thankful and i am thankful for thankful and i am thankful for >> good morning and welcome to the rules committee of the san francisco board of supervisors for today, monday, may 9th, 2022. i am the chair of the

committee. joined to my right joined by rafael mandelman and to my left by committee member supervisor connie chan. our clerk is mr. victor young. do you have any announcements? >> yes, the board of supervisors and its committees are convening hybrid meetings that allow in person attendance and public comment while still providing remote access via telephone. the board recognizes that equitable public access is essential and will be taking public comment as follows. first public comment we will be taking on each item on the agenda, those attending in person can speak first and those -- and then we will take those who are waiting on the telephone line. for anyone who watches online or on t.v., the public comment call in number is streaming across the screen. the number is (415)655-0001. enter the meeting id of 2-490-534-8946 and press pound and pound again.

when connected you will hear the meeting's discussion. when your item of interest comes up, public comment is called. those joining in person should line up. you should dial star three to be added to the speaker line. if you are on the telephone, turned on your t.v. and all listening devices. as indicated, we will take public comment from those in person first then go to public comment telephone lines. alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing. you can e-mail to me or you can send by letter mail. you may also send your written comment by u.s. mail to our office. finally, items acted upon today will appear in the board of

supervisors agenda on may 17th, 2022 unless otherwise stated. that completes my initial announcements. >> thank you. please read item one through three together insofar as they are all related. >> item number 1 is an ordinance amending demonstrate of quote to allow the public work to allow the new department of sanitation and streets with administration supports, emergency planning, training, and employee safety services to require public works commissioners. item two is a hearing to consider appointing one member and one member term ending july first, 2026 to the sanitation and streets commission. item three is the appointments

of an individual to the sanitation and streets commission. >> colleagues, you would prefer that a couple of years ago in 2020, this board of supervisors put a charter amendment on the ballot that was the primary sponsor of which was our former colleague, matt haney. i think we voted unanimously to put on the ballot in the wake of -- what's that? you voted know? god bless you, supervisor mandelman. i take that back. amazing what two years will do to one's memory. were you the only vote no? apparently it was a split vote. i will go back and read that and figure out who chose to vote no. the voters embraced that. this was all in the wake of the

revelations of the corruption of the then head of public works that we are still dealing with. there had been earlier attempts at having public works have a commission. it was one of the only major departments in city government that did not have one. the proposal that was before us, that ultimately the voters voted for to amend our charter, not only created a public works commission, but also split the department into a public works and sanitation and streets departments with commissions over both of them. i have to say candidly that given the complications in bisecting those departments that have existed as one for over a century and the cost associated with it, and the bureaucratic inefficiencies, i have some

regrets about the way that we forwarded that to the voters. it is not too late to fix them. but for the time being, we have to move ahead. and to that end, we have a number of administrative things that we need to do, and that is set forth in item number 1. and we have to seek two commissions and that is set forth in items number 2 and 3. i am pleased that we we -- that we will be seeing additional nominations to the remaining positions in the weeks to come. with that as background, let me invite up from our city and ministry to's office that has been overseeing this split, rachel alonso, who can give us background on the process here

and tell us where we are going and then give us -- item number 1 is very straightforward, but give us a little bit of background on item number 1 then we will delve into commission appointments to the sanitation and streets commission for which we have three applicants. two from the board and one from the mayor before us today. >> great. thank you. good morning, chair peskin and supervisor chan and vice chair mandelman. i do have a presentation that someone on team has ready to share if, victor, we could get that out. >> it has been shared. it should translate over shortly. >> thank you. excellent. my name is rachel alonso. i am the prop be project director in the city administrator's office overseeing the planning and implementation of prop be. next slide, please. great. i think chair peskin already

found this, but it goes through anyway. on november 3rd, 2020, proposition b. is a charter amendment and it includes three primary provisions. first is creating a five-member commission to oversee san francisco public works. second is spinning off the operations department from public works into a new department for sanitation and streets and then establishing a five-member commission to oversee the saf department. the ballot measure did include some wiggle room for timing. this past december the board passed a motion setting the transition date as july 1st, 2020 do. which means that the commission will form on that day in the department will be created three months later or october 1st, 2022. i am here today regarding the charter section which pertains

to the administrative support for the new department. first i want to share prop be definition of admin support. the charter names eight specific admin functions. hr, performance management, finance, budgeting, it, emergency planning, training, and employee safety services. currently, three of those functions are housed within the city administrator's office via the general services agency and those three functions are hr, training, and employee safety. prop b. prohibits the new department from having these eight named admin functions for its first two years. in other words, from october 2022-2024, they must rely on other departments for admin support. the second key component of this charter section mandates that the board passed an ordinance by the transition date, which is

july 1st regarding how the shared admin services will be provided. and then briefly, a third component of the charter section requires the board to to -- pass and other ordnance if and when it decides that they should have their own admin services. as previously mentioned, this can't occur until two years and three months after the transition date the big date for everyone to remember is october 2024. that is the students they could transfer admin functions. they no need to refer to sas rather than to public works. it needs to be approved by july of the second -- the second ordinance needs to be submitted by july and we expect it will be introduced to the board in late

june and then go before committee sometime in september. next slide, please. okay. now that we are on the same page regarding the background of this item, let me dive into the specifics. section one, basically reiterates what i just described and what chair peskin entered earlier. it begins with section two on the middle of the second page. language is being added to the admin code regarding the s.a.s. department and it mandates that the department of public works shall provide the administrative support. this decision was very straightforward for most of the named admin functions as public works admin staff are already serving the operations division transferring to s.a.s. and as well as the capital divisions remaining at public works. and for the three admin functions that are currently within the area, this ordinance reflects the budget request that is currently under consideration

at the mayor's office to transfer h.r., training, and employee safety to public works. the h.r. team has historically been under resourced and i think we all agree that staffing up at public works and in the future is a top priority. upon reflection, we realize that having one team, trying to juggle competing demands was a suboptimal way to achieve the mutual goal of staffing up. allowing public works to control its own destiny and s.a.s.'s destiny seems like a better way to have stronger accountability around hiring. finally, section three of the ordinance incorporates requirements about the public works and sanitation's commissions into the campaign and governmental conduct code. specifying the commissioners who are mandated to file form 700 statements of economic

interests. we decided to take advantage of this ordinance to ensure the legal requirements are in place as soon as possible. these new positions have been assigned disclosure category one, meaning individuals sell -- shall disclose income including gifts from any source, interests in real property, investments and all business positions in which the designated employee is a director officer, partner trustee or holds any position of management. that is it for me today. i am joined virtually by ruth robertson, the deputy director of finance and admin at public works and we are happy to take any questions you might have. >> thank you for all the work you have been doing over the last couple of years and that presentation and the prop b. executive steering committee that you have participated in. i think all of this is straightforward.

