City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you for this Wednesday, August the 19th roll call.

Council Member Coleman, Council Member Flores, Council Member Nicholas, Vice Mayor Nogales, and Mayor Adiego. Moving on to public comments. We did not receive any public comments through our e-commons portal. And unless we have any speakers tonight present.

Well, would anyone are you sure you don't want to stand up and. Make a statement. No, he's just like, you know, that's good.

Okay, if there are no speakers, we'll go into the 1st item of administrative business is consideration of a resolution to appoint the only candidate for the office of city council district 1. sorry. The Office of the City Council District 5, Edward Eddie Flores, the Office of City Clerk at Large, Rosa Gouveia Acosta, and the Office of City Treasurer at Large, Frank Rizzo, or to proceed with the general municipal election for all offices scheduled for November 3rd, 2026. Item 1A is a resolution.

So moved. Let's get a motion and a second on the floor and then we can discuss. We have a motion. Okay. You want to jump in? I do want to jump in. Okay.

So I think it's generally good that folks, that voters remember which offices are elected and which are not. And that they have a choice in these elections. Even though they're uncontested, I just think it's a good practice for folks to meet their future council representative or treasurer or city clerk on the ballot.

Well, I'm in 100% agreement with you. I have a real problem with going down this road. I'd like to save $170,000 whenever I can, but it is budgeted, and especially in the case of a new candidate who has not had any exposure to the public. I mean, I'm certain she has a circle of friends and she's well known on commissions, but for the vast amount of the public, they have no awareness. And so she enters the job without the benefit of having put her name out there for for the constituency to consider and and I guess that would include no opportunity to have a candidate statement out there to kind of you know run down what's important to her and why she's running you know last time four years ago I was certain that I wasn't gonna have a challenger And that was kind of fun because it's good to get a pass once you're established, right? Sometimes. And then I had a challenger and I worked very hard. And that was a good thing because it made me get out at this state in my life to get out there and sell it again. I think it was important. And I met many people who I'd never met in the previous five elections.

I'm with you. Okay. Can I jump in? I also agree with both of you. I think there's something that's having someone vote for you. And it doesn't mean just because you're the only candidate that person's going to hell not vote for you. Someone might skip that ballot as they're... As I do with judges. Yeah, there you go. As their form of selecting their candidate. And we've all had the experience that first time where we saw our name on the ballot and we were able to vote for ourselves. And to your point, it is already budgeted. So I would support kind of moving forward with an election and having the candidates named there because it is important for our residents to see who is running. And make that decision either to vote for the president or not, even if that person is the only person.

If I may add, Mayor, in reference to the candidate statement, all candidate statements are published on the City's website, on the City Clerk page. There's for each, for Aisha's seat, her candidate statement has been published and it is available for the public. And for Council Member Nicholas and the two candidates, those statements are also published on the website.

How many people visit our website?

I hope a lot, but they're there.

I was into saving money, so.

I support the majority of the council, mostly. I know it is all legal and it is in accordance with election law. But in this day and age where everything seems to be challenged and reversed, I worry that individuals will manipulate the term appointed and use it against. So I would move for an election.

Okay, so, Rosa, in terms of, let's say, a writing candidate. Yes. Can you remind me the rules again in terms of that? So, just because we. I know that at some point they can't put a candidate statement out there, or did that ready miss. The window in terms of, yeah, correct.

So the candidate, the writing candidates, uh, timeframe is September 17th through October 20th and it's very similar to a candidate who pulls papers during nomination period. They do not get a ballot designation or a candidate statement. That's the only difference. They still have to go through the process with my office, gather 20 signatures and submit it to to me through county elections. So, by removing these seats from the election, then we would. in turn remove that opportunity for a write-in candidate to do that for the seats that are removed from the election.

We would have it for District 3. Correct. Which could lead to an actual race.

I will quickly note, though, just to jump in. As Rosa stated, the rules do require that the candidate, whoever it is, if they were to be a write-in candidate, would need to be qualified, which would mean they would need to go through the nomination process. In California's modern history, the number of write-in candidates that have actually been qualified and elected is statistically non-existent. Like, it's theoretically possible, but, I mean, just the odds of that happening historically have been...

It happened in Melbury a couple years ago. Did it? Yeah, Bob went, and then he got appointed. He's on Melbury City Council now. That was because of the recall, right? That was because of the recall. But the most recent... No, that wasn't what he got. unfortunate because of the recall where he didn't run prior as a writing champion.

Well, the most recent writing candidate is Noelia Carzo's opponent in the Board of Supervisors. Well, he got votes and he still campaigned and went through the process. So it's not unheard of. And so I think there's still that process of if someone wants to jump in, that process is still available. I have a problem with just automatically putting someone in there without our residents have given the opportunity to vote or not vote for the person.

But don't, if you do a write-in, and say, for example, Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse gets the vote, right? Sorry to be qualified. He's counted as one, even though Mickey Mouse didn't show up. Sorry. As a write-in candidate.

You mean if someone voted for Mickey Mouse? Uh-huh. That is the right of the individual to vote for that candidate.

It doesn't, if you write in a name, that doesn't get tallied.

They go through the same similar process, except the only disadvantage to do it while in the right in Canada is you don't get a candidate statement.

So if Mark writes in his name for president, it does not get telly. I want to say how pleased I am. My worry on the way out is looking at a situation where there seems to be less visibility at the local level for candidates and the issues and people are going in so many different directions to get their news. So I think these things are very important. The fact that there were more challengers is also disheartening. So I think I'm very pleased.

So someone needs to make a motion. I'll make that motion. Okay, you made you made the motion though for motion for what died for life for a second.

Yeah, because it was okay.

Okay.

Could we, can we clarify for the record? What's the motion is actually well, we're not going to take action on the.

On the resolution.

Okay.

So what would normally happen to curves? We don't really need a motion. Is that correct?

That is correct. I mean, okay.

Okay. So we're taking no action and it'll be the normal case where. People's names on the ballot. So get out there and campaign. Meet your constituents. And with that, no other items?

Not until your interviews begin at 630.

Okay, great. We'll go ahead and adjourn this part of the meeting. Welcome, Tima. Tiantian. And we'll start by introducing, because I've not met you before, I don't believe. So my name is Mark Adiego. I'm one of the five councilmen who just happens to be serving as mayor, because we kind of share that position.

I'm Vice Mayor Mark Adiego, and I actually represent the Westboro area, District 2.

I'm Flora Nicholas, and I'm District 3.

Hi, Angela. I'm Eddie Flores. I represent District 5, which is this downtown area.

Hi, I'm James Coleman. I represent District 4.

We have some standard questions to ask so that everybody gets kind of asked the same thing. And sometimes when you are next in line, you can wait outside and hear the questions and it gives you an advantage, which you don't have. But I mean, the first request, but we will remember that that all of your answers are from hearing the question for the first time. So we're going to start with Councilman Flores is going to ask the next question.

So thank you for being here and for your interest in applying for the Youth Commission. I would love for you to share your thoughts with our council on how you perceive this position of commission. What do you think it is? How do you think you can contribute? What do you think you can bring to it? And also, if you could help mention if you've attended any of the meetings, how you heard about this role as well. Both questions.

Okay. No, I have not been to any of the meetings, but I have been to a similar kind of meeting, the education board meetings where Dr. Moore explains problems in the education system. Um, I think being a youth commissioner would be representing the youths, like, uh, nine through 16. Um, uh, as we learned from the American revolution, we cannot represent other people with, um, foreign representatives, like how they would try to represent the 13 colonies with British, um, foreign, uh, parliament representatives. And I feel like I can help. make a better community for my fellow adolescents.

Great. Can you help? Because I think I'm not the only one wondering about this. So tell us a little bit about Stanford Online High School.

Great question. It's basically kind of an experiment. It's a homeschooling program monitored by Stanford University. It's very selective. It basically tests all of its admission students, like specifically on their strengths and weaknesses, and they tailor their courses to their exact needs. So for me, I'm in 10th grade ELA, but I'm also in 9th grade history. So it just helps the student learn more.

But you finished at Westboro as a middle school.

Yes, I'm in 9th grade.

Gotcha. Okay, thank you.

And next up is Councilwoman Nicholas.

Yes. So tell us, what is it at cost that you are very passionate about related to government? And explain to us.

I'm very, well, for some background knowledge, I'm part of a nonprofit organization called Mind on Trial. We help like basically advocate for neuroscience and law and I'm very passionate about helping fellow youths with substance and alcohol addiction because I feel like that isn't a much talked about topic where younger like minors are getting access to nicotine and tobacco and it's very detrimental to their brain development especially their frontal lobe which doesn't come in until maybe even the early thirties. Um, so that's something I would probably bring to the board as a youth commissioner. Thank you.

And, um, James, did you catch that? The frontal loop doesn't totally come into play in January. Yeah, that was like 25. I'm sorry. Um, Mark, the golf is your day.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I was really interested in what you're writing about in terms of youth and public transportation. And you saying that you don't understand how the public transit system and how to get them more involved. Can you explain more about your theory about that? If you're in the Youth Commission, how would you try to fix that?

Yeah, so I might be poorly educated on this topic, but I haven't learned my friends from the public district from here. And we haven't learned how to use public transit. until maybe like high school years and it makes you extremely mobile if you know how to use like a clipper card and the cal train um and i would start well i would start by uh having assemblies at schools um talk about how to use buses and cal train um and muni because uh having their parents drive them everywhere isn't really time efficient and it saves a lot of gas and protects the environment if we use public transit.

Are you familiar with the free shuttle that goes up on Westboro? Yes. And do you think kids or adults are using the free shuttle or taking advantage of the free shuttle?

Adults, yes. Children, not so much.

One of the complaints is that the elderly said most kids are on the bus, that's why they can't... Well, high school kids.

High school kids.

I'm mostly talking about the younger, not toddlers, because you wouldn't send a toddler on a bus, but more about the 10 to 13 ages.

That's a great thought. If a class had a field trip that included getting there by train, that would open up that transportation idea to a young person. Next is James.

Yes. What is the cause that you are passionate about related to government and explain why it matters to you?

Oh, that was your question?

He just got back from Korea, so a little jet lag. Please describe your style of interacting with other people and why should the council consider appointing you?

Online or like in person. or just any. Oh, online, I like to get their Gmail or like their phone number so that we can properly introduce ourselves and get familiar with each other before we say like, hey, let's do this and this and this, because it's very important to establish stable relationships. I also like to meet up with people and like have lunch to ask some get to know you questions as well.

