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TIME IS NOW 9:05 AM ON THIS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH, 2021.
THE CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING WILL NOW BE, UH, CONVENED.
UH, MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU READ A ROLE? COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA HERE.
[1. 21-1746 Consideration of Applicants to the San Antonio Ready to Work Advisory Board (9 seats) [Tina J. Flores] ]
AND WARM.WE HAVE ONE ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY, AND THAT IS THE, UH, THE CONSIDERATION OF APPLICANTS TO THE SA READY TO WORK ADVISORY BOARD.
UH, INTERVIEWS ARE ALREADY, UH, UNDERWAY, SO WE WILL HEAR FROM THE REMAINING APPLICANTS.
AFTER, UM, THE INTERVIEWS TODAY, WE'RE GONNA CONVENE INTO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THIS LINK, UH, WHERE WE'LL DELIBERATE THE APPOINTMENT EVALUATION OF DUTIES, UM, AND, AND MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS WITH REGARD TO THOSE, UM, APPOINTEES AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOARD, UH, TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL, WHICH I DON'T HAVE A DATE IN FRONT OF US, THAT IT WILL BE, UH, CONSIDERED BY THE COUNCIL, BUT I THINK IT'S IMMINENT.
SO, UM, TODAY'S THE, THE LAST DAY FOR US TO DELIBERATE.
SO, UH, HOPEFULLY YOU HAVE YOUR NOTES, SANDY, FROM THE PREVIOUS INTERVIEWS.
'CAUSE WE WANNA PUT FORWARD A, A, A SLATE FOR, UM, FOR THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL FROM THIS COMMITTEE.
SO, UM, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, UH, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, ABOUT PROCESS TODAY BEFORE WE START WITH OUR INTERVIEWS? ANDY? UM, JUST QUICKLY, IS IT, UM, PERMISSIBLE IF SOMEONE HAS TO, UM, TURN OFF A CAMERA DURING THE MEETING AS LONG AS THEY'RE STILL PRESENT? YES.
THAT, UH, THAT ABSOLUTELY MAYOR, UH, THE ONLY TIME WHEN I WOULD ASK THAT WE COULD TO HAVE EVERYBODY, UH, HAVE THEIR CAMERAS ON IS WHEN WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE MOTION.
I MIGHT NEED TO TURN OFF MY CAMERA BRIEFLY, UH, TO BE IN TRANSIT.
UM, BUT I'LL BE PRESENT AND I'LL BE LISTENING AND I'LL BE HERE.
SO, UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? MAYOR? YEAH, MAYOR, I'M SORRY.
UM, I, I REALIZED WE, WE ACTUALLY ARE STILL MISSING ONE INDIVIDUAL, UM, DOUGLAS BERG, SO I DIDN'T REALIZE THE OTHER DOUGLAS WAS
UM, DOUGLAS BERG HAS NOT JOINED THIS MORNING.
UM, ALL RIGHT, IF HE DOES, THEN JUST LET ME KNOW.
UH, AND I JUST GOTTA NOTE THAT MARCH 4TH IS THE CONSIDERATION ON THE, UH, COUNCIL A SESSION, UH, FOR OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, LAST THING IS, TINA, IF YOU CAN BE PREPARED, BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO, UM, TALK ABOUT THESE APPLICANTS AS THEY RELATE TO THE, UM, THE SLOTS FOR EACH, UM, INDUSTRY, COMMUNITY, THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, SO IF YOU CAN JUST BE READY WITH THE NUMBER OF SLOTS, UH, FOR EACH OF THOSE, UM, SEATS, THAT'D BE GREAT.
UH, SO WE'RE GONNA GIVE THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT, UM, AND THEN GO AROUND FOR QUESTIONS.
SO LET'S START BY BRINGING DAPHNE CARSON BACK, AND SHE'LL BE REPRESENTING COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
I HAVE TWO, I HAVE TWO PAGES OF, UH, OF SCREENS HERE.
MS. CARSON, WELCOME, UH, TO OUR, OUR COMMITTEE MEETING.
UM, WE ARE GONNA CONSIDER ALL THE APPLICANTS REMAINING TODAY.
SO, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING WITH US AND YOUR, UH, WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP WITH THE READY TO WORK SA BOARD.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT, AND THEN WE'LL GO AROUND, UH, WITH QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
I'M A CURRENT RISK MANAGER IN THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT, UM, AT EDGEWOOD, I S D.
UM, I'M TASKED WITH BASICALLY HANDLING, UM, THIS ROLE.
CURRENTLY, I'M TASKED WITH HANDLING THE RISK THAT THE DISTRICT MAY BE POSED WITH INSURANCE LIABILITIES, BENEFITS, WORKERS' COMP.
UM, I ALSO, UM, PRIOR TO THAT WAS THE EMPLOYEE RELATIONS OFFICER.
AS MY ROLE IN HR, I DO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH INDIVIDUALS AS THEY ARE TRYING TO, UM, INCREASE THEIR POTENTIAL IN THE WORKFORCE.
UM, I ALSO AM A, THE, THE MEMBERSHIP CHAIR, EXCUSE ME, FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO, UM, I'M TAKING AN INTEREST IN THIS ROLE BECAUSE I KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF TRYING TO GET PEOPLE EMPLOYED, GAINFULLY EMPLOYED, UM, ALLOWING THEM TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES
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TO ENGAGE IN TRAINING.UM, AND SO I, I'M JUST A, I'M A FORMER EDUCATOR.
I HAD MY PRINCIPAL CERTIFICATION PRIOR TO GOING INTO DISTRICT OFFICE.
I WAS AT SAN ANTONIO I S D FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS BEFORE GOING OVER TO EDGEWOOD.
AND SO MY PASSION REALLY IS, UH, WITH HUMAN RESOURCES, UH, GIVING BACK AND HELPING PEOPLE, UM, MEET THEIR FULL POTENTIAL.
UM, TAKE A, YOU KNOW, WE ALL ARE ON A JOURNEY.
WE ALL HAVE TO WORK MO FOR THE MOST PART, TO, TO EARN AND MAKE A LIVING.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, A PROGRAM LIKE THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT TO GIVE INDIVIDUALS THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, GET CAREER TRAINING, NOT JUST A JOB, BUT GET, UH, TRAINING TOWARDS SOME SORT OF CAREER SO THAT THEY CAN MAXIMIZE THEIR EARNING, UM, AND THEIR CAREER POTENTIAL.
NOT SURE IF THAT WAS THREE MINUTES.
IT SEEMED QUICKER THAN WHAT IT WAS, BUT THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHO I AM AND WHAT I DO DAILY, UM, AS AN EMPLOYEE IN HR AT EDGEWOOD.
UM, WE'LL NOW, UM, GO TO QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE.
LET ME, UM, LET ME ASK, UH, MY COLLEAGUES TO USE THEIR HARA, EXCUSE ME, RAISE HAND FUNCTION ON THEIR, UH, WEBEX TO GO AHEAD AND QUEUE UP FOR QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE.
UM, I CAN'T SEE 'EM ON THE SCREEN, SO LEMME JUST GO AHEAD AND START WITH, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UM, MS. CARSON, UH, WITH YOUR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND, WHAT DO YOU THINK, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT YOU HOPE TO BRING, UH, TO THIS COMMITTEE? UH, WELL, I HAVE A DOCTORATE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, SO I JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, BUT, UM, I HAVE TAKEN THE, THE JOURNEY THROUGH, UM, EDUCATING MYSELF.
SO I THINK WITH THIS COMMITTEE, I HAVE FIRST, UH, FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE ON KNOWING THE PROCESS.
UM, I TALKED TO SO MANY PEOPLE, UM, AND THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO ENROLL, HOW TO GO ABOUT, THEY HAVE FEARS IN REGARDS TO HOW ARE THEY GOING TO AFFORD TO GOING, YOU KNOW, TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL.
SO I THINK AS A COMMITTEE, AS A PART OF THIS COMMITTEE, I WOULD BE ABLE TO BE A RESOURCE TO THOSE BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO GO THROUGH THE HR PROCESS.
'CAUSE I AM ONE THAT REVIEWS, UM, APPLICATIONS, RESUMES, AND I SIT THROUGH INTERVIEWS.
SO I HAVE A LOT OF SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE WITH JUST HELPING PEOPLE BUILD THEMSELVES UP AND PREPARE THEMSELVES JUST TO GO INTO AN INTERVIEW.
AND THEN I'M PRETTY RESOURCEFUL, UM, BORN AND RAISED HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, SO I KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE COLLEGE IS AND THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS HAVE TO OFFER.
UM, DID THAT AS A HIGH SCHOOL BUSINESS EDUCATION TEACHER, HELPING MY STUDENTS WHO WERE GRADUATING, GOING OFF INTO THE WORKFORCE.
SO I THINK THAT I WOULD JUST BE A RESOURCE TO BE ABLE TO HELP THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE LOOKING TO BE A PART OF THE PROGRAM AS THEY FIND A NEW CAREER PATH AND JUST BE A RESOURCE TO HELP THEM GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
AND ALSO WORKING WITH, UM, HOPEFULLY EMPLOYERS.
UM, I'M, I'M REALLY BIG ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AND, UM, JUST HELPING INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES BE ABLE TO DI DIVERSIFY THEIR WORKFORCE SO THAT THEY CAN ALSO HAVE A EXPANDED, UM, EXPANDED OPTIONS OF INDIVIDUALS THAT THEY CAN BRING ON, UM, TO BE A PART OF THEIR ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL.
IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE YOU FEEL THAT YOU SHOULD BE, AND, AND I WOULD PRESUME YOU FEEL ALL THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS OUGHT TO BE ACTIVIST BOARD MEMBERS.
IN OTHER WORDS, NOT SOMEBODY WHO JUST SITS THERE AND LOOKS AT WHOEVER'S IN CHARGE AND SAY, YOU'RE DOING A GOOD JOB.
YOU, YOU KIND OF SOUND LIKE YOU WANT TO BE OUT IN THE FIELD PROMOTING AND ENCOURAGING AND OFFERING GUIDANCE.
IS THAT KIND OF A, A WAY YOU'D LIKE TO SERVE? I DO.
UM, I HAVE BEEN VERY PARTICULAR WITH, UM, INVITES OR OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE ON DIFFERENT COMMITTEES AND ORGANIZATIONS BECAUSE I DO, YOU KNOW, WORK FULL-TIME.
I'M ALSO A, I HAVE MY OWN LIFE COACHING BUSINESS, SO I NEVER WANNA JUST TAKE ON SOMETHING SO THAT I CAN SAY, OH, I'M ATTACHED.
UM, SO I, YOU KNOW, JUST TO GET TO THIS POINT HAS BEEN BECAUSE I TRULY HAVE A PASSION AND I THINK THAT, UM, THIS IS GONNA BE SOMETHING GREAT THAT I CAN ENGAGE IN, I CAN DEVOTE TIME TO.
UM, AND SO I WOULD DEFINITELY BE AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IF FOR SOME REASON LIFE TOOK A HOLE AND I JUST COULD NOT, UM, ANY MORE THAN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD, UM, HAVE TO STEP FORWARD AND SAY THAT DUE TO OTHER OBLIGATIONS, IT'S NOT POSSIBLE.
BUT THE WAY THAT MY SCHEDULE IS NOW AND MY LIFESTYLE, IT'S VERY, UM, IT, IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO BE VERY ACTIVE AND ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UH, I'M, I'M SHIRLEY GONZALEZ.
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COUNCILMAN FOR DISTRICT FIVE.SO I REPRESENT MOST OF EDGEWOOD AND, AND MOST OF S A I S D.
UM, SO I KNOW OUR CONSTITUENCY VERY WELL.
AND ONE OF THE CONCERNS I'VE HAD WITH THIS PROGRAM, UH, IS THAT IT MIGHT LEAVE SOME OF OUR CONSTITUENTS OUT BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT PREPARED FOR THE WORKFORCE.
SO, COULD YOU, UM, JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU THINK THAT WE CAN ENGAGE MORE OF OUR
CAN YOU SAY JUST THAT LAST PART AGAIN? YES.
UH, HOW YOU, HOW YOU THINK YOU CAN HELP OUR CONSTITUENTS, OUR, OUR, OUR RESIDENTS, UM, BE MORE ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM PROGRAM.
UM, A LOT OF IT IS JUST GETTING OUT AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT OPPORTUNITIES TO EXIST.
UM, I KNOW JUST WITH EDGEWOOD, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, SOMETHING WE HAD A, WE, WE'VE UNFORTUNATELY HAD TO PROCESS DEATH BENEFITS 'CAUSE WE'VE HAD INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE PASSED AWAY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I HANDLE THE BENEFITS PACKAGE FOR OUR DISTRICT AND JUST EMPLOYEES RIGHT THERE.
AND PART OF THE EDGEWOOD FAMILY, THEY DON'T KNOW OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST.
LIKE, WE CAN GO TO A C V S PHARMACY AND THERE'S NO CHARGE FOR THE MINUTECLINIC.
SO A LOT OF THIS IS JUST REALLY GETTING OUT AND LETTING, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE FEARFUL, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY WANT MORE, I THINK PEOPLE GENUINELY WANT TO DO MORE, BE MORE BE A PART OF, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW.
SO IT'S ABOUT GETTING OUT THERE, LETTING PEOPLE KNOW, HEY, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE FOR YOU.
HOW CAN WE WORK WITH YOU SO THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO DO, LET'S TRY TO GO AHEAD AND ADVANCE YOU TO THAT LEVEL SO THAT YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD.
SO A LOT OF IT IS JUST GETTING OUT THERE AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY AND IT'S ONE THAT'S AVAILABLE TO YOU.
AND, AND, UM, AND, AND KIND OF JUST WALKING THEM THROUGH THE STEPS TO, TO GET IT.
AND MARKETING, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, AND, AND MARKETING.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT THAT'S PUTTING FLYERS ALL OVER THE PLACE, BUT GETTING OUT INTO THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES AND, AND REACHING OUT TO SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS TO SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, FOR THE PEOPLE THAT YOU SERVICE, CAN YOU LET THEM KNOW THAT THIS EXISTS, THAT WE CAN HELP THEM SO THAT THEY CAN GROW PROFESSIONALLY AND ACTUALLY NOT JUST GO GET A JOB.
YOU KNOW, I TOLD MY 15 YEAR OLD, MY 16 YEAR OLD WHO JUST GOT HIS FIRST JOB.
I SAID, THIS IS A JOB, BUT NOW YOU NEED TO START LOOKING AT DIFFERENT ASPECTS TO MAKE IT A CAREER.
YOU KNOW, SO HE'S ALREADY, HE WORKED ONE DAY AND HE SAID, OH, I'M PROBABLY GONNA BE PROMOTED.
I SAID, SON, IT DOESN'T WORK THAT QUICK, BUT I'M GLAD YOU HAVE THE PLACE THAT POTENTIAL
UM, BUT NOW, YOU KNOW, UM, HE'S JUST STARTING TO LOOK AT OTHER AREAS, JUST THAT ONE DAY, DID YOU KNOW THEY DO THIS OVER HERE AND THIS IS HIS FIRST JOB.
SO WE HAVE ADULTS, THE SAME THING.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN EDGEWOOD, IF YOU, I'M SURE YOU KNOW ABOUT THE COMMUNITY, PEOPLE ARE ROOTED THERE.
A LOT OF OUR, UM, EMPLOYEES HAVE GROWN UP AND WENT TO SCHOOL THERE, AND THEY HAVEN'T VENTURED OUT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA TELL THEM THERE IS MORE AND THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES.
LET'S, LET'S GET YOU ENGAGED, LET'S MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, MAYOR.
I APPRECIATE, UH, YOUR INTEREST IN, IN, IN THIS, UM, UH, ENDEAVOR THAT WE'RE TAKING.
I HAVE A QUESTION ON YOUR APPLICATION, YOU SAID THAT YOU HAVE CLIENTS WHO HAVE BEEN IMPACTED IN THE WORKPLACE WHO ARE TRYING TO SEEK EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD FROM THEM IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART ABOUT THAT? AND, AND HOW WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO, UH, HELP BRING THAT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE ON, ONTO THIS BOARD? THANK YOU.
UM, AND I CAN TELL YOU IT KIND OF DEPENDS ON WHO YOU'RE SPEAKING TO.
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME PEOPLE THEY JUST KIND OF HAVE SAID THERE'S NO JOBS OUT THERE.
I'M PUTTING IN, I HAVE SOMEONE, UM, A SORORITY SISTER THAT IS, HAS HER DOCTORATE, AND SHE'S BEEN IN EDUCATION FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
AND, UM, SHE, UM, HA HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET A JOB, YOU KNOW, SO IF YOU SPEAK TO HER, SHE KIND OF FEELS THAT HER RACE HAS A, HAS A PART.
SHE, SHE FEELS THAT SOME PLACES ARE NOT DIVERSE, AND SHE FEELS THAT THAT'S A STRIKE AGAINST HER.
SO, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON WHAT COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE THAT YOU SPEAK TO, WE HAVE PEOPLE AT EDGEWOOD, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT HAVE A LANGUAGE BARRIER.
SO, YOU KNOW, UM, THEY CAN'T EVEN FILL OUT CERTAIN FORMS WITHOUT ASSISTANCE.
SO THEY'RE DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO SEEK HELP ELSEWHERE BECAUSE THEY JUST FEEL THAT THEY'RE, THERE'S NO ONE THAT'S GOING TO UNDERSTAND OR, UM, OR BE ABLE TO REALLY ASSIST THEM OR THAT THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE MORE.
SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, EVERYONE HAS THEIR STORY.
UM, AND I WISH TO DISPEL THOSE STORIES OF, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T GET A JOB BECAUSE YOU'RE BLACK OR YOU CAN'T GET A JOB BECAUSE YOU'RE HISPANIC AND, AND YOUR ONLY YOUR PRIMARY LANGUAGE IS, IS SPANISH.
