think given the structure they have created they can't help to. they have demanded inordinate sums of money for anyone that

wants entertainment in the parks. that means the resourceses that are our parks are only available to the people with extra sums of wealth. to be able to use a piece of the park now requires fencing and security guards and telling everybody to go away when it really doesn't have to be that way exempting the city's racism permit process with giving out access to the parks. when i see the endemic city corruption, i think that one of the places that really should be examined is how it impacts race and culture in our city. what i think that the policy of racism from the parks and rec department have caused is that the communities that are poor and of color are gathering in the streets for sideshows rather

than gathering in the park. is that on purpose. >> thank you. your time is expired. we appreciate your comments. >> paul, is there anyone else with a hand raised on the line? >> yes, one hand popped up. >> please state your name before speaking, caller. >> i am francisco. i have been listening to this deliberation. i have one question that i want the park and reccommissioners to study and that is title 6. i think this talk about racial

equity has not been done well. you haven't consulted epthe advocates and many people who really understand the real meaning of equity. give money to some people so that they have access to the money. are you really telling me in san francisco when it comes to our parks that we have equity? let alone talk about racial equity? how we treat our children when it comes to the soccer field, how we have removed natural grass and substituted with

artificial grass. do we really have the concerns of our children? i am asking you to study title 6 before we make any adjudication on this notion of racial equity, which is really not been thought out clearly. when it comes t comes to accouny and transparency. i have been following your action for a long, long time. >> thank you. >> no further public comment, public comment is closed. commissioners. >> i believe this is an information item. questions or comments from the

commission? >> yes, i have a question of taylor. this is commissioner hallisy. thank you and lorraine and phil anand lamonte and the team for e presentation to me last week. this morning you mentioned the forms put together. were those forums did you put together did they just involve employees of rpd? >> yes, commissioner. as diverse as possible working group of rec and park staff. >> very good. i am wondering, and loraine, in discussion with you, you talked

about your own experience with training in the bay area. i just want to know if you think with your background now in meeting all of these people in your role that are in other city agencies if rpd might volunteer to host and moderate a discussion on racial equity and invite all of the representatives, especially those in the position of hiring for other city departments, whether fire, police, water, whatever. also to have a recent hiree talk about their experience, positiontive, negative, challenges they faced. you may be doing this already, lorraine. having said that i believe many of the city agencies could learn

from you and the rec and parks department. i am putting it out there to see if that is something that may be on your own you are doing when you are getting your training or if it is something that might serve all of the city agencies. maybe rpg can pick up a nugget or two and many can learn from what you are doing as well. >> thank you. that is a really good suggestion. [please stand by]

-- that the equity plan calls for which is kind of the role and space and posture, frankly, that the boards and the commissions can play in this. and so i will offer some thoughts that -- let me say, not just my own, but commissioner hallisy and i had a wonderful conversation about this. and so between us we'll lift those up. and i would begin though by just saying -- acknowledging really the extraordinary work and commitment of the staff to this body of work, in particular from my view as evidenced by a

willingness to sit in the uncomfortable place of understanding who we are and where we are and how we got here. james balwin said that its face nothing can be changed but nothing can be changed until it is faced. and the phases of this work, again, as someone who leads and trains in this space is awareness, acceptance, and then action. and so, again, appreciating the staff's willingness to become aware and hold and own the realities of our history in what has led us here both in terms of the interpersonal, all the way in which this department, as great as it is today, has evolved. and the opportunity then that we have to not only kind of create this plan -- i feel like that a

question that is important in this regard that there's value and importance in creating a plan however, if said plans are not implemented, if there is not a commitment to the long-term work of both in terms of learning and shifting and changing of both perspective and posture and practice, then, you know, the plan isn't worth much. not at all suggesting that is the case here, but just to call that out because for me that was the impetus of -- of this question. and just to submit that, quite frankly, what she also represents in that question is an unfortunate experience of black, indigenous and people of color communities. that there's been these moments throughout kind of history, both past and present, when there's a declared moment of clarity and commitment and then it's

unfulfilled. and so, again, just to cement the importance of the long-term commitment to what i often refer to as a journey. and so, lastly, i say then and then i'll call on my colleague, actually, because he captured some notes from our discussion. we talked about some potential ways in which the commission can hold and embody this work and the role that we can play in supporting the staff team and shifting some of our -- literally some of our activities to be community facing so that we're not only talking about community, but we're actually talking with community. and so, commissioner hallisy, do you want to share kind of where we landed. at least as a point of view. >> commissioner hallisy: certainly, commissioner. one of the items and all of the communication that i received and read was about annual

commission meetings that would target certain groups, certain areas of the city, and in my opinion i -- and i believe that commissioner macdonald agrees with me, it's not enough. and i -- i'm thinking that we should take our show on the road, so to speak. maybe once per quarter we go to a specific racial community/group location to hear directly from local residents on issues that they experience in our p.d. programs, and access to facilities, etc., say, one per quarter at four different locations. and i think that if we did it this way we would get on top of this and we would reach more

people, more quickly. >> thank you, commissioner. any other comments? >> one other item -- sorry, go ahead. >> go ahead, you can finish commissioner mcdonnell. >> commissioner mcdonnell: i was going to say that i would also welcome and encourage us as a commission to think about the training opportunities for us as a commission and -- and then kind of embark upon that -- that journey as well. and, you know, whether that is learning modules that we do individually. another might be one that we do together as a collective as another potential path. and then i would also love to see kind of cement this -- the importance of this issue in the form of what i would kind of

call or name as an equity moment in each of our meetings and just to be clear, i mean, it's a moment of highlighting both the space itself, it could be a moment of celebration of a success. it actually also could be a moment where we're highlighting a current challenge that we're facing and we're willing to kind of eyes wide open name it and grapple together with how do we address this. we now understand it better and how to address it. so that's another element they would like to lift up. >> i appreciate that, commissioner. we've had discussions on how to frame that and i think that it is worthwhile to explore. commissioner jupiter-jones did you have a comment? >> commissioner jupiter-jones: yeah, i just wanted to echo, first, just gratitude for the department and the staff. i also was able to get a briefing last week on all of this. and really i'm just honored and excited to be a part of this work and to really, i mean, it's

been said before but it is -- yeah, it's motivating to me to hear that we're starting from this place of real authentic, honest, reflection of the history of how we got to where we are. and i think that gives me hope and optimism because as people have said this is a heavy load. this isn't just one plan and one meeting and one discussion, this is -- if we're trying to battle, you know, centuries of systemic racism, it's going to take a while for us to build systems of anti-racism. and so i just want to say, you know, to express my gratitude for everyone and especially the staff who i do believe too has been doing this work even before it was kind of mandated from the city. and that's important to recognize. and then all these -- all of the suggestions, both that i've

heard from commissioner hallisy and missioner mcdonnell about ways that the commission can be involved in this i totally support. because both of those are an idea for kind of outreach, versus expecting everyone to come to us and also us going out and also moments of equity, like building those into the meeting, those are systems, right, that ensures this is a continuing discussion of something that will be at the forefront of the commission always, as it should be. so i'm excited to continue this work for a long time. and thank you to everyone who has been working so hard on it. it makes me very proud to represent this department. >> president buell: thank you, commissioner. any other comments or questions? well, i might say as a wrap up to this particular item that i would not want to see these suggestions get lost in the suggestion box. and ask staff to consider how

they view implementing these -- and in particular the two wishes that i think that have a lot of merit. one is that our being able -- and i'll throw this to ashley as well -- be able to conduct meetings in the community and to have the ability to notice those in advance so that everybody can participate on all of the issues that we face, not just in those communities where we'll be physically. and i think that commissioner mcdonnell's suggestion that we have some way of reporting, whether it's every meeting or on a scheduled basis, but not to let it drop, both the positive and the negative aspects of the actions of the department and the perceptions of the community on the issues. so i just ask that the staff get back to all of the commission on these suggestions. with that, that was an

information item and i very much appreciate all of the staff efforts. lorraine that was really a very educational and informative presentation and i thank everybody that made it possible. with that, ashley, i think that we'll move on. >> clerk: thank you. we're on item 10, general public comment. at this time the members of the public who were not able to address the commission on item 4, may address the commission on items that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the recreation and park commission and that do not appear on the agenda if you are here to make a comment during general public comment, please press star, 3, to raise your hand. paul, can you let me know if there's anyone in the queue? >> there were two, but we're down to one just now. >> clerk: okay, great. so, caller, please state your name before speaking. >> caller: edna james again.

i just want to make a general comment about the -- i know the item of racial equity did come up, but one item that i did miss was that i hope that you consider in terms of racial equity -- disability. and i mean seniors and people with disabilities as you address racial equity in this plan and in future plans. thank you. >> president buell: thank you, edna. >> clerk: thank you. paul, i want to confirm that there's no one else with their hand raised? >> there's one additional. >> clerk: there is, okay, great. caller, please state your name before speaking. >> caller: hello. my name is richard fong. i'm trying to get a follow-up on the palace of fine arts update on how the private moneys and so

forth are coming up for whatever is needed to commence on to stage 2? i believe the person to get in touch is dan birkenfelt, and if we can outreach from the rec and park department, through the fine arts foundations, maybe we can get updated on what's going on. i have been waiting for that topic for a long time. thank you. >> president buell: thank you, richard. >> clerk: paul notified me that there's another caller. so, caller, please state your name before speaking. >> caller: hello, my name is paul. and i am calling again to -- or commenting again roughry in the same line to ask the city for people to be outside in the parks. specifically i know that it's a long-standing practice to try to

make money on all of these events, pro-cluin except for thy being able to do so. and with the danger with indoor production and all of these long-standing communities destroyed by the city regulations, like the rec department, acknowledge the presence of the pandemic and to start to permit people to gather outside. i'm sure that's a health department concern for gathering, but as we open the city we want to see that emerge, hopefully before the indoor one. i hope that the parks and rec department doesn't continue to only commit the wealthiest among us to have access and to gather and to have music in the parks. i think that it is ridiculous that it's only certain hours and that it does create this unhealthy environment indoors that is owned exclusively by

alcohol purveyors. so we should be able to gather outside and gather in our parks at all hours with music and that they answer now. and doing so means protests, then that is what it is, but i hope that the park and recs department hope to find a realm way to embrace music in our city again. >> president buell: thank you. >> clerk: thank you. i have been notified that there's another commenter. so, caller, please state your name before speaking. >> caller: so, commissioners, again my name is francisco. so first and foremost according to the brown act you don't need to announce your name. so the secretaries have to be begin that orientation. we are not mandated to say our name. okay? so having said that, i represent the first people of san

francisco. and it's a very sensitive issue when everybody is not involved in the deliberations. as one of the commissioners was saying in a general way, we need to go there, there, there, just like the commissions used to do. but the rec and park as such ahows our children and our youth and our beloved elders and those with compromised health and do not play a very important role post this pandemic. so we have to think outside the box. we need to go out, so people go to the park, people congregate. we need good leadership and

we're not getting good leadership from our mayor. she goes to the french laundry and breaks the rules. and she doesn't apologize immediately. she takes her time. all of those silly things that stupid (indiscernible) do, and the spineless that we have in san francisco. and as i said, i have been following this for 40 years. in 40 years i should have learned a lot about park and rec. so there's a lot of discrimination given to people of privilege and so forth. and i'm not saying all of the commissioners are racist, but i'm saying fine-tune your conscience. go to a better place with your heart in the right place. thank you very much. >> president buell: thank you very much. >> clerk: okay, seeing no further public comment, public comment is now closed.

