. >> let me say from a standpoint of rec and park work that i want to do a shoutout to lorraine banford for sharing the martin luther king lunch last week. it was really delightful, it was two hours of celebrating in a wonderful way, which was almost as uplifting as yesterday's inauguration, and with that, that concludes my president's report. >> clerk: we are now in public comment for item 2, president's report. please dial star, three to be added to the queue to speak. is there anyone on the line

that would like to make a comment on the president's report? >> operator: ashley, i see nine people dialed in, but none have raised their hands. >> clerk: okay. thank you. next item is item 3, general manager's report. >> thank you, ashley. happy new year's and president, you particulared -- ticked off a couple of the items on my report, so i'll just mention yesterday and some of the things that i want going to mention. when we look around our parks, we see these statues of mckinley and various people that have come to san francisco

and spent time in our parks. our vice president has spent a lot of time in san francisco's parks and that makes me excited and really inspired. and as we continue our work with our city's youth hoping them fulfill their potential, i was inspired, as was everybody in the country, by amanda gorman. it's now just indelible in our collective consciousness. the youngest inaugural poet laureate. that's who amanda gorman is, the youngest inaugural poet laureate, and the hill we climb is something that is a poem that i, for one, will always keep with me and will always remember and, you know, her

words have circulated wildly over the last 24 hours, less than 24 hours. let me just recite one stanza. when we step out of the shade, we become unafraid. it is only light, if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it. that was a moment in a lot of moments in the inauguration that makes me want to reinvest in young peoples. i want to double down on our president's recognition of

lorraine banford. while it stinks we didn't get to be together in person and share the community in food, it also opened the event up to a lot of people that might not otherwise have been able to logistically attend, and so i think that that's something that's very special. i think we had over -- close to 300 people tuning into this lunch which has become not just a rec and park tradition, but a city tradition. so to summarize, we had our mayor, who stopped by to say hello. assembly man phil ting, ahsha safai, dean preston, among

others. i'm going to listen to, although maybe not at amanda gorman level. your words have also travelled like wildfire. thank you for delivering a speech, and also, thank you, commissioners buell and hallisy. i want to acknowledge this year's keep the dream alive award winners. this was such a perfect and creative suggest by the m.l.k. luncheon health and safety commission, recognizing a group of people who work so much in the background, i'm not sure that many people know we have an environment health and safety division. but in a year of covid, this team, like so many of our staff, has risen to the

occasion to maybe everything possible. -- to make everything possible. this is the staff that is ensuring the wellness of our own team. this is approving and reviewing covid health and safety plans, that when we do have a covid positive staff, it is engaging providing and contact tracing and providing information to our staff so that our staff navigate this tricky time of work with confidence and support and transparency, and so it is really well deserved. the other keep the dream alive award winners near and dear to my heart is the [inaudible] and the amazing jackie and kurt grimes, and delia patrick was also honored.

most intensely and most importantly, our india basin project, and ensuring to complete this transformational park project with the first and one of the nation's park equitable park planning processes. so a great event, and i'm so proud of our team for hosting it. i also want to provide just one more update and say thanks on our racial planning equity work. i shared with all of you that phase one of our racial equity action plan has been submitted, and i want to acknowledge all of the thoughtful work that went into the development of phase one of this important strategic plan for racial equity. you know, i am proud of this work and not because we claim to have all the answers on how to dismantle systemic racism

or, you know, white supremacist systems in our department [inaudible] we approach it collaboratively with an open mind and big hearts. i'm also deeply grateful to all of you for your thoughtful contributions during our december presentation and during our individual briefing. it's your commitment, interest, and dedication to ending racial inequity that's very visible and evident in your work.

like our department's strategic plan, we will work to ensure this is a living document used to guide our decision making, investments, and priorities. it is an indication of where we are strong, where we need to improve, and provides us a road map and some accountability measurement tools to do so. well, 2020 is very much a year that we would just as soon forget, this week, we released our annual community report that highlights the important work of this department during a highly unusual and challenging year, from our emergency response, providing emergency child and youth care, partnering with other city agencies to serve san francisco's most vulnerable students, to opening newly renovated parks and playgrounds

and reopening golden gate park, our staff has shown results resiliency, and reported throughout the year. our beloved camp mather in the high sierra wilderness will unfortunately remain closed in 2021 due to covid-19 risks. as much progress as we are making and as much progress as this administration intends to make, we are just not at a point where we can operate the camp with the level of safety and security that it requires. we know, and i personally know,

just how special summers at camp mather are for our san francisco families. but the safety of campers and staff has to be our first consideration. we thought long and hard about this decision. we researched and thought about contingency plans. we spoke with our colleagues at public health, we spoke with friends of camp mather, and so unfortunately, we've had to reach this difficult decision. mather has served san franciscans for more than 90 years and obviously faces significant challenges in ensuring social distancing. i like to say camp mather is a petri dish on its very best day. it's got a location near yellow stone that does present when medical obstacles during an

outbreak. we are very much looking to the day that we can reopen camp safely, and it's looking more and more like that will be the summer of 22. it's budget season. our annual budget meetings will be held virtually this year on wednesday, january 27, and thursday, february 11, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. we encourage everybody to join us as we discuss preliminary plans for fiscal years 22 and 23. this is a forum where the public can learn about our department's budget instructions for the next few years and let us know your priorities and plans for neighborhood plans and your ideas how we can best navigate what is going to be some challenging economic times for our city and our department the next few years.

you can find the links to our meeting on our website. perhaps a bit more joyously, registration for our virtual winter classes is still open. we're offering a number of fun and on-line creative programs for youth, adults, and seniors this winter, including the harvey milk photo center, golden gate park senior center, and the young people theater music cal company. more theater and registration links can be found at sfparkandrecs.org. and with a new beginning, that concludes this brief general manager's report. >> clerk: thank you. we are now in public comment for items 3, general manager's report. please press star, three to enter the queue to speak.

is there anyone on the line for the general manager's report? >> operator: this is one person on the line. i will unmute. >> clerk: okay. you will have two minutes to speak, and if you don't mind, state your name. >> thank you. tim hurley. i would like to give a shoutout to the parks general manager at a time when parks have been so beneficial to the public. park staff have done a tremendous job in maintaining them, improving them, and even doing simple things like making sure that the rest rooms are clean and well stocked. citywide, i think that the parks department has done a

tremendous job, and a lot of accolades need to be given to staff in particular. >> clerk: thank you for your comment. >> operator: there's one more. >> clerk: okay. caller, you have two minutes. >> i really appreciate all of you for your hard work and effort. this is my first time ever joining into one of these. i just happened to be looking for information to get ahold of one of you. like, i just thought i could ask you a question. i wanted to know who and where i could speak to just, like,

ideas or comments, so if any of you have information for me, i would appreciate it. >> mr. president, the speaker can submit with the department through r.p.d. info. the e-mail address, rpdinfo@sfgov.org, and someone will be in touch. >> thank you. >> clerk: thank you. anyone else on the line who would like to speak on the general manager's report? >> operator: i don't see anymore hands, ashley. >> clerk: seeing none, public comment is closed. before we move onto the next item, sfgovtv, could you refresh your viewing. i can not see phil on the live screen, but i could see it on my computer after i refreshed my gallery. just let me know if you can do

that. okay. we are now on item 4, general public comment, up to 15 minutes. this item will be continued to item 16. sit, 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 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. is there anyone on the line who wishes to speak? is there anyone on the line who wishes to speak in general public comment? >> operator: there are five people on the line listening in, but there are no callers in general public comment right now. >> clerk: seeing no callers on the line, public comment is now closed. we are now on the consent calendar. commissioners, is there any item you would like removed from the consent calendar?