She wants to have lunch with me. Was that right? I'm sorry. I don't know why. Maybe it's the fog. I'm in a mood. So my question is, are there any areas, you know, you're very thoughtful. I'm impressed so far because, you know, you're a relatively young person as far as this group of candidates do. So I'm very impressed so far. Are there any things that are on your mind that you would like to ask us? Maybe something we didn't cover that you want to share or a question of us?

Never thought of that. I don't have any questions at the moment, but if I do, I'll just email.

When you do, you can contact James Colburn. Well, thank you. Thank you. Yeah, we have a number of interviews this evening. So that kind of completes it. We're right on time, which is important because if we get behind it, it's tough on the people that are last.

Thank you, Angela. Good luck to you.

Thank you. Have a good evening. Are you going to help me with the name? Denise? Danica. Danica.

How do you pronounce your last name?

Segal.

Well, welcome. Have you been here before?

yeah actually did you interview in the past yeah oh you did okay yeah you're a little familiar so um so you kind of know the program we each have questions we're going to ask every candidate so that we can kind of measure everybody up and see who might be a good fit for the existing commission we only have is there just the one position that we're filling on this and there are actually um five people asking to be appointed so you've done this before, so you probably have a leg up and we're going to start with Councilman Flores will ask the first question.

Let's see here again, can you remind us what grade you are in right now?

I'm a sophomore.

Sophomore at Alameda. Yeah. Can you share your thoughts on how you see this position of Commissioner? do you think it's it will bring what do you think it's the role of what do you how do you think you can uh contribute to it and if you have attended any of the youth commission meetings or or how'd you hear about it i mean you've probably heard about it because you're applying again but uh tell us a little bit about that interest to continue being part yeah so i heard about this program from my sibling who

had a friend that did this program. And I believe that being here means connecting with your peers and listening to your community and what they want to see and some of the issues that they're struggling with.

Thank you. Laura, you're next. Councilwoman, you're next.

Tell us what, well, I'm seeing that in your resume, so I'll just ask another question. If you had one, if you're given a chance to have a community project, what would it be?

I think I would center it around like mental health, especially of youth, because I think it's very, important nowadays, especially with school and issues at home. And I feel like I'm not really sure about what that project would be yet, but I know it would consist of advocating for those with mental health issues and encouraging them to speak up and see what They would want to see and. Yeah, that's all.

So more of the mental health for the younger kids in our community. That's what your project, if you want. Yeah.

Thank you. Councilman Nogales, what question would you like to ask?

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for applying once again. The question I have is, what do you know about South San Francisco? What would you like to change?

What I love? I really like, I guess like shopping here. Like I know the Safeway just opened and it's really nice. And I like shopping around this area because it's just very nostalgic since I grew up here. And I really like the parks and the school It's a very great environment and something I would like to change is more programs for you.

Anything specific in terms of programs that you would like to see?

more programs that allow us to get involved.

Great, thank you.

And Councilman Coleman.

Yeah, if you could please describe your style of interacting with other people and why should the council consider appointing you?

Yeah, so I'm very reliable and I am able to get a task done when it is assigned and I'm very detailed with everything. And my style, I think it's communicating with others and making sure what's getting done.

So when you were thinking about coming here, was there anything on your mind that you were hoping we might ask or something that you were prepared to talk about that we haven't touched on? Something that's of particular interest to you?

I did this program in summer, the Norman Mineta Summer Academy, where I explored topics such as policy and housing and transportation. And I did a project. but that's related to public policy. And I worked with a partner and we centered it around youth voter registration. And we created a youth voter social campaign where we wanted to spread information about the voting process and all that on social media and also collab with existing civic engagement organizations and clubs. So that's something that I did this summer. Well, it hasn't been like executed yet, but I hope that it will soon.

So the Norman Mineta Academy was a summer program that included young people from not just our town or?

Across the Bay Area.

Across the Bay Area? Yeah. Very good. It must have been an eye-opening to be with people from all different communities. Good experience. All right, so that kind of completes the questions for you. And we've got four more, three more people to interview for the Youth Commission, and we have a bunch more interviews. So you're going to hear from us tomorrow. We'll make a decision late tonight, but you'll hear the results sometime tomorrow. The city clerk's office will actually, you'll be able to contact her.

Okay, all right. Thank you.

Good night.

let's see where it is because it says danese here yes there's anywhere there it says that's why i just uh hi how are you good how are you meet you is this your first time in city hall uh no i was part of youth in government oh you were right i haven't met most of you guys yeah well this year or last year uh this year this year that's wonderful that's very good okay so you're quite comfortable here we'll just jump into the questions um

And you've met most of us, you said, so that's great.

We're going to start with Councilman Flores. Great. Good to see you again. Thank you for your interest in applying. I would like to hear a little bit about your thoughts on how you perceive this position of commissioner to be. What do you think you can bring? What do you think it is? What do you think you will be doing? And if you have attended any of the meetings or have not? I have not. Okay. Well, just tell us a little bit about how you perceive the position of commissioner and what you would bring to it.

I think I perceive the commissioner as a role of like it's high, but it's also fair because you see a lot of like what youth does and like how you can make impact and changes to it. You also you're allowed to make impacts yourself and Like, just express your own things on what you want to change and how you would benefit to you. I think it's also a really good role of, like, just helping around and making sure everyone's involved and also making sure the community is very involved. And I think this role. Oh, wait, can you repeat the question again?

Yeah, that's great. When you're saying just keep going. It's really how you how you would like to be why you would like to be a commissioner.

Oh, I think I want to be commissioner because. During my freshman year of high school, I feel like there wasn't really a lot of support for youth and how they could get through high school because it was a huge gap between middle school and high school, the jump between it. It would be a lot better if there was more mental support programs and academic support for students not only in specific schools but across the whole district. Because my school, now they offer a counseling place where they can find a link for every single thing. I feel like every single school across the district could have a place where all students could find academic support, wellness support, and even other things like programs, clubs, and other activities for them to do. I also feel like being part of your commission, that more service events would be a lot helpful because I think it's a great way to build social skills, public speaking, meeting new people, making new connections, and just talking to people you never thought you would have talked or being part of programs you never thought you would have joined before. also feel like it's a great way to just help out the community because there's like a lot of different cleanups I do for Key Club because I'm president of it and it's like a great way for just to make bonding and meeting new people because I met so many new people from like different divisions of Key Club and also just the events like I met this one person Jenny from a bake sale and I still I'm still in contact to her today and I still go out to her events and help her out with food banks and other cleanups

Very good.

It's great. Thank you. Great.

So, before we move along Benjamin, um, on, on the application, um, I, I can't tell, um, what grade level or what school, uh, I'm in, I'm from El Camino high school and I'm senior spiritual. Okay. Very good. All right. Thank you. And so next is, um, uh, floor. Yes.

Thank you for applying for this position. That's what I was about to ask, what grade is he in? Anyhow, what is a class that you're very passionate about related to the government? And tell us why it really matters to you.

I think related to the government, I'm just really passionate about service because I feel like service throughout my life have been a really important thing to me because throughout my life, I've grown up next to Autoloma. I've seen like how the park has transformed from like place with like a closed park for a really long time too a great place where people hang out and also the park is like really clean i think also it was mainly because i grew up a lot around beaches because i went to the beach a lot i just saw like how dirty it was and like how much i can make an impact to and clean up also food service is really great for the community because it brings people together where they can talk together and express their own interests and shared interests in cleaning up helping provide for the community I feel like it's also very great for connecting with others. For food banks, you can connect to homeless people and people that aren't as great off. And then you can also just learn about their stories, how they got there, their mistakes, and also their dreams and hopes and how they want to change the world and their stories.

So if you're a senior right now and you go to college, do you think you can still come and be a part of the Youth Commission?

I think... I can still be a part of it for this year and digitally, but I don't know if I want to go to four-year college or if I want to go and stay in Skyline. I still want to decide it for me.

Okay, thank you.

Yeah, I think sometimes the concern is we've appointed people that have gone away to school and, you know, there's a great advantage to appointing somebody that's in your position in life because it's important to have leadership on the youth commission and sometimes it doesn't come from the youngest members, right? So there's a real opportunity for you. So if you could make a commitment today that you will go to junior college, I don't want you to do that. It would be a great thing if you were local and you could put in a couple of years Impasse on Harvard. Yeah. Anyway, you either have a commitment or you don't, right? No, Benjamin, I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong.

He's kidding.

Didn't he go to Harvard? Yes, he did. Yes, he did. And Benjamin, look where he is now.

He should have stayed at Skynet. Okay, so next is...

I'm really interested in terms of what you were saying about just services, because I've had this conversation with school board members and the school board administration about how there's a perception of lack of services. Some might argue there is, and obviously it sounds like maybe the students are not aware of it. So if you get onto the Youth Commission, this is kind of a two-parter. How will you ensure that the students are aware of the services that are provided and then how would you advocate to get more?

I think first off I would to get people more aware I think I'll put it more in the newsletter that the youth commission has and also the Instagram page I think because right now there's only like four posts I think since the start of last year until now so I feel like posting more on the Instagram would really benefit spreading awareness because And just social media in general, because a lot of people find their information off of social media now. They don't really check news or letters in their mailboxes. It's mostly just up to the parents that check the mailboxes, not really the youth in general. So I feel like Instagram, social media would be a great way to provide for information on community service events that the youth can take a part of.

And then how would you...

advocate for more services I think I'll advocate for more services by suggesting more other changes and other service events the youth commission can take a part of because I remember they did a cleanup for Earth Day collaborating with Key Club which was my club and it was like a great way to like bond and clean up I feel like more of those events like cleanups food bank marathons and other things like there's also like hot chocolate runs and Just yearly held events like the tofu fundraiser and also just food markets or farmers markets, where you where we can help out with the Community and also provide service great Thank you all right so James your next.

i'm. going to you mentioned social media outreach you follow our city on social media yeah great i'm glad we're reaching people. Please describe your style of interacting with other people and why should the council consider appointing you?

I think my style of interacting with people is very like close up and like also digitally because I like to contact people through email and also just to text them about a lot of information about service events like for my clubs and also to just like invite them personally like to my own events. I also feel like I'm really talkative which is either a bad thing or a good thing because I feel like sometimes I talk and learn a lot of things about like new people and also just about the programs like the food banks or the marathons and like how long they've been running it like why they started and just their own stories of like why they did what they did and like what keeps them going. Okay, thank you.

So Benjamin, my question is, is there any area that we maybe haven't covered, our questions haven't brought out, something that you want to share with us? And I'm interested, I've heard of it, but maybe tell me a little bit and go in the direction. It seems that you have a great interest in the Ocean Surfrider Foundation. I've heard of it, not sure what it is.

