Transcripts For SFGTV Recreation And Park Commission 20240713

For the meeting to proceed as efficiently as possible. If you like to speak on any item , we request but do not require that you complete a blue card. Each person will have three minutes for Public Comment on each item. Please address your comments to the commission during Public Comment. In order to allow equal time, we will not respond to any questions during Public Comment. The commission may ask questions of staff after Public Comment is closed. If there is an item of interest that is under the subject matter jurisdiction, you may speak under general Public Comment. That is item four. If the fire alarms activate, you must evacuate the building in an orderly fashion. Elevators will immediately return to the first floor and are not available for use. If you need assistance out of the building, please make your way to the closest area of refuge which is directly across the hall in the mens restroom. Theres a speaker box. Prosit and city hall security will answer. Please note the commission will be calling item seven and eight together. We are now on item two, president s report. Thank you. I will be very brief. I simply wish to all of the public and all of my fellow commissioners and all of the staff at recreation and park a very happy holiday season. Thank you. Thank you for setting that great example for the general manager. [laughter] sorry, did i say that out loud . Is there any Public Comment . Public comment is closed. We are now on item three. General managers report. I only have 37 items for you this morning, commissioners. Thank you very much. [laughter] i too will extend a happy holiday and im so excited about this holiday season. I will share with you a wee bit what is happening in your department. Got some good news to an 2019. The Controllers Office released its annual Park Maintenance standards this week which shows the parks were better maintained across the city over the past fiscal year with less disparity between neighborhoods and continued improvements to formerly lower scoring parks. Our department met 92 of its standards, exceeding our target of 90 . The score also represents a threepoint increase from the previous two years, and a sixpoint increase over the past four. We are doing well. Significantly, the report also shows and can you continued can prove mints improvements in the condition of formerly lowing lower scoring parks. In 2015, it got a 60 . In 2019, that score climbed 17 to 77 . Earlier this year, the Controllers Office published a new interactive dashboard that shows all data that users can explore to see the highest and lowest scoring parks and how the scores have changed over time or look up a favorite parking get level details on the maintenance the dashboard can be found on the controllers website. The results of this latest report are certainly a testament to the commitment of our staff, including our custodians, our maintenance crews, they also reflect the continued guidance and investment that we are making into our deferred maintenance fees that you all help us with each year. They certainly reflect the results of the confidence of San Francisco voters as we have been able to renovate almost 100 projects and almost 100 facilities in the last 10 years. Very good news. The biggest take away for me is, over the last three or four years with both ted with head and heart and wallet, our focus on narrowing the gap between our highest and lowering parks and prioritizing deferred maintenance and equity zones is starting to show. It is starting to pay off. We are really pleased about that i wanted to invite everyone to yet one more awesome holiday party. This one is going to be at 900 and at india basin. The future park sights that we have all been working on this saturday, december 21st, from noon to 5 00 p. M. The event is in india basin project event collectively hosted by the recreation and Park Department the brando institute, the Parks Alliance and will include visits from santa, live entertainment, cookie decorating, rockclimbing and toy giveaways to kids. Folks can preregister their children for the giveaway by calling 415421877 415 4218777. Usually a phone number has seven numbers. You can find out more about the india basin project. You can please visit the website just write down the path from 900 innes is the eco centre. If youre looking for ways to get active this holiday season, the eco centre is a couple is a couple of new and unique activities this month in addition to his regular programming and adoption investigation workshops were you can test your athletic skills against insects. I thank you have already done that, mr. President. I have. Let me say again, you lost. You can test your athletic skills against insects. If your insect curious, this is december 26 and 10 00 a. M. From january 2nd at 10 00 a. M. From 3 00 p. M. You can also learn about microorganisms that live in the wetlands on december 27th and january 3rd from 10 00 a. M. Until 3 00 p. M. The last weekend of december, first weekend of january all have some cool and also programming. For more information on occurring activities, you can visit our website. It is winter, his registration for our winter programs is going on now online and in person at 14 locations across the city. Get the entire family out and into our parks and recreation centres. We have ever something for everyone. Including fishing, canoeing, and kayaking. A Basketball League for kids and drop in zumba and fitness classes for adults. With an eye on january, two quick announcements. Applications for our summer 2020 work Recreation Program are being accepted now through january 10th. The program is open to teenagers 14 to 18 who live or go to school in San Francisco and offers a valuable opportunity for them to enter the workforce, earn money, have fun, make new friends, and work will recreation and park sweatshirts. This past summer, we hosted 430 youth workers in our parks. Nearly half of whom were in this Recreation Program. They were recruited, interviewed , and hired directly by our staff. Celebrating its 58th year this year, the program has seen many of its former workers go on to have long and successful careers here at the recreation and Park Department, including stacy white and toby wiley. Those interested in applying or folks who know teens who may be interested in applying, you can visit our website. And then lastly, join us for our 306th annual luncheon in honor of dr. Martin luther king on friday, january 17th from 11 30 a. M. To 1 00 p. M. At the recreation centre. This years keynote speaker is going to be a superior court judge. I believe that she is the chief. It offers Community Members to recreate reconnect and reflect on the life of dr. King. Lets attend so we can reserve a seat for you. With that, we will take a quick look at all of the Holiday Events happening or that have happened in your beloved park system. [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] and thank you for the video. I want to mention briefly that the tenderloin childrens recreation centre, which honest to god, there were 500 to 600 people in there for toy giveaways, food giveaways, curling, cookie and crafts in a community that doesnt have much space and needs the love. It was quite joyous. I want to think my staff are all the work they do to give people a little bit of an extra holiday smile. That concludes the general managers report. Thank you very much. Is there any Public Comment . Please come forward. Remind him it is on the general managers report. This is Public Comment on the general managers report. Okay. Can i use thick projector . May i please have the overhead . Overhead . Take your time. No hurry. You are up. Great. Good morning. I am here to talk about the general manager report. If you look at this here, this shows mclaren park. I got this from Capital Improvement. If you look at every single map, we are not on the San Francisco visitors map. We dont get much respect. We are not on this map. You