okay. we are now in public comment for item 5 on the consent calendar. please press star, three if you wish to speak. is there anyone on the line for the consent calendar. >> operator: there are no callers on the line. >> clerk: okay. seeing no callers, public comment is now closed. >> clerk: mr. president? >> the chair would entertain a motion. >> so moved. >> second. >> all in favor? opposed? thanks. >> clerk: we are now in election of officers. before we go through the process of me explaining how the election will go, is there any public comment on the

election of officers? if there is, please dial star, three to be added to the queue. >> operator: yet again, zero hands raised, ashley. >> clerk: okay. thank you. so commissioners, i will go through the process for the election. we will start with the president. we will need a motion and a second to open the nomination first, followed by a vote. i will then ask for nominations for press. nominations will need a second. one all the nominations are complete, i will close nominations, and then, we will vote on the nominations. we will repeat that for the vice president. so first, i will need a motion to open the nominations for president. >> so moved. >> second. >> okay. >> then we will need a vote on

that. okay. were there any noes on the vote? >> no. better not be. >> clerk: okay. now i'd like to ask for nominations for president? >> i would like to make a nomination? >> clerk: okay. >> many of you know that marcus is quite a poet, so in mark buell style, it is with great honor and happiness and certainly no grief that i nominate mark buell to remain our chief. >> great. >> i would like to second that without any poems or rhymes at this time. >> well, you just did it, any way. >> oh, yeah, i did. >> thank you, commissioners.

i would like to take a vote on that nomination. all in favor? is there anyone opposed? great. congratulations, president buell. >> thanks. thank you very much, guys. you're very kind, and i genuinely appreciate your confidence in my continuing in the position. thank you so much. >> yeah, whoa. >> clerk: okay. so next up is vice president, and i'll need a second and a motion to open up the nominations for vice president. >> so moved. >> so moved. >> clerk: and a second? >> second. >> second. >> clerk: okay. great. and now a vote. all in favor of opening the nominations? opposed? okay. thank you. now nominations are open, so ask for nominations for vice president. >> ashley, this is commissioner low. it is my honor to nomination my

friend and colleague, eric mcdonald, as vice president of the commission. eric's story is a san francisco story. he is the western addition's finest product and a graduate of one of the best high schools -- the best high school in san francisco. if you follow eric on strava, he and his wife, hydra, have chosen to stay in san francisco and raise their children in san francisco, so he is a true san francisco success story. eric is a constant advocate of racial equity and park equity. he understands the voices of those in underserved communities to make sure that they feel that the park is part of theirs.

and if any of you have attended, were at the m.l.k. luncheon, i encourage you to watch eric's speech. he talked about adoration, infiltration, and exportation. even if you disagree with eric, i sit back -- when i'm in disagreement with eric, i sit back and say, but damn, that was a good argument. so it's my honor to nominate eric mcdonald as vice president, and i ask all of my colleagues to join me. >> clerk: okay. second to the nomination? >> second. >> second. >> all right. it is with great honor and

excitement that i second the nomination of my fellow city kid, commissioner mcdonald, to serve as vice president. >> clerk: thank you. are there any other nominations? okay. at this time, nominations are closed. all those in favor of commissioner mcdonald as vice president? opposed? commissioner mcdowell, would you like to say anything? >> thank you all so much. yes, commissioner low, recreation, absolutely. thanks, all. >> before this item ends, i want to express my gratitude to commissioner low for his many years of service as vice president of the commission. he took on leadership roles in

that capacity and always represented the commission and the department with the highest standards and often times with free legal advice, and so commissioner low, thank you very much. commissioner mcdonnell, i look forward to working with you, and it's a real honor to have you as vice president. >> thank you. >> clerk: wonderful. thanks, everybody. we are now on item 7, san francisco zoo. is there anyone from the zoo here to speak? >> yes. >> oh, hi, tanya. >> can you hear? hi. i'm here from s.f. zoo, so sometimes our technology isn't the best, but it's beautiful weather out here. we do remain closed, and have

since the beginning of the holidays. there is some hope. two zoos and one aquarium are opening. that's sacramento and palm springs zoo, as well as scripps aquarium. the 20 zoos and aquariums closed in california, four zoos closed in canada. three zoos closed in illinois since they've had quite an outbreak, and there's eight states with at least one zoo closed. the bronx zoo and central park zoos are open. i'm happy to say that our

s.f. damsel fly that eats mosquitos and helps control mosquitos here in san francisco, they were almost extinct, but during the closure, we raised 945 damsel flies from eggs, compared to the prior year of only 430. so i thank my staff for going out and working with these insects. we also launched our program for young folks as well as for general population. we have staff giving stories here at the zoo or pointing out your local zoo that can be found in your backyard, focusing on local flora and fauna, just a way to keep people engaged. residents are our bread and

butter with revenue, so we are doing our bests to try to keep those folks engaged. we are working locally and nationally on diversity and other issues, and i'm happy to report that 70% of our employees are now women. i don't know if that has to do because i'm at the front, but i thank all of the women who are with me still at the zoo, and thank all of them working while we're closed. nationally, we are working with other zoos to reduce wildlife trafficking in the hopes of saving more during the pandemic. we all heard that the pandemic arose with bats and open markets in china. the more we can outlaw such practices, the more we hope we can reduce such pandemics. the program is called reduce the risk, and we have offered our vets and staff to get

together with other vets and staff to coordination and reduce wildlife trafficking. san diego wild animal park animals were showing symptoms of covid, and their fecal systems were sent in to a national source, and indeed, they do have the virus. they are doing well, and the cough seems to be dwindling. all i know from the san diego folks is it was probably from an employee who was asymptomatic. face coverings and social distancing has been hard to enforce in san diego, but so far, our primates, chimps, orangs are in good health.

we had instituted efforts last january, and of course, we're watching our primates who are most similar to humans in terms of their d.n.a. i want to say congratulations to the president and vice president both here and nationally, and i finish my report. >> thank you, tanya. >> clerk: thank you. is there any public comment on item 7, san francisco zoo? if you'd like to speak on this item, please press star, three to be added to the queue to speak. >> operator: there's four callers on the call, ashley, and zero hands raised. >> clerk: okay. thank you. seeing no further callers, public comment is now closed. as a reminder, this is discussion only. we are now on item 8, golden gate park dog training area renovation, contract amendment. >> thank you.

can you hear me? >> we can. >> okay. great. good morning, commissioners, general manager. my name's lauren chavez, manager in the capital division, and the item before you is discussion and possible action to amend the construction contract with robert a. bothman construction for the golden gate park dog training area renovation, to increase the contract amount by up to 248,768,which is greater than 10% of the original approved contract opt of

