Transcripts For SFGTV SFCTA Full Authority Board 20240713

At present. I never can tell whether its preston opeskin. Peskin present. Clerk present. Commissioner ronen . Commissioner ronen present. Clerk commissioner safai. Supervisor commissioner stefani . Walton absent. Yee present. We have quorum. Commissioner peskin for you have any announcements . Clerk yes. Public comment will be available for each item on this agenda via telephone by calling 888 2045984. Enter access today 2858465. Not sure if its showing up on the screen. But then follow the system prompts. Once you join, youll be able to listen to the meeting as a participant. When you wish to speak on an item, dial 10 to be added to the queue to speak. Each caller will be allowed two minutes to speak. When your two minutes are up, we will move on to the next caller. Calls will be in the taken in the order in which they are received. Best practices are to speak slowly, and turn down the volume on the speaker. Please allow for a 30second lag time during the course of the meeting. Commissioner peskin thank you, madam clerk. I move on to the chairs report. Colleagues, this month, amidst all of the incredible difficulties that transit is facing locally, regionally and nationally, im very pleased to share some good news on the funding front. Last week the state Transportation Agency awarded 160 million to bay area transit and rail projects, including funds from muni, bart and the Water Transit Authority. These funds come from the states transit and inner city rail program, which advances projects that reduce emissions, while addressing highpriority mobility gaps. Specifically muni will receive 40 million in funds to improve reliability and travel times for the jade line and mline, as well as 1. 1 million for project developments in the systems. Bart will receive 111 million somebody needs to hit mute. All right. Thats better. Bart will receive 111 million to implement pits transbay court capacity program, consisting of vehicle purchases, train control and maintenance facilities, that will enable bart to increase service to 30 trains per hour in each direction. And carry an additional 200,000 passengers per day. And the Water Transit Authority will receive 9 million for a new Ferry Service between downtown San Francisco and mission bay. The vessel and related charging infrastructure will provide a critical 2. 6mile link between mission bay and our downtown. We are, of course, very grateful to the state for making these investments and i want to appreciate secretary kim and his team for recognizing the central roles of muni, bart and bay area ferry to connect our region and director chang and i had a very good meeting with secretary kim several months ago. And congratulations to all of the agencies on receiving these grants. And thank you to our state delegation and staff, who supported these applications. I look forward to working on each of these projects with all of you to make transit more reliable and resilient. And with that, colleagues, i conclude my remarks. Is there any Public Comment on the chairs report . Clerk chair, there is no Public Comment. Commissioner peskin okay. Public comment is closed. Next item, please. Clerk sorry. Hard time getting unmute button there. Consent agenda. Items 48 comprise the Consent Agenda. Item has 58 Board Meeting and no being considered for final approval. The remaining items are considered routine. Staff is not planning to present on these items, but are prepared to present. Oh, im sorry. I read the wrong item. Item 3 is the executive directors report. This is an information item. Commissioner peskin thank you, madam clerk. Director chang, the floor is yours. Thank you, chair peskin and commissioners. Ill begin my report with the continuing federal response to the pandemic. Of course, Congress Last week passed the paycheck protection program, previously funded for 349 million. And transit operators, however, continue to strug well the covid impact on their revenues and ridership. On april 22 bed, the m. T. C. , metropolitan transportation commission, on which commissioner ronen sits, approved a strategy to distribute the bay areas 1. 3 billion share of the federal cares act relief funds for the transit operators. This includes immediate allocation of 780 million via formula to address the shortterm revenue losses, including 197 million to sfmta, muni, 251 million for bart, and 49 million for caltrain. Sfmta has sent a letter to the m. T. C. Commission and executive director theresa mcmillan, which im included in the report. This requests m. T. C. Distribute future funding, according to equity issues and allocations that considerations that were not adequately addressed in the first transfer of funds. So thats something that we continue to track with m. T. A. Staff. M. T. C. Directed staff at the time to establish a transit Blue Ribbon Panel to make recommendations for future funding from the cares act. And to provide guidance for transit operators to ensure that regional connectivity is maintained with a focus on equity. And this really means ensuring that transitdependent communities and essential workers are able to maintain access to jobs and transit. Were working with the commissioners to provide input to this process. On the federal front, again we continue to work with Partner Agencies to identify and advance San Franciscos priorities for future potential relief packages or infrastructure bills. Additional nearterm relief needs include state and local governments, of course, which include state and local departments of transportation, transit systems, which will continue to need funds and support beyond the initial cares act three. And also the toll agencies of the nation, who are seeking 9 billion to replace lost user fees. On the longrange front, our latest understanding is that congress will likely not take up any infrastructure legislation until they reconvene in june. In the meantime, we are tracking whether they opt for a shortterm extension of the current fast axe, a full multiyear reauthorization of the transportation bill, or a onetime economic stimulus bill. So in any case, the drastically reduced gas tax receipts will exacerbate the issues, which were already quite dire, presenting continuing challenges about the debate over how to fund longterm infrastructure investments. Moving over to again the tircp grant funds award that the chair just announced. Were so pleased that the bay area did well this cycle. We want to congratulate all of the project sponsors. We want to also thank our state delegation and several staff amber and michelle for their work with the Mayors Office and all of the sponsors on this effort. We did coapply with funds with the water emergency transit authority. And are pleased that the electric ferry was awarded and hope that we will be able to build on that for the taillefery service in the future. Turning to local issues. Our Team Continues to coordinate with partners on tracking the revenue for the t. M. C. Tax and developing guidelines to administer the revenues once they do come in. I will note theyve come lower than precovid. Due to the impacts, however, of covid we do expect revenue to be much lower and for that reason we would like to propose that we bring this item for the board later in this year. And well work with chair peskin and yee and others of you to carefully consider the revenue situation and perhaps program the fund at the end of 2020, when we have a much Bigger Picture and reflect this in the new midyear budget we plan to bring in june and the annual budget later this year. We have, however, in the meantime been engaging with key stakeholders, such as the sfmta, the department of Public Health, the Pedestrian Safety advisory committee, the bicycle advisory committee, and all of the variation advocate organizations and Community Groups on the guidelines for how the program might be structured and what the process would be for eligibility and the like. So again we look forward to bringing that all to you later this year. Turning to project delivery. Pleased to share, of course, that caltrans has made tremendous progress. Youve seen this in the news. They were able to accelerate this project by three months, during shelterinplace. Took advantage of the lower traffic levels and we do want to appreciate that theyve been able to keep the public well informed. The detours are going very smoothly. We want to thank caltrans for expediting the work and sfmta and california Highway Patrol for keeping speeds safe through the area and managing traffic. So thank you again. For folks interested, a live web cam you can see the 24 7 operations here. Please visit 101alemanyproject. Com to have a look at the project in realtime. Caltrans, began repaving the northern section of state route 1, presidio. This was friday the 17th. Work will continue to be done through late may, most days of the week. This is again between lincoln and lake street. So for more information, please also refer to the caltrans website. Finally, on management and the administration issues, we continue to closely monitor the revenue streams. And estimates of the city and with other Partner Agencies to assess the short and mediumterm financial impact. The revenues received last week, as far as the sales tax reports for february, indicate that revenues were unaffected through the first two months. But, of course, we expect that significant decrease to show up in the march through these through months, now through the end of the year. A final amendment towards 2020 budget for your approval in june, as long as with the results of our review of bart program and fund program priorities, as chair had requested. So to coordinate with the city and county of San Francisco, well present the annual budget later this summer. In the meantime, we do maintain a Strong Financial position that were meeting the cash needs of our sponsors. And with that i will conclude my remarks. Thank you. Commissioner peskin thank you, madam executive director. Is there any Public Comment on item number 3 . Clerk chair, there is no Public Comment. Commissioner peskin okay. Public comment is closed. And now you can read the Consent Agenda, madam clerk. Clerk thank you, chair. Item 48 comprise the Consent Agenda. Items 58 were approved at the april 14th Board Meeting, and are now being considered for final approval. The remaining items are considered routine, staff is not planning to present on these items. But are prepared to present if desired. If a member objects to any of the consent, items may be removed and considered separately. Just a reminder that Public Comment will be available for item via telephone, by calling 888 2045984. Enter access code 2858465. Then follow system prompts. Theres a 30second delay, so please dial 10 as soon as you hear the item called in order to speak on that particular item. Please remember to turn down your Television Volume when commenting. Commissioner peskin thank you. Before i ask for a motion, madam executive director, could you just please speak to the new special condition on item number 6. Yes, certainly chair. Commissioner peskin . We yes, certainly, chair pesk. Including the requirement that the allocation funds for both their allocation and our portion of the appropriation of these funds, prop k funds would only be spent in accordance with the citys l. B. E. And i believe 12b and local hire requirements. Commissioner peskin thank you, ms. Chang. Is there any Public Comment on item number 4 . Clerk yes, chair, we do have a member of the public. Commissioner peskin okay. First speaker, please. Dont forget to press 10. Operator you have one question remaining. Clerk welcome, caller, you have two minutes for your Public Comment by which starts now. I apologize. Im for item number 6. Commissioner peskin we already had Public Comment on that item last week. We did receive your comment by email. And that is in our possession. But Public Comment on that item was taken at our last meeting. Caller thank you. Commissioner peskin thank you, mr. Lebrun. So with that, Public Comment is closed. Is there a motion to move the Consent Agenda . Moved by mandelman. Commissioner peskin is there a second . Commissioner yee yee. Commissioner peskin on that motion, a roll call, please clerk for the Consent Agenda. Commissioner fewer . Fewer. Commissioner fewer . Aye. Clerk commissioner mandelman commissioner mandelman aye. Clerk commissioner mar . Commissioner mar . Aye. Commissioner peskin aye. Clerk commissioner preston . Commissioner preston aye. Clerk commissioner ronen . Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai . Commissioner safai aye. Clerk commissioner walton . Commissioner walton . Aye. Clerk commissioner yee . Commissioner yee aye. We have approval. Commissioner peskin okay. Those items are finally approved. Could you please read the next item. Clerk yes. Item 9 is reprogram 197,500 in Transportation Fund for clean air funds from the San Francisco municipal Transportation Agencys fiscal year 2016 2017 alternative fuel taxi Incentive Program to San Francisco department of the environments fiscal year 2018 2019 Emergency Ride Home Program. This is an action item. Commissioner peskin thank you, madam clerk. I just want to start by thanking our staff for their collaborative work with the department of the environment. Thank you to ms. La ford and to our executive director for that work with the air district and thank you particularly to tyrone jew, who helped facilitate this collaboration. And thank you to commissioners walton and haney for making this small thing happen. With that, ms. La ford, would you like to present this item to the commission . Good morning, commissioners. Anna la ford, Deputy Director for policy and programming with the Transportation Authority. Im going to pull up my brief notation and then i will invite Charles Sheehan, from the department of the environment, to make some remarks about the program. At the april 14th Board Meeting, the board and in particular commissioner haney requested that staff explore ways to help essential workers, who are facing challenges getting home from their jobs, particularly at night. Due to recent Transit Service reductions, due to covid19. And since the meeting, we have been working with the department of environment and the San Francisco municipal Transportation Agency to develop a proposal to expand the existing Emergency Ride Home Program, that the department of the environment has been operating for many years. This provides taxi rides. The proposal is to provide additional taxi rides for essential workers, who are not able to take transit home, due to service reductions. Now by way of background, the Transportation Authority has been funding the Emergency Ride Home Program with Transportation Funds for clean air funds since 2009. These are funds that come to the county for programming for projects that have clean air benefits. And so what we are proposing to do is to expand the program. The program at its core is to encourage people to walk and bike and take transit and take sustainable modes of transportation to get to work. And that if there is an emergency, it provides a taxi reimbursement for a ride home for these workers. And the proposal is to expand this existing program during the covid19 emergencyrelated Transit Service reductions. And it is a proposal that responds to the needs of the special workers. And it will also provide air quality benefits, which is one of the goals of the Transportation Fund for clean air. It will incentivize trips to work and help transit riders say on transit during this time, rather than becoming drivealone park commuters. The way that we are proposing to fund this expanded Emergency Ride Home Program, for essential workers, is by reprogramming funds from the sfmtas alternative fuel taxi program. This is a grant that provides a financial incentive to taxi companies, to replace their clean replace their taxi vehicles with clean air vehicles, by providing an incentive, a rebate to the taxi companies. This grant, from fiscal year 20162017 will expire on octobe. A remaining balance of almost 200,000 that we would reprogram to the the department of environment Emergency Ride Home Program. And it will still, as you can see from this slide, this proposal will still leave 250,000 available to the m. T. A. For its taxi program. Sfmta is very supportive of this proposal. It continues to support the taxi industry and its essential workers. And i also wanted to note that we have been working with the air district staff and have provided them with various different elements of information about our proposal and we have modified the Program Proposal in response to some of their concerns. And we they now think that the proposal is reasonable and will work with us over the coming weeks and months to monitor the program, as it proceeds. And with that i would like to i would like to invite Charles Sheehan from the department of the environment to give his presentation to go into detail on the program. Commissioner peskin mr. Sheehan. Thank you, chair. Commissioner thank you, chair peskin. Over the past week, weve been working extensively to put together this Program Proposal. I want to thank alex and minutehoe park from the department of the park. Of course, mike and anna from sfmta and, of course, the air district for their partnership and collaboration. Im going to pull up my screen here. Lets see here. Okay. Everyone see those slides . Commissioner peskin yes, we can. So for nearly ten years, the emergency ride home has provided commuters in San Francisco a guaranteed ride home from work, in case of an emergency. The goal of the program is to help commuters feel confident in sustainable commuting options, which encourages them to leave their cars at home and allow them to feel safe and secure that an emergency ride to go home, to go to the doctor is available when they need it. The user pays the cost of the ride up front, and then submits a reimbursement request after the trip. And then during this time of shelterinplace, the Program Remains available only to essential workers and retains the same purpose. Because of covid19, as many of you know, the transit options that many commuters rely on have been significantly curtailed. Muni service has been curtailed, bart service has been curtailed, but essential workers still need to get home after work. To support them were proposing an expansion of the Emergency Ride Home Program and we are proposing to call it the essential worker ride home program. This resource will assist essential workers and frontline staff, that are struggling to get home after work late at night, due to transit reductions. As was noted earlier, we are still expecting commuters to take sustainable transit options into work and the goals of the program remain the same. Reduce emissions, and offer that will reliable ride during unexpected times. The program is going to leverage the ready established framework for the existing emergency ride home, which is managed by the department of the environment. The new expansion differs in eligibility requirements, reimbursement allocations and has additional verification processes. To maximize the number of people who can be served by the program, we are limiting the number of trips to ten taxi rides home per month and up to 70 per ride. The calculation is based on a 12week program budget, using the average cost of a oneway, offpeak taxi ride to the east bay and assumes that not every trip will reach that 70 limit. Although challenging to predict demand and usage, based on the budget and parameters, we anticipate the program could subsidize an estimate 71 to 100 essential workers per week. Ill talk a little bit about eligibility requirements. All employees, as noted, must be working for essential businesses in San Francisco as classified by the city of San Francisco. Trips must originate at the employees work location and end at home, a transit stop that will take them to their home or the location of their parked car. Trips to work will not be covered by the program. Trips must be taken during hours when or at locations where previously available transit options are now unavailable. Tricks, of course, must made via official taxi. We will also ask people, who request reimbursement, to certify that they used the sustainable mode to get to work and we will screen out employees who have access to transportation benefits or systems that their current employers offer. Verification and processes. Were going to follow the existing and wellestablished system used for the Emergency Ride Home Program, with some additions to account for essential worker verification. For example, the application will ask about personal and employer information, which will be reviewed for eligibility by s. F. E. Staff. Once approved, participants can begin to use the program and submit weekly reimbursements. And, of course, each request will be reviewed for Program Compliance by s. F. T. Staff and once approved, a check will be processed and sent to participants. As you can see, our budget is 197,500. And most of it is going to reimbursements. Im going to dive a little deeper into this slide, because we went back and forth with the air district on budget, on funding, and making sure we can make the program last. And make it available to as many essential workers as possible. Because we do want to make sure that it is a 12week program. And we want to be mindful of our sustainability goals and the need to make sure again we cover as many people as possible. And we worked hard over the past two weeks on this point. So to that end, during the preapproval process, we will cap the number of applications at 70. And put others on a waitlist until we can properly assess the applications and the data that we have. 70 is based on the maximum use projection of the budget. Remember ten rides per month, 70 per ride. The Application Form is going to capture information about the perspective applicant, how theyre going to use the program, how much theyre going to use the program. And we can make calculations based on those projections. With that refined usage data, well be able to forecast better and make program adjustments, if we need to stretch funds or if we need to make sure that more people are eligible and are using the program. And if we have to, we can potentially lower the maximum reimbursable amount. We can lower the amount of reimbursements that can be submitted each month. We can restrict the timeframe to after 9 00 p. M. And before 8 30 a. M. All are tools to make sure that we can meet our 12week goal. Were proposing the launch on may 1 of the and the program will be reevaluated and modified, based on the following. Potential updates to transportation schedules, availability of program funding, and the possibility or the potential for the removal of the shelterinplace order. Any decision to extend or discontinue the program will be made in consultation with sfcta staff. We have a plan for marketing and outreach that were going to turn on right away. Were going to feature it on the department of the environments website, as well as other city websites, sfgov, sfmta, sfcta, oewd, the department of Human Resources. Were going to share Digital Marketing materials, essential businesses, nonprofits, Community Partners. In addition, were going to work with the department of Human Resources for a citywide communication for staff, so make sure essential workers, working for the city, know that this program is available to them. Our colleagues at sfmta will lead outreach and education for the taxi industry. And at the launch of the program, well have bilingual staff ready to assist customers needing assistance chinese and spanish. And while theyre doing that, were working to translate our web page, our Application Form, and our reimbursement request form. And well make those available as soon as possible. Im happy to take any questions you may have. Commissioner peskin thank you, charles. Are there any questions from members . I think i see a number. Commissioner haney, thank you to you and your staff for your work on this. As i mentioned in my opening remarks, commissioner haney, the floor is yours. If this program is a success, there are other sources of additional funds that we can hear a little bit more from our sfcta staff about. With that, commissioner haney. Commissioner haney thank you, chair peskin. I first want to thank the sfcta, especially anna and mike and the department of environment and their staff, charles. This is just wonderful to see such immediate action and creativity on putting this together. And i want to thank Courtney Mcdonald in my office, who i know worked very closely with all of you. This is something ive been hearing a lot about, particularly from nonprofits, homeless shelter and s. R. O. Staff. So i really hope that we are getting the word out to them specifically. And that were connecting them with different opportunities. Kind of in line with what chair peskin just said there, i think that we im sure with many things in our city right now, recognize that there is a much greater need for this. And the question of how much of that need were going to be able to meet is always going to be something that, you know, were going to grapple with. I am really excited that we would be able to meet the need of about 100 people a week. Obviously i think wed agree that probably the need is much bigger than that. And so i noticed the program said sort of looked at a 12week period. One of the questions that i had is, is that for the purposes of estimation or is that really kind of where were putting the cap on use and for that reason paced on that, were able to serve 100 people . And why did you choose that amount of time, as opposed to being able to serve more people, for example, over the next month, when we know the shelterinplace order will be into effect, for sure the next eight weeks. Because were spreading it out for 12 weeks, seems like were able to serve less people than if we chose a shorter length of time. Commissioner peskin ms. Laforte, i think i saw you raise your hand. Dont forget to unmute. I cant figure out the chat feature. I can unmute. The estimation of 12 weeks is really to make sure that we are consistent with the air quality and Emission Reduction standards, that are required for utilizing Transportation Funds for clean air funds for