Board and a response to a recent article that talks about white out for the cameras, and unfortunately, i believe there were several inaccuracies to that article. One of which is that the issue of glare is not unique to the l. R. P. Four or the fact that we use cameras instead of mirrors. The glare is most acute at west portal, which is why 15 years ago, we actually put up a convex mirror to provide additional availability visibility for our operators, which is part of how they are currently trained. [please stand by] we have, as part of the costing package that we originally brought to you, we have some place holder costs for what we anticipate things to be, so Something Like the flat wheels, which is an issue that both operators and mechanics have been raising for a long time are already built into that overall package that we brought, and at this time, we do not anticipate that package changing significantly, but theres still a lot of work to do as we get to those final estimates. So thats essentially where we are today. I know you had a long meeting, so i wont i wont go into too much more detail. I am committed to continuing these conversations. I know theres not an august meeting, but we will be back in september and im very hopeful that well start to see some strong traction on those 90day goals and really start to seeing these vehicles get to where we need them to be. Chair peskin thank you for your candor, the good news, the notsogood news, but really appreciate your constant updates to the sfcta. Are there any questions to miss kirschbaum from members . Supervisor safai . Supervisor safai yes. Thank you, miss kirschbaum, the flat wheels, i didnt see anything in your presentation, but that was the real reason that i wanted to have this presentation. What we learned from previous presentations is theres the way you all are training or have asked the operators to operate these vehicles is to hit the emergency mushroom versus using the manual break. The mushroom worked well, i think on the older brada is that how you say it . Brada. Supervisor safai i heard a life span of 100,000 miles versus 120,000. I know it is a mechanism that you just talked about. Youd have to ask the contractor, siemens to retrofit and change. Whats the cost of that overall to the entire system to fix that defect that was not known before purchase . Its about 30,000 per vehicle and about 5 million to 6 million total. Supervisor safai so is that something youll have to come back for approval or is that something youre asking the t. A. For . Its build into the package and prop k is one of the several Funding Sources that will go to address the overall replacement costs of these two. Supervisor safai so this was something that you would say based on the training of the operators because of what i heard you say about the whole emergency situations that people are safe, you taught them to hit the mushroom, and thats something that youve continued with the new system, the siemens . To clarify, we put a strong focus on using the mushroom on the brada vehicles. It was a campaign that took place a couple years ago, and it was based on some very serious safety issues, when we provided operators with familiarization on the new vehicle, we did highlight that you can get to the emergency break from the tstick, but many operators use that muscle memory and use that mushroom break when they have to make a lifeordeath decision. So we think that is a reality of operating two fleets at the same time. We will be continuing to operate a mixed fleet for the next four to six years, and during that time, well want to make sure to have as high a vehicle availability as possible. Supervisor safai so for you, it was a safety issue. That was why you didnt update the training and you encouraged the operators to use the mushroom. Is that what youre saying . We have made a strong investment in operators using the emergency button on the brada, which is the safest course of action. That same muscle memory theyre using when they use the l. R. V. 4s. Were not training them that way on the l. R. V. 4s, but thats what they do on the brada training. Supervisor safai so youre not encouraging them to use the mushroom on the brada . We are not. Supervisor safai so youre going to ask the 5 million to fix this . Yes. Supervisor safai so can we ask why that wasnt anticipated when you purchased the new vehicles because theyre, what, 3 million or 3. 5 million a vehicle . Thank you for that question. It is something that we learned along the way. So one of the things that we dont that we have learned with the l. R. V. 4s is the frequency of which operators are encountering these types of emergency situations where they need to use that. I think we underestimated the impact of operating two fleets, and that operators would need to maintain all of their brada skills while also adapting to the new vehicle. Supervisor safai and how much does this so you have to make a 6 million youre going to ask for a 6 Million Investment to change the brandnew vehicles that you just bought to accommodate this training. But before you do that, how much does it cost i understand you get flat wheels. What is it costing you for the system with that manner of using the emergency break rather than using a tstick . Its having two types of impacts. The first is that we have several vehicles that have had their wheels flattened too many times, and the entire wheel system needs to be replaced. Supervisor safai and whats the cost of that . [inaudible] so theres a Customer Impact such as crowding on our busy routes. Supervisor safai i mean, i guess, again, i just i know that again, im not accusing you. You just came into the position, but it makes no sense to me that we spend millions and millions of dollars on new vehicles, and we didnt anticipate vehicle replacements, we didnt anticipate training hours, we didnt anticipate trains being offline because we have one manner in which weve been training people to use one train, and that doesnt translate into the new train system. So its not really a 6 million increase, its significantly more than that from missing the opportunity to understand and again, this is not my area of expertise, this is your departments area of expertise, but it seems as though when you would be purchasing a vehicle, you would also understand or work with the operators to understand where they are in terms of the tool or the machine that theyre going to use to make this system effective. So again, i just asked the question. Why didnt that happen . Why were they not brought into the conversation to try to anticipate this stuff . Because you know, trains not being out the door means theres not trains and means theres a decrease in service in the system which decreases delays and frustration all over the city. Its very much what we as member of the t. A. And supervisors hear most frequently about the m. T. A. Theres not justienough vehicl the road. You seem to have went through a process of negotiation, and that went well, and now, were going to hire more operators, but it seems like this neverending cycle that, no pun intended, mushroom into these large issues for the agency. I think we share a common goal of trying to deliver Excellent Service for our customers and adjust problems as we see them, so i understand your attempt to i sign blame, and i apologize assign blame, and i apologize that i may not have the best understanding up to this point, but we are committed to our partners and moving forward on what is the best solution to this issue, which is putting additional track breaks on the vehicle. The testing of the brakes has been going smoothly. We anticipate in the next month or two, well be bringing it to the cpuc which is our safety and regulatory body and move from there. And im happy to answer any other questions. Supervisor safai i actually would like to hear from the operators to hear some of the insight that they have and as it pertains to some of the particular issues that they have with the old and new l. R. V. s. Earlier everybody was talking to safety, and safety pertaining to traffic, safety pertaining to pedestrians. Id like to talk about one word, blame, blame. If and when these new l. R. V. 4s, id like to ask you to please not blame the operators for manufacturing defects. Operators asked for a Rearview Mirror to be able to see in the back of their cab. Theres a Rearview Mirror that doesnt see anything, cant see anything. Operators asked for mirrors on the side of their trains so they could hopefully prevent people from being dragged under the trains as weve seen in the past couple of months, little old ladies and Senior Citizens. Two virtually identical situations of Senior Citizens being dragged under trains due to faulty doors. Very similar situations, however, the people that get blamed with it are the operators. I brought with me ramon galderamez, and hes more of an expert than i am. I only drove the p. C. C. S, and he drove the light rail, so he has a much more understanding of the defects related to the bradas, the l. R. V. 4s. However, i want everybody to take that word, blame. Its not the operators fault that they have a monitor approximately this size right here inside their vehicle in which theyre supposed to look 150, 160 feet back. And on top of that, their monitor whites out, as weve seen through the reporting thats been done on the some news stations. So please, lets just take that word into consideration and try and shift that blame, that focus. With that in mind, id like to bring up ramon galdamez. Good morning, commissioners. Im ramon galdamez. Ive been with the department 18 years. The light rail operators are deeply concerned about the safety mechanism in place on the lrv4s. They are concerned with the lrv4 not stopping in a timely manner. As you all know, the lrv4 has many issues, including a safety efficiency. Something needs to be done. We are being instructed to apply this. Proper planning appropriates poor performance. They should have come to this. Actually, i may know more about this equipment than i know about my wife. I spend 10, 12 hours on a daily basis. We are responsible for this equipment. As i stand before you, i am asking you to reconsider before we let this unat ttamed lion o dinosaur into the street. With that said, i will please implore you. I have had numbers of conversations and discussions with m. T. A. Team, and it seems like to be they are going down the tube. They are reluctant to do something about it because the trains are here, and we realize that being here means theyre going to force for us to adjust and to accommodate ourselves rather than saying we have something here that is something here that we have to deal with but its something thats not being built. Thank you. Supervisor safai thank you, gentlemen. Im happy to have someone else ask questions. But what i heard loud and clear, it doesnt sound like there was a lot of consultation with the operators when purchasing this. I guess, miss