$1,625,000, bringing the revised contract amount to $1,873,748. the paving material change at the interior pathways will require less frequent maintenance and provides a more polishes aesthetic on par with the entire facility. this project is fully funded, and this is not a request for additional funds. we're very close to the completion of construction, just wrapping up a few final punch list items, and we do recommend your approval of the increased construction contract amount. any questions? >> thank you. >> thank you. >> clerk: thank you. we are now on public comment

for item 8, golden gate park dog training area renovation. is there anyone on the line who would like to speak on this item? please press star, three to be added to the queue. >> operator: zero hands raised. >> clerk: okay. seeing no further callers, public comment is now closed. commissioners? >> chair would entertain a motion to approve. >> so moved. >> second. >> moved and seconded. all those in favor? thank you very much. >> clerk: did you vote no, commissioner mazzola? >> yes. >> did you want to say anything about that, commissioner? >> no. i did last month, so i'll just leave it at that. >> thank you, commissioner. >> clerk: okay.

thank you. we are now at item 9, let'splaysf! richmond play background renovation, conceptual design. >> my name is alex schuknecht, a project designer, and i'm joined by our really talented design lead with a.i.g. i'm actually going to share my screen here. please let me know when you can see it. can you see my screen? >> and on the agenda today, hopefully, this will be a quick

presentation for you. we'll start with a little info and how we got through the community process, and then, our final concept which we're really excited about and hope for your approval on. so first and foremost, this project fulfills the recreation and parks strategic plan by inspiring public space, strengthening equality of existing parks and facilities by inspiring play, by strengthening and promoting the safety, health, and well-being of san francisco's youth and seniors and by working with neighborhood groups to get here, and by inspiring stewardship and equalizing the literacy of park and park staff, which as you'll see is quite relevant in this conceptual design. so richmond playground is actually the final of the 13 playgrounds that were identified as "failing playgrounds" and are being

funded through the let'splaysf campaign. and here is an image of what the park looks like today. it looks like a sand pit, and the only play items leftover are this octagonal sand pit, the only element of the use that's useable other than the tough swings, which are quite popular. otherwise, it stays pretty deserted. all of the other amenities were removed because they were either actually quite dilapidated or they were found to have hazardous materials. here's another look at the playground. i don't know if you can see my hand here, but here's where the image was taken. the playground is bounded by 18 avenue in the richmond and 19

avenue to the west. to the north is lake street, and california street to the south. as you can see, this is really a midblock neighborhood park. to the north is private property, to the south are these courts which are actually due to be resurfaced in the coming months, which is actually an exciting development, as well. the area -- the scope does not include the clubhouse here, but it does include the clubhouse rest rooms, which are an amenity to the playground. they also include accessories here at 18 avenue and as 19 avenue, as well. our total budget for the project is 3.50 million, with a construction budget of 1.65 million. some more images of the projects go, areas of the children's play area, with areas for both tots and youth.

entrances at both 18 and 19 avenues, and new site amenities, which include a nice new four court plaza to the clubhouse, two drinking fountains, and trash receptacles. this is our schedule, and here we are today, at the very end of our planning process. these dots were our community meetings. we'll jump right into design, and hope to be in construction by the end of this year and hope to be done by the middle of next. how did we get here? we started with an open house, which was essentially a visioning session, so we asked people, you know, really broad questions.

we also had an innes space and farmer's market survey. we asked for keys opportunities and issues, and we asked what the future plans were for the playground. as you can see, people's top priorities for activities and play activities were climbing, sliding, and swinging, and folks also cared a lot about improving the gathering and event area, places to hangout and watch over the children. and this theme of nature and nature exploration popped up again and again throughout the community process. in open house ii, we took all of this information and condensed it actually into three separate concepts and asked people to rate them based

upon a few different metrics. we also did additional outreach again in this phase at the farmer's market with another on-line survey and additional pop ups. so these were the concepts that we presented. i won't go into depth in all of them, but nature in the city, urban and animals, and play. layout circulation, people liked the nature in the city theme. and then, as far as the theme, again, i mentioned the nature theme that they considered, a lot of folks liked the aspects of the urban animals theme

which obviously goes very well with nature. and again, these activities are climbing and sliding. and so that's how we got here to this final concept, which i think is a really exciting final concept. again, this idea of nature, it's a very green plan, especially compared to what's out there today, with lots of shade trees, lots of planting, and as i'm see, this idea of nature in the city kind of morphed into california nature in the city and almost sierras, sierras in the city, so very recognizable elements here. again, our scope didn't include the clubhouse but included this -- these rest rooms which are located right here. these are our accessibility improvements at 18, and then, i

guess it also included this -- as i mentioned, this expanded four court in front of the clubhouse and an enhanced connection between the playgrounds and these courts to the south, which i think will benefit both the courts and the playground in general. so it's divided into two areas, the tot area and the youth area, and then, the plaza, of course, but for the tot area, this includes contained sand play, which there were a number of advocates for sand play because that was an important element of richmond in the past. an area here for parking strollers, and this would be a little seating nook, as well, and this was a nice seat wall for families and caregivers to look over their tots. a swinging set, a fun little slide, and then, some nice curved seat walls for parents and caregivers to, again, look

over the play. and in this time area, ages five to 12, this is the really exciting, as i mentioned, the really excited sort of sierras in the city look. this would be a custom grizzly bear climbing structure and tree house. it would include climbing, a net, a slide, a little -- a little tree house and other play amenities that kids could use inside, and then, for more advanced play, for upper ages of youth, this -- this big climbing rock that's over here, so here's the grizzly bear, and here's the climbing rock, and -- so this would be for more active play. i mentioned the octagonal sand

pit that's currently there, and that's it. so here's the full size plan again. as i mentioned, additional amenities include reservable picnic areas, these nice curved seat walls, a new drinking fountain and plantings throughout. so the plant pallet, i won't go through this in depth. it will be mainly aesthetic, which will enhance -- it'll bring butterfly habitat and enhance the ecological space in the neighborhood. again, here's that more in

depth if you care to look at this in the future. here's a look at the existing conditions. as you can see down here, the rest rooms are not currently accessible. you have to step to get into them, and they're very cramped. this is a picture of the existing conditions. there are separate bathrooms for men's and womens -- mens and womens, and they're multistall. we will be upgrading them to unisex, and one stall. so with that, we'll be bringing the site at richmond playground from this to this, and i'm here to answer any questions as is my design team, and i appreciate your time. >> alex, before you wrap up your question, just one quick

clarification. can you pull the rest room slide back up? >> sure. >> no, the redesign. how are the rest rooms going to interface with the public space and the clubhouse because i know sometimes we have preschool or -- yeah, i think it's mostly for preschool related organizations that utilize the dedicated rest room, so are you going to have doors accessing from the inside and also have outdoor access for one of the rest rooms? >> no, we don't have that currently. the long-term user of the clubhouse is [inaudible] mr. hurley. do you know him? >> yeah, i do. mr. hurley showed up in public comment today. >> no, there would only be

access from the outside. i haven't heard of any dedicated -- >> okay. i don't think that group needs the dedicated access because i think the age of most of the kids. >> okay. thank you. >> clerk: okay. thank you. we have -- before we go to the rest of public comment, we have kelly groth from supervisor chan's office, so i am going to spotlight her for a moment. kelly, you have two minutes. >> great, thank you. good morning, commissioners, general manager ginsburg. nice to meet you all. i am the legislative aide for supervisor connie chan, and asked to provide this statement for her support of the playground. as supervisor of the richmond district, i am proud to support the renovation of the richmond playground. our parks are just as diverse

and unique as the city herself and help connect us to community and provide access to free and open space in a dense city. i think the proposed renovations for the park make the area more accessible and inviting while preserving unique and his torial features. the play space for tots and kids bring a much needed update to the park. i'm asking for support for the richmond park, as well and hope that you can support the proposal. thank you. >> thank you, kelly. >> clerk: so we're now in public comment on item number 9, let'splaysf richmond playground renovation. press star, three to be able to

speak. >> operator: i see one caller so far. >> caller, please state your name. >> thank you. this is tim hurley again. we have been the leaseholder on the clubhouse going into now our seventh year, so we've seen a lot of transformation of the playground, and frankly deterioration. as alex noted, it's -- not in so many words, but it's in fairly grim shape, but it's definitely in need of, and it's time to be renovated. alex and his job have done a wonderful job. as he noted, many of the most salient and important comments from the public, and i would just like to give a big kudos to him and his team for the terrific process that they've undertaken for this.

