mr. clerk, do we have any announcements? >> clerk: yes. comments or opportunities to speak during public comment are available via phone by calling 415-655-0001. the meeting i.d. is 187-725-3857, then press pound and pound again. when connected, you will hear the meeting discussion but you will be muted and in listening mode only. when your item of interest comes up, dial star, three to be added to the speaker line. best practices are to call from a quiet location, speak slowly and clearly, and turn down your t.v. or radio. alternatively, you may submit public comment to me via e-mail at victor.young@sf.gov. that concludes my announcements. >> supervisor peskin: and please call item number one. >> clerk: item one is motion appointing supervisor rafael mandelman, for an indefinite term, to the transbay joint powers authority. >> chair peskin: and supervisor mandelman would be excused, but he isn't clear. we'll open this up for public comment. >> clerk: it appears we have three listeners but no one lined up to speak at this time. >> chair peskin: okay. seeing none, public comment is closed, and let me just say that i'm pleased that supervisor mandelman is willing to succeed supervisor haney as a role in that committee's history as the downtown rail makes progress on a modicum of transportation. with that, i'll make a motion to recommend this to the full board with a positive recommendation. mr. clerk, roll call, please. [roll call] >> clerk: the motion passes with supervisor mandelman being absent. >> chair peskin: all right. next item, please. >> clerk: next on the agenda is item number two, motion reappointing catherine stefani, term ending january 31, 2023, to the golden gate bridge, highway, and transportation district board of directors. >> chair peskin: is there any comment from members of the public? >> clerk: yes, members of the public, please press star, three to enter the queue or wait until your system line is unmuted. there are four listeners but no one lined up to speak. >> chair peskin: thank you. supervisor stefani is not here nor does she need to be. i would like to make a motion to send this recommendation to the full board with a positive recommendation. roll call vote, please. >> clerk: on the motion -- [roll call] >> clerk: the motion passes with supervisor mandelman being absent. >> chair peskin: and mr. clerk, this is very unlike supervisor mandelman. you will attempt to contact him again, correct? >> clerk: i or my staff. >> chair peskin: yes. could you please read the next item. >> clerk: yes. item 4 is a hearing to consider appointing four members, terms ending january 31, 2023, to the golden gate bridge, highway and transportation district, board of directors. >> chair peskin: thank you. i want to thank everyone seeking reappointment on the golden gate bridge board, and i'd like to thank the fifth member, mr. francis gleason, for his application. let's start with the names on the agenda. sabrina hernandez? >> thank you. can you hear me? >> chair peskin: we can hear you. >> thank you. i'm here seeking seat one public at-large to be appointed to the golden gate bridge highway and transportation district board of directors. it's been my honor for the last over ten years to sit on this board. it's particularly important work, and i thought i made significant contributions on the part of our labor partners who have, under the terms of this pandemic, come under a lot of stress because of the logistics. that's what you do when you sit on the board, is make difficult decisions and make sure everyone is heard. as i've said, i've been on the board for ten-plus years. i currently sit on the public policy and industrial relations committee. i sit on the advisory committee for the [inaudible] and on the committee for the evaluation of executive officer performance, and recently, i was able to work with the president of the board barbara parr to establish a committee on review of disparity and equity on this subject. first, we're looking at how we procure our contracts, and second, how we evaluate our employees, and how we select our committee members, and the president has selected me to help run that, so if you have any questions of me, i'm happy to answer them. thank you very much. >> chair peskin: and i just want to apologize to committee members and the public that i am in receipt of a note that supervisor mandelman was going to be 30 to 40 minutes late, so i would like to make a motion, if i can do so, to excuse him from the previous vote, and mr. clerk, if we have to retake that vote in order to set the record straight, i'm happy to rescind the vote later on on item 2 after we disposed with this item, but i apologize, i did have a note to that effect that i overlooked. thank you, miss hernandez. why that, why don't we go onto mr. hill? bert? >> can you see me? >> chair peskin: i can hear you, and now i can see you. >> good. that's great. good morning, chair peskin, supervisor chan, and hopefully supervisor mandelman in a few moments. first, i would like to acknowledge my fellow commissioners, hernandez, grosboll, and theriault. these have been very trying times, especially this last year, they have had to make decisions with gravity affecting the lives of our employees and their families. to date, our decisions have minute mined loss of income, supported safety protocols, and allowed operations to continue. we face a challenging future, recognizing the possibility that the 84-year-old revenue model and vehicle tolls may not continue to produce sufficient subsidies for public transportation. i serve on various committees. i serve on the transportation committee, government and rules committees, and also on the labor advisory committee and the equity and diversity committee. director hernandez started it recently, and we've had a couple of meetings, and it's really going well. i would lastly like to thank victor. victor young, i've known him for years, and he does just a fabulous job. he must work very hard and very long hours, and i hope the supervisors recognize the work that he does, so this is just a little push for him, and the last i want to mention is that we need supervisors on our bridge board. we also have a minority. we're going to be making hard decisions. we really need support on the committees. >> chair peskin: yes. i'm painfully aware of that, mr. hill. i might even have to return. >> well, that would be good. >> chair peskin: not for me. >> i'm honored to serve on the golden gate bridge district, and i'm happy to take any questions. >> chair peskin: thank you, mr. hill. i see no questions. mr. grosboll. >> hi. dick grosboll, can you hear me all right? >> chair peskin: yes, we can, dick. >> thank you, it's been my pleasure to serve on the board for quite a while, since 2006, and my primary stage and goal is working with the suicide deterrent system. we originally had a completion date was january of this year, and unfortunately, we were not able to make that, and now, completion because of some issues is not until january 2023. i am chair on the deterrent system, and sabrina and michael have been valuable members of this committee, and bert has contributed on that issue. you know, we do have a good staff at the bridge. we're fortunate in that regard, and we've gotten a lot of help from m.t.c. and the government in getting money over of the years, but it's been hard this year in terms of loss of revenue as well as possibly driving over the bridge. it's been hard work, but i would like another couple of years on the board to work on these issues. thank you. >> chair peskin: thank you, mr. grosboll. mr. theriault? >> now i can hear you. okay. new program for me. little hard to get used to. so i want to start as director hill did, in praising my three fellow current board members on the bridgeport. director hernandez has been absolutely wonderful. as she said, she helped established the new advisory committee on equity, and we're looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish there at the district in that regard. she manages to share some of the same upsets and passions that i do on the board while being much more polite on it. director hill, i see nothing from bert but devotion to the bike, but he's a little better acquainted with policy matters in that regard and in transportation generally has been an absolutely