Transcripts For SFGTV SF Full Transportation Authority 20240

Chair peskin welcome to the San Francisco county Transportation Authority board for our meeting today, tuesday, june 9th, 2020. Our clerk is ms. Angela tsao. Madam clerk, could you please call the roll. Clerk commissioner fewer . Present. Clerk commissioner haney . Present. Clerk commissioner mandelman . Present. Clerk commissioner mar. Present. Clerk commissioner peskin . Chair peskin present. Clerk commissioner preston . Present. Clerk commissioner ronen . Present. Clerk commissioner safai. Commissioner safai . Safai absent. Commissioner stefani. Present. Clerk commissioner walton . Present. Clerk commissioner yee . Present. Clerk we have coreium. Chair peskin thank you, madam clerk. Do you have an announcement . Clerk yes. Public comment will be available for each item on this agenda, via telephone, by calling 888 2045987, enter access 2858465 as seen on the screen. And then follow the system prompts. Once you join, you will be able to listen to the meeting as a participant. When you wish to speak on an item, dial one, zero to be added to the queue to speak. Each caller will be allowed two minutes to seek. When your time is up, well move on to the next caller. Calls will be taken in the order of which they are received. Best practices are to speak slowly, clearly, and turn down the volume on any televisions or radios around you. Please allow for audio visual delays and a 30second live time during the course of the meeting. Chair peskin thank you, madam clerk. And before we go to the c. A. C. Report, colleagues and members of the public, today is the day of George Floyds funeral. I want to start todays meeting by acknowledging the anger and anguish and heartbreak that we are all feeling. The murder of mr. Floyd on minneapolis public streets, by law enforcement, the lynching of Ahmaud Arbery while jogging in his own neighborhood in georgia, and now the killing of shawn mnoteroas much the young san franciscan shot while kneeling on the sidewalk, are the latest tragedies that have horrified is here and around the world and fueled our demands for justice. I know i speak for all of us when i say the Transportation Authority calls for justice for each of these individuals and all victims of racial violence and police brutality. We recognize our streets, sidewalks, public squares and spaces must be safe and secure for all. And that we have a really long way to go to achieve this for everyone in our community here and around the country. And even as we mourn, i want to note theres hope and solace in the fact that the same streets are where many women and men and children of all backgrounds are gathering to speak up for black lives and demand long overdue reforms. Our calls for justice underscore that even in this time of pain, we have not lost site of where lost sight of where we must go as a city or country. We at the Transportation Authority commit to doing our part to support black lives, safe streets and just enforcement, while enforcing Racial Equity in all that we do. Of course, at noon our sfmta will be takin take an eightmind 46 second pause on all of its lines. Thank you for your indull jen. Madam clerk, could you please read the next item. Clerk item number 2, c. A. C. Report. This is an information item. Chair peskin mr. Larson. Good morning. Good morning, chair peskin, vice chair mandelman and commissioners. The c. A. C. Held its First Virtual meeting on may 27th. It vent very smoothly. Id like to thank the t. A. Staff for prepping the committee and supporting the meeting so well. The c. A. C. Adopted a motion in support to revise the amended fy20192020 budget to decrease the net fund balance, thats item 6 on your army. The c. A. C. Welcomed the fact that there would be a net positive fund balance going into next fiscal year, but like everyone waits with trepidation to see what actual tax revenues will look like in the months ahead. With regard to item agend 8 on r agenda, reducing the contract amount related to the downtown Congestion Pricing Program, staff c. A. C. Members had a number of questions about metrics of success for a Congestion Pricing Program. Staff mentioned hours of delay and transit Speed Metrics and confirmed in the answer to another c. A. C. Question that air quality metrics, including both Greenhouse Gas and particular emissions would also be included. C. A. C. Members also inquired about the ability to conduct Effective Community outreach and cocreation workshops with the continued concern about covid19. And t. A. Staff said that they were working on innovative ways to bring in the Community Voices during this time. The c. A. C. Adopted a motion in support for the item. The c. A. C. Also received a security overview from kimberly burg, shes the Security Officer of sfmta. This presentation was at the request of the c. A. C. Vice chair david klein, who had experienced a number of aggressive incidents towards other passengers on the 38r, where he had to intervene and the operator did not take any action to intervene, even an announcement to stop. Ms. Burg responded that operators are instructed to call central control, but otherwise instructed not to intervene for their own safety. Ms. Burg also answered questions concerning overall incidents on muni, continues, the assistance permanent, cameras and proof of payment inspections. And in doing so, an impressive set of data in her responses, which was greatly appreciated by the c. A. C. And it was very informative presentation and weve invited her back in the future to report. And the c. A. C. Discussed the fact that the meeting had generated no Public Comment, which is highly unusual for a c. A. C. Meeting. The t. A. Staff noted this has been a challenge for many virtual Public Meetings and the citylevel group was thinking about ways to promote and solicit more public input in this environment. And so that completes my report. Thank you very much. Chair peskin thank you, mr. Larson. Are there any questions for mr. Larson . Seeing none, is there any Public Comment on the c. A. C. Report . Clerk there is no Public Comment. Chair peskin all right. Public comment is closed. Thank you, mr. Larson, for that presentation. Madam clerk, could you please read the concept agenda. Clerk excuse me. Commissioner peskin. Chair peskin commissioner fewer, my apologies. I see your name just popped up. Thank you very much. Id like to offer, if you would like to send me the notices of your c. A. C. Meetings, im happy to put it in my newsletter and also to help publicize it on my, you know, regular communications to my community. Chair peskin very much appreciated, commissioner fewer. And im sure that well send you the notices and mr. Larson is nodding his head up and down. And our executive director is giving you the thumbs up. With that, madam clerk, could you please read the Consent Agenda. Clerk item 3 to 4 comprise the Consent Agenda. Item 4 was approved at the may 19th Board Meeting and is now being considered for final approval. Chair peskin is there any Public Comment on the minutes of may 19th . There is no Public Comment. Chair peskin okay. Public comment is closed. Is there a motion to move the Consent Agenda, made by come on, vice chairman. Just raise your hand. Made by vice chair mandelman and seconded by ronen. Chair peskin seconded by ronen. On that motion made and seconded, a roll call, please. Clerk commissioner fewer . Commissioner fewer aye. Clerk commissioner haney. Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman . Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar . Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin . Chair peskin aye. Commissioner preston . Aye. Clerk commissioner ronen . Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai . Safai absent. Commissioner stefani . Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton . Commissioner walton aye. Clerk commissioner yee . Commissioner yee aye. Clerk Consent Agenda approved. Chair peskin excellent. Excuse me, chair. Supervisor safai is here. I had a problem with the audio. I heard the last item. Ill say aye. Thank you. Chair peskin next item, please. Clerk oh, just reminder to dial one zero to speak on that particular item for Public Comment. Item 5, appoint one member to the citizens Advisory Committee. This is an action item. Chair peskin ms. Smith, on behalf of the Transportation Authority. Hello. Good morning. My name is april sit. Im the Transportation Planner with the Transportation Authority. Good morning. The Transportation Authority has an 11member Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, with each member serving a twocareer term. Staff nor the c. A. C. Itself make recommendations on appointments. To qualify for appointments to the c. A. C. , applicants must be San Francisco residents and appear before the board at least once to speak to their interest and qualifications. A packet is a list of applicants and it has information on each applicant. To take under consideration today is the result of a term expiration of rachel zach. Rachel zach is here, available to answer any questions and to speak. And there may be other applicants on the line. And with that, i can take any questions. Chair peskin thank you, ms. Smith. Ms. Zach, i see you. Would you thank you for your service. You are my districts appointee. And by all accounts, including that of the chair mr. Larson, you have been valueadded. And the floor is yours. Thank you. Well, first, i want to thank you, supervisor peskin, for your word and sentiments about our current events, as well as thank supervisor walton for leading the effort for redirecting funding from the Police Department to africanamerican communities. And while i have always been dedicated to advancing equity, the recent protests expanded my role as c. A. C. Members and the position that im seeking reappointment for today. I have over ten years of experience working in transportation and my career started right here at m. T. C. , the regional transportation agency. From there i began consulting in transportation and now i work for a software startup, Building Software for transportation agencies across the globe. Over the last few years, i have had the honor of representing supervisor peskins district, a district that is especially in the last five years, choked by vehicle congestion. And that is facing some of the most Major Projects over the next few years. And i would be honored to continue to shepherd these projects forward for the district. And so i am seeking your reappointment today. Chair peskin thank you so much, ms. Zach. Are there any other applicants or is there any other Public Comment on this item . Clerk there is no Public Comment. Chair peskin okay. Then Public Comment is closed. And i would like to make a motion to reappoint ms. Zach to the c. A. C. And thank you again for your service, as you can all tell, shes qualified and we should all be delighted to have her. Is there a second to my motion . Commissioner mandelman mandelman. Chair peskin seconded by commissioner mandelman. On that item, a roll call, please. Clerk commissioner fewer . Commissioner fewer aye. Clerk just one moment, here. Chair peskin theres somebody out on the street. Can you could mute your phone. Thank you. Okay. Ill just continue. Clerk commissioner haney . Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman . Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar . Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin . Chair peskin aye. Clerk commissioner preston . Commissioner preston aye. Clerk commissioner ronen . Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai. Commissioner safai aye. Clerk commissioner stefani . Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton . Commissioner walton aye. Clerk commissioner yee . Commissioner yee aye. Clerk item 5 is approved. On first read. Chair peskin thank you, madam clerk. Can you please read item 6 and 7 together. Clerk yes. Item 6 revise the amended fiscal year 2019 20 budget to decrease revenues by 33. 4 million and decrease expenditures by 5 million for a total net decrease in fund balance of 28. 4 million. This is an action item. And item 7, adopt the proposed provisional threemonth fiscal year 2020 21 budget and work program. This is also an action item. Chair peskin ms. Font. Good morning, commissioners. Id like to start my presentation with the Financial Information and then i will pass it over to executive director chang to walk you through the threemonth provisional work plan. Chair peskin thank you. Ill pull up my slides. Please let me know if youre able to see the slides. Chair peskin yes, we can. Thank you, chair peskin. As ive indicated last month, i would return with a Budget Amendment for fiscal year 19 20. To reflect the impacts of covid19 on our revenues and expenditure estimates. I its been a fiscal year unlike any fiscal year. Were recommending a decrease of 33. 4 million to revenues. Our agency typically collects the majority of revenues for sales tax. We had collected typically 9 million for the month of march. But estimates came in at only 3. 6 million. This is a decline of approximately 60 . For the month of april, may and june, we are estimating a decline of approximately 73 , as a result of the covid19 and shelterinplace order. Next, i have the Traffic Congestion mitigation tax. This is known as prop d, this is the t. N. C. Tax. As you all remember, we had a ballot measure back in 2019. And 50 of the revenues would go to sfmta and 50 of the revenues would come to the t. A. For the first three months of this program, weve collected 2. 2 million in revenues, while we were expecting 3. 6 million. We also have a shift in our Program Revenues. Program revenues are our federal, state and regional revenues. And the changes mainly due to the commencement delay for the south gate road realignment project. This is phase two of the i80 interchange improvement project. There was a longerthananticipated procurement process. And due to the covidrelated Board Meeting cancellation in march, we had to push the construction commencement date by two months. But happy news. We are going to begin construction towards the end of this month. All of these revenue decreases correspond to 24. 1 decrease in investment income. And weve been seeing Interest Rates decline and we expect to earn less interest as less revenues are collected. On this slide, i have a visual of the anticipated decline in sales tax. Here you can see in the beginning of march, while shelterinplace began, we had a dip. Overall expecting a 21. 9 decline in sales tax revenues. In terms of expenditures, were looking at a decrease by 5 million. The majority of this decrease is due to the shifted Program Revenues i just mentioned for the south gate road realignment project. We are also pausing the Environmental Review related to u. S. 101, i80 and bus lane projects. In addition, a portion of consultant related to the peninsula avenue extension, preenvironmental and downtown extension studies will be shifted to fiscal year 2021 as well. Chair peskin, at this moment im prepared to move on to the proposed fiscal year 2021 proposed budget. Are there any questions youd like to ask before i proceed . Chair peskin no, that was very thorough. Any questions from commissioners about these projections . If not, executive director chang, the floor is yours. I would like to go over the financial numbers, please. Chair peskin sorry. Please proceed. Okay. Thank you. As you all know, mayor breed has set a timeline for the citys budget to be signed by october 1st. We have aligned our budget process to the same timeline. And in the interim, wed like to budget a provisional Budget Approved to continue our operations. It will be necessary to adopt this threemonth budget. And this action would also constitute a waiver to our administrative code Provision Requiring the adoption of an annual budget by june 30th. The following chart you see on the screen right now is a comparison of revenues for the proposed provisional threemonth budget, with First Quarter actuals collected in fiscal year 19 20, thats the gray bar. We have a blue bar here representing the projected estimates for july through september 2020. Here you can see the sales tax revenues have declined or we apple decline significantly. We are projecting 13. 7 million in revenue for the first three months of fiscal year 2021, thats july, august and september. This is a decrease of approximately 47. 5 . Our prop aa fund. This is our 10 annual vehicle Registration Fee on Motor Vehicles registered in the city and county of San Francisco. We continue to project 1. 2 million of prop aa revenues and this is similar to revenues collected as compared to the prior year. Our San Francisco<\/a> county Transportation Authority<\/a> board for our meeting today, tuesday, june 9th, 2020. Our clerk is ms. Angela tsao. Madam clerk, could you please call the roll. Clerk commissioner fewer . Present. Clerk commissioner haney . Present. Clerk commissioner mandelman . Present. Clerk commissioner mar. Present. Clerk commissioner peskin . Chair peskin present. Clerk commissioner preston . Present. Clerk commissioner ronen . Present. Clerk commissioner safai. Commissioner safai . Safai absent. Commissioner stefani. Present. Clerk commissioner walton . Present. Clerk commissioner yee . Present. Clerk we have coreium. Chair peskin thank you, madam clerk. Do you have an announcement . Clerk yes. Public comment will be available for each item on this agenda, via telephone, by calling 888 2045987, enter access 2858465 as seen on the screen. And then follow the system prompts. Once you join, you will be able to listen to the meeting as a participant. When you wish to speak on an item, dial one, zero to be added to the queue to speak. Each caller will be allowed two minutes to seek. When your time is up, well move on to the next caller. Calls will be taken in the order of which they are received. Best practices are to speak slowly, clearly, and turn down the volume on any televisions or radios around you. Please allow for audio visual delays and a 30second live time during the course of the meeting. Chair peskin thank you, madam clerk. And before we go to the c. A. C. Report, colleagues and members of the public, today is the day of George Floyds<\/a> funeral. I want to start todays meeting by acknowledging the anger and anguish and heartbreak that we are all feeling. The murder of mr. Floyd on minneapolis public streets, by law enforcement, the lynching of Ahmaud Arbery<\/a> while jogging in his own neighborhood in georgia, and now the killing of shawn mnoteroas much the young san franciscan shot while kneeling on the sidewalk, are the latest tragedies that have horrified is here and around the world and fueled our demands for justice. I know i speak for all of us when i say the Transportation Authority<\/a> calls for justice for each of these individuals and all victims of racial violence and police brutality. We recognize our streets, sidewalks, public squares and spaces must be safe and secure for all. And that we have a really long way to go to achieve this for everyone in our community here and around the country. And even as we mourn, i want to note theres hope and solace in the fact that the same streets are where many women and men and children of all backgrounds are gathering to speak up for black lives and demand long overdue reforms. Our calls for justice underscore that even in this time of pain, we have not lost site of where lost sight of where we must go as a city or country. We at the Transportation Authority<\/a> commit to doing our part to support black lives, safe streets and just enforcement, while enforcing Racial Equity<\/a> in all that we do. Of course, at noon our sfmta will be takin take an eightmind 46 second pause on all of its lines. Thank you for your indull jen. Madam clerk, could you please read the next item. Clerk item number 2, c. A. C. Report. This is an information item. Chair peskin mr. Larson. Good morning. Good morning, chair peskin, vice chair mandelman and commissioners. The c. A. C. Held its First Virtual<\/a> meeting on may 27th. It vent very smoothly. Id like to thank the t. A. Staff for prepping the committee and supporting the meeting so well. The c. A. C. Adopted a motion in support to revise the amended fy20192020 budget to decrease the net fund balance, thats item 6 on your army. The c. A. C. Welcomed the fact that there would be a net positive fund balance going into next fiscal year, but like everyone waits with trepidation to see what actual tax revenues will look like in the months ahead. With regard to item agend 8 on r agenda, reducing the contract amount related to the downtown Congestion Pricing Program<\/a>, staff c. A. C. Members had a number of questions about metrics of success for a Congestion Pricing Program<\/a>. Staff mentioned hours of delay and transit Speed Metrics<\/a> and confirmed in the answer to another c. A. C. Question that air quality metrics, including both Greenhouse Gas<\/a> and particular emissions would also be included. C. A. C. Members also inquired about the ability to conduct Effective Community<\/a> outreach and cocreation workshops with the continued concern about covid19. And t. A. Staff said that they were working on innovative ways to bring in the Community Voices<\/a> during this time. The c. A. C. Adopted a motion in support for the item. The c. A. C. Also received a security overview from kimberly burg, shes the Security Officer<\/a> of sfmta. This presentation was at the request of the c. A. C. Vice chair david klein, who had experienced a number of aggressive incidents towards other passengers on the 38r, where he had to intervene and the operator did not take any action to intervene, even an announcement to stop. Ms. Burg responded that operators are instructed to call central control, but otherwise instructed not to intervene for their own safety. Ms. Burg also answered questions concerning overall incidents on muni, continues, the assistance permanent, cameras and proof of payment inspections. And in doing so, an impressive set of data in her responses, which was greatly appreciated by the c. A. C. And it was very informative presentation and weve invited her back in the future to report. And the c. A. C. Discussed the fact that the meeting had generated no Public Comment<\/a>, which is highly unusual for a c. A. C. Meeting. The t. A. Staff noted this has been a challenge for many virtual Public Meetings<\/a> and the citylevel group was thinking about ways to promote and solicit more public input in this environment. And so that completes my report. Thank you very much. Chair peskin thank you, mr. Larson. Are there any questions for mr. Larson . Seeing none, is there any Public Comment<\/a> on the c. A. C. Report . Clerk there is no Public Comment<\/a>. Chair peskin all right. Public comment is closed. Thank you, mr. Larson, for that presentation. Madam clerk, could you please read the concept agenda. Clerk excuse me. Commissioner peskin. Chair peskin commissioner fewer, my apologies. I see your name just popped up. Thank you very much. Id like to offer, if you would like to send me the notices of your c. A. C. Meetings, im happy to put it in my newsletter and also to help publicize it on my, you know, regular communications to my community. Chair peskin very much appreciated, commissioner fewer. And im sure that well send you the notices and mr. Larson is nodding his head up and down. And our executive director is giving you the thumbs up. With that, madam clerk, could you please read the Consent Agenda<\/a>. Clerk item 3 to 4 comprise the Consent Agenda<\/a>. Item 4 was approved at the may 19th Board Meeting<\/a> and is now being considered for final approval. Chair peskin is there any Public Comment<\/a> on the minutes of may 19th . There is no Public Comment<\/a>. Chair peskin okay. Public comment is closed. Is there a motion to move the Consent Agenda<\/a>, made by come on, vice chairman. Just raise your hand. Made by vice chair mandelman and seconded by ronen. Chair peskin seconded by ronen. On that motion made and seconded, a roll call, please. Clerk commissioner fewer . Commissioner fewer aye. Clerk commissioner haney. Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman . Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar . Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin . Chair peskin aye. Commissioner preston . Aye. Clerk commissioner ronen . Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai . Safai absent. Commissioner stefani . Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton . Commissioner walton aye. Clerk commissioner yee . Commissioner yee aye. Clerk Consent Agenda<\/a> approved. Chair peskin excellent. Excuse me, chair. Supervisor safai is here. I had a problem with the audio. I heard the last item. Ill say aye. Thank you. Chair peskin next item, please. Clerk oh, just reminder to dial one zero to speak on that particular item for Public Comment<\/a>. Item 5, appoint one member to the citizens Advisory Committee<\/a>. This is an action item. Chair peskin ms. Smith, on behalf of the Transportation Authority<\/a>. Hello. Good morning. My name is april sit. Im the Transportation Plan<\/a>ner with the Transportation Authority<\/a>. Good morning. The Transportation Authority<\/a> has an 11member Senior Citizens<\/a> Advisory Committee<\/a>, with each member serving a twocareer term. Staff nor the c. A. C. Itself make recommendations on appointments. To qualify for appointments to the c. A. C. , applicants must be San Francisco<\/a> residents and appear before the board at least once to speak to their interest and qualifications. A packet is a list of applicants and it has information on each applicant. To take under consideration today is the result of a term expiration of rachel zach. Rachel zach is here, available to answer any questions and to speak. And there may be other applicants on the line. And with that, i can take any questions. Chair peskin thank you, ms. Smith. Ms. Zach, i see you. Would you thank you for your service. You are my districts appointee. And by all accounts, including that of the chair mr. Larson, you have been valueadded. And the floor is yours. Thank you. Well, first, i want to thank you, supervisor peskin, for your word and sentiments about our current events, as well as thank supervisor walton for leading the effort for redirecting funding from the Police Department<\/a> to africanamerican communities. And while i have always been dedicated to advancing equity, the recent protests expanded my role as c. A. C. Members and the position that im seeking reappointment for today. I have over ten years of experience working in transportation and my career started right here at m. T. C. , the regional transportation agency. From there i began consulting in transportation and now i work for a software startup, Building Software<\/a> for transportation agencies across the globe. Over the last few years, i have had the honor of representing supervisor peskins district, a district that is especially in the last five years, choked by vehicle congestion. And that is facing some of the most Major Projects<\/a> over the next few years. And i would be honored to continue to shepherd these projects forward for the district. And so i am seeking your reappointment today. Chair peskin thank you so much, ms. Zach. Are there any other applicants or is there any other Public Comment<\/a> on this item . Clerk there is no Public Comment<\/a>. Chair peskin okay. Then Public Comment<\/a> is closed. And i would like to make a motion to reappoint ms. Zach to the c. A. C. And thank you again for your service, as you can all tell, shes qualified and we should all be delighted to have her. Is there a second to my motion . Commissioner mandelman mandelman. Chair peskin seconded by commissioner mandelman. On that item, a roll call, please. Clerk commissioner fewer . Commissioner fewer aye. Clerk just one moment, here. Chair peskin theres somebody out on the street. Can you could mute your phone. Thank you. Okay. Ill just continue. Clerk commissioner haney . Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman . Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar . Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin . Chair peskin aye. Clerk commissioner preston . Commissioner preston aye. Clerk commissioner ronen . Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai. Commissioner safai aye. Clerk commissioner stefani . Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton . Commissioner walton aye. Clerk commissioner yee . Commissioner yee aye. Clerk item 5 is approved. On first read. Chair peskin thank you, madam clerk. Can you please read item 6 and 7 together. Clerk yes. Item 6 revise the amended fiscal year 2019 20 budget to decrease revenues by 33. 4 million and decrease expenditures by 5 million for a total net decrease in fund balance of 28. 4 million. This is an action item. And item 7, adopt the proposed provisional threemonth fiscal year 2020 21 budget and work program. This is also an action item. Chair peskin ms. Font. Good morning, commissioners. Id like to start my presentation with the Financial Information<\/a> and then i will pass it over to executive director chang to walk you through the threemonth provisional work plan. Chair peskin thank you. Ill pull up my slides. Please let me know if youre able to see the slides. Chair peskin yes, we can. Thank you, chair peskin. As ive indicated last month, i would return with a Budget Amendment<\/a> for fiscal year 19 20. To reflect the impacts of covid19 on our revenues and expenditure estimates. I its been a fiscal year unlike any fiscal year. Were recommending a decrease of 33. 4 million to revenues. Our agency typically collects the majority of revenues for sales tax. We had collected typically 9 million for the month of march. But estimates came in at only 3. 6 million. This is a decline of approximately 60 . For the month of april, may and june, we are estimating a decline of approximately 73 , as a result of the covid19 and shelterinplace order. Next, i have the Traffic Congestion<\/a> mitigation tax. This is known as prop d, this is the t. N. C. Tax. As you all remember, we had a ballot measure back in 2019. And 50 of the revenues would go to sfmta and 50 of the revenues would come to the t. A. For the first three months of this program, weve collected 2. 2 million in revenues, while we were expecting 3. 6 million. We also have a shift in our Program Revenues<\/a>. Program revenues are our federal, state and regional revenues. And the changes mainly due to the commencement delay for the south gate road realignment project. This is phase two of the i80 interchange improvement project. There was a longerthananticipated procurement process. And due to the covidrelated Board Meeting<\/a> cancellation in march, we had to push the construction commencement date by two months. But happy news. We are going to begin construction towards the end of this month. All of these revenue decreases correspond to 24. 1 decrease in investment income. And weve been seeing Interest Rates<\/a> decline and we expect to earn less interest as less revenues are collected. On this slide, i have a visual of the anticipated decline in sales tax. Here you can see in the beginning of march, while shelterinplace began, we had a dip. Overall expecting a 21. 9 decline in sales tax revenues. In terms of expenditures, were looking at a decrease by 5 million. The majority of this decrease is due to the shifted Program Revenues<\/a> i just mentioned for the south gate road realignment project. We are also pausing the Environmental Review<\/a> related to u. S. 101, i80 and bus lane projects. In addition, a portion of consultant related to the peninsula avenue extension, preenvironmental and downtown extension studies will be shifted to fiscal year 2021 as well. Chair peskin, at this moment im prepared to move on to the proposed fiscal year 2021 proposed budget. Are there any questions youd like to ask before i proceed . Chair peskin no, that was very thorough. Any questions from commissioners about these projections . If not, executive director chang, the floor is yours. I would like to go over the financial numbers, please. Chair peskin sorry. Please proceed. Okay. Thank you. As you all know, mayor breed has set a timeline for the citys budget to be signed by october 1st. We have aligned our budget process to the same timeline. And in the interim, wed like to budget a provisional Budget Approved<\/a> to continue our operations. It will be necessary to adopt this threemonth budget. And this action would also constitute a waiver to our administrative code Provision Requiring<\/a> the adoption of an annual budget by june 30th. The following chart you see on the screen right now is a comparison of revenues for the proposed provisional threemonth budget, with First Quarter<\/a> actuals collected in fiscal year 19 20, thats the gray bar. We have a blue bar here representing the projected estimates for july through september 2020. Here you can see the sales tax revenues have declined or we apple decline significantly. We are projecting 13. 7 million in revenue for the first three months of fiscal year 2021, thats july, august and september. This is a decrease of approximately 47. 5 . Our prop aa fund. This is our 10 annual vehicle Registration Fee<\/a> on Motor Vehicles<\/a> registered in the city and county of San Francisco<\/a>. We continue to project 1. 2 million of prop aa revenues and this is similar to revenues collected as compared to the prior year. Our Traffic Congestion<\/a> mitigation tax prop we are projecting 1 million of revenues. This is a decrease of approximately 20. 8 as compared to the actual revenues from the First Quarter<\/a>, thats january, february and march of 2020. Program revenues for our c. N. A. Program represent the federal, state and regional funds collected. We are projecting 8. 7 million. This is also the shift i just indicated for the Budget Amendment<\/a>s. This is related to the southgate road realignment project. The estimate is at 8. 7 million. We also have a bit of other revenues were collecting from subleases to our represent. Represent. Moving on to expenditures. This is were anticipating 37. 8 million in expenditures. Capital project costs represent 83. 4 of our total projected costs. This is the main expenditure for the Transportation Authority<\/a>. Here we are allowing some capacity to reimburse our sponsors up to 31. 5 million. Some of the main drivers of the prop k Capital Expenditure<\/a> program are the sfmta vehicle procurement for motor coaches. The trolley coaches and lightrail vehicles. We also have expenditures for the downtown congestion pricing study, a study that the t. A. Leads. We have expenditures for prop aa programs like the haight street resurfacing and pedestrian lighting project, and the brandon street pavement renovation project. In terms of tfca expenditures, we have costs associated with emergency ride program allocated to s. F. E. , to provide reimbursements for taxi rides home for essential workers due to covid19. This sees expenses relate to personnel costs, administrative expenditures, commissionerrelate,ed expenditures. Due to the anticipated decline of sales tax revenues, we are taking the following steps to reduce administrative costs. Ill walk you through that on the next slide. We also have Debt Service Costs<\/a> of approximately 4. 2 million. This is related to our 248 million sales tax revenue bond. We have an anticipated Interest Payment<\/a> of 4. 2 million to be made in october. Im sorry, to be made in august. Now as i was just referring to the last slide, we have a couple of administrative costs, where we are offsetting rising costs, such as rent and health care costs. We are looking to delay the hiring of four staff vacancies. We are curtailing equipment and nonessential purposes and contracting. Of course, were disbanding all travel and training, while we are shelterinplace i. At this time i think its a good time for me to hand it over to executive director chang to walk you through the work program. Chair peskin thank you, ms. Fong. Seeing no questions on the screen for you, well hand it over to tilley. Great. Thank you, chair peskin. And good morning, commissioners. Ill just pick up as to how we have adjusted our work program, in light of the figures that cynthia was just presenting. We have, of course, paused and deferred several projects. Some with your guidance, such as the 101 288 express lanes project, that ms. Wong mentioned earlier. Also the new mobility framework that they were collaborating with sfmta and others on. The barton project we will be reintroduced in the next legislative session we hope by an Assembly Member<\/a> and commissioner stefani. And various tools that we are constantly improving in house. New assignments and priorities have also emerged over these past several weeks and month. This is the San Francisco<\/a> transportation reopening group, that is cayed by chair peskin and the director from the sfmta, that i participate in and some of our team members are supporting, as well as the metropolitan transportation commissions blue ribbon transit task force. Which has also been convened during this time, to advise on federal transit distributions, as well as how to make the network more seamless for essential travelers. The covid19 congestion tracker we have sent to your office. Its Available Online<\/a> for the public to be able to see weekbyweek travel conditions, data that we are processing and publishing. These are cell phonebased sort of vehicle speed data, provided to us by m. T. C. And its quite interesting that even as we are slowly emerging in terms of to you are economy, the congestion is really starting to pick up, particularly in the downtown area. Bridge approaches and central neighborhoods. So that is something that we offer to folks who are interested in tracking conditions in their area or across the city. Next slide, please. Great. Other projects that are featured in our work program during this time. Again we will be back in august and september, ahead of the october 1st date for annual budget, similar to the cities. But work is continuing during this time, include our downtown congestion pricing study. Youll hear an update from collin later this morning on that. The connect and San Francisco<\/a> Transportation Plan<\/a> update is moving at pace. We expect to bring that forward by the end of summer with an update on projects on the transit side, as well as on the streets and traffic streets and freeways side. Thats again a multiagency collaboration with our sister agencies at the sfmta, s. F. Planning, Mayors Office<\/a> and also economic and workforce development. The interchange work led by air air cordova. The neighborhood transportation improvement includes many other things across the city, that our Deputy Director<\/a> for policy and programming anna laforte will describe later this morning. Of course, our Transportation Network<\/a> company and other policy work continues as well as legislative work. Next. Core activities that are ongoing. Fun programming allocations, family. You see that the revenues are down. And chair peskin has a grade that we ought to our Strategic Plan<\/a>. This is sort of the yearbyyear sort of distribution or schedule for how we believe revenues will come in and what we should be doing to program those funds, given the drop in revenues. Its only prudent we believe to take another look at that. So hes also advised us to update the Strategic Plan<\/a>, based on our consultations with s. F. City agencies and other regional entities, to look at the revenue outlook. But also in the context of the potentially creating a bridge strategy, to the reauthorization and the expenditure plan. Our current sales tax expenditure plan, as some of you may know, does run through 2033. But we are allowed or we are enabled to reset those priorities in the 20th year, which is 2023. So our goal had been to develop the connect s. F. And county update in anticipation of that 20th year happening in 2023. Now with the drop again in revenues, and the opportunity to bridge some of the funding needs, until that time, we are taking a look at a potential for reauthorization proposal for a fall of 2021. Now the next election that were aware of is in fall of 2022. However, if there should be a special election next year, we want to be ready. And so this is the work that we are undertaking to prepare for that. And well talk more about that over the next several months and as we prepare that Strategic Plan<\/a> update. That will be the resource envelope that we are projecting in that is informed by all of the new data that were receiving. We are also continuing to support statewide, regional and federal planning and advocacy efforts. Theres a lot of work happening. The House Transportation Committee<\/a> just released a new forecast bill, multiyear bill. So were tracking that and the statewide efforts, as well as efforts at m. T. C. And the region to continue to identify the priors and look for ways that we can boost our infrastructure and other programs, transit programs, bicycle and pedestrian projects so that we can ensure that we keep the region moving forward economically, as well as in terms of accessibility. We are also, of course, continuing to lead our own projects and overseeing and partnering with others on theirs, providing oversight and administration of the prop k and other fund programs. Next. And i think this is the last slide. This goes back to cynthia actually. Can everyone hear me . Chair peskin yes. In terms of next steps, we are going to continue developing revenue projections and estimates for expenditures, in consultation with the city and other agencies. And then well be back hopefully in august with a first look to our full fiscal year 2021 12month budget and back in september for final im sorry. September for final approval and a public hearing. With that, im happy to take any questions now. Chair peskin are there any questions from members . I think we are taking all of the right steps, given the changed economic circumstances. Seeing none, is there any Public Comment<\/a> on these two items . Clerk yes, chair, there is Public Comment<\/a>. Chair peskin first speaker, please. Operator you have one question remaining. Welcome, caller. Your two minutes begins now. Caller my name is francisco da costa. And i have been following the San Francisco<\/a> county Transportation Authority<\/a>, these meetings for a very, very long time. We are now at a stage where we have to kind of think outside the box. And we need to be very succinct. We need to be to the point. When you come to the meetings and see the people facetoface, they would ramble and ramble and ramble. You had a lot of patience. And we could address one or two things that we wanted to say. Its not very easy when you ramble about 200 points, then you are given two minutes for Public Comment<\/a>. Thats not very easy to pinpoint everything. But what i want to state yall is this pandemic has opened our eyes. This is the land of the first people. And at all times you have to do justice to the land. That is education, that is safety, transportation, whatever it is. So im here to tell you this. Were watching you all in the good days, that you have the good days when the sun was shining, you wasted a lot of money. Now we dont have money, so we have to be tight with what we do. But at the same time, dont be pompous. I see a lot of pompicity in the speech. You have to be humble. My name is francisco da costa and i represent the first people of San Francisco<\/a>. Thank you very much. Chair peskin thank you, sir. Are there any other members of the public on these two items . Seeing none im sorry, angela. Clerk there is no further comment, chair. Chair peskin Public Comment<\/a> is now closed. And these are action items. Is there a motion to move item 6 and 7 together . Made by commissioner mandelman mandelman. Chair peskin seconded by yee. On that motion, a roll call, please. Clerk i need to take separate votes on each item. But do you want me to note the motion and second for both . Chair peskin sure. Clerk im sorry. Chair peskin we cant call them together . Ill defer for you. Clerk per the virtual procedure. Chair peskin right. Okay. Clerk that was mandelman motion. And who else was second, please . Chair peskin yee is second. Clerk okay. Clerk so for item 6, commissioner fewer . Commissioner fewer aye. Clerk commissioner haney . Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman . Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar. Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin. Clerk aye. Clerk commissioner preston. Commissioner preston aye. Clerk commissioner. Commissione ronen. Commi. Clerk commissioner stefani . Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton . Commissioner walton aye. Clerk commissioner yee. Commissioner yee aye. Clerk item 6 is passed on first read. For item 7, commissioner fewer . Commissioner fewer aye. Clerk commissioner haney . Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman. Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar. Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin. Commissioner peskin aye. Clerk commissioner preston . Commissioner preston aye. Clerk commissioner ronen . Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai. Commissioner safai aye. Clerk commissioner stefani. Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton. Commissioner walton aye. Clerk commissioner yee. Commissioner yee aye. Clerk we have the item 7 is passed on first read. Chair peskin next item, please. Clerk item 8, allocate 566,800, with conditions, and appropriate 100,000 in prop k sales tax on funds for three requests. This is an action item. Chair peskin mr. Pickford. All right. I see i have got my red square. I will go ahead and bring up my slides. All right. All right. This morning we have three requests for you, all related to the neighborhood program. The neighborhood program, also known as the ntip ito advance te projects in each district. The program is intended to build a pipeline of programs that are strong candidates for competitive funding sores. The program was created in 2014 in response to an Equity Analysis<\/a> and the San Francisco<\/a> Transportation Plan<\/a>. You can see total applications to date to over 4th planning and capital projects. And here is a map of all of those projects. The packet includes table listing each project and a summary of the reneighborring funds by district. You can also visit the web page listed on the slide for more information. Moving on to the request, the first ntip capital request is from public works for design of bull bouts at the two intersections with golden gate avenue and turk street. These bulbouts were recommended by the ntipfunded Western Addition<\/a> communitybased Transportation Plan<\/a> in 2017 and mr. Complement other planned improvements. The request advanced directly to june board to support commissioner prestons directive to implement this safety project as soon as possible. And to facilitate including bulbouts in the design of the golden gate and laguana paving project, which is slated to Start Construction<\/a> in 2021. The second request is for additional funds for a biking and walking path through the bayshore, cesar chavez, potrero intersection. To cover cost increase due to unforeseen conditions. While digging, the contractor found underground utilities that need to be relocated to lower the slope of the path. And they determined that the volume of hazardous soil that needs to be removed from the site is greater than expected. Missioner ronen and commissioner walton have each committed additionaadditional ntip funds a portion of this. And this request was also, you know, done a little bit too late for to be considered by the c. A. C. , and the funding plan was finalized. Finally, theres an appropriation request for ntip coordination for the Transportation Authority<\/a>. The request will support implementation into next year. Including working with the offices, implementing agencies, Community Stakeholders<\/a> to develop and support ntip projects. As i mentioned, your packet includes a summary of the remaining ntip funds by each district. And we do have some project sponsor staff to answer any questions you have. Chair peskin thank you, mr. Pickford. Are there any questions from members . I see no names on the screen. Is there any Public Comment<\/a> on this item . Clerk yes, there is Public Comment<\/a>. Chair peskin first speaker, please. Operator you have one question remaining. Clerk caller, your two minutes begins now. This is francisco da costa. The way i look at this is we cannot move forward with the new projects, unless we have vetted the old projects. And what i have in mind are some of the projects that ive been monitoring. One of them is on san bruno avenue. Not everything is complete. In fact, without contacting the community, arrangements were made to remove parking. Now because of the pandemic, and lesser traffic, the project managers have the need need to do a Needs Assessment<\/a>. Anyone can talk in generalities and talk about the money for the proposition tax funds. And what other number of requests. But from time to time, we have to do a Needs Assessment<\/a> according to the changes. I dont see that. And another thing that i see clerk thank you, caller. Your two minutes has passed. Chair peskin are there operator you have zero questions remaining. Chair peskin seeing no further Public Comment<\/a>, Public Comment<\/a> is closed. Is there a motion to allocate the described 566,800, made by commissioner preston. Chair peskin commissioner preston. Seconded by . Mandelman. Chair peskin coming through with more seconds. Or more motions. On the item, a roll call, please. Clerk commissioner fewer . Commissioner fewer aye. Clerk commissioner haney . Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman. Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar. Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin . Chair peskin aye. Clerk commissioner preston . Commissioner preston aye. Clerk commissioner ronen. Commissioner ronen i. Clerk commissioner safai. Commissioner safai aye. Clerk commissioner stefani. Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton. Commissioner walton aye. Clerk commissioner yee. Commissioner yee aye. Clerk the item is passed on first read. Chair peskin thank you, madam clerk. Could you please read the next item. Clerk item 9, amend the 2017 prop aa Strategic Plan<\/a>. This is an action item. Chair peskin mr. Pickford. All right. Looks like ive got the red box again. Ill bring up my slides. So prop aa is a voterapproved vehicle Registration Fee<\/a>, that generates about 5 million per year for transportation improvements. The prop aa expenditure delivers street repair and reconstruction, Pedestrian Safety<\/a>, and transit reliability. One of the Guiding Principles<\/a> of prop aa is to focus on highimpact projects that provide tangible benefits in the shortterm. The expenditure plan requires development of a Strategic Plan<\/a> and a fiveyear program of projects to guide implementation of the program. Prop aa funds can only be used for design and construction and theres a strong emphasis on timely use of funds. Prop aa has funded a range of improvements throughout San Francisco<\/a> from pedestrian countdown signals to street resurfacing, to the 24th street bart station plaza. The packet includes tables showing all of the completed projects to date and projects currently under way. While prop aa has many benefits in recent years weve also observed a slower pace in allocations and expenditures. Timely use of funds requirements helps us avoid situations where prop aa funds sit unused and the Strategic Plan<\/a> includes the policy such that the board can reprogram funds from projects that sponsors have the opportunity to reapply for funds through a competitive call for projects. But are not guaranteed priorities. At this time there are four projects that have not requested funds in the current fiscal year. Were recommending the board delay funds into the next year. Public works requested the design phase funding for potrero gate loop and the Western Addition<\/a> pedestrian lighting project. Which is a sign of progress. We expect them to move into construction. The quick build recently requested funds for construction and were working with sfmta to ensure that the project is ready to move forward. Finally, we pulled out a project thats been significantly delayed in the design pause, due to unforeseen complexities associated with sidewalk basements, accessible building, entry requirements, Staff Resources<\/a> and other highpriority projects. This will be the third and final amendment that well recommend to delay. If the diminishes to approve the amendments, i just described, well plan to relays the release the call for projects this month. The majority of these funds come from sfmta canceling phase two of the muni metro station enhancements project. The difficulties coordinating with rail operations, poor documentation of the conditions at the station, and a slow process for obtaining permits from bart. Sfmta has, therefore, put phase two of the project on hold to make these prop aa Funds Available<\/a> for highpriority projects that are ready to go. Because these funds originate in the transit category, projects in that category would be prioritized for funding. Some additional funds are also available from interest and projects completed under budget. And the call of that would be to the board, if they do not approve the proposed programming revisions that i mentioned for the four projects. Heres our proposed call for projects schedule. We anticipate being back to the board in september with recommended new projects. With that, i can take any questions. Again we do have staff from agencies available to answer questions, if you wish. Chair peskin thank you, mr. Pickford. Commissioner yee. Commissioner yee thank you, chair peskin. So can you can somebody explain what so this work started a while ago. And so how much of the work has been done . It seems like i had this discussion before. Is that for a specific one of the four proms that i mentioned . Im sorry. Its the bulbouts. I would ask day monday kurdish from the sfmta to respond to the questions. Good morning. Damon curtis. Im the traffic calming manager and the project manager for the safety zone conversion project. Commissioner yee, specifically to your question, we are in the design phase right for you. And we are approximately 65 complete with design. And i just want to say, just in anticipation of other questions that as the p. M. , i certainly acknowledge that weve had difficulties during the design phase. I take full responsibility for all of the delays that weve suffered thus far. I think more importantly what id like to emphasize today, we have a plan in place to complete design by the end of this calendar year. That plan is fully supported by my office, as well as our partners at public works. So we have staff dedicated and, like i said, a firm plan in place to make sure we achieve 100 design by the end of the year. Chair peskin thank you, mr. Curtis. Commissioner yee. Commissioner yee only for design then . I mean no work . Just designing or what . We are currently in design. The prop aa funds are for construction phase. And because the design has been delayed, thats why we have not yet gone in for the construction funds. Commissioner yee you know, im trying to remember. When did we bring this up before . The second it was sword of sort of a second amendment, we amended another time. We amended the the board amended the prop aa Strategic Plan<\/a> in 2019. In spring. Commissioner yee and it was already delayed . Is that what it was . Thats correct. Commissioner yee why are we chair peskin and that, commissioner yee, is why staff said this is their last extension or thats what theyre proposing, unless this body has a different take on things. Commissioner yee i guess at the time i remember, i was allocating that the second one was the last one. Chair peskin i do believe that you may have said that. [laughter] so i dont know if i want to support this. What happens if i dont if we dont support this . Chair peskin mr. Pickford. These funds would be included in the competitive coffer projects, that we plan to issue at the end of the month. There would be additional Funds Available<\/a>. Commissioner yee i feel like theres i dont get it. You know, like i felt like i emphasized this is urgent. And we need to get it done. And its like, okay. Almost i dont know when we talked about this the last time. But it seems like almost a year ago at least. Chair peskin mr. Yee sorry. My apologies. Commissioner yee go ahead. Chair peskin would you like to make a motion to remove said funds from this allocation . Commissioner yee what would happen . Chair peskin it would go into the next call for projects, together with the 3. 7 million. Is that correct, mr. Pickford . Thats correct. The 500,000 is no longer available currently for us to construct this project, once we finish detailed designs. That is correct. Chair peskin and the call for projects would be 4. 2 million instead of 3. 7 million . Yes. Commissioner yee yeah. Im willing to change the motion. From my statement a year ago. Chair peskin motion made by commissioner yee to remove the 500,000 and put it into the next call for projects. Is there a second for that motion . Second, safai. Chair peskin second safai. On that motion made and seconded did we do Public Comment<\/a> on this item . Clerk we have not done Public Comment<\/a>. Chair peskin why dont we open this up for Public Comment<\/a>. Operator you have one question remaining. Clerk caller, your two minutes begins now. Okay. Thank you for the two minutes. Lousy two minutes that i get. So again we see no accountability and transparency. And what im really concerned about is monitoring. Because all of these changes should mean that were addressing the particulars in our environment. And youve got some moneys remaining, because of some cancellations. You have to have more monitoring stations. Right now, if you can solve the bay quality district, they have really two major stations. One at potrero and the other at the apple. We need all monitoring stations in several other places to really address the congestion. And also we cannot just go on doing amendments and putting the blame on poor planning, design and build, whatever model is used. And get away with murder. Too many new faces. We dont know from where theyre coming and whether they really love this city. We need to hire people from San Francisco<\/a>, who can address this situation. And we also need to get rid of some of the supervisors, so that they dont rubber stamp. Stop rubber stamping. And approving everything in total. Chair peskin are there any other members of the public for Public Comment<\/a> . Clerk no. Chair peskin Public Comment<\/a> is closed. There is a motion on the floor to remove the 500,000. I see commissioner mandelmans name on the roster, before we vote. Commissioner mandelman, any discussion on the motion . Im curious if the executive director has anything hed like to say. Chair peskin madam executive director. Good morning, commissioners. I dont have any further input on this. Just id note that theres been some clarification on the part of staff that they believe that the design would continue, but that there could be a slight reduction in on the capital project, for the bulbouts project. Chair peskin in other words, some construction will move forward, but some will not. But the design will proceed as planned . Thats my understanding. Yes. That is correct. Chair peskin thank you, mr. Curtis. Thank you, madam executive director. On the motion made by commissioner yee, seconded by commissioner safai, a roll call, please. Clerk so it is a motion to amend the item first and then we have to take a roll call vote on the amended item. Chair peskin that is correct. Clerk okay. So on item 9, the motion to amend item 9, commissioner few fewer . Commissioner fewer aye. Clerk commissioner haney. Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman. Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner commissioner mar. Aye. Clerk commissioner preston . Commissioner preston aye. Clerk commissioner ronen. Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai. Commissioner safai aye. Clerk commissioner stefani. Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton . Commissioner walton aye. Clerk commissioner yee. Commissioner yee aye. Clerk the item has been amended. Now we will take a roll call vote. Do we need a motion and a we do need a motion and a second. Chair peskin yes, we will get a motion and a second. Commissioner yee, good memory. Thank you for holding the department accountable. Would you like to make a motion to move the item, as amended. Yee so moved. Clerk there a second for that motion. Second, fewer. Chair peskin on that item made and seconded, a roll call, please. Clerk on amended item 9, commissioner fewer . Commissioner fewer aye. Clerk commissioner haney . Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman. Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar. Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin. Chair peskin aye. Clerk commissioner preston. Commissioner preston aye. Clerk commissioner ronen. Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai. Commissioner safai aye. Clerk commissioner stefani. Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton. Commissioner walton aye. Clerk commissioner yee. Commissioner yee aye. Clerk so the item fails, i believe, is the correct language. No. Chair peskin the item passes on first reading, as amended. Clerk the item passes as amended. Thank you. Chair peskin all right. Next item, please. Clerk oh, i do need to make another public announcement, if i may. Chair peskin sure. Clerk just a reminder that Public Comment<\/a> will be available for each item on this agenda, via telephone by calling 888 2045987, enter access code 2858465. Im sorry. Access code 2858465. As seen on the screen. Then follow the system prompts. Lastly dial one zero as soon as you hear the item called, in order to speak on that particular item. And again you have two minutes for Public Comment<\/a>. Thank you. Oh, and item number 10. Chair peskin okay. Did you read item 10 . Clerk i did not. Item 10, increase the amount of the professional Services Chair<\/a> peskin please proceed. Clerk oh, im sorry. Increase the amount of the professional Services Contract<\/a> with Nelson Nygaard<\/a> Consulting Associates<\/a> by 775,000 to a total amount not to exceed 14,475,000 and extend the Contract Term<\/a> through marc march 31st, 2021, for technical and Communications Services<\/a> for the downtown congestion pricing study. This is an action item. Chair peskin mr. Dentalpost, the floor is yours. Collin . Clerk collin, you appear to be muted. Chair peskin collin, youre frozen. Are you on mute, collin . Can you hear me now . Chair peskin he is on mute. I can see okay. Hes off mute. There we go. Proceed. Okay. Chair peskin please. I guess my phone option did not work. Okay. So let me just pull up my screen. Sorry about that. Can you now see my slides . Clerk yes, we can. You can see my slides. Chair peskin yes. Clerk yes. Great. Okay. So this is an update on the contract amendment. And, of course, congestion nearly vanished when the pandemic began. But we also know that our economy in the past has been resilient. And that congestion is already, in fact, reasserting itself in San Francisco<\/a>. And we expect it will likely continue to grow as the economy rebounds. And so we know that having too many cars on the roads is affects everyone. But also the disproportionately impacts people who are in communities of color and lowincome communities as well. So now is an important time to plan and prepare for the kind of future we want to create, after the pandemic. So since the board asked us to start with the congestion pricing study and asked what an effective and equitable Congestion Pricing Program<\/a> could look like for San Francisco<\/a>, and we got started last summer, weve completed the first few steps of the study, including the existing additions analysis, identifying goals and success metrics. And beginning the process of screening potential program scenarios. And weve also done quite a bit of outreach so far, including the first several meetings of our policy Advisory Committee<\/a>, which has a number of stakeholders across neighborhoods, groups and a majority of folks from communities of concern and equity organizations. Weve also held listening survey and oneonone sessions with Key Stakeholders<\/a> and weve started with our first round of cocreation workshops. Unfortunately timed in february. So we started with the tenderloin before we put had to put these on pause, due to the pandemic. But we were having really Great Success<\/a> with these. We worked with Partner Organizations<\/a> in each community of concern. And these are centered around having folks come to the table and help us build an equitable program, using a card game, where people can trade off between different elements of programs. And tell us their priorities. So people are really excited to participate and we got some really great input on what people think is important. Using that and also based on the wide range of different possibilities, we identified a set of for key goal areas and overall target of reducing trips from 2019 by 15 . We think we can do that and make significant progress on these four key goals, which was adopted in april. Those are to get traffic moving, increase safety, to clean the air, and to advance equity. Weve also done some additional Model Analysis<\/a> of different congestion pricing options, including things like how a fee could work, what Different Levels<\/a> of transit investments we could accommodate. And what possible discounts and exemptions we could include to protect the folks that wed be most concerned about. This will help us identify which scenarios will best achieve the goals we identified and inform further outreach. We have had 20 adjust our approach in several ways, due to covid, including moving to remote workshops with our communities of concern partners. And we started testing that approach. And it is looking promising so far. Weve also been developing virtual activities like a virtual online version of the card game we were playing in the workshops, that anyone can participate in. We also need to be flexible with our timeline as we go forward, given different stakeholders capacity and availability during this time. And well need to double down really on our focus on equitable Program Developments<\/a> and how this program could be part of the recovery, as we bounce back. We do have some study scope increases, based on the stakeholder input. And of coursely based on input from our Advisory Committee<\/a>. They asked for additional opportunities to give input. So weve included more policy Advisory Committee<\/a> meetings. They also really are excited about the cocreation workshop process. So were including a lot more of that. More Regional Stakeholder<\/a> outreach an supported by more translation for multilingual outreach. Were so that brings us to wrapping up the study with the recommendation in spring of next year. So with that, im happy to take any questions. And again i apologize for the connection issue. Chair peskin no worries, collin. Are there any questions from mr. Dentalpost . Seeing none, is there any Public Comment<\/a> . Im sorry. Yes, sir. Commissioner safai, go ahead. Actually, no, take Public Comment<\/a> and then ill comment. Chair peskin all right. Why dont we open this up for Public Comment<\/a>. Are there any members of the public who want to comment on this item . Clerk yes, there is. Chair peskin first speaker, please. Operator one of one question remaining. Clerk hello, caller. Your two minutes begins now. So i have a number of points to make. Number one, i want to state again what are we doing to monitor our environment so we get realtime results. Number two, nowhere in our general remarks that youve made are we focusing on the physically challenged, especially our seniors. Now as i see it, because of the pandemic less traffic, less congestion, so you could have saved some money. But on the contrary, youre asking for more money. And only the dummies will agree to that. Any monies that you ask for, need the Needs Assessment<\/a>, line item by line item. But in this city, you just have to Say Something<\/a> and thousands of dollars and millions of dollars are given. Why san franciscans are suffering at every level. On every level san franciscans are suffering. Now we have so many san franciscans that cannot pay their rent, theyre being evicted. And here the San Francisco<\/a> county Transportation Authority<\/a> is throwing money into a deep black hole. Chair peskin are there any other members of the public for comment on item number 10 . Clerk no, there are not. Chair peskin all right. Public comment is closed. Commissioner safai, the floor is yours. Perform. Commissioner safai thank you, chair. So i have some reservations about this particular item, similar to what in some ways what the last caller just mentioned. And the way i see this is many of the people that need to be part of this conversation, and that should be part of this conversation, in terms of congestion pricing, will not be reached. My district in particular, there is a Significant Group<\/a> of people that are mono lingual, that are not computerliterate, that are seniors aging in place. And none of them would participate in something thats online. And so if were increasing the professional Services Contract<\/a> for this, to do a study on congestion pricing, which we all know drives that would normally take, you know, maybe 30 to 40 minutes in the city is now down to 10, thats not to say that were not seeing an increase and we wont continue to see an increase. It just theres something about this proposal that just doesnt seem right at this particular time. And i think that, you know, from my district, i know many of the southeast neighborhoods, a lot of the families that dont have access to internet, that would never participate in this type of community participation, i just think that this is this is exactly the kind of thing that we should be putting on hold until we can have a better understanding of how we can get more input from people that are not going to be able to participate. This is one of the things that we get criticized the most on. Now if there had been some ongoing and then there had been some consistent engagement, and other things, that might be something to build off. Im not saying that has not happened. It sounds like there was some additional. But im not really clear the justification for all of this additional money in in this particular time, in this particular economic environment. So i have deep reservations about this item today. Chair peskin thank you, commissioner safai. Before i turn it back over, there are two separate issues here. One of which i understand, which is how proper outreach is conducted at this time. And the separate issue which is moving forward with the downtown congestion pricing study. And while i want to hear answers to the first, the second is consistent with the policies that this commission, this body has been advocating and moving forward for quite some time. And resurrected earlier this year. So i very much think this is the right time to move forward with a congestion pricing study. But as to outreach, why dont we turn it back over to staff. Mr. Dentalpost. I cant send a text through the thing. This is supervisor walton. I want to 100 agree with supervisor safai. A lot of things from the department has been trying to jam down our throats during this pandemic time. And not doing proper outreach. And it is very important, particularly when were talking about the continuance of congestion pricing study, knowing how it is going to [phone ringing] we should not be doing this at a time when we cannot do the best forms of outreach in terms of knocking on doors, getting out in communities and having that facetoface contact for folks who dont have the same level of technology. So i could not agree with supervisor safai more on that part. And i dont think that we should be increasing contracts for things like this at this time, until we get a better understanding of who we are fiscally. Chair peskin all right. Why dont we turn it back over to staff. I dont know, kelly, would you like to respond . Collin, did you have something . Yeah. Im also feel free. Im also happy to respond to the concerns about our outreach program. Why dont you we are continuing to work with groups like that as we go forward to make sure that the approaches we use are the are the ways that we can reach people. So we have developed kind of a range of options, depending on the Resources Available<\/a> to the communities, where were reaching. So in cases where people do have access to video conferencing, we can use that. But we have also developed method in partnership with those organizations to do things like mail packets of hard copies of materials to play the card game and just phone calls with people. We are bringing in translators for any of the sessions where theyre needed. And so we really want to make sure that we are kind of meeting people where they are, just as we were with the inperson versions of this outreach. Thats really the core of what were trying to do and what were trying to increase for, is more of the type of cocreation work. So thats just a little bit about how were approaching that. And tilley, if theres anything else that you want to say or eric young, our communications team. Id welcome that as well. Thank you, collin. Go ahead. Eric . Chair peskin eric young, the floor is yours. Thank you. Are you able to hear . Chair peskin yes. So i just wanted to build upon collins comments. And to commissioner safais concerns about appropriateness of timing, given all thats going on. As collin was saying, we rely on a lot on c. B. O. S to give us guidance and in terms of adjusting our outreach approach, in order before we do that, we talked with a number of representatives of c. B. O. S and put that very question to them. As to whether they thought they had capacity to help us and whether they thought their community members, you know, would be able to participate. And so thats what helped guide our thinking in adjusting our outreach strategy. Chair peskin thank you, eric. Tilley. Yes. Thank you. To commissioners, were hearing you. And want to be sure that were being as thorough as we can in the response for your consideration. What collin and eric just said, i would only add that we consulted deeply our own policy Advisory Committee<\/a>. This is a Cross Section<\/a> of communitybased organizations and stakeholders that include over 50 , maybe even twothirds that are social justice and Economic Development<\/a> organizations, communitybased nonprofits. And they i believe strongly supported the idea of continuing the study. Certainly like everyone else, when we first went into shelterinplace, we questioned whether there was desire and whether it was appropriate to continue the study or just perhaps we should pause. Certainly in the last few weeks, in particular, we have documented a return of congestion, as unfortunately those who want to participate in reopening the economy are tending to flock to their cars. I believe the director may speak to this in the next item. Were seeing the congestion returning. We want to support affordable and safe and convenient means of getting back to work for everyone. Were concerned that the congestion is just going to potentially be worse than it was precovid. How to do it sensitively and thoroughly with the right inclusive participation from folks on the ground. As eric and collin mentioned, we need to rely on c. B. O. Partners to do that. This is what the policy Advisory Committee<\/a> urged us to do, is to come to you all, look for more funding, increase the scope of the project, do more on the ground outreach. I would also add to that, in language, radio and tv are spots as well as forums. Ways that we can connect with folks where they are. And in culturally appropriate formats. And so these are the newer ways that are not necessarily reliant on just internet and online formats. But we will welcome your guidance. Chair peskin commissioner. Commissioner walton, go ahead. Commissioner walton sorry, chair peskin. I just want to say the resources are for increased outreach, then it still seems to me that theres a problem with the increased outreach, the way it needs to happen during this pandemic. And that is still of concern, because the opportunity to get the same way we would post pres. I. P. Is not available the same way. So that is still a major concern for me. Certainly understand that. And we are open to ideas for how to adjust our schedule. We have included in here an additional three months of study, in order to account for the time it will take to do the new to do outreach in the new ways. But that may not be sufficient, three months. Chair peskin commissioner safai. Commissioner safai so my first question to tilley would be, how long has the study been going on and why are we increasing this study . Right. I would imagine that the majority of the study that you did was precovid. And it probably was really capturing the true congestion that we experienced in the city. So my point is why continue a study, when to add to commissioner waltons point, i can tell you chair peskin sorry, to interrupt you. This is not a study of how much congestion is on the streets. Its a study about how we will implement congestion pricing. Commissioner safai right. Right. I understand how you would do it, get peoples input. You still have to study the current environment. You still have to reach out to people. So my point, and i appreciate that clarification, chair peskin. But my point is, because i talked to people on a daily basis when ill delivering food to them, when im checking in on them, preston and peskin and i sat through a sevenhour hearing about rent yesterday. People are concerned about this pandemic. Theyre concerned about their rent, their jobs, food. And now added to that racial tensions and police brutality. So i just think that the current environment does not lend itself to even have a real thoughtful conversation. And then, two, if were really trying to reach out and talk to people about whats the right way to do it, youre not reaching the people, at least in my district. I can tell you that right now, regardless of conversations with with whomever. You have to have that doortodoor, you have to have that senior center, you have to have that inperson contact that youre not going to get in this environment. So thats my second point. But my first point is why do we even need to extend the study . How long has the study been going on. Right. Do you want to answer that one . Sure. And to be clear, you know, the input to the desire to increase the amount of outreach was prior to covid. But we have also, you know, gotten feedback from all of the communitybased organizations on our policy Advisory Committee<\/a> as well, that while there are significant capacity constraints right now, they still think its important to be thinking about the longer term. So the threemonth study extension is part of the request to incorporate more outreach and more of the cocreation workshop collin, i want to know how long youve been doing the study . How long . Sure. We kick off with nygaard last july. This study has been going on for one year. Correct . Chair peskin ten months. Close enough. We convened the policy Advisory Committee<\/a> in the fall, i believe, collin. I dont know if it was december when we had the first meeting. November. November. The 35member policy Advisory Committee<\/a>. Commissioner safai what is it to hope to gain, that you havent already gained . So what weve done so far is weve done a review of existing conditions. Weve convened the policy Advisory Committee<\/a>. We identified our outreach approach. We got our goals and success metrics approved by the policy Advisory Committee<\/a>. And weve started identifying the range of different potential scenarios. But there are a lot of different ways you could implement suggestion pricing. And so right now were looking at a wide range of different options. Were going to share those with our policy Advisory Committee<\/a> in june. And then the next steps will be to try to marrow down all of those different options to a few more detailed scenarios. And we need to do more work with communities to identify what should be in those scenarios. And then do more Technical Work<\/a> to identify how they would perform against our goals and metrics. You know, how would they and also ones would do best in not increasing cost for lowincome folks, for example, which is one of our success metrics. Which ones would do best on stacey and Greenhouse Gas<\/a> emissions and so forth. So theres a lot of analysis left there before we can come up with an actual recommendation, which is the ultimate goal in the early part of next year perform of answering the question, if we were to do congestion pricing in San Francisco<\/a>, what would an equitable and Effective Program<\/a> look like. It seems to me as chair peskin said, you dont need to study any more traffic. Youre into presenting the options phase and getting input . Its not the policy phase. Right. Policy phase around discounts, exemptions, use of revenues. Whether thats for more transit or for other types of uses. Commissioner safai is teems when i go back to the original point, if youre intending to do really Robust Community<\/a> outreach, it doesnt make sense to do it while were in shelterinplace environment, in a Public Health<\/a> pandemic. And also all of the other things that are really on the minds of the citizenry. So listen, im for studying it. We already allocated the money. Weve been doing it for almost a year. But to add another 800,000 to 1. 5 million in the midst of this environment, it does not make sense to me. And i know supervisor commissioner mandelman has been waiting to Say Something<\/a>. Im pretty done. I do not support this today. It does not seem like its the right time. Just to clarify. This is not a funding request. This is a contract amendment. One of the reasons that were bringing those contract amendment is because some of the funds that were planned at the time we kicked off and were not in hand, are now in hand. Commissioner safai i get it. It wasnt in hand. Were increasing the scope about a quarter of that is for that, whereas the half of it for increased outreach. And the other quarter is for the length of time that the schedule increased. Commissioner safai i understand it. It just seems to me that this seems to come back and do real outreach in an environment when you can get to people. I would be in favor of pausing this until you can actually do that or go with the current data that you have. And then make some recommendations. Chair peskin vice chair mandelman. Commissioner mandelman thank you, chair peskin. I come at this from a i think very different place from commissioner safai. I am keeping in mind that San Francisco<\/a> is a has been for decades now a transitfirst city. We have sporadically made and haphazardly and sometimes more directly made progress in that regard. But we were, prior to covid, drowning in cars, drowning in congestion. Our Public Transit<\/a> system was just notwithstanding significant assessment. And laboring and struggling to maintain, to meet the demand. And congestion pricing sadly is one of the very, very few pools that we have available to us, as a local government to try to reduce the number of automobiles on the street and get Additional Resources<\/a> for transportation. And it is a policy thats so far this board has been supportive of, at least in setting up the decisions, i hope at some point. I do not want to slow this work down. And nor do i want to have the t. A. In the pox of coming to us with an in the position of coming to us with an incomplete report. I think we should move forward with this. We should get a complete study that looks at the equity issues, that looks at how to ensure were not disproportionately burdening lowincome folks. And get us in a position where we can move quickly. Weve heard from transportation experts, weve turned the economy back on. Were going to see more congestion, not less. People are going to be reluctant to take public transportation. This is a tool we probably need we need this year. Were not going to have it for several more years. And i think this board needs to show that were prepared to continue moving forward, not get bogged down and get this done. Thank you. Chair peskin thank you for those comments, mr. Vice chairman. And i concur wholeheartedly. I say that as the commissioner that represents one of the most congested areas of the city, where congestion pricing would actually be implemented along with the 6th district, thats also, as you can see on all of the congestion maps, including those that the sfcta now has online, are the source of congestion precovid and returning to that level of congestion, as we speak. Commissioner preston, the floor is yours. Commissioner preston thank you. Chair peskin, i agree with the comments of vice chair mandelman. I think that i dont think this is a period when we can pause or wait in moving forward with this congestion pricing. I think we are facing, you know, not only looking precovid on the streets, but i think looking at other cities and other countries, we are getting hit with extreme levels of congestion. And i think this is really would be the last