now while real kids will be impacted by the work, especially as the construction is underway, we are still in favor of this project. we think that it's a tremendous improvement, much needed improvement to a very popular playground. if any of you have been there on any particular day of the week or weekend, you'll see that it's a very highly used facility, both playground area and the play courts and tennis courts. this design goes a long way to returning it to a very viable and pleasant access for the neighborhood and really for the city as a whole. so we, wheel kids and myself also hope that you can unanimously approve the project and let the design team get underway with the construction documents and get this thing built. thanks for your time. >> thank you.

>> clerk: are there any other callers with their hands raised, paul? >> operator: yes, one more. >> clerk: okay. caller, you have two minutes. please state your name. >> hi. this is nick [inaudible], richmond district resident. i am here to talk about the richmond playground. it's one of the nicest projects that i've seen throughout this whole let'splaysf rollout. that climbing bear looks beautiful. i think you're going to have a lot, and this is going to bring in amenities to the richmond district as a whole. so i hope you approve it, and i'm for it as a whole. thank you. >> thank you, and ashley,

you're on mute. >> operator: that was the last hand raised. >> clerk: okay. thank you. you knew what i was asking. wonderful. seeing no further callers, public comment is now closed. commissioners? >> chair would entertain a moment. >> move approval. >> second. >> it's been moved and seconded. all those in favor? any opposed? hearing none, the motion is passed. thank you very much, and thank you, alex, for the presentation. >> thank you, all. >> clerk: okay. we are now on item 10, 321 florida street project. >> if i could get the powerpoint, please. thank you, commission secretary, and good morning, commissioners. my name is chris townes.

i'm a planner with the recreation and park department capital and planning division, and i'm joined today by michael christiansen, the planner from the san francisco planning department. my presentation will provide you with a summary of the shadow effect from the proposed 321 florida street project on franklin square. next slide, please. for shared reference, prop k, the sun light ordinance, was approved by voters in 1994. planning code 295 was adopted in 1985 which prohibits the city from adopting planning permits for structures greater than 40 feet in high that casts a shadow on property owned by the rec and park, unless planning commission, after consultation with the rec and

park division, finds that the shadow would not have a significant impact on park property. in 1985, the rec and park and planning commission adopted a joint referendum, commonly noted as the 1989 memo. at this time, i'd like to pass it to michael christiansen from the planning department. he will provide a brief overview of the public description, the outreach, and the public benefits of the project. michael? next slide, please. >> good morning, rec and park commission. michael christiansen, department staff for the planning department. the project before you is located on a currently -- on a site that's currently developed with a private parking lot located at 321 florida street between 16 and 17 street on the east side of the street.

the proposed project includes the construction of a nine-story, 92-foot tall, 154,396-square foot mixed-use building containing 168 dwelling units, 1,336 square feet of retail and service use that is proposed to be dedicated to an arts activity use, showcasing local artists, 47 offstreet auto parking spaces. of the 168 dwelling units, 31 are proposed to be on-site affordable dwelling units, and the remainder are market rate units. the project is invoking state density bonus law to get extra height and to reduce ground floor ceiling height in order to accommodation the dwelling units afforded to the project under state density bonus. in terms of outbreach and opposition, the planning department has received three letters in support of the project and two letters in

opposition. the planning department received a petition from the san francisco housing action coalition containing over is 00 significants in support of the project. the two letters in opposition took issue with the shadow impact of the project. the project sponsor has conducted outreach to neighborhood groups, including bryant street neighbors, friends of franklin square, united save the mission, calle 24, the community stabilization fund, nearby residents association, the building trades, san francisco housing action coalition, and yimby action. in response, the building design has already been altered to increase the use of color and enhance the human scale.

in addition, the sponsor has committed to dedicating the ground space to a local trust to be used as a gallery dedicated to show local artists. >> clerk: commissioner buell, you need to mute yourself. >> -- including 31 on-site b.m.r. units, and that ground floor space that's proposed to be dedicated, so this concludes my presentation, but i'm available for any questions on the project. >> thank you, michael. if i can get the next slide, please. for orientation purposes, the image at the top is a project view of where the park is located. the project site is outlined in

orange, and franklin square is outlined in green. the image at the bottom provides a view of the project site. it's located directly across from franklin street with frontage on florida street. potrero shopping center is located just north of franklin square across 16 street. the existing project site currently utilizes a surface parking lot as michael mentioned. next slide, please. franklin square is an existing 4.4 acre park under the jurisdiction of rec and park department, located in the mission neighborhood on a block bounded by 16 street to the north, 17 street to the south, and hampshire street to the east. the park occupies an entire

city park, is relatively flat. however, its overall elevation rests several feet above the city sidewalk. pedestrians square entrances to the park are located at the northwest and southwest corners as well as midway along the 17 street frontage that provides kind of more direct access to the children's play area. programatically, franklin park is occupied largely by a soccer field, with parks that wraparound the perimeter. next slide, please. currently, there is currently a 2.08 distant shadow on franklin square. the proposed project would add

an additional .034%. the diagram on the right is a full year shadow span. qualitatively in terms of time of year and time of day, project shadow span all seasons occurring in the afternoon, late afternoons, however, they are most pronounced in the summer and spring late afternoon after 4:00 p.m. the shadow cast is 57 minutes on approximately 7% of the park area or approximately 5700 square feet. shadow occurs in the southwest area of the park, overgaardens and pathways, trails, as well

as the southwest corner of the play area. here on the left is the maximum net shadow diagram. as you can see, the maximum net view project shadow overlaps with shadow on the western edge of the park and extends further toward the southwest corner

are -- in closing, i'd like just to say that my ohm owe provides quantitative as well as qualitative criteria in determining whether the shadow will have a significant adverse impact on the use of the park; that there be up to 1% additional shadow load. again, for reference, this project would add .034% shadow, for a total of 2.28%. next slide, please. lastly, just for visional shared reference, here's some

exciting site photos of franklin square capturing the various programatic spaces, including the soccer play area at the center, the children's play in the southwest corner and the pedestrian pathway, the existing trees along the edge, the adult fitness area, and the pedestrian stairway. and at the very bottom is kind of a larger view if you're standing sort of at the adult fitness station looking towards the children's play area. so that concludes my portion of the presentation. both michael christiansen and i are available for any questions. thank you. >> clerk: okay. thank you. we are now on public comment for item 10, 321 florida street

project. please dial star, three to be added to the queue to speak. is there anyone on the line to speak on item 10? >> operator: i see two hands raised -- three, and i will unmute the first one. >> clerk: actually, sorry. i apologize, cara. we have cara hauser to speak first, and then, we'll move the other callers on the line. >> thank you. gary, can you please turn the slide on. do you have our presentation ready? gary? >> clerk: if not, i have it on my computer. >> okay. >> clerk: coming right up,

