Feb 18, 2021 Economic and Workforce Development Committee on 2021-02-18 3:00 PM

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ONE SECOND, ONE SECOND.

GET TO THE, UH, ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO THIS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH, 2021.

THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES, UM, WHO ARE PATIENT AS WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A DELAY START HERE.

UM, I THINK WE HAD A LONG, A SESSION, BUT IT WAS VERY GOOD.

AND WE, I'M VERY EXCITED TO GET TO WORK, UM, AUTOMATICALLY WITH THE, UM, WITH THE CONVERSATION WE HAD EARLIER TODAY.

SO, WITH THAT, UM, MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE TAKE ROLE I, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA HERE, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ, PRESENT COUNCILWOMAN KADA HERE, AND COUNCIL MEMBER EZ AND COUNCILWOMAN, UH, AND CHAIR.

I'M HERE.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

WE HAVE A FORUM.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, ALL RIGHT, WELL, OUR FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS PUBLIC COMMENT.

DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, MEMBERS SIGNED UP? NO, MA'AM.

NO PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY OR NO WRITTEN COMMENTS EITHER.

OKAY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND I ALSO WANTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT C P S IS REPORTED 6,700 CUSTOMERS OUT OF POWER, UM, AS OF NOW, AND THAT'S MAINLY DUE TO DAMAGED EQUIPMENT.

UM, ALSO PER, UM, OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER'S REQUEST, I ALSO WANTED TO REPORT TO YOU ALL THAT THE NASA PERSEVERANCE HAS JUST LANDED ON MARS.

SO THAT'S A PRETTY, THAT'S A PRETTY BIG DEAL, , THAT'S A VERY BIG DEAL.

SO, UM,

[1. 21-1775 Briefing and discussion for development of a grant program to provide financial assistance to small businesses in the hospitality industry impacted by COVID-19. [Carlos J. Contreras III, Assistant City Manager; Alejandra Lopez, Director, Economic Development]]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, TO MY COLLEAGUES AND CITY STAFF WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT, SINCE LAST MARCH TO THIS PART, THIS TIME.

AND AS WE FUNDS BECOME AVAILABLE, WE ARE PUTTING IT INTO THE AREAS THAT ARE IN MOST NEED AND IMPACTED IN OUR SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM.

SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO, I THINK ALEX LOPEZ.

OKAY.

UH, GO AHEAD.

THANK YOU, MA'AM.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, MUCH GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

TODAY'S PRESENTATION WILL INCLUDE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A PROPOSED HOSPITALITY GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH YOU HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS MORNING.

UM, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE BASED ON THE EXPERIENCES FROM OUR PREVIOUS PROGRAM, ALONG WITH, UM, SOME UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS THAT ARE PREVALENT IN THIS SPECIFIC INDUSTRY.

SO, GOING TO SLIDE TWO, WE WANTED TO JUST START OFF WITH A BIT OF BACKGROUND.

SO LAST OCTOBER, THERE WAS A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST MEMO AUTHORED BY COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO, WHICH CALLED FOR THE, UM, RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDATIONS INTO THE CREATION OF A FOOD AND BEVERAGE WORKER RELIEF PROGRAM.

AND WHILE EMPLOYEES IN THIS SECTOR, UM, ARE, HAVE BEEN DEFINITELY BEEN IMPACTED, UM, WE ALSO REALIZED THAT THEY ARE ALSO ELIGIBLE FOR THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WHICH WAS ALSO DISCUSSED IN GREAT DETAIL THIS MORNING.

UM, AND, AND AGAIN, WE KNOW THAT THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN VERY SUBSTANTIALLY IMPACTED.

UM, THERE IS NATIONAL SURVEY DATA FROM LAST NOVEMBER THAT INDICATES 87% OF FULL SERVICE RESTAURANTS SAW AN AVERAGE OF A 36% DECREASE IN REVENUE.

UM, THAT SAME SURVEY ALSO SHOWED THAT SEVEN PER 17% OF RESTAURANTS HAVE CLOSED PERMANENTLY OR ARE CLOSED LONG TERM.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND ALSO, JUST AS A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, THE CITY'S RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN INCLUDED SUBSTANTIAL SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, INCLUDING NEARLY $20 MILLION IN, UM, OR O OVER NEARLY $30 MILLION IN MICRO BUSINESS AND NONPROFIT GRANTS, AND AN ADDITIONAL 2.6 MILLION IN ARTS GRANTS.

THERE WAS 1.9 MILLION FOR, UH, PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT THAT WAS PROVIDED TO SMALL BUSINESSES AND OVER A MILLION DOLLARS TO SUPPORT OUTREACH TO SMALL BUSINESSES AND RESOURCE HUBS.

WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE CURRENT, UH, PAYROLL PROTECTION PROGRAM, WE SHIFTED OUR FOCUS TO PARTNERING WITH U T S A TO ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES TO APPLY FOR THE P P P PROGRAM, UM, AND TO CALL

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NEXT SLIDE.

AND FINALLY, AS FAR AS BACKGROUND ON THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, THE MOST RECENT ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY INDICATED A $15.2 BILLION IMPACT.

UM, WITH THIS SLIDE SHOWING THE BREAKDOWN AMONG THE FOUR BUSINESS SECTORS, THAT REPORT ANALYZED DATA FROM 2017, UM, WHEN WE HAD 37 MILLION VISITORS.

AND BY 2019, THIS NUMBER HAD GROWN TO 41 MILLION, YET OUR 2020 DATA INDICATES A 40% DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF VISITORS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AND AS FAR AS EMPLOYMENT IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, I KNOW THESE, THESE NUMBERS WERE REFERENCED THIS MORNING AS WELL, ROUGHLY 140,000 WORKERS IN SAN ANTONIO, UM, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY ONE IN SEVEN OF OUR WORKERS.

UM, AND THIS ACCOUNTS FOR AN ANNUAL PAYROLL OF OVER $3 BILLION EMPLOYEES IN THIS INDUSTRY.

ACTUALLY, UM, EMPLOYMENT IN THIS INDUSTRY ACTUALLY GREW BY 35% IN THE 10 YEARS BETWEEN 2007 AND, AND 2017, AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE WORKERS ACCOUNT FOR ROUGHLY OVER 70% OF THE, UM, EMPLOYMENT IN THIS OVERALL INDUSTRY.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO THE ACTUAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE PROGRAM.

WE JUST WANTED TO SHARE ALL OF THAT AGAIN AS BACKGROUND INTO, INTO THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE MAKING.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO THIS IS A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE PROGRAM, AND WE'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON EACH OF THESE ITEMS, UM, WHICH WILL INCLUDE THE AVAILABLE FUNDING, UH, PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION ELIGIBILITY AND SCORING CRITERIA, OUR MARKETING PLAN, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND OUR PRO OUR PROJECTED OUTCOMES.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO, THIS MORNING'S BRIEFING RECOMMENDED $14 MILLION TO BE REALLOCATED TO SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM.

OUR, OUR RECOMMENDATION IS FOR LIFTFUND TO ONE, ONCE AGAIN, ADMINISTER THIS PROGRAM, WHICH WILL INCLUDE A 6.3% ADMINISTRATIVE FEE ASSOCIATED WITH APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT AND, AND WEB OUR HOSTING OF THE APPLICATION ON, ON THEIR WEBSITE.

UM, THIS ALSO COVERS THE APPLICATION REVIEW AND COLLECTION OF ALL OF THE ELIGIBILITY DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM.