we're now on item 11, commissioners' matters. commissioners, do you have anything that you would like to bring forward? okay. any public comment on commissioners' matters, please press star, 3, to be added to the queue to speak. seeing none, public comment is closed. and we're on item 12, new business/agenda setting. commissioners, is there anything that you would like to bring up? okay. is there any public comment on new business? seeing none, public comment is closed. we are now on item 13, communications. is there any public comment from this item? okay. seeing none, public comment is closed. >> i have a quick question. not to belabor it at all, but

what is supposed to happen on item 13, communications? i have never quite understood. >> clerk: yeah. that's a good question. so generally we list any communications that we've received on items that are not listed on the agenda. so it's an opportunity for the public to comment on any of those and ask for any of them from us. most of the time it's email, sometimes it's physical mail. and i believe that you all can have a discussion or ask questions about any of those items as well. >> great, thank you. thank you. >> clerk: you're welcome. we are now on item 14 adjournment. >> president buell: commissioner mcdonnell, you have a motion on adjournment. >> commissioner mcdonnell: i would be honored, sir, thank you, to move that we close today's commission meeting in honor of a well-beloved woman,

twee newman. i think that it's particularly fitting in the context and backdrop of our discussion around racial equity. twee, vietnamese immigrant to our city, family from laos. grew up in costa meca, and came to san francisco with a passion to teach and got her master's at san francisco state in education. and she and her husband shawn conley created what was called san francisco skate club. but in point of fact it was more than a skate club. certainly, skating was the theme that drew young people into this community and this orbit that twee and shawn created. it quickly became a space of community of supportive young

people, a knitting club, filmmaking club, homework club, cooking club, art club, living club. and it was an amazing space and community that she and shawn led for years. and, sadly, after a long battle with stomach cancer, twee passed away. 41 years old. and we had -- there was a wonderful gathering to celebrate twee's life this past saturday out at ocean beach, hosted by our good rec and park department friend, and to look across the sand and to see the families and the young people, some of whom would declare that i wouldn't have graduated high school or i never would have made it to college, i never would have stayed connected to my family. as a matter of fact, in many ways twee and the skateboard

club was my family. it was really, really wonderful to experience and it certainly is heartbreaking to lose twee. she embodied what i believe is the -- kind of the heart of a steward of community and of san francisco in particular. i often have described that twee lived her life with a smile. she was infectious in her love for life, her embracing of people, certainly, embracing of these young people. and so, again, i would just move that we close in honor of twee, and while we will miss her presence, may her legacy of love of people and commitment to service live on through all of us. thank you. >> president buell: thank you very much, commissioner. is there a second to that motion? >> second. >> president buell: moved and seconded. all those in favor? >> aye. >> president buell: so moved and i wish you all a very happy

holiday season and hopefully a prosperous and connected new year.

>> hi. i'm chris manners, and you're watching coping with covid-19. today, i'm going to be talking

about checking with your neighbors. >> start off by giving your neighbor a call to see how they are or if they need help. if they don't answer, don't get anxious. try again later. check to see if their car is parked nearby. are they lights being turned on and off during normal hours? if you still can't contact them, contact your other neighbors and see if they've had contact with them recently. you can also leave a note in their mailbox, and when you do get in touch with them, ask if they'd like to share their emergency contact information. if you're getting groceries for a neighbor, get a mask and sanitizing wipe. put the groceries by the front door and then move back and call them from the sidewalk. if you need to ring the

doorbell, don't use your hand. use the wipe or paper towel that you brought. when you call, stay on the sidewalk at least 6 feet away from them. as you're talking to them, ask about any other help they might need. some might need further assistance with groceries or just need to chat. maybe they might need you to pick up prescriptions from the pharmacy. and as always, as soon as you get home, wash your hands. here's a quick recap. >> well, that's it for this episode. i hope you found it useful.

>> good morning. thank you for joining us today. we know this year has been hard on our kids and families. the fact the public schools haven't opened is really challenging. we are seeing the impact every day as kids fall further and further behind. as city we don't control the schools. we have been providing a much-needed support, as much as we can to help get them open. right now, we are working with the district to set up the testing system. we shared funding and staff to help facilities get ready we will do whatever we can to get our classrooms open. i know it is not easy. it is for the good of our entire community, and for our kids and families. nothing matters more. back in summer when it was clear

schools weren't going to open this fall, we knew we had to do something for the kids struggling with distance learning, including my niece and nephew. that is where we launched this community hub initiative. as the first semester of the initiative comes to a close, we have an opportunity to look back on all that we have accomplished with this incredible program. as i said when we first started the program, it takes a village to get the children the resourceses they need to thursday five. that is especially true during the pandemic. we have an incredible village in san francisco. in a matter of weeks we got the program up and running with the help of community organizations, city departments and private partners. i especially want to thank the department of youth and families

and phil ginsburg from recreation and parks who stepped up and drove this program from the beginning. thanks to the hard work of every one involved over the past three months of operation we served 2000 students at 78 locations throughout the city. that is 2000 students who have been able to get help with distance learning, receive healthy food and snacks, and most importantly have a place to go where they could be around other kids their own age. that is thousands of san francisco parents who can focus on working during the day, knowing their children are being looked after. these hubs have made a difference in people's lives. they have been safe, even during this challenging time. from day one, keeping our young people in the hub, staff safe and healthy is the top bright.

the community hub follow strict health and safety protocols. so far there hasn't been one single covid-19 outbreak at any of our hubs. that is thanks to the hard work of the staff and department of f public health who worked on the hub set and safety plan. the lessons we learn can inform the hard work we are doing right now to reopen public schools. while some people are questioning whether that is safe to bring our public school students back to the classroom, keep in mind we haven't had any outbreaks at these hubs or the private schools that have already opened for in-person learning. yes, we know it is hard. it will take a lot of work. i believe we can and we must open in-person learning in a safe way as soon as possible. along with health and safety, we

have emphasized the importance of equity throughout our response to covid. that applies to the hubs as well. the community hubs initiative was created specifically to serve the highest need students from san francisco. we want to reach kids and families who needed extra help and support and most vulnerable. our children are already struggling and falling behind. focused enrollment at the hub we reached many students who otherwise would have a hard time with distance learning. over 400 students ars are resids of public housing, 150 homeless. 64 in sros with crowded conditions, 18 foster and 287 require language support provided by the hub. we have been successfully enrolling students from

historically underserved communities. 96% of the students are children of color. as we realize that covid-19 wasn't going to make distance learning the new normal for students, -- we realized it was the new normal. we worked with department of technology to stock devices and make sure they were connected to the internet. digital equity made sure they had what we need for kids to log on and participate in distance learning. comcast is an incredible partner and worked with more than 30 community organizations to connect the hub sites with high-speed internet. when a hub sight was going to be without internet due to issue with another internet service providers, comcast technicians

showed up and got the job done so kids could participate in distance learning. in addition to connecting sites with internet, they have contributed to support digital literacy and we are grateful for partnership. today comcast committed to 800 brand-new computers to our students that come from these under served communities. we are grateful. you will hear from them in a moment. thanks to the village students have a place to go where they know they have reliable internet, access a computer that works and healthy meal to it. along with colleagues and the library sheep has been instrumental in creating the hub and keeping the program running. maria. >> good morning.

thank you, madam mayor for the lovely introduction. i struggled to believe it is 40 weeks since you issued the shelter-in-place order in march. thanks to your steadfast leadership and vision, the city and county of san francisco has been a model for the nation on how we keep our residents safe, healthy and resilient. as you shared, san francisco will recover from the covid-19 pandemic, but that recovery will depend on all of us, all of our behaviors and actions. it will take all of us to support each other, stand up for each other and do what is right for each other. i am so produce to partner with

-- to partner with the department of children youth and families, recreation and parks, san francisco public library and other city departments. our school district, community partners and private sector partners to join forces and to do our part to ensure the safety and well-being of our city's most vulnerable children and youth. we answered your call to action, madam mayor, and stood up to the community hub initiative for youth. a lot of support from the department of public health. our highest need children are receiving the very necessary in person support with their distance learning curriculum and getting the much needed enrichment activities and social

well-being support. we understood about the distance learning efforts this past spring has increased historic disparities in our communities. many students who already face large achievement gaps, family support, assistive device and access to the internet were barriers to engagement. with equity and digital access at the forefront we moved quickly. the covid avalanche that we knew was hitting our children. i am so happy to share today we celebrate the community health initiative completion of this school year's first semester. for the past 14 weeks our 78 hubs provided an extended circle of educational, social emotional

and family support of children and youth surrounded by kind caring adults to provide a safe and nurturing environment for learning, play and a lot of fun. the initiative success is maintaining health and safety protocols across all 78 hubs by meaningful data for the department of public health and the city's covid command as we support our schools to reopen safely. while 2020 has not been an ordinary year, it has brought out the extraordinary. especially when it comes to our collaborative partners in our communities day in and out. throughout the pandemic our community partners consistent have been on the front lines responding to the needs of our communities by providing

essential support. they are our san francisco youth development first responders. i want to join the mayor in thanking comcast and our other partners as we are so grateful for your support and proud to welcome you into the mayor's village. together we make san francisco a great place to grow up, even during the pandemic. thank you, mayor. >> mayor breed: thank you, maria. community partners have been essential in taking care of our kids at these sites day after day. i would like to introduce betty field ashbury for the tom embarcadero ymca providing staffing. thank you and welcome, betty.

>> thank you, madam mayor, maria, it is such an honor to be here speaking about our work at the treasure island community hub. i first and foremost want to thank the families and caregivers that entrust us with the chair of their young people. it is the most awesome and humbling responsibility, particularly during this time while we are figuring out how to get through the pandemic that none of us were ever anticipating or prepared for. we on the island, our community is going through an enormous amount of physical transformation and with that comes feelings of separation and isolation from the city. that is compounded during this pandemic. for us at the community ymca

remaining stable was imperative and call to action for all of us, and my team on the island working seven days each week as we led to the launch of the hub. it has been an overwhelming lift and beautiful cingular investment from all of the community partners to be ther tr interest and investment in caring for the most vulnerable kids. that has been evidenced in the way they have helped through the planning process. san francisco beacon initiative has supported us all in the vision. we have had the city departments

led by may or london breed drive this initiative, and at the center of it as maria was saying, our youth development workers and professionals are reimagining and innovating creative ways to keep young people safe, healthy and engaged during this time in a space and context where they can't necessarily touch or be close or play in the ways that they are used to. they have done an incredible job. we are managing multiple children's schedules, getting them engage with the school day and learning skills about safety, community responsibility and care and compassion. it is so beautiful and meaningful to see this happen. i think that this work can't be

done on behalf of one individual entity, but as i said it has been a cingular kind of focus around the safety and care for young people that are vulnerable. it has been so rewarding and refreshing. i feel so proud and humble by the fact that our staff has been safe, our young people have been safe, we haven't experienced any covid outbreaks. we haven't experienced covid exposure based on hub participation. we are excited to keep partnering, and we are so supported by all of the partners and the work that has come our way. comcast has made sure the internet could support the 36 young people in the hub and getting technology homes to families. we have worked with island partners to distribute food and

deliver packages and provide virtual opportunities for families that aren't in our physical space. while this time has been scary and unprecedented, it has also been triumphant in how we can come together and what we can do for our young people when we are facing this kind of challenge. i want to say thank you. i want to appreciate the caregivers and the families that entrust us with their children and the youth workers and activists and organizers who are in the center of all of this may being it happen. >> thank you so much, betty. next we want to highlight the people most impacted by the hubs. families, which day in and day out are struggling with distance learning. it is one thing to hear from me, it is another thing to hear from

our parents. this is shanna who enrolled her daughter in the community hub program in september. welcome. >> thank you, mayor breed. i am the mother of brooklyn, fourth grader. she has been attending the first hub since they opened. i want to say that because my baby was able to attend, life has been a little easier. it is very, very stressful. i recently quit my job in an effort so brooklyn would be attending, i applied at another job. it all worked out for me. i feel like not only is she doing well in school, i feel

safe, i feel like she is safe, and they are very caring. they are more like family than school. or the after school program or how ever you want to call them, it is a family thing and i am leaving her with her family for the day. with the covid thing. they may being sure everything is clean and safe. they wash before and after everything they do. i just appreciate whoever opened up these hubs. i appreciate you all. it was a struggle before, single parent. once it opened everything got a little easier for me, very easier. thank you for having me. >> mayor breed: thank you.

