>> is beautiful. rights i would like to come here and join them >> july 28th, 2021 and the time is 5:00. this meeting is being held by webex, pursuant to the governor executive orders declaring the existence of a local emergency. during the covid-19 emergency, the regular meeting room at city hall is closed and meetings will convene remotely. you may watch live.

to participate during public comment, please dial 1-425-655-0001. and use access code 146 949 4364. members of the public will have opportunities to participate during public comment. the public is asked to wait for a particular agenda item before making a comment on that item. comments will be addressed in the order they received when the moderate era nounses that the commission is taking public comment, members of the public can raise their hands 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 three minutes to provide comments. ensure you are in a quiet location, speak clearly, and turn off any tvs or radios

around you. role call. >> clerk: [roll call] >> clerk: item 2, general public comment. members of the public may address the commission for up to three minutes on any matter within the commission's jurisdiction that does not appear on the agenda. speakers shall address their remarks to the commission as a whole and not to individual commissioners or department personnel. commissioners are not to enter into debate or discussion with the speaker. the lack of a response by the commissioners or department personnel does not necessarily constitute agreement with or support of statements made

during public comment. there's no one on the public comment line. >> public comment will be closed. >> clerk: item 3. approval of minutes. discussion and possibility action to approve the july 14th, 2021 meeting minutes. >> president feinstein: do we have any public comment, madam secretary? >> clerk: no one is on the public comment line. >> president feinstein: public comment shall be closed. any questions or discussions from my fellow commissioners? i'm seeing none. >> thank you. ok. commissioner cleavland. >> i'm sorry. i did miss hear you. ok, is there a second?

commissioner nakajo, we will take roll call. >> clerk: [roll call] the motion is unanimous. the minutes are approved. item 4, chief of the department's report from chief of department to on current issues, activities and events within the department since the fire commission meeting on july 14th, 2021 including budget, academies, special efforts, communications and outreach to other government agencies of the public, and reports from administration deputy chief jose vello on the administrative division, fleet and facility, status and

updates, finance support services and training within the department. >> president feinstein: chief nickolson, we'll start with you first. >> thank you. thank you, madam president. commissioners, commissioner nakajo, president feinstein and staff and jeannine nickolson, chief of the department. here is my report. for the last two weeks. as you are aware, the delta variant of covid-19 is starting to see a spike in infections in san francisco. we are still appealing to those of our members who haven't been vaccinated to get vaccinated. our very -- we're doing all that

we can to get people vaccinated. however, the department of human resources issued a vaccination policy for city employees and the first thing that has to be done is employees need to enter their vaccination status, on the employee portal, that's due tomorrow, close of business. at some point, we're still waiting to hear from the city attorney in terms of all of our members needing to be vaccinated. now or once the fda a proves the vaccine. so, the city is mandating it for certain positions and we're trying get clarity on that from d.h.r. more to follow on that. we're also recommending that people wear their masks again

indoors as this is just really infectious, the delta variant is and we have had some folks ex down with covid in the last couple of weeks and only one of them was not vaccinated and that person ended up in the hospital. several of them were vaccinated and several others were not. the ones that were vaccinated, are not having major problems. there are the break-through cases of the delta variant. on monday, august 2nd, the 128th firefighting academy begins and i look forward to going over the t.i. and greeting all of them and it will be 42 new recruits and the chief is

going to be excused in a moment becauser holding a session for the recruits and their families this evening and he and people are there to speak with all of them and their families. thank you for doing that, chief. i would be there if i could. i'll be there monday. on monday, august 2nd, the kids from city emt begin their internships in the department. so as you recall, city e.m.t. was something i wanted to make happen when i first came on board here and it's take not a while but with perseverance and a lot of teamwork, the first cad ray of kids they started with 15

and 13 finished the program over at city e.m.t. which includes academic help, mental health stuff, trauma counseling, life coaching, health and wellness, just all sorts of wrap-around services as well as e.m.t. classes and support to get their national registry e.m.t. we have spoken with quite a few of those recruits, not recruits, sorry, quite a few of those city e.m.t. graduates and we are starting with five of them in the department on monday morning. they will still be particular a civilianemployee but they wile working on the ambulances, where they will be paid and we want them

yesterday, you may or may not have heard, the board of supervisors did their final, final approval of the budget and all we need to wait for is the mayor to sign it and make it official on august 1st. and when that happens, mark courseo will report out on our approved budget at the next commission meeting.

i don't want to jinx anything, let's wait until our mayor signs it but we increased the budget by quite a bit and again, still more work to do but grateful to everyone who worked really hard on it. and that is all i have for right now. so, thank you, commissioners, and i'm happy to take any questions. >> president feinstein: thank you, chief nickolson. any questions from members of the commission? yes. commissioner, i see you first so you go first. >> thank you, very much, madam president. chief nickolson, thank you very much for your report. i basically don't have a question but wanted to make an emphasis. part of the docket package tonight in terms of chief vellos report, there's a section with wellness with chief parks and the physicians report and in

there is a news letter by the physicians' office o and then i read thoroughly the memo from new vaccine and face-covering policies from the department and county of san francisco department of human resources and in your report, you answered my questions in a sense that wih this rise in terms of the delta, and in terms of what is going on, you addressed the questions that i had in terms of is there a mandate or not in terms of city employees concerning our fire department members, when it comes down to taking the vaccine and i also read the flyer that talked about individuals' choices of members on spiritual or religious or health requirements so i think you did answer my question in the sense

