>> meeting on april 28th, 2021, and the time is 5:01.

this meeting is being held by webex pursuant to the governor's executive orders declaring the existence of a local emergency. during covid-19 emergency, the fire commission's regular meeting room at city hall is closed and meetings of the fire commission will convene remotely. you may watch live at www.sfgovtv.org and to participate during public comment, please call (415) 655-0001 and use access code 187 700 4408. members of the public will have opportunities to participate during public comment. the public is asked to wait for the particular agenda item before making public comment on that item. comments will be addressed in the order they are received. when the moderator announces that the commission is taking public comment, members of the public can raise their hand by

pressing star 3 and you will be queued. callers will hear silence when waiting for your turn to speak. operator will unmute you. when prompted, callers will have the standard 3 minutes to provide comment. please ensure you are in a quiet location, speak clearly, and turn off any tvs or radios around you. item one, roll call. [roll call] general public comment. members of the public may address the commission for up to 3 minutes on any item within the commission's jurisdiction. that does not appear on the

agenda. speaker shall address their remarks to the department as a whole and not to individual personnel. commissioners may not enter into debate or discussion with the speaker. the lack of response by the commission or the department personnel is not necessarily constitute agreement with or support of statements made during public comment. i will check the public comment line. and there is nobody on the public comment line. >> president: all right. thank you, madam secretary. public comment will be closed. >> secretary: item 3, approval of the minutes. discussion and possible action to approve the meeting minutes of the regular meeting of

april 14th, 2021. and there's nobody on the public comment line. >> president: all right. public comment is closed and i see commissioner covington. yes. >> commissioner: regarding the minutes, i would like to have included your statements regarding the possibility of setting up a committee. you were suggesting a committee to review slow streets. and that isn't reflected in the minutes. also, i would suggest that slow streets since it is a term of art be capitalized. capital "s" and capital "s." >> president: any further comments on the minutes? >> commissioner: and i would like to move the minutes with

those additions. >> president: let me just see if any other commissioners have any amendments, modifications, comments. i'm not seeing any hands. >> commissioner: i'll second the motion by. >> commissioner: covington. >> president: all right. thank you, commissioner cleveland. >> secretary: and i will take roll call vote. [roll call] it's unanimous. i will amended the minutes as suggested and post them later this week. item 4. chief of department's report. report from chief of department jeanine nicholson including

budget academies, special events, communications, and outreach to other government agencies of the public and reports on administration deputy chief jose vello on administrative divisions. fleet and facility status updates including updates from chief thomas o'connor on the auxiliary water supply system. finance support services and training within the department. >> good evening, president feinstein and other commissioners. greetings everyone. let's start with our vaccine update. we are at approximately 75% and slowly climbing and i think we're seeing this in many places where there are some who are reluctant to still get it, but we are still putting the message out for our folks that it is still available to them

and hoping that the people that have said "yes" will sign up for it. we are continuing to have conversations regarding the up coming budget and lots of fruitful conversations especially around the vision that we have for the department and community paramedicine for one and community paramedic division in this department because we have been so successful of what we do with ems6 and now with the street crisis response team that there are more and more requests and our conversation has been that we need all the support in place for this division,

administrative and otherwise to make it if they want it to keep going. it's really challenging to have one person at the top running it and, you know, and everybody else out on the street and not a ton of support because we need the bodies. so we are continuing to have those conversations being heard about the paramedic division and our street crisis response team was filmed again with chief simon pang by cbs this week and, as you know, it was filmed by nbc nightly news a week or so ago. so, again, we're having those conversations with the mayor's budget office and really trying to figure out a path forward

and i'll keep you updated with those conversations as they move forward. i recently had the opportunity to spend some time with district supervisor connie chan. she is the of the district. i took her to her district's stations. president finestein i know it maddens you that those are not in particular order on the map so let me just say it's out in the richmond district. >> president: that's all right, chief. we'll fix it. >> yeah. and she and i had the opportunity to discuss some of the needs of the department and then on saturday in golden gate park. was so kind to attend our

demonstration and some other folks organized and we provided a field demonstration of those hose tenders. so, you know, so the supervisor -- so it's hard to understand what a hose tender is if you don't see what happens. so she has a good understanding of that now and of our operations and how we would respond in a situation where we don't have all the water that we need. and then, you may have seen i was on nbc, i can't remember when either this week or

we have interdepartmental training on the 5th. we have been working with them to come up with training so we can better understand each other's operations basically. so they can understand about, you know, where we need to go and what we need to do when we're on the scene of a fire in terms of, you know, not running over our hose lines and alike

but also if you're going to pull over, you know, make sure you're not pulling over where one of our vehicles needs to be whether it's an arial truck or what have you. so we are going to have a -- it's a little bit of a modified version from what we did with police because we had awhile there where police would get to the fire first and park right in front or park at a hydrant or some other thing and it was challenging for us. so we've had really good conversations in classes with police. and so that program is being modified and taught to the mta and, you know, they asked if we could train the trainer for them so they could actually deliver this class and we said, no, we would rather actually always have someone from the fingerprint in that room so we

can have a subject matter there to talk them through some things. and, i believe that is all i have for this evening. so thank you, commissioners. >> president: thank you, chief. any questions for the chief of the department? commissioner rodriguez. you could be chief but i don't know that you'd like that job so we'll keep you as vice president. you're muted. >> commissioner: okay. sorry. just out of curiosity, we received a letter about i guess a hostile environment from the party and i guess these issues have come up before about trying to privatize some of the

medical services that the fire department is doing. so is there any response to this or is this just an ongoing process that we are really -- in other words, are we taking any action against this to show that this is going on and we want to not have our members working in this environment? or i would just like to be enlightened on it i guess. >> through the president, vice president rodriguez, is this a letter that was sent from our -- from local 798? i'm not sure what you're referring to. >> commissioner: it says this is set by the san francisco democratic party and i guess it's to stop the hostile work environment of the paramedics of the san francisco fire

department and these continued efforts to privatize public emergency medical services. >> president: this matter is actually not on the agenda. >> commissioner: okay. >> secretary: so i don't know how far we can go into it. the letter hasn't been posted. >> commissioner: okay. i understand. maybe at the end of the meeting i'll request we can put this on the agenda. >> i'm happy to brief you off line as well, vice president. i know exactly what you're speaking of and i'm happy to talk to you afterward. >> commissioner: okay. >> president: questions from any commissioners? comments? i'm not seeing any. i'm sorry. commissioner nakajo. >> commissioner: thank you, madam president. this is not a question, but just a comment and an

expression. in terms of p.r., chief, i thought the department [inaudible] crisis team have gotten great press, good press, on the national news. i also think that's positive in terms of our endeavors as well as the show cases confidence of our team. the other thing i wanted to say is i'm very appreciative of you as the chief of the department. you appear on national news. i caught that segment when you were being interviewed and i think that equally is good in the sense of definitely having representation of our department, but the fact that we have a woman fire chief in san francisco, i thought spoke volumes in terms of the national exposure. the other thing i wanted to say is i really appreciate chief

o'connor for last saturday's drill. yes, and having me join so i wouldn't have any [inaudible] and was greeted by the members in terms of chief o'connor, but also, correct me if i'm wrong chief rubenstein but i think it was stations 12 and 22. and the last thing is that chief nicholson, these presentations by the various components of the department, for example, battalion chief parks, the [inaudible] of that as every package gives help in terms of wellness in terms of services. i'm really looking forward to chief o'connor's presentation. but that's where everybody gets the substance of the material.

thank you, madam president. >> president: thank you, commissioner nakajo. further comments for any commissioners? madam secretary, do we have any public comment? >> secretary: there is no public comment. >> president: all right. public comment is also closed. and i believe we go on to chief bellow. >> good afternoon, president feinstein. chief nicholson. this is my report on the month of march. let me share my presentation. can you all see it? >> president: yes. >> thank you. again, for what i do my report is highlight some of the items that my report and also those item that is because my report is at the end of the month, i've seen the last time as

reported. so going into training, a lot of projects going on right now and in combination with chief arecedos it's been hard to get some of these classes to our members. additionally, we've hosted a class in instant management training not only for our members, but other agencies and we've also had the team develop their skills for the class, it was well attended. continuing to do the training that was given to us by the state. i'll show you some pictures of that that was done. we also have 30 members that have been trained to drive those vehicles when we go to fires. as you said, this a busy month

training. in addition to that, we had and thanks to lieutenant fogul we had more training. in april, we did some night training as well too which is very important for us so we can operate day and night in different environments and we had good results in golden gate park. we have 23 out of the 25 recruits still in the class. week 12 out of the twentyth class. two more weeks of our san francisco skills testing. these are the skills, the ladders, the hoses, appliances that we do on a regular basis and we have ten weeks of testing for that. after that, there's some additional training the crews have to go to which includes hazmat, fire survival that require to complete the firefighter 1 curriculum. once they're finished with that, there's the state testing

where a certified firefighter academy to the firefighter 1 program to the state fire marshal office. so we need to do a state test too. so that's why it takes 20 weeks for someone to finish the academy. we're looking forward to graduation on june 25th and depending on the situation, hopefully we all can be there. some of the things we've learned these past few weeks. what you're seeing here is just a mock-up of a house that by introducing fire and ventilation topics and moving windows or roof openings, you see how the smoke travels and the fire travels. it's very important to understand that. it's a great conceptual idea and you need to understand when you ventilate at the wrong time the wrong sequence. from them then, they'll move on to actual training. they will have live fire and spoke and everything.