how old is brooklyn? >> 9 years old in fourth grade and she loves her staff. >> mayor breed: thank you so much. glad she is doing so well. next up we have -- we really want to highlight the work that comcast has been doing through this pamdemic. we relied on support to help with community initiatives. i would like to introduce the vice president of external affairs in california. >> thank you, madam mayor. so great to be here. i think the word that many of us would use about this year is unprecedented. we have seen unprecedented challenges requiring creative solutions. in response to the challenges this year, i am extremely proud of everything comcast has done

to support employees, customers and communities. last week comcast announced we will provide free internet service for 60 days for new international essentials customers and free access to the more than 1.5 public wi-fi hotspots through june of 2021. this continues our commitment that we first made in mid-march at the beginning of shelter-in-place. comcast is committed to closing the digital divide and creating digital equity for more than a decade. we have made great strides. we have connected to the internet more than 8 million low income individuals nationally. 1 million of whom from the great state of california. we did this through our internet essentials program which provi provides high-speed internet access at home to eligible low income individuals and supports

non-profit partners for digital literacy skills. there is still more we can and will do. during this decade long journey, we are learned it takes partnership to be successful. madam mayor, i thought your quote about the village is so appro pro. we are grateful to be part of that village. we want to thank you, mayor breed, for your vision and leadership to launch the community hubs, not only for connection but for vital wrap around services to children and families. of the thousands of partners we work with nationwide, i could not be more proud to be here today with each of you. i am extreme lee proud that comcast is a key partner enabling the tremendous success of the community hubs in san

francisco. the 30 plus locations we are supporting in the city is part of a larger commitment whereby comcast will launch 1,000 lift scopes nationally. wait. there is more. we have exciting news to share about continuing commitment to san francisco. in addition to powering the community hub locations throughout comcast lift zone program, comcast will donate $140,000 to give to sf. to support digital literacy training, food insecurity efforts during the pandemic and holiday season along with other services offered at the community hubs. comcast, as the mayor mentioned, will provide 800 youth with

laptop computers which are theirs to keep and free internet at home for a year through internet essentials program. by providing free wi-fi access at community hubs and combining with free laptops and free internet access at home, comcast will help ensure the youth actively participate in class work and complete assignments wherever they are. as a result, the children can receive the best possible education and be set up for a more equitable prosperous future. the partnership with mayor breed, the director and dcyf team, all of the other city departments, community-based organizations like ymca, comcast has been successful because of the commitments we all have to ensuring we educate and empower the san francisco students and families. we so look forward to continued

partnership. thank you so much. back to you, madam mayor. >> mayor breed: thank you, breath. i hope brooklyn will get the laptop and internet so she has all she needs to thrive in the city. comcast support has been strumental to make sure the killeds have access to internet at the hub and this new contribution of 800 laptops is great news in addition to the contribution to staff and the work they will continue to do. we appreciate you joining us today. thank you all again. you can tell we are all excited about the community hubs initiative and what it means for families and students in san francisco. it has been a team effort. it has shown what this city can do when we come together to focus on what is most important. i am looking forward to continuing to work with everyone involved to ensure it remains a success in the new year and can

help inform the school district's ongoing work to get students back in the classroom. at this time i will turn it over to nubia for question and answer from the press. >> thank you for speaking about such an important program. i am with the san francisco command center. i will help facilitate questions from the press. we have a question for maria. we have a question for the examiner. how will the hubs expand outreach to ensure eligible families know about it? >> thank you for the question. we are currently working with our school district to identify additional young people who would benefit from a spot in the hub.

we have planned to serve 3,000 children in total. we have more spots available in the hub. we are hoping to identify those young people and enroll them. we have already worked with the school district for two learning hubs where we were able to identify a number of young people and have already registered them. we are also working with our community-based organizations on a daily basis. we are identifying families who continue to need this additional support. we will continue to expand as resources are available. our commitment is to ensure up to 3,000 children will have this opportunity by the end of the program.

>> we are done with questions. thank you all so much for joining us. i know shauna is looking forward to making sure brooklyn gets her new laptop and internet service and so many kids so deserving. thank you for joining us. have a wonderful holiday season. take care. >> he is a real leader that listens and knows how to bring people together. brought this department together like never before. i am so excited to be swearing in the next chief of the san francisco fire department,

ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome, jeanine nicholson. (applause). >> i grew up total tomboy, athlete. i loved a good crisis, a good challenge. i grew up across the street from the fire station. my dad used to take me there to vote. i never saw any female firefighters because there weren't any in the 1970s. i didn't know i could be a fire fighter. when i moved to san francisco in 1990, some things opened up. i saw women doing things they hadn't been doing when i was growing up. one thing was firefighting.

a woman recruited me at the gay-pride parade in 1991. it was a perfect fit. i liked using my brain, body, working as a team, figuring things out, troubleshooting and coming up with different ways to solve a problem. in terms of coming in after another female chief, i don't think anybody says that about men. you are coming in after another man, chief, what is that like. i understand why it is asked. it is unusual to have a woman in this position. i think san francisco is a trailblazer in that way in terms of showing the world what can happen and what other people who may not look like what you think the fire chief should look like how they can be successful. be asked me about being the first lbgq i have an understands

because there are little queer kids that see me. i worked my way up. i came in january of 1994. i built relationships over the years, and i spent 24 years in the field, as we call it. working out of firehouses. the fire department is a family. we live together, eat together, sleep in the same dorm together, go to crazy calls together, dangerous calls and we have to look out for one another. when i was burned in a fire years ago and i felt responsible, i felt awful. i didn't want to talk to any of my civilian friends. they couldn't understand what i was going through. the firefighters knew, they understood. they had been there. it is a different relationship. we have to rely on one another. in terms of me being the chief

of the department, i am really trying to maintain an open relationship with all of our members in the field so myself and my deputy chiefs, one of the priorities i had was for each of us to go around to different fire stations to make sure we hit all within the first three or four months to start a conversation. that hasn't been there for a while. part of the reason that i am getting along well with the field now is because i was there. i worked there. people know me and because i know what we need. i know what they need to be successful. >> i have known jeanine nicholson since we worked together at station 15. i have always held her in the highest regard. since she is the chief she has infused the department with

optimism. she is easy to approach and is concerned with the firefighters and paramedics. i appreciate that she is concerned with the issues relevant to the fire department today. >> there is a retired captain who started the cancer prevention foundation 10 years ago because he had cancer and he noticed fellow firefighters were getting cancer. he started looking into it. in 2012 i was diagnosed with breast canner, and some of my fellow firefighters noticed there are a lot of women in the san francisco fire department, premenopausal in their 40s getting breast cancer. it was a higher rate than the general population. we were working with workers comp to make it flow more easily for our members so they didn't have to worry about the paper

work when they go through chemo. the turnout gear was covered with suit. it was a badge to have that all over your coat and face and helmet. the dirtier you were the harder you worked. that is a cancer causeser. it -- casser. it is not -- cancer causer. there islassic everywhere. we had to reduce our exposure. we washed our gear more often, we didn't take gear where we were eating or sleeping. we started decontaminating ourselves at the fire scene after the fire was out. going back to the fire station and then taking a shower. i have taught, worked on the decontamination policy to be

sure that gets through. it is not if or when. it is who is the next person. it is like a cancer sniper out there. who is going to get it next. one of the things i love about the fire department. it is always a team effort. you are my family. i love the city and department and i love being of service. i vow to work hard -- to work hard to carry out the vision of the san francisco fire department and to move us forward in a positive way. if i were to give a little advice to women and queer kids, find people to support you. keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep trying. you never know what door is

going to open next. you really don't. [cheers and

>> -- a lot of messaging about new year's eve, and the fact that things are closed, to continue to be responsible, and i think as much as we can get that message out outside of the business community, that's really, really important because we just want to avoid any kind of illegal indoor gatherings during this time, new year's eve especially, because that could create another surge. just as we're hoping that doesn't happen with christmas, the same with new year's. you'll see a lot of messaging around that. our inspectors will be around new year's eve, as well, just wearing the sirt hat. sirt has been busy with the regulation changes. that's all i have for you this evening. let me know if you have any

questions. >> seeing any questions here, i have none. is there any public comments on director weiland's report? >> clerk: i'm checking to see if there are any hands raised, and there are no hands raised and no comments in the chat box.

president bleiman, i believe you're on mute. >> how long was i on mute? >> clerk: the entire time. >> okay. we'll call item 5, the deputy director's report. >> okay. good mornin good evening, commissioners. if you have the enforcement report pulled up, i just want to mention the sound complaints that we've been receiving have been few and far between. since we last met, we've had a total of nine complaints lodged, which is really minimal. of those nine complaints, seven were taken care of. the only one remaining is business bodega at 700

columbus. i only mention this complaint because there is a neighbor that is complaining about this business. bodega does have a jam permit. we did respond to this on friday evening, and inspector f fiorentino found they were in compliance with their permit. it's no surprise we are seeing less complaints with outdoor dining and the majority of our activities suspended at this time. >> all right. any questions for deputy director? okay. is there any -- i don't have any, so thank you for that. kind of quiet couptime.

is there any public comment? >> clerk: i am checking. there is no hands raised, and there is no comment. >> okay. i'll call item 5. discussion and possible action to send a letter of support to policy makers for specific policy recommendations from san francisco's economic recovery task force as well as the proposed relief package and policy solutions from the san francisco venue coalition and the independent venue alliance. >> this is in response to the last two meetings that we've had on november 17, and december 1, where we heard from the san francisco venue coalition and the independent venue alliance both locally

coming together, asking local government and the entertainment commission to support specific policy proposals that i put forward. and then, we put a little bit more staff into those policy proposals and just ensure that we're putting out a larger message to the community, as opposed to saying, this is what we support in full. do some policy proposals and let the mayor and board of supervisors know what our statements are, and then do a little bit more analysis from assessor recorder chu and what you've heard in the economic task force report recommendations. so what we did was we combed through all of the arts, culture, hospitality, and entertainment recommendations, and just as a reminder,

president bleiman and i served as members of the task force as well as many other people in the industry, and pushed forward what you see right now. what you received is a five-page document that i sent towards all of you with recommendations for, you know, discussion and potential approval along with a draft letter that we will send to the mayor and board of supervisors kind of outlining the problem and how we researched this issue. let me know if you have any questions. happy to review this with you, especially if there are changes that you want to see, and then, what i informed president bleiman just for process tonight, we don't have to make a really long motion separately here all the changes. let's just discuss it, and if we can get some solid agreement, then you can make a

motion to direct staff to implement the changes that you discuss, and then, we can send out a new recommendation to mayor and board of supervisors tomorrow. so go for it. president bleiman? >> yes. i just want to turn it over to commissioners. i believe we've all had a chance to read this. i've gone through it pretty extensively, and i've spoken to a few of you who have mentioned the same. i don't have any specific questio questions around it, but i just want to turn things over to the other commissioners and see if anyone has anything they want to specifically bring up or ask questions about it. one thing we might ask, you know, is what the next steps are after we send this out and what that might look like. do any other commissioners have any questions, comments? >> i think the document covers

everything that, i think, even, you know, the situation and how much night life has brought to san francisco, and how that's important. i have a question. is this only going to the mayor and board of supervisors? are we going to be able to send a copy or anybody can send a copy to, maybe, the governor's office because he's got that $500 million set aside for small business maybe? are we only stuck on sending this to the mayor? >> well, i will say that our escalation priorities on this is if you scroll down the letter, on page 2, we've listed out andre powers as well as edward mccaffrey.