UM, IT'S, YES, THESE OPPORTUNITIES DO EXIST.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T GO IN AND, AND BE A, A FORKLIFT OPERATOR IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR FORKLIFT.
YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR TRAINING IN, YOU KNOW, BEING A FORKLIFT
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OPERATOR.SO IT'S LIKE, IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU DESIRE TO DO, THERE ARE RESOURCES OUT THERE THAT CAN HELP YOU SO THAT WE CAN TRY TO, TO, UM, TO, TO GET THOSE INDIVIDUALS IN THE WORKFORCE.
SO FOR MY SORORITY SISTER, UM, WHO HAS HER DOCTORATE AND WHO HAS BEEN IN EDUCATION FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, AND WHO HAS REACHED OUT TO ME AS SOMEONE IN HR WITH AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I TOLD HER, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S IT AT ALL.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S HER STORY BECAUSE SHE JUST FEELS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CON THERE'S PLACES WHERE SHE DOESN'T SEE THE DIVERSITY HERE.
AND SO SHE FEELS THAT THAT'S A STRIKE AGAINST HER.
SO EVERYONE WOULD HAVE A STORY.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST DON'T HAVE THE SKILLSET.
SO YOU CAN'T, LIKE I TOLD MY SON, YOU CAN'T GO AND, AND GET A BE PROMOTED TO HR AND YOU, YOU HAVEN'T EVEN CLOCKED IN TWO TIMES AND YOU, YOU KNOW, IT'S YOUR FIRST JOB.
KNOW THAT THERE'S RESOURCES OUT THERE, AND LET'S TRY TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE THE CONNECTIONS.
BUT WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T STOP TRYING.
I MEAN, I'M SOMEONE MYSELF, I, I LOOK FOR CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, UM, MYSELF AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I MAY NEVER GET A CALL BACK.
SO I DON'T RIGHT AWAY SAY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING ON MY RESUME THAT SOMEONE DIDN'T LIKE.
AND I THINK THAT DOORS WILL OPEN.
I BELIEVE IN TIMING BEING, UM, EVERYTHING HAS A TIME.
SO, UM, BUT I KNOW THAT IN ORDER TO GAIN TO, TO REACH OPPORTUNITIES TO MAXIMIZE MY OWN POTENTIAL, I HAVE TO KEEP TRYING AND FINDING WHAT RESOURCES ARE OUT THERE TO HELP ME DO SO.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT I TELL OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL, EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THOSE FACTS DO EXIST.
I KNOW WE HAVE DIVERSITY ISSUES, I KNOW WE HAVE CULTURAL AND LANGUAGE BARRIERS, UM, BUT STILL WE TRY TO HELP PEOPLE OVERCOME.
CARSON, IT SOUNDS LIKE, UH, YOU DISPLAY PERFECTLY, THEY'RE READY TO WORK, UH, THEME AND, AND YOU ANSWERED THAT PERFECTLY.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
THANK YOU FOR SUBMITTING YOUR, YOUR APPLICATION.
I'M VERY EXCITED AT THE PROSPECT OF SOMEONE LIKE YOU SERVING ON THIS BOARD.
I FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE A LOT OF ON THE GROUND, UH, REAL STORIES AND A PERSPECTIVE THAT YOU CAN BRING TO, TO THIS BOARD.
AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO REMEMBER, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE AND, UH, AND YOU BEING FACE TO FACE WITH THEM, I THINK WOULD BE VERY, VERY HELPFUL.
UH, I ALSO WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT THAT PART OF YOUR APPLICATION THAT YOU HAD CLIENTS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
CAN, WHEN YOU SAY CLIENTS, ARE THOSE PART OF YOUR, UH, PERSONAL BUSINESS OR IS THAT WITH THE EDGEWOOD? UM, IT'S BOTH.
UM, I, I AM, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, I'M A LIFE COACH.
AND SO I, I'VE TAKEN LIFE COACHING CERTIFICATIONS AND, UM, I, I TRULY DO GET, UH, I LOVE HELPING PEOPLE, SO I HELP PEOPLE IN A NUMBER OF AREAS THAT, THAT PERTAIN TO JUST HELPING PEOPLE LIVE THEIR BEST LIFE.
AND THAT, THAT STATEMENT IN ITSELF IS SUBJECTIVE.
DID YOU, ARE YOU STOPPING ME? OKAY.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE STOPPING ME.
I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHICH BUSINESS YES.
YES, ANOTHER QUESTION FOR YOU.
UM, SO WHAT I'D REALLY LIKE TO HEAR IS, UH, WHETHER IT'S YOUR PERSONAL BUSINESS OR, OR WHETHER IT'S AT EDGEWOOD, CAN YOU TELL US SOME OF THE STORIES AND HOW YOU HAVE HELPED PEOPLE FIND, UH, OPPORTUNITIES, JOB OPPORTUNITIES, IF, AND IF YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO, HOW HAVE YOU DONE THAT? THANK YOU.
I WOULD DEFINITELY, AND I'LL JUST USE THE, I'LL USE THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE WITH EDGEWOOD.
I MEAN, WORKING IN, YOU KNOW, UM, SOMETIMES WHEN PEOPLE KNOW YOU WORK IN HR, IT'S AN AUTOMATIC, SHE HAS A DIRECT CONNECTION.
YOU KNOW, SHE'S GONNA GET ME A JOB.
AND UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T HAVE THAT LUXURY, BUT I CAN, I HAVE HELPED PEOPLE WORK ON THEIR RESUMES, SAY, HEY, YOU'RE LACKING THIS.
UM, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR FIRST FOOT FORWARD IS A RESUME, JUST LIKE MY APPLICATION IS.
YOU REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS, YOU SAY, OKAY, WHAT THEY PUT DOWN IS ONE THING, BUT ONCE THEY'RE ABLE TO GET IN THROUGH THE DOOR FIRST VIA RESUME APPLICATION, THEN WHAT CAN THEY PRESENT? YOU KNOW, AND CAN THEY REALLY PRESENT AND BE TRANSPARENT WITH WHO THEY ARE? AND WILL THAT HELP THEM REACH THAT OPPORTUNITY? SO I HAVE A, YOU KNOW, WORKING AT EDGEWOOD, PEOPLE COME TO ME, ESPECIALLY WHEN I WAS THE EMPLOYEE RELATIONS OFFICER, BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DO MORE.
YOU MAY HAVE A PARA THAT'S WORKING AS A CLASSROOM AIDE, AND, AND THEY LOVE TEACHING AND THEY LOVE THAT PART OF IT, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THE TEACHING CREDENTIAL.
UM, SO THEY CAN'T EVER JUST ADVANCE TO BEING THAT CLASSROOM TEACHER INSTEAD OF THAT PARAPROFESSIONAL.
AND SO I'VE WORKED WITH A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS TO SAY, HEY, LET'S, THERE'S THIS PROGRAM OUT HERE, LET'S DO THIS.
WHY DON'T YOU TRY THAT? UM, YOU CAN, YOU'RE, YOU'RE THERE RIGHT HERE, SO YOU CAN GET SOME SUBSTITUTE TEACHER HOURS IN.
SO I, I KIND OF DIG THROUGH AND I'M LIKE, THIS IS WHAT YOU WANNA DO.
YOU KNOW, YOU WANNA BE AN ATTORNEY? NO, YOU CAN'T GO TO THE COURTHOUSE NEXT WEEK AND DEFEND ANYBODY ON TRIAL.
YOU KNOW, SO, AND YOU CAN'T JUST GO AND SAY, I'M GONNA GO TO LAW SCHOOL.
THERE'S THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO BUILD UP.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT EVERYTHING HAS A FOUNDATION AND A STARTING POINT.
AND SO WE CAN DREAM BIG, AND I THINK
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PEOPLE SHOULD DO THAT, BUT LET'S START MAKING STEPS TO HELP PEOPLE GET TO THEIR DREAMS. SO, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, EDGEWOOD, YOU KNOW, WORKING IN HR, I HAVE THE LUXURY OF WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO SAY, I WANT MORE.I WANT TO DO MORE, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW.
AND, UM, AND SO I'M LIKE, THIS IS HOW YOU CAN DO THAT.
AND, AND PERF AND PERSONALLY, IT'S THE SAME THING, JUST TRYING TO COACH PEOPLE THROUGH TO REALLY MAXIMIZING THEIR OWN POTENTIAL.
SO, UH, WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY, BY THE PANDEMIC, HAS, HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO HELP THEM, LIKE PLACE THEM? HAVE THEY, HAVE THEY BEEN ABLE TO FIND JOBS? I, I MEAN, MY GUESS IS NO, RIGHT? BECAUSE HOW TOUGH IT'S RIGHT NOW.
WELL, YOU KNOW, AT EDGEWOOD, WE HAVEN'T STOPPED HIRING, UM, BECAUSE I, I WORKED THROUGH THE PROCESS OF INTERVIEWING, I MEAN, OF BRINGING NEW PEOPLE ON BOARD.
SO I SEE THAT WE'RE STILL BRINGING PEOPLE ON.
UM, BUT WE'VE HAD THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO, UM, THEY CAN'T RETURN BACK TO WORK BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT PHYSICALLY ABLE TO.
SO AT THOSE, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M, AS SOON AS THEY CAN GET BACK TO BEING WHERE THEY NEED TO BE PHYSICALLY, WE CAN HELP.
BUT AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME, SINCE COVID, I SEE THE DIRECT IMPACT OF PEOPLE PERSONALLY.
I'VE HAD FRIENDS AND, AND PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE A JOB, AND THEY DON'T, THEY HAD A JOB BEFORE.
AND SO YOU LOSE YOUR JOB, LET'S JUST SAY.
AND I DON'T, I DON'T WANNA PUT ANY CATEGORY OF A, A JOB.
IT'S JUST GOING TO A JOB EVERY DAY.
BUT THERE'S REALLY NO TRUE SKILLSET THAT THEY NEEDED, OR TRAINING, OR CERTIFICATION.
SO NOW THEY'RE, THEY WANNA GET BACK INTO OPPORTUNITIES THAT DO EXIST, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THE SKILLSET.
SO, YES, I'VE WORKED WITH PEOPLE AND I, UNFORTUNATELY, UM, A NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HIT WHERE THEY'VE BEEN HAVING TO, YOU KNOW, GET LAID OFF OR THEY DON'T HAVE ANY HOURS ANYMORE.
SO, UM, IT'S JUST TRYING TO ENCOURAGE THEM.
I, I'M A STRONG, OBVIOUSLY, I'VE WORKED HARD TO GET MY EDUCATION, BUT I'M A STRONG ADVOCATE OF ADVANCED TRAINING AND EDUCATION.
SOME PEOPLE SAY A, A DEGREE DOESN'T MATTER, BUT I THINK IT REALLY DOES.
'CAUSE IT'S JUST ANOTHER QUALIFIER TO HELP YOU GET THROUGH THE DOOR.
SO AT THIS POINT IS PEOPLE HAVE TO START REALLY THINKING ABOUT, AM I GONNA GO BACK AND FIND ANOTHER JOB, YOU KNOW, DOING WHATEVER, OR NOW AM I GONNA HAVE TO TRY TO GET SOME TYPE OF SKILL SET AND TRAINING SO THAT IF, IF I'M LAID OFF AGAIN, I HAVE A SKILL, OR I HAVE A TRADE THAT I CAN TAKE, JUST LIKE PLUMBERS, YOU KNOW, THE SIMPLE FACT THAT PLUMBERS WHO, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T HAVE THEIR FULL LICENSE, ARE ABLE TO NOW, YOU KNOW, TRY TO GO OUT AND WORK IN THE FIELDS.
'CAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE GETTING READY TO BE, THEY'RE GONNA, THAT INDUSTRY IS GONNA BE IMPACTED, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S BIG.
SO THEY HAVE A TRADE, THEY HAVE A SKILLSET THAT THEY CAN USE.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND THAT'S THE MINDSET THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET PEOPLE IS, YEAH, YOU CAN GO TO WORK, WE ALL GO TO WORK, BUT WHY NOT TRY TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF CAREER, SOME TYPE OF SKILLSET OR, OR TRUE TRADE.
AND COLLEGE IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY.
THAT'S ANOTHER THING, NOT TO CUT THAT OFF.
SO THAT'S WHY WE SHOULD PUSH THESE PROGRAMS LIKE THAT SOUTHWEST CAMPUS HAS, AND SOME OF THESE TRADES, BECAUSE WE ALL WANT OUR KIDS TO GO TO COLLEGE, AND THAT'S GREATER GO IN THE MILITARY, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF TRADE AND TECHNICAL.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, AND THANK YOU, DR.
UM, THE, UH, THE COMMITTEE WILL DELIBERATE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AFTER THIS, AND, AND WE WILL BE MAKING OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THERE FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER ON MARCH 4TH.
REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME, UH, AND YOUR APPLICATION, YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD.
ALEX, BEFORE YOU BRING IN OUR, OUR NEXT, UM, APPLICANT, IF YOU COULD JUST HOLD US FOR A MINUTE.
UM, JUST REAL QUICK FOR, FOR THE COMMITTEE, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO, WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF, UH, GIVING EVERYBODY, UH, ROUGHLY EQUAL TIME.
UH, SO IF, IF I CAN ASK EVERYBODY TO HAVE ONE QUESTION, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A QUESTION, BUT IF YOU HAVE ONE QUESTION, WE'LL TRY TO KEEP EVERYBODY TO AROUND 10 MINUTES.
THAT INCLUDES THEIR OPENING STATEMENT.
JUST SO WE GIVE EVERYBODY ROUGH AS WE GO THROUGH THE INTERVIEWS.
I KNOW THIS IS, UH, THE SECOND ROUND FOR, FOR I GUESS ABOUT JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY.
SO OUR NEXT APPLICANT WILL BE, UM, ROMAN MATA BARRERA.
AND THERE, AND BEFORE OVER, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PUT UP A TIMER OR BACKGROUND
UH, I DON'T WANT TO CUT ANYONE OFF, UM, BUT JUST I WANT TO TRY TO KEEP EVERYBODY ROUGHLY, ROUGHLY EQUAL.
CARSON WAS A, A GREAT CONVERSATION.
UM, WE JUST WANT TO KEEP EVERYBODY AROUND THE SAME.
SO LET'S, UH, LET'S BRING IN ROMA.
[00:25:09]
HI ROMANITA.CAN YOU HEAR US? THERE YOU ARE.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH ROMANITA FOR THE WORK THAT YOU DO, UH, EVERY DAY AT SA WORKS, AND ALSO YOUR WILLINGNESS TO, UH, STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP ON THE SA READY TO WORK, HAVING INTERVIEWS, UH, WITH ALL THE APP, THE REMAINING APPLICANTS TODAY, UH, THE COUNCIL WILL, UH, DELIBERATE AN OPEN, AND, EXCUSE ME, AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AFTER, UM, UH, WE HEAR THE INTERVIEWS, THEN WE'LL BE CONSIDERING, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THIS COMMITTEE, UH, AT THE MARCH 4TH COUNCIL MEETING.
SO, UH, EVERYONE HAS THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT, AND THEN WE'LL GO AROUND TO THE COMMITTEE QUESTIONS.
UH, SO WITH THAT, UH, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US, AND YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
I HOPE A WARM MORNING FOR ALL OF US FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP OWNERSHIP.
NOT ONLY ON WE'RE, UM, I'M HAVE THE PLEASURE OF SERVING AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF, OF SA WORKS NOW FOR FOUR YEARS.
UM, SA WORKS IS THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ARM OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION.
AND WE HAVE BEEN IN THE CRUX OF ALL OF THE WORK RELATED TO THE WORKFORCE RECOVERY AND RESPONSE PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN STOOD UP BY YOU, BY THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AS WELL AS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, WITH BEX COUNTY.
AND SO, UM, I WAS PARTICULARLY VERY, UM, GLAD TO SEE THAT OUR RESIDENTS IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, VOTED IN FAVOR OF ESSAY READY TO WORK.
BECAUSE I SINCERELY BELIEVE, I SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT INVESTMENT IN OUR HUMAN CAPITAL IS CRITICAL.
AND WHILE THE PANDEMIC HAS REALLY PUT OUR COMMUNITY IN A REALLY TOUGH PLACE, A LOT OF OF PEOPLE THAT WE KNOW, FAMILY MEMBERS, FRIENDS, HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS, ARE STILL, UM, UNEMPLOYED.
I THINK THIS WAS OUR NOW OR NEVER MOMENT, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT ISSUE.
WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT LOW WAGES FOR A VERY LONG TIME IN SAN ANTONIO.
UH, BUT I THINK NOW THE FACT THAT YOU ALL HAVE PUT TO IT FORTH A GREAT PLAN IN TERMS OF HOW WE CAN GET OUR RESIDENTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE HIGH PAYING JOBS, IS SOMETHING THAT I AM PERSONALLY VERY COMMITTED TO, TO BEING A PART OF.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THE MISSION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION IS TO RECRUIT AND KEEP HIGH WAGE JOBS IN SAN ANTONIO.
BUT FOR ME PERSONALLY, I FEEL THAT WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE ALSO NOT IMPORTING THE TALENT THAT'S GOING TO TAKE ON THOSE HIGH WAGE, HIGH PAYING JOBS, BUT THAT WE'RE BUILDING OUR, OUR HUMAN CAPITAL, AND IT'S OUR SANTON.
AND THAT'S STARTING WITH OUR KIDS IN SCHOOL.
AND THAT'S WHY, UM, I'M ALSO VERY FOCUSED.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO BE FOCUSED SO THAT IN A PREVENTATIVE WAY, WE'RE LOOKING AT YOUTH IN SAN ANTONIO, HOW CAN WE PREPARE THEM FOR THE JOBS OF THE FUTURE? BUT OBVIOUSLY, ESSAY READY TO WORK IS FOCUSING ON OUR ADULTS WHO ARE DISLOCATED.