of trying to move the department as quickly as possible to those members who are not vaccinated without violating certain aspects of exemption to get vaccinated. in terms of the protection for the rest of our department and our members in the general public. i just wanted to verify that comment and thank you for that report and update. that was one of my questions. thank you. >> thank you, commissioner, nakajo. so commissioner, yes, there will be a mandate. it's coming down the road for all of our members to be vaccinated. we're just trying to determine if it is now or in the coming 10 weeks or if it's going to be once the f.d.a. a proves the vaccine but the mandate is coming for sure. right now, the mandate is to

enter their vaccination status, yes or no. >> president feinstein: do you have a follow-up question commissioner? >> i do not madam president. thank you, chief, for that confirmation as well. thank you. >> president feinstein: any other commissioners have questions on this topic for the chief? commissioner covington. >> thank you, madam president. good evening, chief. >> good evening. good evening, commissioner covington. >> so, chief, can you give us the numbers? currently how many members of the department are unvaccinated? >> do you have those numbers chief parks? >> you've given us the numbers in the past so i thought you might have them handy?

>> i know there's some people that have sort of. >> commissioners jose from administration and we have from the doctor office 75% have been vaccinated and that's what we have so far. and as of this morning, for the demands from the city to update their status we have 72% update their status on the city portal which is what we all had to do. those the numbers of this morning? >> so 72%. >> 72% have updated their status which would be yes or no and our records show the 75% have been vaccinated. >> all right. thank you. is there any particular cluster of concern that they have

expressed that leads them not to have taken their shots so far? that's a question for the chief? >> thank you, commission covington. no, nothing. we've heard bits and pieces of stories but nothing that i could say with certainty is the reason why people are saying no to it. so, again, the mandate is coming and we're just waiting direction from d.h.r. >> ok. all right. thank you for that. i really do want to commend you on the program, launching the program for these young people and it's important step for the department and it's an important step for young people who may not have previously in the past

even considered a career in the fire service or becoming a medic so this is really, really wonderful and i'm hoping that all of them have been vaccinated. >> i do not know the answer to that question. what i can tell you right now is the city's d.h.r. has said moving forward from here we will be permitted to make it a prior to anybody getting hired they have to have it. >> y. i have read that in the local news. and is there going to be a second class of these young citizens? they are currently working on

applications for the next kadri of city employees. >> how many are you expecting to be part of the second class? >> it's likely to be around 16. >> ok. i think that's a good number. that way they can get individual attention. i look forward to meeting them at some point, when things are such that we can shake hands with each other. i don't have any other questions at this time. thank you. >> president feinstein: thank you, commissioner covington. questions from any of the other commissioners? i'm not seeing any -- commissioner cleveland.

>> thank you for bringing our inner-city youth into the fire department. it's a great program and i look forward to it being successful and being replicated over and over again. i also want to commend the chief for elevating simon pang to our deputy chief for para medicine which is pretty cool and brice peoples is our new assistant deputy chief for diversity, equity and inclusion so those are two big-deal promotion this is my mind and i wanted to com end the chief for doing that. >> thank you commissioner cleveland. neither one of them could be here tonight or i would have put them on the spot. it is a big deal and especially to add staff to the positions to the command staff. so, thank you for that and yes,

this is just the first for city e.m.t. and the first five kids so you know how it goes commissioner cleaveland, the first car that is model of a particular vehicle, you know, you've got to tweak it and change some things so we're always looking to improve all of it. so we have -- thank you, very much. >> president feinstein: thank you commissioner cleaveland. i think we've heard from everybody. i don't know whether to rack this question to chief nickolson or chief velo. the 75% vaccination rate is lower than what i have read and i rely on the "san francisco

chronicle," that is lower than the population of san francisco. that's a lower vaccination rate. and my question becomes, i don't know who is vaccinated and who is not vaccinated, what their assignments are or are not their assignment. my question is if i'm a person who perhaps i'm fully vaccinated, and i need the fire department's assistance, i need their e.m.t. and their paramedic and i need what have you, how do i know, given the delta variant and whether the other variant is here or not, i don't know, you would know. the last thing i would want to have happen and have an

emergency in my home and have someone who was not vaccinated respond. and i mean, it really is distressing to me and concerning to me unless people have a particular -- i'm not interested in their politics but unless they have a medical reason and i understand that they don't have to get vaccinated until the f.d.a. is approved the vaccination and why would they not, i need to understand that. because rather than seek help from the san francisco fire department. >> madam president, i can speak to that. we still have all of our members wearing all their p.p.e. on any calls where we go into anyone's home. so that is the failsafe right

now. and like i said, we are still working on getting more people vaccinated and it will be a requirement sooner rather than later. so, everyone wears their p.p.e. and folks that either are not vaccinated or have not entered their stats in the employee portal, as of tomorrow, close of business, must wear a mask all the time in the fire house as well. so, i can't give you people's reasons. i think there are many different reasons and we just need to keep moving forward and when we get this directive, from our city attorney and from d.h.r., we will push forward. >> president feinstein: i'm sorry, chief, and i don't mean

