Transcripts For SFGTV BOS 20240704

Should you have any document as part of the file they should be committed to myself the clerk. Public comment will be taken on this agenda. Please line up to speak on the west side of the xhaim behr to your right along the curtains, while not necessary to provide Public Comment. We do invite to you fill out a comment card by the doors. If you wish to be accurately recorded for the minutes. Alternatively you may submit Public Comment in writing in either the following ways, email them to myself, at brent. If you submit Public Comment via email it will be forwarded to thed supervisors. You may also send your written comments Via Postal Service thats and dr. Carleton place room 244 San Francisco california, 91412 and items acted upon today are expected to appear on the supervisor agenda on march 19th unless otherwise stated. Madam chair. Thank you, mr. Clerk. And before we call item number 1. I would like to remind the public that we have budget and finance Analyst Report on 1 through 4 and 6 and for those items well have Department Presentation first followed by the budget and legislative analyst. And with that, please call item number 1. Item number 1, resolution approving the third amendment to the Grant Agreement between the city and the county of San Francisco and the nonprofit selfhelp for the elderly. To increase the grant amount by approximately 2 million for a total not to exceed amount of 11. 5 million affective approval of this resolution. Madam chair. Thank you and today we have the department of disability and Agent Services here. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning, supervisors my name is tiffany concerny im the lead nutritionist. Were seeking approval for the Grant Agreement for Home Delivered Nutrition Services for older adults. This amendment increases the grant by approximately 1. 2 Million Dollars and will support about 82,500 more meals between this fiscal year and next. Selfhelp provides a wide range of services for older adults. They are a valued Community Partner with extensive experience serving San Francisco seniors. Today, they are known for providing essential and cultural Relevant Services for the city asian population which includes the delivery of healthy chinese cuisine meals to home bound seniors. Last yae, selfhelp delivered over 246,000 meals to 1100 plus klientsds compared to fiscal year 1819. Thats almost three and a half times more meals to three times for clients in five years. The pandemic and its Lasting Impact are notable factors contributing to the elevated Service Levels i just described. However, seniors are also the Fastest Growing age group in San Francisco with the api population experiencing the most growth. The senior api population is now the largest ratio ethnic sub group of older adults in the city at 44 making selfhelp for the elderly a preferred and Responsive Service provider for many more seniors. Currently, 90 of selfhelp home delivered clients identify as chinese. In addition 70 report income levels at or below the poverty line putting them at increased risk for food insecurities. San Francisco Department of Public Health recently published the 2023 biannual equity report tha. Report notes that food insecurities raitsds in Community Programs are up. However the report also notes that clients who participate in congregate and home delivered programs like the one before you today have lower Food Insecurity rates compared to clients who participate in other city funded and Community Programs reinforces that dos is funded meal programs are affective at addressing food and security. Like all the nutrition contracts, the selfhelp grant has compliance and quality requirement. These requirement are essential in ensuring the health and safety of older adults and help meet the needs of our consumers more completely through inhome assessments, nutrition and security screenings, Nutrition Education and referrals. Menus are evaluated to ensure the meals are healthy and taylor to see meet the nutritional needs of older adults. These requirements also include food safety and sanitation monitoring which is extremely important when providing meals to atrisk populations. Selfhelp is monitored ob annual basis and theyve been monitored every year at least in the time that ive been with the department and theyre always in compliance. Selfhelp is one of many responding to the needs of older adults living in the community with the resources available. This amendment will provide selfhelp with the additional funding need today deliver critical nutrition support to eligible clients for the remainder of this year and next. Thank you very much, and im happy to answer any questions you may have at this time. Good morning supervisors, item 1 is a resolution approving to grant amendment for the selfhelp for the elderly it ads 11. 9 Million Dollars to the Grant Agreement and this grant funds home delivered meals that selfhelp operates. This is essentially adding fund thating hsa found and other funds to increase nutrition assistance this year and next year. With detailed on page 8 on the report. And we reviewed the Program Monitoring reports and financial Compliance Report and did not see any issues so we recommend approval of item 1. Thank you, we appreciate all the work that boss is doing and Agent Services are doing. At this time we dont have any questions, look forward to having a big picture conversation with hs a and dos but also with the Mayors Office of course really Food Security in general and how do we continue to fund these Critical Services with the fact that we see there is diminishing reports both on the federal level as well as the state level including cal fresh. So what we, i only see the increasing needs in our city. Continuing on the asian population and continuing to increase in the next few years. I would like to better understand while i appreciate, of course the selfhelp and with this grant, you know, Grant Agreement but this is you know, coming up for a amendments for a few times now. So just kind of look forward to seeing what else were doing cohesively. So thank you. And with that, lets go to Public Comment on this item. Yes, we now invite members of the public who joined us today who wish to speak on this item to line up now and address the committee on this item. Madam chair, we have no speakers. Thank you, seeing no Public Comment, Public Comment is now closed. Colleagues i would like to move this item to full board with recommendation. With that roll call, please. Clerk vice chair. Mandelman. Aye. Melgar. Aye. Chair chan. Aye. Clerk chair aye, we have three ayes. Thank you and the motion passes. And mr. Clerk, please call item 2 and 3 to theding. Clerk yes, item 2 and 3, item 2 is a resolution approving the infrastructure financing plan for the San Francisco enhanced infrastructure financing district number 1, acquisition and financing agreement and documents and actions related there too and authoring the filing of validation action. Item number 3 is an ordinance between the city and county and California Barrel Company llc for the potrero power station project. Establishment of San Francisco financing district number 1. Making findings under the environmental act and findings of conformity with a general plan and planning code, madam chair. Thank you, and i just want to remind the public that actually first of all, we want to acknowledge supervisor from walton in the chamber and acknowledge that supervisor myrna melgar and i are in the eifd body that oversights this plan as well along with supervisor walton. So this was before us a couple of weeks ago, at least among the three of us. And one of the item, item 3 was formally at land use where supervisor melgar chairs. I thought it efficient to have both items together since both of us are on this body and we can hear it together is the reason why item 3 Development Agreement will go to a Land Use Committee but now its here with us. Soy want to give the floor if its the okay with the department and i want to make sure that we give supervisor walton the opportunity for opening remarks for this item. Thank you, so much chair and colleagues. I want to briefly speak about items 2 and 3 over the past year, number 1 has met to oversee the creation of the power station inhansed financing district also known as the eid, po to fund Public Infrastructure and projects of community significance. Like chair chan stated along with supervisor melgar and peskin as appointed members and keith and captain domeni we had four meetings including two public hearings on the infrastructure, financing plan and thts first of several projects to be funded to address the shortfall financing. The power station has been a significant site for district 10 in San Francisco and is the future home of up to 2600 new residential units with 30 affordable. As well as 1. 6 million commercial space. The first building will have 105 affordable units for Workforce Housing and named after our former District Supervisor Sophie Maxwell who actually lead the charge to shut down power plants in district 10. I would like to thank lee, our Deputy Director from owd. Our Controllers Office of Public Finance, specifically grant carson, bridget cats and our deputy City Attorney mark for helping us today. I just want to note that were excited to move forward with this project and i hope my colleagues on this committee and the board will be just as excited. Thank you so much, chair chan. Thank you and here we are, we have to Controllers Office of Public Finance here. Good morning, chair chan, vice chair, supervisor melgar and walton. Im a debt specialist in the control office of Public Finance, pleasure to be speaking with you today. Im also joined by oawd to answer any questions you may have. To begin with a brief overview, were here to begin the formation process. In april 2020, the board of supervisors proved the original Development Agreement for the power state project then in march of 2023, the board of supervisors kicked off the process by approving a resolution of intention to establish the eifd. In june 2023, the city Public Financing Authority Number 1 or the psa was formed. Then from july 2023, through february 20 this, psa held four meetings including two public hearings on ifp for the power station eifd. The power station project is a Large Scale Development on the eastern water front just south of pier 70. The city goal of proposing the establishment, is to help address a shortfall and financing for facilities related to the project. A project that has Community Wide significance and provide significant affordable. The project is planned for 2600 units, 26 which would be affordable and provides 7 acres of public parks and water front. Describing ifp for fiscal 2023 base value of the district is 139 million. After providing for future en nraition the total amount of conditional tax revenue does not exceed 3. 