i did want to ask, and we might have to take this off-line and you might not be prepared, and this might be more in the land of d.h.r., the department of human resources, i think we all agree, and not only relative to public works and this soon to be s.a.s. department, that staffing up is imperative across the board. on saturday we had the district three cleanup and i was inquiring of the various public works employees about what was going on and not surprisingly, staffing up and vacant positions was the uniform cry that i heard. and then we got down into the weeds as to what the problems are, and there are many and they are not new. they range from people who are

temporary, becoming permanent and how difficult that is and the fact that, apparently, even though there is a crying need, there are very few advertised positions that are available on the internet, which seemed odd. and then i even heard stories about how -- as we know, there are certain classifications that appear across departments. for us we have policy analysts that many other departments have from across the city. and that apparently, and if you don't know this, i totally would understand, that when the m.t.a. advertises 41310, then you can't advertise for 1310. is that true or untrue? >> that is a good question. this is why i have mr. robertson on the line in case any questions like this come up. he is better versed than i am at

answering that. are you there? >> i am. can you hear me? >> yes. >> thank you. it is a very good question. >> mr. robertson, you might have another device on in your office. we are getting an echo from you. thank you. >> i will put on a headset. is that better? >> yes. >> thank you. apologies about that. chair peskin, that is a very good question. i will certainly yield to some of the details of that question to the director of human resources. i will say, there is what is called a position based test and then there is a cbt, which is a class-based test. if it is a class-based test, there is one department that is

responsible for the administration and the proctoring of that examination. for instance, the controller's office handles some of the accounting classifications. and in this case, there was the 1310 pio position that was administered by the m.t.a. they are running it. i will gladly get back to it. i do not have all the details as to when that list is available for other departments, i know there are some rules. and rather than provide inaccurate information, i will report back to the committee after consultation with my colleagues at the city administrator h.r. office, as well as d.h.r. in essence, 1310 was a cbt and there are some rules in terms of when the certification can go forward, and rather than go into and provide some potentially inaccurate information, i will provide that information to you in the coming days. >> thank you, mr. robertson. happy to meet with you off-line

and hold public hearings about it. i understand there is interdepartmental competition for positions at this moment in time. i was around -- it was around 12 years ago when it was opposite and people were bumping from departments and we were laying people off. this works both ways. okay. are there any questions or comments from committee members relative to item number 1? is there any public comment on item number 1? >> my apologies. give me a moment. this is public comment for item number 1. sorry. i'm trying to find my spot. members of the public who wish to speak on item number 1 and are joining us in person should line up to speak alongside of the room by the side of the window. there doesn't appear to be any. for those listening remotely, enter the meeting id.

once connected, you will need to press star three to enter the speaker line. for those already in the queue, please enter until you have been on muted. we have two callers on the line for public comment. >> for speaker, please -- first speaker, please. >> i'm here to speak on item number 4. >> if you press star three and go back into the speaker line, we will call upon you when this item comes up. next speaker, please. >> can we have the next caller? i believe you press star three to be added to the speaker line.

>> i oppose proposition b. and i think that adding this department is unnecessary and a distraction. and will not result in increased sanitation and cleanup of streets, including in the tenderloin unless this board allocates more resources to do so, which could have been done under previous budgets or even the upcoming budget. nevertheless, the city needs to make this work and i appreciate all the efforts of rachel and the team to implement the will of the voters by way of proposition b. and i think this ordinance is straightforward in providing the administrative support as was outlined. >> thank you very much. that was our last call her on

the phone line. >> public comment on item number 1 is closed. >> i will send you to the full board and eight -- on a positive recommendation. a roll call, please. >> yes. [ roll call ] >> the motion to be recommended is reckoned but -- adopted without objection. >> thank you. now we will hear from the two applicants from the board's appointments to the sanitation and streets commission for seats number 4 and 5. seat number 4 has to have experience in urban forestry, urban design or environmental services. that is a for a four-year term that would end on july 1st,

2024. we have an applicant for that seat. tom harrison, who is with us today is recommended for that seat. and seat number 5 is a seat that has to have experience in cleaning and maintaining public spaces for a four-year term that ends on july 1st, 2026. and we have, for that seat, a qualified applicant in the form of kim schulman. both of them are in the board chambers and we will take them in the order that they are peering -- that they are appearing on our agenda. good morning. >> thank you for allowing me to come here and apply for this. i have a lot of experience. i have recreation and park when i started in 1964 as an assistant gardener.

>> that was the year i was born, tom. [ laughter ] >> you were just a young fellow. [ laughter ] anyway, so i have done that and i have been there. i retired with something like 26 years. i had a state applicator's license on the golf division, i have worked in the tee garden and in the conservatory of flowers, and on golf, and at crocker amazon over those years. i was quite proud of it. it was the best job it was. >> my claim to fame is a japanese tea garden where i was involved in putting in the waterfall going to oakland and taking those plants. anyways, quite a fun experience. i then went to work for labor work to 61 is a union rep. i was elected to be vice president and then elected to be recorded secretary, and a field

rep for the city workers, the labourers who work at the park, the gardeners, the labourers, the gardeners that work at the park and public works and all the departments. i represented them in disciplinary situations later on in my career in local 261 when mayor newsom appointed me to the recreation commission in 2005. he reappointed me again, and then mayor lee appointed me twice during that time. and just recently retired from all that. and when i started to read the news about the scandals, if you will, that were going on, i knew mr. new rue and i knew some of the other people were there. it is a great his appointment. i kind of considered myself a

city family member. now that is a taboo term. it is sad. i see what is going on in the city, and it is disheartening. this brings me to the point that if i can be of any help in getting the city back to somewhere where it was or back on track, i am certainly available to do that. this is one of the reasons that when people approach me about applying for this commission appointments, i had foremost in my mind, so that is my story. i hope i can do the best i can for you. >> thank you, mr. harrison. are there any questions or comments from committee members? if not, -- supervisor chan, my apologies.