AND THEN, OF COURSE, ULTIMATELY FUNDING THE GRANTS AND DISTRIBUTING THOSE DOLLARS TO THE SMALL BUSINESSES.

WE ALSO RECOMMEND FUNDING THE SET ASIDE FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, UM, AND FOR, UM, MARKETING OF THE PROGRAM.

UM, AND AS FAR AS GRANT SIZE, WE ONCE AGAIN RECOMMEND THAT, UM, THAT AMOUNT OF THE GRANT SIZE AMOUNT BE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES.

BUT THIS IS ACTUALLY A KEY DIFFERENCE FROM OUR P PREVIOUS PROGRAM, WHICH WE CAPPED EMPLOYEE COUNT AT 20.

AND WHILE WE FUNDED ALL FOOD AND BEVERAGE ESTABLISHMENTS THAT APPLIED FOR OUR PREVIOUS GRANT PROGRAM, WE HEARD FROM SOME BUSINESSES IN THIS SECTOR THAT THIS CAP ACTUALLY PREVENTED MANY OF THEM FROM EVEN APPLYING, UM, AS EVEN RELATIVELY SMALL ESTABLISHMENTS RELY ON PART-TIME WORKERS THAT QUICKLY EXCEEDED THAT MAXIMUM EMPLOYEE COUNT.

AND SO WE'RE ALSO RECOMMENDING, UM, CONDENSING SOME OF THE BUSINESS SIZE CATEGORIES.

UM, WE USED TO HAVE A FEW MORE, UM, CATEGORIES IN THIS AS FAR AS BUSINESS SIZE, BUT WE'RE GONNA CONDENSE THOSE.

AND LIKE I MENTIONED, REMOVING THAT CAP OF 20 EMPLOYEES, WE ARE STILL RECOMMENDING KEEPING THE MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT AT $75,000.

NEXT SLIDE.

DURING THE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING LAST WEEK, UM, IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT WE CONSIDER EXPANDING THIS POTENTIAL PROGRAM TO INCLUDE THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY AND NOT JUST FOOD AND BEVERAGE ESTABLISHMENTS.

SO IN REVIEWING THE INDUSTRY DATA, THE VAST MAJORITY OF EMPLOYEES ARE ACTUALLY IN FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICES, BUT TRANSPORTATION AND TRAVEL ENTERTAINMENT AND LODGING ARE ALSO REPRESENTED IN THE EM EMPLOYMENT SECTORS.

UM, SO OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE AVAILABLE FUNDS BE DISTRIBUTED BASED ON THE PROPORTION OF WORKERS WITHIN A PARTICULAR SECTOR.

AND THE CHART ON THE RIGHT SHOWS THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES BY SECTOR, AND THE TABLE ON THE LEFT CALCULATES THE PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYEES AND RECOMMENDED GRANT FUNDING.

NEXT SLIDE.

WE ARE RECOMMENDING SOME CHANGES TO THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, AGAIN, BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCES SPECIFIC TO THIS INDUSTRY.

AS FAR AS SIZE, WE RECOMMEND, WE CONSIDER BUSINESSES THAT MEET THE, THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, UM, UH, GUIDELINES OR SIZE STANDARDS.

UM, BECAUSE THESE SIZE STANDARDS ACTUALLY VARY GREATLY BY SECTOR, WE STILL RECOMMEND A CAP OF BUSINESS REVENUES, UM, AT $8 MILLION.

HOWEVER, UM, THIS, THIS PREVIOUSLY WAS $2 MILLION, WHICH AGAIN, WAS

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UM, BUSINESSES WILL STILL NEED TO DEMONSTRATE A LOSS.

UM, THIS PERCENTAGE IS NOW, UH, 25%, AND THIS ACTUALLY ALIGNS WITH THE CURRENT P P P UM, CRITERIA.

UM, BUT IT WILL ALSO, UH, CONSIDER INCREASED OPERATIONAL COST AND PURCHASES FOR PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, UM, THAT ALL OF THESE ITEMS CAN NOW BE INCLUDED WITHIN THE CALCULATIONS OF LOSS AS WELL.

BUSINESSES MUST BE AN OPERATION NOT FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY, AND MUST BE AN OPERATION PRIOR TO FEBRUARY 1ST, 2020.

THIS IS, AGAIN, ANOTHER CHANGE.

THE PREVIOUS PROGRAM HAD A, UM, AN OPERATION DATE OF AUGUST 1ST, BUT TIME HAS PASSED AND WE THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO, TO OPEN THIS UP TO BUSINESSES WHO HAD ESTABLISHED, UM, A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO WHEN THE PANDEMIC STARTED.

AND ALSO THIS ALIGNS WITH THE P P P CRITERIA.

PART OF THE REASON WHY WE'RE DOING THIS IS THAT IF WE CAN, UM, HELP SPECIFICALLY SOME OF THOSE BUSINESSES THAT HAVEN'T APPLIED FOR P P P, IF THEY ALREADY MEET SO MUCH OF THE CRITERIA, IT MIGHT BE EASIER FOR THEM TO ALSO LEVERAGE THAT ADDITIONAL P P P FUNDING THAT THEY MAY BE, UM, THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE TO THEM.

WE'RE STILL GONNA BE ASKING BUSINESSES TO TAKE THE GREATER SAFER TOGETHER PLEDGE, AND WE'RE GONNA KEEP, UM, THE SAME EXCLUSIONS WE HAD PREVIOUSLY, UM, INCLUDING, UH, SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES, STATE AND NATIONAL FRANCHISES WILL BE ELIGIBLE.

YES, NOR WILL ANY BUSINESSES IN WHICH A CITY EMPLOYER OFFICER HAS A FINANCIAL INTEREST, UH, PER OUR ETHICS CODE.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO, THIS IS OUR PROPOSED CRITERIA, WHICH IN SOME WAYS IS SIMPLER, BUT MAY ACTUALLY LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLEX.

UM, WE'RE STILL RECOMMENDING A STRONG EQUITY FOCUS WITH 50 OF THE 80 AVAILABLE POINTS BEING AWARDED BASED ON THE OWNER'S DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT.

HOWEVER, BASED ON SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES WITH BUSINESSES LOCATED IN CENSUS TRACKS DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO HIGH EQUITY CENSUS SCORE TRACKS.

AND, UH, ALONG WITH THE FACT THAT, UM, OUR PREVIOUS SCORING CRITERIA DIDN'T ALLOCATE ANY POINTS FOR BUSINESSES THAT WERE LOCATED BELOW A CERTAIN THRESHOLD OF, OF CENSUS TRACKS OR EQUITY SCORES.

UM, WERE RECOMMENDING SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THIS TIME AROUND.

SO THE NEW PROPOSED SCORING, UH, ALLOCATES POINTS TO EVERY CENSUS TRACK, BUT IT STILL AWARDS MORE POINTS FOR THOSE BUSINESSES THAT ARE LOCATED IN LOWER INCOME AREAS AND WHERE WE HAVE HIGHER CONCENTRATIONS OF RESIDENTS OF COLOR.

AND WE'RE ALSO RECOMMENDING THAT BUSINESSES THAT PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED FEDERAL CITY OR STATE FUNDS STILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS PROGRAM.

BUT THAT POINTS IN THIS CATEGORY BE BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF RELIEF FUNDING THEY'VE ALREADY RECEIVED.