So Surfrider Foundation is like a foundation that was focused on cleanups on creeks, beaches. I think they mostly focus On the one near Pacifica and the one in South San Francisco. Okay. And then also their foundation, Key Club has been working with them for I think two years. I think we've done like 20 cleanups with them for the past three years. And yeah, it's just a great foundation to meet a lot of new people. And they also love doing what they're doing. They also use like recycled materials to make like new school materials for students to buy.

Very good. Is there anything else that you want to ask us? Maybe any question you can ask.

I was just kind of wondering what things Youth Commission has done before. Because I know you guys have the newsletter and tutoring and sometimes service events, but I wonder what events have worked and what hasn't worked before.

Anybody prepared to answer that question? Because I'm coming up a little blank.

There was this initiative from Sonia sign the money yeah that she had the men, they did a lot of work for the children, then you'll see yourself. And then they'll also have like, for example, the one coming up tomorrow, is it that they're going to have for those who are intending to take up engineering, they will have someone to talk about engineering as a major so there are good things coming from the Commission, yes. So which department did you shadow when you were in the US government?

I did all capital projects and director from Jake Gilchrist.

And you think that you learned a lot about the capital projects?

Yeah, I think I learned a lot. It was like a lot on like the process that goes into like building a building and like all the bids and auctions they have to do and the safety they have to take and also just the concerns for neighbors and their surrounding buildings and the permits they have to get.

Benjamin, when you move on to the next level of education, what would you like to study? What direction are you in?

I think I want to study in computer science or cybersecurity because I wanted to help people by protecting them or giving them a service or website which they could use to their own benefit.

So I think that completes your interview and we have a couple more.

the youth commission and then we have other commissions to interview for so we're going to be here for a little while and then there'll be communication from the city clerk's office to you about the results all right okay thank you so much i wanted to give you my card because i know you're interested in your club to do a lot of cleanups i do a neighborhood cleanup every spring so please reach out to me um so that my email is there so that we could partner and have volunteer opportunities for those students Hi, how are you?

You too, have a good night.

Jamie Yu, my name is Mark Adiego. I'm one of the councilmen that just happens to be serving as mayor right now. You already know Councilwoman Nicholas.

No, this is the first time we met, I guess.

Oh, you're just you. Yes. You said it so familiarly. You were fast friends.

And this is. I'm Vice Mayor Mark Douglas. I represent the Westboro area.

District two. And I'm Eddie Flores. I represent District five. Nice to meet you.

I'm James Coleman representing District four.

So we all have questions that are kind of assigned, so we're asking pretty much the same thing of everybody, and there's five candidates for this one

position on the youth commission and we're happy about that but it's like a competitive thing there's so much interest so we'll just jump right into the questions and councilman Flores thank you again for applying for your interest if you could tell us and share your thoughts with us on how you perceive the position of commissioner to be what do you think you will be doing why are you interested in it and if you have attended any meetings or how did you hear about it

I've never attended any meetings but I saw on like Instagram and stuff and I think one of my just like a mutual that I had talked a little bit about it and I'm not really exactly sure but I know there's gonna be a lot of involvement within just like the local side of things because I wanted to join because I've never been really involved in things like these like even my parents my parents talked a lot about more like the state level like governor wise or presidential and and not much on like city and stuff. So I just wanted to learn more. And I think that amongst like my friends and stuff, I haven't really heard much about it either. And I just wanted to get like involved more myself and just like learn more. And I think in terms of being commissioner, I think that there's just a lot of engaging with other people and just kind of seeing the way things work and trying to be a voice for youth like that are represented in the South City area.

Great, great. Thank you.

So, Jamie, you are a 12th grader right now, right? And also in the middle college program. I know that, you know, because I was informed when I attended their last graduation that it's a very intense program. Do you think you will be able to pursue both, being a youth commissioner and being in the middle college program?

Yes. So being in middle college does include more like harder coursework. But I also do think that it provides me a lot more time that I'm free. So, for example, right now I go to school at nine and I end around twelve thirty. So I have a lot of time also in between classes, too. I have hour breaks. And so there's just a lot of time for me to just do this.

And so if tell me something that you're very passionate about. related to local government, which is what you're interested in. And tell us why it matters to you.

So I'm also in a youth council for the League of Women Voters, the San Mateo County. And I really, at first, I wasn't super passionate about it. But then as I got to talk to more of the older ladies and just learn more. Older ladies. Yeah. And just like.

You bet them they are.

Yeah. Sharing just their wisdom and like their experience and how just passionate they were. It kind of inspired me to just learn more. And as a voter, like I got pre-registered as a voter. And I think I'm really passionate about it because like with how my parents don't really vote on the local level. kind of showed how like a lot of people aren't educated about it or like they're not involved and they don't know like truly what's going on and it kind of like scares me kind of because it's like oh like a lot of my friends my age don't even know either and it's like there's just so many things that can happen that i guess not like stopped or like things that we can be more involved in if we just knew more about it so i think voter participation and just more voter engagement is very like passionate right well you're singing our songs

Okay, so Mark. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm interested in learning more about what you were talking about in terms of just mental health and students burning out. And I hear that a lot in terms from just high school students. And so if you were working on this issue as a youth commissioner, how would you address that?

In terms of burnout and mental health, I think there's also a lot of stigma with going to the counselors at school. I think a lot of my freshman year, I kind of avoided it, even though like a little voice in me was like, oh, like you should go just try it out. And I didn't like, like I never told any of my friends because I felt embarrassed. But after going, I felt like a lot of more clarity and just like I think pushing more of just, counselor meetings and like having more counselors available because there's only one counselor at South City and that made arranging meetings kind of like hard but I think that having more counselors and more people available to just talk about like oh like for example just like college apps or whatever you're stressed about in school because school can be very stressful and I think that having someone to talk about even if it's just complaining about it like a teacher or something I think that is something that should be available because sometimes you can't go to your friends or sometimes you can't go to your parents And I think making counselors more available and just less of a stigmatized thing would be very helpful. And also like a move away from screens, I think, because for burnout, I think screens play a really big part because I think with learning, it's so much better to learn from other people. And I think that's the way we were also evolved to learn by. And by having screens, it kind of disrupts that type of learning. And then it causes us to burn out more because we're not learning, but we're just like forced a bunch of information upon us and with that like it causes to burn out more great thank you thank you for sharing that with me that changed so you're in varsity swim team what are your events um i'm on flag football and swim and swim team it says no oh i think that might be someone else

You have to. You thought there was a connection.

So if you could please describe your style of interacting with other people and why should the council consider appointing you?

I think I'm a very friendly person. I think starting, I worked a lot around kids. So with that, I was able to have a more friendly and outgrowing approach because with kids, you can't really be shy because they're more shy than you. And I think with people, it's mainly the same way. And I think I really like asking questions about people because I think obviously the one thing that people like to talk about most is themselves. And I think I like to ask just a lot of questions and get to know them because I think Having a connection first is the most important, and then afterwards you can just, like, know more and then eventually get to a point where you can just do better things with them. So I think I'm a very friendly person in that I like to ask a lot of questions and just a place that I think being honest is really important to me. I think I'm a very honest person. I'm a very open book, so I think that's the type of style.

And now that I'm looking at your application, sorry, what did you do with the McGregor Law Group?

Um, I, they're in, they're in based in Los Angeles. So for the summer, I just went down there and, um, first of all, I thought I was going to get like coffee and like sort files, but they're a very small firm. And so because of that, there was a lot more opportunities I was able to have. So I was able to call prosecutors and make file checks and kind of like make sure if our cases are in order. And I was able to like, they brought me to court and stuff and I was able to watch. certain hearings and stuff. There was no trials, unfortunately, but I was able to talk to judges and the other prosecutors and just to get to know more about what a daily life of a lawyer is.

Nice opportunity. Did you have family that you stayed with down there?

No, my mom rented an Airbnb with me and we stayed there for the summer.

Very nice. And how did you find that opportunity?

Someone, one of my dad's friends is works at a law firm here, but then they know a judge down there who pointed to the McGregor Law Court.

So you're on track to finish how many associate degrees?

Three for now.

Only three? And you want to go to law school now?

Since I have middle college, I'll be finishing my bachelor's in two years and I want to get my master's in another two. Probably take a gap year and then go to law school.

So even though you're a senior, you're staying two more years at Spanning, is that right?

Unless I get into like a UC, but hopefully.

Well, yeah, I was wondering about that because in your application here, you talk about people lacking academic drive and taking a safer school instead of something more prestigious. So what would you like to be doing at the next level of your education, ideally?

I'd like to go to UC. And I think that's something, like, lacking academic drive is also something that I kind of struggle with sometimes, like, thinking that the safer route is the best route. Because I kind of, like, doubt myself since, like, South City, like, from my school is lower funded than, like, a private school or, like, even, like, Millbrae High School. And I think that makes me feel like, oh, like, I'm not going to get in as much. And it kind of makes me, like, limit my options. But I think that if I truly push myself, I would want to go to, like, a university, preferably, like, a UC.

Which in particular?

Yeah. UCLA.

Okay.

I like SoCal.

She loves SoCal. It's so warm down there. So is there anything that you came prepared to talk about that we haven't touched on that you'd like to share with us?

No.

Is there any question that you have for any of us? No. No question at all?

No.

Well, that completes the interview then.

Thank you.

And we have one more person to interview for the youth commission. And then we have a number of other commissions that we have to interview for. So this evening is going to be long. And you'll be, we'll probably make a decision this evening, later in the evening. And the city clerk will be contacting you to let you know.

Okay. Thank you.

Good luck. Thank you, Jimmy.

So she wasn't on the screen.

We need coffee or something. I like it more this way.

He's less dangerous because he's kind of sluggish. Because he's confused about everyone.

Well, maybe you can find your way home. I hope so. Okay. Yes, hi. Good evening.

Here's Evie.

Hi. And you're Nyla?

Yes.

And you pronounce your last name?

McCarran.

McCarran. Okay. Very good. Nice. That would be like an Irish name. Nyla. My name is Mark Adiego. I'm the councilman who's serving as mayor this year. And to my right here is Vice Mayor Mark Nichols.

Nice to meet you. I'm Flora Nicholas. Nice to meet you as well.

Hi, I'm Eddie Flores. Nice to meet you. James Coleman. So that's everybody. well there isn't a deputy city clerk in the room so you have to recognize jasmine and our legal team is here too hello so have you been in this building before yes i have oh you have yes i was in the youth and government program this following year i actually met the two of you when you came to present yeah so i was under the i was in the or i mock

Obviously, the recreation department, I was under miss O'Brien or Aaron, who walked me through how to develop the presentation and I also presented it to counts or to the mock council at the end of the meeting.

