>> commissioner griffin: here. >> commissioner hallisy: here. >> commissioner jupiter-jones: here. >> commissioner mazzola: here. >> the san francisco recreation and park commission acknowledges that we occupy the unceded ancestral homeland of the ramaytush ohlone people. we honor the people for their enduring commitment to mother earth. as the indigenous protecters and of the land, the ramaytush ohlone has never ceded, lost nor forgotten their responsibilities to this place. as stewards of parkland we

recognize our duty to honor the ramaytush ohlone. as uninvited guests we affirm their sovereign rights as first peoples and wish to pay respects to the elders of the ramaytush ohlone community. welcome to the park and rec commission meeting this thursday, april 21, 2022. this is being held in hybrid format. there are options to participate remotely. members of the public who are joining us in room 416 must be seated at all times unless you're up to speak during public comment. there is plenty of seats -- i won't bother with that piece. you may be view the meeting live on sfgovtv and you may also call in to provide public comment remotely. i would like to remind all individuals that all health and safety protocols and building rules must be adhered to. this includes wearing a mask over your mouth and nose.

failure to adhere to these requirements may result in removal of you from the room. please note that hand sanitizer stations are available throughout the building. public comment will be available for each item on the agenda. each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak. it's available via phone by call 1-415-655-0001 and the access code is 2480 097 5558. when you hear the agenda item you would like to comment on called, dial star 3. you'll be lined up in the system. while waiting, the system will be silent. the system will notify you when you're in line or waiting. everyone must account for the time delays and speaking

discrepancies between live streaming. you may submit public comment in either of the following ways. if you submit public comment via e-mail, it will be included in the legislative file as part of the matter. written comments may also be sent via the u.s. postal service. please note that this commission meeting is being recorded. we are now on item 2. the continuation of remote meetings. >> president buell: are you looking for the commission to adopt the resolution? >> so we can continue remote meetings necessary for the next 30 days. >> do we want to ask for public comment? >> do you have any public comment in the room? seeing no public comment in the room, sfgovtv -- 0 public comment on the line. seeing no public comment, public

comment is closed. >> president buell: chair would entertain a motion. moved and seconded. all those in favor? it that sounds like it's unanimous. around the world. >> motion passes. we're on item 3, president's report. >> president buell: thank you very much. as is my custom when we receive laud tory comments unsolicited from the public about our department, i like to acknowledge them. this is a communication to general manager ginsburg, i wish to thank ms. briana for her patron service. she answered all my questions clearly and efficiently. i purchased 20 visits to the north beach swimming pool to add to the number of visits i had on my card. she provides exceptional customer service. she is professional. i can tell she takes great pride in her job and really enjoys her job.

she's a wonderful and great ambassador for san francisco parks and recreation department. she deserves the highest awards and commendations from rec and park. best regards. the second is to mr. ginsburg as well. hang on a minute. this is phil ginsburg and a mr. nate, so phil can -- >> nate ford. >> i know you said you don't do this, but i want to have done for myself, the girls and others, the things you've done is very much appreciated. i'm thomas wilson, i'm deaf and living in the tenderloin. i want to thank mr. nate ford

who has helped me navigate the processes in enrolling my children for the summer programs. he sat we come e -- his patience with me as well as his willingness to go the extra mile to make sure my kids are fed each day. i'm single father who has fallen on hard times and my kids are my rock and all i have. nate takes the time to make sure that even now they have activities to do on the weekends. mr. nate has connected me with a part-time job at the recycling plant. i could never pay mr. nate back for all the assistance he's provided to me and my kids, i can only think that god has sent mr. nate to help me get back on my feet. for that i am forever grateful to him. in return, i would like to say i have taught him to communicate

with a deaf person as he signs to me now. if there is an award, i think mr. nate should be the front-runner. his sense of community and understanding make him a superhero to many. please extend my gratitude to mr. nate for all the work he does with underserved communities and people with disabilities. he is a gem. and that's really a very rewarding communication on a number of fronts, so, mr. ginsburg, please extend to both those employees the commission's commendation. >> thank you, president. i can think of no greater knowledge than having them commended by you and your fellow commissioners. >> president buell: thank you very much. that concludes my report.

