Transcripts For SFGTV Recreation And Park Commission 20240713

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You may speak under general Public Comment, and that is for item 4. Please note if the fire alarms activate, you must evacuate the building in an orderly fashion. If you need assistance out of the building, please make your way to the closest area of access. Which is across the hall from the mens restroom. There is a button. Let them know, and they will assist you. We are now on item 2. Thank you. Two items quickly. One is a letter, which i received that id like to just read because i enjoyed getting it. Dear mark, i was deeply touched by the honour you and the commission granted to me with the placement of the plaque in my honor at the tennis courts. It was a complete surprise. As you know, politicians usually get a leak about some pending event involving them. But not this one. I wanted to show off the plaque to my 4yearold grandson, daniel, and he is just learning to spell his name, and recognized agnus. Thank you for making me look good with my grandson. Sincerely, art agnus. And another, which i wont read in its entirety because it is too long, and it starts, im a preschool teacher at the pacific primary preschool. We met briefly this summer at the childrens playground when your team gave a presentation to a group of teachers about how the playground was designed. My class of 5yearolds were on a field trip, enjoying the new playground. The design is wonderful, especially the natural elements, like the stone. Etc. , etc. My students had a lot of questions and they started calling out, and the workers so patient, friendly, and knowledgeable with us. As they worked, they explained to the children what they were doing and one. One man in particular, fred, was particularly kind and helpful to the children. A big thank you to you and your team for including even the youngest s. F. Residents in your work. As a result, giving them a strong sense of stewardship and responsible for their park. General manager, please tell fred we appreciate him being a good ambassador. That concludes my report. Chairwoman is there any Public Comment . Seeing none, the Public Comment is closed. Im sorry. Mr. Ginsburg, the general manager. Mr. President , i normally dont speak during the president s report because i have a general managers report, but today i did because today i would like to mark your 10th anniversary a as the president of this commission. And often during your president s report, you provide accomodations and recognition to people who have engaged in yowft outstanding public service. Today it is my honor to do that for you. As your fellow commissioners know, you are quite a poet. So today, in honor of your 10th anniversary, i on baf of your colleagues on the commission and the rec and parks staff, offer you one back. Congratulations, mr. President , on 10 fine years in the chair, and through all of the doc hearings, you still have most of your hair. The city is grateful for your leadership of this commission, which you lead with grace, charm, and some great intuition. According to t. P. L. , the chamber, and the controllers estimation, you have steered us to having the best parks in the nation. Now 10years as our president is a long, long time, but i still dont think youve birdied hole number nine. But lets admit to grant him his 10th anniversary wish, we would have to allow the pond to be stocked with real fish. We would like to present you with this cool rec and parks sign. But before you retire and hang it on your door, we would like you to get out and play for at least a decade more. Yay [applause] thank you. Youre a fine fellow. Very nice. And i thank my fellow all of the commissioners. Hang on. I want to say one thing. You probably should know what is coming. Victory as many parents, and defeat is an orphan. So i thank everyone who helps along the way. No one person does it. But thank you, im quite honored. [applause] it takes a village. [applause] chairwoman we are now on item 3, general managers report. All right. Back to business. A few quick announcements, the San Francisco recreation and Parks Department, along with other government agencies, and community organizations, including the airport, Sheriffs Office and the school district, is hosting a series of job a series of saturday job fairs this month from 10 00 a. M. To 1 00 p. M. The next fair is this saturday, followed by one on january 25th at the county fair building. Weve already had a couple swing by and find the right job for you, preferably with us. We invite everyone to join us next tuesday, january 28th, from 10 30 a. M. To 1 00 p. M. To help kick off goldengate parks celebration. We will help to plan 150 trees around golden view park, beginning with the first one on john f. Kennedy drive at 11 00 a. M the beginning of our 150th celebration is april 4th, which is 150 years to the day, the state legislature created Golden Gate Park and San Franciscos park system. But we give a little bit of a preview of all of the exciting things to come on january 28th with our treeplanting. Speaking of g. G. P. 150, and an observation wheel, i want to report back that yesterday the Historic Preservation Committee Approved the appropriateness of the wheel by a 41vote, and added to conditions, which were certainly fine with us. They clarified we would not be applying to have the wheel there permanently, which has never been our in tint, and ask that we have a process to deal with any Community Concerns that may happen over the year with respect to lighting in the concourse. That is our natural course of process, anyway. The wheel, we did get final approval from h. P. C. To have the wheel there for one year, and were very excited about it. Moving on to our budget, youll hear the first of a few presentations today about the citys upcoming and the departments up coming budget process. Rec and park will host two public budget meetings to get feedback on our proposed budget. On tuesday, january 28th, 6 00 to 8 00 p. M. , and on thursday, february 6th, from 6 00 to 8 00point. 00 p. M. And you can share with us your own priorities. Check out sfrecparks. Org. This weekend well celebrating dr. Martin luther king. And we actually begin today, right now, in the ring at delores park, and then move over to a drier baby playground on saturday from 9 00 a. M. To noon. And well be at vis valley green way on saturday, and grand Community Garden on saturday when mission continues. You can sign up to participate on our m. L. K. Day of Service Projects at sfrecpark. Org. And tomorrow wer host we host or m. L. K. Lunch with speakers. It is january, it is cold and wet, but that doesnt mean it is too early to start thinking about summer. The recreation and Parks Department and the department of children, youth, and families, will once again cohost the citys annual summary source fair on saturday, february 8th, from 11 00 a. M. To 2 00 p. M. At the county fair building. Featuring representatives from over 150 summer camps, classes, programs, and services, from toddlers to teens. While parents are looking for summer options for their kids, there will be games, arts and crafts, and our mobile rec climbing wall to occupy their beloved children. Moving on, we invite everyone to join us in celebrating our newest graduating class of greenagers, on saturday, at the lake mers sed boathouseed boathouse. It offers teens a chance to play an Important Role in the community by promoting green spaces and developing their leadership skills. This is an incredible program. I think our proudest legacies over the last decade. Please join us as we celebrate our youths accomplishments over the last year. Im very pleased to report that the racket Sports Industry magazine, which i know you all subscribe to, has named its 2019 champions of tennis, and your San Francisco rec and Parks Department has won agency of the year award for our work on the golden gate center, and our Tennis Program which includes five neighborhood sites, where we partner with nearby elementary schools, and kids come to these sites every day for a mix of academic support and beginning tennis instruction. And once the kids complete fifth grade in the junior program, they will move on to Golden Gate Park and the tennis center, where theyll have their own dedicated space for hopefully more advanced tennis at the tennis learning centers new flagship headquarters in Golden Gate Park. Thour staff, including our partnerships team, lisa in particularly, and our Recreation Team deserve a ton of credit, and so do our partners at the San Francisco parks and lands, and the Tennis Coalition of San Francisco. It has been a real team effort, and were so excited to be cutting a ribbon during our Golden Gate Park 150th celebration later this summer. Finally, it is the new year, and we wanted to look back at some of our highlights over the past year. None of the accomplishments could have happened without this leaderships support, and so i wanted to offer the latest community report, which i actually already distributed. Commissioner anderson, there is your copy. Please enjoy it and feel proud about all we have accomplished as we dive head first into 2020. And that leads us to this months video, which are 20 ways to get outside in 2020, including diving head first. Happy new year, commissioners. Chairwoman is there any Public Comment. Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Were on item 4. At this time, members of the public may address the commission on items of interest to the public, but are within the subject matter and jurisdiction of the commission and that do not appear on the agenda. Youll have the opportunity to address the commission when the item is reached in the meeting. I have one blue card for bob hall. Did you know that San Francisco recreation and parks manages over 4100 acres and 220 parks, and yet it has zero naturalists on staff to interpret the parks for the public. Why is that . East bay parks has two naturalists on staff. San mattisan mateo parks has one,they used to have one. There is no one to expose the kids to the grasslands all around them. If you hired a park naturalist, not only could they help the public understand the historic, natural, and scientific significance of their parks, they would determine how best to plan, organize, and direct programs, whether through verbal presentations, practical demonstrations, or interactive programs. A naturalist could help foster a sense of pride in our surroundings, and teach people why it is important to preserve our hill tops, parks, and natural in general. Do you know why San Francisco has 1 17 berens, bere . Our parks are filled with mysteries. Lets unlock those adventurers. Please make appointing a naturalist a priority in 2020 and help our citizens find out what makes San Francisco recreation and parks green spaces so great. Thank you. Thank you very much. Commissioner, just a quick postscript, and i appreciate the sentiment of that Public Comment, and i chime in here because i actually forgot to announce this, but we do have a naturalist, dylan haze, who was just awarded the empowering employee of the year. And we have several other staff in our Natural Resources program who have naturalist skills. It is an area that deserves to grow and be invested in. But not only do we have a naturalist, we have the citys most empowering employee according to our city residents. Thank you. Thank you. Chairwoman is there any other Public Comment . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Were now on item 5, consent calendar. Commissioners, is there any item you would like removed from the concept calendar . Is there any Public Comment on the consent calendar. Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. I need a motion. Move to approve. Second. All those in favor . Yea. So moved. Chairwoman were on item 6, election of officers. Is there any Public Comment before we start on the election of officers . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Commissioners, i will just go through the process very quickly for the election. We will start with the president. Well need a motion and a second to open the nominations, followed by a vote. I will then ask for nominations for president. Nominations will need a second. Once all of the nominations are complete, i will close nominations and then well vote on the nominations. And well repeat that for vice president. Ill ask for a motion to open the nomination for president. So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. All those in favor. Yea. Yeah. Chairwoman what own like to make a nomination. Id like to make a motion to extend the wonderful 10 years that commissioner bule has led this commission and departments and made it one of the best departments in the city. With that, i would like to nominate mark bule for president. I would like to second that. Moved and seconded. All those in favor. Yea. I thank you very much. Chairwoman i will need a motion to open the notions for vice president. So moved. Seconded. Moved and seconded all those in favor . Yea. I would like to nominate our great commissioner, the biggest cal bears fan in the world. Moved, abbreviated, and second. Yea. Congratulations. Chairwoman and now were on item 7, the San Francisco zoo. Good morning. Vince grubbs, c. F. O. With the zoo. In San Francisco on december 27, nearly 200 burgers with the audubon took part in what is considered the oldest cents event in the world. Iit tracks the health of the bird populations. The zoo hosted bird encounters, and the height was a sighting of a rare bird, and it caused quite a stir, with birders flocking to the zoo over the following days. You can develop your drawing skills at our new illustration workshops. Mark simmons will cover a few basics before you head to the zoo zoo and see your subjects. Basic materials will be provided, but you can bring your own supplies. Upcoming classes will be held on january 25th, its theme being cute critters, and february 8th, beautiful bears. You can find mere o more on our website. Mark your calendars for the upcoming science lecture of january 25th. David mcguire, founder and director of sharp stewards will discuss the latest Ocean Conservation projects in the bay area. To commemorate the year of the rat, the zoo will be hosting Lunar New Year celebrations. There will be chinese line and folk dance performances at 11 00 and 1 30 each day. And you can go on the zodiac Scavenger Hunt to learn fun facts. And check out the full calendar events on aur our website. The zoo supports future Conservation Action by engaging Youth Department volunteer opportunities. We have popular summer and yearround programs that are designed to be fun, while developing job readiness schools, and inspiring youth to care for nature. It includes a zoo crew, nature trail, talk on the wild side, and zoo teacher assistance. Registration takes place in february, and you can find out more information on our website, s. F. Zoo. Org. The zoo is home to various ambassadors to australian wildlife, and were distressed by the devastating loss of life. The zoo is directing its Conservation Fund to the rescue, care, and recovery of wildlife in australia. Please consider making a donation at collection boxes stationed around the zoo, or you can donate directly at bushservicewildlifefund. Chairwoman is there any Public Comment . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Were at now on item 8. Good morning, mrs. President , and members of the commission. Im derek chew, the director of the San Francisco recreation and Parks Department. Im here today to present an overview of the mayors budget instructions, and of the departments fiscal rear 20 and 21 budgets. The mayor released her budget instructions in december, and as of this time, they are projecting that Revenue Growth is slowing. Interest earnings are declining, there is moderate business text growth, and the transfer taxes projected to decline to norms in the future years, which basically says that revenues are not growing as at fast a pace as they have in prior years. Coupled with that are cost pressures that are continuing in the city. The main cost pressures include growing employee wages, debt and Capital Expenditures, large costs in several different departments, and inflation on nonpersonnel services. That combines to create the ongoing deficit problem for the city, resulting in a projected deficit in fiscal year 2021of 195 million, growing to an ag great an aggree of 220 million in the budget year. The mayor has stated her main priorities for this city and the departments, and they include facing the challenges for those struggling on the streets, including housing, shelter and services for those in need, clean and safe streets for everyone, and healthy and vibrant neighborhoods. The last item is new to the mayors priorities, health and vibrant neighborhoods, and i think that bodes well for the department because you cannot have health and environment in neighborhoods without parks and recreation. The mayor has also asked the department to help assisting those on our streets, being responsive to residents, and supporting city workers out there trying to make a difference. That last point speaks directly to the terrific staff we have out there in our city parks and recreation centers. So specifically budget instructions to departments includes focus on accountability and outcomes. Demonstrating the effective use of existing city funding. Prioritizing Funding Initiatives for residents of the highest need. She is also requiring departments to present 3. 