Very good. All right. So you kind of know your way around. So we have to ask these questions. I guess we still should. Yeah. Yeah.

We're going to start with, um, Councilman Flores. Just to confirm you, you live in Davie city.

Yes, I live on the border between District 2 and Daly City, so I live on the other side of King Drive. You're right across from me. But I attend the school at El Camino. I'm a current senior, and I've attended or been a school member a part of the South San Francisco School District my entire life. I went to Skyline Elementary, and I went to Westboro Middle School.

And that's okay that she lives in Davis City?

Yes, yes, we have.

We have.

Sabella Tolentino is the same district.

He has a problem with it. Make sure that you get this follow-up. Tell us a little bit about how you perceive this role of commissioner. What do you think you'll be doing? How do you want to contribute to it? And how did you hear about it?

So as a Commissioner, I believe that it's our responsibility to advise the City Council. The City Council obviously a lot of big problems to advise, you're not going to be looking at like a whole range of children from like five to 18 year olds. So I think I believe it's the responsibility of the Youth Commission to kind of go a little more to go to work a little farther and engage with the youth kind of more one on one and direct in order to see the problems that problems within our own communities and then present those to the city council and advise them or give our own opinions on how we should address them. And then I heard about this position through social media and then I also heard about it through flyers and on the South San Francisco website.

So you follow the city's social media account? Yes. Right. I do agree with you that I think it's giving us advice and recommendations but also ideas.

Yes.

You know, we would love to partner up with the Youth Commission on various initiatives and stuff like that. So thank you. Good answer.

Next we're going to make Councilwoman Nix.

So what is a cost that's related to government that you're very passionate about? Can you explain why it's important that you present?

Why the Youth Commission is important or why it is important?

The cost. The cost? a cause that you're passionate about. Oh, the cause. Yes, that's related to government and why it's important. I'm sorry.

I think government is important because it's something, especially local government, people don't really engage with it as much. There's this often belief that the only government that matters within like, oh, you only have to vote within federal elections. I don't know who my representative is. I don't know who my senator is. Like recently in my government class, my teacher, he assigned the U.S. citizenship test to his students to see how much information we would know. And honestly, most of my class, even me including, I could, I probably got at least 10, 20 questions wrong. Just be like, oh, how long does the representative serve? How often do we elect them? So I think a part of that is understanding how the government works and the easiest way to get ahead of that and making sure we have adults who understand the government and are active participants within both local, state, and federal governments is starting with the youth, no matter what age they are. So that is my personal reasons. I really want to see like my community, like really, especially after previous elections, my family really understood the importance of voting because we were like, oh, it's just one vote. We live in California anyways, nothing's going to change. It's a blue state, but then you see how things turn out. And we, that was very, it was some things like that are very easily preventable if you just get ahead of the curve and educate people on government and the importance of participating in it. Yes.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I was interested in learning about more about, you were talking about third spaces that youth use. Can you just explain a little more about that? Yeah, yeah.

Third spaces I think are like places where people, maybe not all together, obviously, but separate ages are able to come together beyond what they have just at home or just at school. I know a lot of my peers are very concerned about mental health, and I think that is one of the ways to address it. Personally, I like just go home, go school, go leave, just go home. But I think especially now in such a digital age, it's important to go outside, make new friends, participate in community. And third spaces, I know there's many classes that we offer through the Parks and Recreation Program, as well as the library programs that the LPR serves, such as the, I saw on Instagram, the new adult class, which I thought was really exciting and interesting because you don't see a lot of that, like, encouragement for adults to also go out and engage in those third spaces. But just in terms of use, third spaces to me are somewhere where I feel like both me and my peers and others, like just even strangers, I don't know, there are places where it's important to engage. It's a place where you learn to engage with others beyond just a classroom setting or your home setting. Even the siblings, like you learn if people with siblings, they know how to engage with like their own siblings. but there's spaces like, it's where they are able to apply these skills that are really matter or really matter later on in adulthood as well.

Okay, thank you. Okay, now we're gonna turn to a former swim team member, James Coleman.

Yeah, Mr. Vitale was your coach. Or was he, did you swim for South City? Oh, South City. Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Vitale told me all about you.

Oh, really?

Yeah, he remembers watching you swim.

Oh, good things, I hope. Um, yeah. So what, what are your, your, uh, events?

Um, I swim last year, I swam the 100 freestyle as well as the 50 freestyle, but at PA all I swam something different. Um, so I'll switch my favorite stroke to swim is butterfly. And I really liked the, I am, I'm hoping to go for the two. I am this or the, yeah, it's the two I am this year. Um, even just not disregarding everyone else around me. I just kind of want that was been a goal since I was a freshman, since I used to swim the junior varsity version of it. But I really want to get to that next stage and just, even if I get last, I'll be happy to be able to participate within that event.

Yeah, you want the challenge, huh?

Yeah.

So one of you has to help me, because I know what a butterfly is, that stroke, but I.M.?

I.M. is the, it stands for individual medley. It's basically, they swim every single stroke twice because of the 200, so you just do two laps of each stroke.

So you butterfly, and then back, and then breaststroke, and then freestyle, and by the end, you're about done. No doubt. And when you do club swimming, there's a 400 IM.

Yeah, thank God I'm not going to club swim. I'm not on the South San Francisco aquatic team. That was something my parents didn't really know about. And also that like, it was just, we were a lot, we were low income. I'm from a low income family. So it wasn't something like conceivable to purchase. Like, oh, you're just going to go swim for two hours. Also childcare, everything else. I think that's also another important issue for me. is kind of financial cost like there's a lot of barriers between that yeah i was looking at the catalog outside sorry and then i think the classes they're expensive like they're expensive i'm not gonna lie they're expensive that's something not many can afford going back to the third spaces thing i'm sorry oh i'm great okay there's society are you the oldest yeah i have three younger siblings um one of is Oh, so sorry. He's special needs, so I take care of him a lot, which is also a big deal. Child care, there's spaces and all of that. So, you know, that makes sense. Sorry.

Thank you for sharing.

I don't know why I'm getting emotional. Sorry.

You know, we're going to open up a new aquatic center.

Yeah, I saw that. A lot of my friends on the swim team, they actually work there as lifeguards and instructors. So I was going to apply. I saw the new application for it, but. I think I get enough little kids at home. I have three.

Nylah, so many people that come from maybe more of a hardship family, right, where things aren't easy, end up doing great things. I couldn't be a Boy Scout because my parents couldn't afford the uniform. So the things that I've done surprised them. You obviously are a great character. Thank you. It's not always a bad thing to be in that reality. Thank you. Is there another question besides swimming?

Yeah. Can you describe your style of interacting with other people?

May I ask you like interacting with like people who I'm supposed to be like in charge of or like people who I see as my peer, like working together with. Working together with. I think it's important to hear like every perspective from people. Hearing every voice is really important for me. So as a team captain on, I'm the team captain of my flag football team. Sometimes they don't like the things that I do. I'm just doing what the coaches tell me, but I really value when they like take their, or when I see an issue or see something wrong, I will talk to them privately about it because I think in a group setting especially, it's very easy to be embarrassed or like where tension and conflict can easily cause risks and then productivity ends up going down. So I always speak to them privately first and then I try to establish a relationship with every person that I work with in order for the entire group to be a stronger bond.

Nyla, I just have to tell you right now, you are so very poised when you speak. Thank you, I appreciate it. You have a little gift there. I think it'll serve you well. So are there any things that you wanted to talk about that we didn't touch on by our questions? Something you'd like to share with us?

So Mr. Council Member Flores touched on earlier about how the City Council wants to hear ideas from the Youth Commission. So I just want to gain a better understanding of how the expectations that the city council has for the youth commission and how they expect us or how they want us or how they see us engaging with the youth as well or like what they want to see the most from us anyone prepared for that we want to see the world through your eyes that's what we want because you know although we were young ones there are things that happen in between that sometimes we forget

So just remind us because like, for example, playing with my grandkids, I see the world from a different view. And so we want that. And so you will be our eyes and ears.

I also feel like with so many city events, like we do attract an older crowd. And so how do we attract, you know, high school, college, and, you know, maybe a few years outside of college, those sorts of, that sort of demographic to city events. And also too, because obviously it's our generation that is a little disconnected from kind of like local government and the events that we throw, but we want the city to be a city for everyone. Everyone should be able to participate in parks and rec events and the many free events that we also have as well that celebrate our cultures and different holidays and whatnot.

Yeah. And you're one of the few young people that you work part-time as a cashier? Yes, I do. Is that something around here?

No. During the weekends, my parents are separated, so we commute to Hayward, or me and my brother. My two other siblings are my half-siblings. It's like a 10, 13-year age difference between us. So we commute to Hayward, and then I work in San Lorenzo. But I work as a cashier. It's a predominantly Latino establishment. It's a woman-owned establishment, so a lot of the customers speak Spanish. It's It's become one of the things I enjoy because some of my coworkers, they speak exclusively Spanish. So kind of being able to communicate with them in new ways and also learning Spanish as well has become one of the fun parts of the job.

It's great. The upside. And it's just nice to see a young person there.

I know. I feel so immersed in it. It's like I'm learning faster than I was at school. Like just basic conversations as well.

All right. Well, it was my pleasure to meet you.

Mine as well.

All of you. Thank you. Thank you. Nice meeting you.

Have a good night.

You too.

Good evening, everyone. How are you?

Pretty good. I kind of I mean why we live here I wanted to live where it was warmer my husband's like no nowhere where there's sunshine it's trying to get warmer here so welcome to your interview

And we're applying for a library board. I don't know why you're under applicant for multiple positions.

I was, and I actually listened to what you all said, and I decided to attend the board meetings of both Parks and Rec and the library board. They both do fantastic. amazing community service, but the library board was just... They all came up to me afterward and thanked me for coming, and we chatted a little bit, and one of the women that I take ballet class with is already on the board, Claire, and so we caught up a little bit about how they work together. So I thought, why not focus on what really I felt more at home at.

And so you've jumped into the more competitive interview process here with seven people vying for one position on PNR?

That's correct.

Good luck to you. You've been through this process before and you know who we are and we have some background on you. So we'll just jump into questions. Eddie Flores, you're up.

Yeah, I'm going to ask you a library specific one. Thank you again for your service all these years. You're very familiar to commissions. What is your vision for the South San Francisco Library?