6 billion respectively. Based on analysis of fiscal impact the statemented city channel fund is 15. 1 Million Dollars. Please note that there is been an update from the version of the ifp currently on file. However, there is no change to the not to exceed figure showing here on the page. Finally weve laid out the current schedule here, assuming successful passage of the resolution through the board or final step to hold a final public hearing scheduled for march 28th. As i mentioned im joined by representatives from oawd. I think were going to go to item 3 and then well go to the bla report for item 2. Thank you, supervisor item 3 is associated with item 2. Its the amendment of the project Development Agreement to update the financing plan exhibit for that project. When the project was approved to include the terms and conditions around how the city will use this eifd to fund the improvements in the project. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning supervisors. Item 2 this is a resolution to approve an infrastructure plan for our enhanced infrastructure district number 1 for the potrero power station. The purpose of the district is to divert property tax revenue that would otherwise go to the general fund to fund general infrastructure in that area. Diverts is 58 of the citys property taxes to fund that infrastructure which we show on page 18 of our report. The cost is estimated at 548 Million Dollars that the city can contribute more based on, it can contribute up to 58 of the projected property tax increment. As was noted the Development Agreement that was originally approved by the board of supervisors did not contemplate using property taxes to fund the infrastructure that was the responsibility of the developer. It will did come ten plate using taxes, so this is a significant change in the Public Financing for this project. And its, the citys funding 100 of the Public Infrastructure and Affordable Housing that was previously going to be funded by the developer. We did get some statistics from oawd that possibly suggest that this project is no longer financial feasible. We cannot validate their analysis on that determination based on the information that they provided. I also want to note that this infrastructure is going to improve all the market uses within the area and there is zero cost from the developers. So i do think this is a significant change. Its also the first time the board has used an enhanced infrastructure district. So for all of those reasons were consider approval of this item to be a policy for the board. Thank you, before i call on ~ one last thing. Go ahead. Vice chairman del man, please. I was going ask if oawp can respond to these concerns. Yes, absolutely. Thank you. So i just wanted to respond to a couple of those items. Prior to form eifd last spring, the city performed economics as typical and analyzed as a new financing tool. With this tool, the project is closer to feasibility and over the last year, the developer has enhance thed the project accordingly as supervisor walton mentioned with the ground break of the first housing project. To the can september that this tool is paying for 1100 percent of infrastructure just for the record to clarify, the developer in fact, bears the responsibility to pay for 100 percent of the improvement and Affordable Housing that theyre obligated to provide. And eifd will generate revenue if and only when there is an incrementle taxes generated. Per our city policy, the eifd will donate 40 percent to this use with the other 50 percent of any incremental property going to the citys general fund. The city will issue fund. Can you explain what incremental property tax right side . Yes, absolutely. We have set a base year of 202324 and the property taxes right now na are assesses constitute that base year value. So that amount of property tax that is flowing to the city this year will always continue to flow to the city. So thats the base, any increases in property taxes that are assessed, as new Development Comes online in the project, of that increment, 50 of that will be dedicated to this district and available to reimburse for these improvements. The other 50 will be going to the general fund. The state program does allow the districts to be forms to allow 100 percent of that increment to go to the district. As you may recall, last year we updated the citys policy for use of ifd and affirm that we would only dedicate 50 as sort of a conservative fiscal measure to ensure that the city is always generating new general fund increment from these projects. Thank you. I, i think i if i may this and of course, i really differ to supervisor walton from his thoughts on this, but i really believe that in the area that San Francisco as a City Government has historically under served this neighborhood including the infrastructure that really should be built in the past generation. So i think that the eifd is a great mechanism and tool to continue to invest in this area and to ensure that they will be coming back. And probably really should, actually it should continue to invest in the infrastructure to make sure that the area is livable, truly livable for the rest and not already there but to continue to welcome new residents. So i am in support of this vice chair mandelman. Ill jump in unless supervisor walton. I was just going to say i 100 percent agree with chair chan if you look at the Affordable Housing numbers and housing numbers in general, the goals that we have to meet as a city. This a proj thaekt will yield 2000 units, closer to 3000 at the end and opportunity for commercial space and so Many Community benefits for our community. So, you know, access to the water, more retail, there is going to be more open space public space and just a number of Affordable Housing number that we push to generate and we stepped up and made sure that they give 30 percent goal. This gives us a tool to utilize a project that we have not used in the past and we have to meet the goals that are set here for us by the state. Im excited by this and i think the rest of the city should be too. Vice chair mandelman. I just want to say, this is not all that novel, this looks like redevelopment and redevelopment Financing Mechanism which we no longer have available to us but its kind of replicating that. The notion there is that there is a area that could be developed and housing activity but its not going to happen without an investment of infrastructure and so. That property tax increment would not come in but for the investment that is going in. So its therefore reasonable to say that half of that money that comes in could be used to pay back, to pay the developer back for the Public Infrastructure that is going to be going into that project. With half that would not be coming in. So the general fund is still better off for this investment. And so, i think you know, given that these projects seem to need this additional help in the post redevelopment era, im grateful to owd and Controllers Office and the city financial folks for trying to figure out how to help these projects go forward. I think this is good. If the supervisor is looking for cosponsors, im glad to be a cosponsor on here and thanks everybody. I think that the concept is the same but the mechanics of this legislation are different. Im grateful that were doing this and i think that were going to do it more. There is all kinds of infrastructure that we need to update around our city, not just areas that are under invested in because we have Climate Change and electrification that mandates. There is a lot of things infrastructure issues that we need to advance in order to you know, make way for the next generation. So im really grateful that we are, that this is the first project that were using it in. For all the reasons that supervisor walton stated. I hope that we take advantage of this, you know, tool, to do all of the things that we need to do. Thank you. And i would like to be a cosponsor too, i think i am already. Thank you. Thank you and with that, lets go to Public Comment on these two items. Clerk yes, madam chair, members of the public who joined us and wish to speak on both of these items, 2 and 3 now is your opportunity to address this Committee Regarding both of these items. When you begin, ill start your time. Speaker im jude, a long time potrero hill resident and active member of lots of neighborhood organizations including executive committee and im executive director of friends of jackson park p in other words, a real neighborhood nerd and a green space advocate. And as such, im here to support this project. Im thrilled that this project will create 7 acres of open space and open the water front for the first time in that area in over century. And youve seen how the people have flocked to curren cove, i can guarantee you that the community is psyched to be able to access the water area. And they will accelerate the amenities for every one. And the added bonus is that the eifd will bring the added infrastructure as sewers, basic things, streets and other infrastructure that has been promised so really whats not to like about this . Our community has worked with this developer and we will continue to for years and years and create a project that not only serves the neighborhood but the whole city at large and heres something that you dont hear too often, this developer has committed to using private funds to keep these parks in the open space and maintain in perpetuity, let me repeat that, forever. And therefore, i mean ive been working on the jackson park project for decades. You dont hear that. So i suggest that we, and by we, i mean you, jump on this and make this happen. We want the Community Benefits now, not 20 years from now and this eifd provides a viable pass to making that a reality. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you very much, jude for addressing this committee. Next speaker, please. Speaker good morning, and thank you madam chair, supervisor melgar, mandelman and walton for your time. Thanks also go out to the full board and staff for their diligent efforts on this eifd. Were fortunate, and im john dueetere, Vice President of the trades council. Were fortunate to have a high road partner in the power station. They have made strong commitment both to the community and the labor. This eifd will keep this project moving forward and will also continue the successes that we have seen in the water front, so lets keep that ball going and keep the rebirth of our water front in action. Also we speak in support of this because of the thousands of jobs, it will create the opportunities and apprenticeship slots and all the commitments that we have made to the partner at power station and also with the city overall. And this is an important project to the trade, its an important project to definitely on the east side of the city but to the city at whole. Lets keep it going, lets send out the message that San Francisco will continue to be the place where you want to come and invest and develop cutting edge technology, et cetera. Lets make that happen. Thank you very much. Thank you very much john for joining us today. And if we have anymore speakers that wish to address this Committee Regarding items 2 and 3 . Madam chair, that completes our queue. Thank you, seeing no more Public Comment, Public Comment is now closed. And colleagues i would like to make a motion to move both items to full board with recommendation and may i have a roll call please jao. On that motion to forward both the resolution on item 2 and ordinance on 3 to the bull ford with a positive recommendation, vice chair somes mandelman . Aye. Supervisor melgar. Aye. Chair chan. Aye. Clerk we have three ayes. Thank you. And with that, please call 4 and 5 together. Yes, 4 and 5, resolutions item 4 is mose Motorola Solutions inc. For computing system to increase the amount by 2535. 1 million for a total not to exceed 44. 8 million and extend the term by 11 years for a total Contract Term of december 22, 2023 through november 209ing 2038. Item number 5 is with Central Square Technology Llc Software Maintenance to increase the amount by approximately 1. 2 million for a total of not to exceed and extending the term by three years. For total Contract Term of june 29, 2013 through november 309ing 2027. Madam chair. Thank you, i think what were going to do with the two items, they both have the Analyst Report and first one is with the department of technology and then the second one is the department of Emergency Management. Unless youre presenting from both items. I am presenting with both and department of Emergency Management. Understood. So with that, lets go to you first and then for both items and then well go to the bla report for both items too. Speaker im michelle getus im the information manager and im here to speak on these two pieces of legislation being heard today. Both are regarding the computer aided dis patching system we commonly refer to it as cad. This is a system that dem maintains but it is used by all of the Public Safety agencies within San Francisco Police Department, fire department, Sheriffs Department and sfmta and computer dis patching system is the consisting of System Interface thats records all of the emergencies events, 911 calls incident that happen on the streets of San Francisco. So the first, the first item number 4 will allow department of Emergency Management to enter into a long Term Contract with a new cad Solution Provider and that is Motorola Solutions. This company was selected through a procurement process. And the initial contract for the system purchase was entered into in december of 2023. And this proposed resolution would approve the First Amendment to that contract for the primary reason of extending into a long term Maintenance Agreement with the vendor. And so this proposal will extend the term by 11 years to november 30th of 2038 and it will increase the not to exceed amount from 9. 6 million to 44. 8 million. And ummmm also here with my colleague mike doherty, he hes the cad Program Manager and also available to answer any details questions that you would have on the contract and lenl sleighsing. Thats the first, the second item number 5 is to extend dems current Maintenance Agreement with the cad vendor and that is Central Square previously tib financed buron inc. This would extend the term to a 13year term. So im here to answer any questions that you have on either of the two pieces of the legislation. 4 this is for a resolution that approved an amendment to department of Emergency Management agreement with Motorola Solutions. This is an agreement that with subject of a very long and thorough procurement process for the department to purchase new dispatch system. The initial agreement primarily motorola staff time and hard care acquisition costs. Thex tends the agreement through 2038 and provides spending agreement to fund annual maintenance costs once this system is implemented and provide for optional system components. I think in terms of fiscal impact these are all general fund costs. The annual maintenance is 1. 8 Million Dollars which is 1. 4 Million Dollars more than the annual maintenance for the Current System subject of the next item. So that will have to be funded starting in fiscal year 2627. Either few savings to the Department Budget or through a general fund money. Recommended approval of number 4. Item 5 is a resolution that approves an amendment to the dem contract of Central Square. Theyre the provider and the citys current dispatch system the cost of that agreement is approximately 400,000 a year. So this is a 3year extension to carry the system through the target of new system with an additional one year in case there is delays to get the system live. But they can terminate at convenience once its ready toonce the system is ready. We recommend approval of item number 5. Thank you, i do have a quick question. I appreciate the three years extension with the existing contractor as we rolled it out. Will there, what is the time period of or if any to have an overlapping within the formal transition . Or is it just . We will, we are anticipating a year of overlap between the two, of course there would be delays. I will say that we intend to keep the current, the Central Square system online and available especially to get to the data, yeah. So there could be a period where Central Square is no longer providing the same level of service in terms of Software Upgrades patches. It will be just systems as is. Thank you, its clearly very complicated process and i really appreciate all the work that the department of Emergency Management and you, definitely you and your team that have put in to make sure to get to where were at right now. And i appreciate being thoughtful about in need, im in agreement that you need, just not just overlapping time but truly a transition time. Im in agreement that you need additional year to get you there. Just one of those security cushion kind of term that i think is necessary for you to have. So im in agreement with that. And supervisor melgar . Thank you so much, chair chan. So i had sim wlar to where youre thinking about it. I love technology, im so supportive that youre doing this. And im glad that youre doing this year of transition. I think we often underestimate the people part of adopting new technology, so im wondering if this contract also includes, you know, a capacity building, training and support for the people who will be using the new system . Yes, weve built in significant training of staff. We have also built in an organizational management exercise that we intend to go through with our major stakeholders police fire, sheriffs and sfmta. Tutu and i dont see any name on the roster lets go to Public Comment on this item. Clerk members of the public who wish to speak on either items 4 and 5 now is your opportunity to address this committee. Madam chair, we have no speakers. Seeing no Public Comment, Public Comment is now closed. And colleagues i would like to make a motion to move these two items 4 and 5 to full board with recommendation and a roll call please. Clerk and on that motion to forward both resolutions to the bored with a positive recommendation, vice chair. Aye. Clerk member melgar. Aye. Clerk chair chan. Aye. Clerk we have three ayes. Thank you, the motion passes. Please call item number 6. Clerk item number 6 is a hearing to consider the release of reserved funds to the port placed on the budget and finance committee reserve ordinance. Madam chair . Thank you, and today we have San Francisco port here and the flor is yours. Good morning, supervisors thank you for having me here this. Im Meghan Wallace the ports recovery manager. Today i do have a presentation that ill share on the ports request to release 10 Million Dollars from the budget and finance committees reserve, releasing the economic recovery project. So to begin, i just want to a little bit of background the fiscal year 2021, the port included 10 Million Dollars initiative. But at that point in time, we didnt have a lot of information about how the funds would be used. Really we were at the start of the pandemic and our port director had the foresight to think that we would need resources to adjust and adapt to the pandemic. But they recommended wisely, i would say to ask the port to go back and get into more details about how the funds would be used. And thats has been my role since i came on board in this position with the port since 2022, in november weve been going through a planning process to determine the best use of funds. And now that weve done that diligent planning im here today to request the reserve. While the request is focused on a 10 Million Dollars project, i do want to highlight that the connie project is part of a larger package of the Ports Investment and economic recovery. We have 64. 4 Million Dollars overall of projects that are really focused in a variety of ways in our recovery efforts. First the economic project of course, but we have also dedicated funds that we call the tenant attraction and reserve funding, it states stimulus dollars that is really focused on improving our facility to main sure that we maintain current tenants and attract new ones where weve had tenants move from their spaces. Importantly weve been very successful in pursuing and being awarded state and federal Port Infrastructure grants, actually this committee will be hearing in a month or so a request to accept and expend the california state transportation infrastructure grant in the range of 22 Million Dollars. So you can see that actually these infrastructure grants are really important component of this overall plan and additional, the port has 10 Million Dollars for improvement in the southern water front. In terms of the distribution of these funds across the water front, you can see that the majority is actually going into the southern water front but importantly the next largest investment is in Fishermans Wharf where weve seen the most drastic movement of tenants out of our facilities, were just really working to recover in that area to attract new tenants activate, the area to make sure that we have visitors come into Fishermans Wharf. I think its just important to see this contribution across the water front because we do have 7 and a half miles of water front to maintain. So getting into the details of the economic recovery project, you can see that actually the funds are distributed in three major areas. First we have activation of Fishermans Wharf as i mentioned, we lost tenants in the area. But we have also seen that our