to put you on the spot or chief velo on the spot, i really don't, the rate of vaccination is lower than the general population of san francisco. which i understand to be 82%. you can tell me that 82% is incorrect and i accept that. here we have first responders who not only are maybe exposing others, they're exposing themselves. p.p.e. or no p.p.e. and it doesn't instill a lot of confidence and i know the understand and the f.d.a. understands what is going on with the vaccine but you are a

first responder help me understand, why wouldn't you get vaccinated? unless you have a particular health condition? i don't understand. >> if i may, madam president, we have had 75% of people report that they have been vaccinated. it may actually be higher. we don't know and that is why we are pushing to get everyone vaccination status on the employee portal. so it may be higher than 75%, i don't know. what i do know, many of our folks don't live in the city live outside the city and so i don't know -- i don't know why. there are multitude of reasons

and to get folks to get vaccinated and we can't right now force them to. i don't know, you know, we could get into all sorts of psychology about people not want to go do it or politics and getting it from our former city. >> president feinstein: let me ask you this last question, is there a consequence for those who aren't vaccinated? >> there will be. it's city wide policy so d.h.r. is taking the lead on there but there will be. >> president feinstein: thank you shall kindly.

any further question? i see no hands. all right. >> there's no one on the public comment line. >> president feinstein: thank you, madam secretary. public comment is closed. moving on. >> chief velo with the wall. >> good evening, president, chief, commissioners, command staff, again, deputy administration. as i've done in the past, i'll present with a presentation that highlights some of the things on the report and also some of the things that happens since the report and especially on the current situation of the department so with your permission i'll share my presentation. >> thank you. >> are you able to see it? >> yes, sir, i can see it. >> thank you, very much. >> it's my report for the month of june and you have my report that was given to you and i'm

going to also include in this report, we're going to be doing it every commission report our mutual aid updates. the fire season is in full effect and we have members already committed and we have 22 members right now deployed in the fight that we have in the state with the fire conditions that we have so, three of our type 6 engines were deployed to the salt fire. they have not come back since then. we've been rotating different fires. after that, our engine 361 was sent to the fire in oregon. we have now also members after that so far that went to the backwards complex fire and from that fire had been deployed to the dixie fire on the brew cannon region area north on paradise years ago and they're currently working the lines right now and they've been very busy and now we have a second

team, this is the status and we have engine 361 and the update on the dixie fire and again as of yesterday, 208,000 acres and 23% contained and if you think this fire season is going fast and strong, it is. these are the numbers on cal fire responses that have compared to the same time last year and increase of 257% compared to the same time last year so, no doubt the drought and all the effects are going on are making a big effect on us and our department continues to respond to this and we will keep you updated throughout the fire season, myself and where our folks are and what are they doing and what kind of fires they're fighting. on the training side from my

division, we completed and thank you for those who attended the 127th academy and it was a great event. the folks are in the field working there shift now. the first assignment is engine and truck and they rotate for six months until they complete the one-year probation time. it was a great event and i think you all enjoyed that happy event. it starts on monday tonight and like chief said we have orientation, family night. the reason we also had a pre tower event last saturday and for about six hours, the recruits that were able to do it were able to come in and start getting ideas of what is going to happen in the academy and tap some of the equipment we will use in the academy and they're given a full orientation. tonight's event is an orientation about what will happen and also getting the families involved and aware to

support our recruits. as you recall from the graduation and recruits talk about the support from the families. it's important they have that. this is the first time we've done family night in a long time. we want to make sure the families understand their support is needed for the next 20 weeks. they'll graduate on december 23rd, 2021 and 42 recruits seven coming from station 49. this time the chief has implemented a new model where in the past the recruits were on station 49 will come two weeks later and we'll connen straight on the e.m.s. training for two weeks. we incorporate that e.m.s. training throughout the whole academy and we feel this is a better model and we incorporate those recruits from 49 to be together from the beginning and we think we'll have better results from that too. so we're looking forward to that and looking forward to day one on monday. and on the in service training side, we do drills. i just want to show you this

picture because the training staff at treasure island has done a fantastic job building their own props. they build props and this prop in the picture sim late and so they built they can penetrate that and look for fire that we will find in many residents so we're trying to do it and they're doing a fantastic knob they do highrise training drills and we incorporate that into the drills so when we do fires, the responses that and they continue to go out and do some training for them and of course they're

doing continued drills but you see drills that they work with partners in the county as well too and they continue to do a lot of work, working with doctor offices and they have observe a conferences where they had to respond to some allegations that we have and work with them together and we are working on a program for a members attend and visit their primary care physician and we want to implement that and we're working on that. also, we're able to obtain a grant. it's a company that trains members and they've done successfully in boston and other agencies where they come and do the trainer and appears fitness trainers and talk about fitness, nutrition, over all well this is so this is happening in september. they can train our members throughout this states and report. we also attended an event with a

fundraiser and for breast cancer. many members were there as well too. doctor office, this is again this morning that the numbers and again the chief has made a good point, we still have a significant number that have not reported it, whether because we have no access to the computer and some other long-term disability. we think our numbers are higher but that's how we can report on that too. we've seen, an uptick in case of covid, since june 1st. we have eight cases of covid that we have and some like chief said, be vaccinated and still have the covid cases and those cases are mild symptoms so we're worrying about what is going on. the mask rule indoors our protect our members. this month had a topic on cancer

prevention and also we are developing a new wellness program and some of the health checks for the primary care physicians will be involved in that and we'll call it 30 in and 30 out creating a campaign to be healthy when they're in and also when they retire too and she is working on a delta variant news letter as well too. captain jose sal a, we tested 70 members for the random program that we have and all results were negative and he tested. one post accident and also negative and he is not the only one testing because after hours they do this and all the tests were negative and they test all the breath alliesers and they always test every month.

