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ON THIS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28TH, 2021.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL OUR CITY COUNCIL.
MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU READ A ROLL? COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY AND MAYOR NUREMBERG HERE.
UH, LET ME TURN IT OVER NOW TO
[1. 21-3212 Briefing on San Antonio Parks and Recreation Summer Programming [David W. McCary, CPM, Assistant City Manager; Homer Garcia III, Director, Parks and Recreation]]
ERIC WALSH, OUR CITY MANAGER TO GET US STARTED, UH, WITH OUR ONE ITEM TODAY AFTERNOON, ARIAN COUNCIL.UM, A HOMER FROM PARKS HAS BEEN WAITING A WHOLE YEAR TO GIVE THIS PRESENTATION.
SO, UH, TODAY'S B SESSION IS, UH, GONNA UPDATE THE COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC ON, UH, THE VARIETY OF SUMMER PROGRAMMING, UH, THAT WE ARE, UH, WORKING THROUGH OUR PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, UH, FOR THIS SUMMER FOR SAN ANTONIANS.
AND AFTER A LONG YEAR OF LIMITED ACTIVITIES, YOU KNOW, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, THE REOPENING AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SAFE, FUN ACTIVITIES FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO HOMER'S GONNA KINDA WALK THROUGH ALL THAT.
OF COURSE, THIS ENCOMPASSES, UH, NOT ONLY OUR RECREATIONAL OR NATURE-BASED PROGRAMS, BUT ALSO ALL OF OUR PARKS, THE SWIMMING POOLS, THE GYMS, COMMUNITY CENTERS.
UM, WE, WE MAINTAIN, UH, MORE THAN 16,000 ACRES OF PARKLAND AND 200 MILES OF WALKING AND HIKING AND BIKING TRAILS.
AND, UM, SUMMER HAS ALWAYS HISTORICALLY BEEN PARK AND RECREATION'S BUSIEST TIME OF THE YEAR WITH A VARIETY OF PROGRAMMING.
SO HOMER AND HIS PARKS TEAM ARE HERE TODAY.
IT IS, IT IS GOOD TO TALK ABOUT THIS TOPIC AND LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, AN EVENTFUL SUMMER THAT WE CAN DO SAFELY AND, AND, UH, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO HOMER.
COUNCIL, GOOD AFTERNOON, AND THANK YOU FOR TEEING THAT UP.
IT, IT HAS BEEN, UH, I GUESS THIS PRESENTATION, YOU COULD SAY IN SOME WAYS A YEAR IN THE MAKING.
UH, AND ALSO THOUGH, YOU KNOW, EARLIER THIS MONTH, UH, COUNCILMAN GONZALEZ, UH, HIGHLIGHTED PARKS AND ASKED TO SAY A FEW WORDS ON, UH, OUR SUMMER PROGRAMMING.
VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE A MUCH DEEPER DIVE.
UH, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK SINCE THEN.
WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FINALIZE SOME PLANS.
SO, UM, THAT BEING SAID, I, YOU KNOW, ONCE INTRODUCE MYSELF, HOMER GARCIA II PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR.
UH, AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL, I AM EXCITED TO PROVIDE THIS PREVIEW OF PROGRAMS THAT WE WILL OFFER THIS SUMMER AS WE CONTINUE TO BE ON THE PATH TOWARD REOPENING AND EXPANDING SERVICE DELIVERY TO THE COMMUNITY.
I AM JOINED TODAY BY SARAH SHARP.
UH, SHE IS A MEMBER OF OUR SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM, AND WE'LL BE CO-PRESENTING ON THAT ON THIS, UH, TOPIC TODAY.
AND THIS NEXT SLIDE, UH, REPRESENTS A SAMPLING OF SERVICES THAT WE OFFER, UH, THE COMMUNITY AND IS A GOOD REFLECTION AND REMINDER OF THOSE THAT WE SERVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, THEN THESE IMAGES CLEARLY, UH, THEY SPEAK VOLUMES, YOU KNOW, WE SEE.
AND ONE THING THAT WE'RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT, AND I'VE BEEN ASKED SEVERAL TIMES, WHAT'S THE ONE THING I'M PROBABLY MOST EXCITED ABOUT? AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, THAT WE'RE GONNA GET TO HAVE A, A POOL SEASON THIS YEAR.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT IN THIS IMAGE HERE, YOU SEE CHILDREN ENJOYING OUR POOLS.
AND THAT'S CRITICAL BECAUSE LEARNING HOW TO SWIM IS A LIFESAVING SKILL.
AND WE'RE EXCITED TO, TO BE BACK AT THE TABLE AND DOING THAT.
UH, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE'RE IN A PANDEMIC.
SO YOU SEE IMAGES OF CHILDREN IN OUR CENTERS, UH, LEARNING AND RECEIVING THOSE SERVICES.
BUT OF COURSE, WITH SAFETY FIRST AND, UM, NECESSARY COVID SAFETY PRECAUTIONS IN PLACE.
WE ALSO KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT OUR TRAIL SYSTEM THAT WE SEE ADULTS AND CHILDREN CONNECTING WITH NATURE.
UM, OUR HOWARD WP GREENWAY TRAIL SYSTEM, UH, IS MORE THAN 80 MILES COMPLETED TO DATE THE CITY MANAGER HIGHLIGHTED WHEN YOU LUMP IN ALL OF OUR OTHER URBAN PARKS WITH TRAILS IN THEM, WELL OVER 200 MILES.
WE ALSO KNOW THAT, UH, FOOD INSECURITY IS A CHALLENGE, UH, NOT ONLY LOCALLY BUT NATIONWIDE.
AND SO WE SEE AN IMAGE OF THE TEAM WORKING HARD TO CONNECT THOSE THAT NEED ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD OPTIONS, UH, DURING OUR SUMMER
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FOOD PROGRAM.AND THEN, OF COURSE, UH, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, YOU SEE A COUPLE OF IMAGES HERE OF, UH, DOGS AND DOG OWNERS.
YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT, UM, WE WORK HARD TO SERVE OUR LOCAL DOG COMMUNITY AS WELL.
AND SO THROUGH OUR EXPANDING AND GROWING NETWORK OF DOG PARKS, WE'RE ABLE TO NOT ONLY SERVE THE DOGS THEMSELVES, BUT PET OWNERS ALIKE.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND BEGIN WITH YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, I'D LIKE TO TURN THE PRESENTATION OVER TO SARAH SHARP, WHO WILL GIVE US A DEEP DIVE AROUND RECREATION PROGRAMMING.
SHE AND THE TEAM HAVE DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB OF RE-ENVISIONING WHAT PARKS CAN BE, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, WHETHER IT'S IN RECREATION AND BEYOND IN OUR, UM, SYSTEM AND CORE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE, HOW CAN WE REINVENT OURSELVES COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC SO THAT, UM, WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING CONSISTENT WITH THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
THAT BEING SAID, I'LL MUTE MYSELF AND TURN IT OVER TO SARAH.
SO, UH, IF WE WANNA LOOK AT OUR FIRST SLIDE, UH, THE FIRST THING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS OUR SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM.
UM, I MEAN, THAT'S A BIG PART OF WHAT WE OFFER IN THE SUMMER, OF COURSE, AT OUR RECREATION CENTERS.
TYPICALLY, THIS IS AN EIGHT WEEK PROGRAM.
UH, WE RUN FROM JUNE TO AUGUST WHEN PLANNING FOR OUR SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM, AS WELL AS ALL OF OUR OUTOF SCHOOL CAMPS.