>> any public comment on the president's report in room 416? seeing none, is there any -- zero on the line. i just want to remind folks on the line, that you can dial star 3 to be added to the queue to speak, but seeing no comment on the line. public comment is closed. we're now on item 4, the general manager's report. >> thank you, ashley. good morning, commissioners. i want to thank everyone who came out to our spring extravaganza event which was egg hsh ze lent. this year's free event attracted 3500 kids and parents who enjoyed egg hunts, carnival rides, live entertainment and more. i want to thank our entire staff, but particularly anne-marie, donnie, the

custodians and gardeners. our staff has again proven to be one of the most talented and nimble groups in the city and serve the needs of the city. it was a joyous afternoon and i really enjoyed my time with the three of you out there. thank you for coming. really appreciate it. ready for this? so, speaking of joint effort -- [laughter] -- an estimated 20,000 people came out to celebrate the highly anticipated return of the annual 4-20 marijuana event at hippie hill in golden gate park after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. the event was a star-studded affair, no joke, by mike tyson, rapper burner, and a couple of

their buds named herb and mary jane. [laughter] to be blunt, this event has been a strain on our resources in the past, but several city agencies obviously including ours, the office of cannabis, the department of public health, sfpd, fire, department of emergency management, m.t.a., came together and hashed out the details with local merchants and event organizers to enjoy -- to ensure a safe and enjoyable event for everyone. thank you very much. [laughter]. 4-20 is the super bowl of dad jokes. if i may be just serious for a second, for those who don't know, this was an event that happened to us whether we liked it or not. and actually our mayor was extremely courageous when she

was a supervisor and said, listen, we need to ensure public safety and let's just even before cannabis was legal, we're going to put some structure to this. we had an amazing partner, event production company called downs bizarre, alex, who is a haight ashbury merchant to works hard with us to make sure this event is smooth and, you know, if you had asked me back in 2013 or 2014 whether in 2022, 4-20 would include food trucks, music, comedians and a v.i.p. area, i would have asked you what you were smoking? but it was probably the smoothest event that we've had. i really want to congratulate our new ranger dave murphy, marcus santiago and the entire team. it does require us to be out, alert and attentive from about

5:00 a.m. to about 6:00 or 7:00 p.m., but the cleanup went swimmingly last night. the park is in great shape. and i think for the entire day there may have only been four -- nothing serious. so everyone was healthy. and obviously, there was enthusiasm after a two year high-atus. but i'm very proud of our collective effort. it is earth month and you can celebrate earth month by getting outside in the parks and participating in a number of activities and volunteer events, including a park-wide volunteer day in golden gate park with one tree planted this saturday, april 23rd, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the signup for a specific location including conseratory

valley, robin williams meadow, you can visit our website. there will also be a bike ride for climate action this eight from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. celebrating earth day and the recent passage of the climate action plan in partnership with the san francisco department of firemen, this bike ride will stop in multiple spots in the park to show what san franciscans are doing to create a low carbon city. there will be an earth day on the green celebration on alemany farm, featuring tours, plantings, performances, workshops and more. and an international earth day celebration with the golden gate audubon society and phil ting from 10:00 a.m. to noon. these events can be found on our

website. commissioner louie, commissioner jones, for you in particular, although i think there -- commissioner buell -- dog-fest join mckinley elementary for a celebration of dogs, community and family at debows park this saturday. this event is a charitable event that raises funds for mckinley elementary school starting 15 years ago. dog-fest has grown into a beloved san francisco tradition. the park is filled with carnival style games while jumping castles keep it busy. dogs are the star of the event. there will be food trucks, doggy adoption zone and much, much more. a busy day on saturday.

you can also head to the tenderloin to join mobilized love and circus center for the tenderloin kids carnival at the will tenderloin rec center. it will feature free food, raffle prizes, games. you can join the san francisco public library rec and park and community partners for a day celebrating children and books. the free event will take place sunday, april 24 from noon to 4:00 p.m. the park on 23rd street. there will be entertainment, joy and literacy for the whole family. create with nature programming. i have a quick update on camp mather, specifically the senior camp mather getaway. the deadline to register for the

senior camp mather getaway lottery is tomorrow, friday, april 22nd. four-night trip from august 21-25 with a fabulous fifties theme provides an opportunity for those 55 and better to relax, lounge, enjoy nature and have a good time. activities include arts and craft, sing-along, exercise classes, a one-day trip to yosemite park and more. for more information you can visit our website. our regular camp mather season still has room with 234 vacancies as of yesterday. staff is currently working to fill those spots from folks on the wait list. the way it works, if you register for the lottery and you didn't get a spot, you go on a wait list based on the -- where you sit on the wait list, we work it down and see if you're

available to go. our summer day camps have about a thousand openings out of more than 9,000 due to in number of cancellations. we offered priority registration to scholarship families and public housing families resulting in nearly 3,000 registrations from nearly 750 unique customers during that period. that is something that, commissioners, you should all be proud of. this is a new thing. we actually give advance fee registration to our public housing families. we've given over 200 scholarships to families, but for those parents tripping out about what their kids are going to do this summer, come see us. we still have spots. we have wonderful affordable camps where you can also get

scholarships eligible all summer long. last, but not least, we are very excited to share that the new francisco park will finally be opening next wednesday, april 27, from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. this brand new park includes a playground, dog play area, community garden and more. you can join us for the ribbon-cutting, brief remark and activity through the day. the park project was a public-private partnership with the francisco park conservancy. the project will mark the transformation of this abandoned reservoir site. and that, mr. president,

concludes the general manager's report. >> president buell: thank you very much. >> is there any public comment on the general manager's report in room 416? seeing none, is there public comment on our line? you can dial star 3 to be added to the queue. seeing no hands raised there, public comment is closed. we are now on item 5. general public comment up to 15 minutes. this item will be continued to item number 10. at this time, members of the public may address the commission on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission and that do not appear on the agenda. with respect to agenda items, you'll have the opportunity to address the commission when the item is reached in the meeting. is there anybody on the line that would like to speak, you can dial star 3 now. we're going to take public comment in room 416 first. if you're here for general public comment, please come up to the mic. you'll have two minutes to speak.

