* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:01:09] COUNCIL MEMBER TINO HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER VRAN. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER ROSA GARCIA. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER CAVEDA. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER ELAS. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY AND MAYOR BERG. HERE. MAYOR, WE HAVE A QUORUM. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. WELCOME TO OUR CITY COUNCIL A SESSION AGENDA. THE TIME IS 9:07 AM UH, HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYED THE, UH, TUNE TO GET US UP TODAY. [1. 20-7146 Invocation ] UH, FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA, OR BEFORE WE START OUR OFFICIAL AGENDA TODAY, I'D LIKE TO ASK COUNCIL MEMBER COVEO HDA TO WELCOME OUR IN. THANK YOU MAYOR. I'M PROUD TO INTRODUCE TODAY'S INDICATOR, ROBERT PLUSSED. HE IS A DISTRICT SIX RESIDENT WHO'S RESIDED IN THE GREAT NORTHWEST FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS. MR. STED IS A VETERAN OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. HE ENLISTED IN 1957 AND SERVED UNTIL 1961 IN THE STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND COMBAT DEFENSE FORCES WITH DUTIES IN SPECIAL WEAPONS SYSTEM SECURITY. AND AS A DEFENSE TEAM LEADER. HE THEN STUDIED AT THE DIVINITY SCHOOL OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA AND RETURNED TO ARMED FORCES AND AS AN AIR FORCE CHAPLAIN FROM 1972 TO 1988 IN NEW JERSEY, TEXAS, OHIO, ALASKA, AND THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES. DURING THAT TIME, HE PROVIDED CHAPLAIN SERVICES FOR PATIENTS AND STAFF AT FOUR MAJOR AIR FORCE MEDICAL CENTERS, INCLUDING WILFORD HALLS. HE ALSO SERVED AS THE AIR FORCE AND POLICE CHAPLAIN IN ADDITION TO HIS MORE THAN 20 YEARS. I'M SORRY, LET ME MAKE THAT CORRECTION. HE ALSO SERVED AS THE AIR FORCE FIRE AND POLICE CHAPLAIN. IN ADDITION TO, TO HIS MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE. HE SERVED SAN ANTONIO AS A MEMBER OF THE DOWNTOWN HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND CHAIRED THE SAN ANTONIO FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION. HE PRACTICED MINISTRY IN EPISCOPAL PARISHES ON LONG ISLAND AND WORKED TO SUPPORT THE DIOCESE BY PROVIDING INTERN LEADERSHIP IN 10 DIFFERENT PARISHES ACROSS SOUTH TEXAS. HE MAINTAINS PROFESSIONAL RELATIONS MEMBERSHIPS WITH THE AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, AIR FORCE SECURITY FORCES ASSOCIATION, NEW YORK ASSOCI ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHAPLAINS, AND THE TEXAS POLICE ASSOCIATION. HE'S MARRIED TO DENISE AND WILL BE CELEBRATING HIS 57TH ANNIVERSARY NEXT WEEK. CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH. MR. PLAID HAS FIVE CHILDREN AND TWIN GRANDCHILDREN. MR. PLAID, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND WILLINGNESS TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US. THE FLOOR IS YOURS. IS HE ON THE CALL? YES, MA'AM. HE'S THERE. I'VE ASKED FOR HIM TO UNMUTE. UM, OH, OKAY. MR. PLASTY, CAN YOU HEAR US? I, I NOT I DO. [00:05:02] MR. PLASTY. UM, IF YOU CAN HEAR US, WE ARE NOT GETTING ANY OF YOUR AUDIO COMING BACK OVER. OKAY. UH, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES AND, AND, UM, MR. PLESS, WE ARE, UH, VERY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR PRESENCE, UM, HERE TODAY. UH, UNFORTUNATELY WE CAN'T GET AUDIO THROUGH, SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO, I, I THINK, UM, I SEE OUR GOOD FRIEND, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY OF REO GURA IS ON THE, ON THE LINE HERE THIS MORNING. UH, IF ANYONE, IF ANYONE HAS SHARED A MEAL WITH BRETT GERRA, HE KNOWS HOW, UH, TO BRING US TOGETHER IN PRAYER. SO, BERT, THOUGH, NOT TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, UH, BUT I'M ASKING YOU IF YOU COULD PINCH IT TODAY AND, AND OFFER A PRAYER FOR US, UH, OVER THE COUNCIL THIS MORNING. ABSOLUTELY, MAYOR. I'D BE MORE THAN HONORED TO DO IT. LET'S GO TO OUR FATHER IN PRAYER. FATHER, GOD, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL DAY. THANK YOU FOR OUR CITY. FATHER, THANK YOU FOR OUR LEADERS, ESPECIALLY OUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. FATHER WHO, WHO ARE SERVANTS TO YOUR CITY. FATHER, FATHER GOD, TODAY AS WE START THIS MEETING, WE, WE JUST ASK FOR YOUR GUIDANCE. FATHER, WE ASK THAT YOU GIVE US WISDOM, DISCERNMENT, COURAGE, FATHER, STRENGTH. FATHER, WE ASK THAT YOU GIVE US PROTECTION FROM THIS C OVID 19 FOR OUR CITY. FATHER, THAT WE MAY BE CAREFUL THAT WE MAY SOCIAL DISTANCE, THAT WE MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FATHER TO OUR CITY LEADERS WHO ARE TRYING TO GUIDE US THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC. FATHER, FATHER, HELP OUR CITY TO GROW AND PROSPER IN A WAY THAT YOU AND ONLY YOU WILL BE PROUD OF US. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE REWARD THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT OUR WAY. PLEASE, FATHER, HELP ALL OF YOUR CHILDREN IN THIS CITY TO BE HEALTHY AND MAKE IT THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC FATHERHOOD. MOST OF ALL, WE ASK THAT YOU GIVE US FAVOR AS WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THIS WINTER AND NEXT YEAR. FATHER, GOD, WITH RESPECT TO ALL OTHER FAITHS, ALL OTHER RELIGIONS, AND ALL OTHER BELIEFS, WE ASK THIS BLESSING IN JESUS' NAME, AMEN. AMEN. [2. 20-7147 Pledge of Allegiance ] I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL . THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UM, FOR THAT PRAYER. UH, IT'S AN HONOR TO HAVE YOU HERE, UH, AS ALWAYS, BUT, UM, ESPECIALLY SO, UH, UNEXPECTEDLY OFFERING A PRAYER FOR US THIS MORNING AND, AND, UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING MR. PLASTER BACK AS WELL. APOLOGIZE FOR THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. UM, BUT I AM, I AM GLAD THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET THIS, UM, MEETING STARTED, UM, APPROPRIATELY NONETHELESS. OKAY. UM, WE HAVE ONE ITEM LISTED TODAY FOR INDIVIDUAL. ACTUALLY, I'M [3. 20-7148 Approval of Minutes from the City Council Meetings of September 2, 2020, September 3, 2020, September 8, 2020, September 9, 2020 and September 10, 2020. ] NOT GONNA FORGET TODAY TO DO THE MINUTES FIRST. SO, UM, LET ME TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER THREE FIRST, WHICH IS THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING, MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 2ND, SEPTEMBER 3RD, SEPTEMBER 8TH, NINTH, AND 10TH. UH, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION, UH, FOR APPROVAL, APPROVAL OF THOSE MINUTES. I MOVE TO APPROVE THOSE MINUTES. SECOND. OKAY. UH, THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES AS LISTED UNDER ITEM THREE. ANY DISCUSSION? UM, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, I SEE YOUR HAND RAISED, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S FOR THIS ITEM. OKAY. UH, HEARING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ALRIGHT. UH, ON OUR [CONSENT AGENDA ] AGENDA TODAY, WE HAVE [00:10:01] ONE ITEM LISTED FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION. THAT'S ITEM FOUR. UH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS, UH, FROM WHICH, UH, MY COLLEAGUES WOULD LIKE TO PULL FROM THE AGENDA? UM, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE? YES. JUST FOR HIGHLIGHTING ITEM NUMBER 14. OKAY. AND JUST, UH, JUST QUEUE UP, UH, FOR THE CONSENT IF YOU'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT AN ITEM. UH, JUST NEED THE ITEMS TO PULL FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION AT THIS POINT. THIS IS A POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE. UH, YEAH, I'LL TAKE MAY I, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GRO ITEM 36 AND Z 1 36 AND Z ONE? YES. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. ITEM 30. ITEM 30. COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN. OKAY. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA. ITEM, UH, 34 MAYOR. AND, UH, I BELIEVE COUNCILMAN PERRY WAS GOING TO PULL THAT ITEM AS WELL, BUT I DON'T SEE HIM ON THE LINE. OKAY. UM, ANY OTHERS TO PULL FROM THE CONSENT SO FAR? I HAVE ITEM 4 30, 34, 36, AND Z ONE. ANY OTHERS? IF THERE ARE NONE, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION TO APPROVE. MOVED. ALRIGHT. UM, THERE IS A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. UH, WE DO HAVE A, A FEW CITIZEN AND SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEMS THAT REMAIN ON CONSENT. SO LET ME GO AHEAD AND TAKE THOSE, UH, FOLKS. NOW, UH, WE'LL START WITH, WITH JACK FINGER, FOLLOWED BY MIKO RAMOS. HELLO? UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME AT THIS TIME? YES, WE HEAR YOU. GO AHEAD, MR. FINGER. OKAY. YES. MAYOR NURNBERG, OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR SAN ANTONIO CITY COUNCIL FOR THE RECORD. MY NAME IS JACK M FINGER. FEW ITEMS I WISH TO BRING YOUR ATTENTION ON THE, THIS, UH, THE CONSENT POR PORTION OF THE AGENDA. YES. UH, I THINK, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HOUSEKEEPING THAT MR. MAYOR EARLIER, WE, WE HAD THINGS IN PERSON AT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, SO, SO THERE WAS NO CONFUSION. NOW YOU, WE REVERTED, REVERTED BACK TO TWO, UH, VIRTUAL SITUATIONS HERE. AND THIS, THIS MAKES EVERYTHING VERY HARD FOR CITIZENS TO, TO, UH, TO LOG ONTO AND TO SPEAK AND TO IT. IT'S, IT'S VERY, VERY CONFUSING. AND I, WE REALLY DO NEED TO GET BACK TO IN PERSON. SO, SO ASSUMING THAT YOU AND THE REST OF THE COUNCIL REALLY DO WANT TO HEAR FROM US, THE CITIZENS, THIS IS CRAZY THOUGH THE WAY THE SITUATION IS NOW. NOW, REGARDING THE, THE ITEMS ON TODAY'S AGENDA, ITEM 23, YOU'RE GOING TO ONCE AGAIN TACK ON A, AN EXTRA PERCENTAGE TO THE, THE HOTEL MOTEL TAX. THE QUESTION IS, HAVE THE, HAVE THE, ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING TAXED, HAVE THEY CONSENTED TO THIS? YES. WE ALREADY HAVE THE HIGHEST, THE HIGHEST HOTEL MOTEL TAX, PERHAPS IN THE STATE. YES. AT 16%. AND NOW WE'RE GONNA TACK ON ANOTHER PERCENTAGE TOO, BRINGING UP TO AN EVEN 18. DO YOU REALIZE HOW THIS FOR ARE, ARE, ARE, ARE, ARE TOURIST INDUSTRY AND THE IDEA IS THAT YOU SAY YOU WANT TO, TO, AND TO BRING MORE TOURISM OVER. WELL, HOW CAN ANY TOURIST COME BY AT ALL IF WE ARE HAVING THESE, THESE, THESE, THESE CHINA VIRUS RESTRICTIONS ON EVERYBODY WHO'S GOING TO COME? YES. THAT, THAT TOWARDS EVERYTHING, EVEN THAT ALL THE MONEY IS ALL, ALL FOR NAUGH. ITEM 31 DEALS WITH DIRECTLY DEALS WITH FLOOD INSURANCE. YES. I LOOKED AT THE BACKUP DOCUMENTS. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FLOOD INSURANCE, PRELIMINARY PREP PREPARATIONS. THE BIG QUESTION IS, WHY ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT FLOOD INSURANCE WHEN RESIDENCES AND BUSINESSES SHOULD NOT EVEN, SHOULD NOT EVEN BE BUILDING IN A FLOODPLAIN IN THE FIRST PLACE. IF, WHY, WHY ARE WE GO GOING, IS PUTTING THE, THE, THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE THERE? AND FINALLY, UM, ITEM TO 35 THAT THE PROPERTY DEALING WITH, WITH A TAX INCREMENT REFINANCING ZONE, THAT THE, THE VERY FACT THAT THE, UM, THE PROPERTY WAS SOLD, UH, A, A BUSINESS TRANSACTION AND, AND THE PROPERTY WAS SOLD, UH, UH, IN THE FIRST PLACE. UH, IT TELLS US THAT, THAT THERE'S A REAL QUESTION AS TO WHETHER THE THE NEW COMPANY REALLY NEEDS TAX REFINANCING IN THE FIRST PLACE. NO, [00:15:01] IT IS A BAD IDEA. Y'ALL REALLY NEED TO, TO PULL, UH, ITEMS 23, 31 AND 35 IN ORDER TO ASK SOME VERY SERIOUS QUESTIONS, ASSUMING YOU REALLY COULD CARE ABOUT THESE THINGS. THANK YOU, MR. FINGER. MS. SUKO RAMOS. GOOD MORNING CITY COUNCIL. UH, FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME IS MEET SUKO RAMOS WITH GOVERNMENT RELATIONS GROUP OF TEXAS REPRESENTING R N A GARCIA PROPERTIES OF LUFKIN, L L C. THE GARCIA FAMILY OWNS THE BELOVED CHES COMIDA MEXICANA RESTAURANT, A SMALL MINORITY LOCAL FAMILY LEGACY BUSINESS THAT HAS SERVED AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FOOD IN SAN ANTONIO SINCE 1977. I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THIS TIME TO THANK THE SUPPORT RECEIVED BY COUNCILMAN , THE MISSION SAN JOSE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION AND CITY STAFF FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH THE MISSION DRIVE ENTERS TO HELP PAY FOR PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS RELATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW NICHES RESTAURANT AT 3 3 3 1 ROOSEVELT AVENUE ACROSS THE STREET FROM MISSION SAN JOSE. I ALSO THANK YOU MAYOR NUREMBERG AND CITY COUNCIL FOR YOUR SUPPORT. THANK YOU MS. RAMOS. FOR ITEM NUMBER THREE, WE HAVE AVAN BTA. GOOD MORNING, MR. MAYOR AND COUNSEL. UM, THIS AVAN BTA, THE PRESIDENT OF A B H HOSPITALITY AND VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE SAN ANTONIO TOURISM PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. UM, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS YOU TODAY, IN PARTICULAR, JA, FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN MOVING FORWARD WITH THE T I 2021 SERVICE PLAN THAT'S BEING CONSIDERED TODAY. AS YOU KNOW, THE T I HAS, UH, WAS FORMED TWO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK AS A CATALYST FOR EFFORTS TO MAKE SAN ANTONIO AS A DESTINATION AND PROTECT AND GROW A KEY SEGMENT OF THE CITY'S ECONOMY. UM, THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT TODAY THAN IT'S THAN EVER. AS WE EYE RECOVERY AFTER MONTHS OF THE PANDEMIC, UM, WHICH HAS AFFECTED, UH, OUR ENTIRE INDUSTRY AND THE CITY, THERE'S LITTLE DOUBT THAT TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY, THE THIRD LARGEST INDUSTRY IN SAN ANTONIO, WILL PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE CITY'S REVITALIZATION. THE HOTEL INDUSTRY, WHICH HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY AFFECTED BY COVID 19, IS NONETHELESS COMMITTED TO ITS INVESTMENT IN THE TPI AND ITS IMPORTANCE AND INCREASING DEMAND. BY ATTRACTING VISITATION TO SAN ANTONIO, UH, THE TPI PROVIDES SALES AND MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP DRIVE OVERNIGHT TRAVEL TO OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IN CONTRIBUTES BACK INTO OUR LOCAL ECONOMY. BY ADDED VISITOR SPENDING, THE RESULT WILL BE CRUCIAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF THE EMPLOYEES AND BUSINESSES. MANY OF THEM SHALL SMALL AND MINORITY OWNED, UM, WHO RELY ON THOSE VISITORS FOR THE REV FOR THEIR REVENUES. WE GREATLY VALUE OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY AND ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT A BRIGHTER FUTURE IN 2021. AND I REALLY WANNA THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY AND YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH CHIEF PIT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. BTA. ALRIGHT, THAT'S EVERYONE WHO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON CONSENT. UH, AGENDA ITEMS, UH, I'LL ASK, UH, MY COLLEAGUES AGAIN, IF THEY WOULD WISH TO HIGHLIGHT ITEMS. PLEASE QUEUE UP, UH, WITH THE HAND RAISED FUNCTION. LET ME FIRST CALL ON COUNCIL MEMBER GRO. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT ITEM NUMBER 26, AND THAT IS THE APPROVAL OF THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT TO, FOR, UH, A NEW NIETZCHE, UH, MEXICAN RESTAURANT HERE. IT'S GOING TO BE A PART OF THE ROOSEVELT, UM, AVENUE CORRIDOR. IT'S GOING TO BE USING OUR NEW DESIGN GUIDELINES, AND THIS FAMILY BUSINESS HAS, IT IS A LEGACY FAMILY BUSINESS, AND IT IS GOING TO BE EXPANDING INTO AN AREA THAT HAS LONG BEEN ABANDONED AND A VACANT PIECE OF PROPERTY AND JUST THE KIND OF SMALL, MINORITY OWNED BUSINESS THAT WE NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY. SO I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MOVING FORWARD, AND I JUST WANTED TO BE SURE THAT WE HIGHLIGHTED THIS. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER VERAN. COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, ITEM NUMBER 20 A, WHICH IS THE APPOINTING OF DONNA WATTS LEWIS TO THE DISABILITY ACCESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR DISTRICT TWO. AND JUST WANNA THANK HER FOR STEPPING UP AND VOLUNTEERING TO REPRESENT THE DISTRICT. AND ALSO, I WANNA JUST THANK MR. DAVID MCCAREY, UM, AND THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. UM, ERIC, [00:20:01] THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, AND ALSO THIS IS AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO FOR SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL, AND ONE OF OUR, UM, OUTSIDE ANNEX COMMUNITIES. AND THAT IS WITHIN THE GLEN, NORTH AND SOUTH, UH, CANDLEWOOD AND CAMELOT ONE. I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THIS BECAUSE IN THE RECENT WEEKS WE HAD SEEN RESIDENTS THAT WERE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WITH THEIR TRASH, UM, PICKUP. AND SO WE KNOW THAT MR. MCCAREY IS WORKING DILIGENTLY WITH HELPING THE COUNTY, UM, TO PROCURE, UM, A COMPANY THAT THEY CAN USE DIRECTLY. AND SO I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO HIGHLIGHT THOSE TWO ITEMS. AND THANK THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, MISS MCC AND ERIC, UH, FOR WORKING WITH THE COUNTY ON THIS. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT ITEM NUMBER 14, WHICH IS THE NEW DISTRICT NINE SENIOR CENTER. UH, WE FINALLY, UH, HAVE GOTTEN TO THE POINT IN TIME WHERE WE'RE READY TO APPROVE A CONTRACT FOR ITS CONSTRUCTION. I KNOW THIS IS VERY EXCITING TO ALL THE PEOPLE IN DISTRICT NINE WHO HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO CREATING A, A SENIOR CENTER IN OUR COMMUNITY. DISTRICT NINE WAS THE ONLY COUNCIL DISTRICT THAT HAS NOT HAD ONE. UH, I WANNA JUST ACKNOWLEDGE THE HARD WORK TOO, THAT EVERYBODY WHO'S BEEN A PART OF THIS, WE'VE HAD A GREAT TEAM OF, OF COMMUNITY CITIZENS WHO HAVE WORKED DILIGENTLY ON TRYING TO MAKE STRONG RECOMMENDATIONS, GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PROJECT. I WANNA CONGRATULATE PUBLIC WORKS, UH, D H SS, UH, AND THE PARKS DEPARTMENT FOR WORKING SO WELL TOGETHER, UH, TO BRING THIS ABOUT FOR US. AND SO, UH, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD FOR THIS CONTRACT BEING LET, AND TO SEE THIS CONSTRUCTION MOVE FORWARD. UH, THIS WILL BE A REAL GEM FOR DISTRICT NINE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I HAVE A NUMBER OF ITEMS I I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT AND, UH, I BEG FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR PATIENCE, BUT I KNOW YOU'D RATHER THAT I HIGHLIGHT THEM THAN PULL THEM FOR A DISCUSSION AND VOTE. SO HERE WE GO. FIRST OF ALL, UM, I WANT TO ECHO TO SOME EXTENT MR. FINGER'S COMMENTS REGARDING ITEM 31. IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THIS. SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR HIGHLIGHTING THAT MR. FINGER, THE COMMUNITY RATING SYSTEM IS ACTUALLY A VOLUNTARY INCENTIVE PROGRAM. SO WHAT IT DOES IS IT GOES BEYOND THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS, AND WE ARE THE ONLY MAJOR CITY IN TEXAS THAT IS NOT PARTICIPATING IN THE C R S PROGRAM RIGHT NOW. AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IT MEANS THAT THOSE OF US WHO HAVE FLOOD INSURANCE ARE ACTUALLY PAYING HIGHER RATES THAN PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN AREAS THAT DO HAVE THE C R S A SYSTEM IN PLACE. SO I WANNA THANK, UH, PUBLIC WORKS, STORMWATER, ALL, ALL THOSE FOLKS IN STORMWATER FOR MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS. IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT, UH, WE GET THIS EVALUATION DONE SO THAT WE CAN APPLY AND HOPEFULLY GET THAT AWARD AND ALL OF US WILL BE SAVING MONEY ON FLOOD INSURANCE, UH, AFTER THAT. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HIGHLIGHTING THAT. UM, THE OTHER TWO ITEMS I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, HAVE TO DO WITH, UH, WITH OUR NATURAL GREEN SPACES. SO FIRST OF ALL, ITEM 11 IS WE'RE FINALLY AWARDING THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR THE FRENCH CREEK CONNECTION FOR THE FRENCH CREEK, UH, PROJECT IN THE GREENWAY TRAIL SYSTEM. AND WHAT THIS IS GOING TO DO IS CONNECT THE TRAILWAY TO AN EXISTING PARK THAT WE HAVE NANNY FALCON. AND, YOU KNOW, NOW THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY TRANSITIONING HOW WE FUND THE GREENWAY SYSTEM, I THINK IT'S REALLY SPECIAL TO HIGHLIGHT EVERYTHING THAT'S BEING BUILT WITH THAT TAX THAT, THAT WE COLLECTED. SO I KNOW THE RESIDENTS ARE VERY EXCITED, HOWEVER, THAT IS NOT EVEN THE BIGGEST NEWS THAT I'M EXCITED TO HIGHLIGHT. UM, IT IS NOT EVERY DAY THAT, UH, ANY OF US GET TO EXTEND OUR PARK SYSTEM, UH, THAT THE CITY GETS TO EXTEND ITS PARK SYSTEM. AND FOR THOSE OF US WHO SEE THAT HAPPEN WHEN THEY'RE A COUNCIL MEMBER, IT'S, IT'S LIKE A BLESSING. I HOPE EVERYONE GETS A CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE ADDING A NEW PARK OR EXTENDING A CURRENT PARK. SO WHAT WE HAVE TODAY IS, UH, ON THE, ON THE AGENDA, ITEM 18 IS TO ACCEPT 8.763 ACRES OF LAND GENEROUSLY DONATED BY THIS FECAL FAMILY TO ADD ON TO NANNY [00:25:01] FALCON PARK. AND I WANT THE SPIEGEL FAMILY TO KNOW JUST HOW SPECIAL THIS DONATION IS. THE HOAS IN THAT AREA HAVE REQUESTED THAT THE CITY PURCHASE THAT LAND, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE REALLY CAN'T ALWAYS DO THAT BECAUSE, UM, THERE ARE LOTS OF AREAS THAT NEED THAT NEED PARKS. SO I THINK, UH, THIS GIFT REALLY JUST CAME, LIKE DROPPED OUT OF HEAVEN FOR US. SO I, I WANNA THANK THEM VERY MUCH. I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING, UH, MRS. SPIEGEL, UH, THE WIDOW OF, UH, STANLEY SPIEGEL, WHO, WHO IN WHOSE HONOR THE DONATION HAS MADE. I HAD A CHANCE TO TALK WITH HER LAST NIGHT, AND SHE TOLD ME THAT HER HUSBAND STANLEY LOVED SAN ANTONIO AND CARED GREATLY FOR QUALITY OF LIFE HERE. HE WAS A SELF-MADE BUSINESSMAN AND MADE IT A PRIORITY TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY THAT HAD BEEN SO GOOD TO HIM. AND WHAT SHE TOLD ME IS THAT HE HAD ACTUALLY DONATED 25 ACRES OF LAND TO THIS PARK PREVIOUSLY BRINGING HIS GRAND TOTAL OF LAND DONATION TO, TO 30 SOMETHING ACRES. SO I WANNA THANK HIM AND, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO BRINGING THAT ONLINE HOMER AND, UH, SANDY, YOU GUYS WERE JUST INSTRUMENTAL IN MAKING THIS HAPPEN AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO, TO TREY JACOBSON FOR, FOR FACILITATING THAT, UM, THAT AGREEMENT. SO, THANK YOU, HOMER. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA SAY A FEW WORDS. THANK, UH, THANK YOU, UH, COUNCILMAN FOR HIGHLIGHTING THIS. WE'RE VERY EXCITED TOO, TO BRING THIS, UM, GREEN SPACE AND ADD TO NANNY FALCON PARK. WE KNOW PARK, WE KNOW IT'S A HIGHLY USED PARK, AND WHERE THIS PARTICULAR PARCEL SITS, WE KNOW THERE'S THAT NEIGHBORHOOD JUST TO THE WEST THAT'S GONNA MAKE IT SO MUCH EASIER TO GET TO THE GREEN SPACE. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD AFTER WE CLOSE ON IT AND, AND GET THIS INTO OUR INVENTORY OFFICIALLY, THEN COMING BACK AND LOOKING AT A, UH, DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMUNITY TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN DEVELOP THAT PARTICULAR PIECE OF LAND AND, UH, CONTINUE TO ADD TO ALL OF THE AMENITIES THAT, UH, NANNY FCON OFFERS TO THE COMMUNITY. SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. WE'RE EXCITED. UM, IT IS A GREAT TIME OF YEAR, SO I WOULD SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE WHO LOVES THEIR PARK. THAT'S RIGHT. THIS IS A BRIGHT SPOT IN 2020 FOR SURE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MAYOR. THANK YOU, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, AND, AND YES, A A GREAT DEAL OF GRATITUDE FOR, FOR US, UM, AND FUTURE GENERATIONS FOR THAT WONDERFUL DONATION. THANK YOU FOR HIGHLIGHTING IT. UH, THAT IS EVERYONE WHO SIGNED UP TO, UH, SPEAK ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. WE DO HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. SORRY. UM, MAYOR, I, I HAD ONE ITEM, I HAD MY HAND OUT, BUT MAYBE IT'S, YOU MISSED IT, IT DISAPPEARED. GO AHEAD, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, UH, THANK YOU. UM, AND, AND THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR HIGHLIGHTING SOME, UH, VERY GOOD, UH, NEWS, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY. UM, ESPECIALLY WITH COMING, UH, TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD. I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY RIGHT DOWN ON THAT CORRIDOR COUNCIL MEMBER THAT WE SHARE. UM, AND, UH, OF COURSE TO THE WONDERFUL PARK. UM, UH, I'M, UNFORTUNATELY, I'M HIGHLIGHTING SOMETHING FOR NOT SUCH GREAT NEWS. UM, UH, AND I, OF COURSE, IT'S ON CONSENT, BUT, UH, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, I, ITEM NUMBER 17, WHICH IS APPROVAL OF OUR SIDEWALKS AND NEIGHBORHOOD ACCESS MOBILITY PROGRAM ARE NOT PROGRAM, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMS. UH, $6 MILLION FOR REALLY IMPORTANT WORK. UM, HOWEVER, I WAS NOTIFIED THIS MORNING THAT WE HAD TWO MORE PEOPLE KILLED CROSSING CULEBRA. AND SO, UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU ALL WHO HAVE BEEN WITH ME FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A BIG INITIATIVE, UM, THAT I STARTED WITH THE VISION ZERO PROGRAM TO ELIMINATE FATALITIES. AND ONE OF THE STREETS THAT I HAD BEEN, UH, HIGHLIGHTING WAS CBRA. SO NOT ONLY DOES IT, UM, UM, CROSS DISTRICTS ONE, DISTRICT SEVEN, DISTRICT SIX AND DISTRICT FIVE, IT'S ONE OF THE MAJOR CORRIDORS, BUT IT IS ALSO A VERY HIGH CRASH CORRIDOR. AND I THINK SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL, AT LEAST 30 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED ON CBRA, WHETHER IT WAS WALKING, UM, AS THESE, IT LOOKS LIKE THESE TWO PEOPLE, UH, WALKING, UH, OR IN AUTOMOBILE COLLISIONS. AND WE HAVE MADE SOME IMPROVEMENTS ON COLLIBRA. I KNOW THE COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, UM, AND, UH, AND THE TEAM HAVE TALKED A LOT ABOUT, UH, IMPROVEMENTS TO CULEBRA, UM, AND THAT THERE'S FUNDING AVAILABLE, BUT IT JUST CANNOT COME SOON ENOUGH. IT IS A HIGH CRASH CORRIDOR. IT'S A HIGH DEATH CORRIDOR. I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO CALL IT. THERE'S ALMOST MONTHLY I GET A REPORT OF A MAJOR COLLISION, [00:30:01] UH, OR A FATALITY ON CBRA. UM, THIS ONE LOOKS LIKE IT HAPPENED AT 19TH STREET, A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO TOWN, UM, UH, IN, UH, IN THE DISTRICT ONE BOUNDARY. UH, AND SO, UM, I WOULD JUST URGE, UH, OUR, UH, TRANSPORTATION TEAM TO ADDRESS CULEBRA SOONER THAN LATER. WE DON'T NEED ANY MORE STUDIES, WE DON'T NEED ANY MORE INFORMATION. WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT DAILY PEOPLE ARE KILLED OR THERE'S MAJOR COLLISIONS ON CULEBRA. SO, UM, I JUST, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT ITEM AS WE, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE APPROVING FUNDING AND THE $6 MILLION RANGE FOR MOBILITY AND IMPROVEMENTS. UM, BUT WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO MAKE, UM, THOSE, THOSE CHANGES RAPIDLY. UH, SO THAT'S, UM, UH, ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. ALRIGHT, UM, THERE IS A, UH, MOTION ON THE FLOOR FOR THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. THAT'S ALL ITEMS SAY FOR 4 30, 34, 36, AND Z ONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ALRIGHT, NOW LET'S [Items 4, 4A & 4B (Part 1 of 2) ] MOVE TO OUR INDIVIDUAL ITEMS TODAY. WE'LL START WITH ITEM FOUR, MARIA, ITEM A, THE FLOOR. THIS THE FLOOR IS YOURS. SORRY, AFTER THE CLERK, I, OKAY. UH, MADAM CLERK, GO AHEAD. SORRY. ITEM FOUR A IS AN ORDINANCE APPROVING ELLEN AGREEMENTS TO ENABLE THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEDICARE EMERGENCY TREATMENT TRIAGE AND TRANSPORT E T THREE PROJECT ESTABLISHED BY CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES. C M S FOR MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES INCLUDED ARE THE PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS WITH THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES, TREATMENT AND PLACE PROGRAM AGREEMENT WITH UT HEALTH AND ALTERNATIVE DESTINATION AGREEMENTS WITH WELLMED, TEXAS MED CLINIC, CARENOW EXPRESS, MED, MED POST AND STRAC. THIS ORDINANCE ALSO AUTHORIZES THE S A S D TO BE REIMBURSED FOR SERVICES PROVIDED UNDER THESE CONTRACTS. AND ITEM FOUR B IS AN ORDINANCE RATIFYING A CONTRACT WITH GOOD SAM IN THE AMOUNT OF $149,000 ANNUALLY TO PROVIDE THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT WITH A WEB-BASED TELEMEDICINE TRIAGE SYSTEM. THE INITIAL SUBSCRIPTION BASED SERVICE TERM IS THROUGH OCTOBER 18TH, 2021, AND FUNDED THROUGH THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 S A S A F D ADOPTED GENERAL FUND OPERATING BUDGET FUNDING FOR THE FOUR OPTIONAL ONE YEAR RENEWAL OPTIONS IS SUBJECT TO FUTURE CITY COUNCIL BUDGET APPROPRIATION. THANK YOU MADAM CLERK, BEFORE WE GET INTO, UH, PRESENTATION DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM, UH, I'M GONNA TURN THE FLOOR [Additional Item ] OVER TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GRO, WHO HAD A POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE, UH, THAT WE DID NOT GET TO. SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO THAT, AND THEN WE'LL GET BACK TO OUR PRESENTATION. COUNCIL MEMBER GRO. THANK YOU MAYOR. UM, THANK YOU ALSO, UM, WE'LL WAIT UNTIL WE HEAR THE PRESENTATION, BUT I WANTED TO DO A DISTRICT, A PERSONAL POINT OF PRIVILEGE FOR A MR. RAMON KING SETTLE RO, WHO THIS WEEKEND TURNED 100 YEARS OLD. UM, MR. QUINTO IS A NATIVE SAN ANTONIAN AND A WORLD WAR II VETERAN. HE, UM, THIS PAST WEEKEND, FAMILY MEMBERS DROVE BY HIS HOME HONKING AND, UH, GREAT PARADE. HE LIVES OFF OF RIGSBY BETWEEN DISTRICTS TWO AND THREE, AND FOR, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN. FOR YEARS HE'S BEEN IN COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO AND BEEN IN COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE, BUT NO MATTER WHAT HE HAS BEEN A, UH, ADVOCATE FOR OUR COMMUNITY. HE WAS A FOUNDING MEMBER PRESIDENT OF THE SUNNY SLOPE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE PASADENA HEIGHTS DATING BACK OVER 25 YEARS. HE IS A HONORARY MEMBER OF THE HIGHLAND PARK AND HIGHLAND HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, AND HE'S BEEN A DISTRICT THREE LIAISON FOR OUR ANNUAL NEIGHBORHOOD THANKSGIVING FOOD DISTRIBUTION. HE IS A STRONG SUPPORTER OF NEIGHBORHOOD ENGAGEMENT, AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE DURING THIS PANDEMIC, HE IS SAD HE CAN'T COME AND VISIT OUR DISTRICT THREE FIELD OFFICE AS HE WOULD. HE IS VERY OPINIONATED AND WILL GIVE YOU UNVARNISHED COMMENTS AND OPINIONS OF WHAT IS RIGHT, WHAT IS WRONG, WHAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED. AND HE ALSO SHARES HIS WISDOM. AND I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR THAT. HE, UM, IS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN OUR BOND, OUR SOUTH HEADLINES BOND PROJECT, AND MAKE SURE THAT HE, UH, GOES OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND WAS ESSENTIAL IN GETTING OUR WALKING TRAIL, OUR NEW OVERLOOK AND OUR DOG PARK INTO SOUTH SIDE LYONS PARK. HE CURRENTLY HOLDS A VALID TEXAS [00:35:01] DRIVER'S LICENSE AND CONTINUES TO DRIVE HIMSELF THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT, REACHING OUT TO OUR RESIDENTS IN NEED. SO WE ALL WANNA JUST WISH HIM A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MR. QUINTO. UM, THANK YOU MAYOR FOR LETTING ME HAVE THIS POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE. BUT IF I CAN TAKE JUST ONE MORE MOMENT, MR. MAYOR, BECAUSE AS WE CELEBRATE THE 100 YEARS FOR MR. QUINTO, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO PAUSE AND REFLECT THAT YESTERDAY IN THE UNITED STATES, WE LOST OVER 3000 SOULS DUE TO C OVID 19. AND THAT IS MORE PEOPLE THAN WE HAVE LOST. UM, ONLINE NINE 11 AND TWO OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WERE THE FATHER AND MOTHER OF LAW IN-LAW TO MY UNCLE, MY DAD'S BROTHER. UM, THEY PASSED ONE DAY APART FROM ONE ANOTHER. SO THIS REMINDS YOU THAT THIS IS YOUR, YOUR NEIGHBOR. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT YOU GO TO CHURCH WITH AND THAT THEY ARE GRIEVING. SO LET'S BE SURE TO STAY HOME, MASK UP AND KEEP ONE ANOTHER SAFE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GRO AND OUR, OUR PRAYERS AND, AND HEARTS ARE WITH YOUR FAMILY RIGHT NOW. AND, UH, ALSO A HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UH, MR. QUINTERO. UM, THINGS ARE WORTH CELEBRATING EVEN DURING A PANDEMIC. UM, ALRIGHT, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE COURTESY OF THAT PAUSE. UM, LET [Items 4, 4A & 4B (Part 2 of 2) ] ME TURN THE FLOOR NOW TO, UM, MARIA, UH, TO INTRODUCE ITEM FOUR. GOOD MORNING, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. MY NAME IS MARIA VILLAGOMEZ, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. UH, THE ACTIONS THAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO TAKE IN ITEM FOUR WILL INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES TO OUR SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY. THE FIRST ITEM THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR YOUR APPROVAL IS AN AGREEMENT FOR THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN A MEDICARE EMERGENCY TREATMENT AND TRANSPORT PROJECT. THIS IS A NATIONAL, UH, PROGRAM THAT IS COMPETITIVE IN NA IN NATURE, AND OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS ONE OF THE ENTITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM. THE SECOND ITEM IS A PROCUREMENT OF A TELEMEDICINE APPLICATION. THIS APPLICATION WILL ALLOW OUR RESIDENTS TO GET ASSISTANCE, UH, FROM MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL STAFF FROM THE COMFORT OF THEIR HOME. THIS IDEA STARTED, UM, EARLY IN THE SUMMER WHEN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS LOOKING FOR INNOVATIVE IDEAS TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO OUR RESIDENTS, UH, AS PART OF OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC AND MITIGATE THEIR EXPOSURE TO C OVID 19. YOU'LL SEE IN THE PRESENTATION THAT THIS PARTICULAR APPLICATION WILL ALLOW THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT CAN GET SERVICES AT HOME WITHOUT HAVING TO BE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL OR ANY OTHER, UH, FACILITY. SO WHEN WE STARTED THE PROCUREMENT, WE WERE ANTICIPATING TO PROCURE THIS ITEM WITH CARES FUNDS AS PART OF OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC. HOWEVER, AS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CHANGED THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND THE GUIDELINES FOR THIS FUNDS, WE FELT THAT IT WAS NOT PRUDENT FOR US TO USE CARES FUNDS FOR THIS APPLICATION. AND WE, UH, INCLUDED FUNDS IN OUR 2021 BUDGET GENERAL FUND IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO PROCURE THIS APPLICATION FOR $149,000. SO WE'RE ASKING YOU TODAY WITHOUT ACTION TO RATIFY THE, THE PROCUREMENT OF THIS APPLICATION THAT AGAIN, WE BEGAN AS PART OF OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE. AND WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR FIRE CHIEF CHARLES HOOD TO PRESENT THIS ITEMS. CHIEF, YOU'RE MUTED. CHIEF. GOOD MORNING. CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE GOT YOU NOW. THANK YOU, CHIEF. OKAY. UH, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. QUINTO. UH, AGAIN, UH, THANK YOU MARIA. THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. UH, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND, AND LOOK AT THE E T THREE, UM, FIRST. AND BEFORE WE START, UM, THIS IS GONNA ALLOW US TO, UH, ENHANCE OUR E M SS RESPONSE TIMES, WHICH IS ALWAYS A CHALLENGE FOR US TO ALSO PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE CARE AT THE RIGHT TIME TO OUR CITIZENS AND HOW WE UTILIZE OUR SYSTEM. UH, THIS IS GONNA HELP US. SO, UM, I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO ASSISTANT CHIEF BRIAN NORRIS, WHO, UM, HAS BEEN MANAGING THIS PROGRAM. WE'RE REALLY EXCITED. AS MARIA MENTIONED, WE'RE ONE OF THE FEW FIRE DEPARTMENTS AROUND THE NATION THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE SELECTED TO [00:40:01] BE A PART OF THIS. SO THIS IS GOING TO ENHANCE HOW WE PROVIDE SERVICES TO OUR CITIZENS. SO, UH, BRIAN, I'M GONNA PASS THIS OVER TO YOU AND THEN I'LL BE BACK TO TALK ABOUT THE GOOD SAM APP IN A SEC. THANK YOU. GREAT. THANK YOU CHIEF. UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME? UH, EVERYBODY. ALRIGHT. I GOT TWO THUMBS UP, SO THAT'S GOOD. UH, FIRST OF ALL, MAYOR AND, UM, COUNCIL PERSONS, I, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THIS PROGRAM TO YOU. WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT TO, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH YOUR APPROVAL. SO ANY CONVERSATION ON E T THREE OR THE EMERGENCY TREATMENT TRIAGE AND TRANSPORT PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN LAID OUT BY THE CENTER FOR MEDICARE SERVICES NEEDS TO START WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF E M S AS IT IS. SO CURRENTLY, IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, YOU'RE GONNA CALL NINE ONE ONE. THAT CALL WILL BE ANSWERED BY UNIFORM DISPATCHERS, UH, AND PARAMEDICS AT OUR COMMUNICATION CENTER. AND THEY'LL DETERMINE THROUGH A SHORT ASSESSMENT, WHICH APPROPRIATE UNITS NEED TO GO TO THAT CALL, EMERGENCY UNITS WILL BE DISPATCHED. AND UPON OUR ARRIVAL, THEY HAVE TWO CHOICES ON WHAT TO DO AND ONLY TWO CHOICES ON WHAT TO DO. THEY CAN EITHER TRANSPORT THE PERSON TO A HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, OR NOT TRANSPORT THAT PERSON THROUGH PATIENT REFUSAL OR SOME OTHER PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE GOING ON RIGHT NOW. THIS HAS BEEN THE STRUCTURE FOR DECADES AROUND THE COUNTRY AND ALMOST EVERY E M S SYSTEM THAT YOU SEE. HOWEVER, IN LOOKING AT THE MODEL, THERE ARE SOME SHORTFALLS. AND SO IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE MAIN PROBLEM IN, AND THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THIS IS MISALIGNED INCENTIVES. AND SO, IN BREAKING DOWN THE LIMITATIONS ON THE CURRENT SYSTEM, THEY FOUND THAT THERE'S, THERE'S NO OPTIONS FOR A TRANSPORT DESTINATION. WE GET REIMBURSED TO TAKE PEOPLE TO THE HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT AND THE HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT ALONE. THERE'S ALSO NO CONSIDERATION FOR THE MEDICAL NEEDS OF THE PATIENTS. AND SO IT'S KIND OF USING E EVERY PROBLEM LOOKS LIKE A NAIL. AND SO THE ONLY OPTION THAT WE HAVE IS TO BRING THE HAMMER, WHERE SOMETIMES A SCREWDRIVER OR A PAIR OF PLIERS ARE MORE APPROPRIATE DEPENDING ON THE PATIENT'S NEEDS. IT ALSO DOES NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGY OR INNOVATIONS TO OFFER OPTIONS FOR PATIENTS ON HOW TO GET TREATMENT OR HOW TO HAVE ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE, WHICH LIMITS SOME OF THE PATIENTS' ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE IN SOME CASES. AND SO THE RESULTS OF ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS IS PATIENTS ARE TRANSPORTED BY THE HIGHEST PAID RESOURCES, WHICH IS AN E M S UNIT TO THE HIGHEST PAID RESOURCE, WHICH IS THE HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND SO, MEDICARE HAS WORKED WITH MEDICAL, UH, LEADERS AROUND THE INDUSTRY TO CREATE A NEW SYSTEM WITH THREE GOALS IN MIND. THE FIRST ONE IS TO PROVIDE PERSON-CENTERED CARE. WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE SEVERITY OF THE PATIENT'S PROBLEM IN ORDER TO DO THAT. SO WHAT ARE THE PATIENT'S NEEDS? WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM? THE NEXT THING IS WHERE IS THE CORRECT LOCATION FOR THEIR CARE? NOT EVERY MEDICAL PROBLEM NEEDS TO GO TO A HOSPITAL. MAYBE THEIR CURRENT LOCATION IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE LOCATION FOR THEIR MEDICAL CARE. AND THIS GOAL ALSO IMPROVES HEALTHCARE ACCESS FOR PATIENTS. INCREASED DEFICIENCY IN E M S IS THE SECOND GOAL. FOR YEARS CHIEF HOOD HAS BEEN PRESENTING, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WE ALREADY USE TO IMPROVE PROFICIENCY IN THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT. AND EVEN WITH THE SUCCESS OF THOSE PROGRAMS, WE FEEL THIS PROGRAM WILL FURTHER INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF OUR SYSTEM, AND WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE APPROPRIATE UTILIZATION OF THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. AND THIS IS AN ONLY AMBULANCES, THIS COUNTS HOSPITALS AS WELL. SO WITH IMPROVED ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE THE TRUE NEEDS OF THE PATIENT TO OFFER MORE OPTIONS FOR TREATMENT, HELPS US ADDRESS THE OVERCROWDING THAT WE CURRENTLY SEE AT HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS CURRENTLY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO THIS HAS BROUGHT ABOUT A, A REALIGNING OF THE CURRENT MODEL TO WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE FUTURE MODEL RIGHT NOW. AND IT OFFERS THREE NEW INTERVENTIONS THAT THE CURRENT MODEL DOES NOT OFFER, AND EACH ONE OF 'EM OFFERS EFFICIENCIES TO THE SYSTEM. SO THE FIRST BLUE BOX YOU SEE ON THERE IS THE MEDICAL TRIAGE LINE. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CHIEF HOOD HAS, UH, TALKED TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE ABOUT, AND YOU'LL GET A SLIGHT PRESENTATION ON THAT TODAY OF PILOT PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE TRYING EVEN CURRENTLY AT OUR DISPATCH CENTER. THIS IS INTENDED TO BE PART OF A NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY IN THE FUTURE, PROBABLY THE SPRING, UH, WITH COVID, ALL OF THESE THINGS HAVE GOTTEN PUSHED BACK, AND I'LL SHOW YOU A TIMELINE TOWARDS THE END OF WHERE WE'RE AT. UH, BUT WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT COMING OUT SOMETIME THIS SPRING. BUT WHAT THIS ALLOWS IS A SYSTEM TO START TRIAGING CALLS AT THE TIME THEY CALL 9 1 1. SO CHIEF HOOD, UH, LIKE I SAID, WILL BE BRIEFING YOU ON OUR NEW CLINICAL DISPATCHER PROGRAM, AND THAT WILL BE THE, UH, SYSTEM THAT WE'LL USE TO MOVE FORWARD. AND IT HAS SHOWN GREAT STRIDES SO FAR. THE SECOND BLUE BOX COMES, UH, OR THE TWO BLOCK THROUGH BLUE BOXES DOWN ON THE BOTTOM COME WHEN OUR UNITS ARRIVE ON SCENE. AND WHAT THIS DOES IS IT STARTS TO OFFER OPTIONS TO NOT ONLY THE E M S SYSTEM, BUT TO PATIENTS AS WELL IN AN EFFORT TO TRY TO INCREASE THE ACCESSIBILITY TO HEALTHCARE. THE FIRST ONE IS TO OFFER ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS. THIS ALLOWS E M S UNITS TO BE [00:45:01] COMPENSATED FOR TRANSPORTING TO THE MOST APPROPRIATE FACILITY FOR THE PATIENT. SO NOW WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AT EVERY PROBLEM AS A NAIL. WE CAN START TO SEE THE SCREWS THAT ARE STICKING UP. WE CAN START TO SEE THESE DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND WE CAN ADD OPTIONS FOR BOTH AMBULANCE SERVICES AND THE BENEFICIARIES OF THESE SERVICES. THE LAST ONE IS A TREATMENT IN PLACE OPTION. SO THIS ALLOWS AMBULANCES TO USE TELE TELEHEALTH TO IMPROVE, UM, THE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE THAT PATIENTS HAVE, AND WE CAN DO IT FROM THEIR OWN HOME OR THEIR OWN LOCATION. SO THIS IS UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION TO ACTUALLY SOLVE A PROBLEM IN THE CURRENT MODEL. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO TO DRILL DOWN A LITTLE MORE INTO THESE INTERVENTIONS THAT THE E T THREE PROGRAM WILL OFFER, THE FIRST ONE IS THE ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS. SO AMBULANCE AMBULANCES HAVE ALWAYS TRANSPORTED PEOPLE TO THE HOSPITAL, BUT THAT'S THE MOST EXPENSIVE OP EXPENSIVE OPTION, AND IT'S LIMITED IN CAPACITY. THE FLU SEASON EVERY YEAR, AND ESPECIALLY DURING C OVID 19, HAS SHOWN US JUST HOW LIMITED THE HOSPITAL SYSTEM CAN BE. SO WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE PATIENTS FROM GOING THERE. WHERE MOST OF THE FOCUS FROM C M SS ON THE ER IS ON THE URGENT CARE, UH, ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS E T THREE IS ALSO INCLUDED INCLUSIVE OF MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND EVEN PRIMARY CARE DESTINATIONS. THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT CURRENTLY HAS PROGRAMS IN PLACE TO COVER MOST OF THESE OPTIONS. SO OUR FOCUS IS GONNA BE PRIMARILY ON THE URGENT CARE ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS DURING THIS PROGRAM. AND OUR PATIENTS HAVE THE OPTION AT ANY TIME. IF YOU WANT TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL, WE'LL TAKE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL. UM, AND SO THIS IS A PILOT PROJECT THAT'S COMING OUT THROUGH C M SS. AND SO WE, WE ALWAYS WANT TO RESPECT THE PATIENT'S WISHES AS WELL. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND SO WITH ALL THIS, UH, ALTERNATIVE DESTINATION PROGRAM WITH COUNCIL APPROVAL, THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL BE ENTERING INTO AGREEMENTS WITH FIVE URGENT CARE COMPANIES. THEY'RE LISTED THERE, WHICH IS TEXAS MED CLINIC, MED POST, CARENOW, EXPRESS MED, AND WELLMED. I'M PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT THREE OF THOSE PROGRAMS ARE ACTUALLY BASED IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, WHICH IS A BENEFIT FOR US BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND OUR NEEDS. AND THESE COMPANIES HAVE ALSO BEEN CONTACTED, WE'VE BEEN IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM. WE'VE DONE, UM, ANALYTICS ON THE SERVICES THAT THEY PROVIDE SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GOING TO THE MOST APPROPRIATE LOCATION FOR THE PATIENT AS POSSIBLE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, OUR TREATMENT IN PLACE PROGRAM IS, THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES OF THIS BECAUSE WHO SAYS DOCTORS DON'T MAKE HOUSE CALLS ANYMORE. WE HAVE SEEN THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC THAT MANY PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR A HOSPITAL IF THEY DON'T NEED IT. HOWEVER, THIS FEELING EXISTS EVEN WHEN THERE'S NOT A PANDEMIC IN PLACE. SO WITH THIS OPTION WILL BE IMPROVING ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTHCARE FOR OUR PATIENTS THAT MAY BE FEARFUL OF GOING TO THE HOSPITAL. IN ORDER TO RECEIVE QUALITY CARE, THE TREATMENT OF PLACE OPTION ENABLES AN AMBULANCE PROVIDER SAN ANTONIO E M S, TO EITHER UTILIZE TECHNOLOGY OR TELEHEALTH OR SEND AN ON-SCENE PHYSICIAN OR ADVANCED PRACTICE PRACTITIONER TO TREAT THE PATIENT'S ISSUE WITHOUT THE NEED TO LEAVE THEIR LOCATION. SO AN EXAMPLE OF THAT WOULD BE OUR FLU PATIENTS THAT WE SEE EVERY YEAR. SO WE'LL GET A FLU PATIENT THAT'LL CALL E M SS, THEY'RE SICK, BUT THEY'RE NOT SICK ENOUGH TO BE IN A HOSPITAL. WE'LL HAVE THE ABILITY TO EITHER PUT THEM ON TELEMEDICINE WITH A DOCTOR OR HAVE A DOCTOR VISIT THEIR LOCATION, WHICH WE'VE BEEN KNOWN TO DO AS WELL, TO GIVE THEM PRESCRIPTIONS TO TREAT THEIR, TO TREAT THEIR CASE, TO DOCUMENT IT APPROPRIATELY AND GET 'EM THE SERVICES THAT THEY NEED. SO THIS IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW TECHNOLOGY FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY CAN SOLVE A PROBLEM TO THE CURRENT SYSTEM. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO WITH COUNCIL APPROVAL WILL BE ENTERING INTO AGREEMENTS WITH THE FOLLOWING ENTITIES. THE FIRST ONE IS THE UT HEALTH OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR. THESE WILL ALLOW THE DOCTORS THAT CURRENTLY HAVE CONTROL OVER SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT PARAMEDICS. WE WORK WITH THEM EVERY DAY AND WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH THEM. AND THEY ALSO UNDERSTAND THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT AND THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SYSTEM AND THE HOSPITALS, UH, TO PROVIDE CARE TO THESE PATIENTS. AND WE'LL BE UTILIZING THE GOOD SAM APP, THE GOOD SAM APP, WHICH THE, UH, FIRE CHIEF IS GOING TO GIVE YOU A, UH, PRESENTATION ON VERY SHORTLY TO, UH, PROVIDE THAT SERVICE. AND SO IT'S A, IT'S A TWO-WAY VIDEO CONFERENCING SYSTEM, UH, THAT IS HIPAA SECURED. AND SO WE'LL BE UTILIZING THAT TO PROVIDE THAT TREATMENT IN PLACE OPTION FOR OUR PATIENTS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND SO, THERE'S A FEW THINGS TO UNDERSTAND. THIS IS WHERE THE FINE PRINT COMES IN FROM C M S AND WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S ALWAYS SOME FINE PRINT. UM, BUT THIS MODEL IS ALWAYS FOR THE NINE IS ONLY FOR 9 1 1 EMERGENCY PATIENTS. SO THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO SCHEDULED NON-EMERGENT PATIENTS. SO WE COULDN'T GET SOMEBODY TO CALL AND SAY, HEY, I JUST NEED TO BE TAKEN TO THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE. THIS IS ONLY FOR 9 1 1 PATIENTS MEDICAL NECESSITY IS STILL REQUIRED FOR PATIENT, FOR T FOR PAYMENT, FOR TRANSPORT. SO WE CANNOT JUST COME BACK AND SAY, HEY, WE'RE GONNA TRANSPORT EVERYBODY TO THE HOSPITAL. WE [00:50:01] STILL NEED TO MEET THAT NET MEDICAL NECESSITY THAT IS, UH, DICTATED BY MEDICARE OR INDEPENDENT PAYERS IN ORDER TO GET PAID FOR THAT TRANSPORT. AND SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT WAS INTERESTING IN LOOKING AT E M S SERVICES, THEY ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 1% OF MEDICARE PAYMENTS, EVEN THOUGH 12% OF MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES ACTUALLY UTILIZE E M S SERVICES. SO WHY PARAMEDICS OFFER, UH, UH, A BENEFIT TO THIS, TO THIS PROBLEM IS BECAUSE WE'RE EDUCATED AND WE INTERACT WITH THE ME, UH, THE MEMBERS OF THESE POPULATIONS DAILY, AND THE TREATMENT PROVIDED BY E M S SYSTEM IN TEXAS IS EXCEPTIONAL. UM, WE HAVE AN ESTABLISHED SYSTEM TO PROVIDE THESE SERVICES, AND THIS IS LITERALLY WHAT WE DO. WE'RE TRYING TO ADD EFFICIENCY AND SAVINGS TO THE SYSTEM. THE LAST, UH, CAVEAT THAT IS PUT IN THERE IS MEDIC UNITS, OR OUR AMBULANCE WILL HAVE TO BE ON SCENE IN ORDER TO UTILIZE THESE SERVICES. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE LEGISLATION IS TIED TO BEING ABLE TO, UH, TO CHARGE FOR TRANSPORT SERVICES. WE HAVE TO HAVE AN E M SS UNIT ON SCENE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A TIMELINE, AND I, AND I TOLD YOU THIS WAS DELAYED A LITTLE BIT BY COVID, SO THE R F A OR THE REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS ACTUALLY WAS RELEASED IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR IN 2019. AND THOSE APPLICATIONS, UH, WERE DUE SEPTEMBER 19TH. THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT APPLIED AFTER A PRETTY RIGOROUS PROCESS, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THROUGH MEDICARE, UH, TO BE A PART OF THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE WE SEE THE EFFICIENCIES THAT IT CAN ADD TO THE SYSTEM. UM, SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS SELECTED AS A PARTICIPANT OF FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR. UH, SO RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BEGINNING OF COVID IS WHEN THEY CAME OUT AND SAID THAT WE WERE GONNA BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE. UH, AND THEN THINGS STARTED GETTING DELAYED. SO WE WERE ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO IMPLEMENT THIS PROGRAM IN THE SPRING. IT WAS PUSHED BACK TO THE SUMMER, AND NOW IT'S PUSHED, UH, BACK EVEN FURTHER TO THE BEGINNING OF NEXT YEAR. SO WE HAVE A CHANCE RIGHT NOW TO FINALIZE IN AGREEMENTS, UH, PLAN THE SYSTEM, AND THEN WE HAD TO SUBMIT A IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR OUR PROGRAM BY NOVEMBER 15TH OF THIS YEAR, WHICH HAS BEEN ACCEPTED AND APPROVED BY MEDICARE ALREADY. THE PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT, UH, IS, IS BEFORE YOU TODAY. UH, IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THAT APPROVED AND TAKE PART IN THE SYSTEM, WE NEED TO HAVE THAT UPLOADED BY DECEMBER 15TH OF THIS YEAR. AND IT'S ANTICIPATED THAT OUR SYSTEM WOULD BEGIN JANUARY 11TH OF NEXT YEAR, WHICH GIVES US TIME TO TRAIN ALL OF OUR PARAMEDICS TO, UH, IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM THAT IS HIGH QUALITY AS EVERYBODY HAS COME TO EXPECT FROM THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT. AND SO WITH THAT, I WILL PASS IT OVER TO CHIEF HOOD FOR, UH, ANY COMMENTS HE MAY HAVE, AND I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY. THANK YOU, CHIEF. YOU'RE ACTUALLY, THIS IS JOHN, SIR, YOU, YOU'RE MUTED. SORRY. OKAY. THERE WE GO. I GOT TOO MANY MUTE BUTTONS. SO, UH, FIRST BRIAN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND THAT OF THE TEAM TO ALLOW US TO BE IN A POSITION TO, UH, BE SELECTED. SO THAT WAS THE FIRST PART. AND THEN, UH, I THINK THIS APPLICATION THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS A DIRECT TIE IN TO HELPING US AGAIN, MANAGE OUR RESPONSE TIMES AND GET THE BEST POSSIBLE TREATMENT TO OUR CITIZENS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, UH, ALL OF YOU'RE AWARE OF A HEAT MAP. YOU'VE SEEN THESE OVER THE YEARS. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL OVER THE YEARS, THE COLORS USUALLY DON'T CHANGE TOO MUCH. SO THAT DARK BLUE IS, IS, AGAIN, AGAIN, WHERE MOST OF THOSE CALLS ARE, ARE, ARE AT THE CENTER OF OUR CITY. BUT YOU LOOK OUT, YOU SEE THE FUCHS AND YOU SEE THE ORANGES. AND THOSE ARE YOUR DISTRICTS. AND SOME OF THEM ARE, ARE, ARE VERY BUSY DISTRICTS. SO YESTERDAY IN OUR CITY WE RAN 589, UH, WE HAD 589 DISPATCHES FOR SERVICE. UH, AND THAT EQUATED TO 1,106 UNIT RESPONSES. SO WE'VE TALKED IN THE PAST ABOUT, UH, STANDARDS OF COVER. SO IT COULD BE A CARDIAC ARREST WHERE I'M SEEING THE CLOSEST LADDER TRUCK AND A MEDIC UNIT. IT COULD BE AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT. ALL THOSE THINGS GENERATE, UM, TOTAL UNIT RESPONSES. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE NON-MEDICAL RESPONSES FOR 2020, UM, YOU CAN SEE THOSE UP THERE AT 20%. AND THEN OUR MEDICAL RUNS OF, UH, ARE ABOUT 80%. WE AVERAGE ABOUT 80 TO 84% EVERY SINGLE YEAR. SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS ARE DOWN THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF THE SHUTDOWN. AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS ARE DOWN, SOME OF THOSE THINGS ARE ARE DOWN. BUT AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING AT 207 INCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED WITHIN THE CITY. NEXT SLIDE. SO THE GOOD SAM APP, THE GOOD SAM APP WAS DEVELOPED, UH, IN THE UK AND IT BASICALLY PUTS A DISPATCHER, UH, IN YOUR LIVING ROOM. IT PUTS A DISPATCHER ON THE BUS STOP WITH YOU IN THE PARK FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF CALLS. SO THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ALLOWS US TO READ A PULSE RATE OF THE CALLER. UH, WE'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE PERSON'S COLOR. UH, IF YOU'RE SHORT OF BREATH, YOU'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO SPEAK ONLY IN THREE OR FOUR WORDS, SENTENCES. SO THOSE ARE THE SHORT OF BREATH. WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO TELL THAT [00:55:01] BY TALKING TO THEM. UH, IT CAN BE USED ON ANY PHONE, UH, BY WITHOUT DOWNLOADING AN APPLICATION. AND THEN, UH, THERE'S ONE WAY COMMUNI, UH, VIDEO SERVICES AVAILABLE. AND THERE'S TWO WAY WE'RE USING ONE WAY RIGHT NOW. THIS IS, UH, ACTUALLY ONE OF THE, UH, CLINICAL DISPATCHERS THAT WE'RE SEEING, UM, IN THIS PICTURE RIGHT HERE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO I HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UM, OPPORTUNITY TO GO OUT AND VISIT WITH, UH, OUR DISPATCHERS A FEW WEEKS AGO. AND, UH, WE STARTED THIS PILOT IN 2020. UH, WE SPECIFICALLY TRAINED, UH, DISPATCHERS TO, TO LOOK AT THOSE LOW ACUITY TYPE OF CALLS. AS BRIAN MENTIONED EARLIER, WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT CALL 9 1 1 AND THEY'VE BEEN CALLING FROM GENERATIONS FOR THINGS LIKE A SORE THROAT, A HEADACHE, UH, MINOR TYPE OF CALLS TO WHERE IN THE PAST WE WOULD HAVE TO SEND RESOURCES TO. SO, UH, OUR DISPATCHERS, IF THEY HAD TIME ON A REGULAR BASIS, A LOT OF THESE CALLS MAYBE WE WOULDN'T SEND RESOURCES TO, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT ABILITY. AND SO WE DO NOW. SO THE GOOD SAM APPLICATION IS UTILIZED TO PERFORM, UH, VIDEO CONFERENCING AND THEN, UH, OTHER RESOURCES IF NEEDED. SO THE DAY THAT I WAS THERE, WE ACTUALLY HAD A GENTLEMAN CALL IN FOR HIS DAD. HIS DAD WAS SHAKING, AND THAT WAS THE ONLY COMPLAINT. HIS RIGHT HAND WAS SHAKING. SO AS A DISPATCHER, UM, TOLD HIM, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA SEND YOU A LINK. SO HE SENT HIM A LINK TO HIS PHONE, IT WENT TO HIS TEXT BOX, AND THEN HE HIT THE LINK AND THEN UP POPS THE FACE OF HIS DAD AND HIS LIKE 90 YEAR OLD FATHER. SO HE PUT THE PHONE UP TO HIM, STARTED ASKING HIM QUESTIONS. HIS COLOR WAS GOOD. HE WASN'T DIAPHORETIC, HE WAS SPEAKING IN FULL SENTENCES. UH, HIS PULSE RATE WAS NORMAL. WE COULD SEE IT ON THE BOX, AND WE WERE ABLE TO CONSULT HIM AND NOT SEND ANY RESOURCES, UM, WHATSOEVER. SO BASICALLY IT IS ALLOWING US TO PUT A FACE ON A FACE AND PUT A PARAMEDIC IN YOUR LIVING ROOM IF YOU CALL US AND SAY, OKAY, WELL THERE'S A STABBING A SHOOTING, UH, UH, THE GUY GOT ELECTROCUTED, THERE'S A DROWNING. ALL OF THOSE THINGS, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND SEND THOSE RESOURCES TO AUTOMATICALLY AND THEN STAY ON THE LINE WITH YOU. BUT THIS ALLOWS US TO HAVE MORE OF A, UH, CONVERSATION, UH, AS FAR AS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THIS, UH, PERSON'S SITUATION IS WITHOUT US SENDING RESOURCES. SO WE CAN ALSO, UH, SEND TAXI VOUCHERS, WHICH HAS BEEN PART OF OUR PROGRAM FOR YEARS, TO WHERE WE MINIMIZE THE USE OF E M SS UNITS AND WE SEND THOSE, UH, PATIENTS IN BY VIA TAXINE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THESE NUMBERS, AND THESE NUMBERS ARE REMARKABLE, UH, WE CALL THEM SAVES. AND SO, UH, SINCE WE START OCTOBER 20TH, WE HAVE UTILIZED THE GOOD SAM APP FOR 704 TIMES. WE HAVE 471 SAVED. AND SO, WHICH IS A AMAZING TO US BECAUSE, UH, THAT'S MORE RUNS 471 THAN WE AVERAGE IN A DAY. UH, THE OTHER THING, UH, THE 2 33 THAT YOU LOOK AT, THOSE WERE TIMES WHERE, UM, WE HAD TO ESCALATE AND SEND E M S. SO AGAIN, THE, THE IDEA IS TO GIVE THE BEST POSSIBLE CARE TO THAT PERSON. THE AVERAGE TIME ON A CALL WITH SOMEONE AS, AS I WITNESSED THAT DAY, IS ABOUT 14 MINUTES, 30 SECONDS TO WHERE, OKAY, HE'S LOW ACUITY, HE'S BREATHING FINE, HIS PULSE RATE'S GOOD. LET'S SEE HOW WE CAN HELP THIS PERSON OUT. UM, THE GOOD SAM APP, UH, WAS UNAVAILABLE 162 TIMES BECAUSE WE HAVE 12 DISPATCHERS ON DUTY WITH A LIEUTENANT. AND AGAIN, THOSE OTHER DISPATCHERS ARE MONITORING DISPATCH CHANNELS, TACTICAL CHANNELS WHERE THEY'RE OPERATING ON THE FIRE GROUND, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WE ONLY HAVE ONE PERSON THAT'S DEDICATED FULL-TIME TO THIS RIGHT NOW. SO YOU CAN SEE IN THE FUTURE, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT ADDING RESOURCES AS FAR AS ADDITIONAL DISPATCHERS TO WHERE THAT 162 THAT WERE UNAVAILABLE, WE COULD TURN THOSE INTO POTENTIAL SAVES. AND AGAIN, THE, THE MAIN IDEA IS OF THIS IS I'M TRYING TO, UH, PROTECT OUR FIREFIGHTERS FROM COVID, TRYING TO PROTECT OUR CITIZEN CITIZENS FROM EMERGENCY RESPONSES, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS THINGS WE DO AS FAR AS RESPONDING CODE THREE TO RESIDENTS. AND AGAIN, UM, LOAD BALANCING THE HOSPITALS TO WHERE WE'RE NOT PICKING UP EVERY PERSON AND SENDING THEM TO THE HOSPITAL. AND ALSO WE'RE SAVING OUR BURN RATE ON OUR P P E. SO THIS SAVINGS RIGHT NOW IS AVERAGING ABOUT, UH, NINE FIRE AND E M SS, UH, RESPONSES A DAY. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. UH, NEXT SLIDE. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS HEAT MAP AGAIN, AND, UM, WHEN [01:00:01] I, UH, WENT TO PUBLIC SAFETY, WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH NUMBERS TO REALLY, UH, CREATE THAT, THAT HEAT MAP. BUT WHAT WE DO NOW HAVE IS, IS BY DISTRICT. AND, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT STATION 44 IN, UH, COUNCIL WOMAN'S, UH, DISTRICT FOUR, UH, ONE OF OUR BUSIEST HIGH IMPACT AREAS. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE RUNS THAT WE HAVE SAVED IN DISTRICT 4 72 RUNS, THAT'S AMAZING. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING, UM, ENHANCEMENTS THAT I'VE EVER SEEN BECAUSE ENGINE 44, THEY GET UP AT SEVEN IN THE MORNING, AND FOR SOME REASON, THEY DIDN'T GET UP THREE TIMES THAT NIGHT. THAT MEDIC UNIT DIDN'T GO TO THE HOSPITAL TWO OR THREE TIMES THAT NIGHT. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THESE RUNS, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOTALITY OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO EVERY SINGLE YEAR, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE SAVING E M S UNITS, WE'RE GONNA BE SAVING FIRE UNITS, WE'RE GONNA BE KEEPING OUR FOLKS HEALTHY. AND, AND AGAIN, IMPROVING THE OUTCOME OF THESE PATIENTS TO WHERE THEY DIDN'T NEED A FIRE TRUCK SHOWING UP AT THREE IN THE MORNING. THEY DID NEED AN AMBULANCE RIDE. THEY NEEDED SOMEBODY TO TAKE 10 OR 15 MINUTES TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEIR ISSUE WAS AND TRY TO PUT THEM AND NAVIGATE THEM TO THE RIGHT HEALTHCARE THAT THEY NEED. UH, NEXT SLIDE. SO THIS CONCLUDES THE, UH, PRESENTATION. WE'RE GONNA SHOW YOU A QUICK VIDEO RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU. THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS RECENTLY BEGUN UTILIZING THE GOOD SAM APP, THAT USAGE TECHNOLOGY TO BETTER SERVE OUR COMMUNITY. THE APP ALLOWS PARAMEDIC DISPATCHERS TO PROVIDE THE PUBLIC THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF CARE WHILE REDUCING RESOURCES SENT TO THE SCENE, CONSERVING VALUABLE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, REDUCING HOSPITAL OVERCROWDING AND KEEPING EMERGENCY RESPONDERS AVAILABLE FOR CRITICAL INCIDENTS. THE PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT OR PSAP RECEIVES A CALL FROM MEDICAL EMERGENCY. THE CALLER IS GREETED BY A SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT PARAMEDIC DISPATCHER, AND THE EXISTING CALL TAKING PROCESS BEGINS. THE DISPATCHER WILL VERIFY PHONE NUMBER AND ADDRESS BEFORE STARTING TO WORK THROUGH A MEDICAL PROTOCOL WRITTEN BY THE OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR. THIS PROTOCOL AND THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PARAMEDICS ASSIST IN ENSURING NO CRITICAL PATIENT IS EVER MISSED. CALLERS COMPLAINING OF SEVERE MEDICAL PROBLEMS WILL HAVE RESOURCES SENT TO THEIR LOCATION. WHILE THE CALL TAKER IS STILL ON THE PHONE, THOSE CALLERS THAT HAVE MILDER COMPLAINTS WILL BE ASKED FURTHER QUESTIONS TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATE CARE. ONCE A CALLER IS IDENTIFIED TO HAVE A LOWER PRIORITY INCIDENT, THAT CALLER IS TRANSFERRED TO OUR NEW CLINICAL DISPATCHER. THE CLINICAL DISPATCHER WILL CONTINUE TO ASSIST THE CALLER AND ALLOW THE INITIAL CALL TAKER TO BECOME AVAILABLE TO ANSWER OTHER EMERGENCY CALLS. THE CLINICAL DISPATCHER WILL TAKE TIME TO VERIFY NO CRITICAL SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS OR MISSED DURING THE INITIAL CALL TAKING. IF A CRITICAL SITUATION DOES NOT EXIST, THE CLINICAL DISPATCHER WILL SEND A TEXT MESSAGE TO THE CALLER USING THE GOOD SAM APP. THE CALLER WILL BE ASKED TO CLICK ON A LINK AND ALLOW PERMISSIONS FOR AUDIO AND VIDEO. THIS TEXT AUTOMATICALLY TURNS ON THE CALLER'S CAMERA AND WILL ALLOW THE CLINICAL DISPATCHER TO SEE THE CALLER. THIS PROVIDES VALUABLE INFORMATION TO THE CLINICAL DISPATCHER, SUCH AS THEIR SKIN COLOR, EFFORT OF BREATHING, ABILITY TO FOLLOW COMMANDS, AND PROVIDES A VIEW OF THE INJURY. THE APPLICATION ALSO UTILIZES THE PHONE'S AI CAPABILITIES AND WILL GIVE THE CALLERS PULSE RATE. WITH ALL OF THIS INFORMATION, THE CLINICAL DISPATCHER CAN ASSIST THE CALLER IN MAKING THE BEST DECISION FOR THEIR SITUATION. THIS COULD INCLUDE SENDING NO RESOURCES IF AT HOME CARE IS APPROPRIATE AND AVAILABLE, SENDING A TAXI VOUCHER FOR TRANSPORT TO THE HOSPITAL OR CLINIC, OR SENDING A FIRE RESOURCE TO FURTHER EVALUATE THE CALLER. THE NEXT PHASES OF THE PROGRAM BRING ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES FOR PATIENT CARE AND SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. THE GOOD SAM APP ALLOWS OUR DISPATCHERS TO BRING IN A CONSULTANT SUCH AS OUR MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR GUIDANCE AND DIFFICULT SITUATIONS, AND PROVIDING FIRST CLASS CUSTOMER SERVICE AND UNMATCHED PATIENT CARE. THE GOOD SAM APP CAN BE USED FOR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AS WELL. THE CALLER'S VIDEO CAN BE STREAMED TO RESPONDING UNITS, SO THEY MAY SEE THE SCENE BEFORE EVER ARRIVING. THIS WILL ALLOW RESPONDING INCIDENT COMMANDERS TO BETTER PREPARE FOR SITUATIONS AND EVEN PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE AHEAD OF THE CURVE BEFORE THEY ARRIVE ON SCENE. THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT EXPECTS TO CONTINUE TO LEAD THE WAY WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY. NOWHERE IN THE COUNTRY IS THIS SYSTEM BEING UTILIZED AS IT IS HERE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. YOU'RE ON MUTE, CHIEF. THERE WE GO. ALL RIGHT. MY BAD. UH, YOU THINK YOU GET USED TO THIS, THE SHIFT THAT I WAS AT DISPATCH, THE, UH, DAY BEFORE THEY HAD HAD 19 SAVES OUT OF 21 PEOPLE HAD CALLED US. WE HAD 19 SAVES. AND SO THAT IS 19 TIMES THAT WE ARE KEEPING OUR UNITS IN HOUSE AND KEEPING THEM AVAILABLE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY NEED US OR THAT FIRE EMERGENCY. THE OTHER THING THAT WE MENTIONED [01:05:01] AT THE END IS A SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TO WHERE IF SOMEONE CALLS US, THEY CAN TRAIN THAT CAMERA ON THAT FIRE AND IT WILL ALLOW US TO FIGURE OUT, OKAY, IT'S A DUMPSTER FIRE, IT'S A FENCE FIRE. MAYBE I DON'T NEED TO SEND AS MANY RESOURCES, OR, YOU KNOW WHAT? I NEED TO SEND A LOT MORE. SO THIS WILL TAKE, TAKE US TO A, A LEVEL OF RESPONSE FOR THIS COMMUNITY THAT WE'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. SO, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. GREAT. THANK YOU FOR THE, UH, PRESENTATION, UH, CHIEF HOOD, CHIEF NORRIS, UM, YOU KNOW, PUT THIS RIGHT UP WITH THE INNOVATION ON THE WHOLE BLOOD, UH, PROGRAM AS A WAY THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HERE IN SAN ANTONIO IS CONTINUING TO SET THE PACE FOR THE INDUSTRY AND BENEFIT OF THE RESIDENTS WHO ARE SERVED BY IT. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, FOR THIS PRESENTATION. LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THIS COME TO FRUITION. UM, LET ME GO TO COUNCIL, UH, DISCUSSION NOW. WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN. UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU CHIEF. AND, AND THANK YOU TO OUR SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR CONTINUING TO LEAD THE WAY IN HOW WE CAN TRULY HELP OUR COMMUNITY. UM, CHIEF, I KNOW, UH, EARLIER THIS, THIS MONTH OR, OR THIS YEAR DURING THIS PANDEMIC, UM, WE WANTED TO SUBMIT A C C R TO HELP OUR MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS WITH, UM, ASSISTANCE WITH E M SS. AND AT THE TIME THAT WE WANTED TO SUBMIT IT, YOU BROUGHT FORTH THIS PROGRAM AND WE WERE EXCITED TO SEE IT COME TO PUBLIC SAFETY. UM, AND SO I KNOW THAT THERE ARE STILL MANY QUESTIONS THAT OUR SENIORS ARE HAVING, UM, ABOUT E M S AND E M S TRANSPORTATION, AND HOW DOES IT RELATE TO BEING IN THE PANDEMIC AND THEN HAVING THE ECONOMIC CRISIS ON TOP OF THAT AND LOOKING AT THIS PROGRAM, IT SPEAKS TO EVERY CONCERN THAT OUR SENIORS ARE HAVING ABOUT HOW TO CONTINUE TO AGE AND LIVE IN PLACE. UM, THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE FOR YOU IS, HAS THIS PROGRAM BEEN SHARED WITH A A R P OR WITH THE SENIOR, UH, PLATFORM? YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL, COUNCILWOMAN, I'M, I'M GLAD THAT WE WERE ABLE TO CHECK SOME OF THOSE BOXES ON THE, UH, CONCERNS THAT YOU HAD, UH, WITH THE, WITH THE COMMUNITY. AND, AND THE MAIN THING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR EACH OF YOU COUNCIL, UH, COUNCIL, UH, PERSONS, YOU HAVE ELDERLY PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY THAT ARE CONCERNED ABOUT ACCESSING E M S. AND SO WE ARE NOT COMING WITH A, UH, WITH A CARD READER. WE ARE NOT COMING, UH, LOOKING FOR BILLING INFORMATION, NONE OF THAT. AND SO THE FIRST THING, PEOPLE SHOULD ALWAYS CALL US IF THEY NEED US. WE WANT THEM TO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THIS SERVICE. UH, WE'RE NOT A PRIVATE AMBULANCE COMPANY. WE'RE SITTING AROUND OPERATION. SO, UH, IF YOU NEED US, YOU CALL US. I THINK WE CAN ALWAYS DO A BETTER JOB OF LETTING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT OPTIONS THEY HAVE. AND SO NOW WITH THESE PROGRAMS, YOU DO HAVE OPTIONS WITH THAT ELDERLY, UM, LADY THAT CALLS AT FOUR IN THE MORNING, AND I'VE BEEN ON THOSE CALLS. UH, SOMETIMES THEY JUST NEED SOMEBODY 'CAUSE THEY'RE LONELY. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF RUNS THAT WE RUN AFTER MIDNIGHT, A LOT OF THOSE CALLS ARE BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE LONELY, THEY'RE SCARED, THEY NEED SOME HELP. IT MAY NOT BE FOUR GUYS OR GIRLS SHOWING UP ON A FIRETRUCK. IT MAY NOT BE TWO MORE SHOWING UP AT AN AMBULANCE, BUT IT COULD BE A CONCERNED DISPATCHER THAT HAS THE ABILITY TO LOOK AT THEM, TO TALK TO THEM, TO EASE THEIR CONCERNS, LET THEM KNOW THAT, UH, THAT THERE'S HELP HERE, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO COME IN THE FORM OF A BIG RED FIRE TRUCK OR AN AMBULANCE. SO THE A A R P, UH, WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT, BRIAN. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE INFORMATION ON THAT, BUT, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO AGAIN, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST POSSIBLE THAT IT CAN BE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. SO, BRIAN, YOU HAVE ANYTHING ON THE A R P QUESTION AT ALL? SO, NOT A A R P IN PARTICULAR, HOWEVER, THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING ON THE BACKGROUND TO HELP IMPROVE ACCESS FOR SENIORS. AND SO WE ARE PART OF A, UH, CONSORTIUM OF THE OTHER 12 AGENCIES WHO HAVE BEEN APPROVED IN TEXAS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE E T THREE PROJECT. AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH PLANS AND THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH PLANS, WHICH, UH, WELLMED AND A LOT OF THOSE OTHER, UM, SENIOR CITIZEN ORGANIZATIONS ARE A PART OF. AND SO THEY, THEY, THEY'RE LOOKING AT OFFERING THIS AS A BENEFIT AS WELL TO MEDICARE. AND THE OTHER THING THAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE CHANNELS IN ORDER TO HAVE THIS OFFERED THROUGH MEDICAID AS WELL. SO WE'RE WORKING WITH H H S C RIGHT NOW. UH, AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, UH, THERE'S GONNA BE AN INTRODUCTION OF A BUDGET RIDER TO THE H H S C, UH, BUDGET IN ORDER TO ALLOW FOR THIS PLAN TO BE A BENEFIT FOR MEDICAID AS WELL. SO WE ARE LOOKING AT ALL THOSE OPTIONS, BUT MEDICARE IS WHERE WE HAVE TO START. AWESOME. THANK YOU, BRIAN. UM, AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION THAT I'LL ASK IS, AT THIS TIME, WHAT DOES THE MARKETING CAMPAIGN LOOK LIKE AS FAR AS ROLLING THIS OUT TO THE COMMUNITY CHIEF? WE KNOW THAT YOU GUYS HAVE [01:10:01] THE BEST, UH, VIDEOS THAT YOU PRODUCED AND SHOW US. WILL YOU BE USING THOSE VIDEOS TO PUT THIS OUT TO THE COMMUNITY? OR WHAT IS YOUR, YOUR CAMPAIGN STRATEGY LOOKING LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS AWARE THIS PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE? WELL, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION TOO, COUNCILWOMAN. UM, WHAT WE DID WAS A SOLE ROLE, A SOLE ROLE. WE STARTED IN OCTOBER. UH, WE KNEW THIS WAS GONNA BE A SUCCESS, BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BROUGHT IT TO PUBLIC SAFETY FIRST, UM, GET THEIR BUY-IN. AND THEN WE WANTED TO BRING THIS, UH, TO THE FULL ATTENTION OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL. SO WE ANTICIPATE A TON OF INTEREST AFTER THIS. AND WE HAVE DONE NOTHING REALLY TO MARKET THIS, BUT WORD OF MOUTH TO COUNCIL, OUR CI, CIVIC LEADERS, AND WORD OF MOUTH TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. AND SO WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS FIGURE OUT A CAMPAIGN TO WHERE ENGINE FIVE YOU BENEFITED LAST NIGHT BECAUSE YOU WERE SAVED THREE TIMES. MEDIC 40, YOU BENEFITED BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T GET OUT OF BED THREE TIMES LAST NIGHT. SO OUR BIGGEST, UH, MARKETING IS GONNA BE TO OUR TROOPS. SO THEY UNDERSTAND THAT, AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO ALLEVIATE THE BURDEN, UH, OF THE RUN VOLUME AND, AND PROTECT THEM FROM COVID. SO YOU'LL BE SEEING A LOT OF IT AFTER TODAY. BUT AGAIN, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT COUNCIL KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE DOING BEFORE WE DID ANYTHING ELSE. AND COUNCILWOMAN, HI, THIS IS MARIA VIE GOMEZ. TO ADD TO, WITH THE CHIEF MENTION, THE OTHER AREAS THAT WE DISCUSSED IS TO COORDINATE WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS OF HUMAN SERVICES AND HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES THAT PROVIDE SERVICES TO VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES, SPECIFICALLY HUMAN SERVICES, TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO FAMILIES. UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE CONTACT DIRECTLY WITH THE SENIOR POPULATION THROUGH THAT DEPARTMENT. SO WE, WE PLAN TO BE ABLE TO PROMOTE THE PROGRAM WITH THEM, UM, AS WELL AS TO COORDINATE WITH YOUR OFFICES AND USING YOUR NEWSLETTERS AND OTHER VENUES THAT YOU MAY HAVE TO GET THE WORD OUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN. UM, THE VIDEO THAT YOU SAW TODAY, WE ALSO GONNA HAVE THAT IN OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. UM, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE HAVE, UH, SEGMENTS OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT PERHAPS DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO SOCIAL MEDIA. SO THAT'S WHY WE'LL BE USING OUR HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND SOME OF OUR HARD PRINT TYPE OF, UM, MATERIALS TO PROMOTE THE PROGRAM. THANK YOU, MARIA. AND, AND ONE OTHER PLACE I'D LIKE FOR, FOR YOU TO UTILIZE IS OUR FAITH-BASED OUTREACH. UM, IF THEY COULD UTILIZE THE, THE VIDEO TO EVEN PLAY TO THEIR PARISHIONERS, UM, ON THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, I THINK THAT THAT IS ANOTHER WAY TO TRULY START TAPPING INTO SOME OF THE, THE PUBLIC THAT WE DON'T GET TO, TO REALLY SEE OR UTILIZE, UM, THROUGH OUR PLATFORM. SO I THINK THAT THAT'S ANOTHER AVENUE, UH, TO LOOK AT AS WELL. MARIA. UM, AND THEN I JUST WANNA SAY ONCE AGAIN, UM, S A F D IS DOING, UM, ALL THINGS INNOVATIVE WHEN IT COMES TO PROTECTING AND, AND PRESERVING THE LIVES OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. THANK YOU FOR BEING SO INNOVATIVE. THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING TO LOOK FOR THE NEW INNOVATIVE WAYS THAT WE CAN BRING HEALTH AND BETTERMENT OF LIFE TO OUR COMMUNITY. AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO MOTION FOR THIS ITEM TO BE APPROVED. SECOND. OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREWS SULLIVAN. UH, THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF ITEM FOUR. WE'LL CONTINUE OUR DISCUSSION WITH COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN FOR, FOR THAT MOTION AND, AND OPENING UP THE DISCUSSION. UH, FIRST I'D, I'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE STAFF. I JUST THANK THEM, BUT CONGRATULATE ERIC AND HIS FULL TEAM. UM, CHIEF AND BRIAN PUTTING, OR AGREEMENTS LIKE THIS TOGETHER IS NO SMALL FEAT. THERE ARE SO MANY ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED. I CAN'T IMAGINE THE THE ADMINISTRATIVE HEADACHES THAT YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH, BUT I'M GLAD YOU GOT THROUGH THEM. UM, IT'S, IT'S FOR A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL PROGRAM. SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT. UM, AND CONGRATULATIONS ON, ON GETTING IT DONE. I HAVE A FEELING THIS ITEM WILL GET APPROVED. SO CONGRATULATIONS. UM, I, I DO HAVE SOME, SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, THE PROGRAM. IT'S A, IT'S A MEDICARE PROGRAM. SO DOES THAT MEAN IT IS ONLY GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR, ACTUALLY, LET ME TAKE ONE, ONE STEP BACK. I APOLOGIZE. WE HAVE FOUR A AND FOUR B. ARE THOSE TWO SEPARATE PROGRAMS THAT RUN INDEPENDENTLY? UH, LIKE DO, DOES ONE DEPEND ON THE OTHER? I THINK MIGHT BE, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE TWO SEPARATE. OKAY. SO WE WERE ALREADY PERFORMING THE GOOD SAM OPERATION, BUT THIS IS GOING TO PUT US ON A, ON A PATHWAY TO ENHANCE WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO WITH ET T THREE. UH, SO THEY ARE INDEPENDENT OF EACH OTHER. WE, WE RAM THEM TOGETHER, SO, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD GET AN IDEA, BUT THEY'RE INDEPENDENT. [01:15:01] WE'RE DOING THE GOOD SAM APP TODAY. MM-HMM. , WE'LL CONTINUE WITH THE GOOD SAM APP. THE ET T THREE IS, IS SEPARATE, AND SO THEY ARE INDEPENDENT. OKAY. UH, I WAS, UH, HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH ERIC, AND HE TOLD ME THIS WAS GOING TO REALLY EXPAND ACCESS TO, TO CARE, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY. I COMPLETELY AGREE. AND I TOLD HIM IT WAS A B F D, AND HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT A B F D WAS. AND YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT ME PUZZLED, BUT IF YOU RECALL WHEN, UH, OBAMACARE, OKAY. CHILDHOOD KNOWS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. WHEN OBAMACARE WAS, UH, WAS APPROVED AND IMPLEMENTED, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT JOE BIDEN SAID. THIS IS A BIG F DEAL. SO, UM, I'M, I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING THIS. UM, SO I WANNA GO BACK TO, TO THE FIRST ITEM TO, TO FOUR A WITH MR. NORRIS. UM, SO YOU SAID THIS IS A MEDICARE PROGRAM. SO DOES THAT MEAN WE GET REIMBURSED JUST FOR THE PEOPLE THAT YOU TREAT WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICARE OR WHO ARE ALREADY ENROLLED IN MEDICARE? SO RIGHT NOW, THE, UH, BENEFIT WILL BE FOR MEDICARE FEE FOR SERVICE PATIENTS OR, OR BENEFICIARIES. AND SO THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE RIGHT NOW YOUR MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PROGRAMS, UH, ANYTHING LIKE THAT. IT'S STRICTLY FOR THAT, UH, POPULATION. HOWEVER, THAT IS WHY, AND PART OF THE E T THREE PROGRAM FROM MEDICARE IS TO LOOK FOR A MULTI-PAYER STRATEGY. AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE WORKING WITH THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH PLANS, UH, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS TO TRY TO GET THIS EXPANDED. AND THAT THE RESPONSE HAS BEEN VERY POPULAR. HOWEVER, ONE THING, AND CHIEF HOOD MAY HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THIS THAT WE DO NOT DO AS A FIRE DEPARTMENT IS WHAT WE CALL INSURANCE TRIAGE. AND SO WE'RE NOT GONNA WALK INTO SOMEBODY'S HOUSE AND SAY, OKAY, WELL WHAT KIND OF INSURANCE DO YOU HAVE? AND THAT'S GONNA DEPEND ON THE CARE THAT YOU GET. WE'RE GONNA SUR SUPPLY SUPPLY THIS PROGRAM TO EVERYBODY, AND WE'LL TAKE CARE OF THE REIMBURSEMENT ON THE BACK IN. OKAY. UH, ALRIGHT. SO AT, WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE, THEN THAT'S WHEN YOU FIGURE OUT WHO'S ACTUALLY ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT. SO UP UPFRONT, DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT? WHAT PERCENT OF OUR CALLS? UM, RIGHT NOW IT'S A, IT'S A SMALL NUMBER OF CALLS BECAUSE THEY'RE, UH, CURRENTLY WE ALREADY TRANSPORT TO WHAT WE CALL ALTERNATIVE DESTINATION, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S A HOSPITAL-BASED FREESTANDING EMERGENCY ROOM. THIS WILL GIVE US FLEXIBILITY FOR CHEAPER OPTIONS FOR MEDICARE, WHICH ACTUALLY, AS, AS YOU WELL KNOW, WILL HELP EXPAND MEDICARE BECAUSE WE'RE SAVING THEM MONEY ON, ON THE BACK END OF IT, WHICH SAVES OUR BENEFICIARIES MONEY. OKAY. SO IT IT'S A SMALL, UH, NUMBER, I WOULD SAY PROBABLY FIVE TO 10% OF OUR CALL VOLUME. UM, AND ABOUT, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE ABOUT 40% OF OUR PATIENTS THAT WE ACTUALLY TRANSPORT TO THE HOSPITAL ARE MEDICARE PATIENTS OF SOME SORT, NOT NECESSARILY THE FEE FOR SERVICE. AND SO, UM, WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING ABOUT, UH, TWO TO 3000 CALLS A YEAR THAT THIS WILL IMPACT RIGHT NOW. OKAY. I THAT'S STILL SIGNIFICANT. UH, I, I THINK SO. SO WE PAY AT, AT THIS POINT IN TIME BEFORE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS AGREEMENT, WE PAY FOR THE TRANSPORT AND INITIAL TREATMENT OF, OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS, THOSE TWO TO 3000 CALLS. AND THEN I IMAGINE MEDICARE PICKS UP THE BILL, OR THE HOSPITAL PICKS UP THE BILL WHEN THEY END UP GOING TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM. RIGHT? SO RIGHT NOW WE BILL ACTUALLY THE INSURANCE COMPANY OR MEDICARE, IF YOU, IF YOU RECEIVE SERVICES, WE'LL SEND THAT BILL DIRECTLY TO YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY. OKAY. AND SO WITH THIS, WHAT IT, WHAT, WHAT THIS ESSENTIALLY ENABLES US TO DO IS TO GET COMPENSATED FOR THESE PROGRAMS, WHICH WE'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO BEFORE. UM, AND MEDICARE PAYS THEIR PORTION OF IT, UM, THEY HAVE A BALANCE ON THAT BILL, USUALLY BECAUSE MEDICARE PAYS A SIGNIFICANT, UH, REDUCED AMOUNT AND THEY ONLY PAY 80% OF THAT ALLOWABLE. UM, HOWEVER, THERE ARE STATE PROGRAMS IN PLACE THAT ALLOW THE CITY THROUGH A SUPPLEMENTAL, UH, PAYMENT PROGRAM TO RECOVER SOME OF THOSE COSTS FOR MEDICARE. UH, THAT'S WHY IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE LOOK AT THESE OTHER PAYERS TO GET THEM TO ADD THAT AS A BENEFIT SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO ADD THAT AND, AND GET COMPENSATED FOR THAT. OKAY. SO FOR ANYONE WHO DOES HAVE INSURANCE OR IS ENROLLED IN A MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN, WE DO GET REIMBURSED FOR THOSE SERVICES. NOT WELL, FOR TRADITIONAL SERVICES, YES. FOR THESE PROGRAMS UNTIL WE GET 'EM ACTUALLY APPROVED. THERE'S NO REAL WAY TO KNOW THAT. AND WE'RE STILL NAVIGATING THROUGH THAT SYSTEM. AND, AND, UH, LIKE YOU HAD BROUGHT UP, THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF INSURANCE COMPANIES AND DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO, UH, OR ACTUALLY WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING TO, UH, TALK TO ABOUT THIS, UM, THE CONSORTIUM ASPECT SEEM THE BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT THAT. AND SO, SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. WE'RE WORKING AS A GROUP IN THE STATE TO TALK TO THOSE DIFFERENT PAYERS. WE'LL STILL CHARGE 'EM WHETHER WE'RE FOR SURE GONNA GET PAID BACK FOR THAT SERVICE AT THIS TIME. WE, WE DO NOT KNOW. OKAY. SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO COME OUT OF OUR, UH, GENERAL FUND THEN IF WE DON'T [01:20:01] GET REIMBURSED FOR IT. I, I IMAGINE. YES, MA'AM. AND THERE'S A PERCENTAGE OF, OF RUNS WE DON'T GET REIMBURSED NOW. AND SO I BROUGHT UP, UM, MEDICAL NECESSITY. AND SO IF WE TAKE SOMEBODY THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY REALLY WANT TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL AND WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE THAT SERVICE FOR 'EM, BUT THEY DON'T HAPPEN TO MEET THAT MEDICAL NECESSITY AS BASED THROUGH MEDICARE, WE DON'T GET REIMBURSED FOR THAT NOW. SO WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS AS A COST AND REVENUE NEUTRAL PROGRAM RIGHT NOW. UM, BECAUSE IF WE WERE GONNA TAKE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL, WE'RE STILL GONNA GET PAID FOR THAT TRANSPORT IF WE TAKE YOU TO AN ALTERNATIVE CARE DESTINATION. AND THAT DOESN'T CHANGE FOR US, BUT IT HELPS THE PATIENTS FOR SURE. FOR SURE IT DOES. NO, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S GREAT. UM, SO I THINK THIS IS ALL THE MORE REASON FOR US TO, TO LOBBY HARD FOR THAT MEDICARE EXPANSION, UH, THAT, UH, THAT OUR LEGISLATIVE TEAM IS WORKING ON. UM, ONE OTHER THING, I ONE OTHER REASON THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT IS THAT IT DOES, I THINK IT'S MORE LIKELY TO PRESENT THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR CONTINUITY OF CARE FOR THE PATIENTS, RIGHT? IF THEY END UP GOING TO A SMALLER CLINIC. DO YOU, DO YOU, DO YOU THINK THAT'S POSSIBLE AS OPPOSED TO GOING TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM? ABSOLUTELY. AND WE'VE DONE A SURVEY WITH ALL OF THESE, UH, URGENT CARE CENTERS. UH, WE KNOW THEIR LEVEL OF CARE, AND WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA BE ENTERING INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH, UH, STRAC, THE SOUTH TEXAS REGIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL TO ACT AS, ACT AS A NAVIGATOR. AND SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO TELL FROM THE PATIENT, OKAY, WE'RE AT THIS LOCATION, THIS IS THE CLOSEST LOCATION TO YOU, AND THEY HAVE THE SERVICES NECESSARY FOR THAT PATIENT, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO TRANSPORT 'EM TO THAT LOCATION. UH, BUT WHEN THE EMERGENCY'S ALL SAID AND DONE, IF THIS PERSON, UH, CALLS AGAIN, IS THERE GOING TO BE ANY HISTORY OF, OF THAT? WE'LL, WE'LL TREAT RIGHT NOW. WE DON'T KEEP THAT HISTORY FROM CALL TO CALL. UH, WE HAVE IT OF COURSE, IN THE FILES, BUT THE PARAMEDICS DON'T KNOW THAT. SO EVERY TIME THAT WE RESPOND, YOU'RE GETTING TREATED WITH A FRESH SET OF EYES BECAUSE WE REALLY WANNA FOCUS ON YOUR, UH, PROBLEM, NOT NECESSARILY YOUR HISTORY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO I THINK THERE'S STILL AN OPPORTUNITY IN THE FUTURE, AND THIS IS WAY BEYOND THE SCOPE OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT YES. IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT PERSON, UH, GETS A, GETS A REGULAR DOCTOR, RIGHT? SO MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN THINK ABOUT ON, ON OUR END. AND COUNCILWOMAN, THAT'S WHERE OUR M I H SYSTEM FALLS INTO PLACE TO WHERE WE CAN START HELPING PEOPLE NAVIGATE THROUGH THAT HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IF WE DO REALIZE THERE'S A PROBLEM. AND SO THIS IS REALLY ABOUT, UM, TRANSPORTING AND GETTING PEOPLE TO THE CARE THAT THEY NEED DURING THEIR EMERGENCY FOR LONG-TERM CARE. WE DO HAVE OTHER EFFICIENCIES THAT, UH, I MEAN, Y'ALL HAVE BEEN WELL PRESENTED ON THAT, UH, ON THOSE PROGRAMS, AND SO IT ALL KIND OF FITS TOGETHER. ALL RIGHT. NO, IT DOES. UH, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION. UH, CHIEF, YOUR WHOLE TEAM ALWAYS IMPRESSED WITH THE LEVEL OF INNOVATION THAT WE SEE IN NEW SERVICES AND NEW THINGS THAT YOU'RE TRYING OUT. UM, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. YOU KNOW WHAT, AND, UM, I, I JUST WANT TO ADD BIAS BEING ALLOWED TO GO TO SOME OF THESE CLINICS, UM, OR ALTERNATIVE DEFINITIONS IS GONNA BE SO GOOD FOR THE PATIENT BECAUSE WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE PAST, WE TAKE THIS 79 YEAR OLD PERSON TO THE HOSPITAL THAT HOSPITAL'S ON DIVERSION, WE TAKE THEM 20 MILES AWAY FROM WHERE THEY LIVE, AND THEY HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET HOME. SO THESE ALTERNATIVE CARE FACILITIES ARE GONNA BE THROUGHOUT THE REGION, SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO FINE TUNE WHAT'S MOST CONVENIENT FOR THEM, HOW CAN THEY GET BACK HOME, ALL OF THOSE THINGS. SO, UM, BEYOND THE EFFICIENCIES THAT WE HOPE WE'RE GONNA SEE WITH THE, UH, THE PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF IT, IT'S JUST A BETTER, UM, BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR ANYBODY THAT'S GONNA CALL NINE ONE AND ONE NINE ONE ONE IN THE FUTURE. SO, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER CAB MAYOR. THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION CHIEF. I APPRECIATE THAT. UH, YOU, YOU EXPANDED ON IT SOMEWHAT SINCE OUR, UM, PRESENTATION AT PUBLIC SAFETY. CAN WE, IS THERE A WAY TO IMPLEMENT FOR SENIORS, UM, A WAY TO TEACH THEM HOW TO USE THE WEB-BASED PROGRAM? I THINK I HEARD A COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN DISCUSS MAYBE SENIOR PLANET, BUT, UM, DO YOU THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD HELP OUT WITH THOSE, YOU KNOW, THOSE SENIORS SOMETIMES HAVE SOME BARRIERS. I'M WONDERING IF WE CAN HELP THEM OUT. I, I, I THINK SO. I THINK THROUGH THE, UH, CONCERTED, UH, UH, EFFORTS WITH MELANIE'S GROUP, UH, THE DAY THAT I WAS THERE IN DISPATCH, UM, A LOT OF SENIORS HAVE SMARTPHONES, BUT THEY DON'T TEXT. AND SO THIS MESSAGE IS GOING TO COME IN YOUR TEXT BOX, BUT WE ARE EASILY ABLE TO WALK THEM THROUGH, WHICH IS WHAT WE DID THAT DAY, IS TO WALK THE GENTLEMAN THROUGH TO YOUR TEXT AND THEN WALK THEM TO HITTING THE LINK. SO WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA BE AVAILABLE TO, UH, WALK THEM THROUGH. UH, BUT AGAIN, I, I THINK ANY EFFORTS THAT WE CAN MAKE WITH, UH, THE ADVOCACY GROUPS AS FAR AS, UH, THE SENIORS IN THE [01:25:01] CITY, THAT'S GONNA HELP THEM OUT WHEN THEY DO CALL, BUT AGAIN, WE WILL WALK THEM THROUGH HOW TO RECEIVE THAT, THAT LINK. I WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY MAYBE TO WORK WITH JEFF TO CREATE A GRAPHIC, MAYBE SOMETHING WE CAN ALL PUSH OUT, UH, SO THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, IF IN, IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY ALREADY KNOW KIND OF HOW TO USE IT. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE LEARNING, YOU KNOW, WHILE, WHILE THEY'RE DEALING WITH, UM, ANOTHER, AN EMERGENCY. ABSOLUTELY. WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK AT DOING THAT. BUT THE MAIN THING TO REMEMBER, ONLY CERTAIN PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE GOOD SAM APP. IF YOU CALL AND YOU'RE SHORT OF BREATH, OR YOU'RE HAVING CHEST PAIN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE'RE NOT GONNA SEND YOU THIS LINK. WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND SEND THAT CLOSEST FIRETRUCK AND THAT CLOSEST E M S UNIT TO YOU. SO THESE ARE JUST FOR THE LOW ACUITY. I'VE GOT A SORE THROAT, I'VE GOT A HEADACHE, I CAN'T SLEEP. THOSE TYPE OF PATIENTS ARE GONNA BE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA BE RECEIVING THIS INFORMATION. BUT THE MAIN THING IS TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THEY'RE ALWAYS GONNA GET HELP, ALWAYS GONNA GET HELP. WHEN THEY CALL US, WE WILL DETERMINE WHETHER WE WANT TO SEND THEM THE LINK OR NOT. SO I THINK IN A WAY, IT'S MORE IMPORTANT TO LET THEM UNDERSTAND THAT TO WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. WORST CASE SCENARIO, WE'RE GONNA SEND THE CLOSEST FIRE TRUCK AND AMBULANCE TO YOU. DON'T WORRY ABOUT TECHNOLOGY, DON'T WORRY ABOUT A BILL. JUST CALL US. YEAH, I APPRECIATE THAT. AND THAT SHOULD BE ALWAYS THE, THE MAIN MESSAGE FROM, FROM OUR FIRST RESPONDERS. UH, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE BEING PROACTIVE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A SENIOR THAT'S AT HOME AND HAS A VERY SIGNIFICANT HEADACHE. THEY ALREADY KNOW HOW TO USE, UM, THE LINK WHEN IT GETS SENT TO THEM SO THAT WE CAN TAKE, YOU KNOW, THE MOST ADVANTAGE OF THE, OF THE TECHNOLOGY IN THE PROGRAM. BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M HAPPY TO SUPPORT THESE ITEMS, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, THE TELEMED TRIAGE SYSTEM I THINK IS VERY INNOVATIVE. I'M EXCITED THAT WE ARE THE FIRST CITY TO HAVE IT. UM, AND I THINK LIKE MANY THINGS WE'RE, WE'RE INNOVATE. UH, THE, THE INNOVATION IN THIS CITY IS, IS, UM, PARAMOUNT. SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THAT. THE PROGRAM IS ANTICIPATED TO PROVIDE THE BEST CARE, REDUCE RESPONSE TIMES, AND RELIEVE SOME OF THE TREMENDOUS PRESSURE ON OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, ESPECIALLY THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC. SO I THINK THIS IS ALL AROUND JUST A REALLY GREAT IDEA, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OR THE FURTHER IMPLEMENTATION. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, KEO BERDA, COUNCIL MEMBER RO GARCIA, MAYOR. UM, THANK YOU CHIEF AND, UH, EVERYBODY AT THE FIRE TEAM AND MARIA. UM, I THINK YOU ALWAYS DO A GREAT JOB WITH INNOVATION, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, JUST LEARNING A WHOLE LOT MORE ABOUT THIS AND, AND MAYBE SEEING SOME OF THE METRICS. I APPRECIATE THE DATA THAT YOU SHOWED ON THE 72 SAVES ALREADY. UM, IN D FOUR, YOU, YOU MENTIONED THIS FIRE STATION 44. WE SHARE THAT WITH COUNCILMAN, UM, MELISSA. IT'S ACTUALLY, UH, IN, IN THE D SIX SIDE, BUT IT DOES SERVE AS D FOUR. UM, SO I'D LOVE TO SEE, UM, UH, THE, THE STATIONS IN, IN, IN MY DISTRICT ALSO. I'M SURE WE'LL BE BENEFITING FROM IT, UH, ENTIRELY. SO I, I'M, I'M EXCITED TO SEE ABOUT THAT. I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE BEING PROACTIVE. UH, I'M HAPPY TO SEE THAT, UM, OUR, OUR FIREFIGHTERS WILL BE ABLE TO SEE, UM, AND SCOUT, IF YOU WILL, A LOCATION BEFORE THEY EVEN GET ON THE GROUND. SO THAT IS JUST AWESOME THAT WE GET TO BE THAT PROACTIVE. I FEEL LIKE THE, UM, THE, THE WAY THAT WE OPERATE, WE'RE ALWAYS IN REACTION, UH, MODE. AND SO I, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO BE PROACTIVE. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. CHIEF. UM, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ON THE ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS. UM, I'M, I'M HAPPY THAT YOU HAVE ALL OF THOSE, UH, FACILITIES, URGENT CARE, MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND THEN THE PRIMARY CARE FACILITIES. WAS THERE AN R F P THAT WAS DONE FOR THE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU SELECTED? I'M, I'M SORRY. I WAS UNABLE TO DOWNLOAD THE DOCUMENT AND THE ATTACHED ORDINANCE, THEY WERE AS I, I, I GUESS AS A DOC X FILE, AND I WAS NOT ABLE TO DOWNLOAD THEM. SO MY APOLOGIES IF, IF YOU HAVE THAT INFO ON THERE, BUT I DIDN'T SEE THE R F P PROCESS FOR THEM. SO THAT WAS NOT DONE THROUGH AN R F P PROCESS. THAT WAS A, UH, ACTUALLY, IT WAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL OF THE URGENT CARE COMPANIES THAT WERE IN THE CITY, AND IF THEY WANTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MODEL, BECAUSE THIS IS A CHANGE FOR THEM AS WELL. AND SO, UH, SEEING AN AMBULANCE ROLL UP IN FRONT OF AN URGENT CARE CLINIC IS NOT USUALLY A GOOD THING. THIS WOULD ACTUALLY BE A GOOD THING. UM, SO THERE IS AN AGREEMENT, UM, THAT IS ON THERE THAT ALLOWS THEM, UH, TO, UH, TAKE PART IN THIS PROGRAM. AND SO THERE'S NO MONEY CHANGING HANDS FROM THE CITY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. IT IS AN AGREEMENT THAT'S REQUIRED THROUGH C M S FOR THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM ALONG WITH US. OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU, UH, FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. I NOTICED, UH, GONZABA WAS NOT ON THERE, AND THEY HAVE JUST BUILT A REALLY BEAUTIFUL FACILITY, ACTUALLY, I THINK IT'S IN, IN M D SIX. UM, BUT WE, THERE, THERE'S ANOTHER, THE FOLKS FROM D FOUR GO TO BOTH, UH, GONZABA FACILITIES IN D SIX AND D THREE, UM, AND THEY HAVE AN URGENT CARE. AND, UH, I KNOW A LOT OF THE FOLKS THAT I REPRESENT TRUST, UH, GONZAGA FOR THEIR HEALTHCARE NEEDS, AND I, I DIDN'T KNOW, BUT IF, IF THEY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY [01:30:01] TO, TO BID. AND SO THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING. SO, BUT, BUT I'D LOVE TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THAT COMMUNICATION WENT OUT. UM, AND THE REASON THAT I BRING THIS UP IS THAT YESTERDAY WE SAW A LIST OF, UH, VACCINATIONS THAT WERE GOING TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO HEALTHCARE WORKERS. AND OUR FACILITIES ON THE SOUTH SIDE ARE TOO SMALL. UM, THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO HOLD SOME OF THE, UM, THE VACCINES IN THE ULTRA COLD STORAGE THAT WERE NEEDED. THEY ALSO DIDN'T HAVE A NUMBER OF PATIENTS THAT WERE REQUIRED TO RECEIVE THE FIRST ROUND OF, UH, OR, OR VACCINES FOR THEIR HEALTHCARE WORKERS. AND SO OUR HEALTHCARE WORKERS NOW HAVE TO GO TO OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY. AND I, I APPRECIATE THAT THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS ARE WORKING TOGETHER, UH, IN MAKING SURE THAT EVERY ONE OF OUR HEALTHCARE WORKERS, UH, GETS ACCESS TO THAT. BUT I FEEL, AGAIN, THAT THE SOUTH SIDE FACILITIES ARE ALWAYS LEFT OUT. UM, I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S INTENTIONAL, BUT I DO THINK THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A CONCENTRATED EFFORT ON MAKING SURE THAT OUR SOUTH SIDE, UH, HOSPITALS AND KE HEALTHCARE FACILITIES ARE, ARE BETTER REPRESENTED. I DO KNOW THAT WELLMED HAS SOME, SOME, UH, FACILITIES IN, IN OUR AREA, BUT, UH, THE REASON THAT I STRESS, UH, THE, THE GONZABA, UH, ITEM IS I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE GREAT, UM, BILINGUAL CARE SPECIALISTS. AND THAT WAS GONNA BE MY, MY NEXT QUESTION. SPANISH, UH, SPEAKING FOLKS, DO YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE TRAINED, UH, OR I, I'M, I I KNOW THAT WHEN THEY CALL, THEY CAN ACCESS, BUT IN THIS PARTICULAR, DO WE HAVE SPANISH SPEAKERS AS WELL? AND, AND WHAT HAPPENS TO FOLKS WHO ARE HARD OF HEARING? WELL, I'LL JUMP IN ON THE LANGUAGE PIECE REAL QUICK. UM, THE GOOD SAM APP, UH, TAKES OVER A HUNDRED DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. GREAT. AND SO, BEING A PARAMEDIC, UM, IN PHOENIX, IT WAS LIKE YOU WERE VETERINARIAN. IF YOU DIDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH OR SPANISH, IF THERE WASN'T A KNIFE STUCK IN 'EM OR THEIR LEG WAS ANGULATED, YOU REALLY COULDN'T TELL WHAT WAS GOING ON. BUT, UM, WE CAN, UH, CONVERSE IT OVER A HUNDRED DIFFERENT LANGUAGES TO WHERE THAT TEXT, WHATEVER THAT MEDIC SAYS, WOULD GO OUT IN VIETNAMESE TO THE CALLER, THE, THE, THE, AND HE WOULD TEXT BACK AND IT WOULD COME BACK TO ENGLISH FOR US. SO IT'S A AMAZING BENEFIT AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE THAT DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH OR DON'T SPEAK SPANISH IN THIS COMMUNITY. KEITH, THAT IS SO AWESOME. I'M SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT. UM, ONE OF THE OTHER ITEMS THAT I, AND, AND AGAIN, JUST THE, THE HEART OF HEARING, I, I HAVE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE FROM THIS. UM, MY MOM IS HARD OF HEARING, AND SO I, I HAVE TO DO A LOT OF STUFF FOR HER BECAUSE OF THAT. AND, AND BY THE WAY, WE HAD AN EMERGENCY SITUATION AND, AND E M S WAS PHENOMENAL. UH, THEY, THEY WENT OUT AND, AND, AND TOOK CARE OF MY MOM, UH, IMMEDIATELY. AND, UH, I WAS AT AN EVENT IN D FOUR AND ACTUALLY, UM, THE MAYOR, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, JUST CAME AND CLUTCH AND, AND STAYED THROUGHOUT THE EVENT SO I COULD GO TAKE CARE OF MY MOM. UM, BUT E M SS WAS AWESOME. AND SO I, I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THEIR SERVICE. UM, I KNOW THAT THERE, UH, THERE'S SOME SORT OF TRAINING THAT THEY GO THROUGH. IS THERE EMPATHY TRAINING AS WELL ON THERE? UH, YOU KNOW WHAT, I, I THINK OUR, OUR, OUR PARAMEDICS, THE PEOPLE THAT PICK UP THAT PHONE, THEY'RE GONNA BE SOME MOST EMPATHETIC PEOPLE THAT, UH, YOU'RE EVER GONNA MEET BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT CALL THEM, UH, THEIR HUSBANDS ON THE FLOOR AND THEY NEED HELP BEING WALKED THROUGH C P R, UM, THEIR CHILD OR THEIR GRANDCHILD JUST GOT PULLED OUT OF THE POOL. AND SO WE DEAL WITH, WITH SITUATIONS WHERE WE HAVE TO BE COMPASSIONATE, UH, EVERY SINGLE DAY. AND SO IF THOSE DISPATCHERS ARE NOT, THEY WOULDN'T BE UP THERE. AND SO, AGAIN, THE CLINICAL DISPATCHERS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT PROVIDE THIS CONSULTATION, THEY'RE TAKING 10 OR 15 MINUTES TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON. SO, UM, I, YOU KNOW, OUR FOLKS ARE EXTREMELY COMPASSIONATE, EMPATHETIC IN THOSE ROLES. AWESOME. WELL, THANK YOU, CHIEF. UM, I APPRECIATE IT. I, I, I'D LOVE TO MAYBE TALK TO YOU ON MY OFFLINE OF ABOUT THAT, THAT TRAINING AS WELL. UM, I HAVE HEARD, UH, AND NOT FROM FIRE, BUT JUST IN GENERAL, EXPERIENCE FIRSTHAND, UM, HELP PEOPLE GET FRUSTRATED IF, IF AN OLDER PERSON, UM, IS HAVING A DIFFICULTY HEARING THEM OR CONNECTING WITH THEM IN THE LANGUAGE, ET CETERA. SO, UH, I, I KNOW IT DOESN'T HAPPEN WITH OUR E M S PEOPLE. I'VE EXPERIENCED IT FIRSTHAND. I'M VERY PROUD OF THE FIRE STATIONS IN MY DISTRICT TWOS AND 20 FIVES AND THREE SIXES, AND 50 TWOS DO A GREAT JOB. AND THEY'RE ALWAYS HELPING, AND THEY'RE ALWAYS OUT THERE. UM, I SEE THEM ALL THE TIME. UM, I'M EXCITED THAT THIS CAN ALSO BE A PART, IT SOUNDS LIKE, OF THE GREAT TEAM THAT I HAD KIND OF PITCHED TO, TO MARIA, I THINK THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT TO HELP, UH, WITH THE ADDITION OF THAT AND, AND, AND WORKING WITH D H S, I'M ALSO HAPPY THAT THIS IS WEB-BASED. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE DOWNLOADED, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT STORAGE ON YOUR PHONE. UM, SO I THINK THAT WAS WHOEVER, UH, DECIDED THAT, UM, WAS, WAS JUST REALLY THINKING OF, OF FOLKS LIKE THE FOLKS IN, UM, IN, YOU KNOW, IN, IN NEED AT THE TIME. THEY DON'T HAVE TIME TO DOWNLOAD AN APP. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THINKING OF THAT, THAT STILL CONCERNED THAT IN MY AREA, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IS, UH, [01:35:01] ALIVE AND WELL, WHAT IF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT? SO YES, I AGREE COMPLETELY WITH COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL AND COUNCILMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN. MAYBE WE COULD PARTNER WITH, UM, OATS OR YES. WITH, UH, SENIOR PLANET TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THIS OR, OR MAYBE HAVE THAT INFORMATION EVENTUALLY WHEN OUR SENIOR CENTER'S OPEN. UM, SO I APPRECIATE THAT. AND THEN MY FINAL QUESTION IS ON THE DISPATCHERS THAT WERE UNAVAILABLE 162 TIMES, SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A DISPATCHER IS UNAVAILABLE? UM, WHERE DO THEY GET TRANSFERRED? HOW, UH, HOW, HOW DO THEY GET SERVED? OKAY, SO THAT'S A REALLY, REALLY, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION. SO, UM, WE HAVE 12 DISPATCHERS ON DUTY AND A LIEUTENANT. AND SO I MAY HAVE SEVERAL DISPATCHERS THAT ARE ACTUALLY DISPATCHING AND TALKING TO MEDIC UNITS. I MAY HAVE TWO WORKING FIRES. AND SO THOSE DISPATCHERS ARE TAKING CARE OF THE TACTICAL ASPECTS OF IT. WE HAVE ONE CLINICAL, UM, DISPATCHER, UH, ASSIGNED, UH, TO THAT STATION WITH THE TRAINING, WITH THE, UH, WITH THE EQUIPMENT. AND SO, AS WE MENTIONED, THAT CALL MAY TAKE 15 MINUTES THAT HE'S ON. SO SOMEBODY ELSE CALLS DURING THAT TIME. AND WE DON'T HAVE A CLINICAL DISPATCHER AVAILABLE. THEY'LL JUST GO THROUGH THE NORMAL TR TRANSFER. WE'RE GONNA SEND THE CLOSEST FIRE SUPPRESSION UNIT, OR THE CLOSEST MEDIC UNIT, OR THE CLOSEST SQUAD. SO NOTHING'S DROPPED OFF, BUT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE A HIGHER LEVEL OF CARE FOR LOW ACUITY CALL IF AVAILABLE, BUT NO ONE'S MISSING OUT ON, ON BEING TREATED WHATSOEVER. BUT WHAT THIS NUMBER SHOWS IS MISSED OPPORTUNITIES TO WHEREBY ADDING RESOURCES IN THE FUTURE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, KEEP THOSE UNITS IN SERVICE EVEN MORE OFTEN. GREAT. THANK YOU, CHIEF. UM, AND YES, AND, AND AGAIN, I'D LOVE TO TALK TO YOU OFFLINE ABOUT THE, UH, EMPATHY ASPECT. UM, I ALSO HAD A, A, UH, UH, AND IT WASN'T WITH FIRE, BUT WITH A LOCAL HEALTH PROVIDER, REALLY BAD EXPERIENCE LAST WEEK WITH MY MOM. AND SHE WAS, UM, BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T SPEAK ENGLISH, UH, SHE COULDN'T CONNECT. I I COULDN'T BE THERE BECAUSE OF COVID, AND THEY BASICALLY LEFT HER OUT IN THE RAIN. UM, SHE GOT A LITTLE EVEN MORE SICK OVER THE WEEKEND BECAUSE OF THAT. AND, UH, A LOT OF IT WAS BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T ASK, WANT TO ASK FOR MORE HELP, BECAUSE SHE SAID THAT THE NURSES SEEM FRUSTRATED WITH HER. UM, SO I DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO ANYBODY. AND I KNOW THAT OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT IS ALREADY EMPATHETIC, BUT IF WE COULD BE, YEAH, EVEN MORE, UH, STRATEGIC ON HOW WE TRAIN ON EMPATHY, I THINK THAT A LOT OF OUR RESIDENTS WOULD, WOULD PROBABLY APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU, CHIEF. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS, MAYOR. THANK YOU, MA'AM. I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT CONVERSATION. AND AGAIN, WE HAVE EMPATHY PROBLEMS WITH SOME OF THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS HERE TOO, WHEN WE WALK IN THE DOOR. SO IT, IT, IT, THAT JUST HAPPENS. BUT AGAIN, I I, I'LL TAKE YOUR COMMENTS TO HEART. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GARCIA. COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY. THANK YOU, SIR. UH, I'VE GOT A LIST OF QUESTIONS HERE. THIS IS AN EXCITING PROGRAM. ABSOLUTELY. AND I, I SEE BENEFITS THAT IS GONNA HELP. I'M STILL WAITING ON, UH, RESPONSE TIMES BY AMBULANCES HERE IN THE TOWN TOWN, AND, AND I, I SUSPECT THAT THIS WILL BE HELPING THOSE RESPONSE TIMES, UH, FOR OUR E M S UNITS, BUT STILL WAITING ON THAT DATA, AND I HOPE TO GET THAT HERE SOON. UM, SO WE, WE, UH, INITIALLY ORDERED THIS UNDER THE CARESS ACT FUNDING. AND WHEN DID WE FIND OUT THAT, UH, UM, CARESS ACT WASN'T GONNA FUND THIS OR WASN'T GONNA SUPPORT THIS? YES, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER. SO WE STARTED PLANNING FOR THIS APP DURING THE SUMMER. UH, WE MADE THE DECISION TO SWITCH THE FUNDING AROUND AUGUST, SEPTEMBER AS WE WERE CONTINUING THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE VENDOR. AND, UH, THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR CARE FUNDS HAS BEEN CHANGING, UH, UH, PRETTY RAPIDLY THROUGHOUT THE, THE, SINCE MARCH WHEN WE GOT THE, THE INITIAL, UM, LETTER THAT WE HAD RECEIVED THE FUNDS. SO IT WAS AROUND THAT TIMEFRAME, UH, PROBABLY BETWEEN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER THAT WE SWITCHED THE, THE FUNDING SOURCE. OKAY. AND WHEN DID WE ACTUALLY ORDER THIS SYSTEM? SYSTEM? I'M GONNA HAVE CHIEF HELP ME WITH THAT. I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS THE QUESTION AGAIN? I MISSED IT. WHEN WAS THIS SYSTEM PUT ON ORDER? WHEN DID WE PURCHASE IT? BRIAN, DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA ON THAT? SO WE, UH, WE WERE BRINGING IT ONLINE SOMEWHERE AROUND THE END OF SEPTEMBER, AND WE WERE ABLE TO START THE PILOT PROJECT ON OCTOBER 19TH, SIR. OKAY. BUT WHEN DID WE ORDER THE SYSTEM? IT'S A, IT'S A LIVE SYSTEM. ALL THAT WE HAD TO DO WAS DOWNLOAD IT. IT'S ACTUALLY BEING USED ACROSS THE UK FOR COVID RESPONSE AND, AND OTHER, UH, OTHER ISSUES FOR E M S AGENCIES. OKAY. BUT WHEN DID WE ACTUALLY DO THAT? WHEN DID WE DOWNLOAD IT AND THAT, AND THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. IT WAS IN THAT, UH, BEGINNING PART OF OCTOBER, AND WE ACTUALLY WENT LIVE ON THE 19TH AFTER WE PROVIDED TRAINING FOR OUR INDIVIDUALS. OKAY. UM, SO, [01:40:01] ALL RIGHT, I UNDERSTAND THAT. IS THIS THE ONLY SYSTEM IN THE ENTIRE WORLD? YOU MENTIONED THAT IT'S BEING IN USED IN THE UK, BUT IS THIS THE ONLY SYSTEM IN THE ENTIRE WORLD THAT DOES THIS TYPE OF THING? DID WE EVEN PUT OUT AN R F P ON THIS? SO, NO, THERE WAS NO R F P THAT WENT OUT ON THIS. WE WERE INITIALLY LOOKING AT USING THE ZOOM APP, UM, TO DO THIS BECAUSE THERE IS A HIPAA COMPLIANT, UM, FORMAT OF THE ZOOM APPLICATION. HOWEVER, WITH SOME BIG TIME SECURITY ISSUES THAT CAME THROUGH WITH ZOOM, IT WAS DECIDED, UH, THROUGH CITY IT TO GO AWAY FROM USING THE ZOOM APP, WHICH OPENED US UP TO LOOKING FOR DIFFERENT THINGS. THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR, UM, HAS, AND ACTUALLY THAT TURNED OUT TO BE A GOOD THING FOR US BECAUSE WE CAME ACROSS GOOD SAM, WHICH OFFERS THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO WHERE WE CAN START GETTING VITAL SIGNS RIGHT OFF THE BAT. AND TO OUR KNOWLEDGE AFTER OUR SEARCH, THIS IS THE ONLY ONE THAT PROVIDES THAT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND GIVES US THE TOOLS THAT OUR DISPATCHERS CAN USE FOR THIS SERVICE. SO WHO MADE THE DECISION NOT TO GO OUT WITH AN R F P? UH, I, I GUESS THAT WAS MY DECISION. OKAY. UH, YOU KNOW, BUT AGAIN, WHAT THE OTHER ADVANTAGE IS, LIKE A LOT OF SYSTEMS THAT WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO USE THIS, A LOT OF OTHER FIRE E M S SYSTEMS WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO USE THIS TECHNOLOGY, BUT WE HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING, UH, FULL-TIME PARAMEDIC DISPATCHERS THAT ARE ABLE TO, UM, GET THE ADDITIONAL TRAINING TO, TO TRY TO TRIAGE A PATIENT. SO, UM, IT, IT, IT IS A MARRIAGE THAT'S WORKED HAND IN HAND, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS THE BEST TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE AS FAR AS WE'RE CONCERNED. AND WE ARE THE LARGEST METRO DEPARTMENT IN THE NATION THAT HAS STARTED USING THIS TECHNOLOGY. YEAH. COUNCIL. SO BASICALLY WE DID A SOLE SOURCE SELECTION HERE, WE DID IN OCTOBER TO PURCHASE THIS PARTICULAR SYSTEM. AND IT WAS BASED ON, YOU FELT THAT THERE WAST ANY OTHER SYSTEM IN THE WORLD THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD SATISFY THIS REQUIREMENT, BASICALLY, RIGHT? YES. UM, COUNCILMAN, AND, AND I WOULD LIKE TO ADD, UM, FROM THE APPROVAL PERSPECTIVE, WHENEVER WE DO A PROCUREMENT, LIKE THE ONE THE CHIEF MENTIONED, UM, UNDER AN EXCEPTION TO OUR PROCUREMENT PROCESSES APPROVED BY THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. SO IN THIS CASE, I, I APPROVED THAT PROCUREMENT. AND THE REASON FOR THAT, 'CAUSE THE, THE INTENT OF THIS APP, WE WERE TRYING TO GET THIS DONE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO MEDICAL SERVICES TO THOSE RESIDENTS, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY AND LESSEN THE EXPOSURE TO C OVID 19. SO THAT WAS THE REASON WHY WE WERE TRYING TO GET THIS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, UM, UNDER OUR EMERGENCY ORDER AND OUR ABILITY THAT WE WERE GIVEN BY COUNCIL TO BE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THIS PROCUREMENTS TO ADDRESS THE PANDEMIC. SO THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THIS WAS AN EXCEPTION TO OUR REGULAR PROCUREMENT PROCESS. UH, THAT WAS PART OF THE DECISION WHY WE DIDN'T DO AN R F P. UH, AGAIN, WE, OUR GOAL WAS TO TRY TO GET THIS AS QUICKLY AS, AS POSSIBLE TO LESSEN THE EXPOSURE TO RESIDENTS OF, UM, TO COVID 19. OKAY. WELLMAN, LET, LET ME JUST ADD, COUNCILMAN, THAT, THAT, THAT THOSE DECISIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, THIS HAS BEEN KIND OF AN UNUSUAL YEAR. THOSE DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE, UM, UM, THROUGH DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE RESPONSE OR AS A RESULT OF THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PROGRAM, ALL THOSE DECISIONS ULTIMATELY GET APPROVED BY ME. AND WE HAVE BEEN MOVING WITH THE UTMOST SPEED IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FRONTS. AND SO I, I, YOU KNOW, WE DID NOT DO AN R F P IN THIS CASE. UM, BUT, BUT PART OF THIS IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING, UH, UTMOST CARE OR SUPPORT TO THE COMMUNITY WHILE KEEPING EMPLOYEES SAFE. UM, AND I'M, I'M, I'M, YOU KNOW, I I, I SENSE FROM YOUR QUESTIONS WHY WE MAY HAVE DEVIATED FROM A NORMAL PATH. UH, THIS WAS NOT, UH, THIS HAS NOT BEEN A NORMAL YEAR. SO WE'VE MADE A NUMBER OF ADJUSTMENTS IN THAT FRONT, AND, AND I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THAT, ERIC. UM, I'M JUST, I'M JUST LOOKING AT THIS SAYING, YOU KNOW, NUMBER ONE, WE DIDN'T DO AN R F P, THIS WAS A SOLE SOURCE, AND WHAT IS YOUR APPROVAL AUTHORITY? WHAT'S YOUR DOLLAR LIMITATION ON, ON, UH, THIS TYPE OF, UH, PROCEDURE? AND DO YOU HAVE TO JUMP IN AND HELP ME, BUT UNDER THE EMERGENCY ORDER, I HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO AUTHORIZE PURCHASES, UM, UNDER THE CURRENT EMERGENCY ORDER UNDER NORMAL TIMES. IT'S NOT MORE THAN $50,000. THAT'S CORRECT. COUNCILMAN. AND, AND, AND ONE ANOTHER THING TO EMPHASIZE IS THE SOLE SOURCE AUTHORITY THAT'S APPLICABLE, THAT'S AN EXCEPTION UNDER OUR PROCUREMENT, UH, UH, RULES AND POLICIES IRRESPECTIVE OF THE PANDEMIC. THAT'S A, THAT'S THE STANDARD EXCEPTION WE HAVE. AND ALSO EMERGENCY PURCHASES. RIGHT. AND, UM, I GUESS I, AND I UNDERSTAND ALL THAT, AND I'M NOT, I'M NOT SAYING THIS ISN'T A GOOD SYSTEM, BUT WE HAVE HAD [01:45:01] COUNCIL MEETINGS SINCE OCTOBER WHEN THIS WAS FIRST IDENTIFIED, OR I, I'M SURE THIS TOOK A PROCESS TO EVEN GET TO THAT POINT, TO, UM, TO PURCHASE THIS SYSTEM. WE'VE HAD LOTS OF COUNCIL MEETINGS BETWEEN THEN AND NOW TO ACTUALLY BRING THIS TO COUNCIL INSTEAD OF DOING IT, UH, WITHOUT, UM, WITHOUT AN R F P PROCESS OR EVEN A GETTING APPROVAL TO DO A SOLE SOURCE. UM, I, I THINK WE