>> thank you for your previous service and willing to commit to continue to serve our city. i really appreciate all the service that you have provided. i look forward to supporting you today. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. harrison. thank you for taking the time to meet with me in advance of this meeting. i enjoyed our conversation. why don't we go on to kim schulman for seat number 5? good morning. >> good morning. >> i will say, by way of background, that miss schulman's work is known to me as she used to work for the lower pole -- poke community benefit district where she clearly has experience in cleaning and maintaining public spaces, and prior to that, has set forth in her application at arkansas read where she has experienced -- has

experience in dealing with homelessness, which is inextricably intertwined with the issue of streets and sanitation. >> thank you very much. i am now at the film oh, west community district. and before that i was at youth services. i am aware that one of the first goals of the commission is to hire an executive director. i take that very seriously as they will be the ones at the department. i think the main goals of the commission and the department are having a data-driven approach. streamlining data will help with

operations by ensuring tasks aren't duplicated and an increased responsiveness and efficiency. we can publish the data and that will increase transparency with the public and we will be able to make operational decisions in the future by using that data. i also believe that expanding integration with resources that we already have available, partnering with the neighborhood association and the residents on a more regular ongoing basis. it has already been done to appoint. this will increase communication and transparency to the public as well and better communication will also help responsiveness and effectiveness.

>> providing training and resourcing to the staff is huge. training on, interacting with the general public and addressing the issues that they face on a daily basis, and ways to take care of them so that we can prevent burnout. and then making them just feel supported. i take the oversight role very seriously and i look forward to working with you all. thank you. >> are there any questions or comments? seeing none, thank you for your willingness to serve. is there any public comment on item number 2? >> yes, members of the public who wish to speak on this item and joining us in person may line up to speak on this side of the room by the windows. for those listening remotely,

you should call (415)655-0001 and enter the meeting id. once connected, press star three to enter the speaker line. for those in the queue, continue to wait until the system indicates you have been on muted. that will be the key to begin your comments. if there's no one in the room, we have two colours on the line for public comment. >> good morning, supervisors. i am speaking on behalf of the 665 and local 350 in san francisco and our sister locals as well throughout northern california. we are here to speak in favour of and in support of the tom harris group -- tom harrington's group and this important new

commission. i would describe it because i work with them in the labor group. we look forward to working with tom and others on the commission as this is assembled in the coming weeks and months. tom has been a great member of the community and the larger san francisco community, and certainly a partner and a brother for the rest of us in san francisco as well. we fully support them. we want everyone to know that we look forward with working with everybody in the future. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> hello. i joined with my friend in support of tom harrison and this new commission. tom literally brings a lifetime of experience, as he indicated. he served well on the commission

and his prior work at recreation and park speaks for itself. i am sure he will do a fine job on the commission. i do not know miss schulman yet, but i'm sure she too will do a fine job on this commission and look forward to both of their upcoming years of service and a positive recommendation from this committee. thank you for listening. >> thank you. seeing no other members of public comment for this item, public comment is closed. i just wanted to appreciate miss schulman's comments about the importance of staff and staff morale.

it has been particularly rough within staff and public works who did nothing wrong and to continue to work day in and day out and work there behind off. that taint has been a morale killer. i really appreciate what miss schulman has said. it is investing in staff and uplifting staff and letting them know that it is valued work and that they have nothing to be ashamed of relative to a higher up doing something that will land them in jail. with that, supervisor mandelman? >> thank you, chair peskin. i did not support prop be back in the day and continue to have concerns about aspects about it. one thing that i have no doubt about is the need for more sunlight and on the work of what

was the public works department, and opportunities for a public which is deeply exercised about conditions and workers who were on the front lines doing the work and trying to keep this city clean and presentable and have a form where they could highlight these issues and make suggestions for improvements. i do, with these two appointments, feel that optimistic at least about that aspect of proposition b. i think these are grateful -- i'm grateful to the two of you for stepping forward and i wish you luck in what i think will be a very challenging task, but it

is maybe one of the most important ones in san francisco right now. and the streets and sanitation department could be important in getting us to a better place and that was the oversight that you will provide that will be important to that. >> i will make it into a motion. >> all right. on the motion to send to the full board with a positive recommendation is to harrison and miss schulman, a roll call, please. >> that would be mr. harrison to seat four and miss schulman to seat five. on that motion... [ roll call ] the motion passes without objection. >> all right. on age and number 3 that we have previously called, i assume that mr. quan is tending remotely.

>> can you hear me okay. >> yes, i can. thank you for taking the time to meet with me in person. >> thank you very much for considering my candidacy. >> and full disclosure, i did not vote for this last year, but i think, as we spoke before, we are where we are at. >> i am willing and excited to make some contributions in terms of the project and setting up for the guidelines --

>> we just lost you. >> we think in the academy would have up-to-date wi-fi. >> yes, my apologies, chair peskin. i don't know where i left off, but i am up to the task. as was stated by previous speakers, standing up to the leadership and the department itself to serve this city is key and fundamental. i do think there are a number of moving parts that this commission has a lot of work to do to dig in. i will say overall that the goal of any commission is oversight and not management. that being said, because this is a different department, i am

willing to be as involved as needed to help get things set up. obviously starting with the executive deck -- director selection, which i think is key. i want to thank the committee here for supporting the team that keeps our streets clean, but also, what is also important and how this fits in the overall plan of the well-being of the residents of this city. my experience serving on the boards gives me some good foundational experience in terms of how best to serve and how to get involved. the task we had -- that we have ahead of us is obviously really important for everyone, no matter where they live or where they spend their time during the day or night to make sure that the streets are clean and also that there are places for people to go.

i will strongly support that effort and i want to thank this committee for their consideration. thank you. >> thank you. are there any members of the public would like to testify on item number 3? >> yes, numbers of the public wish to speak on this item under joining in person can line up in the room by the side by the windows. if you are on the line with us, you can press start read enter the speaker line. >> hello. i wanted to speak on soap -- in support of mr. quan. this will be his third commission appointment having served on the p.u.c. and the port commission. excuse me, treasure island.