he's tracking all of that and has relationships with our lobbyists in washington and lobbyists at the state, so that's kind of the path we go? however, i will note that this is already a public document. it's already on-line in draft form, and once it's finalized, it will be uploaded to the website. so as commissioners, you could share this beyond technically. one i thing that i will just flag that i would love for the commission to make sure is added is i want to formally c.c. martha cohen from the mayor's office. that was just an oversight on my part, but she's, you know, in charge of events on part of the mayor's office. let me know if you have any questions, commissioner lee. >> you covered it. it looks like you got everything. >> yeah, i just wanted to say thank you to director weiland

and staff. this is exactly what i was looking out, and i was hoping we'd go through and pull out recommendations and put it in put it in this format, so i'm happy to support this going forward. president bleiman, do you want to put forth a motion? >> i just want to see if any other commissioners have any other comments, and also, i want to echo the sentiments that you just made because i think it's important that we have kind of a consensus agreement on what it is we should be focusing on as a commission right now because i was talking to commissioner

wang today, and we have two responsibilities. one is to mitigate night life and sound, and we're always trying to find ways to promote. and since covid happened, everything has been just flipped on its head. other than the time spent by support weiland and the sirt team, we're thinking about only how to promote and save night life, and we have a role to play in that that is the greatest crisis ever to face night life in san francisco in the history of this city, so it's now or never. so the idea that we have a working document that we can use now as kind of a guiding light in the advocacy of what we want to do, and having read it, it's perfect. it's the exact document -- sorry. she won't shut up until i do

this. this is a living document, so thank you for working on this and coming up with this. any other commissioners have comments? >> thank you, director weiland. i think it captures everything that we were saying at the last meeting, and i think, ben, what you were saying is i think we were more of a role of advocates, so to the scent that you were helping to relay this information to the mayor and board of supervisors, please let us know if there's anything we can do to support that

effort. >> is there any public comment on this agenda item, senior analyst rice? >> we have one person in the attendee list who has raised their hand. casey loudermilk. i'm going to allow casey to talk. so casey, please unmute yourself and let us know if you're here, and then, you have two minutes for public comment. >> yes. excellent. can you all hear me? >> clerk: yes. >> yes. thank you, president bleiman and commissioners. i'm casey louder will milk, an representing the san francisco entertainment coalition. just tonight, supervisor haney introduced a san francisco

independent recovery bill, so there's traction thanks in no small part to your efforts, so i urge you to keep this going. thank you. >> clerk: okay. next up, we have duncan. duncan, you are unmuted, and you have two minutes. >> great. thank you hear me? >> clerk: yes. >> okay. thank you so much. my name is duncan [inaudible] from piano fight in downtown san francisco. i also want to second the statement from casey loudermilk. taking off the venue hat, i've lived in the bay area my entire

life. my first concert was in 1992 was beck on his midnight vultures tour. venue and entertainment has always been a part of my life, so this is not just about my job, this is also really, really close to my heart. so thank you for taking up the cause, and i urge you to fight on with us. >> clerk: there's nobody else with their hand raised and no chat. if you want, i can flash the information again on the

screen, public comment. >> that's fine. >> clerk: all right. there's still nobody with their hand raised and no chat in the chat box. >> all right. we're going to close public comment on this agenda item. i don't usually do this, but i would love to personally motion to support this letter -- to vote to support this letter, and i hope i would get a second. >> seconded. >> second. >> third. >> commissioner wang got in there first. >> you've got to be fast with the buzzer around here. >> so it has been motioned and seconded. >> all right. [roll call]

>> all right. thank you very much for the staff's incredible work on this. i know how hard you worked on it over the weekend and for that, so thank you again. that's one small step for humankind here. all right. i believe that's the last item. all right. so the final item on the agenda tonight is number six, which is commissioner comments and questions. surely we've got something. anybody have anything interesting? >> no, other than merry christmas, everybody. we won't see each other till next year, right? >> i'm sad to miss our annual holiday party. >> yeah, that's true, too. >> me, too.

>> so i just had one thing to say. so i know how hard our leadership in the city is working, and i did write a letter to them not in my capacity as entertainment commission president but in my capacity as a civilian business owner in asking them to forego their 3.5 week vacation to work on timing solutions to help small businesses, especially in the hospitality and entertainment industries. specifically, i asked them to hold a hearing as soon as possible before the end of the year that would do two things: one, it would give the health leaders an opportunity to show us actual data on outdoor dining and how stopping outdoor dining would lead directly to a

decrease in covid. i was really clear that i'm not skeptical about it, but i just would like to see some hard data because the impact on bars and restaurants in san francisco of losing outdoor dining is so significant. it definitely would require a little more communication, little more information for everyone, and just anecdotally, having seen the absolute vacuum of information that was provided from that outdoor dining shutdown, like any vacuum, it got filled with some of the worst possibly information, and i am seeing conspiracy theories and very, very cynical -- very cynical takes and very cynical prescriptions as to what's happening because there was such a lack of data and such a

lack of communication, and i think that's a detriment to our ability to operate together in the city. that's one side of it. and the other side that i asked for is to find actual financial relief for small businesses, especially ones that have been prevented from doing outdoor dining in san francisco. no one is being hit harder. we don't have any time left, many of us. bankruptcies are happening, closures are coming, and it's going to get worse and worse and worse, and the city needs to find sources of income, whether it's public-private partnerships, matching funds, unlocking the $500 million in accounts that's sitting unused that could immediately go back to the workers. it's supposed to support, especially undocumented workers, who are unable to

access state or federal unemployment funds. and meanwhile, we have $500 million sitting in someone's account, possibly accruing interest for somebody, maybe the private company that manages it. i don't know. i'm trying to get answers to this. so the two sides that i asked for are data around outdoor dining close you ares -- not indoor, but outdoor, and finding funding sources. and this is -- this is something that we have to pay attention to right now because we are in a very critical time between now and, i'd say, three or four months, where we can take measures right now that would actually save a significant number of night life businesses in san francisco or we can continue to say we can't find any money or we don't know where the funding would come, and we're going to watch them disappear forever,

so this is it. it's kind of like -- i'm reading obama's book right now, and it's kind of like where he had to make the decision of saving the auto -- the big three auto makers and there was a lot of anger, and it was a difficult decision, but he made the decision to save them. i'm droning on here, but this is really important to me, and i just want to use my public comment time, my commissioner public time to call it out. now is not the time to take a vacation, now is the time to directly address the issues that are in front of us and help us right now because it's now or never. it's going to be too late if we don't. is there any public comment on commissioner comments and questions? >> clerk: i'm checking the attendance list, and there's no hands raised, and there's no chat comments. >> all right. in that case, i'm going to

close public comment, and we will adjourn this meeting at 6:00 p.m. everyone, it's been a pleasure. this has been a really hard year, and i believe we'll see you again in the new year, which is going to be totally different, because it's 2021 and not 2020, i guess, but thank you all for your commitment and your work here, and we're going to adjourn the meeting. be safe. >> thank you. happy holidays, everyone. >> thank you. >> happy holidays. >> happy holidays. >> happy holidays. >> thank you, everybody. >> bye. >> we are, we are at the balboa movie theater, but you're not

going to be watching a movie today. maybe tonight, but not during the daytime outside. thank you all for being here. i'm san francisco mayor london breed, and i'm joined by a number of folks who i'll introduce later to speak. but i wanted to take this opportunity to just start with, really, how far we've come. it's been a very, very challenging seven months in san francisco. when this pandemic first hit, we had to make some really hard decisions. and with those hard decisions, we knew it was not only going to hit our economy as a whole, but it was going to have a tremendous impact on our small businesses, especially businesses in the community. we saw, within the first time that we closed in the month of april, we saw unemployment go to over 60,000 people, and as

of today, we have over 200,000 people who have filed for unemployment. we've seen businesses close, and some that we have gone to our entire lives, we've seen them close permanently. we've had to balance a $1.5 billion budget deficit in san francisco. it's been hard. our unemployment before the pandemic was less than 2%, and at its height, went to 12%, and today, it's 8%. so yes, from an economic standpoint, we have had some really challenges in our city, and the good news is that because we are a resilient city, there have been a lot of adjustments. we've adapted, we've

improvised, and when movie theaters called, what was it call? >> oh, popcorn thursday. >> the hon. london breed: i remember the first movie you played was "clueless," and i was all excited about that. it was look, we can't have it inside, but let's particultake the streets. let's come together as a community to enjoy something that all of us have missed, and that's going to the movies. and in addition with that jazz permit that we provide, it allows them to provide jazz music. adapting is what we do best. do we want to do it? no. we want to maintain our businesses and serve the community, but in the course of this pandemic, i've got to tell

you, i'm so proud to be a san franciscan. i'm so proud of what everyone has done to just say, you know what? we'll figure it out. we'll do the best we can. we'll make changes, like these parklets and some of the great ideas that came out of carmen chu and the economic recovery task force to say, let's make some adjustments. let's try and continue to support our businesses in a way that we didn't before. and even though it has been challenging, i don't know how you feel about these incredible pa parklets that are all over san francisco, but i feel like the city is alive again. and part of what we have to do in addition to some of the hard decisions we've had to make, we have to make decisions to get our economy going again, and that means making the right

kinds of investments. today, i want to announce that we are making an additional $7.4 million investment into the jobsnow program. and some of you might be wondering, what is jobsnow? in 2009, when we had the previous economic recession in this country under president barack obama, we had programs like cal fresh and job assistance. i was the executive director of the african american art and culture complex, and there were people that qualified for the jobsnow program, they started to work for me at the african american art and culture complex, and our organization got money to pay their salary. now one time, they were late with the checks, trent.

you remember that time, when i called you, wondering when is it coming? when is it coming? i've got to meet payroll. well, that program happened. over 26,000 people were served, and many of them still working today. and so carmen chu, what was head of -- who was head of this economic recovery task force, provided a lot of recommendations. and one of those recommendations was to get people back to work, we should look at investing more in the jobsnow program. to support small businesses, we should make it easier for them to get help from this jobsnow program, and that's exactly what we're doing here today, because what we want to make sure is when people reopen, that they are able to hire

people, but they're not generating the revenue that they want to generate. so this is another way that we can support our small business community. i remember, i went to a coffee shop in my neighborhood. and i've been going there many, many years, but this was the first time i've met the owner of the coffee shop. he told me that he couldn't afford to bring his employees back right away. so that's why programs like jobsnow and making programs like that available, it's all about helping people. we want to get our economic going, we want to get people back to work, we want to support our small businesses. we want to make sure that we come back out of this pandemic more successful and stronger more than ever before, because

this is san francisco. this is what we do, and this is one further step towards meeting that goal. i want to thank the san francisco chamber of commerce for their work and their support. i want to thank ucsf for being an incredible partner with the jobs now program, and i really want to express my appreciation to this community, to folks in the richmond, because i know that it's been hard, even before the pandemic, that this community sometimes feels neglected and forgotten. and as a native san franciscan, i want to make sure that so many outskirts of our city, that they receive the resources and help that they need to thrive. that is my goal, that is my hope, and that is my desire, and that's why it was important for me to come to this community. we've got a lot of work to do,

folks, and that is why we need to do as a city is make sure that we are not creating policies in a bubble. we want to make sure that we understand what the needs are of the folks that have the businesses out here, and that we are able to respond to these needs in a way that makes it easier for you to do business in san francisco but also makes you a success in san francisco. that is my goal. that is why i'm excited about this incredible program. i've worked with this program directly, as i said, before, and because of my experience in the jobs now program and getting my check late, i made it clear to trent that we have to do better with not this reimbursement model. we've got to get folks their payroll. so at this time, i want to

introduce trent rorrer who's going to talk a little bit about the program, how small businesses can connect to the program, and how quickly they're going to get reimbursed from the program. trent? >> thank you, mayor breed. as mayor breed said, i'm trent rhorer, executive director of the city's human services agency. the jobsnow was borne out of president barack obama's jobs program. we immediately in the city seized on the opportunity right after 2009, when it passed, which, in its first year under

the stimulus act, placed over 5,000 people in subsidized jobs. this went to unemployed san franciscans, san franciscans on benefits, and impacted hundreds of thousands of san franciscans, businesses big and small, and it was able to make a big impact on the recession. so this time, mayor breed didn't wait to pass a stimulus packages to assist residents and the unemployed, and it's a good thing she didn't because we'd still be waiting. in it, she included $7 million to the human services agency to expand jobsnow to serve an additional 3,700 people as well as businesses looking to reopen, to expand, or to simply start a new business. this mayor's investment, as she

said, is in line with the city investments programs. so what is jobsnow? it's the subsidized employment program that we at the human services agency operate that matches low-income unemployed or underplayed people with job opportunities in the public sector, the private sector, and also the nonprofit. what is subsidized employment? it is a job strategy that uses public dollars, in this case, over $7 million, to reimburse employers for the wages that they pay to workers that are hired through jobs now. the idea behind the program is very simple and straightforward. as businesses are thinking about opening for the first time or reopening or expanding, there's obviously a lot of uncertainty, given the pandemic, and given the local

connect rig economy right now. things like what will be the customer base when it reopens? how immediate and how robust will the supply chain be? all of these thinks are what employers are thinking about when they're thinking about rehiring. so it's all about us saying say, let's lessen your risk and allowing you to pay for a large risk in your business, which is wages. the other benefit of jobsnow which isn't talked about a lot, but other people who participate in the program will talk about it, is it takes care of businesses' hiring needs. the human services agency does the job announcements, the outreach, resume screening based on the skills of the people that we're working with. rearrange all the incident --

we arrange all the interviews. it allows the employer to get all that work done by us rather than the employers who are thinking about other critical issues related to reopening and expansion and other things. time and time again, in 2009, we heard from employers who said this program is great. but even the best thing, above the wage replacement, is we are meeting their human resources needs. they wouldn't have to place a job announcement on craigslist, schedule interviews, and have one person show up. we do everything. so we are offering several tiers of wage reimbursement to meet the specific needs of businesses. i'm not going to go into the different tiers and the levels, but i want to talk more broadly about what our strategy is. we're offering the deepest subsidies to businesses that

are trying to reopen and rehire staff that they had to layoff or businesses opening for the first time. for these situations, we're reimbursing 100% of the wages for the first three months and 50% of the wages for the next three months. [applause] >> i'll take that. we're also not excluding existing businesses, of course, we'll reimburse businesses $1500 a month for the first six months depending on the wages that they're offering and their ability to offer full time or part-time work. initially, the program is designed to meet san francisco's residents needs who are enrolled in benefit

services. but this is going to allow us to open up this to any job seeker in san francisco. if they're unemployed, if they're underemployed -- and generally, someone who's unemployed is low-income. if they're unemployed or underemployed, they're eligible for jobsnow. so we'll be partnering with the office of workforce development, and doing a biggobig outreach campaign so that any san franciscan knows they can come to jobsnow, and we'll get them a job. right now, more than 270,000 san franciscans have filed for unemployment. at this time in 2009, about

