Transcripts For SFGTV BOS Government Audits And Oversight Committee 20240712

Sfgov is streaming the public calling number at this time across the screen. Your opportunity to provide Public Comment is available by call 4156550001. Once prompted, enter the meeting i. D. For todays meeting, 1461470836. You will then dial the pound symbol twice to be connected to the meeting. When you hear the discussions, your line will be muted and in a listening mode. When you hear your item, press starthree and wait until the symptom indicates you are unmuted system indicates you are unmuted before you begin your comments. Speak slowly and clearly, and make sure that volume is turned down on all your devices. Alternatively, i invite you to submit your Public Comments could you please call item 1. Clerk item 1 is an emergency ordinance to temporarily protect workers from adverse action if they test positive for covid19, are isolating or quarantining or have previously isolated or quarantined, due to covid19 symptoms or exposure, and to protect applicants from discrimination if they test positive for covid19, are isolating or quarantining or have previously item owe lated or quarantined, due to covid19 symptoms or exposure. If this is your item of interest, now would be the time to dial starthree. Mr. Chair . Supervisor mar thank you, mr. Clerk. Id like to welcome paul monge, whos a legislative aide for supervisor ronen, to present on this item. We also have regina dickendrizzi, chairman of the Small Business commission, to answer questions if needed. Hi, supervisors. Im here to speak on the s. A. F. E. R. Act, which stands for safeguards against employee firings or restrictions. Here in San Francisco, widespread testing has been critical to the citys response to the pandemic, but our opportunity to offer widespread testing to the city prevents further transmission of the virus. Unfortunately, for some of our residents, a lack of adequate covid protections created barriers from accessing this testing. While a covid positive worker whos quarantining cannot legally be fired or be forced to use unpaid leave, wosome workers are still vulnerable at being fired just because theyre quarantining. The s. A. F. O. R. Makes it illegal to demote, suspend, or reduce benefits or in any manner discriminate against an employee whos off work because theyre quarantining because of covid19. What really motivated supervisor ronen to introduce this ordinance was a recent study of residents living in the mission, and that study was illuminating and revealing the fear of losing ones employment really discouraged a number of workers from taking care of themselves or feeling force today go to work in the first place. [inaudible] who have no alternative access to income during the period of quarantining. So by expanding employment protections for workers who test positive for covid or quarantining, this ensures that workers can confidently pursue income without losing income or the risk of losing employment. Were hopeful that this legislation will empower citizens to get tested. Lastly, we would [inaudible] capacities and understanding of this legislation, as well as with Worker Rights organizations and the office of labor standards and enforcement themselves. So just to quickly highlight those four amendments, which you all should have, the first is amending sections three of this legislation, which provides a more precise definition of an independent contractor who would be protected under the provisions of this legislation, and it does so by creating a clear threshold to this. Second was 4c, and that is an adverse action taken against an employee was established by a separate independent basis, which could be a workers performance or misconduct. The next would be adding section 4d as a replacement to 5a, allowing employers to require workers to identify the general basis for their absence or inability to work, but it wouldnt go as far as having an employee to provide medical Health Records providing the status of their Health Regarding covid, protecting their health privacy. And last, adding section 4d as a replacement to 5a, affording the affording the department the ability to act upon a potential violation while the due course of an investigation is still ongoing, which means its a little bit longer. It would support a worker being reinstated in the interim period until that incident is fully conducted. So those are the four amendments that we would like to bring forward in partnership with the sponsors here today, and im here to answer any questions. Chair mar thank you, mr. Monge, for your work on this extremely important ordinance to protect workers rights and especially the rights of essential frontline essential workers and particularly low wage workers in these really challenging times right now. So and i think this is just another example of really important legislation that as a board have worked on and moved forward to support workers and support workers rights during the health and economic crisis. And even on for this committees agenda, you know, items 2 and 4 are zoo examples of that, as well. So thanks again, mr. Monge, and supervisor ronen, for all of your work on this, as well as the workers rights organizations on moving this item forward. Im proud to cosponsor it and support it. Colleagues, do you have any questions . Supervisor peskin mr. Chair, i have read the amendments and support those, and thank you, mr. Carroll, for sending those around earlier this morning. Chair mar supervisor haney . Supervisor haney thank you, chair mar. And i agree, this is such a critical protection act. I was out at one of our testing sites a few weeks ago, or maybe its been a couple months ago now. And i was out there with a couple of people out there to be tested, and they were terrified if it came back positive, they would be required when they were forced to quarantine, and they walked away. So this is why i think weve had some challenges in addressing the spread of covid among some of our workers because they dont have access to basic protections in some cases. And so this, along with the p. P. O. Laws and the sick leave laws that youve let on, chair mar, i think is critical to protect our workers and also to protect everyone from the spread of covid in our city. So im not sure that im on as a cosponsor, but i would love to be added on as a cosponsor, and thank you, supervisor mar and mr. Monge, for your leadership. Chair mar okay. Why dont we go to Public Comment . Mr. Clerk, are there any callers on the line . Clerk thank you, mr. Chair. Well see if there are any callers on the line. For those who have already connected to our meeting via phone, please press starthree if you wish to be entered into the queue to speak on this line. For those of you in the queue, wait until you are prompted, and then begin speaking. For those watching through online or on cable channel 74, call 4156550001. Enter todays meeting i. D. , which is 1461870436. Press pound twice, and then starthree to be entered into the queue to speak. First speaker, please. Hi. My name is tyler and i attend city college, and im a courier for doordash. Youd be surprised how many customers request no Contact Delivery and open the door and hope up any way. Its very important for my safety and the safety of all of those people that im in contact with that i would be able to be tested for covid19 if im concerned is that i may be exposed. Please ensure that this ordinance is unambiguous about protection for gig economy workers, and it sounds like one of those amendments maybe is doing that, so that is great to hear, but i havent actually seen the amendments yet, and, you know, i just want to say, you know, that these companies will do everything to say that oh, were not employees, youre just independent contractors, try to claim the law does not apply to them, so try to make the law as unambiguous as possible. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments, tyler. Could we have the next speaker, please. My name is john wong, and i currently live in the city of oakland, but i do gig work on doordash in the city and county of San Francisco. You know, as a carrier, like tyler said, i also come in contact, you know, with multiple different customers and restaurant workers every day, so there is a high level of risk, and, you know, its i try to get tested, you know, for covid19 fairly regularly, you know, you know, especially when im concerned that i might have been infected, and, you know, hopefully, i can stay home if i test positive without worrying that my account has been deactivated. But from what ive heard from other gig workers that are organizing say that they have been deactivated if they test positive for covid19. We as gig workers are denied the most basic of safety nets, and we just want to ensure that all of us workers, regardless of whether we are w2 employees or misclassified independent employees, that we get the protections that we need. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments, mr. Wong. Operations, could you connect us to the next caller, please. Operator that was the last caller. Chair mar thank you so much, clerk and operations. Hearing no further callers, Public Comment is closed. You know, actually, i did just want to respond to the two Public Commenters who are dig workers and drivers, and to your points, and just reemphasize, per mr. Monges presentation, one of the amendments that was introduced does establish the definition of a worker that does provide at least two days of labor, and the prior definition does not establish any threshold for independent contractors, so the 16hour threshold provides greater clarity for enforcement of the legislation. Thank you for your comments, and yeah, would just like to move that we adopt the amendments as presented by mr. Monge on behalf of supervisor ronen. Mr. Clerk, can you please call roll. Clerk on the motion to amend as offered by chair mar [roll call] clerk mr. Chair, there are l three ayes. Chair mar thank you, mr. Clerk. And then, i would like to move that we move this forward with a positive recommendation. Clerk on the motion to move this forward to the full board with a positive recommendation [roll call] clerk mr. Chair, there are three ayes. Chair mar thank you, mr. Clerk. Can you please call item number 2 . Clerk yes. Agenda item number 2 is reenactment of an emergency ordinance, that being ordinance number 7420 and also ordinance number 11020, to temporarily require grocery store, drugstore, restaurant, and ondemand Delivery Service employers to provide health and scheduling protections to employees during the Public Health emergency related to covid19. Members of the public who wish to provide Public Comment on this item should call the Public Comment number, 4156550001. Enter the meeting i. D. For today, which is 1461870436. Press pound twice, and starthree to enter the queue. Finally, mr. Chair, im in receipt of your