on march 17, you had a hearing regarding a rent increase for dredging of west harbor. normally an expenditure of over $500,000 would go to the operations and your capital and also the people affected would have a notice. none of that occurred. it was rushed up to the committee for a vote without enough discussion. two minutes is not enough to give you the information. and we're requesting that you reopen that before it goes to the board of supervisors, otherwise all this is going to be aired in front of the board of supervisors wasting everyone's time. i believe it should be remanded back to the braces committee -- operations committee and capital committee so we can have a good discussion and other points of view. as you know from the letters i sent you, there was no notice to the berth holders at all, even

though they said there was. the increases have been 277% since the project was begun. not the c.p.i. there is no waiting list. nobody wants any of the slips available because they're too shallow. 40-foot berth which i'm on the waiting list for, you have to have a boat that is only five or six feet. a 40-foot boat draws well over six feet. mine is six and a half feet. i'm trying to get out of my slip because it's too shallow. i'm stuck in the mud. the whole harbor has to be dredged. you voted on a project that is going to waste everyone's money. the whole harbor has to be dredged. it's a multimillion dollar problem. we would have brought engineers in to talk to you about it. the sand pit outside which my colleague will talk about was authorized by bcdc and cal boating expected you were going

to maintain it. that 50-foot pit would have trapped all the sand that is now clogging the harbor. so i think you didn't have the information on which to vote. >> i'm sorry, your time is up. i do not know why the room did not make a bell sound. >> that's all right. you'll have my memos and supporting documents. >> next speaker. apologies of not having a warning. usually you have a bell at 30 seconds. >> i'm also a tenant of the harbor. i'm on the harbor association as well as i am appointed dock captain by the harbor master. so i represent all the tenants, especially the ones along marina boulevard. basically what i want to talk about is that we should not be doing this 21% increase and there was no proper notification. unfortunately, the reason we shouldn't be, we as tenants

shouldn't be looking at this 21% increase is because the harbor has been mismanaged from the get-go when it was redesigned and built before the america's cup in 2013. sadly, part of the mismanagement was the failure to hear the stipulations of the cbdc and the california permit. the loan covenants. the silting problem, everyone has known about it. they were supposed to put in a 50-foot pit to catch all the silting in and go away before it built up in the harbor. we now have a very serious risk. so, you know, i can't sail my sailboat in. i don't have an engine. i can't do that. and the harbor failed to develop

a $3 million reserve emergency fund for trainious like this. it was supposed to be set aside in the boat covenant which was not done. we suggest to use that money for take it from the general fund, not take it from the tenants who had nothing to do with this and did not have part of the mismanagement -- sorry about that and i'm done. come on up. the bell is not working. >> i'm unclear. what is continued to item 10. >> so we have general public comment in the meeting twice in case it goes past 15 minutes the first time. we will continue it to item 10 in case there is anyone else who

would like to speak. it's not an opportunity to speak twice. i'm going to start your time over. >> okay. my name is john goldman. i am a park user of the -- graves park, which is between 6th and 7th and harrison. i want to alert you to something going on. maybe you know about, maybe you don't. the rear area where the ball field is, really nice lighting there, has been locked to the public. it's been not accessible to the public. now according to code section 3.03, this can only -- the public can only be excluded from an area if your commission has voted to do that or if phil ginsburg the general manager has decided to do that. i don't know if you have voted to close the rear area of the victoria draves park, or not. i've heard a couple different

reasons that this may have occurred. i talked to park ranger liu and he said he thought there was going to be re-seeding in the back area. and that is why it's locked. however, that seems unlikely to me since normally that would occur in the fall to take advantage of the natural rains that occur over the winter. there has been no work in terms of re-seeding or restoration of grass. i don't think that's the reason it's locked. i've also heard there is dog activity back there and that may be the reason it's getting locked. i don't know. but what i do know, unless you have authorized public exclusion under section 3.03, which can only be done in case of an emergency or when the judgment of the rec and park commission or the general manager determines it's in the public's interest to clear that rear area, it shouldn't be locked. lately, even the batting area

has been getting locked. the batting cage area, that's been getting locked partially as well. i'm guessing the park ranger is doing that without authorization, or if there manager of the park -- >> sorry, your time is up. >> thank you. >> president buell: thank you. >> next speaker. thank you. >> hello, my name is victor gar va. i've been an active use other of the park. as you know, it is the only park of its kind in soma. we have absolutely amenities and

