Minutes
DATE: Monday, February 5, 2001
TIME: 5:00 pm
PLACE: City Hall, Room 416
1. Call to Order and Roll Call: Commissioner
Howard-Johnson called The meeting to order at 5:05 pm. Commissioner’s
Present: Allison, Arreguìn-Ferñandez, Bonilla, Geodzhayev,
Howard-Johnson, Lantz, Lockett, Matranga, Meksavan, Valdez, Vedad, Villaluna.
Absent: Commissioner Fosselman, Martin and Smith Staff Present: Ron
S. McCan, Colleen Montoya
2. Motion to approve agenda: There
was a motion to move Items 8 and 8 before Item 4, Item 7b before item 7A.
Motion Approved
3. Approval of the Minutes of January 16th:
Minutes Approved.
4. Staff Report:
Colleen passed out an information sheet about
the Mayor’s Department of Neighborhood Services and encouraged the commissioners
to go to Neighborhood Services with any questions they may have. She also
issued a contact information sheet and asked Commissioners to fill in the
information that they would like staff to give to people requesting their
contact information.
Ron issued a Calendar for the month of February,
and asked Commissioners to note the dates and times of their committee meetings
5. Officer Report :
Commissioner Howard-Johnson, Chair
- Commissioner Howard-Johnson has been working with the Education Committee
on their town hall meeting.
Commissioner Villaluna, Operations Officer
- Commissioner Villaluna spoke about her work on the YouthSpace project
and asked if any Commissioners interested in working with her to contact
her. She also reminded Commissioners about the attendance policy.
Commissioner Valdez, Government Affairs
Officer - Commissioner Valdez passed around thank you letters to the
Supervisors and asked Commissioners to sign them. He also encouraged everyone
to meet with his or her Supervisors.
Commissioner Allison, Community Affairs
Officer - Commissioner Allison Thanked everyone who did School outreach
for the town hall meetings. She is still working with Lena on the outreach
materials.
Commissioner Fosselman, Media & Public
Relations Officer - Commissioner Fosselman was absent from this meeting.
6. Committee Report:
Education Committee - Commissioner
Lantz reported that there were at least 100 people in attendance at their
town hall meeting. Among those in attendance was Supervisor Maxwell and
members of the Board of Education. The town hall meeting made the front
page of the San Francisco Examiner on Sunday 2/4.
Culture & Urban Environment - Commissioner
Meksavan announced that the Culture & Urban Environment town hall meeting
will be held on Wednesday 2/7 at 5:30 in room 421.
Juvenile Justice Committee - Commissioner
Villaluna announced that the Juvenile Justice Committee is working on issues
at Youth Guidance Center. They also have a meeting with Supervisor Sandoval
on Wednesday.
Public Health Committee - Commissioner
Matranga reported that their town hall meeting was held at the Excelsior
Youth Center on 1/25. There was a great discussion about the wellness centers,
pedestrian safety as well as many other topics. Supervisor Sandoval was
in attendance.
Housing Committee - Commissioners Vedad
and Arreguìn-Ferñandez reported on their town hall meeting
held in the Legislative Chamber on 1.30. There were many Supervisors in
attendance. The Committee is working on gathering more information for their
report.
Executive Committee - Next meeting
will be held Thursday 2/8.
7. Commission Business:
A. Discussion and possible action re:
Presentation by Cedric Yap, Deputy Director, Department of Children, Youth
and Their Families. Cedric Yap, Elizabeth Gettleman and Christina
Goette presented on the DCYF Children’s Services Plan for 2000-2002. Cedric
gave brief highlights of each section of the report and encouraged the
Commission to contact him with any further questions.
B. Discussion and possible action re
Presentation by Russian Civic Educators, International Diplomacy Council,
on civic education for youth in Russia. Teachers from various Middle
and High Schools in Russia were visiting the United States to learn about
Civic Education. Prior to the start of the Commission meeting, they participated
in a small group discussion with Commissioners Geodzhayev, Allison, Valdez
and Howard-Johnson. They Presented the Commission with a calendar from
Russia as a token of their appreciation.
C. Discussion and possible action re:
Presentation by Supervisor Gavin Newsom, Board of Supervisors. Supervisor
Newsom spoke about the rising numbers of youth getting involved with Drugs,
and would like to open a dialogue with the Commission about possible solutions
to raise awareness. There was a motion to move to Committee for further
discussion. Motion was approved. Supervisor Newsom also noted that he
would support the Commission in its efforts for compensation.
D. Discussion and possible action re:
Presentation by Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Board of
Supervisors. Supervisor Chris Daly
spoke before Supervisor Peskin arrived and spoke about the Civic Participation
Task Force. Supervisor Peskin then arrived and asked the Commissioners
to look in on items in the Mayor’s budget that talk about Children and
Youth and go to the Finance Committee with recommendations. He would also
like the Youth Commission to weigh in on Development Projects, Budgets
and Resolutions. He is open to any and all suggestions from the Commission.
E. Discussion and possible action re:
Presentation by Mutima Imani, Simplexity. Mutima congratulated the
Commission on all of its hard work over the past weeks and reminded the
Commissioners to be self-reflective and to speak up and speak out about
the issues at hand.
F. Discussion and possible action re:
Khen Mai Aung, Asian Law Caucus, on Language Access Issues at Youth Guidance
Center. Khen Mai presented facts about the insufficient translation
at YGC.
G. Discussion and possible action re:
Referral from the Board of Supervisors, file 010169.
There was a motion to support this item.
Motion Approved.
H. Discussion and possible action re:
Referral from the Board of Supervisors, file 010165.
There was a motion to support this item.
Motion Approved.
I. Discussion and possible action re:
Referral from the Board of Supervisors, file 010172.
There was a motion to support this item.
Motion Approved.
J. Discussion and possible action re:
Youth Commission’s Speak Your Mind Series
K. Discussion and possible action re:
Compensation/Reimbursements of Commission Expenses. There was a motion
to create an ad-hoc Committee to work on this issue. Motion Approved.
L. Discussion and possible action re:
Youth Commission 5th Anniversary Celebration. Commissioner
Villaluna suggested that we hold the event on April 20th. There
will be a further discussion to discuss the details of this event.
M. Discussion and possible action re:
Creation of LGBTQ Youth Task Force. This item was tabled until the
next meeting.
8. Public Comment: Jean Chen - Website
Coordinator from Youth Radio asked if the Commission was interested in being
involved with Youth Radio’s Webpage. She asked Commissioners to look at
Youth Radio’s webpage (jean@youthradio.org.
9. Announcements: There were no announcements
10. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned
at 7:15 pm