kirschbaum, if you could come back up, i have a couple questions. All those contracts with siemens are all the lrvs purchased and are we stuck with siemens going forward, or is this the only option that you all are committed to . I believe that addressing the design issues that were facing with the current vehicle is our best option the alternative would be to start from scratch and replace the bradas on a much slower time frame. Its anticipated that the First Vehicles would arrive six years from now, and until then, we would continue to operate them as best we could, which would not be very good for at least ten years. And its also very unlikely that the next vehicle that we purchased would not be it would likely be more expensive. Supervisor safai one of the things that i heard you say yesterday that was positive was that now that you have discovered this issue with the breaking mechanism going forward, the new siemens vehicles will be retrofitted, and you wont have all the mechanic hours and replacement is that correct . Yes. Supervisor safai so because weve anticipated this short coming, we can go forward. What about some of the other things that you heard . Rearview mirrors, monitors being so small that they white out . Have you heard these concerns from the operators . Yes, and that was the intent of my slide six was to talk about the improvements that weve made, the improvements that we have finalized the design on, and the improvements that we are working closely to finalize, including replacing the monitoring to a teninch screen. Supervisor safai but i dont see mirrors on that. The mirror that ramon was commenting on was considered, but we are not planning ongoing to an exterior mirror. We believe that the monitors offer enhanced visibility. Supervisor safai i know that commissioner walton wanted to ask some questions through the chair. Commissioner walton . Supervisor walton i think you asked the questions i had. Supervisor safai having worked with organizatied laborr almost a decade, that was often missed. When were crafting legislation and policies, were not thinking about people that are actually doing the work and on the front lines, and i think it causes these types of mishaps, and in our situation, its costing millions and millions of dollars and could have been anticipated better, for sure, including some of the people that actually do the work. Mirrors, monitors, but training in terms of braking seems to e a very obvious thing. Mr. Marenco, did you have Something Else that you wanted to add . Well, i just wanted to say that our communication is impro improving, and with the help of ramon, the agency has been addressing them, so we are in the process of remedying as many safety issues as we possibly can. Its just unfortunately its just somewhat timeconsuming. Were not against bringing in any time of new vehicle because were all with the hopes of improving our overall general lifestyle in transportation and just improving. However, what it is that were operating has to be in a safe manner, it has to be done in a safe manner, so we are definitely in the process of trying to fix whatever little quirks or safety issues that arise. Supervisor safai thank you. And ill just say, having been a commissioner here for 2. 5 years, this is the first time that weve actually had someone from organized labor come in to the sfmta. So i would say particularly when it comes to light rails or any other operation in terms of mechanics or decisions that are being made, i would encourage the Transportation Authority and the leadership of the sfmta to have that conversation up front. We want to invite you back on a more frequent basis so you can be part of these conversations up front so that youre not an afterthought and were not spending millions of dollars to correct something that you and your operators could have anticipated very easily. So thank you for taking the time and sitting here with us. Thank you, mr. Chair, and thank you, miss kirschbaum. Chair mandelman we do have some Public Comment. Hi, everyone. Thank you for a very interesting meeting today. And i also want to thank julie for your report that changes are being made, so i appreciate that. I just want to say one little thing about the operator situation. He feels very concerned about being blinded by the cameras, and he would like the Rearview Mirrors back. Theres a strong vote for mirrors. Okay. So now, i want to address another issue of health and safety, which is the number of passenger seats. And i want to first say that i was in a hard stop in the tunnel at 36 miles an hour and it was only the seats that stopped our motion. I am concerned about sudden braking in these open cars, and i am worried that people will get thrown about and hurt. Since i was also injured sitting sw sitting sideways in the new cars, i interviewed last fall the muni riders and found out that half liked the new cars and half didnt. It was the same 50 that the 2014 survey that the muni got. They didnt like the trains where they wanted to sit, so at least seats are coming back, which is good. Oh, 30 seconds, okay. Im very concerned, a lot of people are getting injured sitting sideways, and i interviewed 400 more in march. They told me think have sciatica, they have scoliosis, they have pregnancy, back problems, motion sickness, a rod in the back. I have lyme disease. My joints are unstable. We need the forward seat does back, and seats back, and im also concerned about the double number. I would like to see forward