* 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. [00:00:03] GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. WELCOME TO OUR CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING. TIME IS 10:07 AM ON THIS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6TH, 2021. HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE. UH, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. SO, UH, MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU GIVE US A ROLE, COUNCIL MEMBER ROJA GARCIA HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. COUNCIL MEMBER SAN SANDOVAL HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT. AND MAYOR NUREMBERG. HERE. MAYOR, WE HAVE A QUORUM. ALRIGHT, AND, UH, THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR, UM, YOUR DILIGENCE IN COMMUNICATING OUR, OUR COVID SITUATION OVER THE HOLIDAYS. I KNOW WE'RE, WE'VE GOT A CHALLENGE ON OUR HANDS, SO I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY USING THEIR CHANNELS TO INFORM OUR, OUR NEIGHBORS. UM, WE HAVE TWO ITEMS ON THE AGENDA [1. 20-7490 Approval of the minutes from the City Council Governance Committee Meeting on November 4, 2020.] TODAY, THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 4TH, 2020 AS OUR FIRST ITEM. SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR THOSE MINUTES, MAYOR. OKAY. SECOND. ALL RIGHT. THERE'S A MOTION, UH, BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, I THINK A SECOND BY SANDOVAL. UM, ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ALRIGHT. MOTION CARRIES. [2. 20-7406 Consideration of Applicants to the VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority Board of Trustees (5 seats) [Tina Flores, City Clerk]] THE MAIN ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY IS THE, UH, VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY BOARD INTERVIEWS. UM, AND SO I, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO READ THE CAPTION, MADAM CLERK. SO, UH, LET ME JUST GO AHEAD AND, AND JUST GIVE US A LAY OF THE LAND APPLICATIONS FOR THE VIA BOARD OF TRUSTEES. WERE ACCEPTED THROUGH DECEMBER 11TH, 2020. WE HAVE SEVEN APPLICANTS FOR FIVE POSITIONS. TWO OF THE APPOINTEES WILL SERVE FOR OFFICE, SERVE OF OFFICE TO EXPIRE DECEMBER 31ST, 2021. ONE OF THE TWO MUST BE A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED AND ONE MUST BE A UNION REPRESENTATIVE. THREE APPOINTEES WILL SERVE TERMS OF OFFICE TO EXPIRE DECEMBER 31ST, 2022, AND HAVE NO CATEGORY REQUIREMENTS. THE APPLICANTS ARE, AS ALEX STATED, WAITING IN THE WAITING ROOM AND WILL BE INVITED INDIVIDUALLY TO MEETING, TO THE MEETING FOR INTERVIEWS. FOLLOWING OUR INTERVIEWS. WE'LL RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, THEN RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION TO DELIBERATE AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF VIA BOARD MEMBERS. UM, JUST, UH, FOR CLARIFICATION, UM, I DUNNO WHO CAN ANSWER THIS, UH, CAM OR, OR TINA, WHEN WILL THE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS APPEAR BEFORE THE FULL COUNSEL? THAT IS TOMORROW, MAYOR. UH, IT WILL BE ON, I'M SORRY, NEXT THURSDAY. NEXT WEEK'S, UH, THURSDAY AGENDA. YES, SIR. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO WE'LL, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND DO THIS AS WE NORMALLY HAVE. UM, WE'LL INVITE EACH INDIVIDUAL IN. UH, WE'LL GIVE THEM, UH, TWO MINUTES FOR, UH, AN OPENING STATEMENT. AND THEN WE'LL JUST GO ROUND ROBIN FOR Q AND A AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO CON, UH, EXECUTIVE SESSION. AND I HAVE AN ORDER HERE. SO, UH, I, I THINK WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, THE FIRST APP. SO FIRST OF ALL, ANY QUESTIONS ON THE PROCESS? OKAY. UM, SO THE FIRST CANDIDATE WE'LL INVITE BACK IS BOB CUOMO, AND HE'S UP FOR REAPPOINTMENT REPRESENTING THE UNION REPRESENTATIVE CATEGORY. MR. CUOMO, CAN YOU HEAR US? MR. CUOMO? YOU ARE ON MUTE. YOU'RE STILL ON MUTE, BOB. OKAY. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. SORRY FOR THE DELAY. GOOD MORNING, BOB. UM, SO WE HAVE, UH, OUR SEVEN APPLICANTS WHO ARE OUR FIRST, UH, FOR THE FIVE POSITIONS. AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS HAVE INTERVIEWS ONE AT A TIME. UH, WE'RE ASKING EACH OF THE CANDIDATES TO GIVE A TWO MINUTE OPENING STATEMENT, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO OUR COUNCIL Q AND A AND DISCUSSION. UH, SO IF YOU'D LIKE, UH, GO AHEAD AND START US OFF. AND, AND, UH, MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU KEEP THE TIME FOR US? AND IT'S A LOOSE TWO MINUTES, SO JUST TRY TO BE, UH, TRY TO MAKE YOUR STATEMENT IN TWO MINUTES. I'LL DO THAT, BUT SOMEHOW OR OTHER I LOST THE, UH, THE, THE VIDEO [00:05:01] ON THIS. BUT I CAN SPEAK WITHOUT LOOKING AT YOU. UH, CAN Y'ALL SEE ME OKAY? WE SEE YOU GREAT. YES, WE CAN. ALRIGHT. UH, WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. UH, I HAVE SERVED ON THE VIA BOARD FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS. UH, IT KEEPS ME OFF THE STREETS AND OUT OF TROUBLE. I THINK I MAKE A GREAT CONTRIBUTION, UH, REPRESENTING, UH, UH, RIDERS ON . UH, WELL, PRIOR TO COVID, I WAS A FREQUENT RIDER, AND NOW WHEN I RIDE VIA, IT'S ON VIA TRANCE. UH, AND SO I'VE HAD A, A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. UM, BUT I THINK THAT WE'VE HAD A HAD, UH, SOME VERY, VERY GOOD SUCCESSES AND THANK, THANKFULLY, UH, THE CITY HAS PARTNERED WITH US AND MAKING MORE FREQUENT ROUTES WHICH INCREASED, UH, THE RIDER RIDERSHIP. UH, WE HAD, UH, 6% INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP PRIOR TO COVID. AND I THINK WE'LL BOUNCE BACK. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE'VE LEARNED FROM COVID WAS THAT WHILE OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES WERE LOSING 70 AND 80% OF THEIR RIDERSHIP, WE MAINTAINED 50% OF OUR RIDERSHIP. I THINK THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE COMPETENCE OF THE VIA, UH, ADMINISTRATION AND, AND OPERATION THE EMPLOYEES. AND THEY DID AN EXTREMELY GOOD JOB OF MAINTAINING THE, UM, UH, SANITATION ON THE BUSES, UH, WHICH ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO RIDE SAFELY. AND, UM, AND ALSO IT ALSO INDICATES THAT IT IS SUCH A NECESSITY. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY PEOPLE CAN GET AROUND. AND SO I'VE ENJOYED MY SERVICE. I'D LOVE TO BE REAPPOINTED. UH, I DO, I AM THE LABOR REPRESENTATIVE ON THE BOARD. AND, UH, I KNOW MY FRIENDS AT THE TRANSIT UNION THINK THAT THAT MEANS I'M THEIR PERSON, BUT I TAKE IT TO BEING ALL WORKERS IN SAN ANTONIO WHO ARE DEPEND UPON VIA AND I, I HAVE A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THE, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE ON PENSIONS AND PEOPLE WHO ARE IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN, WITHIN THAT ARE NOT, UH, NOT CONNECTED TO THE TRANSIT UNION. BUT LIKE I SAID, I ENJOYED MY TIME. I THINK I'M DOING A GOOD JOB. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MR. CUOMO, UH, FOR YOUR APPLICATION AND YOUR SERVICE, UH, TO THE VA BOARD THESE YEARS. UM, WE'RE GONNA GO NOW TO COUNCIL DISCUSSION. UH, OUR FIRST QUESTION COMES FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. MAYOR. THANK YOU MR. KAMALA. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE ALL OF THIS TIME. UM, MY QUESTION TO YOU AS, AS A REAPPOINTMENT POSSIBILITY IS WHAT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM THAT YOU THINK, UH, WOULD BE THE FOCUS THAT YOU WOULD BE PUSHING FORWARD, UM, WITH THIS POST COVID SITUATION? WELL, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE CAMPAIGN FOR THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, WHAT I THINK EVERYBODY REALIZES. AND THAT IS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, A CITY THE SIZE OF AUSTIN IS MOVING TO SAN ANTONIO, AND WE BETTER BE PREPARED FOR IT. I LIVED IN HOUSTON IN THE SIXTIES WHEN THE, WHEN THEY SAID THAT HOUSTON WOULD DOUBLE IN SIZE IN 20 YEARS. AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HEIGHT, BUT IT DOUBLED IN LESS THAN 20 YEARS AND THEY WEREN'T PREPARED FOR IT. UH, SO I THINK THAT, THAT THAT IS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE THAT WE, WE MUST, UH, BEAT THAT CHALLENGE. CUOMO, NO, NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, MA'AM. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UM, SO GOOD MORNING EVERYONE, AND IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU, BOB, EVEN IF YOU CAN'T SEE US, THIS IS, UH, SHIRLEY ELLIS, COUNCIL ONE FOR DISTRICT FIVE. AND CAN YOU SEE US, BY THE WAY? I CAN'T, IF I HIT THIS SIGN IN, WILL THAT TAKE ME TO YOU? UH, NO, I'M JUST CURIOUS. UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU COULD SEE US. UM, BUT SO I, YOU KNOW, MY, MY QUESTION, SO BOB, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE BEEN NOW FOUR YEARS ON THE, UM, ON THE BOARD. WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR, UH, YOUR SERVICE THERE. BUT MY QUESTION IS, IS SORT OF ABOUT THE FUTURE OF TRANSIT AND, UM, UH, PUBLIC TRANSIT IN, IN SAN ANTONIO. AND, AND, UM, COULD YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU, IN A, I GUESS IN THE, AND I'M TALKING TO STRICTLY VISIONARY, I MEAN, WHAT WOULD YOU SEE, UM, OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM DOING IN SAN ANTONIO? WELL, THE SAME DAY THAT WE PASSED, UH, THE A T D PROPOSITION THAT WILL PROVIDE ABOUT $40 MILLION MORE PER YEAR IN FIVE YEARS. UH, AUSTIN PASSED A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PLAN, AND LAST YEAR HOUSTON PASSED A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PLAN. SO THEY ARE, ARE DEALING WITH THE REALITIES. UH, WE HAVE A NEW ADMINISTRATION COMING INTO, UH, WASHINGTON, DC UH, PETE BUTTIGIEG IS GONNA BE THE TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY. I THINK THAT GIVES AN AWFUL LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO, TO REALLY DIG INTO WHAT WE AS A CITY NEED TO DO, TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT ONSLAUGHT OF PEOPLE COMING IN. I THINK WE NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT. THAT'S WHY I THINK WE [00:10:01] NEED TO HAVE SOME CONTINUITY ON THE BOARD. WE WE'RE LOSING HOPE ON DRY, THANK GOODNESS, WHAT A TREASURE SHE IS. AND, UH, SEVERAL OTHER BOARD MEMBERS ARE, ARE BEING OFF. UH, BUT ONE OF 'EM, UH, WELL, UH, ONE OF THE, THE, UH, SMALL TOWN MAYORS IS ACTUALLY, UH, EXCEEDED THE EIGHT, EIGHT YEARS, I THINK. UM, BUT HE'S STILL ON THE BOARD, BUT DON'T WANNA LOSE THE INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY ON THE BOARD. UM, UH, VIA IS A VERY, VERY WELL RUN ORGANIZATION. I HAVE DEALT WITH COUNTLESS NUMBERS OF, OF SCHOOL BOARDS, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIONS, UH, COUNTIES, AND STATE GOVERNMENT OVER THE 45 YEARS I'VE BEEN AT A WORKER. AND, UH, VIA IS THE BEST RUN OF ANY OF THE PUBLIC ENTITIES THAT I'VE HAD THE, THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, BOB, THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. YOU GREAT. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN BUR GONZALEZ, UM, BOB, THE, THE HAS BEEN THROUGH A LOT OVER THE LAST, UM, 10 YEARS. UM, SOME STARTS AND STOPS ON PROJECTS AND, UM, HAS NOW HAD TO WEATHER, UH, A COUPLE OF ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS. UM, YOU KNOW, I I THINK ALL OF US ON THIS CALL, UH, BELIEVE VERY STRONGLY IN THE ROLE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FOR THE FUTURE OF SAN ANTONIO. UM, NOW THAT YOU'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, UH, FOR A FEW YEARS AND, AND YOU'VE ALSO BEEN OBSERVING VIA FOR DECADES, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY HAVEN'T DONE WELL, UH, HAVEN'T DONE RIGHT, THAT YOU WOULD'VE, OR, OR YOU WOULD SEEK TO CHANGE ABOUT V'S OPERATIONS OR STRATEGY? WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT, I SAW SOMETHING I THOUGHT NEEDED TO BE DONE. YOU KNOW, I, I DID NOT HESITATE TO BRING THAT UP. AND ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT I BROUGHT UP HAS BEEN ADDRESSED. AND SOME OF THE THINGS WERE BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION BY OTHER PEOPLE. AND AGAIN, THEY WERE ADDRESSED BY ADMINISTRATION. NOW, THE ONE THING THAT I RAISED, AND THERE WAS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD WHO RESIGNED TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL, CAME TO AMANDA MERCK. AND SHE KIND OF CAME FROM THE, THE MEDICAL SIDE OF THINGS. AND, AND IT GAVE PERSPECTIVES ON A LOT OF US HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT. BUT, UM, I, I HAD SUGGESTED WAY BEFORE COVID THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO PUT, UM, UH, UH, SANITIZING MATERIALS ON THE BUSES. AND I PUT THAT ON THERE JUST BECAUSE I HAD COME AFTER MY WIFE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL FOR FIVE WEEKS. EVERY TIME I WALKED 10 FEET, THERE WAS A, YOU KNOW, A DISPENSER. AND, UH, AND I WOULD USE IT FREQUENTLY. AND I SAW THEM SANITIZING THEIR HANDS. I SAID, WHY DON'T WE PUT THIS ON THE BUSES? AND THEY LOOKED INTO IT, BUT AT THE TIME, THEY DETERMINED THAT THE SPILLAGE WOULD CAUSE, UH, DIFFICULTIES AND PROBLEMS. UH, MAYBE PEOPLE WOULD FALL AS A RESULT OF IT. AND SO WE DIDN'T DO IT. BUT THEN ONCE COVID CAME IN, NOW WE'RE, WE TOOK A DIFFERENT LOOK AT IT BECAUSE IT'S A DIFFERENT SITUATION. SO, UM, UH, I THINK THEY'RE VERY, VERY FLEXIBLE AND THEY ARE OPEN TO ANY SUGGESTIONS THAT I BROUGHT. AND I, I'VE BEEN VERY, VERY PLEASED WITH THAT. UH, THEY'RE RESILIENCE AND THEIR, AND THEIR OPENNESS, UH, TO, TO ADAPT. UH, AND A LOT OF THESE THINGS ARE FUNCTIONS OF MONEY AND THEY HAVE TO BE VERY PRUDENT. AND I THINK THAT THEY ARE VERY, VERY CONSERVATIVE AND VERY, VERY PRUDENT WITH THE TAXPAYER'S MONEY AND THE ROUTERS MONEY. GREAT. THANK YOU, BOB. I SEE, UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE HAS A QUESTION. YOU'RE MUTED, JOHN. HAPPY NEW YEAR. OKAY. I WAS JUST SAYING, I THINK COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL PUT HER HAND UP, BUT MAYBE YOU HADN'T SEEN IT EARLIER. UH, BUT SHE'LL HAVE TO WAIT NOW. UH, BOB, UH, WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE, UM, AND, UH, FOUR YEARS ON THE VIA BOARD, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE FUTURE MODEL FOR MODES OF TRANSPORTATION THAT VIA SHOULD BE MOVING TOWARD? WELL, I THINK THE, THE VOTERS SPOKE ON NOVEMBER THE THIRD. AND ONE OF THE, THE MO MODES IS THE VIATRAN, UH, VIA LINK, UH, TO, TO POSSIBLY REPLACE SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE ROUTES THAT ARE NOT OPERATING AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE. UM, I DID VOTE FOR THE VIA LINK. UH, A LOT OF MY FRIENDS IN THE TRANSIT UNION WERE NOT IN FAVOR OF THAT. UH, BEFORE I VOTED ON IT, I WENT AND I RODE THE BUS LINES THAT WERE BEING REPLACED. 'CAUSE I WANTED TO SEE FOR MYSELF. AND I DID MAKE A COUPLE OF SUGGESTIONS. I THINK THAT THERE, THERE WERE SOME WAYS THEY COULD HAVE TWEAKED SOME OF THOSE ROUTES THAT THAT MIGHT HAVE INCREASED THE RIDERSHIP AT THAT TIME. UM, BUT I THINK IT'S AN EXPERIMENT THAT, UH, THAT IS SHOWING SOME, SOME PRETTY GOOD RESULTS. I, I DO THINK THAT THAT, UH, UH, THAT THE SAME SERVICE COULD BE PROVIDED IN-HOUSE WITHOUT HAVING [00:15:01] TO, UH, GO TO AN OUTSIDE VENDOR. UH, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE, UH, ONE OF THE STRATEGIES. UH, I WAS VERY INVOLVED IN THE ELECTION THAT THEY HAD DOWN IN SANDY OAKS, UH, BECAUSE SANDY OAKS WAS TALKING ABOUT GETTING OUT OF THE VIA, UH, VIA, UH, SERVICE AREA. AND, UH, I WISH THAT ALL OF THE SMALLER CITIES WOULD PARTICIPATE BECAUSE IF THEY DID PARTICIPATE, WE COULD HAVE A BETTER SYSTEM THAT SERVED, SERVED, UH, THE GREATER, UH, METROPOLITAN AREA. I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO THAT AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, AND I HOPE THAT THEY WILL, WILL JOIN AND, AND, UH, AND, AND MAKE THAT ED. OKAY. BUT VIA LINK IS SERVING SOME OF THE, UH, THE OUTER AREAS, BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN WE BRING IN THIS EXTRA MILLION PEOPLE IN THE CITY, DO YOU THINK VIA LINK'S A SOLUTION, OR WHAT IS A LONGER TERM SOLUTION? WELL, UH, AS I STATED WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT VIA LINK, I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A SHORT TERM SOLUTION BECAUSE, UH, I MEAN, THERE'S AREAS NORTH OF 1604 THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WILL NOT BE SERVED BY, BY THE, UH, VIA LINK. AND SO THERE'S A GAP. SO HOW DO YOU SERVE THOSE FOLKS OUT THERE? I THINK THE REPORT IS WELL TAKEN. UM, SO I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A STOP GAP THING, UH, FOR TRANSITIONAL, UH, PROGRAM. UM, AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO BE PAYING GREATER ATTENTION TO WHERE THE, THE GROWTH IS ANTICIPATED AND, YOU KNOW, AND EXPECTED. UM, I, I DO THINK THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT THERE IS DOING A, A DOES, UH, RECOGNIZE THESE THINGS AND IS ANTICIPATING THEM. AND I THINK THAT THEY HAVE SOME CONTINGENCY PLANS, BUT IT'S ALL BASED ON FUNDING, UH, AVAILABLE TO US. OKAY. THANK YOU, MAYOR. OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL FOR QUESTIONS. BOB, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE AND YOUR APPLICATION. AND, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL CALL, UH, BACK AFTER OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION. OKAY. HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS NOW? I SEE A SIGN. I SEE IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. YES, SIR. THANKS, BOB. JUST REMEMBER TO CLICK JOIN, PLEASE CLICK JOIN. YES, SIR. OKAY. THANK YOU. MM-HMM. . ALL RIGHT. UM, TO, UH, ONTO OUR NEXT APPLICANT, UH, BRING BACK, UH, FOR REAPPOINTMENT, REPRESENTING THE DISADVANTAGED TRANSPORTATION RIDERS, ATHLETE MALONE. UM, IS MS. MALONE CONNECTED? I THINK SO, YES. GOOD MORNING, MS. MALONE. CAN YOU HEAR US? GOOD MORNING. UM, SO WE'RE BRINGING BACK EVERYONE INDIVIDUALLY FOR, UH, TWO MINUTE STATEMENTS, AND THEN WE GO TO OUR COUNCIL DISCUSSION. UH, AND IT'S A LOOSE TWO MINUTES. IF YOU CAN TRY TO ADHERE TO THAT. WE'LL HAVE OUR CITY CLERK, UH, CHIME IN WHEN WE'VE HIT TWO MINUTES. UH, SO YOU HAVE THE FORM. MS. MALONE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR APPLICATION AND FOR YOUR SERVICE. UH, GOOD AF GOOD MORNING. SORRY ABOUT THAT. UH, FIRST OFF, LET ME, UH, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I AM USING A NEW COMPUTER AND I'VE NOT GOTTEN ALL OF THE BUGS OUT OF IT FOR ACCESSIBILITY, SO YOU MAY HEAR SOME FEEDBACK. UH, FIRST OFF, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ACCEPTING MY APPLICATION FOR REVIEW AND FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE ONCE AGAIN, IF I MAY, ON THE VIA BOARD. I FEEL THAT NOT ONLY THE COMMUNITY, BUT THE DISADVANTAGE AND THE WRITERS NEED A VOICE ON THE BOARD SO THAT ALL CAN BE HEARD AND EVERYBODY WORK TO BE BASICALLY THE, THE GOOD OF KEEPING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPEN FOR ALL AND ON TIME, I, UM, AM COLLEGE EDUCATED. I HAVE WORKED IN THE CORPORATE WORLD AND IN THE NONPROFIT WORLD FOR SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE I WENT BLIND. AND I AM A RESIDENT OF SAN ANTONIO FOR THE LAST 40 YEARS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. MALONE, UH, AGAIN FOR YOUR SERVICE. UM, AND FOR STEPPING FORWARD TO, UH, SERVE AGAIN. UM, WE'RE GONNA GO NOW TO COUNCIL DISCUSSION. WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ROSA GARCIA, ALEX MORGAN. THANK YOU. UH, MS. MALONE, WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE. I THINK THAT IT IS A NEEDED PERSPECTIVE THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT ON TO THE VIA BOARD. SO CONGRATULATIONS FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE IN YOUR SHORT TIME. I HAVE A QUESTION, UH, FOR YOU, AND IT'S THE SAME QUESTION THAT I ASKED MR. KOMAR EARLIER AS, UH, POTENTIALLY CONTINUING BOARD MEMBERS. WHAT IS THE SINGLE MOST, UM, [00:20:01] ITEM IN YOUR OPINION, THAT VIA SHOULD FOCUS ON IN THIS, UM, POST COVID ENVIRONMENT, OR EVEN AS, AS WE COEXIST WITH COVID? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? THE MAIN THING I THINK VIA SHOULD, PLEASE EXCUSE ME, UM, VIA NEEDS TO BE FOCUSING ON, FIRST AND FOREMOST IS THE SAFETY OF NOT ONLY OUR RIDERS, BUT OF THEIR EMPLOYEES. AND AS OF DATE, THEY HAVE BEEN DOING THIS AND CONTINUE TO DO THIS, AND ALSO GETTING BUSES MORE ON TIME AND FASTER SERVICE SO THAT THE WORKERS CAN GET TO, TO WORK TO KEEP US MOVING FORWARD, OUR BASIS, THE ESSENTIAL WORKERS. AND WE ALL KNOW THAT THE ESSENTIAL WORKERS IS MUCH KEEPING SAN ANTONIO MOVING AND KEEPING US MOVING THROUGH THIS, THE HEALTHCARE WORKERS, THE GROCERY WORKERS, TRANSPORTATION, AND EVERYTHING ELSE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS. MALONE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. NO FURTHER QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. AND, UH, THANK YOU, MS. MALONE. WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE SERVICE THAT YOU'VE OFFERED AND YOUR OFFER TO CONTINUE PROVIDING SERVICE, PROVIDING, I THINK YOUR PERSPECTIVE IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE ON THE BOARD. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT COMES TO MIND THAT YOU THINK YOU CONTRIBUTED IN DISCUSSIONS OR IN, UM, SUGGESTIONS, UH, THAT YOU FEEL MOST PROUD ABOUT IN YOUR SERVICE SO FAR? WELL, MOSTLY I WOULD SAY BEFORE I CAME ON THE BOARD, A LOT OF THE NEW DESIGNS THAT THEY HAVE TAKEN TO USING IN THE DIGITAL WORLD FOR THE CUSTOMERS WAS NOT BEING TESTED. AND WITH ME BEING AVAILABLE TO THEM, THEY WERE ABLE TO TEST THOSE FOR THE DISABLED, MAKE THE, UM, CHANGES THAT NEEDED TO BE MADE THAT DISABLED, COULD ALSO USE ALL THE NEW DIGITAL, UM, ASPECTS THAT WE HAVE IN VIA. AND I HOPE TO CONTINUE DOING THAT BECAUSE THIS WAY IT MAKES IT MORE INDEPENDENT FOR EVERYBODY AND NOT EVERYBODY. SO, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO RUN AROUND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO. WELL, THAT'S VERY GOOD. I'M, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT. COULD YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK IS THE LONG-TERM NEED FOR VIA WITH OUR GROWING POPULATION? IS IT PARTICULAR MODES OF SERVICE, PARTICULAR TYPES OF OPERATIONS? IS IT, UH, SIMPLY EXPANSION, OR ARE THERE SOME KIND OF, UH, THINGS THAT YOU'VE HEARD THAT YOU THINK WOULD BE EXCITING FOR VIA TO INCORPORATE GOING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE? IN TERMS OF OUR GROWING POPULATION, OUR MAIN FOCUS IS TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK ON TIME WITHIN A VIABLE TIME. NOW, WE HAVE, WE STILL HAVE OUR, UM, PEOPLE WAITING AN HOUR FOR A BUS. THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE. WE SHOULD HAVE BUSES DOWN TO EVERY 15 MINUTES. THAT'S NOT A THING TO DO. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE LOOKING AT NEW WAYS OF DOING THIS, UM, BRINGING IN, UM, WHAT THEY CALL THE AUTONOMOUS WAYS OF GETTING AROUND WHERE YOU WOULD TAKE A BUS PART WAY, BUT THEN THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER, THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER VEHICLE OR OPPORTUNITY TO YOU TO GET TO WHERE YOU NEED TO WITHIN A TIMELY MANNER. SO INSTEAD OF NOW SOMEBODY LEAVING THEIR HOME AT FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING TO GET TO WORK FOR 7 45, THEY CAN NOW LEAVE THEIR HOME AT MAYBE 6 45 AND BE TO WORK BY SEVEN 15. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR OBSERVATIONS. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UH, WELL, GOOD MORNING. AND, UM, UH, MY QUESTION, THIS IS, UM, SHIRLEY GONZALEZ, AND, UM, MY QUESTION IS, UH, JUST REGARDING YOUR VISION FOR VIA IN, IN A, IN SORT OF A PERFECT WORLD WHERE, UH, PERHAPS WE WERE NOT LIMITED BY FINANCES, UM, UH, DO YOU HAVE A, A VISION FOR WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE? UH, IF THERE WAS NO, UM, POLITICAL INFLUENCE OR, OR, UH, VISION IN MIND, I'M SORRY. UH, OR, UM, FINANCES GONZALEZ, IF IN ALL HONESTY, IF WE ALL LIVED IN THE PERFECT WORLD WHERE EVERYTHING WAS AVAILABLE TO US, I WOULD HOPE THAT VIA [00:25:01] WOULD BE ONE WHERE NO MATTER WHERE IN THIS CITY, NO MATTER WHERE THE CITY GROWS TO, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE WHAT TYPE OF TRANSPORTATION YOU NEEDED TO GET WHERE YOU NEEDED TO FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, BE IT AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE, BE IT A BUS, AND MAYBE IN THE LONG RUN SOME TYPE OF, I KNOW IT'S NOT A VERY LIKABLE SUGGESTION, BUT A LIGHT RAIL, UM, I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE AGAINST IT, BUT I HAVE SEEN IT WORK IN OTHER CITIES, AND WE ARE GROWING TO BE ONE OF THE, WE ARE ALREADY ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES, BUT WE'RE GROWING EVEN MORE. AND IN TERMS OF THESE CITIES, I SEE HOW IT WORKS. AND IT'S MUCH NEEDED IN TIME, IN, IN TERMS OF GETTING LARGER POPULATIONS AROUND IN A QUICKER MODE. OH, GREAT. WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, I, AND I KNOW, UM, I, I'D RATHER FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT, UH, SOME TYPE OF RAIL, BUT, UM, WHETHER POPULAR OR NOT, WE'RE JUST TALKING VISIONING. UM, BUT I, I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, YOUR ANSWERS, AND THAT THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UM, MS. MALONE, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. UM, YOU KNOW, YOU STARTED ON A COUPLE OF COMMITTEES, UM, AND THEN AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO, UH, VIA AND THEN NOW ON THE BOARD OF VIA. UM, IN ALL OF THOSE, UM, EXPERIENCES OF SERVICE, YOU HAVE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR DISADVANTAGED WRITERS. UM, DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR VOICE IS BEING HEARD ON THOSE ISSUES? AND HAVE YOU SEEN ANY, UM, TANGIBLE, UM, ADJUSTMENTS TO THE WAY, UH, VIA HAS, HAS, UH, ACCOMMODATED PASSENGERS? UH, AND IF NOT, UH, WHAT DO YOU THINK NEEDS TO CHANGE? AS OF RIGHT NOW, MANY OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE BROUGHT FORTH, UM, IN, IN, IN BOARD SESSIONS AND IN PRIVATE MEETINGS HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED. UM, LITTLE BY LITTLE. EVERYTHING CAN'T BE DONE ALL AT ONCE. UH, SOME THINGS HAVE BEEN TAKEN CARE OF. OTHERS HAVE TO TAKE TIME TO GET CERTAIN PROCESSES IN PLACE. UM, THERE'S, THERE'S STILL ONE OR TWO MORE THINGS THAT, THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF AND LOOKED AT. BUT THE MAIN THING IS, AND NOT ONLY WITH THE DISADVANTAGED, UM, AND, AND THE DISABLED, BUT FOR ALL RIDERS, WE NEED TO HAVE A BUS SYSTEM THAT RUNS EFFECTIVELY, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE TO GET TO WORK. UM, MANY OF THE DISABLED DO WORK, SO NOT ONLY DO THEY TAKE PARATRANSIT, THEY TAKE THE REGULAR BUS SYSTEM, AND IF THE REGULAR BUS SYSTEM CAN'T GET THEM THERE TO WORK ON TIME, WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO? SO IT IT, AS WE WORK AND WE, WE WORK AND WE WATCH EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING IS, IT TAKES TIME. THIS IS KNOWN, UM, SEVERAL ISSUES IN TERMS OF HANDLING, UM, TRAINING OF, OF, OF OPERATORS, OF HOW THEY SPEAK, HOW THEY HANDLE THE DISABLED HAS BEEN TAKEN INTO A, INTO PROCESS, AND THEY HAVE HAD RETRAINING, AND THE, AND THEY HANDLE THE, THE DISABLED MUCH BETTER, MUCH MORE PLEASANT. AND THEY, AND THERE HAVE BEEN SLIP UPS, BUT THEY, EACH TIME, ONCE IT'S REPORTED, IT'S DONE WITHIN A TIMELY MANNER THAT THEY'VE BEEN RETRAINED. GREAT. WELL, THAT, THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR. AND, AND, UM, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PERSISTENCE, UH, MS. MALONE. AND, AND PLEASE KNOW THAT WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT, UM, YOUR EFFORTS ON THE BOARD, UH, TO ENSURE THAT YOUR LIST GETS TAKEN CARE OF, UH, AS WELL. SO, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN, THAT'S ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL. UH, WE APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE AND YOUR, UH, INTEREST IN CONTINUING. AND, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL CALL YOU BACK RIGHT AFTER OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION. THANKS SO MUCH, MS. MALONE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. MALONE. I'M GONNA MOVE YOU BACK TO THE BREAKOUT SESSION NOW, SO YOU WILL BE PROMPTED IN JUST A MINUTE TO CLICK JOIN. OKAY. OKAY. OUR NEXT APPLICANT, UH, FOR AN AT LARGE POSITION IS SEYMOUR BATTLE. ALL RIGHT. I THINK WE HAVE, UH, SEYMOUR WITH US. UM, SEYMOUR, CAN YOU HEAR US? I CAN. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR APPLICATION AND INTEREST IN SERVING [00:30:01] ON THE VIA BOARD. UM, WE'RE TAKING EVERY INTERVIEW ONE BY ONE, AND THEN WE'LL DO, WE'LL DO A TWO MINUTE OPENING STATEMENT AND THEN, UH, ROUND ROBIN COUNCIL QUESTIONS. AND THEN WE'RE GONNA DELIBERATE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE WE BRING YOU BACK. SO, UH, IT'S A LOOSE TWO MINUTES THAT, UH, UH, CITY CLERK WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'VE HIT THAT MARK. BUT, UH, IF YOU CAN JUST, UH, PLEASE ADHERE TO THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. AND SO NOW, UH, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. WELL, GOOD. THANK YOU. UH, GOOD MORNING, MR. MAYOR AND THE REST OF THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. UH, AGAIN, JUST QUICK INTRODUCTION ON MY PART, SEYMOUR BATTLE. UM, I'M A 15 YEAR RESIDENT HERE OF SAN ANTONIO. UH, PRIOR TO THAT, LIVED IN DALLAS FOR 10 YEARS. UH, I AM EMPLOYED AT VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION. UH, AND JUST, UH, PART OF MY, UM, JUST KIND OF CATALOGING OF MY CIVIC AND, AND, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ENGAGEMENTS. I CURRENTLY SERVE ON THE, UH, THE CITY'S BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS, UH, BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE SAN ANTONIO BANK, UH, AND K L R N, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR ROTARY AND PRIOR SERVICE ON THE CARVER DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND, UH, THE BRACKEN RIDGE PARK AND SERVICING. SO MY, UH, JUST KIND OF LEADING INTO MY INTEREST OF, WITH THE, UM, THE VIA BOARD OF TRUSTEES, UH, IS REALLY JUST, UH, AN VESTED INTEREST IN OUR, OUR CITY'S CONTINUED GROWTH, BOTH FROM AN ECONOMIC, UH, SIDE AS WELL AS POPULATION. SO, UH, I JUST REALLY FEEL LIKE THE, UM, THE, THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, UH, PIECE IS ESSENTIAL TO OUR GROWTH AND KIND OF RESPONSIBLE GROWTH, UH, AND MAKING SURE WE ARE, UM, REALLY PROVIDING SERVICES AND CONNECTING EVERY PIECE OF OUR, OUR, OUR CITY AND OUR, OUR SURROUNDING AREAS TO MAKE SURE JOBS ARE, ARE, KNOW, WE ENSURE PEOPLE CAN GET TO JOBS, UH, AND, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH CONTINUE AND BE SUSTAINED. UH, I KNOW WE HAVE THE, THE CITY HAS THE, HAS PLANS, JUST WANT TO BE PART OF THAT PLANNING PROCESS. UH, AGAIN, JUST MAKING SURE WE AS A CITY AS WE CAN GROW, UH, BECAUSE I AM ALSO A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER HERE, BEST IN INTEREST IN SEEING THAT CONTINUE TO GROW AND, AND WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT. SO I THINK IT'S JUST VITAL AND WANNA MAKE SURE, UM, I HAVEN'T WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A PART IN, IN A SMALL PART IN, UH, BEING PART OF THOSE DECISIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE. SO I WILL, I WILL LEAVE WITH THAT, UH, MY OPENING STATEMENT. GREAT. THANK YOU, MR. BATTLE. UH, WE'LL GO NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA. THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU SEYMOUR. UM, AND I AM FAMILIAR WITH YOUR WORK. UH, WE WERE CLASSMATES NELSON THREE HUNDREDS. I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR YOUR COMMUNITY. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR WILLING TO STEP UP AND, AND, AND SEE IF YOU CAN GET ON THE VIA BOARD. I KNOW YOU'VE DONE SOME RESEARCH AND PROBABLY PREPARED, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU'RE ALWAYS WELL PREPARED. CAN YOU TELL ME IF, UH, IN YOUR PREPARATION FOR TODAY, UM, OR JUST IN GENERAL, LOOKING AROUND TRANSPORTATION NEEDS, IF YOU HAVE FOUND AN IDEAL MODEL, UH, THAT YOU WOULD THINK YOU WOULD LIKE, UH, THE V O BOARD TO LOOK AT, UH, IN TERMS OF THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM? SO ANYTHING THAT YOU, UM, MAYBE BECOME FAMILIAR WITH AND WHY? UH, SURE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCILMAN FOR THE, FOR THE QUESTION. UM, WELL, I, I WOULD SAY I HAVE DONE THE RESEARCH AND, AND, AND REALLY LOOKED AT THAT AND REALLY DONE SOME COMPARISONS BETWEEN, UH, SAN ANTONIO'S PLAN AND KIND OF WHERE WE RANKED WITH SOME OTHER CITIES, UH, THOSE MODELS. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS FROM THOSE MODELS THAT, THAT I THINK ARE, UH, THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT ALSO WHILE MAINTAINING REALLY OUR, OUR, WE, WE, OUR LEVEL OF SALES TAX THAT WE APPLY TO OUR CITIZENS, RIGHT? AND, AND THAT'S KIND OF THE KEY IS KEEPING, UH, ADVANCING THAT WHILE STILL STAYING WITHIN AN AFFORDABLE, UM, SALES TAX RATE AND, AND TAX IMPLICATIONS FOR, FOR CITIZENS. BUT I THINK SOME OF THE CITIES, I I HAVE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, SO EARLY IN MY CAREER, UH, I WORKED IN, IN, IN, UM, IN THE TRI-STATE AREA FOR NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, CONNECTICUT, RIGHT? AND AT A TIME WHERE I COULDN'T AFFORD, UH, TO OWN A VEHICLE. UH, SO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WAS MY ONLY MEANS OF GETTING TO FROM AND WORK AND, AND CLIENT SITES AND ANYTHING PERSONAL. SO I, I JUST REMEMBER HOW, UM, I REMEMBER THAT MODEL AND BEING, HOW IT WAS, IT PROVIDED THAT ANY, ANY WAY I NEEDED TO GET AROUND AND MOVE AROUND THE CITY AND, AND, AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS, THERE WERE OPTIONS THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO ME ALL TIMES OF THE DAY WHENEVER I WANT TO MOVE IN. SO I, I WOULD, I WOULD REFERENCE THAT AND SAY I LOOK TO SAN ANTONIO TO, TO, IN SOME WAY IMPLEMENT THAT TYPE OF MODEL WHERE WE, WE ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF CITIZENS, UH, AND WORKERS AND EMPLOYERS, RIGHT? WHERE WE, UH, A CITIZEN COULD, HAS, HAS OPTIONS AT ANY POINT FOR ANY NEED TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO INTERACT THROUGHOUT THE DAY. SO I WILL, THAT, THAT WOULD, I WOULD SAY THAT MODEL, I WOULD SAY, AND I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IT'S NOT SPECIFIC, BUT REALLY IN THAT MODEL WHERE WE, WE CAN, WE CAN ADDRESS ALL THINGS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, UH, FOR, FOR A PERSON'S DAY-TO-DAY INTERACTIONS. GREAT. THANK YOU, MR. BE, UH, THAT'S IT, MAYOR, THAT'S MY QUESTIONS. OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, MR. BATTLE FOR YOUR APPLICATION AND FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY. [00:35:01] I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS FOR YOU. THE FIRST ONE IS, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK V'S. STRENGTHS ARE AS A TRANSIT ORGANIZATION, AS WELL AS AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT? OKAY. VERY GOOD. UH, THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN, FURTHER QUESTION. UH, SO I THINK REALLY THE STRENGTHS FROM WHAT I SEE ARE REALLY THERE HAS BEEN, UH, THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF VI I THINK THERE HAS BEEN REALLY RESPONSIBLE, UH, GROWTH AND EXPANSION, UH, THAT THAT'S INDICATED. AND REALLY WHAT I SEE FROM FINANCIAL IMPACT, ALSO FROM, FROM WHERE WE RANK WITH OUR, WITH OUR CITIES WITHIN TEXAS, AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, SALES TAX IMPLICATIONS AS I MET EARLIER. I THINK THAT THAT ALSO THE ENGAGEMENT WITH, WITH THE PUBLIC, RIGHT? IT'S, UH, I THINK THAT ENGAGEMENT AND, AND REALLY LISTENING TO THE PUBLIC IS WHAT IT WANTS AND WHAT IT, UH, HOW IT EXPANDS, HOW QUICKLY AND WHAT SERVICES WE PROVIDE, UH, HAS BEEN A STRENGTH. UH, ALSO THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY. I, I THINK THOSE, UH, AS IT IS, AS A WORK HAND IN HAND, UH, TO MAKE SURE AROUND FUNDING AND ALSO PLANNING, UH, YOU KNOW, AND THE JOINT WITH, WITH GROWTH, UH, HAS BEEN A STRENGTH, UM, IN MY OPINION FOR VIA AND ITS EXISTENCE. SO THAT WOULD, I WOULD NOTE THAT AS ONE, AS THE STRENGTHS, ONE OF THE AREAS OF, OF IMPROVEMENT, OBVIOUSLY I WOULD, I, I, I THINK IN MY MIND WOULD BE, UM, REALLY, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE, WE ARE EXPANDING AREAS WHERE, WHERE CITIZENS, UH, WHERE THE GROWTH IS. WE'RE STAYING AHEAD OF THE GROWTH AND REALLY, UH, MAKING SURE WE ARE, WE ARE PROVIDING SERVICES WHERE THE GROWTH IS HAPPENING AND QUICKLY AND THINK AND, UH, IN THAT NATURE. SO I WOULD SAY ERRORS IMPROVEMENT, WE'RE JUST MAKING SURE WE'RE KEEPING UP WITH THE GROWTH OF THE CITY AND THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF THE CITY TO ENSURE THAT WE AREN'T FALLING BEHIND AND LEAVING UNINTENTIONALLY LEAVING SECTORS OF OUR CITY, UM, WITHOUT SERVICES OR UNDERSERVED. THANK YOU. AND MY NEXT QUESTION IS, IF APPOINTED, DO YOU PLAN TO USE VIA SERVICE, HOW AND HOW OFTEN? SURE. THANK YOU. GREAT QUESTION. SO YES, , I, I'LL TELL YOU KINDA MY EXPERIENCE WITH, WITH, UH, WHERE I REALLY BECAME INTIMATE WITH THE VIA SERVICES. UH, I, I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT I, I, I OWN A SMALL BUSINESS. I OPERATE, UH, RENTAL PROPERTIES IN SAN ANTONIO AND IN TEXAS, HILL COUNTRY AREA. UH, UPON AND, AND, AND RE AT MY RESIDENCE IN, IN, UH, DISTRICT