WE REALLY LOOK AT THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND THEIR CALENDARS.
WE, OF COURSE WANNA MAKE SURE THE THE PROGRAM IS ACCESSIBLE FOR PARENTS.
SO WHEN THE KIDS ARE OUT OF SCHOOL, WE HAVE THAT TIME FOR KIDS TO COME INTO OUR CENTERS AND WE'LL KEEP THEM BUSY AND ACTIVE.
SO THIS YEAR, I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, MOST PEOPLE HAVE PAID ATTENTION, BUT THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE ON SOME FUN CALENDAR FOR US.
SO SOME SCHOOLS GET OUT AT THE END OF MAY.
UH, SOME GO THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF JUNE, WHICH IS REALLY, UH, UH, LATE FOR US.
SO WE'LL OFFER THE PROGRAM STARTING ON JUNE 7TH.
WE'LL HAVE SITES THAT WILL OFFER THE PROGRAM ON JUNE 14TH, AND WE'LL HAVE SITES THAT OFFER THE PROGRAM ON JUNE 28TH.
AND AGAIN, HAVING THESE VARIED START DATES REALLY ALLOWS FOR PARENTS TO SEE WHAT WORKS BEST WITH THEIR CHILD'S SCHEDULE AND, AND TO HOPEFULLY GET THEM INVOLVED IN OUR PROGRAM.
THE PROGRAM WILL BE OFFERED AT 21 PARK SITES, AND WE HAVE NINE SCHOOL SITES AS OF TODAY THAT WILL BE OFFERING THE PROGRAM AT.
WE ARE DEFINITELY A RECREATION BASED PROGRAM, BUT WE HAVE SOME ENRICHMENT COMPONENTS BECAUSE FOR US, IT'S NOT ABOUT JUST KEEPING THE KIDS PHYSICALLY ACTIVE.
WE WANT THEM MENTALLY ACTIVE OVER THE SUMMER.
SO WHEN THEY GO BACK TO SCHOOL IN THE FALL, THEY'VE HAD, WE'VE HAD SOME BRAIN EXERCISES.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A MATH COMPONENT THAT WE DO.
IT'S NOT SITTING AT A DESK, IT'S NOT DOING WORKSHEETS.
IT'S REALLY WHAT CAN WE DO, LIKE FUN GAMES WITH KIDS.
UH, WE HAVE THESE GIANT COLORFUL DICE.
YOU MIGHT THROW THE DICE, WHATEVER TEAM ADDS UP.
WHAT POPPED UP FIRST GETS A POINT.
SO IT'S ONE OF THOSE KING KIM, UH, PHYSICALLY ACTIVE AS WELL AS MENTALLY ACTIVE.
YOU KNOW, SCIENCE IS PERFECT FOR SUMMER CAMP.
UH, WE GET TO DO ALL THE MESSY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA DO IN THE CLASSROOM.
SO LOOKING AT VOLCANOES, ARE WE GOING TO DO A SLIME? IT'S SO POPULAR.
I THINK WE DO THAT EVERY YEAR.
UM, MY PERSONAL FAVORITE IS THE MENTOS AND DIET COKE.
GOTTA DO THAT OUTSIDE 'CAUSE IT REALLY GOES, BOOM.
AND THEN TALK TO THE KIDS ABOUT WHY THAT HAPPENED.
SO AGAIN, KEEPING THEIR MINDS ACTIVE.
WE HAVE AN ART ENRICHMENT COMPONENT FOR THE ART.
A FAMOUS ARTIST, ONE OF MY FAVORITES AS WE DID A MICHELANGELO PROGRAM.
KIDS LEARN ABOUT MICHELANGELO IN THIS SISTINE CHAPEL.
SO THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE DID, SO THEY COULD KIND OF HAVE A SMALL PIECE OF WHAT THAT MEANT.
YOU TAPE A PIECE OF PAPER ON THE, ON THE BOTTOM OF A DESK, KIDS LAY ON THEIR BACK AND THEY'RE PAINTING.
SO IT IS THEM DOING MICHELANGELO WORK, BUT JUST IN A SMALLER SETTING SO THEY CAN KIND OF GET AN IDEA OF HOW THAT WORKS.
WE DO THE MARI SUMMER READING PROGRAM EVERY YEAR.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARY.
UH, THEY'VE BEEN AN ASSET TO US, SO REALLY MAKING SURE THE KIDS ARE STAYING ENGAGED AGAIN MENTALLY AS WELL AS PHYSICALLY.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL IN A PANDEMIC, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT C OVID 19, THE PRECAUTIONS PROTOCOLS.
LAST YEAR WE HAD DAY CAMPS AT EIGHT OF OUR SITES.
WE SUCCESSFULLY RAN DAY CAMPS, YOU KNOW, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH METRO HEALTH.
AGAIN, ANOTHER CITY DEPARTMENT THAT HAS BEEN JUST AN ASSET TO US, PROVIDING US WITH THOSE PROTOCOLS AND PRECAUTIONS, KEEPING OUR STAFF SAFE, KEEPING OUR PARTICIPANTS SAFE, AND KUDOS TO OUR STAFF.
'CAUSE THEY FOLLOWED THEM AND WE WERE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY RUN THOSE CAMPS LAST YEAR.
SO WE'LL BE IMPLEMENTING THOSE AGAIN THIS SUMMER.
SO WE'LL HAVE THOSE SAME PROTOCOLS, MASKS, SOCIAL DISTANCING, CLEANING ALL THE TIME.
UH, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE STAYS AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE ALL SUMMER.
SO IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL HAVE AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE OUR LOCATIONS ARE AT.
SO THE BLUE DOTS ARE OUR PARK SITES.
AND THE SALMON COLORED, I WAS TOLD, ARE OUR SCHOOL SITES.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS, UM, WE DO HAVE 21 PARK SITES, WHICH IS 80% OF OUR FACILITIES ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO, OR, UH, OFFER THE PROGRAM THIS YEAR.
CENTERS THAT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO UTILIZE, WE HAVE A SCHOOL SITE OR A COMMUNITY CENTER WITHIN THE SAME VICINITY.
THAT WAY THE COMMUNITY IS STILL BEING SERVED.
UM, C OVID 19 OBVIOUSLY HAS IMPACTED EVERYONE.
UH, SO PART OF OUR RESPONSIVENESS.
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SITES, UH, QUAR AND RAMIREZ.SO WE WON'T BE ABLE TO UTILIZE 'EM FOR THE SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM, BUT THEY'RE STILL PROVIDING THAT VITAL RESOURCE TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, PARTICIPATING THIS YEAR ARE NORTH SIDE HARLANDALE AND SOUTHWEST.
SO WE HAVE THEM PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM THIS YEAR.
UM, IN SAYING THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE ARE NOW HIRING.
SO, YOU KNOW, OFFERING THIS PROGRAM, WE NEED AS MUCH STAFF AS POSSIBLE, OBVIOUSLY TO KEEP THE KIDS SAFE, KEEP THEM ENGAGED.
WE'RE HIRING FOR AGES 18 AND UP.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR SUPERVISORS, SITE STAFF, INSTRUCTORS.
AGAIN, THE PROGRAM RUNS JUNE THROUGH AUGUST.
SO IT'S A PERFECT SUMMER JOB, UH, FOR A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT.
JUST GETTING OUT OF JUST GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL.
WE HAVE A LOT OF COLLEGE STUDENTS COME BACK AT EVERY YEAR.
TEACHERS PARAPROFESSIONALS, UM, JUST FOLKS THAT WANNA BE ENGAGING, DYNAMIC.