see there . District nine, they shut us off at twin peaks potrero hill. The reason i bring this up is because we want our fair share of the bones. My question is, is mclaren park and the playground going to be on the next bond . Nobody can answer this question except maybe you guys. I cant get a straight answer i can sit down if you dont have the answer . I dont think, under Public Comment, that there will be response to a particular question. The bonds are set out of the mirrors office so i would probably send you there. Okay. I will go to the audit ethics. The last few days i have been at the Controllers Office. I need help under the sunshine law to understand a lot of these reports. If you guys have an announcement , if you look at the back part of it, it is not even on here. All the paper that you guys have , i have a lot of the copies how can we follow the money if mclaren park if we dont understand the literature . You guys have it too. I went to the supervisor right here. They were very nice and the auditor is off the chart. The controllers. I have been very forthcoming. I need recreation and park to sit down with me and help me understand these reports. Thats all i am asking. And under the sunshine law i am requesting this. Thank you. Thank you. Following the money. Is there any other Public Comment . Public comment is closed. We are now on item four, general Public Comment. This item will be continued until item 10. Members of the public may address the commission on items that interest the public and that do not appear on the agenda with respect to agenda items, you will have an opportunity to address the commission when the item is reached in a meeting. I have several blue cards for this. When i call your name, please call forward. [calling names] thank you. Good morning, commissioners. I am here representing the board of the one at vista Neighborhood Association. Im here with three other members to update you briefly with the current park Assessment Project and project and also to express the importance of being a project on the 2020 park file. First of all, thank you for approving this project. Assessment project back in august and thanks to recreation and parks for helping fund and partnering on this project. Thank you also to miller co. , the lead Landscape Architect firm that is helping that is putting a lot into this project. Finally, thank you to for including a member of buena vista neighbors on the. Working group. I appreciate that. A lot of progress has been made on this project so far, assessing the pegs conditions and estimating the cost to restore the park. We expect much of this to be completed in early 2020 and ask that an overview be presented to the commission this february. This project is in followup to the 2015 Capital Improvement planning projects that took place between recreation and park. We do not have updated cost estimates, but we expect those to be at the same level or larger than the 25 to 30 million that came out in 2015. There are three points i would like to end on. Number one, the importance of preserving San Franciscos natural resources. This is essential to the Mission Statement for the 2020 parks bond. [calling names] is certainly one of the citys most precious natural resources. Number two, it is believed that many of the core features are in poor or deficient condition and this project will continue to the overall assessment of [calling names] buena vistas conditions. Number three, and as part of the park bond selection process, buena vista should be viewed as a leverage funding. Over the last decade, they have received 1. 3 million in capital expenditures. Of that, we have helped raise 300,000 over the last five years to get at bags and private donations. They have also applied to Grant Programs for the last five years and is continuing to research and develop other funding sources. Again, we hope to have an overview of this project presented to the commission in february. Please know, we are committed to helping with the process of the 2020 parks bond. Thank you [calling names]. Good morning. My name is jean and for the past 30 years, i have had the privilege of living on the east slope of the park in the park hill condominiums. The old st. Josephs children hospital. I enjoy having breakfast every morning looking over the magnificent overstory of the park. Im here to speak on our park on behalf of the 136 homeowners in my parkhill community. So much for paperless. Okay. Buena vista parkas an urban wonder. It is a natural urban forest. It is the oldest park in San Franciscos park system. It is the highest, most inland sand dune in the state of california. It has 36 acres with winding paths and sweeping views that incorporate three bridges. The park nourishes us, but the park is in decline. It has been under maintained for decades. It is chronically understaffed and chronically underfunded. Historically it has been served by two to three gardeners. Only recently, while we did get an acting supervisor and the staff is now up to four gardeners, and with their hard work and care they are only holding the park together. Buena vista park has received less than a Million Dollars in funding in the past decade. The departments 2020 parks bond Mission Statement includes a statement about improving sustainability. A sustainable urban forest at Buena Vista Park could thin the overstory, improve the understory and add plantings that would regenerate. We could create a Design Guidelines for reforestation over time to make the park healthy again. If we make the park healthy again, then the ongoing Maintenance Cost could level off and be sustainable. If the park continues to degenerate, the Maintenance Costs will continue to spike in response to the state of emergency it is in. Emergency responses to floods, landslides, erosion, and most recently, fires. A healthy park will attract private philanthropy. Together with recreation and park, our Neighborhood Association is working on a Needs Assessment and cost analysis to make Buena Vista Park project ready. Buena vista park needs to be adequately funded by the next park bond. We need to take care of the park so it can continue to take care of us. Thank you. Thank you. [calling names] hello, my name is stephanie. I am on the buena vista Neighborhood Association Parks Committee and i would like to speak from the perspective of family. I am a mother of two Young Children under the age of three and we are avid users of the park with the playground, the pathways, going out and just exploring picking up sticks. It is a wonderful resource for families. I have lived in the area of the past 25 years in the past 20 years. In the last 10 years, eight houses flanking either side of me have converted completely from the houses that had no children at all to every single house now has children in it. We also have three public Elementary Schools that are walking distance to the park and we have two private schools that cover the k. Through 12 segment of education. We have a lot of schools, we have a lot of families, and there is a growing need to make the park safe and maintain it in a Sustainable Way so it is accessible and safe for families to go to. Of the 10 entries that there are to the park, there are only two that are really useful or you are able to get into without going over off the side of the path or having to wander or, you know, you basically cant get through with a stroller except for two entries. That is due to the fact that there are no maintained pathways at the entry point. A lot of the paths you have to veer off the side because the stairs are falling apart and people are creating their own pathways because pathways have completely deteriorated. As part of our work, we would love to bring in public donation because there is only families that would support the park. In order to do so, these families need to see that the city is committed to support significant Financial Support with the bond in 2020. We would love to see that our weekend warriors, neighbors that are coming in, and working on the park and that are committed are not just putting up fires. We are actually getting support from the city that they can be maintaining a sustainable and healthy park that is safe for everyone to use. We would love the park to be more welcoming to everyone. Some people have even mentions that they are fearful to go into it with their kids because of how things are. We really cherish our 36acre park and dont want to see it continue to deteriorate. We asked the committee to support the park with a significant financial allocation in the next park bond. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Go ahead. Good morning. I have lived near the park for over 35 years and have walked a dog in the park every day for the last 18 years. I can say i am firsthand witness to the great beauty of the park, but also to its unfortunate steady decline. My message for the committee today is that the needs Assessment Project has been going on for decades and now is the time to act. The buena vista Neighborhood Association has been working with recreation and parks park since the 1970s. I have seen the proposal for the master plan in a 1987, and that very little work seems to have been implemented. I personally have been involved with them and this issue since 2015 when the Capital Improvement plan started. Were waiting for those recommendations that came out of that process to be funded. And now with the occurrence evaluation that they have helped fund, that maybe miller and company assumes a very good work on, and their proposals are being priced and you will see them shortly. This project is very ready to go , assuming that the bond passes on the funds are made available. I hope that this committee does not kick the can down the road and that if the bond passes and the funding if the bond passes and the funding is delayed again, the park will continue to decline, and it would be a tragedy to lose the environment that buena vista provides in the very centre of the city. Particularly as it is densely populated. I hope that now, with the proposed bond, at the time has finally come to provide a resource that the park so desperately needs. That is it. Thank you. Thank you. Matthew . I hope this works. The overhead might work. Look at that. Look at that. This is a picture of the twin peaks area. Im here today with a Strategic Plan update. I dont need the overhead anymore. The Strategic Plan update to remind me that perhaps a commission wanted to hear about some of the work happening outside of the park including some cooperative things. I am a very happy to announce the s. Of urban riders. I want to talk about our project laguna hospital. I know at least some of you have seen this. I dont know if anyone else has, but this year we had 1,000 volunteer hours. About 200 volunteers. We had a grand opening celebrating that we restored about 2 miles of trail and habitat. Supervisor yi was there. It was the number one voted category in that participatory budgeting. As part of how it is something you might be interested in thinking about. [please stand by] october is 17, 2019, rec and Park Department. San Francisco Park evaluation program, evaluation forms ive been doing a lot of reading it puts me to sleep. A. D. A. Walking asphalt paths, curb cutouts, pretty basic. Here it is. Look at this. You see this . This is the play areas for a. D. A. I got this a little while ago. This is what you use for metrics. Im talking about the rec and park and the controllers. I will continue and bring lots of people in here with disabilities to demand that this becomes part of your metric system, your analysis, your Strategic Plan. Here it is. It says new construction, alter stration, barrier removal, path component, triggered by the work, route of travel from Public Transit this thing is hard to navigate. The parking is so out of compliance, it is not even funny. Toilet, showers thats not it. Drinking fountains we have a problem with that. Passenger loading zones i know most people dont go out to maclaren park, i understand that. But it is where we live. We need this to change. [buzzer] we need you to add this to the parks standard annual report, and we request that the audit teams at the Controllers Office, which ill be dealing with them, and the rec and Park Department, at the lodge to Work Together to accomplish this. This is critical. San francisco is known as the San Francisco c. C. , all are included, including the disabled. Thank you. Chairwoman thank you. Public comment is closed right now on item 5. Commissioners, is there any item you would like removed from the consent calendar . I dont see any. Chairwoman is there any Public Comment on the consent calendar . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Moved and seconded. All those in favor . Yea. So moved. Thank you. Chairwoman all right. Were now on item 6, San Francisco zoo. Power point. Good morning. Vince grubbs, c. F. O. At the zoo. Power point. Weve got it. Our yearlong 90th anniversary celebration concludes in december, highlighted this month by our joy at the zoo. Which goes through the end of the year. Our orangutans, judy and bonnie, had the opportunity to explore the outside. This was baronis first time. He was first tentative but soon followed judy into the yard. As we continue to acclimate both species to their new habitat. Earlier this month, the zoo hosted the San Francisco Fire Department and over 100 kids, aged five to 12, for a day of hawaiian fun. The thrust of the day centred around cultural awareness and selfesteem. All kids went home with toys, thanks to the s. F. F. D. And the toy drive. If youre looking for the perfect holiday gift, an annual membership to the zoo is the gift that keeps on giving, offering unlimited yearround programs, and there will be an additional bonus month added to the memberships. In honor of ugly holiday sweater thing, we invite you to show off your ugly holiday sweaters at the zoo all weekend long. On the 20th, the first 20 guests in their ugly holiday sweaters will receive a free zoo key. And make sure to tag us, and well share our favorite photos. There is still time to meet santa and his elves at tinse tinseltown, joy at the zoo will continue daily until january 1st with santa and other cooking activities. And were open on christmas day. And well be santa will be busy that day, but some of his reindeer will be onsite, and we want to thank all of our staff for working the holidays. Thank you. Thank you. Chairwoman is there any complic comment on this item. Now hearing none, Public Comment is closed. Were on item 8. Good morning commissions, im lisa branson, and it is a pleasure to be here in the dead of winter, but thinking forward to celebration and fun for next spring that we hope that we really hope will inspire gratitude for what our forebearers created and also a spirit of community for the city. Im going to take two items together. Ill read you the agenda language for both and then ill walk through one and then the other. And im happy to answer any questions at the end. So the items before you today are discussion and possible action to authorize the department to grant a permit to the San Francisco Parks Alliance to produce a celebration of Golden Gate Parks 150th anniversary on april 4th, 2020, with events including food, music, activities, and the closure of all roads in Golden Gate Park accept crossover drive and the great highway on apri april 4th, 2020. And the second item is discussion and possible action to authorize the department to enter into a permit with sky star wheel llc, for the temporary installation, not to exceed one year of an observation wheel on the eastern side of the music concourse area, located beyond venues of concourse bowl, and bordering music concourse drive with terms substantially the same as the term sheet dated december 9, 2019. Approval of this proposed action by the commission is the approval action as defined by the s. F. Administrative code, chapter 31. Okay. So first the event, and i want to