that park has been an important part of the community in soma. soma really needs community. so i would like to ask you guys to reopen the park. thank you. >> president buell: thank you very much. >> anyone else here to speak during public comment? come on up. drave drave >> hello, my name is -- i'm 23 years old. i grew up here in the city in san francisco. i went to sherman elementary school. mission high school. 2016 graduated. i just graduated from college last year from moore house college with a degree in philosophy. now i work as civic engagement director for the back on track and a youth engagement aid for the human rights commission. i've also advocated for the betterment of this city and the

youth. whether it be a city representative the school district or here in the city hall. it's been brought to my attention that the palace of fine arts, being an iconic landmark of this city is left wanting the community to do more. whether that be job fairs, town halls, i would like to talk more and work together. >> president buell: thank you. >> secretary: thank you. next speaker.

>> hello, everyone. my name is rej snodgrass. i'm from the richmond heights. moved very far away, but every summer we came back. every summer i got to spend time with my relative and go to the [indiscernible] -- that's where i started to understand about science, community and i fell in love with the iconic place so that when i became older i moved here and been here on and off for 20 years. i had a chance to be a tenant in the palace of fine arts. ended up making a bad decision, we were paying 80% of the rent, but i loved the place. we had moved but we were uniquely aware of the challenges and issues when there and also the opportunity. and so over the last few years, especially during the pandemic, we've seen a creeping business

model that scratches an itch where they skirt the real issues to build community with our historic landmark and they have no rent. and we've been enabling it. so we don't think it's very representative of the things that the community stands for. we really want to see people have real benefit tangibly out of it, represented publicly in the press, but also give a real benefit back to community. we're not here trying to make an issue. we spent time talking to people in the community that we feel are very representative and we feel like we have a handle on it. we want to speak with you and see if our ideas work to come up with something that fundamentally moves us to do something better with these landmarks. so we're here as friends. hopefully, we'll be able to show you some plans, show you some of

the people behind us. appreciate it. thank you very much. >> president buell: thank you. >> secretary: is there anyone else in the room that would like to speak during public comment? seeing none, i believe we have one hand raised on our lines. so you'll have two minutes to speak. i'm going to have to let you know when your time is up because our bell is not working in the room. but when up would like, please unmute the caller, jeanette. >> thank you. good morning, commissioners. thank you so much for allowing me to make a comment. my name is teresa brandner, i'm a san francisco resident. i've been a san francisco marina harbor tenant since 2004. a boat in the east harbor and west harbor. it's a beautiful harbor in a beautiful city and i'm just a little bit surprised this has

come up so abruptly. i did participate by phone on the -- in the march 17th commission meeting and that was regarding the vote on the proposed 21% rate increase. did i not find out -- i did not find out about this other than through the grapevine. there was no notification sent to me as a tenant and this is a pretty significant rate increase. i think if people had known, you would have a crowded room. since then, people have become notified through the network and people are furious about it. the reason they're furious, the comment was made this is an issue about people not wanting their rent to go up. we've had a consistent rent increase, they've been between 3% and 37% every year. that's not what this is about. this was about the justification that was presented for the increase and the issue that it's

intending to address. the information presented was inaccurate and partial and there was significant information and relevant history that was not presented or available to the commissioners as they were proceeding with their discussion. overall, the presentation i believe was misleading and i think, you know, there has been a proposal to reopen this matter. that's very important. and this is about -- not about people not wanting their rent increased, this is about due process to notify the voters, to be receptive to public comment and also doing some homework, finding out the right long-term solution. and we've been discussing this -- >> secretary: sorry, your time is up. thanks for understanding. sfgovtv, is there anyone else on the line? no further callers on the line. seeing no further comment, public comment is closed. okay, we're now on item 6. the consent calendar.

commissioners, is there anything you would like to remove from the consent calendar today? >> don't see any. >> we'll need a motion motion to approve the consent calendar. >> president buell: do we want any public comment? >> oh, right, thank you [laughter]. is there any public comment on the consent calendar in room 416? seeing none, is there any public comment on the line? anyone with their hand raised? no. seeing no public comment, public comment is closed. >> president buell: chair would entertain a motion. moved and seconded. all those in favor? so moved. thank you. >> okay, we're now on item 7, the election of officers. so i will go through a little bit of the process for the commissioners, but first i'd like to take public comment. is there any public comment on item 7, the election of officers

in room 416? seeing none, is there any public comment on our line? no callers there. public comment is now closed. the so, commissioners, this is a process for the election. we'll start with president, we'll need a motion and second to open the nominations for commission president, followed by a vote. i will then ask for nominations for president. >> i vote we open nominations. >> secretary: pardon me? >> let me just go through the rest of the process and then we'll do that. >> i'm sorry. >> secretary: no, no, it's okay. we'll start with president. a motion and second to open the nominations, followed by a vote on that. then nominations for president. once all the nominations are complete, we'll close. a motion and second to open the nominations first. >> i'd like to make a motion

that we open nominations for president. >> seconded. >> all those in favor? okay. great. so now i'm going to open the floor for nominations for president. >> i rise to nominate mark buell for another term as president. mark is definitely left a mark on san francisco in the most positive of ways. both in his raising of funds for not just parks in san francisco, but also the presidio. and he has always been somebody that's been there when the need arises. i feel it's an honor to have him as our president, therefore, i'd like to nominate president buell for another term. >> second. >> okay, are there any other nominations for commission president? okay.

