sfgov.org. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you again. . . . >> good morning and welcome to the newly reconstituted rules committee of the san francisco board of supervisions for the first committee meeting of the new board. my name is aaron peskin, joined by new vice chair supervisor rafael mandelman and newly elected member of the board of supervisions and member of this rules committee, supervisor connie chan for today's meeting of monday, january 11, . mr. young, do you have any

announcements? >> clerk: hi, due to the covid-19 emergency, the board by the legislative chamber and committee room are closed. our members will be participating in the meeting remotely. committee members will attend the meeting through a video conference and participate in the meeting to the same extent as if they are physically present. public comment will be available on each item, but on channel 26 and sfgov tv.org, or you can call 415-655-0001. again, that is 415-655-0001. the meeting i.d. is 1466830064. and then press pound and pound again. when connected, you will

hear the meeting discussions, but you will be muted. and in listening mode only. when your item of interest comes up, press star 3 to be added to the speaker line. speak clearly and slowly, and turn down your television or radio. you may submit public comment by e-mail at eicgoh.yog@sfgov.org. that completes my opening comments. >> chairman: thank you, clerk young. and before i ask you to call the first item, let me just start out by saying as the new chair of the rules committee, which i take seriously, and i know the two other members of this committee take very seriously, i wanted to ask deputy city

attorney pearson to regal us a little bit with the duties of this committee, and specifically to walk us through charter section 4.101, which is something that we need to take into account with all appointments to all committees, which is only a portion of this job. this is a committee that also deals with charter amendments and ballot measures when there is a pending election, which there won't be until the middle of 2022. ms. pearson if you could just briefly walk us through our responsibilities pursuant to the charter as the rules committee, where we have to weigh and consider diversity on each and every one of our appointments. >> good morning. deputy city attorney ann

pearson. chair peskin, you referred to 4.101 of the charter, which governors the composition of all advisory boards and commissions. all such boards should be broadly representative of the communities of interest, neighbors, in ethnicity, race, age, and sexual orientation, and types of disabilities in the city and county. that provision, as i said, applies to all boards and commissions. and sections of the administrative code or other sections of the municipal code that establish advisory committees will sometimes build on that, and add additional things that the board should look to and consider when making appointments. but this is an overriding requirement, this consideration of diversity. >> chairman: thank you, ms. pearson. are there any other duties or responsibilities that are set out in the charter or the board rules that

you think are important on this newly reconstituted committee's first day? >> um...well, i think each advisory body, as i said, has its own requirements and qualifications, which i think the committee will look to when making these appointments, to confirm that every individual -- every individual who has been nominated individually meets the qualifications, and that the advisory body or commission as a whole has a composition that fulfills the requirements for that body. >> chairman: thank you, ms. pearson. why don't we go to our very accomplished clerk, who i think has been around as long as i've been around and as long as -- on supervisors chan or mandelman has been around. mr. young, just as the

clerk of this committee, i note that -- maybe you can just tell us what you do, how you send out vacancy notices, how that words, how the madi records works, and i'm sorry to put you on the spot, but if you can give us a really quick, or as long as you want, a synopsis of that, i think that would be a good way to start off. >> i'll start off with the madi act, which was just recently published. it is a lifting of all of the current boards and bodies maintained by the board of supervisors, and the current seats and vacant seats. one thing to note is we only track vacancies that are appointed by the board of supervisors. we do not track other body appointments, such as the mayor's office and their individual appointments. vacancy notices are

published as soon as i know there is a vacancy. it must be published at least 10 days prior to any meeting or action by a federal rules committee. i can accept applications at any time for any of the bodies and seats. i will maintain them for one year. at that point they are -- they have expired, and the parties will need to resubmit application forms. i work closely with the chair to determine which items are scheduled for meeting on any specific meeting date. and that's about all i can think of at the moment. >> chairman: that is really helpful. and, mr. young, if you can just let potential applicants to any bodies, commissions, advisory bodies, that they know how to contact you to submit if they are interested in applying. if you could just reiterate that now that we've had that conversation. >> clerk: yes. applicants can go to our website at sfgov.org,

and there is dropdown for vacancy notices, where we list all of the vacancy notices, all of the open seats, and there is a shrink to the application forms and instructions, as well as any other forms that may be needed for a specific body. >> chairman: thank you. and i will, tomorrow, at the board of supervisors, call for a hearing and i will do my own independent investigation into places where we have vacancies from time to time. this board of supervisors has chosen to subset bodies that have no longer been needed or affective. many of them accumulate in the code, and they discharge their duties and they don't have a sunset date, so that is something that i will pursue as the

chair of this committee. and then let me, before i ask the clerk to read the first item, note that i think all three members of this committee all realize that this committee meeting was affective immediately. and that for me, it happened at 6:30 last evening. and i want us all to discharge our duties to the fullest of our ability. so in the case of the second item, which has not been read, where there is many individuals for a limited number of seats, don't be surprised if that item is continued, but we want to hear from everybody. and with that, mr. clerk, could you please read the first item. >> clerk: yes. item number one is a hearing appointing one member, term ending november 19th, 2022, to the vice advisory committee. >> chairman: thank you.

this is -- and we'll hear on behalf of the applicant momentarily. this is one seat for one body, the bicycle advisory committee. and before we hear about it, this is set forth under adman code section 5.130. and in that particular provision, in sub-section "b," the advisory committee consists of 11 voting members, appointed by each district supervisor of the board. and there are many ways that people get appointed to bodies like this and to commissions. and there are some instances where an individual supervisor or board president or mayor can appoint somebody without a rules committee hearing.

i think this may be one that rises to that level. and before we hear from this applicant, or on behalf of this applicant, madam deputy city attorney, if it does not conflict with the charter, i hereby what like to ask the city attorney's office to draft legislation wherein appointments to the bicycle advisory committee would not require a rules committee hearing or board of supervisors approval, but could be done by each and every one of the 11 supervisors in his or her own individual capacity. >> we're happy to work with you on that legislation. >> chairman: okay. with that, can we hear from the applicant, or a representative thereof?