NEED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THAT. AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT NOW WE'RE LOOKING FOR A RATIFICATION OF THIS, WHICH, YOU KNOW, RATIFICATIONS ARE NOT A NORMAL WAY TO DO BUSINESS. IN FACT, ANDY, YOU HAVE A DEFINITION OF WHAT RATIFICATION PROCESS IS AND WHEN IT'S USED. YES, I DO. UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, UH, RATIFICATIONS ARE A LEGAL MEANS, UH, TO GIVE FORMAL CONSENT TO AN ACTION TAKEN BY AN ENTITY PRIOR TO OFFICIAL, UH, APPROVAL THAT'S, UH, OUTLINED IN, UH, A GOVERNING PROTOCOL. FOR EXAMPLE, HERE IT WOULD BE OUR ORDINANCES. IT'S A RECOGNIZED, RECOGNIZED LEGAL METHOD TO AFFIRM CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS AND, UH, ENTITIES THAT CAN TAKE THESE ACTIONS, TAKE THEM WHEN THERE ARE EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES, LIKE A PANDEMIC, UM, OR WITH DEADLINES LOOMING, OR ESSENTIALLY WHEN INACTION BY THE CITY WOULD PUT THE CITY IN A WORSE POSITION THAN WAITING FOR APPROVAL. UH, BECAUSE OF THAT DEFINITION, OBVIOUSLY, IT'S THE EXCEPTION, NOT THE RULE. UH, AND OUR OFFICE WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE DEPARTMENTS IN TERMS OF WHENEVER WE DO FACE A SITUATION WHERE RATIFICATION IS NECESSARY. UM, AND SO, AGAIN, I I NEED TO EMPHASIZE IT'S THE EXCEPTION, NOT THE RULE. AND IT'S CERTAINLY A, A, UH, WELL-KNOWN, UH, LEGAL METHOD TO ADDRESS SITUATIONS LIKE THIS. AND YES, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT DEFINITION, AND I'M NOT UNFAMILIAR WITH RATIFICATIONS, BUT THE ISSUE I HAVE IS THAT THE SYSTEM WAS IDENTIFIED PRIOR TO OCTOBER TO EVALUATE, FIND IT, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, GET IT ON ORDER. AND I UNDERSTAND THE EXIGENT, UH, CIRCUMSTANCES WE'RE UNDER, BUT THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE BEFORE OCTOBER. AND HERE WE ARE IN DECEMBER, AND WE CERTAINLY HAVE HAD COUNSEL MEETINGS SINCE OCTOBER THAT THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP IN MY, MY MANNER OF THINKING THAT A RATIFICATION NEEDS TO BE DONE QUICKLY. BECAUSE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF, FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE COUNCIL DECIDES NOT TO APPROVE SOMETHING, ANDY, WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE? WELL, THAT'S PART OF THE LEGAL RISK, RIGHT? THE COUNCILMAN IS THAT THERE'S NO OBLIGATION BY THE COUNCIL TO RATIFY. THAT'S WHY IT'S, UH, BEFORE THE VOTE OF THE COUNCIL. AND FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE COUNCIL DOESN'T VOTE TO RATIFY, THEN UH, WE WOULD HAVE TO UNWIND OR, UH, TERMINATE THE CONTRACT BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE LEGAL AUTHORITY. UH, THAT'S WHY, AGAIN, IT'S, IT IS PUT IN PLACE, UH, TO LET THE ENTITY ACT WHEN THERE'S EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES, UH, THAT REQUIRE US TO ACT, WHERE IF WE DON'T ACT, IT WOULD PUT THE CITY AGAIN IN A, IN A WORSE POSITION THAT WE DIDN'T ACT. COUNCILMAN, YOU'RE ON MUTE. COUNCILMAN, YOU'RE ON MUTE. COUNCILMAN. OKAY. JUST TO FINISH UP, I UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS. I'M SAYING THE COUNCIL NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT INTO THIS LOOP MUCH SOONER IN A RATIFICATION OR A SOLE SOURCE. UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S, I UNDERSTAND THE EMERGENCY, BUT WHEN IT TAKES SEVERAL MONTHS TO BRING IT TO COUNCIL, THAT'S NOT APPROPRIATE IN MY, MY VIEW. SO I, I THINK WE NEED TO BE BROUGHT INTO THAT A LOT SOONER THAN WHAT WE ARE AT THIS POINT. AND THAT APPLIES TO FUTURE RATIFICATIONS ALSO, UM, IF I MAY, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH SENDING A NOTE TO COUNCIL AS SOON AS YOU CAN LET US KNOW, OR PUT US ON NOTICE SO THAT IT CAN GET ON A COUNCIL AGENDA IMMEDIATELY TO RATIFY OR TO COUNCILMAN PERRY. UH, ERIC, GO AHEAD. WELL, LET, LET ME, LET ME JUST, I MEAN, THIS, THIS IS, THIS IS A GREAT CONVERSATION BECAUSE I THINK, UH, IN NORMAL TIMES, UH, WHAT COUNCILMAN PERRY IS DESCRIBING, UM, IS ACCURATE. THERE ARE TIMES WHERE, UM, UH, SOLE SOURCE, WE DO SOURCE SOURCES, AND WE DO PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH AND SAFETY EXEMPTIONS ON PURCHASES. THOSE ARE WITHIN THE AUTHORITY OF THE, OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF. AND, AND, AND WE DO, I WANTED THE COUNCIL TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE AN ESTABLISHED PROCESS THAT REVIEWS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE THINGS. THEY'RE [01:50:01] NOT DONE ONE-OFFS IN DEPARTMENTS. THEY'VE GOTTA GO THROUGH OUR CENTRAL SYSTEM, THE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, AND ULTIMATELY THE MANAGER'S OFFICE. SO WE DO HAVE ESTABLISHED PRIORITIES THE COUNCIL HAS, UH, UH, AND USING THE LAST EIGHT MONTHS AS AN EXAMPLE, THE COUNCIL HAS APPROVED A NUMBER OF RATIFICATIONS. WE HAVE, OR WE HAVE MADE ORDERS ON MATERIALS AND INVENTORY, UH, FOR THINGS LIKE, UH, SURGICAL MASKS BACK IN APRIL. UH, WE DID THAT IN ADVANCE. WE DID NOT WAIT TO, UH, FIGURE OUT HOW WE WERE GONNA GET IT UP THROUGH THE AGENDA SYSTEM. WE WERE MOVING WITH THE UTMOST SPEED. AND I WILL SAY IN THIS CASE, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE, THE GOOD SAND APP FOR, WE DIDN'T KNOW. WE, WE, WE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WANTED TO TEST IT OUT, AND THAT'S WHY WE TESTED IT IN OCTOBER. HAD IT NOT WORKED, OR HAD WE NOT SEEN THE BENEFIT OF IT, THEN, THEN WE WOULD'VE ADJUSTED. THAT'S PART OF THE REASON OF THE TIMING. BUT I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR CONCERN IS, UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY, BUT I, BUT I, I, YOU KNOW, I, I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THIS YEAR HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY AND, AND I'M NOT GONNA USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE, BUT I WANT THE COUNCIL TO UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT WE HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY DILIGENT AND PRUDENT WITH OUR PURCHASES AND OUR REVIEW, KNOWING THAT, UM, UH, AT SOME POINT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THEM, WHETHER IT'S THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OR TO YOU. UM, AND, AND WE'VE GOT THOSE ESTABLISHED PROCESSES INTERNALLY. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU, ERIC. UH, MOVE ON TO COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. MAYOR. UH, I'VE, I'VE BEEN IMPRESSED WITH THE OUTLINE OF THIS PROGRAM AND WHAT IT'S GOING TO OFFER US. I THINK IT'S, IT HAS, UH, VERY GREAT VALUE AS POTENTIAL. UH, A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD WERE, WERE ASKED BY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT HAD BEEN ANSWERED. UH, ONE CONCERN I STILL HAVE THOUGH IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN SOMEBODY CALLS 9 1 1, USUALLY THE PERSON THEY TALK TO IMMEDIATELY WILL GO AHEAD AND DECIDE THIS, GO TO POLICE, LET'S GO TO FIRE. DO WE SEND, UH, E M S OUT RIGHT AWAY? NOW WE'RE ADDING A ANOTHER LAYER TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, I THINK THAT IS GOING TO GO TO, UH, ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL THAT MAY TRIAGE THAT. AND I HOPE THAT WE TRACK VERY CAREFULLY HOW THAT PROCESS WORKS, UH, BECAUSE WE'VE HEARD MANY, MANY TIMES, UH, ANECDOTAL THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT EXTRA 10 MINUTES OR THAT EXTRA TWO MINUTES, UH, COULD HAVE BEEN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH FOR THE PERSON ON THE OTHER END. AND I RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, WE, WE WILL RESPECT THAT VERY CAREFULLY, BUT, UH, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE TRACK HOW MANY TIMES WE, WE DO THAT AND FIND OUT WE SHOULD HAVE JUST SENT AN AMBULANCE RIGHT AWAY, AWAY, SO THAT WE CAN MAYBE IMPROVE ON HOW THAT PROCESS WORKS. ANOTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS KIND OF RELATED TO WHAT MY FELLOW COUNCILMAN JUST SAID. UM, HOW MANY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IS THIS PROJECT COSTING US COUNCILMAN? THE, UH, APPLICATION, THE GOOD SAM APPLICATION HAS A ANNUAL COST OF $149,000. UM, OKAY. AND THE APPROVAL OF THE E T THREE PROGRAM, THE CONTRACTS, WHICH IS ITEM FOUR A, HAS NO COST TO THE CITY. THAT IS FOR US TO, UM, BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND SOMETHING THAT WE'RE NOT PREPARED TO PROVIDE TO THE COUNCIL TODAY. WE ANTICIPATE POTENTIALLY THAT THERE MAY BE SOME, UH, SAVINGS TO THE CITY AS A RESULT OF, OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT E T THREE PROGRAM, BUT WE WILL MONITOR AND REPORT TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE AFTER WE HAVE AT LEAST SIX MONTHS OF, UH, EXPERIENCE, BUT NO COST ON THAT FIRST ITEM. AND THE SECOND ITEM IS 149,000 ANNUAL. OKAY. BECAUSE I WOULD'VE EXPECTED IF IT WAS A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT, IT PROBABLY WOULD'VE COME THROUGH OUR AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE. AND SO SINCE WE DIDN'T, UH, GET THAT, THEN I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT IT'S ONLY $149,000. UH, IT, IT LOOKS LIKE IT MAY BE MONEY WELL SPENT, BUT IT ALSO SOUNDS LIKE, AS YOU JUST INDICATED IT, IT CAN SAVE US A LOT OF MONEY. SO IF WE CAN REDUCE THE NUMBER OF E M S UNITS WE SEND OUT, WHICH COSTS US THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS EVERY TIME WE SEND THEM OUT, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, TO ME, IT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD DEAL. AND SO I, I COMMEND THE, UH, THE WORK THAT THE STAFF HAS DONE TO TRY AND FIND THE BEST METHODS POSSIBLE TO CONTINUE TO PROTECT THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PEOPLE IN OUR DISTRICT. AND I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS, AND I'LL BE SUPPORTIVE OF IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER CURTIS. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UM, THANK YOU, MAYOR. I ACTUALLY DID NOT HAVE MY HAND OUT, BUT, BUT, BUT ONE THING, UM, UH, WE'LL GET THIS RIGHT EVENTUALLY, [01:55:01] BUT, BUT ONE QUESTION THAT I DID HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN AS WE SORT OF DISCUSSED THE TELEMEDICINE, AND I THINK AS WE'RE ALL GETTING MORE AND MORE ACCUSTOMED TO THIS KIND OF, UH, MEETINGS AND, AND, UH, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO A SURVEY TO DETERMINE IF PEOPLE LIKE IT. SO ONE THING THAT I'VE ACTUALLY HAVE LEARNED AND TALKED TO MY CONSTITUENTS, UH, OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND EVEN THOSE ESPECIALLY, UM, IN THE MEDICAL FIELD, ARE FINDING THAT PEOPLE PREFER IT TO IN-PERSON MEETINGS. SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW, DO YOU HAVE A WAY TO GET FEEDBACK ON THAT CHIEF, OR I DON'T KNOW WHO MIGHT ANSWER THAT QUESTION. WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO SURVEY PEOPLE THAT HAVE USED IT, UH, DOWN THE ROAD. AND SO, UM, WE'LL LOOK AT THAT. BUT AGAIN, THAT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE SURVEYED ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SOME OF THEM HAVE HISTORY WITH THE E M S SYSTEM, AND SO MAYBE THEY'VE BEEN ONE OF THOSE HIGH VOLUME UTILIZERS THAT CALLED US A NUMBER OF TIMES. SO THEIR EXPERIENCE IS GONNA BE DIFFERENT. UH, MAYBE THEY FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE HAVING FOUR FIREFIGHTERS SHOW UP TO THEIR HOUSE. BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT TO SEE. BUT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE USING THIS ARE, AGAIN, THEY'RE LOW ACUITY CALLS, AND SO IT IS GOING TO, UH, INCREASE THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE. UH, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. UM, IT, IT, IT IS GONNA BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TALKING TO A DISPATCHER, HAVING YOUR FAITH IN THAT PERSON THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO, AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE GONNA TAKE CARE OF YOU. BUT THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS DOWN THE ROAD ONCE WE FURTHER GET INTO THIS. OKAY. WELL, I AM, IT, IT'S ONE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT WE'RE ALL USING THIS, BUT, SO I'LL JUST GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. UM, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, AT TEXAS DIABETES, UH, INSTITUTE, UM, IN MY CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM ABOUT OUTREACH, UH, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE THEY CONVERTED ALL OF THEIR PATIENTS TO TELEMEDICINE. UM, AND FINDING THAT PEOPLE REALLY LIKE IT. THEY ACTUALLY WERE VERY BURDENED WITH HAVING TO COME TO THE OFFICE. IT WAS HARD FOR THEM TO GET TRANSPORTATION. UM, OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS WANTED TO SIT IN ON THE MEETINGS, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WERE NOT ABLE TO BECAUSE OF WORK AND OTHER ISSUES, TIMING, UH, BUT THEY FOUND THAT THEY COULD PARTICIPATE, UM, IN A TELEMEDICINE KIND OF A CONFERENCE. UM, AND THAT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, REALLY FAVORABLE. AND SO EVEN WHEN I TALKED TO MY CONSTITUENTS, EVERYBODY'S FINDING THAT THEY ACTUALLY PREFER THIS TYPE OF, UM, COMMUNICATION. SO, I DON'T KNOW, IT'S PARTLY FOR JEFF TOO. I KNOW, JEFF, YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS NOW MANY TIMES LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL TAKE FROM THIS PANDEMIC IS THAT PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY IN TELEMEDICINE, UM, ACTUALLY LIKE, UM, LIKE IT, SO, UH, NOT FOR AN EMERGENCY. OBVIOUSLY THERE'S NO SHORTCUT FOR THE MANY THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED, LIKE, UM, UH, HEART ATTACKS OR, UM, SHOOTINGS OR, UH, STABBINGS. BUT, UM, FOR OTHERS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT ACTUALLY, UH, CAN BE VERY BENEFICIAL AND WE'LL LEARN FROM THAT. SO, UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, I WANTED TO, TO CHIME BACK IN CHIEF AND ASK, UM, I KNOW YOU SAID WE HAVE ONE CLINICAL DISPATCHER AT THIS TIME. WHAT WOULD BE, UM, THE NUMBER OF DISPATCHERS THAT WE WOULD NEED TO FACILITATE THOSE UNAVAILABLE CALLS THAT, UH, WE MISSED? UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR STAFF AND, UH, WITH, UH, MARIA AS FAR AS HOW WE, UH, HOW WE ADJUST THAT. AND SO WHEN I SAY THERE'S ONE, UH, WE MAY HAVE THREE OR FOUR ON DUTY THAT DAY THAT HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE TRAINING AND UNDERSTAND, UM, THE, UH, THE, UH, UTILIZING THE EQUIPMENT. SO THEY MAY BE ON THAT POSITION FOR THREE HOURS AND THEY ROTATE OVER TO A DELTA DISPATCH CHANNEL, OR THEY TAKE THEIR BREAK. SO OUR DISPATCHERS, THOSE 13 THAT I MENTIONED, ARE THERE FOR 24 HOURS A DAY. SO YOU MAY BE THE CLINICAL DISPATCHER FOR THREE OR FOUR HOURS, THEN YOU TAKE A BREAK, AND THEN YOU GO OVER AND ROTATE, AND YOU'RE MONITORING FIRE CHANNELS. SO AGAIN, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S THE BREAKDOWN. BUT AGAIN, 13 DISPATCHERS, ONE LIEUTENANT, 12 DISPATCHERS, AND THEN THE CLINICAL DISPATCHER ROTATES PHYSICIANS THROUGH THE THREE OR FOUR THAT HAVE BEEN TRAINED THERE. BUT DOWN THE ROAD WE'RE LOOKING AT, OKAY, HOW DO WE ADD, HOW MANY DO WE NEED TO ADD? AND, AND THOSE ARE THINGS THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO LOOK AT BECAUSE THERE WERE 162 CALLS THAT WE WERE UNAVAILABLE FOR, UM, THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD HAVE PROBABLY REACHED OUT AND SENT LESS RESOURCES. BUT FOR THOSE 162 CALLS, AGAIN, I HAVE TO REMIND YOU, NOBODY MISSED [02:00:01] OUT ON GETTING SERVICES. WE JUST SENT A FULL COMPLIMENT TO YOUR HOUSE WHEN MAYBE YOU REALLY DIDN'T NEED IT. SO NOBODY IS GETTING DROPPED, NO ONE'S MISSING OUT ON BEING SERVICED. OKAY. UM, THANK YOU. THAT IS GREAT TO KNOW, CHIEF. AND THEN I HAVE ONE LAST FOLLOW UP QUESTION. WHEN IT COMES TO THE TAXI VOUCHER PROGRAM, AND IT, UM, RELATES TO AREAS THAT DON'T HAVE, UM, THE, THE MEDICAL FACILITIES OR CLINICAL FACILITIES OR EMERGENCY, UH, FACILITIES, WHAT IS THAT VOUCHER AMOUNT THAT IS ALLOTTED TO A PERSON WHEN THEY USE THE TAXI VOUCHER PROGRAM AND THEY'RE MILES AWAY FROM MEDICAL FACILITIES? OKAY, SO THE, THE TAXI VOUCHER PROGRAM, WE'VE BEEN USING IT FOR YEARS. SO ENGINE NINE IN YOUR DISTRICT, THEY GO ON A CALL, UM, THE PATIENT DOESN'T NEED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL BY AMBULANCE. WE CAN AUTHORIZE A A, A TAXI VOUCHER RIGHT THERE. WE FIGURE OUT WHERE THEY WANT TO GO. WHAT HOSPITAL DISPATCH SENDS A TAXI, WE GIVE THEM THE VOUCHER, THE TAXI'S GONNA TAKE THEM TO THAT FACILITY. IT'S BASICALLY THE SAME THING, EXCEPT IT IS IT, IT'S PAPERLESS FOR US. SO WE'RE GONNA TRACK AS FAR AS THE, THE, THE PERSON WHERE THEY'RE GONNA GO, THE CAB COMPANY WE'RE USING YELLOW CAB IS GONNA COME TO THAT ADDRESS, PICK THEM UP AND TAKE THEM TO THAT FACILITY. SO IT'S PRETTY SEAMLESS FOR THE CUSTOMER. OKAY. AND SO THERE'S NO MILEAGE LIMITATIONS OR NO DOLLAR AMOUNT LIMITATIONS IN THAT TAXI VOUCHER PROGRAM? NO, MA'AM. WE'RE GONNA TAKE THEM TO, TO, YOU KNOW, THEIR HOSPITAL PREFERENCE, WHICH HAS GOTTA BE IN, IN THE CITY, OF COURSE. SO WE CAN TAKE THEM TO THEIR HOSPITAL OF, OF, OF PREFERENCE. BUT AGAIN, I'M SAVING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BY NOT TAKING THEM TO THE HOSPITAL BY AN AMBULANCE. THANK YOU, CHIEF. THANK YOU, MAYOR. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN. AND, AND JUST IN SUMMARY, UH, TO, TO THE BENEFIT OF RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, UM, THIS PROGRAM IS, IS BEING DEVELOPED AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ONE DAY I THINK THIS IS JUST GONNA BE THE WAY EMERGENCY SERVICES ARE DELIVERED AND I'M, I'M VERY PROUD TO KNOW THAT, UH, SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT IS INNOVATING AND PIONEERING IN THIS SPACE. SO, UH, GOOD JOB, EVERYBODY. THANK YOU, CHIEF. UH, UH, CHIEF NORRIS, UH, AND WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF ITEM FOUR. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ALRIGHT, LET'S MOVE [30. 20-6970 Ordinance approving an Interagency Cooperation Contract between Texas State University and the San Antonio Police Department for the participation in the Tobacco Enforcement Program. The agreement will reimburse the Police Department up to $100,000. [Maria Villagomez, Deputy City Manager; William P. McManus, Chief of Police] ] ON TO, UH, ITEM NUMBER 30. ITEM NUMBER 30 IS AN ORDINANCE APPROVING INTER-AGENCY COOPERATION CONTRACT BETWEEN TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY AND THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR THE PARTICIPATION IN THE TOBACCO ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM. DISAGREEMENT WILL RE BE REIMBURSED. THIS AGREEMENT WILL REIMBURSE THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT UP TO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. I THINK THIS WAS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I'D LIKE TO REQUEST A PRESENTATION. YES, MA'AM. RIGHT AWAY. UM, SO GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. SO WE'VE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THIS, UH, GRANT PROGRAM SINCE 2011. AND IT IS, IT'S ESSENTIALLY AN ENFORCEMENT ONLY, UH, PROGRAM. AND WHAT IT DOES IS WE CONDUCT, UM, BUYS AND OF, OF TO, OF TOBACCO, UH, BY UN UH, PEOPLE UNDER 21 YEARS OLD. AND THEN WHEN THE, WHEN THAT, UH, WHEN THAT SALE IS MADE, THAT BUSINESS IS, IS TICKETED. AND, UM, FOR, FOR, FOR THIS PAST YEAR, ACTUALLY, YEAR TO DATE, UH, WE'VE, UH, WE'VE CONDUCTED 640, UH, BUY OPERATIONS. WE'VE ISSUED, UH, 43 CITATIONS. AND, UH, THAT, THAT INCLUDES A, A NUMBER OF STORES THAT IS, UH, ALL THROUGHOUT THE CITY. THERE'S 1500, OVER 1500 STORE, UH, TOBACCO RETAILERS, UH, IN THE CITY. AND WE SPREAD THIS PRETTY MUCH EVENLY AROUND THE CITY, UM, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THE PROGRAM IS, IS FUNDED BY, UH, TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY. THE, UM, UM, THEY HAVE A, UH, HEALTH, UH, SORRY, EXCUSE ME ONE SECOND. THEY HAVE A, UM, A HEALTH DEPARTMENT, A A SCHOOL OF HEALTH AT TEXAS STATE THAT, THAT SPONSORS THE PROGRAM. AND, UH, I'M SORRY, THE NAME IS THE TEXAS SCHOOL SAFETY CENTER AT TEXAS STATE. AND THEY SPONSOR THIS PROGRAM. THEY ARE THE FIDUCIARY FOR THE STATE THAT AWARDS THE FUNDS. AND IT'S, UH, THE FUNDS THAT ARE AWARDED UP TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, UH, THROUGH THE YEAR. UM, [02:05:04] THAT IS, UM, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE EXTENT OF IT. IT'S, IT'S CONDUCTED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. UM, WE USE, UM, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY COURT CADETS AS THE, UH, PERSON THAT, THAT WOULD BUY THE TOBACCO. AND THEN FROM THAT POINT ON, UH, AGAIN, IT'S MOSTLY, UH, MOSTLY ALL OF, OF AN ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY. THANK YOU. CHIEF. UH, I'VE ACTUALLY NEVER SEEN A STING OPERATION. I'M, I'M CURIOUS, IS THAT, WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? IS THERE A PLAIN CLOSED OFFICER, OR IS THERE, UM, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT, WHAT IS THAT LIKE? IT'S, IT'S, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A PROGRAM, UM, FOR YOUTH. IT'S THE PUBLIC SAFETY CORPS. THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF THEM IN EACH SUBSTATION. AND, UH, THOSE ARE THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WE USE TO BUY THE TOBACCO PRODUCT. AND THEN, UH, AN OFFICER GOES IN, IT COULD BE A VICE OFFICER, COULD BE UNIFORMED OFFICER. THEY GO IN AND THEY WRITE THE CITATION OR GIVE A WARNING. OKAY. GREAT. UM, I SEE DR. BRIDGER ON THE, THE CALL. UM, DR. BRIDGER, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED TO ADD ON TO, TO THE PRESENTATION. UM, I, I DID NOT. I THINK IT'S, UH, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, STRENGTHEN ENFORCEMENT OF, OF COURSE, ONE OF MY FAVORITE ORDINANCES IS THAT THE CITY PASSED FIRST AND THEN THE CITY FOLLOWED, AND THEN THE STATE FOLLOWED SUIT. SO I, UH, I'M SUPER SUPPORTIVE OF THEM. GREAT. NO, ME TOO. I'M VERY EXCITED. THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT. UM, CAN YOU, CAN YOU TELL US, SINCE TOBACCO 21 WAS PASSED, PASSED, UH, ARE WE SEEING MORE COMPLIANCE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER? IT WAS, IT WAS PASSED IN BY THE CITY. THE ORDINANCE WAS PASSED BY THE CITY MM-HMM. IN 2018, IN SEPTEMBER OF 2019, SENATE BILL 21, UH, MADE IT A, UH, A STATE LAW. AND THE CITY ORDINANCE WAS THEREBY NULLIFIED. UH, I ONLY HAVE STATS FOR THE, FOR THIS CURRENT YEAR. I DON'T HAVE STATS FROM THE PRIOR YEARS, BUT WE CAN PROBABLY GET THAT FOR YOU IF YOU WANT THEM. OKAY. I JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST WANNA SEE HOW SUCCESSFUL IT IS OVER THE PROGRAM IS OVERALL. AND THEN IF SOMEONE DOES GET A CITATION OR A WARNING, WHAT'S THE, IS THERE ANY FOLLOW UP FOR THAT? YES, MA'AM. THE FOLLOW UP IS THAT WE WILL GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN. SO IF THEY'RE, IF THEY'RE ISSUED A CITATION OR A WARNING, WE'LL GO BACK AGAIN AND TRY TO MAKE ANOTHER BUY. OKAY. OKAY. UM, AND THEN CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE YOUTH PUBLIC SAFETY CORE THAT, THAT YOU MENTIONED? HOW DO YOU RECRUIT THOSE FOLKS AND DO THEY GET PAID? UH, NO, THEY DO NOT GET PAID. THEY, THEY, UM, THAT PROGRAM HAS BEEN IN EFFECT, UH, FOR AT LEAST THE LAST 15 OR 20 YEARS. UM, BACK 15 YEARS AGO, THERE WERE 30 SOME, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY CORPS. WE USED TO CALL THEM, UH, EXPLORERS BACK THEN, BUT WE CHANGED THAT NAME OH. TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY CORPS. AND THE, UH, UH, SINCE THEN, WE HAVE CENTRALIZED, UH, UM, COMMAND, IF YOU WILL, OF THE, UH, RULES, REGULATIONS, UNIFORMS OF THOSE FOLKS. UM, THEY DO A VARIETY OF, OF THINGS. UH, AS MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY CORPS, THEY DO, UH, COMPETITIONS WITH OTHER POLICE DEPARTMENTS AROUND THE STATE. AND, UH, TODAY, UH, I THINK WE HAVE PROBABLY SOMEWHERE AROUND 200, UH, OF THOSE FOLKS. AND WE HELP THEM PAY, PAY FOR THEIR UNIFORMS. UM, THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE, UH, THEY'RE ARE, UH, ASSIGNED TO ALL THE DIFFERENT SUBSTATIONS. UM, OKAY. AND, AND, AND WE, WE WILL, UH, RECRUIT THEM, IF I COULD USE THAT TERM, RECRUIT, RECRUIT THEM TO GO OUT AND, UH, AND MAKE BUYS AT THESE RETAIL STORES. OKAY. UH, GREAT. THAT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY INTERESTING ACTIVITY TO DO AS YOUR TRAINING TO BE, UH, OR SORRY, AS YOU'RE LEARNING ABOUT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. UM, I DO HAVE JUST A, A QUESTION ABOUT THE, THE ENFORCEMENT. YOU SAID IT'S SPREAD OUT EVENLY. THE THE THINGS THAT YOU DO ARE SPREAD OUT EVENLY OVER THE CITY. BUT CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU OBSERVE IN TERMS OF WHO IS MORE LIKELY TO BE IN, IN VIOLATION, IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DRAW ANY CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THAT? IS THERE A CERTAIN TYPE OF, UM, RETAILER THAT IS MORE LIKELY TO BE IN VIOLATION? OR ARE THERE CERTAIN LOCATIONS THAT ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE IN VIOLATION? COUNCIL MEMBER? I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN, CAN QUALIFY THAT. UH, WE HIT, WE HIT ALL OVER THE [02:10:01] CITY, D ONE, D TWO, D THREE, UM, AND, AND THE, THE PERCENTAGES OF, UM, ACTIVITY IN EACH ONE OF THE, THOSE COUNCIL DISTRICTS IS, IS PRETTY CLOSE. BUT THERE, I CAN'T, UH, I CAN'T GIVE YOU A, UH, UH, A DETERMINATION ON WHAT, WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS. I MEAN, WE GO TO WALMARTS, WE GO TO CARRY OUTS, WE GO TO GAS STATIONS ANYWHERE THAT THEY'RE SELLING ALCOHOL, I'M SORRY, TOBACCO , I'M SORRY. ANYWHERE THEY'RE SELLING TOBACCO. WE WILL, UH, WE WILL ATTEMPT TO MAKE A BUY AT THOSE, UH, THOSE ESTABLISHMENTS COUNCIL. WE CAN PULL TOGETHER THOSE STATS AND SEND THAT OUT TO THE COUNCIL IN A TERM, IN, IN A FORM OF A MEMO. OH, THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. OKAY. WELL, GREAT. THANKS A LOT. I JUST, YOU KNOW, WANNA HEAR THAT THE PROGRAM IS THAT TOBACCO 21 IS WORKING, THAT FEWER KIDS ARE, ARE SMOKING, AND, UH, THAT MORE PEOPLE ARE GROWING, UH, HEALTHIER IN, IN SAN ANTONIO. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHIEF. THANK YOU, DR. BRIDGER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SORRY. CAN MOVE TO APPROVE . GREAT. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, THERE IS A MOTION FOR SECOND ITEM 30 AND A SECOND. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? AYE. MOTION CARRIES. [34. 20-6755 Ordinance approving an agreement with Blink Charging Company to install, own and operate publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure on City property at no cost to the City. [David McCary, Assistant City Manager; Douglas Melnick, Chief Sustainability Officer] ] LET'S MOVE NOW TO, UH, ITEM NUMBER 34. ITEM NUMBER 34 IS AN ORDINANCE APPROVING IN AGREEMENT WITH BLINK CHARGING COMPANY TO INSTALL, OWN AND OPERATE PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE ON CITY PROPERTY AT NO COST TO THE CITY. OKAY. WE HAVE ONE CITIZEN SIGN UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM 34. HE'S RIGHT. UM, ALAN GARZA, MR. GAR, MR. MAYOR, UH, OKAY. YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. GO AHEAD. UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AGAIN. UH, I JUST WANTED TO CONTINUE, CONTINUE, UH, I GUESS MY STATEMENT FROM YESTERDAY'S COMMENTS AGAIN, UH, FORGIVE ME, COUNSEL, FORGIVE ME TO THE MAYOR AND TO EVERYBODY THAT'S INVOLVED WITH THE PROCESS OF, YOU KNOW, APPROVING THESE CONTRACTS. I DON'T MEAN TO COME AND INTERRUPT, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT Y'ALL HAVE OR WHAT THE PLANS ARE FOR THE CITY. I'M, I'M COMING, HONESTLY, TO, TO KIND OF HER SERVE AND, UH, AND PRETTY MUCH EXPLAIN THAT WE HAVE A MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE AND ADVANCE, UH, ECOSYSTEM THAT INCLUDES THESE CHARGERS. BUT THESE CHARGERS ARE A BIG PART OF THE ECOSYSTEM THAT WE'VE CREATED. AGAIN, UH, I'M WITH, UH, EVOLUTION SOLUTIONS, BUT, UH, I, I, WE HAVE A GOOD COMPREHENSIVE, UM, UH, ECOSYSTEM THAT WE WANT TO CREATE TO ADVANCE FOR THE FUTURE OF THE EV AND TO BE ABLE TO ADOPT TO WIRELESS AND EVERYTHING. BUT, UM, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A SMALL BACKGROUND. I DIDN'T GET TO GIVE IT YESTERDAY. UH, ME AND JOSHUA, MY, MY COLLEAGUE HERE, WE'RE BOTH PRETTY MUCH KIDS FROM THE SOUTH SIDE. UH, YOU KNOW, HE'S FROM HARLANDALE DISTRICT. I'M FROM THE SOUTH SIDE DISTRICT, SOUTHWEST DISTRICT. AND, UH, BETWEEN BOTH OF US, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CREATE A VERY STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH PEOPLE POWER, AND HAVE HIM AS A MENTOR. AND WE'VE BEEN, BETWEEN OUR STUDIES AND EVERYTHING, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CREATE THIS ECOSYSTEM. AND I JUST WANNA LET Y'ALL KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, BE BEFORE Y'ALL MAKE THIS DECISION AND ALL THAT. UM, THERE IS ALSO, I DON'T WANT TO USE THIS, BUT, UH, I WANTED TO BRING IT UP AS I FEEL LIKE AS A SERVICE TO, TO THE CITY, LET 'EM KNOW THAT BLINK RIGHT NOW IS ACTUALLY UNDER INVESTIGATION, UH, FOR THE COMPANY AND THE C E O FOR VOTER. I MEAN, NOT VOTER, UH, SHAREHOLDER FRAUD. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THE CITY KNOWS ABOUT THAT, OR THE CITY COUNCIL KNOWS ABOUT THESE THINGS. UH, BUT I FEEL LIKE BEING FROM OUR, OUR CITY, UM, YOU KNOW, GROWING UP HERE, LOVING OUR CITY, UH, SEEING EVERYTHING AND KNOWING WHAT WE HAVE, KNOWING WHAT THE CAPABILITIES ARE TO BE ABLE TO BRING THIS TO OUR CITY, I FEEL LIKE WE HAD TO COME AND JUST MAKE OUR STATEMENT AT LEAST, AND LET THE COUNCIL KNOW THAT THERE ARE PROBABLY SOME THINGS GOING ON IN THE BACKGROUND THAT I'M NOT SURE IF THE COUNCIL'S AWARE OF WITH BLINK. AND SECONDLY, YOU HAVE TWO HOMEGROWN CHILDREN. WHERE ARE THE KIDS OF SAN ANTONIO? YOU KNOW, ME AND JOSHUA WE'RE, WE'RE A PRODUCT OF THIS CITY. AND, UH, WHAT BETTER STORY, WHAT BETTER INSPIRATIONAL STORY TO SAY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO BRING, YOU KNOW, TWO KIDS FROM THE SOUTH SIDE, FROM DISADVANTAGED HOMES, FATHERLESS HOMES, ABLE TO HELP BRING THIS TECHNOLOGY IN THE FUTURE OF EV. AND WE HAVE THE FORMULA, WE HAVE THE PLAN, WE HAVE THE RESOURCES, ALL THIS AT THE COST, ALSO NO COST TO THE CITY. AND WE HAVE THE FORMULA, AND WE ALREADY HAVE, I, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE GRANTS THAT WE'RE READY TO APPLY FOR, IF WE WERE TO GRAB THIS, OUR P OF THIS CONTRACT, THE, THE POSSIBILITIES OF US HELPING US PUSH OUR CITY TO THE FUTURE OF THE WAY, UH, AUTONOMY DRIVING IS GONNA BE THE WAY SELF-SUSTAINABILITY IS GONNA BE WITH EV. WE HAVE THE FORMULA, WE HAVE THE ECOSYSTEM, AND WE'RE JUST ASKING IF WE CAN TAKE MAYBE ONE MONTH OR A COUPLE WEEKS TO LOOK INTO THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE [02:15:01] AND RECONSIDER FROM APPROVING THIS, THIS, UH, RP WITH ME, SIR. THANK YOU, MR. GARZA. COUNCIL MEMBER GROSS GARCIA, AND, UH, I BELIEVE THERE'S A STAFF PRESENTATION. UM, DOUG, YOU, UH, YOU, YOU WALKED THROUGH THE PRESENTATION YESTERDAY WITH ME, BUT I WANTED TO PULL IT FOR THE BENEFIT OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES. I'VE ASKED MOST OF MY QUESTIONS ALREADY, UM, BUT I DID HEAR YESTERDAY'S PUBLIC COMMENT AND, AND, UH, SAME, UM, THIS MORNING. AND, UH, I JUST APPRECIATED, UH, THAT EFFORT. AND I JUST WANTED TO PULL THIS FOR THE BENEFIT OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES. AND I THINK COUNCILMAN PERRY WAS ALSO GOING TO PULL IT, SO I'M SURE HE'LL HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. YES, MA'AM. UH, AND THANK YOU FOR THIS, THIS OPPORTUNITY. UH, GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UH, DOUG. I'M THE CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER. UH, I'M JOINED HERE, UM, THIS MORNING WITH JULIA MURPHY, UH, OUR DEPUTY CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER, WHO'S BEEN THE LEAD ON THIS PROJECT, UH, ANTHONY ORLANDO FROM BLINK CHARGING, AND VALERIE STROM FROM C P SS ENERGY, UH, IN CASE ANY QUESTIONS COME UP RELATED TO CPSS, UM, UH, PERSPECTIVE ON ELECTRIFICATION. SO, UH, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, SOME BACKGROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, PROMOTING CLEAN EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGIES, UH, INCLUDING ELECTRIC VEHICLES, IS A KEY MITIGATION STRATEGY FOR REDUCING TRANSPORTATION EMISSIONS IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. UH, AS HIGHLIGHTED IN OUR SUSTAINABILITY PLAN, THE CLIMATE PLAN, THE OZONE ENTERTAINMENT MASTER PLAN, AND IT'S ALSO PART OF OUR AMERICAN CITY CLIMATE CHALLENGE, UH, PROGRAM. ELECTRIC VEHICLES PRODUCE ZERO EMISSIONS, UH, FROM THE TAILPIPE AND ARE THEREFORE GOOD FOR OUR AIR QUALITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN COLLABORATION WITH BOTH INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS AND EXTERNAL PARTNERS, UM, AND DIFFERENT ADVISORS. THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY HAS CONDUCTED SEVERAL ANALOGIES TO UNDERSTAND, UM, ELECTRIFICATION AND, AND HOW IT FITS INTO, UH, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. UH, AS OF JULY, 2020, UH, THERE ARE 4,400 REGISTERED ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN C P S C SERVICE AREA, BUT C P S ESTIMATES ESTIMATES THAT 50,000 ELECTRIC VEHICLES WILL BE IN SAN ANTONIO BY 2030. SO, UH, THERE IS GROWTH THAT WE NEED TO PREPARE FOR. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, IN ORDER TO TIE ALL THESE EFFORTS TOGETHER, UM, WE DEVELOPED A, UH, UH, A BRAND CALLED EV. UM, FA THERE'S A LOT GOING ON UNDER THIS UMBRELLA THAT INCLUDES WHAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING TODAY, THE PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE CHARGING, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE. IT INCLUDES OUR E V S A PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN, UH, EV AND SOLAR READY CODE EVALUATION, UH, TO DETERMINE THE BEST WAY TO, UM, FUTURE PROOF, UH, UH, NEW CONSTRUCTION AS WE GO FORWARD. WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK WITH, UH, BUILDING AND CLINTON SERVICES, JUST LOOKING AT OUR OWN FLEET AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. AND, UH, FINALLY, C P S HAS BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK, UM, AND EXPERIMENTING WITH RATES, UH, TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, EV CONTINUE TO FIT INTO THE FUTURE THAT THEY FORESEE. AND THEY, THEY ROLLED OUT, UH, A COUPLE OF PILOT RATES, A SMALL COMMERCIAL ELECTRICAL, ELECTRIC VEHICLE PILOT RATE, AND A COMMERCIAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE PILOT RATE. UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? UM, THROUGH OUR RESEARCH, UH, WE KNOW THAT CHARGER AVAILABILITY IS THE MAJOR BARRIER TO, UH, ELECTRIC VEHICLE OWNERSHIP. UM, AND IT'S REALLY ABOUT RANGE ANXIETY. UH, THERE ARE CURRENTLY LARGE SECTIONS OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WITH NO ACCESS TO PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE, UH, CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE. UH, THIS MAP SHOWS SOME HIGH PRIORITY LOCATIONS, THE LEVEL TWO CHARGERS AND PUBLIC LOCATIONS. UH, AS YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS A NEED ALL OVER THE CITY. UH, THIS LIMITED AVAILABILITY COULD LEAD TO A DELAYED ADOPTION OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES, A MAJOR STRATEGY FOR REDUCING GROUND LEVEL OZONE AND REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. UH, WE ALSO KNOW THAT 44% OF SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A GARAGE OR A DRIVEWAY, UM, THAT COULD HANDLE PERSONAL CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE. THEREFORE, THEY'RE GOING TO RELY ON PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, TO CHARGE. UH, THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS INEQUITIES IN AC ACCESS TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUPPLY EQUIPMENT, UH, BY PROVIDING CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY IN THOSE AREAS WITHOUT ACCESS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, UH, WE HAD, UH, ISSUED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, UM, FOR PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, THAT WAS ISSUED IN JULY, 2020. UH, PROPOSALS WERE ASKED TO FOCUS ON COST MUTUAL BUSINESS MODEL, UH, THE THIRD PARTY ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUPPLY EQUIPMENT PROVIDERS TO INSTALL, OPERATE, MAINTAIN, AND OWN ALL OF THE IN, IN INFRASTRUCTURE ON CITY PROPERTY. UH, THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE REVIEWED FIVE PROPOSALS, UH, AND THE VOTING MEMBERS INCLUDED THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY PUBLIC WORK, D C D O, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS ADVISORS FROM C P S ENERGY AND THROUGH THE AMERICAN CITY CLIMATE CHALLENGE. BASED ON THEIR [02:20:01] PROPOSAL AND SUBSEQUENT INTERVIEWS, COMMITMENTS TO COST NEUTRALITY AND EXPERIENCE, THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED THE CONTRACT BE AWARDED THE BLINK CHARGING, AND A SUCCESSFUL LETTER WAS SENT TO BLINK ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2ND, 2020, AND WE BEGAN CONTRACT NEGOTIATION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE PROPOSED AGREEMENT WITH BLINK IS FOR A TURNKEY OWNERSHIP MODEL. BLINK WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL COSTS AND OPERATIONS OF THE, UH, CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, INSTALLED. AS A PART OF, OF THIS AGREEMENT, BLINK WILL INSTALL A COMBINATION OF LEVEL TWO CHARGERS AND DC FAST CHARGERS. THESE CHARGERS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO USED BY THE PUBLIC, UM, FOR SERVICE FEE. UM, UH, AS, AS IS, UM, AS IS TYPICAL FOR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE THIS, UH, POTENTIAL LOCATIONS INCLUDE SURFACE LOTS, LIBRARIES, PRE-K FOR SA FACILITIES, UM, SOME PARK LOCATIONS. UM, WE'RE JUST, WE'RE CURRENTLY VETTING ALL PARKING LOCATIONS THAT THE CITY HAS, UH, OWNERSHIP OF TO DETERMINE WHICH WOULD BE THE BEST FIT. UM, THE CONTRACT TERM FOR THIS IS ONE YEAR WITH FOUR ONE YEAR RENEWAL OPTIONS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, THE BIG OPPORTUNITY HERE IS, UM, WE'RE ALL AWARE OF, UH, T C E Q HAS BEEN THE LEAD, UH, UH, AGENCY FOR ADMINISTERING THE TEXAS VOLKSWAGEN MITIGATION, UM, PROGRAM. REMEMBER, THERE WAS CW SETTLEMENT FUNDS THAT HAS BEEN MADE AVAILABLE FOR PROJECTS THAT WILL HELP, UM, REDUCE GROUND LEVEL OZONE. UM, THERE'S $10.4 MILLION IN GRANTS AVAILABLE STATEWIDE TO HELP FUND LEVEL TWO CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR LIGHT DUTY PLUGIN ELECTRIC VEHICLES. UM, THIS PROGRAM, UH, WILL ALLOW APPLICANTS TO APPLY FOR UP TO 50, UM, STATIONS, UH, EVERY THREE MONTHS. AND SO, UM, WE ARE, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, UH, LENGTH TO BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HELP, HELP OFFSET SOME OF THE INITIAL COSTS FOR INSTALLATION. NEXT SLIDE. SO, ONE OF THE KEYS WE REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE OF IS, IS AROUND EQUITY. UM, NOT JUST EQUITY IN LOCATIONS, UH, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY, BUT ALSO EQUITY, UH, IN TERMS OF ACCESSIBILITY. UM, CHARGERS WILL BE, UM, UH, PLACED IN A MANNER TO ENSURE THAT ALL RESIDENTS AND VISITORS, UM, CAN ACCESS, UH, THESE STATIONS. WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE FOLLOW ADA'S SPECIAL DESIGN GUIDELINES TO ACCOMMODATE PEOPLE WITH THE DISABILITIES. UH, AGAIN, THIS IS ABOUT, UM, UH, BRINGING THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR EASY ACCESS A A ACROSS THE COMMUNITY AND MAKING IT ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, HERE'S, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THE SMALL, UM, SMALL TYPE. THIS IS JUST AN INITIAL LIST, UM, THAT, THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT. WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH C C D O, PRE-K FOR SA, UH, IN THE LI IN LIBRARIES. UM, BUT THIS IS JUST AN INITIAL BLUSH. UH, WE'LL ALSO BE REACHING OUT TO DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS, UH, WHO MAY HAVE OTHER HIGH PROFILE, UM, UH, UH, PARKING LOTS, SUCH AS THE RIVER AUTHORITY, BROOK CITY BASE. I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, PARKING, UH, THAT, THAT'S AVAILABLE THAT WE COULD TAP INTO AND HELP FACILITATE SOME CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN BLINK AND, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR. AND I THINK THAT'S SORT OF THE KEY TO THIS. THIS IS ABOUT PRIVATE SECTOR DRIVING THIS, NOT NECESSARILY THE CITY OR C P S GETTING INTO THE BUSINESS OF OWNING CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, IN TERMS OF TIMELINE, UM, IF COUNCIL, UH, DECIDES TO APPROVE THIS AGREEMENT TODAY, UH, WE'LL KICK OFF THE PROJECT, UH, OFFICIALLY TOMORROW, UM, BEGINNING IN DECEMBER, WE'LL MEET WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS, BOTH INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY TO START LOOKING AT POTENTIAL SITES. UH, THE FIRST ROUND OF, UH, GRANT SUBMISSIONS, THE C E Q P C E Q, UH, IT WILL BE, WILL BE MADE THIS MONTH FOR 50 STATIONS, UM, FOLLOWED BY A SECOND APPLICATION IN, IN MARCH FOR ANOTHER 50 STATIONS. WE WILL, UM, ONCE THIS POTENTIALLY IS APPROVED, WE'LL START TALKING TO BLANK ABOUT WHAT A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY LOOKS LIKE, UH, TO ROLL OUT IN JANUARY. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, BEFORE ANY STATIONS ARE, ARE INSTALLED, WE HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH, WITH THE COMMUNITY AND, AND, UM, AND THE NEIGHBORHOODS. SO THAT'LL BEGIN IN JANUARY, AND THEN HOPEFULLY THE FIRST PHASE INSTALLATIONS WILL OCCUR IN FEBRUARY, 2021. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, IN TERMS OF, UH, FISCAL IMPACT, UM, AS THE, THE WILL PROVIDE, INSTALL, OPERATE, OWN, AND MAINTAIN ALL OF THE EQUIPMENT, UH, MANAGE ASSOCIATED SOFTWARE MARKETING AND CUSTOMER, CUSTOMER SERVICE INTERFACE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT AT NO COST TO THE CITY, UM, THEY WILL BE APPLYING FOR GRANTS, REBATES, AND INCENTIVES. UM, THIS PROJECT IS COST MUTUAL FOR THE CITY, AND BLINK WILL PAY THE CITY A 50 50 PROFIT SHARE. UM, ONCE ALL OF THE INITIAL, UM, INSTALLATION AND OPERATION COSTS, COSTS ARE MISSED. AND THEN THAT, UM, UH, REV THAT THOSE, UM, UM, THAT FUNDING WILL BE DEPOSITED INTO A SPECIAL SUSTAINABILITY FUND [02:25:01] TO BASICALLY PUT, BE PUT BACK INTO OTHER ELECTRIC VEHICLE, UH, INITIATIVES OR OTHER SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE, THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN. AND, UH, CITY FUNDING WILL NOT BE REQUIRED DURING THE TERM OF THIS AGREEMENT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, UH, IN SUMMARY, UM, WE'RE ASKING COUNSEL TO CONSIDER THIS AGREEMENT. UM, WE THINK IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT, A REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, FIRST STEP, UH, IN TERMS OF ELECTRIFYING, UM, OUR, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. AS WE KNOW, 49% OF OUR 38% OF OUR EMISSIONS COME FROM, UM, PERSONAL VEHICLES. UH, AND SO BEING ABLE TO BUILD AN INFRASTRUCTURE WHERE PEOPLE CAN FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THEY CAN CHARGE WHEN THEY NEED TO. UM, THE OTHER THING I WOULD MENTION IS IT'S NOT JUST RESIDENTS, IT'S BUSINESSES AND INDUSTRY ARE BEGINNING TO ELECTRIFY THEIR FLEET. SO IF WE DON'T KEEP UP WITH THIS GROWING DEMAND, UM, AND OUR, OUR PARTNERS DO, UM, AND OUR OTHER, OTHER CITIES DO WE'LL BE AT A COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE. I THINK IT'S ABOUT GETTING AHEAD OF THIS, THIS CURVE. UM, AND AGAIN, THE KEY TO THIS IS THAT IT'S COST NEUTRAL TO, TO THE CITY. AND SO, NEXT SLIDE, JOHN. AND SO, FINALLY, UH, STAFF RECOMMENDS THAT CITY COUNCIL APPROVE THIS AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND BLINK CHARGING COMPANY FOR THIS PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE ON CITY PROPERTY. AND, UH, MYSELF AND, UM, REP FROM BLINK, WHO'S C P S ARE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. UH, THANK YOU, DOUG. UM, I, COUNCIL MEMBER GARCIA HAS THE FLOOR, UH, SO WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL. HI. YES. UM, THANK YOU, DOUG, FOR THE PRESENTATION AGAIN. UH, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU PRESENTED FOR THE BENEFIT OF MY COLLEAGUES. UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I ASKED YESTERDAY, I KNOW THIS IS, UH, VERY INNOVATIVE AND, UH, IN THE MATRIX BLINK, BLEW EVERYBODY ELSE OUT OF THE WATER. UM, AND SO I I, I APPRECIATE THAT. UM, DID WE DO OUR, OR CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS OF THE DUE DILIGENCE THAT WE TOOK, UM, IN, IN RESEARCHING THE COMPANIES? YES. AND AS, AS A PART OF THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, UM, UH, FINANCE BASICALLY DOES A, A BACKGROUND CHECK ON ALL OF THESE COMPANIES. THEY, THEY LOOK TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY LITIGATION PENDING. THEY LOOK AT ALL OF THE NEWS, UM, OUTLETS. THEY DO A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION. UM, WE LOOKED AT, UM, THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK. SO I THINK WE, I THINK WE DID A, A, A FAIRLY ROBUST PROCESS TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT, THAT WE'RE ENTERING INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH A, UM, A REPUTABLE, UH, COMPANY. OKAY. AWESOME. DOUG, CAN YOU, UM, TELL ME THE TIMELINE OF, OF WHEN THAT RESEARCH WAS DONE? AND, UM, I DON'T THINK THIS WENT TO THE INNOVATION COMMITTEE. SO THEN ANOTHER QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS, IS THIS TYPE OF INNOVATIVE ITEM? I, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PROCESS IS, LIKE, HOW DO YOU DETERMINE TO TAKE SOMETHING THROUGH INNOVATION? I KNOW THE LAST ITEM THAT WAS PRESENTED, FOR INSTANCE, WAS FIRE, AND IT WAS TAKEN THROUGH PUBLIC SAFETY. UM, AND SO SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES AT LEAST HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN. CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHERE IT WENT OR, OR MAYBE WHY YES, MA'AM. DIDN'T NEED TO GO. YES, MA'AM. WE, UH, WE PRESENTED TO COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY ON NOVEMBER 16TH. UM, TYPICALLY AS, UM, UM, THAT COMMITTEE HAS BEEN OVERSEEING A LOT OF OUR CLIMATE WORK. UM, WE, WE DECIDED IT WAS GOOD TO GO THERE, SO WE WERE ABLE TO GET A POSITIVE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMITTEE ON THE 15TH. OKAY. GREAT. AND THEN, UM, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS, UH, IF WE DO NOT MOVE, UH, TO APPROVE TODAY? SO, WHAT HAPPENS IF WE NEED TO? IS THERE A REASON THAT WE HAVE TO APPROVE TODAY? UM, IT, IT'S SIMPLY, IT'S A TIMING ISSUE. I THINK ONE OF THE, I THINK THE BIG THING WE WANNA MAKE SURE IS THAT, UM, BLINK HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO AFTER THE, THE, THE, THE TECH SPENT, UM, ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS. UM, THOSE, THOSE DOLLARS ARE OPEN NOW, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE BEING, UH, DRAWN DOWN ON A REGULAR BASIS BY OTHER APPLICANTS. SO I THINK THAT'S THE BIG, THE BIG TIMING. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN START TAPPING INTO THOSE GRANT FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. SURE. AND CAN YOU REMIND ME WHAT THE, WHEN THE, UM, R F P PERIOD WAS AND, AND THE DUE DILIGENCE PERIOD, ET CETERA? I'M SORRY, THE R F P R R P PROCESS, THE PERIOD YES. UH, WHEN IT WAS DONE, LET'S SEE. I THINK I HAVE THAT. JULIE, DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW THAT RIGHT OFF HAND? I'M LOOKING FOR IT. YES, I DO. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. UM, THE R F P AND THE EVALUATIONS WERE, UM, CONDUCTED IN JULY. UM, WE CALLED, UM, SEVERAL OF THE COMPANIES BACK FOR INTERVIEWS, AND WE HAVE, UH, DUE DILIGENCE AND FOLLOW UP INFORMATION THAT'S DATED FROM SEPTEMBER. OKAY, PERFECT. THANK YOU. AND THEN, UM, I, I THINK THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS FOR NOW. I'D, I'D LOVE TO HEAR THE [02:30:01] QUESTIONS THAT COUNCILMAN PERRY HAS, THOUGH. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, DOUG AND JULIA. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROSA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY. THANK YOU, SIR. HEY, DOUG, THANKS FOR THE, UH, PRE-BRIEF ON THIS, BUT I, I DID HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS AND WE DISCUSSED THOSE, BUT I'D LIKE, UH, THE ANSWERS, UH, OUT THERE FOR EVERYBODY TO HEAR. UM, YOU KNOW, YOU DID SHOW A LIST OF THOSE PROPOSED PLACES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. UM, OUR, I, I KNOW IT'S GOTTA GO THROUGH, UM, ANOTHER REVIEW TO SAY, OKAY, THIS IS THE SPOT, RIGHT? UM, SO WE'RE GONNA PUT 'EM ALL IN ONE SPOT, AS I UNDERSTAND IT. UH, NO, NO. UM, I, WE, WE ARE GOING TO WORK WITH, UM, OTHER, UM, UH, DEPARTMENTS TO ASSESS THEIR PARKING AVAILABILITY. UH, WE'RE GOING TO WORK WITH BLINK, UH, 'CAUSE AGAIN, THIS IS ABOUT UTILIZATION. UH, THEY'RE GONNA WANT TO PUT THEM WHERE THEY KNOW THAT THEY CAN MAKE MONEY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. GREAT. AND THEN, OKAY. YEAH, SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT SOUNDS GREAT. BUT, UH, ON ANY OF THESE PLACES, IS C P SS GONNA HAVE TO DO ANY INFRASTRUCTURE INSTALLATION OR REPLACING OR INSTALLING WHATEVER TO SUPPORT, UH, THESE CHARGING SPACES? YEAH, SO, UM, UH, BLINK IS GOING TO HAVE TO WORK WITH CSS. UM, BUT BLINK IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THOSE COSTS. UM, IT'S, IT'S, UH, C P S IS NOT GOING TO REPLACE, UH, OR CREATE NEW, NEW INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THEM JUST TO PLUG IN. SO THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO WORK WITHIN THE EXISTING D C S INFRASTRUCTURE. OKAY. AND, UM, UH, IN THIS, IN, IN THIS PROPOSAL, I DIDN'T, DIDN'T GO THROUGH IT IN DETAIL, BUT ARE WE, IS THE CITY GONNA BENEFIT IN ANY WAY? ARE WE GONNA GET ANY REVENUE OUT OF THIS, OUT OF THIS PROPOSAL? SO THE, UH, THE CONTRACT CALLS FOR, UM, A, A PROFIT SHARING 50 50. UM, BUT ONCE THAT, THAT STARTS ONCE BLANK, UM, COVERS THEIR COSTS, THEIR INITIAL COSTS FOR, FOR EQUIPMENT, FOR INSTALLATION AND OPERATION. SO ONCE THEY START ACTUALLY, UM, UH, GENERATING REVENUE, WE'LL GET A 50 50 SPLIT FOR THAT. AND WHEN IS, WHEN IS THAT EXPECTED IN A YEAR OR TWO YEARS? 10 YEARS? I THINK IT'S, YEAH, I THINK IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT TO KNOW, UM, AT THIS POINT IN TIME. AND, UH, I THINK I, I CAN ALWAYS, I CAN ALSO ASK, UM, MR. ORLANDO IF HE WANTS TO WEIGH IN. UM, I THINK IT, IT DEPENDS ON UTILIZATION. UM, AND IT DEPENDS UPON BEING ABLE TO GET THOSE GRANTS, UM, FROM MM-HMM. FROM, UM, THE TECH SPAN. SO I THINK THERE'S LOTS OF VARIABLES. UM, SO I THINK IT'LL BE DIFFICULT TO KNOW WHEN WE COULD EXPECT ANY, ANY, UM, INCOME SO THAT THAT WASN'T FACTORED INTO, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN THE EXPECTATION IS THAT IT'LL BE DONE AND WE'LL GET ANY REVENUE FROM IT. SO YOU'LL START RECEIVING, UH, SORRY, THIS IS TONY. THANK, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK HERE. UH, YOU'LL START RECEIVING 5% REVENUE AS SOON AS WE START RECEIVING REVENUE FROM THE CHARGING STATIONS. UH, THE GOAL IS TO GET TO 50% ONCE RE REACH PROFITABILITY. AND AS DOUG WAS MENTIONING, THERE'S LOTS OF VARIABLES IN THERE. UM, IDEALLY THE SOONER THE BETTER, UM, YOU KNOW, BASED ON UTILIZATION AND, AND IF WE DO OUR JOBS RIGHT, PUT 'EM IN THE RIGHT PLACES AND THEY GET THE UTILIZATION, UM, THAT WILL HAPPEN MUCH SOONER. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING OF UTILIZATION, WE HAD A BIG HUGE CELEBRATION, UH, RIBBON CUTTING AND IT FLAGS WAVING AND MUSIC PLAYING AND ALL THAT STUFF ON ONE OF THESE, UH, A SIMILAR TYPE OF PROJECT UP HERE IN THE NORTHEAST. IT WAS, UH, AT A PARKING LOT AT WALMART, UH, RIGHT AT, UH, NACODOCHES IN THOUSAND OAKS. AND, UM, WHAT'S THE UTILIZATION OF THOSE? YEAH, AND ACTUALLY COUNCILMAN, I TRIED DOING SOME RESEARCH, UM, BEFORE, UH, I JUMPED ON. I WASN'T ABLE TO, TO FIND THAT. WE'LL, WE'LL REACH OUT TO, UM, UH, THE OWNERS OF THAT TO FIND OUT. SO, SO THE SITE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS, UM, WAS PART OF THE ELECTRIFY AMERICA PROGRAM. THERE WAS A NONPROFIT THAT WAS ESTABLISHED TO CREATE A NATIONAL INTERCONNECTED NETWORK OF THESE FAST CHARGING STATIONS. UM, AND THEY, THEY ALSO TAPPED INTO THOSE THAT VW SETTLEMENT MONEY. UM, I'LL CHECK ON THE UTILIZATION. I DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER YET. AND I THINK THE KEY PART OF THAT IS, IT, IT'S IN PREPARATION OF WHAT'S COMING. UH, IT IS, IT IS. IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A NATIONAL NETWORK THAT IS GONNA ALLOW FOR SOMEBODY FROM TO DRIVE COAST TO COAST. AND I THINK THAT, THAT WE PUSHED TO GET THAT STATION BECAUSE I THINK WE WERE VERY CONCERNED THAT THERE'D BE ONE IN AUSTIN, THERE'D BE ONE IN HOUSTON, AND IF WE DIDN'T GET ONE IN SAN ANTONIO, THEY WOULD JUST PUT IT SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE REGION. SO I THINK LONG TERM, UM, THAT UTILIZATION'S ONLY GOING TO INCREASE, BUT WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN TRACK DOWN THOSE UTILIZATION NUMBERS AND, AND GET THOSE TO [02:35:01] YOU. OKAY. UM, YEAH, I'M, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN THAT TO SEE IF THEY'RE, THEY'RE MAKING ANYTHING ON IT. WAS THERE ANY, ANY SHARING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT ON THOSE, OR THAT'S JUST STRICTLY TO THAT COMPANY? THEY, YEAH, THAT WAS, THEY GOT THE SPACE FROM WALMART AND THEY DID THE INSTALLATION. EVERYTHING IS ON THEM, BUT THEY GET ANY PROCEEDS FROM THAT COR CORRECT. THE, THE CITY WASN'T INVOLVED IN THAT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. WELL, I'M, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT, UH, WE ARE IN THE REVENUE SHARING ON THIS. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND I APPRECIATE THE STATEMENT OF THE, UH, POTENTIAL LEGAL ALLEGATIONS ON, UM, ON THE COMPANY. AND I GUESS I WOULD KIND OF HATE TO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE APPROVE IT AT THIS POINT WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THE, WHAT THE, UM, COUNCILMAN PERRY, IT'S, THIS IS DAVID MCCAREY. UH, GOOD MORNING. THIS WAS REVIEWED LINKS, THE ARTICLE THAT'S IN THERE, THE GENTLEMAN, MR. GARZA, WHO MADE THE STATEMENT, UH, THAT ARTICLE RESEARCH WAS REVIEWED TO BY THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE. SO THEY DID HAVE AN INSIGHT TO THAT. IT WAS DISCUSSED DURING THE EVALUATION PERIOD. OKAY. DID OUR LEGAL FOLKS REVIEW IT? UH, COUNCILMAN, THIS IS, UH, ANDY, OBVIOUSLY, WE, WE DID REVIEW IT. UM, WE DO REVIEW, UH, THE DUE DILIGENCE RESULTS THAT WE DO GET FROM PROCUREMENT. UH, THIS ONE WAS, UH, UH, AGAIN, A REPORT ACTUALLY THAT GENERATED A CLASS ACTION. UH, AND THAT WAS BY INVESTORS BECAUSE, UH, BASED ON THIS REPORT, BLANK STOCK FELL FROM APPROXIMATELY $10 PER SHARE TO SEVEN, WHICH IS ROUGHLY A 20 OVER A 20% DROP. UH, I WILL SAY THAT THESE SORT OF INVESTOR LAWSUITS, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH STARTUPS, ARE NOT, UH, UNUSUAL. UH, AND THAT, UH, WE LOOKED AT IT AND, AND IF YOU LOOK FRANKLY AT THE STOCK PRICE TODAY, WHICH IS AT 28, UH, IT IS CERTAINLY NOT INDICATIVE THAT THE, UH, COMPANY HAS, UH, SIGNIFICANT ISSUES WITH RESPECT TO ITS, UH, PERFORMANCE, BOTH FROM A STOCK STANDPOINT AND FROM AN OPERATIONAL. OKAY. SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE HAPPY WITH, UH, THE RESEARCH AND, AND YOU'RE HAPPY WITH, UH, UH, THIS PARTICULAR PROPOSAL? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, ANDY? I GUESS I WOULDN'T USE THE WORD HAPPY. I WOULD SAY I'M COMFORTABLE WITH THE RECOMMENDATION THAT'S BEING OFFERED. OKAY. WELL, THAT'S, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BEING COMFORTABLE VERSUS HAPPY. UM, WELL, I DON'T THINK WE'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE THAT SORT OF CHARACTERIZATION AS TO WHETHER WE'RE HAPPY OR GLAD ABOUT . I THINK WE'RE SUPPOSED TO STATE NEUTRAL COUNCILMAN. THAT WAS MY POINT. COUNCILMAN, THIS IS MCCAREY. I I'M SMILING AND I'M HAPPY, BUT I UNDERSTAND THE LEGAL ASPECT OF IT, . OKAY. AND AGAIN, I APPRECIATE THAT THAT STATEMENT BEING MADE, AND, UH, AS LONG AS THAT WAS THOROUGHLY VETTED BY THE EVALUATION TEAM AND OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT, AND EVERYBODY IS OKAY, LET'S SAY COMFORTABLE, UH, WITH IT. I, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL GO ALONG WITH THIS, BUT I, I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE OVERALL, UM, UH, IMPACT THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE ON, ON C P S AS WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THESE, AS LONG AS THESE VENDORS ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR ALL OF THAT OUT OF THEIR, THEIR POCKETS, AND IT'S NOT PUTTING ANY ADDITIONAL, UM, UH, BURDENS ON C P S OR THE CITY. I, I, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT. BUT WHEN, WHEN IT STARTS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S KNOCK ON EFFECTS. OKAY, WE PUT ONE HERE, WE PUT ONE THERE, AND WE, WE DO THAT CONNECTION WITH C P S AS THESE THINGS CONTINUE TO GROW. IF THEY DO, UM, IT'S GONNA HAVE KNOCK-ON EFFECTS ON THE DOWNSTREAM, UH, FROM C P S ON OTHER UPGRADES THAT THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO IN THEIR POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. YOU CAN'T JUST KEEP ADDING THESE ON AND NOT EXPECT THERE TO BE SOME IMPACTS TO THE OVERALL DISTRIBUTION SCHEME OF C P S. AND THAT'S WHERE MY CONCERN IS. AND I, I'M HOPING, UM, TO GET SOME INFORMATION ON THAT EITHER FROM YOU, DOUG, AND I THINK YOU NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT. SINCE YOU'RE KIND OF DRIVING THIS TRAIN, YOU SHOULD BE IN CP S'S HIP POCKET LOOKING AT THIS OVERALL STRUCTURE AND WHAT THE IMPACTS ARE GONNA BE ON CPS, BECAUSE THAT'S GONNA BE AN IMPACT, NOT ONLY, NOT JUST TO C P SS, BUT THE RATE PAYERS. YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S WHO THE IMPACTS GET TO ARE THE ACTUAL RATE PAYERS OUT THERE. AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING THAT'S GONNA RAISE RATES OR CAUSE INCREASES TO OUR RATE PAYERS OUT [02:40:01] THERE PAYING THE ELECTRICITY BILLS. AND I'LL, I'LL JUST MAKE THAT STATEMENT NOW. AND IF I COULD JUST SAY, AND COUNCILMAN, UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH CCPS, UM, ON THAT SORT OF THAT LONG-TERM PLANNING. UM, THEY ARE LOOKING, THEY, THEY DO SEE IT COMING DOWN THE PIPE. THEY KNOW THERE'S IMPLICATIONS. UM, SO I THINK IT'S SOMETHING I CAN REACH OUT TO THEM TO SEE IF THEY'D BE WILLING TO COME IN AND SIT DOWN WITH, WITH, WITH YOU AND I, AND THEY CAN BRING YOU UP TO SPEED AS FAR AS WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT GOING FORWARD. I THINK IT, WHILE THERE'S COSTS, THERE'S ALSO BENEFITS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE IN THE BUSINESS OF SELLING ELECTRICITY, SO I THINK IT, THEY'RE LOOKING LONG TERM THE PROS AND CONS AND HOW TO BALANCE IT, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL SET SOMETHING UP AND, AND BRIEF YOU, UH, IN THE NEAR FUTURE SO WE CAN LET YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. GREAT. I APPRECIATE THAT. I APPRECIATE THAT, DOUG. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. DID YOU SAY HAVE SOMETHING? YEAH, I WANTED TO JUST ADD, I'M DAVID MCCARRY, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL ALSO DO FOR COUNCIL'S BENEFIT IS THIS WAS RIGHT BETWEEN OUR CAP PLAN INITIATIVE AND INNOVATION. SO, UH, MY APOLOGIES IF WE DIDN'T BRING IT TO BOTH, UH, COMMITTEES, BUT I DO BELIEVE THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN KEEP BOTH COMMITTEES UP TO SPEED ON THIS INNOVATIVE, UH, TECHNIQUE THAT'S EVOLVING WITH THIS LEVEL TWO CHARGING STATIONS. SO WE'LL CIRCLE BACK AROUND WITH YOU AND, AND WORK THROUGH THAT IN THE FUTURE. OUR, OUR APOLOGIES. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, COUNCIL MEMBER. THANKS. UM, I'M NOT GONNA SUPPORT TODAY'S ITEM, UH, FOR, UH, A COUPLE OF REASONS. ONE, AND FIRST I'LL, I'LL, I'LL, UM, I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU, UH, MY ASSURANCES THAT I WANT ELECTRIC CHARGERS ALL OVER SAN ANTONIO. AND I, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, UH, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE MOVE TO THAT TECHNOLOGY. I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE WE'RE GOING. AND, UM, MORE AND MORE HOME BUILDERS ARE INSTALLING THESE, UM, AND WIRING GARAGES NOW FOR THIS. AND MORE AND MORE DEVELOPERS ARE PUTTING THESE THINGS IN GARAGES, UM, AS WELL. UH, IT'S, I I'M LOOKING AT TWO REPORTS, UM, NOT FROM CLASS ACTION ATTORNEYS, BUT FROM, UH, STOCK AND CHANGE ANALYSTS, UM, BOTH WHO ARE, UM, MAKING SOME PRETTY ALARMING, UM, ALLEGATIONS AS TO WHY IT IS THAT THEY'RE NOT RECOMMENDING PEOPLE, UM, CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THIS COMPANY. I'M GONNA READ FROM ONE, UM, IN STARK CONTRAST TO MANAGEMENT'S FURTHER CLAIMS THAT THESE CHARGES ARE HIGH TECH AND IN HIGH DEMAND. OUR INVESTIGATION CONFIRMS THAT BLINKS FINANCIALS ALREADY SUGGEST ALMOST NO ONE USES BLINKS CHARGING STATIONS, MANY OF WHICH ARE AN UTTERLY DECREPIT CONDITION ARE ON THE GROUND. VISITS TO 242 STATIONS AT 88 LOCATIONS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES REVEAL A PLETHORA OF NEGLECTED, ABUSED, OR NON-FUNCTIONAL OR OTHERWISE MISSING CHARGERS. OUR ANALYSIS OF THE COMPANY'S OWN DATA SUGGESTS THAT THE AVERAGE CHARGER IS UTILIZED FOR JUST SIX TO 38 MINUTES PER DAY, WHILE ANNUAL CHARGING REVENUE OF A MERE $6 AND 37 CENTS PER MEMBER SUGGESTS THAT THE AVERAGE BLINK MEMBER DOESN'T EVEN OBTAIN ONE SINGLE FULL CHARGE FROM A BLINK NETWORK OVER THE COURSE OF AN ENTIRE YEAR. UH, WE THINK THAT EVEN AT 20 X CURRENT UTILIZATION BLINKS NETWORK WOULD CONTINUE TO INCINERATE CASH AND SOME BLINK VASTLY OVERSTATES THE SIZE, FUNCTIONALITY USAGE AND ECONOMIC POTENTIAL OF ITS CHARGERS. ANOTHER ONE OF THE ANALYSTS SAYS, ANOTHER ANALYST FIRM SAYS, REVENUE GROWTH HAS SIGNIFICANTLY SERIOUSLY LAGGED THE EV INDUSTRY DUE TO PERSISTENT ISSUES AROUND BLINKS, PRODUCT QUALITY, CUSTOMER CHURN, AND USER EXPERIENCE. AND IT'S NOT JUST ONE CLASS ACTION, IT'S TWO CLASS ACTIONS. UM, I, I HATE INVOKING THE NAME OF, OF BLUE DUCK, BUT THIS ONE SMELLS LIKE BLUE DUCK VERSION TWO. UM, AND I'M GONNA MOVE TO DELAY THIS FOR, UH, FURTHER INVESTIGATION AND, UH, FURTHER CONVERSATIONS, BUT I'M, I'M NOT GONNA EVER VOTE ON ANYTHING THAT SMELLS LIKE BLUE DUCK VERSION TWO. SO I'M, I'M MOVE TO DELAY THIS FOR A LATER DATE. MAYOR, SECOND. SECOND. OKAY, THERE'S A MOTION, UM, AND A SECOND FOR DELAY. UM, ANDY, UH, DO WE NEED A A A A TIME CERTAIN? YES, WE DO NEED A, A TIME CERTAIN COUNSELING, UH, UH, FOR, WE CAN SAY FOR A MEETING IN JANUARY. SURE. MEETING IN JANUARY IS FINE WITH ME. I'LL LET YOU GUYS PICK THE DATE. OKAY. ALRIGHT, THERE'S A MOTION, A SECOND FOR DELAY OF ITEM. UH, WHICH ONE ARE WE ON? 34, UH, TO A JANUARY DATE. UH, COUNCIL DISCUSSION WILL CONTINUE. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL IT. THANK YOU, MAYOR. AND, UH, I JUST WANNA MAKE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS. I ALSO SUPPORT ELECTRIC VEHICLE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE. I'M VERY EXCITED, UH, TO SEE IT COME TO FRUITION. I [02:45:01] THINK WE NEED THAT IN ORDER TO, UH, MAKE PEOPLE FEEL, UH, SAFE AND RELIEVE THAT, UH, RANGE ANXIETY THAT DOUG REFERRED TO. SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THIS MOVING, UH, US MAKING SOME PROGRESS ON THIS, WHETHER IT'S TODAY OR NOT, AND I'M GLAD TO SEE US, UH, USING THAT T C E Q MONEY. SO MUCH OF IT WAS ASSIGNED TO, TO OUR AREA, AND WE NEED TO MAKE THE BEST USE OF IT. UH, A COUPLE OF COMMENTS. UH, FIRST FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE MAYOR AND ERIC, I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT WHEN WE POST ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA, THAT WE HAVE SOME WAY TO INDICATE, WHICH HAVE BEEN TO CHAT TO COMMITTEES, UH, PRIOR. UH, I THINK IT, UH, YEAH, IT WILL SAY, I SEE LOTS OF NODDING HEADS. IT MIGHT SAVE US A LITTLE BIT OF TIME IN THE REVIEW. UH, YOU KNOW, I HEAR FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS, WELL, I WAS NEVER BRIEFED ON THIS. AND, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S, THAT'S A LOT TO PUT ON YOU TO, ON THE STAFF TO FIGURE OUT WHICH ITEMS. I MEAN, SOMETIMES YOU USE YOUR JUDGMENT AND YOU'RE RIGHT ON, AND SOMETIMES YOU'RE NOT. BUT , UH, WE CAN'T EXPECT THAT ON A 40 AGENDA, 40 ITEM AGENDA, YOU ARE GOING TO ASK TO BRIEF US ON EVERY SINGLE ONE, ESPECIALLY IF SOMETHING HAS BEEN TO COMMITTEE. NOW, COUNCILMAN BALA IS THE CHAIR OF THE INNOVATION COMMITTEE, WHICH PREVIOUSLY DID HEAR THIS ITEM. SO, SO MAYBE HE HAS A, UH, IT'S, IT'S LOGICAL THAT HE WOULD, THAT HE WOULD'VE GOTTEN A BRIEFING. SO THAT'S ONE COMMENT. THE, THE OTHER REQUEST I'M GOING TO MAKE IS, UH, I HAVE DIRECTED MY STAFF AFTER EVERY MEETING THAT MY COMMITTEE HAS, THAT WE SEND A SUMMARY OF THAT MEETING TO THE FULL COUNCIL, IT GOES TO ALL OF YOUR CHIEFS OF STAFF. IT TELLS YOU WHAT ACTIONS WERE TAKEN SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE MINUTES ARE READY AND IT ATTACHES THE PRESENTATIONS AS WELL. NOW, IF, IF IT'S PREFERABLE TO HAVE THAT TO YOU, THEN I, I, I CAN'T DO THAT FROM MY EMAIL, SO IT'LL, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE A STAFF DOING THAT. SO, ERIC, UM, IF, IF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD PREFER TO RECEIVE THAT DIRECTLY AS OPPOSED TO FROM THEIR CHIEF OF STAFF, THEN I'LL, ERIC, I'LL ASK YOU TO ASSIGN SOMEONE TO, TO DO THAT. UM, MY STAFF HAS BEEN PREPARING THE SUMMARY, HAPPY TO SHARE THOSE WITH YOU SO YOU CAN SEE HOW THEY'RE, HOW THEY'RE MODELED. UM, AND THIRDLY, IF THAT'S A WORD, YOU KNOW, WE REVIEWED THIS AT CHECK. WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS, WE GOT THE DOCUMENTATION THAT WE ASKED FOR. IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, IS OF LEGAL CONCERN, I WOULD APPRECIATE HAVING A HEADS UP AT COMMITTEE, UH, AND, AND BEING TOLD THAT IT'S BEEN FULLY VETTED. NOW, I, UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WAS FLAGGED, THAT IT WAS VETTED. I'M GLAD YOU DID YOUR WORK. UH, BUT MAYBE, UH, WHEN WE GET PRESENTATIONS, OR EVEN WHEN WE APPROVE THESE ITEMS, WE HAVE A, A SUMMARY OF, UM, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN FLAGGED AND REVIEWED. SO REALLY, I'M JUST ASKING FOR ALL THESE GOVERNANCE PROCESS CHANGES, , UH, SO I AM GOING TO SUPPORT COUNCILMAN ELIAS'S MOTION. I THINK IT DOES PUT PRESSURE ON OUR, ON OUR COUNCIL ON DUE PRESSURE TO GET THIS, INFOR THIS PARTICULAR INFORMATION LATE IN THE GAME. AND TO MAKE THIS DECISION, UH, WE HAVE TO FEEL COMFORTABLE AND VOTE OUR CONSCIENCES. AND, UH, IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T DO THAT. MANY OF US CAN'T DO THAT TODAY BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE, WE'VE HEARD. SO I'LL, I'LL BE SUPPORTING THE MOTION AND, UH, AND I AM SUPPORTIVE OF EV INFRASTRUCTURE IN SAN ANTONIO, SO I CAN'T WAIT FOR, FOR THAT TO HAPPEN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. COUNCIL MEMBER KERRIDGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. YOU KNOW, I THINK IN LIGHT OF, UH, WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM COUNCIL MEMBER S IT, IT MAKES ME RETHINK, AND I WISH THIS HAD GONE THROUGH THE INNOVATION COMMITTEE SO THAT, UH, WE COULD HAVE PURSUED THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE. UH, I, I HEARD SOMETHING IN, UH, IN THE COUNCILMAN'S WORDS THAT CAUSED ME TO HAVE A QUESTION. AND, AND THAT IS, DOES THIS COMPANY REQUIRE SOME KIND OF A MEMBERSHIP OF PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO USE THESE FACILITIES? DO THEY GET SOME KIND OF A, A DISCOUNT OR, OR IS IT RESTRICTED TO THEIR MEMBERSHIP FOR THESE TO BE USED? I, I HEARD THAT WORD MEMBERS MENTIONED IN THERE SOMEWHERE. DOES ANYBODY KNOW THAT? ANTHONY, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THAT? YEAH, SO, UM, MEMBERSHIP, YOU CAN JOIN AND BE A MEMBER FOR FREE. UM, MEMBERS DO GET A, A DISCOUNT AND IT, IT JUST MAKES IT EASE OF CHARGING. UM, BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A MEMBER TO USE IT. YOU COULD USE YOUR PHONE, YOU CAN, UM, ACTUALLY USE THE STATION ITSELF [02:50:02] AND, AND TOUCH IT, BUT IF YOU WANNA GO TOUCHLESS, UM, YOU COULD DOWNLOAD AN APP. UM, SO THERE'S LOTS OF FLEXIBILITY IN, IN THE PROGRAM, BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A MEMBER. THANK YOU, MR. ORLANDO. I APPRECIATE THAT CLARIFICATION. ONE OTHER, UM, ONE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE, IF WE POSTPONE THIS, IS THERE ANY KIND OF OPPORTUNITY FOR MR. GARZA AND HIS PROPOSAL TO BE RECONSIDERED FOR ANY REASON? I MEAN, HE, HE FELT LIKE THEY WERE LEFT OUT AND THEY HAD A GOOD PROPOSAL TO MAKE. AND I KNOW THE COMMITTEE DID ITS DUE DILIGENCE. I DON'T KNOW IF HIS PROPOSAL WAS ONE THAT HAD BEEN CONSIDERED IN THE PROCESS, AND IF, UH, THIS MIGHT GET OPENED UP AGAIN. YEAH. UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE, THIS IS DAVID MCCAREY, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. WE HAVE FIVE, UH, RESPONDENTS TO THIS PROCESS, SO THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE EVALUATED. I'M NOT SURE WHERE MR. GARZA CAME INTO THE PROCESS, SO THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE REVETTED AS WELL IF IT COMES TO THAT. OKAY. I'D JUST LIKE CLARIFICATION IF WE GO IN THAT DIRECTION, IF WE THINK THERE'S A NEED TO REOPEN THIS FOR ANY REASON. THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL ADMIT IT'S A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING TO SEE THIS DELAYED, UM, JUST BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS A PROCESS THAT I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE FALLING A LITTLE BIT BEHIND ON. WE NEED TO GET THIS ROLLING, UH, BUT CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR DUE DILIGENCE. UM, I'LL SAY THAT, UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES OF THE EV INDUSTRY IS THAT THERE ARE VERY FEW COMPANIES THAT HAVE ANY SORT OF TRACK RECORD. AND SO, UM, THE LEVEL OF, OF, UM, YOU KNOW, VOLATILITY WITHIN STOCKS AND, AND THE INVESTOR RELATIONS, UH, CONVERSATIONS IS NOT A SURPRISE IN MY MIND. UM, BUT CERTAINLY BECAUSE, UH, THIS IS A HIGH PROFILE CONTRACT AND WE ARE DEALING WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC TRUST, WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE WE, WE ENSURE WE DO OUR PROPER DUE DILIGENCE EVEN WITH, UH, THESE LATE BREAKING ISSUES. SO LET ME, UM, LET ME TURN IT OVER TO ERIC. YOU, YOU'RE QUEUE ERIC, GO AHEAD. THANKS, MAYOR. UH, ONE, ONE THING I WAS GONNA SUGGEST ALSO, AND IT MAY IMPACT THE TIMELINE A BIT, BUT, UM, I, I, I THINK BEFORE WE COME BACK TO COUNCIL, UH, WE GO BACK THROUGH THE HIGH PROFILE COUNCIL COURAGES COMMITTEE AND JUST RE BRIEF ON THE PROCESS, UM, AND, AND, AND TAKE THAT ADDITIONAL STEP BEFORE WE COME BACK TO A SESSION IN ADDITION. UM, AND, AND, AND LISTENING TO THE CONVERSATION OF THIS AND THAT YOU JUST SAID A SECOND AGO, MAYOR, THIS IS A HIGH PROFILE CONTRACT. IT MAY HAVE NOT HAVE MEANT OUR, OUR, OUR REVISED DEFINITIONS FROM A YEAR AGO, BUT, UH, I THINK THAT'S A STEP WE OUGHT TO GO THROUGH BEFORE WE COME BACK TODAY'S SESSION. SO WE'LL WORK TO DO THAT. GREAT. UM, AND, UH, A FEEL FOR YOU, DOUG, UH, AND, AND DAVID, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE, ARE BREAKING NEW FRONTIER ON EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING IN THE CAP SPACE, BUT WE KNOW IT'S SO CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET THESE CONTRACTS, WE GET 'EM DONE WELL, AND WE START IMPLEMENTING OUR CAP PLAN. EV INFRASTRUCTURE IS ONE OF THOSE VERY IMPORTANT FIRST STEPS THAT WE'VE GOTTA TAKE. UM, AND WE KNOW IT'S NOT GONNA BE EASY. THERE'S GONNA BE TURBULENCE WITH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE COMPANIES THAT WE'VE VET. UH, SO LET'S JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND. UM, WE'LL, WE'LL TRY TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION AND DUE DILIGENCE SO WE HAVE CONFIDENCE, UH, IN TAKING THAT NEXT STEP. BUT, UH, AGAIN, HANG IN THERE GUYS. UH, WE APPRECIATE ALL YOUR WORK. SO, UH, THERE IS A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR, UH, DELAY OF ITEM 34, UH, FOR ADDITIONAL, UM, VETTING AND, AND COMMITTEE DISCUSSION, HEARING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. MOVE [Items 36 & Z1] NOW TO ITEM 36. ITEM 36 IS AN ORDINANCE EXTENDING THE CITY LIMITS TO FULL PURPOSE ANNEXATION OF APPROXIMATELY 392.3 ACRES OF LAND AS CONSENTED TO BY THE PROPERTY OWNERS, WHICH ARE CONTIGUOUS, CONTIGUOUS TO THE CITY LIMITS AND LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S EXIT TERRESTRIAL JURISDICTION WITHIN SOUTH BEXAR COUNTY AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2020. NEAR CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE AND FOUR. UH, MME. CLARK. UH, LET'S TAKE ITEM 36 AND Z ONE TOGETHER. COULD YOU READ THAT AS WELL? YES, MA'AM. Z ONE ITEM Z ONE, ASSIGN ZONING TO PROPERTY GENERALLY [02:55:01] BOUND BY SOUTHWEST LOOP 4, 10 10 TO THE NORTH CORPUS CHRISTI AND OLD CORPUS CHRISTI HIGHWAY TO THE EAST SOUTH LOOP, 1604 AND I H 35 SOUTH TO THE SOUTH. UM, AND SOMERSET ROAD TO THE WEST. CURRENTLY LOCATED OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS BY APPLYING ZONING OVERLAY DISTRICTS. A H O D AIRPORT HAZARD OVERLAY DISTRICT M L O D TWO LAN, MILITARY LIGHTING OVERLAY DISTRICT AND MLR TWO LAN, MILITARY LIGHTING REGION TWO AS APPLICABLE. AND DR. DEVELOPMENT RESERVE DISTRICT ON P 29 AND P 29 C CCB 42 0 4 W I R R 22 4 0 0.49 FEET OF T R EIGHT A RRB P 25 NH REFER 8 0 7 0 0 0 0 1 DASH 33 85 CB 4 0 0 2 DASH ONE P 3 28 A B S 11 CB 4 0 0 7 LOT P 3 27 12 1 50 NNC B 1623 P 3 27 AB 11 8 4 7 6 9. SO RIOS NUMBER TWO, ANNEXATION CCB 4 0 0 7 DASH SIX P 3 23 A SS 11 CB 4 0 0 7 LOT SEVEN 11 BLOCK ONE CB 4 1 6 7 A AND FR FARM AND RANCH DISTRICT ON P EIGHT C A B S 4 21 CCB 42 98 AND MP 15, NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION DISTRICT ON P 5 31 0.52 AND P FIVE C FOUR A BS 4 21 CCB 4 2 98 P FIVE G A BS 4 21 CB 4 2 98 P NINE AB B S 3 74, 12 POINT 59 CB 42 96 P FIVE E 1921 ABS 4 21 CB 42 98. THANK YOU MADAM CLERK. UH, WE DO HAVE ONE CITIZEN SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM 36 AND Z ONE. UM, I DO NOT BELIEVE, UH, HE'S RECONNECTED WITH US. I'LL CALL HIM NOW. HOWARD RO, HOWARD RO ON. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER. VIVA. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, TO MY COLLEAGUES, THIS IS PART OF A, WE'RE ANNEXING THESE PIECES OF PROPERTY, THESE PARCELS OF PROPERTY, BUT THAT IS BECAUSE THEY WERE IN VIOLATION TERMS OF THEIR, UH, NON-DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS AND, UH, VIOLATED THE TERMS OF THE PROPERTIES IN QUESTIONS. IS THAT, AND I SEE BRIDGETTE IS ON THE CALL, SO I'M GOING TO ASK, UH, BRIDGETTE, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. YES, THAT IS CORRECT, COUNCILMAN. OKAY. SO WITH ANNEXATION, IF THERE IS A VOID IN THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, THE CITY CAN ANNEX THOSE PROPERTIES. AND SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED PROPERTIES THAT HAVE VOIDED THEIR DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT. AND SO NOW WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE ZONING COMMISSION AND THEY RECOMMENDED APPROVAL OF THE ZONING THAT WILL GO WITH THOSE PROPERTIES ONCE THEY ENTER INTO THE CITY. RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THIS IS, UH, IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF, UM, THE COUNTY, UM, INSIDE LOOP 1604 STILL THOUGH. AND THEN, UM, BRIDGET, I HAD ONE QUESTION BECAUSE ONE OF THE PROPERTIES THAT WE ARE BRINGING IN HAD FIREWORK SALES ON IT, AND SO THAT FIREWORK SALES, THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE GRANDFATHERED INTO THE CITY, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. COUNCILMAN GRANDFA. UM, FIREWORK SALES ARE NOT ALLOWED WITHIN CITY LIMITS. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, I KNOW THAT MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROGER GARCIA NEEDS TO MAKE SOME, UH, COMMENTS AS WELL, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, TAKING THIS. SO THANK YOU MAYOR, AND I'M IN AGREEMENT OF ALL OF THIS. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER , UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA MAYOR, AND I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE, UM, OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, THANK STAFF AND EVERYBODY WHO HAS BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY ON THIS. UH, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY MEETINGS WE, WE'VE HAD ALL IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA, BUT I DO APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND, AND EFFORT AND ALL OF THIS, AND THEN HELPING ME UNDER, UH, YOUR OR, OR [03:00:01] I, I'M NEW TO THIS STILL A LITTLE BIT, SO HELP, HELPING ME UNDERSTAND IS CRITICAL. AND I WANNA THANK MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE, REBECCA NAN, UH, FOR HELPING ME WITH SOME OF THE, THE HISTORY AND IN THE AREA. SO I APPRECIATE, UH, RUDY NINO AND BRIDGET WHITE AND ALSO ROD SANCHEZ, UH, WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH US. UM, I HAVE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS ACTUALLY. SO I MOVED TO APPROVED STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION FOR ITEM 36 MC ONE AND REQUEST THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT FURTHER EVALUATE AND BRING FORWARD AND UPDATING RE UPDATED REZONING PLAN FOR PROPERTIES ON THE MAP. EXHIBIT NUMBER FOUR, FIVE, AND SIX. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THERE'S A MOTION. SECOND. DID I HEAR? SECOND? OKAY, THERE'S A MOTION AS SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF ITEMS 36 AND Z ONE. UH, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ALRIGHT, UH, THAT'S THE ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA TODAY. UH, CITY MANAGER REPORT. [37. 20-7149 City Manager's Report ] MR. MAYOR, UH, TWO, TWO ITEMS. UH, THIS AF OR THIS MORNING, UH, ONE IS A, UH, A QUICK COVID UPDATE. UH, WE ARE GONNA DO A MUCH MORE, UM, UH, EXTENSIVE UPDATE AT COUNCIL NEXT WEEK. BUT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH THE COUNCIL KIND OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF, UH, OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING THIS WEEK. UM, WE ARE EXPERIENCING A, A, UH, AN INCREASE IN CASES. OUR CURRENT SEVEN DAY ROLLING AVERAGE IS A LITTLE OVER A THOUSAND CASES PER DAY, 1,004. AND WE, UH, UPDATE THAT NUMBER, UM, DAILY, AND YOU SEE IT IN YOUR END OF WEEK OR END OF DAY EMAIL FROM ME. UM, THE CURRENT NUMBER OF, UM, PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED, UH, IN THE, UH, IN THE, IN BEAR COUNTY IS 663, UM, NOT ANYWHERE NEAR THE AMOUNT WE SAW, UH, DURING THE MONTH OF JULY, WHERE WE HAD, UH, A DAILY CASE RATE OF ABOUT 1700. OUR AVERAGE GOT UP TO 1700, AND OUR PEAK HOSPITALIZATIONS WERE AT 1200. UM, OUR POSITIVITY RATE, AS MOST OF YOU SAW EARLIER THIS WEEK, WHEN THE, UH, THE, THE WEEKLY STATS WERE RELEASED ON MONDAY, UH, HAD A PRETTY DRAMATIC INCREASE, UH, UP TO 15.7%. UM, AND THAT COMPARES TO A 25% THAT WE, UH, SAW AT THE PEAK IN, IN JULY. UM, OUR TESTING CAPACITY, UM, UH, IN THE, UH, IN THE COUNTY IS, UH, CONTINUING TO GROW. UH, WE TESTED, UH, DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, UH, NOW LAST WEEK THAT WE DID, UH, DURING A TYPICAL WEEK IN JULY, 42,000 PEOPLE LAST WEEK AT BEXAR COUNTY WERE TESTED VERSUS, UH, 24,000 A WEEK, UH, IN THAT PEAK PERIOD OF JULY. UM, UH, HERE'S AN INTERESTING, UM, UH, NUMBER FOR ALL OF US TO, TO THINK THROUGH. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, THERE HAVE BEEN A TOTAL OF A LITTLE OVER 678,000 COVID TESTS, UH, DONE HERE IN BEXAR COUNTY. NOW, THOSE INCLUDE, UH, UH, WHETHER THEY WERE PROVIDED AT ONE OF OUR SITES OR THE HOSPITAL, OR TEXAS MED CLINIC, BUT, UM, UH, 678,000, UH, SINCE, UH, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF, UH, THE PANDEMIC. UM, THE, UH, AND COUNCILWOMAN, UH, UH, GARCIA MENTIONED THIS EARLIER. THERE ARE, UH, 10 SAN ANTONIO HOSPITALS, AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THIS IS UPDATED INCLUDED IN NEXT WEEK'S PRESENTATION. THERE ARE 10 SAN ANTONIO HOSPITALS THAT ARE SCHEDULED TO RECEIVE, PENDING THE DECISION BY THE, UH, F D A ON THE PFIZER VACCINE TO RECEIVE, UH, 24,000 DOSES OF, UH, PFIZER VACCINE NEXT WEEK, ASSUMING APPROVALS ARE MADE, UH, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND THROUGH, UH, STRAC, UH, UH, WHO IS WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH ALL THE HOSPITAL SYSTEMS AND THE CEOS, UH, TO ENSURE THAT FRONTLINE HOSPITAL WORKERS, REGARDLESS OF FACILITY, UH, HAVE, UH, ACCESS, UM, EQUITABLY, UM, THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO GET THAT, UH, UH, BE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE, UH, THOSE VACCINATIONS. UM, THAT, THAT, UH, THERE ARE 127,000, UH, HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN BEXAR COUNTY. SO THE 24,000 IS, UH, IS A BEGINNING. UM, AND, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO, UH, WORK WITH STR UH, I SUSPECT THAT'LL BE A KIND OF A MAJOR PART OF THE COVID UPDATE THAT WE'LL INCLUDE IN NEXT THURSDAY'S PRESENTATION TO YOU. UM, SECONDLY, AND, AND LET ME ACTUALLY, LET ME STOP THERE AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS. DR. S ON THE LINE AS WELL. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL IS IN THE QUEUE. UH, UH, DUNNO IF IT'S FOR THIS. GO AHEAD, ANA. MM-HMM. . UH, YES. UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, [03:05:01] THANK YOU, ERIC, FOR ALLOWING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THIS, UH, TODAY. ALL ALBEIT BRIEFLY, I THINK WITH THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE SEEING, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO, TO WEIGH IN AND, AND HEAR FROM YOU, UH, DIRECTLY, UH, ABOUT THAT. NOT THAT WE DON'T LIKE HEARING FROM THE JUDGE AND THE MAYOR, BUT THIS IS, UH, THIS IS A DIFFERENT, UH, A DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITY. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, ASK DR. BRIDGER, UH, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE SEEING A TIDAL WAVE JUST COME UPON US RIGHT NOW, AND I, I JUST WANNA KNOW, ARE ARE THERE TOOLS, ADDITIONAL TOOLS THAT WE CAN USE TO HELP US GET THROUGH THIS, UH, WAVE, UM, OR THIS SURGE THAT WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW? WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE BEST WE CAN DO WHEN WE SEE THIS COMING? WELL, I MEAN, PUBLIC HEALTH ALWAYS GOES TO POLICY, RIGHT? UM, AND THERE ARE NO POLICY OPTIONS LEFT FOR US TO IMPLEMENT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. UM, IT'S JUST OUR HANDS HAVE BEEN TIED AT, AT THE STATE LEVEL. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE, THAT'S BEEN THE DILEMMA OF THIS PANDEMIC FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. I THINK WE WOULD HAVE DONE MORE HAD WE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER THAN A, A TWEAK HERE, A TWEAK THERE, WE'VE INCREASED OUR, UH, ENFORCEMENT SIGNIFICANTLY. THAT WAS ONE, ONE LEVER THAT WE COULD PULL. UM, WE'RE, WE'RE STAYING ON TOP OF THE CASE INVESTIGATION. WE'RE, UM, AT, YOU KNOW, I, I CHALLENGE ANYBODY TO, TO FIND ANOTHER CITY WHO'S TESTING MORE PEOPLE THAN WE ARE ON A WEEKLY BASIS. SO WE'RE PROVIDING THAT RAPID FREE ACCESS TO TESTING FOR INDIVIDUALS. UM, THE RESULTS ARE STILL COMING IN, UM, WITHOUT DELAYS LIKE WE SAW IN JULY. SO THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO, WE ARE DOING BETTER THIS SEARCH THAN WE WERE THE FIRST SEARCH. UM, YOU KNOW, WE LEARNED A TON FROM THAT PROCESS, BUT POLICY WISE, THERE'S REALLY NOTHING LEFT FOR US TO DO. MM-HMM. . OKAY. UM, I, I WAS AFRAID THAT, THAT WE WOULD HEAR THAT. UM, AND, AND I THINK THE, THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO ARE, ARE CURFEWS, RIGHT? AND THOSE ARE EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL, RIGHT? UM, I AM WONDERING, UH, I'D JUST LIKE TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON THINGS LIKE, UH, ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATIONS. WE SAW THAT, THAT WHEN WE SENT THE TEXT OUT BEFORE THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS, THAT REALLY SEEMED TO, TO PUT PEOPLE KIND OF ON THEIR, ON THEIR GUARD, WHICH IS, WHICH IS WHAT WE WANT. UH, THE THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO ASK YOU TO CONSIDER IS, CAN WE HAVE SOME INTERNAL POLICIES THAT, THAT WE COULD, UH, IMMEDIATELY IMPLEMENT? FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE CONTRACT WITH, AND I BROUGHT THIS UP WITH BEN, UH, RECENTLY, YESTERDAY. IN FACT, WE CONTRACT WITH A LOT OF COMPANIES. UH, WE HAVE, UH, PEOPLE LAYING DOWN ASPHALT EVERY DAY, RIGHT? UH, BUILDING SIDEWALKS EVERY DAY, AND WE WANT THEM TO BE SAFE TOO. UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE PART OF THE ESSENTIAL WORKFORCE THAT, THAT CAN'T WORK FROM HOME. UH, AND LIKE DR. WU SAYS, EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS. I KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT THE CAUSE OF, OF THE WAVE, BUT EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS. IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO PUSH THEM TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE USING THEIR MASKS? I WAS AT A, AT A WORK SITE. IT WASN'T OURS, IT WAS GOOGLE FIBER, UH, JUST THIS WEEK. AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FIVE OR SIX PEOPLE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY WHO VERY LIKELY DON'T LIVE TOGETHER, UH, WORKING, UH, BREATHING HARD AND PUTTING IN THAT FIBER AND PUTTING THE CONCRETE OVER IT WITHOUT A, A SINGLE MASK AND SUFFICIENTLY NOT SPACED APART. UM, I HEAR, I HEAR REPORTS OF OTHER CONSTRUCTION CREWS THAT ARE NOT, UH, THAT ARE NOT CAREFUL. AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW IF ALL, ALL OF THEM ARE OURS, BUT, UH, I JUST, I THINK WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THIS SURGE. SO I'D, I'D LIKE TO ASK ERIC TO, TO CONSIDER IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO A ALONG THOSE LINES. AND, AND I WILL, I WILL STOP, STOP THERE. WELL, EXCEPT TO SAY WE CAN'T LET OUR GUARD DOWN, EVEN THOUGH THE VACCINE IS COMING, THIS IS THE HOME STRETCH AND THE, THE HARDEST STRETCH, UH, BECAUSE IT'S THE HOLIDAYS, BUT IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STRETCH TO GET US THROUGH TO, TO, UH, A SAFE FUTURE, A SAFE 2021. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. I'LL, I'LL DOUBLE CHECK, BUT, UH, UH, I BELIEVE, UH, PUBLIC WORKS IS REQUIREMENT. WE, BECAUSE WE WE'RE ALL OPERATING, WHETHER YOU'RE A CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OR, OR NOT, UH, WE'RE ALL SUBJECT TO THE, UH, GOVERNOR'S ORDERS ON MASKING, UM, IN, UH, AS LONG, ESPECIALLY IF YOU CAN'T SOCIAL DISTANCE. BUT I WILL TALK TO, UH, BOTH MIKE SHANNON AND RAZZIE AND, AND ROD, ABOUT, ABOUT THAT POSSIBILITY. AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I, I, I FORGOT WHEN I WAS KIND OF COVERING THE BULLET POINTS. I FORGOT TO GIVE THE COUNCIL KIND OF A QUICK UPDATE. UH, YOU SEE THIS A COUPLE [03:10:01] OF TIMES A WEEK, UH, BUT IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN, UH, FOR OUR WORKFORCE, UM, AND, AND IF YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING THAT, UH, WE'VE, WE'VE SEEN AN UPTICK IN THE NUMBER OF CITY EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE CONTRACTED, UH, COVID OR ARE IN QUARANTINE DUE TO CLOSE CONTACT. UH, A WEEK AGO, UM, LAST TUESDAY, WE WERE ABOUT 180 8, 180 9, UH, YESTERDAY WE WERE AT TWO. WE'RE AT 2 39. SO WE ARE SEEING A MUCH JUST LIKE THE COMMUNITY FROM, WITH 12 AND A HALF THOUSAND EMPLOYEES. UM, WE, WE SEEM TO FOLLOW THE SAME PATTERN. UH, WE DO HAVE FOUR EMPLOYEES AS OF YESTERDAY, UM, THAT WERE IN THE HOSPITAL AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO, UH, KIND OF MESSAGE TO THE, TO THE EMPLOYEES, THE, THE, UH, THE SAFETY MESSAGES, UH, TO, TO KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE, BOTH AT WORK AND AT HOME AND THEIR FAMILIES. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I KNOW THAT, UH, THE HEALTH COMMITTEE THAT'S BEEN FOLLOWING ALONG, UH, AND MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS HAS MADE A STRONG RECOMMENDATION TO THE SCHOOLS ABOUT TRYING TO, UH, TURN ALL, ALL THE STUDENTS BACK, UH, INTO LEARNING FROM HOME. UH, RECOGNIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ONLY ABOUT, UH, LESS ABOUT TWO WEEKS OF SCHOOL, UH, BEFORE THEY TAKE THEIR WINTER BREAK. AND PROBABLY, AS WE'VE SEEN, MOST OF THE SCHOOLS AREN'T INTERESTED IN DOING THAT. UH, BUT I THINK THAT A, AS WE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THESE NUMBERS, AND IF THEY CONTINUE TO RISE, I HOPE THAT, UH, THE COMMITTEE WILL CONTINUE TO STRONGLY URGE THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO LET THOSE CHILDREN STAY AT HOME AFTER WE GET THROUGH THE CHRISTMAS BREAK AND NEW YEAR'S, PARTICULARLY IF THOSE NUMBERS CONTINUE TO RISE THE WAY THEY HAVE BEEN. SO I HOPE THEY, THEY CONTINUE TO DO THAT DILIGENCE ON, ON WATCHING THOSE NUMBERS AND ADVISING OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS. AND ALSO, I WOULD THINK ADVISING, T E A, UH, WHICH REALLY HAS THE OVERALL WORD IN TELLING SCHOOLS, YES, YOU CAN KEEP YOUR STUDENTS HOME AND WE'LL STILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS. SO, UH, PLEASE KEEP THAT, UH, IN FRONT OF THAT COMMITTEE AS THEY CONTINUE TO REVIEW THESE. THE OTHER POINT IS, I THINK, UH, COUNCIL MENAND, UH, ON SANDOVAL MADE A GOOD POINT ABOUT, UM, SETTING A LIMIT, UH, SETTING A CURFEW. AND, YOU KNOW, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT WE, WE'D ALL AGREE THAT PROBABLY A GOOD 90% OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO ARE IN THEIR HOME AT 10 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT, JUST ABOUT EVERY NIGHT. UH, THERE ARE THOSE WHO WORK IN ESSENTIAL JOBS THAT MAYBE ARE OUT, UH, BUT THERE'S PROBABLY FIVE, SIX, 7% OF OUR YOUNGER PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO GO OUT AT NIGHT AND ARE OUT THERE, UH, AT ONE OR TWO IN THE MORNING, JUST ABOUT ANY NIGHT DURING THE WEEK. BUT THAT ONE OR 2% IS PROBABLY A HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE, AND THEY'RE CONGREGATING. I'VE SEEN IT. I THINK ALL OF US HAVE. AND I'M WONDERING IF AS THESE NUMBERS PROGRESS AND CONTINUE TO GO HIGHER, IF WE SHOULDN'T IMPLEMENT, UH, AN 11 O'CLOCK CURFEW EVERY DAY TO DISCOURAGE THE CONGREGATION OF SO MANY PEOPLE AT NIGHT. I PERSONALLY, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF THE REST OF US WOULD CONSIDER IT AN INFRINGEMENT OF OUR FREEDOM. I MEAN, YOU'RE FREE TO DO ANYTHING YOU WANT MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY, ALL DAY LONG. BUT AT NIGHT, UH, IF WE CAN HAVE PEOPLE, UH, NOT CONGREGATE AT A LOT OF THESE SO-CALLED RESTAURANTS, WHICH ARE NOTHING MORE THAN, THAN BARS THAT ARE TRYING TO SAY, WELL, WE SERVE FOOD TOO. UH, WE MAY BE ABLE TO HELP REDUCE SOME OF THAT CONTINUING RATE OF GROWTH. SO AS WE SEE THESE NUMBERS AND HOSPITALIZATIONS CONTINUE TO RISE, I HOPE THIS COUNCIL WILL SERIOUSLY CONSIDER IMPLEMENTING THAT. AND IT'S NOT TO DENY ANYBODY THEIR FREEDOM, IT'S TO PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE IN SAN ANTONIO. SO, THAT'S MY COMMENT. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GARCIA MAYOR. AND, UH, THANK YOU ERIC AND, AND DR. BRIDGER, UH, AND, AND DR. IAN AND THE TEAM. I THINK THAT YOU ALL, UM, HAVE DONE, UH, AN EXCELLENT JOB OF, UH, KEEPING US UP TO DATE ON, ON THE INFORMATION AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. YOU ALL PROVIDE OUR DAILY, UM, UPDATES. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S PROBABLY THE EMAIL THAT I MOST LOOK FORWARD TO READ FROM MAYOR WALSH ON A DAILY BASIS. UH, AND SO, UM, WITH THAT SAID, I, UH, UNDERSTAND THE LOGISTICS. AND I, I MADE THIS COMMENT EARLIER DURING THE FIRE PRESENTATION. SO WE KNOW THAT THE FIRST PHASE OF THE VACCINATION DISTRIBUTION FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS [03:15:01] DID NOT INCLUDE, UM, HOSPITALS IN THE SOUTH SIDE. I WAS TOLD THAT NEXT WEEK IT MIGHT, BECAUSE IT, IT MIGHT BE IN LOWER BATCHES. AND SO I UNDERSTAND LOGISTICALLY HOW SOME OF OUR HOSPITALS IN OUR AREA DID NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS. I HAD MENTIONED THE ULTRA COLD STORAGE. I HAD, UM, MENTIONED ALSO THE, THE, THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS THAT THEY HANDLED ARE FOR THE STAFF, UH, THAT THE, THE NUMBER OF STAFF. UM, AND, AND I DID MENTION AT THE TIME, AND I, I CONTINUE TO STAND BY THIS AS, AS I KNOW COUNCILMAN VIAGRA IS ALSO VERY APPRECIATIVE OF ALL OF THE OTHER HOSPITAL, UM, HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS THAT ARE WORKING TO, UH, SHARE RESOURCES, IF YOU WILL, WITH THE HOSPITALS IN OUR AREAS. UM, THAT MIGHT BE HAVING TO, TO WAIT A LITTLE BIT LONGER. UM, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, AND I FELT THE NEED TO STILL, UH, SEND OUT A, A PUBLIC STATEMENT ABOUT THE NEED TO CONTINUE THE FOCUS ON THIS. AND I THINK METRO HEALTH AND THE CITY, WE HAVE, I THINK, DONE A GOOD JOB. WE HAVE THE, THE C H P TEAM, WHICH, UM, DEPLOYED TO SOME OF THE HARDEST HIT AREAS. UH, I'VE MENTIONED THIS IN IN OTHER MEETINGS, BUT IN D FOUR AND ONE MONTH WE HAD A 10% DECREASE IN CASES. UM, WE DO HAVE MORE TESTING FACILITIES IN, IN D FOUR, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. I THINK THAT WE'RE DOING, UM, A GREAT JOB THERE. I THINK THAT THE ADVOCACY EFFORT TO, TO THE STATE, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT COULD BE STRENGTHENED STILL. UM, SO WHAT I DID YESTERDAY WHEN I SAW THAT, IS I SENT MESSAGES TO MY STATE REPRESENTATIVES AND, AND THE ONES THAT ARE IN, IN ALL OF THE DEPORT AREA AS WELL AS, UM, AS, UH, SENATOR MENENDEZ AND JUST PUSHED AGAIN FOR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER IT IS THAT, THAT THEY CAN KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST REMIND PEOPLE THAT THE SOUTH SIDE, UH, AND THE WEST SIDE HAVE THE HIGHEST NUMBERS IN SAN ANTONIO. SO WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE CAN DO TO JUST KEEP BEING IN, IN THE EARS AT THE STATE LEVEL, I THINK IT, IT IS CONTINUES TO BE IMPORTANT TO ME. I, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO DO IT OTHER THAN TO SEND MESSAGES, SEND LETTERS. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'LL EVER, UH, EVEN LISTEN TO US, BUT THAT'S WHY COUNCILMAN BRAN AND I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO SEND OUT A STATEMENT. AND, UM, I DO WANNA, UH, SAY THAT I ALSO APPRECIATE, UM, COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL'S, UH, LEADERSHIP AS A CHAIR OF THE CHECK COMMITTEE. AND SHE'S DONE A, A GREAT JOB WITH SOME OF THE SUBCOMMITTEES THAT, THAT HER GROUP IS WORKING ON. AND, UH, I THINK SHE REALLY HAS HELPED WITH, WITH SOME OF THE, THE, THE MESSAGING STRATEGY FROM HER PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE SHE DOES HAVE THAT COMMUNICATIONS BACKGROUND SPECIFICALLY IN PUBLIC HEALTH. SO I WANTED TO, UH, TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, PUBLICLY THANK ALSO COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THAT. MY, MY QUESTION NEXT IS ON WAIT TIMES FOR RESULTS, UM, COUNSEL OR NOT, UH, DR. RICHARD, HAS THAT CHANGED BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE AN INCREASE? IS, HAS THAT CHANGED FROM THE TWO TO THREE DAY TYPICAL TURNAROUND TO, UM, I, I GUESS A LENGTHIER WAIT TIME PER LAB RESULTS, DO YOU KNOW THAT I ASKED YESTERDAY. AND, UM, RIGHT NOW, CURATIVE, WHICH PROVIDES THE MAJORITY OF OUR, UM, PRE-TEST, UH, THEIR TURNAROUND TIME HAS INCHED UP TO THREE TO FOUR DAYS. UM, BUT THEY SENT US A NOTICE YESTERDAY SAYING THEY WERE MAKING CHANGES OVER THE WEEKEND THAT WOULD BRING THE WAIT TIME BACK DOWN TO WITHIN 36 HOURS. OKAY. AWESOME. THANK YOU, DR. GER. I, I APPRECIATE THAT. I WAS JUST WONDERING, AND IT'S JUST, AGAIN, LIKE CAPACITIES. SO WHAT ARE OUR LAB CAPACITIES? AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S GONNA BE AN INCREASE IN DEMAND FOR TESTING AND IF THE LABS WILL BE ABLE TO GIVE US THAT, UM, RESULT BACK WITHIN A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, AND THEN I DO WANNA ECHO COUNCILMAN, UH, KURT'S POINTS. AND SO WE HAVE A, A, A, A GROUP OF, OF FOLKS THAT, YOU KNOW, MIGHT STILL BE GOING OUT, UM, MAYBE ARE NOT AS CAUTIOUS. UH, I'LL, I'LL GIVE AN EXAMPLE. AND I, I , I, I, I ALWAYS LIKE, I PROMISED MY KID NOT TO USE HIM, UH, OR NOT TO TALK ABOUT HIM AT COUNCIL MEETINGS, BUT HE, UH, JUST PRESENTED A PERSUASIVE, UH, SPEECH. UM, HE WATCHES THE MAYOR'S PRESS CONFERENCE EVERY DAY WITH ME. AND SO HE HAS THESE NUMBERS DOWN ALMOST BY HEART. AND SO HE DID A PERSUASIVE SPEECH TO HIS CLASSMATES TO PLEASE WEAR A MASK. AND SO HE, UM, HE SAID, I SEE Y'ALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND Y'ALL ARE WAY TOO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER. YOU'RE NOT WEARING MASKS, AND WE NEED TO PROTECT OUR PARENTS, OUR GRANDPARENTS, AND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT US. AND SO I WAS PRETTY PROUD WHEN HE WAS READING ME THE, UH, THE SPEECH, UH, THAT HE WAS TAKING IT INTO ACCOUNT. HE'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE HE, AND NOT THAT HE HAS TO, BUT HE WATCHES WITH ME EVERY SINGLE DAY. AND I THINK HE, HE LITERALLY COMES OUT AT ABOUT SIX 10 FROM HIS ROOM, UH, PLAYING VIDEO GAMES AND, AND WATCHES. AND SO HE'S GOT THE BRUCE DAVIDSON VOICE DOWN NOW WHEN HE SAYS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND SO, UM, I AM JUST, UH, [03:20:01] SURE THAT, THAT IF, IF, YOU KNOW, THERE'S OTHER FOLKS IN, IN HIS AGE GROUP, UM, THAT GET THE ME, IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH SOME OF THE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, UH, AND REALLY TARGET AND, AND EVEN SOME OF THE HIGH SCHOOLS REMINDING THE KIDS THAT THEY NEED TO CONTINUE TO BE VIGILANT. AND SO THAT WAS, THAT'S KIND OF MY OTHER, UM, PULL YOU, UH, DR. DR. BRIDGER, MAYBE SOMEBODY ON YOUR TEAM AS THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE SUPERINTENDENTS AND THE SCHOOLS, IF MAYBE WE COULD PUSH OUT MESSAGING, UH, THAT THEY CAN ALSO PUSH OUT, PUSH OUT THROUGH THEIR CHANNELS. BUT THAT'S IT. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, AND THANK YOU EVERYONE. I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THE EFFORTS THAT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING. THANKS. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER RICHARD GARCIA. ANDY, GO AHEAD. YEAH. UH, YES, MAYOR, SORRY, I JUST WANTED TO REMIND THE COUNCIL, THIS IS THE CITY MANAGER'S REPORT. UM, AND IF THERE ARE SPECIFIC, UH, QUESTIONS THAT, UH, THE COUNCIL NEEDS TO ADD, ERIC, THAT'S GOOD. BUT IF WE, UH, I GUESS WHAT I'M CO UH, CONSTANTLY THE COUNCIL IS, YOU KNOW, EXTENSIVE QUESTIONING, UH, IT, IT WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE IF THIS WERE A, A AGENDA ITEM. I THANK YOU, ANDY. OKAY. UH, NOTING THAT, UH, JUST PLEASE TAKE, TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT AS WE CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, I DID HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, BUT, UM, SINCE STATEMENT, UM, ONE THING THAT I KNOW THAT IS STILL BEING, UM, NOT TOTALLY UNDERSTOOD IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE FOR FLU RELATED CASES COMPARED TO C AND IF THE COVID NUMBERS ARE INCLUDING THE FLU NUMBERS OR IF WE'RE JUST NOT TRACKING THE FLU NUMBERS. SO SOME OF THAT INFORMATION IS STILL NOT BEING DISSEMINATED, UM, AMONGST OUR COMMUNITY. AND IF WE COULD GET THAT BROKEN DOWN TO WHERE, UM, THAT UNDERSTANDING IS IS OUT THERE, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT AS WELL. UM, I, I THINK THAT THERE ARE JUST SOME THINGS THAT NEED TO BE CLARIFIED. I SEE DR. BERG, SO I'M GONNA LET CHIME IN. YEAH, I, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY THAT WE DON'T COUNT FLU CASES, LIKE WE COUNT COVID CASES. UM, SO THE NUMBERS THAT WE ARE REPORTING EVERY DAY ARE EXCLUSIVELY COVID CASES. UM, WE DO NOT HAVE A SYSTEM OR AN INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE TO COUNT ONE BY ONE FLU CASES. WE HAVE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE US ESTIMATES. AND RIGHT NOW, THOSE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMS ARE SAYING THAT FLU IS NOT WIDELY CIRCULATING THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU, DR. BRIDGER. UM, IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN COMMUNICATE THAT TO THE COMMUNITY, I THINK THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE, BE STATED, UM, BECAUSE THERE IS SOME CONFUSION BETWEEN, UM, IF THESE ARE COMBINED FLU AND COVID OR IF THIS IS JUST COVID. SO, UM, IF WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS ECHOED TO OUR COMMUNITY, I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. UM, AND THEN THE NEXT THING THAT WE HAVE IS A COMMUNITY, UM, THAT DOESN'T REALLY HAVE THESE MEDICAL FACILITIES, AND WHERE WILL THEY BE, UM, SENT WHEN IT COMES TIME FOR THE DISTRIBUTION. UM, I DON'T THINK THAT A LOT OF, OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT DON'T HAVE THESE, THESE MEDICAL FACILITIES ARE HEARING HOW THEY'LL BE INCLUDED IN THIS PROCESS. SO IF I CAN GET THAT BROKEN DOWN, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT AS WELL. UM, BUT I WILL HOLD MY QUESTIONS, MY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR, FOR LATER. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. WE'LL, WE'LL INCLUDE SOME OF THAT IN NEXT WEEK'S PRESENTATION COUNCIL. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN, AND COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY. THANK YOU, SIR. AND, UM, I'LL, I'LL, UH, YIELD MY COMMENTS ABOUT CURFEWS BASED ON ANDY'S SUGGESTION. AND, UH, I DEFINITELY HAVE , I DEFINITELY HAVE A LOT OF COMMENTS ABOUT CURFEWS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU RESPECTFULLY TO COUNCILMAN COURAGE, COUNCILWOMAN GARCIA. THERE'S, AGAIN, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DATA EVIDENCE, AND THERE'S OPPOSITE EFFECTS FROM THAT CURFEW THAT WE HAD AS WELL. SO ANYWAY, I'LL HOLD THOSE COMMENTS FOR A LATER DISCUSSION AS WELL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I THINK YOU DID A GOOD JOB OF GETTING THEM OUT. ANYWAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, COUNCIL MEMBER EZ, UH, VERY MUCH, UM, AT, AT, AT SOME POINT, UM, LAST WEEK, NO, THIS WEEK I GOT TO VISIT WITH DR. UH PATTERSON, THE HEAD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE OVER AT UT HEALTH. UM, FASCINATING MAN. I MEAN, CLEARLY ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF, OF EVERYTHING THAT'S BEING DONE. UM, AND, AND AT SOME POINT, ERIC AND COLLEEN, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TELL SAN ANTONIO WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE DOING IN SAN ANTONIO TO RESPOND, [03:25:01] UM, AND TO HELP LEND SUPPORT TO NATIONWIDE EFFORTS, RIGHT? NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING. UH, AND YOU KNOW, I MEAN, UT HEALTH HAS CLINICAL TRIALS ON, UH, COVID TREATMENTS GOING ON RIGHT NOW THAT HAVE PROVEN TO BE REALLY EFFECTIVE. UM, AND THEY'VE GOT SUBJECT MATTER LEADERS OUT THERE WHO ARE, UH, EXPERTS WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH PFIZER AND MODERNA, UM, YOU KNOW, ON THE VACCINE RESEARCH. AND I, I THINK THAT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY NOT TO BE WASTED, TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO, UM, IS GOING TO BE A CONTRIBUTOR, AND IT'S GONNA HAVE ITS THUMBPRINT ON, UM, THE GLOBAL SOLUTION TO, TO COVID. UM, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, I, I WE'RE, WE NEVER NEED TO WAIT FOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOMEONE ELSE, UH, TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT US. I THINK THAT THAT'S ON US. AND SO, UM, ANYWAY, THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS, MAYOR. THANKS. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER FLIES. UH, DR. BRIDGER, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA RESPOND TO THAT, JUST IN TERMS OF THE KIND OF, UH, COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION WE HAVE WITH OTHER CITIES AND, AND, UM, HELPING THEM TO STEER THEIR OWN RESPONSE, GIVEN OUR EXPERIENCE AND, AND, UM, PERFORMANCE. MAYBE I'LL WORK THAT INTO NEXT WEEK. GREAT. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, , THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, ERIC. UH, CAN YOU TELL ME, UM, HOW MANY IN THE CITY EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID OR THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN EXPOSED, ARE WE SEEING IT IN ONE DEPARTMENT MORE THAN ANOTHER? DO YOU SEE IT LIKE A, A CONTENT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? COUNCILWOMAN? IT'S KIND OF CHANGED OVER TIME. UH, AS OF YESTERDAY, UM, WE HAD, UM, 23 IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UM, UH, 42 IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT THAT WAS MADE UP OF, OF, UM, 23 CIVILIANS, 18 UNIFORM. AND I THINK ONE CADET, UM, UH, SOLID WASTE WAS IN THE MID TWENTIES. SO, BUT IT'S, IT'S KIND OF CHANGED OVER TIME. I, I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, AT LEAST FROM, FROM MY CITY MANAGER PERSPECTIVE, AS, AS I'VE WATCHED THESE DAILY REPORTS ON, ON, ON, UH, EMPLOYEES, WHEN YOU START TO SEE POLICE AND FIRE, UH, GO UP AND BE AT THE TOP, AT LEAST IN MY EXPERIENCE IN THE LAST SEVEN, THAT MEANS THAT THERE'S MORE OF A COMMUNITY SPREAD. UM, AND, AND, AND THAT'S WHERE WE SEE, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW. BUT I'LL GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THAT MAYBE, UH, UH, WE'LL DO, WE'LL, WE'LL WRAP THAT INTO THE PRESENTATION NEXT WEEK. GREAT. THANK YOU. AND THEN I'M, AND I THINK, I DON'T WANNA SAY SOMETHING THAT COULD BE, UM, MISINFORMATION OR NOT TRUE INFORMATION, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU CAN SHARE, UM, CAN OUR CITY EMPLOYEES SPECIFICALLY THOSE THAT ARE MORE PUBLIC FACING POSITIONS LIKE OUR FIRE POLICE GET EXPOSED AGAIN OR COME DOWN WITH C OVID 19 AGAIN? I MEAN, I DON'T WANNA, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY CAN, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S TRUE, BUT IF WE'VE HAD MAYBE REPEAT INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE CONTRACTED IT AGAIN, MAYBE THEY HAD IT EARLY ON AND WERE ABLE TO DO THAT. BUT I ALSO DON'T WANNA MISS GIVE MISINFORMATION. SO DR. BRIDGER, CAN YOU SAY A LITTLE SOMETHING TO THAT? UM, REINFECTION IS EXCEEDINGLY RARE ACROSS THE WORLD. THE NUMBERS OF CASES OF PEOPLE WHO ARE REINFECTED ARE STILL BEING COUNTED ON TWO PANS. UM, SO IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE NEED TO, UM, WORRY ABOUT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE VACCINE ON THE HORIZON. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT, UH, CLARIFICATION. AND THEN LAST, I THINK I'LL JUST SAY, UM, UH, WE, YOU KNOW, DR. BRIDGER, YOU SAID WE'VE MAYBE DONE EVERYTHING WE COULD DO POLICY-WISE, UH, BUT JUST LIKE MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE RICHARD GARCIA SAID, AND KNOWING THAT EQUITY, THE MOST HEALTH DISPARITIES IN THE ENTIRE CITY ARE WITHIN DISTRICT TWO AND SOUTH OF 90, AND WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES BECAUSE THE LOGISTICS CAN HANDLE EITHER AT ONE OF OUR TWO SOUTH SIDE HOSPITALS BECAUSE THEY'RE TOO SMALL, THEY DON'T HAVE THE STAFF, ET CETERA. BUT THEREFORE, WE'RE ALREADY WORKING BEHIND AND WE'RE NEVER GOING TO CATCH UP BECAUSE OUR, THE SYSTEM IS NOT WORKING FOR US ALREADY. SO WE HAVE TO BE INTENTIONAL AND ADVOCATE FOR ALLEVIATING THESE HEALTH DISPARITIES. WE HAVE THE DATA. [03:30:01] SO I'M GOING TO TELL YOU ALL AGAIN, LET'S HAVE A FOCUS ON THAT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING, WHEN YOU'RE PRESENTING NEXT WEEK. AND, UM, OF COURSE, WHEN IT COMES TO DATA, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF DATA. YOU'RE RIGHT, COUNCIL MEMBERS, A LOT OF DATA, PEOPLE DYING TOO. SO LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THAT AT OUR FOREFRONT. THANK YOU. GREAT, WELL, WELL STATED. THANK YOU, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VERAN. UM, THAT IS EVERYBODY, UH, IN OUR DISCUSSION TODAY. AND THAT IS THE DURATION OF OUR, UH, A SESSION AGENDA. WE DO HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION. MAYOR, MAYOR, GO AHEAD. UH, LET, LET'S END ON A GOOD NOTE. WE, WE GOT A REALLY GOOD EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT VIDEO. BE REAL QUICK. OH, GO AHEAD. YEAH, LET'S DO IT. SO TODAY'S TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT VIDEO. ALL OF US, NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE, SEE THESE INDIVIDUALS, UH, THE SAME INDIVIDUALS, YEAR IN, YEAR OUT IS A SPOTLIGHT VIDEO ON TWO EMPLOYEES IN OUR, UM, SCHOOL CROSSING PROGRAM. AND, UH, LET'S RUN THE VIDEO. WHEN I STARTED THE YOUNGER ONES, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT NEED MORE ATTENTION AS THEY START RUNNING WITHOUT THE PARENTS. LEMME, BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, THERE WAS LIKE, I WAS CROSSING LIKE ABOUT 160 KIDS. GET OFF THE PHONE, SLOW IT DOWN. MY JOB IS TO GO AROUND AND CHECK THE CROSS GUARDS. I WATCH OVER S A I S D, HARLANDALE, EAST CENTRAL, SOUTH SIDE, AND NEW FRONTIERS. SO I'M ALL OVER THE CITY, ALL OVER THE SOUTH SIDE. OF COURSE, THE, THE TRAFFIC KID'S KIND OF HECTIC HERE AT TIMES, BUT I TURN TO MY BOSS AND I'LL, I'LL TELL HIM IF IT GETS COMPLETELY OUTTA HAND, IF THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THOSE SPEEDERS, THEN I'LL GO IN AND CONTACT OUR SAFETY OFFICERS AND THEN THEY'LL GO OUT AND SEND SOME PEOPLE OVER HERE AS BACKUP. THEY'RE EITHER GONNA SEND A SQUAD CAR OR A BIKE PATROL OR SOMEONE TO WATCH THEM, YOU KNOW, THE CROSS GUARDS AND THE KIDS AS WELL. BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT SAFETY. IT'S SAFETY FIRST. HI UHHUH. YOU ARE WELCOME. THEY USED TO USE THE OLD SCHOOL BLOW WHISTLES, YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA BE A HASSLE GOING BACK AND FORTH. SO NOW WE HAVE THESE, THIS IS AN ELECTRONIC WHISTLE AND JUST ONE BUTTON SOUND GOES OFF, SOUND GOES ON. THAT'S IT. YOU KNOW, JUST TRY TO MAKE IT SIMPLE. IT HELPS TREMENDOUSLY. HI BABY. NO PROBLEM. YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY. YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY. VERY THERAPEUTIC FOR ME. I ENJOY KIDS AND I ENJOY, UH, JUST TALKING AND, UH, MINGLING WITH THE PARENTS, WITH THE KIDS, AND THEY SEE THAT THEY TEND TO WAVE AND THEY SAY THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK. AND IT JUST FEELS GOOD. IT GETS ME YOUNG. YES. I, I DON'T FEEL MY AGE. GO AHEAD SWEETIE. I COUNTED OF 26 TODAY. ALRIGHT, WELL YOU CAN'T SEE, UH, MARY ALICE AND, AND, UH, ANDREW'S SMILES, BUT YOU COULD TELL, UH, WHILE THEY WERE TALKING THAT THEY'RE, UH, THEY LOVE THEIR JOBS AND, AND THEY, UM, THEY'RE AN IMPORTANT PART AND WE ALL, WE ALL SEE THOSE CROSSING GUARDS ON THE WAY INTO WORK IN THE MORNING. SO THANKS THEM. THANKS MAYOR. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU ERIC. [Executive Session ] OKAY, THE TIME IS NOW 12:39 PM ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10TH, 2020, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WILL NOW MEET IN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.071 AND TO DELIBERATE DISCUSS WITH THE ITEMS THAT WERE POSTED ON THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA FOR DECEMBER 9TH, 2020, BUT NOT REACHED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATION PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.087, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PURCHASE EXCHANGE, LEASE, OR VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.072 REAL PROPERTY IN CONSULTATION WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY FOR LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING LITIGATION INVOLVING THE CITY COVID 19 PREPAREDNESS AND CITY FACILITY. ALRIGHT, WE'LL SEE ALL OVER IN THE OTHER LENGTH. HEY EVERYBODY. HI. CAN'T WAIT TO SEE 2:03 PM DO WE HAVE AV ON? OKAY, UH, TIME IS 2:03 PM ON THIS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10TH, 2020. CITY COUNCIL HAS RECONVENED FROM ITS EXECUTIVE SESSION. NO OFFICIAL ACTION WAS TAKEN. WE ARE ADJOURNED. HAVE A GREAT AFTERNOON EVERYBODY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.