thank you for the correction. perhaps going to equal or beat the record of others for the most commission appointments. we will see. stay tuned. i have done a fine job serving the city in various capacities. i would also be a good member of the commission and look forward to his service and this committee's positive recommendation. >> public comment is closed. with that, i will make a motion to amend the item to remove rejecting and rejects from the subject motion. on that in amendment, a roll call. >> on that motion... [ roll call ]

the motion passes. >> i will make a motion to send the item as amended with recommendation to the full board of supervisors. >> yes, on that motion... [ roll call ] the motion passes without objection. >> all right. we now have a quorum on the streets and sanitation commission. enjoy, get to work, call if you need to. and with that, we will go to the next item, mr. clerk. >> next on the agenda is the emotion proving the mayor's nomination for the appointment of an appointment to the public utilities commission. >> thank you for taking the time to meet with me personally last week. come on up. this is a nomination by the mayor pursuant to prop e. of 2007 or 2008 when we blew that commission up and constituted

it. somewhere around there. this is for the seat formerly held by ed harrington, a former comptroller and former general manager of the p.u.c. i note that the former general manager is in attendance this morning. good morning, commissioner. and this seat requires experience with environmental policy and an understanding of the environmental justice issues. and clearly she was on the treasure island development authority commission and she is well versed in energy policy, and i believe has, in her time at the natural centre experience and environmental justice. i will let her speak for herself and ask for some questions. good morning. >> thank you all so much. it is a great privilege to be

here. thank you. it is good to see you again. it is nice to be here in person. i am honoured to be up here. it is a huge position. i want to say thank you. i feel like my 20 years are a great starting point, but there's so much more to learn. i have spent so many years in the environment and energy world. i worked at the u.s. department of energy working on blackout invent -- information and various stakeholders. i have been working with utilities and stakeholders and customers around north america and trying to keep the lights on. i have spent time as a developer working with clean energy partners from new mexico to california. what is exciting is transmission takes 20 years to build but working with local county commissioners and mayors is being built today. i have spent over seven years at the natural resources defence council working on environment of policies and building

coalitions to find bridges with how to conserve wildlife and at the same time build clean energy infrastructure. and then the last two years, i opened up my own consulting company and had the privilege of working with various tribes throughout the west and various front-line communities, creating a just and equitable transmission culture and working with field groups and various entities that are dealing with transmission -- transition and spend time dealing with there's groups on how to balance land-use and energy infrastructure. i have spent a lot of time working with various groups on equity, racial justice, and climate justice. i'm looking forward for that opportunity to work with sfpuc on friday when they created their environmental justice plan and they have been updating it since then. there was the recent order by the supervisors promoting additional resources and looking at the additional aspects of the

various reports and action plans. i am happy to see the sfpuc is moving forward on addressing previous aspects of racism and moving forward to bring more diversity and inclusion into the workplace. there's a lot of efficiencies that need to be gained. and a lot more coordination. i look forward with the various many organizations with the staff and commissioners to go ahead and move forward to start working and looking for more inclusive change. >> thank you. as i always do, i went through my packet today in detail last evening and i was -- it was getting too late to call you. this morning i was busy. i don't mean to spring this on you, but i wanted to figure out some stuff on your form 700 there may have been an application for another commission at a different point

or something. and it says port commission on it. and it says, assuming office date in 2020. i was thinking that maybe this wasn't -- i don't know. >> it didn't happen to i. i think a lot of times, we get done in the port. we try to go through and work through the application process. i was never on the port commission. i was on the treasure island developed authority. >> i get that. i have a specific question. your resume shows that you haven't worked at the energy company since 2010, but the form 700 says it doesn't show the income, but it shows your income coming from that organization. is that still correct? >> the last two years i had my own consulting company. and before that was natural resources defence council.

>> okay. so that is correct. and it sounds -- the energies shows you as 2009-2010. i was just adding these together and they weren't equaling two. >> they are not equaling two. you are right. it should say that the natural resources defence council -- the last two years were that. and then before that was seven years. >> got it. okay. >> that is helpful. it should be fixed before this gets into the full board package. that gets me to the next question, which is, do they have any local work or any work with the p.u.c. or in the p.u.c. terror tee -- territory or pg and e. territory? it is not something i thought of when we met last week.

>> that is a great question. no, it is nationwide, but just today, it was announced that i have a new position. i'm the new executive director for the long-duration energy council. now i am working internationally for the groups. >> quite a big day for you. >> it is a huge day. >> okay. it sounds like it doesn't appear there any systemic conflict issues. then i wanted to go with what we talked about when we met last week, which is, at least in my mind, you clearly fit the criteria for the seat relative to environmental policy on the energy side. one can't have every expertise in all environmental subfields.

but part of the portfolio of our robust park -- utility is water. my high-level questions are, one, whether you will make water if healthy priority, and that delving into the minutia of it, given the complicated and unfortunate state of affairs between our p.u.c. in the state of california as a relates to waterflow as it would benefit the environment, fish, recreation and a number of competing needs, including, but not limited in to the industrial water supply. that is the question that i have. >> as you have pointed out, there is a huge nexus of energy and water. there is an importance of learning it and adapting more knowledge to the waterworld.

i really look forward to working with the commission and staff for bringing me up to speed quickly. there is the importance of our water supply and where it comes from an understanding of the nuances and the relationships and some of the long history of the negotiations with m.o.u. and ongoing work that needs to be done. >> i assume that would always extend environmental justice and fishing and tribal interest. >> very much so. >> any questions or comments from committee members? are there any members of the public would like to testify on item number 4? >> yes, members of the public who wish to speak on this item and are joining us in person may lane -- me line up to speak. for those calling in and listening, please call in and enter the meeting id then press

pound and pound again. once connected, you will need to press start three to enter the speaker line. for those already in the queue, wait until you have been on muted, then it will be your q. to make your comments. there are no members of the public in the room and we have three callers on the line. >> first speaker, please. >> we have taken a neutral position on this appointment. the following are excerpts from the comments made before the rules committee on april 11th regarding the appointment of the p.u.c. general manager as director of the s.f. bay area regional water systems finance team authority. the emergency firefighting water system was brought into service

in 1913 under the jurisdiction of the fire department and dpw. in 2010, it was transferred to the p.u.c. for the express purpose of balancing the city's budget. since 2010, the p.u.c. has implemented a number of misguided policy decisions and is now using this as a mechanism to replace water and use the easter bond funds which is inconsistent with prop 218. due to policy decisions, they are advocating for the transfer of this to a new department under the city administrator with the engineering returning to dpw, which would still be under the direct report to the city administrator, even after the upcoming restructuring. regarding the hearing on pg and e., supervisor peskin's

comments, that if pg and he took the city's offer, then the p.u.c. would have to deal with this. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> mr. chairman and members of the board, my name is dave and i am a hydropower specialist for american whitewater. today i'm commenting on behalf of the stakeholders including paddlers, anglos, business owners, and others who are pleased to see the board of supervisors considering a nominee with a sense of knowledge of our changing energy landscape. for almost 100 years, the city of the san francisco -- of san francisco and the river have been linked. similarly, for the past 50 years, there has been an outdoor recreation economy that has been

directly tied to this. climate change, as with so many parts of our world has brought new challenges to these long-standing relationships. managing the resource to ensure safe, clean, sustainable water supply for the city is paramount. bringing low carbon energy is also good if we are going to stem the tide of climate change. no less of a priority is maintaining the recreation. there are competing needs without harming the others. we believe that part of the answer is in energy storage. this would allow the sfpuc to provide resources while optimizing the value of the power system. mass energy storage is a tricky business. new technologies are coming online almost daily. this is why we wholeheartedly support the board seeking out the expertise it needs in order to identify these important