>> hi, chair peskin and supervisor chan, and thank you clerk young. unfortunately, miss melissa mendoza way unable to be here today. she has lived in district 5, and has been the district 5 bicycle advisory committee member since 2016. since 2017, she served as the bicycle supervisor secretary. she is a strong advocate for monies of color, and our unhoused individuals in the bike space. it was started to help show people how to move around the city in a fun and safe way. melissa has worked with the s.f. bike coalition before joining the b.a. c., and started advocating for the impeach street

bikeway, and has helped to host community meetings and other meetings. i want to thank you for your consideration of melissa to our bicycle committee. and that's all i have to say. >> chairman: thank you. given that the applicant is not here, why don't we open this up to public comment. are there any members of the public who would like to testify on this item number one? >> yes. members of the public who wish to comment on this item should call 415-655-0001. the meeting i.d. is 146, 6830064. press pound and pound again. please press star 3. please wait until the system indicates you have been unmuted and you may begin your comments. mr. phillips, do we have

any members of the public for public comment today? >> there are no phone callers in the cue. >> chairman: okay. public comment is closed. and are there any comments or questions from vice chair mandelman or member chan? >> not at this time. thank you. >> chairman: i should probably put my little chat box up just to see whether or not -- i see nothing from vice chair mandelman. before i make a motion, i would like to differentiate this item from the next one that has not been called. not only is there one applicant for one seat, but that this is, in essence, pursuant to

section 5.130 of the administrative code, the appointment of an individual supervisor, which supervisor hopefully has heeded the requirements of charter section 4.101, and the diversity admonitions therein. this is very different than item number two. so i would, given our newness, be willing to make a motion to send this item, probably the last time one of these bicycle advisory committee appointments will be heard at the rules committee, if i am successful in amending section 5.130, will be heard by the rules committee. with that i will move to send this item to the full board with recommendation, and on that motion, mr. clerk, a roll call,

please. >> clerk: this is a recommendation to appoint melissa mendoza to seat five. on that motion, supervisor mandelman? >> yea. >> clerk: supervisor chan? >> yea. >> clerk: chair peskin? >> yea. >> clerk: the motion passes without objection. >> chairman: thank you, mr. young. next item, please. >> clerk: item number two is a hearing to consider appoint to members, term ending april 27, e sunshine ordinance task force. >> chairman: thank you, mr. young. and before we get started, my suggestion, colleagues, is that we hear from all of the applicants, and given the fact that many of them contacted us in the middle of the night,

in the crack of dawn, that after we hear from them, we continue this item to our next regularly scheduled meeting and make our decisions then, given the fact that we have a number of applicants for a limited number of seats. i note that there is no applicant for seat three, and i also note that one individual has withdrawn. and, mr. clerk, can you remind us of the name of that individual? >> clerk: yes. i believe that jason roland has withdrawn his application. >> chairman: that is correct. so in essence, we have really 10 individuals vying for seven seats. colleagues, if there is no objection, why don't we hear from those 10 ap applicants, or those that

are present. i see a couple of them on the screen. why don't we start, in no particular order, with chris hyland. mr. hyland, if you will unmute and turn your camera on, we would like to hear from you for two minutes. i understand that you're a member of the sunshine ordinance task force, and the floor is yours. >> thank you, supervisor peskin and supervisors chan and mandelman. yes, i have served on this task force for eight years. and if, given the honor to serve again, i would be the longest consecutively serving member on this task force. and i've enjoyed the work and continue to enjoy the work, that i do here. one of the things that we're working on right now, and i hope to continue to do that, is an intake form for the s.f.

t.f., and that is something -- i think the whole process of obtaining information from a city department can be quite scary to the lay person or the first-timer. so we're working to come up with something a little more user-friendly, and i would really like to see that through its completion. one of the other things that we have worked on, and are still working on, is to develop a data base of all of our orders of determination and all of the precedents that we have been through in the last 20, 21years that this task force has been in place. that has not yet happened. we're hoping to get that done in the next term, in the next two years. but until that does happen, i think it is important to have members who have been on board for a long time, to go back into their memory and say, i remember this from four years ago, or there was a case like this, and at

least know where to start the process to start searching. hopefully i can keep doing that. that on this commission. and lastly, i just wanted to emphasize that i am from a pretties diverse background, both nationally and racially. my dad was an ambassador to the u.n., and i lived overseas for many years in my youth, and i think it has helped me deal with and interact with people who come to this commission. can you let me know when i have 30 seconds left? well, i'll just end by saying i'm very proud of the institutional capital that i've helped to build over the last eight years, and i hope to continue to do that. thank you very much. >> chairman: thank you, mr. hyland. you and i share longevity dynamic. and can you just quickly, given that seat nine,

succeeding yourself, that the seat requirement is demonstrated interest and/or experience in citizen access and participation in local government. i would imagine that that eight years certainly qualifies you for that. so, actually, i will not ask the question. and thank you for your service. and if my colleagues agree, we will make our recommendations at our next meeting. so thank you. i see matthew yankee for seat -- who is currently in seat number 10. and i believe he eligible for seats six through 11. mr. yankee, the floor is yours. >> my name is matt yankee, and i've been serving on the sunshine board and task force since november

of 2018. i'm a member of the lgbtq community and currently live in the sunset parkside of san francisco with my husband. having devoted over 15 years in public services, with a high degree of public contact, large nbc of public records and government accessibility. i would be thrilled to continue my satisfaction on the task force. my day job is serving as the chief of the county clerk's office for alameda county. and i manage the official custodian for public records and serves over 100,000 costumers ever year. i have been experimental in extending our office hours, upgrading our satellite, and all efforts to improve accessibility. i've been on the front lines of assuring continued access to essential public records and government services during the current pandemic. we were recently

recognized with an award for comprehensive online programs. during my time, i'm administered many things. all of these needed to be accomplished with the utmost transparency to ensure accuracy in our democratic election. as chair of this information technology committee, i led several important hearings regarding the disclosure of meta data. and i served on the rules committee and the education outreach and entertainment committee. i have attended every scheduled meeting of the task force throughout my tenure there. in the position i've served, i've been a

passionate advocate for open government. i believe that government works for the people and it should be as transparent has possible. i'd be happy to answer any questions that you have for me. thank you for this opportunity. >> chairman: thank you, mr. yankee, and i have no questions. and i neglected for the first applicant to ask my colleagues. i apologize, if they had any questions or comments. so before we let mr. hyland go, supervisions mandelman and chan, if you have any questions for either applicants, just feel free to chime in at any time. you can just always jump in or put your name on the roster. but if you have any questions for mr. hyland or mr. yankee, please go ahead. and if not, we will go on to the next one i see on the screen, and i don't see you guys jumping in, so i see nora stein in the