IT'S GONNA BE CHALLENGING, IT'S GONNA BE COMPLEX.
I AM, UH, SURE OF THAT, BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT WITH THE RIGHT, UH, TEAM, YOU ALL OBVIOUSLY IN PLACE AND WITH THE RIGHT ADVISORY, UM, BOARD, THAT WE CAN MAKE SOME SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.
AND I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE CRITICAL FROM THE VERY GET GO TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE DATA-DRIVEN, EVIDENCE-BASED, AND MY HEART IS IN IT.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF HOPE, UM, THAT'S BEING EXTENDED, BUT WE NEED HOPE AND HELP ALIGNED TOGETHER.
AND SO I'M VERY EXCITED TO LEND, UH, MY PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENT TO SERVE ON
UM, LET'S, UH, LET'S GO TO COUNCIL DISCUSSION NOW.
WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ.
I DIDN'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR RAMA.
I GUESS MY HAND WAS STILL UP FROM THE LAST TIME I THOUGHT I TOOK IT DOWN.
UM, BUT I MEAN, I THINK YOU'RE, UH, RAM VERY WELL QUALIFIED AND PREPARED TO DO THE JOB.
UM, MAYBE I, I DIDN'T HAVE A QUESTION, BUT NOW THAT I'M THINKING ABOUT IT, MAYBE YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT SUCCESSES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'VE HAD ON SA WORK SO FAR, AND HOW THOSE MIGHT BE, UM, UH, USED FOR THIS NEW PROGRAM.
I THINK, UH, GAINING THE TRUST OF OUR PARTNERS HAS BEEN REALLY CRITICAL.
UM, WE WERE STILL RELATIVELY A NEW KID ON THE BLOCK IN TERMS OF THE WORKFORCE ECOSYSTEM.
AND I, UH, REMEMBER CLEARLY WHEN DAVID ELLO TOOK ON THE ROLE AS C E O OF QUEST, WE HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION.
AND HE WAS THINKING OF, OF HIRING OR EMBEDDING SOME BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOLKS IN HIS TEAM.
AND WE SAID, LIKE, THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
AND WE CAN PROVIDE YOU, UH, LABOR MARKET INTELLIGENCE, EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE, AND WE DON'T CHARGE FOR ANY OF THAT.
YOU SHOULD BENEFIT FROM THAT, INVEST YOUR RESOURCES IN OTHER AREAS OF, OF YOUR ORGANIZATION.
[00:30:01]
THE SAME APPLIES WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.ALAMO AND, AND SO MANY OTHERS IS JUST REALLY HAVE GAINED THE TRUST OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
UH, WE ARE ACTUALLY POISED TO HAVE A JOB SHADOW NEXT WEEK WITH OVER 11,000 STUDENTS.
AND THAT TAKES TRUE PARTNERSHIP.
AND SO I REALLY BELIEVE THAT, UH, THE, THE TRUST OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, AND THEN JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, THE TRUST OF OUR EMPLOYERS THAT WE'RE GOING TO DELIVER AND FOLLOW UP.
UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR APPLICATION, UH, ROMANITA.
I WANTED TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR WORK ON THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR UPGRADE THE RE-SKILLING PROGRAM THAT YOU MENTIONED WITH THE SAN ANTONIO EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP, HOW THAT WENT AND WHAT YOU WOULD, UH, BRING FROM THAT EXPERIENCE TO THIS BOARD.
SO THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT, UM, UPGRADE HAS DONE A, A, A REALLY GREAT JOB OF TACKLING THIS WAS AN ISSUE THAT WAS IDENTIFIED A FEW YEARS AGO, RIGHT? WE HAVE OVER, UH, 30% OF OUR SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS HAVE SOME, SOME COLLEGE, SOME HOURS, BUT NO DEGREE, NO CERTIFICATION.
AND SO THEY'VE DONE A REALLY GREAT JOB.
AND MY ROLE SPECIFICALLY ON THE BOARD, I BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, LISA AND HER TEAM CAN, CAN ATTEST TO THIS, HAS BEEN, THEY HAVE THE EXPERTISE IN REALLY KNOWING HOW TO COUNSEL AND ADVISE ADULTS THROUGH CAREER NAVIGATION.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY CRITICAL.
CASE MANAGEMENT IS ONE ASPECT OF IT, REALLY GETTING TO THE CRUXES OF PEOPLE'S, UH, NEEDS.
BUT IT'S THE CA THE CAREER NAVIGATION PIECE.
BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE ENTRYWAY INTO THE EMPLOYER NETWORK AND COMMUNITY.
AND SO WE WERE REALLY ABLE TO WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM AND IDENTIFY, UM, DISSEMINATING THEIR SURVEY OUT TO EMPLOYERS.
REALLY, THE, ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS TO THE SUCCESS OF THAT PROGRAM HAS BEEN HOW CAN EMPLOYERS BETTER MAXIMIZE THEIR COLLEGE RE OR THEIR TUITION REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAMS BE, AND THEN HOW CAN WE EDUCATE INDIVIDUALS OR EMPLOYEES OF THOSE COMPANIES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT? AND SO WE'RE, WE ARE REALLY CRITICAL AND IDENTIFYING EMPLOYERS WHO HAVE TUITION REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAMS AND BRINGING THEM AS LOW HANGING FRUIT TO PARTNER WITH UPGRADES THAT UPGRADE COULD THEN WORK WITH, UH, THEIR EMPLOYEES.
SO IT REALLY HAS BEEN THAT ACCESS TO THAT CRITICAL EMPLOYER NETWORK.
AND, UH, THEY JUST RECENTLY REPORTED, OBVIOUSLY, UH, BECAUSE OF COVID.
WE HADN'T HAD A MEETING, UM, IN, UH, QUITE A WHILE, AND WE JUST DID ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO.
AND SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THEY HAVE ACTUALLY MADE SOME REAL PROGRESS TOWARDS COMPLETION OF THESE ADULTS WHO ACTUALLY WERE ABLE TO COMPLETE TWO AND FOUR YEAR DEGREES.
AND THAT'S A REALLY, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S AN INCREDIBLE FEAT BECAUSE THEY'RE WORKING WITH WORKING ADULTS AS WELL.
AND SO I THINK, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT UPGRADE BRINGS TO MIND IS HOW DO YOU WORK WITH SOMEBODY HOLISTICALLY WHO IS EMPLOYED, WHO HAS A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON IN THEIR LIFE, AND HELP ORIENT THEM INTO THE RIGHT PROGRAMS THAT ARE GONNA BE THE BEST FIT FOR THEM.
ANY QUESTIONS? ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE? ROMANZA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, AGAIN, FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD.
UH, WE'LL DELIBERATE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THEN, UH, THE, THE COMMITTEE WILL MAKE, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL COMMITTEE FOR FULL COUNSEL.
FROM THERE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.
AND THANK EACH ONE OF YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING FOR YOUR RESPECTIVE S ALRIGHT.
OUR NEXT APPLICANT IS JOHNNY ICK.
UH, HE'LL BE ALSO IN THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION CATEGORY.
HELLO, MR. JOHNNY, CAN YOU HEAR US? YES.
MR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US, UH, AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP ON THIS BOARD.
UM, THE COMMITTEE, UH, IS HEARING ALL THE REMAINING APPLICANTS TODAY.
WE'RE GONNA DELIBERATE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL COUNSEL ON MARCH 4TH.
UM, ALL OF THE INTERVIEWS TODAY ARE BEING GIVEN THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT.
THEN WE'LL GO AROUND THE COMMITTEE WITH QUESTIONS.
SO VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD WITH THAT.
CAN YOU, CAN YOU HEAR ME? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I HAVE, UH, SOME KIND OF KICKBACK GOING ON.
UM, THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING ME FOR THIS
[00:35:01]
ROLE AND TAKING TIME TO INTERVIEW ME.I WORK FOR SAN ANTONIO, I S D, AND THE PROGRAMS I HELP SUPPORT ARE RELATED TO COLLEGE CAREER AND MILITARY READINESS.
AND IN S I S D, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN PERFORMING ON LINKING OUR COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITIES INTO OUR CAMPUSES, OUR COMMUNITY INDUSTRY PARTNERS INTO OUR CAMPUSES.
AND WE'VE ALSO DONE A LOT OF WORK ON THE ADULT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.
SO, TO KIND OF JUST GIVE YOU A PICTURE OF WHAT I THINK I CAN BRING TO THE TABLE IS, UH, OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN AT SS I S D, PEDRO MARTINEZ BROUGHT ME IN TO REVAMP OUR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS TYPE PROGRAMS ALONG WITH OUR ADULT ED PROGRAMMING.
AND SO WE HAVE KIND OF INTERMIXED WHAT WE'RE DOING IN OUR ADULT ED AND LEARNING FROM THAT PROCESS, ALONG WITH INTERMIXING WITH OUR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS PROGRAMS. IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, WE'VE, UH, CREATED EARLY COLLEGE P-TECH PROGRAMS THAT LINK TO MANUFACTURING, AEROSPACE, WELDING, CONSTRUCTION, UH, AND RN PROGRAM, UH, ASSOCIATES IN SCIENCE, UM, AND CYBERSECURITY.
AND SO BETWEEN ALL THOSE PROGRAMS, UH, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH ALAMO COLLEGES AND OUR BUSINESS INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO CREATE PATHWAYS WHERE STUDENTS ARE GETTING CERTIFIED.
THREE YEARS AGO AT S I S D, WE HAD 17 STUDENTS GRADUATING.
UM, I GUESS WITH INDUSTRY SEARCH, UM, THE, THE, UM, JUST KIND OF A CREDENTIAL.
UM, THIS LAST YEAR, WE, UH, AT THE END OF COVID WE'RE CLOSER TO OVER 300 KIDS AND OVER 800 STUDENTS IN HIGH SCHOOL GOT CERTIFIED AND DIFFERENT INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS OUTLINED BY T E A THAT ARE ALLOWED TO BE CONSIDERED HIGH WAGE, HIGH DEMAND.
ALONG WITH THAT, WE HAVE ABOUT HALF OF OUR STUDENTS GOING TO COLLEGE, AT LEAST BEFORE COVID YET, UH, WE KNOW THAT NUMBER'S DROPPING.
UM, BUT IN OUR RESEARCH AND OUR WORK, WE'VE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT GETTING STUDENTS INDUSTRY CERTIFIED.
WE'VE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT GETTING 'EM T S I READY, AND WE'RE DOING IT ON THE HIGH SCHOOL SIDE, AND WE ARE DOING IT ON THE ADULT SIDE.
UM, AND SO OUR PROGRAMS IN ADULT EDUCATION SERVE OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE.
UM, RIGHT BEFORE COVID HIT, WE WERE AROUND THAT THOUSAND MARK.
WE HAVE DROPPED IN NUMBERS, UH, BUT WE'RE HOPING TO GET THOSE NUMBERS BACK.
WE PROVIDE SERVICES FROM G E D TO E S L.
ENGLISH IS A SECOND, SECOND LANGUAGE CITIZENSHIPS.
AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING IN PROGRAMS LIKE IN THE PRISON WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE AND OTHER TYPE OF TRAINING THAT'S GOING ON.
AND SO THAT'S JUST KIND OF THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
ALL THE MANY PROGRAMS THAT I GET TO WORK WITH.
AND WE, AND THAT TOGETHER, WE, WE PARALLEL WITH WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO HERE.
AND SO I THINK MANY THINGS WE CAN BRING TO THE TABLE.
UM, WE'LL GO NOW TO OUR, OUR COMMITTEE QUESTIONS.
WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ.
SORRY, MAYOR, MY HAND WASN'T UP, BUT, UH, I'LL JUST AT LEAST SAY HELLO AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, UH, YOUR APPLICATION.
MAYOR JOHN, CAN YOU HEAR US? YES.
TECHNOLOGY JUST ISN'T WORKING VERY WELL FOR US RIGHT NOW.
UH, BUT ANYWAY, UH, MR. ALAK, I, I APPRECIATE YOU EXPLAINING THE ROLE THAT YOU'VE UNDERTAKEN.
YOU KNOW, I TAUGHT AT S A I S D FOR 20 YEARS MYSELF.
AND I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST BEGAN THE, UH, THE GOAL WAS TO PREPARE PEOPLE FOR, FOR WORK FOR THE MILITARY OR FOR COLLEGE.
AND THEN OVER THE YEARS, IT SEEMED LIKE MOST OF THE EMPHASIS WENT BACK TO JUST GETTING PEOPLE COLLEGE READY.
AND I DON'T THINK THERE WAS ENOUGH EMPHASIS ON BEING PREPARED TO GO INTO THE WORKFORCE OR EVEN THE MILITARY.
I'M GLAD TO HEAR, UH, WHAT THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAVE BEEN OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
CERTAINLY HEARING THAT YOU HAVE 800 STUDENTS, UH, IN A PIPELINE FOR CERTIFICATION INTO, UH, CRITICAL JOBS THAT ARE AVAIL AVAILABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY IS VERY POSITIVE.
UH, DO YOU BELIEVE THAT WHAT THIS, THIS NEW BOARD AND, AND READY TO WORK PROGRAM, UH, WILL BE ABLE TO DO IS TO MOVE THOSE SAME STUDENTS TO THE NEXT LEVEL? OR DO YOU THINK IT'S MORE GEARED TO PEOPLE WHO JUST GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND HADN'T
[00:40:01]
GONE ANY FURTHER THAN MAYBE SOME WHO'VE RECEIVED CERTIFICATES THROUGH YOUR PROGRAM? UM, I BELIEVE BOTH.UM, I THINK, UM, I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK IN PUBLIC EDUCATION.
THE REASON WE HAVE THIS GOING ON IS BECAUSE OF SOME OF THOSE CHANGES THAT WE HAD IN EDUCATION, EVEN IN OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGES NOT ALIGNED.
AND SO, UH, WHAT I SEE IS, UM, IS THAT S I S D AND MOST OF YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, I LIKE TO BRING IN ALL THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
'CAUSE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S NOT AN S I S D ISSUE.
IT'S MORE OF A GLOBAL ISSUE IN THAT, UM, WE, WE HAVE A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF KIDS THAT ARE SHOWING UP TO COLLEGE AND WE'RE TRACKING THAT.
UM, SANTO I S D RECEIVED A GRANT FROM VALERO THAT'S HELPED US ACTUALLY START INCREASING THOSE NUMBERS OF GOING TO COLLEGE.
BUT OUT OF THE 2,600 STUDENTS, AND THIS REALLY MATCHES MOST OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE AREA, UH, WELL, WE'RE A LITTLE HIGHER THAN SOME, BUT WE, ABOUT HALF OF 'EM ARE GOING TO COLLEGE.
THE OTHER 1300 ARE DROPPING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH BECAUSE NO, NO SYSTEM IS PICKING THEM UP AND TAKING 'EM TO THE, THE DIRECTION THEY WANT TO GO TO.
SO WE, LET'S SAY THOSE 1300 STUDENTS ARE NOT IN THIS CASE, UM, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO GO TO COLLEGE.
WHAT OTHER OPPORTUNITIES COULD WE PROVIDE AND CONNECT THEM WITH? SO GRADUATION ISN'T JUMPING OFF A CLIFF FOR THEM AS MUCH.
AND SO OUR WORK IN, AT LEAST IN THE SIDE, HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON HOPEFULLY HAVING A DREAM THAT OUR C T E PROGRAMS, OUR COLLEGE-BASED PROGRAMS, ARE WORKING TOGETHER SO KIDS CAN GRADUATE INTO A LIVING WAGE JOB TO FOLLOW THEIR OWN DREAMS OR TO GO TO COLLEGE SO THEY CAN COMPLETE OR EVEN GO INTO A HIGH PAYING ROLE IN THE MILITARY.
SO SCORING REALLY HIGH ON THOSE ASVAB SCORES, FOR EXAMPLE.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK, BUT OVER THE NEXT DECADE, I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT WE'LL GRADUATE KIDS THAT'LL BE GOING INTO THOSE TYPE OF THINGS.
AND I THINK THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE CAN DO IN A SILO.
I THINK THIS PROGRAM WOULD CONNECT TO THAT AND HELP SUPPORT ALL THOSE KIDS, NOT JUST THE 1300 FROM S I S D, BUT ALL THE OTHERS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF CO HIGH SCHOOL THAT AREN'T READY OR DON'T THAT NEED THAT KIND OF SUPPORT.
DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, UH, I THINK YOU WERE
I THINK IT'S, EXCEPT FROM LAST TIME.
BUT, UH, ACTUALLY, UH, MR. RAHAL, I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
RAHAL, YOU DESCRIBED, UH, REALLY EXCITING THINGS THAT S A I S B IS DOING WITH ADULT EDUCATION.
UH, CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU RECRUIT, UH, BECAUSE YOU DON'T JUST WORK WITH STUDENTS, RIGHT? YOU, WHEN YOU SAID ADULTS, I IMAGINE YOU'RE BRINGING IN MEMBERS FROM THE COMMUNITY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT E S L CITIZENSHIP PREPARATION CLASSES AND, AND SOME OF THAT JOB TRAINING STUFF.
HOW DO YOU RECRUIT THOSE, UH, THOSE MEMBERS, AND WHAT TYPE OF, SORRY, THOSE STUDENTS AND WHAT TYPE OF ADDITIONAL SUPPORT DO THEY NEED TO ACTUALLY GET THROUGH THE PROGRAM, AND HOW DO YOU MAKE THAT HAPPEN? THANK YOU.
SO, UM, I HAVE A, UM, ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM THAT HAS ABOUT THREE, UM, ADULTS THAT KIND OF RUN AND ADMINISTRATE THE PROGRAM, UM, WHILE WE HAVE ABOUT 48 TEACHERS.