valuable voice there. director grosboll, having an attorney's background, asks some of the hard questions that i've never thought to ask, and i appreciate his leadership on the suicide deterrent advisory committee, as well. my own reasons for being on are, in some reasons, fortunately or unfortunately, are the same as i applied two years ago. i think i bring some particular expertise to that committee with my knowledge of the construction industry, with my knowledge as a retired ironworker of the bridge in general and of bridges, and i think i've made important contributions at flex points in the discussion of that -- of that suicide did he tern system and the contractor difficulties we've had there. the other item that i've brought before the committee last time i was here was the bus drivers pension trust. i'm a management trustee on the bus drivers pension trust. that is a pension trust that has seen considerable difficulties. it is, as some of you with knowledge of pension terms would understand, a mature pension. it has a high ratio of retirees to actives that presents particular challenges in contribution to the plan itself and its funding and its administration over the years. we have gradually been working through the issues of the trust. many of the changes that have been achieved have been achieved in large part thanks to my particular identification of them and my particular suggestions with regard to them, and there are others still to be accomplished. the third thing that is new in my particular presentation today, in the course of how things work on that board, as supervisor peskin would understand, there's a set of rotation for the offices of the board that is based on two things, on geography and on seniority. it alternates on the presidency and vice presidencies between directors from north of the golden gate and directors from south of the golden gate. currently, i sit as first vice president on the board. in a year under that rotation, i would be president of the board. at that time, i would like to undertake a task that has not been taken in quite sometime for the bridge board. currently, as supervisor peskin, again, is aware, the board agenda tends to be staff driven. one way of countering that to some degree is to come up with a new general plan that provides some direction to the staff in providing us agendas, and i'd like to see some direction with that. with that said, supervisors, you have my biographical information before you, you have my information, and i welcome any questions. >> chair peskin: thank you, mr. theriault. i see no questions, so why don't we move onto mr. gleason. mr. gleason, the floor is yours. >> hello, supervisors. are you hearing me? i'm going through a tunnel right now. >> chair peskin: thank you, mr. gleason. we hear you. >> i'm going to read something just to introduce myself to the two of you, and maybe you can pass this onto the other supervisor, mandelman, when he shows up. my name is francis gleason, and i live in san francisco. my last job was on the golden gate bridge. hopefully going to be on the board. i live near [inaudible] city boulevard and now how the bridge can affect my neighbors. i know the passengers, the employees, the supervisors. i'm familiar with the other five county board members. i will bring firsthand knowledge of the employees and passengers and residents concerns. because i travel the bridge daily, i will be able to contribute empirical dialogue to call bridge board discussions. i'd ask you to please utilize my experience and knowledge by recommending my appointment. the golden gate bridge has many advocates, and i love the bridge, and i am an advocate for those who use the bridge. by appointing me, you will be getting a native of san francisco, a concerned neighbor who will work with all parties for fairness, transparency, and equity within the city of san francisco. and as far as my experience with the board itself, as the other directors have just spoken, no. we do have a very bad, poorly funded pension for the -- >> chair peskin: you're breaking up there, mr. gleason. >> [inaudible] with my efforts, we've actually got the contribution rate up to the right amount. before, it was in the 15s for many, many, many years. i've represented my fellow workers when we were all going to get laid off when there was still money from the c.a.r.e.s. aid fund. i'm very glad that nobody was laid off, but initially, there was plans to lay us off. i do agree with the board of directors who have just spoken, however, none of them have [inaudible] employees in this district need to have a little bit more respect. this is a bridge, but this is also a transportation district, and that's going to come back when people get all these vaccines. i got mine. people are getting them, and we've got -- 35% of california are getting vaccines. things are going to be popping back faster than we think, and that's why the c.a.r.e.s. funding is there because when it pops back, it's going to pop back as quickly as it fell off. most people that are working from home are anxious to get back in their cars and go and drive to work. they want to see their friends from work, they want to see the things they want to see at work. i have hopes that the transportation industry is going to be more successful than before, but you need planning, you need more information, and you need a boots on the ground guy to see what's happening. and because i drive all of these every day -- i drive the three bridges every day. i'm a union member, i'm an amalgamated transportation union member. i support people driving the bus that are getting up early in the morning to do the landscaping and maintenance in san francisco and marin, and i appreciate your support. >> chair peskin: all right. we've heard from the five members for four seats. i see no questions from my colleagues. mr. young? >> clerk: yes. members of the public who wish to contribute public comment, dial 415-655-0001. meeting i.d. 187-725-3857. press pound, and pound again: press star, three to enter the queue, and you may begin speaking when the system indicates you've been unmuted. >> chair peskin: okay. somebody needs to unmute. >> good morning. >> chair peskin: good morning. >> good morning, supervisor peskin and supervisor chan. [inaudible] i'm calling in support of sabrina hernandez for seat number one, dick grosboll for seat three, and michael theriault for seat four. their experience will serve the district and the citizens of san francisco over the next two years as they look to come out of the crisis. on behalf of ibew number six, i enthusiastically support their appointments. thank you for allowing me to speak. >> chair peskin: thank you, mr. dougherty. next speaker, please. next speaker? >> can you hear me now. >> chair peskin: we can hear you now, mr. pillpel. please proceed. >> good morning. david pillpel. i'm sorry. i missed the presentations earlier. i joined last, but i do know the incumbent directors. i attend and participate in many of the bridge committee and board meetings. i know that the four incumbent directors have worked hard for the district and for the public, and i support their reappointment, but i did want to offer a couple of brief comments. i hope that with their reappointment that they would try to deescalate the recent tension on the board and reduce the divide between those perceived as more or less supportive of labor. in my opinion, the environment on the board is not good right now, and hopefully will get better. there are important and difficult issues and decisions before that board related to finances, policy, transportation recovery, labor, a number of issues there, and as i say, that divide amongst board members has become more apparent, and i believe is not helpful for the district or the public, so i hope that that will be high on the minds of the appointees and presumably director theriault would become board president next year, and i think he would do a good job, but i believe that we need to bear in mind that they work for the public, the entire public, and that the district needs to be kept whole and sound, and that, again, that dwight should be reduced, and we should try to work together in difficult times. that's all from me right now. thanks very much. >> chair peskin: thank you, mr. pillpel. next speaker, please. >> good