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Meeting Information



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MINUTES
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
6:00 P.M.
1800 Oakdale Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94124


   I.                 Call to Order
Commission Vice President Bobbrie Brown called the Wednesday, January 28, 2004 meeting to order at 6:18 p.m. in the Alex L. Pitcher Community Room at 1800 Oakdale Avenue.

II.                 Announcement
Commissioner Brown read the Sunshine Ordinance aloud and welcomed everyone to the meeting. Commissioner Brown announced that President Millard Larkin called to say he is running late but would be joining the meeting shortly.

III.                 Roll Call

Present:            Commissioner Bobbrie Brown, Commissioner Juan Fuentes; Commissioner
Louise Jones; Commissioner Willie Kennedy; Commissioner Kenneth Sampson; Commissioner Millard Larkin (late arrival)

Absent:             Commissioner Ronald Person

                       

Staff Present:            Robert Bryan, Deputy City Attorney; Joseph Tham, Dept. of Real Estate;
Toye Moses, Exec. Dir. SECFC; Annette Price, SECF Commission Secretary.

IV.                 Approval of Minutes

Commissioner Kennedy moved and Commissioner Jones seconded to accept the minutes of Thursday, January 8, 2004.  Motion passed to accept minutes as presented (5-0).

V.                 Public Comment
There was no public comment at this meeting.

VI.                 Communications
The Executive Director stated the following correspondence has been sent as directed:

·         Letter of invite to Mayor Newsom re: “Goal/vision for FY 2004”

·         Letter of invite to District Attorney Harris re “Goal/vision for FY 2004”

·         Letter of invite to Michael Burns, MUNI re: “3rd Street Light Rail concerns”

·         Letter of invite to Steven Moss, S.F. Community Power Co-op re: “Energy efficiency”

·         Letter of invite to Supt. Ackerman, SFUSD re: “Safety Issues/Education (in progress)”

 

Commissioner Jones requested that questions from Commissioners be emailed to her ASAP so that Superintendent Ackerman can address their specific concerns.

Commissioner Brown welcomed Mr. Rich Tovatt,Foods Co.'s No. Cal. District Manager and Mr. John Salvino, Foods Co. Williams Street Store Director, who will update the Commission and community on Foods Co. customer service.

 

VII.                 Presentations: Mr. Rich Tovatt thanked the Commission for the invitation to present and apologized for the schedule conflict explaining that he had been involved in labor disputes that prevented his earlier attendance.

Mr. Tovatt, zone manager for northern/central California Foods Co. stores explained that Foods Co. continues to upgrade both Williams/Folsom stores with the installation of new equipment. Foods Co. strives to be an active participant in the community by donating to several charitable organizations. Mr. Tovatt concluded by affirming Foods Co.’s commitment to provide quality and service to meet existing customer needs.

Mr. John Salvino, (Williams store director) thanked the Commission for the opportunity to present.   
He stated since his tenure at Foods Co., improvements have been made in the following areas: increased availability of carts; restrooms being better maintained with the installation of hand dryers vs. paper towel dispensers; and fresher meats/produce with the purchase of new meat tanks/wrapping equipment.

Mr. Salvino explained that Foods Co. has received complaints of long checkout lines due to staff turnover; however, Foods Co. has addressed that problem by supplementing the speed factor with additional checkers. In addition, Foods Co. has donated money/food to several community-based organizations and Foods Co. is hopeful that they can continue to help many more in the community.

Commissioner Brown commended Foods Co. on its improvements; however, she voiced the following concerns: (1) long checkout lines with sometimes only one checker being open; (2) one-way in & out (potential safety issue); and (3) marginal food quality as compared to the Folsom store. She also reminded that studies show BVHP as being the highest shopping community in the city for fresh meats/produce and suggested the community receive equivalent service and products to that of the Folsom Street store.

Mr. Salvino explained that the same Sacramento warehouse stocks both the Williams/Folsom stores. As to one checker being open after work hours, he stated that definitely is a customer service problem that he would be looking into. Mr. Salvino stated the entrance/exit was a decision that was made years ago by the planning body.  However, one solution made to improve that situation is that Foods Co. has reduced the wide pallets upon entry.  He further explained that there are 2 emergency exits in the store, but stated he would address the entry/exit concern with their planning/construction dept.

Commissioner Jones stated how pleased she was to hear that the health issue was being addressed. She asked how often carts were steam cleaned? Mr. Salvino stated all carts that leave the grounds are steam cleaned. In addition, there is a once-a-month steam cleaning performed by the cleaning company.  To the questioned regarding cleaning frequency of carts that are used daily, Mr. Salvino responded that is dependent on how dirty carts are. If staff observes a dirty cart, that cart is immediately cleaned.

Commissioner Fuentes voiced concern with the quality and variety of food sold at Foods Co. and questioned whether organic food should be made available to customers. Mr. Tovatt stated the disadvantage Foods Co. (Williams St) has is its small size. However, Foods Co. is trying to expand and provide as much of a variety as possible with the amount of square footage they have. Mr. Tovatt also assured the Commission that he would have the department manager spend some time providing staff training regarding food freshness noting that it possibly could be a workmanship issue.

Commissioner Sampson voiced several concerns and questioned Foods Co.’s customer service scores. He further questioned the training staff receives as related to customer service?  Mr. Salvino stated there is a mentor program where staff is given four 12-hour training sessions of expectations. They focus on greeting customers and providing assistance to customers while shopping for merchandise. Commissioner Sampson inquired about the number of express lines in Foods Co.? Mr. Salvino responded there is one express line. Commissioner Sampson suggested maybe more are in order.