challenges. if we solve this problem the right way by meeting the city's water supply needs and sustaining the role outdoor recreation, we can demonstrate that rising waters truly can't lift all boats. thank you very much. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hi. replacing ed harrington is no easy task. i do not know her personally, but i have heard good things about her by reputation and certainly bringing this to a hearing is a smart move by anyone. i agree with the previous caller about having energy expertise on the commission. i am somewhat concerned, however

hearing of her new position with the long-duration energy storage entity, inasmuch as the p.u.c. has recently entered into at least two long duration energy storages regarding clean power s.f. and i am wondering if this new position and source of funds may create a conflict of interest that would disqualify her from participating in certain aspects of clean power s.f. or possibly more aspects relative to energy, which is admittedly one of her areas of expertise. the good thing about having experience is that it is great, the bad thing about having that as a source of income is it may be disqualifying from certain actions. the p.u.c. has arguably the most complicated infrastructure and history of the commissions in

the city, although it often deals with policy and planning relative to water, power, and sewers, it more frequently deals with contracts and particular construction agreements. [please standby]

. . . . there will be looks at california in general, but many more in north america. if anything comes up, i will make sure to ask the attorneys the questions. >> the city attorney is the one to ask. and with that, it would be my pleasure to remove the word rejecting in line three and rejects in line nine. on that motion, mr. clerk, a roll call please. >> on that motion, supervisor chan. >> aye. >> mandelman. >> aye. >> peskin. >> aye. >> the motion passes without objection. i will move to send the item as amended with recommendation to the full board of supervisors. on that motion, mr. young, a roll call please. >> on that motion, supervisor chan. >> aye. >> vice chair mandelman. >> mandelman, aye. >> chair peskin. >> aye.

>> the motion passes without objection. >> congratulations. and congratulations on your new job. awe thank you. i will make sure that the form is cleared up right now. >> excellent. thank you. mr. clerk, would you please read our fifth and final item. >> yes, item five is a hearing to consider appointing four members ending june 1, 2023, to the mental health sf implementation working group. >> okay. colleagues, some of you will recall -- you were on the board when we passed an ordinance amending the administrative code to accomplish this body t mental health san francisco implementation working group after supervisor ronen and supervisor mandelman and the mayor came to some and this was

to provide you for mental health services, substance use treatment and psychiatric medications to residents with mental illness and substance abuse. it is a 13-member body. and there are a number of seats that were expired. we have them before us today, and why don't we start with amy wong. and adree ya salinas is not able to attend. we have three applicants for four seats. i don't know if ms. littleton from the controller's office who staffs the working group wants to make an opening statement. if you do, you are welcome to do so.

>> good morning, chair peskin and committee members. thank you very much. i am assuming you can hear me okay. >> yes, we can. >> thank you for the opportunity. i wanted to make a note about the mandate about the mental health working group. their duty and their mandated per the legislation is to advise the mental health department, and san francisco health authority and board of supervisors with the ed signs and limitation of mental health sf. they will advise on the design, outcomes and effectiveness of mental health sf. they have been meeting monthly since december 2020. this is a productive working group and we have many

recommendations that we have put forth to policy makers and so i just wanted to be available and i work in the controller's office so here to provide any other further clarification and responses if you have any questions about the role. >> let's go to amy wrong. >> thank you, heather, for the recap of all the iwg is about. i am amy wong, a mental health treatment specialist at the san francisco behavior health sent arenaed also a member of the

ifpte local 21. and thank you so much, committee, for the opportunity to apply for reappointment to seat number one. and i have been a member of the implementing working group also known as the iwg since its beginning in 2020. i have been an active member with the expertise in areas of diversity, equity, advocating for training and support of our workers. i have worked in the city for over 20 years. i bring sufficient depth and inclusive perspective to my work, collaborating with a broad array and diverse professionals. my passion is helping the community to wellness and recovery. in working with the iwg, we have looked at several projects presented to us and collaboratively to provide recommendations to dph and

project members. one thing they consider is to visit the site with the goal of integrating all the separate services and programs into one cohesive mental health system. and my hope is to continue to be an integral part of the working group advocating for effective training, supporting workers with wellness and recovery tools for the future. i would be honored to continue contributing to the implementing working group and i have been with the iwg since 2020 and feel strongly about the iwg for me to continue working and serving everyone. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you, ms. wong. and thank you for your servicing. no questions from committee members. and given that ms. salinas is not available, let's go to sarah short for seat 11.

>> good afternoon. >> good morning, sarah. it's morning. >> i have been sitting here for so long. so thanks for having me here. i appreciate the opportunity to talk about my experience and also the work we have done with the working group. amy said a lot already. but i have gotten involved with mental health sf with work we were doing with the coalition known as the treatment on demand coalition. and so that is some of my background and interest that led to the involvement and i continue to represent that coalition serving on the group so i also work for what is known as home wise, formerly a community housing partnership

and this seat that i sit in and hope to continue to sit in is a supportive house progress vieder seat on the working -- provider on the working group. so i bring that perspective of the mental health support that are important for residents who are following homelessness and living not just in our building and supportive housing buildings throughout the city and as we all know, that is a huge issue right now. a large population that we're all trying to serve in different ways. i also have some interest in this issue and i have family members and an uncle who has been influencing my life in a lot of ways and particularly in

terms of advocating around access to mental health treatment and wish that for the rights of those with mental illness. i have a masters in social work from san francisco state and about 25 years of experience working generally in the field of affordable housing and social services, homelessness, and tenants' rights. i work for three years and this is probably my greatest education related to this. in l.a. on skid row, running a homeless outreach program, and that is where i really saw a lot of these issues played out and also learned a lot about the barriers that existing for people to get treatment both because of their own circumstances and their own

mental health challenges and the system and how hard it is to navigate. when they came back to san francisco, i saw that there were many, many similarities and i could see sort of the pattern that played out that were systemic and that are the exact patterns and practices that we're hoping to breakdown through mental health sf. so i was incredibly interested in being part of this grand experiment that i think is not so much an experiment as because i think there is actually a lot of evidence base in what we're trying to do. and we're looking at things that work and have worked in the past. and we're also trying to hear from the folks with lived experiences as much as possible. i hope we can continue to do that. and we are interested in serving on the working group.

and i am just very passionate about working with all my colleagues on the working group and the city staff and folks like heather to continue this project because we have actually only gotten a slice of the way through and in large part because of the pandemic. but just to see the other day an article and i think every paper and examiner and the chronicle with the office of coordinating care opening and what that will mean with all the opportunity in terms of people being able to get access to case managers in a way they haven't before. before that having watched the street crisis response teams roll out, and just seeing kind of the fruits of our labor, but more importantly, seeing the individuals that are getting the help they need.

i just really hope that i can continue to be a part of all of that. thanks again. any questions, i'm here. >> thank you, ms. short. are there any members of the public who are online who would like to testify? >> call 415-655-0001, and enter the meeting i.d. of 2490 534 8946 and press pound and pound again. once connected, you will need to press star 3 to enter the speaker line. for those already in the queue, continue to wait until the system indicates you have been unmuted and that will be your queue to begin your comment. we currently have one caller on the line for public comment. >> first speaker please.