the worst time for us to pause those efforts. That said i think from commissioner safai and also from commissioner walton, are well taken about outreach. And i believe that the appropriate to amend this. I would like if there is a more detailed plan, in terms of how that outreach would occur. And i think this goes to all of us. As we try to respond to the current pandemic and state of emergency, but also make sure that were holding the line on the tools to do our outreach. I am curious if there are, other than what was mentioned in terms of increased reliance on c. B. O. S, where there are any plans to do outreach, to do p. S. A. S, to use other forms of a medium for outreach. I think, commissioners, we also have to recognize that some of the outreach is more expensive and. So i dont think we can have it both ways. I dont think we can stand in the way of some additional expenditures. I think that is part of doing the outreach. I support this. Chair peskin okay. Just finally, i wanted to know. If theres any information on the level of engagements and involvement from district 5 . Or if that information should be provided to me subsequently . This is collin again. I just wanted to add a couple of things. We can certainly follow up offline about specific district outreach that weve been doing. And i would agree that, you know, we do need to be keeping a close watch on kind of how were doing this outreach and how successful it is, as we go forward. And ill ask eric young to fill with the additional Outreach Strategies<\/a> weve talked about. We dont just want to come back to you with a recommendation at the end of all of this. And maybe an approach we could take is, you know, coming back in the interim to report on how our outreach is going and, you know, what the strategies weve been finding are most successful. And maybe less successful, Lessons Learned<\/a> as we move forward. Because i think we are all learning and weve definitely gotten the message from a lot of our c. B. O. Partners and communities of concern that we should be moving forward. But we are learning. Wed be happy to share with you as we go forward how thats going and what we are learning. Eric, do you want to fill in with to fill in commissioner prestons question about the additional Outreach Strategies<\/a> that well be including. Yes. So to the commissioners question, im sorry, its cutting out a little bit. I believe your question was to the point of since we cant do inperson, what are we doing. Chair peskin and whether there are other things, including direct mail, including Public Service<\/a> announcements, what the plan was. And you dont have to i mean, you can try to answer that today. I think these are all suggestions, positive suggestions that you should take under advisement, as this study moves forward, if that is the will of this body. We can certainly provide that and will do so, should we be asked to continue. Thank you. Chair peskin all right. With that why dont we open this up to Public Comment<\/a>. Clerk there is no Public Comment<\/a>. Chair peskin all right. Public comment is closed. And i understand that go ahead, commissioner safai. And if i sound like im short on time, its because i have got to go to pier 45 with the mayor in a few minutes. And weve got two more items left. Commissioner safai ill be real fast. Chair peskin go ahead. Commissioner safai it sounds like this is this is the will to proceed on this. What i would say is just again, this is not a debate about Going Forward<\/a> on congestion pricing. Because i think having the study is important. What were talking about specifically, and this request is about amending an contract to do continued outreach to targeted communities, specifically those that are lowincome, many of which are monolingual okay. Its a very specific request. Its not about whether or not we want to do this. Supervisor i, commissioner mandelman, my district might have a very different way of connecting with their residents. It might be a very different way. But what i would say, if youre going to proceed with this, focusing on inlanguage radio, inlanguage tv, local, particularly chinese and chinese radio, spanishlanguage radio, spanishlanguage tv. And then direct mail and multiple languages and flyers and door hangers. Those are very important aspects of getting to population that im talking about. Having online card games, as though it might sound okay, its a limited participation. Thats fine. My only thing is we want to get to as many people as possible in these times. Again i still have reservations. I still am not going to be voting in favor of this today. If youre going to proceed, that would be my last recommendation. Thank you, mr. Chair. Chair peskin thank you for those constructive comments about outreach. Commissioner fewer. Commissioner fewer yes, i would be remiss if i didnt also add that i have a large russianspeaking population in my neighborhood that gets very, very, very little outreach. I just want to say that im happy to when we hold our town halls, i am happy also to partner with you. And so please reach out to us as we are planning right now. Town Hall Meetings<\/a> around n. C. A. Thank. Thank you, commissioner fewer. Chair peskin all right. Commissioner mandelman, would you like to make a motion for item number 10. I will move approval. Chair peskin commissioner preston, would you like to second that . Commissioner preston yes. Second that. Chair peskin all right. On that item, a roll call, please, madam clerk. Clerk commissioner fewer . Commissioner fewer aye. Clerk commissioner haney . Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman. Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar. Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin. Chair peskin aye. Clerk commissioner preston. Commissioner preston aye. Clerk commissioner ronen. Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai. Commissioner safai no. Clerk commissioner stefani. Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton. Commissioner walton nay. Clerk commissioner yee . Commissioner yee aye. Clerk item 10 passes on first read. Chair peskin thank you, madam clerk. Madam clerk, could you read item number 11, given the truncated, compressed time that we have, ill make a motion to continue to our next meeting, subject to Public Comment<\/a> on that motion, item number 11, please. Clerk item number 11, adopt the district 3 sorry. Can folks, mute, please. Thats not me. I have got mine on mute. Clerk item number 11, adopt the district 3 Pedestrian Safety<\/a> improvements, final report. Ntip planning. This is an action item. Chair peskin there any Public Comment<\/a> . The chair intends to continue this item to our next regularly scheduled meeting. Is there any Public Comment<\/a> . Clerk there is Public Comment<\/a>. Operator you have one question remaining. Clerk caller, your two minutes begins now. Caller commissioners, this is what i have to say. Some of you are do not want to take into account the most wonderful population, our seniors. There was a time when and the population in San Francisco<\/a> was stood up and did the right thing. You dont want to do the right thing. Right now were having a funeral for mr. Floyd. Because too many people like dont do the right thing. You think you do the right thing by rubber stamping. I urge you to think about it pop stop rubber stamping. If you do not address the needs of the most vulnerable, then we the people will teach you how to address the issues and stop wasting money. Stop bringing new people who are not san franciscans. Please Pay Attention<\/a> to those most wonderful segments of the population. You cannot speak for them. They must speak for themselves. Shame on you chair peskin is there any additional Public Comment<\/a> on this item . Seeing none, Public Comment<\/a> is closed. And i will make a motion to continue this to our next meeting. Is there a second for that motion. Mandelman. Chair peskin that i think we can take without objection, unless some attorney wants to fight with me . All right. Clerk and can legal advise, please. This is jill, counsel for the authority. You should take a roll call vote, please. Chair peskin jess, can i get a new attorney. Commissioner fewer. Aye. Clerk commissioner haney. Commissioner haney aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman. Commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar. Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin. Peskin aye. Clerk commissioner preston. Commissioner preston aye. Clerk commissioner ronen. Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai. Commissioner safai aye. Clerk commissioner stefani. Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk commissioner walton. Commissioner walton aye. Clerk commissioner yee. Commissioner yee aye. Clerk item will continue. Chair peskin thank you. Can you next item, please. Commissioner yee excuse me. Chair peskin commissioner yee. Chair peskin, would you like to be excused for the meeting you have, vice chair continue. Chair peskin im going to make exactly that suggestion, as soon as i introduce this item. Commissioner yee okay. Clerk item 12, presentation on the San Francisco<\/a> municipal transportation agencys transportation recovery plan. This is an information item. Chair peskin thank you, madam clerk. Colleagues, in exactly 15 minutes, at 12 05, vice chair mandelman will take over the responsibilities of chairing this meeting for, what i think is a very important item. I want to thank our director of transportation Jeffrey Tumlin<\/a> for coming today, not only for presenting on the m. T. A. S transportation recovery plan, but also because in my capacity, as the chair of this body, i really want to try to get the sfcta and the board of supervisors to evolve a better, more comprehensive relationship with the new leadership at the sfmta. And i want to thank director tumlin for really wan wanting to collaborate with the board of supervisors to Work Together<\/a> on Charter Amendments<\/a> Going Forward<\/a>, on these sources of revenue Going Forward<\/a>, on cuttingedge steps that we can take, including but not limited to congestion pricing. And i want to thank the copresenters dan howard, julie, victoria for being here with him today. , with that, ill turn it over to director tumlin and at 12 05, well depart and hand the gavel virtually over to vice chair mandelman. Thank you, director tumlin, the floor is yours. Thank you, chair peskin and commissioners. Before i begin, id like to take two items of business. First of all, as chair peskin already mentioned, at noon today, in the middle of our presentation, sfmta staff will join with our operators and the whole city family to pause our work for eight minutes and 46 seconds, to honor george floyd, whose funeral is happening as we speak. And reflect upon his tragic murder in solidarity with those who are protesting the systemic, institutional and personal violence, that so many black americans endure. Id like to invite you, the chair, and commissioners to join our staff at noon. Another item of business i want to take care of as well is to check with chair peskin and vice chair mandelman about your time constraints at the end of this. Are you prepared to receive our entire presentation, or should we attempt to short continue . Chair peskin director tumlin, i am just now seeing the comments that you sent me a few moments ago. And given the honoring at noon, which is a few minutes from now, and given the fact that we could continue this item to our jun june 23rd meeting, if that is okay with you and your staff and our staff and my colleagues, i would actually suggest that we continue this item and get the full presentation and youre welcome to send the slide deck around to everybody so they can preview it. And if there is no objection, why dont we open this item 12 up to Public Comment<\/a> and then dispense with the rest of the agenda and appropriately mourn mr. Floyd at precisely 12 noon today, june 9th, 2020. Is there any Public Comment<\/a> on this item number 1. Clerk yes, there is. Chair peskin first, speaker, please. Operator you have one question remaining. Clerk welcome, caller. Your two minutes begins now. Regina. I live in district 3. I am commenting with support of substantial expansion of transitonly lanes. So we the ridership can count on efficient trips, efficiency also means much less exposure to c19 while riding on transit. Greater than 1300 people and organizations have endorsed our rapid rider network, which calls for grid of dedicated transitonly lanes across the city. Traffic is anticipated, as we heard a few items earlier, to be worse as people may opt for private cars to feel safer. So far the data is showing that transit priority is working. Travel time on routes with the red carpet lanes has changed the least when there was no traffic. We want robust, reliable, efficient public transportation. It is critical to our economic recovery, not optional but critical. Thank you. Chair peskin thank you. Next speaker, please. Operator one of two questions remaining. Clerk welcome, caller. Your two minutes begins now. All right. My name is cliff. Im calling for express my support for the recovery plan. I would love to see transit priority rolled out across the city expeditiously. We really need to make sure that transit can get running and stay running before we experience a car pocalypse and i would like to see more bike and pedestrian improvements to help people get out of their cars and facilitate people taking nontransit trips to the extend that they may not feel comfortable still on transit. Thank you all for your work. I yield my time. Chair peskin thank you. Next speaker, please. Operator you have one question remaining. Clerk welcome, caller. Your two minutes begins now. Hello. My name is christopher peterson. I live in ingleside. I urge all members of the board to vigorously to support busonly lanes. Cities throughout the world are taking bold steps to expand alternatives to the automobile. We have no other choice. If we take the Climate Crisis<\/a> seriously. In particular, busonly lanes are necessary to ensure the buses are not mired in car traffic, since the economy returns to life. Buses are crucial for essential workers and the most economically vulnerable members of society. With the pandemic, buses must travel as efficiently and quickly as possible, for the sake of human health and safety. Given the budget crisis, its vital to get as much transit as possible for each dollar spent. Busonly lanes are very costeffective way to do this. Finally, the public process for deciding whether to make busonly permanent wont work much better if people have actual realworld experience with the lanes. Thank you. Chair peskin thank you, mr. Peterson. Are there any other members of the public for this item . Clerk no. Chair peskin seeing none, is there a motion to continue this to our next regularly scheduled meeting of june 23rd . So moved. Mandelman. Chair peskin moved by vase chair mandelman. Is there a second for that . Clerk sir, this is an information item. So i dont think any action needed to be taken. Chair peskin okay. But were continuing the item, right . Clerk oh. Chair peskin you can recalendar, i dont care. We can save ourselves a roll call vote, fine. Any introduction of new items. Seeing none, is there any general Public Comment<\/a> . Clerk there is none. Chair peskin thank you, mr. Tumlin. Director tumlin and your team, the San Francisco<\/a> county Transportation Authority<\/a> is adjourned. [gavel] as a woman of color who grew up in San Francisco<\/a> i understand how institutions can have an impact on communities of color. I think having my voice was important. That is where my passion lies when the opportunity to lead an office in such a new space came up. I couldnt turn it down. I was with the District Attorneys Office<\/a> for a little over nine years, if you include the time as an intern as well as volunteer da, all most 13 years. During the time with the das office i had an opportunity to serve the community not only as the assistant District Attorney<\/a> but as director of community relations. That afforded the opportunity to have impact on the community in an immediate way. It is one thing to work to serve the rights of those without rights, victims. It is really rewarding to work to to further the goals of our office and the commitment we have as City Employees<\/a> and advocates for people who dont have a voice. I dont know of anyone surprised to see me in this role. Maybe people have an impression what the director of the office of cannabis should be like, what their beliefs should be. I smash all of that. You grew up in the inner city of San Francisco<\/a>. My career path is not traditional. I dont think a person should limit themselves to reach full potential. I say that to young women and girls. That is important. You want to see leadership that looks diverse because your path is not predetermined. I didnt wake up thinking i was going to be a prosecutor in my life. The city administrator reached out and wanted to have a conversation and gave me interest in the new role. I thought you must not know what i do for a living. It was the opposite. She had foresight in realizing it would be helpful for somebody not only a former prosecutor but interested in shaping criminal Justice Reform<\/a> for the city would be the right person for the space. I appreciate the foresight of the mayor to be open how we can be leaders in San Francisco<\/a>. I was able to transition to the policy space. Here i was able to work on legislation, community relations, communication and start to shape the ways our office was going to reform the criminal Justice System<\/a>. It is fulfilling for me. I could create programs and see those impact peoples lives. I am the change. It took truants youth to meet with Civil Rights Movement<\/a> leaders who fought to have access to education. Being a young person to understand that helped the young people realize this was an important thing to give up. What we find is that young people who are truanted have a really high homicide rate in our city, which is a sad statistic. We want to change that. Coming from a community we are black and brown. I dont reach out to other people. I dont think they feel the same way. I had the great opportunity to work on Prison Reform<\/a> issues and criminal Justice Reform<\/a> issues. We created a program at san quentin where we brought district opportunities t to lifs and talk about how we are all impacted by the criminal Justice System<\/a>. We brought over 40 elected das to san quentin for the situation. Now we are inviting the Police Department<\/a>. Our formerly incarcerated group born out of this programming asked for the opportunity to work on a project where we could bring the men in blue on the outside to come speak to the men on blue inside to start the healing dialogue around how the criminal Justice System<\/a> specifically in San Francisco<\/a> impacts the community. I was attracted to the role. There was a component of equity that was part of this process. The Equity Community<\/a> here in San Francisco<\/a> is a community that i had already worked with. Before i took steps to visit cannabis businesses i thought it was important my team have a chance to go inside and speak to men who ha had been impacted. That conversation needed to happen so we know how we are making an impact with the work that we are doing. The das office as we were leading up to the legalization of marijuana in the state we started having conversations on the policy team what that could look like. The District Attorney<\/a> was really focused on the right side of history for this. We realized it would be quite a heavy lift for individuals who have been negatively impacted by the war on drugs to expunge the record. It was important to figure out the framework to make it seamless and easy. They put their minds to it after some time and many conversations the data analysts and other policy walk throughs on the team came up with the idea to engage the Tech Community<\/a> in this process. Code for america helped us developed the rhythm to be used for any jurisdiction across the state that was important to create a solution to be used to assist all jurisdictions dealing with this matter. The office of cannabis is the first office to have a completely digital application process. We worked with the digital team to develop the online application. There are going to be hiccups. We are first to do it. It is one of the most rewarding parts to offer a seamless to offer a seamless approach. That is how they can find solutions to solve many of the community challenges. The best way to respond to prop 64 was to retroactively expunge 9,000 cannabis related records for San Francisco<\/a>. It feels like justice full circle for my personal experience. In the past i was furthering the war on drugs just as my directive. Really coming from a place of Public Safety<\/a>. That was the mandate and understanding. It is nice to see that pass a society we are able to look at some of our laws and say, you know what . We got it wrong. Lets get this right. I had the privilege of being in the existing framework. My predecessor Nicole Elliott<\/a> did an incredible job bringing together the individuals superpassionate about cannabis. The office was created in july of 2017. I came in early 2018. I have been able to see the Offices Development<\/a> over time which is nice. It is exciting to be in the space, stickily in