San Francisco Youth Commission
Monday, December 1, 2008
5:30-8:00pm
City Hall, Room 416
There will be public comment on each item.
1. Call to Order
Chairman De'Anthony Jones called the meeting to order at 5:40pm.
Commissioners Present: Tsibulskaya, Marshall-Fricker, Gee, Lau, Jones, Erlikh, Recinos, Frierson, Oliva, Balcazar, Castaing, Davidson, Lunsford, Martinez, Quesada
Not present: Lobo, Espanol
Staff Present: Julia Sabory, Peter Lauterborn, Gillian Bogart
2 Approval of Agenda
Motion to approve the agenda was made by Commissioner Frierson, with a second by Marshall-Fricker, with unanimous approval.
3. Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve minutes made by Commissioner by Erlikh and seconded by Marshall- Fricker. Approved unanimously.
4. Public Comment on Items not on Agenda
There was no public comment on items not on the agenda.
5. Staff Report
Sabory, staff spoke about the idea of having the next full commission meeting on December 15th being a working meeting for the Rights of the Child Resolution for congress and the budget/ executive committee discussion. Chairman Jones suggested having an additional meeting on December 22 and will be following up with fellow commission members to assess interest and availability.
6. New Business
A. Discussion and possible action re: request for youth leaders to participate in a planning committee to convene a Youth Summit to Take Action Against Global Warming, presented by Tomas Lee.
Tomas Lee director of Language Services for City Administrator, deferred to Jennifer Zhu who is a member of the mentor program at the city. She said that the city administrator would like youth to take a strong stand against global warming. The city wants to develop educational solutions. They propose that the summit have youth involved in the planning process, with major components of the summit being Science and technology, Arts and culture, Jobs and leadership, and the Green economy.
Tomas Lee noted that there is not yet an agenda for the summit, but that the Mayors office on climate protection will receive direction from the youth commission. He stated that the purpose of the summit is to engage youth.
Public Comment: Tracy Zhou, Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ), says that if a youth summit happens, she would want to see the right youth leaders involved. She spoke about the green festival, and said that the Green Festival excluded youth, low income folks, and people of color. There are many entry points for youth those traditional environmentalists may not think of, like hip-hop and spoken word. Zhou spoke about taking advantage of resources that exist, stating that youth and people of color are on the front lines of global climate change. Zhou wants to see a summit that works for our communities.
There was a motion by Commissioner Marshalll-Fricker to have the item referred to the planning, land use, and city services committee and it was seconded by Castaing. The full commission agreed to the referral.
B. Discussion and possible action re: Resolution urging SFMTA to issue youth rate passes for all high school students, presented by Commissioner Tsibulskaya.
Commissioner Tsibulskaya introduced and the commission read through for a first reading. Staff Lauterborn gave a brief presentation about potential fiscal impacts, laying out the pros and cons.
Lau asked about how we would compensate for loss in revenue. Lauterborn we can look at Muni's budget if it comes up and is passed by the board. Jones noted that we should create Muni jobs for youth and Tsibulskaya interjected that if those jobs should be meaningful ones.
C. Discussion and possible action re: Letter to principle of Mission High School encouraging partnership with Mission Community Based Organization, HOMEY, presented by Chairman Jones.
Gustavo Lopez, Homey Education Coordinator explained that Homey's purpose is violence prevention and that he works primarily with Latino youth in John O'Connell, Downtown, and Mission High Schools. He has been working in Mission High for 3 years with school support groups having discussions where youth are able to talk about issues that they face. They also provide case management. Homey provides services but seeks to transform lives by working through services, and working directly with individuals, to help them to have a healthy mindset. Need to have direct access to youth to create a dialogue about what is happening both inside and outside of the schools. He said that HOMEY been limited by the administration at mission high, because the organization is being restricted and not able to do the full work.
Commissioner Jones said that we need as many community partners to support the youth of minority communities and that Homey is a crucial resource that should be present in Mission High school.
Lopez stated that it is an interesting time because the school board administration is finally starting to recognize institutional racism. Mission high school has failed Latino youth, with many dropping out of school. Having Homey and CBOs provide protection for struggling youth who are dropping out, or being kicked out of schools.
Lopez said that a reason for schools restricting HOMEY's involvement is that they want to focus on classes, and not pulling kids out of classes. There is still a need for CBOs because the school has done a poor job of creating a dialogue between schools, students, and CBOs.
Commissioner Balcazar, recommended that the letter be amended to include that HOMEY works most specifically with Latino youth.
Commissioner Frierson interjected that at Lincoln High School, peer resources works with CBOs, so that CBOs have their own periods. Hooking up with peer resources would be good at mission. Also having an after school program would help to show the school that HOMEY is needed in the community and the school.
Commissioner Martinez cautioned that whenever an outside entity wants to teach a class there are concerns about teaching space, and certification. He suggested that this item be discussed with the SAC because this falls within their purvue.
Frierson motioned that the youth commission cosigns the letter authored by Chairman Jones.
Ayes: Tsibulskaya, Marshall-Fricker, Gee, Lau, Jones, Erlikh, Recinos, Frierson, Oliva, Castaing, Davidson, Lunsford, Martinez, Quesada
Nays: Balcazar
D. Discussion re: Gatherings for Change, presented by staff, Sabory.
Staff, Sabory reviewed the youth leadership initiative. Commissioner Oliva said that the title of the excelsior event is the "aftershock" and will take place on December 20th at the Boys and Girls Club in the Excelsior. The next planning meeting for the event in the Excelsior will be on Wednesday December 3rd at 6pm.
Commissioner Jones spoke about how each summit should have a resolution writing aspect, and Sabory said that would be an opportunity for commissioners to facilitate.
7. Old Business
A. Discussion and possible action re:Statement of Opposition to congestion pricing of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) presented by Commissioner Quesada.
This item was tabled for future discussion.
8. Policy Report
Sabory, reviewed new procedure for referrals and item placement on the agenda
9. Announcements (This includes Community Events)
Various community announcements were made.
10. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:15pm.
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 in City Hall Room 416 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA. The closest accessible BART station is the Civic Center Station at the United Nations Plaza and Market Street. Accessible MUNI lines serving this location are: MUNI Metro Lines J-Church, K-Ingleside, L-Taraval, M-Oceanview, N-Judah, and T-Third Street at Van Ness and Civic Center Stations; 9-San Bruno, 19-Polk, 47-VanNess, and 71-Haight Noriega. For information about MUNI accessible services call 923-6142.
The Commission meeting room is wheelchair accessible. Accessible curbside parking spaces have been designated on the corners of McAllister and Polk, and Grove and Polk. There is accessible parking available within the Civic Center Underground Parking Garage at the corner of McAllister and Polk Streets, and within the Performing Arts Parking Garage at Grove and Franklin Streets.
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 Gillian Bogart 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 decision in full public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people's business. The 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 Frank Darby by mail to: 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) 554-5163; or by e-mail at frank.darby@sf.gov.org
Citizens interested in obtaining a free copy of the Sunshine Ordinance can request a copy from Mr. Darby or by printing Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code on the internet, at http://www.sfgov.org/bdsupvrs/sunshine.htm