memo to agendize this item to entertain a motion to refer this item to the full board as a Committee Report for consideration. Chair mar supervisor haney . Supervisor haney yes. If youll recall, this emergency ordinance took effect on may 1 and was already renewed once before but will expire on august 31. This legislation strengthens Worker Protections that are covered by the Health Officers office by giving workers an additional level of protection by giving them the right to file a complaint with olse and ondemand delivery must be reimbursed for purchasing masks, hand sanitizers, or other supplies. It requires that drivers and shoppers offer the option of noContact Delivery. It requires an employers providing [inaudible]. Supervisor haney obviously, we are still very much in this state of emergency under this pandemic and protecting our workers that weve seen under some of the spikes have been put at risk, and some of the cases have been connected to workers being unsafe at the workplace. So this will help with that, and i hope for Even Stronger enforcement and outreach to workers to know that these protections and these rights exist, and i want to thank the Committee Members for their support and sponsorship on this ordinance. Chair mar thank you, supervisor haney, for all of your work on protections for workers during the health crisis. Why dont we go to Public Comment on this item . Clerk yes, mr. Chair, the moderator will check if there are speakers in the queue. For those who have already connected to our meeting via phone, please press starthree to be moved to the queue to speak on this item. For those of you already in the queue, stand by for the prompt, indicating that your line has been unmuted and providing Public Comment. For those of you that would like to call in, call 4156550001. Enter the meeting i. D. , press pound twice, and then starthree to enter the queue to speak. Could we get the first caller, please. Hi. This is tyler again. I wasnt planning to speak on this item, but since it was on the same agenda, i just wanted to call in and mention the way that the Gig Companies have interpreted this. On doordash, if you work in San Francisco, you now get, i believe its. 78 extra per day, and that is their way to complying with this. Thats about 3 or 4 a week, and i dont know that thats enough to comply with the risk of masks and sanitizer and wipes to wipe down your car. I dont know if it makes sense to amend this or anything like that, but it might be good to clarify how much that reimbursement should be, and i think you mentioned something about outreach to workers. I think that would be important to let people now how they can take advantage of this and how they can file a complaint if they feel like theyre not being reimbursed enough. Clerk thank you very much again, tyler. Could we connected to the we be connected to the next caller, please . Operator that was the last caller. Chair mar great. Seeing no more callers, Public Comment is closed. Supervisor haney . Supervisor haney one, thank you for bringing it up to the Public Commenter, tyler. Additionally, we heard from some of these companies that it didnt apply to them at all, which obviously it does, and the way theyre complying with it is obviously subject to enforcement and regulation, so i would theres a hotline where you can call to report this, and its one of the reasons why enforcement is so critical here. They obviously have to actually reimburse the cost of or a o were explicit about this in the ordinance the cost of gloves, wipes, masks, and hand sanitizers. Chair mar thank you for that clarification, supervisor haney. So yeah, why dont we we move this forward . I would move that make a motion that we move this item forward to the full board with a positive recommendation as a Committee Report for the august 25 meeting of the board of supervisors. Clerk on the motion offered by chair martha the item be recommended as a Committee Report [roll call] clerk mr. Chair, there are three ayes. Chair mar thank you, mr. Clerk. Can you please call item number 3 . Clerk jaent item number 3 is a resolution receipt owe actively approving a third amendment to an emergency agreement between the Human Services agency and 1231 Market Street owner l. P. , for the citys continued use of 459 hotel rooms and associated services, increasing the contract amount by 25,618,54, for a total amount not to compete 35,608,542, and extending the booking period for a potential total term of april 8, 2020 through july 1, 2021. Once again, mr. Chair, this item has been agendized by the board of supervisors for consideration on their august 25, 2020 meeting. Chair mar thank you. Mr. Rhorer . Actually, chair mar, ill start this, and director rhorer will come along. I do have a brief Powerpoint Presentation that i would like to share with you and the watching public with your permission. Chairman chairman ye. Chair mar yes, please, thank you. Supervisor peskin and chair mar, i do want to thank director rhorer and mr. Pennick for taking time out of their busy schedules to brief me on that. Thank you. Hopefully, you can see the screen. Chair mar yes. Perfect. Ill quickly walk you through the the original contract, some administrative amendments, and the third amendment, which is the topic of todays discussion. By way of overview, the Wickham Hotel is at 12931 Market Street, with 459 rooms. This is the largest city shelter in place hotel, and the issue that brings us before you today is the city will soon exhaust the 10 million allowed under the charter. Were not able to exceed that Budget Authority without board approval. H. S. A. Is requesting authority to increase the contract sum in order to allow the city to potentially remain at this hotel through the end of the fiscal year, june 2021. However, the contract amendment, which we will walkthrough in a moment, does allow for the contract to be terminated by the city prior to its expiration on 60 days notice should the need not continue. Under the original contract, the term began on april 8 and ran through august 8, 2020. Four months, or 122 nights. The city sent a notice to extend on a monthtomonth basis in july, indicating its desire to extend beyond the august 8 deadline. Again, the total number of rooms at play are 459. The room rate is 99 per night again, h. S. A. Did not want to mingle the covid population with the general population. Budget for linens is 75,000 per month. Budget for food is 750,000 per month, bringing it to 9,675,000, which is just shy of the charter limit. We had two administrative amendments that have taken place since the original term. This was done administratively under the emergency ordinance. The Second Amendment was done in july 2020 to increase the contract amount to 9,990,000, so basically to bring us to just below the maximum to give us some breathing room in order to bring the third amendment to this committee and to the full board. The third amendment, which is the topic of todays conversation, opposes rates, terms, and conditions imposes rates, terms, and conditions to remain the same, except the term is extended to give the city site control until june 30, 2021. Again, we have the ability to terminate with 60 days notice should the contract not need to continue. You can see the breakdown on the next line. Basically, were adding 25 million to the almost 10 million, for a total not to compete 35,608,000. Again, this is a maximum not to exceed. That amount would be reduced if we were to terminate the contract early. This is basically the outline of the key business points that makeup the third amendment. Director rhorer from h. S. A. Is here to answer your questions about the programming and the continued needs for the space, and im happy to answer any questions you might have regarding the contract terms. Chair mar thank you so much, director pennick. I did have a few questions either for you or director rhorer. Actually well, the first question is around the the folks that are being housed at hot hotel whitcomb. Are there stable have the rooms been occupied fully, and has had been a pretty stable population there or has there been a lot of turnover there in the use of this hotel . Ill go ahead and take this. Trent rhorer, Human Services agency, director. So currently, we pulled these numbers a couple of days ago. Of the 459 units at the whitcomb, 359 are occupied with 417 guests, and there are some roommates, which are typically spouses or partners. The reason the 66plus units are offline, 30 of them are actually for staff, so at any given time, we have 22 to 24 site monitor staff plus security, so its, you know, a place where they can be arrested from, from their work. We have 20 rooms that we keep vacant intentionally for a buffer. So if a room comes offline, a toilet breaks, or Something Else where we need to move a guest, we keep that room vacant where we can move that guest. 16 of the rooms are offline for cleaning. Because we hold to the c. D. C. Guidelines, it takes a little longer to clean the room. Its not just house keeping. In terms of the population, i dont have actual turnover number does, but its been numbers, but its been relatively stable. We have 16 offline for cleaning now, which is 3 of the total rooms. Supervisor haney, i believe you spent a little bit of time there as an h. S. W. Supervisor peskin hes not allowed to divulge that. Thats a hipaa violation. There were fits and starts. Its much better now, much smoother. We have our incidents just a couple of days ago. We had a gentleman who had a weapon and was threatening security, but we were able to get that taken care of. We have disaster workers monitoring the situation, as we shifted to hiring workers through a c. B. O. Contract. There, they get better training not better training. They have better use working with the population, and i think thats helped. Chair mar great, thank you, director rhorer, for that, and yeah, thanks for all of your work on this particular hotel, and also to director pennick, and its an extremely part of our good use response to the crisis the whole health crisis. Supervisor haney . Supervisor haney yes, thank you, and thank you, director rhorer. I am definitely familiar with this hotel. This is our largest shelter in place hotel, and now we are extending it potentially through july 1, 2021. Is there a an active transition plan in place for moving folks out of that hotel and how soon is that happening . And are you when somebody has moved out of the housing, leaving that room vacant or are you filling it . How are you thinking about the capacity of the hotel . Thanks for that question, supervisor. So the winding down, i guess well call it, of the shelter in place hotels, were going to begin that in november, and thats going to be led by the department of homelessness and supportive housing. The budget thats before the board actually funds a whole host of solutions to ensure that we meet our policy goal, which is to not discharge anyone who weve housed under covid to the streets. So were using the Covid Program as an exit from homelessness, and the mayor has supported that with her budget. So thatll begin around november, and itll look different, depending the needs from the guests. So it could be transition into permanent supportive housing, could be transition into a rental subsidy. Could be rental deposit, could be homeward bound, could be reuniting with their family, any solution thats presented in the budget for fiscal year 2021 and beyond. To be honest, supervisor, we are still backfillng, so what im using as an example, 16 off offline for cleaning, as soon as theyre ready to go through the use of the hot team and others, they are ready to go. We are continuing to lease rooms. We signed into contract three hotels totaling 207 rooms, one of which is coming online today, 101 rooms, and then, the other two over the next 1. 