thinking about her leadership. Looking for the office it is always we might be before my time when i was working for the board oforboard of supervisors. I learn new things every day it is challenging and rewarding for me. We get the privilege to work in an office tha that is innova. We get to spearhead the robust exprogram. I am excited she came on board to leverage experience as a prosecutor 10 years as we contemplate enforcements but approaching it without replicating the war on drugs. I was hired by cam laharris. I havent seen a District Attorney<\/a> that looked kind of like me. That could be a path in my life. I might not have considered it. It is important that women and certainly women of color and spaces of leadership really do their part to bring on and mentor as many young people as they can. It is superimportant to take advantage of as many opportunities a as they can when they can intern because the doors are wide open. Plans change and that is okay. The way this was shaped because i took a risk to try something new and explore something and show that i was capable. You are capable, right . It was about leaning in and being at the table to say my voice matters. You find your passion, the sky announcer youre watching coping with covid19. Todays special guest is dr. Steven getnick. Hi, im chris man us and youre watching coping with covid19. Today my guest is the director of the Behavior Therapy Center<\/a> of San Francisco<\/a> and Professor Emeritus<\/a> in counseling psychology at the university of San Francisco<\/a>. Doctor, welcome to the show. Thank you. Lets talk about managing anxieties during this pandemic. What types of issues are people facing at the moment . There are a number of issues and i really want to point out that this is affecting everyone and has come on very quickly. So it is normal. If you are not experiencing some anxiety, something is a touch off because this affects us all. I think some of the main ones are our health and worried about getting the virus and our developing serious complications. I think for a lot of people who are single, living alone, in isolation, has been very difficult. I think being in close quarters with people who we normally have some space from now are together 24 7. Thats produced a lot of stress and anxiety. That loss of connection with others. We already addressed. And having kids home. For a lot of people. Yes, absolutely. What are the other problems that they might have . I think without that dynamic, the good things are not a problem. It is the difficulties we have. And when were together 24 7, again its like hooking everything up to an amplifier. So, what kind of problems could be created from working home from home, perhaps for the first time in your career . A lot of people are not used to working at home and a working at home just isnt the same. For one thing, there is a lack of social interaction. Some people find that that affects them greatly. Some people are actually finding theyre getting more work done at home without distractions from work. The lack of structure is probably the most common. We see it here with work at the office. People are kind of watching. We know that our schedule is, suddenly youre at home and you are on your own. Absolutely. If those are some of the issues people are facing, what are some of the techniques people can use to overcome their anxiety . Caller i think there are many. One of the first is how managing and keeping track of your thinking, we think and talk to ourselves a lot. Thats normal. We have a dialogue with ourselves often and we need to monitor that a bit. People tend to ruminate versus problemsolve. That is they tend to worry about all the things that might go wrong. And what i suggest is, look, there are things that can go wrong, but ruminating about the worstcase scenario is not going to be very productive. Sit down, figure out what the things are that you have to deal with and try to problemsolve. I think any of the selfcontrol techniques for anxiety can be helpful. And there are dozens of them. The common ones are meditation, relaxation techniques, yoga, for example and another is diaphragmattic breathing. If you google that, you can learn diaphragmattic breathing in about 10 minutes online. Its incredibly simple and it is a really nice way to reduce anxiety in the moment. Selfcontrol procedures, exercise. Whether if youre fortunate enough to have equipment at home, thats great. If youre not, get outside and go for a walk, keep your safe distance, of course. But you need to be active. Thats helpful. I think people marry be dealing with information overload at the moment. How do you suggest people manage that . I was just going to say that. I think it is really important to kind of limit the information you get. Not in terms of accuracy. I think in terms of accuracy, you want to identify a few sites where people are coming with evidencebased information and scientific information so you can form yourself well. Once youve informed yourself, you need to not be watching all day long. Ive talked to people who are mesmerized from the tv and a it keeps that anxiety going so you need to limit your viewing for sure. This can be stress for people who have economic concerns and worried about their family and friends and loved ones who are essential workers. What would you suggest they do to help manage anxiety and stress . There is a number of things. One of major ones for depression is behavioral activation. Simply, it really means that people will tend to not be depressed as a number of reinforcing activities to engage in. Whether it is hobbies, you read, you listen to music, you crochet, you whatever. These kinds of things are very important so you want to make sure that youre engaging in activities that literally make you feel better as opposed to sitting around ruminating, worrying about the worstcase scenarios that might happen. What about trying to do some selfdevelopment . Yeah. Its a very interesting time. Ive talked to a couple of my own clients who are finding, in a very positive way, that this isolation, while at first can generate a lot of anxiety, particularly if youre just not good at living alone. For a number of people, its giving them a chance to sit back and really think about what is important in their lives, what are the priorities. I think that maybe if there is any Silver Lining<\/a> in this epidemic, its really forcing all of us to kind of rethink whats really important. Indeed. You know, though, at the same time, there are people who are feeling very lonely at home. How would you encourage them to overcome that . You get online. Facetime, skype, zoom, like what were doing right now. You can stay connected. Its very possible. Most connections are important. We are social critters and we need that connection. I think for people who dont have those options, pull up photos, take a look at pictures of family. You need to stay connected. And its very important. And finally, do you have any suggestions that are specifically for families . Yeah. Well, again, i think one of the interesting things thats come about from all of this, is i talked to families on video is theyre obviously spending more time together. While its a bit awkward, particularly for parents who are in the house working a lot. Its a chance to really deepen relationships and spend more good, quality time together. I think parents really need to step back and kind of plan their day a little bit. Not micro manage it, but have some ideas. Can the family play games together . A lot of people i talked to, theyre even together as a family for the first time. So i think there are a number of things that people can do. I think it is qulaouzful for the families to take five, 10 minutes and say how did the day go . I talked to someone in the phone book before we started who said they noticed what time of day all their anxiety kind of comes together and they start sniping at each other. Now theyre taking a few minutes at tend of the day to say, ok, how are we doing . I think they need modeling good behavior, something you can do within the family, too, to try to thats right. I think thats relevant. Very relevant to how children are going to do. Most of the research from crises, particularly things we cant control showed that children do as well as their parents do. So i think it is important for parents to think about how theyre react aing and they stay calm because whatever they do is modeling, coping for their children. So, that can be very useful. It can also be problematic. When we talked earlier, you mentioned that acknowledging that your kids are afraid is important. Yes. I think that ties to your last question. I think modeling you know, its not incompatible with saying, yeah, you know, mom or dad is a little nervous, too. It means a lot of stuff is going on, but were going to be ok. Were going to stay together. We have our time together. Were going to be safe. Well fill in the blank. So you can do both. You can reassure but in a realistic way that once the kids know its normal to be anxious in these times. Thank you for coming ton show, doctor. I really appreciate the time youve given us. Youre welcome. Thank you for having me. And that is it for this episode. Well be back with more covid19 related information shortly. You have been coping with covid19. Thank you for watching. Hi, youre watching coping with covid19. Today im going to the grocery store. Now, im not an authority about the virus. Im just showing you what im personally doing. To find out the most definitive and uptodate information about the pandemic, i highly recommend the f. A. Q. Available at sf. Gov. Im taking a list and before i leave i put a sanitizing wind and pair of gloves into a plastic bag. Im wearing a mask and taking the smallest number of items with me. Just my car key, credit card, i. D. And the batching im not taking my phone with me. Even if i use it to pay, i either have to touch the p. I. N. Pad or sign the screen anyway. Im concerned about crosscontamination. I dont want to transfer the virus from my gloves to the phone and then to my face. Whin i get out of the car, i put on my gloves and get a grocery cart. The essential workers at my store are doing a great job. Theyre sanitizing every cart and limiting the number of shoppers. Having a cart can help you protect your space. In this store, there are two new science on the floor. Ones directional to encourage everyone to take the same route around the store. The second is to remind shoppers to maintain a safe distance from each other. When im done shopping and ready to pay, i stand in line at least six feet from the shopper in front of me. After unloading my car at check out, i go past the cashier and pack my own bags. That is one less person touching my groceries and less of a burden on the stores employees. I thank the cashier and leave the store. On my drive home, im careful not to touch my face. I leave my outside shoes on the porch and as soon as i get through the door, i wash my hands for at least 20 seconds. Next, i wipe down my debit card, i. D. And car key. And then i wipe down the front doorknob, clean the sink taps and wash my hands again. I wash my vegetables in cold water and remove the package aing from my proteins and other items. I leave the nonperishables in my garage for a few days unless i need them immediately. My refrigerated items get a quick winddown to be on the safe side and, of course, i wacker my hands again. Heres a quick recap of my visit to the grocery store. That is it for this episode. I hope you found it helpful. [ ] i am the supervisor of district one. I am sandra lee fewer. [ ] i moved to the Richmond District<\/a> in 1950 mine. I was two years old. I moved from chinatown and we were one of the first asian families to move out here. [ ] when my mother decided to buy that house, nobody knew where it was. It seems so far away. For a long time, we were the only chinese family there but we started to see the areas of growth to serve a larger chinese population. The stress was storage of the birthplace of that. My father would have to go to chinatown for dim sum and i remember one day he came home and said, there is one here now. It just started to grow very organically. It is the same thing with the russian population, which is another very large ethnic group in the Richmond District<\/a>. As russia started to move in, we saw more russian stores. So parts of the richmond is very concentrated with the Russian Community<\/a> and immigrant Russian Community<\/a>, and also a chinese immigrant community. [ ] i think as living here in the richmond, we really appreciate the fact that we are surrounded three natural barriers. They are beautiful barriers. The presidio which gives us so many trails to walk through, ocean beach, for families to just go to the beach and be in the Pacific Ocean<\/a>. We also also have a National Park<\/a> service. We boarded the Golden Gate National<\/a> Recreation Area<\/a> so there is a lot of activity to do in the summer time you see people with bonfires. But really families enjoying the beach and the Pacific Ocean<\/a> during the rest of the time of year. [ ] and Golden Gate Park<\/a> where we have so many of our treasures here. We have the tea garden, the museum and the academy of sciences. Not to mention the wonderful playgrounds that we have here in richmond. This is why i say the richmond is a great place for families. The theatre is a treasure in our neighborhood. It has been around for a very long time. Is one of our two neighborhood theatres that we have here. I moved here when i was 1959 when i was two years old. We would always go here. I love these neighborhood theatres. It is one of the places that has not only a landmark in the Richmond District<\/a>, but also in San Francisco<\/a>. Small theatres showing one or two films. A unique they are unique also to the neighborhood and San Francisco<\/a>. Where we are today is the heart of the Richmond District<\/a>. With what is unique is that it is also Small Businesses<\/a>. There is a different retail here it is mom and pop opening up businesses. And providing for the neighborhood. This is what we love about the streets. The cora door starts on clement street and goes all the way down to the end of clement where you will see Small Businesses<\/a> even towards 32nd. At the core of it is right here between here and 20 tenth avenue. When we see this variety of stores offered here, it is very unique then of the any other part of San Francisco<\/a>. There is traditional irish music which you dont get hardly anywhere in San Francisco<\/a>. Some places have this long legacy of serving ice cream and being a hangout for families to have a sunday afternoon ice cream. And then also, we see grocery stores. And also these restaurants that are just new here, but also thriving. [ ] we are seeing restaurants being switched over by hand, new owners, but what we are seeing is a vibrancy of clement street still being recaptured within new businesses that are coming in. That is a really great thing to see. I dont know when i started to shop here, but it was probably a very, very long time ago. I like to cook a lot but i like to cook chinese food. The market is the place i like to come to once a year. Once i like about the market as it is very affordable. It has Fresh Produce<\/a> and fresh meat. Also, seafood. But they also offer a large selection of condiments and sauces and noodles. A variety of rice that they have is tremendous. I dont thank you can find a variety like that anywhere else. Hi. I am kevin wong. I am the manager. In 1989 we move from chinatown to Richmond District<\/a>. We have opened for a bit, over 29 years. We carry products from thailand, japan, indonesia, vietnam, singapore and india. We try to keep Everything Fresh<\/a> daily. So a customer can get the best out a bit. Normally during crab season in november, this is the first place i hit. Because they have really just really fresh crab. This is something my family really likes for me to make. Also, from my traditional chinese food, i love to make a kale soup. They cut it to the size they really want. I am probably here once a week. Im very familiar with the aisles and they know everyone who is a cashier cashier here i know when people come into a market such as this, it looks like an asian supermarkets, which it is and sometimes it can be intimidating. We dont speak the language and many of the labels are in chinese, you may not know what to buy or if it is the proper ingredients for the recipe are trying to make. I do see a lot of people here with a recipe card or sometimes with a magazine and they are looking for specific items. The staff here is very helpful. I speak very little chinese here myself. Thinks that im not sure about, i asked the clerk his and i say is this what i need . Is this what i should be making . And they actually really helped me. They will bring me to the aisle and say this is battery. They are very knowledgeable. Very friendly. I think they are here to serve not only the Asian Community<\/a> but to serve all communities in the Richmond District<\/a> and in San Francisco<\/a>. [ ] what is wonderful about living here is that even though our july is a very foggy and overcast, best neighborhood, the sleepy part outside on the west side is so rich with history, but also with all the amenities that are offered. [ ] shop and dine on the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do shopping and dining within the 49 square miles of San Francisco<\/a> by supporting local Services Within<\/a> neighborhood. We help San Francisco<\/a> remain unique, successful and vibrant. Where will you shop and dine in the 49 . San francisco owes the charm to the unique character of the neighborhood comer hall district. Each corridor has its own personality. Our neighborhoods are the engine of the city. You are putting money and support back to the community you live in and you are helping Small Businesses<\/a> grow. It is more environmentally friendly. Shopping local is very important. I have had relationships with my local growers for 30 years. By shopping here and supporting us locally, you are also supporting the growers of the flowers, they are fresh and they have a price point that is not imported. It is really good for everybody. Shopping locally is crucial. Without that support, Small Business<\/a> cant survive, and if we lose Small Business<\/a>, that diversity goes away, and, you know, it would be a shame to see that become a thing of the past. It is important to dine and shop locally. It allows us to maintain traditions. It makes the neighborhood. I think San Francisco<\/a> should shop local as much as they can. The retail marketplace is changes. We are trying to have people on the floor who can talk to you and help you with products you are interested in buying, and help you with exploration to try things you have never had before. The fish business, you think it is a piece of fish and fisherman. There are a lot of people working in the fish business, between wholesalers and fishermen and bait and tackle. At the retail end, we about a lot of people and it is good for everybody. Shopping and dining locally is so important to the community because it brings a tighter fabric to the community and allows the Business Owners<\/a> to thrive in the community. We see more Small Businesses<\/a> going away. We need to shop locally to keep the Small Business<\/a> alive in San Francisco<\/a>. Shop and dine in the 49 is a cool initiative. You can see the banners in the streets around town. It is great. Anything that can showcase and legitimize Small Businesses<\/a> is a wonderful thing. Neighborhood in San Francisco<\/a> are also diverse and fascist as the people that inhabitable them were in north beach about supervisor peskin will give us a tour and introduce is to what think of i i his favorite district 5 e 3 is in the northwest surrounded by the San Francisco<\/a> bay the district is the boosting chinatown oar embarcadero financial district Fishermans Wharf<\/a> exhibit no. North beach Telegraph Hill<\/a> and part of union square. All of San Francisco<\/a> districts are remarkable im honored and delighted to represent really whereas with an the most intact district got chinatown, north beach Fishermans Wharf<\/a> russian hill and knob hill and the northwest waterfront some of the most wealthier and inning e impoverished people in San Francisco<\/a> obgyn siding it is ethically exists a bunch of tightknit neighborhoods people know he each other by name a wonderful placed physically and socially to be all of the neighborhoods north beach and chinatown the i try to be out in the community as much as and i think, being a the cafe eating at the neighborhood lunch place people come up and talk to you, you never have time alone but really it is fun hi, im one the owners and is ceo of cafe trespassing in north beach many people refer to cafe trees as a the living room of north beach most of the clients are local and living up the hill come and meet with each other just the way the United States<\/a> been since 1956 opposed by the grandfather a big people person people had people coming since the day we opened. It is of is first place on the west that that exposito 6 years ago but anyone was doing that starbucks exists and it created a really welcoming pot. It is truly a legacy business but more importantly it really at the take care of their community my father from it was formally italy a fisherman and that town very rich in culture and