depending how you effect ventilation on a fire. the training staff held a training day with deputy sheriffs at the facility. there are many times the first one we develop the skills the reason being is the facilities they have, we arrive there. in order for them to be safe and operating the situation, we held the training for them. they were very thankful for that too. these are some of the pictures they did with them as well. this will be the first one on this apparatus i just want to rephrase how important. not only vaccination sites. this is one we have been doing now for a few saturdays,

supervisor haney was there too. they come in for training, special training they do. and, like the chief mentioned and the virtual tour that happened two saturdays ago and commissioner nakajo, you were there too and other staff and office department staff was there too. a couple of meetings ago continues to push classes for our members and mental health, first aid. it's very involved in the firefighter cancer cohort study. we're trying to track our new recruits coming in to the academy, female recruits and seeing in their careers what is the effect of fire fighting with this gear. should have a baseline for them and in the meantime, we also study core members of the department too. to contain the information and wellness that we have. we continue to have meetings

for the eap rfp. we're working on that to improve it to have a really good culture [inaudible] of counselors that we can help our members whether it's ptsd and all the issues they have too. so we're fine tuning that. and we continue to have safety meetings with different parties to make sure we're addressing all the issues we have. this is a picture that we have this past week at stanford. there's been a cancer study. we're doing research on the pfas exposure which is something we've found in the fire fighting gear. we are seeing what that effect is and also has been for awhile to see what kind of levels they have. what we're doing is demanding that the next generation of turn-out codes we have, we're asking the manufacturers and we're in the process right now

of producing and giving us gear that doesn't have pfos on it. it is a repellant. it was used if more years in the industry, but we also found it's cancer producing too. so we're trying to eliminate that and the industry is coming to that now where we have offers and materials that can do that, so we're really excited to see that and our contract we're doing now trials with exactly that pfas materials. so we're happy with that. so we continue to be busy with the help of vaccination sites. we have a continue to staff this covid response units and we work with the chief of operations in field. like the chief mentioned, we're

up to they never reported it and i'll continue to try to work the members who said no. so we expect these numbers continue to climb. but we continue to climb too. i hope you are receiving good information. showing different topics of health and safety for the members. so it's good to get members engaged in that. stephanie has been collected some of the recipes to our daily routine in the fire house. we are already planning for the fall for the flu vaccine. we understand this year, the flu season has been very small due to everyone wearing masks, but we're planning for the next season and they're working on that too and we're able to

vaccinate those members that are not reachable through different events. we're going to try to get even a higher number than last year. last year, before covid-19 was up to 70%. so we want to get high on that. we tested 71 members, randomly tested through a random program. o-negative. we conducted four tests and they were o-negative and continues to work on alcohol and drug tests for promotional and all the results all were negative. so that's good news. super services. moving along. the finishing touches are being done at the station, we'll continue to have the point of contact issue that we're now actually digging on the ground so the project is moving forward with that. it's caused a little bit of a delay. internally, things are moving along. the walls are giving up and finishing up. you see that on the bay are

really almost done and we are really finishing up pretty soon with that second floor. commissioner finestein as you said is a beautiful area. i think members are going to be extremely happy at that station once they move in. 49 is moving along as well. the staff of ems is working, already has a plan to move in next month. slowly moving with a final date and hopefully a nicer morning in june. so we are only a few months away from seeing the final station 49, but everything's almost complete right now. it's just -- we can't shut down operations so we have to do it progressive moving and the staff 49 under the directive of the chief is working out really well. some of the entire your pictures. some of the kitchen area, the locker room and the storage racks in the main bay of the station. it looks very well almost

completed. we're finishing our vehicle. this vehicle will take some of our mini pumpers or engines. so we're happy to get a new one there. we received a grant for four mini pumpers. and we have several already looking at different models that will work for us. we have twelve engines and contracts. five of them will be delivered this week. they come to us, we put in our performance center shops. so it takes a long time to get these engines and trucks built. we have to make sure they work forrous in our hills and our areas. so we go through vigorous testing process and so we expect those five to be delivered this week. they have some additional equipment to be installed in them and the rest of them should be here by mid may. we still have seven trucks one

of them is back to louisiana like i mentioned before, every apparatus that we purchase goes to test the first one. once we have those kinks worked out, then we plan it just like this one. we're on the first one now, we have some issues with it and now they're working and the manufacturer is coming down from louisiana to make the chassie into that. there was a protest, i believe we're working on that and it should be closed pretty soon too. just a difference depending on the one that lost the bed argued about the other one. we should be moving with that pretty soon too. another boat that we're getting and the latest picture we go from that is close to completion as well and we do expect to see some tests up in seattle up in may and we're going up there to do that. so happy to get a new vessel in

the fleet of the fire department. we have electric fans that are ordered. a little history on the fans that we have is we used to have gas powered fans to evacuate smoke and whatnot. so we've been slowly facing in electric fans. they do have very powerful fans that we can use. so now we have an order to outfit all of the trucks with electric fans. after a fire, we can evacuate some of the smoke for any of the structures visa these fans and we can wait to start the clean up of that so we don't expose our firefighters to smoke when it's not needed. we're also purchasing new gear, safety gear that we have to get. so that's going there. we have received some rescue

boats. surf has been a popular sport. but any manufacturer we tapped in to, they were back ordered and we have new chain saws, ventilation saws, currently expect to have those out very soon and get those out to our truck company. i'm going to talk about what chief o'connor's going to talk about. he'll speak about some of the projects especially the ones that were due in june to the board supervisors and studies. welcome that. all events continue to support the vaccination site at treasure island for other awhile, until the end of the month. our members keep going there. we have a nice event where we did the event and also the chief painted that were just due and painted the golden hydrant. so that was a nice event and it was mentioned already, but thank you again, commissioner

nakajo, it was important for us to expect how our systems work. it helps us immensely through this. that concludes my report. >> president: thank you. shall we first see any questions from the commissioners for chief velo before we move on to chief o'connor's report? >> secretary: and there's nobody on the public comment line. >> president: thank you. public comment will be closed and i see commissioner

>> our infrastructure is aging and i think we're starting to see some early signs of aging infrastructure and the need to start changing out some of these pipes. i just approved having station 28 lateral redone. so we're trying to move on those and then, in those stations where we're seeing repeated backups where we've gone to monthly or quarterly snaking of these pipes, we'll

send a camera down there and there was more than just grease, there was plaque build-up over time. again, it's just age. and during the pandemic, we had more wipes being used. there were wipes being flushed down. winter is probably our worst month. >> commissioner: okay. and you can probably answers the next one chief de witt and that's dealing with the hose tower at station 15 on ocean avenue. why did we select that one to be replaced as opposed to the rest of them being torn down? why'd we decide to keep that one? >> my understanding is that that fire station in particular, there's a mural on it and they wanted to leave one hose tower that represented the history of the city. so basically the rest of the tear downs were contingent and to put up a new tower that's

sizably safe. that's why that one goes down and up again. >> commissioner: so the hose tower at station 15 is supposed to be historic. >> i know there's a beautiful mural on it and perhaps that's why it's chosen. it's also on bedrock. it's also one of the smaller towers. the whole project and that was the one that was chosen. i don't have the why. >> commissioner: yeah. that was my question, chief dewitt is it historic? because it doesn't look historic to me, it was rather new. so we're saving the new one and tearing down the historic one. that's just my comment. that's all my comments, madam president, at this moment. >> president: thank you, commissioner cleaveland.

chief velo. >> it's historic from the 50s. >> president: like the rest of us. not you, but us. okay. >> [ laughter ]. >> president: all right. i'm sorry. commissioner nakajo. thank you for your patience. >> commissioner: thank you very much, madam president. thank you, chief velo. that was very comprehensive. it's amazing in terms of how much you can present in terms of information with all of the categoricals. i just wanted to ask two questions for you, chief velo. i wanted to get a comment in terms of the airport with chief johnson in the sense of we know things are getting a little bit better. vaccines, etc.. i just want to be able to get briefed on what does the traffic look like at the airport and any kind of

perception in terms of update, in terms of the commission and then i would like to add least hear from chief cahaja in terms of the transition going from the field to being the chief of the department. i just want to engage a little bit if you can indulge me. >> absolutely. chief johnson, go ahead. >> sure. good evening, commissioners, president finestein. command staff chief nicholson. commissioner, we are starting to see an uptick in passenger travel. as a matter of fact, they established a group of a stakeholders and every two weeks we do have passenger recovery team that gets together. we're up -- prior to the pandemic, we were having about 80,000 to 90,000 passengers flying out per day. now we fell all the way to

about 3,000 or 4,000 and now we're averaging about 20,000 and they expect a bump the middle of july. they're starting to bring back a lot of employees. trying to build back up. and it's expanding as it's starting to grow also construction's started back up. but the airport has been impacted. we're supposed to get two new fire houses the next couple of years. a lot of equipment a lot of things being deferred. they're going a lot of work on the runways and things like that. we are starting to see a lot of the vendors come back. restaurants and stores are opening back up also. >> commissioner: chief. >> yes, sir. commissioner, you wanted to know the transition from the field to this position. i know you've been quite busy. >> yeah.

it's quite an adjustment. in total, this is my 24th year in the fire service and all of that time has been in the fire house and on the apparatus and i love that, but i'm excited to be in this position. it is a it is busy so time flies. >> commissioner: thank you very much, chief, for indulging me. i have to admit this is the first time we're able to see you in your gold and settled. the first time i think was in the field and the second time was transitional and i just wanted to be able to hear your voice. i'm just at a point of clarity because i'm conscious of it am i saying your last name correctly? can you tell me how you say it? >> yes, sir.

it's kailoa. >> commissioner: kaialoa. >> that's it. >> president: thank you commissioner nakajo. i think you're muted vice president rodriguez. >> commissioner: a couple of questions. a few for i think it would be for dewitt one question to begin with. all these sewer backups and i'm not too clear on this. but the city has passed a bond years ago the p.u.c. i think, it was money for sewer lines can we take advantage of that if our sewer lines. >> i honestly don't know the answer to that.