morning, chair, and distinguished members of the committee. my name is rudy gonzales, and i'm secretary of the construction and trades union council. we call in this morning to weigh-in in support of the incumbents, first and foremost, director sabrina hernandez, who has served with incredible integrity and vision. she has pushed the committee and her colleagues as a whole to develop more committees and find more solutions. i have to say that the times that we find ourselves in are not unique to the district, but the bridge is truly an iconic piece to our bay area, in addition to being an essential part of our infrastructure. the view that bert hill brings has been important. i would say the same with dick grosboll. finally, seat four, michael theriault, an ironworker, whose hands served to build this iconic piece of infrastructure. it is important, the last comment talking about ways that we can work together. there is a lot to be desired with the overall composition of this board, but let's be clear. these four seats are intended to represent san francisco, and i think these four directors have done a heck of a job in terms of working together, making sure that san francisco is well represented and working together as much as possible in bringing all of their personal and professional experience. we appreciate the incumbents, we appreciate the opportunity to weigh-in, and we appreciate the public comment. thank you. >> chair peskin: thank you, mr. hernandez. are there any other public comments on this item? >> clerk: there may be one additional caller. do we have any additional callers at this time? i believe we do have one additional caller. next speaker, please. >> hello? hello. good morning, supervisors. my name is john bolden. i'm a native san franciscan of the north beach district two community. i would love to say that the past president, sabrina hernandez, has done an excellent job in representing san francisco, as well as director theriault, who has mentioned that he will be the next president of the board of directors. i would also like to support my fellow a.t.u. 1575 brother, francis gleason, another native san franciscan of the richmond district. during this time, we've had sometimes just one vote passing on layoffs, so it's important that other supervisors of the san francisco step in. hopefully, supervisor chan can help in and one more supervisor, so we can get a full san francisco representation on the board of directors. my own personal reflections, after observing meetings for a few months, director grosboll has been absent a few times over the last few months. he's done a great job, but i think it's important that the a.t.u. transdrivers are the biggest union, have the most members and employees at the district, and we're underrepresented at the board. >> chair peskin: thank you, mr. holden. are there any other members of the public for this item number three? >> clerk: i.t., could you please confirm if we have any additional speakers at this time. >> operator: i believe we have one more. operations, can you unmute user nine. >> hello, supervisors. this is kim cavaloni with the san francisco labor company. we proudly support the incumbents, grosboll, hill, hernandez, and theriault for the openings on the golden gate bridge board. they have done an excellent job, and the labor council would ask that you allow us to continue to work with them. they've been great advocates for san francisco, and we respectfully ask that you confirm them for a full recomm. >> clerk: on that motion -- [roll call] >> chair peskin: thank you. mr. clerk, please read the next item. >> clerk: item four is an appointment to the public utilities revenue bond oversight committee. there is one applicant. >> chair peskin: thank you, mr. clerk and for applying, mr. kamt. it sounds like you are qualify in terms of you have the qualifications and expertise and experience, certainly, in the field of economics, and with that, mr. kamp, the floor is yours. mr. kamp? >> can you hear me now? >> chair peskin: we can hear you now. >> perfect, thank you. chair peskin, supervisor chan. good morning. the bulk of rain in san francisco occurs in just three months. december, january, and february. this three-month window is why a reliable water infrastructure is so important to san francisco, and it's why i'm interested no joining the revenue bond oversight committee: to contribute to the infrastructure of san francisco. my name is lars kamp. i've been a resident of san francisco living in district two. i worked for 12 years for [inaudible] as a founder of a software company and members of the board, i've raised both debt and equity and understand financial markets. my experience includes the auditing of annual financial statements and reports. i believe this can be a significant contribution to the arba, and i'd like to thank victor young for guiding me through the application process, and it would be my honor to contribute to san francisco infrastructure. thank you. >> chair peskin: thank you. is there any question from committee member? seeing none, is there any public comment on this item? >> clerk: yes. members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this item should call 415-655-0001. the meeting i.d. is 187-725-3857, then press pound and pound again. if you haven't already done so, press star, three to lineup to speak. please wait until the system indicates you have been unmuted and you may provide your comment. operations, can you confirm if we have any public comment? >> operator: i don't believe we -- [inaudible] >> chair peskin: next speaker, please. >> i'm sorry. is this for item five? >> chair peskin: no. >> okay. i'm sorry. >> chair peskin: no worries. you can come in on the next item. are there any speakers for this item number four, the rboc appointment? >> operator: no further speakers in public comment? >> chair peskin: mr. kamp, we look forward to seeing your report, although you're welcome to report on it more than annually. i see no questions from supervisor chan, and i'd like to excuse supervisor mandelman from this item. mr. young, roll call, please. >> clerk: on the motion to excuse supervisor mandelman from item number four is approved. [roll call] >> clerk: the motion to excuse supervisor mandelman is approved with supervisor mandelman being excused. >> chair peskin: and then i'd like to make a motion to approve mr. kamp. >> clerk: on the motion to approve mr. kamp -- [roll call] >> clerk: the motion is approved. >> chair peskin: congratulations, mr. kamp. next item, please. >> clerk: item 5 is appointments to the sugary drinks distributor tax advisory committee. we have seven seats and 12 applicants. >> chair peskin: thank you. i've read the applications, and this is going to be a difficult selection because everybody is so superlatively fit to serve on this board. why don't we just take them in order as they appear on the agenda, and i do have a cheat sheet here as to what was able to attend. i think pretty much everybody or most everybody was able to attend, so why don't we start with vanessa bohm. if you just want to make -- if each of you want to make a brief -- given that there's a lot of folks here, try to keep it to two minutes if you can. miss bohm. and if she is not available, we can move onto sonia banks. >> clerk: i believe that miss banks submitted a request withdrawing her application. >> chair peskin: okay. that is correct. i do remember seeing that. so now, we have 11 applicants for seven seats. with that, miss francis -- frances abigail cabrera. >> hello. good morning. time to unmute myself. can you hear me? >> chair peskin: we can hear you and see you. >> okay. thank you. good morning, supervisors. i'd like to share that i'm a proud daughter of filipino immigrants. first and foremost, i am a proud filipina and working deeply within my community and would really like to have the opportunity to represent both my personal and professional experience. i have a deep passion for improving health equity, disparities. i attended school in philadelphia where i obtained my master's degree. i was the hospital liaison to the community school funding from philadelphia sugary drinks distributor tax, and as a bay area native and san francisco resident, i'm happy to be back working in the communities that raised me and would love to give back. i'm