this program. So its its really its like the sweet spot of where we can make this project cost effective. If the demand is overwhelming, there are actions and the project is cost effective, we have additional Transportation Funds for clean air funds that we could explore, putting on to this project. We have an open call for projects right now, to program the countys share of funding for fiscal year 2021. The funds could potentially be available on july 1. There is also the option there is the additional, you know, taxi grant that may or may not need to utilize all of the 250,000 that remains. The fleet is very clean. This does continue to support taxi workers and the taxi industry through this other program. So we have options to explore, if demand is overwhelmingly high, in order to continue the program. Commissioner peskin thank you, ms. Laforte. Commissioner haney. Commissioner haney thats fantastic. As i understand it, based on the level of applications that we get, for the program, we could assess whether to grow it. If, for example, weve got 1,000 people who would qualify, who apply, we could make some decisions here as a board and in partnership to potentially expand the program. Am i hearing that correctly . Thats correct. Commissioner haney and i just also want to underscore, this is a really important thing for our taxi industry and our taxi drivers, who are really struggling right now. And i hope that we can make sure that theyre aware of this. That we can partner with them closely and that we are able to get them, you know, muchneeded money coming in as well. Thank you again so much. Really appreciate it. Commissioner peskin thank you for those questions and answers. Commissioner yee. Commissioner yee thank you, chair peskin. So maybe its the limitation of the funding, but im also thinking that people may have night shifts, for instance, are struggling with the same issue and reverse. So what was the sort of thinking behind not allowing those people to have night shifts, to be able to utilize this program . Or have you thought about once this is up and running, and its running smoothly, you would expand to that population . Does anyone have an answer. Commissioner peskin ms. Laforte. Thank you for the question. It is one of the confines of the Grant Program. We have to at the county level, we can move funds between existing projects. And so we can take funds from the taxi Incentive Replacement Program and put it on to the emergency ride home. Im assuming that you were asking about giving rides to work . Actually let me just confirm. Commissioner yee yes. Okay. So that would be a significant change to the existing program. And so we would not have been able to react so quickly. I mean, our motivation was really just to get the funds to this project as soon as possible, to provide these benefits to essential workers and shelterinplace existing. We can certainly explore a new project for providing emergency rides, essential rides to work, emergency rides to work, in light of the Transit Service reductions, if that is, in fact, the other mode that a person would have taken to work, was an alternative, you know, sustainable mode of transportation. So well need to explore it, make sure that its cost effective. Make sure that the air districts calculations pencil out. Thats definitely something that we can explore. Commissioner yee thank you for your answer. You know, i would like you guys to actually explore this possibility, if possible. Thank you. Commissioner peskin i think we all agree. Thank you, commissioner. Commissioner yee . Commissioner preston. Commissioner preston thank you, chair peskin. And it really seems like a great program. I really want to commend commissioner haney and mr. Sheehan for moving this forward. I think that its really a crucial investment in essential workers and also number our taxi drivers, who are really struggling during this time. So thank you for all of your work on that. I had a couple of questions. One, when will it start . And when will the first folks actually be able to utilize this program . Do you want me to take that . Sure. I can take that. Charles sheehan, San Francisco department of the environment. Were proposing to launch the program very shortly, on may 1st. Our website is going up as quickly as possible. I dont want to get ahead of my web team, might be today, might be tomorrow. And i think as soon as technically feasible well open up the kind of preapproval process as well. And so were on a rapid launch timeframe. Commissioner preston excellent. Thank you. And then im encouraged to hear also that there may be additional Funds Available if the demand is high. And so im wondering if just in the next in our next meeting, if that if we could get a report or if thats too soon. But im not sure how many weeks it will take for it to come into focus, whether the demand is exceeding the amount of money set aside or not. Hopefully either you know, maybe at the next meeting we would get a report back on that. That would be great. Commissioner peskin ms. Laforte. Yes, commissioner preston, acknowledging your request. We can certainly work with charles and his staff to bring a report back. What you will see are the likely the registrations and the applications for those in the program. Folks have 20 calendar days in order to submit a reimbursement request from the date of the actual trip. We might not see the reimbursement request data. But we can report back on a regular basis how the program is being utilized. Commissioner preston great. Thank you. Mr. Sheehan mentioned plans around outreach and looking forward to getting those. I want to encourage you to share with supervisors any way that we can help get the word out about this program, particularly folks that may not be in the usual networks. For example, Grocery Store workers, others who are harder to reach. I think district supervisors may have more reach into getting the word out about that program. And just one last question. Im curious how, if at all, how this interacts with some of the private t. N. C. Company efforts that i think have been are similar, for example, lyft and perhaps others are rolling out programs that are similar in some ways, working with nonprofits to provide some transportation for essential workers. And what im wondering is particularly with nonprofits that are, you know, contracting with the city, whether theres been any thinking just about trying to encourage folks to use this program and support our taxi drivers, as distinct from some of those private efforts. I dont know if you can speak to that. So this is Charles Sheehan, San Francisco department of the environment. Thank you, commissioner preston. Right from the start, we included sfmta in our conversations, because theyre kind of our contact, our liaison with the taxi industry. And we kind of reviewed safety protocols with the taxi representatives from sfmta, what the taxi industry was doing in this time of this pandemic. And it became very clear that the regulation that the safety protocols, that are being undertaken by the taxi industry, made it clear that they were the best choice for this program. We have when we talk to our Community Partners, you know, nonprofit businesses about essential workers, i think were going to be reminding them that this program is for taxis. The taxis are regulated by the city. Theyre taking safety precautions. And if they want that reliable ride home, after work when theyve taken a sustainable mode, this is their best choice. And i think thats kind of as far as weve gone on that topic. Weve definitely taken that into account, some of what you mentioned, why the taxis are the best opportunity and the best choice for this program. And for essential workers. Commissioner peskin and colleagues, we have from the sfmta the director of taxis kate teran is on this is in this meeting. Ms. Tern anything youd like to add, subtractor comment on . Well, thank you, commissioners. Happy to be here. Be in your presence, in this interesting new style we have. And i think that was a great description of the taxi industry. Were very excited to support this effort. It supports essential workers on both sides, taxi drivers and workers going to other work locations. I would also add that taxis are a cleanair fleet. So 96 of our taxi fleet is clean air. And thats another important point here. So it aligns very well with the grant requirements overall. And for the cleaning requirements for taxis, we are able to push out information to our taxi drivers. Weve trained the taxi drivers. Weve put together a training video on how to clean. Weve provided taxi drivers with p. P. E. And so weve provided a lot of support for the taxi drivers. Around were thankful to be part of this program expansion. Thank you. Commissioner peskin thank you, ms. Tern. You reminded me that i authored the legislation to make the entire taxi fleet clean air over a decade and a half ago. So there you go. Anything else, commissioner preston . Commissioner preston i just wanted to say that the i think that this is a crucial time. In fact, a very good time for us to be emphasizing the value of highly regulated industry in our taxi fleet. There is always an argument around different modes, public versus private and the level of regulation thats appropriate. I think right now i think we should be making as strong of a case as we can to Community Partners around using our regulated taxis. I think part of that means making 100 sure that we are getting the masks, the hand sanitizer, the equipment that taxi drivers need, so that folks know when they get in a taxi, they are getting in a safe week, as opposed to getting into a vehicle operated by appear private entity, with different standards. And i also i want to make sure that when we look at the numbers, that were not assuming the low level of demand, if the situation is that some of the private entities are more aggressively speak seeking to have that market. Theyre obviously entitled to do their thing as private entities and try to get ridership and set their standards. I think this is really an opportunity for us to invest in our regulated taxis, to encourage the public to use regulated taxis and im really looking forward to opportunities to expand this program. Thank you again for all of your work on this. Commissioner peskin thank you, commissioner. Let me go back to my little chat list. Next up is commissioner fewer. Commissioner fewer yeah, thank you very much, chair peskin. Mr. Sheehan, have you partnered at all with any of our essential workers that are very, very low income, i mean that are in home support folks. Also many of the workers who are not englishspeaking. And i actually think that when you listed the outreach and it actually was inadequate. I think for you to update the website, i think were assuming thats very middle class, quite frankly, to get information out. Im wondering if we are targeting also people who are very low income and we know that this crisis has really hit hard lowincome folks and people of color. So are we prioritize being at all around means . Thank you, commissioner fewer, for that question. We are trying to do all that you had mentioned. You know, were ramping up outreach kind of as we speak. Through city resources, through the citys Emergency Operations center, to answer the first part of your question, looking at employees that are working at Skilled Nursing facilities, Residential Care facilities. Because we have a lot of those listed, so we can easily target. At the same time to make sure were working with nonprofits, those that cater to lowincome communities, that have residents or customers that work here in San Francisco. You know, at the department of environment, we do have many of those Community Partners established. We are going to work through them to get this word out. Ideally we want this program to be available for those who need it the most. And were going to be trying to target that way when we work with our Community Partners or nonprofit partners and so on. Commissioner fewer okay. So were not giving any preference to folks who qualify for our reduced muni fares or anything like that . Have we also partnered with the unions to get the word out, level 6 that represents all of the grossly clerks, 2015 that represents all of the inhome support care workers. So just wondering if weve done that . Not yet. Were just kind of beginning the outreach today and tomorrow. The unions are definitely on our list of organizations to reach out to. They have excellent networks. In terms of your first part of your question, we took a look at means testing in making that a part of this program. We didnt see any adequate models that we could easily replicate. And a number of other questions came up about what level of income and how do you assess and verify income. And so we did ask ourselves these questions as weve gone back and forth between sfcta, air district staff. We werent able to include it in the program yet. Its still something that we continue to take a look at. But we dont have a viable model yet that we can necessarily replicate. And thats why its not yet in the program. Commissioner fewer okay. Because i just want to also emphasize