Sup. Mar Breaks Promise to Advocate for Fairness & Transparency

Save Stow Lake Boathouse Coalition, a group including over 1,900
individuals, multiple neighborhood groups and SF Chapter of the Sierra
Club, requested Sup. Mar's help with transparency, fairness and fiscal
responsibility in regard to Rec & Park's Stow Lake Boathouse Concession
Request for Qualification (RFQ). Although Sup. Mar acknowledged major
problems with Rec & Parks and promised to advocate for transparency and
fairness with the Boathouse selection process, he has failed to do so. The
Coalition was lead to believe they had found an advocate in Sup. Mar to
stand up against the secrecy and deception at Rec & Parks surrounding this
process. Since Sup. Mar introduced a resolution on behalf Louis' Restaurant
that isn't even on City property... why won't he take action to protect the
historic, family owned concession at Stow Lake, which is in his district?

This week the Coalition learned that Sup. Mar will not take a stand on
behalf of the people, and will not ask Rec & Parks for fairness,
transparency, or fiscal responsibility for the Stow Lake Boathouse. Rec &
Parks is poised to make a selection on the RFQ soon. Rec & Parks assured
the Coalition that the Coalition would be included on the selection panel
and there would be plenty of time for all interested community to weigh in.
On 12/17/09 Rec & Park General Manager, Phil Ginsburg, promised the Rec &
Park Commission that the community voice would be "woven" into the entire
process. None of these promises have been kept.

For the last 5 years Rec & Parks has wasted taxpayer funds in regard to the
Stow Lake Concession RFP/RFQ process. Some examples of this are: 1) by
keeping the current tenant on a month-to-month lease, so that the boathouse
is now deteriorated and in great need of expensive capital improvements;
2) issuing 5 different Request for Proposals/Qualifications for the Stow
Lake lease, all of which have been fraught with errors, omissions and
vagueness; and 3) withholding detailed reports on the physical condition of
the boathouse needed for any bidder to make a sound business plan in spite
of multiple requests for this information.

Sup. Mar is at the center of this issue because Stow Lake is in his
district and he campaigned saying “WE MUST IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY and
FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY OF CITY GOVERNMENT”. In this situation he fails to do
that, and fails to protect for the people and wildlife at Stow Lake.


For further information please contact:
http://www.savestowlake.org
SaveStowLake [at] aol.com
Suzanne R. Dumont zangsf1 [at] gmail.com or 415.999.5823