September 26, 2012 Southeast Community Facility Commission
ADOPTED MINUTES
SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY FACILITY COMMISSION
Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 6:00 PM
1800 Oakdale Avenue, Alex Pitcher Community Room
San Francisco, CA 94124
1.0 CALL TO ORDER AND ANNOUNCEMENT
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy called the Wednesday, September 26, 2012 meeting to order at 6:03 pm and announced the 3 minute Public Comment time frame as well as the Sunshine Ordinance.
2.0 ROLL CALL AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF SUNSHINE AUDIO RECORDING POLICY
Ms. Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary called roll at 6:05 p.m.
Commissioners Present: Willie B. Kennedy / Bobbrie Brown /Armina Brown (lv. 7:13 p.m.)/ Karen Chung (arr. 6:13 p.m.)/ Theo Ellington (arr. 6:17 p.m.) / Brigette R. LeBlanc/ Al Norman
Staff Present: Francis Starr, Senior Management Assistant/ Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary
3.0 CONSENT CALENDAR
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy read the Consent Calendar.
3.1 PROPOSED ACTION
Commissioner Armina Brown moved to approve the September 13, 2012 Commission Minutes as submitted.
Commissioner Bobbrie Brown seconded the motion to approve the September13, 2012 Commission minutes.
The minutes of the Southeast Community Facility Commission meeting of Thursday, September 13, 2012 were adopted as submitted with one abstained vote from Commissioner Brigette R. LeBlanc.
4.0 PUBLIC COMMENT IS LIMITED TO 3 MINUTES
None.
5.0 COMMUNICATION
Ms. Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary announced the Sunshine Ordinance section 67.14C. and the following:
Press Release: Mayor Lee’s Statement On San Francisco Giants Clinching National League West Title
Press Release: San Francisco Named America’s Best City By Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Press Release: Mayor Lee Announces Accelerator That Will Help Minority Entrepreneurs Break Into Tech Sector
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy announced the A. Philip Randolph Institute San Francisco Annual Fundraising Dinner at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hotel on Friday, October 12, 2012.
5.1 CORRESPONDENCE
None.
6.0 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy announced the next meeting of the Southeast Community Facility Commission will be on Thursday, October 11, 2012.
7.0 ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS
Joint PUC/SECFC Ad-Hoc Committee, (Chair, Commissioner Theo Ellington, Co-Chair, Commissioner Bobbrie Brown, PUC Representative, and Ex-Officio: Commission President, Willie B. Kennedy)
No report.
Health, Housing and Public Safety Advisory Committee, (Chair, Commissioner Bobbrie Brown, Co-Chair, Commissioner Theo Ellington, and Community Members <see Commission Secretary for List> Ex-Officio: Commission President Willie B. Kennedy)
Commissioner Bobbrie Brown, Chair of the Health, Housing and Public Safety Advisory Committee, provided an update from the meeting held on September 22nd.
Economic Development Advisory Committee (Chair, Commissioner Karen Chung, Co-Chair, Commissioner Al Norman, and Ex-Officio: Commission President Willie B. Kennedy)
No report.
Facility Advisory Committee, (Chair, Commissioner Brigette R. LeBlanc, Co-Chair, Commissioner Armina Brown, and Ex-Officio: Commission President Willie B. Kennedy)
Commissioner Brigette R. LeBlanc, Chair provided an update of the Facility Advisory Committee meeting held on Tuesday, September 25th in the Alex Pitcher, Jr. Community Room. The presenter was Miguel Galarza, President of Yerba Buena Engineering & Construction. Mr. Galarza outlined the Phase One improvements and provided a list of 8 minority sub-contractors that would be working on Phase One.
The next meeting of the Facility Advisory Committee will be Tuesday, October 30th.
Governance Ad-Hoc Committee, (Chair, Commission President Willie B. Kennedy, Co-Chair, Commissioner Brigette R. LeBlanc, Member: Commissioner Al Norman, Community Members: Alma Robinson, Kitty Morgan, Siri Datta S. Khalsa, Alternates: Dr. Harrison Parker, Greg Doxey)
No report.
8.0 PRESENTERS
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy introduced Mr. Bevan Dufty, Director of HOPE (Housing, Opportunity, Partnership & Engagement)
Mr. Bevan Dufty provided a general overview of homeless services and better outcomes for individuals who are homeless or live in supportive housing in the Southeast sector of San Francisco.