seeing none, the nominations for commission president are closed. all those in favor for the nomination of commissioner buell to be president? any opposed? okay. motion passes. all right. so now we're moving on to vice president. so i need a motion to open the nominations for vice president. >> so moved. >> seconded. >> secretary: okay. all right. and all those in favor? >> aye. >> secretary: now would anyone like to nominate someone for commission vice president? >> i would, ashley. colleagues, i kat anderson is with us virtually, and it gives me great pride and i respectfully nominate her, kat anderson as vice president of the rec and park commission.

as you know, kat is an example of all good things. she was first appointed to the commission in 2016 by mayor ed lee and then reappointed for her second term by mayor breed. it's always extra special when you are the first of anything. and when it comes to history of san francisco let it go down in the history books that kat anderson will always be the first woman to serve as vice president on the rec and park commission. so, let this be a feather in her bonnet and pride for all women that serve this great city. and she leads with truth and integrity. she loves the great outdoors. and, colleagues, kat always asks great oversight questions. i nominate kat anderson as v.p.

of the commission. >> i would like to second the motion. >> thank you. >> secretary: any other nominations for vice president of the commission? seeing none, nominations are closed. all those in favor for kat anderson to be vice president of the commission? >> aye. >> any opposed? okay. motion passes. i don't know if either of you would like to say anything, but the floor is yours. >> president buell: well, commissioner anderson, would you like to say something? >> vice president anderson: yes, thank you. i hope everybody can hear me all right. >> yes, we can hear you. >> vice president anderson: i feel very proud to serve with all of you, my colleagues on the commission. i want to thank you for another vote of confidence. and also really the wonderful staff that we have, the commission and the department. phil, you've built a great leadership team and all the

people that work with you and for you and for all of us in the city, i just want to extend my incredible gratitude, my admiration for every single one of you. what you do is so important for all of us in the city. when i hear that you're happy working in the department, that makes me really happy. i'm sure there is always room for improvement, so if anyone ever wants to come to me and talk about things, i'm here. but i think overall we're doing a really fine job and i've been a citizen of the city for a long, long time and the park and the recreation spaces have never been better. and again i just want to express my great appreciation for all that you do. and to my colleagues on the commission, you guys are great. you're my brothers and sisters, i love you guys, thank you so much. >> president buell: thank you, commissioner. let me say first, commissioner

griffin, thank you for the kind words. i genuinely appreciate it. first and foremost, i don't take this for granted and i hope it's appreciated that i very much enjoy this work. and i care passionately about the parks. more importantly, though, you know consistently when we have bond measures on the ballot it requires a two-thirds vote and consistently the public supports it. we have over 70% plus support in the city, it's not the highest among the top three. and that vote of confidence can't happen without a reflection of what the park system is about and what condition it's in and what leadership it has. and so i'm very much appreciative that the public appreciates what is going on here and the effort that goes into it. and i also commend all the

staff. it's really a very rewarding experience. i was chatting with commissioner mazzola earlier today about being on this commission and from time to time people are offered other opportunities and reflect that they'd rather be here. and i think that's a real representation, too, of the condition of both the commission and the system. so with that i thank you all. i'm very grateful. >> mr. president? >> president buell: yes? >> i'm sorry, i would also like to thank commissioner louie for your very thoughtful and somewhat embarrassing words [laughter]. thank you so much for giving me a little bit of credit. i appreciate that. and i also want to thank our mayor. thank you, mayor london breed and your entire staff for nominating me to another term. i hope that i'm doing a good job for you. >> president buell: thank you, commissioner.