cara, just opening it up. >> you've got it, ashley, so i'll give you one second. >> clerk: i got it. >> operator: okay. thank you. >> clerk: you're welcome. is that good, cara? >> i think that's fine so the folks can see it. thank you, ashley, and greetings, commissioners. thank you so much for your time. i'm cara [inaudible], the manager of project development for 321 florida, and i want to make just a very quick introto you. next slide, please. can i do it? no. could you advance the slide,

ashley? are you seeing it advance? i'm on the third one. >> i'm only seeing the first one still. >> clerk: okay. let me check. >> can you go back one? >> clerk: yep. >> perfect. >> clerk: okay. >> i think it's just taking a moment. okay. the staff did a fabulous job. the project is zoned for seven stories, but with the density bonus, it sits at nine, so we were able to provide a variety of unit sizes and added b.m.r. next slide, please. before covid hit, we were doing

work parties, and now we are contributing to the capital needs financially and just kind of in a thought partner way going forward, so it's been a wonderful partnership, and i know that they are here to speak and have done a letter. next slide, please, ashley. i'm still seeing the sun one. >> clerk: really? >> yes. >> clerk: okay. let me get out of the full screen, and hopefully, that works. >> so we skips the friends one, but that's okay. i talked to. this one, just briefly about our other community partners. michael did a fabulous job listing them all. cast is who we are giving the shop to, so that will be our ground floor retail space, and

sweet peas is our southern neighbor. we've been working with them on a redesign, and we'll be funding the design and the improvements for their play art. we have just been enjoying meeting all the local businesses and neighbors to talk about the business. next slide, please. this is just a youthful one because you can see the building out to the right and then our bryant street neighbors out in the center. so we have a 25-foot set back between our neighbors and those. and because the topography slopes up, even though our project is nine stories, it's seated down just a little bit. if you look up towards franklin square park where those little people are standing, they don't see too much of the building. >> cara, i don't believe they

put a timer up, but i believe the two minutes has passed. is there anything you want to say to wrap up. >> yes. we do have some slides about shadow stuff, but i think chris covered it beautifully. only thing we did was an additional study that took into account the tree canopy. because it is such a mature tree canopy, the practical sort of effects of the shadow are cut in about half if you take the trees into account. it's about 0.18%, and we are happy to answer questions. thank you very much for your time. >> clerk: thank you. so i understand there's a couple of callers on the line to speak, so first caller, when you're unmuted, please state your name, and you have two minutes. >> good morning, president buell, members of the san francisco recreation and park commission.

thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today. my name is daniel gray. i am the lead representative at carpenter's local 22. [inaudible] submitted a letter in support of the proposed 321 florida street development, and i'm calling in today to voice that support, as well. we not only have a history of working collaboratively with the northern california carpenters, they also have a track record of building their projects once they're approved. 321 florida street is a nine-story mixed use residential building that recently replaced an underutilized underground parking lot with much needed housing units. right now, we are facing

uncertain economic environment. the development has committed to the use of a union general contractor for the proposed development for you today. this ensures area standard wages, health care and other benefits, and opportunities for apprentices to begin or continue their career in construction. this is what allows us to retain an essential workforce here in the city of san francisco. although the projected shadows created by new developments can sometimes cause concern, this is a very minimal net new shadow on franklin square park. [inaudible] before you today. thank you for your service and consideration in moving this project forward. >> . >> clerk: thank you, caller.

next caller. you have two minutes to speak. >> good morning, commissioners. my name is daniel sheeter, and i live across from the park on franklin avenue. i personally support the project. it's great to see that the b.m.r.s exceed the minimum required and are offered to a range of incomes. i would like to use my remaining time to comment on the position of the friends of franklin square since i sit on the project. sorry for the sirens. the friends requested a detailed shadow study and 3-d views to evaluate shadow impact to the park and asked that [inaudible] ultimately, the

board feels that it is only appropriate to evaluate and comment on how the 321 florida project impacts the park. the board supports the project because we believe the new residents living there will be invested in nk fra line square square -- in franklin square and will utilize it. the friends group solicited comments via e-mail and in a virtual meeting. 15 members expressed support, and five commentators expressed concerns about its proposed height and the shadow over the

1700 block of brennan street. that's all i have for my comments today. thank you very much. >> clerk: thank you. caller, are there any other callers on the line who would like to -- >> operator: two more. >> clerk: okay. next caller, please state your name. you have two minutes. >> good morning, commissioners. my name is nico nagle, calling in support of the project at 321 florida street. 321 florida is a welcome addition to the neighborhood for both residents and neighbors alike and we would proudly endorse this promg for a couple of other reasons, as well. first, the proposed mixed use development will replace an underutilized surface parking lot with 169 new rental homes with 34 b.m.r. units

[inaudible]. second, the development team has budgeted space for franklin square park. third, the development team partnered with the community arts trust stabilization to identify the locate of mission district artists who will occupy the project's ground floor space. we'd also like to address the shadow study, just as other people have, which [inaudible] falling on franklin square, and considering it is -- it's important enough that the study does not consider the existing shadow cap of the canopy trees

[inaudible], as well. in conclusion, the project will provide new housing, significantly enhance public realm, strong community benefits, and we encourage you to support this well designed well thought out project. thank you. >> thank you. >> clerk: next caller, please state your name. you have two minutes. >> good morning, commissioners. my name's jolene we, and i am calling in to voice our support for the 321 florida street project. i am an [inaudible] for the board on franklin square, and hopefully you received a copy of our letter stating our support as well as all the feedback that we had collected from our members. just to give you some background on who sons of franklin square is, we formed in 2006, and we really love our

parks. in 2006, we basically worked with r.p.d. staff to renovate the playground. we installed a playground, workout area, and we've hosted several cleanup days at the park. in regards to 321 florida street, we were approached by the developer. they've joined us for a number of times to do park cleanup days, and we are really thrilled that they have agreed to support our capital projects to support the park facilities by pledging $25,000 that will be given to the parks alliance on behalf of the friends of franklin square. so we really look forward to using those funds to, again, make some improvements to everyone that enjoys our park. in addition, they have agreed to host biannual park [inaudible] for the next three years, inviting not only this

but also all the community members to join, so we're very, very excited for this partnership. we have looked very carefully at the shadow study, and as other people have expressed, we feel that the shadow created by the nine-story building, while it is there, is something that is certainly manageable, and it's offset by a lot of other benefits that this project would bring, including additional homeowners or people or residents to the community who are invested in the park, as well as the fact that the developer themselves are committing a lot of support to franklin square. for these reasons, we very much support the project. thank you. >> thank you. >> clerk: if there's anyone else who'd like to speak on item 10, please press star,

three to be entered into the queue. is there anyone else? >> operator: no, just those four people. >> clerk: seeing no further comment, public comment is now closed. commissioners? >> commissioner low? why do i suspect that you have a question? >> i didn't raise my hand, but i do have a question. does the state density bonus preempt the shadow ordinance? >> commissioner, this is stacey bradley. i don't believe it does. i believe the density bonus, if there was a -- the restriction

on multiple hearings, could condense the need for hearings, but it doesn't alleviate that planning code section. >> so if it's -- if the denity bonus is a matter of right, then the developer still has to go and comply -- i could see a situation where you have a density bonus as a matter of right, but it casts shadow and violates the density bonus. what happens then? >> that is a great question, and i don't know the answer to that. we'll research that and get an answer for it. >> this project is in the qualitative analysis of the shadow ordinance. i'm surprised not to hear any opposition with respect to the qualitative analysis of whether

the shadow cast or would create an adverse affect. do we actually have the letters from the friends or anyone else? >> we do have the letter from the carpenter's union. >> michael, can you speak to that? >> sure. the planning department is in receipt of correspondence from friends of franklin square in support of the application, and we can certainly share that with rec and park staff.

