Veterans' Affairs Commission - May 12, 2020 - Minutes
APPROVED SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, May 12, 2020 – 1800
Virtual via Microsoft Teams
VICTOR OLIVIERI, PRESIDENT, PRESIDING
MARGO ELLIS, VICE PRESIDENT (Absent)
COURTNEY MILLER, SECRETARY
WILLIAM BARNICKEL, MATTHEW BRAUER, DOUGLAS BULLARD,
HANLEY CHAN, DEBORAH DACUMOS (Absent), GEORGE ISHIKATA, IKRAM MANSORI, JEFF MARSHALL (left at 8pm), STEPHEN MARTIN-PINTO, MYLES TUCKER(left at 8pm), RAYMOND WONG, CHRISTOPHER MCDONALD
CALL TO ORDER
- Gavel Down at 6:18pm
ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
COMMUNICATIONS
Officer’s Reports
President
- Commissioner Resignations
- David Frommer and David Chasteen
- Capt. Crozier passed through BOS today
- EOC – CVSO position posted, VSO position also posted
- CVSO leadership declined to attend meeting
Vice President – none
Secretary - none
Committee Reports
Legislative Committee
Chair Myles Tucker – Capt. Crozier passed. Student Veterans COVID Relief Act. Proposed Legislation on Veterans fund.
Communications Committee
Chair Matthew Brauer,
- In process of reaching out to SFVA infectious disease clinic to get updated local figures on COVID 19. Concerned the data on the publicly facing site is not current. Also plan to attend EOC tour this coming Monday.
- Has reached out to a member of FEMA who works at Region 9 to discuss any visibility they have on Veteran needs through the lens of disaster response.
Events Committee
Commissioner Mansori
- No updates
Rules Committee
Commissioner Ishikata
- Bylaws updates
Finance Committee
Commissioner Marshall
- Budget distributed for review
Liaison Reports
Adhoc Parks Committee for discussion of free paid park attractions in San Francisco – Commissioner Chan met with parks commission
Adhoc Committee for Annual Report Final – Commissioner Ellis
Veterans Related Legislation
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
April Special Meeting Minutes – APPROVED
AGENDA CHANGES
Commissioner Ishikata –
- By-law changes
- Adjust the mission of the commission
Added to unfinished business
President Olivieri
- Blue Angels Flyover
- ACLU lawsuit
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Status of CVSO Office and various position searches and invitations to attend the VAC meeting
CVSO to provide semi-annual report to CalVet
Vetting of the application
Timing of two weeks
Position Description Issues
Mr. Dorian Carr provided public comment
Action Items : Write a Letter requesting the following and Full audit - PASSED
Letter of Resignation
Last Two CVSO budgets
Last Two CVSO report to the VAC
Last Four Semi-Annual Reports to CalVets
Emergency Operations Center Visit – Volunteer as liaison to EOC May 19/20/21
22 May Summit – difficult timing for attendance, reschedule
Added to unfinished business
President Olivieri
- Blue Angels Flyover – motion to table this action item – Passed
- ACLU lawsuit – commission write a resolution to support service members via the ACLU action. Passed
NEW BUSINESS
Commissioner Ishikata –
- Bye law changes
- Voted to Remove below requirements in bye laws - Approved
- Current revision requirement to be President must have served on the Executive Board
- To Serve in Executive Board Position must have served as a Chair on a Committee
- Voted to Remove below requirements in bye laws - Approved
- Expand Purpose to include Veterans Outreach
- Motion to table this item - PASSED
- Expanded mission beyond what the rules committee originally included a change would require adjustment to administrative code
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.
No public comment
HONORS REPORT AND MOMENT OF SILENCE
In memory of American service members in all wars and conflicts who made the ultimate sacrifice. We also remember the passing of homeless veterans, veterans who died while awaiting approval of benefits, and suicides within the veteran and armed service communities.
ADJOURNMENT – 8:04 pm
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.
If you or a Veteran, you know is in
immediate danger to themselves or others,
please call 911 or visit your local emergency room.
The Veterans Crisis Line is also available by
texting 838255 or by going to their website
and chatting with a mental health professional.
24/7 Confidential
Support
Text MYLIFE to 741741
Crisis Line:
(415) 781-0500