fishers are some of the most vulnerable businesses in the neighborhood and we really want to invest making sure that they have adequate facilities. And then additionally, activation trying to enliven the neighborhood again supporting, our land site businesses. And then also, parks and open space are major area of investment. Weve recognized that we need to develop a cohesive experience along the water front. Not every one knows that theyre going to the port. This is an opportunity not only to brand the port and the water front that we maintain, but make sure that peoples experience right side full and en ripped because ne know there is a lot to see there. And then finally, we are making investments and improving the operations of the port looking for efficiencies as well as ways to retain our staff and make sure that were able to retain a strong workforce. We also note that with these investments, we want to understand whether or not were being successful. So we are track various indicators both for economic purposes as well as looking at city indicators that may influence the port. So were maintaining these metrics and reporting back to the commission twice a year and really wanting to understand if our investment are successful. So with that, just want to make sure that you understand, we are using a variety of Funding Source to see deliver on our economic recovery and growth initiatives, were investing in Fishermans Wharf in the southern water front, we do think that tracking the metrics is important to determine whether or not were successful and with that, i request your approval of this item. Thank you. Item 6 this is a hearing to request this committee release from reserve 10 Million Dollars and potentially harbor funds within the port budget that were put in reserve in fiscal year 2021. You can see the ports operating revenue on page 29 of our report those are generated from tenant leases, theyre begin to go recover. That recovery has been uneven on different areas of the water front. And as noted by the department this is a part of a larger plan, the port is pushing out to reinvigorate their properties and help recover tenant revenues. This ten millions will be largely be focused on Fishermans Wharf 7. 3 Million Dollars of the 10 will be in Fishermans Wharf. That does not generate a lot of money for San Francisco or for the port but it is a historical asset that the port deems worth preserving. Thank you, i do understand the initial Infrastructure Investment does not generate new revenue. But i do think the investment for commercial fishing is a critical element to the survival of Fishermans Wharf and tourism for the area is a long Term Investment that i personally think its really what San Francisco is about in terms of that area and really north, northeast water front for us. So i look forward to seeing how the improvements will work for both our commercial fisherman industry in San Francisco but also for the community, from the business benefit district for the area as well for Fishermans Wharf but also to just look forward to seeing what youre going to bring back to us later on with the state grant and other grants to improve the southeast sector of the water front. So that we can look at the water front improvement all around San Francisco in a more comprehensive way and to understand the Capitol Improvement that were making all around. I dont see any name on the roster, we dont have any questions at the moment. But its, its very exciting to see what the port is going to do in the next few years. So with that, lets go to Public Comment on this item. Thank you. Thank you. Clerk yes, members of the public who wish to address this Committee Regarding this hearing, to release the 10 Million Dollars to the port now is your opportunity to address this committee. Mr. Doherty. Before you start, somebody left their glasses. Put that for the lost and found folks. John doherty Vice President of the San Francisco building trade. This was not the item i came to see but i then i saw it on the agenda. Its important that we do represent craft workers at at the port of San Francisco. What i did like hearing is that aside from the efforts on the southern water front which i spoke to earlier in the importance of that. Also just, the focus on commercial fisherman, we dont represent them but it is a part of the fabric of the city and the port has a very key role in maintaining the historical port town nature of San Francisco. So you know, we support the release of this 10 million on that a known. But, thank you for your time. Thank you very much, john doherty. If we have anymore members of the public who wish to address this committee . Madam chair, that completes our queue. Thank you, seeing no more Public Comment. Public comment is now closed. And colleagues, i think the motion is to just to file to be file and heard and filed and that we release the fund. And so with that, a roll call please. Clerk and on that motion, to release the 10 million to the port and that this hearing be heard and filed. Vice chair mandelman. Aye. Clerk mell dar. Melgar. Aye. Clerk chair chan. Aye. Clerk three ayes. Do we have any other items . Clerk that concludes the items. Speaker thank you, the meeting is adjourned. People deserve a gentleman this works for them. This means that decisions are med with the publicy interest in mind and not for personal gain. To make sure this stele resources and titles serve the public and are in the used for personal gain. There are restrictions it when can be done with stele titles the Public Resources like official letterhead and business cards or [inaudible]. Stele positions and resources cannot be used to, ask for favors or seek treatment. Advocate for person advantages or enengage in playical activity by campaigning. Thats a summary but up to you to know the lufor questions contact the Ethics Commission for ethics. Commission good morning everybody, and welcome to the San Francisco chamber of commerce. City beat breakfast on this valentines day. Im looking out at this crowd and actually, you know, it warms my heart to see everybody here on valentines day. And i know this sounds a little bit strange, but i have to start off by how proud i am of all san franciscans. Yeah we all deserve a hand. These past three years, ive stood up here at this breakfast before you and shared some pretty daunting numbers. But i want to be clear that theres still remains some serious work to do. However, the results of our annual poll bring me more hope and renewed sense of pride for our city and our residents. We saw two trends that i really want to share with you. This morning. One being that san franciscans are showing new signs of optimism and our city no doubt faces serious challenges from the pandemic, Public Safety concerns and negative media. But despite all that, we saw a slight increase in the voters who think that the current Economic Conditions are better than a year ago. This is a very important. Thats right. And not only that, san franciscans are more optimistic about the state of our city, but they are ready to take action. Well dive into the poll results later. A bit later on. But one thing is clear San Francisco voters are supportive of taking action at the ballot for a change in our city, especially when it comes to making it easier to do business and increasing Public Safety. Im confident that 2024 will be a year that lays the foundation for a stronger, more inclusive and even more innovative San Francisco, a foundation that is actually being built by people in this very room here today. And it feels like literally almost every day i get a call from a Member Company who has a new activation idea for the downtown, a new innovator who has technology thats emerging here in San Francisco, a group of volunteers who want to get engaged and knock on doors during Election Campaign season, or a student whos looking away looking at ways to encourage and get involved in our workforce in 2020, before we even dreamed of apec coming to San Francisco and hosting 21 heads of state, and before chatgpt was available to us on the phone, we had the same annual breakfast. And the theme of that breakfast was wake up San Francisco. That was a subtle call to action for san franciscans to Pay Attention of whats going on in our city. And since then, our city has faced unique and persistent challenges over the course of this last year. But i truly, truly feel the energy. I hope you feel it as well that people in their hearts want to change. San francisco. I think that san franciscans didnt just wake up, but we are starting to put pen to paper right now, implementing many of the visions and ideas about renewing and reimagining our city. The chamber of commerce is deeply investing in reimagining our Downtown Core to be more vibrant, resilient, diverse, and sustainable. Through the partnership of mayor london breed and our Business Association Business Association peers, weve helped push policy forward to make wins and make key investments in Public Safety, cleanliness, tax relief for restaurants, retail, hospitality, the arts and changing some of the city code that allows changes in the widest possible range. Permitted uses. In the downtown. These milestones will help the foundation to attract innovative businesses to San Francisco, and we are positioning all of us San Francisco to become a yes city. Yes to economic prosperity. Yes to renewing our city and yes to our environment. So everybody has a future here in San Francisco. Last june, we worked with some of our partners, deloitte, salesforce, citi, and the World Economic forum to put out a call to action inviting innovators from around the world to contribute to shape the citys future for an even greener future, starting here in San Francisco. And just this last month, these partners unveiled the yes Sf Initiative in davos. I want you to take a look at this clip here. Thats going to show you this important call to action. I just love that music. It makes me feel like i need to be productive or something. I want to thank uplink in the World Economic forum for this program. You know, this started off with more than 140 startups responding to the sf urban sustainability challenge and 14 top innovators were ultimately selected out of that. Theyre an impressive group, an inspiring group, and you may have met some of them just outside who were who were tabling. So stay tuned for more things happening with the sf. More announcements or some big announcements that we cant quite unveil yet. But theres some good surprises, so stay tuned. Um, we know that to build a stronger future, we have to come together and explore innovative ideas as the chamber of commerce. In the end, is a convener and my goal is to provide a table for thought leaders to come together to forge solutions in ways that we have never seen before. The Business