center of the screen. ms. stein, please proceed. >> okay. can you see me? >> chairman: yes. >> hello supervisors peskin, mandelman, and chan. i am a resident of san francisco (indiscernable). i volunteer at most schools and i'm a representative at one, and am the head of the school site council of the other. and i've served on a leadership council of the (indiscernable). i've worked for two decades as a professor of education at the university of texas and the university of san francisco, and my work has been focused on issues of democratic communications, community communication, communication law and policy. my entire career has been motivated by concerns for who has access for

information and communication resources necessary to self-governors and self-development. and i believe that good governance en enables them to make informed decisions about their own life. as a professor, i taught and wrote about information policy i-, [inaudible] policy(indiscernable). one that is widely recognized as being one of the strongest in the world. and i looked at citizen groups to address local and national issues, ranging from human rights, poverty, and livelihood. so i have a deep knowledge about access to information laws in the u.s., as well as internationally. and i have a reviewed san

francisco's sun shine ordinance, and the index mandated by it. so i think i have a good understanding of the purposes and processes and the uses of this law. my law would be to ensure that the law is implemented, to review petitions on the public status of records, and to advice the board of supervisors and other departments on implementation when needed, and to also consider whether the annual reports indicate any barriers for information accession or a need for amendments to the law. it could be very useful to produce a more detailed reports about how the act has been used over time, potentially using the annual reports as primary sources. so san francisco, i think, has a strong access to information and open meetings laws, and i would be honored to contribute

my experience and expertise to ensure they remain strong and affective. thank you for your time. >> chairman: thank you, ms. stein. any questions from members? seeing none, why don't we move on to kia forrest. what? [inaudible] >> i'm sorry. just jump in. supervisor chan? >> well, thank you, chair peskin. i think, you know, seeing that this is an applicant for seat eight, that was resigned by former member of this task force, frank tanatta, i do agree with your earlier comment that given, regrettably, that we receive our assignments late in the evening, i

actually believe that the task force is critical to transparency and accountability to our city government. i would like to really have these conversations and meetings with these applicants before moving forward on this petition. while i do not, right now, have a question for ms. stein, i do think that -- io gather more information about these applicants before we make the decision. >> chairman: thank you, supervisor chan. and let me also say that i did, actually late last night, read the department on the status of women's report that is part of this file. i do note that unlike the city-wide average, this very important body has a derth female representation, which is not the only reason to

appoint ms. stein to seat number eight, but certainly is a reason, together with her interests and qualifications, which are quite impressive, but we will leave that, hopefully, if you two agree, to our next meeting. so ms. stein, you look like a good fit for seat number eight. >> thank you. [laughter] >> chairman: with that, why don't we go on to kai forrest. go ahead. >> good morning, can you all see me? >> chairman: not yet. but we can hear you. >> okay. >> chairman: and i do want to know, before kai comes on, we did receive in the chat box, a message from bruce wolf that says this webcam isn't compatible, but it sounds like he will be able to do this verbally, which will absolutely suffice. kai, go ahead.

>> mkay. i have mine turned on, but it doesn't seem like you guys can see me right now. so i will just move forward. i'm kai forrestly, and i've lived in san francisco for 12 years. i'm from illinois. i work in the field of diaper distribution, but i am a trained librarian. i have worked for the city and county of san francisco at the library, as well as the department of environment. i have worked for a local federal government. i've been a volunteer and a neighborhood course ad adjudicator with the d.a.'s office, and i served and investigated, i guess you could say, and i was a member of the civil grand jury, the 2013/2014 civil grand jury. specifically for this task

force, i was a member of a community benefit district, and i'm sure you guys are familiar with community benefit districts. but i don't know if i should explain -- i was a member of the community of a district about eight years ago, and the work that i was doing on the community benefit district actually raised some concerns that i had regarding access to information documents, and generally open government, so i actually filed my concerns with the sunshine ordinance task force, and my case actually set a precedent for community benefit districts in san francisco actually being subject to the sunshine ordinance. so i'm really familiar with how chapter 67 works. i had to do all of the research myself, i independently did the research, and i presented the research to the committee. i guess i should say thank

you to some of the current people on this call right now because they actually voted in my favor, and i was able to get the documents that i thought should be of public access -- oc accessibility. i guess my -- as a trained information scientist, what i want to do is positively support the work of the committee. i feel like they have been doing good work. i feel like new energy is always welcomed, and continuity is also important. and i feel that, for me, what i can contribute, i've been a secretary on many boards, non-profit boards, as well as the community district board, and so my commitment can be continuity of information, absent of people, which is really important, i believe. succession planning is really important. i also believe that various types of people should have access to

various bases, which is why i applied to this committee. i felt like the sunshine ordinance task force was really unique to something that i was going through. and they kind of came through for me, as well as the community at large. and i'm also really good with information just in general, and organization of information. and i think that's what i can offer to the committee. and just my background, in general, i've always been an advocate of open government and open accountability measures, whether it be in private practice or public practice. i think just working in a setting with other people is always important to have accountability factors in place. and that's what i have brought to each of the positions that i've worked with, and that's why i actually applied for this one, because i had, like, a personal connection. >> chairman: thank you so much for your testimony. i don't see any questions.

but i do have a question for the clerk, mr. young. or this may be the deputy city attorney pearson, because we might have an embarrassment of riches for seat number eight. although i believe that the forrestly and stein -- and there are a number of applicants for seat number eight. is it within the purview of this committee, given that the qualifications of seats eight, nine, 10, and 11 are the same, do we have the latitude, even if the individual only applied to seat eight, to appoint them to one of the other seats that have the same qualifications requirements? mr. young? >> clerk: yes. you're able to appoint any of the members on the agenda to any of the seats that they are qualified to sit in. so they can be any of the

seats they're qualified, not just eight through 11, but they qualify for six and seven, and they can also be appointed to those seats. >> chairman: got it. and six is consumer advocacy, whatever that means, and seven is consumer advocacy, whatever that means, and four is narrowly defined and has to be a nominee from the society of professional journalistss. and we don't have an applicant for seat number three. thank you for that answer. i see that mr. wolf has been able to access his webcam. mr. wolf, please proceed. >> hello, how are you today? my name is bruce wolf. thank you, chair peskin, and supervisors, for this opportunity. i'm a member of the lgbtq