Well, so I sort of saw this. This is one of the things that made me think as I attended both meetings. board meetings, which is Parks and Rec does a fantastic job at everything they does. The library is doing things that I would have historically thought like, oh, well, that's a Park and Rec thing. There's a club or there's a meet, right? So their role is expanding beyond just traditional library service. They still have that. And one of the things that we did talk, like I talked with Valerie about is like, you get folks in like the Pokemon Club, I guess, is like sold out. I don't play, but I know plenty of folks who do, right? And once you get kids in there, then they're like, oh, I'll pick up a book on my way out or their parents can browse while they're doing that. And so it becomes more of a lifestyle, I guess, if you will, sort of environment. And so I sort of envision continuing that role and whether or not I make it on, you know, the board, one of the things I thought about doing is I've just started doing, I've always enjoyed pens and stationery and stuff, but I went to a recent event, like it was like, I think a couple months ago, in Millbrae, and there were like hundreds, if not a thousand people sold out attendance for people, just like stickers and stationery, and then I found out there's clubs that where people meet to bring all this stuff, and I thought like... And the exchange? Yeah. Well, so like a shared ideas about how to do the, I'm getting a little off topic, but the whole point is it's this whole community where they actually don't have any in this area. I was driving to the South Bay to go, um, and then you, or you can go up in the city, but there's none, none in this area that any of them were aware of. Um, and I thought like, it's kind of cool. People bring their pens and let other people try them. Or, um, I call it de-stashing where you're like, I have a bunch of these stickers, but I don't like them anymore. And you trade. yeah yeah you know it's sort of a and I thought like I think we can find people who are interested in that it's kind of a fun you know I think start something and people you know it's like build and they come exactly exactly so so clubs like that I was sitting there thinking like would be like I said whether or not I make it on the board I would love for the library to become a place where you could host those kinds of things and I think you can It's just a question of getting organized.

I can get behind that vision. Appreciate that very much. And it's true. And, you know, we're adding soon, and I think it is already public information, there will be a cafe coming.

Yes, I saw that.

So these parents will be able to grab coffee or a Danish or something while their children are taking it.

Well, I was excited.

Yeah.

Thank you. Thank you. No problem. So next up is Councilwoman.

So what do you think are the most pressing needs right now for the library?

Well, I think that they, from what I understood, they had some amount of funds to host some of their events, but I think that Jackie Spears helped them coordinate that, but I think they're running out. And they did say to me that they don't quite have the Parks and Rec budget, so I do think that there are some more events that they would like to hold that maybe are handicapping them a little. And I do know that we do things, the library does things like, at least my recollection is that when you were a child, we don't charge late fees anymore because we'd rather you hold a book, and that's great. But that is revenue that many other libraries use, but I think that's fantastic because I think that you're encouraging kids to get the books instead of them being like, I'm afraid I can't do this, or I'm enjoying this book so much and I forgot it this week. It's really encouraging, but I think that there's a little question of funding. I didn't, I only heard of the events that they were hosting in that window that they discussed there. I don't know what other events that they would host that might, you know, I didn't see their budget basically to know where they felt there was a shortfall, but I think that revenue is one issue. And I think, I know that for example, digital library is great, but it's not, you know, it costs money to, You buy a book and you own the book, right? The digital has to be paid on a regular basis. And I think it's becoming a larger part of what they're doing. And I don't know what they pay for Canopy, but I know you can get free streaming on documentaries and stuff like that.

They do also get a lot of grants.

Yeah. Yeah.

Okay.

Thank you. Mr. Vice Mayor, you're up. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Demetria, thank you for applying. And I'm very familiar with We are interesting in terms of just your skills, how do you think it will benefit the library Commission, because obviously you've served on Commission before with the housing authority and. So I just wanted to see how that your experience just your volunteer working your just your personal experience what you bring to the library Commission that's different from everyone else.

Well, usually the biggest one that jumps out at folks is that i'm an attorney so whenever you're drafting a policy whenever we're considering. you know, in my, any volunteer role, I wear that hat first. It's very hard for me to shed, but it helps me analyze risk. So, you know, if you're going to have an event and you've got a bunch of kids running around, there's scissors, like, are we thinking about that? Are we thinking about staff? I just like where my head goes. So I think, I know that they make a number of policies. I'm like, what kinds of ID are we going to ask for? I saw one of the policies is like a policy on ID that you need to prove that you are a resident and thinking about how can that be opened to be more flexible? What if you're unhoused? You know what I mean? Flexibility in that while being sure that you're complying with maybe some harder, more legal requirements and that sort of perspective. So I do think that that is useful to have that background.

Great, thank you.

So you touched on this a little bit, but maybe you can talk more about, because I just feel like the world's changing so much, especially these last couple of years. So library programming needs and services, they've changed in the technological age. How do you see these efforts of our current library system, adjusting these demands and what are your thoughts or suggestions for ways to meet these new evolving needs?

So I think they do some of it already in that they have like tech and Maker and things like that that help gear younger people or people that like, I'm actually thinking of going to one of the Maker things and do 3D printing because I don't know anything about it and there's a project I have in my head, right? But no, but like you would never go out of my own 3D printer. So that ability really helps. The fact that they have staff on hand to help people do these things is amazing because You never could just, at least for me, I'm not going to like buy a 3D printer and try and figure it out. My brother did that. It was interesting and also a disaster the first couple of times. He's like, look, I need a ship. I'm like, okay, but that is not very practical. But so I think that that's great. And I think that they've been trying to facilitate like after school programming, tutoring, and having that be resident in the library system. Once again, it's extending outside of what you would think of as a traditional library service. But I think that those sorts of things about digital security and safety, digital awareness, AI is, whether you want it or not, is coming. And I think that that's something that library could really help people. You read a lot in schools about, I'm so far from it, but kids using AI to like write their papers, right? And then now that a number of them are getting, you know, sort of in trouble for that. But also there are lawyers who have literally cited AI induced incorrect case law and they've gotten huge sanctions, huge sanctions. It's crazy. So having a program where you can sort of teach people digital literacy and a safe way to use AI. So I use AI in my work because they force it on us to try and do that. But I always tell it, I just say, cite your sources. And then I go in and check the source. So I never just take the statement at face value. But I could see how it would be easy if adult lawyers are doing this and accepting things at face value. So literacy in that sense of how to use AI, how to do searching, how to safely research, those kinds of things. I mean, when I was a kid, it was like an encyclopedia, right? The internet is so broad and there's so many lies out there. So I think it's really important. And I am not versed in all of what they do in their afterschool tutoring programs and mentoring programs. But I think that that's, you know, digital web safety, AI, those sorts of things would be way to meet the age. And then, I mean, they're just moving into streaming. There's lots and lots of books and I think it's fantastic. I see they have a lot of DVDs. I don't know if anyone's still ... I don't have a DVD player anymore. So that next step of what ... Canopy's great. Are there other kinds of streaming services that they could get a grant for, for replacing PBS or ... You know what I'm saying? Educational programs would be, I think, great, because I don't know that a parent is going to say, I'm going to get this Blue's Clues DVD now and bring it home if I don't have a DVD player. But if we could get the sort of educational programming Canopy, from what I've seen, and I signed up for it because there were some documentaries I wanted to watch and have, but I didn't see a lot of programming for younger kids. And I think that could go hand in glove with the reading programs that they have and things like that, is to sort of work on educational programming for younger kids.

You touched a little bit on the lack of funds maybe to do the kind of things you're suggesting in your last comments and would it surprise you to know that there was a local family that when I think his name was Bill Cochises when he passed away he left the entire family estate to Friends of the Library which was in excess of seven figures well in excess of seven figures and Friends of the Library trickles out money as if it's an endowment care fund. In other words, the interest gets raised.

Sure, don't touch the principal. What do you think about that? That's delightful because I think that obviously that's great and the grant sources. Again, I attended a meeting and had a 10-minute conversation with Valerie and what I heard at the meeting was, oh, we don't have funding for X anymore. She didn't say, and maybe the reason is that the other funds, for example, that are coming off of this lovely bequest are going, you're more for other programs.

I knew this family, and I don't know really what their thought was, but I must tell you that from my point of view, if I was that family, I would be disappointed in the trickle that results in very little impact. I'd rather have them pick something where they would make a big impact and maybe reach a whole different element.

Yeah, and I'm not really sure.

Apparently that's just me because I brought it up more often.

Well, I mean, you know, it's sort of, so I don't know the terms of the bequest because I do know that there are some bequests where they say, like, you need to preserve the principle to the greatest extent possible. So, you know, then I don't know. And it went to Friends of the Library and not to the library proper, which is probably the right non-profit.

I think that's why.

Correct. Correct, otherwise it wouldn't, but. It's unfortunate that that's, I mean, you gotta work together.

So the question I needed to ask, because I've asked everybody else, is there anything that you came prepared to talk about that maybe we didn't touch on and you'd like to include in the interview?

No, I think, I mean, we've had different conversations. Sure. I know that the library board is very competitive and I understand, you know, I mean, I'm definitely interested and I would give it my time and I think that I add a lot of value, different ideas maybe, but It won't turn me away from the library either way.

Good, good. You're able to commit to the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m.?

Yes, yeah.

Okay, so tonight we'll keep going on interviews for other commissions. Towards the end of the evening, we'll make our vote, most likely, and then the city clerk's office will contact you.

Great, great, okay.

Thank you for applying.

Have a good evening. Thank you. Hope it's not too late. I know sometimes you guys are terribly late.

Almost transformed. Hello. How are you? Good, how are you? Are you Lily Chin? Yes. Very good. So, Lily, my name is Mark Adiego. I'm one of the five council people that's serving as mayor currently. And to my right is... I'm Vice Mayor Mark Knowles. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too.

And I'm Flora Nicholas from District 3.

Not many floors. I represent your district, District 5.

I am a lawyer.

Nice to meet you. Very good.

I'm James, and you used to live in my district.

Yeah, I used to. I used to live up in Brentwood, and now I'm Mayfair.

Okay, great. Well, let me know when you move to District 1. I'll show you around.

I'm still exploring District 5, so I'm really kind of liking it.

Very good. Over there. Awesome. It's a little more urban than some of the outlying places. I do. It's more energizing.

It's funny because this is an idea I've had for 20 years. And when I'm older, I want to be able to walk to a pharmacy. I want to be able to walk to a grocery store. And yeah.

And now you have that Safeway.

I have that Safeway. I have a yard. I have... The pharmacy near me.

The other one on Spruce.

Yeah. And Raymond's Bakery.

That's true. It's a staple. And if you haven't tried it yet, the Jalisco Market across the street has a great butcher counter.

Oh.

Old style butcher counter. So have you been in this building before?

I have not. It's very, city halls are great. You know, like they're just a lot of history.

