Veterans' Affairs Commission - September 10, 2019 - Minutes
VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION
City and County of San Francisco
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102
APPROVED MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, September 10, 2019 – 1815
San Francisco City Hall, Room 416
DAVID CHASTEEN, PRESIDENT
WILLIAM BARNICKEL, CHRISTINE BORGOGNONI, MATTHEW BRAUER (EXCUSED), HANLEY CHAN, GEORGE CHEWNING, DEBORAH DACUMOS (EXCUSED), MARGO ELLIS (ABSENT), KIM FLAHERTY (ABSENT), GEORGE ISHIKATA, JEFF MARSHALL, STEPHEN MARTIN-PINTO, IKRAM MANSOURI, CHRISTOPHER McDONALD, VICTOR OLIVIERI, MYLES TUCKER, RAYMOND WONG (EXCUSED)
CALL TO ORDER
Meeting called to order at 1816 by President Chasteen.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND ROLL CALL
COMMUNICATIONS
Officer’s Reports
President – I’ve focused efforts on securing the Marine’s Memorial Club as the venue for the Treasurer’s Veterans Benefits Seminar on 31 Oct. Next we need to reach out to other veterans commissions in the Bay Area.
Vice President – We have two major events coming up, the first being the 9-11 Day of Service. The other event is Fleet Week. I’ve coordinated with the staff so every commissioner should receive an invitation to the reception and gala. Select commissioners will receive invitations to other events, but if you’re invited to an event you don’t want to attend, please advise, so we can redirect the invite to another commissioner.
Secretary – Nothing to report beyond the items outlined in the internal dissemination message I sent to all commissioners.
Veterans Related Legislation – Nothing to add.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
President Chasteen moved to approve the June minutes as written. VP Olivieri seconded the motion. Motion passes unanimously.
President Chasteen moved to approve the August minutes as written, VP Olivieri seconded the motion. Motion passes unanimously.
AGENDA CHANGES
Commissioner Barnickel moves to add four topics: Below Market Rate loans, Veterans Service Officer update, dates of college job fairs, and the annual report. VP Chasteen seconds the motion. President Chasteen abstains, and the agenda is approved with changes.
REGULAR AGENDA
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Legislative Committee – Commissioner Chan provided updates to the concept of providing admission fee waivers for veterans to City evens and parks. Commissioner Chan indicated he’s working on getting copies of legislation used in other cities to provide similar fee waivers. The President excused Commissioner Chan to depart early.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
VP Olivieri reported the 9-11 Day of Remembrance resolution failed to gain traction with any supervisor, and will not receive sponsorship.
VP Olivieri stated the November Veterans Month resolution has interest from the Legislative Aide in Supervisor Stefani’s office. He believes other supervisors will want to co-sponsor the legislation, if she authors/sponsors it. VP Olivieri suggested the Events Committee be involved in generating something to commemorate the resolution, such as a flag raising ceremony on Veteran’s Day, or a reception by the commission. Other commissioners suggested inviting SF veteran employees so the Mayor can see how many veterans work for the City, ERGs – especially in the tech industry, and veterans organizations which have received State or federal grants.
NEW BUSINESS
VP Olivieri asked if any commissioners had an update on the summary for the Summit. Secretary Ishikata reported that Commissioner Ellis is working on it.
President Chasteen reported the establishment of a Finance Committee, with Commissioner Marshall as the Chair and Commissioner Chan as a member. A current tasking to the committee is the funding of an administrative position to support the commission. VP Olivieri reported he had a conversation with a staffer who noted the Youth Commission has three staffers, and would investigate the possibility of sharing one with our commission.
Commissioner Barnickel reported he was making a presentation last week on BMR (Below Market Rate) loans, and that no such loan exists for veterans. He’s spoken to Supervisor Mar and Supervisor Brown about establishing one, and both believe this is a good idea.
Commissioner Barnickel reported on the SF Veterans Service Office, and that they lost two of their staff recently. As a result, they are swamped again, and will have to rehire to fill the vacancies. Commissioner Tucker mentioned the SF Public Library has a veterans resource center weekdays from 1200-1700.
Commissioner Barnickel reported the next City College job fair will occur on 13 Nov from 1600-1800.
Commissioner Barnickel reported he was involved in the last SFFD presentation and 25 attended, to include 7 retirees who didn’t know they were eligible for veterans benefits. 15 of the 25 subsequently went to the VSO to apply for benefits. The next presentation, next month, is with the Police Officer’s Association, with the Sheriff’s Department in Jan, and for all City employees in Feb.
Commissioner Barnickel asked if our annual report was complete yet. President Chasteen reported the draft is complete, but the report is sparse. Commissioner Barnickel stated that for years, the commission did nothing, so now that we’re engaged, we need to get the word out. President Chasteen indicated his plan is to have committees write their portions of the report, and that he, as the President, would serve in an editor role.
Commissioner Martin-Pinto announced that – on 8 Oct of Fleet Week – the SFFD would conduct training with Sailors and Marines at the SF Firefighter’s Treasure Island Training Facility, to include a barbeque hosted by the SF Firefighter’s Veterans Association. The training is 0800-1500, and lunch is 1100-1200. All commissioners are invited to attend either.
Refined Committee Assignments. President Chasteen reported a refinement of committee assignments, and announced current assignments. He also reported the temporary termination of the Mental Health/Access Committee and the Housing Committee. President Chasteen identified outstanding taskings. Current committees are:
Standing |
|
Communications Committee |
Commissioners Ellis*, Chewning, and McDonald |
Events Committee |
Commissioners Marshall*, Chan, and Chasteen |
Finance Committee |
Commissioners Marshall*, and Chan |
Legislative Committee |
Commissioners Olivieri*, Ellis, and Wong |
Rules Committee |
Commissioners Chasteen*, Ishikata, and Marshall |
|
|
Ad hoc |
|
ERG Coalition Committee |
Commissioners Chewning*, Mansouri, and Marshall |
Honors Committee |
Commissioners Marshall*, Martin-Pinto, and Wong |
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
Meeting adjourned at 1859.
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.
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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.