i imagine it will be in the streets but i will certainly look into it and we'll take advantage of anything we're entitled too. but right now we're using dpw to replace those. i know it was a bond. >> commissioner: like millions of dollars for underground sewer lines. i would think that, you know, we should take advantage of it if we're entitled to some of that. >> i'll look into it now that you've mentioned it. >> commissioner: okay. and the other two parts i have i don't know if this is for chief velo, i see two positions here. one was it was division of training and it's where the item is an ala quarterly

meeting with the state fire training regarding sfi certification and and i've got one more question. >> correct. so what it says is the i credit accredited by the state. and firefighter 1 and firefighter 2 are the crick we are teaching are to be in line and when i explain the weeks that require, the training they're required to do, that's in line with the requirements of the state fire marshal. so we have meetings and stakeholders for the state and especially academies that are accredited by the state. we go there. and in sacramento and now virtual to make sure any updates, changes that happens

to those academies whether they move or add curriculum. so every academy we have, we have the most current training available for the state because they always keep changing things and trying to add more things. so our firefighters when they finish the academy are fully accredited by the state. >> commissioner: okay. thank you. and the last question i have is i also read where it said there was a captain position opening. it sounds like it would be division of support services for the ser bond and i understood that it would be like a temporary position that's funded by a grant for two years and then the captain, whoever it was would be reassigned back into the field maybe or if there was additional funding they would maybe say. but my question is for other bond measures, is this the way it normally goes? are we just trying to take

advantage of the funding that's there? >> i wouldn't say we're taking advantage of it, commissioner. i think the oversight that we want to have our members look into some of these major projects, we have an officer assigned to that. it's paid by partially the bond and the salary. it's just to have somebody that's going to be meetings oversight. checking on things that are going on. so having that officer that's dedicated to those projects, for us, we feel it's very important to have that. in this case, the captain that's there is going to retire in june and we're looking for a new captain or officer to apply for that position. and now that we have the training facility and other stations that are coming up in the pipeline. we want to have continued oversight use with that. >> commissioner: good enough. thank you very much. >> president: question. yes, commissioner covington. >> commissioner: thank you, madam president. thank you for your report, chief velo.

and i just wanted you to, if you can, refresh our memories on how much the grant for the hose tenders was. and the source of grant. >> so, for the hose tenders, there was one that was given to us by the state and two that were in the budget. we got a grant for mini pumpers. the mini pumper grant was for $700,000. so the grant for the hose tender was actually one of them came from the state and two came from the budget. originally, we had five, if you recall, we had five in the budget and due to covid, all the departments in the city had to make some cuts and unfortunately, two were taken from us. our goal is to put them back in the budget.

i think by doing this outreach to some of the local officials, they understand why we need that and we're hoping to see that in the budget up coming. >> commissioner: okay. so it was the mini pumpers. >> yeah. >> commissioner: okay. and, do you recall the amount? >> $700 thousand. >> commissioner: okay. i want to give a shout out to folks at the airport for getting a perfect test of results, 100% and that's fantastic. could we find out a little bit more about that from the chief about the airport. >> yes, ma'am. it's our yearly annual inspections for the park 139 and it encompasses the entire

airport. everything from the remaining records to the amount of paint on the runways. it's a week long inspection and the fire department has a large role in that in that the airport cannot maintain a certificate without an active fire department. we actually struggled from that early on. los angeles had theirs earlier this year, they had 20 efficiencies on theirs. so the airport is really happy about it, really psyched about it and, you know, waiting to do the same thing next year. >> commissioner: before you go, can you talk a little bit about the proposed additional two stations at the airport. >> they're redoing, they're

rebuilding two of the stations. >> commissioner: i see. >> they're going to both be torn down. station one's going to be moving because of an expansion at least they were planning to put in a new terminal where they want to have that and they don't want folks driving on to the airfield private car. but i was in a meeting just the other day where that might be pushed back probably another five to ten years now just because of the huge financial hit we took during covid even though the airport is getting a lot of funds under the recovery act that the president signed a few weeks ago, but still, a lot of it's being pushed back right now. >> commissioner: okay.

>> they are doing some minor modifications to fire houses because of issues like mold and leaky roofs and stuff like that. >> commissioner: thank you for the update. i really encourage our new commissioners to visit the airport and since the airport pays for the majority of what it cost to have three fire stations at the airport, that is a tremendous help to us and the visitors to san francisco and, of course, those of us who are happy citizens of san francisco. so go out to the airport if you get a chance. call first. [ laughter ] all right. thank you. that's all of my questions. >> president: thank you, commissioner covington. any of the commissioners have any further questions? i'm not seeing any hands.

i have one topic i'd like to bring up and i think i should direct it to you, chief velo, and it is with regard to station 35 which is the fire boat station. i guess assigned to peer 22.five. just one of the fire houses that sort of bobbles my mind. i have some concerns because it seems like we have been sort of hit a plaid meyer here or a stopping point here. i was fortunate enough to just so where i'm looking at little squares here. commissioner nakajo doesn't think he's the only one. i was picked up by chief rubenstein on saturday and was taken on a tour.

part of it included station 35 and i can't quite remember when that was, chief rubenstein, but it was a few weeks ago and it was, i mean, it's beautiful. it's in great shape. i first would like to ask you really in terms that i can understand, what is the problem with getting it done? i know it's a hook-up. i know it's a hook-up to electricity and am i correct in thinking that it's basically done except that it can't get bluged in basically, that there isn't a power source for it or am i incorrect about that? >> you're pretty close. they're not quite done, but the finishing touches are being done right now. and you are correct, the main delay and let me just give you a little backup on the times that we had originally.

the substantial completion date originally given to us was february 5th, 2021. the final completion was supposed to be march 18th, 2021. what we have right now is completion of august 19th and a final completion of september twenty-nineth. so we have six months or so delayed so far. now, every project has some delays because different things happen. this one in particular, the point of connection. the point where the grid connects to the fire station gives sufficient load to power the station and this station has not just, you know, we're charging the boats too and a lot of electrical issues that we have there. we get notified by d.p.w. last year in july that there was an issue with this. this project started in 2017 and there was a building -- sorry, electrical engineer assigned to this project. basically, we gave this project

to a company. came through and then the actual building on top and then moved here to the station. so this part of the process was done through that. at one point, the point of connection never connected and it was never addressed that it was not going to be enough at the point that was identified in the beginning of the process to begin at the station. what we have now is a different location that we identified. they're digging in the ground now to get that connection going and get enough power to the station. so it's frustrating to us because we should have been there already and we understand that. basically because d.p.w. pu.c. and this contractor. we're trying to figure out where the ball was dropped but it was dropped and six months now it's going to be delayed on this project. and it's unfortunate. >> president: let me ask you

this. it is unfortunate, is it costing the department any money because we've got a six-month delay that i don't think it appears was caused by anything the department did do or didn't do? >> it is costing us money. what i would say is if it had been addressed in the beginning of the project, there would still be some cost to it. >> president: of course. >> so we have to figure out how much the cost would have been how to address it in the beginning and to properly compared to what it's costing us to do an extension. it could have been that same connection that we have fund now and we're doing now. but there is additional studies, management from d.p.w. that's going to cost us. every time the project is delayed there's management costs. what it does for us. some of the projects that we are in desperate needs for now is not addressed here. that's our concern as well too.

>> president: so is what you're saying is that the fire department is bearing the cost of i will not use it in a legal sense, but a negligent design or a design that did not foresee that this station was going to need the power it was going to need where it was going to need it and that therefore it can't be hooked up as was initially designed. is that a correct statement? >> there was definitely a miss. i would say one thing is that the contractor is not getting paid as this project is not in the completion. because they have a penalty for no payment once the date has passed. they're fighting amongst themselves whose fault and somebody missed the point of connection, the sign from the electrical engineer point of view. >> president: all right. and, just so i'm, you know,

still learning this stuff, is the department of public works the project manager? >> that is correct. we have assigned a team that assists us with the project management of any project we do. >> president: and, are you obligated to use a project manager from the department of public works? >> according to the charter we are. there might be exceptions to legal means that can be excluded, but most of the cases, we are. >> yes. they have rates. >> president: and then does d.p.w. pay the liquidated damages for the towardiness and

failing to miss the completion date by six months? [p

and management fees and all these -- these fees. and they're -- they're messing up. i mean, if i were to point a finger, i mean, if somebody didn't catch this.

and that's what i'm trying to say. they can all point fingers at each other, but this is just eating into the bond money that should be dedicated to station 16. or replumbing the station commission cleaveland brought up, or whatever we need to do. you know, the bond money isn't going to be there forever. and to the extent we're eating through it because of negligent delay, this is not a service to the taxpayers. and it just obviously rattles me a bit. if i'm wrong, please correct me. and i speak -- sorry, commissioner rodriguez, i do see your hand. let me get that out, though. >> so real quick, what you said is true. you know, it goes wages in the bay area, they're getting paid in the bay area. so it's going to be a lot higher

than say bakersfield or whatever. the other part about it and we talked some about this. of how, you know, the fire department really should be able to have their own staff that works on their building, because 50 buildings is a lot of buildings. but i was talking to the head of another union in san francisco today and i mentioned to him what the cost that d.p.w. is charging per member. so, let's say i make 160 -- or $190,000 a year, right? that's going to include my wages and my health and welfare and my, you know, benefits. so, when the cost -- say, $190 thousand, you would think, at least i did, the work is not

being done privately. it's public work. it's for the city. then why are they making so much money? i think they quoted maybe close to $400,000 a year per worker. and to me, that's really bad. i think when you work with people, you have to kind of -- not expose them for what they are in public, because you're going to ruin a working relationship forever, but i really think even the labor business managers of some of the unions here in the city i talked to regarding this, said, yeah, this problem has been going on forever and the unions have complained, because sheet metal, plumbing, carpenters, their

union members work for the city under city contracts. so the unions know what their members make. and they know what d.p.w. would have to pay those members. it's atrocious that they would almost double the -- the wages of the works for a department that is in the city. >> well, i mean, i really agree with you, commissioner rodriguez. and i just happened to look up because we have had plumbing problems. we all know we've had plumbing problems. some of it is age. some of it is maybe things that just occur in life at the station. but the prevailing wage for a union plumber in san francisco is $121.05 an hour. if you multiply that -- which