UM, THIS IS NOT YOU, WE, WE REC, BUT WE'RE RECOMMENDING A POINT SCALE THAT CONSIDERS THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES A BUSINESS HAS, AS THIS HAS, CAN IMPACT THEIR PREVIOUS FUNDING, SPECIFICALLY P P P.

WHAT WE REALIZED IN THE PREVIOUS PROGRAM WAS THAT BASICALLY A ONE SIZE FITS ALL, UM, REGARDLESS OF THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT A SMALL BUSINESS MAY HAVE, IT REALLY WASN'T APPLICABLE.

SO THIS IS ONE OF THE, THE MODIFICATION CHANGES THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO THE SCORING CRITERIA.

NEXT SLIDE.

MOVING INTO THE MARKETING PLAN.

UH, WE PLAN TO SEND POSTCARDS IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH, UM, BOTH WHEN THE PROGRAM IS LAUNCHED AND THEN HALFWAY THROUGH THE APPLICATION PHASE.

UM, WE STILL PLAN ON FOCUSING IN HIGHER EQUITY SCORE AREAS, AND WE'VE ALSO ACQUIRED A LIST OF THE FOOD PERMIT HOLDERS FOR METRO HEALTH.

WE'RE CURRENTLY, UM, PULLING THROUGH THAT LIST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, REMOVE ANY FRANCHISES OR ANY OF THE BUSINESSES THAT WE ALREADY KNOW WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE.

BUT THAT'S ANOTHER OUTREACH LIST THAT WE'RE GONNA BE USING.

UM, WE'LL SEND EMAIL MESSAGES AND, AND DO SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ALONG WITH WORKING WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND, UM, WITH EACH OF YOUR OFFICES TO MAKE SURE THIS OPPORTUNITY IS COMMUNICATED IN METHODS THAT ARE MOST APPROPRIATE TO YOUR HOSPITALITY BUSINESSES.

AGAIN, FOCUSING ON OUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES.

WE KNOW IN PARTICULAR WITH COUNCIL DISTRICTS, UM, FOUR AND SIX, UM, WE NEED TO DO SOME TARGETED OUTREACH.

UH, THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS THAT WE PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED WAS RELATIVELY LOW, AND, UM, SOME IN, IN CONNECTION OR, OR DIRECTLY RELATED TO THAT, THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT WAS AWARDED WAS ALSO RELATIVELY LOW.

SO WE WANNA TRY TO, UM, WORK WITH YOUR STAFF TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC STRATEGIES FOR HOSPITALITY BUSINESSES, UM, IN YOUR DISTRICTS.

WE ALSO RECOMMEND THAT WE PARTNER WITH A PARTNER WITH AN ENTITY TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO BUSINESSES THAT NEED HELP COMPLETING THE GRANT APPLICATION.

WE TRY TO MAKE IT VERY SIMPLE, UM, BUT WE DON'T WANT

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NEXT SLIDE.

SO WITH THE AVAILABLE FUNDING, WE ANTICIPATE BEING ABLE TO AWARD SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 350 AND 500 GRANTS.

UM, AND OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THESE FUNDS DISTRIBUTED WITHIN 60 DAYS OF THE APPLICATION CLOSING DATE.

THIS SLIDE SHOWS ADDITIONAL ASPIRATIONAL GOALS FOR THE PROGRAM, WHICH ARE SIMILAR TO OUR PREVIOUS PROGRAM, WITH THE ADDITION OF, UM, TRYING TO REACH MORE BUSINESSES THAT HAVE NOT YET ACCESSED RELIEF FUNDS.

UM, WE KNOW, LIKE I MENTIONED, SOME OF OUR PREVIOUS CRITERIA MIGHT HAVE PREVENTED SOME PEOPLE FROM APPLYING, BUT WE ALSO KNOW, UM, THERE'S SOME PEOPLE THAT MAY NOT HAVE, UM, ACCESSED P P P EITHER.

SO WE WANT TO TRY TO REACH MORE OF THOSE PEOPLE AND, AND, AND WHEN POSSIBLE ENCOURAGE THEM TO ALSO ACCESS THAT P P P UM, FUNDING AS WELL.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO, AS FAR AS NEXT STEPS, WE'LL INCORPORATE ANY FEEDBACK WE RECEIVE TODAY AND IMMEDIATELY BEGIN WORKING WITH LIFTFUND AND OUR CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ON A CONTRACT, UM, STARTING IN MARCH.

WE'LL WORK WITH, WITH FUND ON THE APPLICATION AND THE WEBSITE FOR THE PROGRAM ALONG WITH MARKETING STRATEGIES.

UM, WE PLAN TO HAVE THE APPLICATION PERIOD REMAIN OPEN LONGER THIS TIME AROUND THAT BEING THREE WEEKS INSTEAD OF TWO WEEKS.

UM, AND AS I PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, ALL ALL OF THE FUNDS WE, WE HOPE WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THEM DISPERSED WITHIN 60 DAYS, WHICH BY THE TIMELINE THAT YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE WOULD BE JUNE 5TH.

AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.

BUT I WANT TO THANK OUR PARTNERS, OUR STAKEHOLDERS THAT REALLY HELPED US, UM, PROVIDE, GAVE US FEEDBACK ON THE UNIQUENESSES OF THIS INDUSTRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DEVELOPED THIS IN A WAY THAT WAS MORE MEANINGFUL FOR THIS INDUSTRY.

ANITA, THANK ANN EATON FROM OUR OFFICE WHO CONCLUDED ONE GRANT PROGRAM AND IMMEDIATELY MOVED INTO THIS GRANT PROGRAM AND OUR PARTNERS AT LIFTFUND AND SELENA PENEZ ACTUALLY ON THE LINE WITH US AS WELL.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, ALEX.

UM, AND THANK YOU SELENA FOR BEING HERE.

UH, AND ANN EATON.

UH, SO FIRST I'M GOING TO SAY THAT TIMELINE LOOKS SO FAR, IT LOOKS SO LONG OUT THERE IN THE FUTURE.

UM, SO BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA START DISPERSING THEM UNTIL WE GET ALL OF THE APPLICATIONS IN, OBVIOUSLY, UM, WHEN YOUR SUGGESTION, AND I DO LIKE YOUR, YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT I'M JUST GONNA ASK ONE QUESTION AND THEN I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO, UH, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ SO SHE CAN, UH, START, UH, YOU KNOW, MANAGING THE MEETING.

UM, WHEN YOU SAY THE FOOD PERMITS, DOES THAT ALSO INCLUDE, UH, FOOD TRUCKS? SO THOSE WHO HAVE FOOD TRUCKS, THEY CAN ALSO BE A PART OF THIS? IT? YES, MA'AM.

OKAY.

ALRIGHT.

UM, I'M GOING TO COUNCILMAN THERE, COUNCILMAN, UH, GONZALEZ, I'LL LET YOU TAKE IT OVER FROM HERE.

YOU CAN ASK YOUR QUESTIONS AND, UM, THANK YOU.

OKAY.

WELL THANK YOU ALL AND, UH, I'LL DO MY BEST SINCE I DON'T HAVE, UM, THAT LITTLE HAND RAISING FUNCTION.

SO WE'LL JUST, UM, SORT OF GO ROUND ROBIN.

UM, SO I GUESS, UM, I, I JUST, YOU KNOW, WE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE, RIGHT? SO I GUESS, DID I MISS ANYTHING, UM, DIFFERENT FROM THIS TIME THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING PREVIOUSLY? SO, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WE EXPENDED ALL OF THE FUNDING AVAILABLE THE LAST TIME.