5 weeks, and we are looking at the department of real estate who, i must say, have been fantastic partners throughout this process. We are negotiating for the final 75 to 100 rooms, which would bring us to our budgeted count. Supervisor haney thank you. Got it. Okay. That makes sense. Great. This is a great building with a rich history in our city. It was used as a city hall in the aftermath of the earthquake and the fires. Im guessing they dont want to sell it. Have you opened up that conversation with them as part of project homekey . Well, obviously, supervisor, we wouldnt want to discuss any pending real estate transactions in a public forum, but wed be happy to brief you offline. Supervisor haney okay. Fair enough. Thank you. Chair mar why dont we go to the presentation by Fred Brousseau from the budget and legislative Analysts Office . Thank you, chair. Fred brousseau from the budget and legislative Analysts Office. This would retroactively extend the existing agreement to rent 459 rooms from 122 to 449 nights, so an increase of 327 nights. This agreement was originally executed april 8, 2020, for four months, and this amendment would retroactively approve an extension from august 8 of this year through april 7, 2021. The room rates would all remain the same. Theres a contingency of 15 on each room rate. Theres food and linen charges. The contingency rate is fixed, so thats paid, regardless of the occupancy. The food and linen costs are variable. Theyre based on actual occupancy of rooms. The nottoexceed cost is currently 9 million, would increase to 35,608,542, so its an increase of 25,618,542. What is still unknown, of course, the budget for the current fiscal year, fiscal year 2021, has not been adopted, so we dont know how all the costs related to the Emergency Shelter program and covid19 relates services by h. S. A. And others will be appropriated and how the revisions will affect us next year, but some still to be determined by the budget and legislative Analysts Office. Going back to the ordinance adopted by the board of supervisors in april of this year, which required 8,250 rooms or units to be made available for the homeless largely for the homeless population, and that expired after two months or excuse me, the rooms were to be obtained by april 26. That did not occur to the extent detailed in the ordinance, but we do have details on the number of rooms that have been procured in the report. Quickly, whats been called active rooms or units, there are 3,003 as of august 10, of which 2,239 were occupied, so an occupancy rate of about 74. 6 . H. S. A. Has reported that they assume about a 90 occupancy rate to account for cleaning, transition of rooms, and some of the things director rhorer mentioned earlier. But the actual occupancy has been we will i the 90 rate to date. So below the 90 rate to date. And also, theres some recreational vehicles and congregate settings included in the mix of units being made available. The cost in fiscal year 1920 are also detailed in our report, and theyre for all the program, not just the 1231 market, and that was 51. 9 million, and again, that was covered by fema reimbursements and is expected to be fully covered when the c. A. R. E. S. Funds are added to the mix, along with some state funding. We do have two recommendations in our report. One is to approve the contract amendment as proposed, but we also recommend that the board require that the agency come back in six weeks to report on progress, identifying and removing barriers to ensuring that more homeless san franciscans are being quickly housed, and that progress is being made in securing additional units, and expediting the process of bringing these units into active service. Thats the summary of my report, and im happy to answer questions. Chair mar thank you very much, mr. Brousseau for how the program would come and also the broader housing program. I dont have any questions. Colleagues, do you have any questions for mr. Brousseau . Supervisor peskin no. I think theyve all been asked and set forth. I have no questions. Chair mar okay. Well, great. Thanks again, everyone. I would move that we send this item to the full board as a Committee Report with positive recommendation. Clerk mr. Chair, we should hear from the public who may have called in for this item before we entertain any motions. Chair mar why dont we go to the public. Thank you for the reminder. Clerk of course. While the moderator is queueing up the first speaker, i will just go through our regular routine another time. For those of you waiting by phone, press starthree to be entered into the queue to speak for the item. For those already in the queue, wait on the line and you will hear a prompt, indicating that your line who has been unmuted. For those watching our meeting via cable channel 78 or streaming online, dial 4156550001. Enter todays meeting i. D. Of 1461870436. Press the pound symbol twice, and then star, followed by three to enter the queue to speak. Miss frias, could you present us with our first speaker. Operator there are no callers in the queue. Chair mar great. Seeing there are no speakers, Public Comment is closed. Mr. Clerk, could you call the roll on the motion to recommend this to the full board of supervisors with a positive recommendation clerk. Clerk on that motion [roll call] clerk thank you, supervisors. You have three ayes. Chair mar mr. Clerk, please call item 4. Clerk item 4 is the reenactment of emergency ordinance, ordinance number 10420, temporarily creating a right to reemployment for certain employees laid off due to the covid19 pandemic if their employer seeks to fill the same position previously held by a laidoff worker or a substantially similar position, as defined. Members of the public who wish to call in, dial 4156550001. Enter the meeting i. D. For todays meeting, which is 1461870436. Press pound, and pound again, and then starthree to be entered into the queue. Chair mar colleagues, this is the board of supervisors passed the original ordinance on a 101 vote back on april 23 to protect the tens of thousands of workers laid off due to covid19. It simply requires employers to offer jobs to workers laid off from the covid19 emergency before offering them to other applicants. Since then, tens of thousands have more have lost their jobs, and our reopening is further delayed by an increase in covid cases. We need this policy to remain in effect. Ive introduced a separate ordinance to codify this separate work of protection going forward, and this work will provide continuity so there are no gaps in coverage between the amended ordinance and the upcoming original ordinance. Many employers intend to bring back their workers, but this makes it a requirement to rehire rather than replace their original employees. Colleagues, i ask for your support of this emergency ordinance. So why dont we if theres no comments or colleaguquestio colleagues, maybe we could go to Public Comment. Clerk yes, thank you, mr. Chair. I will review our routine one more time. Please press starthree to be added to the queue if you wish to speak on this item. For those already on hold in the queue, please wait until youre prompted before you begin. You will hear a prompt indicating your line has been unmuted. For those watching via cable channel 78 or streaming, dial 4156550001, enter 1461870436, pressing the pound symbol twice, and then pressing star, followed by three, to enter the queue to speak. Moderator frias, could you please connect us to the first caller, if there is one . Operator sir, there are no callers at this time. Chair mar great. Thank you, operations. Public comment is closed. So again, id like to move that we send this item to the full board as a Committee Report to the august 25 meeting of the board of supervisors with positive recommendation. Mr. Clerk, can you please call roll. Clerk on the motion that this item be recommended as a Committee Report [roll call] clerk mr. Chair, theres no objection; there are three ayes. Chairm chair mar item 5 was actually scheduled as a special item for 12 noon, so why dont we move ahead to items 6 through 25. Mr. Clerk, can you please call items 6 through 25 for closed session . Clerk items 6 through 25 are to be held in closed session. To enter Public Comment on these items, dial 4156550001. Enter the meeting i. D. , 1461870436, press pound, and pound again, and starthree if you wish to enter the queue to speak. Supervisor mar why dont we go to the Public Comment for the closed session on items 6 through 25. Are there any callers on the line to speak to any of these items . Clerk moderator, could you please let us know if there are any callers to speak to the items on the agenda . Operator there are no callers on the line. Chair mar Public Comment is closed. So on the motion to convene in closed session, mr. Clerk, could you please call roll. Clerk on the motion to convene in closed session [roll call] clerk mr. Chair, there are three ayes. Supervisor mar great. Thank you. So were going to now convene in closed session. Chair mar we are now back. Mr. Clerk, please report on the time away. Clerk thank you. On a motion offered by vice chair peskin, agenda item 6 was recommended by a report to the august 25 board of supervisors meeting, and the balance of the agenda items were continued to the september 3, 2020 g. A. O. Meeting, to be also heard in a future litigation agenda. The motions were approved unanimously. Supervisor peskin mr. Chair, i make a motion not to disclose. Chair mar thank you, supervisor peskin. On the motion to not disclose discussions in closed session, please call the roll. Clerk thank you. On the motion not to disclose discussions in closed session [roll call] clerk mr. Chair, there are two ayes, and member haney is absent. Chair mar thank you. Mr. Clerk, our only remaining item, number 5, is a special order item for 12 00 p. M. , so were going to take a brief recess and reconvene the g. A. O. Committee at 12 00 p. M. Supervisor peskin okay. Mr. Chair, as my staff indicated to your staff earlier today, i do have to speak at a noon event with regard to uber and lyft and will get back to the meeting as quickly as i can. Chair mar supervisor peskin. Thank you. So so now, we shall recess. Clerk well be in recess until 12 noon welcome back to the government audit and oversight committee. I did want to announce that supervisor peskin did not is not joining the meeting right now. But supervisor haney and i are here. Mr. Clerk, can you please call item number 5. Yes. Thank you very much, mr. Chair. Agenda item 5, an ordinance amending the administrative code. Members of the public who wish to provide Public Comment on this ordinary should call the Public Comment number, as before, it is still 415 6550001. And for todays meeting i. D. , thats 146180436. Enter the queue to speak. A system prompt will indicate that youve raised your hand. Please wait until the system indicates that you have been unmuted. That will be your opportunity to begin your comments on agenda item number 5. During this Unprecedented Health emergency, we have also been confronteconfronted with an unpd emergency in unemployment, with more workers having lost their jobs and income since the great depression. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, black workers are more likely to be out of a job or lost income or have left the labor market all together. Economic data shows 1 in 6 black workers are out of a job. And the Labor Department reported in early june that the black Unemployment Rate continued to rise, as the overall Unemployment Rate started to tick down. Since the shutdown started in march, nearly 200,000 san franciscans have lost their job or had hours reduced. To put the numbers in perspective, in the 2008 recession, unemployment figures peaked at 45,000. Unfortunately of many of these workers, lowwage workers and people of color, will not be able to return to previous jobs, because their employers have reduced their workforce or shut down entirely. So theres compelling need to invest in education and workforce training in this moment of crisis for so many. This is central to our citys economic recovery. City college provides the most comprehensive offering of vocation callal training, and tuitionfree thanks to the free city program. Our ability to provide quality public education, including the vital training our citys residents need to get back to work in the wake of covid19 is in serious jeopardy. Restructuring at city college, enrollment loss during the accreditation crisis, ongoing chronic underfunding of the city colleges and the new state funding formula has caused the reduction of over 600 College Classes since 2017. This trend is being aggressively worsened by the challenges of covid19 crisis. And without more funding, city college will lose at least 1,000 more classes in the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters alone. City college is an essential part of San Franciscos economic recovery. And the highest enrollments the city college has ever had during the 2008 recession. In this new recession, we can expect demand for the support city college provides to spike as san franciscans try to get back to work or get back into the workforce. In order to help them, city College Needs more resources. So through the workforce education and recovery fund, city college will be able to provide tuitionfree job training and professional development, sustain highdemand vocation cavocational programs r lowincome students of color additional supports and Wraparound Services for enrollment, counseling, academic support and job replacement. Investing in education and workers training pays dividends and we have a responsibility to ensure that our economic recovery includes unemployed workers and lifts up our most vulnerable communities, communities that cant afford to be left behind. My cosponsors supervisor haney and supervisors ronen, safai and wallto wall walton and the chancellor and Diana Gonzalez from College Board of trustees, and City College Students and faculty, as well as my legislative aides ellen and levi for all of their work on this ordinance. Finally, i will be making a motion to continue this item until the next g. A. O. Committee meeting on september 3rd, ever after we complete the boards budget process. This will allow time to consider potential amendments for this ordinance and the administration and structure of the fund that may be needed, as a result of the final version of the work Budget Proposal thats currently being considered through the budget process. So, yeah, thanks again supervisor haney, for your cosponsorship and support of this. And i dont know if you have any questions or remarks. Ill save my remarks for when we hear it in a couple weeks. But i just want to thank you for your leadership, chair mar. And huge support of this. I think city college is more essential maybe than ever. I know thats probably been said before. We have so many people out of work right now. And our economy is changing very rapidly here in the city. And having this fund to reinvest in our pathway to jobs and Workforce Development and education is so critical. So ill save further remarks. But im proud to be a cosponsor. Thank you, supervisor haney. Why dont we go to Public Comment, mr. Clerk. Are there any callers on the line . Clerk thank you mr. Chair. Well see if there are caller in the queue. If for those already connected, please press star followed by three to be added to the queue for the item. For those already on hold in the queue, please continue to wait until youre prompted to be begin. For those who are watching our meeting on cable channel 78 or via streaming link at sfgovtv. Org, if you wish to speak on the item, please call in by following the instructions, which should be crawling across the screen at this time. You do that by dialing 415 6550001. Enter todays meeting idea 1461870436. Press the pound symbol twice and then star followed by three to enter the queue to speak. Could you please connect us to our first speaker, if there is one . Sir, there are no callers at this time. Okay, thank you, operations. Public comment is closed. Mr. Clerk, will you please call the roll on the motion to continue this item to the september 3rd g. A. O. Committee meeting. Clerk on the motion offered by chair martha this item be continued to september 3rd Committee Meeting of the government audit and oversight committee, vice chair peskin . Absent. Member haney. Aye. Haney aye. Chair mar . Aye. Clerk there are two ayes. No opposition with member with vice chair peskin absent. Thank you, mr. Clerk. Is there any further business . Clerk that concludes our business for today. Great. We are adjourned. Thank you. Clerk thank you. 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 im a librarian, and biblio bistro is my creation. Im 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, thats what were missing. You can do cooking classes in the library, but without a kitchen, its difficult. To have everything contained on wheels, thats 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 dont 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. Shes the tickle queen at the ramen shop in rockwood. We get all ages. We get adults and grandparents and babies, and, you know, schoolage kids, and its just been super terrific. I was a bit reluctant because i train teachers and adults. I dont train children. I dont 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 its not threatening, and its tasty and fun. I make it really fun with kids because i dont 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 dont 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. Theyre 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 arent necessarily good for you all the time. This is interesting, but its a reaction to how children are brought up. It is fastfood, and the apple is a fastfood, 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 peoples faces when they finally taste the vegetable. Its 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 theyre able to cook really healthy, and its also tasty. They also understand the importance of the connection that were 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, im helping them consume it by teaching them how to cook. It connects people to the food that theyre buying. The magic of the classes in the Childrens 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. Were brokering new experiences for them, so that is very much whats 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 a. And the parents are amazed that what were showing them to cook is simple and inexpensive. I didnt know this was so easy to make. Ive only bought it in the market. Those comments have been amazing, and yeah, its 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, its gone. A lot of people arent 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 its 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 h h h h h h hn San Francisco and in the country. Right now were dealing with balancing our budget. We have over two hundred thousand people unemployed in San Francisco. Were trying to produce housing faster and kids going to school. We know what were up against. The good news is we have really strong leaders who are in addition to battling covid doing the work necessary to moving the city forward. Today theres an announcement that we have around a project that many of us have worked so hard on. Thats the final closure of the county jail. The fact is, it was a long journey. Last year in october we announced the plan closure. We expected to do it in 2021. The good news is through the administrator and former sheriff and our new sheriff who picked up the mantle and moved this project forward, were in a position to close that particular facility sooner rather than later. Today is an announcement that we will do exactly that. When i talk about my lived experiences of growing up in public housing. I talk about it because of the challenges that i and other people through those experiences face. The sad reality is, it wasnt uncommon for so many of us so visit 85 850bryant street. That hallway, the concrete, pay phone, the benches we had to sit onto waitthat experience still haunts me. Im sure many people know what im talking about because of their experiences of visiting. The thing that has always stuck with me the most. When you grow up in these communities, you know a lot of people dont deserve to be there. Yes, we have people that have committed crime where they need to be held accountable. When i had been visiting and on objection for the most part you know everybody who is sitting there waiting. You know a lot of the folks you see behind those windows. And sadly, there are people in there who had nothing to do with the crimes they are in there for in the first place. Our criminal Justice System is broken. We have real problems with how sadly disproportionately, you talk about San Francisco one of the most progressive cities in the country with a less than six percent African American population. We know disproportionately that we still have challenges. We still have issues with this criminal Justice System. Now, here in this city, were doing something about it. Were closing the seventh floor and were closing it because no human being should have to be there. I remember visiting that facility years ago and growing up i only visited the visitors room. I had never been behind the scene. As a supervisor going behind the scene and seeing the work conditions that the deputies had to endure. Seeing people that i know, that i care about, from my community and their children in these jail cells that are small and tiny, two to three people in a cell. We want them to have a better life. We want them to not lose it in a facility like this. We have to think differently about what it meep means to noty people who are incarcerated but what it it means to reepter reer society. How do we have the facility to change the hearts and minds of people that we want to support. 