TWO, UH, THERE'S A VIA BUS STOP RIGHT IN FRONT OF, UH, ONE OF THE PROPERTIES. UH, I HAD NOT REALIZED HOW FREQUENTLY, HOW OFTEN PEOPLE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY UTILIZE THE VIA SERVICES UNTIL LIVING IN THAT AREA, RIGHT? I JUST HAD NOT. AND SO, UM, ALSO WITH, WITH OWNING RENTAL PROFITS, THE INQUIRIES FROM, FROM PEOPLE VISITING OUR CITY ASKING, HEY, HOW CAN I GET AROUND USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION? WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS? SO, UH, IT WAS KIND OF A FORCED EDUCATION ON MY PART FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, BUT I'VE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT IT. AND I, I HAVE PERSONALLY USED V MOSTLY FROM MY PERSPECTIVE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES WHEN I WOULD GO INTO DOWNTOWN AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT, UH, DO PLAN TO USE THE SERVICE TO LEARN A LOT ABOUT A LOT, LEARN A LOT MORE ABOUT IT. I DID HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE A LOT OF EDUCATION ABOUT IT AND STARTED TO USE IT MORE DURING LEADERSHIP SAN ANTONIO. UH, WE HAD A VERY, UH, COMPREHENSIVE, UH, EDUCATION ON THAT DURING, DURING THE, UH, FROM ONE OF OUR BOARD, UH, BOARD MEMBERS THERE. SO IT WAS, IT WAS GREAT. OUR STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS. SO I DO PLAN TO USE THE SERVICE. I I DO USE IT NOW, BUT PLAN TO EXPAND THAT TO GET A, A FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE. HOW OFTEN DO YOU PLAN TO USE IT? WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT, I, I'D LIKE TO DO IT MORE. UM, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON KIND OF MY DAY TO DAY. I, UM, I, RIGHT NOW, I'M ADMITTEDLY A DRIVER, RIGHT? LIKE MOST OF US ARE. SO I, I WOULD, I WOULD LOOK TO LEVERAGE IT MORE. UM, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD SEE, UH, I, I CAN'T SAY HOW OFTEN RIGHT NOW, BUT I, I WOULD LIKE TO DO IT AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE TIMES A WEEK IF I CAN, IF, IF OPPORTUNITY PROVIDES ITSELF, FOR SURE. OKAY. WELL, I'LL TELL YOU MY PREFERENCE, . SURE. SO, I, NO, I THINK A COUPLE TIMES A, A WEEK IS TREMENDOUS. UH, EVEN IF YOU DID IT ONCE A WEEK OR ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS, AND I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU WHY I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT IS SURE. UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE, THIS HAPPENS TO US TOO, RIGHT? WE ARE RESIDENTS OF SAN ANTONIO, EVEN WHEN WE'RE NOT ON, ON THE DAAS, AND SOMETIMES OUR GARBAGE COLLECTION GETS SKIPPED, OR SOMETIMES OUR STREET IS TORN UP OR CLOSED FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF. SURE. UM, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO IT KEEPS US VERY CONSCIENTIOUS OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO. AND I, UH, THIS, THIS BOARD IN PARTICULAR IS VERY SPECIAL TO ME. 'CAUSE I USED TO WORK AT B AND, UH, AND BECAUSE I, I BELIEVE IN TRANSIT AS, AS, UH, A WAY TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO OPPORTUNITY. SO I WOULD WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ANYONE WHO WHO IS ON THAT BOARD IS ALWAYS CONNECTED TO, UH, THE SERVICE AND THE EXPERIENCES OF, OF THE PEOPLE, AND THAT THEY DON'T FORGET THAT. SO I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO EVERY SO OFTEN, UH, RIDE THE BUS AND, AND SOMETIMES IT, IT JUST MAY TAKE A COMMITMENT TO, TO DO IT, YOU KNOW? ABSOLUTELY. ANYWAY, I, I APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR WILLINGNESS TO, TO [00:40:01] CONSIDER MY, MY REQUEST. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. BATTLE. ABSOLUTELY. MY PLEASURE. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UH, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. BATTLES FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO, UM, SERVE ON THIS BOARD. UM, MY QUESTION IS REGARDING YOUR VISION FOR A TRANSIT SYSTEM. SO IT SEEMS LIKE YOU LIVED IN DALLAS, UH, THAT HAS A PRETTY, UH, WELL, MUCH MORE ADVANCED THAN WE HAVE HERE. UH, AND THEN YOU MENTIONED, UM, YOUR TIME IN THE NORTHEAST MM-HMM. , THAT IS A MUCH MORE COMPACT, UM, SYSTEM AND, AND ALSO HAS A LOT OF ALTERNATIVES. SO WHAT WOULD YOU ENVISION SAN ANTONIO'S SYSTEM LOOKING LIKE IN A WORLD? UM, YOU ANSWERED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WITH A COUNCILWOMAN, RAAD GARCIA, BUT MM-HMM. , UM, JUST REGARD IF, IF THERE WERE NOT POLITICAL CONSTRAINTS OR FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS, SURE. YEAH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCILMAN FOR THE QUESTION. SO I, I THINK IT IS KIND OF THAT VISION, RIGHT? I, AS I, AS I LOOK TO THAT VISION, AND I, I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THIS IN THE STRENGTHS, RIGHT? IT IS AS THAT ONE OF THE STRENGTHS, I THINK ALSO AS I LEAD INTO THIS, THIS ANSWER IS, UH, THE VIA SYSTEM. I IS AL ALWAYS IN MY EXPERIENCE, AND WHAT I'VE SEEN IN TALKING WITH PEOPLE, ALWAYS INVITING, RIGHT? IT'S NEVER, UH, AS YOU SEE IN LARGER PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, I'VE SEEN AND EXPERIENCED, UH, EQUIPMENT DETERIORATION AND, AND OLDER EQUIPMENT START. AND, AND, AND SOMETIMES IT'S NOT AS INVITING, UH, TO CITIZENS AS IT , AS IT AS IT SHOULD BE. UH, I ENVISION FOR US, FOR THE CITIZEN, ANTONIO, FOR US TO STILL MAINTAIN THE HIGH LEVEL OF, YOU KNOW, SERVICE TO THE CITIZENS AS WE EXPAND SERVICE. UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE HAVE PLANS THAT THERE'S A PLAN TO PLAN TO EXPAND THREE, 300 SQUARE FEET OF, UH, EXPANDED SERVICE. AND THAT TO MAIN STILL MAINTAIN THAT, THAT HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE, THE CLEANLINESS, THE, YOU KNOW, THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ORIENTED, UH, BUT ALSO THE, THE, UH, REALLY THE, THE AFFORDABILITY, RIGHT? WHICH IS, WHICH I THINK IS KEY, THE AFFORDABILITY OF THE SERVICE TO CITIZENS, UH, AND STUDENTS AND, AND, AND THOSE DISABLED. UH, AND SO JUST MAKING SURE AS WE EXPAND, WE ALSO STAY CONSCIENTIOUS TO THE IMPACTS OF OUR SESSION. SO MY VISION IS THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE KEEP THE HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE AND, AND, AND COMMUNITY CONNECTION, UM, AS WE EXPAND INTO LARGER SERVICE AREAS, LARGER, UM, YOU KNOW, RIDERSHIP, UH, AND PARTICIPATION WITHIN, WITHIN THE, UM, WITH, WITHIN VIA. SO I, I GUESS I WOULD, YOU KNOW, REALLY THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF MY NUTSHELL IS THAT I, I DON'T WANT TO COMPROMISE A I WOULD NOT WANT US TO COMPROMISE LARGER SERVICE, EXPANSION OF SERVICE, UH, FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, AREA FOR LEVEL OF SERVICE DELIVERY TO, TO THE CITIZENS AND AFFORDABILITY. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU'RE WELCOME, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU MR. BATTLE FOR, UH, SUBMITTING YOUR REQUEST TO BE ON A VIA BOARD. UH, I'VE APPRECIATED MUCH OF WHAT YOU'VE SAID. UH, AND I THINK THAT, UH, YOU'RE, YOU LOOK TO BE A, A WELL-QUALIFIED CANDIDATE. I WILL SAY THAT I HAVE A CONCERN, AND THAT IS THAT, UH, YOU SEEM TO BE INVOLVED IN A LOT OF ACTIVITIES. UH, YOU'RE ON TWO, FOUR FOOD BANK BOARDS, YOU'RE ON THE K L R N BOARD, YOU'RE A MEMBER OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS. UH, AND I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN ACTIVE IN UNITED WAY, AND, UH, AND THEN YOU HAVE A FULL-TIME JOB FOR VALERO. AND SO MY CONCERN IS THAT I THINK ANYBODY WHO SERVES ON, WHETHER IT'S THE VIA BOARD, THE SAS BOARD, THE C P S BOARD, OR, OR CITY COUNCIL, OF COURSE, THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'RE IN A POLICYMAKING POSITION THAT REALLY REQUIRES A LOT OF YOUR TIME AND ENERGY TO UNDERSTAND AND HELP MAKE THE KIND OF DECISIONS THAT ARE GONNA IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR EVERYBODY IN THE CITY. UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, MY, MY CONCERN BASICALLY IS, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN YOU DO ALL OF THESE THINGS AND TAKE ON VIA AND BE A FULL-TIME, UH, VALERO EMPLOYEE? SO I'D LIKE YOU TO RESPOND TO THAT. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN KURT. UH, GREAT QUESTION. UH, OBVIOUSLY, UH, I, I WOULD, AS I LOOK TO, UM, BECOME A, A VIA BOARD OF TRUSTEE, UH, ON VIA VIA BOARD OF TRUSTEES, I WOULD, UH, AS, AS ANOTHER SERVICE TO THE CITY, I WOULD OBVIOUSLY LOOK TO FOR THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS TO PROBABLY, UH, RELINQUISH THAT ROLE FOR SURE. I WOULD, UH, IN, IN, IN FAVOR OF SERVING ON THE VIA BOARD OF TRUSTEES, UH, WITH REGARD TO THE SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK AND CARE L RN. UH, THOSE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE BOARDS THAT, THAT AT THIS PRESENT TIME DON'T REQUIRE A LOT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE TIME THAT [00:45:01] WOULD, THAT WOULD DETER FROM, FROM A SERVICE HERE. UH, IT IS. AND I AM FOR THE, UH, AT A POSITION IN MY CAREER IN, IN SERVICE WITH VALERO, I'M A FOURTH TIME PACIFICALLY COMMUNITY SERVICE. UH, SO THOSE, THOSE ARE NOT, UH, NOT CONCERNS THAT I CURRENTLY HAVE. UM, LIKE I SAID, THE ONLY ONE I WOULD, I WOULD SAY WOULD BE THE, WOULD BE THE CONCERN WOULD BE THE SERVICE FOR THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS. AND I WOULD LOOK TO, UH, RELINQUISH THAT ROLE IN, IN FAVOR OF THE SERVICE TO, TO, TO V. AND THAT WOULD BE FOR, FOR, THAT WOULD BE FOR TIME, THAT WOULD BE FOR MY PERSONAL TIME AND ABILITY TO COMMIT TIME TO THIS, THIS COMMITMENT. OKAY. WELL, I HOPE THAT ANYBODY WHO IS, UH, IN A POSITION TO ASSUME A RESPONSIBLE POSITION, RESPONS ON VIA BOARD, UH, YOU KNOW, CAN GIVE THAT THE DEFINITE COMMITMENT AND THOUGHTFULNESS THAT IT, IT DESERVES, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR COMMUNITY. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ANSWERING THAT QUESTION. THANK YOU, MAYOR. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. UM, AND THAT'S ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS, UH, TODAY. MR. BATTLE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE, AND, UH, WE'LL CALL YOU BACK AFTER OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION. THANK YOU, MAYOR. ALRIGHT, I'M GONNA MOVE YOU BACK NOW. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, OUR NEXT CANDIDATE, UH, FOR AN AT LARGE SEAT IS VICTORIA BUSTOS. I SEE VICTORIA'S CONNECTED. UM, MS. BUSTOS, DO YOU HEAR US? YES, I DO HEAR YOU. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WE HEAR YOU AS WELL. WE JUST DON'T SEE VIDEO. UH, THERE YOU ARE. OKAY. UM, WE'RE GOING, UH, ONE BY ONE THROUGH THE INTERVIEWS. UH, EVERYONE HAS A TWO MINUTE, UH, OPENING STATEMENT, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO Q AND A WITH THE COUNCIL. UM, AND IT'S A LOOSE TWO MINUTES. YOU'LL HEAR THE CLERK, UH, ONCE YOU'VE REACHED THAT MARK. SO, UM, THE FLOOR IS NOW YOURS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR APPLICATION AND WILLINGNESS TO SERVE. WELL, FIRST, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, MAYOR NURENBERG, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS MORNING. ELECTED OFFICIALS, THANK YOU FOR, UH, PULLING MY APPLICATION. I APPRECIATE THE CONSIDERATION. SO I'D LIKE TO START BY, UH, SHARING SOME EXPERIENCES WITH YOU. I AM AN EDUCATOR. I'VE BEEN IN THE EDUCATION FIELD FOR ABOUT 24 YEARS. I BEGAN MY CAREER AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL WORKING AT, AT U T S A WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS. AND I HAVE HAD THE GREAT PLEASURE OF WORKING K 12, UM, IN, UH, BOTH HARLANDALE AND SAN ANTONIO, UH, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT. I'VE ALSO BEEN A TRAINER OF EDUCATORS AND HAVE, UH, CURRENTLY SERVED WITH THE EDUCATION SERVICE CENTER REGION 20. SO, LOTS OF GREAT EXPERIENCES WORKING WITH TEACHERS, WORKING WITH STUDENTS IN PARTICULAR, AND WITH FAMILIES. IN MY CURRENT ROLE, I WORK, UH, WITH, UH, SEVERAL SUBPOPULATIONS OF, OF STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. I MANAGE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, UM, REALLY FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES AROUND, UH, THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY IN SAN ANTONIO, I S D. SO, UH, I'M EXCITED TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW FOR THE VIA BOARD. UH, I AM A TEACHER AT HEART ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT WHAT'S BEST, UH, FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. AS