seats as part of a health and safety design in these new cars. Supervisor mandelman next speaker. Vice chair mandelman, this is a very important issue as i ride the subway often. Im paying for this in two ways. I tap my clipper® card, and then, 1 out of every sales tax pays for that, so ive got some standing here. Safety above all and this is very complex work. I read that the new york city subway, which im sure some of you have been on. If not, i encourage you to try it. Has 16 different types of vehicle in active service, some of which go back to 1964, so i would like to see how they manage slotting employees into 16 different types of vehicles. We have to work on our mean distance between failures. Im seeing as 5,000, 6,000 miles between failures. Thats the range of the new york city subways back in the days of the graffiti, and the broken lights and all of that. They worked through that, but they still have issues that they have to solve. I mention to you as a person of disabilities, that sideways seats are very important to me. I ask that you not totally eliminate the sideways facing seats. Some sideways facing seats must be preserved in these vehicles. Im not saying it has to be one or the other. There must be a reasonable mix. I do not have to explain to you my reasons for my disabilities, but please do not eliminate the sideways facing seats, and remember, safety above all. Thank you. Supervisor mandelman thank you. Are there any other members of the public who would like to speak before i close Public Comment . Good afternoon, edward mason. Im really disappointed that this is a 30year decision and consequently to me, its a 30year disappointment. The flat wheels is continuing. When i came down today at 24th and church on a grade, the vehicle seemed to have the wheels spin before it would engage and get traction. The acceleration is slow, and also, the door opening and closing is slow, so thats probably going to impact reliability of the system overall. We still have chatter and jerky stops at 18 and church periodically. Its not consistent, but its still in existence. So my only comment is it is what it is, unfortunately, and the seating arrangement, you know, should go to more transfer seats and also blue seats. And on the in the slide, there was announcement improvement. We do not have daytime on the new siemens cars, we do a date time on the brada cars, and i cant believe that were not having that feature on the siemens cars. Thank you. Supervisor mandelman thank you. Is there any other members of the public who want to speak on this item . Seeing none, Public Comment is now closed. Mr. Clerk, please call the next item. [agenda item read]. Supervisor mandelman colleagues, are there any new items . Seeing well, is there any Public Comment on this item . Seeing none. [gavel]. Supervisor mandelman mr. Clerk, please call the next item. Clerk item 18, general Public Comment. Supervisor mandelman we have two speakers, and anyone else who wants to address us during general Public Comment please lineup at the right of the room. Next wednesday, july 31, will conclude five years since the corporate commuter bus program was initiated on friday, august 1, 2014. There have been 4,248 placards issued to buses and currently based on a public records request, there are 711 buses operating in San Francisco. These are plus the scoff law buses that dont have a sticker on them as they blend into the armada. Trying to get a public records request, and these records are incomplete. But there have been over 2100 complaints registered, and i received the list for 157 pages, but that is not inclusive of the entire fiveyear period. Administrative penalties through december of 17 have amounted to 1,011,058. Citations ending in january 18 were 5,038 citations issued for over 708,000. We now have over 200 buses on 24 street, up from 160 buses last report. So my question is in the preliminary plan of 2050 thats being prepared by the m. T. C. , theres no solution for removing these buses off of 24 street or from the city as a whole. So i think were just getting inundated with these inner city buses over our neighborhood. Thank you very much. Supervisor mandelman thank you. Next speaker. Vice chair mandelman, i love a public meeting. I cant seem to get enough of them. I hope to be back with you all again, and i feel that this agency should have a regional perspective on things. I dont want us to be us versus them because we are all San Francisco. Even though i do not sleep in San Francisco, im here with you now. I am San Francisco today, and i look forward to being San Francisco tomorrow. And so i come to you as a passionate and unapologetic user of diverse means of mobility. I ride muni. I think its important that we focus on Traffic Enforcement for both vehicles and also twowheeled conveyances and Traffic Enforcement because i want to be safe out there if im driving a car of which i do have a nevada drivers license in Good Standing or riding a bike or scooter or walking or riding in a Public Transit conveyance. We must have good Traffic Enforcement, robust Traffic Enforcement to hold people accountable to traffic law. Just as i follow vehicle traffic law, i expect everybody to do the same and manage our speed so we can all operate in harmony on the streets of San Francisco. Thank you. Supervisor mandelman thank you. Are there any other members of the public who would like to speak in Public Comment today . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Mr. Clerk, do we have any other items before us today . Clerk item 19, adjournment. Supervisor mandelman great. Then we are adjourned. Good morning, everyone. Lets secelebrate. [ cheering and applause ]. Im going to get you moving. I want you to follow my lead. When i go like this, were all going to say secelebrate and were going to do it three time s. Secelebrate. Loud er. Secelebrate. Secelebrate. Fantastic. I cant even begin to tell you how shocked i am. Im standing here at this gro d groundbreaking. Im ashly mccumber. Im the executive director of meals on wheels in San Francisco and have been for the last 12 years and im really excited to welcome you here this morning. Obviously were here to do a ceremony where were going to throw some sand and mark the beginning of construction, and that in and of itself would be a michiganiraculous thing to selc but frankly were secelebratingo much more this morning. I believe that were putting another mark er i eer and stake ground in support of this mission, and thats why were here today, to secelebrate. [ applause ] it. Its certain dserendipitous projected opening of the building on this project in 2020 aligns with our 50th anniversary of our founding. [ applause ]. So today we are absolutely secelebrating five decade s of service here in san franciscaning San Francisco. Were secelebrating a mission tt started with a handful of people 50 years ago who recognized they had neighborhoods who needed help and were elderly elderly and needed food. They volunteered to cook food and morphed into an organization that today is one of the largest meals on Wheels Organization in the country and definitely in my opinion is wumone of the best ig services in San Francisco and in the country. [ applause ]. Were also secelebrating sin that founding count leless vo volunteers, Board Members, Staff Members who have carried that submissi Mission Forward and creatueach made it stronger and bigger and more responsive. We were secelebrating partnership with adult aging and county services in the city of San Francisco to make sure that we can do what we need to do and were currently grateful to our current mayor and board of supervisors to seasocontinuing mission and seascontinuing to d that. Were secelebrating thousand s doe scenarinors and foundations allow us to realize 50 of our budget each other year. We secelebrate the restaurant sd vit answers tha s s vintners. I want to call out chef in nanc oak for your leadership and that effort. Were secelebrating also that w have embraced our responsibility to affirmfy the emphasis voice of seniors and make San Francisco all it can be for t m them. All of us together have embraced some very important and simple values of san fran siciscan s. No considsenior or no person sh ever go hungry because they are home bound or without the resources and support that they need. Number two, no senior should be in vvisible or alone. Number three, that all senior s have the right to live in their community and neighborhoods that they helped build, they raised their familyies in and have the right to selfdetermination and ha to live with dig nity. Lastly, that cityies and communityies should be judged b how it treats the elderly and we need to work every single day to make San Francisco the number one agefriendly city in amer a america. [ applause ]. So today we secelebrate a mar milestone, but this day has been a long, long, long time in coupcom coming and we secelebrate the hd work thats kind of led us here. The path has been extensive to say the least, but one mietric that led us here is simple. In 2007 as an organization we decided that no senior should have to wait longer than 30 yda s to receive our service and we partnered with the department of aging and Adult Service s to mae sure that anyone who is in emergency is served within two to five days. That simple commitment has driven us to the growth that weve seen thats brought us to this need today to build this new kitchen. In 2007, just to give you an idea, we served 523,000 meals in the city and delivered them, and this year 2 2. 1. Think about that growth. We were touching the lives of about 2,000 individuals u unduplicated in the city. Now were touching over 5,000 a year. That growth has been predominantly in seniors, but weve also in that tenyear period worked with the department of aging and Adult Services to serve those people who are under 60 represents about 50 of our population and also were partnering with the food bank to deliver groceryies to about 500 people a week in the department of aging and also working with this mayor and administration to make sure that people in inactinavigation cens have meals. Were very grateful to be a part of that effort as well. It mabelibecame quite clear abo years ago that we needed a plan to deal with this. We first conducted a fullscale operation ental review. Is there any way that we dont need to build a new kitchen . Is there anything else we need to do . That plan basically was Pretty Simple and straightforward and said, hey, you need to get out of this kitchen pm. So that began the process that were committed to the fact that we need to build something new, and we designed the kitchen with the help of kitchen concepts ionic that ionic inc. That will carry us forward for 30 years. Thats the second step. Then we got to the hard work. Where the heck can we afford to buy a piece of labbed land in San Francisco and where can we find that. We originally wanted to keep our operations in one place, but un