THE INFORMATION'S ON THE CITY'S JOB SITE.
WE'LL MAKE SURE ALL OF YOUR OFFICES HAVE THE FLYERS AS WELL.
UM, AND JUST A REALLY QUICK STORY, THIS HIGHLIGHTS, I THINK WHAT, UH, WHAT THIS JOB CAN DO IS WE JUST INTERVIEWED AN APPLICANT, 19 YEAR OLD YOUNG MAN, HAD A GREAT INTERVIEW.
THE LAST QUESTION IS ALWAYS, WHY ARE YOU THE PERSON FOR THE POSITION? UM, WHAT MAKES YOU THE BEST CANDIDATE? AND THIS INDIVIDUAL, UM, HE SHARED, HE IS HARDWORKING, HE'S RESPONSIBLE, HE'S DEDICATED, BUT HE ALSO SAID HE GREW UP AT THE JOE WARD COMMUNITY CENTER.
AND THAT WHILE HE WAS THERE, UM, THERE WAS A STAFF MEMBER, DIANA MORRIS, DJ, SHE'S STILL ACTUALLY THERE.
UM, SHE MADE SUCH A DIFFERENCE IN HIS LIFE THAT HE WANTS TO COME BACK AND WORK AND BE THE DJ FOR SOMEONE ELSE.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, FOLKS THAT WANT TO COME IN AND BE DYNAMIC AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN A KID'S LIFE.
'CAUSE THEY'LL REMEMBER YOU AS AN ADULT.
THEY'LL REMEMBER I HAD COACH DJ AND LOOK WHAT SHE DID FOR ME.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED WITH THIS YOUNG MAN.
SO, UM, JUST A TESTAMENT TO WHAT OUR STAFF DOES AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
UM, WE'RE GONNA SWITCH GEARS A LITTLE BIT AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT SUMMER FOOD.
YOU KNOW, SUMMER FOOD DOES GO HAND IN HAND WITH THE SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM, UM, BECAUSE WE DO FEED THE KIDS AT OUR CAMP.
SO IT IS A, IT'S PROVIDED BY A GRANT THROUGH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
AND WE'LL PROVIDE MEALS FOR UP TO 6,000 KIDS A DAY.
WE, WE HAD TO UTILIZE A GRAB AND GO METHOD LAST YEAR DUE TO COVID.
A LOT OF FACILITIES WERE CLOSED.
SO WE HAD A GRAB AND GO METHOD WHERE FOLKS WOULD JUST COME UP, EITHER DRIVE THROUGH OR WALK UP AND GET, UM, THE FOOD FROM OUR, UH, FROM OUR STAFF.
YOU KNOW, WE DID HAVE FACILITIES CLOSED.
THERE WERE SO MANY, THERE'S SO MUCH NEED IN THE COMMUNITY THAT AS A DEPARTMENT, WE ALL CAME TOGETHER.
IT DIDN'T MATTER IF YOU'RE IN CLEAN AND GREEN MAINTENANCE FISCAL, YOU ARE OUT THERE AND TOOK THE TIME TO STAFF A SITE AND FEED THE COMMUNITY.
UM, IT WAS REALLY A UNIQUE MODEL THAT WE HAD NEVER USED BEFORE, BUT WE KNEW THE NEED WAS THERE IN THE COMMUNITY.
WE HAD TO BE THERE AND OFFER THAT SERVICE.
SO ACTUALLY, THROUGH THESE EFFORTS, WE WON AN ADMINISTRATION EXCELLENCE AWARD THROUGH THE TEXAS RECREATION AND PARK SOCIETY.
UM, OUR MANTRA WAS, WE CAN WE CARE.
AND I THINK EVERYONE, UH, CARRIED THAT THROUGH ALL SUMMER.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE WITH THAT GRAB AND GO.
WE'RE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO DO IT.
WE KNOW THERE'S STILL A NEED IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE'LL BE, WE'LL BE SERVING WITH OUR GRAB AND GO AS WELL AS AT OUR SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM SITES.
UM, LOCATIONS WILL BE AT OUR, WE'LL ALSO HAVE LOCATIONS AT OUR POOLS AND OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
SO WE'LL BE OUT THERE FEEDING THE COMMUNITY.
OUR MEALS ARE DESIGNATED AS POOR VITA HEALTHY BY METRO HEALTH, WHICH IS GREAT.
UH, THIS SUMMER WE'RE APPROXIMATING THAT WE'LL FEED ABOUT 125,000 LUNCHES AND 125,000 SNACKS, WHICH EQUATES TO A QUARTER OF A MILLION MEALS THAT WE ARE CONNECTING TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA SWITCH GEARS A LITTLE BIT.
WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OTHER PROGRAMMING THAT WE DO.
SO, OTHER RECREATION PROGRAMMING.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM, WHICH IS A HUGE COMPONENT, BUT WE HAVE OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS THAT ARE OPEN ALSO IN THE EVENINGS ON SATURDAYS.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COME OUT AND BE ENGAGED.
DO ARTS AND CRAFTS, DO SCIENCE.
WE HAVE FITNESS, SPORTS, BASKETBALL.
YOU KNOW, THESE ARE FREE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO COME TO OUR CENTERS TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
JUST AGAIN, TO BE ACTIVE, ENGAGED.
AND THEN WE'RE ALREADY FITNESS.
YOU KNOW, WE REALLY TAKE AN EQUITY APPROACH WHEN CLASSES AND SCHEDULES ARE DEVELOPED FOR OUR FITNESS IN THE PARK CLASSES.
SO THESE ARE FREE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE COMMUNITY TO GET OUT, TO CONNECT TO.
WE HAVE ZUMBA, WE'LL HAVE YOGA CORE EXERCISES, UM, ABWORKS OUT AB WORK WORKOUTS.
THIS IS A GREAT WAY NOT ONLY TO GET INTO OUR PARKS TO GET FIT.
UM, AND AGAIN, THESE ARE FREE OPPORTUNITIES TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND ALTHOUGH, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A A ADULT PROGRAM, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOUTH.
UM, THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A VERY POPULAR PROGRAM.
WE WEREN'T ABLE TO OFFER IT LAST YEAR.
SO THIS YEAR, LABOR STREET KICKBALL WILL BE BACK.
SO IF ANYONE'S GONE OVER THERE AND SEE THAT, THAT GROUP HAS A REALLY GREAT TIME PLAYING KICKBALL.
AND I KNOW THEY'RE SUPER EXCITED TO GET BACK TO GET BACK OUT ON THE FIELD AND, UH, RELIVE THEIR PLAYGROUND DAYS.
SO, UM, THAT WILL BE BACK IN ACTION THIS SUMMER.
UH, LOOKING AT THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'RE GONNA DETAIL A LITTLE BIT MORE PROGRAMMING THAT WE OFFER.
SO, UM, NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE THE COMMUNITY CENTERS, UH, WE ALSO HAVE NATURE-BASED PROGRAMMING.
SO TWO EXCITING NATURE-BASED PROGRAM ACTIVITIES THAT WE HAVE ARE STARTING OUT WILD AND GROWING UP
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WILD.THESE ARE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR KIDS TO EXPERIENCE NATURE IN NATURE.
DURING COVID, WE OFFERED THESE PROGRAMS VIRTUALLY.
SO THE TOPICS VARY, BUT THEY'RE ALWAYS NATURE BASED.
WHEN IN PERSON, THESE PROGRAMS ARE HELD AT FRIEDRICH, THEY'RE AT HARDBERGER, THEY'RE THE MEDINA RIVER NATURAL AREA.