WE ALL KNOW, ONE OF MY, UH, FAVORITE QUOTES BY NELSON, NELSON MANDELA, EDUCATION IS A VERY POWERFUL TOOL, AND IT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. SO PART OF, UM, THINKING ABOUT HOW WE, UH, PROVIDE ACCESS TO FAMILIES, UH, TO STUDENTS IN PARTICULAR, I CAN TELL YOU IN THE SAN ANTONIO SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE HAVE LOTS OF GREAT THINGS GOING ON REGARDING SCHOOLS OF CHOICE AND REALLY GIVING STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO HAVE, UM, AN EDUCATION THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY AT THEIR HOME ZONED SCHOOL, BUT A SCHOOL OF CHOICE. SO, THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THE INNOVATIVE CAST TECH CAST ME, AND, UH, PART OF THAT IS MOBILITY. HOW DO WE GET OUR STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO MAY NOT HAVE, UH, THE LUXURY OF HAVING, UH, A TWO VEHICLE HOME, HOW DO WE GET THEM TO, UM, THOSE SCHOOLS OF CHOICE? SO, THINKING ABOUT THAT, ALSO THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THE, UH, PROGRAMS I MANAGE CURRENTLY, UH, TO INCLUDE SOME OF OUR SCHOOL AGE PARENTS. I WORK WITH OUR SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK TEAMS AS WELL. UH, WE KNOW WE'RE IN THE PANDEMIC, UH, COVID. UH, CURRENTLY THE LAST I REVIEWED, WE'RE AT ABOUT A 20% RATE WITH COVID. SO HOW ARE WE GETTING, UH, RESOURCES TO OUR FAMILIES? AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT TYPE OF, UH, BUS ROUTES ARE WE PROVIDING IF A FAMILY MEMBER NEEDS TO GET TO THE HOSPITAL AND DOESN'T HAVE, UH, THE, THE MEANS TO DO SO? SO JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT AS WELL. ALTHOUGH I WOULD BE NEW [00:50:01] TO, UH, SERVING ON THE VIA BOARD, THIS IS NOT MY FIRST EXPERIENCE SERVING, UH, IN BOARDS. UM, I CURRENTLY RESIDE IN DISTRICT 10, AND SO MY STUDENTS ATTEND AMO HEIGHTS ARE, ARE MY CHILDREN RATHER ATTEND ALAMO HEIGHTS, I S D. AND I WAS, UH, HONORED TO BE PART, UH, UH, SERVING ON THE ALAMO HEIGHTS I S D EQUITY COMMITTEE, UH, TO REALLY LOOK AT, UH, SOME OF THE TRENDS IN DATA. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GIVING ALL STUDENTS, UH, IN THE ELMO HEIGHTS, I S D THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, BE SUCCESSFUL IN, IN THEIR EDUCATION. SO, UH, I AM A PARENT THAT SERVES ON THAT COMMITTEE. IT IS A TWO YEAR COMMITMENT, AND I HAVE BEEN ON THAT COMMITTEE SINCE NOVEMBER. UH, I'M ALSO VERY ACTIVE OUTDOORS AND OUTDOORS PERSON. SO, UM, I AM PART OF THE ALAMO AREA BOY SCOUTS ASSOCIATION, THE B S A. AND SO, UM, THAT'S ANOTHER, UH, COMMITTEE THAT I CURRENTLY SERVE ON. UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. STOS. YES. MM-HMM. . WE'LL, WE'LL GO NOW TO, UM, OUR, OUR COUNCIL, UM, DISCUSSION. OKAY. UH, WE'LL START WITH, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UH, THANK YOU MAYOR. AND, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MS. STOSS FOR, UM, YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE ON THIS BOARD. UM, MY QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, REGARDING YOUR VISION FOR TRANSIT IN OUR CITY. UM, IF YOU, I, I, SOMETIMES IT'S HARD IF YOU HAVEN'T, YOU KNOW, SORT OF BEEN IN, ENTRENCHED IN, UH, TRANSIT DISCUSSIONS, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE, UH, THOUGHT ABOUT THIS AND, AND THIS IS ASSUMING NO FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS OR POLITICAL CONSTRAINTS. YEAH. SO, THANK YOU, UM, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ FOR THE QUESTIONS. SO I'VE DONE A LITTLE RESEARCH AND THINKING ABOUT THE VISION. I, I KNOW WITH THE UBER AND ALL OF THE RIDE SHARE APPS, UM, IT IS A VERY COMPETITIVE MARKET. SO, UH, I KNOW THE VOTERS RECENTLY APPROVED, THEY KEEP SAN ANTONIO MOVING PLAN, AND PART OF THAT IS TO PROVIDE SERVICES THAT CONNECT TO SOME OF OUR RIDE SHARE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES. AND SO PART OF THAT VISION IS INCLUDING THAT. 'CAUSE WE KNOW MOBILE PHONES AND, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE APPS, UH, THE VIA LINK PROGRAM AS WELL. ALL OF THAT, UH, IS REALLY PART OF, UM, THE FUTURE. UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAS A CAMPAIGN GOING ON WITH THE, UH, ONE CITY ENTER REVITALIZED DOWNTOWN. SO PART OF THAT VISION WOULD CERTAINLY BE TO, UH, THINK ABOUT HOW WE ARE PROVIDING THE VIA EXPRESS SERVICES, THE VIA, UH, PRIMO SERVICES INTO DOWNTOWN IN A POST COVID ENVIRONMENT. 'CAUSE WE WILL RECOVER, UM, FOR, FROM COVID, AND WE WANT TO KEEP THAT VITALITY GOING. UM, SO THINKING ABOUT THE VISION, CERTAINLY THAT, THAT WILL INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE REVITALIZING DOWNTOWN, UH, HOW ARE WE, UM, CONNECTING TO TECHNOLOGY WITH, UM, MOBILE TRANSIT AS WELL. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. MAYOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH MS. BUSTOS FOR YOUR APPLICATION. AND, UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS A TEACHER. I BELIEVE THAT TEACHERS ARE CRITICAL AND ESSENTIAL WORKERS. UM, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO FURTHERING, UM, OUR, OUR STUDENT SUCCESS. I DO HAVE A QUESTION. IT WAS A QUESTION THAT I ASKED, UH, THE PREVIOUS CANDIDATE, AND SPECIFICALLY, LIKE THINKING ABOUT YOUR TIME, UM, AND, AND, AND MAYBE THE RESEARCH THAT YOU HAVE DONE PREPPING UP FOR TODAY. WHAT IS THE IDEAL TRANSPORTATION MODEL THAT YOU HAVE SEEN OUT THERE? PERHAPS THERE'S A SYSTEM OR A CITY THAT, THAT YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH OR THAT YOU SAW THAT YOU THINK THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM AND WHY? SO, UM, I DID MENTION I ENJOY THE OUTDOORS. SO PART OF THE SYSTEM, UH, I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT WHAT ALREADY EXISTS HERE IN VIA, AND I KNOW THE VIVA, THE VIA VIVA. SO THE CULTURE ROUTES, THAT IS A, A GAME CHANGER, UH, IN MY PERSPECTIVE. UM, TAKING, YOU KNOW, WE, OUR CITY WITH OUR FIVE MISSIONS AND OUR MUSEUMS, UM, GETTING FOLKS TO GO TO, TO THOSE TOURIST DESTINATIONS, UM, THAT'S HUGE. AND SO I LOVE THAT MODEL. UM, I ALSO AM A BIG FAN OF THE BIKE RACKS, UH, ON THE BUSES. UH, I HAVE, UH, UTILIZED THAT SERVICE WITH MY, UH, FIFTH GRADE SON, AND WE ENJOY IT, UH, TO GO DOWN ON, ON THE BIKE TRAILS. BUT THINKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE OUT THERE, CERTAINLY ECO-FRIENDLY, UH, THINGS THAT, UH, IDEAS THAT WILL CONNECT FOLKS TO NOT ONLY TRAVEL AND TOURISM, [00:55:01] BUT THE OUTDOORS, RIGHT? SO THINKING ABOUT HOW WE REALLY ARE, UH, UTILIZING THAT, UH, AS A, AS A VEHICLE, NOT ONLY FOR ECONOMIC MOBILITY, TRAVEL TOURISM, BUT FOR FITNESS AND HEALTH, UH, ALL OF THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT AS WELL. SO, UH, THAT MODEL IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING I WOULD ENCOURAGE TO SUSTAIN. UH, I AM PART OF A DOWNTOWN RUN CLUB, SO I CAN TELL YOU THERE ARE LOTS OF FITNESS FRIENDLY FOLKS IN SAN ANTONIO. UH, WE WAVE AT THE BUS DRIVERS AND WE'RE EXCITED TO, YOU KNOW, UH, PARTAKE IN, IN, UH, ALL THOSE FITNESS AND HEALTH ACTIVITIES. SO ANY, ANY WAY WE CAN CONNECT OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM TO GETTING FOLKS MOVING, GETTING PEOPLE OUTDOORS, UH, CERTAINLY WOULD BE A BIG WIN. MS. MISS DOS, UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR. THAT'S, UH, MY QUESTION. GREAT. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. UH, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR MS. BUSTOS? OKAY, WELL, WE'RE GONNA DELIBERATE IN AN EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE, UH, WE COME BACK OUT INTO OPEN SESSION. UH, MS. BUSTOS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR APPLICATION AND WILLINGNESS TO SERVE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OUR NEXT, UM, APPLICANT, UH, FOR AN AT LARGE SEAT IS, UH, LAURA CABENO. MS. , I'M GONNA MOVE YOU BACK. HI. GOOD MORNING, LAURA. GOOD MORNING, LAURA. UM, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, APPLICATION AND WILLINGNESS TO SERVE. UH, WE'RE INTERVIEWING ONE BY ONE, UH, WITH Q AND A AT THE END. UH, AND TO START, WE HAVE OPENING A TWO MINUTE STATEMENT. IT'S A LOOSE TWO MINUTES. SO, UH, THE MADAM CLERK WILL, UH, SIGNAL YOU ONCE YOU'VE REACHED THAT, THAT POINT. SO THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND, UH, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. HAPPY NEW YEAR. I'LL START BY SAYING THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR TIME. I KNOW TODAY'S DECISION WILL NOT BE EASY. SO A LITTLE ON ME. I GREW UP IN THE SOUTH SIDE OF CENTENNIAL AND EXPERIENCED FIRSTHAND THE NEED OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, AND THE NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS OF UNRELIABLE TRANSPORTATION. AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, I HAVE A BACKGROUND IN PUBLIC POLICY AS FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO TWO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, DISTRICTS THREE AND ONE, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT EXPERTISE WITH AN EMPHASIS IN BUSINESS THROUGHOUT MY CAREER. UH, I'M AN ENTREPRENEUR AT HEART, UH, AS A FORMER SMALL BUSINESS OWNER OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS. I HAVE SERVED IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES THROUGHOUT MY VOLUNTEER CAREER, UH, MOSTLY PLAYING THE ROLE OF STRATEGIC ADVISOR, FINANCIAL STEWARD, ADVOCATE FOR EQUITY INVESTMENT AND COMMUNITY CONNECTOR THROUGH BOARDS COMMITTEES SUCH AS THE SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER, THE WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER THROUGH LIFT FUNDS, SAN ANTONIO SPORTS, AND MOST RECENTLY LAST YEAR, THE SAN ANTONIONI AREA FOUNDATION, COVID RESPONSE FUND, UH, TO NAME A FEW, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. I ALSO CHAIR L S A 44 CO-CHAIRED IT, UM, WAS, UH, THE CHAIR OF THE SOUTH SIDE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL. UM, AND THEN, UH, RIGHT NOW, PRESENTLY IN MY ROLE AT WELLS FARGO, I HAVE A REGIONAL VISIBILITY ON HOW HOUSING AFFORDABILITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL HEALTH, AND SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH COMPLIMENTS THE SUCCESS OF OUR COMMUNITIES. AND WE ALL KNOW THAT ACCESS TO TRANSPORTATION IS JUST AS VITAL. UH, LAST YEAR I WAS VERY EXCITED TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION, KNOWING VIA IS SEVERELY UNDERFUNDED. UM, AND SO IN CLOSING, I KNOW YOU WILL LOOK AT EACH OF THE CANDIDATES THAT COME BEFORE YOU TODAY AND DETERMINE WHICH SKILL SETS ARE NEEDED TO FILL THE GAPS AS THE EXISTING BOARD. UM, AND SO I'M HERE TO LEND MY EXPERTISE AND HOPE TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION TO MOVE OUR CITY FORWARD. UM, MY HOPE IS THAT MORE PEOPLE WILL BE CONNECTED TO JOBS, SERVICES, BUSINESS, EDUCATION, AND RECREATION. SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION OF MY APPOINTMENT, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, LAURA. UM, AND WE DO HAVE QUESTIONS. SO, UH, WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. MAYOR. THANK YOU, LAURA. I APPRECIATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO CONTINUE TO SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY. I'LL ASK YOU A QUESTION THAT I, I ASKED THE OTHER APPLICANTS, AND AS YOU WERE PREPARING OR DOING YOUR RESEARCH FOR APPLYING TO THE VIA BOARD, WAS THERE ANY IDEAL TRANSPORTATION MODEL OR SYSTEM THAT YOU CAME ACROSS OR MAYBE JUST IN, IN, IN YOUR, UM, DAY-TO-DAY THAT YOU'VE COME ACROSS THAT YOU THINK THAT, UM, MAYBE WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT AS A MODEL AND WHY? GREAT QUESTION. UH, YOU KNOW WHAT? IT'S HARD TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION BECAUSE THIS IS NOT SOMETHING I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN, UM, YOU KNOW, KNEE DEEP. IT'S JUST RECENTLY WITH THIS, UM, UH, APPLICATION THAT I'VE BEEN GOING BACK TO TRANSPORTATION. [01:00:01] NOW, IF THAT WAS, UH, THE QUESTION A FEW YEARS AGO, 10, 20 YEARS AGO, THAT'VE BEEN A DIFFERENT STORY, UM, MY HEART IS WITH RAIL, UM, KNOWING, YOU KNOW, AND VISITING DIFFERENT CITIES, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN NEW YORK, DC WHERE I LIVE FOR A FEW MONTHS, SIX MONTHS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S IMPORTANT. JUST GOING UP TO AUSTIN, UM, FOR WORK AND SEEING THE LINE THERE, UH, MAKES A DIFFERENCE. BUT WE KNOW THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, RAIL HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FOR SAN ANTONIO. UH, AND SO I'M, I'M