Community has come together to brainstorm, refine and champion collective advocacy efforts, and these efforts are centered around making Housing Production pencil out in San Francisco, supporting our Small Businesses and making it easier and less costly for existing and new entrepreneurs to open and operate businesses. Increasing foot traffic in our downtown an obvious one, but to provide a more reliable Customer Base for businesses through events and programing and continuing to advocate for clean streets and safe streets so our employees resident family members, visitors want to come to the downtown and exploring ways to make conversions of existing spaces into new uses and to serve emerging industries. And finally, to make the downtown vibrant and just fun. We need this. So im inspired and more confident than ever that our citys future looks bright. And lets all say yes to San Francisco. Id like. Now, id like to take a moment to thank some of our sponsors and recognize some individuals here. First, i want to thank this years city beat pole sponsor, United Airlines. Thank you united. Give them a big hand. I also want to thank our additional sponsors, sutter health, bank of america and gensler architects. Wed also like to thank all of our Event Sponsors here that are listed on the slides there below. And uh, our Event Planning companies and everybody whos participated. This is a real assemblage of different vendors and specialties and crafts in San Francisco. I also want to recognize the chamber of commerce Board Members, and many of them are here today. Would you please stand up . If youre a board member . Now some people probably think were crazy because we have over 60 Board Members, but it is really a representation of the vast array and range of businesses here in San Francisco, both large medium and small. And i want to thank all the Board Members for your patience and your personal guidance as the chamber of commerce continues to grow. I want to point out in the back room that we have actually a beautiful heart with an image of the palace of fine arts there, and that is from the San Francisco General Hospital foundation. For those of you that are familiar, the Hearts Program has been in existence for 20 years. Its celebrating its 20th anniversary, and there are many just key leaders in San Francisco who have been supportive of that families and support of it. And really, its a public art display that i think makes us unique. I think on valentines day and the Hearts Program, its all kind of coming together and our love for San Francisco. So thank you for the San Francisco General Hospital foundation on. And thank you to our media partners, nbc and the fabulous emcee, audrey asistio, as well as the San Francisco Business Times for their amazing work. And mary huss is here. Mary Just Announced her retirement from the Business Times. Many of you have heard that marys been the face of the Business Community for so long. And mary, congratulations and were looking forward to your next chapter. Its my honor to recognize a number of leaders from City Government that are here and really, its an impressive list. So maybe hold your applause, but mayor london breed, thank you for being here. Our assembly member, phil ting, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins , assessor recorder joaquin torres, sheriff paul miyamoto, treasurer jose cisneros, catherine stefani, supervisor. Thank you. Rafael and thank you, supervisor. Um, director of department of Public Health. Doctor grant colfax is here. Sfo director ivor sotero is here. Director sarah dennis phillips. Thank you. And San Francisco Police Bill Scott is here as well. So give them a big hand. These are very tough jobs. I also want to thank you. And this is something thats close to my heart. Thank you for those who have supported unite sf. Unite sf is one of the initiatives in the chamber that is a Workforce Development piece, and this program is a collaborative effort with the San Francisco employers and the Business Community. And our educators, academia, the purpose is to really train our youth here in San Francisco and give them opportunities, skill sets to compete for living wage jobs in San Francisco. The chamber of commerce feels strongly that supporting our young san franciscans is a key, key piece to our future in the city. So in past years, weve done a unite sf event, a one day thing, a two day thing. We actually kind of stopped and scratched our heads and we want to make sure that youth is involved in everything we do all year long. So youll see students at every single one of our events participating and engaging with you. So here today we have about ten students from various schools in San Francisco. If you could stand up or raise your hand, that would be great. Well become students and if anybody has the opportunity to talk to them, introduce yourself. That would be great. So thank you very much. And finally, i wanted to thank you for joining us today. Uh, it says a lot when we have a turnout like this with standing room only in the back sold out. And just a reminder that if youre not a chamber of commerce member, theres a qr code in the program and you can become a member today, we really appreciate that because as in the end, lets not forget that it is you individually in your efforts that makes up the chamber of commerce. So thank you very much. With that, its my great pleasure to bring on stage the outgoing chair, Catherine Cahill. Thompson catherine took over as the board chair in the beginning of 2023 and has been a strong advocate and leader for the Business Community. She has led the chamber of commerce in stride through new challenges and new opportunities, and thank you, catherine, for your dedication, time and thoughtfulness. If you could join me on stage, thatd be great. We have a Little Something for you. Catherine, as a token of our gratitude, you have something you probably always wanted. Your own very own cable car bell. Its quite heavy , and it sounds great. If youd like to give it a ring, please do so. Okay thank you, thank you. All right. Ill try to talk fast so rodney doesnt have to hold that too long. Its been my honor to serve as board chair of the chamber this past year. Um, as you all know, it continues to be a challenging time for San Francisco, but im extremely proud of the work that the chamber has done to double down on the city, to push for the changes the city needs to make, to think outside the box and reimagine what our downtown could be. Um, im especially proud of the collaboration the chamber undertook this year, working together with other Business Associations, neighborhood associations, chamber members, the mayor, the board of supervisors to rally behind our city and collaborate for positive change in a way that just hasnt been seen in the city working together before. Um, i also want to thank my fellow chamber Board Members who are alongside me this past year, and especially my fabulous executive committee, alfredo pedroza, scott dunlop, david perry, lee gregory, poppy gamblin, jason geller, cammy blackstone, stephanie isaacson, noah clark, katie brown and mike grisso. I couldnt have done it without you, and i especially want to thank the Chamber Staff who pours their heart and soul into this organization and the city every day, particularly rodney fong, whos a true leader and a coalition builder. Hes worked hard through these challenging times and really lifted us up with his energy and optimism as you heard him talk earlier today, um, this process is far from over, but the wheels are in motion. With everything weve done this year, things are moving forward and we are going to work towards a cleaner, safer and more functional and more vibrant city. I know this momentum will continue you as i turn the Chamber Board leadership over to alfredo pedroza, senior Vice President of local Government Relations for wells fargo. Alfredo has been my vice chair over the past year, and his insights and support have been invaluable. He is a native san franciscan with a deep love for the city and a true desire to restore the city to be a great place to live and do business. And with that, please give a big welcome to your new Chamber Board chair, alfredo pedroza. Woo buenos. Dias bienvenidos a city. Estoy emocionado y honrado de ser su president e de la camara de comercio de San Francisco. Primero quiero. Agradecer a mis padres de mingo y rosa. Pedroza por su apoyo y sacrificios no estaria aqui sin su amor. Los quiero mucho. Good morning and welcome to citybeat. I am thrilled and honored to serve as your chair of the San Francisco chamber of commerce. First, i want to express my gratitude to my parents, domingo and rosa pedroza, for their support and sacrifice. I wouldnt be here without your love. I love you both. In the heart of San Francisco. My parents journey unfolds as a resilient love story, blending their multi generational immigrant roots. The Mission District became home for my mothers family and love guided my dad to San Francisco. Their 53 year marriage is woven together by celebrations that took place in this iconic city where my dad, alongside my grandfather and uncles, a generation of mexican laborers, contributed to building downtown San Francisco. We see today. Despite their humble beginnings. My mom worked her way from secretary to accounting and sold tupperware on nights and weekends to pave the way for our familys success. Their dream of providing Educational Opportunities they did not have materialized in their four children with college degrees. As a son at the treasury department, a daughter combating cybercrime, another serving as a registered nurse at ucsf, and myself all thriving in the vibrant heart of San Francisco. Id like to acknowledge and thank the farmers and servers who are responsible for your breakfast here today. As your chair of the San Francisco chamber of commerce, its first openly gay son of immigrant mexican immigrants, native born san franciscan, i will draw on the examples and values of my inspiration, teachers and mentors, including the sisters of mercy, the daughters of charity, the christian brothers, the jesuits and the sisters of perpetual indulgence. All orders who have demonstrated their love for this great city. I extend my gratitude to our immediate past board chair, Catherine Cahill thompson, for her leadership. Our ceo, rodney fong, the talented Chamber Staff and my fellow Board Members for their incredible work and dedication in connecting resources and advocating for all, but especially Small Businesses all over the city and year round. Thank you to my husband, Wayne Bautista for 24 years of unconditional love and support. This journey would not be possible without you. I love you. I would also like to recognize my colleagues from wells fargo for their vital work centering customers and offering