IT'S REALLY A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO NOT ONLY COME OUT AND, AND ATTEND THE PROGRAM, BUT TO REALLY EXPERIENCE OUR NATURAL AREAS.
THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL AND A GREAT WAY FOR FOLKS TO GET OUT AND SEE WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER.
A REALLY COOL PROGRAM THAT THEY CAME UP WITH LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF COVID, WHERE THE GRAB AND GO ACTIVITY VA BAGS.
THESE WERE DEVELOPED AS LIKE AN OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY SO THAT NATURE PROGRAMS COULD BE SELF-GUIDED, THEY COULD SELF-GUIDED AT HOME.
YOU COULD GO TO YOUR LOCAL PARK, YOU COULD GO TO THE NATURAL AREAS AND STILL GET TO EXPERIENCE.
UM, AN ACTIVITY THAT IS HAD VARIOUS THEMES.
UH, WE HANDED THESE OUT AT PARKS AND AT LIBRARY.
SO THIS WAS A REALLY COOL OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY THAT CAME OUT OF COVID.
THE, THEY ALSO OFFER GUIDED HIKES.
SO THESE HIKES TAKE SCHOOL GROUPS COULD BE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS LIKE OUR MASTER NATURALISTS OR JUST MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ON HIKES THROUGHOUT THE NATURAL AREAS.
DURING PEAK COVID, THESE WERE LIVE STREAM, WHICH IS KIND OF A COOL CONCEPT.
SO YOU WOULD ACTUALLY FOLLOW THEM ON A LIVE STREAM, AND THEY'D POINT OUT PLANTS OR WILDLIFE OR BIRDS OR WHATEVER IT WAS.
SO IT WAS STILL A WAY TO KEEP PEOPLE ENGAGED.
BUT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT AND SHOW FOLKS WHAT OUR NATURAL AREAS HAVE TO OFFER.
BUT BEGINNING IN MAY, THESE WILL ACTUALLY BEGIN AGAIN ON A LIMITED BASIS WITH, UH, LIMITED CAPACITY.
UH, NOW ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT HOMER'S FAVORITE, WHICH IS THE AQUATICS, THE POOLS.
SO, UM, IF YOU WANNA, UH, GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK AT THE OUTDOOR POOL.
SO WE'RE PLANNING TO OFFER UP TO 18 OUTDOOR POOLS.
THIS PLAN HAS GOT TO BE CONTINGENT UPON THE HIRING OF ENOUGH LIFEGUARDS.
SO WE, OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE GONNA OPEN POOLS, WE'RE GONNA DO IT SAFELY.
TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, UM, 40% OF OUR LIFEGUARDS FALL WITHIN THE AGES OF 16 TO 18 YEARS OLD.
SO THESE ARE STILL, I'M OLDER.
SO THESE ARE KIDS STILL, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE KIDS IN HIGH SCHOOL.
SO HIRING HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT THIS YEAR, UH, DUE TO COVID.
YOU KNOW, SOME PARENTS AREN'T COMFORTABLE WITH THEIR KIDS WORKING WITH THE PUBLIC.
THEY MAY HAVE AN OLDER PARENT AT HOME.
THEY MAY HAVE A GRANDPARENT AT HOME, OR THEY'RE JUST NOT READY FOR THEM YET TO GET OUT INTO PUBLIC.
SO THAT'S BEEN A LITTLE DIFFICULT.
AND HONESTLY, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S GOING SO LATE INTO JUNE.
UM, IF I'M A HIGH SCHOOL KID, I JUST WANNA GET THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL.
I, I DON'T, I'M NOT THINKING ABOUT MY SUMMER JOB.
SO WE ARE, WE'RE CONSTANTLY HIRING, BUT THE, THE OPENING OF THE POOLS WILL BE CONTINGENT AT US ON US BEING ABLE TO DO IT SAFELY.
'CAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE CAN OPEN THOSE POOLS.
UM, WE'RE GONNA STAGGER THE OPENING.
SO WE'LL HAVE SIX POOLS THAT WILL OPEN ON MAY 8TH.
WE'LL HAVE SIX MORE POOLS THAT WILL COME ON BOARD ON JUNE 5TH.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE SIX FINAL POOLS THAT WE'RE GONNA OPEN ON JULY 2ND.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE OPPORTUNITIES THIS YEAR FOR THIS, EVERYONE TO SWIM EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.
UM, USUALLY POOLS ARE ALL CLOSED ON MONDAYS, BUT WE'LL HAVE ROTATING SCHEDULES.
THAT'S GONNA BE NEW THIS YEAR.
THAT WAY WE'LL BE OPEN AT AT LEAST ONE POOL OR HOWEVER MANY POOLS.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA HAVE IT SPLIT UP.
SO YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SWIM SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
WE ADD IN AN EXTRA HOUR, SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN EXTRA HOUR FOR PATRONS TO REALLY ENJOY THE POOLS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S SAN ANTONIO, IT'S HOT.
SO THAT WILL GIVE THEM THAT OPPORTUNITY.
UH, WE'LL BE FOLLOWING ALL OF OUR COVID SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, OF COURSE, PROTOCOLS, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE MASKS.
WE'RE GONNA SOCIALLY DISTANCE.
WE ARE GONNA HAVE FOLKS REGISTERING FOR A TWO HOUR TIME SLOT.
THIS WILL HELP US TO LIMIT CAPACITY TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE.
AND THERE'S GONNA BE THOUGH, A 15 MINUTE GRACE PERIOD FOR FOLKS THAT HAVE REGISTERED.
THAT WAY WE CAN, UH, ALLOW FOR ANY OPENINGS THAT WILL ALLOW FOR WALK-INS.
AND OUR NEXT SLIDE, LORI, IS GONNA SHOW YOU WHERE OUR POOLS ARE.
SO THIS IS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY WHERE EVERYONE'S, UH, EXCITED ABOUT.
SO ON THE, THE BLUE ONES RIGHT HERE, YOU'RE GONNA SEE THESE ARE THE FIRST SIX POOLS THAT WE HAVE PLANNED FOR OPENING.
SO THESE ARE HERITAGE KENNEDY, LABOR JOHNSON, SAN PEDRO SPRINGS, SOUTH SIDE LIONS AND WOODLAWN LAKE.
THESE WOULD BE THE MAY 8TH, UM, POOLS.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THE JUNE 5TH POOLS.
SO THIS IS THE OLIVE GREEN COLOR.
UH, WE WILL HAVE ALMANOR, JOE WARD, LINCOLN, MONTEREY ROOSEVELT, AND SPRINGTIME.
AND NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THE JULY 2ND.
SO THESE WILL BE THE, THE, THE SIX, THE LAST SIX THAT WILL OPEN.
AND THESE ARE THE SALMON COLORS.
SO IT'S CASCIANO, FAIRCHILD, GARZA, KINGSBOROUGH, NORM OIL, AND WESTWOOD VILLAGE.
SO AS WE INTRODUCE POOLS IN THIS NEW PHASED IN APPROACH, WE'RE GONNA ENSURE THAT YOUR OFFICES HAVE ALL THE DAYS AND TIMES FOR ALL OF YOUR INFORMATION.
AND, AND JUST TO REITERATE, AGAIN, THIS YEAR, WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO SWIM SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
AND EVERY POOL WILL BE OPEN, UH, FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AFTER JULY 2ND.
SO THAT'LL GIVE FOLKS, YOU KNOW, THAT PEAK WEEKEND TIME THAT YOU WANNA GO SPEND AT THE POOL WILL BE OPEN PER YOUR ENJOYMENT.