44,000 san franciscans applied for unemployment. a year ago, the unemployment rate at this time was 1.8%. we're now well over 8%. in addition, the public assistance caseloads have sky rocketed. we're seeing thousands and tens of thousands of people applying for food stamps, and calfresh services to provide for their families. even as importantly, if not more importantly, the small business owner to my right, it's a benefit for small businesses and large businesses struggling in san francisco to stay open or who are trying to reopen. all the city's 311 line. they'll connect you or

sfhsa.org sla sfhsa.org/jobsnow. i want to thank our partners like the mayor, but also our other partners. office for workforce development, joaquin torres and joshua arce, and then, the cochairs of the city's economic recovery task force, rodney fong, the president of the chamber of commerce, as well as assessor carmen chu, for their vision and their leadership in crafting an economic recovery plan that's sure to make a difference for our citizens and our residents. so i'm really happy to introduce one of the cochairs, assessor carmen chu. [applause] >> thank you very much, trent. couldn't be more pleased to be here today, and i want to just start off by sharing my deep

appreciation for the mayor's leadership in all of this. i know that many of you are aware that it's through her leadership and her vision that brought together businesses small and large, community leaders, and nonprofits to put forth ideas to assist in recovery. i'm joined by awe teen torres from eowd as -- oewd as well as -- joaquin torres from oewd as well as my cochair, rodney san francisco, from the chamber of commerce. through the partnership of our professionals at the department of public health, we've put

forward a plan that has been thoughtful and measured, something that has put san francisco apart from the rest of this nation. we're one of the only counties in the state of california to have just recently hit the yellow tier, the least restrictive tier when it comes to the state tiering system. but not only that, we did it in a way that was responsible, in a way that didn't ping pong businesses back and forth to open and close, to open and close. these are really hard decisions, tough things to do, but i think that san francisco did it right. this doesn't mean that we don't have a lot to do, that we can let down our guards, but it shows that we can reopen and do it safely. but just because we say that we're opening businesses, that restaurants can open, that movie theaters can reopen, it doesn't mean that businesses can come back.

through our conversations with folks in the neighbor, we've heard about how even with reopening, people are really worried about bringing back their memployees. do employees feel safe coming back to work? these are questions that many of our businesses do face. that's why a program like jobsnow and its $7.4 million is so incredibly important. it's a way for small businesses to be able to make those choices to bring people back in a responsible way that help them get through this time. if you're a small business, and you're wondering whether you're going to see customers coming in through your doors, you're going to have the ability to hire someone and get those wages reimbursed for the first three months and 50% for the three months afterwards. that's a big deal. i certainly would do that if i was a small business, and i think this jobsnow program

creates the stage to get the help that all our businesses need to get in the right space. so again, i couldn't be more pleased as a member of the economic recovery task force, representing my cochairs and all the members of the community to see this investment come back and be made in san francisco. thank you, mayor breed, for your wonderful investment and for your wonderful leadership. [applaus [applause] >> and with that, i am really pleased to announce our next speaker, someone who i have come to know, and the owner of this wonderful establishment that we all know and love in the richmond district. adam is going to be coming up to say a few words on behalf of not only the richmond district but the balboa theater. >> hello. i'm adam bergeron of the balboa

theat theater. we thought we had used this stimulus money and the p.p.p. and the loan money, but this has just gone on for so long, that even though strategically using it, we just ran out of our p.p.p. money last thursday, so now we're in a position where the rubber is hitting the road. it's time to make some pretty big decisions, and it was right at that moment that i was turned on by my friend to the possibility of jobsnow, and it really does seem like this could be a lifeline to get us from now to the end of the pandemic to keep some of the valuable staff that we have on board, right, and be able to bridge that gap until we're in a spot where we feel a little more kment about business, the ability to do business.

you know, the theater business is a little unique in that i think we're all a little weary of being in a room with people for hours, and it's something we need to consider if we're allowed to reopen, what's going to be the financial viability of the business, and is it going to be safe? thanks, everybody, mayor breed, and thanks, everybody. [applause] >> the hon. london bree >> i want to join ucsf in thanking mayor breed for bringing us together, and putting san francisco back to work by expanding the jobsnow program. ucsf is the second largest employer in san francisco, and for us, ensuring that our workforce reflects the communities that we're in is part of a long-standing

commitment and critical to our priorities. the health and science field is a huge job generator in san francisco. at a time when other parts of our economy are struggling to survive and recover from covid-19, ucsf is committed to doing our part in creating a skilled workforce, not just for our employees, but for the communities we serve. i served on mayor breed kazz task force, and i, too, want to thank the leadership for rodney fong and carmen chu, and thank you for the work that the economic recovery task force has done in the last few months. briefly, i just want to talk a little bit about our excel program. since 2010, ucsf has worked with the city to create jobs

through our excellent community engagement learning or excel. it uses live virtual classroom training and on-the-job experience to prepare san franciscans for administrative jobs in health care. students participate ten weeks of training. next, they're placed in paid, four month clerical and administrative internships with ucsf's campus and our medical center. we provide ongoing internship support throughout the duration of the program as well as job placement assistance when our interns graduate. to be eligible, you must be a san francisco resident 18 years or older, with a high school diploma or g.e.d., proficient in english, able to pass a basic office skills assessment, and able to pass a criminal

background check, occupational health check, and background health screen. ucsf interns earn $14.25 an hour during their trernship. we have recently increased our cycles per year. since we've started excel, we've graduated 230 interns, and just to let you know a little bit of who our graduates are, half our african american. almost 25% are latinx, and 92% are female. ucsf is offering well paying jobs for women of color in san francisco. our next cycle will start training on monday, november 9. i want to acknowledge josh arce and joaquin torres for the projects that we're doing in

the construction field. we're working hard to increase our hires at impact in san francisco. thank you for your leadership, mayor breed, and thanks again for the work of the economic recovery task force. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: all right. thank you so much. as was said, ucsf has been an incredible partner, not just in the jobs program, but they have been incredible in helping to lead our response to covid, so we truly appreciate ucsf and the work that they continue to do. i want to take this opportunity to also acknowledge joaquin torres, who is right over here. he is the director of the office of economic and workforce development, and if any of you are small business owners, please call him directly for any -- any questions, any assistance. if you want to know what the city is doing or you want to ask some questions, joaquin is

absolutely incredible. now if you are looking for a job, josh arce will give you his cell phone number because these are the two tag team folks who are really about making sure that we get to people and provide opportunities in this city. it is so important that we get people back to work, and we do so safely. i want to also just take this opportunity to acknowledge that there have been so many people helping in our economic recovery and our response. you know, i was telling adam how now, i feel bad, when i was here watching wonder woman, i got kicked out of the theater with my friends because we were talking. i had to explain, black people, we're talking in the movie theater. we're telling people what to do and whatnot not to do. but any way, i have so many

incredible memories of this incredible neighborhood. i'm so lucky to be here with one of the local business owners who owns -- is it blue pottery? blue stone pottery. they don't just sell pottery, but they sell a lot of other items that are cute gift issues, and i want to introduce one of the owners, margel howard, who is here today [applause] >> thank you. thank you, mayor breed, for being here. we've got a lot of star power on balboa street today, which is really tlihrilling and amazg for us business owners. several years ago, i cofounded the balboa village merchants association, and our members, like adam bergeron who's done amazing things with the theater and has adapted so well at the movie theater, he's got these

amazing bags. at least one of our family members is wearing a balboa theater t-shirt, and there's a cafe right down the street, according to my daughter, they have the best b.l.t. on the strip. you might want to try that out. these have been trying times as business owners. the pandemic, and the shock to the economy, it's caused us to be more closely knit. there's so much that we've seen mayor breed do, with the help of oewd and assess or carmen chu. i know we're going to get through this together, and i think how exactly is this going to happen? and then, i hear about this

reinvestment in jobsnow, another way to make it easier for small business owners to emerge from this pandemic. galindo, another great place for lunch, stuck in permit purgatory for four years, is now in business. here in the richmond, tens of thousands of residents have filed for unemployment, are looking for jobs, where businesses are getting more and more creative in how they share spaces and how they attract business. we have so many good places to go for lunch, but -- i know, it's all good. but i am just so grateful. i know our fellow merchants are

so grateful to be gathered here at this anchor of our community, one of our community hubs, to really represent what is going to happen here in the future. so thank you again for being here. it means so much to all of us. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: and i'll just wrap it up by saying it's halloween this weekend in san francisco, so look. i just want you to all remember that we are still in a pandemic, and i know you're wondering, well, mayor, what are you going to be for halloween? i'm going to dress up, but i'm going to wear my mask, and i'm going to abide by some of the recommendations of public health. i know that's boring, but at the end of the day, we are doing an incredible job, and we are in a good place. and because we know that many of those businesses depend on our recollection and how we react to remain open, and out of love and respect for our community spaces, we are going

to follow the social distancing and all the guidelines that you're tired of me repeating. the balboa, in fact, as a number of activities planned, so you can always buy your ticket in advance. there's going to be music and jazz, and we should look at closing the street. there'll be some great things for us to do here in this community and all over san francisco, but i want everyone to just remember, we are in a pandemic, we can still wear our masks with our costumes, even though it may not be the same. we can get creative because that's what we do in san francisco. but we should all definitely make sure we are safe. thank you all so much for joining me for the announcement of these incredible programs. i'm going to one of those restaurants that marjan

mentioned. thank you all so much for being here today, and have a wonderful day and a wonderful halloween weekend. [applause] >> one more statement. we are the one. that is our first single that we made. that is our opinion. >> i can't argue with you. >> you are responsible please do not know his exact. [♪] [♪]

[♪] >> i had a break when i was on a major label for my musical career. i took a seven year break. and then i came back. i worked in the library for a long time. when i started working the san francisco history centre, i noticed they had the hippie collection. i thought, if they have a hippie collection, they really need to have a punk collection as well. so i talked to the city archivist who is my boss. she was very interested. one of the things that i wanted to get to the library was the avengers collection. this is definitely a valuable poster. because it is petty bone. it has that weird look because it was framed. it had something acid on it and

something not acid framing it. we had to bring all of this stuff that had been piling up in my life here and make sure that the important parts of it got archived. it wasn't a big stretch for them to start collecting in the area of punk. we have a lot of great photos and flyers from that area and that. that i could donate myself. from they're, i decided, you know, why not pursue other people and other bands and get them to donate as well? the historic moments in san francisco, punk history, is the sex pistols concert which was at winterland. [♪] it brought all of the punks on the web -- west coast to san francisco to see this show. the sex pistols played the east coast and then they play texas and a few places in the south and then they came directly to san francisco. they skipped l.a. and they skipped most of the media centres. san francisco was really the biggest show for them pick it was their biggest show ever. their tour manager was

interested in managing the adventures, my band. we were asked to open to support the pistols way to that show. and the nuns were also asked to open the show. it was certainly the biggest crowd that we had ever played to. it was kind of terrifying but it did bring people all the way from vancouver, tee seattle, portland, san diego, all up and down the coast, and l.a., obviously. to san francisco to see this show. there are a lot of people who say that after they saw this show they thought they would start their own band. it was a great jumping off point for a lot of west coast punk. it was also, the pistols' last show. in a way, it was the end of one era of punk and the beginning of a new one. the city of san francisco didn't necessarily support punk rock. [♪] >> last, but certainly not least is a jell-o be opera.