we finished some of the items. station 35, some of the latest pictures from station 35 and i know you asked about the status of the connections and i'll give you that right now. looking at the station, it's pretty much ready to go. we're looking at final issues that we need to complete but we're ready to go with that. looking at some of the things and observation deck on the top left you have pier 22 completed and we have the folsom street completed so we're making progress on the connection and we are working on that. cross our fingers we'll get there very soon. facilities, 121 request for service and 113 orders were completed ex those are not the same numbers they may come earlier and we complained in the

month of june 113. some of the things we've done this month among other things we're doing all the time and we have started the stations 34 and those were installed in 1994 and they're failing so we were working on that and there was a tree encroaching and property station 39 and we were able to come to a happy conclusion with that neighbor and we can use our cities to get this tree removed and trimmed to a point where it's not encroaching the property. that's a happy resolution to that problem that was presented to us. one of the trucks that our crews went to louisiana to the fact reand were able to finally give the approval of one of the trucks to come to san francisco and we call it a hill test. that mixture that they work well in our hills and we make this specifics for that and now we have to get the final final when we start driving up and down the hills and angles and approaches

and make sure that everything is good to go. when we get the final, we get the other six that are being made. they're into the final stages waiting for us to get the thumbs up. 11 engines are coming. we have three that have been outfitted and some of the unique things we put ourselves but we found out there was a recall on some of the transmission for them so we have -- they've been working on three and five in riverside and all doing work on this and as soon as they get them done we'll be good to go with that. oes type 6 had a recall and they're all clear and as you can see, they've been deployed already. the chief dewitt and staff will attend the pre construction meeting which is in minnesota for the host we're getting for the budget so we're excited about that. while the staff list they approved the mobile air build and modifications that were needed so that's coming up soon and we're working on this specific indications for the new

ambulance, the type 1 approved ambulance that we have. a lot of progress on the fleet. not as fast as we wanted but it's progress regardless and this is the new engine 13, we have 13, 1 and 3 that are outfitted in our yards so this is a new engine 13 coming to the station and i'll sure we'll make it happy and 13 was chief nickolson's stations for a long time. and the water supply, commissioners, thank you for attending that drill that we had. this is the type of pipe that we are putting into the richmond districts. as you can see, basically bends. so it's made to sustain large earthquakes and able to be able to have assurances for us that we will have a reliability system for the e.w. system in the city when the big one happens so we're practice that and we're happy to be able to also show supervisors and the districts how the system works

with the demonstrations so chief conner was able to put it all together so i appreciate that too. the sea water station, two studies were done june 30th. the sea water study review both were sent to final draft to the board of supervisors and now we're waiting for a hearing date so they will be discussed in the future hearings of the board of supervisors and we final sized the updates on the m.o.u. between p.u.c. and last week was the bad spinning of the members from station 49 they got their badge for level 2 and level 3 as well too so it's a nice happy event and that's all i have for you today and any questions, happy to answer. >> president feinstein: thank you, chief velo. questions, commissioners? comments, commissioners? >> thank you, very much, madam

president. thank you, very much chief velo for your very comprehensive report. i always read it carefully and i appreciate all the areas in your report and the appreciate the identification through your slide presentations in the areas for me, i'm sorry always amazed at the mass amount of responsibility and oversight that your office has as well. i counted eight divisions, if you will, training, health and wellness, physicians, investigations, research, planning, support services, p.u.c., human resources and i just really appreciate it as do i believe the colleagues on the commission. i also wanted to call out chief dewitt in your section and i broke it down as well, that for me, it becomes 14 sections of topics and sub topics and again i just want to remark of how appreciative i am as a

commissioner in the details aspects of your report going all the way from east of 2010 to easter bon 2014. you talk about focus scope programs as well as you talk about easter bond 2020phs bond 2016 and then as we continue, it begins to become an enormity in terms of all the areas you focus. ps bond 2016 and not only that, eser section pocp management section and in terms of it, department of engineering and closing depot. a lot of gratitude in part in terms of my part in the interpretation and the reading of the areas. thank you, very much for that comprehensive report. chief velo i appreciate your area that you talked about

mutual aid. i believe upon all of us, particular low this situation in terms of wildfires in the mutual aids in northern california and california it will effect all of us and i very appreciative of our involvement in our connection to that. i also wanted to say that i'm very appreciative and i think it's a great idea that in terms of the new class that comes in that family orientation this evening, is really a great idea to engage the family members as well because there's expectations all over the place, great sacrifices and a lot of anxiety and stress and the more the families are aware of and that inclusion helps with the department. i also wanted to remark that i think that station 49 from the get-go of the academy is a good idea to use their resources and their expertise and to build a

bond and relationship in the class as well in terms of that learning as well so i just want to thank you for that as well. and i just wanted to give a congratulations as commissioner cleaveland also delivered to the newly appointed chiefs. thank you, madam president. >> president feinstein: thank you, commissioner nakajo. i do understand, i have a question, you have mentioned on the slide presentation the oes6 type 6 recall. could you kindly explain that to me a little bit more? what are we talking about here? >> it's the apparatus we got

from the state. >> they are trucks and so fourth so there was a recall and they had a factory recall that had to be fixed and it was not a safety issue but they had to be done so oes handles all those things and they fix everything and they're the apparatus and we just put our staff into it and respond to the fires. it's been fixed and they're out there fighting fires. >> forgot to mention, we currently have a level 1 academy going on right now that will graduate in august 20th.