AND SO, UM, JUST KIND OF GIVE YOU A PICTURE OF THE SIZE AND THE QUANTITY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO KIND OF COORDINATE HERE, UM, IN THAT, AND MOST OF IT'S FUNDED BY T W C, BUT MOST OF OUR WORK HAS BEEN DONE THROUGH OUR FAMILY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALISTS ON OUR CAMPUSES.
SO WE HAVE FAMILY, UH, ENGAGEMENT SPECIALISTS THAT WORK WITH OUR FAMILIES, UH, ON ALL KINDS OF TYPES OF ISSUES, FROM HUNGER TO CONTINUING THEIR OWN EDUCATION, TO PARENTING CLASSES, TO UNDERSTANDING HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE.
THEY SUPPORT US IN MULTIPLE WAYS, CONNECTING WITH OUR FAMILIES ON OUR, AT OUR SCHOOL.
THE OTHER WAY IS WE'VE ALSO PROVIDED OUR CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS USING OUR OWN HIGH SCHOOLS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, EDISON HIGH SCHOOL HAS A PHLEBOTOMY CERTIFICATION FOR ADULTS.
SO, UM, BEFORE WE WERE DONE, WE HAD A WAITING LIST OF, OF PEOPLE JUST AROUND IN THAT COMMUNITY THAT WANTED TO ACCESS THAT.
SO OUR STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE AS SCHOOL DISTRICTS IS WE'VE GOT FACILITIES THAT HAVE A LOT OF CURRENT TECH PROGRAMS IN THEM, AND JUST MENTIONED THE ONES THAT WE ARE DOING AT S A S D, UH, FOR THE PTECH THAT ARE TRYING TO MEET THE LEVEL OF COLLEGE, YOU KNOW, ACCEPTANCE.
SO THE EQUIPMENT, THE TECHNOLOGY, ALL THOSE POSITION THINGS ARE IN PLACE.
SO AT NIGHT, ON THE WEEKENDS OR IN THE SUMMER, OUR HOPE IS THAT WE CAN EXPAND THOSE SAME OPPORTUNITIES.
[00:45:01]
STUDENTS TO OUR ADULT COMMUNITY.SO THAT'S, THAT'S HOW WE'VE BEEN DOING, IS THROUGH A HOMEGROWN TYPE MARKETING PLAN THROUGH OUR OWN COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, UH, JOINING US AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP, UH, IN THIS PROGRAM.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE GONNA DELIBERATE AS A COMMITTEE AFTER THIS MEETING AND THEN MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL COUNCIL FOR THE CONSIDERATION ON MARCH 4TH.
REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME TODAY, AND, UM, WE WILL BE IN TOUCH.
THE NEXT APPLICANT WILL BE FOR THE, UM, CURRENT OR PREVIOUS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM CATEGORY.
UH, AND I BELIEVE SHE IS THE ONLY ONE PRESENT, UH, FOR THIS CATEGORY TODAY.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR JOINING US AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP ON THIS BOARD.
UM, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME TODAY, ALL OF THE APPLICANTS THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM TODAY.
WE'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT, AND THEN WE'LL GO AROUND IN THE COMMITTEE FOR QUESTIONS.
UH, SO WITH THAT, UH, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
GOOD MORNING EVERYONE, AND THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME BE HERE.
UM, SO ABOUT MYSELF, I'M A SAN ANTONIO NATIVE AND LIFELONG RESIDENT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I GREW UP IN POVERTY AND, UH, I KNOW LIKE THE MAIN REASON FOR THAT WAS BECAUSE MY PARENTS HAD BARRIERS TO THEIR EDUCATION, UM, AND DID NOT COMPLETE EVEN A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.
SO, AND THEN I GOT TO SEE THE CASCADE OF EFFECTS OF THAT, UM, LIKE DRUG USE AND, AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT COME WITH IT.
UM, INADEQUATE HOUSING, UM, INSECURE FOOD AND EVERYTHING THAT COMES WITH POVERTY.
UM, AND SO KNOWING FIRSTHAND AND BEING ACUTELY AWARE OF HOW POVERTY, UM, IS A BARRIER TO RESOURCES AND KIND OF EXACTLY WHERE THAT THAT LINK CAN BE ADDRESSED, WHICH IS EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE TRAINING.
I REALLY AM INTERESTED IN BEING A PART OF THIS BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I SAW THAT, YOU KNOW, FIRSTHAND, I GOT TO SEE EXACTLY WHERE, UM, OUR PROBLEMS KIND OF BEGAN.
AND I LOVE MY PARENTS AND THEY LOVE ME, OF COURSE.
UM, BUT I, I CAN SEE WHERE A LOT OF THE TROUBLE REALLY STARTED FOR US.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IT'S CLICHE, BUT I REALLY WANNA GIVE BACK.
UM, I FEEL INCREDIBLY BLESSED AND I OWE MY CAREER NOW, UM, AS A REGISTERED NURSE, UM, TO THIS PROGRAM AND ITS STAKEHOLDERS.
SO I WOULD LOVE TO BE A PART OF LIKE, CAN DO TO HELP.
UM, SO GIVEN THAT, THAT I WAS A PARTICIPANT IN PRIVATE QUEST, WHO THEN LINKED ME WITH RESOURCES THROUGH SAN ANTONIO AND ALLOWED ME TO SEND MY EDUCATION THE COVID 19 CRISIS.
SO, UM, WITHOUT IT, I ABSOLUTELY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COMPLETE.
UM, I'M A MOTHER OF TWO, AND THE COST OF CHILDCARE ALONG WITH TUITION AND NOT HAVING, UM, A JOB OR INCOME THAT REALLY CAN SUPPORT US ALL, THEN I WOULDN'T HAVE MADE IT.
SO, UM, I ABSOLUTELY OWE IT TO THIS PROGRAM.
AND THIS, UM, I REALLY LOVE THAT THERE'S
AND THAT IN ADDRESSING THE WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION, YOU'RE ALSO ADDRESSING ALL THESE OTHER ISSUES THAT STEM FROM THAT, LIKE, UM, EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, YOU'RE ALSO ADDRESSING THOSE, YOU KNOW, CATASTROPHIC EVENTS THAT CAN HAPPEN FOR SOME PEOPLE THAT JUST TOTALLY PUT AN END TO THEIR EDUCATIONAL PURSUITS.
UM, AND I LOVE THAT THE PROGRAM IS A TAX THAT WILL GENERATE MORE TAXABLE INCOME IN OUR COMMUNITY, IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I WENT FROM HAVING AN INCOME OF ZERO 'CAUSE I WAS A STAY-AT-HOME MOM.
UM, I JUST WAS A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.
I JUST HAD A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.
SO I WENT FROM HAVING AN INCOME OF $0 TO NOW, UM, $55,000 ANNUALLY.
AND I GET TO BE A PART OF THAT GIVING BACK NOW THROUGH MY TAXES AT LEAST.
AND, UM, I JUST, I JUST REALLY
[00:50:01]
WANNA BE, I, I WANNA BE A PART OF IT BECAUSE I KNOW, UM, I KNOW FIRSTHAND WHAT, WHAT THIS MEANS TO PEOPLE.AND I, UH, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW OFTEN I CAME INTO CONTACT WITH NURSING ASSISTANTS AND OTHER PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, LIKE ME THAT WERE NOT DEGREED WORKERS AND HOW MUCH THEY REALLY WANT TO GO FURTHER, AND THEY JUST DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE RESOURCES.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'M ALREADY
AND I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THIS PLATFORM WITH YOU GUYS, YOU GUYS TO DO THAT IN A
UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, SO THANK YOU FOR, UH, THE WORK YOU DO AS A NURSE, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR.
UM, AND I, AND I WILL ALSO THANK YOU FOR STEPPING FORWARD, UH, WITH YOUR APPLICATION.
IF, IF I MAY, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT IF WE COULD, UM, DESCRIBE, UH, OR, OR PICTURE THE, UH, STORIES OF SUCCESS THAT WE WANT TO SEE FROM THIS PROGRAM, UH, I THINK YOU EXEMPLIFY THAT.
SO, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE YOU WILLINGNESS TO SHARE YOUR STORY, UH, BUT ALSO MODEL, UH, WHAT WE HOPE TO CREATE, UH, IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND YOU ARE LIVING THAT OUT, AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM, TOO.
UH, LET ME GO NOW TO, UH, COMMITTEE QUESTIONS.
WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, MS.
AND, UH, I, I WANNA SAY THAT I'M, I'M, UM, VERY, UH, PROUD OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO ON THE FRONT LINES AT METHODIST.
UM, AND THEN ALSO JUST OF, OF WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR YOUR FAMILY AND FOR YOUR, UH, FUTURE GENERATIONS AND YOUR FAMILY.
SO CONGRATULATIONS FOR ALL THE HARD WORK.
UM, I, UH, AM A BIG FAN OF PROJECT QUEST AND SO, UM, I KNOW THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
I KNOW THAT THE WRAPAROUND SERVICES HAVE HELPED A LOT.
HOW DID YOU SEE THE WRAPAROUND SERVICES, UM, AND, AND HOW DO YOU THINK THAT THEY SHOULD BE INCORPORATED INTO, UM, THAT THEY'RE READY TO WORK? UM, I KNOW THAT YOU HAD MENTIONED IN YOUR APPLICATION THAT YOU COULDN'T AFFORD TO WORK AND YOU PAY CHILDCARE.
UM, AND SO HELP, HELP ME UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT YOU THINK NEEDS TO BE DONE TO, UH, INVEST A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THE CONCEPT OF WRAPAROUND SERVICES.
UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE ANY IMMEDIATE IDEAS FOR IMPROVEMENT.
'CAUSE HONESTLY, LIKE FOR ME, IT WAS A SUCCESS.
YOU KNOW, THE, THE STRATEGIES THAT WERE IMPLEMENTED WERE ENOUGH FOR ME.
SO I, I WOULD HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT AND PROBABLY REACH OUT TO OTHERS AND SEE WHAT THEY THINK.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, OVERALL, UH, PROJECT QUEST IMPLEMENTED THINGS LIKE MANDATORY WEEKLY MEETINGS WHERE THEY WOULD HAVE RESUME WRITING TRAINING OR, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'D HAVE BACHELOR DEGREE PROGRAMS COME IN SO THAT WE WOULD START THINKING ABOUT TRANSFERRING, UM, AND GETTING THAT, UM, THAT BACHELOR'S DEGREE.
UM, SO I REALLY, UH, BENEFITED FROM THOSE WEEKLY MEETINGS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, PROJECT QUEST WAS ALWAYS ASKING, UM, WHAT MY BARRIERS WERE, YOU KNOW, IS EVERYTHING GOING OKAY? LIKE, ARE YOUR, IS CHILDCARE WORKING OUT? IF IT'S NOT, HOW CAN WE HELP? IS IT, YOU KNOW, IS IT THE MONEY OR YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO TAKE THEM, OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER RESOURCES I NEEDED.
AND THEY WERE ASKING THOSE QUESTIONS.
SO, UM, IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT FROM, FROM WHAT FINANCIAL AID HAD LOOKED LIKE IN COLLEGE, BECAUSE THEY DON'T NECESSARILY, UM, THEIR, THEIR MAIN FOCUS IS NOT PARENTS.
UM, I THINK THEIR MAIN FOCUS IS STILL THOSE 18 YEAR OLDS THAT ARE JUST GETTING OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL.
AND SO THE RESOURCES THERE ARE GREAT.
BUT YEAH, IT WAS, THEY WERE MEETING ME IN A PLACE WHERE, WHERE FINANCIAL AID COULD NOT AT AT SCHOOL.
SO, UM, AS FAR AS YOUR QUESTION, I DON'T HAVE ANY IMMEDIATE SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT.
UH, I THINK THAT THE PROGRAM IS REALLY COMPREHENSIVE AND, UM, AND THAT IF READY TO WORK IS, IS GONNA DO THOSE THINGS AND MAKE SURE, LIKE THE CASE MANAGEMENT SOUNDS AWESOME, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT IS, IS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ALL THE BARRIERS AND ADDRESSING ALL THE BARRIERS, BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, OH, TUITION, IT'S TUITION, AND I NEED, YOU KNOW, I NEED A, I DON'T HAVE, UM, CHILDCARE, OR I DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE REGULAR, UH, SHELTER OR WHATEVER THE ISSUE IS.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE REALLY BEING VERY COMPREHENSIVE.
UM, SO I THINK THE CASE MANAGEMENT IDEA AND WHAT I'VE READ ABOUT IT IS GONNA BE REALLY SUCCESSFUL.
THANK YOU, MS. BURLA, YOU ACTUALLY ANSWERED THE QUESTION, I THINK PERFECTLY, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
COUNCIL MEMBER GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
EMILY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR APPLICATION.
UH, I, I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT WE WOULD HAVE, UH, CURRENT AND FORMER PARTICIPANTS OF THE
[00:55:01]
PROGRAM ON THIS ADVISORY BOARD, UH, BECAUSE YOU HAVE, UH, YOU BENEFITED FROM THE PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, WHAT HELPS YOU AND WHAT CAN HELP OTHERS.UH, WOULD YOU HAVE ACCESS TO OTHER PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS? UH, KIND OF LIKE WHAT YOU JUST SAID RIGHT NOW, IF WE WANTED IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO IMPROVE IT, IMPROVE OR WHAT THINGS WERE, WERE MOST HELPFUL, DO YOU HAVE LIKE A NETWORK OF, OF COLLEAGUES THAT YOU COULD REACH OUT TO AND, AND SORT OF RUN THAT BY? ABSOLUTELY.
I FEEL LIKE I HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF, UM, OF CONTACTS AT WORK.
YOU KNOW, LIKE I MENTIONED, SOME OF THE NURSING, MOST OF THE NURSING ASSISTANTS I WORK WITH ARE DESPERATE TO FURTHER THEIR EDUCATION.
AND, UM, SO I HAVE THAT WHOLE NETWORK.
AND ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, MY FRIENDS IN SCHOOL WHO, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD OFTEN BE TALKING ABOUT LIKE, OH MY GOD, I DON'T KNOW HOW, ESPECIALLY ONCE C O V I D HIT, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE'RE GONNA DO THIS.
YOU KNOW, OUR INCOME'S BEEN AFFECTED, OR NOW MY MY KID'S SCHOOL IS SHUT DOWN.
I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I'M GOING TO, TO DO THIS ANYMORE.
SO, UM, ALL OF MY FORMER CLASSMATES, UM, MY COLLEAGUES, THERE'S A, I FEEL LIKE I HAVE A GOOD LITTLE NETWORK OF PEOPLE THAT, THAT I KNOW THAT, THAT NEED THIS AND THAT COULD HELP.
AND JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU SAID FRIENDS AT SCHOOL, SO THEY MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE IN THE NURSING PATH, BUT THEY MAY BE, UH, IN OTHER CAREER PATHS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE NURSING PROGRAM IS PRETTY, UM, OH, IT'S A NURSING PROGRAM.
UM, SO IT WAS A NURSING PROGRAM.
EVERYONE THAT I REALLY KNOW IS, UM, IS GOING IN NURSING AT SCHOOL.
UH, THANK YOU MS. SPURLOCK FOR, UH, PUTTING YOURSELF FORWARD TO REPRESENT, UH, A MAJOR PART OF THE COMMUNITY THAT'S GOING TO BENEFIT FROM THIS SERVICE.
LET ME ASK YOU, WHAT, WHAT WAS IT THAT CAPTURED YOUR ATTENTION THAT LED YOU TO MOVE FORWARD, UH, INTO, UH, QUEST AND, AND SEEKING THAT KIND OF HELP? BECAUSE OTHERS MAY NEED TO KNOW WHAT THAT TRIGGER IS, OR WE MAY BE ABLE TO PUSH THAT BUTTON FOR OTHERS TO GET INTO THIS PROGRAM.
SO WHAT WAS IT FOR YOU? WELL, SIR, UM, I AM MARRIED, BUT THE REALIZATION THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT MY HUSBAND'S INCOME, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SUPPORT MY CHILDREN.
UM, OR THE FACT, JUST THE MERE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ALREADY STRUGGLING TO SUPPORT THE CHILDREN.
UM, THAT WAS REALLY MY, UH, INSPIRATION TO FURTHER MY EDUCATION.
AND THEN I STARTED TO JOIN GROUPS, LOCAL GROUPS ON FACEBOOK, UM, THAT WERE NURSING RELATED, NURSING STUDENTS, UM, SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE STUDENTS.
AND I STARTED TO ASK THE QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, LIKE, HOW DO I DO THIS IF I DON'T REALLY HAVE, YOU KNOW, JUST GETTING GRANTS ALONE ISN'T GONNA COVER IT, OR, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT HELP MY, MY TUITION PAYMENT, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MEET THESE OTHER NEEDS.
UM, AND EVERYONE STARTED TO TALK TO ME ABOUT PROJECT QUEST.
YOU KNOW, THAT THAT WAS THE WAY, ONLY WAY THEY COULD GET THROUGH IT.
AND SO I REACHED OUT AND I WAS VERY FORTUNATE THAT, UM, THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, HELPED ME OUT.
SO I WOULD SAY MY INSPIRATION WAS DEFINITELY MY CHILDREN, MAKING SURE THAT I SET THE EXAMPLE THAT I, IT WAS KIND OF, FOR ME, IT WAS DEFINITELY JUST BREAKING THE, BREAKING THE CYCLE.
YOU KNOW, I KNEW, I KNEW WHAT LINK IT WAS THAT THAT HARMED, THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MADE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR ME AS A CHILD AND AS AN ADULT.
AND I DIDN'T WANNA DO THAT TO MY KIDS.
SO I WOULD'VE DONE ANYTHING, YOU KNOW, BUT I JUST COULDN'T CREATE MONEY WHERE THERE WASN'T ANY STUFF.
WELL, I THINK YOU'VE GIVEN US A COUPLE OF GOOD HINTS TRYING TO REACH OUT TO FAMILIES, UH, MAYBE SINGLE PARENTS OR PARENTS WITH ONLY ONE PERSON WORKING AND, AND IN A LOWER ECONOMIC AREA WHERE THEY'RE STRUGGLING.