UM, SO LOOKING AT THE NEXT SLIDE, WE ARE NOW HIRING.
WE'RE REALLY OUT THERE HUSTLING, TRYING TO GET AS MANY LIFEGUARDS AS POSSIBLE SO WE CAN OPEN AS MANY
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POOLS AS WE CAN, AS SAFELY AS POSSIBLE.SO, UH, WE'RE LOOKING FOR KIDS EIGHT.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR ADULTS 18, 16 AND UP.
SO, YOU KNOW, FOLKS THAT WANNA COME OUT, UM, WILL, YOU MUST PASS A RED CROSS CERTIFICATION.
WE HOLD RECRUITMENT CLINICS AT OUR NATATORIUM.
THIS WILL HELP WITH RED CROSS CERTIFICATION.
SO THIS WILL HELP US TO, UM, HOPEFULLY BRING IN SOME MORE, UM, FOLKS THAT WANNA BE A LIFEGUARD FOR THE SUMMER.
ALL THE INFORMATION'S ON OUR CITY'S JOB WEBSITE.
AGAIN, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THESE FLYERS AND WE REALLY WANT FOLKS THAT WANNA LEARN THESE LIFESAVING SAVING SKILLS AND, AND HONESTLY, TO SPEND THE SUMMER AT THE POOL.
'CAUSE THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD GIG.
SO, UM, OUR NEXT SLIDE WILL KIND OF SHOW AN EXCITING PROGRAM WE'LL HAVE COMING BACK IS AQUA ZUMBA.
UM, THIS IS ALWAYS SUPER POPULAR.
UH, I MEAN, IT'S A FUN AND UNIQUE WAY TO WORK OUT.
YOU CAN'T BE LIKE BEING IN THE POOL AND GETTING A NICE LITTLE WORKOUT.
SO WE'LL BE BRINGING THAT BACK.
WE'LL HAVE PRE-REGISTRATION, WE'LL HAVE LIMITED CAPACITIES.
AND AGAIN, WE'LL GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION WHEN THIS IS GONNA START.
UM, AND THEN IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT OUR NEXT SLIDE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SPLASH PADS.
SPLASH PADS ARE OPEN RIGHT NOW.
SO WE HAVE FIVE SPLASH PADS THAT ARE OPEN.
WE HAVE BETA ALMANOR, SLATE LAKE LINCOLN PEARSALL, AND YANA GUANA GARDEN.
SO THESE SPLASH PADS ARE OPEN.
IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR FAMILIES TO COME OUT AND NOT ONLY EXPLORE OUR PARKS, BUT, YOU KNOW, COOL OFF WHILE DOING IT.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UH, JUST A UNIQUE WAY TO SPEND THE TIME AT A PARK AND COOL OFF.
SO, UM, THESE ARE GONNA BE OPEN UNTIL EARLY NOVEMBER.
AND THEN LASTLY, UM, WE HAVE SWIM LESSONS.
SO, UM, OUR LAST SLIDE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE SWIM LESSONS.
THIS IS, UH, THE LEARN TO SWIM ESSAY.
WE HAVE THREE GROUP SWIM LESSONS.
THEY'RE THREE, TWO WEEK SESSIONS.
THEY'RE BEGINNER LEVEL AGES SIX TO 12.
THESE ARE OBVIOUSLY VITAL LESSONS TO LEARN.
UH, DROWNINGS DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACT OUR LOW INCOME INCOME COMMUNITIES.
SO WE TOOK AN EQUITY APPROACH AS WE DEVELOP SCHEDULES FOR THESE CLASSES.
THE FREE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN TO SWIM REGISTRATION WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLINE.
AND THE POOLS I'LL BE OFFERING THE SWIM LESSONS WILL BE ALMANOR, NORM OIL, SAN PEDRO, SOUTH SIDE, LIONS, LINCOLN, KENNEDY, WOODLAWN, CASTANO, AND GARZA.
SO AGAIN, THOSE ARE OUR SWIM LESSONS THAT WE'LL, WE'LL BE BACK IN THE POOL THIS SUMMER TO OFFER TO, UH, TO OUR KIDS.
SO NOW I'M GONNA THROW IT OVER TO HOMER AND HE'S GONNA BRING IT HOME.
UH, AND I KNOW THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION.
WE WILL FOLLOW UP OUR PRESENTATION AND GET, UH, INFORMATION SCHEDULED OUT TO ALL OF THE COUNCIL OFFICES SO THAT AS WE HIT THESE, UM, OPENING DATES, THAT INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE TO SHARE WITH THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF THE PRESENTATION AS FAR AS FOCUSED ON YOUTH PROGRAMMING, BUT THERE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST, UH, PARK AMBASSADOR, UH, AND REALLY JUST PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM.
AND SO, UH, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT HERE AS WE WIND DOWN THE PRESENTATION.
UH, AND SO WE'LL SEE ON OUR NEXT SLIDE THAT, UM, WE HAVE A VERY POPULAR, UH, TRAIL SYSTEM.
YOU KNOW, ERIC MENTIONED, UH, MORE THAN 200 MILES OF TRAILS THAT INCLUDES THE MORE THAN 80, UH, ALONG OUR GREENWAYS.
AND BECAUSE ONE THING THAT HAS BEEN CONSTANT THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC, OUR TRAILS HAVE BEEN OPEN.
EVEN THE LIMITED INSTANCES WHERE PARKS WERE CLOSED TO, UH, PREVENT COMMUNITY SPREAD.
OUR TRAILS HAVE BEEN OPEN, AND WE'VE SEEN THE PUBLIC LOOK FOR RELIEF THROUGH OUR TRAIL SYSTEM.
AND THIS JUST PRESENTS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO ENGAGE THEM.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW OUR TRAIL STEWARDS WELL, AN EXTENSION OF OUR TRAIL STEWARDS ARE OUR TRAIL WATCH VOLUNTEERS.
AND TO DATE, UH, WE HAVE OVER 40 TRAIL WATCH VOLUNTEERS, UH, IN THE QUEUE.
AND SINCE OCTOBER, RIGHT, WE GENERALLY CHECK EVERYTHING A FISCAL YEAR FROM OCTOBER THROUGH, UH, THE END OF MARCH, MORE THAN 40 VOLUNTEERS HAVE CONTRIBUTED OVER 1000 VOLUNTEER HOURS.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE THINGS THAT OUR TRAIL, UH, STEWARDS AND, AND TRAIL WATCH VOLUNTEERS DO, UM, THEY PROMOTE SAFETY, GOOD TRAIL ETIQUETTE, UH, RENDER FIRST AID, UM, AND WHEN POSSIBLE ASSIST WITH BIKE REPAIRS.
SO THAT, THAT'S BEEN A GREAT, UH, PROGRAM THAT WE CONTINUE TO SEE A LOT OF, UH, SUCCESS AROUND IN TERMS OF BUILDING OUR, OUR PARK AMBASSADORS.
AND THERE'S ONE MORE THAT'S KIND OF, WE'VE RETOOLED A LITTLE BIT, AND WE'LL SEE ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, WE CARRIED OUR AMBASSADOR PROGRAM INTO OUR DOG PARK.
SO WE HAD THIS EARLY ON, AND THEN THE PANDEMIC HIT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY HAD, UH, THE, WHAT I REFERRED TO AS THE RULE OF 10, RIGHT? WE COULDN'T HAVE GATHERINGS
[00:25:01]
OF, UH, MORE THAN 10 IN, UH, OUTDOORS.AND SO THAT REALLY PUT, UM, KIND OF STRUNG THIS UP A LITTLE BIT IN THE ABILITY TO RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS, UH, IN THESE SPACES THAT ARE OUR DOG PARKS.
