Pricey security's at S.F. 'Victory Garden'

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 10/22/8 | Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross

[SmithL]

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is paying thousands of dollars a week in city money for private security guards to play scarecrow over the "Victory Garden" growing in Civic Center Plaza.

Only in this case, it's not birds that are being shooed away, but the homeless people and the drunks who drift into the plaza once the sun goes down.

The garden is a collection of veggies and herbs planted over the summer as part of the privately sponsored "Slow Food Nation" festival. At first, it was protected at night by volunteers.

Once the food fest ended in late August, however, the mayor decided to keep the garden going. His office contracted with Jeff Gutierrez Security, a local outfit, to keep an eye on the pea patch from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 a.m.

"If they don't have security, it will become a toilet," said one city gardener who was planting a fresh bed of marigolds in the plaza the other day.

But it wasn't cheap. For the first month, the cost of veggie guards totaled about $3,400 a week.

Part of the reason is that there were multiple guards watching the plants.

"One is always concerned about staff standing guard late at night by themselves," said mayoral spokesman Nathan Ballard.

Newsom initially planned to keep the garden as part of his drive to turn the Civic Center into a model of green sustainability. But Ballard said it soon became apparent that it "was imprudent to sustain security at that level."

Now, the garden is set to come out in December. And three weeks ago - after trimming back the level of protection - the security price dropped to about $2,200 a week.

[tubebender]

Are the guards unionized yet and are they working 8 hour shifts with 15 minute breaks every 2 hours plus all the other state and local work rules that every other employer is saddled with in this once great state...

[weegee]

If it was like the crooked cops in Houston, they would be drawing the security pay AND billing the city for “overtime” working the 2 gigs at the same time.

[spokeshave]

"Are the guards unionized yet and are they working 8 hour shifts with 15 minute breaks every 2 hours plus all the other state and local work rules that every other employer is saddled with in this once great state...

Yeah...and free vegies