that some of these communities for a long time have not had equitable Transportation Services to begin with. When you eliminate these there are other viable means of transportation like many of these people, who are low income, have not had the same opportunities as other communities have. If we had millions of dollars to give this to everyone, i would just say theres no cause for it. When youre telling me its 70 to 100 people a week, i just think that sometimes we have to prioritize those who are the most in need, meaning that if they were to seek the Transportation Options themself, they would not be able to put their food on their table or feed their children or pay their rent. Some of us are in different positions than others. And i just wanted to make sure that these funds and everything that were looking at during this crisis, is through an equity lens. And also lets not forget a Racial Equity lens, too, as we see the greatest economic gaps between people of color and people who are not of color. So thank you very much. Thank you. Commissioner peskin thank you, commissioner fewer. And then madam executive director, do you want to speak to the amount of potential funding that we have, if this is a success . Sure. Yes. Yes, thank you, chair. As anna laforte mentioned earlier, i believe we do have another clean taxi purchase planned, that is potentially available, up to 250,000 of tfca funds that have been programmed, just like the first grant that we could the board to elect to reprioritize to expand this emergency essential worker ridehome program. In addition, the Transportation Authority we do receive annually about 750 to prioritize the program annually. And we already have a call for projects under way. And we can certainly consider adding funds from that annual pot for 2021 as well. Commissioner peskin thank you, director chang. Are there any members of the public who would like to comment on this item number 9 . Clerk yes, chair, there is Public Comment. Commissioner peskin okay. First speaker, please. Announcer you have one question remaining. Clerk welcome, caller, your two minutes begins now. Caller yes. Good morning. And thank you for the supervisors. I actually called in for something thats going to be placed on the agenda for thursday. But ive been listening to this. And my concerns are with the 197,500 Transportation Funds for clean air, is that going to also impact some of the homeless encampments over on jones and taylor or cleaning up and refreshing that air and remove ing some of the public waste, that now we realize that covid has now found in feces . So how is that going to impact some of the funds for homeless sanitation . Thank you. Commissioner peskin does that conclude your comment . Yes, sir. Thank you, supervisor, peskin. So Public Comment on this item is now closed. And with regard to the issue raised by the member of the public, this is the Transportation Authority commission, not the board of supervisors. And we allocate im sorry. Commissioner peskin transportation. Yes. Im looking at the prompter. I meant transportation. Commissioner peskin right. But im answering the question that you posed, as to other issues like homelessness, that are within the jurisdiction of the board of supervisors. This is a Transportation Funding agency. And were discussing Transportation Options during covid19 period for individuals that need to be taken from work. As commissioner yee raised to work. With that, a motion to move item number 9 . So moved. Commissioner preston. Commissioner peskin all right. Is there a second . Second by mandelman. Clerk on item number 9, seeking final approval on its first appearance. Commissioner. Commissioner aye. Clerk commissioner haney . Commissioner mar . Commissioner mar aye. Clerk commissioner peskin . Commissioner peskin aye. Clerk commissioner preston . Commissioner preston aye. E. P. A. Commissioner ronen . Commissioner ronen aye. Clerk commissioner safai . Commissioner safai aye. Clerk commissioner stefani . Commissioner stefani aye. Clerk ye,. Commissioner yee aye. Commissioner peskin next item, please. Item number 10. Update on the municipal Transportation Agencys transportation programs to assist seniors and people with disabilities. This is an information item. Commissioner peskin ms. La porte. Anna la la la porte, Deputy Director. The previous item was providing taxi rides for essential workers. And im pleased that were also able to shed light on the suite of programs that are offered to san franciscans and. And the next presentation is what is offered as far as assistance for seniors and people with disabilities. Several commissioners have asked about this, what Transportation Services the San Francisco municipal Transportation Agency is offering to support the mobility of people with disabilities and older adults, due to the Transit Service reductions during the covid19 pandemic. In response, staff from the sfmta, ill provide an update to the board, including on how the current Transit Program is operating and also on the new essential trip card, which is helping seniors and people with disabilities take and pay for essential trips in taxis during this crisis. And with that, i would like to invite annette williams, director of Accessible Services at the sfmta, to give her presentation. Commissioner peskin good morning, aannette. Good morning, commissioners. Can you see me . Hi. [laughter] im just going to pull up my slides. So nice to be here. My name is annette williams. Im the manager of Accessible Services. Let me just get to the main slide here. I really appreciate you having me. And i wanted to give you an update on the services that we provide, both now during covid and in terms of our whole suite of services. As you know, at this point muni is only really for essential trips. And for those who dont have other Transportation Options. Were very concerned about the safety of muni customers and operators. And that were retaining social distance on the system. So that has also resulted in some reductions to service, which ill talk about in just a minute. As youre probably aware, most people are now boarding at the rear door. But its very important for seniors and people with disabilities, who need the lift or the kneeler, to be welcomed and innovated in the front door. And so thats very important to us and thats a big part of making sure that access is continuing at the front door of the system. Were also making sure that on the vehicle, as i mentioned, that theres physical distance. And that both the operators are wearing p. P. E. And that any of the customers are using face coverings or masks. And they can ask verbally for a stop instead of needing to pull the stop request or pushing the stop request button. As youre aware, were now running as of last week, we were running 17 of the 79 lines. And thats 80 of the service pre this reduction was on those lines. So they were the most important lines, in terms of service. But it does mean a great reduction in the amount of coverage in San Francisco. Fortunately last friday we were able to add back some services on the five fulton, 12 f. Lsom. To add frequency on the l, the n and 39 r. As youre aware, the owl service is starting earlier at 10 00 p. M. Appear and 30minute headlines on the lines and listed there on your screen. You can see the map of the services that were currently providing. One of the mings that muni is very proud of is that were within a few blocks of every household. But in this covid period, were not able to be in that kind of distance. And, of course, many of you, as commissioners and those of us who work at m. T. A. , were very concerned about what does this mean for people with mobility impairments, for those whom getting to the further distance to the bus is very difficult. We developed a new program called the essential trip card program. And this is to make sure that people, though all of us are staying home, right, and were only going out for essential trips, but there are still trips that people must may need to take, because they dont have someone else to do Grocery Shopping for them or may need to go to a medical appointment. We started the program and it subsidizes those few rides. In order to qualify for the program, a person just needs to be 65 or older or have a disability. And how it works is for each 6 that they load on their card, they receive 30 in taxi value. Up to a maximum of 60 per month, which is about three to four roundtrips. And we also wanted to make sure it was easy, that we had good outreach, that everybody was aware of this program. And so we used 311 as our conduit to get into the program, because its an easy thing to remember. And we have people there at 311 at all hours. So if they call 311, then theyre transferred to the paratransit office, who then takes the registrations. And theyre open monday through friday from 9 00 until 4 45. Im really happy to say that we already have 600 people who have signed up for the program. We started it on april 16th. Another thing thats very encouraging is the i believe 587 of those people were eligible for free muni. So were getting to people who really dont have the income levels that may allow them to take taxis themselves. You know, on their own, paying the full fare. We also more than half of those people are people of color. So the next slide is for those of you at home, or later, please do check out this video about the program. It explains it. Its just two minutes long. It will give you a good overview of the essential trip card. So then i wanted to go into also explaining all of the programs that we have for paratransit. And paratransit is doortodoor services for people who are unable to use muni. Most people with disabilities, most seniors are able to use muni. But there are people, for whom its difficult to get to the bus stop. Theyre not able because of their bus stop to get to independently ride the bus. They may have alzheimers, they may be going to dialysis, where they dont have the strength to take the bus home. So the three main modes of service are s. F. Access, group van and taxi ramp taxi. The way that people become eligible for paratransit like i just said its a functional eligibility. Its based on the fact that theyre not able to use muni. Theres an application they fill out and usually an interview or sometimes professional verification from a medical professional. Currently under covid, were submitting the were really encouraging everyone to submit the applications by email or fax. So that it can be done quickly. And that they dont need to visit the office or leave their home. We have certification analysts that are performing the interviews and theyre doing all of the interviews by phone during this period. And if when they get their i. D. , it wont have a photo on it now, because we dont want people to come in for a photo. So in terms of s. F. Access in covid19, were still providing doortodoor service, prescheduled one to seven days in advance. Many people are going to dialysis and have a standing ride. It covers the entire city, including daly city, three quarters of a mile around the bart station. And were encouraging people to only take essential trips, just like all of us. We minimized the van capacity to make sure that theres social distancing and were not taking more than two riders per van. And were providing masks to all of the drivers and p. P. E. And the vehicles are cleaned significantly with significant cleaning every night. Group van where groups of people are going to one location, like an Adult Day Health care center or a seniors center, those services were operating for the first few weeks for some agencies. But all of the agencies now have closed their doors. And so during shelterinplace, the group van services are not happening any longer. In terms of tax service, were providing sameday ondemand services. All taxes are are required to participate. Were encouraging customers to take essential trips also on taxis. And as director tern mentioned earlier, weve done a lot in terms of making sure that the taxi drivers have p. P. E. Kits. And that its clear that theyre required to clean the vehicle between trips and theyve been trained. Both we have a video and the companies have been given the p. P. E. And the cleaning supplies for the drivers, so that they have that available to them. And dont need to get it themselves. Theyre required to wear face recoverings as well. One of the other one operating is the shoparound program, which is a van that takes people to shopping centers. Usually we have five to seven people that may sign up. Now were only doing two per vehicle and providing more vehicles, if theres more demand. Theres also a shoparound taxi drive. And this is for people who arent a. D. A. Eligible and paratransiteligible, for whom taking muni would be difficult to do shopping. Taking your groceries back may be difficult. So theyre able to use the Shopping Service instead. We also have the van van go shu. And any agency or group in the city that has seniors and people with disabilities, that would like to use the van go program, it is available to them. Unfortunately now with shelterinplace, its temporarily suspended. But we look forward to that ramping up