UM, WE, UH, THEN WENT BACK AND FUNDED EVERYBODY THAT HAD LIKE AN APPLICATION IN QUEUE.

IS THAT, IS THAT RIGHT ALEX? YES, MA'AM.

WITH THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT THE, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATED FOR THE PROGRAM, WE WERE ABLE TO FUND ALL OF THE FOOD, UH, AND BEVERAGE BUSINESSES THAT HAD APPLIED.

OKAY.

AND SO THIS IS NOW LIKE NEW ROUND, UM, YES, MA'AM.

STARTING OVER.

OKAY.

AND, AND SO WE HAVE THE PARAMETERS THAT YOU JUST SHOWED ON THE SLIDE OF, OF HOW WE WOULD, UM, SO I KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SORT OF DRAGGING ON AND ON AND ON.

I MEAN, I STILL FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, EVEN IN THE SUMMER WE THOUGHT, WELL, WE'VE BEEN BETTER BY SEPTEMBER.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, HERE WE ARE ALMOST A WHOLE YEAR LATER.

UM, I MEAN, ARE WE SEEING ANY, ANYTHING SORT OF NUANCED THAT YOU CAN SHARE? UM, I KNOW I JUST, FROM KIND OF THE EXPERIENCES, UM, THAT I'VE HAD HERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE KIND OF THOUGHT THEY COULD HANG IN THERE AND, AND THEY CAN'T, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY COULDN'T.

BUT THE OTHER THING WAS IS THAT THE ONES THAT THAT DIDN'T APPLY WERE NOT ELIGIBLE THE FIRST TIME AROUND, ARE STILL NOT GONNA BE ELIGIBLE THIS TIME AROUND.

UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THEM DIDN'T HAVE

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THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO PRODUCE, UM, FINANCIAL REPORTS.

UH, WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OUR BUSINESSES ARE UNSOPHISTICATED.

UM, AND ANOTHER THING THAT CAME UP A COUPLE OF TIMES IS THAT PEOPLE WERE CONCERNED THAT IT WOULD IMPACT THEIR IMMIGRATION STATUS.

UM, AND I'M SURE THAT HAS COME UP.

I MEAN, ANY, ANY WAY THAT WE COULD MITIGATE ANY OF THOSE CONCERNS.

UH, CHAIR, THIS IS SCOTT .

SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE SOME BUSINESSES THAT JUST DON'T HAVE THE TECHNICAL EXPERTISE TO APPLY.

SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS STAFF WANTED TO BUILD IN FUNDS TO, TO DO, YOU KNOW, MORE ASSISTANCE TO BUSINESSES THAT DON'T HAVE PROPER DOCUMENTATION.

THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WOULD ALSO HELP THEM BE IN A POSITION TO APPLY FOR P P P.

SO IT'S A DUAL PURPOSE, RIGHT? TO BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR OUR GRANTS AND ANY OTHERS LIT FUND WILL OF COURSE DO THEIR PART, UH, IN ASSISTING CUSTOMERS AS WELL.

BUT WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING SPECIFIC AS TO THOSE BUSINESSES.

UM, AND THEN, AND THEN ONE THING WE DID NOT TALK DID NOT, I DON'T THINK WE INCLUDED IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT WE WANTED TO BE SURE TO MENTION IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA ALSO TIE THIS PROGRAM TO THE EAP FUNDING PROGRAM, NOT TIE IT, BUT MARKET IT, YOU KNOW, WITH EACH OTHER SO THAT WE KNOW SOME OF THESE BUSINESSES HAVE EMPLOYEES THAT THEY'VE HAD TO, TO LAY OFF.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO DO OUTREACH TO THEM.

SO THEY'LL CONNECT THOSE EMPLOYEES WITH THE PROGRAM, CONNECT, POTENTIALLY CONNECT THOSE EMPLOYEES WITH OUR TRAINING PROGRAMS IN THE EVENT THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY AS WELL.

SO I JUST WANNA MENTION BOTH OF THOSE THINGS THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

UH, THE ONLY NUANCE THAT, THAT I WOULD ADD IS WE HAD CAPPED THE PROGRAM PREVIOUSLY AT 20 EMPLOYEES.

AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT RESTAURANTS IN PARTICULAR, THAT'S, IF YOU'RE OPEN FOR BREAKFAST AND LUNCH, IT'S HARD TO DO IT WITH 20 EMPLOYEES, YOU KNOW, SO, SO WE'RE, WE'VE LEARNED FROM LESSONS FROM THAT AS WELL TO, TO INCREASE IT TO A LARGER NUMBER.

SO IT'S 21 AND ABOVE IS THE, IS THE NEW WRINKLE AS WELL.

I WAS JUST GONNA ADD, ASK IF SELENA WANTED TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF PERSPECTIVE AND WORKING DIRECTLY WITH, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR, UM, SELENA, I KNOW THAT WE REFERRED LIKE A NUMBER OF, OF CLIENTS TO YOU, AND IN FACT, I HAVE, UM, WELL GO AHEAD AND, UH, AND I'LL LET YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION.

YES, MA'AM.

SURE.

I, YES, MA'AM.

UM, I, LINA, WE'RE HAVING, WE'RE HEARING YOU TURN YOUR CAMERA OFF.

THAT MIGHT HELP.

OKAY.

WE MIGHT HAVE TO COME BACK TO SELENA 'CAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE WE'RE HAVING TROUBLE, UM, CONNECTING WITH HER.

UM, AND I, THAT'S REALLY ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAD, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST SORT OF ABOUT SOME NUANCE THINGS.

UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I GUESS I'LL JUST GIVE A ANOTHER, UM, EXAMPLE.

SO WE HAVE, UM, HAD ADDITIONAL FUNDS COMING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UM, AND WE ANTICIPATE MORE.

IS THAT, I MEAN, I GUESS THIS IS WHY WHEN, YOU KNOW, UM, I'M, I'M GRATEFUL, UH, BUT, UM, ANY IDEA WHAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE? LIKE, ARE YOU HEARING ANYTHING, UH, ON THE I G R SIDE ABOUT POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL FUNDING COMING THROUGH? WELL, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, AS YOU KNOW, THE ADMINISTRATION IS LOOKING AT A REALLY LARGE STIMULUS PACKAGE AND, AND THEY'RE TAKING THE STEPS NECESSARY TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT.

AT LEAST THEY'RE BEGINNING THAT PROCESS, UH, AND HAVE EXPRESSED A INTENT TO DO IT, WHETHER THEY CAN GET BIPARTISAN SUPPORT OR NOT.

UH, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY READ THE TEA LEAVES IN THE MARCH TIMEFRAME.

AND SO PART OF WHAT WE WANT TO DO WITH THIS PROGRAM IS SORT OF SET UP A, A FRAMEWORK THAT MIGHT BE AVAILABLE TO THE CITY IN THE EVENT THAT WE DO GET MORE FUNDING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THAT WE HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, FRAMEWORK IN PLACE SO WE CAN KEEP GOING WITH THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE OTHER PIECE WE WANTED TO BE SURE TO EMPHASIZE.

UH, OKAY.

LET'S TRY AGAIN WITH SELENA ANY CHANCE.

YOU'RE, UM, THE QUESTION WAS ABOUT SOME MORE NUANCED THINGS THAT YOU, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, SURE.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? GREAT.

