REGULAR MEETING

Tuesday, March 08, 2022 – 6:00 pm

Hosted Remotely via MS Teams

 

IKRAM MANSORI, PRESIDENT

STEPHEN MARTIN-PINTO, VICE-PRESIDENT

JOSEPH BABA, WILLIAM BARNICKEL, MATTHEW BRAUER, DOUGLAS BULLARD,

HANLEY CHAN, JASON CHITTAVONG, DEBORAH DACUMOS, JEFF MARSHALL, CHRISTOPHER MCDONALD, COURTNEY MILLER,

VICTOR OLIVIERI, NICHOLAS RUSANOFF, RAYMOND WONG

 

CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME/President Mansori

 

 President Mansori called the meeting to order at 6:07pm

 

ROLL CALL:

The VAC Secretary called the roll:

 

PRESENT: President Mansori, Vice-President Martin-Pinto, Commissioners William Barnickel, Douglas Bullard, Hanley Chan, Jason Chittavong, Deborah Dacumos, Courtney Miller, Victor Olivieri, Nicholas Rusanoff, Raymond Wong

 

ABSENT: Commissioners Joseph Baba (excused) Matthew Brauer (excused), Christopher McDonald (excused), Jeff Marshall (resigned from Commission effective 03/08/22)

 

Quorum present.

 

COMMUNICATIONS

Officers’ Report:

• President
  • The Executive Team continues to work on establishing the most effective administrative support system of the VAC.  A lot of effort being taken to ensure VAC is set up for success, by sorting out what applies and what doesn’t apply, and setting a foundation for future commission leadership.
  • President Mansori spoke briefly of the possibility of the Sergeant Major of the Army attending 2022 Memorial Day celebrations in San Francisco.  More details will be covered during Events updates.
• Vice-President
  • Commissioner McDonald continues to recover in the hospital.  Let’s keep him in our thoughts, and drop in to visit if possible.
• Staff Secretary Report
  • 2/10/22 letter from the Mayor’s Office announced delay to return of in-person meetings for non-chartered commissions. Pending update from the Mayor’s Office, the VAC regular monthly commission meetings will continue remotely via MS Teams.  Once in-person meetings do return, WebEx will be added for public comment, etc.
  • Migration to new website – City & County websites moving from sfgov.org to sf.gov.  New VAC website expected to be ready in approx. 8-10 weeks.

Committee Reports

• Legislative Committee
  • No report
• Finance Committee
  • President Mansori noted chair position is vacant due to Commissioner Marshall’s resignation, she asked for volunteers for a new chair. Commissioner Miller responded and will serve as new Finance Committee Chair.
• Communications Committee
  • Memorial Day Planning Update: Commissioner Bullard said the Presidio National Trust is no longer involved in planning the Memorial Day ceremonies, planning is handled by administrative office of Golden Gate National Cemetery.  President Mansori noted she will have more details about Memorial Day during Events update.
  • JROTC Update: Commissioner Bullard said four programs are in danger of being closed – Mission, Balboa, Galileo, and Burton. He has developed a steering committee to find funding and support – including pursuing congressional support.  He will keep the Commission updated on progress.
  • Army Partnership with SF Sheriff’s Department: On April 14, a four-star Army General is scheduled to visit San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts for an event in partnership with the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department.  Commissioner Bullard will have more details to share, and hopes several commissioners can be in attendance on 4/14.
  • Commissioner Chittavong asked about restructuring Communications Committee. President Mansori responded by saying the Executive Team is sorting out committee structures in conjunction with establishing administrative support of the secretary role. Further discussion of these efforts will be added to next meeting’s agenda. 

• Events Committee
  • Chair position is open and President Mansori asked anyone interested to please contact her.
  • The Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army (OSMA) has included San Francisco on a short list of potential locations for a Memorial Day visit. President Mansori provided the OSMA with an overview of a visit to San Francisco, with proposed events scheduled for 5/28, 5/29, and 5/30.  Once a final decision has been reached by the OSMA, President Mansori will advise the Commission.
• Rules Committee
  • No report from Committee Chair.
  • President Mansori announced changes to this committee’s membership. Commissioner Chan will no longer serve on Rules Committee, but is welcome to serve on any other committee.  Commissioner Martin-Pinto is appointed to Rules Committee.
• Ad Hoc Committee (SF Veteran Center)
  • Commissioners Miller and Chittavong will meet with the new head of the Vet Center regarding lease status.  As a reminder, the current lease terminates on 9/30/2024, and intention was to start the process of identifying new space in Q1 of 2022.
• Ad Hoc Committee (Veteran Justice Court Funding)
  • Commissioner Rusanoff updated commission about request to HSA for funding of two social services positions in support of CVSO and JVC. The case manager position with CVSO remains under consideration, however HSA declined to fund the position with Courts.  Committee will re-group with their contact from Superior Court, and strategize next steps for funding. President Mansori added that once next steps are determined, the Committee will bring to Commission’s attention.
• Ad Hoc Committee (Below Market Rate program)