>> as well, was there also one from the carpenters? >> the planning department did receive a letter from the carpenter's union, as well. >> and it's in our package, as well. >> okay. i must have missed it. and i assume the carpenters also takes care of the plumbers? any other questions, commissioner? >> don't poke the bear, commissioner. >> any other comments from commissioners? kat? >> i'm here. >> oh, i thought i saw something blinking there. if there are no other comments, we need to make a recommendation to the planning

commission. is there a motion? >> so moved. >> to recommendation that there's not a significant impact. is there a second? >> second. >> it's been moved and seconded. all those in favor? opposed? it's approved. thank you very much. >> clerk: thank you. we are now on item 11, portsmouth square, union square, and civic center plaza, temporary art installation in celebration of chinese new year. >> hello, commissioners. i'm trying to pull up my powerpoint. it's spinning for me right now. here we go. let's see...are you seeing the

presentation now? >> yes. >> or are you seeing -- okay. excellent. thank you. hi. this is dana ketcham, the [inaudible] in honor of the year of the ox. 2021, we now know that due to covid, that the parades have had to be cancelled. the san francisco chamber wants to honor the year of the ox in ways that can be safely social distanced, and they are sponsoring a number of installations of oxes and locations throughout the city -- oxes in locations throughout the city, and this is a little bit of what they

look like. the ox will be displayed from february 2021 through march 15, 2021, and will be at portsmouth, civic center, and union square. we have community support. the china down community center, self-help for the elderly, chinatown ymca, as well as the sponsor. that is my presentation. thank you. >> thank you. >> clerk: thank you. is there anyone on the line who would like to speak on item 11? please press star, three to be added to the queue to speak in public comment. >> operator: no hands. >> clerk: thank you, paul. seeing no further comment, public comment is now closed. commissioners? >> commissioners, any comments or questions?

saddened that the parade can't happen, but certainly support this and move approval. >> is there a second? >> second. >> it's been moved and seconded. all those in favor? any opposed? hearing none, it is unanimous. thank you so much. >> thank you, commissioners. >> thank you, dana. >> clerk: thank you. >> why is the sunsetting in your background? it's noon. >> it's a pensive view. i like to change my backgrounds around and keep you guessing. thank you. >> clerk: we are now on item 12, operational plan f.y. 22 through f.y. 23. >> mr. general manager, who's presenting the operational plan? >> i am, commissioner. taylor emerson, and let me share my screen. >> good morning, taylor.

can you see it? >> yep. >> yepper. >> hi, everybody. it's the operational plan, which just a reminder, is just a subset of the strategic plan that we intent to undertake or accomplish in the next couple of years, and the charter require us to give an assessment of our progress on the last operational plan. so the numbers you're seeing here are a subset, again, of what you saw previously with the strategic plan presentation? 15 of the things that we said we would do in the next couple of years are done, and we're still only halfway through the first year, so there's lots of time to hit on those in progress -- 24 in progress initiatives. separately, we report on the

equity related initiatives, so of these that we intended to do, six have been done, seven are in progress. again, we have another year to make good on our promise. although many things have readjusted, given our new reality. that's my progress report. as far as the new -- whoops, i forgot to change the item down at the bottom. there's only six new initiatives in the strategic plan and in the operational plan, which are mostly about continued responding to the coronavirus. just today, there was another health order issued, and our planning team is busy interprets it and applying

it -- interpreting it and applying it to our work. we're also going to continue participating in the wonderful park streets park. it's like we've created new parks all over town, and it's really exciting to see how people are using these new open spaces. one other small initiative that we're going to do is you may have heard about the community challenge grants, which used to be called neighborhood beautification funded projects. we are going to start shepherding the ones that are in our parks. here's one on lincoln park steps completed recently. going forward, our project managers and our partnerships office are going to be managing these projects. one other new initiative is keyless entry. i just used my own key, which

i've had since 2011. the picture is from 2004. this technology has long been a part of the city safety and security programs, and we are finally moving to implement key card technology at our rec facilities and buildings, so that is a very inspiring thing compared to the current situation. that's it. very quick report. mostly just continue keeping on and providing as much access as possible to safe, clean, and fun parks. that's it. thank you. >> thank you, taylor. >> clerk: thank you. are there any other folks on the line that would like to comment on the operational

plan? please press star, three to be able to speak. >> operator: there are two callers on the line and zero hands raised, ashley. >> clerk: thank you. seeing no further public comment, public comment is now closed. commissioners? >> chair would entertain a motion. am i on, ashley? >> clerk: yep, i heard you. >> i propose that we approve the operational plan as presented. >> thank you. is there a second? >> there's a second. >> motion and a second. all those in favor? any opposed? hearing none, taylor, you have your operational plan approved. thank you. >> thank you for all your hard work. >> thank you. >> clerk: thank you. we are now on item 13, capital

expenditure plan f.y. 22 through f.y. 23. >> good morning, commissioners. i am stacy bradley, deputy director of our planning division or our planning unit, and [inaudible] is here, as well. let me share my screen, the presentation. okay. okay. is that -- all right. okay. similar to taylor's presentation, the capital expenditure plan is a requirement of the charter, and we address the development, renovation, replacement of our capital assets as well as an overview of our acquisitions, and we just provide an equity analysis using our equity metrics, and we also work to provide clear languages between

the strategic, capital, and operating plan. our capital plan this year is comprised of our capital plan initiatives as well as our planned r.p.d. acquisitions over the next five-year strategic plan, and also our capital projects over the next two years, and our capital expenditures in the capital budget. all of these are attachments in your staff report. quick overview of our strategic plan initiatives. some of them, many of them are equity related, and of those, we are working now to complete the named projects from the 2012 bond as well as implementing our newly approved bond, our $239 million, that was approved last november. we're also working towards india basin, towards starting remediation this year and completing our equitable

development plan, completing our m.o.u.s with the parks align and p.e.o. [inaudible] working on maximizing active recreation amenities in collaboration with other city agencies and developers, and working to design some new major play areas and identify location for a senior center. other initiatives include a big focus on golden gate park, opening the g.g.p. tennis center, which will happen shortly, conducting the fiscal needs assessment at the g.g.p. senior center, breaking ground in our middle lake project, and also working to improve pedestrian and bikeless improvements throughout golden gate park. we're also continuing to work on francisco park, finalizing the let'splaysf project, moving

those forward, and working on a couple of other things, fitness class at [inaudible] hectare bar and [inaudible]. next, i want to show you some progress on our projects. we have completed the clean and safe neighborhood parks bond, and the last project we're delivering is bernal heights trail, which has opened. the last bit is just closing out that project, and then, we'll be able to close out the whole -- the whole 2008 bond. 2012 is also going really well. we've completed 11 of the is a named parks, and the remaining four will complete this year. of our statistics programs in the bond, we've completed 41 projects, and we're still pushing to complete the remaining ones. then for the 2020 health and recovery bond, we have five named projects, eight programs, and of the funding that has

been allocated, 72% of that funding is within our equity zones. next, some highlights within our equity zones. margaret hayward has opened up, merced heights and alice chalmers has opened up. 900 innes is in remediation, and coleman recently redid -- sorry, the field resurfacing. and then additional accomplishments, the redwood grove playground at mclaren, the geneva carbine, opening up that playground there.