Yeah, definitely.

yeah okay we're going to jump right in because we have a lot of questions we have a lot of candidates for different commissions so we're going to start with your Councilman Councilman yes well thank you again for applying and for your interest in in serving our city please share your thoughts with the council on how you perceive this position of commissioner to be what do you think you'll bring what do you think it is and how did you hear about it I actually

met James at an event, a Juneteenth event. And in that event, they were, sorry, I kind of threw you under the bus, but we just talked and he mentioned that, you know, there are a lot of commission things. And, you know, I'm working part-time, I'm working actually at the New Safeway. So I'm meeting a lot of the community, which is great.

And

You know, I have free time, and I have a kid that's going to school, and I've used the park and rec resources, I've used the library resources. And, you know, I just, I could see myself working through that. Like, I can help. I was just saying, like, if you guys need flyers passed out, I'm your guy. You know, I...

I know somebody who might.

You know, like I, when I talk to people at the Safeway, I tell them how great it's been. I've been a resident here for almost 20 years. I grew up in San Francisco and I didn't even know there was a park and rec. And here it's like, you know, not in a bad way, but you guys are, you know, in our faces. Like we actually, like- You hear from us. Yeah. You know, and I hear from you and I can- it's easily that I'm able to sign up and I know what programs there are. And I know I'm kind of a novice because I'm a parent and I kind of just look for things directed towards one community, which is my child's community. But it's been great. I think it'd be good to be involved in the community. Growing up in San Francisco, I didn't even know people who lived next to me, to tell you the truth. You go home and here I talk to my neighbors. I have neighbors. I say hello. I walk my dogs in the neighborhood. But I also grew up in an era where random adults would yell at you if you did something wrong. And I feel like it's not... that kind of community, not that kind of environment these days, but I think through rules and through community outreach and to let people know what the rules are. And I'll give you an example. I walk my dog on the canal. And there were these kids who were on e-bikes. My dogs are reactive dogs. And I feel like going 30 miles on that path is dangerous. And I wasn't alone, obviously. And I had my dogs and we were able to get them prepared because we saw them coming. But someone who is grocery shopping, and I've seen that grocery shopping and walking on that path, and is elderly and is having problems, like seeing the kids going even 20 miles an hour down that path is dangerous for them. So I think, you know, if rules are implemented and communicated.

Okay. Other questions?

No, no, thank you for that, though. It's important. Councilman Nicholas is next.

Yeah. So do you have a preference between the library board or the Parks and Rec?

I am open to either one. I, like I said, I don't know much about the library except, you know, like just as a normal user. But I see like I have a tech background and I see some issues with like just kind of checking things out, maybe just

And I think you're answering the question I was about to ask. How would your work skills or experiences contribute to the session that you're applying for?

Not to be critical or anything, but sometimes it is hard to navigate through the city website, I've noticed, for myself. And I don't know, I think there's just a lot of information. And even through the library, I think through the app, I think we can do a QR code. Simpler. Simpler. For people who are tech savvy. I carry my library card around. I carry a copy of it so I can scan it. So I think technology for the kids, I think, it'd be easier for them. Because even yesterday, my kid asked me for the library card. But I could say, you know, you have your own account, look at your QR code. And that goes to education and again, communication and you know.

Okay, next up is the Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Lily. Thank you for talking about some of the issues. I was interested in terms of, you seem like you've used a lot of our park and rec programs and I'm interested in- Yeah, I was just kidding. Oh no, just based upon what you're talking about. If you get onto the commission, what would you do to encourage more people to participate in the programs?

Just, it's a lot of communication, I think. I think even, and this is through my work, it just, the elderly have issues, like, just seeing this and, like, even looking at the small print. And I know they like small prints. But I also have noticed they have a hard time reading it. So even like overviews, like I know the library has so many classes and they want to learn about things. So they also, if we can give them an overview of things that they can take or that they would be interested in. just outreach through, you know, like an outreach class that can happen. I think you can get a lot of elderly people just, because they're looking for community. I've noticed they're looking to learn and they're looking to just, like I said, community and like reaching out to people and people just want to be heard. So I think they're going to, if they find out that there are classes that can see, because like I said, you and I don't have a problem looking at this, but someone in their 70s.

It's not easy.

It's not easy. It's not easy. And even like, you know, I just, you want, technology is hard for them. Yeah. I don't see.

You've identified it correctly.

Let's go next to James Coleman. Yeah, so your background's in tech and your programming needs for library as well as parks and rec services have changed in the technological age. How do you see the efforts of our current system addressing these demands and what are your thoughts or suggestions for ways to meet these new and evolving needs?

Like I said, education, if we can visit the high schools, I think the high schools are kind of, or even junior highs and show them that these programs are there. I noticed that she came home, my kid came home one day and she said, she took a health class and she found out about all the health programs and clinics that she can visit if that's possible. I think, you know, the kids don't know and the parents are too busy and too tired to kind of like look for things. I know when I go into rabbit holes and I spend hours sometimes looking for programs and looking for things that she can do. And I think like, again, outreach is, more important. I think that's the number one. Going to schools and just, you know, 30 minutes in their, in their homeroom classes. I don't think they call them homeroom classes anymore, but they're, you know, just flyers and like they're tagged like they look through their Google Classrooms all the time, the flyers that they see, you know, just little notes from the principals, the PTA. The PTA is really, like, especially in elementary schools, they're so involved in the kids' lives. That kind of tapers off, I've noticed, in high school. So, I mean, Myself, I've joined the PTA in the high school just so I can try and help however way.

So Lily, I wanted to, I get the last question and I really want to kind of turn to you. And is there anything that while you were preparing for this mentally, you know, getting ready for what it might be all about, is there anything that you wanted to chat about or something that we really haven't asked the right question? And this is an opportunity for you to share with us.

For me, my personal... motto is, if I can, I will. And that doesn't mean like, just if I have time, but like mentally, help, I will. And I'm always willing to learn. And if I don't know something, I look it up. I research, like I said, I go into rabbit holes. I try and just research everything I can.

Like a long learner. So what happens now is we go on with other interviews for some time. And then at the end of the evening, we will be selecting people for these different positions. And that'll be communicated to you by the city clerk's office sometime tomorrow. Okay. Thank you for your time. Thank you.

I'm used to, you know, being...

Here's my card, if I can be of any help.

Okay, great. No, thank you.

Okay, great.

Thank you. Good night. Bye-bye.

Hello.

Hello.

You are Stephanie?

I am.

Campos? Dave Broy?

Dal Broy.

Dal Broy. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Stephanie, my name is Mark Adiego. I'm the mayor. I'm elected councilman that gets to serve as mayor for a year. And to my right is the vice mayor. Vice Mayor Mark Adiego.

Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Lauren Nicholas from District 3.

Hi.

I'm Eddie Flores. I represent District 5. Hi. Hi. James Coleman, District 4.

Hey.

So welcome to City Hall. Have you been here before?

Just walked past. Oh, really? Many a time. Okay. Yes.

Okay. It's a great building, though, huh?

Yeah. I love Grand Street. Yeah. Grand Ave. Yeah.

Very good. So we have a number of questions to ask, and each council person gets an opportunity to quiz you. Okay. And we're going to start, as we have all evening, with Councilman Flores.

Thank you. Stephanie, I appreciate your very thorough responses to the application. My condolences to you, first and foremost. Thank you. I'm going to share that within your application. I wanted, if you could share your thoughts with the Council on how you perceive the position of Commissioner to be. How would you see yourself in that role? What would you bring to it? I mean, how did you hear about it?

Sure. I heard about it online. I perceive the role as an opportunity to take some of my ideas and kind of my concerns in the world and to work with other people who have aligned values and who want to bring uh you know create a safer community um to kind of work together to make that happen um i think we're at a very interesting time in history and i don't want to be performative about it. I want to take action. And I think that starts within our local communities. And this commissioner position is a really unique opportunity to make that happen. I was, before I started my own business, I was head of content for Ingenio Inc, which is a tech company that owns astrology.com and horoscope.com, which is the largest astrology website in the world. And I served on their DEI council. So I was secretary, I helped plan events, doing anti-racism training. And I think there's just a lot more work to be done, not just in South City or in the United States, but kind of globally. And, you know, I have a unique intersectionality that I bring and I'm very open minded and eager to start building a world that we all deserve. So yeah.

Great. Thank you for your answer. Appreciate that.

So next is Councilwoman Nicholas.

So you quickly or you have touched on that, you know, you're talking about the racial and social climate, not only in South City, but everywhere. So What do you think are some of the specific challenges in your view here in South City?

I think it's a great starting place to make sure that community is housed and fed and has access to water and resources. So I think just even simple things like starting a food pantry or making sure that we are protecting our water and our water's way by doing a ban on data centers in the area and just kind of working with local organizations to get those resources out and make sure that they are sustainable in an ongoing way would be a great place to start to maybe initiate more community gardens. I'm on the waiting list. I'm like number 94. I might be dead before I get my plot, but I really, really love, I think that that's so important, especially we're seeing like food crisis, you know, a lot of the food being recalled right now. And so it would be great to get children involved and, you know, local communities involved.

Where is this waiting list for the community garden?

I think through Parks and Rec.

Oh, the community garden. It's a very small community garden. So now I understand where the 90.

I didn't realize.

Yeah. Yeah. I might be like in the fifties, I might've over-exaggerated, but I don't see myself getting a plot anytime soon, but I've just started growing food in my backyard. But I think that is a great place to start and it could funnel out until a lot of other opportunities like giving, you know, donating the food to a food pantry for people who aren't, you know, using it and cooking with it at home. You know,

Talking about this, I think we should have kindred spirits and minds because I have been talking to someone who is really doing this, a lot of sustainable gardens in the Philippines, and she just moved here, and maybe I can connect it to her. Yeah.

Okay, Ma. First of all, my condolences. I'm really sorry. Yeah. That's really sad to read. But you're such a big advocate for your sister. I really appreciate reading that. So you're kind of talking about it already, but what do you consider your strongest contributions if you make it to the commission?

Yeah, I think that I just have a unique lived experience and that I have a big heart and I'm open-minded and I really believe in a world where people are fed and housed and taken care of. And I think that is just something that should be a universal right as a human being on earth. And I think if I make it to the commission and I have this consistent structure and container where I'm able to collaborate with other people who are in alignment and trying to foster not just like public safety, but really equity and making sure that we are given these human rights, that it just would be kind of that I would bring a lot of value and unique perspectives and Yeah, I've been doing a lot of my own research over, you know, the past few years and I strive to be anti-racist. I don't think as a white person you can ever claim to be anti-racist. I don't think it's a destination. I think it's daily work and commitment. But I think it's all connected. I believe all humans are interconnected. We have a divine responsibility to each other. Yeah, you know, like the data centers specifically are affecting black and brown communities and poor populations. And so that's environmental racism. So there's just a lot of layers. I think all of these issues are connected and it really just starts with caring for each other.