5 general Fund Reductions in the budget year and continuing into the budget year plus one. And she is also asking that we Seek Solutions that prioritize core functions, and off void avoid layoffs. We do have stability from prop b, in which we dont need to present a budget reduction, as other departments that receive general funds do. We will continue to maintain a 15 million fund commitment. And we will continue to look at new Revenue Growth to support the programs in our department. The department, though, must absorb all cost increases, including cola increases for our staff, as well as fringe benefits. Briefly, as a reminder, our current year budget is just under 220 million, with an operating budget of 173 million, and a Capital Budget just under 47 million. We have a Permanent Civil Service staff of just under a thousand positions. To so wher show where we receive our funding, from the open space fund, general subsidy from the city, earned income, and our bond revenues as well as reserves and other grants. A little more detail on our earned income, we are receiving approximately 11 million in concessions, just under 10 million in permit and facility rentals, 8 million in program fees, 10 million in garages, and 12 million in golf, and 6 million in our arena. Foin the current year, at the six month mark, were tracking well on expenditures and revenues, so were not projecting a surplus or deficit in the current year at this time. We are seeing some softness in our garage revenues, but we expect other revenues to make up that deficit. So the next few slides show some pie charts of our expenditure budget and our revenue budget, which im going to pass through and move on to again, just a reminder of the comprehensive planning that guides our budget process, and that includes our strategic plan, our operational plan, and our capital plan, with a focus on our equity metrics. As always, well be looking to enhance revenues, including program revenue, open space fund allocation, and our leases and concessions area. We will also be looking on the expenditure side, looking for service, delivery efficiencies, as well as utility usage going forward. Finally, we have an expensive outreach effort to present and discuss our budget, our budget priorities, both to you, the commission, and to the community. We will be presenting on january 28th and february 6th to the community at muni lovey ward at portsmith clubhouse. I will be back here february 4th i will be back before sorry, before the Operations Committee on february 6th. We will hold a staff brown bag, and then ill be back on february 20th to present the final proposal for your review and approval. Thank you. Thank you very much. Commissioner mazola . Thank you for your report. Chairwoman Public Comment. Excuse me. Yes. Chairwoman is there any Public Comment on this item . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Thank you for your report. So how is a 3. 5 cut being implemented . Our department, because of proposition b, we do not need to present a 3. 5 cut to the office in our budget year plus one. Okay. However, to be clear, we are required to absorb our cost increases. So there is this is proposition proposition b makes us a little more independent and doesnt its certainly no windfall. What we are doing, however, commissioner, we have asked staff to prepare sort of contingency reduction from there their own divisions and teams, to see what they look like, because the mayor has also asked us to focus on redirecting resources to the priorities, which she stated in both her on budge instructions, as well as her inauguration, which is obviously a focus on healthy street behavior and homelessness and housing i think it interplays with us with respect to our ability to keep our parks clean, healthy, and safe. So were looking at all of that, but were not as derek said, were not required under proposition b to submit a 3. 5 cut. A followup pinpoint question would be are there current fulltime employee permanent positions that are being affected by this that are not being utilized at this point, that are vacant . Are vacant positions not being backfilled because of this . Does that make sense . Yeah, and it is a complicated one to answer. Because were all expected every year to have a certain level of sort of attrition fittings. So too soon to tell. We dont know yet. Were not balanced. But were not anticipating any there wont be any layoffs as a result of the budget. There has to be some vacant positions out there, though, right . That is correct. Were required to keep a certain percentage of our budgeted positions vacant. It is part of the its sort of part of our structural budget. Every department has to do that. Last question this year it shows that the earned income is going down, is that because of the garage income only . Primarily. Yeah, primarily garage income pretty much all of it is because of the garage. And why is that . Uber. Exactly. It is the change in the dynamics of driving and parking in our neighborhoods and in the downtown. I discussed this yesterday, and 100 because of uber and lyft. With some of the downtown garages, it is cheaper, for sure. On that note, just as an interesting fact, the bonds for the bridge, bay bridge, may be in jeopardy by vir che vertu of fewer people crossing the bridge. I guess, recognizing the changing economics of our garages what is our strategy in adapting to this new world. So, were working with the garage operators and with the m. T. A. , who help manage the garages for us. Were looking at ways that we can market the Garage Services to bring back costumers or bring in new costumers. And we are also looking at Cost Containment if were losing revenues, we need to start looking at the operations and figure out ways to make sure those are as efficient as possible. Is that the right approach, to encourage people to drive and park more . Knowing that people are taking uber and lyft . I dont know. It is complicated because there is transit first. But because we are receiving our revenues from the garages, there could be other uses for those garages. But it is issues that were working on right now. It is a really good topic to grapple with over the next several years. Yeah. I mean, thats the question. If were seeing fewer drivers an parking in our garages, is it time to start the discussion of what do we do . How do we change our model . Uhhuh. Um, i think the answer is yes. I think it is really a conversation to be led by m. T. A. I do think its worth it for us to explore some so that we di can continue to preserve our programs, and the revenue to fund our programs. It is important to explore alternative Revenue Streams in our garages. For example, in civic center, part of our revenue stream comes from reserve spaces from the Public Utilities commission, because they do have staff and they need space to put their cars. At union station, i believe there are a handful of carshare spaces. I think there are opportunities to develop alternative Revenue Streams, which i think we should be looking at. Parking revenues are down throughout the city. Thank you. Commissioner anderson. Id like to just get in the minutes because i think it is nice to get the little sound bytes. If you could just remind us, once everything was reconciled with the budget from last fiscal year, what was the number as compared to what is the number that were dealing with this fiscal year . The bottom line. The bottom line the currents year of the budget is just over 219 million. At the sixmonth mark we are on target, both on the expenditures and revenues. When you look at the ag greaaggregate and balance them out. We are balanced at this point in time, which is always a good thing. We dont expect to need any other assistance from the Mayors Office to get us through the next six months. And just as a reminder, looking forward, we dont have a budget yet, right . No. And were putting together a budget that is consistent with the mayors structions instructions, that we come back to you for approval that we then submit to the Mayors Office, and then the Mayors Office and the Department Work together on the budget that gets submitted to the board of supervisors on june 1st. And then the department and the board of supervisors Work Together on the budget. And then its what is finalized that becomes our budget for 21. So it is premature you dont understand my question. What is the final number when everything was reconciled from the last fiscal year. I know were dealing with 2019 now, what was it last year . I dont have that number for 2018 19. But i can report we ended the year with a surplus. We exceeded revenues by 72,000. And our expenditure budget was not exceeded. We had a slight surplus in that area. Those are the things the taxpayers love to hear. Thank you very much. Youre welcome. Commissioner harrison . Compliments to that. Getting back to commissioner mazolas points, on the employee vacancies positions, how long can a vacancy remain on our employee list before they disappear . There is no set expiration for positions that are vacant. Potentially the mayor or the board of supervisors can delete positions, whether filled or vacant. But there is no Expiration Date for vacant positions. So a given position can stay on for 10 years . Potentially. But they dont . They normally dont. We have a lot of service needs. We do our best to fill vacant positions that we have the funding available to do so. But as the general manager stated, our budget has a builtin attrition savings line item of approximately negative 12 million. So we need to keep positions that equate to 12 million vacant throughout the year to meet that budget target. Thats not to say that it is the same position that may be vacant for all 12 years. We may end up filling a gardener, and then having another position that vacates take its place. A position may be vacant for six months and may be filled, and another position may become vacant and it will stay vacant for a period of time. There is natural attrition and the budgeted attrition that we need to meet on an annual basis. So there actually could be some hiring . Oh, yes, there is definitely hiring going on. Our h. R. Department division is very busy. Hiring is constant. Again, it is just natural attrition. People leave the department for various reasons. And positions become vacant and we fill them based upon the priorities commissioner, correct me if im wrong, last year we were in within 1 of our total salary line budget. Which means that we are filling all of the positions that we have funding to fill. Right. So there is a difference between having a position in the budget, and then we have an overall salary budget. And some of this depends on the type of process that is needed to fill a position, how quickly we fill, the capacity of our h. R. Staff, shifting needs and priorities, which do exist. Were not really Holding Anything back on our salary budget. Were trying to fill whatever weve got. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Seeing no other questions, derek, thank you for a very clear and concise presentation. Thank you. Chairwoman we are now on item 9, capital plan fiscal year 21 to fiscal year 22. Good morning, commissioners, im the director of Capital Planning. Good morning. May i have the projection, please . Thank you. The item before you today is discussion and possible action to approve and recommend that the board of supervisors approve the annual Capital Expenditure plan as required by charter section 16. 107. The charter section, and the charter language itself, provides guidance on what the plan should address, including plans for renovation of capital assets. Or acquisition plan and equity analysis, using the equity metrics that we also created with passage of prop b. Additional capital reporting, the department provides this thin includes the commissions Monthly Financial report, our quarterly geobond reports. To back to the citys capital plan, to the board of supervisors, which is updated annually, and that is part of the budget process, which derek just provided. The proposed Capital Expenditure plan covers two fiscal years, consistent with the operations plan, presented to the commission in december, and the twoyear budget cycle. The plan is comprised of three tables. All of these tables were provided as part of your commission package. As for context, we are currently we currently have over 70 active projects going on, worth over 400 million in our portfolio. Those include bond projects, grants, general fund, atbacks, and philanthropy. 50 projects are either in planning or design. Highlighted in your package, some equityrelated capital initiatives from fiscal year 1920, and from the fiscal year 19, to 23, four oe projects are scheduled to be concluded this spring. And in the southeast section quadrant, and hopefully it will go into construction this spring, for any bases, and were also on track to complete the construction documents later this year, also. Were proceeding and moving forward to finalize the m. O. U. And complete planning. Additional initiatives include some of the important work related to the 150th anniversary, which were about to embark upon in april of this year. Some of the projects that are associated with this celebration including the Golden Gate Park tennis, which is in construction now, and were deeply excited about that. We are proceeding with the improvements that will be done by april 4th. Were commencing on implementation of the golden gate dog play area, also. Breaking ground, hopefully this year, on the Golden Gate Park midlake restoration project, which youll hear more about from dan at this Commission Meeting today. And last, but not least, were proceeding on commencing on design and implementation of th ninth and lincoln gateway project, also. Highlighted in d of your package are our plan and recent acquisitions during the fiscal year 19 through 23, since 2011, we have completed shan kahall, the town square, and were currently in design in the basing, and this spring, im excited to say well be opening guy place, shore view, and also francisco lake this year. Were deeply excited about that. [inaudible] are all in initial planning faces. Phases. This slide sort of highlights some of the work that we are doing that have been open to the public. It opened in the spring, to great accolades. The Community Garden, which came out of our Community Opportunity fund through our bond program. Panhandle playground, which also opened in late fall of 2019, and, of course, the honor trail in Golden Gate Park. This slide also sort of highlights some of our past and current projects in our equity zones. As you see, heyward, which is one of our biggest projects in the 2012 bond, is slated to be complete in early summer. Somerset heights is another one that came out of our lets play initiative. And phelps is another project that has been funded through our general fund, base line work. And silver carriage, which was opened late last year, also. As i mentioned, the next six months is our most ambitious and most exciting period in terms of implementation of work. Were slated to open close to about 12 projects during that time. Some of the highlights, as i sort of mentioned, is tennis, the golf facility, which i toured with our general manager about a week ago, is slated to be complete also. Heyward, from the 2012 bond program, shore view, which is under the acquisition, and we have current pictures of the work that is happening. Over the past three years, the department has dedicated general fund dollars to defer maintenance and improvements throughout the city. We build capacity on our Operations Team with city fulltime project managers. We continue to implement projects throughout the system, using our base line funding. Highlights include resurfacing over 20 basketball courts, tennis and pickle ball courts all around this city. We finished six gym naturals lasgymnasiums last yea. Were adding, paving, improving irrigation at over 13 parks. As we prepare for the bond ballot proposal, our staff is focused on the project lifecycle, which focuses on an asset Life Management system to provide direction on the investments required to preserve and to extend the live assets of our system. The live cycle allows you to plan preventive maintenance, to maximize our capitalessets, and capital d finally replace our capital renewal asset program. Weve made a comi commitment to allocate funds to the departments backlog, shift from an emergency focused maintenance practice to a preventive one. [inaudible] preserving our Natural Resources, a city parks system, we will be at the forefront of providing equitable, open space for all. Given this context, and a need to examine our assets, a 15member working group was convened of past, current, and new partners from the recreation and parks. Each working partner brings a Broad Perspective and expertise regarding our citys parks, recreational facility, and park patrons. The diversity of the working Group Members represent the countless neighborhoods that work in strong fabric of the community they serve. Their ability to understand each community will help provide for the next bond. Building on the success of the 2008 and the 2012 bond, project selection for the next bond will be a process with the community, with various park advisory groups and bodies, with the rec park commission, and it will probably include the following criteria conditions assessment, high needs and equity zone, and our multiuse hubbs. Those criteria will continue to guide our decisions. As Additional Information is available, the general manager and the Capital Planning team will continue to provide updates. Our strategy to provide specific parks and programs, to provide flexibility to address most needs in our facilities. Thank you. Ill be happy to answer any questions you have. Thank you very much. Chairwoman is there any Public Comment . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. This is an action item. I dont see any questions from commissioners. The chair would entertain a motion. Motion. Seconded. Chairwoman we are now on item 10. GolGolden Gate Park rehabilitation project. Technologychallenged. My apologies. Good morning, commissioner, and general manager. Dan marrow with the Capital Improvement commission. He briefly mentioned this in his presentation, regarding Golden Gate Park middle lake. This is a project im excited to be working on. Ive been working with the community and the parks, and we have a concept plan were looking for your approval on. Im going to give a brief background. There are 10 lakes in Golden Gate Park, along with some other bodies of water that arent considered lakes, but it dates back to the late 1800s, and middle lake is comprised of a series of chain of lakes. Chain of lakes drive runs right by them, its south lake, north lake and middle late. And they were constructed back in 1988, i believe. Most of the features and lakes are some of the most naturalistic and iconic features. Unfortunately, middle lake, you probably dont recognize it is a lake. It has been compromised for many, many years, and hence the reason im here today is because the department feels it is a high priority and focus area for our bond program and funding that was part of the 2012 bond. Our lakes have been assessed over many, many decades here. In fact, when Golden Gate Park went through its 1992 assessment, they did a exree comprehensive lake study. They had issues with regard to vegetation, growth, and base materials, and compromised lake bottoms, which caused the lake to leak. So we went back to that old report and dusted that off and looked at all of the recommendations, and hired new consultants to help us develop a new program here, and have come up with an approach that not only meets the old recommendations, it addresses all of the elements outlined in the master plan, as part of lake rehabilitation. And then our consultants that weve hired to actually move this project forward, weve implemented their recommendations as well. So it is a comprehensive project to the project here. So in general, ill give a brief overview. Lets see here. Some existing photos that were in your packet, it looks like a lot of land and park space and open space, but a lot of these pictures should be demonstrating open bodies of water for middle lake. But a lot of it has been overgrown with base materials, cape weed, blackberry and other invasive materials. Part of the program is to rehabilitate the facility and eliminate that. You can see on the bottom right, there have been large trees that have fallen into the lake over the years, compromising the lake bottom and the clay liner at that facility. We have a pretty aggressive tree program here, where were removing quite a few trees around the lake, and also planting additional trees to continue the parks forestry program. Again, just a few more photos of the area. Again, were talking about 1. 3 acres of area, so it is hard to capture here in one photo. A lot of erosion occurring around the lake. There is also an old what were calling for lack of a better description, a creek, that comes down from the flycasting pools that leads into middle lake. It was actually used as part of the water circulation system in the park when it was originally constructed over the years, it is actually used as a spillway when our Operation Team goes out and maintains and has to drain the flycasting pools, they drain it through that service channel. But the become right photo shows some of the erosion of the pedestrian path that leads into that lake. That will be i included as part of this project. It is difficult to read this for people looking at the screen, but ill give it a highlevel overview of the main points of renovation here. The scope of work essentially is there is actually a pedestrian pathway currently, and that is the framework for our work for this project. Were going to replace that pathway, which has degraded over the years, with new surfaces so the public has clean and safe access around the facility. Were going to move all of the vegetation down to waters edge and into the lake, where we Aquatic Vegetation engulfing the lake. All of that material will be removed. You cant see this currently at the facility, but there are two islands identified, and well reestablish those as well. Over the years, a lot of sediment, leaves, erosion material and soils have intruded into the lake. It originally was constructed it was estimated it was about a six foot depth lake. The average depth is now three, three and a half feet. Today it might be a little higher. But it was estimated back in 1994, when we did the assessment. Assessment, that the lake is losing 85,000 gallons a day through leaching and into the aquifer below. Were going to excavate roughly around 10,000 yards of infill material that is sediment material thanks for being here hathatsbeen lin. Were going to look at six feet at some of the smaller areas, and as part of that, well introduce a mechanical system to ai aerate the water out there. This body of water doesnt receive water, other than from rain. Water is pumped into south lake, that runs through a pipe that goes to middle lake, and once it fills up, it goes into north lake. So it is basically an interim body of water, bathtub, so to speak. Again, were going to look at doing new planting and irrigation around the perimeter of the lake. Were working with some of our Key Stakeholders in the community, the audubon society, and were working with lisa wayne and Spencer Potter to make sure we have comprehensive planting program here. We want to bring this back a naturalistic setting, and make sure it is viable for wildlife and plant habitat. So essentially, that is it. There are going to be some other improvements around there, like park furnishing, and trash cans, like we see in Golden Gate Park. Here is a couple of sections, again, difficult to read, but it basically shows the water depth. Im not going to spend too much time there. Some of the site furnishings were trying to get back to naturalistic fields, were going to try to recycle some of the fallen trees that are out there and turn them into benches, where appropriate. Were going to put a little boardwalk over that channel that comes down from the flycasting pools, that is represented in the upper righthand corner. The spillway that comes in from south lake, were going to do a rock cascade element there, and then this is kind of a depiction of what were looking at as the creek that comes down from the flycasting pools. It will be a combination of rocks and paths that lead up to that space. There is also another little area that is kind of hi hidden out there. It is a small grass patch of area that you have to move your way through the landscape to get to. It has hosted several weddings over the decades. Iit has kind of fallen apart a little bit. A lot of overgrowth material, and were going to refurbish that space and make it a destination space so it is friendly and more inviting for the public to enter to experience lakes from that perspective. Lastly, north lake was renovated. I was privileged to be part of that project in 2002, 2004, as part of the original golden gate pond program. These are some photos i shared with the public. These are representative of rec vegetation removal, the spreading of a new clay liner, an 18inch clay liner, and then new landscape and irrigation around the perimeter. That is something i shared with the public. Again, i hosted several tours at the site with some of these organizations that have a vested interest out here. A Community Meeting that was wellreceived by all that attended. Public funding, this is part of the 2012 park bond. Well supplement some of those funds with open space funds to create a project that were estimating at 8 million. The Construction Costs are roughly 7 million, and 1. 7 million for soft costs. With approval, we move forward, and then go through a bid process and come back to you folks for approval for a contract. Were working really closely with lisa wayne and Spencer Potter in the natural areas division. Unlike many other projects, when youre dealing with a body of water in Golden Gate Park along the west end, there are a lot of regulatory agencies that play a hand in this. We got approval from the historic standpoint, and they have given a clearance under an exemption status. Status. If you recall, during the Golden Gate Park project, the Coast Commission bumps up into Golden Gate Park, up through the middle lake area. So we engaged with the Planning Department of justice odepartment onthat. We also had applications into the California Department of fish and game, the United States fish and wildlife, and getting their approval to engage out here. We have a qualified biologist on our team to help us maneuver through those pathways. And were hoping that theyll give us authority to move forward with this in the next several months. We also determined, as of yesterday, the army corps of engineers doesnt want any part of our project, which is good. In any case, im excited about the project, hopefully you are, and i would like your approval to move forward. Thank you, dan. It takes 6,000 to 9 nos collected by both parents over the course of 16 days to raise a nest of chickadee babies and theyre just a third of an ounce. Imagine how many caterpillars to raise a woodbecker. Wood pecker. If we dont have host plants, there will be no caterpillars and thus no baby birds. I look forward to meadow lake restoration and parks playing a role in the bio diversity crisis and i think were in good hands with dan mauer. Thank you. Thank you. Any other Public Comment on this item . This is groundwater and theres the pumping back up. Where is the cleaning out, the algae and others, does it get through a recirculation cleanout . I dont see anything in there but pumped back up to Shallow Water and there will be algae, and, of course, the frogs and that will cause i think we have enough turtles in the zoo to restock if they put them in when the project is finish. I dont think its ready for that yet. But the wildlife, i heard him mention birds and the worms and thats fine and dandy and i dont think its at that stage right now. About the lakes, though, in the future, when you start dealing with the quality of water that moves around there, i think somewhere in between pump it back up as it falls back down. Somewhere in there, there should be charcoal, nation would trap the sediment and other stuff thats junky. So that water, when i go there and i take a look at it when its all done, i want to see that water Crystal Clear and i want to be able to see the bottom and see how all of the plants are growing. But if that water is murky, i think well have a problem. So before that happens, the planning, maybe we can include that. Other than that, i think its a stupendous thing to deal with these parks. Of the project itself, i think the departments get a thumbs up and its going along pretty good and everything is working out fine. Thank you, dan mauer and thank you, chair. Thank you. Any other Public Comment . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. This is an action item to approve the conceptionual plan. Chair would entertain a motion. So moved. Moved and seconded. All those in favour . So moved. We are on item 11, Washington Square conservation project. Good morning, commissioners. I am here standing in for kelly rogers who is out today. The item before you today is discussion on possible action to amend construction contract with a zoo works for the Washington Square conservation project, to increase the contract amount by up to 340,000, bringing the total to 2,000,530, which is greater than the 10 of what the original approved contract amount. This is a request to increase Contract Authority only and this is not a request for additional funds. This project is fully funded. And if you recall, the project came before you in march of 2019. We started construction on this project in june. We opened and the project was actually complete 15 days ahead of construction, of the actual end date. Photos of the ribboncutting ceremony are on the last page of the report and some of you were there on the open day and it was a gorgeous day. The Community Response to this project has been overwhelmingly positive. Just to provide quick context for this request, this contract included two alternates which were the pavers and the interest at filbert and union street and cobble edging around the planters which were important to the design of the project. The bids came in low enough we could afford them. We added them for an additional 143,000. So todays staff is now recommending that this construction contract to zoo works be increased to an amount of 340,000, which is greater than 10 of the project. This is the last sort of contractual act that is required to close out the project. Ill be happy to answer any questions have. Thank you. Is there any Public Comment . Seeing none, Public Comment is close. Commissioner anderson . Good morning. Im just wondering if you could just flush out publically if we approve this, what will these additional funds be used for or have they already been in some way . Yes. A good portion of it is actually already used, and has been executed. We added two alternates to this project. One is the pavers that the committee wanted on the union and, also, on the filbert entrances and we also added some additional sort of planting, modifications to both works during the construction itself and some minor repairs. So this work has actually been complete. Ok, thank you. Thank you. Seeing no other comments, this is an action item and chair would entertain a motion. So moved. Moved and seconded and all those in favour. So moved and thank you. Thank you. We are on item 12, Adam Rogers Park acquisition of real property. Good morning, commissioners. My name is janice paris. Im a planner with the capitol and planning division. The item before you today is the discussion and possible action to adopt a resolution urging the board of supervisors to accept an acquisition of real property, a. 11acre parcel adjacent to the existing Adam Rogers Park from the office of Community Investment and infrastructure, otherwise known as oci. The adam rogers addition is block 4700, lot 055 and a steep groveside. When youre at the site, it seems like this piece of land is already part of the park because we already operate and maintain that piece of the property. However, on paper, this parcel remains a separate piece from under the jurisdiction of ocii. Ocii was formed as a successor to the Redevelopment Agency which dissolved in 2012 and as part of ociis longterm prompt management plan, it guides the dispostion of certain redevelopment property and under the plan, ocii must transfer this addition of adam rogers to the city and county of San Francisco. Staff brought this potential acquisition before prozac back in february of 2017, where they nancy recommendeunanimously reco had. They recommend occi to ensure the department owns the entirety of Adam Rogers Park and title. No cost for this property transfer and Maureen Munsen has joined me today and also available for question. Thank you. Thank you. Is there any Public Comment . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Janice, just a quick question, we just do this by a resolution . Theres no other documentation related to this . I believe so. Do we have any more information . Marie will have more information about the process going forward. And dreandrew pennick was hes well, but wasnt able to see for the documentation. Theres an item for all of the properties and this is one piece of many that will be introduced as part of the resolution. So our piece is small. Do you want to add on to that . You dont think theres a lot to add, but youre recollection recommendation is youre saying, you encourage them to accept the property and were going to the board of supervisors who will accept about Ten Properties that we have to transfer under our longrange Property Management plan, which is a part of the redevelopment dissolution. Thank you. Seeing no other questions, chair would entertain a motion. Moved of approval . Second. All those in favour . So moved. Item 13, any speakers for general Public Comment . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. And were now on item 14, commissioners matters. Commissioners . I dont see any. Any Public Comment on this item . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed and item 15, new business agenda setting. Any new business from the commissioners . I see no one. Any public item. Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Item 16, any Public Comment . Seeing none, Public Comment is close. Item 17, adjournment. So moved. Moved and seconded. All those in favour and we are adjourned. Thank you. [ ] i just wanted to say a few words. One is to the parents and to all of the kids. Thank you for supporting this program and for trusting us to create a Soccer Program in the bayview. Soccer is the worlds game, and everybody plays, but in the United States, this is a sport that struggles with access for certain communities. I coached basketball in a coached football for years, it is the same thing. It is about motivating kids and keeping them together, and giving them new opportunities. When the kids came out, they had no idea really what the game was. Only one or two of them had played soccer before. We gave the kids very simple lessons every day and made sure that they had fun while they were doing it, and you really could see them evolve into a team over the course of the season. I think this is a great opportunity to be part of the community and be part of programs like this. I get to run around with my other teammates and pass the ball. This is new to me. Ive always played basketball or football. I am adjusting to be a soccer mom. The bayview is like my favorite team. Even though we lose it is still fine. Right on. I have lots of favorite memories, but i think one of them is just watching the kids enjoy themselves. My favorite memory was just having fun and playing. Bayview united will be in soccer camp all summer long. They are going to be at civic centre for two different weeklong sessions with america scores, then they will will have their own soccer camp later in the summer right here, and then they will be back on the pitch next fall. Now we know a little bit more about soccer, we are learning more, and the kids are really enjoying the program. We want to be united in the bayview. That is why this was appropriate this guy is the limit. The kids are already athletic, you know, they just need to learn the game. We have some potential collegebound kids, definitely. Today was the last practice of the season, and the sweetest moment was coming out here while , you know, we were setting up the barbecue and folding their uniforms, and looking out onto the field, and seven or eight of the kids