my bad, i forgot about that. 18 members. they have one more week of class work and after that they'll practice ride outs so we're excited for those folks to come in because we need the step. august 20th will be on a ceremony that will be invite sod put it in your calender. >> we like ceremonies so that is a good thing. thank you. thank you, thank you. >> commission covington. >> thank you. i want to thank chief velo for his report and thank chief nakajo for his review of everything chief velo said so, thank you. >> we rely on him commissioner covington for him to do that.

i don't want staff and members of the public think that commissioners nakajo is the only one who is appreciative of these changes that are going on and also welcoming the new, the two new chiefs and i'm also impressed with the fact that the folks from 49 or starting with everyone else. in order to have a really cohesive cohort, everybody starts at the same time and does all the work together and bonds are built for life because everybody says i'm part of this class and that class but if you are on a two-week delay, then you know you are trying to find your footing and learn everyone's name and this way

everyone starts together and it also gives the folks from 49 a chance to shine. as they're going over all of the medical information and details. i think it's a great idea, thank you for putting that forward. and just a lot of good things happening here. there was that and then we talked about post tenders and now we've got, now we're going to be host tenders because we ned them and i am sorry that i was not able to attend the emergency water supply system demonstration and i want to just

definitely -- excuse me. i want to thank everyone who worked on that and i would like to suggest that when things such as this are being planned, if you could give the commissioners a hint in advance. i feel like the implementations when the press releases go out and some of us are already booked and scheduled and don't have enough time to change things so if we can we can bet an easterly year heads-up you will have more participation. thank you for that. i just appreciate everything. >> dually noted. sometimes we have to coordinate with the other parties that attend so actually we'll do our best to make sure you have ample notice. >> and i thank commissioner covington for that because i

agree. you get hooked on other things and you wish you could go to what is going on with the fire department and you can't. we will all to the extend provide us with the earliest note as possible it would be much appreciated understanding that would be possible and when you can, it's great company so you should want to so that's my theory and anyway. any further -- commissioner covington. yes, sir. >> i'm sorry, commissioner cleaveland. >> i did have a couple of follow-up questions and i wanted to recognize assist apartment assistant chiefo'conner for thet commissioner covington missed because it was a really great

event and well orchestrated and well put together although it was freezing cold. so, you would have really had to bundle up for that and you missed the opportunity to see commissioner in his full turnout coat and looked just like a regular firefighters. it was cool. so, yes, it was a great event and i want to commend the assistant chief o'conner for putting it all together. i also had a question for chief o'conner with your permission, chief, regarding the studies that are being done on the a.w.s.s. system and i know that they were required to be done by the end of last month and if they are available for us, i know they're going to the board of supervisors, is it also possible for the commissioners to get copies of these studies? >> good evening. i believe that studies will be

available. let me ask the p., c. what their policy is for the board of supervisors has public hearings but i believe i can get you -- >> president feinstein: can you speak up, please. it's hard to hear you. >> i can hardly hear you as well. >> can you hear me now? >> a little more. >> i'll see if i can get the copies released to you prior to the board of supervisors having a public hearing on that. let me double check. if so, i'll release it to the commission as soon as possible. >> when you can do so. i think the commissioners would like to review it and i know that we're all very interested in the awss program and that is something that is critically important to the city and the west side of the city and we're all interested in the progress that we can make so appreciate that. i have a quick question for

chief velo regarding the boe. we moved them from their old place to the old station 49. the 1415 evans avenue, has that been completed? is everything moved over huaweis street? >> that's not correct. the staff on b.o.e., the staff that responds to apparatus breakdowns still is at 24th street. we have warehouse and some of the logistical support staff into the 1415 evans warehouse. our goal is to move some of the other functions down the street many of it's the both functioning facilities so we have still some at 24th street. >> but there's a program to get it all consolidated at this point? eventually, yeah. that's the reimagine of station 49 as a facility that can do minor repairs so that's a

project that we'll need capital funds for that as well. >> thank you for that clarifica. what will we have the ribbon cutting. >> and i'm not going to let you speak on this, commissioner cleaveland, chief nickolson, he always over promises and so, i'm going to say, we do not know because things on a daily basis and he is just going to get everyone's hopes up and then we're going to be asking again next month when it will happen. please, be patient. we're pushing -- >> i just didn't want commissioner covington to miss it. >> president feinstein: please, we're pushing it as hard as we can and i know chief dewitt and chief velo are on it. yeah, can't give you a date right now. >> thank you, chief. thank you, chief velo.

that's all, madam president, thank you. >> president feinstein: thank you. >> and commissioner covington doesn't want to miss it so yes. >> president feinstein: i don't think any of us want to miss it, it's just a matter of whether we'll still be alive when it happens. hope springs eternal, what can i say? any further comments? i'm not seeing any hands going up on my screen. madam secretary, did we take public comment? >> clerk: we did not but there's no one on the public comment line. >> president feinstein: ok, then. public comment is closed. and we can move on. >> clerk: item 5, commission report. report on commission activities since the last meeting on july 14th, 2021.