YES.

UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS, COUNCILWOMAN.

ONE IS THAT WE WOULD STREAMLINE THE APPLICATION, UM, SO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCESSIBLE.

WE HEARD YOU LAST TIME, SO WORKING WITH E D D AND OUR INTERNAL TEAM IN IMPROVING THAT PROCESS.

THE SECOND IS THAT WE

[00:25:01]

SO USING THINGS THAT THEY HAVE FROM A, UM, A DEPOSIT PERSPECTIVE, IF IT'S NOT A BANK, UM, STATEMENT, WE'RE LOOKING AT THEIR CASH DEPOSITS AND WHAT THEY USE.

AND THEN THIRD IS WE PUSHED, UM, THE START DATE TO FEBRUARY, 2020.

UM, SO BUSINESSES WHO COULD NOT APPLY, WE THINK THAT HAVING THE START DATE OF THE BUSINESS FROM FEBRUARY, 2020 VERSUS AUGUST, 2019 WILL ALSO HELP US AS WELL.

OKAY, GREAT.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATES.

SO I DON'T, I DON'T SEE ANY HANDS.

I'LL JUST GO AROUND THE HORN AND SEE IF, UM, COUNCIL.

OKAY.

COUNCILMAN, UH, ROCHE GARCIA.

DR.

ROCHE GARCIA.

THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN.

UM, AND THANK YOU TO THE TEAM AND THANKS SELENA FOR ALWAYS BEING READY TO HELP.

UM, I, I WANTED TO START OFF ON, ON SLIDE NINE.

I, I APPRECIATE THE CONSIDERATION THAT YOU ALL ADDED FOR, UH, TRANSPORTATION, TRAVEL ENTERTAINMENT AND LODGING IT.

AND THANK YOU FOR THAT BREAKDOWN.

THAT PERCENTAGE, I THINK WAS, UM, UH, WAS, WAS VERY, UM, HELPFUL, I THINK TO SOME OF OUR, OUR NEIGHBORS THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED IN, IN THAT AREA AS WELL.

UH, I KNOW IN, IN OUR COUNCIL SESSION EARLIER, COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL ALSO MENTIONED THAT SHE WAS WORRIED FOR , THAT HOTEL WORKER.

SO I'M, I'M SO GLAD THAT YOU ALL WERE ABLE TO BUILD THAT IN, UM, ON THE HOSPITALITY GRANTS PROGRAMS, UH, MARKETING PLAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UM, BEING CONSIDERATE OF D FOUR AND, UH, AND, AND SIX IS VERY SIMILAR TO D FOUR AND AS FAR AS OUTREACH.

AND SO, UM, WHATEVER THAT, UH, OUR OFFICE COUNCILWOMAN, WE'RE HAVING A TOUGH TIME HEARING YOU.

I THINK THERE'S A LAG.

SO IF YOU CAN TURN OFF YOUR CAMERA.

CAN Y'ALL HEAR HER? OKAY.

COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA, UM, WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO YOU AND WE ARE GOING TO GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER CAVEO.

BERDA.

THANK YOU.

.

UM, I THINK THAT WE'RE A COUNCILWOMAN, UM, ROSA GARCIA WAS LEAVING OFF WITH TO THANK, UM, THANK YOU GUYS FOR RECOGNIZING THE NEED FOR GREATER OUTREACH IN BOTH DISTRICT FOUR AND DISTRICT THREE.

UM, AND PLEASE LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN HELP TO HELP DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION AND, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET THOSE NUMBERS UP IN OUR DISTRICT.

UH, I'M, I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE, I JUST HAVE TO GET QUICK SHOUT OUT.

OH, A QUICK SHOUT OUT TO, UH, GREAT DISTRICT SIX RESTAURANT, MAD PECKER BREWING COMPANY.

I, I LOVE SEEING THEM ON THAT SLIDE.

THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING THEM.

UM, SO JUST QUICKLY, I'M CURIOUS IF THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL, UH, POINTS OR PREFERENCE GIVEN TO, UM, ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE UNION HOSPITALITY MEMBERS? WE HAVE NOT INCLUDED THAT, MA'AM.

UM, KEEPING IN MIND THAT THE, THE FUNDING THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR LODGING AND, AND, UM, THE BUSINESSES THAT WE WOULD SUPPORT THROUGH THOSE TYPES OF GRANTS STILL HAVE TO BE SMALL BUSINESSES.

UM, SO EVEN THOUGH WE, THAT'S A GOOD POINT.

WE HAVE MORE EMPLOYEES, BUT THEY STILL HAVE TO BE SMALL.

SURE.

OKAY.

THAT'S A GOOD POINT.

UM, OKAY.

SO SINCE WE PLAN ON CONTINUING OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH LIFT FUND, I'M, I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT PARTNERSHIP.

I'D LIKE TO KNOW A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HOW, HOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO IMPROVE THAT PARTNERSHIP, HOW WE'VE PROGRESSED, UH, FROM THE INCEPTION OF THE ENTIRE EFFORT, AT LEAST FROM THE CITY SIDE OF IT.

SO I WILL SHARE SOME OF IT, BUT, UH, UH, I'D ALSO ASK SELENA TO JUMP IN WITH, WITH HER PERSPECTIVE ON HER SIDE.

UM, OUR SYSTEMS, WE, THE FIRST TIME AROUND, WE WERE NEEDING TO LEARN A LOT ABOUT HOW OUR SYSTEMS COULD INTEGRATE, FOR EXAMPLE, HOW THE ADDRESS FOR TO CALCULATE AN EQUITY SCORE COULD EASILY BE INTEGRATED INTO THEIR APPLICATION.

THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE ALREADY WORKED OUT.

UM, SOME OF THE OTHER CRITERIA FOR THE SCORING, THE SCORING CRITERIA THAT YOU SAW, WE WE'RE USING SOMETHING VERY, VERY SIMILAR.

SO WE'RE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS PROCESS NOW.

WE'RE ALSO FAMILIAR WITH REPORTING OVER INFORMATION.

WE KNOW HOW, HOW THEY SEND US INFORMATION.

WE KNOW HOW, HOW THAT INFORMATION IS COLLECTED AND THEN SENT OVER TO US.

SO, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER CHANGES THAT WE'RE GONNA BE IMPLEMENTING THAT WE, THAT WE THINK WILL, WILL EXPEDITE, UM, THE REVIEW PROCESS AS WELL.

INITIALLY WE WERE, WE HAD IMPLEMENTED A SYSTEM WHERE, UM, WE WERE DOING SOME PRELIMINARY REVIEW AT THE SAME TIME THAT LIFTFUND WAS DOING IT.

AND WHILE WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA HELP EXPEDITE THINGS, I THINK AT THE END IT ENDED UP CAUSING A LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION GOING BACK AND FORTH

[00:30:01]

SO AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW LIFTFUND HAS BEEN ACTIVATING, YOU KNOW, MANY, MANY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN THIS WAY.

AND SO WE KNOW THAT WITH CLEAR DIRECTION AS FAR AS THE CRITERIA AND THE EXPECTATIONS, UM, WE KNOW THEY CAN EXECUTE IN THAT WAY.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA LET THEM KIND OF TAKE, TAKE THE LEAD AND ACTIVATE THIS FUNDING A LITTLE BIT FASTER AS WELL.

BUT SELENA, I, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SHARE AS WELL.