start by saying this event is truly a partnership with the San Francisco Parks Alliance, and it has really been a pleasure work with them for more than a year in planning this. Golden gate park has always been the Golden Gate Park has always been a magical place. In its boundaries, people have come together on momentous occasions, including the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and the summer of love, for annual concerts, races, and other events. It is also a place where people can come to experience nature right inside the city limits, with a hike or a picnic. In 2020, we want to recreate, create, and celebrate the joy and magic of the San Francisco treasure, past, present, and future. And while were only talking about the permit for the event, i just wanted to take you through a little bit of the plan for the celebration to put it in the context of the year. So first, a little history. For the boundaries of the park set by the state legislature on april 4, 1870, luckily o for us, april 4th falls on a saturday, so somebody wanted this to happen. The city founders, with the designation of the park, wanted a park like central park, so they brought the designer of central park out to San Francisco to design a park. He took one look at the sand dunes on offer for the park area, said it cant be done, and turned on his heels and left. Part of that story may be a pocketful, but what is true is that horticulturist john mclaren, and engineer william hall, figured out a way to make things grow in the sand, really representing the creativity, determination, and cando spirit that has always embodied San Francisco. Barley . Barley and oats . Correct. Today the hold on. Today th it is about 75 acres bigger than central park, and it has an array of culture venues. The event is being organized by the San Francisco Parks Alliance, under the leadership of an honorary commit lead by mayor breed and five distinguished cochairs. One including one here . Including one here. One of the primary goals of april 4th and the yearlong celebration is to celebrate Golden Gate Park as everybodys park. This means reaching beyond the park to ensure groups all over the city get to experience the park during this special year. Were planning free shuttles to the park on saturdays, particularly from equityzoned neighborhoods, and well bring Cultural Group to perform on the stage and elsewhere in the park. So today we formally partnered with more than 75 Community Groups, many of whom will activate parts of the park and provide volunteers and april 4th. And were in process with dozens more, and well certainly get to 150 partners by april 4th. And we also have a wonderful list of the citys most important cultural institutions and importance. Sponsors. All of these partners will help create a year of celebration in the park and around the city. Each event, with its own special celebration flavor. Outside of the park, for example, there will be a photography exhibit at terminal 3, and the anniversary will be at the Public Library at all 28 city branches. Of course, the cornerstone of the celebration will be the aimtio april 4th Community Day, exactly 150 years from the founding of the park. There are so many youll see from the map of the event, but were planning to light up every corner of Golden Gate Park, and i mean that figuratively because most of the activities will be in the day. From 10 00 a. M. To approximately 5 00 p. M. Through the park with some events continuing into the evening in the music concourse. There will be lawn bowling, model yacht racing, horseback rides, vintage baseball, soccer clinics, and more. The veep event will feature a kids carnival, musical performances, food, and, as i said, events, including, of course, the wheel, which ill get to in a moment. So in order to deal with the enormity of what is available in Golden Gate Park and what it represents, we have decided the celebrations into four basic tracks history and people, science, technology, and nature, recreation and wellness, and creativity and the arts. And park visitors on april 4th e to plan their visit according to those tracks. It is hard to see over the text, but there will be as youll see on the map, there are different colors for different content areas. So if youre interested in recreation and wellness, youll be able to find those activities. There will be arts activities and science activities. One of the things im excited about is were going to take the irrigation project going on in Golden Gate Park right now, which will ultimately be the largest urban park water reclammation park in the country, and well highlight that as part of the nature and environment tract. Well have a Great Blue Heron watch. There will be a heritage picnic. The museum of craft and design is going to come and helped make flowered headbands for park visitors, and there will be a kids carnival at Robin Williams meadow. So some of the more nittygritty planning pieces in order to move people safely around the park, and to harken back to the parks history before there were cars, well close nearly all of the roads in the park. Leaving open kesser drive. Well provide ultimate transportation to help people in the park get around, including shuttles, bikes, scooter rentals, horse and carriage rides, and more to come. And then in terms of broader transportation planning, we do recognize that this onetime celebration may affect the surrounding neighborhoods, and were working with the neighborhoods to reduce the effects. So some of the measures that were taking right now is working the m. T. A. To provide alternative or increased muni service, to keep kesser and the great highway and cross over drive open, publicizing the event and any traffic changes in event, and well be doing extensive messages about the need for people to take public transportation, and well highlight the limited available parking around the park. And well also work with the m. T. A. To reroute the 44 oshaughnessy, which is the only muni line that would be impacted by the road closures. And i just wanted to add that, as i mentioned, well be doing well continue to do extensive out reach and engagement, but weve already done quite a lot. And, frankly, the enthusiasm has been inspiring. So its really helped us frame a lot of these plans. Weve had two Community Meetings. One in may at the auditorium at the San Francisco Public Library in an effort to have the planning meeting not be in the park and continue the move to make sure that this was something for the whole city and not just the neighbors of the park. And then we had a Community Meeting in september at the orchid pavilion next to the conservatory of flowers. There were nearly 100 people at the september meeting. They generated 175 ideas for what they wanted to see in the celebration. And out of that meeting, and out of other outreach efforts, came the work with groups about 79 of whom had signed formal Partnership Agreements. Those Partnership Agreements allow us to use our beautiful logo in their pearl material, and asked them to commit at least one volunteer to help run the event. If only we could do every single idea that weve suggested, but were working on a lot of them. And now so on to the wheel, which, of course, is going to be a central piece of the april 4th celebration and beyond. So the 150foot wheel that were planning in the music concourse harkens back to the first wheel, which was placed in Golden Gate Park in 1894as part of the midwinter fair. Bringing the observation wheel to Golden Gate Park will allow the park to highlight and celebrate the anniversary, drawing many visitors to the park during this yearlong celebration, and will help visitors experience the fup anfun and grand grandeur ofe 1896 exhibition. And on to the bit about the logistics of the wheel. I want to be clear, there is no cost to the city or the department for the cost of the wheel. In fact, we expect it will generate funding that will help support these festivities. The operate will build out, operate, and disman dismantle the wheel. He will reimburse the park to restore the area to the preinstallation condition. The operator will pay a dollar for general admission ticket sold to the department, and 75 cents per senior or youth ticket sold to the department. The pricing of the wheel is 18 for a general admission ticket. 