fortunately that wasnt in the cards. We have an amazing plan b. We will build our kitchen and Distribution Center and keep our site three minutes away on the other side of 3rd street in the bay view as our Office Production facility. So were going to have a tw twocampus operation. So we purchased this site from l luxor cap. Does anyone remember this as that site . Were about to make it differe t different. At the end of the day the price tag is going to be about 41 million and well tell you a little bit more about how were doing in that goal in raising, but you can rest assured that weve done well enough that were here today and we still have some work to do and so forth and well secelebrate tho ha who have carried us so far. Heres what were building and the great features were building. On this site will be a 34,700 square foot facility, slug including a state ooftheart cook chill area, freezer, storage, assembly production, distribution yard and receiving docks. This is the big news in this construction. Were going to move our daily constructi production from 8,000 meals a day to 20,000 meals a day. [ applause ]. It will be one of the only facilities in the region and we think in San Francisco that use s this cook chill equipment to produce bulk food and used in meals. The other thing im very excited about is where we are. Were in the middle of the San Francisco wholesale product district. Were food. Were great partners with th s e michael gentlemjanice, and loo forward to partnering with these businesses in this neighborhood and working to continue the efforts that are here in the neighborhood. It also will have a test kitchen that will help us improve the quality and choice for our clients and tailor meal s as we look to improving our service s for clients. Maximumly ally were doing solar on the building so we can save the planet. Isnt that a great facility . [ applause ]. So were excited to have with us this morning mayor london breed. Before inviting her to speak, i just wanted to take a moment to recognize a few other elected officials who are going to be here shortly or are here alre y already. Hope fulfully soon, supervisor gordon mar from district 4 and supervisor waltshamann walton f this district will be with you and hope fulfully you get a cha to chat with them. We want to welcome the form er district 10 supervisor who is now chair of the board of equ equalization, malia, and representing state isnt that right scott weiener is rose gu i guiliano and representing is n kenneth chan. Thank you for your service. And lastly, i think that the new captain of the Bay View District is here. I want to just give a shout out and a welcome to captain Troy Dangerfield who has taken on as chief of the bay view station. Hope fulfully well get chance meet with him. I was one of the lucky people who last year on july 11th was at a historic event where this city welcomed its first africanamerican mayor in the citys history, frisk nati sfri San Francisco native london breed. It was an absolutely Beautiful Day and i have only one regret. I should have worn a big hat because it was sunny and it was a long time out there with a lot of fun. Its hard to believe it was only 12 months ago that that occurred because this mayor has hit the ground running. It feels like years of work has been done. Shes out there with laser focus trying to tackle the issues fa e facing our city, tackling the home leless crisis, adding more beds, expanding Mental Health and substance deuabuse programs creating more housing for all san fran sciscan s and keeping city streets safe and clean. It is my sincere pleasure to introduce and welcome to the stage lamayor london breed. [ applause ]. Mayor breed thank you so much, it is great to be here and i want to recognize alex ran doff, thank you so much for joining us today. Ive got to start by staying ths is probably one of the most organized and neat groundbreak s ings ive ever been to. Just the gravel on the ground, the need and structured system here. I mean, this is absolutely i indecreed able because ive been to a lot of groundbreakings and you know, malia, how many gro d groundbreakings weve been to. This is probably the nicest one weve ever been to. Thank you all for creating this wonderful environment for what i think is one of the mobest programs we have in San Francisco. I want to start by thanking a ashly and all the people who work for meals on wheels because you do the hard work. I know from experience how amazing the employees at meals on wheels are because they served my grandmother for so many years. They did it with kindness. They always asked how she was doing today. They can tell maybe when she wasnt having a great day. So they would spend time and put forwa forth effort and talk about the food they were bringing over. It really for seniors who are living in isolation, how amazing to have at least if no one else is coming to see you, that person whos delivering those meals sometimes is the only contact that so many of our Senior Community has when that feel meal is dropped off. This program and what it has done since 1970 has been absolutely amazing. This analyticfacility, to go fr meals a day to over 20,000 meals a day will make sure that we get rid of that wait list once and for all so that no one is left off the list moving forward in the future. You all, the contribute entor s people on the board, the folks who have supported this program over the years, the investmens s that you have made have had a pro foufound