I THINK ALL OF THOSE POINTS ARE WELL TAKEN ALONG WITH BEING VERY CLEAR ON DEFINITIONS, COUNCILWOMAN.

UM, SO MAKING SURE OUR CONSTITUENTS UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, UM, EVEN FROM UNDERSTANDING GROSS RECEIPTS VERSUS GROSS REVENUE.

UM, AND SO I FEEL LIKE TOGETHER WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE ON A LOT OF FRONTS AND HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS.

AND I KNOW THAT WE'LL DO THE SAME FOR THIS ROUND AS WELL.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

UM, GOING BACK TO THE FIR, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

THANK YOU FOR THAT, THAT INFORMATION.

GOING BACK TO MY FIRST QUESTION, UM, OR NOT, NOT EXACTLY ABOUT THE UNIONS, BUT ARE, IS THERE ANY REQUIREMENT THAT EVEN THE SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A DECENT LIVING WAGE? AT LEAST THE 15, ALTHOUGH I THINK THAT IF WE COULD INCREASE THAT, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.

WE'RE NOT, UM, WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING ANY KIND OF, OF WAGE, UM, LEVELS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM.

OKAY.

HAS THAT, HAVE WE TALKED ABOUT, GO AHEAD.

YEAH, PART, PART OF THAT REGION COUNCIL MEMBER IS, UM, WE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GRANTS THAT ARE LIKELY IN THE, MAYBE ON AVERAGE OF THE $25,000 TO $50,000 RANGE.

UM, AND WE'RE TRYING TO HELP BUSINESSES TO, YOU KNOW, SORT OF KEEP AFLOAT AND PAY FOR THINGS.

AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO TIE THAT TO THEIR EMPLOYEES, TO THEIR, KEEPING THE EMPLOYEES TO THESE BUSINESSES ARE REALLY JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE AS BEST THEY CAN.

MANY HAVE LAID PEOPLE OFF, UH, AND, UM, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, YOU KNOW, UNLESS YOU DEDICATED ALL 14 MILLION TO A TINY, TINY, YOU KNOW, NUMBER OF, OF BUSINESSES WOULD BE REALLY DIFFICULT TO, TO, TO TIE THOSE KINDS OF RESTRICTIONS.

OKAY.

THAT'S NOT THE COUNCIL DECISION STAFF IS RECOMMENDING.

WE JUST DO IT BASED ON EMPLOYEE COUNT.

OKAY.

I, I'D LIKE TO GET MORE DATA ON THAT.

I MEAN, I KNOW MAYBE WE DON'T HAVE A REQUIREMENT ON THAT, BUT MAYBE THEY ARE LIVING UP TO THAT STANDARD.

I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, UH, MORE ABOUT THAT.

AND THAT'S ALL.

THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.

UH, OKAY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GABRIEL HDA.

I'M GONNA GO BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER VIR GARCIA.

THANK YOU.

COUNCILWOMAN.

CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, MA'AM.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

.

ALRIGHT.

AND YES, AND COUNCILWOMAN, UH, KA HDA.

FINISH IT OFF PERFECTLY.

SO THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN.

UM, BUT I, I DID ALSO WANNA, UM, MENTION THAT IF, IF WE'RE LOOKING, UM, AND, AND, AND DEFINITELY THE DATA, ONE IN SEVEN WORKERS IN SA UM, OR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY WORKERS, DO YOU ALL HAVE BY ANY CHANCE THAT SPECIFIC TO DISTRICT? I'VE NEVER ASKED THAT.

AND, UH, I, I WAS JUST REMINDED I DON'T THINK THE, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT, UM, ANALYSIS BROKE IT DOWN BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.

UM, OKAY, MA'AM.

THAT'S OKAY.

DON'T, YEAH, I THINK IT WAS JUST OVERALL, I WAS JUST WONDERING.

OKAY.

I, I JUST WANTED, I, I, I THINK THAT A LARGE PORTION OF, OF THE FOLKS THAT I REPRESENT WORK AND, AND, UH, THE HOSPITALITY, HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, JUST BY TALKING TO THEM.

UM, BUT I WASN'T SURE WHAT THAT PERCENTAGE WAS.

AND SO ANYWAY, SO I THOUGHT I'D ASK.

UM, BUT THAT'S IT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I THINK THAT THIS IS A, A GREAT PROGRAM AND CHAIR, I WOULD, UM, LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE, UH, APPROVE THE HOSPITALITY GRANTS PROGRAM AS PRESENTED BY STAFF TODAY.

SECOND.

OKAY.

WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND BY CABELL HDA.

I HAVE A, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS STILL TO, UM, TO THAT POINT, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, DR.

GARCIA, I THINK ONE THING THAT WE COULD DO IS REACH OUT TO THE, UM, SAN ANTONIO HOTEL LODGING ASSOCIATION.

THEY MAY JUST IN THE HOTEL AND LODGING, THEY MAY HAVE SOME DATA TO THAT POINT WITH SOME OF THEIR MEMBERS.

UH, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ASK THEM ABOUT, UM, TO STAFF.

I DO AGREE THAT WE DO NEED TO CONTINUE OUR OUTREACH, UM, SPECIFICALLY IN D FOUR AND D SIX.

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE ADJUSTMENTS, UM, UH, IN THIS PROGRAM WHERE WE CAN BE BETTER AND TO MAYBE REACH FARTHER OUT.

ANOTHER QUESTION, YOU MENTIONED, UM, FORMULA, BUT DOES THAT, WE'RE ALSO EXCLUDING FRANCHISES HERE, IS THAT RIGHT OR NOT? YES, MA'AM.

STATE AND NATIONAL

[00:35:01]

WE KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME BUSINESSES THAT HAVE SEVERAL ESTABLISHMENTS LOCALLY.

UM, SO THOSE WOULD STILL BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY.

OKAY.

UM, AS LONG AS THEY MEET THE OTHER CRITERIA.

OKAY.

GOT IT.

AND, UM, UNDER ONE OF YOUR, CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF LODGING, WHAT WE MEAN BY LODGING? UM, THAT BREAKFAST IS THAT AIRBNB.

SO WE, WE ACTUALLY HAD THE CONVERSATION ABOUT, UM, SHORT-TERM RENTALS AND, UM, THE QUALIFYING CRITERIA HERE WOULD BE THAT, THAT THEY'D BE REGISTERED AND THAT THEY'D BE PAYING, UM, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES AND UH OKAY.

AND THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE LOCATED IN CERTAIN AREAS.

CORRECT.

AND MEET ALL THE OTHER CRITERIA.

UM, OKAY.

AND THEY STILL WOULD FALL OVER THAT FALL UNDER THAT PERCENTAGE OF 12%? YES, MA'AM.

THAT'S ELIGIBLE.

WE BASICALLY ONCE, YEAH, ONCE WE, ONCE WE RANK ALL OF THE DIFFERENT BUSINESSES BASED ON THEIR SCORES, WE START FUNDING OR LIFT FUND WOULD START FUNDING THE, THE DIFFERENT BUSINESSES.

AND WHEN FUNDING IN A PARTICULAR BUSINESS SECTOR RUNS OUT THAT, WE'LL, WE'LL KEEP GOING WITH ANY AVAILABLE FUNDS, BUT, BUT WE'LL AWARD IT BASED ON THOSE CATEGORIES.

AND DO WE HAVE THE, UH, SPECIFIC DEFINITIONS WHEN IT COMES TO ENTERTAINMENT OR, OR, SO NOT JUST ENTERTAINMENT, BUT ALL OF THEM.