were playing. This year we have first and second grade. We are going to expand to third, forth, and fifth grade next year bring them out and if you have middle school kids, we are starting a team for middle school. You know why . Why . Because we are . Bayview united. Thats right. My name is amanda [inaudible] over see the girls sports program. When i came to San Francisco and studied recreation and parks and towerism and after i graduated i moved to Candlestick Park and grain r gain adlot of experience work with the San Francisco 49 and [inaudible] be agfemale in a vore sports dynamic facility. I coached volo ball on the side and as candle stick closed down the city had me move in92 too [inaudible] immediate interaction and response when you work with kids. I think that is what drives other people to do this. What drew me to come to [inaudible] to begin with for me to stay. I use today work in advertising as a media buyer and it wasnt fulfilling enough and i found a opportunity to be a writing coach. The moment [inaudible] you to take advantage of how you change and inspire a child by the words you say and actions you do. You have a 30 different programs for girls through rec and park and fast ball, soft ball and volley ball. I started the first Volley Ball League and very proud what i have done with that. Being a leader for girls is passion and showing to be confident and being ambiggish and strong person. [inaudible] for about 5 years. Programs offered thraw thirtythree rec and park and oversee thg prms about a year. Other than the programs we offer we offer summer camp squz do [inaudible] during the summer and that is something i wherei have been able to shine in my role. Couple years we started the civic center socking league and what an amazing opportunity it was and is it for kid in the neighborhood who come together every friday in the Civic Center Plaza on green grass to run and play. You otonly see soccer and poetry but also see books t. Is a really promoting literacy to our kid and giving them to tools to make it work at home. Real fortunate to see the [inaudible] grow. Girls get pressureed with society and i know that is obvious, but we see it every day, magazines, commercials the idea what a woman should look like but i like to be a Strong Female role for it goals that play sports because a lot of times they dont see someone strong in a female role with something connected with sports and athleticism and i love i can bring that to the table. Soccer, poetry, community service. We now have field of dreams. We are [inaudible] all over the bay area and excited to be share our mission with other schools across the bay to really build the confidence and character of kids when they go out to play and close their eyes and think, why was [inaudible] we want to make surei want to make sure they remember me and remember the other folks who [inaudible] get out there and do it. Who cares about what anybody else says. There will be poopal people that come up and want to wreck your ideas. That happen today eme when i went to candle stick part and wanted to [inaudible] people told me no left and right. Whether you go out for something you are passionate about our something you want to grow in and feel people will say no. Go out and get it done. I can be the strong leader female and i love that. Good morning, im c. E. O. Of pier 39 and i want to welcome you to our anniversary of the arrival of the sea lions. [applause] first i would like to take a moment to recognize a few special guests today. The executive director for the water emergency transportation authority, the executive director for Fishermans Wharf benefit district, the director for the ports real estate division, the director of california traveling association, senior waterfront planner for the port, president of the local 16, president of San Francisco travel, president of the Port Commission and commissioner of the Port Commission. Thank you all for being here. [applause] thank you for braveing weather to be here to join us. Its been my Great Fortune to work at pier 39 for the past 41 years and i remember the dark days that followed the october 1989 earthquake. Visitor traffic on the pier dried up to a trickle in the months following the quake, and they were quite bleak. I remember dan rather leading the evening news for what seemed like weeks on end with images of the collapsed bay bridge and freeway. He certainly did not help the citys recovery efforts. By january the city was busy rebuilding but visitors continued to stay away. It was at this time the pier began receiving complaints about a small group of sea lions. The number of sea lions grew quickly and pier 39 realized it had a real problem on its hands. After conferring with regulators and experts who advised they were federally protected animals a decision was made to relocate the boat owners and let the sea lions continue to use the dock with the hope they would find a new home and leave. Fortunately for us, they did not. [applause] we then noticed that the few visitors who were here were gathering and watching these fascinating animals frolic and play. Our pr team decided to send out a press release about this new natural attraction and word began spreading that Something Wonderful was happening at pier 39. Within weeks, the sea lion story was covered by the today show, good morning, america, the new york times, the london times and dozens of other news out lets. One thing was Crystal Clear, the sea lions were big news with a capital b. Pier 39s management congratulated itself of being Public Relations geniuses and the rest is history. [laughter] for three decades, this herd of sea lions have made it their home. Over that time, over 250 Million People have watched the sea lions bark, roughhouse and play king of the mountain on the docks below. We are so proud to have been stewards of this Amazing Group of benefits and for the work of our partners at the bay and sea lion center. I want to thank all of you for coming today to help us celebrate these amazing animals. I would like to invite president and ceo of aquarium of the bay to the podium. George. [applause] a quick twominute video on how we got here in the last 18 months. This is a truly compelling example of how they intersect to create one of the bay areas most vibrant, visual, engaging and educational public artwork. Introducing sea lions of San Francisco. Our celebration of 30 years of sea lions in the bay. Sea lions are fascinating and muchloved Marine Mammals. They have a unique gift for San Francisco. In 1989, they mysteriously began a arriving at the bay. They set up permanent residence and were soon making a big splash. The aquarium of the bay provides programs to educate and engage thousands of people around the world. Despite being covered under the Marine Protection act, our muchloved neighbors are under threat. They are currently classified as endangered. We want to generate awareness of the largest threat to our planet. No blue, no green. We selected 30 bay area artists to paint these sea lions, one to commemorate each year of their presence on pier 39. Visit the sea lions today. Follow the trail to discover each stunning artwork and learn about the animal, the artists and their messages. Join us in celebrating the 30th anniversary of our cherished marine friends. [applause] i know that time is pretty tight. Excess nitrogen creates an al ash algae bloom that affects the sea lions. Stories like these, im really happy to see the artists today. The youngest is nine years old. And please scan your qr codes, and you can learn about sea lions. They can hit speeds of up to 25 knots. They can dive up to 900 feet. And they have hearing that can go up to 40kilo hertz. There are conditions in the bay in terms of mic microplastics. This would not be possible without our sponsors. I want to acknowledge a few other people. Dan from the port of San Francisco helped us with the permitting process. Thank you very much. Im delighted to have the president of the port and commission kimberly and our board member, our partners from s. F. Environment, s. F. Travel and Golden Gate Parks, partners from the u. S. Army corps of engineers. And our friends from the media from b. B. C. To new york times, thank you for being here. And lastly but not least, our wonderful mayor, london breed. Thank you. [applause] thank you, george. And with that, i would like to introduce and thank the honorable london breed and have her join us at the podium. [applause] i was in high school during the 1989 earthquake. I went to the high school right up the street. I actually spent a lot of time at pier 39. In particular, sometimes we used to maybe leave class a little bit early and come and hang out in the arcade. But i also remember the time when one of my science teachers proposed it was like this period, it was right after lunch, and as an extra credit period said if we came down here to see the sea lions that we could get extra credit, we would all have to meet down here. He actually came down here as well. And we didnt understand the significance. We know they were loud