Commissioner Kennedy explained that inferior food quality provided by stores in minority neighborhoods is not unique to Foods Co. but common throughout all underrepresented communities. She also stated how pleased she was that Foods Co. supports community-based organizations and suggested that Foods Co. allocate a set amount of money for various community groups rather than donating small amounts here and there.

Dir. Moses voiced concern regarding Foods Co.’s failure to abide by the initial agreement Foods Co. had with the community in which Foods Co. agreed to hire from within 94124.  He further explained that if replacement of employees were necessary, Foods Co. would replace from within the community.  Dir. Moses requested the following: (1) a breakdown of African Americans employed by Foods Co; and (2) whether there has been a change of ownership at Foods Co.?  Mr. Tovatt explained when the store first opened, it was under the name Cala which later changed to Foods Co. However, he stated he would provide employment statistic and forward those to the Commission. Regarding change of ownership, Mr. Tovatt responded the only change has been in their liquor license, not store ownership.

Ms. Vivian voiced concern regarding inferior quality of meats sold at Foods Co. and explained that because of her unpleasant experiences with Foods Co products, she is no longer a Foods Co. customer. Mr. Hampton asked what plans Foods Co. has for work force development/structure and requested it be forwarded in hard copy form. Also, what plans Food Co. has to identify qualified applicants for employment if Foods Co. does not work with community-based organizations. Ms. Carlos-Valento stated she had stopped shopping at Foods Co. because of the inferior products, but has resumed shopping there because of her need to support the community in which she lives.  She remarked that Foods Co. has gotten a lot better and suggested when there is a problem with regard to products that customers call the 1(888) 437-3496 customer relations number and voice their complaints.  Ms. Valento also suggested that perhaps Foods Co. could partner with the high school housed at Southeast and start an entrepreneur program for youth exposing/training them in store operations.

Mr. Salvino asked that his phone number be made available to the community so that he can personally address concerns that arise (415) 330-1870. 

 

VIII.                 Directors Report

                         a)          Exe. Dir. Moses reported: City College has returned from vacation. SECF is in the process of installing an electric gate in the parking lot to control traffic. 

                         b)          FY04/05 budget approved by the PUC general manager will now go to the Commission and from there it will go to the mayor and board of supervisors. We will keep you informed.

                         c)          Earl P. Mills facility update:  The re-key of the facility is now complete with a cost of $2,700. Staff is working closely with EPM staff to make sure security measures are adhered to.

                         d)          Update on upcoming presenters as follows: Chief Fong, Capt. Puccinelli, Michael Burns, and Curtis Mitchell will present on 2/12/04

Commissioner Kennedy movedand Commissioner Sampson secondedto accept the
            Director’s
Report. Motion passed unanimously to accept report as presented (5-0).


Robert Bryan asked that Commissioners state the questions they would like addressed by the superintendent under new business rather than email those questions to Commissioner Jones.

 

IX.                 SFPUC/Commercial Land Mgmt., Joseph Tham:  Mr. Joseph Tham referred the Commission to Decorative Plants 3rd quarterly report for FY2003 explaining that while there were no new hires by the main lease holder, there were two new hires by subtenants of Decorative, which make them 100% in compliance according to Decorative Plants’ lease requirement.

Commissioner Jones moved, Commissioner Fuentes seconded to accept Decorative Plants’ 3rd quarterly hiring report (5-0).

 

X.                 Old & Ongoing Business: Dir. Moses gave update that the True Hope Faith-Based Housing Project was approved by the Board of Supervisors 10 to 1 with a hold-out by one supervisor requesting that 40 units be included in affordable housing. Former Commissioner Nguyen’s farewell dinner will take place March 11, 2004 after the Commission meeting and will be calendared.

 

XI.                 New Business: Commission assignment to SECF committees (tabled).

 

XII.                 Introduction of New Business by Commissioners
Commissioner Brown asked that any questions to Supt. Ackerman be presented at this time:

 

1.      Criterion for choosing the 3 BVHP dream schools and update on quality of education? (Toye)

2.      Overview of the Dr. Monroe program (Kennedy)

3.      Is SFUSD curriculum uniform throughout the district? (Kennedy)

4.      Status of security person that was supposed to be placed at Carver? Were children exposed to an unsafe environment for lack of security (Brown)?

5.      Where are BVHP children as compared to other schools in the city in terms of education? Are they achieving and if not, what has the district done about it? Are they below grade level? Can this be measured? (Brown) 

6.      What is the programming for schools in the district and how do we compare with other schools in relation to other districts, i.e., after school or extracurricular activities?  (Fuentes)

XIII.                 Announcement
Commissioner Kennedy announced a town hall meeting at Gloria R. Davis Middle School would take place at 7:00 o’clock on gun violence.  Chief Fong, the Mayor Newsom, Supervisor Maxwell will be in attendance. Also, Dorothy Irene Height, President Emerita, National Council of negro Woman will be coming to the Bay Area for a Book signing on February 15, 2004 at Third Baptist Church from 12:30 to 2:00 and Jones Memorial United Methodist Church from 5:00 to 7:00.

Commissioner Brown acknowledged President Larkin’s arrival and informed him that his agenda item XI was tabled until the next meeting of 2/12/04.

Commissioner Kennedy commended President Larkin on the great job he did for the MLK breakfast.

XIV.                 Adjournment

Commissioner Kennedy moved and Commissioner Larkin seconded to adjourn the SECF Commission meeting.  Meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m.

  Respectfully submitted,

       _____________________

   Commission Secretary