>> secretary: all right. we are done with the election of officers. and we're now on item 8. the san francisco zoo. is there anyone here to give the zoo report? >> yes, hello, come on up. did you have anything for the screen? let me know and sfgovtv will put it up. sfgovtv, can you put the power point up on the screen? thank you. here, let me turn on that mic. >> hello. thank you. first of all, good morning, everyone. thank you very much. i'm vice president of the --

[indiscernible] -- take the opportunity to go over a few of our programs that we're doing at the san francisco zoo. >> president buell: excuse me one second. is there any way to raise the volume? >> you can speak into the other mic and just advance the slides as you kind of go. i know the other one used to be longer. >> can you hear me now? >> yes. >> all right. so, i'm going to start off with the program administration followed by staff and volunteers, suppliers and finally our visitors and how we interact with all of them. program administration is broke up with the diversity team from outside facilitator and various levels of management. we have weekly meetings and we eight and measure the goals. the goals here at the zoo are simple. first of all, we have hiring

with -- [indiscernible] -- we also have distributing online surveys and training. we want to get a good metric of what our staff is in and where we need to go in the future. after training, we have members of the group facilitate those groups so people can talk about what they've learned, their feelings about the different issues and where to move forward from there. finally, we seek to improve -- diversity and -- [indiscernible] looking as far as our training, we have the online portal access to our employees. in such, all the information is right there on what the committee is doing, what our advances are for the zoo as well as the unconscious bias training, the book club, which is another outlet for employees to go ahead and share their thoughts on different matters.

we have two of big programs, those are gateway high school and oceana high school, with those bringing in underrepresented youth, they can see the zoo from a different angle. they can learn things they wouldn't be exposed to in the classroom setting, hospital, wellness, marketing and education for example and our operations department. it gives them an in-track on things they wouldn't be exposed. the leadership fellows, we have an opportunity for them to get their volunteer requirements for their high school and that gives them necessary skills to advance not only in the zoo world, but outside, too. then we have our spring bilingual spanish immersion camp. it's been primarily done all in spanish. it's a trial camp we're doing right now. it was great initially. so we're trying that now for the

next eight weeks. our suppliers, we -- our security group and food and beverage group. we make sure they have the diversity programs because we don't want to be the only ones doing this. we want to make sure all of our suppliers and partners are following this through, too. and because diversity is not just about ethnicity, it's also about economic diversity, one of the programs we want to put forward, we want to start continuing our programs of the field trips for s.f. schools as well as our community partners and one of the big things we have, too, as well, our museums for all program. those with the snap ebt cards, they can get up to four tickets to the zoo for only $3. it's increased with 1.5% to 4% and to now 7% of the actual gate admissions. it's a huge step forward.

giving accessibility to the zoo to everyone right there. and we have community engagement. the commune engagement front we want to make sure that it's also about neuro diversity, so whether it's compliance with ada, playgrounds, different languages, we make sure to have that throughout the zoo. especially in the playground area and sculpture garden. you can build different things. you wouldn't normally get an opportunity to do. lastly, a different kind of marketing channels. we want to reach out to different audiences, venues. increase in diversity at the zoo, not just going through the channels, but opening the zoo to different people. conclusion, i want to go ahead and internal training, support,

open dialogue, make sure partners are following suit as well, outreach to underrepresented groups. thank you very much. >> president buell: thank you very much. >> secretary: thank you. any public comment on item 8 in room 416? seeing none, is there any public comment on the line? you can dial star 3. we have zero hands raised there. public comment is closed. this is a discussion only item. did you have anything you wanted to say? >> yes, i had a question. one of the bullet points in your presentation, i personally was interested in and you really didn't say much about it and that was the senior stroll. could you explain what that is? >> i apologize. >> that's okay. >> in order for the seniors to see the zoo for themselves, especially during the pandemic, we want to give them a chance to

get to the zoo an hour early. once a month we open 9:00 and from 9:00 to 10:00 it's just the seniors that have access to the zoo during that time. we also offer a guided tour. they're free to roam the zoo at their own pace as well. >> thank you. >> president buell: thank you. >> secretary: anyone else? all right. we are now on item 9, san francisco parks alliance annual support fiscal year 22 to fiscal year 23. sfgovtv, can you put the presentation up? they both work, it's just if you don't want to lean down, you can

talk in this one. i know -- >> i'm going to fumble around and we'll do the best we can. good morning, commissioners. i'm lisa bransten director of partnership at the rec and park department. i'm here today -- excuse me -- to request that this commission recommend to the board of -- that the board of supervisors authorize the department to accept and expend up to $390,000 of cash or in-kind grants for annual support for community events, staff development, and appreciation, recreation programming and other activities, from the san francisco parks alliance for fiscal year 2022-23. so the upcoming fiscal year. i wanted to pause for a moment and note that there is a change in this item from what you heard at committee which was a discussion-only item and now it's an action item seeking your recommendation to the board.

and that's because as you probably know, the city has adopted a behested payment ordinance that restricts departments from soliciting funds from interested parties. we've been receiving guidance from the city attorney that should allow a portion of the support to move forward. i'll provide a little more detail on that at the end of my presentation. so, what we're asking for is your approval to accept as much of this annual support as we determine in consultation with the city attorney that we can expect. and then, again, as you'll recall from other recent presentations in may of last year, the department and the parks alliance entered into an m.o.u. which summarized the overall relationship between the organizations. the department also made a commitment to seek accepted expend of annual support prior

to the fiscal year as opposed to retroactively as had been done in the past. the m.o.u. also required that the parks alliance be aligned with the parks strategic plan. shown on this slide is the parks alliance's planned annual support funding for the departments for next fiscal year. this year, the departments admin and finance division and partnership divisions worked with each individual department division to establish estimated budgets based on planned programs and activities for fiscal year 22-23. and this is in the past we'd been using average amounts so. this was a much more proactive approach. the result, if you go to divisions and asked them what they'd like to do, they come up with a lot of ideas.