WE HAVE THE DEFINITIONS OF HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE INTERPRETING THAT.

WHAT WE DID LAST TIME AND WHAT WE'LL PROBABLY DO THIS TIME AGAIN, IS IDENTIFY NATE'S COATS, UM, BECAUSE THAT HELPS BOTH THE APPLICANT WHEN THEY'RE SUBMITTING THEIR INFORMATION AND SELENA AND HER TEAM WHEN THEY'RE REVIEWING.

OKAY.

AND THEN, UM, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU ALL IS IF YOU CAN ALSO PROVIDE FOR US THE KIND OF A SIDE-BY-SIDE COLUMN COMPARISON OF THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE FROM OUR FIRST, UM, BUSINESS PROGRAM TO THIS ONE AND THE COMPARISON, A SIDE BY SECOND COMPARISON OF WHAT WE HAVE ADJUSTED, JUST SO WE CAN SHARE THAT WITH THE ENTIRE COUNCIL SO THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT ADJUSTMENTS ARE BEING MADE SPECIFICALLY HERE.

UH, AND THEN FINALLY, I'M STILL LOOKING AT THE TIMELINE.

AND SO APPLICATIONS OPEN FROM MARCH 15TH TO MARCH TO APRIL 5TH.

WHEN WOULD WE BE ABLE TO START AWARDING THE GRANTS? ALEX, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SPEAK TO SOME OF THAT? UM, COUNCILWOMAN IN TERMS OF, UH, A PROCESSES, IF WE HAVE CAPPED AREAS IN THE INDUSTRIES, WE WOULD ACTUALLY PROBABLY CLOSE THEM OFF AT SOME POINT.

SO IF WE HIT AN INDUSTRY TARGET, WE COULD ACTUALLY START REVIEWING QUICKER.

UM, THAT WOULD BE MY FIRST RECOMMENDATION, WHICH WE'VE DONE IN OTHER, UM, PROJECTS AS WELL.

THE SECOND IS IN TERMS OF WE DON'T WAIT UNTIL APPLICATIONS ARE DONE.

WE ACTUALLY START REVIEWING AS THEY COME IN SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO THEN ADJUST ACCORDINGLY AND APPROVE AND GET AUTHORIZATION FROM THE CITY TO PROCEED.

SO IT'S MORE ABOUT SETTING EXPECTATIONS.

UM, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO DELIVER QUICKER, UM, WITH THE NEW STRATEGIES, UM, THAT THE TEAM HAS PUT TOGETHER.

OKAY.

WELL THOSE WERE MY QUESTIONS.

AND, UM, DR.

RICHARD GARCIA DID, DID YOU STILL HAVE SOMETHING OR YOUR HANDS JUST UP FROM LAST TIME? OH, SORRY.

I'LL, I'LL LOWER IT.

SORRY, CHAIR.

THERE YOU GO.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO APOLOGIZE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND, UM, MUCH WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, UH, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OUR, FOR, I WANNA SAY IT RIGHT, THE HOSPITALITY GRANTS PROGRAM.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE.

AYE.

AYE.

AND COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA, THAT WAS AN I FROM YOU AS WELL.

YES, MA'AM.

OKAY.

SO, UM, WE ARE UNANIMOUS, UH, VOTE MOVE APPROVED.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU ALEX, SO MUCH.

THANK YOU SELENA, FOR BEING HERE AND FOR YOUR WORK.

CONTINUED WORK ON THIS WITH ALL OF US.

NEXT

[2. 21-1765 Briefing on the Alamo Plaza Construction Relief Grant Program [Lori Houston, Assistant City Manager]]

[3. 21-1766 Briefing on the Lower Broadway Corridor Construction Relief Grant Program. [Lori Houston, Assistant City Manager]]

OKAY, GREAT.

THANK YOU, CHAIRWOMAN.

UM, WE'RE GONNA TAKE ITEMS TWO AND THREE TOGETHER 'CAUSE IT'S THE SAME PROGRAM, BUT THESE ARE, UM, THESE ITEMS ARE TWO PLACE-BASED

[00:40:02]

SO WE HAVE ALAMO PLAZA THAT IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING SOME CON, UM, CONSTRUCTION WITH SOME ARCHEOLOGY, AND THEN PART OF THE STREET IMPROVEMENTS ON BONUM AND CROCKETT.

THAT PROJECT IS IMPACTING THE VISIBILITY AND ACCESS TO SOME OF THOSE BUSINESSES.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE LOWER BROADWAY, AND THAT PROJECT HAS SHUT DOWN BROADWAY SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS, AND IT HAS IMPACTED ACCESS AND VISIBILITY TO SEVERAL BUSINESSES.

SO WE ARE PROPOSING TWO SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAMS FUNDED THROUGH THE TAX REINVESTMENT ZONES THAT THE PROJECTS RESIDE IN TO HELP WITH SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, DO MARKETING AND WAY FINDING AND OTHER EFFORTS TO HELP RECOVER COSTS AS A RESULT OF THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.

BUT ALSO COVID.

I'M GONNA HAVE RAYA ROBERTS PRESENT THESE ITEMS, BUT I ALSO HAVE MATT BROWN WITH CENTRO ON THE WEBEX.

CENTRO IS GOING TO BE OUR PARTNER IN ADMINISTERING THIS PROGRAM, SO I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO RAYA.

THANK YOU.

OKAY, THANK YOU LORI, AND GOOD AFTERNOON.

UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

YEAH, AS LORI MENTIONED, IT SAYS TWO SEPARATE GRANT PROGRAMS FOR THE LOWER BROADWAY AND ALAMO PLAZA CONSTRUCTION AREAS.

THE LOWER SEGMENT OF THE BROADWAY CORRIDOR AND THE ALAMO PLAN ARE 2017 BOND PROGRAM PROJECTS THAT STARTED CONSTRUCTION LAST YEAR.

SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE AREA ARE ALREADY FACING CHALLENGES RELATED TO C OVID 19, AND NOW THEY FACE ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES OF, UM, REDUCED ACCESS AND VISIBILITY.

WE PROPOSED $250,000 PER PROJECT AREA AND CENTRAL, CENTRAL SAN ANTONIO WILL ADMINISTER THE GRANTS FOR 5% FEE.

THE GRANT PROGRAMS WOULD PROVIDE UP TO TWO $25,000 PER BUSINESS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES.

NEXT SLIDE.

UH, THE GRANT PROGRAM IS MODELED AFTER THE RECOVERY GRANTS THAT ARE FUNDED BY THE CARESS ACT AND ADMINISTERED BY LIST FUND.

WE'VE MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON LESSONS LEARNED AND DISCUSSIONS WITH STAFF AND STAKEHOLDERS TO QUALIFY BUSINESSES MUST HAVE 30 OR FEWER EMPLOYEES HAVE AN ANNUAL GROWTH REVENUE OF LESS THAN $2 MILLION, BE LOCATED IN THE PROGRAM AREA, AND WILLING TO REMAIN FOR SIX MONTHS AFTER A GRANT AWARD, DEMONSTRATE A LOSS OF AT LEAST 25% REVENUE AND BE ESTABLISHED BEFORE AUGUST, 2019.

BUSINESSES WILL ALSO BE DIRECTED TO COUNSELING FROM UTSA'S SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AS PART OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS.

NEXT SLIDE.