SO WE SEE GROWING INTEREST WITH PEOPLE WANTING TO ENJOY, UH, OUR DOG PARKS.
WE HAVE A GROWING NETWORK, UH, TO DATE.
UH, THE, THE NEWEST ONE THAT WE OPENED MOST RECENTLY WAS AT MAVERICK PARK, BUT THERE'S MORE AND A HUGE THANK YOU TO, UH, COUNCILWOMAN GERRAN.
SHE, UH, FUNDED ANOTHER DOG PARK AT KINGSBOROUGH IN COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE.
SO THAT WILL BE NUMBER 17 FOR US.
SO AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE OUR, UH, DOG PARK AMENITIES GROW ACROSS OUR PARK SYSTEM, WE THINK IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, TO PROMOTE HOW TO USE THOSE AMENITIES SAFELY.
BUT IT ALSO PRESENTS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP.
SO, UH, WE'VE GOT A PARTNERSHIP WITH ANIMAL CARE SERVICES TO HELP PROGRAM AND, UH, COLLABORATE ON HOW WE CAN BUILD THOSE MESSAGING OR THAT MESSAGING TO THE PUBLIC SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO SEE, UM, THIS AMENITY GROW IN OUR PARK SYSTEM.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE THERE OF SORTS.
UH, AND SO THAT BEING SAID, I I WANT TO CONCLUDE WITH THE VIDEO THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE DOG PARK AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, BUT ALSO INTRODUCES A NEW FACE TO THE TEAM THAT HELPS US, UH, AROUND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
BRING YOUR DOG OUT TO BARK AND PLAY IN SAN ANTONIO'S NEWEST DOG PARK FOR LARGE AND SMALL DOGS.
THERE'S ALSO OTHER GREAT AMENITIES AT THE PARK, NEW SEATING, LANDSCAPING RESTROOMS, AND OF COURSE, MUTT MIT DISPENSERS.
NOW LET'S TALK TO OUR FRIENDS AT THE ANIMAL CARE SERVICES ON DOG PARK ETIQUETTE AND LEARN ABOUT THE DOG PARK AMBASSADOR PROGRAM.
OUR DOG PARK AMBASSADORS ARE DEDICATED CITIZENS WHO REALLY JUST WANNA BE PART OF THE TEAM MAKING OUR PARK SAFER.
SO MY ROLE AS A DOG AMBASSADOR IS TO VISIT THE DOG PARKS AND GENTLY REMIND AND REINFORCE THE DOG PARK RULES FOR ALL OF THE VISITORS IN THE PARK TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS ENJOYING THE PARK SAFELY.
THE FIRST STEP TO BECOMING A DOG PARK AMBASSADOR IS TO JOIN US FOR ONE OF OUR ORIENTATIONS.
RIGHT NOW, WE'RE DOING THEM VIRTUAL AND THEY'RE ABOUT AN HOUR LONG.
AND IT'S A GREAT OVERVIEW ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM AND ALSO ABOUT DOG PARKS IN GENERAL.
AND WE DO HAVE A WONDERFUL PART OF THE PRESENTATION THAT IS ALSO FROM A C S.
SO WE TALK ABOUT DOG BEHAVIOR IN PARKS AND WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR.
THIS IS PARKER, AND THIS IS WINSTON PARKER LOVES BRINGING WINSTON TO ALL OF SAN ANTONIO'S AMAZING DOG PARKS.
THEY CAN RUN AROUND AND HAVE LOADS OF FUN.
OF COURSE, SOMETIMES WINSTON'S GOTTA GO.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU'RE OUT ON THE TRAILS, TO SCOOP THE POOP, PARKER CARRIES BIODEGRADABLE PET WASTE BAGS ON EVERY TRIP.
IF YOU FORGOT YOURS, BAG DISPENSERS CAN BE FOUND AT MOST DOG PARKS IN THE CITY.
ALWAYS USE A BAG OR TOOL TO SCOOP AND REMEMBER TO WASH YOUR HANDS RIGHT AFTER.
STAY CLEAN, SCOOP THE POOP FOR MORE INFORMATION.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
SO THAT CONCLUDES, UH, THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION ON SUMMER PROGRAMMING.
NIKKI RAMOS, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.
SHE WORKS DIRECTLY WITH OUR, UH, LEADERS IN HER SIDE OF THE HOUSE, THE RECREATION SIDE CENTERS, FITNESS, AQUATICS, UH, TO DEVELOP PROGRAMMING.
AND ALSO SHE OVERSEES OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND SOME OF THE PSAS THAT WE DEVELOP.
SO, UH, WE'RE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION, HOMER AND SARAH.
UH, WE'RE GONNA GET RIGHT INTO QUESTIONS NOW AND, UH, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THIS OVERVIEW.
UM, SO WE'LL START WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE, WHO'S OKAY, NOW WE CAN.
DIDN'T TAKE TOO LONG THIS TIME.
HEY, HOMER, UH, GREAT PRESENTATION.
I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, YOU COULDN'T GOT A BETTER SALESPERSON AND SARAH FOR THE ENTHUSIASM FOR ALL THE PROGRAMS YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT WAS
[00:30:01]
JUST OUTSTANDING.UH, YOU KNOW, I GREW UP AS A KID GOING TO SUMMER CAMP ALL THE TIME, WHETHER IT WAS AT THE Y M C A OR THE BOYS CLUB OR, YOU KNOW, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
AND I, I THEN BECAME A CAMP COUNSELOR MYSELF FOR MANY YEARS WORKING WITH OTHER KIDS.
SO I RECOGNIZED THE GREAT VALUE, UH, WHAT WE DO AS A CITY TO, UH, HELP OUR CHILDREN FIND, UH, MEANINGFUL AND SIGNIFICANT WAYS OF GETTING THROUGH THEIR SUMMERTIME.
UH, SO I LIKE EVERYTHING YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT.
I APPRECIATE THE SCOOP ON THE DOG PARKS.
SO, UH, I'M HOPEFUL THAT YOU HAVE A SUCCESSFUL YEAR AND THEN YOU GET ALL OF THE PEOPLE YOU NEED TO CARRY OUT, UH, WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO.
ONE THING I'D LIKE TO ASK ABOUT IS, I, I NOTICED THAT THERE DIDN'T SEEM TO BE A LOT OF ACTIVITIES, UH, OR, OR OPPORTUNITIES, UH, CLOSE TO MY DISTRICT, DISTRICT NINE, AND I WAS WONDERING IF NORTHEAST SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS TOLD YOU THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOING THINGS AT SOME OF THEIR SCHOOLS, WHICH MAY BE WHY THEY'RE NOT PARTNERING WITH US ON ANYTHING, ANY INSIGHT ON THAT? I THINK I CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO IT IF YOU WANT.
UM, I, I, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO OUTREACH, UH, TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
YOU KNOW, WE STARTED OUTREACH, UH, IN FEBRUARY JUST TO FIND OUT WHERE FOLKS WERE AT.
I THINK A LOT OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, DUE TO COVID AND HAVING TO BE VIRTUAL, UM, ARE ARE HAVING THE KIDS COME IN TO THE BUILDINGS IN THE SUMMER.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE UTILIZE THEIR FACILITIES WHEN WE DO OFFER THE PROGRAM AT THEIR BUILDINGS.