so we really have some exciting things we'd like to do with this funding, but that did result in a larger than average amount of funding required by the different divisions of the department because annual support spending was much lower in fiscal year '21 and '22 because of covid, we believe we have the funds to support all of these different programs. this slide lists the category of funding as outlined in m.o.u. and notes that all of the projects are in alignment with the department's strategic plan as approved by this commission. and then i'll just give you a little bit of detail on these items and what the divisions would like to do. some new and some existing programs. so, in the youth development category includes support for the department's three major youth employment programs. the funding to establish a new green ages cohort from the

tenderloin. it also includes some funding for the department's tennis and learning center program which is housed around the city and has a hub at the golden gate park tennis center. community events includes funding for the departments for annual seasonal events like last weekend and the tree lighting and extra funding for these events, for example, would allow the department to hire extra rides and that would reduce line time and add excellence to these events that the department primarily funds with public funding. and then there is -- we're expecting a return of public screening events to civic center plaza or somewhere in the city as there are big soccer games coming up around thanksgiving time.

and, of course, this fund -- these funds support our bench maintenance work. and particularly the commemorative bench program. the category funds materials and supplies and also generates funding for other projects that the department undertake. and then one thing that we want to do in partnerships next year is update your partnership pathway brochure. this was developed early in my time at the department. it needs an update because of all the experience we have gained working with so many partners across the city. and then in the recreation programs category, the funds will support miscellaneous program expenses such as our annual recertification of the mobile rock wall. and then in the staff development category, the

support will fund staff development such as our r.p.d.u. employee conference and staff attendance at greater and greener and other nationwide park conferences. we'll also continue to fund our employee recognition programs which as i've noted a number of times before this commission, we truly believe has resulted in an exceptionally high level of staff job satisfaction. and one new program under consideration would be a new junior rangers program run out of the department's ranger division. and lastly, additional support for materials and supplies for park volunteers day. so a little bit about current

status and next steps. our next step is with this commission's support to submit accept and expend legislation along with the department's budget and seek approval this spring, early summer, following consultation with the city attorney's office. as i mentioned at the beginning of the presentation, the consultation is necessary because of the new behested payments ordinance enacted in january that prohibits soliciting donations from interested parties. this includes parties with permits or contracts with the department and since the park alliance does have permits by holding events in parks and has various agreements with the department, we are regulated by the ordinance and it prohibits us from soliciting funding from the parks alliance. but we're moving forward with the acceptance of the bench program, we're moving forward with this, because there is funding from the bench program

that the parks alliance is required to set aside proceeds from that program and early analysis from the city attorney about the contractual obligation and not a behest and we believe there is enough funding in the bench program to fund next year's programming as we work to determine other ways to adapt the relationship to the new law. and then also to let you know, there is a measure on the june ballot called measure e that basically takes the existing behested payments legislation and raises the bar for future amendments or exceptions to the law to require that they be passed both by a majority of the commission and the super majority or eight members of the board of supervisors. and one last note is that we will continue to provide quarterly updates on annual support expenditures to this commission for increased transparency. so the commission will actually

see all of the proposed and hopefully approved spending as it occurs, or shortly thereafter, next year. i hope you'll move this on to the full board of supervisors. i know this is -- i know it seems complicated to me and i'm happy to answer questions. >> president buell: thank you very much. >> secretary: i do not believe there are any members of the public in room 416 -- unless there is somebody hiding? great, checking. i think we have one raised hand on the line. is that still the case? yes. okay. for those of you on the line, if you'd like to comment on the item, dial star 3 and you can unmute the first caller. you'll have two minutes to speak and i'll let you know when time is up. the bell is not working. >> i'm a research and development associate from the san francisco parks alliance. for 50 years, our mission has

been to partner with communities and public agencies to create, sustain and advocate our public spaces that belong to everyone. the proud partners of the recreation parks department, i ask you accept this gift of annual support to assist in their important work for communities and recreation programming and the development and appreciation of their hard-working staff. thank you. >> president buell: thank you. >> secretary: anyone on the line with their hand raised now? no? okay. seeing no further callers, public comment is closed. >> president buell: comments or questions? i'm personally gratified to see this evolve into a more transparent process. i have never thought that there was a need for it, but it clearly became one in the last year. and so i want to thank the staff for being responsive to that issue. and i see mr. ginsburg, you have