BUT ALSO, I APPRECIATED THE FACT THAT YOU MENTIONED, UH, SOCIAL NETWORKING AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH REACH WE ANTICIPATED DOING THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKING.
I'M SURE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT CAN BE A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING TOO.
UH, EMILY, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR STEPPING FORWARD, UH, TO LEADERSHIP ON THIS BOARD.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO DELIBERATE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE WE MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL, WHICH WILL BE CONSIDERED ON MARCH 4TH.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME AND, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO VISITING AGAIN SOON.
[01:00:01]
THANK YOU.UM, OUR NEXT APPLICANT IS IN THE TRAINING IN HIGHER EDUCATION CATEGORY.
UM, AND, UH, I BELIEVE THAT IS DR.
THANK YOU AGAIN, UH, FOR, UH, YOUR, UH, APPLICATION AND BEING WILLING TO STEP UP TO LEADERSHIP ON THIS BOARD.
UM, THE COMMITTEE IS DELIBERATING, UH, TODAY AND EXECUTIVE SESSION AFTER WE HEAR FROM THE FINAL APPLICANTS.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION ON MARCH 4TH.
UH, ALL OF THE APPLICANTS ARE, ARE GI BEING GIVEN THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT.
THEN WE GO AROUND FOR QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE.
SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR, UH, BEING HERE WITH US, ESPECIALLY UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
UH, AND WITH THAT, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR INVITING ME TO TALK TO YOU ALL TODAY.
AND, UH, FIRST I WANNA SAY I HOPE THAT YOU ALL ARE SAFE, WARM, AND WELL, AND THAT YOUR FAMILIES ARE AS WELL.
AND, AND ALSO, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS PAST WEEK, UH, KNOWING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH MYSELF AT, AT U I W.
SO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING FOR THE CITY AND VERY MUCH APPRECIATE ALL THE GREAT WORK, UH, IN A, IN A PANDEMIC AND DURING WINTER STORM.
SO I THINK MOST OF YOU ALL KNOW, UH, SOMETHING O OF ME, AND I, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE AN ALUM NOW ON THIS, UH, ON THIS CALL.
SO IT'S GREAT TO, IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU AND, UH, KNOW THAT YOU ALL KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT U I W AND, AND WHAT IT DOES FOR THE CITY IN TERMS OF EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING FOR ADULTS, BUT THEN ALSO A WHOLE LIST OF THINGS, ESPECIALLY IN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY.
BUT WHAT I THINK MOST PEOPLE PROBABLY DON'T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT ME IN, IN MY BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BECOMING A, A PRESIDENT, BOTH AT U I W AND AT AND AT CARROLL COLLEGE IN MONTANA, WAS AT, AT, UH, AT ST.
EDWARDS UNIVERSITY IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
I SPENT A GOOD DEAL OF MY TIME DOING SOME WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING, UH, BOTH OVERSEEING A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP THAT WAS PRIMARILY IN THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND IT FIELDS FOR AUSTIN, ESPECIALLY WITH THE, IT BEING BOOMTOWN IN, IN IT.
BUT THEN I ALSO SERVED ON THE WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS BOARD WITH THE AUSTIN AREA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UH, GROUP, AND, AND SERVED AT THE EMPLOYER INITIATIVES COMMITTEE LEVEL.
AND THEN THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, I CHAIRED THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE AND THEN SERVED ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
AND IT WAS JUST INCREDIBLY REWARDING TO DO THAT WORK, AS WELL AS THE WORK WITH THE SOUTH AUSTIN BUSINESS COUNCIL AND WITH THE CHAMBER WITH ADULT EDUCATION AS WELL.
AND YOU, THROUGH ALL OF THAT WORK, I I, OF COURSE, I HAVE, UH, COME TO BE QUITE PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS, NOT ONLY FOR THE INDIVIDUALS THAT GO THROUGH THE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, BUT WHAT IT MEANS FOR THEIR FAMILIES TO LIFT THEM UP, WHAT IT MEANS FOR COMMUNITIES, WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE CITY, REGION, AND STATE.
AND I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO GET MORE INVOLVED IN IT IN A, IN A CIVIC LEVEL, UH, AS I DID IN AUSTIN, AND FOUND THIS TO BE A, A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY.
I WOULD, I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO SERVE AND, AND TO BE ABLE TO LIFT THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS, THEIR FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, AND OUR GREAT CITY AND, UH, AND STATE AS WELL.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, MUCH OF THAT WORK WAS, WAS EVERYTHING FROM VERY HIGH LEVEL WORK, AGAIN, WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, PROJECT MANAGERS AND, AND IT, MANY OF THOSE ALREADY HAD GRADUATE DEGREES AND WERE RETOOLING IN, IN SOME WAY, AND THAT REALLY HELPED THEM.
BUT THEN WE ALSO SERVED THOSE THAT WERE INCARCERATED AND WHO WERE BEING RELEASED FROM, UH, FROM PRISON, AND BEING ABLE TO GET BACK INTO THE WORKFORCE AT THINGS LIKE BREAK CHECK AND, YOU KNOW, JUST LIFE TRANSFORMING FOR THEM TO HAVE THAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITY.
SO THERE'S JUST SO MANY WAYS THAT WE CAN HELP INDIVIDUALS IN, IN THE CITY, AND I, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT READY TO WORK AND THE, AND THE BOND AND REALLY APPLAUD ALL THE, THE CIVIC LEADERSHIP TO GET THAT TO HAPPEN BECAUSE IT, IT, IT IS AN EDUCATION.
I'M, I'M ADMITTEDLY BIASED THAT EDUCATION CAN CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT I, I THINK THAT THAT TRULY IS, IS WHERE IT STARTS IN GETTING, GETTING PEOPLE EDUCATED, TRAINED, AND INTO INCREDIBLE JOBS, AND WITH WHAT WE HAVE IN SAN ANTONIO AND IN MANUFACTURING AND HOSPITALITY, IN HEALTHCARE.
AND, UH, AND OF COURSE ALSO IN IT, PARTICULARLY WITH CYBERSPACE.
THERE ARE JUST SO MANY GREAT OPPORTUNITIES IN, IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO THAT I, LOOKING FORWARD TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE, QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
UM, WE'LL GO TO COMMITTEE QUESTIONS NOW.
WE'LL START WITH, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, ROCHA GARCIA.
EVANS, UH, FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SURVEY.
I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO, TO GOING BACK TO THE CAMPUS.
I'M SURE IT LOOKED BEAUTIFUL, COVERED IN SNOW, BUT I'M SURE IT WAS COLD ALSO.
[01:05:01]
AND I ALSO, LET ME SAY, OF ALL THE PEOPLE THAT, THAT I KNOW OF, IN SOME WAY, YOU'VE BEEN IMPACTED SO MUCH PERSONALLY BY THE PANDEMIC, AND I'M JUST SO VERY SORRY FOR ALL THAT YOU, YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH AND, AND OTHERS THAT HAVE SUFFERED WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE'RE SO GRATEFUL AND HAPPY AND PROUD TO CALL YOU AN ALUMNA.
AND, UH, BACK TO YOUR QUESTION, OF COURSE, WE'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT WITHIN THE, WITHIN THE COMMUNITY AND, AND OF COURSE, U UI, W'S COMMUNITY, WE LIKE TO THINK OF OURSELVES AS, AS A, AS AN H S I A, A HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTION AMONG HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTIONS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE OVER 50%, WHICH, OF COURSE, BEING IN SAN ANTONIO MAY BE MAYBE A LITTLE EASIER TO DO THAN IN, THAN IN OTHER PLACES.
BUT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, OF THE FACT THAT WE GRADUATE MORE HISPANIC STUDENTS THAN ANY OTHER PRIVATE SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ALSO VERY COGNIZANT THAT IT'S DIFFICULT TO BE A MINORITY AMONG MINORITIES, SO TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS ARE, ARE CARED FOR.
AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL CHARISM OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY, THE INCARNATE WORD, WHO HAVE PLAYED SUCH A VITAL ROLE IN, IN SAN ANTONIO WITH, UH, WITH HEALTHCARE AND CHRISTUS AND THEN, AND THE UNIVERSITY.
BUT IT'S REALLY ABOUT RESPECTING THE DIGNITY OF EVERY HUMAN BEING.
AND SO LATE, MOST RECENTLY ON, ON CAMPUS, I, I HAD THE, THE ABILITY, WHICH WAS REALLY INCREDIBLE, TO RECRUIT DR.
AND HE IS A, HE'S AN INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN LEADER IN, IN THIS FIELD, AND, UH, WAS REALLY LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO COULD ENSURE THAT WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON OUR CAMPUS WAS NOT SPECIFIC TO JUST ONE AREA OR ONE GROUP, BUT THEY COULD BE, COULD EXTEND TO EVERY ASPECT OF, OF THE CAMPUS.
AND HE'S VERY WELL KNOWN FOR, FOR SYSTEMIC WORK TO, TO ENSURE THAT THAT EVERY ASPECT HAS, HAS DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AT, AT THE FOREFRONT.
SO, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR ME, THAT WAS A, A BIG DEAL TO PUT HIM IN, IN CHARGE, BUT ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE GOOD SESSIONS FOR LISTENING, AND THAT WE ARE HEARING EVERY, EVERY VOICE ON OUR CAMPUS THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM OUR STUDENTS WHO HAVE REALLY AMAZING STORIES THAT NEED TO BE HEARD AND NEED TO BE UNDERSTOOD.
AND, UH, AND THAT'S TRUE ALSO OF OUR FACULTY AND STAFF.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD, WE'VE HAD MANY OPPORTUNITIES ON OUR, ON OUR CAMPUS, AND, YOU KNOW, AND PERSONALLY, IT'S, IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THAT, AGAIN, WE ARE, WE ARE HEARING AND, AND ALSO SEEKING TO, TO UNDERSTAND MORE THAN BEING UNDERSTOOD AND, AND REALLY HEARING AND, AND THEN ACTING ON WHAT WE CAN.
AND, UH, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, AS THIS, AS THIS GETS BACK TO TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE DESERVES THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE TRAINED AND DEVELOPED AND HAVE WORK OPPORTUNITIES THAT WILL BE LIFE FULFILLING AND, AND, UH, AND INDIVIDUALLY REALLY BENEFICIAL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ANSWER.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
GOOD MORNING, PRESIDENT EVANS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US AND, AND FOR, UH, VOLUNTEERING, UH, FOR THIS POSITION TODAY.
UH, MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, WHAT DO YOU THINK, UM, SORRY, I ASKED THIS LAST TIME AND I'M JUST BRINGING UP MY NOTES.
UM, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ROLE OF THIS ADVISORY BOARD WILL BE AND WHAT WILL MAKE THIS PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL? UH, I THINK, GREAT QUESTION.
I THINK THAT ONE OF THE KEYS TO IT IS REALLY CONNECTING WITH THE BURGEONING SECTORS WITHIN, WITHIN THE CITY, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REALLY MAKE A MARK IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE INCREDIBLE, UH, WAY THAT THE CITY HAS BEEN ABLE TO ATTRACT NEW MANUFACTURING, AND, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THAT IS, IS CLOSE TO WHERE OUR MEDICAL SCHOOL IS.
SO IT'S, IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT PART OF TOWN ALSO IS, IS BEING TRANSFORMED BY, BY THOSE KINDS OF EFFORTS.
BUT WHETHER IT'S, IT'S MANUFACTURING, AGAIN, HEALTHCARE, I THINK WE HAVE CERTAINLY GREAT, GREAT ACCOLADES WITHIN THAT AREA AND THINGS THAT MUCH MORE THAT WE CAN DO, UH, ALSO WITHIN CYBERSECURITY AND, AND IT, AND THEN BEING ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE FOUR UNIQUE CITIES, AS THEY SAY IN, IN THE UNITED STATES WITH BOSTON, NEW ORLEANS, SAN FRANCISCO, AND OUR VERY OWN SAN ANTONIO BEING THAT UNIQUE.
IT, IT WILL ALL HOSPITALITY WILL ALWAYS, UH, BE A BIG PART OF, OF THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, HOW WE REALLY CONNECT WITH AND, AND DRIVE THE THINGS THAT WILL HELP US BE BETTER KNOWN, I THINK.
AND, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, REPUTATIONALLY, A, A A PLACE OF EXCELLENCE WITHIN
[01:10:01]
THOSE IS, IS REALLY KEY, BUT THEN THERE'S A WHOLE AREA OF SERVICE AROUND THAT, THAT'S AROUND ALL OF THAT THAT ALSO NEEDS SUPPORT IN TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT THAT CAN'T BE IGNORED.BUT I THINK REAL SUCCESS PROBABLY IS AN ALIGNMENT WITH, UH, WITH SOME OF THESE CORE AREAS THAT WE ARE AS A, AS A CITY AND REGION, UH, WORKING TO, TO ATTRACT AND BE, BE BETTER KNOWN FOR.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL, UH, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU, UH, PRESIDENT EVANS FOR, UH, BEING WILLING TO STEP FORWARD AND TO COME AND TALK WITH US TODAY.
UH, WE ARE, WE'RE LOOKING AT A PROGRAM THAT WANTS TO HELP PEOPLE EITHER GET INTO A CAREER FIELD THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN IN, OR TO ADVANCE THEMSELVES, UH, IN THAT FIELD TO WHERE THEY'RE MAKING, UH, A MORE SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILY OR, UH, YOU KNOW, TO COMPLETE A COLLEGE EDUCATION.
SO THERE'S A VARIETY OF OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THE PROGRAM THAT WE HOPE TO CREATE.
UH, AND I KNOW YOUR INSTITUTION HAS DONE A GREAT JOB IN PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES IN A LOT OF THOSE CAREER FIELDS THAT THE CITY NEEDS, AND PARTICULARLY, I KNOW IN HEALTHCARE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, HOW, HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE THE, THE COMMITTEE HELPING PEOPLE GET INTO, IF NOT A FOUR YEAR DEGREE CERTIFICATIONS AND, AND OTHER RECOGNITIONS THAT CAN HELP THEM MOVE UP, UH, INTO A HIGHER INCOME LEVEL FOR THEMSELVES? DO YOU HAVE THOSE PROGRAMS WITHIN YOUR OWN STRUCTURE? WE, WE DO.
COUNCILMAN COURAGE, AND I'M, I'M REMINDED WITH YOU ON THIS CALL THAT WE SERVE ON BIOMED SA AND, AND THAT'S CERTAINLY ANOTHER SECTOR OF THE CITY THAT'S, UH, THAT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THAT, UH, CONVERGES WITH, WITH SO MANY OF THE OTHER AREAS THAT WE, THAT WE TALKED ABOUT.
YOU KNOW, U I W WE, WE DO PRIDE OURSELVES ON, ON OUR ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN THE SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES.
AND I, I THINK WHAT'S KEY FOR A LOT OF OUR ADULT STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, THOSE THAT ARE COMING BACK FOR RETOOLING OR WANT TO FINISH THEIR DEGREE OR THEY'RE, THEY'RE GETTING INTO SOMETHING FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, IS, IS THE ABILITY TO TAKE THAT, THAT STEP, YOU KNOW, TO START SOMEWHERE, START WITH A CERTIFICATE PROGRAM THAT MAY LEAD TO SOMETHING BIGGER, MAY LEAD TO THE ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE, THEN MAY LEAD TO THE BACHELOR'S DEGREE.
AND, YOU KNOW, AND THOSE ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING EVEN MORE AT, AT U I W ON PATHWAYS.
AND THESE PATHWAYS EX, THEY, THEY REALLY EXTEND TO, YOU KNOW, TO NOW JUST CREATING EVEN MICRO BADGES THAT, THAT FOLKS COULD, COULD ACCESS ON THEIR, ON THEIR PHONE.
SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY IS REALLY ENHANCING, AND I, I THINK IN AN ODD WAY, THE PANDEMIC IS ACCELERATING OUR ABILITIES TO, TO DELIVER, UH, VIRTUALLY.
AND THAT, THAT, THAT'S HELPFUL, BUT THEN ALSO, UH, COMPLIMENTARY WITH, UH, WITH HYBRID TRAINING.
BUT I THINK A LOT OF, FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE GETTING BACK INTO IT, OR EVEN JUST STARTING, IT'S STARTING SOMEWHERE.
IT, IT, IT'S TAKING THAT STEP AND GETTING STEP BY STEP BY STEP AND TO THE POINT WHEN, WHEN I SEE OUR GRADUATES OF THE SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES WALK ACROSS THE STAGE, AND, AND BY THE WAY, THEY'RE, THE MAJORITY OF OUR STUDENTS WALKING ACROSS THE STAGE, THEY'RE USUALLY DOING SO WITH TEARS STREAMING DOWN THEIR FACE BECAUSE IT, IT BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT MUCH TO THEM.
AND, AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THEY THOUGHT THAT THEY WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH.
SO HOW DO WE GET THEM TO THAT FIRST STEP OF BEING ABLE TO DO SOMETHING THEY NEVER THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO DO, THAT THEY NEVER THOUGHT THEY'D BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH? AND SO I THINK SOME OF IT'S GOING TO BE IN, IN JUST CREATING THE, THE PATHWAYS THAT START SMALL, BUT THEN LEAD, LEAD TO THE DEGREE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE REALLY NEED, OF COURSE, AN EVERMORE EDUCATED WORKFORCE.
AND, YOU KNOW, GREAT CITIES HAVE GREAT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
WE HAVE A LOT OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND, AND A LOT OF STUDENTS IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MY MY GOAL IS FOR US TO HAVE THE MOST EDUCATED WORKFORCE THAT WE, THAT WE CAN GET.