850 is not that facility. Its nasty and dirty. I wouldnt want to see my worst enemy in that place. Its time to close it it. Thats exactly what were doing. Were closing the door on the past and mass incarceration at its absolute worst. Were opening the door to a real change. To a new way of reforming criminal justice in San Francisco. Were doing it because there are people who work in this building who actually care. Who actually care about changing it for the better. Todays announcement is a significant step towards real reform in our criminal Justice System. Im truly grateful to our city administrator, when we worked on this together. A community activist, our current sheriff who moved up the time line in getting this done. The supervisor from district one who cares deeply about this issue. Also, the work around the fees and a number of other things ive worked on with the board of supervisorrorsupervisors. Her work has been absolutely incredible around criminal justice reform. Our public defender and our district attorney. Working collaboratively. Because i want to be clear, you know, its very personal, its other family members, its other friends and people that i love and care about. Just imagine knowing someone had the potential who is now incarcerated to be mayor, to be president , to be a rock star, to be a musician. To be anything he wanted to be. But because he was accused of something he never did, he is behind bars at a place like 850. That happened to more black people in my community than i can count. Thats why this is so important today. Its about reforming the system and making a chaifng. Change. The future of how we adjust criminal justice and remove the disparities depends on the actions we take through policy, through investments, through complete reform of the system. I am excited about this announcement today and grateful to the leadership of this city to make it happen sooner rather than later. At this time i would like to introduce our sheriff who has been absolutely an incredible particle ner to worpartner to w. He moved it forward to get the job done. Thank you, madam mayor. In your remarks you painted a very vivid picture of your experience. Through San Franciscos history there have been 19 jails. Since 1962 the San Francisco fall of justice has been the center of the criminal Justice Center for our community. Built in the hall of justice for two of these jails. Located on the seventh floor of the hall of justice the maximum facility for the sheriffs department. The facility consists of single multiple occupancy cells dormitories all with large concrete wall fronts. Its a linear facility. The rated capacity for the jail is 406 people, to give you some context, the jail used al c atraz functioning. The San Francisco Sheriffs Office has grown and moved away from management of these types of i facilities with more humane infrastructure without the use of bars. County jail four represents the last vestages of a buy gone era. It represents the old way of doing things. An old way of doing things that our Sheriffs Office and city have moved away from. It stands as a simple of that which we move away from. Our other linear jails in our system have been closed over the years respectively in 2006 and 2013. This remains the last linear jail facility for us to close. I personally was assigned to county jail four. My nephews one of the last times i saw him was on the seventh floor. When i became sheriff i committed to closing the facility. It out lived its usefulness. It puts not only the incarcerated in danger, but the staff and all the community that came to visit. Plumbing and sewage issues. For years weve been working collectively to safely relocate our population and close the jail. Original plans to remove justice involved out of the building have been challenged with funding issues. Thanks to the leadership of everyone mentioned weve been able to finally move out of the building. Were in a position to close early due t to the efforts of or staff and the department of Public Health. Theyve been able to work with us even meeting the cha challens of covid 19. Focusing on a reduced living and working space while responding to advocate concerns and the concerns of our partners. Our deaftie deafim happy to mt well be moving ahead. When we say early, well be closing the facility the up coming labor day weekend. Two months ahead of schedule. San francisco county jails have not been immune from the virus. Weve been a rare Success Story to limit exposure and out break nz ousin our system. Intercept, control the virus and keep everybody safe. Finally, i wish to dedicate my staff and commend all of our City Partners im thrilled to be joining you and mayor with this announcement. Last spring my Office Brought forth legislation to close county jail number four with legislation. At times we thought we couldnt do it. It it was very controversial. They thought you couldnt close the jail, its too soon. Here we are to say that county jail number four will be closed by labor day. We thought we could do it, we knew we would have to win people over to have some belief that is deemed dangerous, hazardous and deemed unfit for people to live. That we could close it so quickly. I want to mention that it was never considered to be impossible by our mayor. It is rare and unusual that we have a city leader like our mayorshe thoroughly understood it had to be closed and as soon as possible. This legislation that we passed was passed by the board ten to one vote. It was hard to get some supervisors on board. Because of the belief we could do it so soon. Closing it two months before we mandated it in our legislation. It is absolutely outstanding, incredible. Its great to see what can happen working what we can do. Today, i want to say thank you to mayor, sheriff sif city, administrator who said this place is dangerous and hazardous and no one should be living there. Thank you to all the advocates who work so closely with us to ensure that we never lost faith in this legislation. Today were thrilled. Again, i have to say were over the moon were able to close this jail which nobody should live in. No one should have to stay there. No one should have to work there. Its hars adde hars adder hazars health. Thank you. The covid 19 crisis and black lives Matter Movement ignited in this moment shined a light on how important it is for us in this moment to be looking at all of our system systems includingr Public Safety systems through a Public Health lens as well as a Racial Justice lens. Closing this jail is not just about shutting down a delap dated jail. Were not opening a new jail to replace this one. Rather were looking to reinvest in communities that have been harmed bile by this system. Particularly black and brown communities. When you look at the people who sit inside San Francisco county jails. We are jailing the most vulnerable among us sm th. The fact is jails are only one way to deal with Public Safety. There are other options to protect the community in the moment but take a much broader and effective and long term view of what safety is and what is needed to achieve it. We have such a big opportunity today in San Francisco to lead the way on reimagining Public Health and Community Safety by reinvesting in Community Based programs and Mental Health services and supports. Weve made Great Strides in the right direction with the board of supervisors ab supervisors ao are aligned with us in this moment. As we close county jail four lets also make a statement about our values as san franciscans. Moving towards a model of human potential, redemption, and heal willing. Thanhealing. Thank you. Thank you. It thank you all for your remarks. We will now begin the q and a portion. Sheriff. Your question comes from the San Francisco chronicle. What are the citys plans to keep San Franciscos jail population low. How to change and reform our system better. We have a plan in place right now which allows for under covid conditions separating out individuals in our system to be healthy and safe. Were at fifty eight percent capacity in one facility and fifty seven capacity downtown. We have a lot of room for growth is there is a spike in any of our populations. What is good and reassuring is that we are on a path of reform to begin with. The das office and Public Defenders Office to address the koafcovid 19 issue. There are no further questions and that concludes todays press conference. Thank you for everyones time. Im nicole and lindsey, i like the fresh air. When we sign up, its always so gratifying. We want to be here. So im very excite ied to be here today. Your volunteerism is appreciated most definitely. Last year we were able to do 6,000 hours volunteering. Without that we cant survive. Volunteering is really important because we cant do this. Its important to understand and a concept of learning how to take care of this park. We have almost a 160 acres in the district 10 area. Its fun to come out here. We have a park. Its better to take some of the stuff off the fences so people can look at the park. The street, every time, our friends. I think everybody should give back. We are very fortunate. We are successful with the company and its time to give back. Its a great place for us. The weather is nice. No rain. Beautiful San Francisco. Its a great way to be able to have fun and give back and walk away with a great feeling. For more opportunities we have volunteering every single day of the week. Get in touch with the parks and Recreation Center so come right before the game starts, if im still on the field, i look around, and i just take a deep breath because it is so exciting and magical, not knowing what the season holds holds is very, very exciting. It was fastpaced, stressful, but the good kind of stressful, high energy. There was a crowd to entertain, it was overwhelming in a good way, and i really, really