impact on so many indecreed able lives and you know this because thats why you support this program. I had the opportunity because i visited over the years since ive been an elected official various clients for the progra s and have had great kfingss, including the one i just had with mrs. Lee earlier this year. She was just so grateful and so excited and so happy and just talked about her experience and how she probably wouldnt honestly she said i probably wouldnt be as big as i am if meals on wheels didnt deliver these programs. She was not big. She was a tooiny laidy, but shes so very happy and food really brings people together. We help and support our Senior Communities in this way. And another way were going to be supporting our Senior Community is the housing bond, a 600 million housing bond without raising property tax es with the largest amount ever dedicated to Senior Housing and this is the largest housing bond weve ever done in the history of this city. So im really proud of the investments, the deliberate investments that we are making to support our senior populat n population, our dis ababled population, and also again thank you to meals on wheels for supporting our inactinavigationr s because we know that home l s homelessness is one of the the number one issue that we face in San Francisco. We have a lot of people is it truing ling sw Mental Health and Substance Abuse dis ororder. We are changing how we provide support and services and it involves making sure we have i indecreed able partners and whee meals on wheels has been pushing the envelope and doing the great work for years and this facility that will be absolutely amazing is just one step forward in it happen ing continuing the great work theyve done for decades. Im so excited to be here and cant wait to cut the ribbon when we open. Thank you all so much. [ applause ]. Thank you so much, mayor breed. You know, nothing this monument al happens without a lot of effort, gathering the skills and leadership necessary to make Something Like this happen. So we want to acknowledge how weve gotten to this day and acknowledge the team thats going to help us finish this up. First and foremost, i want to thank my board of directors and the many boards of directors who have been engaged in this conversation. I was talking to someone about this earlier. You know, boards by design are the kooerps of the mission and frankly very hesitant to take on risk. This group of people did their job. They made sure that we were taking on something that we could accomplish and the fact that were sitting here today is a testament frankly that they xem pexemplify the type of leadp and stewardship we want on all our boards across the city. Lets give all these Board Members a big hand. [ applause ]. I mentioned earlier we went through the slog of trying to find something to buy so then we can figure out what we can build and how much it will cost. The first person who probably had to go through therapy after joining me on this effort was dan mckue our real estate representative and literally we worked for two and a half yeas s to get to this site and bewent through three pricing scoping and buying exercises and so forth. Did you thank you, dan, for working with me and still being able to call me a friend. We also have identified an al allstar team to help us with this kitchen and build it. The first person i mentioned earlier but i want to call out specifically again is mike bal divrks dwin from kitchen concepts. Mike was chosen not because hes one of the best in the field nationally, but because he served for decades in the meals on wheels in anaheim. When i saw his work there, i said youre the right guy for s us. Youre the person who understand s how were different and uni e unique. Thank you. We also want to thank that we have a local San Francisco lve, local business entrerprise, ja k jackson and lyles architect uru is our architect. The architects could not be here today, but iron ically their parents are. Welcome and thank you for being here. We also have engaged a really good friend of meals on wheels for years, an excellent general contractor ain plant constructin and we have an amazing team assembled under the leadership and the determination of don b libby. We also have a great owners p rep. This is the person that keeps our staff from having to deal with the mash nations and tell us what that means is keith d debrian from skyline partners. Keith, thank you. And an amazing three iio of peoe to make sure we build the best building. First is david who is under arrest our operations officer. Frank scotted our director of facilities. An amazing asset to the organization. The guys that keep s me out of jail as well as making sure having money in the bank is the cfo. [ applause ]. Even with the bestlaid pl s plans, we would not be breaking ground today without an Extraordinary Group of organizations and people whove g come together to allow us to move this process forward quickly and they have done there through this through the new market task credit process. For those of you who dont know what those are, youre blessed. [ laughter ]. But just for the sake of education, basically the federal government incentivize s throug tax credits investment s and stressed communityies, programs that serve dis advertistreasurer that serve dis advertistreasur s distressed populations. Our propositiject definitely f t that. It aligns credit s that organizations manage to give to projects and theyre aligned with these