JUST CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, UM, THE BOARD AND, UH, AND THE CITY ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO. I KNOW, UM, THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT AND, UH, THE PRIMO HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL HERE, UM, AS OF LATE. AND, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT TECHNOLOGY RIDE SHARE, MAYBE SOMETHING, UH, I KNOW WE, WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, COMPANIES HAVING, UH, YOU KNOW, WELLS FARGO, THE DENSITY OF INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITHIN, UH, NEARBY OUR WEST SIDE CAMPUS LAST YEAR, OR PRE PANDEMIC, WE TALKED TO VIA ABOUT THE USE OF THAT NEW APP OVER THERE IN THE NORTHEAST AREA. SO, UH, IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF, IF THAT CON CONTINUES TO GROW. UM, BUT AT, AT THE MOMENT, I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THAT'S MY QUESTION FOR TODAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UH, SO, UM, IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU LOUD AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN, UM, THE VIA BOARD. UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, COUNCIL MEMBER GARCIA GARCIA SORT OF GOT TO THE HEART OF MY QUESTION REGARDING VISION AND, UM, THE FUTURE OF OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM. UM, AND, AND YOU DID MENTION THAT, AND, AND WHICH I THINK IS A, A FAIR, AND IN FACT, I'D RATHER APPRECIATE THE ANSWER. YOU DON'T REALLY ENTIRELY KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T SPENT AS MUCH TIME THERE, BUT IF YOU HAD NO CONSTRAINTS ABOUT, UM, YEAH, I, I, I'M ALSO A, WAS A HUGE SUPPORTER OF RAIL AND SAD TO SEE THAT THAT'S PROBABLY NOT AN OPTION FOR US, BUT LET'S ASSUME THAT THAT WAS STILL AN OPTION FOR US. UM, WHAT MIGHT A, A COMPLETE TRANSIT SYSTEM OR, UM, UH, WHAT, WHAT MIGHT THAT LOOK LIKE IN YOUR VISION IF THERE WERE NO POLITICAL OR FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS? YEAH. IF THAT WAS A WILL OF THE PEOPLE AND THERE WAS NO, UM, POLITICAL OR, UM, FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS. I THINK CONNECTING THE NEIGHBORHOODS TO JOBS, UH, TO EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS, UH, BIG EMPLOYERS IS A CRITICAL PHASE. AND, AND KNOWING, UM, WHERE, UH, THAT LIES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. YOU KNOW, THE EAST SIDE, SOUTH SIDE, WEST SIDE, UM, LOOKING TO THE, THE FIRST TIER RIDER THAT NEED THAT CONNECTION, BUT ALSO STRATEGICALLY THINKING ABOUT, OKAY, HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THE HIGHER PAYING JOBS, UM, UH, AND CONNECT THESE INDIVIDUALS. UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'VE RAN INTO, IN MY EXPERIENCE IN YEARS PAST, UM, HIRING INTERNS, UH, THEY DON'T HAVE TRANSPORTATION AND THEY CAN'T GET TO THE JOB. UM, AND, AND THAT'S FRUSTRATING BECAUSE YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE A, A, A JOB, BUT THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO WAY FOR THEM TO GET THERE, YOU KNOW? AND, UH, AND SO THAT WOULD BE MY, MY FIRST THOUGHT IS, YOU KNOW, A CONNECTION, UH, CENTRALLY LOCATED AND THEN FIGURING OUT EAST TO WEST, UM, AND NORTH TO SOUTH THE MAIN LINES. BUT YOU GOTTA USE THE BUS SYSTEM TOO, AS A CONNECTOR. AND, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, I SAW IN DC UM, INITIALLY MOVING OVER THERE, I WAS LIKE, WHO'S GONNA USE THE BUS SYSTEM THERE? UH, FOR ME, GROWING UP HERE, THAT WAS, THAT WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T RELIABLE. IT WASN'T ON TIME. UH, IT WASN'T AS FAST. AND, AND KNOWING YOU CAN USE A RAIL SYSTEM IN DC AND THEN TRANSFER AND CONNECT TO A BUS SYSTEM, AND IT EASILY GETS YOU THERE. UM, IOP IT WAS EYEOPENING FOR ME. AND SO HOPEFULLY, UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THERE WAS NO CONSTRAINTS THAT WOULD BE IDEAL FOR SAN ANTONIO, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S A DIFFERENT , THAT'S A DIFFERENT ERA, A DIFFERENT, UH, UM, SOMETIMES, UH, I THINK WE, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, FOR, UH, YOUR CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU MS. EA FOR APPLYING. AND, UH, I CAN SEE THAT YOU'VE GOTTEN SOME EXPERIENCE, UH, WITH THE CITY, WITH BUSINESS, WITH OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU'VE HAD, UH, ON DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS YOU BELONG TO. AND I THINK THAT'S VERY GOOD. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR AND WE HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE, UH, WITH SIMILAR BACKGROUNDS. SO, UH, I THINK YOU'RE IN A GOOD POSITION ON THIS. THE BIGGEST CONCERN I HAVE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY IS, UH, ARE THEY TOO INVOLVED? ARE THEY INTO SO MANY DIFFERENT BOARDS OR COMMISSIONS OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT VIA MAY [01:05:01] NOT GET THE FULL BENEFIT OF THEIR TIME AND THEIR ENERGY? UH, AND I'D LIKE YOU TO, YOU KNOW, SHARE WITH US WHAT KIND OF, UH, COMMITMENTS DO YOU HAVE TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO GIVE UP TO, TO SERVE FOR VIA, UH, I WOULDN'T EXPECT YOU GIVE UP YOUR JOB, OBVIOUSLY, BUT, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OTHER, UH, COMMITMENTS YOU MAY HAVE. UH, HOW WILL THEY WEIGH IF YOU BECOME, UH, A VIA BOARD MEMBER? YEAH, GREAT QUESTION. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MY, MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY KNOW THAT TIME IS A COMMODITY THAT I REALLY TAKE, UH, UM, TO HEART, UH, KNOWING, UH, I'M A SINGLE MOM OF TWO YOUNG KIDS, BUT I'M A SERVANT LEADER, AND I BELIEVE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, SERVING, UH, IN THE BOARD CAPACITY AND COMMITTEES CAPACITIES IS IMPORTANT. UM, AND IT COMPLIMENTS, I THINK, UH, WHAT I CAN GIVE TO THE COMMUNITY. PRESENTLY, I'M ON THE ASSET FUNDERS NETWORK, THE STEERING COMMITTEE. UH, I'M A PART OF LIST SAN ANTONIO ADVISORY COUNCIL. UM, I'M ALSO PART OF THE SAN ANTONIO REPORT COMMUNITY ADVISORS. AND SO THOSE THREE ENTITIES, UM, DON'T TAKE UP TOO MUCH OF MY TIME. UM, I'M VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT TIME MANAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, HAVING A BACKGROUND, UM, IN SPORTS AND JUGGLING, UH, YOU KNOW, WORK AND, AND FAMILY. UH, I, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO MANAGE PRETTY WELL. AND I KNOW, UM, VIA IS A, IT'S A COMMITMENT. I'VE, I'VE TALKED TO A FEW BOARD MEMBERS, I'VE TALKED TO STAFF ABOUT THE DURATION OF THE MEETINGS. UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT DEPENDS ON THE INCOMING CHAIR OR, YOU KNOW, THE NEW CHAIR AND HOW HE COMPLIMENTS, UH, THE MEETINGS MOVING FORWARD, IF HE'S GONNA KEEP IT THE SAME OR NOT. BUT I THINK I HAVE ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE TIME COMMITMENT, AND I'M, I'M CONFIDENT, UM, ABOUT THAT TIME THAT I CAN GIVE. OKAY. YOU KNOW, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS BECOMES AN IMPORTANT COMMISSION, UH, COMMITMENT FOR EVERY BOARD MEMBER BECAUSE IT AFFECTS THE LIVES OF EVERYBODY IN THE CITY ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. AND SO, UH, I JUST WANTED TO CLEAR THAT UP. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THAT'S ALL, MAYOR. GREAT. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE, UM, LAURA, AND FOR WILLINGNESS TO STEP, STEP FORWARD ON THE, UH, UH, APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. WE'RE GONNA DELIBERATE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE WE CALL, UH, FOLKS BACK, SO, UM, WE'LL BE, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. OUR NEXT APPLICANT FOR AN AT LARGE, UH, SEAT IS JAVIER PERES. ALL RIGHT. I THINK JAVIER IS, UM, IS ON. UM, DO YOU HEAR US, MR. PEREZ? UH, VERY CLEARLY. HOW ARE YOU GUYS DOING? DOING GREAT. UM, WE'RE INTERVIEWING ONE AT A TIME, OBVIOUSLY, AND, UH, WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME FOR Q AND A FROM THE COUNCIL. UM, WE'RE ASKING FOLKS TO GIVE IT A TWO, TWO MINUTE OPENING STATEMENT, AND SO LOOSE TWO MINUTES. THE, THE CLERK WILL SIGNAL YOU WHEN YOU'VE REACHED THAT TIME, SO YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR APPLICATION. PERFECT. THANK YOU. THANKS SO MUCH FOR, UH, FOR RECEIVING MY APPLICATION. I'M, UH, VERY GLAD TO BE HERE IN THIS PLATFORM AND, UH, VERY FEEL VERY HONORED TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SPEND THIS MORNING WITH YOU. UH, TO START OFF, UM, MY NAME IS GABRIEL PEREZ, AS YOU ALL KNOW, I WORK AT SEN COMPANY AS A URBAN DESIGNER. UM, I ALSO, I'M A BUSINESS OWNER AND COONE, UH, KALONKA ON THE SOUTH SIDE WITH MY BROTHER. UM, SO I'M BOTH, UH, BUSINESS OWNER AND, UH, I'M VERY FOCUSED ON, UH, THE DESIGN AND CITY MAKING AROUND TOWN. UM, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF A LITTLE BIT OF MY BACKGROUND. I'M ORIGINALLY FROM MEXICO, FROM , AND I'VE BEEN IN SAN ANTONIO FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS. UM, I'M AN ALUMNI OF, UH, U T S A, WHERE I HAVE A MASTER'S IN ARCHITECTURE. AND, UH, AND, AND, AND A BIG SORT OF A PERSPECTIVE THAT'S, UH, THAT'S KINDA LIKE MY, MY BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND. I'M ALSO VERY INVOLVED WITH, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP GROUPS IN SAN ANTONIO, UM, URBAN LAND INSTITUTE, UH, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, UH, THE BOTH, UH, THE HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN THE GREATER, UH, SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE OUR SEED, UH, GREAT AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD. UH, I THINK TRANSPORTATION IS, IS ONE OF THE KEY COMPONENTS TO MAKING A, A CITY GREAT AND HEALTHY. UM, SO, UH, I'M SEEKING AN APPOINTMENT TO THIS, UH, IMPORTANT BOARD. UM, UH, WELCOME. ANY QUESTIONS? GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. PEREZ. UM, WE'LL GO FIRST TO COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, ROCHA GARCIA. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, [01:10:01] THANK YOU JAVIER, FOR YOUR INTEREST IN, IN, IN THIS POSITION, AND THANK YOU FOR SERVING YOUR COMMUNITY. I, UH, HAVE SAME QUESTION THAT I HAD FOR SOME OF THE OTHER CANDIDATES, AND I'M SURE IN YOUR RESEARCH AND YOUR PREPARATION FOR TODAY'S MEETING, YOU PROBABLY DID SOME RESEARCH ON SOME TRANSPORTATION MODELS. IS THERE A MODEL OUT THERE THAT YOU THINK, UH, WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THAT YOU'RE MAYBE FAMILIAR WITH EVEN IN, IN YOUR WORK, UM, AS YOU'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, JUST IN YOUR REGULAR WORK? AND IF SO, WHY? YEAH, FIR FIRST OFF, UM, UH, I THINK WE SHOULD KEEP CHAMPIONING, UH, BLIGHT RAIL, UH, SOME SORT OF, UH, EFFICIENT, UH, MASS TRANSIT. SO RIGHT OFF THE BAT, UH, I, I, I WOULD WANT TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR THAT. UH, I WOULDN'T LEAVE THAT BEHIND. UH, I THINK WE STILL NEED TO MOVE, UH, FORWARD WITH LIVE RAIL, BUT THAT'S THE ONLY PART OF THE SOLUTION. UH, I THINK A BIGGER PART OF, OF THE SOLUTION IS REALLY, UH, HOW TRANSPORTATION INTERFACES WITH PLACEMAKING AND THE CITY. UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THROUGHOUT HISTORY, UH, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION USED TO BE PART OF, UH, CITY SHAPING AND USED TO BE PART OF, UH, THE ANCHORS IN ANY CITY, ANY, ANY GREAT METROPOLIS. UH, AND IT SEEMS LIKE RIGHT NOW WE'RE A LITTLE BIT SORT OF SEPARATING TRANSPORTATION FROM URBANISM AND PUBLIC SPACE WHEN, UH, TRANSPORTATION SHOULD BE THE MOST DEMOCRATIC PLACE OF ALL. SO, UH, THROUGH THAT, THERE'S A NEW TREND IN, UH, TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT THAT I'VE SEEN. I'M SERVING ON THE, UH, U L I COUNCIL FOR MOBILITY, AND WE'VE BEEN TASKED WITH, UH, WITH THE CURTIS, UH, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT TO, UH, TO RESEARCH, UH, SOME OF THESE NEW TRENDS, UH, WHICH ARE BASICALLY MOBILITY HUBS. UM, AND SO HOW DO YOU MAKE THESE, UH, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION IS JUST NOT BUSES AND BUS STOPS, BUT IT'S ALSO BIG PUBLIC FACILITIES AND HOW THESE BIG PUBLIC FACILITIES BECOME PART OF PLACEMAKING AND ANCHOR, UH, PLACES THAT, UH, BIKE COMMUNITY AND THEY CREATE AND ACTIVATE, UH, PUBLIC SPACE. UH, SO THAT, THAT'S, UH, I THINK THAT THOSE ARE TWO BIG THINGS, MOBILITY HUBS, AND LIGHT RAIL. MR. BAREZ, I'M SO GLAD THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT AS A HUB, IF YOU WILL, BEYOND MOBILITY. AND SO, UH, I'VE BEEN THINKING OF SOME IDEAS OF EXPANDING THOSE