San Francisco Youth Commission
Minutes
**Special, Beginning of Term Retreat**
Saturday, August 14, 2010
9am-6pm
United Playaz Community Center
1038 Howard St. (b/w 6th & 7th St.)
San Francisco, CA 94103
There will be public comment on each item.
1. Call to Order
Staff called the meeting to order at 9:25am.
Commissioners present: Zukerman, Marshall-Fricker, Sun, Hewitt, Perez, Fierro, Beaulac, Herzstein, LaCroix, Benezra, Chan, Kaminsky, Lin
Commissioners Absent: Liang, Nauer, Hirano
Staff Present: Julia Sabory, Mario Yedidia
2. Icebreaker: Getting to Know One Another
Staff led commissioners through an activity that combined silent reflection, writing, drawing, and group conversation. Through a discussion of the people who have inspired us, participants learned a bit more about one another.
3. Training on The City Family: The Mayor’s Office, City Departments & the Board of Supervisors
Commissioners were led through a brief, basic explanation of the structure of the government of the City & County of San Francisco, with particular focus on the legislative and executive branches.
4. Training on the Legislative Process and the Four Ways the Youth Commission Interacts with City Government: Writing Resolutions, Responding to Legislation Referred from the Board of Supervisors, Advising Appointing Officers, Participating in the Annual Budget Process
Staff lectured commissioners regarding the four different ways that the Youth Commission interacts with City government. Staff directed commissioners to look at materials from the previous Youth Commission term, which included a MUNI-related Youth Commission resolution, a piece of legislation referred that the Youth Commission voted to support in August of 2009 and the Youth Commission’s “budget priorities” for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
5. Workshop on Writing Resolutions
As a group of fourteen, commissioners collectively walked through one process for writing resolutions, based on the 2006-2007 Youth Commission workshop entitled “From Root to Fruit.”
6. Lunch (12:00noon-12:45pm)
Commissioners and staff ate lunch together.
7. Training on Youth Commission Structure
There was a short lecture about committees: the fact that they exist and that they are the place where much Youth Commission business is generated.
Then, in preparation for their first meeting and after some discussion of Robert’s Rules of Order, commissioners participated in a mock meeting, which included a fictitious Youth Commission resolution and a hypothetical item of referred legislation.
8. Training on Public Meetings & Ethics
Staff lectured commissioners on the Brown Act and the Sunshine Ordinance. Commissioners asked questions.
9. Panel with former Youth Commissioners; Youth Commissioners Write Letters to Themselves
This item was tabled for a future meeting.
10. Evaluation
The meeting was adjourned at 4:15pm after commissioners completed a single page evaluation of the day’s activities.
Supplemental documents for agenda items are available for review at City Hall Room 345. Minutes are also available on the Youth Commission Website at www.sfgov.org/youth_commission.
ACCESSIBLE MEETING POLICY
The Youth Commission meeting will be held at the United Playaz Community Center. The formal address is 1038 Howard St., San Francisco, CA, 94103. The Community Center is fully ADA accessible. For information about MUNI accessible services call 923-6142.
If you require the use of an American sign language interpreter, a sound enhancement system, or a reader during the meeting, calendars and minutes of the meeting in alternative formats; such arrangements can be made by calling Mario Yedidia at (415) 554-6446, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. Late requests will be honored if possible.
Individuals with severe allergies, environmental illness, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities should call our accessibility hotline at (415) 554-8925 to discuss meeting accessibility. In order to assist the City’s efforts to accommodate such people, attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various chemical based products. Please help the City to accommodate these individuals.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE SUNSHINE ORDINANCE
(Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code)
Government’s duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people’s business. This ordinance assures that deliberations are conducted before the people and that City operations are open to the people’s review.
For more information on your rights under the Sunshine Ordinance, or to report a violation of the ordinance, contact by mail: Administrator, Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, City Hall Room 224, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102; by phone at (415) 554-7724; by fax at (415) 554-7854; or by e-mail at sotf@sfgov.org.
Citizens interested in obtaining a free copy of the Sunshine Ordinance can request a copy from the Administrator, Sunshine Ordinance Task Force or by printing Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code on the internet, at http://www.sfbos.org/index.aspx?page=4459.
The ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers, and similar sound-producing electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting. Please be advised that the Chair may order the removal from the meeting room of any person(s) responsible for the ringing or use of a cell phone, pager, or other similar sound-producing electronic device. (Admin. Code § 67A.1).
In order to assist the City’s efforts to accommodate persons with severe allergies, environmental illnesses, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities, attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various chemical- based products. Please help the City accommodate these individuals.