resources and advice to empower Small Businesses not just survive, but to thrive. Their collective efforts supporting critical programs for women, lgbtq, plus veterans, and diverse entrepreneur doers of color embody San Francisco values and reflect wells fargos commitment. It is why wells fargo proudly stands as the presenting sponsor, a Small Business week in 2020 for our support extends to initiatives like vacant to vibrant, filling downtown storefronts with innovative, diverse and Community Building businesses. Weve introduced hope inside at our bayview branch, offering one on one financial coaching to the community, aiding in debt reduction, credit score improvement, savings, general general wealth building and helping to realize dreams. Our dedication to San Francisco, also our home for 172 years, aligns with the enduring values of this city. While i may not have been around in 1852, when wells was founded, the chamber of commerce was there standing the test of time. As we embark on 2024, i embrace the future with excitement, acknowledging the formidable challenges we face today, grounded in the belief that infusing humanity to our solutions is a catalyst for transforming change. I am confident in our ability to unlock untapped potential. The present offers a unique opportunity. San francisco will undoubtedly rebound and as it has throughout its history, lets envision a San Francisco surpassing its past a city centered on diversity, serving as a global testament to our capacity to change the world. From here, this city will have its unique allure in the air, the water, the land, and the spirit of our indigenous ancestors beckons believers, dreamers, incubators, cultivators, innovators, disruptors, educators and lovers. Despite having our critics, everyone who experiences San Francisco leaves a piece of their heart here. If they didnt , did they ever, ever really have one . The citys challenges foster a tenacity that sets us apart, but that resilience doesnt stop us from striving for improvement. A cleaner, safer environment for all families and businesses to thrive and grow. From bayview and Visitacion Valley to the presidio, the dogpatch, the mission to the sunset at parkmerced, to chinatown and treasure island, and every neighborhood in between, including downtown San Francisco. To your chamber. Is dedicated to fostering and advocating for businesses of all sizes across 49mi s of hills, valleys, and microclimates. If our residents can think it dream it, they can design it, create it, assemble, manufacture, build, and ultimately transform the world we aspire to live in. Ill end with this San Francisco. San franciscans, whether by birth or migration, have never asked for permission to do whats great to do, whats audacious, to do whats good to do, whats just for the city by the bay and eventually the world. We have always set the stage, built the coalitions, marched, the march, done, the hard work risen from the ashes, multiple times to set the example, to light the way for bold and better San Francisco. And a bold and better world. We know something about reimagining ourselves. So lets roll up our sleeves and work together. Lets center our renaissance on racial equity, inclusion, fun and love. Our collective future demands it. Lets show the world that we are still the city. They can leave their hearts in, and some of their cash to happy valentines love is love is love. Love always wins and so does San Francisco. Thank you. That was fantastic. Can we give him another round of applause . Alfredo rodney and catherine. Thank you all. All for your leadership and all that you do for our Business Community. Okay, now id like to give a very warm welcome to allison hagen, San Francisco managing principal for deloitte, to say a few words this morning. Lets go ahead and welcome allison. Morning. Happy valentines day, lunar new year, and black history month. And thank you all for being here. I would like to extend my gratitude to rodney fong and the San Francisco chamber of commerce for hosting this event to celebrate our citys vibrant Business Community and our collective commitment to its prosperity. I also want to take the opportunity to extend my congratulations to the chamber for their 174th anniversary. Yeah lets give him a clap. As as the managing principal of the deloitte San Francisco office, im honored to join you representing the Largest Global professional Services Organization with a rich history of over 175 years. Rodney we almost have the same birth here at deloitte. Our purpose is clear. By creating trust and confidence in a more equitable society, we, in our continued work to drive long terme systemic change and create equitable access to opportunity. Deloitte is proud of our involvement in the yes San Francisco yes sf urban sustainability challenge. Weve joined forces with salesforce, the World Economic forum city and the San Francisco chamber of commerce to support the development of Smart Solutions for some of San Franciscos biggest challenges. We feel its important to help improve our cities and believe that great things happen when the Business Community actively supports the revitalization of the places where we live and work. A huge thank you to all of those involved in sf and to all of you committed to our beautiful city. Were excited about the work completed and the work to come. One important element of our involvement with sf is that is that it provided an opportunity to align with the momentum of prominent city plans. With that, id like to. Its my honor to welcome our keynote speaker, the 45th mayor of the city and county of San Francisco. Mayor london breed, to share a few words of her vision. Mayor breed welcome. Im. Good morning everyone. Yes yes, sf is great to see all of you here today celebrating valentines day. Happy valentines day there are so many wonderful things happening all over San Francisco and including today will be marrying a lot of folks at city hall, celebrating the 20th anniversary of same sex marriage that started right here in San Francisco. Im really glad to be here with all of you, through all the challenges of the last several years. Weve come together again and again. First to save lives, then to build back. Now to take off it. Hasnt been easy. So many outside side of this city have had their targets set on us. Even here in this city, there were those who said the economic fallout from the pandemic might be a good thing. Can you imagine that . Lost jobs, lost businesses, lost residents, lost revenues might be a good thing for the city. Well, despite all that, we persevered. The people in this room. You kept your office open here. You didnt run to miami or austin or kansas city to soon. Thank you for staying. Thank you for believing in our city. But lets be honest about something. You, the businesses, new and old that are here in San Francisco are not engaged in civic generosity. Youre not doing anyone a favor. Youre here because its good business. Lets remember who we are. This is one of the most beautiful urban cities in the world. With an unrivaled pool of talent and builders and dreamers. The largest collection of deployable capital in the country, with a great climate and the home of tech giants and major league giants. We are truly a great city, and its time we start acting like it. Were san franciscans, we dont apologize for being from here. When people come here, theyre not going to find us hanging our heads. Theyll find us building the future just as we always have. Its a little ironic now that those who have been saying San Francisco isnt safe, that secured city had all but vanished from this beautiful city by the bay. They have missed what is actually been happening. 2023 saw the lowest crime rate in the last decade, not counting the lockdown in 2020. That is right. We saw crime drop to the lowest level it has in a decade. And thank you to the San Francisco Police Department. Thank you to our District Attorney, Brooke Jenkins, and her office. Thank you to our sheriffs deputies. But it wasnt just them. We called for support from the state. And Governor Newsom delivered with the california Highway Patrol and the California National guard. We called for support from the feds and speaker emerita nancy pelosi and the Biden Administration delivered the Drug Enforcement agency and the us attorneys office. Thats what we did. All that support, all those people going to work. It didnt just happen because we wished it to happen. It didnt just happen because of apec. It happened because of all of those leaders fighting for San Francisco and all the work that we actually did to make it happen. And were seeing the results. No, things are not perfect. But for a while, the headlines were saying one thing. While the work was saying another. And heres the good news. The headlines are finally catching up. The new york times, San Francisco montgomery street casino, a downtown revival, bloomberg, San Francisco doom loop narrative ignores signs of life. Just this week, the economist how San Francisco staged a surprising comeback. Well, im not surprised because we always bounce back. Im not surprised because ive actually been here. We are not surprised because we have been working on the problems, not just standing on the sidelines watching them. You sense change before it. You see it, it starts a bit of a buzz. Its a feeling. And then boom, its a fact. In 2023, the San Francisco Police Department doubled the arrest of drug dealers on our streets. We challenged years, years of accepted policy, of doing things the same old way and began arresting those who were using drugs in public when we started that work, people said it was controversy. We shouldnt do it. I even got called out by the board of supervisors at un plaza because how dare i direct the police to enforce the law . The existing laws, by the way, thats fine. Change makes people uncomfortable. But im not worried about that because you know who we need to make uncomfortable . The drug dealers selling deadly fentanyl on the streets of our city. And thats exactly what were doing. Solutions cant just be about doing the same old thing and hoping itll work next time. Yes, we are still offering treatment, but the truth is, a lot of people wont take it. We need new tools, new tools like being the first and only county in the in calif to start conserving people under our new state law, new tools like requiring treatment for people who want money from the city. To many people need help in San Francisco. And if you arent willing to get a little aggressive, then youre willing to let the stuff thats continuing to happen on our streets continue. Youre willing to let our residents, our businesses, our our families and our neighborhoods suffer. We are clearing street encampments and not allowing people to remain on the streets when we have a place for them to go. Because