community, and a person with a mobility disability, living almost 30 years in san francisco, in the same place, in the ashbury neighborhood with my service dog and cat. i have served, more recently, since 2016, and enjoyed it immensely, and appreciate your confidence in my contribution and service to the city and the people of san francisco. a couple of things you may want to consider: institutional history is essential for the sunshine ordinance task force. my extensive knowledge base of this body and its work i feel is important for its continuity. our disability member, fiona hensley was elected to the board, and while

there is no conflict of holding both seats, they felt the workload is too much and has decided to step down. we honor her service to the task force, and the people of san francisco wish her well in her new position. we are in the midst of some significant projects that i'm integral to and feel my continued presence is essential for. and due to my expertise as a technology professional, i would lend this and other subject knowledge to the task force freely and have been helpful over the years. i think my presence is still beneficial. there is a lot of confusion over the new electronic and online tools that are hart of a complaint and can cause inadvertent decisions to be made to the detriment

of the general public. and having good technical background for this position is important. i'll stop there. i would enjoy the opportunity to continue my service. >> chairman: thank you, mr. wolf, and thank you for your service. i'm glad that you were able to connect. i don't see any requests from my colleagues to ask questions or speak. so why don't we move on to the next guest, jipad ammanapan for seat mr. four? i'm sorry, i just misspoke. that is not seat number four -- yes, it is seat number four. >> good morning, and thank you, chair peskin, supervisor mandelman and supervisor chan. my name is jia. and thank you for considering my nomination

by the northern california chapter of the society of professional journalists to serve on the sunshine ordinance task force. i'm an immigrant from india. and i spent close to 32 years in the bay area. i arrived with a degree in psychology and a bachelor and master's in computer science. i taught myself what i needed to know in order to launch my career as a writer, journalist, and editor. landing a job with a bay area company that had a monthly print communication. a few years ago i left my job, though i still serve on the indian foundation board (indiscernable), and seeing that i am deeply invested in the growth and investment of ethnic commune publications. in 2015, i met michael

harrison, the editor of san francisco is examiner, and convinced him to take me on. writing about communities of color in san francisco. and i'm also the director of programs for ethnic media services and ethnic news enabling entity, started by the veteran journalist andy close. he is a dear friend and mentor and i continue to gain tremendous information from him through our continued association. and i'm also part of the san francisco writers' club. and i teach a yearly class on writing columns for san francisco writers of color. so while i don't live in san francisco, my work is situated almost entirely in this city. so what do i bring to the sunshine ordinance task force? i bring my enthusiasm and

dedication to serve the city, the city that has opened numerous doors for me personally. i bring a commitment to ensure and protect public access toc5n pronouncing your name correctly at the beginning. i do believe that i am the author of the tweak to change the appointing authorities to seat number four. and i'm a huge fan of andy

close, and you are the only applicant for this, so i think this is what we call a no-brainer, if you will. and i look forward to your appointment, but don't want to, in any way, pre-judge the matter as my colleagues have not yet weighed in. i think we'll be voting on this at our next meeting. but thank you for applying and for your column in the examiner, which i read when i can find that paper. >> thank you. >> all right. with that, why don't we go to lori jones neighbors. >> hello. thank you sir peskin, supervisor mandelman and supervisor chan, for allowing me the opportunity to speak on behalf of my application as a long-term district eight san francisco resident and renter. i'm thrilled to be talking to you today about the

commission and my potential role. i also excel at policy-driven decision-making for equitable outcome. ensuring that people have a say in those decisions has been the focus of my work for some time. in 2008 i implemented the board and commissions leadership for urban habitat, one of our nation's oldest environment organizations. this highly successful, nationally replicated program, ensures that low income people and people of color in the bay are trained and supported for service on local board commissions, including the preparation of operating within policies, such as the brown act, the california public records act, and the madi act. i continued to promote similar programs around the state. now as an evaluation consultant, i support

other organizations in strengthening and democtizing programs. if appointed to the task force, i would welcome the opportunity to apply my experience and skill, to increase understanding of the ordinance internally, and to increase understanding of the commission's work among community groups and the general public. good work is work that (indiscernable). as a member of the task force, my lived experiences would focus on strengthening and supporting the people's government. we're fortunate in san francisco to have a voter mandated sunshine ordinance, and our supervisors should protect

and clarify this policy in the name of good government. and we're fortunate to have a task force with dedicated volunteers, who dedicate service and are committed to applying this policy fairly to the benefit of the people of san francisco. i hope you will agree with me that i am well-equipped to join them. thank you again for this time, and i'm happy to answer any questions that you have. >> chairman: thank you so much, ms. neighbors. are there any questions from members of this panel? seeing none, thank you, and we will, again, as i've said eight times now, most likely continue this item and bring it up at our next meeting. so given the newness and the fact that we've all been members of this commitment for about 14 hours, and should really do our due diligence properly. with that, is kevin

frasier available? >> mr. frazier may be on another -- he had a previous engagement he informed us of. he was here for the first half hour of the meeting. i believe he may have left. >> chairman: he will have another opportunity. is david coppel available? >> i am. can you hear me now? >> chairman: we can hear you now. >> regarding the task force, i think having over 100 complaints is totally unacceptable. the task forces needs to reduce that separate the important comaibts from complaim the others. we need to rebuild the task force's credibility. that will take time and effort. i would focus on education, outreach and training issues, and less on complaints. i think right now the task force should meet twice a month, with its committees meeting as needed.

i would eliminate anonymous complaints and limit complainants to only one new complaint every 30 days, if that is possible. i believe the task force should broadly apply a general rule of reason to its discussions and decisions. i know the ordinance very well and have a deep understanding of our complex city government, as i think you all know. i have advocated for rate-payers and others, and can fulfill a general advocacy or public seat. i'm a straight, white, jewish person, and i won't pretend to be anything else. but i can listen to all perspectives. not everyone has access to the same technology and tools, including e-mail and things like we cameras. i would reappoint chris hyland and matthew yankee, but i don't know the other applicants generally.

i have heard concerns about me being too verbose at meetings. i intend to be more concise, period. task force members who would make good choices would serve us well. i think i can help here. and city decisions made every day have less scrutiny right now, so sunshine is more important than ever. with that, i'm happy to take your questions now or any time. thanks. >> chairman: are there any questions? seeing none, why don't we move on to -- i believe the only remaining applicant, ryan cojusti, and if i mispronounced that, my apologies. and although it says a residency waiver would be required, that is no longer true. and ryan lives in district one. ryan, are you there?