enjoyed it. I continued working for the grizzlies for the 20122013 season, and out of happenstance, the same job opened up for the San Francisco giants. I applied, not knowing if i would get it, but i would kick myself if i didnt apply. I was so nervous, i never lived anywhere outside of fridays know, andfridays fresno, and i got an interview. And then, i got a second interview, and i got more nervous because know the thought of leaving fresno and my family and friends was scary, but this opportunity was on the other side. But i had to try, and lo and behold, i got the job, and my first day was january 14, 2014. Every game day was a puzzle, and i have to figure out how to put the pieces together. I have two features that are 30 seconds long or a minute and a 30 feature. Its fun to put that altogetl r together and then lay that out in a way that is entertaining for the fans. A lucky seat there and there, and then, some lucky games that include players. And then ill talk to lucille, can you take the shirt gun to the bleachers. I just organize it from top to bottom, and its just fun for me. Something, we dont know how its going to go, and it can be a huge hit, but youve got to try it. Or if it fails, you just wont do it again. Or you tweak it. When that all pans out, you go oh, we did that. We did that as a team. I have a great team. We all gel well together. It keeps the show going. The fans are here to see the teams, but also to be entertained, and thats our job. I have wonderful female role models that i look up to here at the giants, and theyve been great mentors for me, so i aspire to be like them one day. Renelle is the best. Shes all about women in the workforce, shes always in our corner. [applause] i enjoy how progressive the giants are. We have had the longer running until they secure day. Weve been doing lgbt night longer than most teams. I enjoy that i work for an organization who supports that and is all inclusive. That means a lot to me, and i wouldnt have it any other way. I wasnt sure i was going to get this job, but i went for it, and i got it, and my first season, we won a world series even if we hadnt have won or gone all the way, i still would have learned. Ive grown more in the past four years professionally than i think ive grown in my entire adult life, so its been eye opening and a wonderful learniit. Shop dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges resident to do their shop dine in the 49 within the 49 square miles of San Francisco by supporting local services in the neighborhood we help San Francisco remain unique successful and vibrant so were will you shop dine in the 49 chinatown has to be one the best unique shopping areas in San Francisco that is color fulfill and safe each vegetation and seafood and find everything in chinatown the walk shop in chinatown welcome to jason dessert im the fifth generation of candy in San Francisco still that serves 2000 district in the chinatown in the past it was the tradition and my family was the royal chef in the pot pals thats why we learned this stuff and moved from here to have dragon candy i want people to know that is art we will explain a walk and they cant walk in and out it is different techniques from stir frying to smoking to steaming and they do show of. Beer a royalty for the age berry up to now not people know that especially the toughest they think this is i really appreciate they love this art. From the cantonese to the hypomania and we have hot pots we have all of the cuisines of china in our chinatown you dont have to go far. Small business is important to our neighborhood because if we really make a lot of people lives better more people get a job here not just a big firm. You dont have to go anywhere else we have pocketed of great neighborhoods haul have all have their own uniqueness. San francisco has to all. Neighborhood in San Francisco are also diverse and fascist as the people that inhabitable them were in north beach about supervisor peskin will give us a tour and introduce is to what think of i i his favorite district 5 e 3 is in the northwest surrounded by the San Francisco bay the district is the boosting chinatown oar embarcadero financial district Fishermans Wharf exhibit no. North beach Telegraph Hill and part of union square. All of San Francisco districts are remarkable im honored and delighted to represent really whereas with an the most intact district got chinatown, north beach Fishermans Wharf russian hill and knob hill and the northwest waterfront some of the most wealthier and inning e impoverished people in San Francisco obgyn siding it is ethically exists a bunch of tightknit neighborhoods people know he each other by name a wonderful placed physically and socially to be all of the neighborhoods north beach and chinatown the i try to be out in the community as much as and i think, being a the cafe eating at the neighborhood lunch place people come up and talk to you, you never have time alone but really it is fun hi, im one the owners and is ceo of cafe trespassing in north beach many people refer to cafe trees as a the living room of north beach most of the clients are local and living up the hill come and meet with each other just the way the United States been since 1956 opposed by the grandfather a big people person people had people coming since the day we opened. It is of is first place on the west that that exposito 6 years ago but anyone was doing that starbucks exists and it created a really welcoming pot. It is truly a legacy business but more importantly it really at the take care of their community my father from it was formally italy a fisherman and that town very rich in culture and music was a big part of it guitars and sank and combart in the evening that tradition they brought this to the cafe so many characters around here everything has incredible stories by famous folks last week the cafe that paul carr tennessee take care from the Jefferson Starship hung out the cafe are the famous poet Lawrence William getty and jack herb man go hung out. They work worked at a play with the god fathers and photos he had his typewriter i wish i were here back there it theres a lot of moving parts the meeting spot rich in culture and artists and musicians epic people would talk with you and youd get this is one place you can always count on to give you what you had before and remind you of what your San Francisco history used to be. We hear that all the time, people bring their kids here and their grandparents brought them here and down the line. Even though people move away, whenever they come back to the city, they make it here. And they tell us that. Youre going to get something made fresh, made by hand and made with quality products and something thats very, very good. The legacy bars and restaurants was something that was begun by San Francisco simply to recognize and draw attention to the establishments. It really provides for San Franciscos unique character. And that morphed into a request that we work with the city to develop a legacy business registration. Im Michael Cirocco and the owner of an area bakery. The bakery started in 191. My grandfather came over from italy and opened it up then. It is a small operation. Its not big. So everything is kind of quality that way. So i see every piece and cut every piece that comes in and out of that oven. Im leslie ciroccomitchell, a fourth generation baker here with my family. So we get up pretty early in the morning. I usually start baking around 5 00. And then you just start doing rounds of dough. Loaves. My mom and sister basically handle the front and then i have my nephew james helps and then my two daughters and my wife come in and we actually do the baking. After that, my mom and my sister stay and sell the product, retail it. You know, i dont really think about it. But then when i sometimes when i go places and i look and see places put up, oh this is our 50th anniversary and everything and weve been over 100 and that is when it kind of hits me. You know, that geez, weve been here a long time. [applause] a lot of people might ask why our legacy business is important. We all have our own stories to tell about our ancestry. Our lineage and ill use one example of tommys joint. Tommys joint is a place that my husband went to as a child and hes a fourth generation san franciscan. Its a place we can still go to today with our children or grandchildren and share the stories of what was San Francisco like back in the 1950s. Im the general manager at tommys joint. People mostly recognize tommys joint for its murals on the outside of the building. Very bright blue. You drive down and see what it is. They know the building. Tommys is a San Francisco hoffa, which is a germanstyle presenting food. We have five different carved meats and we carve it by hand at the station. You prefer it to be carved whether you like your brisket fatty or want it lean. You want your pastrami to be very lean. You can say i want that piece of corn beef and want it cut, you know, very thick and i want it with some sauerkraut. Tell the guys how you want to prepare it and they will do it right in front of you. San franciscos a place thats changing restaurants, except for tommys joint. Tommys joint has been the same since it opened and that is important. San francisco in general that we dont lose a grip of what San Franciscos came from. Tommys is a place that youll always recognize whenever you lock in the door. Youll see the same staff, the same bartender and have the same meal and that is great. Thats important. The service that San Francisco heritage offers to the legacy businesses is to help them with that application process, to make sure that they really recognize about them what it is that makes them so special here in San Francisco. So well help them with that application process if, in fact, the board of supervisors does recognize them as a legacy business, then that does entitle them to certain financial benefits from the city of San Francisco. But i say really, more importantly, it really brings them public recognition that this is a business in San Francisco that has history and that is unique to San Francisco. It started in june of 1953. And we make everything from scratch. Everything. We started a you we started a off with 12 flavors and mango fruits from the philippines and then started trying them one by one and the family had a whole new clientele. The business really boomed after that. I think that the flavors we make reflect the diversity of San Francisco. We were really surprised about the legacy project but we were thrilled to be a part of it. Businesses come and go in the city. Pretty tough for businesss to stay here because it is so expensive and theres so much competition. So for us who have been here all these years and still be popular and to be recognized by the city has been really a huge honor. We got a phone call from a woman who was 91 and she wanted to know if the