>> good morning. this is the director and the local coordinating board. i want to speak to sarah short's term and i don't have the pleasure of knowing amy or an droe ya, but i work closely with sarah and i would appreciate seeing her continue her work on the board. she has a lot of subject matter and with the housing organization that has 17 different supportive housing buildings across the city and i think her perspective in that work is essential. and there is someone who is thoughtful and engaged and brings her creativity to think

through tough policy problems and that is a lens that is needed. are there any other speakers for item five? >> we are double checking. there is one more. >> please proceed. >> it is kristin evans. and 25% for prop c is allocated for behavioral health and we have seen various proposals come through with how to improve the

mental health capacity and to support continuation of sarah short with, what do you say, to holding on to the position to continue to implement much-needed solutions in our city and in response to the challenges of folks accessing mental health care. with the experience to work with the bed and how severely underresourced this part of our safety net is so i appreciate advocacy to continue to implement real solutions and addressing the critical challenges to tackle their mental health and also end the

homelessness in the process. thank you so much. >> are there any other members of the public for this item? >> that was the last public commenter. >> public comment is closed. and colleagues, if there is no objection, i will make a motion to forward ms. wong for seat one, ms. salinas for seat 11 and ms. short for seat 11. on that motion a roll call please. >> on that motion, supervisor chan. >> chan, aye. vice chair mandelman. >> aye. >> chair peskin. >> aye. >> the motion passes without objection. >> we are adjourned. .

>> san francisco parks, golden gate park transforms into one of the greatest music festivals of all time, let's journey, inside, outside land. ♪♪ >> to this, our 6th year doing the outside lands and our relationship with san francisco, rec and park. and we work very closely with them in the planning and working very closely with the neighborhood organizations and with the city supervisors and with the city organizations and with the local police department, and i think that the outside lands is one of the unique festivals in the world and we have san francisco and we have golden gate park and we have the greatest oasis, in the

world. and it has the people hiking up hills and down hills and a lot of people between stages. >> i love that it is all outside, the fresh air is great. >> they have the providers out here that are 72 local restaurants out here. >> celebrating, and that is really hot. >> 36 local winerries in northern california and 16 brewers out here. >> and you have seen a lot of people out here having a good time and we have no idea, how much work and planning has gone into this to make it the most sustainable festival in the united states.

>> and literally, in the force, and yeah, unlike any other concept. and come and follow, and the field make-up the blueprint of the outside land here in golden gate park and in the future events and please visit sffresh parks.org. >> this is a huge catalyst for change. >> it will be over 530,000 gross

square feet plus two levels of basement. >> now the departments are across so many locations it is hard for them to work together and collaborate and hard for the customers to figure out the different locations and hours of operation. >> one of the main drivers is a one stopper mitt center for -- permit center. >> special events. we are a one stop shop for those three things. >> this has many different uses throughout if years. >> in 1940s it was coca-cola and the flagship as part of the construction project we are retaining the clock tower. the permit center is little working closely with the digital services team on how can we modernize and move away from the paper we use right now to move to a more digital world. >> the digital services team was created in 2017.

it is 2.5 years. our job is to make it possible to get things done with the city online. >> one of the reasons permitting is so difficult in this city and county is really about the scale. we have 58 different department in the city and 18 of them involve permitting. >> we are expecting the residents to understand how the departments are structured to navigate through the permitting processes. it is difficult and we have heard that from many people we interviewed. our goal is you don't have to know the department. you are dealing with the city. >> now if you are trying to get construction or special events permit you might go to 13 locations to get the permit. here we are taking 13 locations into one floor of one location which is a huge improvement for the customer and staff trying to work together to make it easy to comply with the rules.

>> there are more than 300 permitting processes in the city. there is a huge to do list that we are possessing digital. the first project is allowing people to apply online for the a.d.u. it is an accessory dwelling unit, away for people to add extra living space to their home, to convert a garage or add something to the back of the house. it is a very complicated permit. you have to speak to different departments to get it approved. we are trying to consolidate to one easy to due process. some of the next ones are windows and roofing. those are high volume permits. they are simple to issue. another one is restaurant permitting. while the overall volume is lower it is long and complicated business process. people struggle to open restaurants because the permitting process is hard to

navigate. >> the city is going to roll out a digital curing system one that is being tested. >> when people arrive they canshay what they are here to. it helps them workout which cue they neat to be in. if they rant to run anker rapid she can do that. we say you are next in line make sure you are back ready for your appointment. >> we want it all-in-one location across the many departments involved. it is clear where customers go to play. >> on june 5, 2019 the ceremony was held to celebrate the placement of the last beam on top of the structures. six months later construction is complete. >> we will be moving next summer. >> the flu building -- the new building will be building. it was designed with light in mind.

employees will appreciate these amenities. >> solar panels on the roof, electric vehicle chargers in the basement levels, benefiting from gray watery use and secured bicycle parking for 300 bicycles. when you are on the higher floors of the building you might catch the tip of the golden gate bridge on a clear day and good view of soma. >> it is so exciting for the team. it is a fiscal manifestation what we are trying to do. it is allowing the different departments to come together to issue permits to the residents. we hope people can digitally come to one website for permits. we are trying to make it digital so when they come into the

center they have a high-quality interaction with experts to guide then rather than filling in forms. they will have good conversations with our staff. dev mission's goal is f. aiming to train young adults, youth so we can be a wealth and disparity in underserved communities like where we are today.

my name is leo sosa. i'm the founder and executive director for devmission. we're sitting inside a computer lab where residents come and get support when they give help about how to set up an e-mail account. how to order prescriptions online. create a résumé. we are also now paying attention to provide tech support. we have collaborated with the san francisco mayor's office and the department of technology to implement a broad band network for the residents here so they can have free internet access. we have partnered with community technology networks to provide computer classes to the seniors and the residents. so this computer lab becomes a hub for the community to learn how to use technology, but that's the parents and the adults. we have been able to identify what we call a stem date.