AND, UH, AND STARTING, STARTING SMALL AND GETTING BIG AND, YOU KNOW, WHY STOP AT A BACHELOR'S DEGREE AND MOVE ON, MOVE ON TO THE MASTER'S DEGREE AF AFTER THAT.
WE SEE A LOT OF OUR STUDENTS DOING THAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR APPLICATION AND WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP, UH, IN YOUR TIME TODAY.
UM, WE'RE GONNA DELIBERATE, UH, AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE MARCH 4TH AGENDA.
SO, UH, THANKS AGAIN FOR JOINING US, AND WE'LL BE IN TOUCH SOON.
I HOPE EVERYONE, EVERYONE STAY WARM AND WELL.
ALRIGHT, OUR NEXT, UH, APPLICANT, UH, TODAY IS JERRY GRABBER.
[01:15:01]
REPRESENTING ALEX, PULL THAT UP.YES, SIR, FOR JOINING US TODAY, UH, AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD, UH, TO LEADERSHIP ON YOUR APPLICATION.
UM, THE COUNCIL IS, OR THE COMMITTEE IS DELIBERATING TODAY, AND WE'LL MEET IN EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE WE MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL COUNCIL ON THE MARCH 4TH AGENDA.
UH, SO WE'RE GIVING ALL OF OUR APPLICANTS, UH, THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT.
THEN WE'LL GO AROUND, UH, TO THE COMMITTEE QUESTIONS.
UH, SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR JOINING US AND YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
UM, WELL, I GUESS Y'ALL HAVE MY APPLICATION AND, UM, UM, THE INFORMATION ON THERE.
YOU KNOW, I'VE MOVED HERE IN 97, UM, STARTED, UM, WORKING AS A CARPENTER'S HELPER, UM, UH, AT LEONARD CONTRACTING.
WENT THROUGH THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM WITH THEM, UM, WAS GOING TO ST.
PHILIP'S COLLEGE, AND I GOT MY ASSOCIATES THROUGH CONSTRUCTION, UH, MANAGEMENT.
UH, THERE, THEY, MY WORK PULLED ME IN THE OFFICE FROM THERE AND, UM, TO HELP WITH ESTIMATING AND, UM, ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
I'M A SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER NOW, UM, AND I CHAIR THE APPRENTICESHIP COMMITTEE.
I'VE BEEN, UM, AN ADJUNCT FACULTY MEMBER, UM, FOR ST.
PHILIP'S COLLEGE, UH, TEACHING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY COURSES NOW FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS.
SO I KNOW I'VE, I'VE BEEN IN THE TRENCHES AND I'VE COME UP THROUGH THE RANKS.
UM, AND I THINK THE, UM, I THINK I, I CAN PROVIDE SOME VALUABLE FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, ON THE TECHNICAL TRADE TRAINING, UH, FROM A PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL AND AN EDUCATION SIDE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M A, WAS A SINGLE FATHER OF, OF A 23 YEAR OLD AND 18 YEAR OLD.
THEY'RE GETTING GROWN, I GUESS,
UM, AND I'M A A TO BE STEPFATHER OF A 10 YEAR OLD AND A THREE YEAR OLD, SO I'M BACK IN THE DIAPERS NOW.
UM, I THINK, UH, TECHNICAL TRADING, UH, OR TECHNICAL TRADE TRAINING IS IMPORTANT TO, UM, OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR, UM, INDUSTRY, OUR COUNTRY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN FACING A, A SKILLED LABOR SHORTAGE SHORTAGE FOR, FOR YEARS.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR DECADES ACTUALLY, AND WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF IT.
SO I'M TRYING TO DO WHAT I CAN DO, UH, TO GIVE BACK TO THAT, UM, BY TEACHING AND BEING INVOLVED IN THE, UM, THE APPRENTICESHIP.
UM, WE'LL GO NOW TO COMMITTEE QUESTIONS.
WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
THANK YOU, UH, MR. GRABBER FOR YOUR APPLICATION.
UM, SO YOU WERE PART OF, OF A TRAINING PROGRAM, UH, IN THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM THAT YOU WERE IN? CORRECT.
UM, SO MY COMPANY IS PART OF A BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, UM, A B C AND A B C OFFERS, UM, A, A, AN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, UM, MM-HMM.
SO I HAVE MY, MY, UH, JOURNEYMAN CARPENTER, UM, CERTIFICATE MM-HMM.
UM, AND, AND THE GOOD THING ABOUT THAT PROGRAM IS, AND WHY I ACTUALLY ENDED UP GOING TO ST.
PHILIP'S COLLEGE IS THEY HAVE A, AN ARTICULATION AGREEMENT.
SO ONCE YOU COMPLETE YOUR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, UM, YOU GET BASICALLY 20 SOME CREDITS, YOU KNOW, HALF A DEGREE BASICALLY APPLIED, UH, TO, TO YOUR, UH, CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, UH, ASSOCIATES.
SO, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, FORCING, IT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT TO GO FROM ONE TO THE OTHER.
IT'S, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, AN OFFER.
A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T DO IT, THEY JUST STAY IN THE TRADE.
AND I ELECTED TO GO TO THE, UM, TO THE NEXT STEP.
[01:20:03]
THANK YOU.COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, YOU'RE ON MUTE, SIR.
UH, WE APPRECIATE YOU STEPPING FORWARD AND BEING, UH, WILLING TO SERVE ON THIS.
AND I THINK YOU BRING IN SOME INSIGHT.
UH, IT'S, IT'S INTERESTING TO HEAR SOMEONE WHO KIND OF PULLS THEMSELVES UP BY THEIR BOOTSTRAPS, SO TO SPEAK, UH, HAS AN INTEREST IN SOMETHING, GETS INTO AN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, AND THEN, UH, CONTINUES TO WORK THROUGH THAT AND, AND WORK UP THAT OPPORTUNITY LEVEL, UH, AS YOU HAVE DONE.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE TAKES PLACE THROUGH THIS, UH, PROGRAM THAT, UH, MAY BE THROUGH APPRENTICESHIPS OR ON THE JOB TRAINING OR THROUGH CERTIFICATIONS THROUGH HIGHER EDUCATION.
UH, ALL OF THESE, I THINK, ARE, ARE PATHS TO GET TO, UH, WELL, WHERE YOU ARE TODAY, SO TO SPEAK.
UM, HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN ATTRACT OTHER PEOPLE, UH, TO FOLLOW THE KIND OF PATH YOU FOLLOWED? UH, WHAT IS IT THAT, THAT GOT YOU TO SAY, THIS IS SOMETHING I'M GONNA CONTINUE WITH, UH, AND WHAT IS IT THAT WE NEED TO DO TO RECRUIT OTHERS, YOU THINK, TO FOLLOW THAT KIND OF A PATH? YOU KNOW, THIS IS ACTUALLY A, A CONVERSATION WE'VE BEEN HAVING AMONG THE APPRENTICESHIP AND IN THE COLLEGES ON HOW DO WE BRING PEOPLE INTO THE TRADE EVEN AT WORK.
UM, WE'RE, WE, WE TALK ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, UM, IT, IT IS GETTING BETTER.
YOU'RE SEEING MORE, UM, PUSH IN, IN THE, I GUESS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL TOWARDS THE TRADES.
YOU KNOW, I, I WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE A, YOU KNOW, LIKE A WOOD SHOP AND, AND, UH, AUTOMOTIVE TECH AND, AND STUFF IN MY HIGH SCHOOL.
SO I, I TOOK THOSE CLASSES, UM, I ENJOYED THEM.
UM, I THINK, UM, THE, THE INTEREST, UM, AND AND NURTURING OF THAT INTEREST IN, IN THE, IN THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS IS IMPORTANT.
UM, IF, IF THERE ARE STUDENTS THAT, THAT YOU CAN PLAINLY SEE THAT THEY LIKE WORKING WITH THEIR HANDS, LET'S ENCOURAGE THAT.
UM, I THINK, UM, AS THE INDIVIDUALS GET OLDER, YOU KNOW, IN, IN, I'M TALKING IN THEIR TWENTIES AND STUFF, ATTRACTING THEM INTO THE TRADE IS ACTUALLY WHAT WE'RE SEEING THE MOST OF.
RIGHT? UM, I'M SEEING STUDENTS IN, IN MY COLLEGE CLASSES, UM, THEY ARE IN THEIR TWENTIES AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE THERE 'CAUSE THEY, THEY LIKE IT.
UM, AND, AND THEN IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THESE THINGS WHERE THEY'VE TRIED TO DO, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER JOBS ARE TRYING TO WORK PART-TIME HERE AND THERE, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING TO THE TRADES BECAUSE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, EITHER THEY'RE FALLING BACK ON IT OR THEY'RE, THEY'VE HAD FAMILY MEMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN IN IT AND, AND, AND THEY, UM, THEY ACTUALLY GET INTO IT IN OUR CLASSES.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WHEN THAT LIGHT GOES OFF.
SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP, UM, AND PUSH THESE, UM, THESE TRADE, UM, TYPE PROFESSIONS, IF YOU WILL, UM, AND GET IT OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY.
HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU KNOW, PLUMBERS, ELECTRICIANS, THEY, THEY MAKE GOOD MONEY, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND IT'S NOT A JUST OUT THERE DIGGING DITCHES.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE HIGHLY SKILLED AND QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
AND, AND, AND IT'S NOT JUST THAT THE INDIVIDUALS NEED TO KNOW THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, PARENTS NEED TO HEAR THAT.
SCHOOL COUNSELORS NEED TO HEAR THAT IT NEEDS TO BE THROUGHOUT.
UH, IT JUST NEEDS TO GET OUT AND, AND CONTINUE THAT WAY.
UM, MR. GRAVER, FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS, UM, TO SERVE.
I WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN YOUR, UM, APPLICATION BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRUCTION, CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY, UM, THAT YOU BRING.
AND SO I THINK THAT, UM, THE TRADES DEFINITELY HAVE A LOT TO OFFER.
CAN YOU, UM, TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL THAT YOUR EXPERIENCE WOULD HELP US INCORPORATE THE, I THINK, MUCH NEEDED APPRENTICESHIP, UH, CONCENTRATION AND, AND WHAT KIND OF CONNECTIONS YOU WOULD BRING TO, UH, FOLKS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO, UM, TO HELP US CREATE SOME APPRENTICESHIPS, UH,
[01:25:01]
PROGRAMS OR, OR, UH, A PIPELINE IF YOU'LL? WELL, I'VE GOT, UM, AS, AS WE'VE TALKED, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE BEEN THROUGH THE APPRENTICESHIP THAT, THAT, UM, MY SPECIFIC, UH, COMPANY WAS PART OF, AND STILL IS PART OF.UM, SO I CAN SPEAK TO POTENTIAL, UM, CANDIDATES INTO THE FIELD, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, TRUE KNOWLEDGE.
I, THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GONNA EXPECT.
UM, THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO DO.
UM, AND, AND, UM, I THINK THAT PERSONAL TYPE OF, UH, CONNECTION WITH ANY POTENTIAL CANDIDATES THAT ARE, THAT ARE LOOKING INTO COMING INTO AN APPRENTICESHIP OR, OR ANY TECHNICAL TRADE TRAINING, UM, WILL HELP THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE GETTING INTO AND WHAT THE BENEFITS ARE.
UM, MY CONNECTION, MY CONNECTIONS WITH ST.
PHILIPS COLLEGE, UM, WHILE I AM JUST AN ADJUNCT FACULTY MEMBER, I'M NOT A
UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT I CAN, UM, TALK TO PEOPLE.
I, I KNOW THE DEAN OF OUR DEPARTMENT.
UM, SO I'VE GOT THAT SIDE OF IT WHERE WE CAN TALK TO AND FUNNEL, UM, INFORMATION BACK AND FORTH.
UM, I AM STILL CONNECTED AND PART OF THE, UH, A B C APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM THAT I WENT THROUGH.
SO, UM, THAT'S AN ANOTHER AVENUE.
I, I, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE OTHER APPRENTICESHIPS THAT, THAT WE CAN TALK TO OR IN OTHER TRAINING PROGRAMS. AND, AND ONCE THOSE PROGRAMS REALIZE AND SEE THAT, HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS GUY, HE MIGHT ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT,
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, UM, MR. GRABBER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AGAIN FOR SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE AND FOR, UM, YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP IN THIS INITIATIVE.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE WILL DELIBERATE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION TO THE FULL COUNSELOR FOR THE MARCH 4TH AGENDA.
UH, SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO VISITING SOON.
STAY SAFE AND STAY WARM, STAY SAFE AND STAY WARM.
OUR NEXT APPLICANT, UH, FOR THE COMMITTEE HEARING IS, UH, STACY GUNDERSON, AND I BELIEVE MS. GUNDERSON ALSO IS IN THE TRADE LABOR CATEGORY.
MS. GUNDERSON, UM, UH, THERE YOU ARE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US AND FOR YOUR APPLICATION AND WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP ON THIS BOARD.
UM, THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE, UH, WILL BE HEARING ALL THE REMAINING APPLICANTS TODAY AND THEN DELIBERATING AN EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE WE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE FULL COUNCIL, UH, FOR THE MARCH 4TH AGENDA.
UM, WE'RE GIVING ALL THE APPLICANTS THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT THAT WE GO AROUND WITH COMMITTEE QUESTIONS.
UH, SO WITH THAT, WELCOME AND, UH, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
UH, MY NAME IS STACY GUNDERSON.
WE ARE A GENERAL SUBCONTRACTOR HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
WE'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS SINCE 1938, AND I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN WITH THEM FOR MY PAST 17 YEARS.
UM, I ACTUALLY STARTED OUT AS A CRAFTSMAN MYSELF IN THE FIELD.
I WORKED FOR THREE YEARS IN THE FIELD AND KIND OF GREW UP THROUGH THE RANKS FOR THE LAST, UH, 13 YEARS OR SO.
I HAVE BEEN IN OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR A FEW YEARS.
I OVERSAW OUR SAN ANTONIO MARKET, UH, BUT FOR THE LAST YEAR I WAS PROMOTED AND NOW I'M A CRAFT TRAINING SUPERINTENDENT, AND I OVERSEE FOUR OF OUR BRANCH LOCATIONS AND I HELP OVERSEE THEIR TRAINING PROGRAMS, THEIR GOALS, THEIR BUDGETS, AND THEIR INITIATIVES.
UH, ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS ABOUT THIS ROLE IS GETTING TO BE AN ADVOCATE, UH, FOR THE TRADES.
RIGHT NOW, I CURRENTLY GET TO WORK WITH LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH THE HIGH SCHOOLS, GET YOUTH INVOLVED IN PAID INTERNSHIPS FOR 16 AND UP.
AND OVERALL, I AM A HUGE AMBASSADOR FOR OUR CRAFTSPEOPLE.
AND I WORK TO OFFER THEM CAREERS, NOT JUST JOBS.
I WANT THEM TO BE PROUD OF WHAT THEY DO AND HAVE THAT SENSE OF OWNERSHIP AND ACCOMPLISHMENT.
UM, ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS WHY I WANTED TO APPLY AND WHAT INTERESTED
[01:30:01]
ME ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY, IT IS SOMETHING I AM EXTREMELY PASSIONATE ABOUT.AND I BELIEVE IN, I FIRSTHAND HAVE SEEN THE BENEFIT OF WORKING IN THE INDUSTRY AND THE TRAINING AND WHAT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATIONS MEAN TO PEOPLE.
BRINGING THAT OVERALL SENSE OF PRIDE AND SEEING THAT CORRELATION BETWEEN TRAINING WAGES AND WHAT THAT DOES TO A PERSON AS FAR AS BRINGING THEM UP IN THE INDUSTRY.
SO I WOULD LIKE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO HELP OTHER INDIVIDUALS IN OUR COMMUNITY HAVE THAT SENSE OF OWNERSHIP AS WELL.
AND I'M NOT A BIG, AND I'M NOT, SO I WON'T USE THREE MINUTES USE.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH MS. ANDERSON.
UH, WITH THAT WE'LL GO TO, UH, COMMITTEE QUESTIONS.
WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
CASEY, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE? UM, YOU WERE, YOU WENT THROUGH THIS TRAINING PROCESS AS WELL THROUGH AN APPRENTICESHIP PROCESS IN A SENSE? YES.
UH, MERRICK HAS THEIR OWN, UM, ON-THE-JOB TRAINING PROGRAM.
SO WHAT WE'VE DONE AS A COMPANY IS WE SAT DOWN AND WE CREATED OUR OWN BASIC.
WE USED SMES CREATED OUR TRAINING PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP.
SO ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, IF YOU START THERE, YOU GET TO GO THROUGH HELPER, THROUGH JOURNEYMAN, THROUGH LEADMAN AND FOREMAN.
WE KIND OF LET THEM CREATE THEIR OWN CEILING AS FAR AS HOW THEY WANT TO GO.
AND, UM, THAT'S WHAT I WAS ABLE TO BE A PART OF.
AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE OTHER SERVICES AS WELL AS FAR AS LIKE WE TRY TO DO BLUEPRINT READING OR WE TRY TO REACH OUT FOR CITY SERVICES AS FAR AS LIKE TRYING TO FIND, UM, UH, BILINGUAL COURSES OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE.
WE WANT THEM TO CONTINUE TO GROW.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
MS. GUNDERSON, THAT YOU'RE WILLING TO STEP UP AND, AND SERVE IN THIS CAPACITY.
UH, YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT YOUR COMPANY AND WHAT IT DOES.
DO YOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH PEOPLE IN SIMILAR POSITIONS IN OTHER COMPANIES THAT ARE WORKING TO EXPAND ENTRY INTO THE TRADES THROUGH ON-THE-JOB TRAINING OR APPRENTICESHIPS THAT, UH, YOU CAN SPREAD THE WORD TO? SHOULD YOU BECOME A MEMBER OF THIS? DO YOU THINK THERE'S AN APPETITE FOR SHARING THE UNDERSTANDING OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN COMPANIES? I DO.