12 for seniors and youth under 13. And there is a number of Community Benefits that weve negotiated with the wheel operator. So those include free rides for the public on the april 4th Community Day. And also 500 complementary tickets per month will be used to ensure that lowincome residents of the city will have access to the ride. And theyre offering 25 v. I. P. Experience packages. And just a little bit about the logistics of the installation. I know this map isnt super eas easy to read, but youll see in the upper right corner the proposed installation area, which is at the north excuse me, at the east end of music concourse. The installation is well away from the parts of the garage, which are underneath the music concourse, and are those blue rectangles, which represent the parking garage, underneath the music concourse, with the tunnel in between those two sections of the garage in between. The wheel is about 130 feet in diameter, and 150 feet tall. The base is 72 feet by 57 feet, and the installation will include temporary sensing, support, fixtures and lighting. In terms of seismic safety, the support fixtures include 24inch piers on an eight foot by eight foot platform. In fact, i believe we just finished the g. O. Tech report, and theyre going to be 40 to 46 feet deep. Other approvals are in process, and construction wont begin until those other approvals happen. And just so you know what the other approvals are the state needs to approve the Amusement Park ride through the department of industrial relations. The department of building inspection will issue a foundation permanent. Permit. And since this is a landmark area, the Historic Preservation commission will issue a certifcate of appropriateness, and that hearing is scheduled for january 15th. And then i just really want to close with sort of why were doing this. So both the wheel and, really, the Community Day that will surround it, are designed to celebrate the parks past, present, and future, and its importance internationally, regionally, and to every neighborhood in San Francisco. We want to inspire at least 150,000 people to come to the park on april 4th, probably a lot more, and millions more to visit throughout this special year. And we want to build awareness and advocacy for the park and increase membership in all of the Community Groups in the park and around San Francisco that steward and support what the park means to the city. So thank you very much. And im happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much. Chairwoman im going to call the blue cards i have. Drew, michael, and then tom. Good morning, everyone. Happy holidays. It is a pleasure to be here. And i would actually say this is probably one of my favorite things that ive ever spoken on because celebrating this amazing public space and public park, cities dont get a chance to do this that much. And as you can tell, every 150 years. It is truly going to be a remarkable experience for the city and for every single resident in San Francisco, but also in the bigger bay area. It is i just want to say, the narrative of San Francisco right now is not always happy, when you hear about our public spaces and our public realm. And i think next year we can use this celebration to help change and curate that narrative because we have one of the best parks in the whole world right here, and thats Golden Gate Park. Next year having over 150 Community Groups, all of us focused on Golden Gate Park, celebrating the Amazing Things in this city, is going to be truly remarkable. One of the things weve been doing is going out and raising money for this with lisa and other other folks, and people always ask, what would be your sign of success for the golden gate 150th anniversary . And one of the things that makes this park so amazing is the actual things that happen in it, the things that people do every day, the groups that make this park very special. And some of them are getting older or more mature and need to have the injection of some new life. Yeah, i know. Im with you on that one, trust me. [laughter] and we and one of the goals here is to introduce new people and new ideas into the park. So, you know, im going to take the model yacht basin. When phil first showed me that when we were there and went to the model yacht club, i was literally was like a little kid in a toy store. I could not believe that people were building these boats. I go out there with my dog and i watch those boats all of the time, and it is truly relax and really great. So if i can find, and we can find, that next person through golden gate 150th that can help that organization for the next 15, 20 years to se survive and transform itself, we would have been a success with the golden gate 150 anniversary. And we also want to introduce the club to new things. Who knows, maybe well have a drone club if it is legal. You never know what will happen and who will get inspired through the golden gate 150th. I want to say were truly excited to partner with the department on this. I think it is going to be a celebration of Epic Proportions that were all going to have a lot of fun doing. I think next year, 2020, is going to be an interesting year, with everything going on in the National Sort of stage. [buzzer] and parks are the biggest piece of democracy that we have, open to everyone, and we should open that and be a part of that piece as part of our golden gate 150th. I also would like to say, it is Pretty Amazing that were going to close this park thank you very much. Close this park one day to cars, and im very excited to have that happen. And the wheel is amazing as well. Thank you. Chairwoman michael and tom and then audrey. Good morning commissioners. Mr. Parks, mr. Michael lambert, as Department Head for the San Francisco Public Library, i want to thank all of you and general manager with the opportunity to partner with the recreation and Parks Department on Golden Gate Parks 150th anniversary. The park sa very special place for the community, enhancing the quality of life for San Franciscos residents. It is a place where residents can be inspired, make connections, and enjoy the company of one another. And above all, as the previous speaker mention the, a place where all are welcomed every day. For me, Golden Gate Park is one of my happy places. Im a big fan of the golf course. It is one of the finest such courses in all of california. I cant thank you enough for the excellent stewedship of this park, and the neighborhood playgrounds that make San Francisco so livable. This coming year, in celebration of Golden Gate Parks history, were tying the 150th Year Anniversary to our signature summer stride, Summer Learning program. This is the single Largest Program that we do all year. All aimed at ensuring children in San Francisco keep reading and keep learning during the summer months. Last year we engaged more than 35,000 people in this program. And we open it up to all ages, so that everyone in every neighborhood in San Francisco can ben frit from the librarys push towards more books, more learning, free events and amazing prices. As part of our partnership, we will be featuring Golden Gate Park on all of our materials, including the game board, which allows people to track their reading, and the program guide, all of our advertising and book marks. We will be exhibiting our display that highlight all of the amenities available in the park. Were continuing to welcome with the recreation and park team to see how we can encourage families to take free shuttle buses from the farther locations in our city straight to gold gate park. Finally, watch for the library to really commemorate the park in a special way, with a limited Edition