HUBS INTO OTHER SERVICES, LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, PARTNERING WITH THE FOOD BANK AND THERE, AND SAY, YEAH, A NEED THERE, RIGHT? SO, UM, SHOULD YOU GET ON THE BOARD, I NEED TO SIGN UP IMMEDIATELY TO TALK WITH YOU AND, AND, AND SEE IF WE CAN, UH, JUST GENERATE SOME OTHER IDEAS. BUT THAT IS IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROTO GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU. UM, AGAIN, I'VE, I'VE MENTIONED THIS TO SEVERAL CANDIDATES, I'LL MENTION IT TO YOU. UH, YOU'VE GOT, UH, A PRETTY GOOD TRACK RECORD OF BEING INVOLVED WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. UH, AND I HOPE THAT, UH, ALL OF THE CANDIDATES WHO ARE COMING TO US TODAY, UH, WILLING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR SERVICE TO VIA BECOMES A VERY TOP PRIORITY, UH, AS OPPOSED TO OTHER COMMITMENTS TO ORGANIZATIONS OR GROUPS THAT ANY OF YOU MAY HAVE. UH, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THOSE COMMITMENTS YOU HAVE TO OTHER GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS YOUR JOB, UH, AND YOUR PART-TIME BUSINESS? UH, HOW WILL ALL THAT FIT TOGETHER WITH TAKING A SIGNIFICANT ROLE AS A POLICYMAKER, UH, FOR VIA ABSOLUTELY. I, YEAH, I, I, I THINK THAT, UH, VIA IS, IS PART OF, OF MY JOB. UH, I FEEL LIKE SOME, EVERY ORGANIZATION THAT I'M INVOLVED WITH, I'VE CHOSEN BECAUSE I'M, UM, I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT CITY MAKING AND HOW C SHAPES ITSELF. UH, SO I, I CONSIDER BE A, AS PART OF, OF, OF MY NATURAL, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, SET OF SKILLS. AND, UH, SOME OF THE OTHER BOARDS THAT I'M ONE, THE ONLY OTHER BOARD THAT I'M SERVING, I WAS THE, UH, UH, GOLD MUNICIPAL GOLD BOARD. AND IN THAT BOARD, MY, MY ROLE IS TO DISRUPT, UH, THE GOLF CULTURE AND CREATE AN EQUITY PLAN, UH, TO CREATE A, AN EQUITY, UH, GOLF CULTURE IN SAN ANTONIO. SO THAT'S MY ONLY PURPOSE AND ROLE IN THAT BOARD IS TO REALLY FOCUS ON EQUITY. UH, I THINK THERE'S OTHER ROLES AND OTHER, UH, BOARD MEMBERS THAT FOCUS ON, ON FINANCE, ON, YOU KNOW, FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, ON CULTURE, ON, ON TRAINING AND INNOVATION. BUT MY PARTICULAR ROLE IN THAT PART IS EQUITY. AND MY PARTICULAR ROLE IN B A WOULD BE, UH, MY EXPERTISE, WHICH IS URBANISM, CITY MAKING, AND, YOU KNOW, CREATING THOSE PATHWAYS AND THOSE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN CITY AND TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE. UH, SO I DON'T SEE THAT AS A, I, I ACTUALLY SEE THAT AS, I THINK AS, AS A, UH, VALUABLE ASSET TO THE BE BOARD. UH, WELL, WHAT ABOUT OUTSIDE OF GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS? DO YOU HAVE COMMITMENTS THAT ARE, THAT [01:15:01] ARE GOING TO REALLY DIVIDE UP YOUR TIME A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS? OH, THE, THE, UH, I THINK THE ONLY, THE ONLY OTHER COMMITTEE COMMITMENT THAT I HAVE RIGHT NOW IS, UH, IN LEADERSHIP SAN ANTONIO. I'M, UH, UM, ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE, AND WE'VE BEEN, I THINK WE'RE SWITCHING A LOT TO WHAT'S A VIRTUAL, UH, UH, FORUM BECAUSE WE WERE IMPACTED BY COVID. AND SO THE, THE SORT OF THE, WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT IMPACT HAS ON ME IS REALLY ONE DAY, UH, A MONTH, WHICH IS MY COMMITMENT, AND THEN A FEW, UH, YOU KNOW, MEETINGS HERE AND THERE WITH MY GROUP. BUT, UM, MY ROLE THERE IS REALLY STEERING A GROUP OF YOUNG LEADERS THAT HAVE TO DO MOST OF THE WORK. UH, I'M REALLY JUST A STEERING COMMITTEE. RIGHT. OKAY. WELL, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UH, THAT YOUR MAJOR COMMITMENT, UH, TO VIA IS, UH, GONNA BE ONE THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO DEVOTE THE TIME AND COMMITMENT THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU WILL, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MA'AM. ABSOLUTELY. THANKS SO MUCH. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UH, THANK YOU, UH, JAVIER FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE ON THE VIA BOARD. UM, I, I, I WANT YOU TO GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND A LITTLE BIT ON TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, UH, PARTICULARLY AROUND, UM, THE, UH, THE CORE OF THE CITY. UH, YOU MENTIONED THAT IN SOME OF YOUR OPENING REMARKS. UM, COULD YOU BRIEFLY EXPAND ON YOUR EXPERIENCE? YEAH, SO, SO I, I, I'VE ALWAYS, UM, JUST IN MY, IN MY HISTORY OF PLANNING, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN, UH, UH, SEVERAL MASTER PLANS THROUGH THE BORDER REGION. UH, I'VE WORKED ON, UH, LORETTO MASTER PLAN, UH, ROMA MASTER PLAN, BRONZEVILLE MASTER PLAN. UH, I'VE WORKED ON, UM, UH, SAN PEDRO CREEK CULTURE PARK AT THE OFFICE. AND IN ALL OF THESE SORT OF, UH, MASTER PLANS, THERE'S, UH, A LEVEL OF TRANSPORTATION OVERLAY INVOLVED, UH, THAT I'VE BEEN, I HAVE, THAT I'VE HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH. UH, FOR EXAMPLE, IN LORETTO, A BIG, UH, TRANSPORTATION, UH, HUBS WAS BASICALLY WAS HOW DO, DO YOU INTERFACE, UH, HOW DO YOU INTERFACE THE BORDER TRANSPORTATION LOGISTICS, UH, THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITY IN, INTO A, A SINGLE HUB. SO ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, MY EXPERIENCES THERE WAS BASICALLY CREATING A PROJECT THAT WOULD HOUSE, UH, ALL OF THE MUNICIPAL, FEDERAL, UH, STATE ENTITIES THAT REGULATE, UH, ALL THOSE CITY SERVICES AND FEDERAL SERVICES ON THE BORDER. UH, AND ALSO HOW TO INTERFACE THAT WITH, UH, WITH BORDER BORDER CROSSINGS, UH, IN A WAY THAT IS NOT, UH, CONTINUED TO, UH, SEGREGATE THE COMMUNITY AND SPLIT, UH, THE COMMUNITY IN SEVERAL WAYS, WHICH WAS WHAT THAT, UH, 35, UH, HIGHWAY DID, UH, HISTORICALLY DIVIDED THE AZTECA BARRIO FROM THE DOWNTOWN, UH, CENTER. SO, UH, MOBILITY HELPS OUR WAY TO, UH, RECLAIM, UH, PUBLIC SPACE, UH, UH, THERE A WAY TO INCORPORATE MIXED USE WHERE TRANSPORTATION, FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE ARE NOT JUST, UH, AN ALLEY, UH, A SERVICE, BUT THEY'RE ALSO A COMMUNITY AND CULTURE GENERATOR WHERE YOU HAVE SERVICES FOR PEOPLE. IT COULD EITHER BE HEALTH, IT COULD BE, UH, RETAIL, IT COULD BE LIVING, IT COULD BE WORKING. SO THIS MOBILITY HUBS CONCENTRATE AND AGGREGATE, UH, MULTIPLE USERS AND MULTIPLE SERVICES FOR THE COMMUNITY IN A SINGLE SPOT. UH, AND THEY HAVE TO BE INCREDIBLY DENSE. ONCE YOU START MOVING TO THE SUBURBAN AREAS, THEN DENSITY STARTS BECOMING A LITTLE BIT, UH, UH, LESS DENSER. AND MOBILITY HELPS BECOME REALLY, UH, AN ANCHOR AND A MAGNET TO, TO, UH, SPREAD OUT, OUT AND, AND REALLY KIND OF RECLAIM SOME OF THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD DENSITIES. UH, BUT THE IDEA IS THAT ALL THESE MOBILITY HUBS CREATE, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, EQUITY AND ACCESS, AND ALSO EXPAND THE, THE REACH OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UM, FOR ELABORATING ON THAT. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. UM, THANKS FOR, UH, YOUR APPLICATION AND WILLINGNESS TO SERVE JAVI. WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA DELIBERATE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION SHORTLY, AND THEN, UH, WE'LL COME BACK OUT AND OPEN SESSION WITH OUR, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS. THANK YOU MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER. UH, HAVE A GOOD DAY. YOU TOO. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, OUR NEXT AND FINAL APPLICANT FOR AN AT LARGE POSITION IS MELANIE TAWI. GOOD MORNING, MELANIE. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN HEAR US. UM, I THINK YOU'RE CONNECTED NOW. UH, WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR YOUR VIDEO TO COME ON. THERE YOU ARE. CAN YOU HEAR US, [01:20:05] MAYOR? SHE SAYS WE ATTACHED. SHE JUST DROPPED. THERE WE GO. SHE SHOULD BE GOOD. HELLO? CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU. OKAY. I APOLOGIZE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. I JUST GOT MY WENT. ALRIGHT. YEAH, I JUST GOT DROPPED FROM THE CALL. SORRY. NO, WE, WE SEE YOU AND HEAR YOU. UM, SO WE ARE DOING OUR INTERVIEWS ONE, ONE-ON-ONE. YOU ARE OUR FINAL INTERVIEW. UM, WE HAVE A BRIEF TIME FOR Q AND A FROM THE COUNCIL. WE'LL START WITH AN OPENING STATEMENT OF TWO MINUTES. IT'S A LOOSE TWO MINUTES. THE CLERK WILL GIVE YOU, UH, A SIGNAL ONCE, UH, WE'VE REACHED THAT POINT SO YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR APPLICATION. OF COURSE. AND GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. COUNT MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. IT'S LOVELY. YOU SEE Y'ALL JUST WISH IT WAS IN PERSON. SO MY NAME IS MELANIE. I AM A LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER AND COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER. I AM A PASSIONATE, PASSIONATE COMMUNITY MEMBER. UM, FROM THE VERY GET GO, IT'S WITHIN THE BLOOD IN MY, OF WHO I AM. WHAT Y'ALL MAY NOT KNOW THOUGH ABOUT ME IS MY TIE IN WITH VIA, I UTILIZED VIA FOR MANY YEARS. MY FATHER IS A FORMER TROLLEY DRIVER HERE IN SAN ANTONIO WHEN UNFORTUNATELY OUR BA OUR FAMILY BUSINESS WENT UNDER IN THE LATE EIGHTIES. SO I GOT TO RIDE ALL OVER A WONDERFUL CITY WHILE SITTING AND WATCHING HIM WORK. I ALSO GOT TO USE IT WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE FROM WHEN I WAS AT SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE AND I LIVED OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS. I WOULD PARK MY CAR AND RIDE FROM THE VIA STOP OVER BY LACKLAND AND I WOULD RIDE INTO THE CITY AND GO TO SAC EVERY SINGLE DAY. MY OTHER TIE-IN THOUGH, AND THIS IS MORE OF MY EMOTIONAL ONE, WHY I CHOOSE TO CONTINUE TO SERVE, IS MY BROTHER IS NOW 31 AND HE HAS INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES. AND VIA IS A LIFELINE FOR MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT HAVE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES. IT IS THEIR WAY OF BEING INDEPENDENT AND BEING ABLE TO ATTEND THEIR DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENTS, THEIR SOCIAL ACTIVITIES, OR EVEN JUST GETTING AROUND SAN ANTONIO AND BEING INDEPENDENT OF WHO THEY ARE. THEY DON'T WANNA HAVE TO RELY, I APOLOGIZE, THIS IS PART OF PROBABLY MY OPENING STATEMENT. I AM LIKE MANY PARENTS IN DEALING WITH DISTANCE LEARNING RIGHT NOW, BUT WE'RE MAKING IT WORK. AND SO GOING BACK TO MY BROTHER, THOUGH, HE DOES UTILIZE VIA AS OFTEN AS HE CAN BEFORE COVID, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE SOME CONSTRAINTS RIGHT NOW WITH HIS HEALTH AS MANY CITIZENS AND MANY LOVED ONES DO. VIA IS ALSO A LIFELINE FOR MY CUSTOMERS AND FOR MY EMPLOYEES. I OWN SEVERAL BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT SAN ANTONIO, ONE IN EACH ONE OF Y'ALL'S DISTRICTS. AND SO IT IS IT, I SEE IT ON A DAILY DAY, DAY-TO-DAY BASIS OF WHAT WE NEED HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. I GET TO HEAR EITHER THEIR JOYS OF WHAT THEY GET TO SEE ON THE RIDE, OR I GET TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT OF THEIR COMPLAINTS THAT THEY HAVE AND WE TRY TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THEM. BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I WANT TO RUN OR WHY I WANT TO BE ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. IS I A CANDIDATE? BECAUSE I'VE SEEN IT FROM EITHER UTILIZING IT OR SEEING IT AS AN EMPLOYEE OR ACTUALLY SEEING PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND THOSE THAT ARE IN THE SHADOWS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO THAT DO NEED A VOICE. SO I THINK THAT'S MY TIME. OKAY. SORRY. THANK YOU MELANIE. UH, WE DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START, UH, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, UM, MELANIE, FOR YOUR INTEREST IN, IN THIS, UM, IN THIS POSITION AND SERVING YOUR COMMUNITY. I APPRECIATE YOUR, UH, CLOSE, UM, CONNECTION TO AND, AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SHARE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES. AND I COMPLETELY AGREE THAT TRANSPORTATION, UM, HELPS THAT. SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR, YOUR BROTHER'S STORY AND YOUR FAMILY'S, UH, STORY. UM, I HAVE A QUESTION THAT I'VE ASKED ALL OF THE OTHER CANDIDATES, AND IT IS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT TRANSPORTATION MODELS. AND ARE YOU MAYBE IN YOUR RESEARCH, HAVE YOU, UM, DONE SOME RESEARCH THAT SHARES, UH, OR THAT THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT AN IDEAL TRANSPORTATION MODEL WOULD BE AND WHY? I THINK THAT IT HAVING AN IDEAL MODEL TRANSPORTATION. I'M