mr. corso would do much quicker than i can -- but if i do it, say they work 40 hours a week, not counting overtime or double time, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. they never go on vacation. you're looking at $258,000 per year. not $400,000 a year. i want to be clear here we're sucking up bond money, which is a detriment to the citizenry, or sucking up department money which is a detriment to the

i believe it was close to $400,000 for station 16. and we were told that, no, d.p.w. would -- that money, because they spent it on management fees. >> yes. i remember that conversation well. and, so, i do share the frustration on the part of the chief and her command staff, as well as my fellow commissioners. we just need to figure out how to correct this, because this is unfair and unjust. that's all i have to say. >> thank you. >> commissioner cleaveland: president, i am -- i think it's

very ironic, quite frankly, that the department of public works was put in charge of managing all the construction projects and the maintenance projects in the city so there wouldn't be any corruption. getting their buddies to do the plumbing jobs at the fire stations that need it. and here we are with the public works department. so it's ironic their management of our processes is costing us such a huge markup, quite frankly. and if those same dollars were given directly to the fire department to manage our own maintenance, i bet you we could get a lot more value out of every dollar from those bonds, as well as from our general fund every year. so that's my only comment. it's very ironic. and i would like to see us as a

commission look into what it would take to make those changes. i would like to see the language that says we have to use public works to manage all of the construction projects. i'd like to see the language. and perhaps pass a resolution urging changes in that. >> president feinstein: thank you, commissioner cleaveland. i agree with you 100%. that i think that as leaders, that's what our job is. and this is just appalling to me. just appalling. so, further comments? maureen, i can't -- i'm so busy being appalled, i can't remember if we did public comment or not. >> we did call for public

comment. >> president feinstein: all right, thank you very much. i'm going to then move along. and thank you, chief o'con, er, for your patience. i'm sorry, forgive me. >> we are all set to begin? >> we are all set and you have the ball. >> all right, let's see if we can do this. all right, good evening, president, vice president, commissioners, chief, i'm assistant deputy chief tom o'connor and i'm honored to give this presentation. i'm going to start in 1906, but don't panic, i'll get to 2021 very quickly. so the 1906 earthquake put to

rest the debate over the construction of the emergency fire-fighting water system. originally pleaded for by the chief sullivan, who ironically enough was to die during the earthquake and never see his system be built. but he advocated for a dedicated emergency firefighter water system for years and years and years. and that's a loss of over 28 builds, 300 san franciscans, the chief saw it finally become realized. in 1908, san francisco approved a bond for -- very briefly, you have the core facilities. you have the reservoir holding

10.5 million gallons. the jones street tank. station 1, here at headquarters, down in the basement, pump station 2, we foot of the van ness, which can pump 10,000 gallons per minute. we have 135 miles of pipe. 1600 high pressure hydrants. 229 cisterns. and five manifolds for our fire boat. so, the original a.w.s.s. or auxiliary water supply system, you'll hear interchangeable terms. a.w.s.s. and there is also e.f.w.s., the emergency fire-fighting water system. which is a all of them together.

it was transferred to the puc and they conducted an initial assessment and found that only 40% of san francisco had the reliable enough water supply to fight fire generated after a 7.8 earthquake. if you could see on the map, i'm not sure if it's big enough. but the light blue areas in the western and southern neighborhoods, they had the lowest scores, meaning they're not served by the a.w.s.s. system out there and they serve coverage in these neighborhoods. this is when bonds used to be issued to improve and strengthen our system. there is also research demonstrating the vulnerabilities of urban areas to fire following earthquake. the greatest issue is a failure of water supply systems in post earthquake suppression

activities. with every earthquake, you have x number of ignitions, whether it's chemical, gas, or electrical. and you're going to y number of water main breaks. it's this intersection of x and y where you have the greatest problems post earthquake. and certain researchers, dr. hawthorne, have noted that planning emergencies together have been incomplete. in 2011 study, he called for a greater liaison between fire departments and water departments. so we kind of looked back at this paper in 2011, the birth of the puc and the liaison position where water departments and fire departments are viewed as coequal in the fire-fighting activity, because the best

fire-fighting is going to worthless without water at hand. the duties and responsibilities of the liaison is to oversee and facilitate all efforts related to the puc management. the water supply system. to coordinate all puc in expansion of the a.w.s.s. system. to manage the portable water supply. lead strategic planning efforts. and representing the department at meetings and community events. now the shared goal of the puc and the fire department obviously is to improve and expand our water supply system. so in 2010, added additional $54 million to the efforts ecertificate.

we have 6 pipeline an tunnel projects completed. seismic upgrades that are almost completed at pump station 2. it's capable to feed lake into a future a.w.s.s. system. and we have university mound reservoir connection to the a.w.s.s. system. now, in 2018 and 2019, there was a grand jury report entitled act now before it's too late, expand our high pressure emergency fire-fighting water system. they found despite the improvements of 2010 and 2014, there were still very large swaths of san francisco that were without adequate water supply in the event of a disaster or earthquake.

in the civil grand jury made the following recommendations. they want to address water systems throughout san francisco. as interim measure, they called for purchasing 20 water supply vehicles. they wanted the city to conduct research on the west side of san francisco. they want us to present a more detailed analysis of the emergency fire-fighting water system needs, so a water demand analysis done on a block by block basis. originally, there were reports done in 2014 and 2018 that looked at the city through fire response areas. or they followed the first alarm areas of firehouses. and they did analysis of water demand after an earthquake for every first alarm area, but the grand jury wanted that broken down for a more granular look at how much water we do need in event of a disaster. they called for a full plan to

be presented to the board of supervisors for the emergency fire-fighting water system by december 31st of this year. and they refugee -- requested that the budget and legislative analyst review. eser 2020 was a response to the civil grand jury. the board of supervisors put the bond on the ballot. and the bond passed overwhelmingly with $623.5 million in funding. and the specific projects for this bond were west side, potable emergency fire-fighting system, a manifold and as i stated early, a salt water pump station analysis with the feasibility of building a pump station on the west side of san francisco. the biggest component of the

bond obviously is the west side -- madame president -- the potable emergency fire-fighting water system. this is a hybrid solution to the original solution. it was designed to meet the robust standards that the fire department had. but it's going to utilize the same or better earthquake resistant pipes. on the right, it's earthquake resistant pipe. it's a flexible iron pipe used in japan for many years and its withstood earthquakes of 8.0 on the richter scale. we're going to build a better, faster stronger in the richmond and sunset districts. and the potable emergency fire-fighting water system has two main benefits. number one, it's going to give

us that high pressure water supply we need. but it's also going to supply an additional source of drinking water after a disaster. so, the water main breakage that i was talking about earlier post earthquake, they're going to leave large portions of san francisco without water, but with this new pipeline in the neighborhoods, this will be a secondary source of water to help during the recovery and rebuilding phase after an earthquake. as you can see in the diagram, this is from the budget and legislative analyst report. the alignment for the west side is going to run from lake merced pump station up to the yellow piping into the red zone, into the sunset district, up through the park and then into the richmond. and it will actually stop up around this region of the richmond as phase one. and that's phase 2 will bring it

back in the loop past sunset and back to lake merced. so there are two phases for this new rollout. but the first phase is funded by the eser 2020 bond. this also has four connections to water sources at two locations. we have lake merced pump station which generates 30 million gallons per minute. and then the hetch hetchy. and lake merced, we can pull water out of the lake that holds 1.2 to 2 billion gallons. and we have a feed from sunset reservoir with a feed from north basin and the hetch hetchy regional water supply. during the up coming projects with the eser 2020 bond, we have the completion of the study that has to be presented to the board of supervisors by june 30th of this year. we have the completion of the

neighborhood detailed analysis, again by june 30th of this year. we have to develop a comprehensive city-wide plan by december 31 of this year. and that will analyze whether the board of supervisors want to present another separate eser bond just solely for the a.w.s.s. system as well as securing additional post tenders to bridge the gap until we get the full up and running. i included a map from one of the draft. this broke san francisco down into five regions for the salt water pump station study. we have the southern dunes. you have the rocky area south to china beach. then you have the rocky north. then the north bay front from port point to pier 23. and then the east bay front.

and each of these areas present, you know, geological and engineering challenges to set up another salt water pump station. but the most challenging aspect of that study is the intersection of all these areas run into so many different regulatory bodies, that it could take years and years to get the permitting necessary to build them. and i can give you a brief run down on some of them. there is the california coastal condition, bay conservation development commission, california land commission, regional water control board, fisheries and i could go on down the list. it's a confluence of so many regulatory bodies, i think that will be our greatest challenge with the salt water pump station. nothing insurmountable, but it's down the road quite a bit because of the challenges.

we have all the reports due in june and december this year. we took it on ourselves to begin the drills. we've had an exercise at pump station 1 here, with the puc and the sfd performed together. we did a demonstration of district 11 for supervisor safai. we did another host demonstration this saturday which was attended by wheelchair nicholson, and chief finkelstein. tomorrow morning at 9:00, we have a tabletop exercise with the puc simulating an earthquake and working on our disaster protocols. and we're working on setting up security demonstration city-wide for awful the supervisors to show our strengths and weaknesses we have in different districts. we can show them the strengths in district 1 and 3. and the lack of resources in 11,