the acronym is science technology engineering and math. kids should be exposed no matter what type of background or ethnicity or income status. that's where we actually create magic. >> something that the kids are really excited about is science and so the way that we execute that is through making slime. and as fun as it is, it's still a chemical reaction and you start to understand that with the materials that you need to make the slime. >> they love adding their little twists to everything. it's just a place for them to experiment and that's really what we want. >> i see. >> really what the excitement behind that is that you're making something. >> logs, legos, sumo box, art, drawing, computers, mine craft, and really it's just awaking

opportunity. >> keeping their attention is like one of the biggest challenges that we do have because, you know, they're kids. they always want to be doing something, be helping with something. so we just let them be themselves. we have our set of rules in place that we have that we want them to follow and live up to. and we also have our set of expectations that we want them to achieve. this is like my first year officially working with kids. and definitely i've had moments where they're not getting something. they don't really understand it and you're trying to just talk to them in a way that they can make it work teaching them in different ways how they can get the light bulb to go off and i've seen it first-hand and it makes me so happy when it does go off because it's like, wow, i helped them understand this concept. >> i love playing games and i love having fun with my friends

playing dodge ball and a lot of things that i like. it's really cool. >> they don't give you a lot of cheese to put on there, do they? you've got like a little bit left. >> we learn programming to make them work. we do computers and programming. at the bottom here, we talk to them and we press these buttons to make it go. and this is to turn it off. and this is to make it control on its own. if you press this twice, it can do any type of tricks. like you can move it like this and it moves.

it actually can go like this. >> like, wow, they're just absorbing everything. so it definitely is a wholehearted moment that i love experiencing. >> the realities right now, 5.3 latinos working in tech and about 6.7 african americans working in tech. and, of course, those tech companies are funders. so i continue to work really hard with them to close that gap and work with the san francisco unified school district so juniors and seniors come to our program, so kids come to our stem hub and be exposed to all those things. it's a big challenge. >> we have a couple of other providers here on site, but we've all just been trying to work together and let the kids move around from each department. some kids are comfortable with their admission, but if they

want to jump in with city of dreams or hunter's point, we just try to collaborate to provide the best opportunity in the community. >> devmission has provided services on westbrook. they teach you how to code. how to build their own mini robot to providing access for the youth to partnerships with adobe and sony and google and twitter. and so devmission has definitely brought access for our families to resources that our residents may or may not have been able to access in the past. >> the san francisco house and development corporation gave us the grant to implement this program. it hasn't been easy, but we have been able to see now some of the success stories of some of those kids that have been able to take the opportunity and continue to grow within their education and eventually

become a very successful citizen. >> so the computer lab, they're doing the backpacks. i don't know if you're going to be able to do the class. you still want to try? . yeah. go for it. >> we have a young man by the name of ivan mello. he came here two and a half years ago to be part of our digital arts music lab. graduating with natural, fruity loops, rhymes. all of our music lyrics are clean. he came as an intern, and now he's running the program. that just tells you, we are only creating opportunities and there's a young man by the name of eduardo ramirez. he tells the barber, what's that flyer? and he says it's a program that

teaches you computers and art. and i still remember the day he walked in there with a baseball cap, full of tattoos. nice clean hair cut. i want to learn how to use computers. graduated from the program and he wanted to work in i.t.. well, eduardo is a dreamer. right. so trying to find him a job in the tech industry was very challenging, but that didn't stop him. through the effort of the office of economic work force and the grant i reached out to a few folks i know. post mates decided to bring him on board regardless of his legal status. he ended his internship at post mates and now is at hudacity. that is the power of what technology does for young people that want to become part of the tech industry. what we've been doing, it's

very innovative. helping kids k-12, transitional age youth, families, parents, communities, understand and to be exposed to stem subjects. imagine if that mission one day can be in every affordable housing community. the opportunities that we would create and that's what i'm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

are going to be talking about san francisco's earth quakes, what you can do before an earthquake in your home, to be ready and after an earthquake to make sure that you are comfortable staying at home, while the city recovers. ♪♪ >> the next episode of stay safe, we have alicia johnson from san francisco's department of emergency management. hi, alicia thanks to coming >> it is a pleasure to be here with you. >> i wonder if you could tell us what you think people can do to get ready for what we know is a coming earthquake in san francisco. >> well, one of the most things that people can do is to make sure that you have a plan to communicate with people who live both in and out of state. having an out of state contact, to call, text or post on your social network is really important and being able to know how you are going to communicate with your friends,

and family who live near you, where you might meet them if your home is uninhab hitable. >> how long do you think that it will be before things are restored to normal in san francisco. >> it depends on the severity of the earthquake, we say to provide for 72 hours tha, is three days, and it helps to know that you might be without services for up to a week or more, depending on how heavy the shaking is and how many after shocks we have. >> what kind of neighborhood and community involvement might you want to have before an earthquake to make sure that you are going to able to have the support that you need. >> it is important to have a good relationship with your neighbors and your community. go to those community events, shop at local businesses, have a reciprocal relationship with them so that you know how to take care of yourself and who you can rely on and who can take care of you. it is important to have a battery-operated radio in your home so that you can keep track

of what is happening in the community around and how you can communicate with other people. >> one of the things that seems important is to have access to your important documents. >> yes, it is important to have copies of those and also stored them remotely. so a title to a home, a passport, a driver's license, any type of medical records that you need need, back those up or put them on a remote drive or store them on the cloud, the same is true with any vital information on your computer. back that up and have that on a cloud in case your hard drive does not work any more. >> in your home you should be prepared as well. >> absolutely. >> let's take a look at the kinds of things that you might want to have in your home. >> we have no water, what are we going to do about water? >> it is important for have extra water in your house, you want to have bottled water or a five gallon container of water able to use on a regular basis,

both for bathing and cooking as well as for drinking. >> we have this big container and also in people's homes they have a hot water heater. >> absolutely, if you clean your hot water heater out regularly you can use that for showering, drinking and bathing as well >> what other things do people need to have aren't their home. >> it is important to have extra every day items buy a couple extra cans of can food that you can eat without any preparation. >> here is a giant can of green giant canned corn. and this, a manual can opener, your electric can opener will not be working not only to have one but to know where to find it in your kitchen. >> yes. >> so in addition to canned goods, we are going to have fresh food and you have to preserve that and i know that we have an ice chest. >> having an ice chest on hand is really important because your refrigerator will not be working right away. it is important to have