of. Finally, the clarification from the ninth Circuit Court of appeals, and we do have places for people to go. And just to give you this perspective, since 2018, since ive been mayor, weve helped over 15,000 people exit homeless permanently, and we and we have never had a homeless point in time count where the numbers were ever, uh, over 9000 people. Were expanding housing for the formerly homeless by over 50. Weve increased our permanently Supportive Housing by 50 and over 50. Weve expanded, ended our shelter capacity by 66. Weve passed tax incentives and relief to keep businesses stable and recruit new ones to our city. Weve changed our laws to build more housing faster and cheaper. Weve streamlined laws of Small Businesses, and we are waiving fees for new ones to open nearly 700 new businesses are registering in this city per month. Two of them, 200 of them last year filling storefronts in downtown alone. We are leading the nation in generating Venture Capital investments, both international and domestic travel, through sfo rebounded to near prepandemic levels. And when the opportunity came to host a government and Industry Leaders from around the world for apec, we didnt shy away from the possibility. We embraced it and our city knocked it out of the park. What an incredible moment of pride for San Francisco. Thank you to everyone who sponsored that historic event and did your part to show case our city to the rest of the world. Our Business Community truly stepped up. Thats the spirit we need as we build something incredible here. As we fight for broad tax reform. Right now, San Francisco taxes are too confusing. Theyre too high, and theyre too often driven by those who put measures on the ballot without regard for the economic consequence choices for our city. They will happily reap the benefits from the services that the taxes pay for. But they wont lift a finger to keep businesses here. We also need to continue to be bold in changing our housing laws. We need to continue to work on downtown by bringing in more housing, investing in the arts and entertainment, and attracting world class universities. And we need to make the hard choices to deal with an 800 million budget deficit. Now, that sounds like a lot, but weve been through a Global Pandemic that sent us all home and reshaped our society as we know it. Compared to that, as my grandmother used to say, this aint nothing were going to get through this. So let us build on our shared sense of what this city can be and who we are. Enough for all the whining and the negativity we you want to point out the problems not a problem, but take the next step. Get to the solutions. Even if it makes people uncomfortable, especially if it makes people uncomfortable. Thats what ive been doing from day one. Thats what so many in this room have been doing. Its easy to show up late and ride the wave of opportunity that all of us are seeing happen right before our eyes. What was hard was when we fought our way out of it. We have been here through the pandemic, through the economic fallout, through the ups, the downs and everything in between. We have been here through the hard times. We will remember who was here and who stood with San Francisco during our darkest hours and who did not, because now, now we are on the path to somewhere. Crime is dropping, our population is growing, new ideas are being born. We are leading in life sciences, biotech and Venture Capital. We are the ai capital of the world. Of the top 20 ai companies in the world, eight are right here in San Francisco, and this city was built by dreamers. But those who came by, those who came west looking for something more. Its in our dna. Surprising comeback. Maybe for some, but not for those of us whove been here doing the work for those who believe, for those who have always been here through boom and bust and boom again, we never give up on our city. What we do is we stay. We work through it, we fight, we thrive, and thats whats happening right now in the city and county of San Francisco. Lets continue the momentum and the excitement. Thank you all so much for being here today. Can we give the mayor another round of applause for her . Inspired words . Um, we definitely appreciate her dedication and hard work. So next, i am very delighted to introduce to you papiya gamblin from United Airlines to present exciting insights from this years poll. Good morning. It is my pleasure to be here presenting the key findings of the United Airlines city beat poll, and to share with you how san franciscans are feeling about our city and where we are headed. The city beat poll helps us take the pulse of our city and provides Critical Data to policymakers. The Business Community, and the public about the top concerns of san franciscans over the past several years, the chamber has commissioned a poll with the well respected firm emc research. The firm surveys San Francisco voters opinions on many issues and spotlight those that are of the greatest concern. The poll asks many of the same questions year to year, so the findings can be used to identify shifts in opinion and attitudes. Now, this data is more important than ever, so San Francisco faces some serious decisions this year, and the city beat poll gives insight into what San Francisco voters want. Lets dive in. 72 of voters say that San Francisco as a whole is on the wrong track. While just 22 say we are headed in the right direction now. Dont shoot the messenger, but this is, i think, really telling. While a large majority of voters consistently believe that San Francisco is on the wrong track, a key change is the slight increase in voters who think we are headed in the right direction. And rodney mentioned that earlier this morning. As i share more about the poll today, you will see a similar trend throughout where we see a slight increase on positive sentiments across all fronts. On Voter Sentiment about the issues our cities face, we believe this trend is telling of all of the real improvements that are happening. San francisco fans are still angry, but we are starting to see progress on our citys most challenging issues as we see that trend reflected here as well. When voters were asked how they would rate the current Economic Conditions in San Francisco compared to a year ago, we saw an increase in voters who think the city is doing better from just 12 in 2023 to 20 in 2024. I want to be clear that the majority of voters think that San Francisco is still doing worse than a year ago, although these signs of optimism are promising, the majority 50, however, think that the Current Conditions of San Francisco are worse than a year ago, when asked how they are thinking about the future, 39 of voters think that San Franciscos Economic Conditions will be worse a year from now, and 28 think that the Economic Conditions will be better. We also saw an increase here from 2023. In those who think San Franciscos Economic Conditions will be better a year from now. Each year, we ask voters an open ended question what do you feel will are the major issues facing San Francisco today . The past five years, we have asked this question and received the same top three concerns crime and drugs, homelessness and Affordable Housing. 52 of voters cite crime and drugs as one of their top three concerns, while the same number is cited for homelessness and 21 named housing as a major issue. That faces the city. We asked voters to focus specifically on downtown, which we broadly defined as including civic center, union square, the financial district, midmarket yerba buena mission bay, and the chase center. Go warriors, the top perceptions that came to mind for the voters about downtown right now were emptiness, crime and drugs, and homeless. Yes, 26 reported emptiness as what comes to mind about downtown, 15 reported crime and drug use, and 11 said homelessness. Views on downtown remain largely similar to a year ago, though the share of voters citing crime and drugs has what come, has whats come to mind for them when they think about downtown. That modestly fell from 23 to 15. We also asked voters to share how safe they feel downtown. 61 said they feel safe visiting downtown during the day and 34 said that they feel safe visiting at night. Voters were asked to share how often they come downtown to 34 of voters reported that they come downtown three days a week or more, and 15 1 to 2 days a week, 27 a few times a month, 12 a few times a year, 51. Rarely and 5 said that they never come downtown. That comes to about 40 of responders visiting downtown at least weekly. Digging deeper into that data, we compared Safety Perceptions and downtown frequency and found that those who spend time downtown feel safer than those who dont visit downtown at all. Over 60 of voters who visit downtown weekly, monthly, or yearly feel safe visiting during the day. That just means come on down. Thats what that means is come on down. This speaks to the reception perception problem we have. Those who dont regularly visit perceive downtown to be much more dangerous than those who spend more time. 88 of residents agree that a thriving downtown San Francisco is critical to the regions economy. This is huge. We know that our downtown is the economic core of our city, fueling almost 80 of San Franciscos gdp. San francisco residents understand how closely that tied the future is to our downtown. The entire business ecosystem, and the future of our city. So lets talk a little bit about solutions. The San Francisco Business Community has come together to support and advocate for initiatives that where we will rebuild and our economic core into its own livable programable resilient neighborhood that supports innovation in san franciscans are widely supportive of a variety of proposals relating to downtown. Lets talk about what those are. 85 agree that Unused Office Space in downtown San Francisco could maybe convert those uses. 83 agree that there should be more events downtown in downtown San Francisco, 83 agree that there should be more entertainment in downtown San Francisco, 78 agree that there should be more housing in downtown San Francisco, and 78 agree that there should be more restaurants and bars in downtown San Francisco. Yes. There is also a strong support for offering financial incentives for small and Large Businesses to stay or move downtown. With 84 of voters supporting incentives for Small Businesses and 71 of voters supporting incentives for Large Businesses. A large majority of voters, 81 have also shared that they support San Francisco, offering tax incentives to help businesses move into vacant ground floor spaces downtown. Yes i agree with that. I think thats awesome. That brings us to some insights on how how likely march voters are feeling about upcoming ballot propositions, especially the ones that address these core concerns. Ill now share with you some of those insights on whats coming up on the march proposition. Lets start with proposition c. Prop c would incentivize the conversion of office space to residential use by exempting some Square Footage from the citys real estate transfer tax 53 of voters shared that they would vote yes on prop c, prop e would update the San Francisco Police Departments policies on technology, including drones, body cameras and other surveillance technology. Vehicle pursuits and Community Input 61 of voters said that they would vote yes for prop e prop f would require Drug Screening and Substance Abuse treatment for single adults receiving cash assistance from the city, not including families or seniors. 