HOPE is working with the San Francisco Housing Authority and community stakeholders to revise the preferences for applicants seeking residence in SFHA Conventional Housing or seeking Housing Choice Vouchers. The goal is to leverage momentum from the Home for the Holidays initiative and increase the number of homeless families who get access to the San Francisco Housing Authority.
After preferences are revised, HOPE will work with SFHA to open the lists to new applicants, speed renovation and occupancy of vacant units, and activate services and opportunities for individuals on the waiting list.
Addressing family trauma is another aspect of helping those in public housing. Individuals downtown do not understand that once individuals are housed it does not mean all of their issues are resolved. The District Attorney received $3.5 million this past year through the State Compensation for Victims of Violent Crime. We believe there is significant untapped eligibility among Public Housing residents for this funding that provides a family with therapeutic and other services. Addressing the trauma experienced by individuals and families at Sunnydale and the replacement housing for Geneva Towers is essential if we are going to break the cycle of pervasive violence. This is also important to homeless individuals who experience trauma many times more than the general population of our City.
HOPE is looking to partner with A. Philip Randolph Institute to help community members receive their GED’s. APRI has a lot of experience working with individuals in public housing and they are a trusted brand. The Five Keys Charter School has been in existence for 10 years in San Francisco correctional facilities.
The Southeast sector has not received the attention it deserves in the area of homelessness. Mr. Dufty announced there are plans to open a homeless shelter on Jennings Street next year.
Veterans are a high priority for HOPE. Staff from the Human Services Agency, Veterans Administration, Housing Urban Development, and Swords to Plowshares are working together on the process of assigning and placing voucher recipients into permanent housing. Next month a new 75 unit residential facility, Veterans Commons, will open next to the Human Services Agency. The HOPE team is leading the outreach effort to engage landlords and the public to join in housing homeless veterans.
Mr. Bevan Dufty outlined a plan to address the debt issues facing homeless people and suggested using a program such as the one initiated by Mayor Bloomberg in New York where the debt issues of the homeless are addressed directly.
Mr. Dufty noted his work with a program that partnered hard-to-adopt dogs with residents of permanent supportive housing. HOPE is working with Animal Care and Control and community Housing Partnership on this pilot project. The residents serve as paid fosters for the animals, and participate in a rigorous training program. The pilot will inform a larger effort to increase income for individuals in permanent supportive housing, who may otherwise turn to panhandling.
Many individuals who panhandle are, in fact, housed. However, living on a fixed income provides very little margin for these individuals to live, eat and thrive. Participation will be contingent on signing a contract that the resident would not panhandle.
This model could be expanded to provide animal-related job training and placement in careers such as dog-walkers, groomers and vet-technicians.
Of the eight fosters recently graduated from this program five are African-American and live in supportive housing.
Mr. Dufty noted the nutritional food needs of the homeless community including a high African-American population in the Tenderloin. He said a recent study from UCSF showed 56% of people living in San Francisco with HIV or Aids are 56% food insecure, which means they don’t have adequate nutrition to take the medicine.
The 100 unit Mary Helen Rogers Community will be opening soon. 80 of the units were made available by lottery and Cathy Davis of the Bayview Senior Center has done an incredible job qualifying applicants.
Mr. Dufty questioned the current shelter system and the process of having people wait in line for a bed at 3 a.m. He said the current homeless population is older and suffer from more illnesses.
Mr. Dufty encouraged the Commission to challenge the City to be accountable and recognize the element of homelessness in the City directly extends from racism and the lack of opportunity that is a part of the legacy of this City. The City must be invited to change it. The strengths and assets of this community need to be recognized and claimed.
Mr. Dufty noted a lack of connectivity between the Housing Authority and the Board of Education.
In closing Mr. Dufty said the Airport is the only City Department that actually takes it trainees and has a program to transition people into permanent city or private sector employment.
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy thanked Mr. Dufty for his presentation and congratulated him taking on such a heart rendering job. She had a question regarding recent legislation to remove inhabited trailers.
Mr. Dufty said legislation was approved at the first reading of the Board and defines certain areas where you cannot have oversize vehicles parked overnight.
Discussion continued regarding the possibility of find space for trailers and a recent incident where a family of five lived in a camper.
Mr. Dufty recalled legislation sponsored by John Burton 14 years ago to allow parking on CalTran surplus property.
The discussion continued with comments and questions from Commissioners Al Norman and Brigette R. LeBlanc. Some of their concerns were regarding the illegal dumping of individuals living in trailers and also the need to hold individuals on Section 8 accountable for moving forward to more appropriate housing when their income improves.