music was a big part of it guitars and sank and combart in the evening that tradition they brought this to the cafe so many characters around here everything has incredible stories by famous folks last week the cafe that paul carr tennessee take care from the Jefferson Starship<\/a> hung out the cafe are the famous poet Lawrence William<\/a> getty and jack herb man go hung out. They work worked at a play with the god fathers and photos he had his typewriter i wish i were here back there it theres a lot of moving parts the meeting spot rich in culture and artists and musicians epic people would talk with you and youd getetetetetetetetetett [ ] i just dont know that you can find a neighborhood in the city where you can hear music stands and take a ride on the low rider down the street. It is an experience that you cant have anywhere else in San Francisco<\/a>. [ ] [ ] district nine is a in the southeast portion of the city. We have four neighborhoods that i represent. St. Marys park has a completely unique architecture. Very distinct feel, and it is a very close to holly park which is another beautiful park in San Francisco<\/a>. The Bernal Heights<\/a> district is unique in that we have the hell which has one of the best views in all of San Francisco<\/a>. There is a swinging hanging from a tree at the top. It is as if you are swinging over the entire city. There are two unique aspects. It is considered the fourth chinatown in San Francisco<\/a>. Sixty of the residents are of chinese ancestry. The second unique, and fun aspect about this area is it is the garden district. There is a lot of urban agriculture and it was where the city grew the majority of the flowers. Not only for San Francisco<\/a> but for the region. And of course, it is the location in mclaren park which is the citys second biggest park after golden gate. Many people dont know the neighborhood in the first place if they havent been there. We call it the best neighborhood nobody has ever heard our. Every neighborhood in district nine has a very special aspect. Where we are right now is the Mission District<\/a>. The Mission District<\/a> is a very special part of our city. You smell the tacos at the [speaking spanish] and they have the best latin pastries. They have these shortbread cookies with caramel in the middle. And then you walk further down and you have sunrise cafe. It is a place that you come for the incredible food, but also to learn about what is happening in the neighborhood and how you can help and support your community. Twentyfourth street is the birthplace of the movement. We have over 620 murals. It is the largest outdoor Public Gallery<\/a> in the country and possibly the world. You can find so much Political Engagement<\/a> park next to so much incredible art. Its another reason why we think this is a cultural district that we must preserve. [ ] it was formed in 2014. We had been an organization that had been around for over 20 years. We worked a lot in the neighborhood around life issues. Most recently, in 2012, there were issues around gentrification in the neighborhood. So the idea of forming the cultural district was to help preserve the history and the culture that is in this neighborhood for the future of families and generations. In the past decade, 8,000 latino residents in the Mission District<\/a> have been displaced from their community. We all know that the rising cost of living in San Francisco<\/a> has led to many people being displaced. Lower and middle income all over the city. Because it there is richness in this neighborhood that i also mentioned the fact it is flat and so accessible by trip public transportation, has, has made it very popular. Its a struggle for us right now, you know, when you get a lot of development coming to an area, a lot of new people coming to the area with different sets of values and different culture. There is a lot of struggle between the existing community and the newness coming in. There are some things that we do to try to slow it down so it doesnt completely erase the communities. We try to have developments that is more in tune with the community and more Equitable Development<\/a> in the area. You need to meet with and gain the support and find out the needs of the neighborhoods. The people on the businesses that came before you. You need to dialogue and show respect. And then figure out how to bring in the new, without displacing the old. [ ] i hope we can reset a lot of the mission that we have lost in the last 20 years. So we will be bringing in a lot of folks into the neighborhoods pick when we do that, there is a demand or, you know, certain types of services that pertain more to the local community and workingclass. Back in the day, we looked at mission street, and now it does not look and feel anything like mission street. This is the last stand of the latino concentrated arts, culture and cuisine and people. We created a cultural district to do our best to conserve that feeling. That is what makes our city so cosmopolitan and diverse and makes us the envy of the world. We have these unique neighborhoods with so much cultural presence and learnings, that we want to preserve. [ ] [ ] [ ] so i grew up in cambridge, massachusetts and i was very fortunate to meet my future wife, now my wife while we were both attending graduate school at m. I. T. , studying urban planning. So this is her hometown. So, we fell in love and moved to her city. [ ] [ ] i was introduced to this part of town while working on a campaign for gavin, who is running for mayor. I was one of the organizers out here and i met the people and i fell in love with them in the neighborhood. So it also was a place in the city that at the time that i could afford to buy a home and i wanted to own my own home. This is where we laid down our roots like many people in this neighborhood and we started our family and this is where we are going to be. I mean we are the part of San Francisco<\/a>. Its the two neighborhoods with the most children under the age of 18. Everybody likes to talk about how San Francisco<\/a> is not familyfriendly, there are not a lot of children and families. We have predominately Single Family<\/a> homes. As i said, people move here to buy their first home, maybe with multiple family members or multiple families in the same home and they laid down their roots. [ ] its different because again, we have little small storefronts. We dont have Light Industrial<\/a> space or space where you can build highrises or large Office Building<\/a>s. So the tech boom will never hit our neighborhood in that way when it comes to jobs. Turkey, cheddar, avocado, lettuce and mayo, and little bit of mustard. Thats my usual. Mike is the owner, born and bred in the neighborhood. He worked in the drugstore forever. He saved his money and opened up his own spot. Were always going to support home grown businesses and he spent generations living in this part of town, focusing on the family, and the vibe is great and people feel at home. Its like a Little Community<\/a> gathering spot. This is the part of the city with a small town feel. A lot of mom and pop businesses, a lot of family run businesses. There is a conversation on whether starbucks would come in. I think there are some people that would embrace that. I think there are others that would prefer that not to be. I think we moved beyond that conversation. I think where we are now, we really want to enhance and embrace and encourage the businesses and Small Businesses<\/a> that we have here. In fact, its more of a mom and pop style business. I think at the end of the day, what were really trying to do is encourage and embrace the diversity and enhance that diversity of businesses we already have. Were the only supervisor in the city that has a permanent district office. A lot of folks use cafes or use offices or different places, but i want out and was able to raise money and open up a spot that we could pay for. Im very fortunate to have that. Hi, good to see you. Just wanted to say hi, hi to the owner, see how hes doing. Everything okay . Yeah. Good. We spend the entire day in the district so we can talk to constituents and talk to Small Businesses<\/a>. We put money in the budget so you guys could be out here. This is like a commercial corridor, so they focus on cleaning the streets and it made a Significant Impact<\/a> as you can see. What an improvement it has made to have you guys out here. For sure. We have a significantly diverse neighborhood and population. So i think thats the richness of the mission and it always has been. Its what made me fall in love with this neighborhood and why i as a woman of color who grew up in San Francisco<\/a> i understand how institutions can have an impact on communities of color. I think having my voice was important. That is where my passion lies when the opportunity to lead an office in such a new space came up. I couldnt turn it down. I was with the District Attorneys Office<\/a> for a little over nine years, if you include the time as an intern as well as volunteer da, all most 13 years. During the time with the das office i had an opportunity to serve the community not only as the assistant District Attorney<\/a> but as director of community relations. That afforded the opportunity to have impact on the community in an immediate way. It is one thing to work to serve the rights of those without rights, victims. It is really rewarding to work to to further the goals of our office and the commitment we have as City Employees<\/a> and advocates for people who dont have a voice. I dont know of anyone surprised to see me in this role. Maybe people have an impression what the director of the office of cannabis should be like, what their beliefs should be. I smash all of that. You grew up in the inner city of San Francisco<\/a>. My career path is not traditional. I dont think a person should limit themselves to reach full potential. I say that to young women and girls. That is important. You want to see leadership that looks diverse because your path is not predetermined. I didnt wake up thinking i was going to be a prosecutor in my life. The city administrator reached out and wanted to have a conversation and gave me interest in the new role. I thought you must not know what i do for a living. It was the opposite. She had foresight in realizing it would be helpful for somebody not only a former prosecutor but interested in shaping criminal Justice Reform<\/a> for the city would be the right person for the space. I appreciate the foresight of the mayor to be open how we can be leaders in San Francisco<\/a>. I was able to transition to the policy space. Here i was able to work on legislation, community relations, communication and start to shape the ways our office was going to reform the criminal Justice System<\/a>. It is fulfilling for me. I could create programs and see those impact peoples lives. I am the change. It took truants youth to meet with Civil Rights Movement<\/a> leaders who fought to have access to education. Being a young person to understand that helped the young people realize this was an important thing to give up. What we find is that young people who are truanted have a really high homicide rate in our city, which is a sad statistic. We want to change that. Coming from a community we are black and brown. I dont reach out to other people. I dont think they feel the same way. I had the great opportunity to work on Prison Reform<\/a> issues and criminal Justice Reform<\/a> issues. We created a program at san quentin where we brought district opportunities t to lifs and talk about how we are all impacted by the criminal Justice System<\/a>. We brought over 40 elected das to san quentin for the situation. Now we are inviting the Police Department<\/a>. Our formerly incarcerated group born out of this programming asked for the opportunity to work on a project where we could bring the men in blue on the outside to come speak to the men on blue inside to start the healing dialogue around how the criminal Justice System<\/a> specifically in San Francisco<\/a> impacts the community. I was attracted to the role. There was a component of equity that was part of this process. The Equity Community<\/a> here in San Francisco<\/a> is a community that i had already worked with. Before i took steps to visit cannabis businesses i thought it was important my team have a chance to go inside and speak to men who ha had been impacted. That conversation needed to happen so we know how we are making an impact with the work that we are doing. The das office as we were leading up to the legalization of marijuana in the state we started having conversations on the policy team what that could look like. The District Attorney<\/a> was really focused on the right side of history for this. We realized it would be quite a heavy lift for individuals who have been negatively impacted by the war on drugs to expunge the record. It was important to figure out the framework to make it seamless and easy. They put their minds to it after some time and many conversations the data analysts and other policy walk throughs on the team came up with the idea to engage the Tech Community<\/a> in this process. Code for america helped us developed the rhythm to be used for any jurisdiction across the state that was important to create a solution to be used to assist all jurisdictions dealing with this matter. The office of cannabis is the first office to have a completely digital application process. We worked with the digital team to develop the online application. There are going to be hiccups. We are first to do it. It is one of the most rewarding parts to offer a seamless to offer a seamless approach. That is how they can find solutions to solve many of the community challenges. The best way to respond to prop 64 was to retroactively expunge 9,000 cannabis related records for San Francisco<\/a>. It feels like justice full circle for my personal experience. In the past i was furthering the war on drugs just as my directive. Really coming from a place of Public Safety<\/a>. That was the mandate and understanding. It is nice to see that pass a society we are able to look at some of our laws and say, you know what . We got it wrong. Lets get this right. I had the privilege of being in the existing framework. My predecessor Nicole Elliott<\/a> did an incredible job bringing together the individuals superpassionate about cannabis. The office was created in july of 2017. I came in early 2018. I have been able to see the Offices Development<\/a> over time which is nice. It is exciting to be in the space, stickily in thinking about her leadership. Looking for the office it is always we might be before my time when i was working for the board oforboard of supervisors. I learn new things every day it is challenging and rewarding for me. We get the privilege to work in an office tha that is innova. We get to spearhead the robust exprogram. I am excited she came on board to leverage experience as a prosecutor 10 years as we contemplate enforcements but approaching it without replicating the war on drugs. I was hired by cam laharris. I havent seen a District Attorney<\/a> that looked kind of like me. That could be a path in my life. I might not have considered it. It is important that women and certainly women of color and spaces of leadership really do their part to bring on and mentor as many young people as they can. It is superimportant to take advantage of as many opportunities a as they can when they can intern because the doors are wide open. Plans change and that is okay. The way this was shaped because i took a risk to try something new and explore something and show that i was capable. You are capable, right . It was about leaning in and being at the table to say my voice matters. You find your passion, the sky todays special guest is y claudia dume. Hi. Today, my guest is claudia gorham. Shes the deputy managing director of the real estate dri division at the city and county of San Francisco<\/a>, and shes my special guest. Thank you for joining us. Thank you very much. I know that your department is the department for managing and renting properties, and also cleaning for the city. How has your department been preparing for the crisis . Well, because our citizens are sheltering in place and our buildings are closed to the general public, a substantial amount of city staff and city departments are still open and operating and doing city businesses. So we still have to do the cleaning and engineering on the portfolio and things that need to be service. And the other thing is all our workers are Disaster Service<\/a> workers, so we have been providing the Emergency Operations<\/a> center with various staffing needs such as drivers of trucks and accounting staff to assist them in this crisis. Have you obtained Additional Space<\/a> for the city to use during this crisis . Yes. The crisis has actually required numerous transactions, and so we help basically the department of Public Health<\/a>, the department of human services, and the department of homelessness determine where they can put the services that they need. So, for example, if they need a testing site or if they need a building a vacant building to put supplies or if they need to put some trucks, we will help them locate that Office Building<\/a> or that property based on their factors that they need. We will then contact the landlord or the Property Owner<\/a> of the space or the Building Owner<\/a> decides they want, and then, we negotiate the terms that they need, whether its a permit or a lease, well help the City Attorney<\/a> draft that agreement. Nice. So can you talk about how some of our iconic buildings, such address the palace of such as the palace of fine arts, has been repurposed during the pandemic . Certainly. The city needs as much space as it can use during this pandemic, and the department had to relocate to Moscone South Convention Center<\/a> so that we could do social distancing as required by both the city and the state. We have hundreds and hundreds of staff people working on this covid19 crisis. All of the department of Public Health<\/a> and the departments of homelessness and human services, including several other hundred people, they need several different sites. They need testing centers, they need shelters for the homeless, those with the covid19 virus, those who need a place to stay after they get out of the hospital. So weve been assisting them with places to stay. You mentioned the palace of fine arts. It has over 100,000 square feet of space. It could it we were going to use it as a shelter, but now, were going to use it for different needs. Were going to negotiate a different lease so that the city can use it for this crisis. Were using the bill graham Civic Auditorium<\/a> and tfor the deployment of ambulances. The Fire Department<\/a> needed additional supplies, so were using it for that service. Thats great. I also understand you have a staff of custodians, electricians, janitors and other support workers. How are they helping the city . We could not be more thankful for our civic and engineering staff under our real estate division. They have been working 247 since this crisis began, not only doing their daily responsibilities to keep the public buildings open and operating for the city staff continuing to go into the office but also because once the crisis started, several memos came down as to additional cleanings and how to do disinfecting, and we have to do the c. D. C. S recommendation does. So not only do they do recommendations. So not only do they do their regular cleaning, they are also doing deep cleaning and disinfecting in places like the Public Safety<\/a> building and the haul of justice. But theyre also going in and doing a deep cleaning and disinfecting after we had a suspected case or a confirmed case of a person having the coronavirus. So theyre going in and doing this every night since this started. Our workers are continuing as laborers to make the buildings safe and secure and maintained. And however we help or however we can help the e. O. C. , we do that. Well, thanks for coming on the show, claudia. Id like to thank you and your entire team on behalf of all the residents of San Francisco<\/a> for all the work you continue to do. Thank you very much. Its been a pleasure. Thats it for this episode. Well be back with another pandemicrelated episode shortly. This is coping with covid19. Im chris mathers. Thanks for watching. Welcome to culturewire. Today we are at recology. They are celebrate 20 years of one of the most incredibly unique Artist Residency<\/a> programs. We are here to learn more from one of the resident artists. Welcome to the show, deborah. Tell us how this Program Began<\/a> 20 years ago. The Program Began<\/a> 20 years ago. Our founder was an environmentalist and an activist and an artist in the 1970s. She started these street sweeping campaigns in the city. She started with kids. They had an exhibition at city hall. City officials heard about her efforts and they invited her to this facility. We thought it would coincide with our efforts to get folks to recycle, it is a great educational tool. Since then, we have had 95 professional artists come through. How has the Program Changed<\/a> over the years . How has the program what can the public has an artist engage with . For the most part, we worked with metal and wood, what you would expect from a program like ours. Over the years, we tried to include artists and all types