I AGREE WITH THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT.
UM, CURRENTLY, I ALSO VOLUNTEER WITH T C C I, WHICH IS TEXAS CONSTRUCTION CAREERS INITIATIVES.
UM, IT IS A GROUP OF ALL LIKE-MINDED, LIKE-MINDED CONTRACTORS WHO HAVE AN ADVOCACY FOR TRAINING AND WANTING TO SPREAD THE WORD.
EVERYBODY IS FEELING THE SHORTAGE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AS FAR AS LIKE NEEDING PEOPLE TO COME IN.
SO THAT GROUP ITSELF IS AN ADVOCATE, NOT NECESSARILY JUST FOR THEIR COMPANIES, BUT FOR THE INDUSTRY OVERALL AS FAR AS LIKE SPREADING THE WEAR, GETTING THE WORD OUT, TRYING TO FIND THE TALENT AND OFFERING THESE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. WE KIND OF ALL WORK TOGETHER AND PIGGYBACK AND SHARE BEST PRACTICES AND TRY TO HELP EACH OTHER.
WE'RE, IT'S A GREATER SENSE OF COMMUNITY THAT WE HAVE THERE WITH ALL THESE OTHER DIFFERENT COMPANIES, NOT JUST HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, BUT ACTUALLY EVEN THROUGHOUT THE STATE, WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS AND WE'RE A HUGE ADVOCATE FOR THAT.
I GUESS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE MAY HAVE, UH, AN IDEA AND IT, IT COULD BE ACCURATE OR A MISCONCEPTION ABOUT THAT.
A LOT OF THE JOBS MAY BE VERY LOW PAYING JOBS, AND PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU START ALMOST ANYWHERE YOU, YOU COME TO BELIEVE IN THAT.
UH, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STARTING, UH, PAY RATES FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS? BECAUSE OUR GOAL IS TO HELP PEOPLE, UH, LIFT UP THEIR INCOME TO HIGHER LEVELS SO THAT THEY CAN SUSTAIN THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES.
IS THE TRAYS A WAY TO GO? YES, AGREE A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND IT REALLY DEPENDS UPON THE TRADE.
EVERYBODY HAS DIFFERENT STARTING WAGES FROM CARPENTERS TO PLUMBERS TO ELECTRICIANS, BUT EVEN, I WOULD SAY ON THE LOWEST END, MOST PEOPLE ARE STARTING AROUND THE, THE 15 MARK.
AND OF COURSE, JUST WORKING THEIR WAY UP FROM THERE.
AND, UH, CONSTRUCTION IN GENERAL'S GOTTEN A WHOLE LOT MORE COMPETITIVE AS FAR AS THEIR WAGES.
THEY KNOW THEY'VE KIND OF WORKED THEMSELVES OUT AND THEY'RE TRYING TO ATTRACT TALENT AND THEY KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TO PAY IN ORDER TO GET THAT.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR STEPPING FORWARD.
THANK YOU MS. GUNDERSON, FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE POSITION.
I WAS, UM, INTRIGUED BY A PART OF YOUR APPLICATION THAT TALKED ABOUT THE T C C I.
UM, YOU'RE THE EVENT COORDINATOR SPECIFICALLY FOR A CAREER DAY EVENT FOR MORE THAN A
[01:35:01]
THOUSAND STUDENTS, UM, IN REGION 20.AND THANK YOU FOR THAT SERVICE, BY THE WAY.
I APPRECIATE YOU WORKING HARD ON THAT.
UM, DO YOU, HOW DO YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN LEVERAGE SOME OF THE NETWORK THAT YOU HAVE, UM, USED DURING THAT PARTICULAR EVENT, FOR INSTANCE, TO, TO HELP THE, UH, READY TO WORK SAN ANTONIO BOARD? UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
SEVERAL OF US THAT ARE INVOLVED IN T C C I ARE ALSO INVOLVED AS FAR AS LIKE THESE LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS.
AND LIKE I SAID, IT'S DEFINITELY MORE OF A SENSE OF COMMUNITY NOW.
EVERYBODY IS WILLING TO HELP OUT ONE ANOTHER AND WE'RE KIND OF ALL FEELING THE PAIN.
SO THOSE RELATIONSHIPS ARE EASILY BROUGHT IN TO, TO A POSITION LIKE THIS AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO UTILIZE THOSE CONTACTS AND THOSE CONNECTIONS AND BEING ABLE TO, TO PARTNER IN AND WORK THAT WAY.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, UH, MS. GUEN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AGAIN FOR, UH, YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD, UH, IN YOUR APPLICATION.
UH, AS I MENTIONED, THE COUNCIL WILL DELIBERATE, UM, TODAY AND THEN WE'LL SEND FORWARD OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL MEETING FOR MARCH 4TH.
SO, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN AND, UM, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME.
THANK YOU HAVE, HAVE A GREAT DAY, EVERYONE.
UM, OUR NEXT APPLICANT IS FROM THE, UH, TRADE LABOR, UM, CATEGORY.
SO LET ME BRING BACK DOUG MCMURRAY.
IF I MAY JUST ASK REAL QUICK, WHILE MR. MURRAY'S GETTING TRANSFERRED OVER, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY WE WOULD BRING BACK APPLICANTS AFTER DELIBERATION.
UM, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO DO THAT TODAY? OR, OR, OR DO WE WANNA LET PEOPLE, UM, LEAVE THE MEETING ALTOGETHER? I'M, I'M SORRY, MAYOR, I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
MAYOR, YOU'RE NOT COMING THROUGH.
UM, WE MAY HAVE LOST THE MAYOR TEMPORARILY, BUT I DO SEE, UM, DOUG MCMURRAY HERE.
PERHAPS WE CAN GO AHEAD AND, OKAY.
YOU ARE A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME NOW? YES.
AND DOUG, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
ALEX, COULD YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION YOU JUST POSED TO THE COMMITTEE REALLY QUICKLY? YES, SIR.
I JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF, IF WE WOULD LIKE APPLICANTS TO, TO SAY AND TO BE ABLE TO BE BROUGHT BACK AFTER DELIBERATIONS TODAY, OR IF WE WANNA LET PEOPLE EXIT THE MEETING AND INFORM THEM LATER.
I, I THINK IT'S OKAY IF THE APPLICANTS GO AHEAD AND GO ON THEIR WAY, UH, AS WE DELIBERATE, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE HALF THE APPLICANTS THAT ARE NOT PRESENT.
ANYWAYS, WE'LL MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION AND WE SHOULD CONTACT EVERYONE REGARDLESS.
UH, MR. MCMURRAY, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, FOR JOINING US.
UM, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE BRIEF TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY THERE,
UM, WE ARE, UH, DELIBERATING TODAY, UH, ON THE REMAINING APPLICANTS FOR THE READY TO WORK, UH, BOARD.
AND THEN WE WILL, UH, MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL FOR THE MARCH 4TH AGENDA.
UM, AND SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP.
UH, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME TODAY.
AND WITH THAT, UH, WE'RE, WE ASK ALL THE APPLICANTS TO MAKE A THREE MINUTE OPENING STATEMENT, THEN WE'LL GO AROUND FOR QUESTIONS.
SO, UH, WITH THAT YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
I'M WITH THE ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS, A 98 YEAR OLD NONPROFIT TRADE ASSOCIATION, A G C MEMBERS BUILD SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, CHURCHES, UH, GROCERY STORES, ET CETERA.
I'VE BEEN WITH A G C FOR 26 YEARS, BUT MY BACKGROUND INCLUDES CITY, COUNTY, AND STATE GOVERNMENT.
UM, I APPLIED FOR THE BOARD BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN ITS MISSION.
I SUPPORTED THE CAMPAIGN, EVEN WROTE A COUPLE OF OP-ED PIECES.
UH, I THINK THE STAKES ARE VERY HIGH WITH THIS PROGRAM, BUT I THINK WE HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW THE REST OF THE COUNTRY HOW WE CAN USE SALES TAX REVENUE TO SUPPORT, UH, TRAINING PEOPLE IN HIGH PAYING JOBS AND, UH, AND HEALTHCARE,
[01:40:01]
CYBERSECURITY AND CONSTRUCTION.UH, LASTLY, I'VE SERVED ON A LOT OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
I'M A CONSENSUS BUILDER AND I ENJOY WORKING WITH OTHERS TO GET THINGS DONE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. MCMURRAY.
WE'LL GO NOW TO COMMITTEE QUESTIONS.
WE WILL START, UH, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK, UH, THIS ADVISORY BOARD SHOULD FOCUS ON AND HOW IT WILL BE SUCCESSFUL? WELL, IT ABSOLUTELY HAS TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
LIKE I SAID, THE STAKES ARE SO HIGH.
I, I I THINK IT'S CRITICAL THAT, UH, THE BOARD REFLECT BACK ON, UM, THE EXPERIENCE WITH THE CARES ACT MONEY AND THE RESILIENCY AND RECOVERY PROGRAM AND, AND FOCUS ON THE LONG TERM.
YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IS THAT JOB TRAINING IS HARD.
UH, IT TAKES, UM, A LOT OF PATIENTS AND WE NEED TO FOCUS ON SUCCESS, AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH THE RIGHT PARTNERS.
UH, OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, I'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH W SS A, UH, SA WORKS, UH, PROJECT QUEST, UH, AND SO FORTH.
SO I THINK TOGETHER, UH, WE NEED TO, TO BUILD A PROGRAM THAT WILL ENSURE LONG-TERM SUCCESS.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
WE APPRECIATE YOU STEPPING FORWARD TO TALK WITH US ABOUT THIS.
AND COULD YOU GIVE US AN INDICATION, UH, UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP IN GENERAL CONTRACTING? UM, WHAT KIND OF EARLY OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE FOR PEOPLE TO, LET'S SAY, MOVE FROM HAVING BEEN IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY TO MOVING INTO, UH, CONTRACTING AND THE TRADES? DO YOU THINK THERE'S, THERE ARE MECHANISMS THAT EXIST OR THAT WE NEED TO CREATE TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO MAKE THAT KIND OF A TRANSITION? OH, I ABSOLUTELY DO THINK THERE ARE MECHANISMS. UM, YOU KNOW, THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY WAS ONE THAT WAS TARGETED IN THE ESSAY WORKS, JOB REPORTS, UH, IT'S BEEN MENTIONED CONSISTENTLY IN WSA DOCUMENTS AS AN INDUSTRY THAT HAS GREAT POTENTIAL FOR PEOPLE COMING OUT OF LOWER PAYING JOBS, LOWER SKILLED JOBS, UH, AND WITH THE PROPER AMOUNT OF TRAINING, EITHER THROUGH ALAMO COLLEGES OR UNION AND NON-UNION PROGRAMS. UM, MANY OF THESE PROGRAMS, BY THE WAY, COUNCIL MEMBER LISTED ON A, ON A WEBSITE CALLED TEXAS CONSTRUCTION CAREERS.
THAT SITE REALLY HOLDS, UH, THE KEY TO WHO IS DOING THE SUCCESSFUL CRAFT TRAINING, NOT JUST IN TEXAS, BUT IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, AS YOU KNOW, UH, IS AN AREA WHERE WE NEED MORE SKILLED LABOR.
THE, THE JOBS ARE HIGH PAYING.
UH, I THINK THE AVERAGE IS ABOUT 30, UH, AN HOUR.
UH, MEMBERS, UH, OF THE ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS ARE NOT JUST GENERAL CONTRACTORS, BUT THEY'RE SPECIALTY CONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIERS AND SO FORTH.
UM, AND THEY ALL REPORT CONSISTENTLY THE NEED FOR MORE PEOPLE.
YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO IS A GROWING CITY, AND SO THERE IS A GREAT NEED FOR PLUMBERS, ELECTRICIANS, IRON WORKERS, CARPENTERS, AND SO FORTH.
AND THERE ARE TRAINING ORGANIZATIONS IN, IN THE CITY THAT I THINK WE NEED TO, TO TAP TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
COULD YOU GIVE A FORECAST ON HOW MANY BEGINNING OPPORTUNITIES THERE MIGHT BE, LET'S SAY, AS APPRENTICES OR ON THE JOB TRAINING, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE? ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR A THOUSAND PEOPLE A YEAR TO ENTER IN AND, AND GET INTO A TRAINING PROGRAM OR LESS, OR MORE? WELL, LET ME, LET ME JUST TELL YOU ANECDOTALLY, I WAS IN A MEETING, UH, LAST WEEK WITH, UH, A GENTLEMAN FROM AL ALTERMAN ELECTRIC, A LARGE ELECTRICAL, UH, SUBCONTRACTING COMPANY.
YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH THE FIRM.
AND I, I SAID, CHRIS, HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU NEED RIGHT NOW? AND HE SAID, I NEED 300 PEOPLE RIGHT NOW.
THOSE ARE HIGH PAYING IN HIS PARTICULAR CASE.
THOSE ARE HIGH PAYING UNION JOBS.
UH, I'VE GOT, UH, FACTS AND FIGURES AT THE OFFICE THAT SUGGESTS THAT, UH, THIS NEED ISN'T GOING AWAY.
IT'S A PERENNIAL CHALLENGE IN THE INDUSTRY.
AND SO I WOULD SAY THAT THERE IS AT LEAST AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HUNDREDS, IF NOT A THOUSAND OR MORE FOLKS TO BE TRAINED IN JOBS THAT I THINK WOULD BE VERY REWARDING.
[01:45:01]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR INSIGHT.UH, MR. MCMURRAY, UM, I THINK ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL PARTS OF MAKING THIS PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL IS OUR ABILITY TO, TO CONNECT, UH, THE, THE END OF THE PIPELINE.
UM, THE MATRICULATION OF A TRAINING, UH, PROGRAM INTO THE EMPLOYERS, UH, AS YOU MENTIONED, SOME OF WHOM HAVE 300 OR MORE JOB OPENINGS NOW.
UM, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS, ARE SOME OF THE, THE CHALLENGES TO THAT AND, AND HOW CAN THE BOARD, UH, HELP TO ADDRESS THAT CONNECTION? WELL, AGAIN, I, I THINK WE NEED TO FOCUS ON PARTNERS THAT HAVE PROVEN TRACK RECORDS IN TERMS OF THE TRAINING.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE METRICS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AGAIN, FOCUSING INTENTLY ON THE LONG TERM.
THIS IS NOT A SHORT TERM ENDEAVOR, AS YOU WELL KNOW.
SO I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO DO, AND WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO AS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD IS LOOK AT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING INTO THE PIPELINE, UH, MONITOR WHERE THEY'RE GETTING THE TRAINING, AND THEN ULTIMATELY, UH, YOU KNOW, TAKE STOCK OF WHERE THEY'RE GETTING THE JOBS.
AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED TO HAVE A PROCESS THAT WILL MONITOR, UH, THESE METRICS AND ENSURE, UH, SUCCESS IN THE LONG TERM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MR. MCMURRAY, AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO, TO STEP FORWARD TO THIS BOARD, UH, AND THE WORK THAT YOU, YOU DID TO BRING US, UH, HERE IN TERMS OF, UM, BEING ABLE TO GET THE SUCCESSFUL PASSAGE OF THIS INITIATIVE.
UM, ALSO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
UH, THE COUNCIL WILL AGAIN DELIBERATE, UH, AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE MARCH 4TH AGENDA.
SO, UH, WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON.
UM, I BELIEVE OUR, OUR LAST APPLICANT, RIGHT, UH, ALEX WHO'S PRESENT TODAY, UM, IS, UH, BOBBY VEDA.
UH, BOBBY ALSO REPRESENTS, UH, OR WOULD BE PART OF THE, UH, TRADE LABOR ORGANIZATION CATEGORY.
UM, THERE YOU ARE, BOBBY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, JOINING US TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR APPLICATION AND WILLINGNESS TO STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP IN THIS INITIATIVE.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO, UH, HEAR FROM OUR REMAINING APPLICANTS TODAY, AND THEN THE COMMITTEE WILL DELIBERATE AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL FOR THE MARCH 4TH AGENDA.
UH, AND SO, UH, WE ARE GIVING ALL THE APPLICANTS THREE MINUTES FOR AN OPENING STATEMENT, THEN WE GO AROUND THE COMMITTEE WITH QUESTIONS.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
AND WITH THAT YOU HAVE THE FLOOR AND YOU'RE, YOU'RE MUTED, BOBBY, SO CAN'T HEAR YOU YET.
UH, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND EFFORT YOU PUT INTO THIS AND, UH, HOPEFULLY WE CAN DIG OUT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH AND GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW.
UH, I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF LOCAL 10 95.
UH, WE REPRESENT, UH, ROUGHLY ABOUT A THOUSAND WORKERS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, AS WELL AS IN AUSTIN AND, UH, OUT VARIOUS OUTLYING COMMUNITIES.
UH, PRIMARILY WE DEAL WITH, UH, SERVICE CONTRACT DEALING WITH HOUSEKEEPING AND, AND, UH, FOOD SERVICE WORKERS.
WE ALSO HAVE SOME HAZMAT CLEANUP.
UH, AND WE HAVE ABOUT 200 MEMBERS THAT, UH, WE HAVE OUT IN THE CONSTRUCTION FIELD DEALING, DEALING WITH THE PIPELINE.
UH, SOME, UH, DEMOLITION WORK.
UH, RIGHT NOW WITH THE TESLA PLANT THAT'S COMING UP RIGHT NOW, UH, WE'RE WE'RE ALSO IN THERE AS WELL TOO.
SO, UH, CERTAINLY WE ARE GROWING.
UH, WE ARE IN THE MILITARY, YOU KNOW, AS IT IS MILITARY CITY, U S A, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY, UH, OUR CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE, UH, AT SAMS C UH, LIN AIR FORCE BASE, RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, UH, WE PRETTY MUCH HAVE MOST OF THE FEDERAL CONTRACTS, UH, THROUGHOUT TIER UNITED IN, IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, AS WELL AS AT, AT VARIOUS OTHER COMMUNITIES.