mitchells still owned it and she was so happy that we were still involved, still the owners. She was our customer in 1953. And she still comes in. But she was just making sure that we were still around and it just makes us feel, you know, very proud that were carrying on our fathers legacy. And that we mean so much to so many people. It provides a perspective. And i think if you only looked at it in the here and now, youre missing the context. For me, legacy businesses, legacy bars and restaurants are really about setting the context for how we come to be where we are today. I just think its part of San Francisco. People like to see familiar stuff. At least i know i do. In the 1950s, you could see a picture of tommys joint and looks exactly the same. We havent change add thing. I remember one lady saying, you know, ive been eating this ice cream since before i was born. And i thought, wow we have, too. Roughly five years, i was working as a high school teacher, and i decided to take my students on a surfing field trip. The light bulb went off in my head, and i realized i could do much more for my students taking them surfing than i could as their classroom teacher, and that is when the idea for the city surf project was born. Working with kids in the ocean that arent familiar with this space is really special because youre dealing with a lot of fear and apprehension but at the same time, a lot of excitement. When i first did it, i was, like, really scared, but then, i did it again, and i liked it. Well get a group of kids who have just never been to the beach, are terrified of the idea, who dont like the beach. Its too cold out, and its those kid that are impossible to get back out of the water at the end of the day. Over the last few years, i think weve had at least 40 of our students participate in the city surf project. Surfing helped me with, like, how to swim. Weve start off with about two to four sessions in the pool before actually going out and surfing. Swimming at the pool just helps us with, like, being, like, comfortable in the water and being calm and not being all not being anxious. So when we started the city surf project, one of the things we did was to say hey, this is the way to earn your p. E. Credits. Just getting kids to go try it was one of our initial challenges for the first year or two. But now that weve been doing it three or four years, we have a group of kids thats consistent, and the word has spread, that its super fun, that you learn about the ocean. Starting in the morning, you know, i get the vehicles ready, and then, i get all the gear together, and then, i drive and go get the kids, and we take them to a local beach. We usually go to linda mar, and then occasionally ocean beach. We once did a special trip. We were in capitola last year, and it was really fun. We get in a circle and group stretch, and we talk about specific safety for the day, and then, we go down to the water. Once we go to the beach, i dont want to go home. I cant change my circumstances at home, but i can change the way i approach them. Our program has definitely been a way for our students to find community and build friends. I dont really talk to friends, so i guess when i started doing city surf, i started to, like, get to know people more than i did before, and people that i didnt think id like, like, ended up being my best friends. Its a group sport the way we do it, and with, like, close camaraderie, but everybodys doing it for themselves. Its great, surfing around, finding new people and making new friendships with people throughout surfing. It can be highly developmental for students to have this time where they can learn a lot about themselves while negotiating the waves. I feel significantly, like, calmer. It definitely helps if im, like, feeling really stressed or, like, feeling really anxious about surfing, and i go surfing, and then, i just feel, like, im going to be okay. It gives them resiliency skills and helps them build selfconfidence. And with that, they can use that in other parts of their lives. I went to bring amy family o the beach and tell them what i did. I saw kids open up in the ocean, and i got to see them connect with other students, and i got to see them fail, you know, and get up and get back on the board and experience success, and really enjoy themselves and make a connection to nature at the same time. For some kids that are, like, resistant to, like, being in a Mentorship Program like this, its they want to surf, and then later, theyll find out that theyve, like, made this community connection. I think they provided level playing fields for kids to be themselves in an open environment. For kids to feel like i can go for it and take a chance that i might not have been willing to do on my own is really special. We go on 150 surf outings a year. Thats yearround programming. Weve seen a tremendous amount of youth face their fears through surfing, and that has translated to growth in other facets of their lives. I just think the biggest thing is, like, that they feel like that they have something that is really cool, that theyre engaged in, and that we, like, care about them and how theyre doing, like, in general. What i like best is they really care about me, like, im not alone, and i have a group of people that i can go to, and, also, surfing is fun. Were creating surfers, and were changing the face of surfing. The feeling is definitely akin to being on a roller coaster. Its definitely faster than i think you expect it to be, but its definitely fun. It leaves you feeling really, really positive about what that kids going to go out and do. I think its really magical almost. At least it was for me. It was really exciting when i caught my first wave. I felt like i was, like it was, like, magical, really. When they catch that first wave, and their first lights up, you know their face lights up, you know you have them hooked. I was on top of the world. Its amazing. I felt like i was on top of the world even though i was probably going two miles an hour. It was, like, the scariest thing id ever done, and i think it was when i got hooked on surfing after youre watching coping with covid19. Todays special guest is assessor carmen chu. Hi, im chris mannis and youre watching coping with covid19. And today my guest is carmen chu, the assessor for the city of San Francisco and was cochairing the Economic Recovery Task force. Shes here to talk how about how the task force is guiding the city through the Covid Recovery and reopening. Welcome to the show. Thank you very much, chris, for having me. We begin by talking about the creation of the economic recovery tack force and its purpose and role. Absolutely. So i think about our cities with that very first month of covid and the truth is that everything moved so quickly. And i can still remember when i was at the press conference that announced our state of emergency and not only that but very soon after we were in a shelterinplace scenario where many of us had never imagined that wed ever see in our lifetime, much less having to deal with a global pandemic. During that time there was a lot going on in peoples minds about how concerned and worried that meant for themselves and their families, but almost immediately i think that the city also began to feel what the Economic Impacts were of shelterinplace and business closure. Remember at the time that all but essential businesses were open so very quickly we saw a lot of businesses who were, frankly, worried about whether they could even come back and open at some point in time or how theyd make it through and we saw quickly a sharp amount of job loss that happened in the city as well. So we knew pretty soon thereafter that we needed to start doing a lot of work to plan ahead for what economic recovery would look like. So there, alongside with the president of the board, norman yee, had a task force to try to get a number of people together to be thinking about what is it that the city can be doing now to start planning for our economic recovery, to have it successful for the midterm but also for the long term going forward. So we have a group of people who are just amazing, people who are contributing to our communities. So weve had large and Small Businesses. Businesses from a crosssection of Different Industries and services, from different neighborhoods. We had academia who are part of this task force as well as different foundations and Profit Service providers who are all part of the ecosystem that makes San Francisco special. So the task force is really meaning to pull together the thinking about how the city could help us to facilitate going back to a reopening scenario, but how to have different scenarios and policies to ensure that we can be successful during an interim period as long for the long term. Great. Now weve all heard about the Economic Impacts of the covid19 had across the country. Can you tell us about the experiences in San Francisco . I mean, i would say that just listening to the businesses and to the individuals and residents. Its been very dire. You can imagine for a business that has been open for quite some time, you know, and they are still continuing to have to other things but meanwhile they had absolutely no income for most businesses that are closed to help to offset that. Many of these businesses have taken loans out that they have actually secured with their own assets, like their home. They have secured it, you know, they cant repay loans, they have to potentially sell or do something with the other personal guarantees they have. Locally here in San Francisco we have also i tried to respond with the local programs that we thank would be helpful. Everything from the deferral of business taxes and business licenses, and the grants to support businesses and Different Community groups to support workers and so on, to try to help to transition. But that being said, its been significant hardships for individuals, as well as the business side or those unemployed or people who are not seeing that wealth in the sector. The particular areas that the task force are focusing on, can you talk about them specifically . Yeah, yeah. At some point we think about the larger economy. And its a wide and a big economy. We have so much entrepreneurship and different types of activities and things that we do. And also its really important parts of our economy that make San Francisco special, our arts and our culture, all of these things help to contribute to the vibrancy that i think is San Francisco. When we think of economic recovery, its broad and its also something that is going to be very different from sector to sector. So i think this is truly something that we keep in mind is that ultimately the ones that we are able to open, with the Economic Activity that is really tied to how we individually take responsibility to be sure that we keep safe. And so the way that were thinking about economic recovery is about, you