again when were all back. Paratransit bus is a taxi program that we have for those who are not a. D. A. Eligible, but may have great difficulty or had difficulty in using muni. They theyre able to get paratransit plus. It just provides a benefit for taxi for some occasional trips. Another program that im sure youre probably aware of is a Grant Program that we have done with the Department Department c health. Were calling the Choice Transportation program. And this is to address the Transportation Needs of people going to Public Health clinics. And we have transportation navigators who meet with the individuals, to make sure they that they know about all of their Transportation Options, like free muni, discounted clipper, travel training, paratransit, shoparound. If those services dont immediate their meet their needs. One last thing i wanted to mention is that the sfmta has a mobility management center, which is run out of our paratransit office. And this provides a way for people to get nell information they might need for caregivers or others who want to understand what are the things that are available to me. How do i get from point a to point b. I have a new disability, im not sure how its going to affect my travel. And so we have personalized transportation information thats available there. And weve also done a lot with our website to make sure that its easier for people tomorrow navigate. If theyre a caregiver, how do i get through to see what other services are available for the person i work with or a child looking for their parent or the person themselves who just wants to understand what services are available. And we have a lot of personal relationships with the communitybased organizations. We believe its really important to work with them. And thats part of why i think so many signups for the trip card, weve done a lot of outreach through community organizations. So heres a list of quick ways to get into the website for particular programs. All of the information on covid. Information on the e. T. C. Program, paratransit, paratransit taxi, shoparound. And then i wanted to just show you a quick little video. One of the things during this kind of time is, you know, there are a lot of people who are working excuse me. Working very hard. And some of those are our paratransit employees. They are making the difference in terms of peoples lives. And what they can do. So were just going to quickly show you this oneminute video that says thank you to those people. Commissioner peskin thank you, annette. [music playing] i know that paratransit serves some of the most Vulnerable People in the city of San Francisco. Paratransit needs to be there for them to just allow them to even go to the Grocery Store. And its one of the things that people are struggling with as we go through this Health Crisis right now. Really appreciate having a job. I guess directly help people. A lot of them that have jobs, i felt like i didnt really see the results of my work. I appreciate everything that we do. So i try to be as loving and caring as possible, because thats how you feel, you know, when you help. I feel like im giving back. That makes me feel good and proud of myself. Commissioner peskin thank you, ms. Williams p thank you to all of the people working so hard out there. And im available to answer any questions you might have. Commissioner peskin thank you so much. Commissioner safai. Commissioner safai thank you, chair. Just wanted to say that this essential trip card program is so important for us. Theres a number of pockets in our community that have been completely isolated, as the m. T. A. Service has the muni service has been reduced. We were very happy to work with the Transit Workers Union and roger, local 250a and jeff and his team and julie. We just god word that were going to be restoring the mline in a variation of that, starting monday, may 4th, 6 00 until 9 0. 6 00 a. M. To 9 00 p. M. In 20minute intervals. Were really excited about that. I want to thank sfmta and for everyone working with us on that. Theres still pockets of my community that really, really will rely on this essential card program, because seniors dont feel comfortable going out, even on buses or even in large setting. Theyd rather be in an environment that they know is safe and they are by themselves. I just want to thank annette and her team and others and the t. A. For really prioritizing this. Because its an essential piece of getting seniors, who are socially isolated, geographically isolated, lack of service right now from muni, to be able to get the essential items that, you know, many of them dont have a computer. Many of them dont have internet access. They cant order things online. They might have language barriers. And so this is an Important Program that were really excited. And happy its available. Along with paratransit, of course. Thats also very important. But just wanted to say that this is important. Were going to continue to promote it through every avenue we can. And i thank the t. A. And the sfmta for working on this. Thank you, chair. Commissioner peskin thank you, commissioner. Commissioner preston. Commissioner preston . Commissioner preston i was muted there. Thank you, chair peskin. So concur with commissioner safais comments about the importance of this program. Thank you, ms. Williams for all of your work on this. I just had one question. Im curious about the age 65. Obviously right now vulnerable populations in San Francisco are defined by using the age of 60. And i was just curious whether any thought was given or whether it might be possible to expand eligible for this program, during the shelterinplace period and state of emergency from 65 down down to 60. Can i respond . Commissioner peskin yes, ms. Williams, please. What we did is we followed our guidelines in terms of the fare categories at muni, which is 65 and over is a senior and below 65 is r. T. C. So anyone who has a mobility impairment, thats under 65 and is a muni user, they are probably already in our r. T. C. Program, using it because they have a mobility need. And so we think that we captured everyone who would be affected by the, you know, the additional distance that they need to walk to get to the muni line. Because they would already be in our r. T. C. Program. So thats how you know, we think we captured everybody who has mobility issues with this eligibility. Do you understand the way that the Regional Transit Discount Card Program works is that if youre under 65, then you get that card. And if youre over 65, you get the senior clipper card. So it should capture everybody who has any kind of mobility limitation, that would affect their ability to walk to muni. Commissioner peskin commissioner . Commissioner preston thank you. I think that i understand that that probably captures most folks. I do think folks who may not have that mobility issue, but are still on this highrisk category, could possibly benefit. I dont know logistically if redefining it poses other administrative challenges. I can definitely take that back to our policy group and discuss it with them. Im more than willing to do that. But i do feel that were probably captured most of those people in the 60 to 65 category, who have mobility impairments, because of the way that the fare programs work at m. T. A. And in the region. Commissioner preston thank you. Commissioner peskin thank you, commissioner. Commissioner mandelman. Commissioner mandelman im not quite i may be being slow i didnt quite follow that last explanation to supervisor preston. So the and maybe you can say it again. Ill try. Commissioner mandelman it occurs to me that if im 60 years old and i live in twin peaks or diamond heights, and i dont necessarily have an impairment and 61 years old and walking its a little harder to walk, you know, half a mile uphill with a bunch of groceries than maybe it was 15 years ago. What program would i be under . So what i was explaining is if youre a muni rider, and you have any kind of mobility impairment, most muni riders then would apply for the r. T. C. Program or senior clipper to get the discounts or the free muni, if youre low income. And so anyone under 65, who has a mobility impairment is eligible for the r. T. C. Program. And if they had applied for that, or had a disability, theyre eligible. Access to which program . Access to the discounts on muni, to free muni, if theyre lower, moderate income. And to the e. T. C. Program, the essential trips per card program. So if they have an r. T. C. Card, theyre automatically eligible for the e. T. C. Program. Commissioner mandelman it just strikes me and i had some conversations with people who are sort of in this kind of late 50s, early 60s kind of category. Like me. Like me. Im one of them. Commissioner mandelman wouldnt necessarily feel like i have a mobility impairment that would have caused me to enroll in a particular program. Its just half a mile to a mile up a hill with groceries is maybe more than i can handle. So i do i just want to i think for simplicity sake, for user friendliness, i want to concur with and echo supervisor prestons, you know from what i have heard, also some flexibility around, you know, people who do have, you know, maybe not over 65, but maybe you do have a mobility issue and maybe well give you the e. T. C. That way and theres been some of that. And we are. Commissioner mandelman and im pretty sure of that. I wonder if it might make sense to push the qualifying age down to 60. And then i just i really appreciate the expedited kind of process around paratransit eligibility. So what is timing like now from i call 311 to im in the program . The staff is trying to process them as quickly as possible. Under the a. D. A. , they have up to 21 day. I think most are processed within a week. Sometimes the problem is getting information back from a doctor, if theyre waiting for something and they have to wait for that information and, you know, follow up with the doctor. But theyre trying to do them as quickly as possible. No longer than three weeks. Most are happening in less than two weeks, some even in money. Commissioner mandelman okay. Okay. I didnt know by the paratransit plus program. How does that relate to any of these other any of these other options . Its just its something that weve had for quite some time. We put in place were always trying to meet the needs. We know muni meets a lot of needs, paratransit meets others. But sometimes some gray area in the middle. And the paratransit bus we put together a probably more than ten years ago, when there was some people who didnt quite meet the a. D. A. Criteria, but knowing they had a taxi trip if something was really difficult, made a big difference to their mobility. So we did this paratransit plus program. Its generally offered to people who dont get a. D. A. Eligibility, but still have some difficulty occasionally with using muni. The taxi industry has been huge to paratransit for many, many years. Theyve been a backbone in terms of providing a lot of services for seniors and people with disabilities. And people love it. You know, they like to be able to call a cab and have it come right away and be able to get to where they need to go quickly and easily. Because of those relationships and what weve built, we were able to put this program, this e. T. C. Program in place like, you know, very, very quickly. Im really proud that we have that kind of relationship with the industry. Commissioner mandelman great. Thank you for your work on that. And im done. Commissioner peskin thank you. Are there any other members who would like to speak to this item number 10, which is an information item. Seeing none, are there any members of the public who would like to make Public Comment on this item . Clerk there are no members of the public at this time. Commissioner peskin okay. Public comment is closed. Colleagues, is there any introduction of new items . Seeing none, is there any general Public Comment . And before we open it up, i do want to mention that we are all in receipt of Public Comment via email from alvin, that our clerk distributed to all of us this morning, prior to the meeting. Now well open it up for Public Comment. Are there any members of the public here for general Public Comment . Clerk yes, chair, there is a Public Comment. Commissioner peskin all right. First speaker, please. Announcer you have one question remaining. Clerk welcome, caller, your two minutes begins now. Hello, caller . Caller can you hear me . Commissioner peskin yes, we can hear you. All right. Sorry, i was muted. I apologize for the breach of protocol earlier, in that basically a brain fail on my part. The only thing id like to ask, two items at the last Board Meeting, 17 and 18. I did come in on 17, no time left to come in on 18, because both items were together. So i followed up. I do have a question through the chair, though, about what happens to written Public Comment from the general public, because the sfcta and m. T. C. Does not the communication to the agenda item on the website. The last comment i have is that i think it is unfortunate that the c. A. C. Has not been able to chime in on multiple prop k allocations for the last two Board Meetings. Even though the sfcta have had the ability to hold multiple Community Meetings via teleconference. Thank you. Commissioner peskin thank you for those comments, mr. Lebrun. And we do get all of the Public Comments that are distributed individually to each of the members. I think i acknowledged your comment from the last meeting on item 18. You make a good suggestion about actually appending those and making them part of the publicly available file online. And with regard to the c. A. C. , we are getting there. This is our second sfcta meeting, virtual meeting. But im working with staff to make sure that we are able to reconvene our c. A. C. Are there any additional Public Comments . Seeing go ahead. Clerk i apologize. I was just going to say there is no additional comments. Commissioner peskin okay. Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. And the sfcta is adjourned. [taps gavel] mayor im San Francisco mayor london breed. I want to thank you all for joining us here today. Im really excited about this Small Business forum that is so desperately needed for so many businesses in our city. This pandemic has had not only a tremendous impact on our overall city and our Public Health, but it has also had a tremendous impact on our financial health, and especially many of our businesses in the city. The people who own these businesses, the work force of these businesses, it all will be very difficult as the few as the months to come, when we begin to look at ways in which we can open and provide new guidelines around opening businesses. We know that financially so many of our businesses are hurting now. They need support now, and also will need support in the future. Some of the programs that we put forth here in the city, immediately, almost, was to defer the payment of business taxes until next year. We actually extended the deadline for fees, as well. We provided resources for paid sick leave so businesses can extend paid sick leave payments to their employees. We provided grants and loan opportunities with no interest and flexible repayment schedules. We have also provided arts grants for so many of our artists who rely on performances and other events in order to take care of themselves. As someone who not only loves San Francisco, but as someone who uses so many of our Small Businesses, whether it is the drycleaner that i have been going to since i could afford a drycleaner, or the person who does my hair or my nails or the musicians that play at the lounges and restaurants that i love to go to all over the city all of these very unique businesses are what matters to the people of this city. They are part of the fabric of our city. And i want to make sure that as we propose more funding and more support on the local level, that we are connecting to the people who need these resources the most. And we are also making sure that federal and state resources are reaching all of you. So today we are here with the director of the department of the office of economic and Work Force Development. Joaquin torres, and if you want to look up some of the services we have, visit oewd. Org. Joaquin runs that department. And even before this pandemic, i have been really laserfocused on trying to eliminate fees that make it difficult for Small Businesses, in particular, to be in business in San Francisco in the first place. So even though this pandemic is challenging, i am so hopeful it will be an opportunity to provide some muchneeded longterm relief for our businesses in San Francisco. Joaquin will be leading those efforts. We also have the president of the Small Business commission, cynthia huey, who will be moderating this discussion, and we have the director of the chamber of commerce here as well, native san franciscan rodney fong, who has been a business person pretty much his whole life. The wax museum i dont know about you, but i went to gallileo high school,and we used to sneak into the wax museum when i was a kid. So i owe you some ticket money, rodney. So between the wax museum, the restaurants and the hair and nail salons, the barber shops, the masseuse locations, all of these great things are really what make San Francisco so special. And we know that the sad reality is that because of the pandemic and because of the requirement around social distancing, it is not as simple as those institutions and those businesses can actually go back to work, number one. And, number two, when you go back to work, the likelihood that youre going to be able to make sufficient revenue to cover the expenses you havent been able to cover for months is going to be challenging. So this is our opportunity to hear from businesses, to make sure that not only are we putting forth good options to support you, but they are affectively working to serve your businesses, and that we are doing everything we can to come up with the kinds of things that are going to help you in the long run. So with that, i want to turn it over to our director of the office of economic and Work Force Development for a few words. And then rodney fong will say a few words, and then well get to cynthia, and shell moderate this discussion. Thank you all for joining us here today. Thank you so much, mayor breed, and thank you, again, for your leadership and the pressure you place on our office to make sure were reaching the needs of our Small Business communities across the city and in our neighborhoods. And thank you for the idea of bringing us all together through this townhall so we can have an opportunity to hear from each other, and our answers about some of the most pressing questions facing Small Businesses, and the relief you have been driving us to deliver for our Small Business communities. Whether we talked about grants or loan products or deferral of fees, it is all grounded in wanting to see our Small Businesses be successful here, not only with what the city can provide, but complementing the wraparound efforts of the state and federal resources that both essential to our relief and Recovery Efforts. A few things before we jump in, we know generally, based on some conversations that weve had, weve seen a 70 decrease citywide. And certain areas and industries are hit even harder in terms of the sales that are out there. We know that were already seeing 14,000 businesses being affected, 166,000 employees at this moment in time. Were expecting larger hits as time goes on. In addition to over 70,000 people that have already applied for unemployment in San Francisco alone. We know that we are dealing with unprecedented challenges here in San Francisco, but we, through our office of economic and Work Force Development, and mayor breed, were standing ready to support the Small Business community at this time, and especially with the partners we have joining us today and in our communities. Both in the past and also in the present, and were very much looking forward to the future. So looking forward to answering some questions here today. Now, ill pass it over to the president of the chamber of commerce rodney fong. Thank you, joaquin first of all, i want to say hello to everyone. Were in this together. Were all feeling the same things, were all feeling the same frustration, the level of fear going on, but hopefully well get through this together and support our way through a great recovery. I want to thank mayor breed and all that her office has been doing, and joaquin has been working like a work horse over the last four, five weeks it seems like months, im sure but he and his staff are doing a great job. They have been working extremely hard. Just a little bit of recap over the last few weeks, the city and the mayor have deferred some of the Business Registration fees. And they deferred them until september. That adds up to about 49 million in cash flow to the city of San Francisco. Several fees that apply to storefront businesses have also been deferred until september, helping to preserve another 14 million in cash flow. I want to be very clear that the mayor is clear about this, we are going to be looking at a significant deficit in the city of San Francisco, the bay area, the state of california, and so were talking about a Million Dollars out from the city that we wont have in revenue. We will have to all pitch in. Well all have to figure out how we save and go back to San Francisco in an even better way. If we want to Start Talking about recovery tomorrow, weve got to start planning it today. Im happy and delighted to tell you that the Recovery Task force kicked off last friday. It is about an 80person Task Force Led by myself, carmen chu, Jose Gonzales and rudy representing labor. 80 seems like a lot of people, but when you look at all of the different sectors and industries and nonprofits, it is a good representation of a lot of people who have shared interests. Again, were going to have to all Work Together. It is not just one industry here in San Francisco that is better than another. I want to also mention that were going to have to rely on our Public Health department to lay out new guidelines. We are essentially reinventing ourselves in a great way, bringing in technology that might be able to help us in a better way and create a better San Francisco. I want to touch on three points, though, if i can, pretty briefly. This is one where probably from a commerce perspective it doesnt emerlogicalseem logical. The Public School system and private School System implementing guidelines to get kids and teachers safely back into the school affects the whole area. Not until moms and dads feel safe, do we get a full workforce. It is important because a busy downtown San Francisco supports so many businesses as you know. All of the sandwiches get bought and kids get picked up at lunch, and it is important that somewhere e that wehave a busy. The second main point i want to make is Small Businesses will need to pivot. Well have to reinvent ourselves, get creative, and were going to have to be entrepreneurial problemsolvers that we naturally are. There is no greater test than this one to figure out how it will be different. Restaurants may have to change their seating arrangements, going town to not a full house. Here in San Francisco and los angeles, it is very difficult to make money without a fullseated restaurant. And were going to have to figure that out. That means takeout and maybe retail inside of a restaurant. Maybe other clothing produced by someone related to the restaurant, creating a lifestyle. All of the pivots are going to require us, the city, government, and private sector to be flexible with our permitting process. To look at permit streamlining, to allow change of use permits to occur. Maybe temporarily, just as we get back up, and then we can tighten them back up, but we need to be in this all together and be flexible. The third thing i want to mention is Public Health. The mayor has disown such done agreat job in listenig to Public Health. And well rely on them to tell us what is best practices. I hope the departments listen to Small Business, and Small Business actually steps up and says, you know what . No one knows how to run this nightclub better than we do, and here are some suggestions we think we can voluntarily put down, something we can live with financially, operationally. We look at the changes and the way theyre going to occur, theyre very much operational. There is one piece that has been floated around, and that is an idea of a certifcate of healthy places, voluntary standization, much like standization standardization, much as a food place has to have a safe handling permit. I, again, wanted to stress that creativity and ingenuity will get us largely out of this. And what will set one business apart from another is how safe and clean it is. If we can do that independently and collectively, San Francisco can be a better city. So ill stop there. Mayor all righ all right. Thank you, rodney. Commissioner huey, if you want to get some remarks, and then we can go right into the question and answer. Sure. Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody, for logging in today. My name is cynthia huey, and im a Small Business owner in the city. And most recently, as a commissioner on the Small Business commission. I just really want to express how grateful i am to be a san franciscan right now. I was just outside on saturday, singing with my neighbors, and it was an amazing feeling. So im incredibly appreciative of show everyone in our communities have come together to fight for and support the health of all san franciscans. You know, just a quick story i wanted to share. I was recently in a west portal merg merchants meeting, with mayor breed as well you probably had no idea i was there. I was watching you during a meeting, and i could see you in your little zoom box, typing away. And i was just floored that this is our mayor. This is our mayor. You were in the chat to try to answer everybodys questions and connecting people. And i was so proud of the fact that i live in a city where our mayor just digs in and is doing the work. And so i just wanted to say from the very bottom of my heart, thank you so much for trying to help us all through this. It is an incredibly challenging situation, time. I cant even imagine, but i know were going to all get through this. And i believe in your leadership, and i really thank you. Mayor thank you, commissioner. So, i think, also, all of us have all of the programs and things memorized right now, all of the wonderful grants we can apply for and all of the loans and all of the Different Things that i think have been mentioned already, but i also wanted to highlight the work of the office of Small Businesses. Theyve been fielding hundreds and hundreds of phone calls and emails every week, trying to get Business Owners connected with resources, and really doing a lot of oneonone counselling. So i wanted to thank them. And thanking everybody on the panel. Rodney, your expertise today, and also leading us into the recovery. And joaquin, i dont know how you do this. Youre in every single meeting, and somehow youre in 20 places at once, but thank you very much. So at this point, lets i just want to move into the questions, if thats okay with everyone here . Yes. Great. Just to give everyone some context about the questions, the vast majority of people who are c. P. For todays talk are also c. P. d with a question. And these are questions that have been asked over and over again. Starting with joaquin, what is the status of the citys grants and funding programs for Small Businesses impacted by covid . Yes, thank you very much for the question. As the mayor said, for up to date realtime information, please go to oewd. Org, and click on covid covid19, and it will list all of the Resources Available, and what is implemen complementary from the state and local levels, ready to reach out with you online, connect with you on the phone to guide you through the process and help you navigate this very difficult time. In addition to that, also private Resources Available, newlyannounced grants that are accessible to you. Please do frequently visit that site. Its where we try to put everything we have available. We started out with a Million Dollars before we had the shelter in place, to support Small Businesses with grants, up to 10,000. Since that time we have doubled that grant pool so we could serve over 200 businesses through that effort, with grants up to 10,000. We also heard that some of the resources were not reaching some of the soul proprietors. And well be publicizing that on our website. We have a little over 127 grants from that first allocation. And secondly, the mayor introduced the gift to s. F. Fund here in San Francisco, so we could coordinate, and, mayor, thank you so much for the leadership there. So we will have private Resources Available to support us with a loan program, a zero percent interest program. We have a partner surntlcurrently that accepted applications. We received over 4,000 businesses who submitted that application. We want to reinforce that the resources we have able right now, from a citys perspective, are greatly exceeded by the demand. Which is why it is so important that today, if folks have not been aware im sure everybody is in the Small Business community thae federal sba program those applications opened up this morning at 7 30 a. M again, go to our website for more information there. Where you can learn about additional partners, Financial Institutions, who can also help you in getting those applications filled out. Why is that important . Because many banks are only working with their clients, and prioritizing them on a first come, first serve basis. There are billions of dollars being held for other smaller lenders, other Smaller Banks and cdcdfis, and making sure thethat the public knows they are there. Please do take the initiative right now, reach out to our hotline, as you mentioned, cynthia, and get realtime information from us, with any questions you may have, you will get a response and talk to a person when you reach out to us. So i think ill leave it with that. As a final piece, the mayor also introduced a neighborhood mini Grant Program on friday afternoon. It is also meant as another fill the gap in some of the most underserved neighborhoods. Given the fact we do have a financial crisis, we wanted to make sure were finding those resources as we have them available, and delivering them where they are needed, again, focusing on those who may not be able to access other resources in other ways. And also ensuring that women entrepreneurs, from a citywide perspective, had access to those grants as well. Thank you so much. Thank you. So many of the fees and fines that Small Businesses have been experiencing have been deferred now, i think, until september, is what you mentioned . Are there longterm plans for Small Businesses to be able to navigate those fees beyond that . Since many of us were already struggling to pay those before this. Mayor definitely. Thank you, cynthia, for the question. That is one of the areas that im laserfocused on. Because the fact is some of the businesses that are being required to close under our ordinance are not generating any revenue. And the fact that we would expect businesses to pay these fees during times that theyre not even open and able to generate revenue is not right. So we are working to figure out how we can deal with the fees overall, and what it would mean to reduce, or to eliminate, certain fees for a time period, or what have you. We are definitely looking into that because as what was said by rodney, what weve seen, were talking about somewhere around 49 million. The city is facing a significant budget deficit, but we also cant balance our budget on the backs of businesses that wont be able to reopen if we continue to burden them with even more city fees. So that is something that were definitely focused on. It is something that i care about. I care about dealing with that, to try to remove that barrier. But i also want to be clear i think, first of all, we have so many businesses that are going to be struggling even after we begin to reopen. There are businesses that are having challenges now. Theyre going to have challenges after this. But then there might be businesses that are okay. And we want to make sure that those businesses that are okay, that they continue to pay what they owe, if they can afford to do so. Because there are going to be a lot of businesses that cant. We want to be fair because this impacts all of us. When the city is not able to generate sufficient revenue, it makes it more difficult for us to provide more resources to those businesses that are struggling the most. In fact, we mentioned gifts to s. F. , where im actually raising private dollars to support Small Businesses. There are only three categories in our give to s. F. Program, and one is food insecurity, one is for housing and to help with people that might be facing eviction, and the most important category here is Small Businesses, and making sure that we have more resources. We need to maximize the amount of resources were able to provide in order to help carry businesses that need it the most through this pandemic. So it is definitely something that im committed to addressing. And this is where im going to count on the Business Community as i try to propose legislative changes through the process. Were going to need people to be supportive of that. Because it is really going to be its going to hit our budget hard, but i think the benefits of supporting our Small Businesses outweigh the need for us to collect these fees from our already suffering businesses. Thank you very much. This question, i think rodney would be the person to direct this to. Along with the fines and fees, i think one of the things top of mind for Small Businesses is also commercial rent. So what programs are there, or what types of resources do you have to help some of our Small Business owners with, to negotiate rent changes, rent relief, with their commercial landlords . Thats a good question and it is a tough one because at the moment, there is not necessarily any relief for landlords. In San Francisco, a very old city, many of our landlords are Small Businesses, too. They have mortgages, insurance, and their own obligations. So i think the battle is they want to not have vacancies. I dont know any land owner who wants to have a vacancy. If youre a tenant with a Small Business, you should begin a dialogue with your landlord, if possible, to see if there is any kind of deferment. I stress to you they are also under the same pressures, with mortgages and such. But there are private arrangements, and those kinds of conversations would be very helpful. Okay. Thank you. Mayor breed, many Small Business owners have not even heard back from the sba jet o yet on their loans. Do have you an update on the federal Assistance Program . I know this morning there was new funding added to that, but do you know anything beyond, or how the city can help advocate some of the Small Business owners who havent even had a chance to mayor yeah. And joaquin can provide some insight into that. His office is working on trying to get access to that. Absolutely. That is one of the biggest questions for us, in terms of where is accessibility happening. Almost immediately we were on the phone with Financial Institutions when we were getting questions across the city about what does this Program Look Like . Everything was rolling out so quickly, everyone was scrambling to understand even their own lenders, who they had a relationship with, would provide them guidance or even a response. What were monitoring very closely now, both treasury sisnaros and the recorder, cameron chu, reached out to the Financial Institutions to ask, how are you communicating with your clients . What is the process by which you will be processing applications . What is important to know right now, is based on those conversations, the mayor asked us to make sure we were submitting those concerns from the general politics to the speakers office, part of our federal advocacy. Thats why we saw this funding that was reserved specifically for smaller lenders, so folks had many outlets to access though federal relief funds at the same time. So as we see that program roll out today, well be monitoring it in realtime to find out what the responses are like. The Silver Lining for us that were seeing right now, but well still be watching closely, is the fact that there are those dollars that are held for smaller institutions, and we can see what relief is provided to the Small Business owners that take that path, as they begin to work with their financial clients, the large banks and the sba around their own applications. I do encourage every Small Business owner that has an application to reach out to their lender with some followup questions, in terms what have will their process be . Well also be feeding that back on our website at well. Well have that additional information, too. But were looking forward to monitoring this and seeing how this new version of p. P. P. Is going to be administered, and what well need to provide. And just a followup question about the p. P. P. How will Small Businesses reach the levels so that were eligible to receive those loans from the federal government . Mayor and i will say that one of the reasons why i created the economic Recovery Task force is so that when were able to provide a window of opportunity for a particular industry to open, we want to make sure that before that happens they know what the requirements are going to be. And so that they can get ready. So on day one, they know what to expect. We have been talking to the speaker about that particular requirement because when you think about it, with restaurants, if were going to be looking at reopening restaurants and changing their capacity, then there is no way that theyre going to not only be able to afford to bring back all of their employees, but the likelihood that they will even be able to afford their rent and other expenses is going to be really, really challenging. And so i think that part of our goal with the economic Recovery Task force is to look at ways, working with the department of Public Health, to provide guidance for these industries, to help people to get ready, so on day one they know what theyre going to be able to do. But the speaker has been absolutely incredible, and is aware that this could potentially be a challenge in light of the need to impose new restrictions on businesses that may make it difficult for them to be able to bring back their employees. The other thing that the economic Recovery Task force will do is also look at ways to ensure that our workforce adapts to what our new normal is. We have folks from the academic world who many of our institutions were asking them to look at their classes and what they have available, in order to retrain people for maybe a new opportunity that they may not have thought was possible. Because theyre not able to return to their job. And so were looking at other industries. Were looking at how many contact tracers were going to need, because until a vaccine is found, there is a need to identify when someone has a virus, who have they been in contact with . Not just in their immediate family at home, but others in other parts of the community, along with more testing. This is going to be necessary for