10, 4, 7. we really want to have the decision-makers be comfortable with what we're presenting and what we need moving forward. i've been lucky in this position that i'm working with a lot of agencies that are planning so far ahead. we're looking at eser -- a.w.s.s. in 2040, 2050. and trying to map out the growth of san francisco and where we need to build this system so we don't get into another situation like pre-1906 where we're saying we need to build it out. we're building it out prior to the disaster that will be coming our way. so that in a nutshell is the roles and responsibilities and duties of the puc liaison. and i can answer any and all questions you may have. maureen, do i take it away? >> there is nobody on the public comment link? >> president feinstein: thank

you, madame secretary. public comment is therefore closed. and as soon as -- i can see everybody again. questions or comments from the commissioners? commissioner cleaveland? >> commissioner cleaveland: madame president, and thank you chief o'connor. great report. great update. we have needed this for some time. and i had a quick question. and that is do you think we'll be able to have that comprehensive city-wide plan done by december 31st of this year? >> absolutely. we're already working on estimates for the distance between hydrants right now and pipe overlays in the richmond and the hunter point area. and trying to give a robust presentation to supervisors to show what we need and need to do. i'm confident it will be done. it's in the early initial draft stages, but i think by december 31st it shouldn't be a problem at all. >> commissioner cleaveland: once

we have the report, we can go to city hall and say we need a special eser bond just for the auxiliary water system upgrade, correct? >> exactly. exactly, commissioner. >> commissioner cleaveland: thank you. thank you, madame president. >> president feinstein: thank you. any further comments from any commissioners? commissioner nakajo. >> commissioner nakajo: thank you very much, madame president. thank you. that was a comprehensive report totally. i wanted to ask basic questions and before i ask my two questions, one of them i think you delivered it in the sense of how this would be financed. and i heard commissioner cleaveland talk about the eser bond. one of my questions was a projection of what it's going to

cost in terms of expense to produce this overall. i think you answered my question as to when you think this would be completed. i'm talking about the complete system. and i'm not sure my notes look like 2050. can you address both of them? but first, can you address, if you think you need to, i didn't hear -- unless i missed it -- the description of clean water versus salt water. and how that plays between the truck systems and pumping systems. i asked that because i think part of the report was the information on how much it would cost to do a pump station that used salt water. so i just wanted to be able to get clarity, is the system set up to use two levels of water

resource? clean as well as salt? and i'll stop there, chief. >> sure, commissioner. so our current system, the a.w.s.s. is cleared to use both fresh and salt. the salt is used to as a last ditch attempt if the tanks are drained. we can pump into the system through 1 or 2. and introduce salt water to the system. that's the backup to the backup. when we look at the new potable in the richmond and sunset district. it's a dual use system, it's for fire-fighting needs and a secondary source of drinking water. you would only introduce water from lake merced under an emergency order if this was the conservation of unimaginable proportions. but to have the ability to introduce it in the system, you have to flush it out again,

issue a boil water order. then work on the salt water pump station, but in the interim, there is the capability to introduce lake merced into the system for the richmond and sunset districts. i can't a fire big enough we couldn't put it out with lake merced, but we do have that capability. >> commissioner nakajo: i think that answers my question, because part of this was clearing up for me that there was information presented to me that said that clean water through the system is a good system compared to if we needed to use salt water, there is a system. but there was some discussion

that our pipes -- our hoses would be compromised once we used salt water. and i didn't know if that was compatible with our system. and if we did use it, i heard you say, we have to flush our equipment. and to me, that takes time. unless there is a system that takes in salt, flushing it out and gets it into clean. chief, is that anything you else you want to share with me on that -- or us? >> i hear you, commissioner. it would take time, but this is backup to the backup. we really had a bigger ahead of us. it's to be prepared for the worst of the worst. in 1989, it was the backup to the backup, to the backup. the fire boat with the hose

tender. so we want plays in our playbook available. >> commissioner nakajo: okay. one more question, chief. you talked about the eser bond financing this. is that correct? and then what kind of dollar figure are we talking about with this eser bond? i'm just curious in terms of that. and did you confirm that this might be complete by 2050? that sounds way out there. >> we're putting together a variety of options for the board of supervisors, what we hope to look like in 2030 and 2040, between the bond measures being put out now. once the final design is conceptualized, then it's costed out. then we say, here's the cadillac, the buick and the mitsubishi model. which one will the voters go for? part of the demonstration is to

have the supervisors be familiar with our disaster preparedness and what the costs will be. generally speaking, the reception has been fantastic so far because it's nice to talk to the decision-makers in a casual atmosphere and let them see the equipment we have. let them meet the members, the chief and the command staff. and yourself, commissioner, it was great you came out. it shows the importance of disaster preparedness and to impress upon them what we need to do going forward. >> commissioner nakajo: one last piece. at one point i served in the commission and that grand jury finding in terms of the reference that you made, it was there that i served. this has been a long subject matter as your presentation indicated. that grand jury, i'll use the term kind of kicked me in the behind to kind of accelerate.

and being a person in san francisco that experienced -- one of the questions was where were you? because it was a lifetime experience with that. for myself speaking. but i couldn't imagine if -- went up and there wasn't a system that we could deal with in terms of basically putting it out. thank you very much, chief, i appreciate your information. madame president, thank you. >> president feinstein: thank you, commissioner nakajo. chief nicholson? >> chief o'connor, do you know how many days of fire-fighting for these water sources would run out? do we have any sort of estimates on that? i feel like there was some talk of it, but it has escaped my brain. >> there is a variety of modelling going on with the water demand study. so, what it's contingent upon,

and thinks the work of dr. hawthorne, he estimates it will be 90-100 ignitions. you the of those 90-100, 20 can be put out by citizens. this is where i feel mucky. you have the ignition and then the discovery by the citizen and then there is the reporting phase. which is the third part of the equation. the reporting phase is the most difficult, because communications will be down. phone lines will be jammed. so getting the fire reported and as we all know fire grows exponentially, that's the biggest sort of unknown variable as to how big the fires will grow. then there is response. and then there is suppression. so some of the fires will be held to content. some will be a fifth alarm. so it's all -- it's all -- there are estimates from 24 to 72

hours and the other unknown variable of how many water main breaks there may be and how many failures of the a.w.s.s., the old system. so there will be a range of answers on the water demand needs before that comes out and we're still kind of working the variables on that. we're can looking at a host of issues for the report and the draft, and we don't know as to how many gallons of water yet. we have rough estimate. and we don't know how many hours to put the fire out. i guess long winded way of saying i'm not sure, but it will take a lot of time and a lot of water. >> thank you, perfectly clear. [laughter] >> other questions? from any other commissioners?

commissioner covington? >> i don't have a question so much as a comment. and that is when we found out that the civil grand jury was going to be looking into what they considered deficiencies, we really did not know what that meant. and when the report came out, it was tremendously informative. and it really help bolster the department's assertions that there are certain things that need to be done and money has to be put behind those things. so, the grand jury report, the civil grand jury report, was extremely helpful to us. in terms of getting the focus where it should be, which is what do we do next to prepare?

so, i thank the grand jury because they're like us, they're citizen volunteers. they're not paid for doing this research. and talking to people. and formulating some ideas. so, it really is good. and our headquarters of the pump station as well. which is also very nice to know that headquarters has a very, very good chance of surviving. whatever comes. all right, thank you. >> thank you. further questions? i see none. thank you. chief o'connor, very, very informative and you're right, i'm still learning the acronyms. and i'm getting better. but i really appreciate it. thank you very much.

and i know the other commissioners do as well. anybody else? okay. madame secretary? >> no public comment. >> president feinstein: all right. public comment is closed. thank you. >> item 5, commission report. report on commission activities since last meeting of april 14, 2021. >> we know commissioner nakajo has been very, very busy. he's been all over the place. anything you'd like to add, commissioner nakajo? >> commissioner nakajo: ask questions about how things are as they roll out. i'm cautious to --

[indiscernible] -- my -- [indiscernible] [indiscernible] -- be there in an official capacity was great. >> president feinstein: i think there is something the matter with your audio. we're only getting every other word. is anybody else having trouble hearing? >> yes. i thought it was just me. >> i'll conclude. that's all i need to say. >> oh. commissioner cleaveland. >> commissioner cleaveland: i have the pleasure of having a meeting with the leaders of the guardians of the city this past month. a couple of weeks ago actually. with james lee, paul berry and dave eberle. and they -- i think we need to

invite them to come and be -- make a presentation to our commission at some future date. they've been working on a strategic plan and they should have that finished shortly. i did discuss the meeting i had with them, with the chief following that. and passed on the suggestions that they would to see a representative. it's been one of those things, they haven't had a representative from the fire department on the gotc board, which is the non-profit organization that represents the fire department, the police department and the sheriff's department in terms of their historical vehicles and apparatuses and maintains really the history of our department and the other two departments as well. both of those departments, other departments, have representatives who regularly attend and participate and speak on behalf of their departments

as these g.o.t.c. meetings. and we desperately need to have representation from the fire department on the g.o.t.c. board. so i would like to see that happen. and hopefully that can happen as soon as possible through the appropriate channels. there is also a need for outreach to the members. the 1800 or so members of the fire department, how many of our members of the fire department even know what g.o.t.c. stands for. or do they know much about the history of the fire department? do they know much about the effort to preserve and restore the historic vehicles and apparatuses that we have -- that we still have? and then lastly, they requested that the monies from the willman fund, that is under our direction as the commission,

that they requested that the balance of the willman fund be transferred to the g.o.t.c. so that's something further for us as a commission to consider at some future date. that's all i have to report. thank you, madame president. >> president feinstein: thank you, commissioner cleaveland. any further comments? reports? all right. madame secretary. >> there is nobody on the public comment line. >> president feinstein: public comment shall be closed. >> item 6. agenda for next and future fire commission meetings. discussion regarding agenda for next and future fire commission meetings. >> president feinstein: requests? commissioners? yes, commissioner cleaveland? >> commissioner cleaveland: i would like this reiterate my interest in having the g.o.t.c.

put on a future agenda. not necessarily next week or even next month. but when they are ready, i'd like to have them on the agenda to present more than just where they are today, but where they've come are from and a -- from and a little history of the organization so that the general membership and the fire department can learn the importance of g.o.t.c. and learn a little bit about the history and the general public would have an opportunity to learn a little bit about how they can become involved in helping to preserve our fire department's history. so, that's it. >> president feinstein: anybody else?