Mr. Dufty responded citing the difficulty of the Section 8 recertification process and the need to be accountable for the 2,500 children living in the various housing developments throughout the city.
Mr. Dufty and Commissioner LeBlanc discussed some Grand Openings he mentioned earlier – The Veterans Commons which is a 75 unit housing complex for veterans at Mission and Duboce, as well as the Mary Ellen Rogers Senior Community which will offer 100 units. Eighty of those units will be by lottery however there will be 20 designated for homeless individuals and his office can be effective in connecting those individuals through the Department of Public Health to see if they qualify for the housing.
In response to Commissioner LeBlanc’s questions about AT&T and the U-Verse plan in underserved neighborhoods Mr. Dufty said AT&T was moving forward in several neighborhoods and suggested the Commission contact AT&T representative Mark Blakemon to provide more information and competition for Comcast which has proven to be a very expensive service.
Commissioner LeBlanc mentioned Veterans Lane near Post Street in San Francisco which features artwork depicting the valor and courage of veterans from all over the City. She requested a Brokers Tour of the HOPE territory. Commissioner LeBlanc said she had recently received calls from Southern California regarding how San Francisco deals with homelessness issues.
Mr. Dufty said he would like to return to the Commission in 4 – 5 months and provide an update.
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy thanked Mr. Dufty for his presentation and offered the support of the Commission in his endeavors to end homelessness in San Francisco.
For a complete packet of the presentation presented please contact the Commission Secretary in person or call (415) 821-1534.
9.0 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy acknowledged a report from the Center On Juvenile And Criminal Justice titled, “San Francisco’s Arrest Rates of African-Americans for Drug Felonies”. The report was provided by Ms. Espanola Jackson with a request that it be forwarded to the Commissioners. President Kennedy requested forwarding invitations to Mike Males and William Armaline the report authors, a representative from the Human Rights Commission, and a representative from the Commission on the Status of Women who did a report on the incarceration rate of young African-American girls. She acknowledged the epidemic proportion of arrests of youth from this and other urban communities.
President Kennedy announced the 5th Annual Southeast Community Facility Health Fair which would be held on Saturday, October 13th in the Alex Pitcher, Jr. Community Room. She encouraged everyone to attend and support the event.
9.1 UPDATE ON THE 9910 STATIONARY ENGINEER INTERN PROGRAM
Commissioner Brigette R. LeBlanc reported there were two openings in the 9910 Program and once the individuals were chosen they would be introduced to the Commission.
10.0 SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC UTILITES COMMISSION STAFF REPORT & UPDATES
Sam Murray, SFPUC Public Relations Officer, announced he will be introducing new staff that will provide information regarding the digesters and other future construction at the Wastewater Plant.
11.0 STAFF/DIRECTOR REPORT
Ms. Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary announced the following future presenter:
October 11, 2012, Mr. Colin Dentel-Post, Transportation Planner, San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Topic: Update on options to remove/rebuild the Cal-Train Bridge.
12.0 NEW BUSINESS REQUESTS for Future Agenda Items. (Discussion)
Commissioner Brigette R. LeBlanc referred to the report from the Center On Juvenile And Criminal Justice provided by Ms. Jackson and suggested the Commission plan a single Town Hall meeting rather several separate Commission meetings. Her hope is that by participating in a Town Hall meeting the community turn-out will be greater than what is found at the regular Commission meetings.
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy directed staff to add the Commission Mission Statement to the agendas of all meetings including the Committee meetings.
13.0 PUBLIC COMMENT
Commissioner Brigette R. LeBlanc acknowledged Ms. Nadine Boyd, a laborer at the Oceanside Plant, and a recent O’Shaughnessy Award Winner. Ms. Boyd received the award from former General Manager Ed Harrington at a recognition luncheon. Commissioner LeBlanc offered words of encouragement and congratulations to Ms. Boyd.
Ms. Boyd thanked the Commission for the recognition and told the Commissioners she hoped there would be jobs in the future for individuals that completed the training process.
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy said it was important to make sure there were jobs available because all of the training in the world would not matter if there were no jobs for the individuals when the training was completed.
In closing, Commission President Willie B. Kennedy announced San Francisco’s new bag ordinance prohibiting free bags beginning Monday, October 1, 2012. Customers are reminded to bring their reusable bags when shopping at all grocery stores. The fee for each paper bag will be 10¢.
14.0 ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
___________________
Carla Vaughn
Southeast Community Facility
Commission Secretary