us to open and to remain open so that we dont see a significant surge in the number of cases. So its going to take a major effort to start thinking differently about things wont necessarily go back to the same. But i think that there is an adjustment that we can make, if were prepared to make it, and our economic Recovery Task force is going to play an Important Role in helping us do that. And im going to continue to advocate not just the speaker, but our senators as well, we have a great relationship with Kamala Harris and other. We have con tact contact with te mayors about what adjustments need to be made because well all be in the same boat. Im going to kind of backtrack a little bit into a question that was asked many times. Many Small Business owners are reporting seeing an increase intents and street, unsheltered homelessness in commercial corridors and other in other words. In otheother neighborhoods. Whao help the homeless, who are at a greater risk of contracting coronavirus . Mayor if you own a business, you know the challenges of homelessness dont go away because there is a pandemic. In fact, theyve been worse for us. Although weve been able to get close to a thousand people into hotel rooms, the ability to address homeless in the age of social distancing has been so difficult. And so what youre seeing is we are ramping up our hotels, but we also have to have staff and meals and cleaning and services and management of these hotels to ensure that staff and the folks who work there are safe, but also the people who are located in those hotel rooms are safe as well. It is a massive undertaking, requiring a significant increase in our capacity. And it is really taxing on our workforce. And when i say our workforce, is no it is not just people in the city and nonprofits, all of the employees that are disaster workers weve had to retrain librarians and rec and park staff and other people who have not hired to do these jobs, to work with this population in these capacities. We are not going to be able to place our entire Homeless Population into hotel rooms. But what were trying to do is get creative around how were able to provide them help and to find safe locations where we can divert the tents off of the sidewalks, off of the streets into larger areas and larger parking lots. Specifically were looking at Everett Middle School as an option, and were working with supervisor mandelman on that. And were looking at other locations in the bay view. We have trailers that we received from the state and that we also purchased, that we plan to place at pier 92, to move people out of tents and into the shelters, people who are residents of the bay view. Were trying to get creative to try to get as many people off the streets as we possibly can. It is challenging and will continue to be challenging. But were going to continue to do the very best that we can. And i cannot, you know, commit to seeing this major change around the removal of tents if we dont have places for people to go. We have to make sure that we have restrooms, wash stations, and other things when we take responsibility for any of the folks that are housed intents at this time. Were going to continue to get creative and provide informal locations and work with the department of Public Health and the department of homelessness to do just that. And i will say, as much as weve been able to do, not only providing meals to our shelters, meals to these hotels, and meals to people who are in tents, and cleaning services and other support, it continues to be a challenge to ramp up to the number of staffing that we need in order to meet what we see a significant population of Homeless People in our city. Just to kind of Start Talking a little bit more to talk a little bit more about recovery and reopening, what do you think will the new standards look for operating a business in this city . We have different types of needs for different highcontact industries, such as restaurants, hair and nail salons, like you had mentioned, dental offices, things like that. What are your thoughts on that . Mayor so im glad you asked that question, because, again, part of our goal with our economic Recovery Task force with a lot of the different industries, we want to Work Together to provide those guidelines. So, for example, most of what we see happening with the department of Public Health and the decisions that are being made are centered around what we need to do to protect Public Health. So it focuses on trying to keep people apart from one another in order to avoid getting the virus. And what were experiencing with our economy, and what were seeing with the numbers, they have real concerns about opening up too fast because we still see the number of hospitalizations have gone up. We still see, every day, an increase number in the number of people who are positive for covid19, and weve had 23 deaths, over 1400 cases, and about 85 people who are hospitalized. So they are not comfortable we are out of the woods because those numbers continue to rise you say flattening the curve, but it is pretty flat, relative to most other major cities, but it has not dropped. And what weve done today, for example, in extending the stayathome order for an additional month, during that time or goal is to not sit around and wait until direction is given from the department of Public Health. We are going to provide the guidance for how we can get back to opening up some of our businesses. So, for example, just think about it, the restaurants have delivery and pickup services. We have nonessential businesses that possibly, with the right kinds of guidelines, could potentially be open for the same pickup and Delivery Services as well. The place where i buy my candles, you know, where they have, you know, all these knickknacks and things that i like to buy. Why not make sure that those Small Businesses that serve our communities have the pickup and dropoff service. And what we have to do, and what im hoping or economic Recovery Task force will do with these various industries, are what are some new guidelines for various industries . Because im not going to wait around for the department of Public Health to say, okay, yes, it is okay to open our hair salons and our barber shops. What i want to do is get ready for that and provide for them the suggested guidelines, get them to agree and to allow some of these places to start to reopen. Because thats where we are now. We have to start working on this now. So, for example, if we set up guidelines today, that three weeks from now, or four weeks from now, this is what a beauty salon needs to be doing in order to get open, then they can get prepared for that. And they can start booking appointments and working with their costumers. If they can only have one person in the shop at a time what does that mean . Im not suggesting that that is going to happen, because part of it is contingent upon what happens with our numbers. What happens with the number of people who are infected. And so we are open to suggestions from our Business Community. If you have a unique business and you dont necessarily interact with the public, but you have items that you sell and your not online, but there is a way you could provide pickup and delivery, what does that look like . I think we have to start having those discussions now, so that we can get people ready. If theyre going to need to wear gloves and masks when theyre doing certain services, we need to get people ready so they have the supplies that they need. That is a continued conversation im hoping we will focus this additional month of may on those kinds of solutions because when we reopen, it will not be business as usual. Things are going to be a lot different, especially in light of not having a vaccine. There are going to be some challenges with largescale events. There are going to be challenges with nightclubs, with hair and nail salons, but it doesnt mean that we should not look at ways we can reopen and make sure that were practicing certain techniques or requirements that will help limit the number of people that would be infected. This is our last question, maybe for rodney. How can Small Businesses and Small Business owners be leaders in the Recovery Efforts . Yeah. I think the mayor spoke well about creativity and ingenuity. We want everyone to figure out what they want to do next and how their business is going to shift. I will share that there is one website, where there is a Public Survey put out by the Recovery Task force. 1San Francisco. Org francisco. Org covid19 recovery. We want to have more students foopportunities for pee to give structure. Hopefully well have a playbook. There will not be an exact plan, but a whole list of plays that we can put into play, that she can pull from that will have a matrix of. As this changes, it is very different in fact, maybe an earthquake recovery would be somewhat easier than this recovery because it may have some start and stops. Well try to have as much information with regard to making opportunities from the public. Thank you. I wanted to thank everybody for being on this panel today and sharing advice, encouragement, all of these things, for all of us because we need it right now. Mayor breed, would you like to close this off today . Mayor yeah. First of all, thank you, commissioner huey, for your work with this. You mentioned in the beginning that you had a number of people who registered and provided questions. So i want to ask you to make sure that joaquin gets that list with the questions, and he and his team will respond to those questions to try to do what we can to make sure that we are answering them. You can also email joaquin or email me at mayorlondonbreed mayorlondonbreed sfgof. O rg. It is better if you reach out to me by email, not on social media because im not allowed to get on official media because my staff, they are trying to they wont let me do stuff. [laughter] if you respond to me, well get back to you as quickly as we can with your questions. Joaquin and his team have been great with providing resources for Small Businesses. Im on the phone regularly, not only trying to raise private dollars to support our Small Businesses, but also trying to redirect funds and figuring out creative ways to support our Small Business community. I also just want to repeat one of the things ive said. As we start to propose policies that can help our Small Business community, were going to really need the Small Business community to rally around those policies because we know that its a matter of whether or not you will be able to even reopen as we start to open our doors here in the city again. So it is important that we hear from you, that you, of course, are paying attention to what is happening around the policy discussions, that youre contacting your board of supervisors and making clear to them what is important to you. Again, i know it is a real struggle. It is a real struggle. And what we want to do is make sure that we are helping to meet the needs of people who need help now. And we want to get to people, and we want to be as supportive as we possibly canment and we can. And we know that we are all going through it, whether it is our business or in our personal lives, as all of us are required to stay at home. I just really want to express my appreciation to so many people in this city who have just followed the orders and have put us in a situation where our numbers, in comparison to other major cities, are absolutely remarkable. Were not out of the woods yet. We cant let up just yet, but what we can do is start to look at creative ways to get back on our feet again, to get back to opening businesses or industries with certain guidelines that are approved by the Public Health department. Thats really where i want to get to. So send us your suggestions. Send us your comments. Send us your love. No complaints, please, because laughing you can send complaints, im just kidding. Send us emails with what you suggest that we do to help make things better for you because we really are in this together. And it is going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of patience to get through it. We appreciate you all being with us today. And hang in there. And, you know, make sure that you do everything you can to bring our businesses back to our city. And im going to do everything i can from the Mayors Office to support you in doing that. Thank you. Thank you, mayor breed. Mayor thank you. Ring that someone special. Welcome to corona height located in the height of the cast strow district the eye kong bay bridge and on towards the east bay. Cone oi shakes park is one the citys best kept secrets on lake twin peaks its hardly crowded on a day any day you will run into a new lolls and hop on a bus to get there without any parking worries and lolls bring their fourlegged fronds run freely with other dogs and a small touch of grass for the small dogs and wild flowers carpet the grasslands keep on the look out nor hawks and im joined today by the director of the department of Public Health, the department of emergency management, and the police chief, and the director of the Human Services agency, trent roher and the director of