a comment. >> two comments. the first one is just to acknowledge lisa and work that she's done and what has been perhaps the most absurd and challenging two years of partnership work and development work that anybody who knows anything about this profession could possibly anticipate. and lisa has done it all with incredible grace, resilience, extreme competence and most of all, the most transparent ethics of anyone anywhere. so i want to get that out of the way. the second thing i want to say is that while lisa has presented to you a little bit of the flavor of why we raise money, the types of programs and the things that we do when we raise

money. and i don't think that any of you would, you know, second-guess any one of those items. but the third thing is, the legislation that was passed by the board of supervisors -- i know we do not talk about how it measures in this -- ballot measures in this room, but the legislation that was passed by the board of supervisors will have a very, very significant impact on our park system. it's going to have a significant impact on our entire city. across city agencies that will literally be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of projects and programs which will no longer be. so we have our work cut out for us to figure out a path forward that offers the ethics and transparency that the public needs and demands, but that still allows us to do our work. and what was passed does not.

>> president buell: thank you. commissioner louie? >> commissioner louie: thank you, lisa. and, colleagues, you know, it just makes our panel here so grateful for all the philanthropic sponsors. my parents raised me to always give back to the community, and we have a lot of philanthropic successful throughout the nation that love their parks. so it's just -- to me it's a little sad that, you know, we have to have this, but i understand and agree with transparency in the city. but i -- it just makes me extra grateful for those who step up and give and support and beautify this city. >> president buell: thank you. before i ask for commissioner

griffin, let me get a clarification, do we require action? has this been modified to require action? >> yes. >> we're going to lose commissioner mazzola. >> i'll make a motion that we send this request to the board of supervisors to accept this grant for $390,300. so moved. >> second. >> president buell: moved and seconded. any questions, comments? all those in favor? opposed? hearing none, it is unanimous. thank you very much, lisa. >> lisa, before you go i wanted to commend you for the work that you've done over the last several years and what you've had to put up with. thank you so much. when i was appointed to this

commission and started going around to the parks again that i visited as a child, as a teenager, i noticed how beautiful they are. and i just don't think that they would look the same way if we had to just depend on general fund dollars. so thank you for your work. thank you for your work. >> hear, hear. >> we're on item 10, general public comment. is there anyone on the webex who would like to raise their hand to provide public comment? nobody is there. so seeing no callers, public comment is closed. we're now on item 11. commissioners' matters. commissioners, anything to share? >> president buell: don't see any. >> okay. and i'm just going to say that seeing no public comment, public comment is closed on commissioners' matters because there is nobody in the room and

nobody on the line. item 12, new business agenda setting. commissioners, anything? >> i'm not sure if this is agenda setting. but the public comment around victoria manalo draves park, if we could just make sure -- >> i'm checking with staff, commissioner. i think, although i want entirely clear of their focus, we do throughout our system as you know, we do keep baseball fields particularly during baseball season closed to off-leash dog use and things like that. the field was just renovated. so i'm checking with staff. d.m.d. of the park is open. it's possible that as they mentioned, the rear, which is where the baseball field is, that makes me think this is possible this is a dog issue. i know that the field is open during the day. >> that's what i thought. sometimes it's used for schools.

>> to the extent that anything is closed beyond our normal maintenance practices, we'll make sure that is corrected. >> thank you. >> president buell: thank you. seeing no other questions. >> secretary: any public comment -- there is no public comment on item 12 because, again, there is no public here or on the line. so public comment is closed. we're on item 13. there is no public comment again, so public comment is closed. commissioners, anything to say about item 13? okay, we're now on item 14, adjournment. >> president buell: recommend a motion. >> so moved. moved and second. it is unanimous. thank you very much. >> secretary: we are adjourned.

we are celebrating the glorious grand opening of the chinese rec center. ♪ 1951, 60 years ago, our first kids began to play in the chinese wrecks center -- rec center. >> i was 10 years old at the time. i spent just about my whole life here. >> i came here to learn dancing. by we came -- >> we had a good

time. made a lot of friends here. crisises part of the 2008 clean neighborhood park fund, and this is so important to our families. for many people who live in chinatown, this is their backyard. this is where many people come to congregate, and we are so happy to be able to deliver this project on time and under budget. >> a reason we all agreed to name this memorex center is because it is part of the history of i hear -- to name this rec center, is because it is part of the history of san francisco. >> they took off from logan airport, and the call of duty was to alert american airlines that her plane was hijacked, and

she stayed on the phone prior to the crash into the no. 9 world trade center. >> i would like to claim today the center and the naming of it. [applause] >> kmer i actually challenged me to a little bit of a ping pong -- the mayor actually challenge me to a little bit of a ping- pong, so i accept your challenge. ♪ >> it is an amazing spot. it is a state of the art center. >> is beautiful. rights i would like to come

here and join them

well, happy women's history month to you all. i'm kimberly ellis. i'm the director for the san francisco department on the status of women. and i have the