Have you gone to or watched one of the commission meetings at all?

Not one of the commission's meetings, just a city council meeting.

I'm actually also interested in your disability rights advocacy. Because obviously with your lived experience, and I don't know if we currently have that on the commission, so I'm interested in kind of more about that in terms of what you would see in your role if you get onto the commission with that.

Yeah. So mine was a very personal experience. My sister had Rett syndrome, so it's a neurological disorder. She was nonverbal. She had seizures daily. She had a feeding tube. She needed help with toileting. My mom was her primary caregiver and I was her co-conservator, so responsible for her for 34 years of her life. My dad left when she turned 18 and I became her guardian as well. So I just have a lot of hands-on experience, especially in the medical field and what the gaps and what disabled people experience, you know. particularly nonverbal people, you know, uh, they show different signs of pain and, um, you know, when it comes to like treating medicine and kind of advocating for the different types of ways that we communicate. Um, so that was a, a big, I was always by her side. She had hospital stints that range from four months to nine months, um, and just ensuring that she was as comfortable as possible. And, um, Yeah, I think just because of my experience growing up with her, I have a very unique and personal lens on, like, I can kind of spot ableism a lot easier when that comes up and just kind of offer personal antidotes and, you know, to those issues.

I appreciate it. Thanks for sharing that. And next is Councilman Coleman.

Thank you so much for sharing your personal experiences with issues around equity. What is your assessment of the current racial and social climate in South City, locally?

It seems very diverse, and I love that. I moved here in 2019, and I grew up in Novato in Marin County. which is not very diverse and is very white and is very wealthy. And that was one of the things that I really loved about South City. I had my first baby in South City and I love, you know, she's growing up with all types of friends. And I think for me, I grew up in this bubble of white privilege until I learned about George Floyd. Um, and that was when my company, I think a lot of organizations, institutions, governments really launched into DEI and, you know, I have been kind of educating myself ever since then. Um, I, I don't know specifics about the climate. Like I don't know what's going on with policing or, you know, anything like that, but, um, I love how diverse it is here and I would love to. like foster that and keep that going in any way possible. I am, my mom's family is from Mexico. We are, you know, my grandparents came here when they were pregnant with my mom and, but we are white Mexican. So I carry privilege with that, but, you know, also kind of leads into my intersectionality. I only grew up with my Mexican family. So yeah, I think, you know, anti-racism work, equity is all like very, very important to me. And I want to use my privilege, my power as much as I can to kind of, yeah, create the world that we deserve. So, yeah.

Well said. I can see why maybe you were on the Today Show more than once. Were you advocating for people with disabilities or what was, what brought you to the show?

No, I am a spiritual practitioner. That's what I do for work. I'm an astrologer. So I've been on the Today Show five or six times. I had a monthly segment on NBC's California Live for the past two years. The show just got canceled last month. But yeah, loved being on TV. And yeah, my astrology practices kind of blend spirituality with collective liberation, kind of just advocating, you know, we're in this time of polycrisis, so much is going on. in the world and with our environment. And yeah, so I kind of bleed that into my work. I don't think it's spiritual to ignore the suffering in the world. And it's very important to me to speak out, you know.

What part of Mexico were your grandparents from?

Guadalajara.

Ah, Jalisco. So South San Francisco has a sister city in Jalisco. about an hour and 15 minutes south of Guadalajara. It's called Alto Tecuco, El Alto. And really about 40 years ago, that was my first experience in part of Mexico other than Tijuana. And it really just kind of opened my eyes to, you know, all the rich culture and, you know, some of the things that are missing here. that they enjoy today. It's been a great opportunity to bring people down there that have only been maybe to Puerto Vallarta or to Cancun and see how real people live in areas that are more agricultural. It's been a lot of fun, so we might have to include you in one of those trips. Is there anything that you wanted to chat with about us that we didn't touch on by our question or any question you have for any of us as council people?

I don't think so. I'm looking to get more involved in the community and I want to make a difference and I'm stressed out by the world and I doom scroll and I live here and I just want to do my part.

It's looking good for you because there's not a lot of applicants, but you certainly are tailor-made for that particular commission, so it's looking good. And what we'll do is we keep going on because we have other people to interview for commissions. And then at the end of the evening, we will vote to put people to work for the city of South San Francisco. And that'll be communicated to you tomorrow by the city clerk's office. Great.

Stephanie, I wanted to give you my card. You're elected representative on District 5, so feel free to reach out. Awesome.

All right.

Thank you for your interest.

Thank you all. Nice to meet you.

Take care.

That's where I said, yes.

That's it, Maximilian. That's the spot.

Oh, I didn't know you all remembered me.

I think you were much younger the first time.

I was much younger, about a year and a half. Right.

Yes. Very good. So welcome back. And we're going to jump right into this because we kind of know you. You should be comfortable here, right? Yes. And we're way behind schedule. Let's just jump into questions. And we always start with...

Thank you for your interest in applying for a position as a commissioner. We would love to know how do you perceive the position of commissioner to be? What do you think you could add to the position? What do you bring to the role and how did you hear about it?

Just by searching the City website and I really The moment I applied for it, I knew how I wanted to kind of shape it. Definitely trying to add, you know, a youth perspective to the library board. And, you know, I'm very often at the library. I've been going since I was a child and definitely want to give some feedback.

And remind me, who did you shadow during Youth in Government? I shadowed Rich Lee. Oh, you did?

Okay, great. Thank you. Okay, Councilman Inquist.

Yeah, so tell me, because you already touched on it. Tell us what your vision of the South San Francisco Library is.

My vision for the library is definitely, in my power, would definitely be to have a really, really strong community center. We already do have most of what's necessary there. A lot of great resources are passed out, books, both being checked out and sold. But I definitely think missing a few events that definitely can make it better. Love their current lineup, but definitely having some more youth projects, more activities if possible, and definitely making the libraries the center of South City. Okay.

Next is Mark. Thank you. Vice Mayor. Thank you for applying. I really appreciate it. Let me kind of just add a little bit in terms of what everyone was asking. So you're talking about a youth perspective. Yes. So what's missing in terms of the youth perspective in terms of enhancing our library?

Well, you have adults running the library, which is great. We need rational minds. But most of the library's usage comes from children. Toddlers. Yes, toddlers to high schoolers and to me, college students who really rely on the library for a place to study, a place to go, you know, a place to say hello, chilly South City days. And definitely having myself there, you know, will definitely help to my own perspective, you know, I've gone into the library throughout all ages as a child, all the way up to a teen, all the way now to college. And I definitely noticed there can be a little bit of discontent with teenagers in the libraries. And I think really leaning into having all ages at the libraries, you know, making it really welcoming for everybody.

Thank you.

Hi, I see you again. So library programming needs and services have changed in this technological age, especially with AI becoming more and more popular. How do you see the efforts of our current library system addressing these demands? And what are your thoughts or suggestions for ways to meet these new evolving needs?

Workshops. I think a great thing our library should and could do is, you know, technological workshops, whether that be Google Workspace, Microsoft Workspace, as well as maybe how to navigate the usage of AI and how to get effective responses. Thank you.

So Maximilian, this is kind of the end of the interview, but it's an opportunity for you if there is something on your mind that you didn't get to touch on because we didn't ask the right question. This is kind of a freewheeling time to talk to us.

I do have a little bit of extra experience. I am currently serving on the San Mateo County Bird Alliance's board. So I do have a little bit of board experience on top of my city government experience. I think that's a really big thing I wanted to make sure was communicated. Yes.

Tell me more about the AlphaTras Waterbird docent program.

Yes. Oh, my goodness. I've been working there since sophomore year of high school now. Um, it's a lot of sitting on the island, telling people about birds, uh, bringing a scope out and showing them the birds. Um, and I'm actually going this Friday, uh, to lead a bird walk for Alcatraz too. How do you get out there? Um, Bart and then Terry. Okay.

What's your favorite bird and why?

Oh, my favorite bird is the Eastern wood PB. It's native out east, but it's a cute flycatcher, and it makes a peewee call, hence the name, and it's really small and really cute.

Did you know that the Councilman Coleman is a big advocate for bees?

I did not.

Tell him what you accomplished.

Oh, so we have beekeeping legal in residential areas, but not commercial areas, but in Genentech, they have this employee club called and they were doing like beekeeping on commercial land and it was kind of illegal. But it was a loophole, right? So we legalized it on commercial property. So now they can have beekeeping throughout the city.

Well, that's perfect.

And they're pretty cool because they make honey and they give those honeys to patients. Oh, that's great. So birds, bees. We'll hopefully help with the bees.

Right over there, down the street.

Exactly. Are your field trips connected to our Parks and Rec? No, they aren't. I think that could be a great opportunity to feature them in our activity registration.

I and the Birdlines would love to. I lead walks at Oyster Point, Assign Hill, and Danakoma Creek.

Reach out to, we have a community hike this Saturday.

I did see, I would go if I didn't have work.

But I think you should follow up with our staff at the Parks and Rec. I would love to. Because that would be a great offering that a lot of people would be very interested in watching and taking those field trips. Thank you for starting that and doing it here.

Thank you. Did you miss an interview?

I did last year. And we missed you. I really apologize.

I had some stuff. That's okay. Things happen. I'm glad you came back.

what happens tonight is we keep going because we have other interviews for other commissions and when we're done we vote and we don't know what time it'll be so we'll communicate the results of that to you tomorrow through the city clerk's office sounds great but also know philip that there will be other opportunities should you not make it this round for the library board yes stay tuned i will it's max philip's my dad oh that's right sorry good sense oh that's philip No, it doesn't.

It says Max and William.

Oh, that's right. I'm reading it. Because he serves on the bike. They're usually a lot sharper. Maybe fog, maybe jet lag. Yes, you too. Thank you so much. You're welcome.

Nice to see you here. And thank you for all the good work you did at the 4th of July. I heard you put in a lot of time on this stream.

Yeah, we were there the whole day.

That's great. Thank you. So you are kind of familiar with this process because we've met recently. And we're just going to jump into the questions because we're running a little bit late. So we're going to start with Councilman Flores.