and they were barking, and we were like doing the same thing. But then we started to study it. We had to write about it u we had to talk about it and its significance, and it was just odd that this didnt happen before until after this earthquake. And just understanding, really endangered species and really studying science in a different way and looking at the environment and the planet and animals and so on and so forth, thats the kind of thing that really sparked a lot of my interest in really changing how we address the challenges around the environment. In fact, i drove my grandmother crazy, because i came home and wanted to recycle everything. And we didnt have at that time the blue bins and green bins and all of that stuff. And there were places you had to go to take those things. But it was really an incredible experience. And pier 39 has been just really an institution for so many years, so many visitors from all over the world come here on a regular basis to just not only enjoy the incredible restaurants, the aquarium by the bay and many of the great stores and also the places that you can buy wonderful candy, including pink popcorn which im very excited. If if you know what pink popcorn is you are probably my age. It also, the sea lions really created a different kind of feeling, a different kind of warm. You see them, you watch them. And i dont know what it is about watching the sea lilyons and listening to them, but sometimes minutes go by, then sometimes even an hour can go by before you realize that you actually have to go. But it is so fascinating and great that for the past 30 years, they have continued time and time again to come back to pier 39. And people not only do the tourists who visit San Francisco look forward to coming here, san franciscans look forward to coming here during that time as well. So im really grateful to be here, excited about what this continues to do to really engage the community and really support the sea lions and call attention to what we need to continue to do to protect the bay, to protect our environment and to make sure that they do not become an endangered species. It is so critical we do a better job as stewarts of this earth. So i want to thank so many people here today including the pier 39 marina staff. The Marine Mammal center, the aquarium of the bay, marina operations, bay. Org and port of San Francisco. So Many Organizations continue to make sure that our port and our pier are attractive, are also economically vibrant but also stuarts of the environment. And i think thats so critical to the success and future of our city and of our planet. And so thank you all so much for being here. And i invited the sea lions love to get attention. I invited the king of the sea lions to come here today to accept this proclamation, making it sea lion day in San Francisco. [laughter] [applause] king herbert said you know what . King herbert couldnt lose the weight to come up the stairs this time around. As you know they weigh hundreds of pounds and its very challenging so instead, i want to ask who do i want to ask to accept this proclamation. Why dont you come up . And you can deliver the proclamation to the sea lions so they can know that today as we celebrate 30 years, it will always be remembered as sea lion day in the city and county of San Francisco. [applause] thank you. Thank you, mayor breed, that was wonderful. Next i would like to inshiite the director of marina to invite shina, the director of operations here. Thank you. Im not particularly used to doing public speaking. So here goes. When i heard our honorable mayor mentioned she was in high school when the sea lions first game to pier 39, i have to say i thought i had already been working here as master of pier 39 marina for four and a half years when that happened. So before you all do the math, im going to launch into this. So as taylor had mentioned, we had really been hit hard by the earthquake. I felt like i was working in camelot when i was working at pier 39. It was so marvelous. We hadnt sustained a lot of damage but getting the visitors back proved to be pretty challenging. So it was really a momentous event when this one animal that came up on to the end of j dock had some line around his neck so he got nicknameed sleek holder y some children. That he he he heralds the most e arrival. This didnt happen over a protacted period of time. This happened very quickly. We went from maybe ten or 20 animals to 1400 on k dock within a matter of months. So it was a very overwhelming and incredible event. And we didnt really know how we were going to deal with it or what we were going to do. And eventually the Marine Mammal center came out and they said you have to close down k dock. We have been trying to maneuver our way through hundreds of sea lions to allow our boaters that were there to get through it. And it was just proving a nightmare. So we closed it down, and we located our boaters to the east harbor. And thats when we started to talk about ways that we could accommodate them. Because by then, it was so obvious that this was a huge attraction, not just as taylor said, to our local community, but also to international and national visitors. What i want to share with you very briefly is my own experience of what those first few months were like, because it was incredibly bizarre and strange, all of a sudden we had gone from having no business on the pier to having 1400 sea lions and about the same number of press all converging on our property. And this turned out to be an incredibly happy and vibrant event that everybody wanted to record. And they wanted to make it humorous. And they wanted to make it something that everyone would enjoy. So every national, International News person came here and were filming. And we were treated to a burst of what i can only describe as ill literation. So there were headlines that trumpeted something fishy is going on, lion tamer sheila, the boys of blubber are back in town and so on. And my voice mail at my Office Actually it was a machine in those days, was full every morning with very miscohesive recordings. We didnt have a caller id so i never was able to track them down. But it was sea lion barking messages and lots of versions of i left my art in San Francisco. It was a humorous time, and it transformed our business. In addition to having to escort our boaters and then having to relocate them, we actually really just had to think about how could we make this, keep it a natural attraction. You dont want to make it some kind of artificial event. We had been blessed with this incredible opportunity, and we needed to manage it well. And we needed to manage it safely, and we needed to make sure that the public had safe access. So youve seen how thats evolved over the years, we have this beautiful overlook, the sea lion center. But at the time when i was making those decisions, along with the executive group at pier 39, there was some very helpful suggestions that were coming in from the more quirky and whimsical members of society, which was a truly terrifying insight at the time into some peoples minds. But those who thought we still maybe wanted to get rid of them would suggest things like detouring them by putting broken glass on the dock or some versions heavily designed cattle prods that would work and things like that. But on the fun side, some people designed all kinds of lovely attractionstyle floats. But what we ended up doing, of course, was building floats that looked just like the normal dock. So we tried to keep that very natural attraction. Anyway, its been a phenomenal ride for all of us. Its completely changed my job description. Because i never thought i would be an expert, if you like, in representing the sea lions. So i just want to say this last thing. Excuse me. We have a wonderful array of marine life from sea lions to dolphins, weve even had whales in the bay. We have pelicans. And its all showcased, a lot of it is showcase in our lovely aquarium here. But you can also go out on the end of the pier and see all of that. So while we enjoy this phenomenon, i want to reiterate what our mayor has said. Lets take this moment in history and continue that Environmental Stewardship and vigilance so they can thrive and keep coming back. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you. To close the presentation, a couple of notes. As you leave pier 39, please make sure to look at the new sea lion taupe area that will be a permanent installation going forward, and we cant have a celebration without cake. So we invite you to stay. Here comes the sea lion cake. A couple photos and then we will all share it. So thank you all very much for coming. [applause] we will begin with. Microphone . Can you hear me . Can you hear me back there . Good. Good afternoon, welcome to the Mayors Disability Council this friday, january 17, 2020 in room 400 of San Francisco city hall. City hall is accessible to persons using wheelchairs. Assisted listening devices are available and our meeting is open captioned and sign

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