VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION

City and County of San Francisco

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

San Francisco, CA 94102

 

 

APPROVED MEETING MINUTES

Tuesday, June 11, 2019 – 1800

San Francisco City Hall, Room 416

 

 DAVID CHASTEEN, PRESIDENT

WILLIAM BARNICKEL, CHRISTINE BORGOGNONI, MATTHEW BRAUER (EXCUSED), HANLEY CHAN, GEORGE CHEWNING, DEBORAH DACUMOS, MARGO ELLIS (EXCUSED), KIM FLAHERTY (ABSENT), GEORGE ISHIKATA, JEFF MARSHALL, STEPHEN MARTIN-PINTO, IKRAM MANSOURI, CHRISTOPHER McDONALD, MYLES TUCKER, VICTOR OLIVIERI, RAYMOND WONG

 

 

CALL TO ORDER

 

Meeting called to order at 1800 by President Chasteen.  He reminded all commissioners that we follow Robert’s Rules of Order.

 

ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

 

PRESIDENT’S OPENING COMMENTS

            President Chasteen welcomed the newest members of the commission, Ikram Mansouri and Myles Tucker.

 

COMMUNICATIONS

            President Chasteen identified three action items he’s been working on with the Mayor’s Office: 1) recent appointments, 2) the swearing in ceremony, and 3) securing full-time staff to support the VAC.

 

            Bilateral Reports

                        District 1 – Commissioner Chan provided a brief update regarding discussions about VAC funding.

 

                        District 3 – Commissioner Martin-Pinto reported he is slated to meet with his Supervisor on 17 Jul.

 

                        District 4 – Commissioner Barnickel provided a brief update regarding discussions about VAC funding.

 

                        District 5 – Commissioner Chewning reported speaking to a staff member of his Supervisor’s office to establish reoccurring meetings.  Commissioner Dacumos indicated speaking to her Supervisor on homelessness.

 

                        District 6 – Commissioner McDonald reported a brief meeting with his Supervisor, as well as the Legislative Aide for Supervisor Ronen.  He noted the Aide was interested in learning about programs available to assist veterans.

 

                        District 8 – Commissioner Marshall reported he’s working to schedule a meeting with his Supervisor.

 

                        District 11 – Commissioner Borgognoni spoke to her Supervisor’s staff and has a meeting scheduled for the 19th.

 

            Officer’s Reports

                        President – Nothing additional to share.

 

                        Vice President – Noted that tomorrow is the Veterans Summit, and indicated all commissioners should be there.

 

                        Secretary – Reported no new correspondence, and that business cards are being prepared for commissioners who requested them.

 

            Veterans Related Legislation – Commissioner Wong reported there is no new legislation to report about.  He completed a draft letter in support of HR 444, which would remove the 12-year limit for vets to request vocational assistance from VA.

 

 

APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES

Amendments to the draft minutes: 1) add Commissioner Dacumos to the Mental Health Committee, and 2) correct the misspelling of “health.”  Motion to approve the May 14, 2019, Commission Meeting Minutes with amendments by President Chasteen; seconded by Commissioner Chan.  Approved unanimously.

 

 

AGENDA CHANGES

            None identified.

 

REGULAR AGENDA

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

            VP Olivieri noted the Veterans Summit has no outstanding business remaining.

 

            VP Olivieri reported he’s still working with the supervisor’s staff regarding the 9-11 Day of Remembrance resolution.

 

            Commissioner McDonald noted that Flag Day will soon occur, and so will Suicide Prevention Day.  With 22 veterans lost daily to suicide, it’s an important topic.  He’ll pass along information for dissemination to all commissioners.

 

NEW BUSINESS

            John McKnight and Lewis Loeven made a presentation regarding Fleet Week.  They provided historical background and information on the three areas of emphasis Fleet Week currently has.  In discussing ways for the VAC to be better involved in Fleet Week, the presenters indicated a desire to have greater engagement, and asked for a conduit for the VAC so Fleet Week can bring the VAC into discussions.

 

            Capt Engler, SFPD, from the Northern Station, made a presentation.  He discussed the issue of whether or not officers are aware of the assistance which vets can receive.  He noted efforts in Northern Station to connect vets to the services available, and that this was being done citywide.  He discussed the Healthy Streets Operations Center, and how it successfully brings together various services.

 

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

            For the Legislative Committee, Commissioner Wong reported completion of a draft message on HR 444, but noted the resolution is still in committee.  Regarding the Buddy Poppy permit fee waiver, Commissioner Wong indicated Commissioner Barnickel is assisting and researching what office is involved in permit fees.

 

 

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.

 

            Special acknowledgement for Chantell Burton, a USAF veteran who passed this previous weekend.

 

 

ADJOURNMENT

Meeting adjourned at 1911.

 

 

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.