in construction but almost done, g.g.p. tennis facility, garfield pool, and willie woo woo wong. next, from prop 16-b, the staff has been able to turnaround some really incredible spaces, painting the pagoda and renovating the harbor master's office and refencing around the botanical gardens. for our acquisitions, we are moving them along. we're currently looking at the -- focusing on the 88

bloxom. as you know, guide plates park, the one that i just showed, is the latest one to open, and this year, we'll have shore view park and francisco park opening, and 11 and natoma will park its community -- will start its community outreach. >> that's it for me, and if you have any questions, we're available. >> clerk: thank you. public comment for item 13. if you'd like to make a comment, please press star, three to be added to the queue to speak. paul, is there anyone on the line? >> operator: there's two people listening and zero hands raised. >> clerk: thank you. seeing no further callers,

public comment is now closed. commissioners? >> president buell, you're on mute. >> you're still muted, president buell. >> still muted, president buell. >> you're very animated, but you're still muted. >> you might have to step in. >> now i'm not muted. >> clerk: i muted you because you were talking. >> all right. chair would entertain a motion to approve the plan. >> i would like to move to approve the capital plan for

the upcoming fiscal year 22-23 that was an excellent presentation. >> second. >> it's been moved and seconded. all those in favor? any opposed? hearing none, it is unanimous. thank you, commissioners, and thank you, staff. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> clerk: we are now on item 14, budget, fiscal year 21-22 and 22-23. >> hi. good morning, president buell, commissioners, president ginsburg. i am derek chu, the director of administration and finance, and i'm here to present for discussion only the current year and fiscal year 21-22 and 22-23 budgets for the department, and can you see my screen? >> yes.

>> yes? terrific. so providing a quick fiscal outlook for the city, as in the last couple of years, revenues continue to decline. there's slow growth in various taxes, including the business tax and the real estate transfer tax. interest earnings are declining, cost pressures continue to grow, employee wages were increased 3% this past january. they'll be annualized next fiscal year. citywide costs related to covid-19 and the pandemic recovery have also added to the expenditure cost increases, and topping that off is debt and capital expenditures and inflation on nonpersonnel services. overall, the city is projecting a $411 million deficit in fiscal year 21-22 and a $242

million deficit in fiscal year 22-23. the mayor's priorities include supporting small business and economic recovery and continuing to respond to the covid response. she continues to focus on prioritizing programs with demonstrated outcomes and implementing homelessness and mental health programming. the mayor's budget instructions to the department -- to departments include a 7.5% reduction in general fund plus an additional 2.5% contingency reduction. she ask that departments prioritize core services and present clear tradeoffs, and also notes that proposals can include contract savings.

the last bullet i highlighted, as the recreation and park department is considered a nongeneral fund department because we have a revenue baseline, which means that we must balance our budget using our own revenues. so our department is looking at revenue decreases along the baseline. we are looking at about a 3% cola, which means about $6 million that we'll need to fund in next year's budget, as well as health care costs that have gone up by 6%. so in the current year, we are facing an earned revenue and program revenue deficit. as you can see from this table, our fiscal year 19-20 budget for those revenues shown was

budgeted at $54.1 million. for fiscal year 21-22, we reduced those to $40.1 million due to the pandemic. so give you some understanding of the overall picture, our 19-20 budget was budgeted at $54 million. we actually received $41

million, $13 million less than budget. as i said, we'd hoped to recapture some of that revenue in the fiscal year 20-21 budget, and we budgeted $40.1 million. unfortunately, we're projecting earned revenue incomes to come in at 24.1 million, projecting a deficit for the upcoming fiscal year that we need to close. this table gives you a little bit more detail on the various earned and program revenue categories. for each of the categories, you can see the blue categories is the current fiscal year. the next blue line is the fiscal year actuals. the next is the fiscal year current budget, and then, the full solid line is where we

believe we'll end up in the current fiscal year. so you can see looking left to right, garages are down significantly, as well as admissions, leases and concessions, and rec programming, and then, you can look at the other various categories where we are also seeing significant drops in revenue. one other areas that we're seeing increases in is golf revenues. people are taking advantage of that to everyone's benefit. so how are we closing this $14.6 million revenue deficit? as you can see, $13.6 million is in the general fund,

and .5 million and .5 million are in the gulf and marina funds. right now, to close this gap, we're looking at salary attrition savings. we're not hiring positions in the current year. in the general fund, a savings of 3.4 million. in the open space fund, just over 3 million, and in the gulf and marina funds, .5 million each. in our department, providing critically needed services at the beginning of the pandemic in march of last year through june, the services are continuing in the current year but for that time period last year where we provided emergency child care services, we are expecting to receive fema reimbursement through the c.a.r.e.s. act.

as always, as we move forward in the budget development process, our comprehensive planning -- and then, as taylor and stacy presented, the operational plan and the capital plan. as always, we'll be looking at revenue enhancements and program revenue, the open space fund, and leases and concessions, and we will be looking at expenditure efficiencies and savings. there are two new priority initiatives that we are considering proposing to you in this budget. one is the creation of a new

equity directorate to lead, direct, and implement the department's racial equity action plan, which is the strategic plan for racial equity with specific objectives that are transparent and measurable. they will focus on closing the gaps and improving equity and access to quality parks and open space for all communities in san francisco. the second initiative that we are planning to propose is to expand the park stop program to enhance the health and safety of park users at the city's parks, open spaces, and facilities. as you're aware, the department successfully kept the city's

parks open during the pandemic and resulting lockdowns, providing much needed respite to residents and visitors. this program will also continue the collaboration with the human services agency to provide workforce development opportunities for h.s.a. clients and leverage federal and state funds to support the unemployed and underemployed during this economic downturn. in regard to budget outreach, we are here today presenting this initial outlook to you. we will be holding a staff brown bag lunch next week. our first community budget meeting on january 27. we will then be presenting to przac february 7. we will be back to the operations committee on february 4. the second and final community budget meeting will be held on february 11, and then, on

february 18, we will present to you the final proposed budget for your consideration. the budget will then be presented -- committed to the mayor -- submitted to the mayor's budget office on february 22. that concludes my update and overview on the current year and fiscal year 21-22 and 22-23 budgets. >> thank you, derek. >> clerk: thank you. before we get to public comment, as a reminder, commissioners, this item is discussion only. if there's anyone here who'd like to speak on item 14, please press star, three to be added to the queue to speak. >> operator: there are still two people dialled in and zero hands raised. >> clerk: okay. seeing no further callers, public comment is now closed. >> any questions -- yes, commissioner mcdonnell?