>> vice president rodriguez: this is for chief o'connor. thank you for your report. i've been wondering where this was going to go eventually. obviously, there is such a big need for this. when you talked about a salt water, would that be like a duplicate of what you have at the end of van ness street? >> no, that was built in a different time and era where permitting wasn't as important. so open water intake like that is subject to a lot more scrutiny now. so i don't think it would be along the same vein, but something similar to that. it all depends on where you put it. the open water one can be cheaper because you can get closer to the pipeline, but there are more regulatory agencies and permitting fees are higher. it's a slant well, where you dig down under the coast and into the sandy layer of the ocean so

there is less wildlife restrictions. but you have a longer pipe are-run to get out there. they all present challenges, but no, we don't build one similar to the two-pump stations we have now, because they're grandfathered in from the early 1900s where there were less agencies looking over it. >> thank you. >> president feinstein: yes, commission covington? >> i wonder, madame secretary, do you have a list of topics that have been presented previously? >> well, i have suggestions. i have nothing set in stone for the next meeting or the future. but we have cost recovery for surf, cliff and bay rescues. slow street. and an update from chief on

division of training and status on current academy class. >> okay. i think we have slow streets and also what are the spaces? you know -- >> shared spaces. >> shared spaces, yes. it was also on that. on this, i believe. unless they're two different things. i don't have anything to suggest. i was just wondering what was out there that we have expressed interest in and getting more information about. >> any further suggestions from the commissioners? or command staff? all right. >> there is nobody on the public comment line. >> president feinstein: very good. public comment is closed. thank you. >> item 7, adjournment.

>> i move that we adjourn. >> i second. >> president feinstein: vote to adjourn. >> vice president rodriguez: aye. >> commissioner nakajo: i affirm. thank you. this meeting is adjourned at 6:53. >> thank you. >> thank you, everyone.

>> he is a real leader that listens and knows how to bring people together. brought this department together like never before. i am so excited to be swearing in the next chief of the san francisco fire department, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome, jeanine nicholson. (applause).

>> i grew up total tomboy, athlete. i loved a good crisis, a good challenge. i grew up across the street from the fire station. my dad used to take me there to vote. i never saw any female firefighters because there weren't any in the 1970s. i didn't know i could be a fire fighter. when i moved to san francisco in 1990, some things opened up. i saw women doing things they hadn't been doing when i was growing up. one thing was firefighting. a woman recruited me at the gay-pride parade in 1991. it was a perfect fit. i liked using my brain, body, working as a team, figuring things out, troubleshooting and coming up with different ways to solve a problem. in terms of coming in after another female chief, i don't

think anybody says that about men. you are coming in after another man, chief, what is that like. i understand why it is asked. it is unusual to have a woman in this position. i think san francisco is a trailblazer in that way in terms of showing the world what can happen and what other people who may not look like what you think the fire chief should look like how they can be successful. be asked me about being the first lbgq i have an understands because there are little queer kids that see me. i worked my way up. i came in january of 1994. i built relationships over the years, and i spent 24 years in the field, as we call it. working out of firehouses. the fire department is a family.

we live together, eat together, sleep in the same dorm together, go to crazy calls together, dangerous calls and we have to look out for one another. when i was burned in a fire years ago and i felt responsible, i felt awful. i didn't want to talk to any of my civilian friends. they couldn't understand what i was going through. the firefighters knew, they understood. they had been there. it is a different relationship. we have to rely on one another. in terms of me being the chief of the department, i am really trying to maintain an open relationship with all of our members in the field so myself and my deputy chiefs, one of the priorities i had was for each of us to go around to different fire stations to make sure we hit all within the first three or four months to start a

conversation. that hasn't been there for a while. part of the reason that i am getting along well with the field now is because i was there. i worked there. people know me and because i know what we need. i know what they need to be successful. >> i have known jeanine nicholson since we worked together at station 15. i have always held her in the highest regard. since she is the chief she has infused the department with optimism. she is easy to approach and is concerned with the firefighters and paramedics. i appreciate that she is concerned with the issues relevant to the fire department today. >> there is a retired captain who started the cancer prevention foundation 10 years ago because he had cancer and he

noticed fellow firefighters were getting cancer. he started looking into it. in 2012 i was diagnosed with breast canner, and some of my fellow firefighters noticed there are a lot of women in the san francisco fire department, premenopausal in their 40s getting breast cancer. it was a higher rate than the general population. we were working with workers comp to make it flow more easily for our members so they didn't have to worry about the paper work when they go through chemo. the turnout gear was covered with suit. it was a badge to have that all over your coat and face and helmet. the dirtier you were the harder you worked. that is a cancer causeser.

it -- casser. it is not -- cancer causer. there islassic everywhere. we had to reduce our exposure. we washed our gear more often, we didn't take gear where we were eating or sleeping. we started decontaminating ourselves at the fire scene after the fire was out. going back to the fire station and then taking a shower. i have taught, worked on the decontamination policy to be sure that gets through. it is not if or when. it is who is the next person. it is like a cancer sniper out there. who is going to get it next. one of the things i love about the fire department. it is always a team effort. you are my family. i love the city and department

and i love being of service. i vow to work hard -- to work hard to carry out the vision of the san francisco fire department and to move us forward in a positive way. if i were to give a little advice to women and queer kids, find people to support you. keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep trying. you never know what door is going to open next. you really don't. [cheers and

hi everyone. i'm san francisco mayor london breed and it has been a very, very challenging year for all of us in san francisco, but i've got to tell you, we're coming alive again. we're starting to open the city again. i see you urban alkamine. thank you for all the work you do to keep us safe out here. we are here today because we are taking an additional step further to get the city re-opened. i'm joined by a number of our city department heads including

our city administrator car men chiu and our librarian michael lambert. and, let me tell you, michael has not only been running this library, he and so many of our librarians and the people who work for the library here in san francisco, they more than almost any other department have been working as disaster service workers to help address this pandemic. they've been down at covid command at mascone center showing up every day doing whatever it takes. organization. going out to our hotels where we are helping to support our homeless residents. going out to the community hubs to help support our kids. preparing virtual lesson plans and reading time. i did a reading time for kids during this pandemic as well virtually, of course.

doing so many incredible things to help get our city going during a very challenging time. i know many of us, we wish we didn't have to go through this this past year, but what we should look at is the sacrifices we made and where we are now today. san francisco has vaccinated about 60% of the residents here in the city, more than the state and national average. and, over 85% of of those who are over the age of 65 have been vaccinated. we are on the road to recovery. yes, covid is still here whether we want it to be or not. yes, we still have to do our parts and distance and wear a mask and not get too comfortable because the last thing we need is another surge and the need to shut this city down again, but the fact is san

franciscans, we are on the road to recovery. we are on the road to building a stronger san francisco. and, that gives me hope for the future and, today is not just talking about our recovery. it's also looking at re-opening our city. re-opening our libraries. of course, we're going to start with the main library and then we're going to head over to chinatown, mission, and a number of the community libraries and i don't know if you know this, but i grew up in san francisco, and, at that time, there wasn't all this computer internet stuff that we had today. we had to actually go to the

library because we would get a look report assignment and the western edition library was my library of choice. i went to ben franklin middle school. and we had to go through a card catalog to find the book, it was in alphabetical order and that's how we did things. now it's all computerized, it's easy. and, in fact, i still have a library card and now i download my audio books and other things for free. so all those books i forgot to bring back, they just disappear after they expire on my phone. a lot different than it used to be. no excuse for those of us who want to take advantage of reading, of using the computers and other things in the library, we're finally opening and i just, i can't be more grateful to this department and what they have done. all of its employees. all of the people of san francisco, we did this

together. we made this happen together. yes, we have our challenges like any other major city. we still have so much work to do to unaddress the inequities that continue to exist in our society. but we're in a good place right now and we should be proud. we can take a moment. we can take a moment to enjoy this time and to recognize the fact that we are here, that we have an incredible opportunity, and we have a future to look forward to. that's what today is about. it starts with our libraries. the giants and the warriors are now able to play with fans. i saw folks out there soccer leagues, a bunch of kids playing in soccer leagues. i went to the tennis center in golden gate park, packed with people. of course, being responsible, i

saw folks walking their dogs and doing all kinds of fun stuff in our amazing parks system. so we are on the road to recovery and i am looking forward to the day when we can finally throw these masks in the area and wave them like we just don't care because i don't even know what any of you look like anymore. so, with that, thank you so much. today is about opening our libraries as a first step in our road to recovery along with other many of our incredible city assets for the public to enjoy and, with that, to talk more specifically about our library and the work that we're going to be doing to move our city forward is our city librarian michael lambert. >> thank you so much. it feels so good to be here.

thank you, madam mayor. thank you, so much for your leadership for guiding us all through this past year and welcome everyone. today is a special day. i'm so honored to be here with mayor breed and announce the books are back and your san francisco public library is re-opening. as our mayor mentioned, she is a power user of the library's collections and we appreciate all her support for our institution and our library staff. i also want to acknowledge the president of the san francisco public library commission, dr. mary wardell garduzi and library commissioners connie wolf, dr. aronia lopez and commissioner john lee and the executive director marie

zapella. thank you all so much for your advocacy and leadership on behalf of our library system. also here, is carol eisen. i have to say carol has been a tremendous partner this past year working with our staff who have been activated as disaster service workers and more recently helping us to recall staff so we can re-open the library. thank you, carol, for your partnership. it's so excitingtor here at this moment and i am beyond thankful that we're finally able to re-open our libraries for in-person services. it's been a long, hard 13 months, but now we're in a position to safely re-open our libraries for brows and bounce. patrons will be able to experience browsing our stacks again something i know they have dearly missed.

we'll also have our public access computers available for printers and high-speed internet access. and, it's really fitting

we'll still be offering spl to go and next week we're going to open the patrero branch and the west portal branch tuesday. we should have all of our branches re-opened by the fall before the start of school. and i really want to thank the community for all your patience and support. you've hung in there and i just really appreciate all your patience as we phase this re-opening and the coming weeks and months ahead. at this time, i'd like to introduce our city administrator carmen chiu.