• Video Presentation [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vowNa9A6x_4&list=PL_cT4wZmgBBXQp226hXhqJL1VXZyrZ2CQ&index=2 ]

 

• • Commissioner Rusanoff provided an update regarding the disparate impact analysis report published by MOHCD on 2/28/22.  The report requires follow up by the BMR Committee regarding important data that was missing and can be provided by CVSO. Further, BMR Committee will request MOHCD present report findings to the Veterans Affairs Commission during a regular meeting.  President Mansori noted the BMR Committee’s responsive action to the disparate impact analysis report will be added to a future meeting agenda.
• Ad Hoc Committee (Parks Legislation)
  • As communicated by Commissioner Chan, the Parks Legislation Committee has ended.

Supervisor Liaison Reports

• District 1: Sup. Chan – Commissioner Baba
  • President Mansori called for a new liaison for District 1. 
• District 2: Sup. Stefani – Commissioner Miller
  • No report

• District 3: Sup. Peskin – Commissioner McDonald
  • No report
• District 4: Sup. Mar – Commissioner Barnickel
  • Supervisor Mar worked on amending legislation of parks discounts to San Francisco veterans to include all veterans. Amendment was approved. Commissioner Barnickel acknowledged hard work of Supervisor Mar on behalf of veterans.
• District 5: Sup. Preston – Commissioner Dacumos
  • No report – but will follow up with Supervisor Preston about issues regarding four units in single homes.
• District 6: Sup. Haney – Commissioner Rusanoff

• Met with Monica Barnett regarding issues affecting Dist. 6, including Veterans Alley.  Ms. Barnett offered to be a liaison for Dist. 6 and Veterans Alley. Also offered support for the BMR project by connecting Sup. Haney’s office with Sup. Mar to see if they can collaborate. 

• District 7: Sup. Melgar – Commissioner Chan
  • No report – Meeting with Sup. Melgar on Friday, will keep commission updated.
• District 8: Sup. Mandelman – Commissioner Marshall
  • President Mansori asked for replacement for Dist. 8 (Commissioner Marshall), and Dist. 1 (Commissioner Baba).
  • District 1 new liaison is Commissioner Bullard
  • District 8 new liaison is Commissioner Dacumos
• District 9: Sup. Ronen – Commissioner Mansori
  • Due to her role as Commission President, Commissioner Mansori asked that someone else take over as Dist. 9 liaison.
  • District 9 new liaison is Commissioner Miller.
• District 10: Sup. Walton – Commissioner Martin-Pinto
  • No report
• District 11: Sup. Safai – Commissioner Bullard
  • No report, but has discussed JROTC situation with Sup. Safai.

 

APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES

• Motion to approve February 8, 2022 regular meeting minutes

Motion seconded, and unanimously passed.

Minutes approved.

Absent: Baba, Brauer, McDonald

 

AGENDA CHANGES

• No agenda changes

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

• Events Planning for 2022 Update [Discussion]
  • Retreat for Commissioners and Public – April.
    • President Mansori noted the new information shared at tonight’s meeting regarding 4/14 event. Commission will move ahead and work with Commissioner Bullard on details of 4/14 event, and determine ways commissioners can be involved.
  • VSO Outreach at War Memorial
    • The Sergeant Major of the Army is highly likely to visit over Memorial Day Weekend. President Mansori noted VSO outreach will be included during this event.
  • Policy Roundtable – August
    • President Mansori recommended policy roundtable be considered for 3Q as the commission is currently in re-structuring mode and 3Q will be more appropriate time to have policy discussions.  She opened the floor to commissioners for comments.  Commissioner Martin-Pinto suggests either August 18 or 25, President Mansori confirmed it will be a half-day event.  Commissioner Chittavong requested earlier date.  President Mansori responded that considering the many events coming up, and the current restructuring phase of the commission, the later date is best option as by then commission will be on more solid footing.

NEW BUSINESS

• No new business to report.

GOOD WELFARE

This is the opportunity for members of the Veterans Affairs Commission to share special thanks and congratulatory remarks for the good welfare taking place in the veterans community.

• Get well wishes extended to Al Sims with CVSO and Commissioner McDonald.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT

• Commissioner Chittavong shared sad news about the passing of Elizabeth Fleming, the recently retired director of the Vets Center.

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

Meeting adjourned at 6:57PM

The next regular meeting of the Veterans Affairs Commission will be held on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 at 6:00pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Mary Murphy

Secretary to Veterans Affairs Commission

_______________________________________________________

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 the Administrator of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force.

 

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

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