well, ryan will have an opportunity to present at the next meeting, if that is the will of the committee. are there any members of the public who would like to testify on this item number two? >> yes, members of the public who wish to provide public comments should call 415-655-0001, and the meeting i.d. is 1466830064. and then press pound and pound again. if you haven't already done so, please dial star 3. a system prompter will indicate you have raised your hand. please wait until the system indicates you have been unmuted and you may begin your comments. mr. phillips, do we have any members of the public for public comment at this time? >> we have seven callers

in the cue. >> chairman: first speaker, please. >> good evening, if you can hear me. good evening, and thank you chair. i'm an anonymous -- >> chairman: it is morning an anonymous. >> good morning. i would urge this committee to make a full appointment to all seats. i am not going to make any comment about any particular issue or any particular pprson in support or against them. i do think, however, that you can -- because i'm a party on the task force, i think you can immediately appoint seat four, though. this task force only has six people, i believe with a member leaving for other ventures, and so right now members of the public made a unanimous ruling, i believe -- six out of six -- in order to have their rights protected. i would strongly urge you

to continue with the recommendation for seat four, and then do your due diligence for the other competing seats whenever you have the time. i think you need to consider a few things. when you talk about diversity, one thing that isn't considered is age. i'm a young person myself, and there are very few young people in government. including an understanding of more modern technology. but i do think you have a great representation for technology expertise. you don't have such a great representation for journalists, though. i think you need to find people to fill seat three, or just the other seats, because people who have that experience on trying to get the tough things for government, it is really necessary for this task force as well. i urge you to immediately recommend seat four, think about the rest of the ones, and then fill all seats when you have the

ability to. thank you very much. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker, please. >> my name is christine putter, and i'm providing comments to appoint lori jones neighbors to the sunshine ordinance task force. i served as executive director of long beach forward, a community-based organization helping to create a healthy long beach by building community knowledge, leadership, and power. i first met lori in 2014, when she helped adapt the commissioners leadership institute that she developed at urban habitat in the long beach context. since then, we've run three boards in long beach, and helped to seat and support dozens of commissioners, especially those from underrepresented groups, along the way.

lori has supported us in this over the years, and her work has undoubtedly helped to make long beach a place where those typically left out of decision-making have more of a voice and more access to their government, something that lori is very passionate about. lori has a deep understanding of the historical and current significance of board's commissions and task forces, such as this one. she has a strong commitment to democracy and ethnicity, and i know she would serve the task force well if given the opportunity. if you're not familiar with lori, i encourage you to get to know her before moving forward with your decision. thank you very much for your time and consideration. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker. >> good morning, chair peskin, supervisor mandelman and supervisor chan. my name is christine peak. i'm one of two co-chairs of the society of professional journalists freedom of information committee.

and i'm calling this morning to speak in support of jia pedaodman, who is the nominee for seat four on the task force. i understand her appointment would require a residency waiver, and we urge the committee members and the full board to grant that waiver. she is a highly qualified candidate with a commitment and passion for the work of the task forces. she has strong ties to san francisco as her work as director of programs at ethnic media services, a san francisco-based non-profit. as many of you know quite well, seat four has some specific requirements, and she meets them with ease. she is highly qualified for this seat in particular, and as she states in her application, and as you've heard from his this morning, she

her interview and i was impressed. she's really well versed in the applicable laws and procedures of the task force and clearly

did substantial research in preparations for nomination and we can expect her to be a strong advocate for transparency and open government. >> supervisor peskin: next speaker. >> i'm a member of the society of professional journalists and reporter with the west side observer. i'd like to voice my support for jaya padmanabhan for her knowledge, journalistic experience and good judgment. also, mr. bruce wolfe for his wisdom, dedication to sunshine and institutional memory. thank you very much. >> supervisor peskin: thank you. mr. clerk.

next speaker. >> good morning supervisors, i'm the co-chair of the society of professional journalists committee dedicated to freedom of information. it is exciting to see so many strong candidates to get the task force up to capacity here. i'm here to speak in support of jaya padmanabhan's candidacy. our committee had searched for candidates this past full and jaya emerged as the clear choice from the process. our committee was impressed by her knowledge of the sunshine ordinance and professionalism and enthusiasm of serving the public and the rare computer scientist who made a career change to become an award winning journalist and well positioned to consider the

technological and transparency issues that come up in the task force cases. we believe she would be a fair for the cases that come before you. >> supervisor peskin: are there any other members of the public or public comment on item number 2? >> clerk: we have two more callers. >> supervisor peskin: next speaker, please. >> hello, i'm program director at a nonprofit based here in san francisco that uses technology to ensure government services can be delivered to those who need them the most and support volunteers across the country working on projects for transparency and open government. i'm here in my personal capacity today as a member of supervisor roman's district.

thank you forgiving me the opportunity to speak. i first met laurie about a decade ago at urban habitat and recently completed a masters degree and i started out hopeful but became cynical because a lot of public participation processes were more theater than anything else and laurie showed me that meaningful public participation was possible. her deep nerdiness about processes and focus on training and mentoring others who effectively make decisions and really her dedication to and track record for social justice nationwide makes her an excellent candidate for the task force. i have worked closely with her in multiple capacities and

witnessed many skills that would make her a strong part of the task force. you've heard today, but i want to emphasize how the institute became a national model for impacted residents to serve and really be able to ensure their voices would not only be heard but they would be decision makers empowered with critical skills like deep understanding of rules of order, why it makes sense to get on the budget commissions and how to get the information you need to make good decisions on behalf of your community. she teaches people how to engage in government. >> clerk: that's your time. >> supervisor peskin: thank you. you can testify again at the next meeting. next speaker please. >> good morning this is patrick. congratulations to each of the

supervisors who have been appointed to the rules committee. i am speaking in support of bruce wolfe's application to be reappointed. he has served extremely well. i would like to draw your attention to the written testimony i submitted opposing david pilpel's nomination. there's 10 good reasons in my written testimony why he should not be reappointed to the task force including he was not reappointed by the full board of supervisors in 2016. then supervisor tang was

responsible for blocking his reappointment to the mta citizens advisory council and puc's citizen advisory committee due to many complaints from members and the mta staff about his disruptiveness during meetings. i really ask you to read my written testimony for your continuation meeting where you'll take up the agenda item again. david pilpel must not be reappointed to the task force. thank you. >> supervisor peskin: thank you. and your two letters are a part of the file and the supervisor has reviewed them and i see supervisor chan nodding that she has reviewed them.