know, how to make an interim period short of having a vaccine or a Health Breakthrough for an economy that is resilient. Theres a strong recognition that even before covid19 hit that the economy wasnt doing great for everyone, right . A lot of people were left behind, frankly, from the last economic cycle. We were not just faring very well. And so one of the things that were thinking about is how do we think about San Francisco with the emergency sectors and how to create more equity, how do we create more opportunities for all of our communities to be able to thrive going forward. So we really are intentional about wanting to think about policies that help to develop San Francisco better actually than the way that things were before. Some of the areas that we think that we want to put our efforts around are a few areas. So we want to see for jobs and businesses. We definitely to want to think about Economic Development and how it is that we allow for the right kind of growth in our economy. We want to make sure that were focusing on our vulnerable communities. So truly thinking about, you know, who has been most impacted, who you do we make sure that when we think about the investments for the future that that economy includes those individuals and communities as well. And finally we also want to think very intentionally about how we support the arts, hospitality, culture and entertainment. This is a big part of San Francisco. People come from all around the world to visit our beautiful city because they recognize not only the natural landscape is beautiful but also the vibrance and the warmth of our communities and the culture that were able to share here and the food that we can provide and the festivals and concerts, all of these things that makes San Francisco so special. And at the same time these are exactly the types of things that are probably not going to come back very quickly. And as we begin to reopen, what is the Task Force Helping for local businesses and employment . We really want to make sure that the ontheground experiences that businesses have and the common sense kind of things that they may be able to do, are able to be incorporated with our Public Health officials. Aside from that were working very hard to try to find just the solutions that allows the businesses to be able to populate more flexibly. So you have probably heard that the city is opening up outside dining and not only that but we have created and launched the shared spaces program. This really allows for the businesses to be able to utilize either the curbside space, the street space potentially and the sidewalk space, and allow a path of travel for their businesses. Yeah. And letting businesses use outside spaces is a great idea, especially since we learned that being outdoors is safer. So what is next after reopening . What are the lessons that we have learned and how can we create a better economic environment in the city . Yeah, i think is such a huge question because i think that all of us are very much thinking about social equity and i think that theres a lot of opportunity for us to be thinking about doing it better and more inclusive and create more opportunities for our communities who have been left behind. In particular for our black community in San Francisco. We know that this is something that we want to focus on and we want to make sure that were actually creating a better system going forward. Oh, i totally agree. So, finally, if somebody or a Small Business is interested in learning more about the Economic Recovery Task force, where would they be able to find Additional Information . Well, im glad that you said that. We definitely have heard from we have heard from so many people across the city. So first off i want to thank all of those toke folks who have reo us. But the place you want to go is our website at onesanfrancisco onesanfrancisco covid19recover y, that is a website with our information, including our meeting agendas and our minutes, a video reporting as well so they can keep uptodate. And theres an email and a survey that you can fill out there and you can see it. Thats great information and i really appreciate you coming on the show. And thank you for the time you have given me today. Thank you, chris. I really appreciate it. Stay safe. You too. Thats it for this episode and well be back with more pandemicrelated information shortly. You can been watching can the coping with ko covid19 for sfgovtv. Thank you for watching. My background is in engineering. I am a Civil Engineer by training. My career has really been around government service. When the opportunity came up to serve the city of San Francisco, that was just an opportunity i really needed to explore. [ ] [ ] i think it was in junior high and really started to do well in math but i faced some really interesting challenges. Many young ladies were not in math and i was the only one in some of these classes. It was tough, it was difficult to succeed when a teacher didnt have confidence in you, but i was determined and i realized that engineering really is what i was interested in. As i moved into college and took engineering, preengineering classes, once again i hit some of those same stereotypes that women are not in this field. That just challenged me more. Because i was enjoying it, i was determined to be successful. Now i took that drive that i have and a couple it with public service. Often we are the Unsung Heroes of technology in the city whether it is delivering Network Services internally, or for our Broadband Services to low income housing. Free wifi for all of the residents here so that folks have access to do job searches, housing searches, or anything else that anyone else could do in our great city. We are putting the plant in the ground to make all of the City Services available to our residents. It is difficult work, but it is also very exciting and rewarding our team is exceptional. They are very talented engineers and analysts who work to deliver the data and the services and the Technology Every day. I love working with linda because she is fun. You can tell her anything under the sun and she will listen and give you solutions or advice. She is very generous and thoughtful and remembers all the special days that you are celebrating. I have seen recent employee safety and cyber security. It is always a top priority. I am always feeling proud working with her. What is interesting about my work and my family is my experience is not unique, but it is different. I am a single parent. So having a career that is demanding and also having a child to raise has been a challenge. I think for parents that are working and trying to balance a career that takes a lot of time, we may have some interruptions. If there is an emergency or that sort of thing then you have to be able to still take care of your family and then also do your service to your job. That is probably my take away and a lot of lessons learned. A lot of parents have the concern of how to do the balance i like to think i did a good job for me, watching my son go through school and now enter the job market, and he is in the medical field and starting his career, he was always an intern. One of the things that we try to do here and one of my takeaways from raising him is how important internships are. And here in the department of technology, we pride ourselves on our interns. We have 20 to 25 each year. They do a terrific job contributing to our outside plant five or work or our Network Engineering or our finance team. This last time they took to programming our reception robot, pepper, and they added videos to it and all of these sort of things. It was fun to see their creativity and their innovation come out. Amazing. Intriguing. The way i unwind is with my photography and taking pictures around the city. When i drive around california, i enjoy taking a lot of landscapes. The weather here changes very often, so you get a beautiful sunset or you get a big bunch of clouds. Especially along the waterfront. It is spectacular. I just took some photos of big server and had a wonderful time, not only with the water photos, but also the rocks and the bushes and the landscapes. They are phenomenal. [ ] my advice to young ladies and women who would like to move into stem fields is to really look at why you are there. If you are if you are a problem solver, if you like to analyse information, if you like to discover new things, if you like to come up with alternatives and invent new practice, it is such a fabulous opportunity. Whether it is Computer Science or engineering or biology or medicine, oh, my goodness, there are so many opportunities. If you have that kind of mindset i have enjoyed working in San Francisco so much because of the diversity. The diversity of the people, of this city, of the values, of the talent that is here in the city. It is stimulating and motivating and inspiring and i cannot imagine working anywhere else but in sannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn i am so looking forward to the street fair tomorrow. It is in the mission, how are we going to get there . We are not driving. Well what do you suggest . There are a lot of great transportation choices in the city and there is one place to find them all, sfnta. Com. Sfmta. Com. It is the walking parking, and riding muni and it is all here in one place. Sitting in front of my computer waiting Transportation Options that is not exactly how i want to spend my saturday night. The new sfmta. Com is mobile friendly, it works great on a tablet, smart phone or a lap top, it is built to go wherever we go. Cool. But, lets just take the same route tomorrow that we always take, okay . It might be much more fun to ride our bikes. I am going to be way too tired to ride all the way home. Okay, how about this, we can ride our bikes there and then we can take muni home and it even shows us how to take the bikes on the bus, so simple right here on my phone. Neat. We can finish making travel plans over dinner, now lets go eat. How about about that organic vegan gluten free rest rft. Cant we go to the food truck. Do you want to walk or take a taxi. There is an alert right here telling us there is heavy traffic in soma. Lets walk there and then take a taxi or muni back. That new website gives us a lot of options. It sure does and we can use it again next weekend when we go to see the giants. There is a new destination section on the website that shows us how to get to at t park. There is a section, and account alerts and information on parking and all kinds of stuff, it is so easy to use that even you can use it. That is smart. Are you giving me a compliment. I think that i am. Wow, thanks. Now you can buy dinner. Sfmta. Com. Access useful information, any we will call the healthcommio order. Will you please call the roll. roll call . All right. Moving onto the next item. The approval of the minutes of the Health Commission meeting of