61 of likely march voters also reported their support of prop f , so san franciscans are clearly concerned about the direction and the future of the city. But it is also clear that they are ready to take action at the ballot. March ballots are already out, so make sure you are registered and informed. The chamber of commerce voter guide is Available Online and also available in your program today we heard loud and clear that San Francisco fans are committed and willing to support bold, positive solutions to address the challenges our city faces over the coming months. This data will continue to inform the chambers advocacy agenda as we work closely with our partners and elected officials to address the issues facing our city. Thank you for joining me and the chamber today. So i am staying up here because im really excited about our next set of speakers. We have, um, we, you know, we just have to say, lets just give it up really quick for the giants. Just give me like, give it up for our giants. So, um, but you know what . Were going to what were going to hear today is going to be so heartfelt and meaningful. Its just going to be really exciting. It is my distinct pleasure to introduce former San Francisco giant outfielder hunter pence and his wife, lexi pence, who together began a new nonprofit called Healthy Planet project. Theyre projects mission is to create a healthier environment and cleaner neighborhoods right here in the bay area. Please welcome them to the stage. Hunter pence and lexi pence. Thank you so much. So much. Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for the introduction. Um, we are very honored to be here, especially standing alongside so many impactful leaders who love this city so much, especially as much as hunter and i do. San francisco is not just our home, its our hearts and so for us, we get asked a lot. What do you love so much about San Francisco and i always find this a very hard question to answer because theres so many things about San Francisco. What do you want to talk about . You want to talk about the architecture . Our amazing skyline, our museums, our food. But whats my most favorite part is the people. Right thank you. Lexi. Um that and that is true. We love we love the people. We love the city there. Did someone say say yes, San Francisco Rodney Rodney fong uh, im a big fan of. Yes. And we did say yes. I got to, you know, meet my lovely wife here, lexi, and cofound Healthy Planet project. Um, our love story, this is valentines day, started here. We moved here full time. Um, and we are in it. We are the heart of San Francisco. Were living in mission and beal. Right . Downtown where . Where were seeing the transformation happen. The wave is changing, the tide is turning. And i can feel it. And there was a tough time at and a lot of the leaders in the and San Francisco chamber of commerce, thank you for hearing us, uh, stood up and were like, we need to roll up our sleeves. We are going to get out here and we are going to reenvision ourselves. Change happens here in San Francisco. The world leaders, thought leaders, innovators, they are here. This land is special. Its sacred. And the people are the same. And youre seeing that transformation happen through the hard work, through the vigilance of the leaders and the people in the communities. And we are feeling that as we walk through the city on a day in and day out basis. Now, um, it really is special to see. And i think that deserves a round of applause that the media is going to catch up to this. Theyre going to feel whats happening. And thank you. And its going to continue to grow. Now i will say as a as a baseball player, for a long time, i had many i had 14 seasons. Two of them. Yeah. Thank you. Two of them. We won world series championships, which was great. Yeah. But the other 12 were were were very big defeats. And i have to say that one of the reasons that San Francisco gets a lot of hate and it hurts us because we know its not true, is that unless youre doing something great, i didnt receive that much hate when i was at the top. When i was at the peak is when more haters came at me than ever before. So just know that as we get this press and we combat it and we are going to be great, its because we are so great. So we roll that off and we continue to move here in San Francisco. Thats what we do. Were changers. Were leaders. So as the founder, this is year two of Healthy Planet project. And were very excited, um, to be a part of such a great team. I got to thank tony nicita, whos put a lot of hard work into this. Shes, uh, shes the manager and the coordinator. And then also, obviously alexis. But we are here to roll up our sleeves and to give back to this great city that gave me so much. I was a part of a great team with the San Francisco giants. And how did we want to give back . I was really inspired, uh, when we went on a trip to ireland and we walked through this insane forest and a lot of the trees were kind of not native, but they were part of helping the culture and the environment and sustainability and this was planted 60 to 100 years ago by someone who donated millions of dollars back then to create this forest and this, this transformative, transformative experience for me. And i started studying this team called the new zealand all blacks the winningest, the Winningest Team in all of professional sports at the rugby team. And they have a code. They have values and principles. Yeah youve heard of the new zealand all blacks. Theyre pretty special. Um, but this one moved me to my core and it gives me the tingles. Still steer still hearing it today. And it was one of their alumni speaking to the team before the world championship. And he said, dont ever let the music in. You die. Go out there and play your music. And whenever, whenever this game is over, whether you win or lose, go plant trees that you will never see grow. Do good for its own sake. And with that, with that striking me to my soul, we created the Healthy Planet project and our goal as the Healthy Planet project is to clean up the streets, to create initiatives, to activate the community, to come in and pick up the trash together to inform you the difference in the impact that it makes to hire the greatest thinkers and the leaders, the ones that are doing it. Refuse refuse. Uh, friends of the urban forest. One tree planted. Teaming up with some of the greatest programs and teaching that using the platform that the great giants gave us to share that to the kids and the youth. You talk about the youth is where we need to invest. We need to inform them because knowledge is power. And when you go out and you do the work, you empower them to know that your action does make a difference and you inform them of that. Your little actions on a daily basis do make a difference. When you do it as a team. And you look at that, that trash thats all picked up and how much youve changed and you see the street being cleaned and you feel that you feel the reward because what you put out, i believe this to my core. What you put out is what you get back. And when you put out that work, you receive the reward of that good work thats been done. Um, Healthy Planet project is also planting trees and local parks and also in urban neighborhoods. So weve we planted almost a thousand plants last year. Were looking to do a lot more this year. This was just the first year. Thank you. And really were just having a blast doing it. And were learning as we go. Were cleaning up the beaches as well. Uh, and, and were uprooting invasive plants and cleaning up the habitat so that we can bring back the plants that are healthy to our countryside. And learning from the great, the great minds that are out there doing it. So its been absolutely wonderful. That is what Healthy Planet project is about it. Its about planting trees. Its about cleaning up the streets. But most mostly its about bringing the Community Together and learning and growing and teaching what you can do day in and day out, and showing that you can make an impact. There are no small details and we are just excited and thrilled to continue to grow and to continue to clean up this city and be a part of that movement that is happening that youre feeling. And i just want to say thank you to all of you who are here that are putting in the work to make San Francisco, uh, back to the healthy place that it was. And im feeling it. Im feeling the work that youve put in, just being and living in the city. It is happening now. We are great. And thats the reason that we get the spotlight. So lets continue to be ourselves, continue to love. Happy valentines day to you all. And lexi. Happy valentines day. I love you hunter. Really just nailed it. Im just here for i mean, yeah, im just here. She does most of the work. Trust me, shes the better half. So thank you all so much. Have a wonderful day and lets continue to grow together. That was amazing. Can i just say that lexi is not just here . That was awesome from both of them. Lets give them another round of applause. And lets go ahead and say thank you to all of todays speakers. Mayor london breed hunter and lexi pence, poppy, a gamblin and another. Thank you. To your chamber of commerce leadership, rodney fong, Catherine Cahill thompson and alfredo pedroza. Such inspiring words from all of them. So before i let you go, lets go ahead and keep an eye out for Upcoming Chamber events. Get involved in the San Francisco Business Community if you are interested in learning more about the San Francisco chamber of commerce, i encourage you to visit their website, sf chamber comm. Follow them on social media and thank you to everyone here today for helping us make this event possible. All our sponsors, speakers, guests, and thanks to the San Francisco chamber of commerce staff for their out standing work and happy valentines day everyone happy wednesday. We hope to see you all again next year. You all take care. Good morning everybody [applause] good morning. [applause] and welcome. [applause] theres my grandma. Well come. Welcome to San Francisco James R Herman cruz terminal at pier 27. The first stop for all most 300 thousand people