any other members of the public on this item? >> clerk: no more callers in the que. >> supervisor peskin: public comment is closed. colleagues, i do think that the speakers of public comment made a compelling argument relative to jaya padmanabhan for seat number 4. relative to the fact that a, that seat is uncontested and pursuant to the legislation that i passed from the northern california society of professional journalists and if there is no objection, i would like to -- i see no objection from either one of you, i would like to, despite my continuing the balance of this calendar, make an exception for that seat, particularly given that it would

allow -- given the number of vacancies at this time, allow the sunshine task force to meet more effectively. mr. young, does that require a separate motion. it has been a while since i have been on this committee. >> clerk: it can be included as one motion. a motion to recommend that appointment to seat 4 with residency waiver. >> supervisor peskin: okay. colleagues, i would like to make a motion to recommend to the full board, jaya padmanabhan for seat number 4 with a residency waiver. mr. clerk, could you please call the roll on that motion. i'm sorry. chan just popped up. >> supervisor chan: i was going to make that comment about seat

4 just having the experience working in my previous career and work and i absolutely agree the importance of having representation and most importantly also the fact that jaya padmanabhan -- i don't want to butcher her name. and i was going to make that suggestion anyway. please move forward with the motion. >> supervisor peskin: please call the roll. >> clerk: on that motion... (roll call) the motion passes without objection. >> supervisor peskin: and i would like to make a motion to continue the balance of this

item to our next regularly scheduled meeting and on that motion mr. clerk, a roll call please. >> clerk: (roll call). the motion passes without objection. the remainder of the seats for the sunshine ordinance task force will be continued for a hearing at the next meeting of the rules committee. >> supervisor peskin: thank you clerk young and thank you vice chair mandelman and supervior chan on our voyage of the rules committee and we are adjourned. ♪♪♪

>> there's a new holiday shopping tradition, and shop and dine in the 49 is inviting everyone to join and buy black friday. now more than ever, ever dollar that you spend locally supports small businesses and helps entrepreneurs and the community to thrive. this holiday season and year-round, make your dollar matter and buy black. >> this is a remote meeting via video and tele conferencing. the below links and telephone numbers will get you into the

meeting. during the covid 19 emergency the fire commissioners regular meeting room is closed. meetings will convene remotely. you may watch this meeting live. the participant during public comment by phone. the public is asked to wait for the agenda item before making comment on this item. comments will be addressed in the order they are received when the moderator makes the announcement they are taking public comment. callers will hear silence when

waiting for your time to speak. callers have the standard three minutes to provide comment. please be sure you are in a quiet location and turn off any tvs or radios around you. item one, roll call. >> (roll call). >> item two, general public comment. members of the public may address the commission on any matter within their jurisdiction not on the agenda.

commissioners are not to enter into debate or discussion. the lack of discussion does not necessarily constitute agreement with or support of statements made during public comment. i will check to see if there's anybody on public comment line. there are no members of the public on the public comment line. >> thank you. seeing no members that would like to speak at this time. public comment is closed. first item, please. >> item three, approval of the minutes. discussion and possible action to approve the meeting minutes from the regular meeting on

december 9th 2020. >> okay . thank you. the minutes of our last meeting. >> i would just like to make sure that what we are discussing also and includes the addendum of commissioner rodriguez's to have the comments he made at the last meeting. i think we received them yesterday. i'm not sure what facet they came in. >> madam vice president, are you moving the item with that? >> yes. >> okay. thank you. is there a second? >> i will second that. >> thank you. all right.

i also am in agreement. that leaves us two commissioners to chime in. >> i approve also. >> i'm glad you do commissioner rodriguez. >> minutes is unanimous. okay. next item please. >> we have the minutes from the special meeting of december 2020. >> i'll move to accept those minutes as submitted. >> move to approve.

>> thank you commissioner cleveland. >> all right. i also say yes to approving the minutes. >> i approve. thank you. >> and commissioner rodriguez. >> i approve. >> the motion is unanimous. and there is nobody on the public comment line. >> public comment is closed. next item, please. >> report of chief of department -- activities and events on december 9th 2020 including budget, special events and other government agencies and report from operations by chief on overall field operations including greater alarm fires,

fire prevention and investigation, home land security and the airport division. >> greetings. good morning. i want to speak a little about the vaccination efforts that's happening for our members. we have thus far had 935 of our members have received at least the first vaccination. we have another 400 that have signed up to get it and just have not received it yet. we have had 255 people decline.

we're working on getting all of those 1325 vaccinated. we have 36 people in quarantine. i believe as of yesterday we had had 107 people total positive. that was 107 over the last ten or eleven months. just to be really clear about that. although we have had most of our covid infections in the last six weeks pretty much. i know they are working on a vaccination plan and as soon as i have the detailed information, i can share that with you. i know they are talking about giving much of it to kaiser and

sutor and other health care entities to handle the majority of vaccinations within the city. they are setting up at least one vaccination center at maxiene hall and i think they are going to look to some of the community medical centers, south east, silver avenue, et cetera. we're waiting for more information. we've been ready to go to assist in any way. we have sixty of our members have taken the training to be able to give vaccines. we're just waiting to be called on. our street crisis response team

is ramping up and we just back filled them with new personnel that just graduated on friday. those folks are now h3 level 1emts and we'll have a bump up class that have been some folks that have been emts for a while will become pair metics. we'll have a community para medicine class for our paramedics at station 49. i don't know where we are in the selection process on that. that will be a group of people that will be able to fill the role of street crisis response -- we're hoping to ramp up by

april or may and have quite a few more units on the street than we do right now. let's see, chief parks has been doing a great job in leading the communication effort with our members on the importance of mental health. we continue to support our members in any way we can. as you know the racial equity action plan that you heard from captain people's has been submitted and posted and this is the first step in moving our department forward in a productive way. there's still a lot of work to be done. but a lot of great work was done as you saw last month. the budget is sort of the big thing looming over everyone