currently a program manager with the excellence in primary care at the university of san francisco, and i've had the pleasure to be a project manager with a program called stop covid. i would really be honored to serve in that capacity. thank you for your time, and i well come any questions. >> chair peskin: thank you so much for your application and your experience. why don't we -- if miss bohm is all with us, although i do know she is confirmed. why don't we go onto dianna cavagnaro, and miss cabrera, you can go ahead and turn your camera off. >> thank you, supervisor peskin. you are close. i am dianna cavagnaro. i'm most interested as the parent of an sfusd student, that seat. i have lived in san francisco since 2007, and i have invested a lot into the city both through my career and volunteering, and from 2016 to 2019, i worked with the san francisco chamber of commerce where i was the vice president of investor initiatives and events, and i coordinated over 250 events for the community's largest business advocacy organization? there, i was able to put a lot of people on the stage and contribute to the community here in san francisco? this would be my first foray into something like this, but i am on the board of the marin food bank and have been for almost a year. food scarcity is such an important issue for people in the bay area, especially in these unprecedented times? i would like to participate in this committee because i have full personal and professional experience. when i was pregnant with my daughter, i had gestational diabetes, which i'd never had before, and i was confronted with what i put in my body and what that means. i've lost over 75 pounds in the past year, so i think this would be an integral part in deciding how these funds are distributed? i also have worked for various art and nonprofit organizations in san francisco, where i focus on fundraising efforts for everything from community engagement and arts education. now i'm the c.o.o. of an events company, and unfortunately due to the pandemic has been furloughed, so now have a greater depth of understanding for the need to look at your funds when it comes to food and food scarcity and diversity. and i thank you for your time and welcome your questions. >> chair peskin: and just for seat seven, which had to be nominated by the parent advisory committee, were you nominated or not? >> no, i didn't know. this is my first time doing this. >> chair peskin: okay. i think there's only one person eligible for that seat as they were the only person nominated by the parent advisory committee. i'm making a note that 15 does not apply to you, although i understand why you want that. all right. thank you so much, and if ms. bohm is not here, why don't we go to maureen guerrera. >> clerk: before we go on, i just wanted to let you know that we had an emergency message from miss bohm, and she will not be able to attend today. >> chair peskin: okay. thank you. miss guerrero. >> hi, everybody. i'm applied for seats 1, 2, 3, and 16, and i'm currently a director of programs at ymca. has program has the ability to serve all programs across the community of san francisco. i've also, through the family resource center, have been able to design programs for children five and below and their parents. a large part of my work has been focusing on families and reaching their goals around employment and housing, and with that, i saw that health and financial well-being go hand and hand, and as soon as i noticed that, i would start to bring as many resources as i could to those communities to [inaudible] per year, free workshops, health screenings, and resources, just resources in general, and that was all in partnership with ucsf nursing students and walgreens. i also was able to bring healthier tools workshops, and currently with partnership with d.p.h., we're doing covid-19 screenings at our sites. currently, i'm also working on a masters in public policy program. a large part of my study has been looking at sugary drinks tax and what's been working in other cities, and trying to find out what components can be duplicated other places and what shouldn't be duplicated. one of the things that i have noticed that this committee has focused on is the food insecurity piece, and one thing i would like to achieve is increasing support with neighborhood markets? they have also been greatly impacted by the covid pandemic, and oakland has a model where they're actually working with markets, making sure that they keep investing in nonperishable foods to, you know, decrease the cycle of food deserts in our communities, so that's one thing that i was just looking at, and yeah, open to any questions. >> chair peskin: thank you, miss guerrero. great presentation. really appreciate it. i see no questions for you. why don't we move to maysha bell. >> thank you. >> are you able to see and hear me? >> chair peskin: able to see and hear you. >> great. thank you. i just wanted to say happy women's day to all of my women colleagues. my name is maysha bell, and i am a san francisco native, and i am the mother to four san francisco natives. i have come to live in san francisco about 14 years ago, and i just want to say that my purpose is dedicated to the heart and life in this city. i have [inaudible] in san francisco for 14 years. my current and new role is executive director of out of school time program? during this time, i've had the opportunity to become a trainer in evidence based practices that was developed for active schools and out of school program staff to support healthy outcomes for youth and their families? i also help inaugurate our diabetes program at john muir in western addition beacon in 2019. it was so important based on what we know of the impact that diabetes and sugar sweetened beverages have on the african american communities, especially those coming into that 30 to 40 age group for african americans, which is really high in the city of san francisco. and also, i was able to support our youth campaign. before the program was initiated, we had a group of young people with the ymca in san francisco that was [inaudible] and so they went through a variety of initiatives and activities just to engage the community in dialogue and to really get people to understand why is this something that should matter and why it is something that we can put our support behind. what i'm most eager to bring to this committee, this body, is my ability to get to the heart of the matter. one thing i know is that what people eat, what they choose to eat, yes, it has a lot to do with access, it has a lot to do with resources, grocery stores in your neighborhood, yes, all those things are a factor, but another component that can be missed at times is really the handing down that comes, the cultural aspect. what makes me decide to feed my kids what i feed my kids, and the fact that a lot of habits that i have are things passed down to me of things that i love and trust, and so when we're looking at making changes to this system, we want to make sure that we're giving space and celebrating and acknowledging that context. i think that's the thing that helps people to get on board with whatever recommends and recommendations that we're bringing forth, if we really can find a way to celebrate that experience and not make one party feel challenged or wrong. so that's what i continue to bring to my work, and i see an opportunity to uplift in space. i just want to thank you for your time and giving me the opportunity to speak today and being here, and once again, happy women's day, and see you soon and bye. >> chair peskin: thank you, miss bell, for that presentation. our next speaker will be diana lau. miss lau? . >> hello, supervisor peskin. thank you, everyone, for the opportunity to be here. my name is diana lau, and i work at ucsf, also, and my job is i'm the director of asian health institute at ucsf. i've been in this job for many years now, and my basic training is i'm a nurse, and i obtained my ph.d. about ten years ago from ucsf in the school of nursing and major in cardiovascular nursing. one of the main pet peeves is i am an immigrant, and i am aware of the difficulties that immigrants have in navigating our complex health care systems, and my specialty is language access, health care access equity, and trying to raise the