WE LEARNED FROM PREVIOUS GRANT PROGRAMS THAT SOME BUSINESSES HAVE TROUBLE PROVIDING THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION, AND SO CENTRAL WILL WORK WITH THOSE BUSINESSES TO ACCEPT ALTERNATE DOCUMENTATION IF NECESSARY, APPLICATIONS WILL BE SCORED BASED ON THEIR LOCATION AND ON THEIR OWNERSHIP.

AND CENTRA WILL ASSESS THE, THE AMOUNT OF TOTAL LOSS TO PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION FOR EACH GRANT AWARD.

NEXT SLIDE.

THE LOWER SEGMENT OF THE BROADWAY CORRIDOR PROJECT IS FROM THE INTERSECTION WITH HOUSTON STREET TO INTERSTATE 35.

CONSTRUCTION BEGAN IN, UH, JULY, 2020, AND IT'S EXPECTED TO LAST UNTIL JANUARY, 2024.

BUSINESSES DIRECTLY ON BROADWAY STREET ARE IN TIER ONE OF THE PROGRAM AREA, AND BUSINESSES ON ADJACENT STREETS ARE IN TIER TWO.

NEXT SLIDE.

IN PHASE ONE OF THE ALAMO PLAN PROJECTS BEGAN IN JANUARY, 2020.

IT INCLUDES THE CLOSURE OF CROCKETT STREET FROM ALAMO PLAZA TO BONUM STREET, REHABILITATION OF A SECTION OF ALAMO PLAZA AND IMPROVEMENTS TO BONUM STREET BETWEEN HOUSTON AND CROCKETT STREET.

IMPROVEMENTS TO BONUM AND CROCKETT STREETS ARE EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETE BY THIS SUMMER, BUT A COMPLETION DATE FOR THE PLAZA HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED YET.

BUSINESSES DIRECTLY ON ALAMO PLAZA ARE IN TIER ONE FOR THIS PROGRAM AREA, AND BUSINESSES ON THE SURROUNDING STREETS ARE IN TIER TWO.

NEXT SLIDE.

THE HOUSTON STREET TURS BOARD WILL CONSIDER THIS PROGRAM NEXT THURSDAY THE 25TH, AND THE MIDTOWN TURS BOARD WILL MEET ON FRIDAY THE 26TH.

WE WOULD LIKE TO, TO PRESENT BOTH PROGRAMS FOR CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION ON MARCH 11TH.

IF APPROVED CENTER EXPECTS TO BE READY TO ACCEPT APPLICATIONS BY EARLY APRIL, THEY WOULD DEVELOP COLLATERAL AND START ADVERTISING IN MARCH AND HAVE APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR ABOUT THREE WEEKS.

AND THEN, UM, EX, UH, SCORE APPLICATIONS FOR ABOUT THREE WEEKS AND EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE FUNDING BY EARLY JUNE.

NEXT SLIDE.

FUNDING

[00:45:01]

THERE'D BE $250,000 FOR EACH PROGRAM AREA.

AND CENTRO ADMINISTERS THE GRANTS FOR A 5% FEE.

TOTAL FUNDING FROM EACH HERS IS $262,500.

UM, AND WE'RE, UH, AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS NOW.

AND LIKE LORI SAID, WE ALSO HAVE MATT BROWN ON THE LINE FROM CENTRO.

AND I'D, I'D LIKE TO ADD COUNCILWOMAN AND OTHERS THAT, UM, WE EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO FUND ABOUT 20 GRANTS PER AREA.

UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, THERE'S GOING TO BE GRANTS IN THIS AREA THAT WILL ALSO BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THE PROGRAM YOU JUST HEARD ABOUT THAT ALEX LOPEZ AND HER TEAM APPLYING FOR, SO YOU MIGHT HAVE, UM, AN ICE CREAM SHOP THAT'S IN ALAMO PLAZA THAT'S GOING TO APPLY FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM RELATED TO THE CONSTRUCTION.

BUT THEN THEY ALSO WILL BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR THAT COVID PROGRAM THAT ALEX SPOKE TO.

OUR DOLLARS REALLY ARE TO HELP THEM WITH THE IMPACTS THEY'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH AS A RESULT OF THE CONSTRUCTION.

SO THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO MORE MARKETING AND WAYFINDING TO SHOW PEOPLE HOW TO GET TO THEIR BUSINESS.

UM, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO MAPS, WORD OF MOUTH.

AND SO THERE ARE SOME ITEMS THEY HAVE TO DO ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH REGARDS TO THE COVID GRANT, WHERE IT'S JUST TO HELP THEM RECOVER COSTS.

AND SO YOU COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE BUSINESSES BE ABLE TO ACCESS BOTH PROGRAMS. AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.

WE APOLOGIZE.

WE HAD SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH OUR MAPS YESTERDAY, AND SO WE HAD TO, WE HAD TO COMPROMISE.

SO THANK YOU FOR DEALING WITH US, BEARING WITH US.

NO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD.

I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UM, EVEN TO INCLUDE OR HAVE DISCUSSION TO INCLUDE SOMETHING IN THE UPCOMING BOND THAT CAN GIVE RELIEF TO, UM, UH, SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE, OR BUSINESSES THAT ARE BEING IMPACTED BY OUR BOND PROJECTS THAT MAY BE SHUT DOWN FOR PERIODS AND PERIODS OF TIME.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.

THEY CAN APPLY FOR BOTH.

UM, IF THEY ARE ELIGIBLE, UM, WOULD THIS INCLUDE, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, HOW MANY BUSINESSES ARE REPRESENTED IN EACH OF THESE AREAS? THE STRIP THAT YOU OUTLINED ON ALAMO PLAZA AND THEN THE AREA OF OF LOWER BROADWAY, HOW MANY BUSINESSES ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE THAT WOULD FIT IN THESE, IN YOUR CRITERIA? THE, UH, 30 EMPLOYEES? YEAH.

UM, WE, WE THINK THERE ARE ABOUT, THERE ARE 130 BUSINESSES IN THE LOWER BROADWAY AREA AND 78 BUSINESSES IN THE ALAMO PLAZA AREA THAT WOULD QUALIFY FOR THIS.

YOU SAID 170 IN LOWER BROADWAY? 130 IN LOWER BROADWAY, AND 78 IN THE ALAMO AREA.

OKAY.

ALRIGHT.

AND WOULD THAT ALSO BE, UH, THEN WOULD THE, UM, FORMULA OR FRANCHISE BUSINESSES BE ELIGIBLE FOR THESE ASSISTANCE AS WELL? UM, RIGHT NOW WE ARE PROPOSING TO ALLOW, UH, FRANCHISES BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME SMALLER FRANCHISES ON ALAMO PLAZA ESPECIALLY THAT WOULD NEED ASSISTANCE AND WOULD QUALIFY FOR THIS PROGRAM.

BUT THEN THEY COULD ONLY GET THIS, UH, ONE MM-HMM.

AND NOT OUR HOSPITALITY PROGRAM.

UM, OKAY.

OKAY.

SO WE KNOW IT'S FOR SIGNAGE, WE KNOW IT'S FOR WAYFINDING.

IT COULD BE FOR SOMETHING ELSE BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE THREE BUSINESSES IN A ROW THAT ALL GET THE, UM, THIS GRANT PROGRAM, THEY COULD ALL COME TOGETHER AND DO A REALLY GOOD SIGN THAT IS HISTORICALLY ACCEPTABLE OR, YOU KNOW, MEETS THE, THE THINGS THAT WE CAN IN THAT AREA.