they are the punk rock candidate of the lead singer called the dead kennedys. >> if we are blaming anybody in san francisco, we will just blame the dead kennedys. >> there you go. >> we had situations where concerts were cancelled due to flyers, obscene flyers that the city was thought -- that he thought was obscene that had been put up. the city of san francisco has come around to embrace it's musicians. when they have the centennial for city hall, they brought in all kinds of local musicians and i got to perform at that. that was, at -- in a way, and appreciation from the city of san francisco for the musical legends. i feel like a lot of people in san francisco don't realize what resources there are at the library. we had a film series, the s.f. punk film series that i put together. it was nearly sold out every single night.

people were so appreciative that someone was bringing this for them. it is free. everything in the library is free. >> it it is also a film producer who has a film coming out. maybe in 2018 about crime. what is the title of it? >> it is called san francisco first and only rock 'n' roll movie. crime, 1978. [laughter] >> when i first went to the art institute before the adventures were formed in 77, i was going to be a painter. i did not know i would turn into a punk singer. i got back into painting and i mostly do portraiture and figurative painting. one of the things about this job here is i discovered some great resources for images for my painting. i was looking through these mug shot books that we have here that are from the 1920s. i did a whole series of a mug

shot paintings from those books. they are in the san francisco history centre's s.f. police department records. there are so many different things that the library provides for san franciscans that i feel like a lot of people are like, oh, i don't have a library card. i've never been there. they need to come down and check it out and find out what we have. the people who are hiding stuff in their sellers and wondering what to do with these old photos or old junk, whether it is hippie stuff or punk stuff, or stuffestuff from their grandpar, if they bring it here to us, we can preserve it and archive it and make it available to the public in the future. community investment and infrastructure for tuesday, december 15, 2020. i would like to welcome the

members of the public listening live and the staff presenting today. following the guidelines set forth by local and state firms during this health emergency, the members of the commission are meeting remotely to ensure the safety of everyone, including members of the public. thank you all for joining us, please call the first item. >> thank you. the first order of business is item one roll call. commission members plea respond. commissioner brackett. >> here. >> commissioner scott. >> here. >> commissioner rosales. >> here. >> chair bustos. >> here. >> all members are present. next is item 12. announcements. next regularly scheduled meeting will be held remotely january 5, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. please be advised a member of

the public has up to three minutes to make public comments unless the commission adopts a shorter period. viewers are instructed to dial 415-655-0001 and enter access code 146 996-6099. press pound sign twice to enter the call. press star 3 to submit a request to speak. when you dial star 3 you will hear the following message. raise your hand to ask a question please wait to speak until the host calls on you. when you hear your line unmuted provide public comment. you will have three comments. please speak clearly and slowly and you will be placed back on night when done speaking. you can stay and listen or choose to hang up. if you are planning to provide

public comment today it is recommended that you call the public comment line listed on the agenda. this will allow you to listen live and prevent you from experiencing a delay caused by live stream. the materials will be available on the website under commission and the public meetings tab. next order of beings is item 3. report on actions taken at previous closed session meeting. there are no reportable actions. next is item 4. matters of unfinished business. approving the second of two five year extensions of residential a and c certificates as authorized under the property owner and occupant preference program. the certificate of preference program, discussion and action. this has a substitution resolution recommended under the regular agenda.

mr. chair. >> thank you so much. as mentioned by the secretary, there is a resolution to be recommended by staff under the regular agenda and commission will consider at this time. i will ask the secretary to ask the next item. please keep yourselves on moot until it is your time to speak. next item. >> thank you. 5. matters of new business. consent agenda and regular agenda. first concept agenda. approval of regular meeting november 17, 2020. mr. chair. >> anyone from the public to speak or comment on this item. >> at this time members who wish to comment on this item call 415-655-0001. enter access code (146)996-6099.

followed by pound pound. please press pound sign twice to get on the call. when prompted press star three to be placed in the queue. if you are listening by phone and would like to comment on the minutes, please press star 3 from your touch tone phone. we will give them a moment. if you wish to comment on just the minutes you can press star three if you would like to withdraw your request if it is not the item to comment on, press star three. we have a few callers here. i will unmute them. >> hi, caller. hello. next one.

hi. >> hello. i am oscar james. i am happy to be part of this meeting today. i would like to support b and a, a and b. >> this is to approve the minutes. >> i am sorry. >> call back. >> okay. >> next caller. if you would like to withdraw your request to speak for the minutes you can press star three and it will withdraw your request. next caller.

>> did you want to comment on the minutes? >> not me. >> at this time it does not look like there are members of the public to comment on the minutes. >> no further request i will close public comment for the minutes. may i get a motion for this item. >> yes, mr. chair, i move that the minutes be accepted with any necessary corrections. >> thank you, commissioner scott. >> second. >> i will second. vice chair rosales. >> please take role. >> commission members, commissioner brackett. >> aye. >> commissioner scott. >> aye. >> vice chair rosales. >> yes. >> chair bustos. >> yes.

>> four ayes. >> motion carries,. >> next item. >> next is regular agenda. 5b and c related to the certificate of preference program will be presented together but acted on separately. amending the property owner and occupant preference programsertive cal of preference program to extend duration of residential certificates until the successor agency completes affordable housing obligation. discussion and action resolution 40-2020. 5c. authorizing the commission president to appoint a committee consisting of no more than two commission members and additional public members to review and recommend changes to the certificate of preference program. discussion and action resolution 41-2020. >> thank you, madam secretary. commissioners, as you recall at

the december 1st meeting we continued the item to provide the last of two five year extensions to the residential certificate. at this time staff prepared a substitute resolution to extend until the affordable housing obligation is completed. we will present on 5b ab5c. pam. >> thank you. good afternoon, chair and commissioners. i am from the housing division. i am to present on items 5b and produce 5 -- introduce 5c. the certificate of preference for the cop program was to provide affordable housing for low and moderate income households displaced due to agency action in western

division and hunters point. this preference provides qualified copd priority for renting or purchasing ocii housing unit. 301 of the active 894 holders have used their certificates once. that is a subset of 1832 number of cop holders housed to date. at the commission december 1 meeting, staff requested your approval to extend the cop program for additional five years to december 31, 2025. this request followed up on the commission's 2015 action which was approved for an initial five year extension of the cop program to december 31, 2020. again, they have continued the e administration of the cop

program. responding to the commission concerns staff recommend the program be extended until ocii completed and transferred all agency assisted housing units to the city and county of san francisco. a genesee assisted housing units affordable housing and below market rate affordable units in developer funded projects. the number of agency assisted housing units totals 4290. of these over 3,000 units will be developed in the candlestick point, hunters point shipyard phase two project. we don't have a development timeline but it is likely the majority of the units will be delivered after 2025, which would have been after the expiration date that was

previously proposed. by extending the program until all of the agency assisted units transferred it allows interested certificate holders to take advantage of the affordable housing opportunities through the end of the extension period. finally, under 5c the commission will consider a resolution to form a committee to pursue certificate of preference program changes including potential expansion. ocii and ocd will work to support this work. the program coordinator and i are happy to answer any questions you may have. thank you. >> madam secretary, thank you very much,pam.

anyone from the public to comment. >> members of the public to comment on this item call 415-655-0001. access code (146)996-6099. press pound twice and then press star three to enter your request. if you are on the phone with us, press star three to submit your request to speak. we have our first caller. i will unmute. >> hello. i am oscar james. resident of bayview hunters point i support extending the certificate of preference holder and would like to ask the

commission to support it because a lot of people in our community have certificates and throughout the city or bay area, they are not aware of the certificates so there is work to be done to reach out to them also. thank you very much. >> thank you. next caller. >> hello. this is ed donaldson. i want to thank the commission for the opportunity to speak today and for all of the positive work that has gone into the work around the certificate of preference program. i want to point out one area of concern which is the language around the completion of the project area versus completion of the affordable housing

obligation. i think those are two different things. because we are looking at the project area, we are also looking at the market rate opportunities as well as the business certificate opportunities. i just wanted to point that out because it may be an area where there is a need for an amendment, and i want to thank the commission once again for all constructive and positive work and everything that has gone into keeping this program alive. thank you. >> next caller, please. >> hi, this item on the certificate of preference program? >> yes. >> thank you. you know, there was an article in the sunday examiner in

regards to this program. it does not mention anything about the japanese american community or japan town. japan town was decimated not only during urban renewal but incarceration of japanese americans during the war. it consisted of 36 blocks before the war. after the war it was reduced to 24 blocks. now after redevelopment we are down to what we have today, six blocks. you know, japan town was decimated during this time, and redevelopment when they came in promised we can redeem the certificates of preference for reduced market housing, but it took redevelopment 20 plus years to build anything in japan town. even when they did build something, it was just too small

for families. i just commend commissioner brackett for mentioning indefinite extension and also being allowed to hand down these certificates to our children and grandchildren because 20 years when redevelopment did build something, it was too late. we had already purchased homes of our own. it just makes sense to me to provide an indefinite extension or extend it permanently as another person has stated in the article. thank you very much. >> thank you. one more caller. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i am lauren and i am speaking on behalf of bay area legal aid and

the clients that we serve. our housing practices enforcing low income tenants rights to remain in homes and communities. their race issues are at the forefront of our work. accordingly we support agenda items 5b and c, fixed on the certificate of preference until they complete the affordable housing obligation and to appoint a committee to review and recommend changes to the program. as you are aware, federally funded urban renewal programs causedir reparable harms to black and communities of color in san francisco. extending the certificate of preference program and considering expanding eligibility are an important start to making amends to the black families and communities of color that were forcibly removed from homes and

neighborhoods. we appreciate your commitment to honor the promises made to these families with this program. thank you. >> thank you. mr. chair, at this time there are no more members of the public to speak on this item. >> okay. hearing no more requests to speak on this item i will close publicment. i will turn to fellow commissioners for comments or questions. starting with commissioner sto scott. >> thank you. thank you, pam, for your presentation. we are looking at the gratitude that we have come to this point is what i see. i am so grateful for commissioner brackett. i am so grateful for her

personal hard work she put in comprehensively to bring us to a clear point, and i am thankful to hear from the public. mr. donaldson and the others as well. especially as well from japan town, which really helps us to see how much we need to do the right thing. we do need to do the right thing, make sure that this extension is without a period on it, and no ending at a certain point. i am for this extension. i thank you for bringing it this far and look for other things to make it even better. thank you. >> thank you. vice chair rosales, questions or comments? >> i don't have any questions.

i absolutely support the revision to substitute the resolution. i think it is commendable. it gives us not just a direction of where we are headed but with the committee that will be formed i recommend the committee be formed as quickly as possible so we can get to the bottom of the issues as narrowly as we can identify them to move forward on an action plan and this extension will be fruitful and impactful for the copd holders. i commend the work of staff and commissioner brackett. >> commissioner brackett. >> i would like to say it is an

honor to serve with my fellow commissioners. commissioners bustos and rosales and doctor caroline scott. you have provided wisdom and mentor ship in this past year. i just really appreciate you guying being supportive when i ask questions or when i bring certain topics. i really want to thank you guys for your support. i want to thank the support of the staff who has been working over time to make revisions to meet with the members to figure out the best path forward including this working group that we are going to we having. i had two quick questions brought up by the different callers recently because i want to be mindful that we are always putting community first when we do this. we want to listen to the voices of those most harmed by redevelopment policies.

i have a quick question for sally. he brought up an issue around japan town and certificate of preferences and maybe, pam, you can answer that as well. how many people within the japan town area were issued certificates or was that not done in the past? >> to the chair. the certificates issued to the extent they were located in the western addiction to redevelopment project area which included japan town, that is possible. i don' don't have the exact cou. we would get back to you with that data. the program that references hunters point area and the western addition redevelopment project areas. >> okay. my last question. i know there was language around

affordable housing and the other caller brought up the market rate housing is not included in that language. i was wondering if we should go for approving this would that tamper us from dealing with those two other issues as we work through the working group? those are more market. they refer to the project area. they are market rate, not affordable housing. >> the matter is to extend the residential certificates eligible for the below market rates in the ocii projects that is the item to extend those until the affordable housing obligations are complete. this does not address those other items. those would be program changes or expansions that would have to be discussedded in the future. >> so we willed that to one of the working group things we work on later.

i am happy to move forward with this agenda item. those are all my questions. thank you. >> i want to first of all, thank the public and the community. you have been with us in trying to refine what it means to do the right thing, and that is invaluable. a long time ago. the city made a promise that it didn't keep. you know, when i got on the commission when it was redevelopment, we tried to move this ball forward. i am so, so grateful for commissioner brackett that now it has taken us to another level in doing the right thing. one, i want to thank the public and the community. i want to thank my fellow commissioners, you know. we all see ourselves as memberss of the community and try to make

things right. at the same time we work with the staff. this staff is phenomenal. rosales, pam, sally, everyone has been wonderful. for the public to know that this is a commission and this is an agency where the staff tan community works together. i am really proud of that. i just want to say thank you to everybody. this is an example of where we are undoing the wrongs. we still have a lot more to go, but it is an example where we are all trying to do the right thing and be on the same page. i was really proud. thank you, commissioner brackett. commissioner scott for being leaders in the community and

vice chair rosales with a wonderful legal mind to how do we work this out? for the public, you should be very proud, i would think, of what is going to happen now. with that if i could assume, commissioner brackett, is this something you would like to move? >> yes. i would like to make a motion to approve the amendment as it is codified right now. >> thank you so much. >> we are doing it separately. first part then the seconded one was commissioner scott. >> yes. >> so we have a first and second. madam secretary, please call the roll on this particular item 5b. >> commissioner brackett.