SO SORRY. LEMME HAVE A SEAT. OKAY, HOLD ON. I WAS TRYING TO, I WAS HOPING THAT I COULD GET ON BEFORE THEY HAD TO GET BACK TO CLASS. THERE WE GO. THERE'S BUD. OKAY, SO SORRY. . OKAY. SO AN IDEAL MODEL. I THINK THAT FOR SAN ANTONIO, LIKE MANY OTHERS, IT NEEDS TO BE A MIX OF WHAT WE HAVE OUT THERE. SO OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE OUR NEIGHBORS TO THE NORTH AND LOOKING AT AUSTIN AND THEIR NEW, UM, THEY'RE NEW APPROVAL FOR THE EXPANSION [01:25:01] OF , SORRY FOR CAT METRO. BUT THEN WE ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT OTHER LARGE CITIES LIKE HOUSTON THAT DO HAVE THE SAME ISSUES THAT WE DO WITH OUR SUBURBANIZATION THAT'S GOING OUT. SO ACTUALLY LOOKING AND SEEING WHAT, WHAT THEY HAVE GOING AND THEN NOW NEW THRIVING INNER CITY MODEL WHERE THEY HAVE A LOT OF MEMBERS OF THEIR COMMUNITY MOVING BACK INTO THE CITY, WHICH I THINK WOULD BE REALLY BENEFICIAL FOR SAN ANTONIO. THEY HAVE A REALLY FANTASTIC TRANSIT SYSTEM THAT GOES FROM ONE LINE TO ANOTHER VERY DIRECT. AND SO I THINK THAT SOMETHING UTILIZING LIKE THAT WITH A LIGHT RAIL WOULD BE REALLY FANTASTIC HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. BUT THEN ALSO UTILIZING OTHER CAPACITIES FOR THOSE OF US THAT LIVE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF SAN ANTONIO. UM, PAIRING UP WITH RIDE SHARE PROGRAMS, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. AND THEN ALSO STILL UTILIZING ELECTRIC VEHICLE MODELS, UM, DOING MORE, UH, MORE OF THAT WORK AND TEAMING UP WITH, WITH OTHER ENTITIES AND OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES AROUND SAN ANTONIO. SAN ANTONIO. MELANIE, I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT I APPRECIATE IN YOUR APPLICATION YOU DISCUSSED ABOUT, UM, THE POTENTIAL OF ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS. UM, AND I DO, UH, JUST HAVE TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS FOR, UH, BEING NAMED TO THE SOUTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND YOUR SERVICE AND THAT, SO YOU'RE DIRECTLY SERVING, UH, DISTRICT FORCE, UH, STUDENTS. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU MAYOR. YEAH, OF COURSE. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. UM, WE'LL GO NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. THANK YOU MAYOR. HELLO, MELANIE. THANK YOU FOR PUTTING YOUR NAME IN. UH, LET ME ASK YOU TO, TO LOOK FORWARD, SO TO SPEAK. WHERE DO YOU THINK, UH, SAN ANTONIO AND VIA SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR IN, IN NEW MODES OF TRANSPORTATION DOWN THE LINE? UH, HOW CAN WE CAPITALIZE ON OUR POPULATION, OUR JOBS, OUR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, UH, IN AN EXPANDING ENVIRONMENT THAT WE LIVE IN? AND WITH A MILLION MORE PEOPLE COMING IN, I'D LIKE YOU TO KIND OF THINK CREATIVELY, WHAT HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IN THE WAY OF TRANSPORTATION? I THINK THAT SOMETHING THAT WAS BUILT IN, I WANNA SAY IT WAS 2007. WE HAD A REALLY FANTASTIC PROGRAM THAT BEGAN WITH TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY, UM, WHERE VIA BEGAN DRIVING, UM, PEOPLE THAT LIVED IN SAN FRANCISCO TO COMMUTE UP TO SAN MARCUS FOR SCHOOL. AND I THINK THAT THAT WAS SUCH A FANTASTIC IDEA THAT IT STILL CONTINUES TODAY. AND I THINK THAT IF WE CONTINUE WITH MODELS WORK FOR TDOT TO GO AND AND EXPAND ON THERE, WE COULD STILL, YOU KNOW, IT'S SUCH A GLOBALIZED ECONOMY NOW THAT WE COULD STILL WORK WITHIN OUR CITY AND OUR STATE. SO WE CAN STILL WORK WITH UNIVERSITIES LIKE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND AUSTIN, UM, STILL CONTINUE ON WITH TEXAS STATE, ST. EDWARDS UNIVERSITY. SO I GET REALLY EXCITED OVER THIS AND HIGHER EDUCATION AND JUST ALLOWING STUDENTS, I THINK THIS WOULD EXPAND FOR STUDENTS FROM DISTRICT FOUR, DISTRICT FIVE, DISTRICT SIX, SEVEN LITERALLY ALL OVER THE CITY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE, THE CAPABILITY TO BE ABLE TO GO TO UNIVERSITIES. MANY TIMES WE'RE TOLD THAT WE CAN'T BE GONNA THESE UNIVERSITIES OR OTHER INSTITUTIONS BECAUSE THEY'RE UNQUOTE FAR AWAY, BUT NOW THAT'S NO LONGER, THAT WOULD NO LONGER WE CAN HAVE THIS TRANSPORTATION SO THAT WE CAN GO TO THESE HIGHER INSTITUTIONS. UM, THAT'S ONE. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THAT COULD STILL BENEFIT FOR US BUSINESS. WE COULD THEN HAVE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO. I THINK THAT WAY THAT WE COULD. THANK YOU. YOU WELCOME. OKAY. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE. UH, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR, UH, MR. WILL, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ? UH, YEAH, THANKS, MAYOR. I'M SORRY, I THOUGHT MY, MY HAND WAS RAISED, BUT I, I GUESS NOT. SO, UM, IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU, UH, MELANIE. AND I KNOW THE FEELING, IT'S LIKE AS SOON AS YOU START TO SPEAK, THAT'S WHEN ALL THE KIDS COME IN, LIKE, YOU'RE SITTING HERE, EVERYBODY'S SITTING QUIETLY FOR AN HOUR UNTIL IT'S YOUR TURN. SO, UM, NO WORRIES THERE. I THINK WE, WE ALL HAVE BEEN THERE. UM, MY QUESTION, UH, TO YOU IS, IS, UM, AND I I THINK YOU SORT OF TIED IT INTO SOME OF THE OTHER QUESTIONS THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAD, UH, BUT I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A, A BACKGROUND IN TECHNOLOGY. UM, SO COULD YOU GIVE AN EXAMPLE, UM, UH, JUST FOR, UM, JUST AN EXAMPLE, UH, OF HOW, UM, TECHNOLOGY MIGHT BE USED TO IMPROVE THE TRANSIT SYSTEM? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. GOOD AND GOOD MORNING, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ. AND I DON'T THINK I SAID GOOD MORNING TO YOU. UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE. SO [01:30:02] YES, I THINK THE BIGGEST FOR ME AS A PERSONAL ABLE-BODIED INDIVIDUAL, THE HARDEST THING IS TO NAVIGATE VIA AND TO FIGURE OUT, SORRY. YES. UHHUH INSIDE. YES SIR. FINISH MY WORK. YES, YOU CAN GO FINISH YOUR WORK INSIDE. OKAY. OKAY. YOU'RE WELCOME. . OKAY, SORRY. SO ONE OF THE THINGS IS OBVIOUSLY THE APPLICATION, IT'S FANTASTIC, THE VIA APP. HOWEVER, AGAIN, STILL MY, MY CONCERN IS FOR PEOPLE THAT EITHER ENGLISH IS NOT THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE. WE HAVE A REALLY BIG INFLUX OF, UM, OF, OF INDIVIDUALS COMING FROM OTHER COUNTRIES STILL COMING TO SAN ANTONIO, AND THAT'S FANTASTIC. WE ALSO HAVE OTHER INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE COMING BECAUSE SAN ANTONIO IS SUCH A GREAT CITY, THEY'RE HEARING BEING IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET, I GET TO SEE PEOPLE COMING IN FROM OUT OF STATE, BUT HOW DO WE TEACH THEM HOW TO USE THE VIA APP? SO THAT'S THE FIRST ONE. THEN ALSO, HOW DO WE TEACH THOUGH ALSO OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS THAT DO HAVE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES? THERE NEEDS TO BE A SIMPLER WAY, SIMPLER WAY, UM, SIMPLER WAY. AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT THE UX OF THAT AND, AND SEEING HOW WE CAN SIMPLIFY USING VIA. THE NEXT THING IS ALSO WORKING WITH THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AND MAKING TRANSIT FASTER AND SAFER. SO WORKING WITH S A P D S A F D TO WORK WITH THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN, CAN STILL GET TO WORK IN SCHOOL ON TIME OR THEIR LEISURE ACTIVITIES ON TIME. AND WORKING WITH THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS AND WORKING WITH PUBLIC WORKS AS WELL AND SEEING HOW WE CAN MAKE, UM, MAYBE SOME TIMES THAT WE COULD GET FASTER, FASTER LANES ON CERTAIN CONGESTED ROADS THAT WE HAVE. UM, WORKING WITH AS WELL WITH MAJOR STREETS LIKE FREDERICKSBURG. SO THAT'S, THOSE ARE MY IDEAS. AND THEN ALSO STILL TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO CAPITALIZE ON ADVERTISING, UM, IN A SIMPLER WAY INSIDE THE BUS SYSTEMS. AND THEN ALSO OUTSIDE WE HAVE REALLY, WE HAVE AMPLE AMOUNTS OF SPACE, SO UTILIZING THAT NOT ONLY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, BUT ALSO FOR CITY CITYWIDE, UM, NOTICES THAT NEEDS TO GO OUT. NOT EVERYBODY HAS A SMARTPHONE OR HAS A CELL PHONE THAT CAN, CAN RECEIVE INFORMATION THAT Y'ALL SEND OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, REGULARLY, ESPECIALLY NOW WITH COVID. BUT IF WE HAVE ANY HEALTH ISSUES OR ANY OTHER KIND OF CITY DECLARATION THAT NEEDS TO GO OUT, I THINK USING PUBLIC TRANSIT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY. I MEAN, THEY'RE BASICALLY GIANT BILLBOARDS THAT ARE DRIVING AROUND SAN ANTONIO, USE THIS SPACE WISELY, USE IT FOR THINGS LIKE WE NEED IN ORDER TO ENSURE PUBLIC SAFETY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SHE YOU'RE WELCOME. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, MR. WILL, UM, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? UM, SO [Executive Session] WE ARE NOW GONNA DELIBERATE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK OUT AND OPEN WITH OUR RECOMMENDATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR INTEREST AND YOUR APPLICATION. MR. WILL THANK YOU AND YOU'LL, AND FOR YOUR SERVICE IN OTHER WAYS. OF COURSE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALRIGHT, MR. I'M, EVERYBODY'S GOT OUR BREAKOUT. YEAH, EVERYBODY'S GOT THE EXECUTIVE SESSION LINK. UH, THE TIME IS NOW, UH, 11:40 AM WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6TH. THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE WILL RECESS AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DELIBERATE THE APPOINTMENT OF THE VIA BOARD OF TRUSTEES PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.074 PERSONNEL MATTERS AND DISCUSS RELATED LEGAL ISSUES PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.071 CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY. UH, IF YOU WANNA TAKE TWO MINUTES, UM, LET'S RECONVENE AT 1142 IF ANYBODY NEEDS TO GO TO THE RESTROOM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT IT'LL BE ON THE, ON THE OTHER LINK. YES, SIR. ALL RIGHT. THE TIME IS NOW 1208, UH, PM ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6TH, 2021. THE CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE WILL NOW RECONVENE AN OPEN SESSION. NO OFFICIAL ACTION WAS TAKEN DURING THE EXECUTIVE SESSION. UH, I'LL NOW ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR RECOMMENDATION AT THE FIRST AVAILABLE COUNCIL MEETING TO ACT ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE. MAYOR, I MOVE THAT WE FORWARD THE FOLLOWING CANDIDATES FOR VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY BOARD APPOINTEES TO FULL COUNSEL FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THE REAPPOINTMENT CONSIDERATION. ROBERT BOB CUOMO IN THE UNION REPRESENTATIVE CATEGORY AND ALE MALONE IN THE DISADVANTAGED WRITER, UM, REPRESENTATIVE CATEGORY SERVING FOR A ONE-YEAR TERM IN THE AT LARGE SEAT FOR CONSIDERATION TO COUNSEL. I MOVE THAT WE MOVE, WE, UH, FORWARD LA AND MELANIE TO WILL TO SERVE A TERM OF TWO YEARS FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION AT NEXT WEEK'S COUNCIL MEETING. [01:35:03] OKAY. WE HEARD A MOTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER R GARCIA SECOND. UH, THERE IS A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. ANY, UH, DISCUSSION? ALRIGHT, UH, I JUST WANT TO THANK EVERYONE, UM, UH, PARTICULARLY THE FINALISTS, UH, WHO HAVE STEPPED FORWARD, UH, TODAY. THIS WAS, UH, A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION, UM, BECAUSE I, I BELIEVE IF WE HAD SEVEN SLOTS AVAILABLE TODAY, UH, ALL OF YOU WOULD'VE BEEN, UH, EXTREMELY WELL QUALIFIED, UH, UH, UH, REPRESENTATIVES OF VIA AND DO OFFER THE PERSPECTIVE THAT WE NEED, UH, FOR OUR TRANSIT AGENCY. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, TO MY COLLEAGUES, UH, BUT ALSO THE FOLKS WHO HAVE, HAVE STEPPED FORWARD. WE WOULD LIKE TO, UH, KEEP YOU ENGAGED AND FIND SLOTS FOR YOU, UM, GOING FORWARD. UM, AND AGAIN, UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, PATIENCE AS WE'VE DELIBERATED AS WELL, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR APPLICATIONS AND, AND, UM, YOUR THOUGHTFUL ANSWERS. SO WITH THAT, WE DO HAVE A MOTION AND SECOND FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE FORWARDED TO THE COUNCIL AT THE, UH, MEETING ON THE 14TH, UH, HEARING. NO FURTHER DISCUSSION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. UM, AND HAVE A GREAT DAY AND, UH, STAY SAFE. GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING IS NOW ADJOURNED. THANKS EVERYBODY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. CONGRATULATIONS 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.