in 2019, city administrator chiu partnered with the challenge initiative to compile a woman's book list to inspire the next generation of women leaders. we're so fortunate to have her support in getting our libraries re-open. city administrator chiu. >> when i was a little girl, i can remember going to the library. i maxed out every single book i could possibly get with my library card. it was always some kind of a cartoon, garfield or whatever it might have been at the time. and, i have to say how important it was for me to be able to access the library. my parents didn't have a whole lot of money. it wasn't as if we could go to a store and pick out a book or the latest edition we've been hearing about or reading about in school. for me, and many people like me in my community, being able to go to the public library was the one place you got to go where you had the opportunity

to get the books you saw in school. you were able to borrow and bring it home. take to your bed or read it on the couch. it was a place that created opportunities. the opportunity to dream and the opportunity to learn. and i think for so many san franciscans, being able to see the libraries re-open, our public libraries re-open is a blessing. i think san francisco has among the best library system in the entire country and i want to thank michael lambert, our city librarian and all of our commissioners, our friends of the library, our mayor for your support of our library system. today, when we think about this announcement, why i'm so excited, you know, covid-19 has not been kind to people. it's a disease that has required that we went against every single nature of our being staying away from our friends, our families, being disconnected from one another, being isolated and, in particular, for people who are

seniors, for our kids. and, so, when we think about bringing back our libraries, it's more than just being able to access books free and wonderful library services and education, it's about coming back together as a community. and, when i think about how exciting it is that not only the main is opening but that chinatown branch is opening and mission branch is opening, it makes me proud because we're also thinking about the communities that are underserved and not only that, but the community that is live in the most community residential neighborhoods. so i want to thank the library for not only being a place where we can learn but being a safe place for our community to come back together. i want to thank the mayor for all of 0er leadership. i can't imagine a single meeting with the mayor that she hasn't thought about what are we going to do about bringing people back together. what are we going to do about mental health and i want to

thank her because she has been constantly pushing not only for us to re-open, but to do it in a safe way, to remember that at the end of the day, we have to make sure we keep our community safe and to do this together. so i want to thank her for her leadership. and, finally, my last thanks really goes to the workers, the staff of the public library. at its peak, there were 600 san francisco public library workers who were deployed as disaster service workers. the folks helping to pass out food at the pantries. the folks coming to the command center coming to help with all the things we needed. now, we still have 150 who are still deployed. they have been a critical part of our whole response and i just want to thank them for not only the work they continue to do in our emergency response, but for all the work that they are going to be going as we re-open our branches. today is a great day. the sun is shining on us and we are so thrilled. congratulations to the library system.

>> thank you. speaking of the san francisco public library staff, we want to thank shauna sherman for joining us today. she runs the african american center here at the main, but she worked as a contact tracer and we really appreciate people like you and others for the work that you continue to do to uplift the community. and so, i know that and, again, carol, thank you for getting all of the staff back to the library because, let me tell you, i know it was hard work but because many of the library staff felt so dedicated to the work of helping to support the city, yes, they wanted to come back to work, but they also wanted to finish the work they were doing to address this pandemic. so, again, we want to say thank you so much for your hard work and all that you did to help this city throughout this pandemic. and, unlike carmen chiu who probably returned her books to

the library when she was a kid, thank goodness i waived all those fines and fees of the past because i'd be in real trouble right now. forgive me, library. forgive me. [ laughter ] but, with that, thank you all again to the commissioners, the friends of the public library. so many incredible people who care deeply about making sure that people in this city have access to books, that they have access to educational materials to computers and all the things that can help nurture and grow your mind, but also a really good for your soul. so, with that, i want to open it up to questions. do we have any questions? no questions. easy. easy day today. all right. thank you all so much. take care.

>> the market is one of our vehicles for reaching out to public and showing them how to prepare delicious, simple food. people are amazed that the library does things like that. biblio bistro is a food education program. it brings such joy to people. it teaches them life skills that they can apply anywhere, and it encourages them to take care of themselves. my name is leaf hillman, and

i'm a librarian, and biblio bistro is my creation. i'm a former chef, and i have been incubating this idea for many years. we are challenged to come up with an idea that will move the library into the future. this inspired me to think, what can we do around cooking? what can i do around cooking? we were able to get a cart. the charlie cart is designed to bring cooking to students in elementary students that has enough gear on it to teach 30 students cooking. so when i saw that, i thought bingo, that's what we're missing. you can do cooking classes in the library, but without a kitchen, it's difficult. to have everything contained on wheels, that's it. i do cooking demonstrations out

at the market every third wednesday. i feature a seafood, vegetable, and i show people how to cook the vegetable. >> a lot of our residents live in s.r.o.s, single resident occupancies, and they don't have access to full kitchens. you know, a lot of them just have a hot plate, a microwave, and the thing that biblio bistro does really well is cook food accessible in season and make it available that day. >> we handout brochures with the featured recipe on the back. this recipe features mushrooms, and this brochure will bring our public back to the library. >> libraries are about a good

time. >> i hired a former chef. she's the tickle queen at the ramen shop in rockwood. we get all ages. we get adults and grandparents and babies, and, you know, school-age kids, and it's just been super terrific. >> i was a bit reluctant because i train teachers and adults. i don't train children. i don't work with children, and i find it very interesting and a bit scary, but working here really taught me a lot, you know, how easily you can influence by just showing them what we have, and it's not threatening, and it's tasty and fun. i make it really fun with kids because i don't look like a teacher. >> in the mix, which is our team center, we have programs

for our kids who are age 13 to 18, and those are very hands on. the kids often design the menu. all of our programs are very interactive. >> today, we made pasta and garlic bread and some sauce. usually, i don't like bell pepper in my sauce, but i used bell pepper in my sauce, and it complemented the sauce really well. i also grated the garlic on my bread. i never thought about that technique before, but i did it, and it was so delicious. >> we try to teach them techniques where they can go home and tell their families, i made this thing today, and it was so delicious. >> they're kind of addicted to

these foods, these processed foods, like many people are. i feel like we have to do what we can to educate people about that. the reality is we have to live in a world that has a lot of choices that aren't necessarily good for you all the time. >> this is interesting, but it's a reaction to how children are brought up. it is fast-food, and the apple is a fast-food, and so that sort of changes the way they think about convenience, how eating apple is convenient. >> one of the things that i love about my program out at the market is the surprise and delight on people's faces when they finally taste the vegetable. it's been transformative for some people. they had never eaten those vegetables before, but now, they eat them on a regular basis. >> all they require is a hot plate and a saute pan, and they

realize that they're able to cook really healthy, and it's also tasty. >> they also understand the importance of the connection that we're making. these are our small business owners that are growing our food and bringing it fresh to the market for them to consume, and then, i'm helping them consume it by teaching them how to cook. >> it connects people to the food that they're buying. >> the magic of the classes in the children's center and the team center is that the participants are cooking the food themselves, and once they do that, they understand their connection to the food, to the tools, and it empowers them. >> we're brokering new experiences for them, so that is very much what's happening in the biblio bistro program. >> we are introducing kids many times to new vocabulary. names of seasonings, names of

vegetables, names of what you call procedures. >> i had my little cooking experience. all i cooked back then was grilled cheese and scrambled eggs. now, i can actually cook curry and a few different thing zblz . >> and the parents are amazed that what we're showing them to cook is simple and inexpensive. i didn't know this was so easy to make. i've only bought it in the market. those comments have been amazing, and yeah, it's been really wonderful. >> we try to approach everything here with a well, just try it. just try it once, and then, before you know it, it's gone. >> a lot of people aren't sure

how to cook cauliflower or kale or fennel or whatever it is, and leah is really helpful at doing that. >> i think having someone actually teaching you here is a great experience. and it's the art of making a meal for your family members and hope that they like it. >> i think they should come and have some good food, good produce that is healthy and actually very delicious. >> cooking is one of my biggest passions, to be able to share, like, my passion with others, and skills, to h >> one more statement. we are the one. that is our first single that we

made. that is our opinion. >> i can't argue with you. >> you are responsible please do not know his exact. [♪♪♪] [♪♪♪] [♪♪♪] >> i had a break when i was on a major label for my musical career. i took a seven year break. and then i came back. i worked in the library for a long time. when i started working the san francisco history centre, i noticed they had the hippie collection. i thought, if they have a hippie collection, they really need to

have a punk collection as well. so i talked to the city archivist who is my boss. she was very interested. one of the things that i wanted to get to the library was the avengers collection. this is definitely a valuable poster. because it is petty bone. it has that weird look because it was framed. it had something acid on it and something not acid framing it. we had to bring all of this stuff that had been piling up in my life here and make sure that the important parts of it got archived. it wasn't a big stretch for them to start collecting in the area of punk. we have a lot of great photos and flyers from that area and that. that i could donate myself. from they're, i decided, you know, why not pursue other people and other bands and get them to donate as well? the historic moments in san

francisco, punk history, is the sex pistols concert which was at winterland. [♪♪♪] it brought all of the punks on the web -- west coast to san francisco to see this show. the sex pistols played the east coast and then they play texas and a few places in the south and then they came directly to san francisco. they skipped l.a. and they skipped most of the media centres. san francisco was really the biggest show for them pick it was their biggest show ever. their tour manager was interested in managing the adventures, my band. we were asked to open to support the pistols way to that show. and the nuns were also asked to open the show. it was certainly the biggest crowd that we had ever played to. it was kind of terrifying but it did bring people all the way from vancouver, tee seattle, portland, san diego, all up and down the coast, and l.a., obviously. to san francisco to see this show. there are a lot of people who say that after they saw this