right now. we've been asked -- the mayor provided initial budget instructions to us last month, the department heads. we've been asked to submit a late budget in february. that includes reductions of seven point 5%. plus a two point 5% contingency should the city's condition worsen. we're having internal meetings with director, myself and others on the command staff because we need to present the vital needs. we know what kind of cuts we took last year. we've been asked to do more. we have some significant needs. we will be advocating for them. we will keep you posted on our internal and external

conversations. as you know it's been a crazy year. last year was a crazy year. this year has gotten off to quite a start as you have seen. it felt like many of us -- the administration has been playing whack a mole on a lot of things and at the same time everyone on this meeting command staff and others have been getting the job done and going to incredible lengths to do their jobs. i feel like i want to make sure that i ensure clear and regular communication with you. i sent an e-mail to you last week and would be -- we'll set up through marine if each of you would like a briefing each month, we can make that happen. i think that would ensure a

better -- some better communication. that concludes my report except for the fact that i have to go in 12 minute it the mayor's department head meeting. thank you. >> thank you, chief. madam secretary, any members of the public that would like to speak at this time. >> public comment is closed. i will go to my fellow commissioners. >> chief, i had both a comment and question about the roll out of the vaccination plan.

we've all been waiting for the vaccine. it's coming, it's coming. it finally came. i, of course, like i'm sure many of my fellow commissioners and members of the department have friends who are nurse practitioners or even physicians who volunteers to administer the vaccination, i'm just going to be blunt here. the fact that we're ten months in here and it doesn't appear that the city has any plan to roll this out in any logical manner, i'd be curious to see how many people have been vaccinated. i think we'd be stunned at how few how many people have gotten that needle in their arm when people are standing by ready to administer the vaccine. my question to you is, what in

the normal scope of what is the fire department does. i know our paramedics insert iv's, i bet they would need more training to give a vaccination puts me over the edge. because how could that be? i want to know, you go to these meetings. you know what the status is. i would like to know what the status is for involving the fire department --

>> we could use our multi casual -- we still await direction from the department of public

health and the department of emergency management. it has been very frustrating and if you look at different cities throughout the state, they're fire service and fire departments are playing an integral role in this. myself and chief fellow have been on phone calls with the emergency services. wanting to play their part. like i said, we stand ready but we have not been given that opportunity as of yet. >> can i ask one follow-up question. you indicate that the covid command center rejected the plan twice. did they give you reasons or

cite sufficiencies or did they just reject it out of hand? >> we were told that we had to work -- basically we had to work within their parameters and with their people. we could not roll it out, you know, in a mobile fashion. we were also told that they wanted a list, a roster of our members everyday that they could pick and choose from to have them come and work with the private ambulance companies that they've hired to work at the brick and mortar and possibly work at a private ambulance and do it that way.

i said there's no way my union members are going to get on a private ambulance. we agreed to work with their administration in terms of getting it out. we are mobile and agi'll. it's been very frustrating for us. the fire department was asked early onto run the operations at covid command center last year and we did that for quite a long time. we did it really well. because of incident management.

it is an incident command team that is i c f. that is our strength. we were willing to step up here and assist with this. we have not been gich that givet opportunity as of yet. we were asked to step up last year and we did and did a great job. we are operations. we know how to do this. i don't know if i answered your question or just stated more questions. >> you did and it's very disheartening but i appreciate your forthrightness. >> i have a follow-up question. >> let's see if commissioner has completed her comments. >> i have.

thank you. >> has that been a question of why you haven't been approved to do this. >> i think it may go to, you know some of the challenges that we had with our local ems agency and the challenges we've had in terms of we believe we're

operations and you're regulations. they've been given the authority by dph to do this and set this up and bring in the private folks who are working at the brick and mortar right now. >> thank you. >> okay. thank you commissioner rod reeg rodriguez. >> other than being very frustrated by what the chief just said, i have no questions. >> i share in that frustration, commissioner. thank you. >> thank you. i know that you have to go to a meeting very soon. i have a comment that i also have a question.

i see that director -- i think i can wait to ask him. seven point 5% cut is a big number. that's a nine point cut. basically my question is i know you reported out that command stuff is working with our finance director on trying to figure this out. i'm go to go wait to ask that question when he comes on. my other comment is i believe you said 935 members have taken the shot. i believe you said 107 tested positive. my question is i'm assuming a certain amount of those members have returned to work or how

does that work. can you comment on that, chief. >> right now we have 36 people off in quarantine. the majority of them actually have covid. a couple are just quarantined. the others out of that have returned to duty. >> thank you, very much. i think you answered my question. i'll ask another when it's appropriate. i'm curious how these numbers procure themselves. i'm assuming it's a self quarantine. they are not going to hospitalization. is that accurate. >> yes, sir. that is accurate. >> thank you very much, chief.

>> thank you commissioner. >> if i may just correct -- i may have miss spoken. it is seven point 5% initial cut and two point 5% secondary cut. it's a 10% total. >> all right. i'm sure we'll be talking more money when they come to give us a budget update. i'm really quite dismayed, not because of you chief but because of the road blocks that have been put up. it's just incredible. there's been a problem with the

roll out clear across the country. i don't understand why this is happening. i don't understand why people who are used to giving shots are not being deployed to do so. our members stand ready and prepared to do this work. but they have not been allowed to do it is appalling. distressing. i feel the same way that vice president feel ses. s. especially people who are sixty and over. they are supposed to be second in line after health care workers. i get e-mails all the time saying where do we go? what is going on? does anybody have any information? they are just asking me as just

a friend not as someone associated with the department. i see the tension that people are experiencing wondering when are we going to get the vaccine. can you tell us again who is on the covid command center board or committee or -- what is it exactly? >> president, i'm going to have to leave in a moment. i will let chief fellow, can you answer that question and speak to that? >> absolutely chief. good morning. covid command center is a culmination of dph and dm running the response.

>> okay. those are as the chief delineated those are the only two departments that are in charge of this? >> overall. everyone is there. we have a member there to help us with anything we need. overall it's operations run by dph and dm. >> okay. the department of emergency management, they don't have a commission, do they? >> i don't think so. >> that goes directly to the mayor? >> i believe so. >> the department of health has a commission. >> yes. >> maybe this is a time for some commission diplomacy to try to

assist and rely the frustration on the part of our department to get the job done and keep people safe. i can discuss that with probably vice president off-line. maybe we can bake some cookies and send to them and do a conference call to get this thing going. >> the chief has left the room. i'll hold my questions for her. she has a standing meeting with the mayor at this time. we will come back to this item. madam secretary. >> the operations report.