Golden gate library card coming this spring. We love our libraries, and we love our parks, and i know that all san franciscans love them, too. Thank you so much. Thank you. Chairwoman tom and then audrey and then bob. Are you tom . Come on up. Yeah. Hello, my name is tom steele, and im here to represent flagging in the park. Were a small Grassroots Group who organize Community Building gatherings in the National Memorial grove five times a year, which i assume arent familiar with, except, perhaps, for phil. So as these events started 23 years ago at the height of the aids epidemic, when a small group of friends gathered in the newly established grove to celebrate still being alive in the face of a very uncertain future. As well as to remember those already lost to the plague, these folks got together to do this by dancing together with vibrant silk flags such as these and i just wanted to show you these. They look like this, made of silk, and hand tie tiedyed. For smrkwe believe those who wee lost trafficking so young would want to be remembered for their vibrant lives. Our events are always free and typically wellattended by regulars, for whom we feel we provide an uplifting experience in these times of growing isolation in our society. To spanned beyond our established core crowd, we very happy to be embraced. For the most part, we do our own thing, and most of society is not aware of what we do. So were very happy to ar arrange a special event that day to represent the diverse vibrancy of our beautiful park and to demonstrate the beautiful aid memorial, and well show how to dance with flags, bands, hoops, and i hope well see some of you there. Thank you. Chairwoman audrey and then bob. Good morning, commissioners. My name is audrey engals, and im here on behalf of the jamestown organization. We are serving thousands of students and families in our after School Programs and other programs throughout our community. When we heard about this possible historical celebration event, we wanted to come and support the bid. And after the presentation that lisa just gave, im even more excited. One of our programs is a local performing ensemble. This is our most dedicated group of high school and transitionalaged youth performers, who have not only performed all over San Francisco and the bay area, but also around the world. These students meet once a week to hone their skills. One of our core values of the organization is artavision, which a combination of art and activist. These kids are singersongwriter and performers and music producers, who use their talent to bring awareness to different issues affecting our community, whether it is through drumming or theater works, and everything in between. Local local is celebrating the people through their ideas, their art and their activism. Wmost, if not all of our students, and all of our arts program. Steve actually,have grown un francisco, and have many memories of Golden Gate Park, whether that is from going to the playground, or going to other events, or visiting the museums and other attractions throughout the park. The celebration of Golden Gate Park is not just a celebration of land and trees, but of celebrating San Francisco and its dedication to the arts. Our performing ensemble just this past year performed at the academy of science, and perform at the amphitheater every year. Many of our students throughout the years have also made great use of the rec and Park Departments programs and have worked as student counsellors. I was just telling my own 14yearold daughter she should get a job with rec and park because it would lead to graitd greater opportunities for her in the future. We all as individuals, and as a community, value our parks for the enrichment they have provided us. It would mean a lot for our students to be able to perform at such an historic event as they watch the community shift and change to unfamiliar territory as their friends and families are displaced. They understand as young folks of color, performing music and dance from traditions, their performance itself is an act of empowerment and a declaration that they are still here and that they matter. We would love for the city to say that to themselves by inviting them to perform at such an historic event. I encourage you all to take the time later to actually look them up, to see their faces, and to see what it is that they do because theyre my pride and joy and my work, and i think you guys would feel the same if you saw it yourself. Thank you very much. Chairwoman bob . Good morning, commissions, my name is bob feedler, the executive director of the stern growth festival. Im here to indicate our support for and intent to participate in the golden gate anniversary, 150th anniversary celebration. Given we plan to do that by providing local artists and musicians to perform in different locations at different times throughout the celebration. And given that the theme is that it is everybodys park, that really marries quite well with our ethos, and we plan to provide a lot of diversity in those musicians, and hopefully highlight some different neighborhoods and Different Things to welcome everybody to the park and so given our 83years of partnership with the rec and Park Department, for which were extremely grateful. Grate, were delighted and honored to be part of this celebration. Thank you. Thank you. Chairwoman is there any other Public Comment on these items . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Commissioner lowe . You about to say i think we should take these up separately. For item 7, i move to approve. Second it. So moved. Commissioner lowe . On matter 8, i think we should be in the practice of getting a certificate of appropriateness first before coming to this commission, and understand that is not going to be heard until january 15th. I will move to advance this matter, but i think the better practice is that before coming to this commission, and when this commission is the last stop of approval, that we should have the certificate of appropriateness in front of us. Second, i wanted to note in our board packet that was attached was a term sheet; it wasnt the actual agreement. I understand there is an agreement to come later. Again, i think this should be a practice where if this is the authorizing act under chapter 31, we should have the actual agreement, not the term sheet. On that basis, i would like to first note that under article 7 of the park code, this does give this commission the authority to approve the observation wheel and would move to approve to authorize the general manager to we would want the general manager to come back to us on our next Commission Meeting in january, and i believe that is january 16th, to report back, one, the certificate of appropriateness was issued by the Historic Preservation commission. And, two, to report back that indeed the agreement and permit that was issued to the operator is on the same terms and conditions that was in our commission packet. Thank you. Is that in a form of a motion . Ill second that. Moved and seconded. All those in favor . Yea. So moved. Chairwoman item 9, the park and maintenance standards annual report. Good morning, commissioners. My name is ben, and im with the San Francisco recreation Parks Department, and im one of the administrators for the Park Maintenance Standards Program we have here, rawprunning alongsidehere. For ms is my second year as part of the program. I am very excited to present to you our scores. What is new this year is that we decided to take a deeper dive into the scores. We decided to dissect it, an additional layer, so we could get more out of the data. And, also, we are, during this presentation, going to show you the controls Office Online dashboard, where members of the public and people such as yourselves, the commissioners, can go on line, look up your favorite parks and learn a little more about their scores. So without further adieu, i will introduce to you Allison Emily from the controls office, who will complete