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Supervisors advance advisory-board appointments and refer items to full Board after closed session
Summary
At the April 4, 2013 committee meeting Chair Norman Yee and colleagues approved appointments to regional and local advisory boards — advancing an ABAG appointment and nominees to the Graffiti and Pedestrian Safety advisory committees — and, after a closed session, referred items 4–8 to the full Board and voted not to disclose details.
San Francisco — At a committee meeting on April 4, 2013, Chair Supervisor Norman Yee presided as the panel advanced several advisory-board appointments and, following a closed session, referred several agenda items to the full Board of Supervisors.
The committee moved without objection to advance a nomination to the Association of Bay Area Governments’ Executive Board and to forward nominations to local advisory bodies, including the Graffiti Advisory Board and the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee. Jonathan Goldberg, who said he represents the nonprofit San Francisco Beautiful, spoke in support of his nomination to seat 13 on the Graffiti Advisory Board, saying he volunteers along the Divisidero Corridor and with the Panhandle Park Stewards. "As our mission to create, enhance, protect the civic beauty and livability of the city, it is my honor to go ahead and extend these values into my own personal life," Goldberg said.
The committee considered multiple applications to the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee. Robin (Brasso), seeking reappointment as child advocate for seat 7, described her 37 years teaching in San Francisco public schools and prior service as a district 7 representative, and cited work with a pedestrian safety task force that reduced driving speeds at school arrival and dismissal times. She described a Bicycle Ambassadors program modeled on a New York City initiative that uses trained ambassadors to encourage bicyclists to obey stop signs and yield to pedestrians. "They have something called transportation alternatives, which is a combination of...pedestrian safety organizations, bicycling, and public transportation," she said.
Sonia Koss, who said she lives in District 6 and works for TODCO (Tenants and Owners Development Corporation), urged the committee to address pedestrian-safety risks in South of Market and around transit and conference hubs, citing conflicts between pedestrians, bicyclists and construction and noting the need to review signal timing near Mission and King streets and Fourth Street. "Bicycles on sidewalks, skateboards on sidewalks, and elderly folks just trying to do their everyday business" are issues she cited.
Members of the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee endorsed the nominees. John Alex Foll, vice chair of the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee, and Zach Marks, the committee’s chair, both urged the supervisors to approve the appointments, saying the committee needs more members. Supervisor Lyndon Breen praised the nominees and framed pedestrian safety as a public-safety priority, saying he was "really excited that pedestrian safety is taking center stage in our city." The committee moved to appoint Robin Brasso and Sonia Koss and to continue consideration of a separate seat to the call of the chair; members approved the motion without objection.
The meeting then convened a closed session. According to Deputy City Attorney John Givner, the committee decided in closed session to send items 4 through 8 from the meeting agenda to the full Board of Supervisors for further consideration. The committee also voted not to disclose what occurred in the closed session.
Items acted upon at this meeting will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda on April 16 unless otherwise noted. The committee adjourned with no further business.