of mediums. Conceptual artists, at installation, photographers, videographers. That has really expanded the program out. It is becoming so dynamic right now with your vision of interesting artists in gauging here. Why would an artist when to come here . Mainly, access to the materials. We also give them a lot of support. When they start, it is an empty studio. They go out to the public area and we call it the big store. They go out shopping, take the materials that, and get to work. It is kind of like a reprieve, so they can really focus on their body of work. When you are talking about recology, do you have the only Sculpture Garden<\/a> at the top . It is based on work that was done many years ago in new york. It is the only kind of structured, artist program. Weit is beautiful. A lot of the plants you see were pulled out of the garbage, and we use our compost to transplant them. The pathway is lined with rubble from the earthquake from the freeways we tour about 5000 people a year to our facility, adults and children. We talk about recycling and conservation. They can meet the artists. Fantastic. Lets go meet some of your current artists. Here we are with lauren. Can you tell us how long have been here so far and what youre working on . We started our residency on june 1, so we came into the studio then and spent most of the first couple weeks just digging around in the trash. I am continuing my body of work, kind of making these hand embroidered objects from our daytoday life. Can you describe some of the things you have been making here . This is amazing. I think i started a lot of my work about the qualities of light is in the weight. I have been thinking a lot about things floating through the air. It is also very windy down here. There is a piece of sheet music up there that i have embroidered third. There is a pamphlet about hearing dea nearing death. This is a dead rabbit. This is what i am working on now. This is a greeting card that i found, making it embroidered. It is for a very special friend. While we were looking at this, i glanced down and this is amazing, and it is on top of a book, it is ridiculous and amazing. I am interested in the serendipity of these still life compositions. When he got to the garbage and to see the arrangement of objects that is completely spontaneous. It is probably one of the least thought of compositions. People are getting rid of this stuff. It holds no real value to them, because theyre disposing of it. Were here in another recology studio with abel. What attracted you to apply for this special program . Who would not want to come to the dump . But is the first question. For me, being in a situation that youre not comfortable in has always been the best. What materials were you immediately attracted to when you started and so what was available here . There are a lot of books. That is one of the thing that hits me the most. Books are good for understanding, language, and art in general. Also being a graphic designer, going straight to the magazines and seeing all this printed material being discarded has also been part of my work. Of course, always wood or any kind of plastic form or anything like that. Job mr. Some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. Taught me through some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. The first thing that attracted me to this was the printed surface. It was actually a poster. It was a silk screen watercolor, about 8 feet long. In terms of the flatwork, i work with a lot of cloddish. So being able to cut into it come at into it, removed parts, it is part of the process of negotiating the final form. How do you jump from the two dimensional work that you create to the threedimensional . Maybe going back from the 3f to 2d. Everything is in the process of becoming. Things are never said or settled. The sculptures are being made while i am doing the collages, and vice versa. It becomes a part of something else. Theres always this figuring out of where things belong or where they could parapets something else. At the end goal is to possibly see one of these collage plans be built out and create a structure that reflects back into the flat work. Thank you so much for allowing culturewire to visit this amazing facility and to learn more about the artists in residence program. Is there anything you like our viewers to know . We have art exhibitions every four months, and a win by the public to come out. Everybody is welcome to come out. We have food. Sometimes we have gains and bands. It is great time. From june to september, we accept applications from bay area artists. We encouraged artists from all mediums to apply. We want as many artists from the bay area out here so they can have the same experience. How many artists to do your host here . 6 artist a year, and we receive about 108 applications. Very competitive. But everyone should be encouraged to apply. Thank you again for hosting us. Thank you for including us in culturewire. My name is doctor ellen moffett, i am an assistant medical examiner for the city and county of San Francisco<\/a>. I perform autopsy, review medical records and write reports. Also integrate other sorts of testing data to determine cause and manner of death. I have been here at this facility since i moved here in november, and previous to that at the old facility. I was worried when we moved here that because this building is so much larger that i wouldnt see people every day. I would miss my personal interactions with the other employees, but that hasnt been the case. This building is very nice. We have lovely autopsy tables and i do get to go upstairs and down stairs several times a day to see everyone else i work with. We have a bond like any other group of employees that work for a specific agency in San Francisco<\/a>. We work closely on each case to determine the best cause of death, and we also interact with family members of the diseased. That brings us closer together also. I am an investigator two at the office of the chief until examiner in San Francisco<\/a>. As an investigator here i investigate all manners of death that come through our jurisdiction. I go to the field Interview Police<\/a> officers, detectives, family members, physicians, anyone who might be involved with the death. Additionally i take any property with the deceased individual and take care and custody of that. I maintain the chain and custody for court purposes if that becomes an issue later and notify next of kin and make any additional follow up phone callsness with that particular death. I am dealing with people at the worst possible time in their lives delivering the worst news they could get. I work with the family to help them through the grieving process. I am ricky moore, a clerk at the San Francisco<\/a> medical examiners office. I assist the pathology and toxicology and Investigative Team<\/a> around work close with the families, loved ones and funeral establishment. I started at the old facility. The building was old, vintage. We had issues with plumbing and things like that. I had a tiny desk. I feet very happy to be here in the new digs where i actually have room to do my work. I am sue pairing, the toxicologist supervisor. We test for alcohol, drugs and poisons and biological substances. I oversee all of the lab operations. The forensic operation here we perform the toxicology testing for the Human Performance<\/a> and the case in the city of San Francisco<\/a>. We collect evidence at the scene. A woman was killed after a robbery homicide, and the dna collected from the zip ties she was bound with ended up being a cold hit to the suspect. That was the only investigative link collecting the scene to the suspect. It is nice to get the feedback. We do a lot of work and you dont hear the result. Once in a while you heard it had an impact on somebody. You can bring justice to what happened. We are able to take what we due to the next level. Many of our counterparts in other states, cities or countries dont have the resources and dont have the beautiful building and the equipmentness to really advance what we are doing. Sometimes we go to court. Whoever is on call may be called out of the office to go to various portions of the city to investigate suspicious deaths. We do whatever we can to get our job done. When we think that a case has a natural cause of death and it turns out to be another natural cause of death. Unexpected findings are fun. I have a prior background in law enforcement. I was a Police Officer<\/a> for 8 years. I handled homicides and suicides. I had been around Death Investigation<\/a> type scenes. As a Police Officer<\/a> we only handled minimal components then it was turned over to the coroner or the detective division. I am intrigued with those types of calls. I wondered why someone died. I have an extremely supportive family. Older children say, mom, how was your day. I can give minor details and i have an amazing spouse always willing to listen to any and all details of my day. Without that it would be really hard to deal with the negative components of this job. Being i am a native of San Francisco<\/a> and grew up in the community. I come across that a lot where i may know a loved one coming from the back way or a loved one seeking answers for their deceased. There are a lot of cases where i may feel affected by it. If from is a child involved or things like that. I try to not bring it home and not let it affect me. When i tell people i work at the medical examiners office. Whawhat do you do . The autopsy . I deal with the a with the enou with the administrative and the families. Most of the time work here is very enjoyable. After i started working with dead people, i had just gotten married and one night i woke up in a cold sweat. I thought there was somebody dead . My bed. I rolled over and poked the body. Sure enough, it was my husband who grumbled and went back to sleep. This job does have lingering effects. In terms of why did you want to go into this . I loved science growing up but i didnt want to be a doctor and didnt want to be a pharmacist. The more i learned about forensics how interested i was of the perfect combination between Applied Science<\/a> and criminal justice. If you are interested in finding out the facts and truth seeking to find out what happened, anybody interested in that has a place in this field. Being a woman we just need to go for it and dont let anyone fail you, you cant be. With regard to this position in comparison to crime dramas out there, i would say there might be some minor correlations. Lets face it, we arent hollywood, we are real world. Yes we collect evidence. We want to preserve that. We are not scanning fingerprints in the field like a Hollywood Television<\/a> show. Families say thank you for what you do, for me that is extremely fulfilling. Somebody has to do my job. If i can make a situation that is really negative for someone more positive, then i feel like i am doing the right thing for the city of San Francisco<\/a>. Roughly five years, i was working as a high school teacher, and i decided to take my students on a surfing field trip. The light bulb went off in my head, and i realized i could do much more for my students taking them surfing than i could as their classroom teacher, and that is when the idea for the city surf project was born. Working with kids in the ocean that arent familiar with this space is really special because youre dealing with a lot of fear and apprehension but at the same time, a lot of excitement. When i first did it, i was, like, really scared, but then, i did it again, and i liked it. Well get a group of kids who have just never been to the beach, are terrified of the idea, who dont like the beach. Its too cold out, and its those kid that are impossible to get back out of the water at the end of the day. Over the last few years, i think weve had at least 40 of our students participate in the city surf project. Surfing helped me with, like, how to swim. Weve start off with about two to four sessions in the pool before actually going out and surfing. Swimming at the pool just helps us with, like, being, like, comfortable in the water and being calm and not being all not being anxious. So when we started the city surf project, one of the things we did was to say hey, this is the way to earn your p. E. Credits. Just getting kids to go try it was one of our initial challenges for the first year or two. But now that weve been doing it three or four years, we have a group of kids thats consistent, and the word has spread, that its super fun, that you learn about the ocean. Starting in the morning, you know, i get the vehicles ready, and then, i get all the gear together, and then, i drive and go get the kids, and we take them to a local beach. We usually go to linda mar, and then occasionally ocean beach. We once did a special trip. We were in capitola last year, and it was really fun. We get in a circle and group stretch, and we talk about specific safety for the day, and then, we go down to the water. Once we go to the beach, i dont want to go home. I cant change my circumstances at home, but i can change the way i approach them. Our program has definitely been a way for our students to find community and build friends. I dont really talk to friends, so i guess when i started doing city surf, i started to, like, get to know people more than i did before, and people that i didnt think id like, like, ended up being my best friends. Its a group sport the way we do it, and with, like, close camaraderie, but everybodys doing it for themselves. Its great, surfing around, finding new people and making new friendships with people throughout surfing. It can be highly developmental for students to have this time where they can learn a lot about themselves while negotiating the waves. I feel significantly, like, calmer. It definitely helps if im, like, feeling really stressed or, like, feeling really anxious about surfing, and i go surfing, and then, i just feel, like, im going to be okay. It gives them resiliency skills and helps them build selfconfidence. And with that, they can use that in other parts of their lives. I went to bring amy family o the beach and tell them what i did. I saw kids open up in the ocean, and i got to see them connect with other students, and i got to see them fail, you know, and get up and get back on the board and experience success, and really enjoy themselves and make a connection to nature at the same time. For some kids that are, like, resistant to, like, being in a Mentorship Program<\/a> like this, its they want to surf, and then later, theyll find out that theyve, like, made this community connection. I think they provided level playing fields for kids to be themselves in an open environment. For kids to feel like i can go for it and take a chance that i might not have been willing to do on my own is really special. We go on 150 surf outings a year. Thats yearround programming. Weve seen a tremendous amount of youth face their fears through surfing, and that has translated to growth in other facets of their lives. I just think the biggest thing is, like, that they feel like that they have something that is really cool, that theyre engaged in, and that we, like, care about them and how theyre doing, like, in general. What i like best is they really care about me, like, im not alone, and i have a group of people that i can go to, and, also, surfing is fun. Were creating surfers, and were changing the face of surfing. The feeling is definitely akin to being on a roller coaster. Its definitely faster than i think you expect it to be, but its definitely fun. It leaves you feeling really, really positive about what that kids going to go out and do. I think its really magical almost. At least it was for me. It was really exciting when i caught my first wave. I felt like i was, like it was, like, magical, really. When they catch that first wave, and their first lights up, you know their face lights up, you know you have them hooked. I was on top of the world. Its amazing. I felt like i was on top of the world even though i was probably going two miles an hour. It was, like, the scariest thing id ever done, and i think it was when i got hooked on surfing after after my fire in my apartment and losing everything, the red cross gave us a list of agencies in the city to reach out to and i signed up for the belowmarket rate program. I got my certificate and started applying and won the housing lottery. [ ] the current lottery Program Began<\/a> in 2016. But there have been lot rows that have happened for Affordable Housing<\/a> in the city for much longer than that. It was there was no standard practice. For nonprofit organizations that were providing Affordable Housing<\/a> with low in the city, they all did their lotteries on their own. Private developers that include in their buildings affordable units, those are the city weve been monitoring for some time since 1992. We did it with Something Like<\/a> this. Where people were given circus tickets. We game into 291st century in 2016 and started doing electronic lotteries. At the same time, we started electronic applications systems. Called dalia. The lottery is completely free. You can apply two ways. You can submit a paper application, which you can download from the listing itself. If you a plo apply online, it wl take five minutes. You can make it easier creating an account. To get to dalia, you log on to housing. Sfgov. Org. I have lived in San Francisco<\/a> for almost 42 years. I was born here in the hayes valley. I applied for the San Francisco<\/a> Affordable Housing<\/a> lottery three times. Since 2016, weve had about 265 electronic lotteries and almost 2,000 people have got their home through the lottery system. If you go into the listing, you can actually just press lottery results and you put in your lottery number and it will tell you exactly how you ranked. For some people, signing up for it was going to be a challenge. There is a Digital Divide<\/a> here and especially when you are trying to help low and very low income people. So we began providing digital assistance for folks to go in and get help. Along with the income and the residency requirements, we also required someone who is trying to buy the home to be a first time home buyer and theres also an educational component that consists of an orientation that they need to attend, a firsttime home buyer workshop and a oneonone counseling session with the housing councilor. Sometimes we have to go through 10 applicants before they shouldnt be discouraged if they have a low lottery number. They still might get a value for an available, Affordable Housing<\/a> unit. We have a variety of lottery programs. The four that you will most often see are what we call c. O. P. , the certificate of Preference Program<\/a>, the dthp which is the displaced penance Housing Preference<\/a> program. The neighborhood resident Housing Program<\/a> and the live worth preference. I moved in my new home february 25th and 2019. The neighborhood Preference Program<\/a> really helped me achieve that goal and that dream was with eventually wind up staying in San Francisco<\/a>. The next steps, after finding out how well you did in the lottery and especially if you ranked really well you will be contacted by the leasing agent. You have to submit those document and income and asset qualify and you have to pass the credit and rental screening and the background and when you qualify for the unit, you can chose the unit and hopefully sign that lease. All city sponsored Affordable Housing<\/a> comes through the system and has an electronic lottery. Every week theres a listing on dalia. Something that people can apply for. Its a bit hard to predict how long it will take for someone to be able to move into a unit. Lets say the lottery has happened. Several factors go into that and mainly how many units are in the project, right. And how well you ranked and what preference bucket you were in. This particular building was brand new and really this is the one that i wanted out of everything i applied for. In my mind, i was like how am i going to win this . I did and when you get that notice that you won, its like at first, its surreal and you dont believe it and it sinks in, yeah, it happened. Some of our buildings are pretty spectacular. They have key less entry now. They have a court yard where they play movies during the weekends, they have another master kitchen and space where people can throw parties. Mayor breed has a plan for over 10,000 new units between now and 2025. We will Start Construction<\/a> on about 2,000 new units just in 2020. We also have a very big portfolio like over 25,000 units across the city. And life happens to people. People move. So we have a very large number of rerentals and resales of units every year. Best thing about working for the Affordable Housing<\/a> program is that we know that were making a difference and we actually see that difference on a daytoday basis. Being back in the neighborhood i grew up in, its a wonderful experience. Its a long process to get through. Well worth it when you get to the other side. I could not be happier. [ ]","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia803206.us.archive.org\/32\/items\/SFGTV_20200609_170000_SF_Full_Transportation_Authority\/SFGTV_20200609_170000_SF_Full_Transportation_Authority.thumbs\/SFGTV_20200609_170000_SF_Full_Transportation_Authority_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240716T12:35:10+00:00"}