And I remember you from the last time. I think you remember probably some of the questions we asked you from last time too. So I'd like to ask a little bit something different there. If you were to be able to have an opportunity to increase revenue for our library, what ways would you do that?

increase revenue coming in or yes coming in aside from obviously our spoken like a true librarian aside obviously from our book sales and stuff that's already happening yeah i have a book set there i mean one of the things we're working with the book sales so i actually have to reset up a uh ebay account because they closed it down because i gave them my uh non-personal email address uh but I think other ways are, it'd be interesting. A lot of other libraries have coffee shops in their libraries, which not only bring in revenue, but also bring in people. It gives you something to do while you're there. Certainly you could have more classes. You could charge for that. I know that some libraries, like when I was a kid, you got charged fees, but that's actually not, that would not be a way that I would want to do it because it limits the people that can then enjoy the library. because if you can't pay the fee, then you're discouraged from actually participating. But yeah, I guess mostly just the classes you could have after school activities that could be paid for, it could be subsidized and then, yeah.

Yes, you'll be excited to hear that we are, we have approved a vendor that will come in and do a full cafe. I think I've been told by the end of the year, if not early next year, but definitely that'll be something to look out for. Yeah.

Thank you. And Councilman Nicholas is next.

Yes. Can you refresh my memory regarding your addition for the South San Francisco

I think it really should be a gathering place for people somewhere you can go and feel safe and accepted, but then also, you know, learn things that you might not have, might not have other ways of learning. I think it's great that we actually teach tech safety and they actually, I think they have like finance classes and things like that. Very, very interesting. I know last time, Councilman Coleman had asked about like, what would you do for, to bring youth in? could have youth classes uh as well that are things like here are life skills that you might not be able to learn on your own like you know here's interviewing or tying like tying a tie doing car car service things like that but just keeping it welcoming uh one of the things that happened recently while i was putting out books for the libraries like there was somebody there who was like you know this is a library and you're just out there in the in the open area, and one, that that's not technically part of, that's not technically the library itself, but also that's not what libraries are anymore.

Was it an old person?

She was around my age, so kind of old. Okay.

So you have a very interesting perspective because you're on the front end of the library. So what do you think is missing from the library board right now?

In a lot of ways, actually. It is sort of that youth perspective. And I realize that that is not what I bring. But it is just, I would actually say that if you could have a member of the youth group be on the board of the library, you could get a lot of insight into what they're looking for and what they want to see in their libraries.

In terms of like, in terms of the board itself, the commission itself? You're thinking there's not enough youth representation, is that what you're saying? Okay, okay.

Okay, James. You know what, I think they did this in Redwood City, but they made the ages for all the commissions 16, like the minimum being 16. So maybe that's something that we can consider, right?

Thank you.

Next question. Youth commission?

They sell youth commission, but they also lowered the age for all the other commissions. Yeah, yeah.

But I was thinking it may compete with, you know, the youth commission.

Maybe a discussion for another. A deeper discussion might be warranted. So my question is, so for a library board, you know, library programming needs and services, they've been changing over the technological era, especially in these past few years with AI becoming more and more popular. How do you see the efforts of our current library system addressing these demands and what are your thoughts or suggestions for other ways to meet these new evolving needs?

I think there is a lot of focus on AI and I think we could do classes for AI, but I think there's also a lean away from that in a way as well. So like one of the things we've heard, I've been looking at is that like older style games have become popular. Like they're the Mahjong, MJ just blew up. You can't even get a table half the time. And then we had, when we had the book sale the other day, an eight-year-old really wanted to get a book about bridge. Not bridges, but the card game bridge. And so it is something people have been interested in, which actually could be a really interesting way to integrate both the seniors and the youth is having the seniors come in and teach classes, teach card games, teach old style games, teach knitting, teach, you know, just things that far more physical, more real, less AI. I guess I'm answering the opposite of what you asked.

That's a good response. Yeah. Because there are a lot of folks who are just fed up with AI and they want to reject it as much as possible and do real things. Embrace the real. Yeah.

um tabitha um again you know thank you for you're such a great advocate for all things library so i do appreciate that and um i think that um is there anything that you wanted to touch on with us that maybe our questions haven't led to you being able to make comments about something on your mind i just what is your your vision for the library and growing the library especially

I spent a lot of time at the main library and it's a great facility. It's new. But at the July 4th, a lot of the things were coming up as people really wanted to know what adult programs we had at the Grand Library, because some people can't or don't want to have to go all the way because it's a little bit out of the way of downtown South San Francisco to go to the main library. They want to know, like, do you have a book club that's at the main or at

What was the answer to that? Because I don't...

They don't have one. They have one that's in Spanish. So if you read in Spanish, then you can go there. They don't. I did talk at our last Friends of the Library meeting about whether anybody there would be willing to host a book club. I don't even know how you find that door.

Do I just open it?

The back of the fire escape? Not open. That's open still, right? Down here still open?

Oh, maybe someone thought that that was the way to enter.

Hi. Mr. Gale?

Your door's unlocked from the other side.

Thank you, Michael. Oh, my God. Oh, sorry. It's Ava. It's Ava.

Okay, so that's... What were we talking about, Tara?

Adult activities. Oh, yeah. In Grand Library. Yeah, and so we don't have one there.

We don't have much of anything going on there.

Mostly the Grand Library is like the children's library in a way. They have a lot of...

There's a lot of very mature people on this side of town, too, so it's a point well taken.

All right. Yeah, and they saw like we had, the library had out like the, had the list of events and list of programs that they're doing, but yeah, it was all kids. Yeah, especially for.

It's just kind of considered a children's library.

Yeah. I mean, there's also, the main library also has a very large children's section. Great.

Any other questions for us or?

I mean, that's my main one. It's like, where do you see the library going? How do you want to improve the library? How does it fit sort of, even with Parks and Rec being there?

You know, what I miss, and I've said this to Valerie before, is when I was younger, I used to go and look at old newspapers. You can see the spools, you know, you can see the reels. But there was no spaces for that. I always enjoyed kind of reading the old newspaper. Right. No, but I was reading all the old newspapers because that was for me my way of escaping South City, learning about different places. And so I would love to be able to see that come back at some point, but I don't think we have the space to do that.

We do a lot of art programs and so you could have some of that put out around the library. I know that like a lot of the microfiche and a lot of the older things are held at Grand, but they're held downstairs and it's not ADA, so you can't actually get to it.

Right.

Okay, so thank you for reapplying. There's a lot of applicants this time, but getting to know you better is definitely a plus for you.

Every time there's an opening, Valerie's like, did you apply? Okay.

We have a few more people to interview, and then we'll probably vote before the evening's over. But if you're not here, we'll contact you tomorrow to let you know the outcome.

All right. Sounds good.

Kevin, thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

You okay? No, I'm just fine. Okay.

Take care.

I got you.

Thank you for applying. Have you been here before? Yeah I've been in. Yeah that's good. So we're going to move right into questions because I think we all know you and you know through other organizations and such. True. So we're running a little bit behind so we're going to just jump into we'll start with Councilman Flores. Thank you. Good question.

Good to see you again. What is your vision for the South San Francisco library?

It's, it's definitely the community hub. And so it's a central place, no matter your income, your background, your language, you can be there, you can be welcomed and you feel you belong. So it's, it's a very special place. So that's my vision. and i will not define what programs should be there or should not be there because our community needs to define that so but then perhaps you know you have a vision of and could you please tell us something about the vision sure sure so it's it's a place where um there are i don't know i think growing up I grew up in a large immigrant family. I had to do all the translations. I mean, all that typical stuff. Our library was top of the hill daily city. I think you guys know where that is. So that's my vision. It is a place that was able to open doors for people without resources. So I think we need to remember that population. They don't have access to internet. They don't have access to printers or computers and all that. So I think it needs to be able to accommodate certain needs of our community at different levels. And I think we have to look at the library as various layers of services to be provided. Because for many people, it is the only place they can fill out a job application online. The only place. The only place they could print out something. So it's the only place they could obtain information well what does it take to you know do xyz to get my you know whatever certification so i think it's important we understand and we understand that it's a place where and we have to define all these these needs yes and that's why i call it a hub because it's in the middle and you have all the spokes and all the spokes feed into the hub And like I said, I'm just going to use that basic needs as an example, but we have enrichment programs. We have empowerment programs. We have programs to connect people together, whether it be games or whether it be, I love the, what was it? It was like the baby rave where grandpa and grandma dance with their grandkids. I love that. So just think about- It's a generational. Exactly. So just think about, Parts of our communities that can be served through this physical place, but also a virtual place. We have a virtual resources that is amazing out there that could be leveraged. So again, I'm not a super programmer. I can program enough, but it could be leveraged for other empowerment, I'll say, other engagement for our community. That's why, so think of the library as a hub. Spokesmen, different needs for our various people in our community, lots of overlap, different time, different place. We are not limited by place. It can be virtual. So is that a little too, is that fair? Okay.

Yeah, let's see.

Makes me clear. Does it help? Yeah, I like that. To me, in my brain, it's a hub, so a community hub.

Which library do you often go to?

I use both. I use both because sometimes I go to Mass up here and it's perfect.

So let me ask you, since you go to both, what's missing from each library in terms of progress?

You know, the thing that every, you know, I've had many jobs and in every job you have to understand the environment. You have to understand who's being served and how they're being served. I don't have that knowledge right now. I'll have to be frank. I could see Gail's little vision about, well, seniors, it'd be great to have things from my perspective. But I think it's important that I put on a different lens from other perspectives, whether it be someone who's in a wheelchair or someone who doesn't speak English. It's not their primary language. And I think it's very important that we explore each library, what is offered, and perhaps what community it serves and what they think is needed. Because I don't think it's right for someone with my perspective and my worldview to define that for someone else. So, for example, I worked in healthcare forever. And so longest serving was Department of Veteran Affairs. We did a lot of listening sessions. What do our patients need? What barriers do they face? So many veterans, they have no cell phone. So how do you do things? So we have to think about all the needs of our community. So, I mean, easy to say, hey, let's do more STEM. Let's buy more robots. I mean, we can do all that. But again, maybe there's someone where this is the only place they can go to get a job. So I just want to, you know, again, you know, it's, and it's maybe because I grew up in such, you know, humble, you know, a humble home, you know, we would always have a family living with us. So imagine 14 people in maybe 1200 square feet house. So that's how I grew up. So I don't, I don't mean to, you know, play that. That's great. Thank you. But I think it's important that we understand that this is not a monolithic city.

It's my lived experience, but it's only my experience. And it's not someone else's. It's important to see.

Yeah. But again, you know, I've raised my family here. I mean, I think many of you know my children. So, yeah. So it's only my lived experience, and it's not fair to impose that.

Okay. Jane?