>> president feinstein: commiss. >> i just want to report to you madam president, and the commissioners, and update in terms of the assignment i received from you in terms of the evaluation of the commission secretary. i had a meeting in terms of clarity and direction and our department's h.r. this afternoon at 11:15 and i have clear knowledge and a process and i wanted to share that basically what i've been instructed is to meet with commissioner secretary first to start the process off and in terms of performance evaluation and then the next segment would be after we have that initial meeting and i'm going to be communicating with the commissioners, both verbally, individually as well as by e-mail for each commissioner to give a comment or some remarks in terms of the comes secretary's performance evaluation. at that particular point, then,

i will gather a summary and work off the template that i've been instructed to utilize and the final is to meet with the secretary and give her the evaluation and feedback and to get a write-off. point of information, this is the same process that occurred in 2019 when commissioner cleaveland was assigned a evaluation on the commission secretary so i just wanted to share this information with you, madam president, and the fellow commissioners with the process and you will be hearing from me very soon. thank you. >> president feinstein: thank you, commissioner nakajo. other updates from commissioners? anybody? i can offer this and have shared it. i have been very well served by the city attorney's office in

terms of receiving guidance on how we need to proceed on things that we haven't proceeded on in a little while, mainly because of covid and distractions, not distractions but more important things. covid is more important than a lot of administrative things. and we'll be reporting back to my fellow commissioners on the things that we need to get done and seeking their help in getting them done. so, i haven't been, heaven for bid i'd be completely silent but that won't happen. we're moving forward and i'll keep people apprised as i can. thank you for taking the lead.

sorry. i'm sorry, madam secretary. >> clerk: there's no one on the public comment line. >> president feinstein: good thing for me. thank you. i forgot to do that first. public comment is closed. >> clerk: item 6, fire commission electricity of officer. due to the unexpected death of vice president tony rodriguez, there's a vacancy in the position of commission vice president. item a, nomination and elections of commission vice president. >> president feinstein: all right. just looking, and -- [please stand by]

>> we all miss him but as we move forward it's my honor and privilege to nominate the most senior member of our commission who's been dedicated pretty much the last 25 years to this commission's departments business and to the commission is my honor to nominate stephen nakajo to vice president. >> commissioner covington, i see your finger waving. >> second. >> thank you, i had a nomination and a second. we are ready,. >>. [roll call vote] and you accept the nomination? >> with great honor. >> you will now be vice

president of the fire commission. >> i want know, commissioner nakajo, i get to go first . you are teaching me. i really want to thank you for the grace toaccept this. you've been on thiscommission longer than any of us have . you have an incredible understanding of the department . the ins and outs and everything else that goes on and you have been ... you are just a tremendously giving person on all levels and i mean that bot personally and professionally . i want to thank you for accepting thisresponsibility . i look forward to working with you and learning from you and

all good thingswill happen so thank you . yes, commissioner nakajo. >> thank you very much madame president . thankyou for those very kind words . i want to say such a deep appreciation and support in terms of our fellow commissioners, to commit cleveland and to you commissioner covington because i know that the bottom line for all of us is concerned for this department and the city and county of san francisco. this is an emotional time as well as i'm sureall all of us to . out of respect and memory of commissioner rodriguez. we out this year president move

with the commission in terms of the to the day when we will be able tohave . i just wanted to say you and to humbly accept this and i'm privileged to serve the staff in this capacity. >> thank you. yes. thank you. >> item 7, agenda for next and future fire commission meeting . >> any suggestions? we do have some steps coming commissioner covington . >> i would like to know what has alreadybeen suggested .

>> so we do have the continuation from mta to come in and finish theirdiscussion on the slow streets program . i believe president feinstein wanted to do an update on the resolution that waspassed back in 2009 . that's resolution2009 03 . and the performance evaluation of the chief of department, commission secretary and department physician . >> where was that resolution madame secretary? >> it was a resolution passed in 2009 setting out deadlines and dates to comply with whether it's the election of officers in january there's a whole resolution that outlined timelines for what the

commissionneeded to get on their agenda . it was way before my time but that was all right. >> i'm just going to interject here madame secretary. it wasn't before my time since i'm so much older than youare . but it is a resolution that was passed by the commission. it does need amendment. i have spoken with our city attorney about it. and what needs to be updated and changed, there are things in their that don't apply anymore or fit anymore. it's just as old as it is, it's a one usetool .

so we're working on coming up with a modified resolution and we will bring it of course before the commission for adopting as the commissions resolution . and it's a work in progress but we are in communication many times a week and i'm sure our new city attorney just really would respond to me by this point because he communicates sofrequently . but that is going to be dated so we needto do that . and other than that, we can just moveforward on the other items . to try to get some things up-to-date here. we need to get some things up-to-date and i look forward. i'll shareeverything . i'll tell everybody and you

know, a group decision will be made. >> thank you for that clarification. >> on the word madamesecretary, any public comment ? >> there is nobodyon public comment .>> that public comments will be closed . >> does anybodyhave any further suggestions ? for future commission meetings? >> commissioner, was that you? >> yes madamepresident and thank you . i'm wondering at some point should the commission ever review the strategic plan for the department and at what point would the department be

ready to give us anupdate on the strategic plan ? >> i only know that normally strategic plans have dates to them from implementation. >> i think the strategic plan that was put together is probably four years ago. i'm going to guess. >> i have it here right now and it was ... 17. 2017 through 2021. >> right so it's getting time to probably have an update on it. that will really be at the discretion of the team. that's all i wanted to add adam secretary.