the rest of this presentation. Thank you. Commissioners, thank you for having me here. Can you guys hear me . We can. Usually my voice is so soft. Im, again, very proud to present this report. It was a great team effort, a collaboration between the Controllers Office and r. P. D. Im going to just go through quickly some highlevel summaries that we took out of the report, and them emily, my colleague, will spend most of the time whacking you walkinu through this incredible new dashboard that allows people to explore the data as much as they want. Ill begin. Just before i get into the scores, i want to remind everyone kind of how this program works. There is an evaluation form for every park. In fact, some parks are so large theyre split up into smaller sections. There is a set of standard criteria that need to be met, and each park is broken up into segments called features. For example, childrens play areas are one feature. Trees are another feature. And then an aggregate score is made. We can look at overall skiers foscores for all parks, t we can drill down deeper and say what about certain parks . This year in fiscal year 19, the average score is 92 , which is an increase from prior years. We are increasing slowly every year. And you can see one of the main drivers of this increase is actually just a decrease in the overall thread. For several years we would have out lier outliers. So that means throughout the city, wherever you are and whatever park you go to, youre experience will be more similar to someone else in a different part of the city. However, as we presented before, we do continue to see a geographic disparity between the north and the south. So there are no topscoring parks really in the southern half of the city. This is a map of the 10 top scoring and 10 lowest score parks in the city. What i want to talk about a little bit is something new that weve started to do this year. Weve created a methodology to kind of group the kinds of criteria that we look at. So we look at things like is there a certain amount of litter or graffiti anywhere . And we could see things like, is a wooden slat loose on a bench, which is dangerous. These are considered routine maintenance, which requires specialized skills to clean up, but with have the specialized staff and resources to do so. And the time category is repair. These are repairs of structural projects that will take a larger budget and a longer timeframe to fix. We wanted to create these categories to help our staff kind of determine not just which parks are struggling and where, but what will it take to improve the response to these parks. It is a very different resource allocation to address problems of litter than it is to address cracks in asphalt. So while we are still perfecting the methodology, we were able to find some kind of interesting first takes. One of which we just looked at the extremes, which parks are on each end of the spectrum which need the most help with cleanup versus need the most help with repair. We can compare hilltop park, which needs cleanup help and repair, and we see it has struggled a lot with graffiti in the past, so it can be what is driving this category break down. And mckinley square, in the other end, has more structural problems, so cracks in the asphalt, for example. So when r. P. Staff looks it these, they can approach it differently. Im going to turn it over to my colleague emily, who is going to take you through that online dashboard, and were willing to take any questions at the end. Thank you. Thanks, alice. Hi, everyone. Im elli Emily Gonzales with the Controllers Office. We heard youre really interested in the accessability of this information. That is a datarich program and we produce a lot of reports, but how can residence and operational staff as well leverage this data . So that was the lens we were taking. We were updating our dashboard to make sure this data was more accessible or unsdzable. Understandable. Im going to walk you through the dashboard so you will see exactly what you can expect to find there. Let me see if i can do this from here. Our overall park scores, Park Maintenance scores is just sfcontrollerparks. And on that page youll find all of our reports from previous years, including this one. And also a link to our dashboard right here in the middle. Once you follow that link, i have already preloaded it youll get to the dashboard and land on his landing page. We have information just about the program itself. You know, how these scores are calculated, which parks are included,etc. So that kind of Program Level information here at the front. And these tabs are really where you can dive into the data. Lets take a look at the first one, the citywide trends tab. Theryou can look at the citywide parks score lets just follow that one, as an example. Here is before the dashboard is interactive. These are all of the sites that are evaluated here on the map on the right. And then in this table, in this graph, you can see youre looking at the citywide average park score over time, over the last five fiscal years. You can change that graph to show how the minimum score has changed, which alice just highlighted. By clicking minimum score, you see this changes to represent the minimum score, and youve seen that in crease over time. You could also look at the standard deviation, which is a measure of how spread out the scores are across the city, and we have seen that that has decreased over the last five years as well. So a way to interact with the state in a new way. Im a little snow on navigating this web. But you can look on the same citywide trends tab, the highest and lowest score parks, and you can see all of the years of this data. You can look through p. D. F. Reports, and now you can look and click through the past five fiscal years and seeing before the top 10and bottom 10 maintenancescored parks are. And you can click on those specific parks. Here we can click on buchanan street mall, and it will not only adjust to zoom in on that park, but will show you the feature scores at that park. Sites are divided into separate features, like lawns, hard scapes, etc. And you can see that granular data right here. I want to take you through the other tabs just briefly. Obviously you can explore this at your own leash at home. Leisure at home. Now you can look up any park and find information about that park. So you can just search a park by typing it in. Or, here, ill just select one. Alice chalmers. You can see when you have selected a park, youll see that the map zooms and on where that site is, and youll see overtime how that park has been scoring in their annual scores as compared two the citywide average, which is the gray line. And below youll see the feature scores at that park, and how the feature scores compare to the citywide average feature scores. Where is my Neighborhood Park really shining compared to other parks in the city, and where is it struggling as far as maintenance. I think this is an amazing resource for residents. My friends have already been using it. And ill just quick through the other three tabs. The district tab is supervisor districts. This one has a map shaded by the average Park Maintenance score for each supervisor district. You can just click on any district. Ill click district 11 here, to see its average score. And then all of the parks that were within that supervisor district, their annual park score and how it compared to the citywide average. Just a key finding from the report is district 11 has been the lowest score supervisor district in terms of the average Park Maintenance score for the last five years. So you can kind of see those trends overniem. Anovertime. And you can select te fiscal year to kind of track those. Ill move on to the equityzoned portion. You can filter by year. It will show you the different parks that will were labelled equity zone in that year. And this shows the score distribution for equityzone and nonequityzone parks. Im not going to go into all of these, because the dashboard is use to your own adventure session. Every single parks feature here is listed for users to interact with. So maybe im really interested in childrens play areas in particular. We can click on childrens play areas and really go into a deep dive. As this is showing f. Y. 19, but you can select a different year. How many play areas did we evaluate . 