choice level so that they do not have so much disparities when they need to utilize our health care system. so i also serve as a board member [inaudible] on the side as a volunteer, and impart of the reviewers for the grants for the asian research center for minority aging research. we call it rcma. so any way, i am pleased to be able to do that as you hear a lot of good ideas when people present their grant projects to you. i also have served on the san francisco immigrant rights commission. you might not have remembered me, supervisor peskin. >> chair peskin: i do remember you, miss lau. >> i served -- go ahead. >> chair peskin: no, no, i remember. >> okay. i served for eight years and chaired four of it, so i am kind of aware of how the city health system works, but then, i went to [inaudible] school, so i drop off because i was working full time and going to school full time and my hair was falling out and i was itching all over the place, and i didn't understand why. but any way, i got through it, and so that's good, and so now, i think i'm ready to come back and serve now, and i would be happy for the opportunity to do so, and thank you so much. if you have any questions, i'll be happy to entertain. >> chair peskin: thank you, miss lau. i see no questions from committee members, so why don't we move onto marna armstead. >> good morning. thank you. can you hear me? >> chair peskin: we can hear you, and we can see you. >> thank you. good morning, supervisor peskin, supervisor chan, and supervisor mandelman in his absence. my name is marna armstead, and i submitted an application to the sugary drinks advisory tax committee. >> chair peskin: miss armstead, i will tell you how to make that echo go away. mr. young, what's the trick? >> i think that was someone else's line. >> yes, i believe there was another participant echos. >> thank you. again, i'm going up for the sugary drinks tax committee advisory committee. i'm a founder of a black led and community led nonprofit committed to providing doulas for the community in need. we also have partners and provided food, food vouchers, and gift cards, and we really try to provide wraparound services for our clients during the perinatal period. as a black woman, i've struggled through health conditions with the poor conditions marketed to me in san francisco, and for decades i struggled to learn about nutrition with very well awareness of the damage being done to my body and find proper nutrition and adapt it in a way that i could consume, literally consume. so in the past three years, i've learned the tools needed to help me lose over 50 pounds. over the course of that time, i've learned ways to manage my health condition and i seek ways to be healthy and have weight reduction and eventually the elimination of sugary drinks from your diet. i'm a san francisco native, a lifelong district ten resident, and i'm committed to my work through sister web, through megablack s.f., to the latina task force, through ucsf black health initiative, through s.f. black, and the s.e.c., the southeast community coalition, and the healthy southeast coalition, and a couple of other things that i will endow because i just like to be in the know. my passions are addressing racism as a root cause and addressing health disparities in communities of color. by nature, i'm a facilitator type and a team player. i plan to lend my experience to the efforts to affect the impacts of health disparities on those in my city. i want to continue to make sure that a voice for san francisco's black communities continue to have a seat at the table and to be recognized and flunl in systems that affect our livelihood, and i believe i'm the person to hold that voice. also talk about a couple of the other things i do. i work with all of the hospitals in san francisco. that includes many doctors, nurses, mid we've beens, dietitians, you name it, and i also work with a number of community-based organizations. i have a number of natural organic relationships with neighborhood communities, so at this point, i'm going to end my presentation and ask if you have any questions of me. >> chair peskin: miss armstead, i do not have any questions, though dare i say that you may be overqualified for this position, so thank you, and why don't we move onto nicolle elmore, and dr. mendoza, if you could just turn your camera off, we are going to get to you next. thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. i want to apologize for my mask and the background, but i am here at collective impact in the western addition, getting some work done for our youth, and so i just want to share a little bit about myself. i am applying for the health equity seat, number three, for the sugary drink distributor tax committee, and so again, my name is nicolle elmore. i'm a first generational college student. i recently started my quest for my doctoral degree at [inaudible] university in naturopathic medicine. the -- san francisco's black community supports and acknowledges my efforts and advocacy for my employment. i currently act as the program coordinator for opportunities for all, mayor breed's workforce initiative, san francisco's human rights commission, and i have dedicated to my short life span and life experience to the ethical implementation of health equity for our disenfranchised community. i have had the opportunity to work for my community, becoming a voice for voices around mental health and mental health resources. through these mental health disparities that have plagued our community members, we have figured out ways not only how to survive but to thrive. i work as a student liaison community organizer, and we have launched over three policies and wellness centers at the schools, which is a huge accomplishment for the youth, and we are really proud of that? and we have really worked on figuring out how to navigate through the devastating road blocks of health disparities happening in our community? and i would also like to share that as a youth advocate, i have worked with countless community members in all of our districts in san francisco to acknowledge the monumental role of lack of access to health pathways as well as naturopathic medicine? and within the sugary tax committee, i seek to work with community members as well as the board to create essential framework to recommend -- not only to create intention but to recommend community based education, nutritional education as well as equitable school nutrition around food securities? i also hold positions with the megablack san francisco coalition task force, the japanese community youth council. i am an active member and do a lot of work through collective impact, through community development, and around san francisco, and i know i don't have as much life experience, and i just want to uplift dr. armstead, who went before me because she's such an inspiration because it's my goal to have that catalog and give back to the community. i'm really committed to the drivenness and the essential framework that we need in our community and the black community around food security, nutritional education, and wellness. so thank you all, and now, i will pass it over to you if you have any questions. >> chair peskin: thank you, miss elmore. i see no questions, but sincere appreciation for everything you do in the community and for application to this body. i said at the outset, this is not going to be easy because we have 11 superlatively qualified individuals, and the selections are getting tougher by the minute, but with that why don't we go to dr. mendoza >> hi, everyone. can you hear me? sorry for the technical difficulties. [inaudible]. >> great. so my name is rosalia mendoza, a latinx doctor working in the community since 2008. most of the chronic diseases that i'm working with patients to manage include diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease that, as we know, are directly tied to the negative consumption of sugary drinks. i trained as a research fellow and faculty members with the department of family and community medicine with ucsf, providing family care through the family health center and immigrant health clinic. research with the ucsf center for addressing oral health disparities, we focused, and my roles were generally around writing other n.i.h. grants, doing analysis, doing community