show they thought they would start their own band. it was a great jumping off point for a lot of west coast punk. it was also, the pistols' last show. in a way, it was the end of one era of punk and the beginning of a new one. the city of san francisco didn't necessarily support punk rock. [♪♪♪] >> last, but certainly not least is a jell-o be opera. they are the punk rock candidate of the lead singer called the dead kennedys. >> if we are blaming anybody in san francisco, we will just blame the dead kennedys. >> there you go. >> we had situations where concerts were cancelled due to flyers, obscene flyers that the city was thought -- that he thought was obscene that had been put up. the city of san francisco has come around to embrace it's

musicians. when they have the centennial for city hall, they brought in all kinds of local musicians and i got to perform at that. that was, at -- in a way, and appreciation from the city of san francisco for the musical legends. i feel like a lot of people in san francisco don't realize what resources there are at the library. we had a film series, the s.f. punk film series that i put together. it was nearly sold out every single night. people were so appreciative that someone was bringing this for them. it is free. everything in the library is free. >> it it is also a film producer who has a film coming out. maybe in 2018 about crime. what is the title of it? >> it is called san francisco first and only rock 'n' roll movie. crime, 1978. [laughter] >> when i first went to the art institute before the adventures were formed in 77, i was going

to be a painter. i did not know i would turn into a punk singer. i got back into painting and i mostly do portraiture and figurative painting. one of the things about this job here is i discovered some great resources for images for my painting. i was looking through these mug shot books that we have here that are from the 1920s. i did a whole series of a mug shot paintings from those books. they are in the san francisco history centre's s.f. police department records. there are so many different things that the library provides for san franciscans that i feel like a lot of people are like, oh, i don't have a library card. i've never been there. they need to come down and check it out and find out what we have. the people who are hiding stuff in their sellers and wondering what to do with these old photos or old junk, whether it is hippie stuff or punk stuff, or stuff from their grandparents,

if they bring it here to us, we can preserve it and archive it and make it available to the public in the future. >> flyshaker pool was a public pool located on sloat boulevard near great highway. it operated from 1925 to 1971 and was one of the largest pools in the world. after decades of use, less people visited. the pool deteriorated and was demolished in 2000. built by herbert flyshaker,

pumps from the pacific ocean that were filtered and heated filled the pool. aside from the recreational activities, many schools held swim meets there. the delia flyshaker memorial building was on the west side of the pool. it had locker rooms with a sun room and mini hospital. in 1995, a storm damaged one of the pipes that flowed to the ocean. maintenance was not met, and the pool had to close. in 1999, the pool was filled with sand and gravel. in 2000, the space became a spot for the san francisco zoo. these are some memories that many families remember swimming

at flyshaker pool. . >> neighborhood in san francisco are also diverse and fascist as the people that inhabitable them we're in north beach about supervisor peskin will give us a tour and introduce is to what think of i i his favorite district 5 e 3 is in the northwest surrounded by the san francisco bay the district is the boosting chinatown oar embarcadero financial district fisherman's wharf exhibit no. north beach telegraph hill and part of union square. >> all of san francisco

districts are remarkable i'm honored and delighted to represent really whereas with an the most intact district got chinatown, north beach fisherman's wharf russian hill and knob hill and the northwest waterfront some of the most wealthier and inning e impoverished people in san francisco obgyn siding it is ethically exists a bunch of tight-knit neighborhoods people know he each other by name a wonderful placed physically and socially to be all of the neighborhoods north beach and chinatown the i try to be out in the community as much as and i think, being a the cafe eating at the neighborhood lunch place people come up and talk to you, you never have time alone but really it is fun hi, i'm one the owners and is

ceo of cafe trespassing in north beach many people refer to cafe trees as a the living room of north beach most of the clients are local and living up the hill come and meet with each other just the way the united states been since 1956 opposed by the grandfather a big people person people had people coming since the day we opened. >> it is of is first place on the west that that exposito 6 years ago but anyone was doing that starbuck's exists and it created a really welcoming pot. it is truly a legacy business but more importantly it really at the take care of their community my father from it was formally italy a fisherman and that town

very rich in culture and music was a big part of it guitars and sank and combart in the evening that tradition they brought this to the cafe so many characters around here everything has incredible stories by famous folks last week the cafe that paul carr tennessee take care from the jefferson starship hung out the cafe are the famous poet lawrence william getty and jack herb man go hung out. >> they work worked at a play with the god fathers and photos he had his typewriter i wish i were here back there it there's a lot of moving parts the meeting spot rich in culture and artists and musicians epic people would talk with you

and you'd get ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> the san francisco playground's hitsvery dates back to 1927 when the area where the present playground and center is today was purchased by the city for $27,000. in the 1950s, the sen consider was expanded by then mayor robinson and the old gym was built. thanks to the passage of the 2008 clean and safe neighborhood parks bond, the sunset playground has undergone extensive renovation to its four acres of fields, courts,

play grounds, community rooms, and historic gymnasium. >> here we are. 60 years and $14 million later, and we have got this beautiful, brand-new rec center completely accessible to the entire neighborhood. >> the new rec center houses multi-purpose rooms for all kinds of activities including basketball, line dancing, playing ping-pong and arts can crafts. >> you can use it for whatever you want to do, you can do it here. >> on friday, november 16, the dedication and ribbon cutting took place at the sunset playground and recreation center, celebrating its renovation. it was raining, but the rain clearly did not dampen the spirits of the dignitaries, community members and children in attendance. [cheering and applauding]

♪♪ ♪♪you. >> what do you think about working at an airport and i love it is busy all the time. >> we want it to be an those away was this is a venture if i didn't love it i'll be an accountant. >> we want the experience that is a non-airport experience the negative stigma we're trying to erase that. >> everything is in a bad food

to excite them about the food and they have time to learn about us. >> people are imitated by traveling and the last thing to do is come to a place fill of chaos. >> telling me how the extent of napa a farms came about. >> it was a vision of the airport director he had a suspicion of a really cool gourmet speciality market locally friendly products this market local flavors this is the best. >> can we get a little tour. >> absolutely (laughter) ♪♪ ♪♪ >> so first on our tour. >> we have the clock we like to call it. >> this is coordinating it is

made in san francisco. >> what about the customer presence. >> we like to get the permanent farther i love the cappuccino and you have to go to multiple places for the cupcakes the cup a cakes from kari's people want to live here they're longing phone call for one thing in one spot in you know anything about san francisco the cheese the most popular cheesy think a lot of the people from the west coast say so this the real san francisco sour dough and they're curious. >> you find people respond to the idea of organic and absolutely. >> this is autumn. >> thank you, thank you and there's a lot of personal touch. >> i see san francisco. >> it's very hands on.

>> what's the most popular items. >> this is quite surprising our fresh jotting this is the chronicle special a bowl of warm oats and coconut that's mites farther. >> and speaking of drinks tell me again the cocktail scenes is that one, the things your known for . >> the cocktails are fantastic. >> really. >> fresh ingredients we don't have a mixture it to order this is our marcus bloody mayor. >> farmer's market bloody mary the bloody marys in the airport

are great shikz it up. and then we're going to garnish it with olives. and some lime and a fresh stalk of selly. right on. >> we like [♪♪♪] >> i really believe that art should be available to people for free, and it should be part of our world, you shouldn't just be something in museums, and i love that the people can just go there and it is there for everyone. [♪♪♪]

>> i would say i am a multidimensional artist. i came out of painting, but have also really enjoyed tactile properties of artwork and tile work. i always have an interest in public art. i really believe that art should be available to people for free, and it should be part of our world. you shouldn't just be something in museums. i love that people can just go there, and it is there for everyone. public art is art with a job to do. it is a place where the architecture meets the public. where the artist takes the meaning of the site, and gives a voice to its. we commission culture, murals, mosaics, black pieces, cut to mental, different types of material. it is not just downtown, or the big sculptures you see, we are in the neighborhood.

those are some of the most beloved kinds of projects that really give our libraries and recreation centers a sense of uniqueness, and being specific to that neighborhood. colette test on a number of those projects for its. one of my favorites is the oceanview library, as well as several parks, and the steps. >> mosaics are created with tile that is either broken or cut in some way, and rearranged to make a pattern. you need to use a tool, nippers, as they are called, to actually shape the tiles of it so you can

get them to fit incorrectly. i glued them to mash, and then they are taken, now usually installed by someone who is not to me, and they put cement on the wall, and they pick up the mash with the tiles attached to it, and they stick it to the wall, and then they groped it afterwards. [♪♪♪] >> we had never really seen artwork done on a stairway of the kinds that we were thinking of because our idea was very just barely pictorial, and to have a picture broken up like that, we were not sure if it would visually work. so we just took paper that size and drew what our idea was, and cut it into strips, and took it down there and taped it to the steps, and stepped back and looked around, and walked up and down and figured out how it would really work visually. [♪♪♪]

>> my theme was chinese heights because i find them very beautiful. and also because mosaic is such a heavy, dens, static medium, and i always like to try and incorporate movement into its, and i work with the theme of water a lot, with wind, with clouds, just because i like movements and lightness, so i liked the contrast of making kites out of very heavy, hard material. so one side is a dragon kite, and then there are several different kites in the sky with the clouds, and a little girl below flying it. [♪♪♪] >> there are pieces that are

particularly meaningful to me. during the time that we were working on it, my son was a disaffected, unhappy high school student. there was a day where i was on the way to take them to school, and he was looking glum, as usual, and so halfway to school, i turned around and said, how about if i tell the school you are sick and you come make tiles with us, so there is a tile that he made to. it is a little bird. the relationship with a work of art is something that develops over time, and if you have memories connected with a place from when you are a child, and you come back and you see it again with the eyes of an adult, it is a different thing, and is just part of what makes the city an exciting place. [♪♪♪]

>> chair haney: this meeting will come to order. this is the april 28, 2021 budget and finance committee meeting. i'm matt haney, chair of the committee. our clerk today is linda wong. i would like to thank sfgovtv for streaming this meeting. madam clerk, do you have any