VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION

City and County of San Francisco

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

San Francisco, CA 94102

 

 

MEETING MINUTES

Tuesday, April 9, 2019 – 1800

San Francisco City Hall, Room 416

 

 DAVID CHASTEEN, PRESIDENT

WILLIAM BARNICKEL, CHRISTINE BORGOGNONI (EXCUSED), MATTHEW BRAUER,    DEBORAH DACUMOS, MARGO ELLIS, KIM FLAHERTY, GEORGE ISHIKATA,        JEFF MARSHALL (EXCUSED), VICTOR OLIVIERI, RAYMOND WONG

 

 

CALL TO ORDER

 

Meeting called to order at 1807 by President Chasteen.

 

ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS

Officer’s Reports

President – Welcomed the presence of three applicants for the VAC recommended by the Rules Committee and awaiting confirmation by the Board of Supervisors (Hanley Chan, George Chewning, Christopher McDonald).Discussed the VAC annual report, its import, and how the report will increase in importance.Discussed the concept of committee assignments and how this will allow us to function in compliance with Sunshine laws.

 

Vice President – Introduced Mr. Bryan Walls to discuss last year’s 9-11 Day of Service.Asked commissioners, as well as those pending appointment, to introduce themselves.Discussed the Veterans Summit (Wed, 12 Jun, 0930-1600) and reminded commissioners they are expected to attend, since this is a regular meeting for the VAC.Asked commissioners for information on any groups they feel should attend the Summit.

 

Secretary – Reported no correspondence received since last meeting. Indicated ethics training requirement distributed to sitting commissioners.Reported quarterly attendance report submitted to Mayor’s Office.Reiterated four individuals pending appointment as new VAC commissioners are awaiting approval by the full BoS, and that their confirmations were on the BoS calendar for that day.Reported meeting with Supervisor Mar prior to the Rules Committee meeting.

 

 

Veterans Related Legislation – Commissioner Wong reported about two pieces of legislation.1) H.R. 444, Reduce Unemployment for Veterans of All Ages Act of 2019, removes the twelve-year limit on utilizing the Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (VR&E) program. 2) H.R. 1718, GI Education Benefits Fairness Act, corrects a discrepancy between the VA and DoD definition of “children,” which currently precludes service members from transferring VA education benefits to foster or ward children.President Chasteen moves we draft a letter in support of H.R. 444.VP Olivieri seconds.Approved by acclimation.

 

 

APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES

Motion to approve the February 12, 2019, Commission Meeting Minutes by President Chasteen; seconded by Commissioner Brauer.  Approved by acclimation.

 

 

AGENDA CHANGES

None proposed.

 

REGULAR AGENDA

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

            VP Olivieri discussed the Veterans Summit and obtained input from commissioners.

 

NEW BUSINESS

President Chasteen and VP Olivieri discussed committee formation and assignments.  They asked commissioners for committee service preferences.  President Chasteen indicated he will appoint commissioners to committees, per VAC bylaws.

 

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

            None

 

 

PUBLIC COMMENT

An opportunity for members of the public to directly address the Commission on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Commission, including items being considered today which have not been considered by a Commission committee and excluding items which have been considered by a Commission committee. Members of the public may address the Commission for up to three minutes. Each member of the public will be allotted the same number of minutes to speak, except that public speakers using translation assistance will be allowed to testify for twice the amount of the public testimony time limit. If simultaneous translation services are used, speakers will be governed by the public testimony time limit applied to speakers not requesting translation assistance. The President or the Commission may limit the total testimony to 30 minutes.

 

Members of the public who want a document placed on the overhead for display should clearly state such and subsequently remove the document when they want the screen to return to live coverage of the meeting.

 

            Robert Winning, voiced his concern that vets need a transition process to return to civilian life, and that what currently exists is inadequate.  He suggested the VAC look into the Reboot Program (operated by NVTSI in San Diego).  He indicated he’s working with NVTSI to get them space in San Francisco so they can expand here.

 

 

HONORS REPORT AND MOMENT OF SILENCE

In memory of American Armed Service Members who have made the ultimate sacrifice in all wars and conflicts, plus the passing of homeless veterans and veterans who died while waiting approval of benefits requests and suicides within the veterans and armed services community.

 

 

ADJOURNMENT

Meeting adjourned at 1912

 

 

This document is Official Business of the Veterans Affairs Commission, City and County of San Francisco.  It is part of the official Public Record of the City and County of San Francisco.

 

Public Access:

Public Records are covered under the State of California Brown Act, as well as the Sunshine Ordinance of the City and County of San Francisco. These acts ensure that deliberations of City Business are conducted “before the People,” and that City and County operations are open to the People’s review.

 

For information on your rights under the Sunshine Ordinance (Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code), or to report a violation of the ordinance, please contact:  Mr. Chris Ruston, Administrator, Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, at (415) 554-7724.

 

Veterans Affairs Commission Meetings:

General meetings of the SFVAC are scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month, with the exception for the month of July, when there is no scheduled SF VAC meeting, and are held in Room 416 in City Hall.

 

Meeting confirmation, and specific announcement of general meetings are made via public posting of the Meeting Agenda as required by law, at least 72 hours prior to scheduled meetings. Agendas for SFVAC meetings (and archived meeting minutes) are available on the SFVAC Pages of the City of San Francisco website, and are also available for public view and inspection at the 5th Floor Government Information Center at the San Francisco Public Library, at 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102.  The documents librarian telephone number is (415) 554-4472.

 

Disability Access:

City Hall of San Francisco is wheelchair accessible via all entrances.  There is wheelchair accessible public parking nearby, including the underground garage at the north side of City Hall.  The nearby BART/MUNI station (Civic Center) is wheelchair accessible as are nearby city bus lines and stops.  For more public transit information services, call (415) 923-6142 or dial 311.