>> i appreciate that. geez, do youhave a comment on that ? >> thank youcommissioner cleveland . we haven't started, we started on it a while back with some different work groups for different parts ofit . and then we got distracted with budget and we are heading back to it and we are hoping to have a draft at the end of the year is that right for the commission? >> and of the year we will have the draft, we are working on i . >> so it needs to be for 2022 moving forward. >> sounds good. >> that soundsgood to meet you, thank you . >> we also have to schedule a closed session that we postponed so we need to putthat on the black back burner as well . >> is a disciplinary matter. >> that is correct.

>> right now we will remain on theback burner . >> don't forgetabout it . >> even i didn't forget, madame secretary but right now i'm not going to schedule that so we will. anything further? everybody's very quiet tonight. okay. >> item 8,adjournment . >> so moved, madame president. >> from commissioner cleveland, no, commissioner covington.

i take the motionfrom commissioner cleaveland and i take you as a second . >> president feinstein, i go to adjourn. >> vice president nakajo. >> i vote to adjourn. >> this meetingis adjourned at 6:12 . >> thankyou . >> take care, be well>> thank you commissioner . >>

>> we worked very hard with the san francisco venue coalition, the independent venue alliance to advocate for venues. put this issue on the radar of the supervisors and obviously mayor breed. the entertainment commission and the office of small business and we went to meetings and showed up and did public comment and it was a concerted effort between 50 venues in the city and they are kind of traditional like live performance venues and we all made a concerted effort to get out there and sound the alarm and to her credit, maybe breed really stepped up, worked

with matt haney, who is a supervisor haney was a huge champion for us and they got this done and they got $3 million into the sf venue recovery fund. >> we have represented about 40 independent venues in san francisco. basically, all the venues closed on march 13th, 2020. we were the first to close and we will be the last to reopen and we've had all the of the overhead costs are rent, mortgage, payroll, utilities and insurance with zero revenue. so many of these venues have been burning $1,000 a day just to stay closed. >> we have a huge music history here in san francisco and the part of our cultural fab lick

but it's also an economic driver. we produce $7 billion annual' here in san francisco and it's formidable. >> we've been very fortunate here. we've had the department of emergency management and ems division and using part of our building since last april and aside from being proud to i can't tell you how important to have some cost recovery coming in and income to keep the doors open. >> typically we'll have, three to 400 people working behind the teens to support the show and that is everything from the

teamsters and security staff and usualers, ticket takers, the folks that do our medical and the bar tenders and the people in the kitchen preparing food for backstage and concession and the people that sell key shirts and it's a pretty staggering amount of people that are out of work as a result of this one verne you going tarkanian. it doesn't work to open at reduced capacity. when we get past june 15th, out of the into the blue print for our economy we can open it it 100% and look at the festival in full capacity in october and we're just so grateful for the leadership of the mavor and dr. coal fax to make us the safest ♪ america and this is been hard for everybody in san francisco and the world but our

leadership has kept us safe and i trust them that they will let us know when it's safe to do that. >> a lot of people know about america is military stuff, bullying stuff, corporate stuff. when people like me and my friends go to these foreign country and play music, we're giving them an american cultural experience. it's important. the same way they can bring that here. it sounds comfy buyia, you know, we're a punk band and we're nasty and we were never much for peace and love and everything but that's the fertilizer that grows the big stuff that some day goes to bill graham's place and takes everybody's money but you have to start with us and so my hope is that allel groups and people make music and get together because without out,

hanging together we'll hang separately, you know. >> other venues like this, all over the place, not just in the san francisco bay area need to exist in order for communities to thrive and i'm not just talking about the arts communities, even if you are here to see a chuckle bucket comedy show and you are still experiencing humanity and in specific ways being able to gather with people and experience something together. and especially coming out of the pandemic, the loss of that in-person human connection recovering that in good ways is going to be vital for our entire society. >> it's a family club. most our staff has been working with us for 10 years so we feel

like a family. >> what people think of when they think of bottom of the hill and i get a lot of this is first of all, the first place i met my husband or where we had our first date and i love that and we love doing weddings and i expect there to be a wedding season post 2021 of all the make up we haddings and i hope that many people do that because we have had so many rock ep role weddings. >> i told my girlfriend, make sure you stand at the front of the stage and i can give you a kiss at midnight. at this got down on one knee at the stroke of midnight. it wasn't a public thing, i got down on one knee and said will you marry me and is he she had are you [beep] kidding me and i said no, i'm dead serious and she said yes. we were any time homicideel of the show.