161. They had an an rag average score of 81. And then you can see all of the score distributions for all of those childrens play areas. There are a lot of ways to interact at this point, and im not going to go into it, but you can scroll and see all of the childrens play areas, or click on them from the map. You can click in the history gram and then the map will filter. And you could do that for lowest scores, too, and, again, you can do this for all of the features. Were really excited with this new improvement. I just have one more slide for you all, back to the power point. Okay. Our next steps are in our improvements to the program. So something we havent spoken about is the Data Collection of this data, done by Staff Members in the Controllers Office and in rec and park. Theyre currently using a more outdated app, which will be transitioning over through a new app by estry, and the Data Collection tool will be built in that app. And they will be working to implement this tool in the next fiscal year. It is our biggest task of improving that. And well be expanding the maintenance task, and we think it is really promising to look at this data in kind of a new way. Finally, i wanted to highlight for you something we height highlighted in the report we have over 100 evaluators in dozens of departments, which are going out with the standards to evaluate parks. It is crucial that everyone is applying the standards in the same way, and able to identify the same types of issues across time and across parks. Thats something that weve been interested in, but we want to expand that analysis and the future. We look forward to your questions. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. A very interesting presentation. Mr. Ginsburg . Excuse me, do you want to ask for Public Comment. Chairwoman i have one blue card from albert. And then ill see if there is anyone else. Good morning, people. They was talking about standard deviations and statistical mechanics. When i look at it, it will be the application. How do you apply standard dedeviation. She is talking about how the numbers, as they decrease, there is less deviation. But there is another part to it. Of the averages, there is also the Key Statistics to the averages that can be thrown out. Ive been looking it over, and i kind of seem to come up with what is the lowest score, such as mckinley, and it should be immediate attention. But then it wouldnt be so much of a drag on the other scores. So to make it more useful, this type of controller evaluation, probably something i would think about is money. They would be allocating from Park Maintenance, deferred maintenance. What are the funding that is available to immediately deal with a stat location, such as mckinley. Meanwhile, as i look through all of this, it looks great, but there has been a continual increase. Of the Park Maintenance, i would like to commend Operations Director danny kern to keep up the good work, and hopefully we can get your scores up. Thank you. Thank you. Chairwoman albert. I dont know if it is good morning or good afternoon. Still good morning. Good morning. All right. Can i see this projector again, please . Do you have it working . Okay. So right here youre looking at this october 7th, 2019 rec and park, Strategic Planning. So basically about the Equity Analysis and met metrics, 2019, discussion and possible action. There is an issue with that i have. Here we go, change please keep that on. So there is a change and score, figure five, increases and do decreases in parks scores in 2018 and 2019. Guess what . Table four. Largest decreases in parks n, but decreases, decline, in parks scores. Here it is, park 165, lewiston playground. The scores are 85 for fiscal year 18 and 19, and then it changes, minus seven. Here is this is lewiston playground. And this is the playground scores, and citywide scores, and it shows the decline. Here is a map this map shows the southeast district. These is the equity zones. The equity zones show rec and Park Department parks within equity zones and other parks, and basically your guys this is all here. It doesnt lie. Here it is again, 2015, 81. 19 im real suspect about these numbers. District 9, p. S. A. , three im very concerned about the numbers. I believe theyre lower than what you guys are saying they are. [buzzer] save to help oh, no. Total managed assets, educated three equity metrics, average parks evaluation score. [inaudible] a. D. A. Compliance needed, equity deficiencies, equity metrics, subsection h1, and shall include mitigating any equity deficiencies in the plan. Im so close to finishing. [inaudible] one more. San francisco, i need to talk to somebody. I want somebody from the lodge. Thank you. Mr. Ginsburg burg . Commissioner, i just wanted to thank the partnership at the Controllers Office, emily and alice, theyre like the money ball team of park scorers. Weve got data that we can slice and dice in any particular way. And i also really wanted to thank ben for his management of our program, and of course danny and lydia, who have been around. This is a really, really good tool. This morning before i came here, i was doing my park inspection in section one in the fuchsia delv del of gold gate park. And if anybody wants to do a park inspection, what weve got the tool on our apps. Its pretty cool. Thank you very much. Seeing no other comments, that was information only. Thank you. That was great information. And it is a great app, and well continue to enjoy it. And congratulations to the staff. The numbers keep getting better. Chairwoman item 10, is there anyone who wants to speak during Public Comment who did not speak during item 4. I would. You spoke already. Ive got a lot of hot wind here. Sorry. Chairwoman were now on item 11. Commissions, do you have any matters to raise . Just one. I would want to direct the Commission Secretary to work with the permits and reservation staff on updating the permits and reservation policy. I think it needs to be updated. Thank you, commissioner. Chairwoman okay. Any Public Comment on this item . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Item 12, new bis agenda business Agenda Setting . Seeing none. Chairwoman any Public Comment. Public comment is closed. Item 13, Public Communications. Any comment on the Public Communications . Please come forward. Again, my name is albert san. Advocates for a. D. A. , and friends of mclaren park. You know, when i got this announcement and i went online on computer, the server doesnt work. So, in other words, i distinct do idoesnt work. So i cant do it from home. So i had to go to the over here on the third floor, i believe it is, where they have all they put out these i know you guys supply it, but then there are commissioner documents i really apologize. Im real tired. To get that information was extremely difficult. Even they had an extremely difficult time trying to navigate the computer. This is in city hall. So i think under the sunshine law, im requesting for this information that you guys use to make a decision, all you commissioners and i respect you guys. I know this is not an easy job. But the public has a right to be involved and to be heard. So im asking on the sunshine law to make this more accessible. You know, trying to deal with the law is unbelievably difficult. So i would ask for more transparency. This is public funds. This is not your slush fund anymore. The bonds are public money, our tax dollar from the ballots. Thank you. Thank you. Chairwoman is there any other Public Comment. Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Were on item 14, adjournment. Moved. Pie seconded. Thank you very much. adjourned at 11 37