feedback in the study design as well as data recruitment and as well as doing quantitative and qualitative research with our focused groups. our interventions that we focused on in those studies involved the improvement of education to parents and physicians around oral health and primary care, which, in the last ten years, has started to expand thankfully. fluoride dental clinics in san francisco, reducing sugary drink consumption, and trying to include fluoridated water in bottled water in san francisco. my experience includes a long history of representation of underrepresented minorities, doing continual education with our ucsf medical residents, and a long-standing relationship with community based organizations. the longest affiliation i have is with clinica martin [inaudible] providing health care to immigrants and day laborers in the mission district [inaudible] which has made it challenging for people not able to navigate some of the traditional health care systems that we have in place. the pandemic has shifted a lot of our efforts. all of those aspects have taken a huge highlight and probably a bit [inaudible] so that people can continue to manage their chronic diseases. my aim in applying to this seat is really to kind of bring my expertise in data analysis, chronic disease management as a family physician. community engagement with our existing c.e.o.s and serving the low-income and communities of color in our city. it would be an honor to work alongside many of the people that we heard from today, and i'd be happy to take any questions from supervisors or anyone else. >> chair peskin: thank you, dr. men dose a, and thank you for your time in the community and in public health, and i see no questions from members, so why don't we move onto carolyn or caroline fichtenburg for seat four. >> clerk: chair peskin, i'd just like to let you know that we received a message from caroline withdrawing her application for the seat today. >> chair peskin: okay. so with that, that takes us to ten applicants for seven seats, and that takes us to laura derosier for seat 15 from the district's parent advisory committee, so please proceed if you're here. and sounds like maybe she is not here. >> clerk: i am double-checking to see if she is logged in. i do not see a log-in at the moment, but it is a long list, so she may not be logged in at the moment. >> chair peskin: okay. why don't we go to general public comment on this item. >> clerk: yes. members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this item should call 415-655-0001. the meeting i.d. is 187-725-3857, then press pound and pound again. if you haven't already done so, please dial star, three to lineup to speak. a system prompt will indicate you have raised your hand. please wait for the system to indicate you have been unmuted to begin your comments. i believe we have nine callers and two speakers at the moment. >> chair peskin: okay. first speaker, please. >> good morning, same supervisors, members of the rules committee in san francisco. my name is roberto vargas, and a former member of the [inaudible] had the opportunity on behalf of ucsf to convene scientists, public policy makers, and health advocates in the development of the soda tax policy and other policies to help reduce chronic disease disparities and recently served on the s.e.d. tax. i'm calling to support dr. rosalia men dose -- mendoza and frances abigail cabrera. i know both of them to be dedicated to this work and know both of them to be dedicated to staying connected to and serving the interest of the communities that they are part of, both latinx and latinax communities that they are involved in. i also wanted to support vanessa bohm, sorry she could not be here today. she is one of the only members that is reapplying for her seat, and i know it is a challenge for all of our members to sustain anything during the pandemic, and i deeply appreciate the fact that vanessa is willing to serve again san francisco in this capacity. she has done an amazing job in her role chairing the community input committee -- subcommittee, and i hope that she is able to continue serving san francisco and the broader community in this role. thank you for your time. >> clerk: your time has elapsed. >> chair peskin: next speaker, please. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is rodney chin. i'm the executive director of the [inaudible] ymca in district five, and i'm calling in to support maysha bell, who i've worked with for the last 13 years. she is a resident of d-5, and like she had mentioned earlier, about four or five years ago, she was instrumental in aiding our community at the john muir beacon center in that community [inaudible] sugar diets and how that adversely affects our population. so again, i'm calling to support maysha bell. i think she'll be a wonderful addition to the committee. thank you. >> clerk: i believe we have at least one more caller at this time. >> chair peskin: please proceed. >> hi, there. can you hear me? >> chair peskin: we can hear you. >> great. good morning. my name is -- >> clerk: i believe you have your t.v. on in the background or computer. i believe we're having an echo. if you could turnoff your t.v. or radio, it would be appreciated. >> okay. i don't have a t.v. or radio on. it may just be a connection. how about now? >> chair peskin: sounds good. >> okay. as i mentioned i'm [inaudible] parker, the director of the bayview-hunters point ymca. i'm calling in support of maysha bell who is a tremendous leader within our organization, not only our organization but our community. for many years, she has served our community and the organization by helping to ensure that youth and families in san francisco who have historically been marginalized or disproportionately impacted have a space and place to gain resources, to gain skills, and have access to opportunities. i believe that maysha's leadership, she is passionate and committed to the work of supporting families in san francisco. she has demonstrated leadership in a way that has really gone beyond what, in most cases, many consider a 9-to-5 in that she goes above and beyond to provide for families. she intimately understands how food beverage impacts not only the health and wellness of youth and families in san francisco but also the cognitive abilities and learning in terms of development and achievement. i believe that her experience is well rounded from a professional perspective as well as her personal experience, and i am calling again to support her taking that seat. so i truly thank you for your time and again want to support maysha bell in this opportunity. thank you. >> chair peskin: thank you. are there any other members of the public for this item? >> operator: we have two callers in queue. >> chair peskin: please proceed. >> hi. this is cameron smith, a resident of district one. also work for the [inaudible] as the director of community programs. i was just calling to show my community support for maysha bell. throughout the years that i've been working with her, i've seen her care for the community in working to fill the equity gaps for communities of color. i believe she would be perfect for this seat, and just through her passion and her support of the community, she would be a great advocate for the city and for all the people involved, so i'll keep it nice and short, but again, my community support for maysha. thank you. >> chair peskin: thank you, sir. next speaker. >> good morning, supervisors and members of the rules committee. i am [inaudible] gardner, vice president of social services [inaudible] for the ymca of san francisco. i am calling in support of maysha bell. through her professional and community volunteer experiences, mrs. bell has the proven ability to work collaboratively through a system lens approach. mrs. bell is deeply rooted in youth and community development. she has not only advanced healthy eating and nutrition collaboratives throughout san francisco but she has also done this nationally on behalf of many different organizations. i am putting my full support behind her application in hopes that she can further advance the work of this commission on behalf of all san franciscans. thank you. >> chair peskin: thank you. are there any other members of the public for this item? >> operator: there are no more