>> yes. >> commissioner scott. >> yes. >> commissioner rosales. >> yes. >> chair bustos. >> yes. >> the vote for 5b is four ayes. >> motion carries. now we are going to set up the committee. it is going to be exciting. commissioner brackett is this something you would also like to move? >> yes, it is. i also before i may being the motion would like to extend to the larger community if they are interested in being part of the working group they can contact the oci department and submit a letter of intent or letter of interest, and we will review it. just because we want it to be

open and the working group community voices have a place on the working group. i wanted to say that. i do want to move forward, yes, i would like to move to approve 5c. >> second. >> we have a first by commissioner brackett and second by commissioner scott. madam secretary, please take roll for 5c. >> commission members note your vote for 5c. commissioner brackett. >> yes. >> commissioner scott. >> yes. >> vice chair rosales. >> yes. >> chair bustos. >> yes. >> the vote for 5c is four ayes. >> thank you. motion carries. thank you for members of the public who spoke. madam, secretary, please call next item. >> next item is 5d.

authorizing a second amendment to the option agreement with f4 transbay partners llc, a delawear limited liability company for the purchase of transbay block 4 and redevelopment project area. this is resolution 42-2020. >> thank you, madam secretary. commissioners before usa request to extend the option for the transbif4 project. we have made significant progress on the terms related to the disposition and development agreement as well as the proposed schematic design. however, additional time is needed to complete those detai details. the development specialist will present on item 5d. members of the development team are here to answer any questions should you have them. thank you.

page. >> thank you. i am page and i am the development specialist on the real estate development team at ocii. the item before you today is item 5d seeking authorization for the ocii executive director to enter into the option agreement with the f4 transbay partners llc to extend the outside option agreement from january 1, 2021 to march 31, 2021. it gives the executive director to further extend to june 30, 2021 if more time is needed. a little history of the option agreement.

in 2016, ocii entered the agreement and gave the developers an option to purchase transbay block four from ocii and required ocii to negotiate the development agreement. in 2018, the commission approved first amendment to the option agreement which adopted a nonbinding project and extended the time period for negotiations by one year. in 2019, ocii executive director granted 12 month extension of the outside option exercise date as allowed to june 30, 2020 for negotiation. this past june, ocii executive director postponed the outside option exercise date to six months due to covid-19. this pushed outside option

exercise date to january 1, 2021. ocii and developers have made significant progress. currently the project scope is 669 residential units including 327 units making 49% affordable. approximately 8,000 square feet of retail. approximately 16,500 square feet of open space. space for 224 vehicles. 556 bicycles. construction of the street south of block four. once they are final ocii will negotiate a purchase price for block 4. the developers hired a third-party appraisal with appraisal underway. the project's schematic design

is women underway. the approval will allow the option to be extended by three months to march 31, 2021 giving ocii staff and developer more time to finalize the dba. the executive director would be authorized to extend to june 30, 2021. next steps for block four. ocii will come before commission concerning redevelopment plan variation and affordable housing fee related to transbay. we will finalize negotiation with the purchase price. dba will be brought before the commission for approval. the commission approves the dba and plan amendment to be brought before the board of supervisors for approval. that concludes my presentation. i am happy to answer any questions you may have.

specifically addressing questions. from the development team we have representatives from f4 and mercy housing for the partner. thank you. >> thank you, page. madam secretary, do we have anyone from the public who wishes to comment on this item? >> at this time members of the public who wish to comment on this item should call 415-655-0001. enter access code (146)996-6099. followed by the pound sign and pound sign again. press star three to enter your request to speak. if you are on the phone and would like to comment on item 5d press star three at this time. it does not like like we have

any members of the public wishing to comment on this item, mr. chair. >> okay. hearing no further requests to speak on this item, i will close public comment and turn to fellow commissioners for comments or questions. commissioner scott. >> thank you, page, for your presentation. right now, mr. chair, i have no questions. >> commissioner brackett. >> i have a quick question. maybe for sally and page. i know that in the item before us right now there is a three month timeline that we are looking at with additional three month extension. just because we are currently in stage purple of covid right now, can you give us explanation if

you guys may need longer than six months how would that impact the appraisal period? >> commissioner, we are very hopeful we can conclude our negotiations within the proposed timeframe. the previous extension which was related to the covid-19 situation came at a time when we were figuring out how to work remotely. i am proud of the ocii staff for mastering multiple technological platforms and we have our feet down in that regard and now we are focused on finalizing these terms. we are again hopeful that we can complete all of the required steps in the proposed timeframe. >> thank you for that. i was asking.

i just wanted to make sure we are giving you ample time to make the best negotiations as possible with the new rising covid cases that is not going to hamper or impact negatively impact your ability to negotiate. thank you for that. >> excellent question. thank you, commissioner brackett. vice chair rosales, questions or comments? >> no questions. >> commissioners there are no questions or comments from myself as well. may we have a motion for item 5d? >> i move. >> chair rosales thank you. commissioner brackett will second it. >> please take roll. >> commissioner brackett. >> yes. >> commissioner scott. >> yes. >> vice chair rosales.

>> yes. >> chair bustos. >> yes. >> four ayes. >> motion carries. madam secretary next item. >> number 5e. workshop on the ocii racial equity action plan. initial update on status of implementation. discussion. madam interim director. >> thank you, madam secretary. this is the first workshop on on the exciting effort to create racial equity action plan. ocii human services manager will precept phase one of -- will present phase one of this exciting effort. >> good afternoon. it is my pleasure today to introduce a over view and status of implementation of ocii racial

equity plan. for a bit background, the office of racial equity was established by the board of supervisors in july 2019. it mandates but is not included to development of a city-wide racial equity framework and plan for city departments. while ocii is not a city department, we as agency are committed fully to achieve goals of the able equity ordinance. >> it is a guided document on addressing implicit bias, addressing individual institutional structural racism and advo indicating more inclusive policies and breaktises to reduce racial disparities and promote racial equity. it is important for us as we can

do this to define racial equity as defined by the office of racial equity. racial equity is a set of social justice practices rooted in solid understanding analysis of historical and present day oppression toward the goal of fairness for all, achieving racial equity would mean living in a world where race is no longer a factor in the distribution of opportunity. this is why in this time and in this history this is why the work is so vital. next slide, please. the racial equity framework for phase one is focused on internal programs and policies, particularly around what? hr we call the life cycle of an employee from hiring, recruitment, retention. discipline or performance management, diverse and equity

leadership, professional development, culture of inclusion and belonging and our partners. one thing on hiring and recruitment is that studies have shown that hiring you tend to to hire who you look like. it is important that we have in our hiring practices that we deal with implicit biases in hiring. that is what this program or plan will address. also when it comes to retention and promotion, particularly for public agency as ourselves, upward mobility has been limited given the long tenure of public staff. it is incumbent upon us in this work to develop opportunities for our staff for continual

learning and development. that will be a focus. when it comes to performance management, it is going to be important that managers and leadership understand how implicit biases in form discipline and management, particularly black and brown people have a certain bias toward the work that we do. once again, this work is there to elevate and expose and educate so we address those racial disparities in performance management. also, just original culture of inclusion and belonging. it is important that we our work environment creates a base where people address these issues with open dialogue around any issues around race, oppression, things like that.

our organization is and our agency in partnership is committed to creating a shared dialogue how to talk about those things. our staff feel welcomed and supported and addressing concerns that they have. lastly, as it speaks to the commission on items we discussed today, i am very happy our commission is geared and supported to doing work equitable to the staff and community that we serve. there are steps. first was equity lead and teams. in my role i am the racial equity lead. our team consists of maria, our contract compliance specialist, george bridges, compliance specialist and aaron, deputy

general counsel and acting development manager. it was put together because we each have attended a year of training through the local and regional governmental line on racial equity. this focused on systematic analysis to improve outcomes of government institutions. there is not to be limited to this team. it is agency wide effort. it will look to collaborate with the team and agency on this work. part of addressing racial equity in our agency is coming to term was the work that historically our agency and redevelopment agencies in general have done.

>> we have negativic packet on community in color. particularly you can understand we have witnessed and seen how in past redevelopment have created significant out-migration of african-american community in particular. ocii is committed to work towards understanding how we can be part of the impact of the history. we will chief this with rigorous analysis of past policies, impact on current communities we serve and how to address the unintended consequences of our work. the next step was to take a look at our work force demographics. as you see there we are

currently staffed at 50. majority of staff is white. next staff is black. our next step is to disaggregate this data to understand where our staff is in relation to leadership, management, professional staff. one thing to understand and deal with is if we have what they call occupational segregation, meaning black and indigenous people of color or margin analyzed community are agated in administrative and not leadership. our step is to break down the demographics in the different areas to understand and address that fully. >> next and very vital key is to understanding where our staff is in this work. our team lead maria was vital in

creating a survey that we are now doing with our staff for us to understand how our staff understanding what racial equity is and get a sense of failings of safety at ocii. have they experienced institutional racism? have they had access to training? these series of questions help form a baseline for training and curriculum to build out our plan. the outcomes from the survey will inform our draft of the racial equity plan. next steps here are to analyze the findings of the survey. wwe are the deadline to complete the phase of the plan is the end of the month. we will be reporting back o baco

we will deliver a draft plan of phase one at the end of the year. they will be reviewing and providing feedback of our racial equity plan for phase one in january and february of next year. currently the next phase that the office of racial equity will be doing is called phase two and that is in the development with our partnership with city-wide community partners. that work will focus on external client facing projects like the certificate of occupancy program and other community facing programs. that is the end of my presentation. i am happy to answer any questions you may have. thank you for this opportunity to share where we are on this work. >> thank you for your hard work and leadership on this.

it is deeply appreciated. madam secretary, anyone from the public to speak or comment on this item? >> at this time members of the public who wish to comment should call 415-655-0001. access code (146)996-6099. press pound twice to enter call and press star three to submit request to speak. if you are on the phone to comment on this item 5e, please press star three on your phone now. we have one speaker.

>> this is 5e, correct? >> correct. >> i just attended one of those racial equity last year. i am african-american male. one problem with those racial equities that were actually implemented by different defendants. what i noticed african-american male in one of those classes. it is difficult to get people to talk at times with these type of subject matters. the person who was facilitating the racial equity last year when we had black folks asking questions because everyone else was not scared but uncomfortable, and what we noticed who is giving the racial equity. if i am african-american male

and i am asking questions and no one else is. it is not too comfortable when you have the facilitator to let someone else raise hands but no one wants to participate. whoever is running the programs in these different city departments, i hope they will be a little more open because when you have everybody in there, white, black, korean, doesn't matter. folks don't want to say something. if i am african-american male and i put my hand up. let somebody else ask the question. that is ridiculous. that is my experience dealing with racial equity at city departments. hopefully there will be a lot whoever is the facilitator will be conscious of that. that is what i would like to mention. thank you.