>> yes. just one quick, derek. thank you for the report. on the attrition savings, what does that equate to in terms of f.t.s, roughly? -- f.t.e.s, roughly? >> it's about 110 f.t.e.s, roughly. >> commissioners, we always carry an attrition figure in our budget. it's not 110 additional f.t.e.s or is it? >> no. so the general manager is correct. we have budgeted positions to remain vacant throughout the year, and these are part -- these are sum and part of

that -- that total. but in addition, the mayor's office has significantly slowed down hiring for the majority of city departments, starting -- starting last year, when the city's budget was started under the pandemic. so it's a combination of slower hiring and inability to backfill. some positions that have become vacant, but we're certainly prioritizing the hiring of critically needed essential service workers during this time. >> thank you, derek. any other questions? >> thank you. >> yes, did you have a question, general manager? >> i just wanted to offer a couple of comments, first, by obviously thanking derek and his team for all the prep work here, but i just wanted to offer a little bit about our budget philosophy this year and

some observation of hope during this process. the first observation reflection that you've all no doubt grabbed onto, this is not a good budget. you know, a big chunk of our sources, a big chunk of our operating funds comes from the money we earn, and the money we earn has grinded very much to a halt over the last 11 or 12 months. meanwhile, our cost of operating seem to be continuing to increase. that's not a good math problem. the second reflection i have is that i am determined, as best as possible, to get through this budget, without impacting our permanent staff in

particular. our staff deserves that. we have been asked to do more and more this year, as you've seen from our community report and covid adaptation plan. we are not -- we were not shutdown for business. we are busy -- we were busier than ever this year. we're going to fight with every cell and ounce of brain power to figure out how to navigate this without diluting the expertise and the talent and the effort in our -- in our system. we're going to try to be smart, and we are going to slow down hiring. we have certain positions that are really critical and fundamental, which we will try to prioritize. and by the way, regardless of our own personnel -- our own

department's philosophy, we have to run through the gauntlet that is the mayor's budget staff and human resources staff, and so hiring -- that was what derek was alluding to. and where we are going to try to make very small investments in our -- in our things that are -- we're very passionate about that relate to our core mission and strategy plan, one is core equity. you know, we now need to be responsible and need to own some of the work and some of the changes that we've talked about in our planning process, and to do that, we [inaudible] for existing staff who have full time jobs to take on second full time jobs to implement systemic change in our organizations, and that

works towards putting some teeth toward our talk and trying to add resources that are focused on our racial equity action plan. and then, hiring attrition is bigger, hiring is going to be slower. san franciscans need to be able to continually rely on the safety and cleanliness of our spaces. it has been our magic in the last year, is that our parks, even as other parts of our city have faced its share of [inaudible] particularly in some of our streets and some of our neighborhoods, our parks have -- we worked very, very, very hard to make sure that everybody feels safe and that our parks are clean. we will continue to do that, even in this horrible budget crisis. and while we may not be able to

add an additional 80 park ranger positions, which i think we still need, we are going to continue to invest, make very small strategic investments in our park partners that do help keep our rest rooms space and some of our challenging spaces feeling more safe and more clean. i thought early on in the process, i wanted you to hear a little bit about my philosophy with respect to the budget because while we submit strategic plans and we submit racial equity plans and we submit budget plans, and we submit capital plans, at the end of the day, the most important plan we have is our budget, and that's where we sit. thanks. >> thank you very much. that was all information only. are there any other observations, questions from commissioners?

i don't see any. i believe our next step, ashley, is to head toward executive session. hello? >> clerk: sorry. i was on mute. we're moving over to item 15, closed session. before we -- before i ask folks to get off of the call, we are going to open up public comment on all matters pertaining to the closed session, so we are now in public comment. if you are here to comment on item 15, closed session, please dial star, three to be added to the queue to speak. paul, let me know if anyone raises their hand. >> operator: two callers, zero hands raised. >> clerk: okay. thank you. seeing no further callers, public comment is now closed. so at this time, we would ask all staff who are not pertinent to this item to please leave the meeting. if you would like to comeback,

you can watch on sfgovtv or listen via the call -- you can listen to when we get back on the call-in number. i'm just going to give folks a moment to get off of the call. >> chair would entertain a motion not to disclose all of the matters discussed in executive second. >> second. >> moved and seconded. all those in favor? any opposed? hearing none, it's unanimous. >> clerk: then we're going to take a vote on whether to disclose any or all discussion held in closed session. >> chair would entertain a motion not to disclose any and all discussions held in executive session. >> move not to disclose. >> second. >> moved and seconded.

all those in favor? any opposed? hearing none, it's unanimous. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. okay. so we're going to move on now to item 16, general public 16, continued from item 4. at this time, members of the public who were not able to address the commission on item 4 are now able to 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. paul, if you could let me know if there's any callers. >> operator: yes, we have one caller in the queue. >> my name is [inaudible] i'm trying to speak about the india

basin tidal pool. it wasn't addressed when the dredging operation was projected. i'm trying to bring up this matter that duly impacts land dredging. at a later date, it might be a good experience to do a tidal pool. whether or not we can drop it out or use it in the project, the tidal pool would [inaudible] the issue, and that's only one of the issues in the india basin. a lot of it has to do with phase two and the palace of fine arts. i'm hoping we would be able to deal with such issues before myself and the people get a little too old. thank you. >> thank you, richard. >> okay. >> clerk: thank you, richard. paul, is there anyone else with their hand raised?

>> operator: no, that's it. >> clerk: thank you. okay. seeing no further public comment, public comment is now closed. now item 17, commissioners' matters. do any commissioners have anything they'd like to discuss? >> commissioner mcdowell? >> thank you, mr. chair. so just wanted to just lift up the discussion we had -- not for discussion, but just to name it that i raised at our last commission meeting, the idea of a on going equity moment during our commission meetings that would be, you know, one part celebration of successes and also moments where we might also declare some things that we're focused on improving but just some works still in progress, so just wanted to name that and some spaces to do that on a consistent basis. >> thank you, commissioner mcdowell. and just to note, we've had

some conversations, so i'd like to further that conversation with phil and ashley about how we'd be able to structure that to make it a part of our process. any other comments? seeing none, ashley? >> clerk: great. is there any public comment on item 17, commissioners' matters? please press star, three to be added to the queue. >> operator: there's one person on the line but zero hands raised. >> clerk: seeing no public comment, public comment is now closed. we're now on item 18, new business agenda setting. any discussion on this? >> seeing none. >> clerk: is there any public comment on item 18? >> i'm sorry. just one quick question.

>> go ahead, commissioner mcdonnell. >> no projected date, but just kind of curious, what's the proposed timeline around engaging the commission on the equity plan? >> it's a good question, and it ties into the prior suggestion you've made. i do hope you've noticed, at least in all of my reports, we did discuss tackling operations about our equity work in one way or another, and i'm happy to discuss with you and president buell sort of your -- your vision for how you'd like to see that happen. we are just beginning sort of our phase one implementation work on our racial and equity action plan. we highlighted for you today some budget investments that we want to make. we will be having a leadership

team discussion next week on our racial equity action plan and some internal discussions with senior colleagues about, you know, sort of an implementation path, so we will certainly comeback and give you updates as we make progress and the substance. this is going to be a determined and deliberate but not overnight journey. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> clerk: okay. seeing no further public comment is item 18, public comment is closed. we're now on item 19, communications. is there any public comment on item 19?

>> operator: zero hands raised. >> clerk: seeing no public comment, public comment is now closed. we're now at item 20, adjournment. >> so moved. >> is there a second? >> second. >> been moved and seconded. all those in favor? fabulous. thank you all so much. >> thank you, everyone. >> thank you. >> thank you.