callers in queue. >> chair peskin: okay. public comment is closed, and i was remiss in not starting with some comments. if d.p.h. would like to make them, from christina get, if she's able, and i hope i pronounced her name correctly. >> good morning, supervisors. i did not actually have any prepared comments. i think you are all well prepared with respect to the work of the sugary drinks tax advisory committee, and the only thing that i would add is i know that dr. jonathan butler is trying to get through and make public comment, but i'm not sure if that's going through. >> chair peskin: i'm happy to reopen public comment. if you have anything else to add, please feel free, and then, we -- i'll make a motion to reopen public comment if the good doctor would try to get back on. >> no, i'd just like to add that it's a great commitment, and we're very grateful to those who have been in these seats over three years and very excited to welcome new members. it sounds like there's a good crop of candidates. i'll answer any questions if you have any. >> chair peskin: thank you so much. mr. young, why don't we reopen public comment? >> clerk: operations, have we received any additional calls at this time? if you're on the line, waiting to speak, you do need to press star, three to raise your hand to speak. we can give them a moment. >> operator: a caller just came in. >> clerk: okay. >> good morning to -- can you hear me? >> chair peskin: yes, sir. >> hi. my name is dr. jonathan butler, and i have been able to serve on the soda tax committee since the inception of the committee, and my seat was seat number five and am currently has -- have served for the past two years as cochair, and my purpose for calling is to highly recommend vanessa bohm to seat number one. she has been my colleague on the committee since day one, as well. she has been certainly an important vote for the latino, chicana, and indigenous community, but she has been exceptionally beneficial in providing the entire committee and the community with a strong recommendation, a strong supportive community, and i just simply wanted to acknowledge that she would be most important in ensuring that the work of the committee continues, and i wanted to highly recommend her and continue in her seat, seat number one. thank you. >> chair peskin: thank you so much, doctor. are there any other members of the public for this item number five? >> operator: no more callers in queue. >> chair peskin: okay. public comment is closed again. let me start by making a motion to excuse vice president supervisor mandelman. on that motion, mr. clerk, can we have a vote. >> clerk: yes. on that motion to excuse vice president mandelman -- [roll call] . >> chair peskin: and then, supervisor chan, would you like to make some comments about ten remarkable people wanting to serve in seven seats? supervisor chan? >> commissioner chan: thank you, supervisor peskin. i think for some us wanting to pay attention to this committee's accomplishments the last couple years, me as a mom of a public school student, a second grader in this city, really have noted some of the decisions that this committee has made in terms of funding allocation and support program and messaging really around this town, and to really support, really, in the spirits of what the sugary tax was about, so i really appreciate everyone's work here. i think that it is always great to see new members, you know or applicants that are -- that could be potentially new members to a committee, but it's also good toe zoo that there are folks or at least in this case, at least one that is incumbent that has -- that's really, you know, my preference at times is to have a mix of institutional knowledge of what has been done and welcoming new members on board to just mix it up and with fresh perspective. so i, again, this is great to see people willingness to serve. definitely tough decision ahead of us, but i think i have some idea. i think this is really a good mix of people with perspective -- diverse perspective, so i look forward and eager to make our appointments today. thank you, chair peskin. >> chair peskin: thank you, supervisor chan, and let me just start by reminding everybody that while we have the seven seats before us today, this is actually a body that consists of 16 members, so there will be more opportunities over time as we see in the seats that are before us today. in the seats of those that have served, six have opened up, so there will be some openings over time, and i encourage folks, all of whom are superlatively qualified, to keep an eye on this body for future vacancies and appointments. with that, i concur with supervisor chan and the doctor who just spoke, and even who, due to an emergency, vanessa bohm, was not able to speak this morning, i think she has served with distinction and would like to suggest, with residency waiver, she fill -- continue to fill seat number one and be reappointed. to seat number two, i would suggest maysha bell. to seat number 3, i would suggest marna armstead. to seat number four, frances abigail cabrera, to seat five, [inaudible], and seat 15, laura derosier. supervisor chan, i defer to you. >> commissioner chan: chair peskin, i would love for you to repeat your appointments for seats four and five so that i understand -- i think i missed those two names -- or i think i do know those two names, but i just want to make sure i heard it correctly for seats four and five. >> chair peskin: for four, who has to be held by an individual that is employed at a medical institution in san francisco and has experience in the diagnosis of diabetes or other diseases linked to the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, i was suggesting francis abigail cabrera. and seat five, which has the exact same requirements as seat number four, miss diana lau. >> commissioner chan: got it. i think i understand, which is what i thought i heard. thank you, and i concur, so please do the roll call. >> clerk: chair peskin, i missed seat 16, if you do have a recommendation for that. >> chair peskin: i do have a recommendation for that, and that is maureen guerrero. >> clerk: thank you. >> chair peskin: on that motion, mr. clerk, a roll call, please. >> clerk: yes. i'd just like to repeat to make sure i have it correct. >> chair peskin: yes. >> clerk: seat one, we have miss bohm, with a residency requirement waiver. seas two, maysha bell, seat three [inaudible] and seat 16, miss guerrero. >> chair peskin: yes, that is correct. >> clerk: on that motion -- [roll call] >> clerk: the motion passes with supervisor mandelman being excused. >> chair peskin: and that concludes the business before this committee. my apologies to those who we were not able to accommodate, but as i said, please continue to monitor this committee. there will inevitably be opportunities to join and now this committee knows you and wants to appoint you, and with that, we are adjourned. . >> you're watching coping with covid-19 with chris manners. >> hi. i'm chris manners, and you're watching coping with covid-19. today, my guest is phil ginsburg. he's the director of the san francisco rec and parks, and he's a national rec and park ranger. thank you for being here. >> hi, chris. thank you for having me. >> i've heard you have an exciting new exhibit that features social distancing and is outside, so it's safer. can you tell us a little bit about it? >> the golden gate 50 anniversary wasn't the celebration that we hoped for, but when life deals you lemons, you hope to make lemonade, and we tried to engage people in the park in different ways. behind me is what we did. it's a public exhibit which has transformed peacock meadows into an enchanted forest of other worldly shapes and lights. it's to close out golden gate park's 150 years and to allow people to have outdoors socially distant fun. >> great. and what are the hours, and when can people go see it, and are there access for wheelchairs and strollers? >> well, it will run until february 27, and the ways are wheelchair accessible. it will close in time to make the city's curfew. we're not supposed to be gathering. we're not supposed to be celebrating out there, unfortunately. it is a beautiful exhibit and is one that can be seen from the sidewalk or you can wander into the meadow, but we ask that people be really mindful