>> welcome to your very first report out. >> thank you for the opportunity. glad to be able to provide you with my second -- this was a big one. it's a two month course and have a lot of information. i'm going to try to be efficient. our department that is the department that we're running with you on the commission is truly involved in all aspects of this covid at the same time there's a tremendous impact. i have to say that all division operations have responded to -

there's great work going on at all levels. truly the fire department and public safety are the tip of the spear in response. if at anytime you have any questions, the chief is always available. everybody has my information, don't hesitate to reach out. is the power point working? great. >> i'm sorry. is there any way we can make it full screen? >> i don't understand how web ex works.

does anyone on this call have knowledge. because for me it is a full screen. >> maybe it's me. i'll be quiet. >> is the window that you have web ex in the whole window in your computer. >> here is our january meeting which is reporting on november and december data. we're looking at nearly 2000 building alarms during that time. this is all information that you'll find in your packet. several gas leaks.

some of these incidents have the opportunity to really scale up should they catch fire or be put out inappropriately they often cause for evacuation. there are two instances where crews did a tremendous job in controlling the steam. you can see how much damage this could have done. everybody followed protocols. we have been seeing a lot of homeless encampment fires also. it's an ongoing problem. it's difficult to regulate. unfortunately it's common. there's a variety of cliff

rescues. how can see how big the people are here. as we turn around, i think we've all enjoyed a walk along this area. it's alarming how deep and far this is. every week we're rescuing somebody or their pet. our rescue squad is trained in rescue. our crews along this border of our city with the pacific order have all the tools and are doing rescues flawlessly. we haven't had a fire fighter injury in over a year.

we can have -- this was an incident that was some quest. it was in the report to look at it. you can see there's multiple pictures. these burial spots were very good. their ability to get onto the roofs and fight the fire was a challenge. you can see here how it presented. it was a significant fire. this you'll remember was the fire that had the panel on them. further complicated when the

transmission line, lines that run from the telephone pole fell on top. they recognized the hazard and managed it by putting a whole other cyst sem in place. system in place. it went incredibly smoothly and had so many complications. the commissioner had asked about -- i prepared a couple of slides and i think it would be good to take a couple questions in the middle. we do have materials that are part of our collection of manuals and provision of training. if we talked about solar panels

on the roofs. it is also highly regulated. there are state regulations and local permitting regulations that are also there to ensure that these are going to be safe and be able to update around them. they include having areas for us to be able to do our job. this is not a fire in san francisco but it's a good example of the photo. you can see fire fighter would be able to prevent a roof above it. there are hydro carbons in it. those can contribute to the fire loads. you can see what they look like when they burn. it could have been an interior fire that came up underneath. back in 2012, 2400

installations. these are becoming -- it's part of our training to understand they are hazards. being able to recognize and communicate that to other responders. it effects how we inspect further ventilations. in terms of interior operations. newer systems are generating so much power that they are able to store in banks. we have large battery systems which are -- they present their own hazard but we're aware of them and recognize them.

we are trained on how to deal with it. generally speaking the tank systems provide a shock hazard. it's more difficult. they are very slippery and increase the load on the roof. that's regulated. it's not as much weight as four or five fire fighters. the materials are safe. vespa has developed a roof system that is remarkable. it's tiled. they will all look exactly and have the same properties with respect to how slippery they are and generally the same weight. their systems are really smart

and advanced. they've got them figured out to where they are not grounded. while earlier systems are absolutely forbidden that we would be able to walk on them. these systems, their training materials we just mash them. you can see in this photograph, they are using a chain saw to go right through it. with training, it's safe to do so. we are looking forward to the possibilities of getting some materials from them. they are constantly ahead of the curve in terms of hazards that are faced. that's just the broadest stroke about the photo we'll take.

would it be okay to ask for any questions at this time? >> yes. i think that just so we don't run out of time, if you go through your entire presentation, the commissioners can make notes as they go along and we'll be able to prioritize our questions based on the time. thank you. >> we had another third alarm fire, it was remarkable. this is on -- these are some of the older high rises in san francisco. they are very well built. they are made of steel and concrete. you can see once it gets going it's resistant to water. it's a long way up.

a long way up -- there's a lot of floors above it. all the personnel and materials up to it. there's a lot of opportunity - this is actually heat, one of the chiefs that was working that day did a tremendous job. we showed up to both of these events. you can see that it was really dramatic. you can see the people watching the fire they were horrified.

this one of the other fires that we had -- this is the backside of the building. a little bit of a below grade situation. not uncommon that the rear buildings will be reflected in a way that the fires will transmit readily to prevent stuff from happening an the bulk of the damage. they managed to keep it in this parking structure. a very difficult area.

this was a fire -- it did a lot of damage in there. an individual that was not related to these incidents whatsoever -- what you're hearing is a gentlemen run into the building and jumped out the window. he is hanging from the awning while members of the crews inside held onto his ankles.

just goes to show you, you never know. we brought a ladder over and brought him down and took him to the hospital. just real heads up. you don't expect that. it's a great test. there was a garbage truck fire. these are becoming more common. when people dispose of batteries inappropriately they are causing a lot of trouble in the garbage truck. battery operated razor scooters. what the trash truck crushes them it crushes the battery. a cashage truck full of trash

becomes a persistent problem. many fire rescues did great work. here you can see a cat that got into a situation that they were unable to get out of on their own. we got our cat saved for 2020 and now we have to get it saved for 2021. they did find the person. we've been making it out to these incidents with the fbi and the public information regarding some arson fires we've been

having. our ems division, they did engage with a field nursing -- one of the contingencies for the city is to step in when the facility is able to provide the service it needs to for its population. in this case there were out

breaks. we couldn't get healthy people to come in and work. they called for help. normally we would go in and evacuate that facility. we would take them to the hospital. but right now in this pandemic all of our systems are straining. one of the problems with the pandemic and having so many people hospitalize is other people having other medical issues find themselves in the same queue. the idea that it's a really bad time to have appendicitis. in this case we had ambulances literally provide all the service for 13 hours. it was a huge success.

it went from suddenly overloading it like a circuit. tremendous planning by folks. on the tip of the spear that you and the administration are training so hard for. we went without hesitation into a heavy populated with covid. they went for 13 hours and held it up. held it together. incredible. very very proud. that's on top of everyday that we're still working all day, everyday. you call 911, we're going to come help.