BUT IF THEY'RE HAVING SUMMER SCHOOL, BECAUSE KIDS, I THINK WE FOUND THAT A LOT OF KIDS HAVE FALLEN BEHIND, UM, JUST BECAUSE IT'S VIRTUAL, SO THEY'RE TRYING TO CATCH THEM BACK UP.
AND SO WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH, UM, DIFFERENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS JUST TO SEE WHERE THEY'RE AT FOR NORTHEAST.
YOU KNOW, WE WENT BACK AND FORTH, UH, WITH THEM AND WE NEVER, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL HAVING CONVERSATIONS.
IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK ON RIGHT NOW.
UM, THEY HAVEN'T CONFIRMED IF WE WILL HAVE SITES.
I THINK, AGAIN, INTERNALLY, THEY'RE TRYING TO SEE WHAT THEIR SUMMER LOOKS LIKE.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THEY'RE AT, BECAUSE THEY REALLY, I THINK, WANNA MAKE SURE KIDS ARE READY FOR SCHOOL IN THE FALL.
WELL, I UNDERSTAND THAT, AND I CERTAINLY WILL APPRECIATE THAT.
I KNOW THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, I JUST KNOW THAT THERE'S A, A PART OF MY COMMUNITY AROUND THE HARMONY HILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, LARKSBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, EISENHOWER MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHERE, UH, THERE, THERE ARE COMMUNITIES WITH GREAT NEEDS.
AND I, I JUST DIDN'T SEE ANY KIND OF RECREATIONAL FACILITY CLOSE TO ANY OF THEM.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE POOLS AND CLUBHOUSES.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THERE'S ANY WAY WE CAN PARTNER WITH THEM, FOR EXAMPLE, HARMONY HILLS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT.
THEY'VE GOT A NICE CLUBHOUSE, THEY'VE GOT A SWIMMING POOL, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE IN A, A GOOD LOCATION.
UH, OR, YOU KNOW, IF EISENHOWER, UH, MIDDLE SCHOOL WERE TO PARTICIPATE OR LARKSBURG, I KNOW THERE'VE BEEN PROGRAMS THERE IN THE PAST.
I'M JUST GONNA ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO REACH OUT INTO THAT COMMUNITY.
UH, I, I LOVE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, AND I KNOW YOU TRY TO COVER EVERY BASE YOU CAN, BUT I JUST WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND, UH, ASK YOU TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE LOOKING, AND I'M GONNA CONTACT N E I S D AND, AND FIND OUT IF THEY'RE DOING MORE ALSO.
BUT I UNDERSTAND THE EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION.
ANYWAY, I THINK IT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION.
IT LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF WONDERFUL PROGRAMS. SO, UH, YOU'LL CERTAINLY HAVE MY SUPPORT.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
UM, THANK YOU COUNCILMAN COURAGE, BECAUSE THAT IS THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HEAR ABOUT OUR NORTHEAST SIDE.
UM, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE CITY FACILITIES OVER THERE, AND SO A LOT OF OUR YOUTH ARE MISSING OUT ON THESE GREAT PROGRAMS. UM, I KNOW WE'RE DOING SOME WORK OVER AT CARDONE PARK OFF OF GIPP SPRAWL, BUT IT HASN'T GOTTEN STARTED YET.
SO CLOSING THE GAP, UM, TO HOW OUR YOUTH ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE ARE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IS A BIG CONCERN.
AND SO I WANTED TO JUST ASK A FEW QUESTIONS ON HOW ARE WE CONTINUING TO REACH THOSE KIDS WHO ARE NOT WITHIN THE AREAS OF LINCOLN PARK OR DAWSON, UH, COMMUNITY CENTER OR COPERNICUS, AND WHAT, UM, AREAS ARE WE GONNA BE LOOKING TO FACILITATE, UH, EVEN THE FITNESS IN THE PARK, AND HOW DO WE MAKE THOSE GAPS, UM, A LITTLE BIT MORE CON UH, CLOSED OR CLOSE THOSE GAPS INSTEAD OF HAVING SUCH A, A WIDE VARIETY WITHIN THAT AREA.
SO I'LL, I'LL, UM, UH, ADDRESS THAT AND THEN, UM, NIKKI, IF YOU OR SARAH HAVE ANY FOLLOW UP.
SO AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE, UM, LIKE FITNESS AND THE PARK PROGRAMMING, RIGHT? WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, WE TRY TO UTILIZE, UM,
[00:35:01]
AN EQUITY BASED APPROACH TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE IN NEED OF RECEIVING THE SERVICE.AND SO AS WE HAVE COME OUT OF AND STARTED TO REOPEN AND DO PROGRAMMING, UH, THAT'S BEEN SORT OF A NEW BASELINE, UH, THAT WE ARE CREATING.
AND SO WHEN WE RECEIVE THOSE CALLS FROM THE PUBLIC ABOUT, HEY, I USED TO RECEIVE THIS FITNESS CLASS, I KNOW Y'ALL ARE DOING IT, WHY AREN'T YOU HERE? UH, WE'VE TAKEN A SECOND LOOK AND WE DO PROVIDE AN OFFERING, AN ATTEMPT TO SEE IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS STILL A NEED.
SO WHILE WE DO FOCUS OUR INVESTMENTS AROUND, UM, AND USING THAT EQUITY BASED APPROACH, WE ARE STILL BEING RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S BEEN REAL DIFFICULT FOR US, WE HAVE HAD, UH, SOME SPECIFIC REQUESTS ABOUT VERY SPECIFIC INSTRUCTORS THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN ABLE TO COMMIT TO.
WE'RE GETTING THE SAME INSTRUCTOR BACK DOING THAT CLASS AT THE PARK, BUT WE ARE BACKFILLING AND PROVIDING AN OFFERING SO THAT THERE'S SOME BALANCE THERE.
UH, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED, UH, AROUND OTHER CENTERS, COPERNICUS, DAWSON, AND, AND I FORGET WHAT OTHER, UH, BUT FOR OUR, UM, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT OUR SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM, THE 21 SITES, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY FOCUSED ON GETTING, UH, THE BACK TO STILL USING A NEED-BASED APPROACH, BUT ALSO WHERE WE HAVE THE LARGEST CENTERS.
'CAUSE WE'RE WANTING TO BRING AS MANY KIDS IN AS WE CAN, STILL RECOGNIZING THAT WE'RE IN A PANDEMIC.
AND SO WE REALLY HAD TO, IN THAT SENSE, UM, UTILIZE JUST WHAT'S AVAILABLE NOW.
THE SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN CLEARLY, UH, ABLE TO ALLEVIATE SOME OF THAT PRESSURE OFF OF US.
BUT IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR SUMMARIES PROGRAM, IT WAS REALLY DRIVEN BY ONE OF THE LARGER SPACES SO WE CAN GET THE MOST KIDS IN STILL, YOU KNOW, MAINTAINING APPROPRIATE CAPACITIES.
AND THEN AGAIN, THAT DISTANCING WITHIN, WITHIN THE, YOU KNOW, THE BUILDING ITSELF.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.
UM, THAT, THAT ANSWERS A PIECE OF IT.
UM, AND THEN THAT GOES INTO TO MY NEXT QUESTION OF, ARE YOUTH THAT HAVE DISABILITIES ARE THOSE WHO HAVE THE, UM, ADAPTABLE, UH, DIFFICULTIES AND, AND WHAT PROGRAMS OR SERVICES ARE OFFERED TO THOSE INDIVIDUAL, UH, YOUTH OR HOW THEY, UM, BROUGHT INTO THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE OFFERING? SO VERY THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND SARAH AND I DID SPEAK ABOUT THIS, UH, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, AND SO I WILL LET HER ANSWER THAT.