SO DEFINITELY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA TRY AND DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO HELP OUR MEMBERS, UH, TO GROW AND TO LEARN AND UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT, UH, WHAT THIS COMMUNITY DOES.
AND, UH, ESPECIALLY THROUGH EDUCATION.
UH, THAT'S ONE OF OUR BIGGEST THINGS THAT WE DO, UH, IS HELPING OUR MEMBERS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO GROW IN THE EDUCATION, UH, TO BE ABLE TO, IF, IF THEY'RE NOT HAPPY WITH WHERE THEY'RE AT, DOING THE HOUSEKEEPING WORK, NOBODY WANTS TO DO HOUSEKEEPING WORK OR FOOD SERVICE WORK FOREVER.
UH, SO WE DEFINITELY TRY TO, UH, YOU KNOW, EXTEND THE EDUCATIONAL SIDE OF THE BENEFITS THAT WE HAVE TO ALL TO BE ABLE TO, TO, UH, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
SO DEFINITELY, UM, WE DO HAVE THAT, UH, GOING ON.
WE ARE INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY FIELD AS WELL, TOO.
UH, TRYING TO OUTREACH TO OUR MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY
[01:50:01]
RIGHT NOW WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS FREEZE, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY TRYING TO REACH OUT TO OUR MEMBERS.UH, WE CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT 250 RESIDENTS WHERE RE NOT HOMES THAT ARE WITH, UH, THAT WERE WITHOUT POWER AND WATER FOR THE PAST COUPLE DAYS, TRYING TO GET WATER OR ANY, ANY TYPE OF FIRST RESPONSE EFFORTS TO THEM AS WELL.
UM, BUT DEFINITELY, UM, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, ARE DOING OUR PART WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, UH, IN THE POLITICAL FIELD.
DEFINITELY WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE STAY, UH, BIPARTISAN.
UM, DEFINITELY WE ARE PRO-LABOR.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THOSE WORK PROTECTIONS ARE IN PLACE, THAT THERE'S A FAIR EQUAL, UH, LIVING WAGE FOR ALL.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND WE DEFINITELY WANNA WORK, UH, YOU KNOW, HAND IN HAND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EVERYBODY THAT WE, UH, COME ACROSS AND, AND MAKING SURE THAT, UH, EVERYBODY'S ABLE TO HAVE A FAIR LIVING WAGE.
NOT ONLY OUR UNION MEMBERS, OUR, OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
WE DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S FOR, FOR ALL, SO WE'RE NOT LOOKING OUT FOR OURSELVES.
UH, OTHER THAN THAT, UH, I'M FREE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING.
UH, MR. VEDA, UH, LET'S GO NOW TO COMMITTEE QUESTIONS AND WE WILL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK THE MISSION OF THIS, OF THE BOARD WILL BE? NOT SO MUCH THE PROGRAM ITSELF, BUT WHAT'S THE BOARD GONNA DO AND HOW WILL YOU CONTRIBUTE TO THAT? UH, SO DEFINITELY WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THAT EVERYBODY, UH, IS PARTICIPATING IN, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY READY TO WORK.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS TRAINED, THAT EVERYBODY IS UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS BEING REQUIRED OF THEM TO, UH, BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND DO THE WORK.
I MEAN, CERTAINLY WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS SAFETY PROTOCOLS AND TRAINING THAT IS IN PLACE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS, UH, FULLY INVOLVED IN ALL THE INTERACTIONS WITHIN THE COUNCIL AS WELL AS IN WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
SO DEFINITELY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA, UH, DO OUR BEST TO CONVEY THAT MESSAGE TO EVERYBODY.
I WAS SAYING THANK YOU, BUT IF I COULD JUST ASK ONE QUICK, UH, FOLLOW UP.
DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE, IN THE TRAINING PROGRAM? TRAINING PROGRAM IN THE, IN THE TRADES APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM? SO, UH, SADLY, NO.
THAT IS, UH, UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS PRETTY MUCH ONLY FOR OUR, UH, OUR CONSTRUCTION SIDE, SINCE I PRIMARILY DEAL WITH THE SERVICE CONTRACT SIDE.
UM, I HAVEN'T HAD THAT MUCH TRAINING IN THE CON IN THE CONSTRUCTION FIELD MYSELF.
UH, BUT GENERALLY MOST OF THE INFORMATION THAT I DO GET IS FROM MY BUSINESS MANAGER, UH, OR FROM MY COUNTERPARTS THAT WE ALSO HAVE IN AUSTIN WHO ARE DEFINITELY HEAVILY INVOLVED OVER THERE.
SO THEY ARE ON COUNCIL COMMITTEES, UH, IN AUSTIN.
BUT SINCE I AM A RESIDENT HERE OF SAN ANTONIO IN BEXAR COUNTY, UH, IT'S DEFINITELY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO ALSO CROSS TRAIN ME, BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LOT TO LEARN, ESPECIALLY NOT COMING FROM THE FIELD.
UM, I, I, I AM PICKING UP SOME OF IT, BUT NOT ALL OF IT, UM, SINCE LIKE I SAID, NO PROBLEM.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
YOU KNOW, MY QUESTION WAS REALLY, UH, TIED INTO THE TAIL QUESTION THAT, UH, THAT ANA JUST ASKED, AND THAT IS ABOUT, UH, THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS THROUGH THE BUILDING TRADES.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, BOBBY, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, I THINK TO US, IF YOU MIGHT RELAY WHAT THE EXTENT OF THAT KIND OF APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS ARE IN AND AROUND BEXAR COUNTY TO HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN TIE THOSE IN TO THIS READY TO WORK PROGRAM.
SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE, UH, A, A UNITED EFFORT IN TRAINING PEOPLE, UH, TO MOVE UP INTO, UH, THESE HIGHER PAYING OPPORTUNITIES SO THEY CAN TAKE CARE OF THEIR FAMILIES.
AND I JUST WANT TO KNOW THAT THERE'S A, A SHARED, UH, COMMITMENT TO HELP IN THESE TRAINING EFFORTS GOING FORWARD.
AND SO IF, IF YOU COULD GET AN IDEA OF HOW MANY POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THE TRADE UNIONS, UH, THAT THEY HAVE IN THE AREA OF, UH,
[01:55:01]
APPRENTICESHIPS AND TRAINING PROGRAMS, I THINK THAT'D BE USEFUL FOR US.UH, SO FIRST OFF, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WITH THE SOUTHWEST LABORS TRAINING AND APPRENTICE OF TRUST FUND, UH, IT IS REGISTERED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND, AND IT CARRIES THIRD PARTY ACCREDITATION FROM OSHA AND ANSI.
UH, THIS MEANS THAT OUR CERTIFICATION AND LEVEL OF INSTRUCTION IS HONORED NATIONWIDE.
UH, WE OFFER OVER 400 MODULAR COURSES, UM, TO NAME A FEW, UH, FORKLIFT OSHA 10, OSHA 30 CONFINED SPACE FIRST AID HAS COME, UH, AND, AND, AND ET CETERA.
UH, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO GROW THE SKILLSET OF ANY LABOR.
UH, THESE CERTIFICATIONS ARE PAIRED, UH, WITH, UH, WITH THEIR FIELD OF EXPERIENCE AND ALLOWS THE EMPLOYEE TO CLIMB THE LADDER, UH, SO TO SPEAK, UH, RESULTING IN HIGHER WAGES AND PROSPERITY FOR THE FAMILY.
UH, WE HAVE CLASSES THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH WITH SOME CLASSES IN SPANISH THAT WE ARE TRYING TO TRANSLATE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF.
'CAUSE, YOU KNOW, BEING DOWN HERE IN SOUTH TEXAS, UH, OR IN TEXAS, PERIOD, YOU KNOW, UH, PREDOMINANTLY MOST OF THE WORKERS ARE GONNA BE OF, UH, SPANISH DESCENT, UH, OR MEXICAN DESCENT.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WE, WE TRY TO SCHEDULE THEM AFTER WORK OR ON WEEKENDS AS NOT TO IMPACT INCOME OR PRODUCTION, UH, FOR THE JOB SIDE.
BUT DEFINITELY, UH, WE, WE TRY TO RECRUIT AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
UM, WE ARE ABLE TO BRING IN, UH, CONTRACTORS OR PRIVATE CONTRACTORS, UH, TO GIVE ONSITE TRAINING AS NECESSARY.
IF THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIFICALLY THAT NEEDS TO BE, UH, CAUGHT UP ON OR TRAINED ON, DEFINITELY THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN OFFER.
UM, ALL RIGHT, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. VELA AGAIN FOR JOINING US TODAY AND FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO, UH, STEP FORWARD TO LEADERSHIP ON THIS BOARD.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO DELIBERATE AND, UH, MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE MARCH 4TH AGENDA.
SO, UH, HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND.
LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON.
GUYS, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO.
ALRIGHT, TO THE COMMITTEE, UM, WE'RE GONNA JUST TAKE OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION HERE SO EVERYONE WHO'S NOT IN THE EXECUTIVE SESSION WILL NOW BE, UH, DROPPED.
AND, AND AGAIN, WE'RE NOT GONNA BRING ANY APPLICANTS BACK TODAY, UH, SINCE, YOU KNOW, HALF OF THEM ARE NOT HERE ANYWAYS.
UM, SO MAYBE WE CAN TAKE THREE MINUTES REAL QUICK.
UH, TAKE A REAL QUICK BATHROOM BREAK AND THEN RECONVENE, UH, AT ABOUT 1105.
AND I THINK WE CAN MAKE PRETTY SWIFT WORK OF THIS.
AND I, AND I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THIS FOR A MINUTE.
WE HAVE APPLICANTS FOR ALL OF THE CATEGORIES.
UM, AND THE CATEGORIES ON THE ORDINANCE ARE FOUR FROM INDUSTRY, ONE ON TRADE, ONE ON COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, ONE ON HIGHER ED, AND TWO PREVIOUS TRAINEES.
UM, THAT'S A, UH, NINE MEMBER BOARD.
UM, SOME OF THE APPLICANTS MAY HAVE, UH, APPLIED FOR ONE CATEGORY, BUT MAY IN FACT FIT ON ANOTHER, UH, OR MORE THAN ONE.
WE CAN MAKE THAT DETERMINATION AS A COMMITTEE.
ALSO, IF, UH, GIVEN THE QUALITY OF APPLICANTS IN THIS COMMITTEE, UH, WE WANNA MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS STRUCTURALLY, UH, TO AUGMENT THE BOARD IN ANY WAY WE CAN DO THAT.
AND I RECOMMEND THAT WE DO DO THAT, UM, IN THIS RECOMMENDATION THAT WE MOVE FORWARD TO THE A SESSION SO THAT IN ONE ACTION WE POTENTIALLY COULD, UM, BY ORDINANCE A APPOINT THE FIRST ROSTER OF, OF BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL AS AUGMENT THAT, UH, STRUCTURE.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, POINT OF ORDER.
MAYOR, ARE, ARE WE STILL BROADCASTING ONLINE? YES, WE ARE.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS, SO THIS IS NOT PART OF THE EXECUTIVE.
UM, WELL, I THINK WE'RE STILL BROADCASTING.
MAYOR, MAYOR, I'M, I'M SO SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO MOVE YOU ALL TO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION RIGHT? THAT WAY THE T B S A IS NOT INCLUDED IN IT.
SO IF I COULD ASK, BEFORE YOU ALL TAKE A QUICK BREAK, IF I CAN JUST CLICK THE MOVE BUTTON AND HAVE YOU CLICK JOIN SO YOU'RE ALL SET UP AND THEN THERE'LL BE NO BROADCAST ISSUE.
AND, AND I, I WANTED TO BRING UP THAT PROCEDURAL POINT BEFORE WE ACTUALLY WENT INTO EXECUTIVE SESSIONS, SO WE'RE CLEAR ON,
[Executive Session ]
ON WHAT WE'RE DOING.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON PROCESS BEFORE WE MOVE TO EXEC? OKAY, I THINK WE'RE READY.
EVERYONE, YOU SHOULD SEE A BUTTON THAT ASKS YOU TO JOIN.
IF YOU'LL CLICK THAT FOR ME, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
THE TIME IS 12:34 PM UH, THE CITY COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE HAS, UM, MET, UH, RECONVENED FROM ITS EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THE OFFICIAL ACTION WAS TAKEN.
UH, FIRST LET ME JUST THANK ALL OF THE APPLICANTS WHO HAVE STEPPED FORWARD.
[02:00:01]
PROCESS BECAUSE EVERYONE, UH, WAS VERY WELL QUALIFIED AND PRESENTED, UH, VERY WELL FOR LEADERSHIP ON THIS BOARD.WE DO WANT TO ENCOURAGE EVERYONE WHO IS ENGAGED AND IS NOT GONNA BE SEATED ON THIS BOARD, UH, TO REMAIN ENGAGED.
UH, AS, UM, WE PROBABLY PUT TOGETHER OTHER EFFORTS TO SUPPORT THIS INITIATIVE.
UM, AND ALSO THANK YOU TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO HAVE STEPPED FORWARD THAT FILL JOBS, CREATE JOBS, AND HELP MOVE OUR COMMUNITY FORWARD.
I ALSO WANNA THANK THE COMMITTEE, UM, THE SUBCOMMITTEE WHO INITIALLY, UH, REVIEWED APPLICANTS AS WELL AS OUR CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND OUR CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, WHO HAD TO, UH, KEEP UP WITH A, A, A VERY DIFFICULT DISCUSSION FOR US TO GET TO A RECOMMENDATION.
AND SO WITH THAT, LET ME TURN IT OVER NOW TO THE COMMITTEE, UH, TO PUT FORWARD OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL COUNCIL.
LEMME START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
AND, UH, THANK YOU TO ALL THE APPLICANTS.
AND I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING APPLICANTS TO FULL COUNSEL CONSIDERATION FOR APPROVAL TO THE ESSAY READY TO WORK ADVISORY BOARD IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS, IN LOCAL EMPLOYERS AND IN DEMAND.
OCCUPATION, SONIA AZA, PETER HOLT, BEN PV, AND ROSA SANTANA IN TRAINING IN HIGHER EDUCATION.
CYNTHIA TANTA, MATSON IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION, DR.
DAPHNE CARSON IN TRADES AND LABOR ORGANIZATION, DOUG MCMURRAY.
AND IN CURRENT OR PAST PARTICIPANTS, EMILY SPURLOCK AND CHAIR JERRY RENER.
THERE IS A MOTION FOR A SLATE OF APPLICANTS TO BE RECOMMENDED TO THE FULL COUNSEL.
UM, IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND.
THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? OKAY.
AND MY CAMERA'S OFF, BUT I DID MOTION.
UM, LET ME ALSO NOW RECOMMEND, UH, RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, UH, FOR AN ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATION MADE BY THE COMMITTEE.
I MOVE THAT WE ADDED TWO ADDITIONAL SPOTS, ONE TO THE WORKFORCE, UH, EMPLOYEE COMMITTEE UNDER, UH, FINANCE.
UH, I RECOMMEND COUNCIL MEMBER JUAN SOLI, AND ALSO TO THE LABOR SPOT WE RECOMMEND, UH, BOBBY OLEVA.
SECOND, THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR THE ADDITION RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR SLOTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR APPOINTEES IN THOSE SLOTS.
UH, IS THERE ANY ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION ON THE RECOMMENDATION AND MOTION? UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL MAYOR, I SUPPORT THE ADDITION OF THE ADDITIONAL LABOR SPOT.
UH, I'M, I'M NOT FULLY IN SUPPORTIVE ADDING THE ADDITIONAL EMPLOYER SPOT RIGHT NOW.
SO WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO BREAK UP THE MOTION IF, UH, WE CAN SURE.
WE WOULD NEED, UM, WE NEED TO EITHER, UH, MAKE THAT AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT OR, UH, TO, UM, IS THAT, WAS THAT OKAY SHIRLEY TO VOTE ON THE TWO SLOTS SEPARATELY? YES.
WE CAN VOTE ON TWO SEPARATELY.
IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION TO THAT, THAT'S HOW WE'LL PROCEED.
UH, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE UP THE INITIAL TRADE IN LABOR SPOT FIRST WITH THE RECOMMENDATION OF BOBBY VEDA.
UM, IS THERE ANY ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION ON THAT? A MOTION BY GONZALEZ? THE SECOND BY COURAGE.
WE'VE ADDED A TRADE AND LABOR, UH, RECOMMENDATION OF BOB VEDA.
ALRIGHT, SO MEMBER GONZALEZ FOR THE ADDITIONAL, UH, RECOMMENDATION WITH JUAN SOLIS FOR A FINANCE SPOT.
UM, THERE IS A MOTION BY GONZALEZ, A SECOND BY COURAGE.
UH, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS SLOT? HEARING NONE.
UM, THERE'S, UH, NAY FROM ROCHE GARCIA AND BY SANDOVAL, UH, AYES GONZALEZ NUREMBERG.
AND SO THE AYES HAVE IT, THE RECOMMENDATION GOES FORWARD, UH, TO THE COUNCIL, UH, ALL THREE, UH, ON MARCH 4TH.
UH, ANY FURTHER COMMENTS BY THE COMMITTEE? I, I, AGAIN, WANT TO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR THE DUE DILIGENCE ON THIS.
THIS IS NOT AN EASY DECISION AND THERE ARE A LOT OF GREAT FOLKS THAT UN UNFORTUNATELY ARE, WE'RE GONNA WORK TO INCLUDE IN OTHER WAYS.
UH, BUT THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR HARD WORK.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, IF THERE'S NONE, THANKS EVERYBODY.
[02:05:01]
TODAY, BUT, UH, VERY PRODUCTIVE.UH, HAVE A GREAT AND SAFE WEEKEND.
UH, 12:39 PM WE ARE ADJOURNED.