we just paused for new year's eve and that was where i proposed to my wife. this is more than just a professional relationship it's more than just a relationship from a love of arts, it's where my family started. we'll always have a special place in my heart. >> venues, you know, represent so much. they are cultural beckons of a city. neighbors can learn and celebrate and mourn and dance together. venues and arts and culture are characterized as second responders to crisis and they provide a mental health outlet and a community center for people to come together at and it's the shared history of our city and these spaces is where we all come together and can celebrate. >> art often music opens up people to understanding the

fellow man and i mean, taz always necessary and if anything, it's going to be even more necessary as we come out of this to reach out and connect with people. >> we can sustain with food, water and shelter is accurate and does anybody have a good time over the last year? no. >> san francisco is a great down. i've been here many years and i love it here and it's a beautiful, beautiful, place to be music and art is key to that. drama, acting, movies, everything, everything that makes life worth living and that's what we've got to mow proteasome no san francisco and that's what is important now. [♪♪♪]

you're watching san francisco rising with chris manors. today's special guest is dr. steven zutnick. >> hello. the show is focused on restarting, rebuilding, and reimagining our city. the director of the therapy center of san francisco and he's a professor in counseling psychology at usf. he's here today to talk to us about resocializing, and returning to the office. welcome to the show. >>. >> thanks, chris. good to be back. >> as we re-open, people are having different reactions. some are embracing the recent shifts while others are having a hard time readjusting.

>> yes. i think it's an excellent question. my basic bias on this i think to give you a general overview is we ought to be following cdc suggestions and requirements, what they say, because that's where a lot of the things come. should i wear a mask. should i not wear a mask. my answer is, yes, absolutely. i think we should wear a mask. i think we should social distance. it not only makes an impact on covid, it makes an impact on other diseases as well. as you and i were chatting, the deaths from flu usually average 30,000 a year. we've had 2,500 deaths from the flu so far this year, but at the very least, you need to be vaccinated. >> going back to the office is

also an issue. there are some people are thrilled returning to work, others are nervous about it and there's a group of people who've been working onsite all along. let's start with those who are worried about returning to the office. what can be done to relieve their concerns? >> i think identifying a cohort of colleagues, fellow workers who you can just talk to and share experiences with. you know, when you look at the advantages of groups, the major one is when we sit and talk to other people, we suddenly discover, oh, this isn't just me, i'm not some strange guy here. so everybody else i'm talking to is worried about the same thing. i think that will raise awareness among people. to say, oh, i don't know, what are we going to do? do we have fresh air in here? can we open some windows? does the boss care if i wear a mask? >> how about those who've been

going to work all along. possibly the most traumatized. how would you talk to them about managing the possible stress and resentment they may have been feeling. >> the most at-risk population is the essential worker who because they are also one of the lowest paid populations, have taken the biggest hits and the most risks. they're still at high risk. so they're dealing with a lot. they're dealing with depression, anxiety, insomnia quite a bit. and you've got a lot of ptsd by the way one last point on the health care workers. that's the tip of the iceberg. these are also the people who often have the least access to therapy. so we've got all these people out of there who've been in the

trenches the entire time, never had a break, suffering a lot of trauma, and there are no services available for them. >> lastly, let's talk about management. with varying attitudes towards the lifting of restrictions, there may be some struggles in the work place. how would you advise management to ease the transition? >> management can encourage vaccination or require it. they can keep masks, physical distance, hand washing, all of these things. and hopefully management will be responsive. i think, you know, given the title that the series, this is all new. we're all just moving in to a whole new phase. we haven't begun to see the research that's going to come out of what we've just been through. we've been through a terrible pandemic. there's been a huge toll and i don't think we've seen the tip of the iceberg on the impact. >> do you have any final thoughts to share?

>> yeah. i think this pandemic has highlighted a lot of things. for me, certainly, is mental health professional and a behavioral scientist. it's clear to me, we need to educate people about science. this is not unknowable to people. the basic of science is constant questioning. when you ask a question in research, you get one answer and about five new questions. things evolve continuously. so, yeah, when the cdc first came out a year and a half ago, they said, no, we don't need masks and then they said oh, we do and then everybody went crazy. oh, look how bad the sciencetists are. that's exactly what science does. we thought we didn't need it. then we discovered it was air

born. i think we're seeing we have huge holes in the health care system and conversely, i think we're finding with the vaccination, what it means for everyone to have access to health care without worrying about how am i going to pay for it. so i think this is really forcing us to look at everything. it's been a very difficult time. it's going to continue to be a difficult time for people, but i think that's also getting us to look at some really critical issues in health care. >> well, thank you so much for coming on the show dr. zlotnick. well, thanks again. we'll be back with another episode of san francisco rising shortly. for sfgov tv i'm chris manors. thanks for watching.

thank you for joining us today. to sign this budget. now that everyone has gotten what they wanted they've all went on vacation except the real, true, dedicated people here in san francisco. so, thank you to the members of the board of supervisors, joining us today. thank you to the members of our budget team, joining us today, and others to sign this budget and to make it official. i, for one, am really glad that we are at this point so that we can take a much needed break and they're feeling the same way. he started his break going to the giant's game. >> i should have got better results. >> i was wondering if that was going on and goodness. we came can't do that with the dodgers. they talk so much mess. the mayor already texted