of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. the most important thing for us is to be safe and healthy. do not show up with other households. come and see it, get a little taste of the holidays and leave so other people can enjoy it. if it's too crowded, comeback because it's going to be around for a while. >> how long does it take to walk around the exhibit? >> well, you could be there for five minutes or 15 minutes or longer if it's not crowded. it's about in an acre of meadow, but it's very visible even from a fully accessible sidewalk. you'll get a sense of it. basically, there are sculpted trees, and it's gorgeous. i got an opportunity to visit it over the weekend. the conservatory of flowers is there, and then, we have our amazing spreckels temple of music which was recently renovated and lit up in lights. >> i have information that it was created by a local artist. what can you tell us about it? >> well, it's a new concept, but the lights were previously installed in a park in toronto and also in las vegas. the installation has been paid for through private donations to the golden gate park's san francisco 150 campaign. it reflects a culture steeped in science and history and culture. >> i can't wait to visit it. safely, of course. >> wear masks, distance, sanitize, and don't gather. >> well, thank you for coming on the show today, mr. ginsburg. i appreciate the time you've given us today. >> thank you, and thank you for giving so much attention to golden gate park which has been so wonderful for us during covid and deserves a lot of extra love and attention on its 150 anniversary. >> and that's it for this episode. we'll be back with more information shortly. thank you for watching coping with platform, it calling by phone call star 9 to be added to the speaker line. please call from a quiet location, speak clearly and slowly and turn down your television or radio. we recommend that you use zoom or telephone for public comment. thank you to sfgov tv for sharing this meeting with the public. we can start with the roll call. [roll call] >> president bleiman: first order of business is public comment. if this is comment for any item that is not on our agenda, we'll ask if there's anybody who wishes to speak. >> clerk: there's nobody in the queue with their hand raised and there are no callers. >> president bleiman: we're going do close public comment. next agenda item is number 2, approval of our minutes january february 2, 2021 meeting. >> i move to approve. >> second. is there any public comment? >> there are no callers in the queue. [roll call vote] in case there was any announcement regarding the health order. that's exciting to share that announcement was made today. the thing that really matter related to expanding outdoor business activities, allowing for indoor limited capacity dining. now we're allowed to have 25% capacity inside for dining but it is limited to four people per table and one household per table. similarly outside, there's no restriction on capacity. it is eight people and three households now instead of two. that is helpful to our world. we are going to be updating our j.a.m. transaction page. we will keep you posted. that is all good news and hopefully we can continue to get less restrictive tiers moving forward. little bit more information for all related to how we're operating within the emergency, it's a item on our j.a.m. permit. we are continuing to turn those out. it is a little bit slower moving than it was in the beginning. we have received 222 applications since beginning of this program. right now, we have 151 active approved j.a.m. permits. there are 16 that are currently under review by staff and then there are 55 that are closed because they were ineligible or otherwise withdrawn. i wanted to update you around our retreat which we're so really excited about having? he hoped that we can meet that early on in the season. we're not quite there yet. we're waiting for federal funding to reach our permitholders. we need to have a better sense of how much funding our venues are receiving. >> president bleiman: any questions from the commissioners? is there any public comment on this agenda item? >> clerk: checking the queue, there's no hands raises. >> president bleiman: thank you very much. next agenda item is number 4, which is a report from deputy director azevedo. >> change of pace here for the enforcement report. previously in our last hearing, there were no updates. that changed. since our last hearing in january, we received a total of 52,000 complaints. that is number, that's different. ly keep this head level and answer any questions. the fist business that i want to mention is a complaint that came in about gathering that was happening inside the music was playing. the inspector discovered there was the complaint was very much valid. he worked with the business owner and let him know that what was happening was not allowed under the j.a.m. permit or the health order. he mitigated the situation in realtime. the business admit their entertainment and vacated all the patrons right away. department of public health did follow up with this business and issued a closure order. they have since coming into compliance and allowed to reopen. next business that i have flagged for you is orbit room. it has an off site j.a.m. permit. they are operating outdoor entertainment in a vacant lot that surrounded by residential units. they've received their j.a.m. permit months ago recently we saw little bit of uptick in compliments from some residential neighbors. the business owner is very eager to be in compliant. our inspector went out and worked with the business owner and helped them mitigate any sound complaints that may be generated. they are now operating within compliance of their j.a.m. permit. the business owner met with the property manager of the adjacent residential unit to resolve any problems and be the first point of contact if a neighbor does have any issues moving forward. they will contact the business owner first. they are looking good. the next business is about neck of the woods. this business has an outdoor parklet and having a comedian perform. it's a quiet area. it's just not used to having any type of sound generated. we have received numerous complaints that the business owner is eager to be in compliant with j.a.m. permit. they have received and approved shared spaces permit. they will be getting approved j.a.m. permit this week. the business owner has already asked for and we are scheduling a sound test to ensure compliance moving forward. he's willing to take measures in order to try and decrease the sound in that quiet little space. the next highlighted business that i like to speak about, i want to mention public works. not too much complaints about public works. i want to give a high level update to let you know that we did receive couple of complaints. there are out of compliance with their sound limit. the inspector is working with them to bring their volume down to a level that works with their j.a.m. permit and meets the needs what the business is trying to do. that is in the works right now. next highlighted business that i'm going to speak about is cafe envy. we did receive a complaint on friday the 19th which is the inspector sounded top we went to the business. there was a crowd outside. he did not provide education. he sent video documentation. the following evening we received two more sound complaints. this is on saturday and stpd was the ones who responded to that event. department of public health issued a closure order for cafe envy. we issued a notice of violation of their j.a.m. permit. that happened, cafe envy. next up is dawn pizza. this business has been out of compliance with their j.a.m. permit and they are operating outside of their approved hours. amplify sound and entertainment can happen for six-hour period of time each day. they were issued notice of violation originally on the 12th of february. then we received another sound complaint and we discovered that they were still operating outside of their approved j.a.m. hours. we did issue a citation for this. hopefully the business is willing to comply moving forward. i would like to bring to your attention scope davino. they have a gym permit. we have been receiving sound complaints from a neighbor. we've been