somebody else that can store cold foods so something that you might be able to take with you if you have to leave your home. >> and here, this is my very own personal emergency supply box for my house. >> i hope that you have an alternative one at home. >> oh, i forgot. >> and in this is really important, you should have flashlights that have batteries, fresh batteries or hand crank flashlight. >> i have them right here. >> good. excellent. that is great. additionally, you are going to want to have candles a whistle, possibly a compass as well. markers if you want to label things if you need to, to people that you are safe in your home or that you have left your home. >> i am okay and i will meet you at... >> exactly. exactly. water proof matches are a great thing to have as well. >> we have matches here. and my spare glasses. >> and your spare glasses. >> if you have medication, you

should keep it with you or have access to it. if it needs to be refrigerated make sure that it is in your ice box. >> inside, just to point out for you, we have spare batteries. >> very important. >> we have a little first aid kit. >> and lots of different kinds of batteries. and another spare flashlight. >> so, alicia what else can we do to prepare our homes for an earthquake so we don't have damage? >> one of the most important things that you can do is to secure your valuable and breakable items. make sure that your tv is strapped down to your entertainment cabinet or wall so it does not move. also important is to make sure that your book case is secure to the wall so that it does not fall over and your valuable and breakables do not break on the ground. becoming prepared is not that difficult. taking care of your home, making sure that you have a few extra every-day items on hand helps to make the difference. >> that contributes dramatically to the way that the city as a whole can recover.

>> absolutely. >> if you are able to control your own environment and house and recovery and your neighbors are doing the same the city as a whole will be a more resilient city. >> we are all proud of living in san francisco and being prepared helps us stay here. >> so, thank you so much for joining us today, alicia, i appreciate it. >> absolutely, it is my pleasure. >> and thank you for joining us on another edition of building >> the market is one of our vehicles for reaching out to public and showing them how to prepare delicious, simple food. people are amazed that the library does things like that.

biblio bistro is a food education program. it brings such joy to people. it teaches them life skills that they can apply anywhere, and it encourages them to take care of themselves. my name is leaf hillman, and i'm a librarian, and biblio bistro is my creation. i'm a former chef, and i have been incubating this idea for many years. we are challenged to come up with an idea that will move the library into the future. this inspired me to think, what can we do around cooking? what can i do around cooking? we were able to get a cart. the charlie cart is designed to bring cooking to students in

elementary students that has enough gear on it to teach 30 students cooking. so when i saw that, i thought bingo, that's what we're missing. you can do cooking classes in the library, but without a kitchen, it's difficult. to have everything contained on wheels, that's it. i do cooking demonstrations out at the market every third wednesday. i feature a seafood, vegetable, and i show people how to cook the vegetable. >> a lot of our residents live in s.r.o.s, single resident occupancies, and they don't have access to full kitchens. you know, a lot of them just have a hot plate, a microwave, and the thing that biblio bistro does really well is cook food accessible in season and make it available that day. >> we handout brochures with the featured recipe on the

back. this recipe features mushrooms, and this brochure will bring our public back to the library. >> libraries are about a good time. >> i hired a former chef. she's the tickle queen at the ramen shop in rockwood. we get all ages. we get adults and grandparents and babies, and, you know, school-age kids, and it's just been super terrific. >> i was a bit reluctant because i train teachers and adults. i don't train children. i don't work with children, and i find it very interesting and a bit scary, but working here

really taught me a lot, you know, how easily you can influence by just showing them what we have, and it's not threatening, and it's tasty and fun. i make it really fun with kids because i don't look like a teacher. >> in the mix, which is our team center, we have programs for our kids who are age 13 to 18, and those are very hands on. the kids often design the menu. all of our programs are very interactive. >> today, we made pasta and garlic bread and some sauce. usually, i don't like bell pepper in my sauce, but i used bell pepper in my sauce, and it complemented the sauce really well. i also grated the garlic on my

bread. i never thought about that technique before, but i did it, and it was so delicious. >> we try to teach them techniques where they can go home and tell their families, i made this thing today, and it was so delicious. >> they're kind of addicted to these foods, these processed foods, like many people are. i feel like we have to do what we can to educate people about that. the reality is we have to live in a world that has a lot of choices that aren't necessarily good for you all the time. >> this is interesting, but it's a reaction to how children are brought up. it is fast-food, and the apple is a fast-food, and so that sort of changes the way they think about convenience, how eating apple is convenient. >> one of the things that i

love about my program out at the market is the surprise and delight on people's faces when they finally taste the vegetable. it's been transformative for some people. they had never eaten those vegetables before, but now, they eat them on a regular basis. >> all they require is a hot plate and a saute pan, and they realize that they're able to cook really healthy, and it's also tasty. >> they also understand the importance of the connection that we're making. these are our small business owners that are growing our food and bringing it fresh to the market for them to consume, and then, i'm helping them consume it by teaching them how to cook. >> it connects people to the food that they're buying. >> the magic of the classes in the children's center and the team center is that the participants are cooking the food themselves, and once they do that, they understand their

connection to the food, to the tools, and it empowers them. >> we're brokering new experiences for them, so that is very much what's happening in the biblio bistro program. >> we are introducing kids many times to new vocabulary. names of seasonings, names of vegetables, names of what you call procedures. >> i had my little cooking experience. all i cooked back then was grilled cheese and scrambled eggs. now, i can actually cook curry and a few different thing zblz . >> and the parents are amazed that what we're showing them to cook is simple and inexpensive. i didn't know this was so easy to make. i've only bought it in the market. those comments have been

amazing, and yeah, it's been really wonderful. >> we try to approach everything here with a well, just try it. just try it once, and then, before you know it, it's gone. >> a lot of people aren't sure how to cook cauliflower or kale or fennel or whatever it is, and leah is really helpful at doing that. >> i think having someone actually teaching you here is a great experience. and it's the art of making a meal for your family members and hope that they like it. >> i think they should come and have some good food, good produce that is healthy and

actually very delicious. >> cooking is one of my biggest passions, to be able to share, like, my passion with others, and skills, to h i worked on the it for 16+ years and i workeded an endless cycle of people going to the emergency room. i wanted to address those unmet needs. i have a satisfaction when we make a real difference in our clients' lives. we were getting people housed, connecting them to treatment, and seeing them through sobriety. don't be afraid of failure. i have failed at things in my career and they are opportunities to continue on. it's important for women and

women and people of color to see representation matters. when i first started my career 25 years ago, there were not that many other women. so it is amazing to respond to meetings and go to meetings and see other female leaders and learn from each other. this career is my dream job from working on [ indiscernible ] to being the chief and overseeing a division. it's been challenging and rewarding and inspiring.