>> at this time it did not look like we have other members of the public to comment on this item. >> okay. no further comments, i will close public comment. we will turn to fellow commissioners for comments or questions. commissioner scott. >> thank you, mr. chair. ocii, sally and your team, i just need to commend you as well as coming behind the caller that just spoke. i was so grateful, monaco, to hear your person that understands fully what it is like in the situations that are difficult in the workplace, not feel being accepted and included, being part of the leverage that helps the company to live and thrive. i want to thank you for being so

clear about why and how and the steps with implementing this and the reasons for doing so. thank you so much for your presentation. i have no questions for you. >> thank you. commissioner brackett. any questions or comments? >> i have a little both. i wanted to thank monaco for the presentation. i appreciate you tied in racial equity to employees. that is huge. a lot of times when we have discussions around diversity it becomes basically about what are we doing to hire? we are not talking about internal promotion activities, not talking about how that disproportionately discipline activities that leads to that.

i appreciate you bringing fort the idea of implicit bias. there is a lot going on in that area as well especially within the tech section where they look at how do they gauge and quantify to get that into a data pool to be able to identify how that works in original capacities. thank you for that. i have a couple questions in terms of hiring and retention. i know the city program over the years there have been a lot of complaints by people of color that the filtering process to be considered as a candidate is disproportionately impacting african-americans and people from other marginalized backgrounds as well. do you have any thoughts about that or give us any updates how your department is going to leverage resources to change

that? >> thank you commissioner brackett. that is true for the case with highering in the city. there are certain barriers to the application and recruitment process they have encountered. one thing that is the benefit as oci agency. our recruiting process is similar to have an application and case study. we are -- our hands are not bound by certain civil processes the state has. we are definitely more flexible and we are able to streamline and be more creative in recrewment. one of th the things i would spk to that we follow state practices. we also blank out certain identifying factors, implicit

bias about the prestigious institution doesn't hinder someone from being considered for interviews, etc. one thing the team has talked about is also expanding our internship program. so we can begin building a better pipeline and engaging community partners to get skills they need to be competitive in the future. while we do a lot of things well, there are definitely things we can build on to do better and expose our community to the skill set they need to work with us or anywhere. just personally i have a background in training and recruitment in the welfare to workdays. our program was focused not on just getting the job but a career. i want to bring that energy and

background to our hiring and recruitment. we do a lot of things well. i commend staff. there are always ways to improve on that process. >> my last question. i saw -- and it is interesting. boards and commissions. as you look at boards and commissions are you looking at representation? there were some concerns in the community and groups meeting like mega black where they identified some commissions or boards where people are occupying several different seats. one person on several different boards and stuff like that. how are you guys addressing equity in that sense? is that going to change? are you going to have a better relationship with how those seats are filled in the future? >> i can't speak to how the

commissions or boards understand. it is appointment. i think to look into that to understand how we can build that relationship. i have to kind of go into that more to consider the bylaws and the mayor's appointments are handled. we can look at the weighs in to which the agency can partner in that par sessor build relationships to get them invested. clearly this board is invested in equity. to make sure that continues and that it is a real partnership between the board, commission and agency and community partners in doing this work. hopefully that addressed your question. >> it did. thank you for your time and hard work. thank you to the entire staff for being part of this process and leading the way again in

terms knowing how you are going to break this down. step one, two. we will follow closely. we want to thank you guys for a wonderful 2020 as well. >> thank you. >> thank you, commissioner. vice chair rosales. >> i am going to join fellow commissioners to thank the staff for the presentation. just state for the record this is an area that is close to my heart. both my personal and professional heart. i have been in this field of racial equity and civil rights my entire career. it has predominantly been in the business area as people know. i am venturing in as professional on the work force and internal organizational view for clients. i think it is critically

important work. i want us to be intentional in what we do, which i am sure as a result of this process we will not just get a report analysis but we will have recommendations, we will have concrete ways of, if you will, addressing issues. we are nimble. monaco you mentioned it. i am happy to be part of a nimble organization. we don't need an act of congress or board of supervisors to do what we need to do. that is very hopeful. i am excited about being involved in this process. i have a couple questions. i want to understand how the work product is going to unfold. on i think it is the slide 6 it says establish department mental background. this to me is a bullet point of

the background historic policy, how is that going to be documented? is that through an external study by somebody, by a consultant? is the staff preparing that? how is that, if you will, deliverable work product going to be managed and produced, that historic background part? >> i think the work product itself is in the racial equity plan template. they have a section where we identify our department's history and contribution to racial equity. that history right now is being developed internally. we have great resources internally to speak to the use ouseof eminent do main analysisn

neighborhoods of color. there is history that we can identify the specific practices and policies that have done in the past that can inform our back ground and the unfortunate contribution to racial inequity in our city. hopefully i am answering your question it is going to be part of the working document and that we will pull on the history and the great knowledge that our agency has internally into building what that background is. i have gained a lot of history today that can inform part of the history or the background of the agency. hopefully that answers your question. >> yes because the historical backdrop is important just to to get the backward lens. you have got to look prior to today to understand where we are, to understand where we need

to go and the path that got us where we are which created this systematic approaches, right? we are not able to address these issues if we don't understand the history as to why things happen the way they did. i am very interested in the historic part. it helps inform me as commissioner in terms of policy going forward and for the public. we are going to see it as concise as possible. that is history or work product in the department background to inform the other item, certificate of preference program in moving forward there. [please stand by]

>> administrative staff particularly are women and they happen to be latina or black. they don't move beyond that category. we need to aggregate that so we know exactly where our staff is. another thing is the leadership and supervis supervisor supervi-

>> you mentioned internship which is obviously very important. do we have a mentorship program which is different than an internship program. you mentioned your own background which was fascinat fascinating. >> talk about consequences. >> it's great to know where people start from. you have someone that's part of our to team. the mentorship whether it's in business mentorship or certainly employee career paths within our own staff. that's a very important skill. if we don't have a mentorship program-let me ask. do we have a mentorship program

for staff? >> not in the formal sense. but i think it is something we should do. it is something very organic. we have subject matter experti expertise. if you need-if someone was an expert in something and you knew how to identify and build relationships with that person to get that skill set you needed to know. that's something we should do whether it be affinity groups or subject matter expertise meant mentorships. i would not to talk down that. talk to our staff about what type of mentorship they want and how we can partner in getting them that. how we can have public partnership have a relationship

around mentorship. that's something we should build upon and be explicit about. >> yes. it builds careers. thank you. >> all right. first of all. thank you. so so much for your leadership. and your passion and the gifts that you bring to this particular effort. it's really important. i think, once again. it's leading the way. thank you for your leadership on this. thank you sally for making sure this is something that becomes a priority for the agency. >> i'm in the a person of one. i want to thank the team as well. >> yes. thank you all. what you do now is actually going to set the standard for future. this is part of your legacy. thank you so much.

>> okay. this is a workshop. we don't have to take any action on it. madam secretary, next order of business. >> public comment. >> do we have any speakers who wish to speak on this item? members of the public already on the phone, please press star three. it looks like we have a couple of callers. here is the first one. >> hello. >> hello. >> i just want to give you guys

praises for what you have done today. this certificate of preference. i would like to give a little knowledge on the certificate of preference that came into existence in 1969. they were also developing-i think you should look into that. as well as you were talking about japan town. a lot of the people prior to 69. some moved and what have you and never received a certificate of preference. maybe persons who had certificate of preference know someone who were living in those areas to let them know that they do have a certificate of preference. and if not, why not? thank you for your work. i thought the agency was going to fall when i retired from

there. i see you guys are doing a good job. i commend you for stepping out and reaching out to people in the community to inform us on that. i also want to say to the staff, your secretary for thanking her for reaching out to me and showing me how to get into these meetings. i want to thank each and every one of you personally. continue to keep up your good work. god bless you all. >> thank you, mr. james. >> we have one more caller. thank you mr. james. >> hello. >> hello. >> yes. i just want to follow-up on the first item can you hear me? >> can we get your name for the record. >> my name is mr. williams.

my public comment is regarding that at the beginning of your presentation as far as you amending the time i get for the preference of the certificate. i don't know exactly what you amended. i'm just calling basically to say the 1969 thing you're saying folks including grand children who may have been living in that particular dwelling at the particular time and never received any certificates. i went on the site myself and i did see that some of the after dresses, this is one unit, one dwelling. it's not on there. those are some of the thing that's we've been running as

african americans when trying to access this information we qualify for a certificate of preference. i'm following up on that myself. i just want to get some information from your presentation today because it's my first time listening in on your presentation via the site. that's all i wanted to say. hopefully you can really look into that. i know one time it was connected to the grant children. things that were actually displaced by the movement in the 1960s. we actually lived in that area. they were moving all the african americans out of that particular area. >> would you mind-[indiscernible]. talking to the working group. >> sure. no problem at all. >> thank you.

>> who would you leave the e-mail to or text it to. >> if you have access to the website, you can get our information there. my e-mail address is commission secretary o c i at sf dot org. >> thank you very much. i definitely will refer. >> thank you. at this time it does not look like we have any other members of the public wishing to comment on this particular item. >> okay. i'll close public comment. madam secretary please call the next item. item seven. report of the chair. >> i have no report. i'll make comments at the end. >> next item of business is item eight madam interim director. >> thank you.

i have no report either other than just to express my appreciation and support to this commission through a very challenging year and to a better 2021. >> thank you. >> the next order of business is item nine commission questions or matters of concern. >> seeing none. all right. i just want to say to the commission as well as to the contingency that 2020 has been a rough year. last year during this time did we think we'd be going into a new year that would be so challenging. but i want to thank the staff

who were able to pivot. jamie your hard work and keeping us together and going is so appreciated. and the rest of the staff, i can't help but-on behalf of the entire commission thank you for making us work and not skipping a beat. you all kept doing it. i want to thank my fellow commissioners. all of you have been such a joy to work with and bring so much heart and brains to this work that it makes chairing this commission so much easier. it's so much more of a blessing to be among you and see your passion and dedication to the people of this city. just thank you. thank you. thank you. i look at the end of this year and i look back on what we've done.

community, staff, commissioners. i know that goodness exists in the world. i need you all to know that. we're commissioned, we're an agency. we're people when we come together great things can happen. i think this year has been proof of that. i want to wish everyone a happy holiday. a wonderful new year. there's hope on the horizon with a vaccine and new administration. i know that we're going to be back meeting face-to-face soon. that gives me hope. what also gives me hope is all of you. i just want to say thank you so much for everything you do, all of you. community, everybody. thank you so much. fellow commissioners this is our final commission meeting for the year. i will need a motion to adjourn.

>> item ten is closed session. but there are no closed session items. so this is adjournment. >> i would like to say something as we close on our last meeting this year. following yourself and sally. i cannot thank you all enough. iron i believe sharpens iron. with our expected change. i want to thank again and appreciate sally for stepping up, stepping in, and glowing today. thank you so much. it wasn't a hard thing for you. we congratulate you sally because you're like family.

we appreciate you. my ears are always wide open. the history and understanding and your hearts for just everyone. the young woman who has joined us in coming in full force with her wisdom and knowledge and yet such a humble teachable spirit. jamie, i want to cry when i think how essential-that's our essential worker. you have been that to us. you have been the essential worker. i'm grateful for adolf. he comes with such personal

character. i just really appreciate our community. getting you to step in at this last month of the year. with your experience and knowledge and wisdom it has been for each of us we've had our challenges. you look absolutely stunning. gorgeous. it's been challenging. god bless you as well, sweet heart. i thank you hall fo all for shoe what it means together as we move through the challenges and to continue not just for ourselves to bring a brighter future and a deep hope for the community, the people that

deserve it so much. if we don't have a voice for them, there's no voice for this city at all. we must and there's not a choice. thank you for being the brave commissioners, the brave soldiers that you are. i just send you christmas blessings to o c ii. the successors. to the redevelopment department and carrying on with so many that were the team before you took over. taking over and moving forward and i can't close my words without saying the name nadia-i don't know if you're listening or will ever see this but i just thank god for her presence. all that was accomplished and

all that is going to happen because of her presence here in this nation and in this city and for the state. thank you all so much. >> thank you commissioner scott. i assuming you're making the motion to be adjourned. >> i think you said everything. and you guys. i'm just in awe. just thankful and honored to serve the community. >> i do move that the meeting be adjourned. >> i second it. >> thank you everyone. those listening, staff, everybody, commissioners. we are a adjourning this meeting

at 2:25 p.m. 2020. everyone have a wonderful new year.

>> for spanish you can call for translation. enter pin number 721609895 pound. for spanish interpretation. 1319-382-9676 and