SHE HAD A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE.
WELL, UM, WE DO, WE'LL LOOK AT REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS.
YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE'RE AT A ONE TO 15 RATIO THIS SUMMER.
UH, NORMALLY WE'RE AT A HIGHER RATIO, BUT AGAIN, WITH COVID, UM, PROTOCOLS AND PRECAUTIONS, UH, WE ARE, LAST YEAR WE DID A ONE TO 10 WITH THE EIGHT CAMPS.
THIS YEAR WE'RE DOING ONE TO 15.
SO A PARENT REQUESTS A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION.
WE JUST ASKED THAT THEY DO IT AHEAD OF TIME.
WE DID HAVE A, UM, I WAS GIVEN AN EXAMPLE TO HOMER, I THINK IS THE ONE HE IS REFERRING TO, IS WE HAD A CHILD, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE IN A WHEELCHAIR, THEY HAD A NURSE.
AND SO THE PARENT WAS LIKE, THEY REALLY WANTED THEM TO BE INVOLVED IN THE PROGRAM.
AND WE WANT EVERYONE TO BE INVOLVED AS WELL, AS LONG AS THEY CAN FUNCTION WITHIN THE RATIOS.
SO WE BACKGROUND CHECKED THE NURSE, MADE SURE THAT THEY WERE GOOD TO GO.
AND THEN WHAT WE DID IS, UM, REGISTER THE CHILD IN THE PROGRAM.
THE NURSE ACCOMPANIES THEM EVERY DAY.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF IT WAS AN ACTIVE GAME, LIKE SAY IT'S A, THEY'RE PLAYING SOCCER, LIKE A FULL SOCCER KIND OF GAME, THAT CHILD, LIKE I SAID, WAS IN A WHEELCHAIR, HAD A FEEDING TUBE, ISN'T GONNA BE ON THE COURT MAYBE, BUT THEY WERE THE REFEREES.
SO IT'S GETTING THEM INVOLVED, MAYBE NOT AS LIKE, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE ACTIVITY IS, THEY COULD DO MOST OF THE ACTIVITIES, BUT OF COURSE WE HAD TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THEIR SAFETY.
BUT THAT WAS A WAY TO GET THEM INVOLVED.
SO THEY'RE THE, LIKE I SAID, THEY'RE THE COACH, THEY'RE THE REFEREE.
THEY'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
AND THAT IS OUR WAY OF BEING ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE SOME FOLKS BECAUSE WE DO, AGAIN, WE WANT EVERYONE TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM THAT, THAT CAN FUNCTION IN THAT ENVIRONMENT.
'CAUSE IT REALLY IS A GREAT WAY TO SPEND YOUR SUMMER.
SO WE'LL WORK WITH PARENTS IN, IN WHATEVER WAYS THAT WE CAN TO KEEP EVERYONE AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, A LOT OF TIMES OUR FAMILIES THINK THAT THEY CAN'T AFFORD OUR PROGRAMS OR THEY CAN'T HAVE THEIR CHILD A PART OF THIS SUMMER PROGRAM BECAUSE THERE'S A FEE ATTACHED TO IT.
SO CAN SOMEONE SPEAK ABOUT, ARE THERE ANY FEES? ARE THERE, WHAT ARE THE FEES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH WHAT PROGRAMS AND HOW DO THOSE FAMILIES THAT ARE LOWER INCOME THAT CAN'T AFFORD ANY OF THE FEES BE STILL PART OF THE SUMMER PROGRAMS? I, I CAN TAKE THAT ONE IF, IF YOU'D LIKE HOMER.
WELL, I WAS GONNA SAY, SO, UM, A YEAR AGO THERE WAS NO FEES, RIGHT? THIS YEAR, UM, AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND LIST TO NIKKI, BUT THERE IS
[00:40:01]
A FEE, BUT IT'S, IT'S A REDUCED FEE.UM, WE, IN PRIOR YEARS, EVEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC SLIDING SCALE, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WASN'T IN PLAY A YEAR AGO.
AND THEN THIS YEAR, UH, WE'RE SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE.
BUT NIKKI, YOU CAN PROBABLY PROVIDE A MUCH MORE DETAILED RESPONSE ON WHAT THE FEE IS, BUT IT IS REDUCED, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE, UM, OUR FEE STRUCTURE, THERE'S A FULL FEE, AND THEN THE REDUCED FEE IF YOU QUALIFIED.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE IF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT YOU WERE IN QUALIFIED, UM, OR YOUR HOUSEHOLD INCOME.
AND SO WE HAD DIFFERENT, UM, DOCUMENTATION, UM, PIECES THAT YOU COULD BRING TO, TO QUALIFY FOR THAT.
UH, WHAT WE DECIDED THIS YEAR, AS HOMER MENTIONED LAST YEAR, IT WAS FREE.
UM, THIS YEAR WE, WE DECIDED IT WAS BEST TO JUST OFFER THE REDUCED FEE WITH NO INCOME VERIFICATION REQUIRED.
UM, YOU KNOW, BRINGING IN DOCUMENTATION, WE'RE TRYING TO BE VERY MINDFUL OF IN-PERSON, A LOT OF HANDLING PAPER.
THE OTHER THING IS OUR ECONOMY HAS NOT FULLY RECOVERED, UM, BY ANY MEANS, AND WE WANNA BE VERY MINDFUL OF THAT.
AND SO THIS YEAR WE JUST MADE THE DECISION TO JUST DO THE REDUCED FEE.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS FOR YOUR FIRST CHILD, IT'S $25 FOR THE WHOLE SUMMER.
THAT'S THE PROGRAM, THE MEALS, EVERYTHING.
IT'S $15 EXTRA IF YOU HAVE TWO CHILDREN.
SO IT'D BE $40 TOTAL, AND THEN 15 DO ANOTHER 15 IF YOU HAVE A THIRD CHILD.
AND IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN THAT, WE DON'T CHARGE ANY MORE THAN THAT.
SO THE MOST ANYONE WOULD PAY WOULD BE $55 FOR MORE THAN THREE CHILDREN IN THE PROGRAM FOR THE ENTIRE SUMMER.
SO IT'S NOT A PER WEEK, IT'S PER PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S, THAT IS THE FEE STRUCTURE FOR THIS YEAR WITH NO INCOME VERIFICATION RE UM, REQUIRED.
AND SO, UH, NIKKI, WHAT ABOUT OUR HOMELESS YOUTH? IF THEY DON'T HAVE AN INCOME OR A FAMILY WANTS TO PUT A CHILD IN A PROGRAM, BUT THEY JUST DON'T HAVE THOSE MEANS, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR HOMELESS YOUTH, I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'VE ENCOUNTERED THAT, BUT WE CAN ABSOLUTELY.
I MEAN, WORK WITH, UM, D H S I KNOW THEY, THEY'VE HANDLED, UM, ALL OF THE, THE CITY'S HOMELESS INITIATIVES, SO WE CAN ABSOLUTELY WORK WITH, WITH THEM.
SO I WOULD JUST SAY, JUST HAVE FOLKS JUST INQUIRE.
I MEAN, AND WE'LL, WE'LL DO WHAT WE CAN.
I MEAN, OUR GOAL IS TO INCLUDE AS MANY PEOPLE AND KEEP THEM ENGAGED IN THE SUMMER AND KEEP THEM EATING IN THE SUMMER.
UM, SO I, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY WE'RE, WE'RE OPEN.
AND THEN MY LAST AND FINAL QUESTION IS ON THE COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY PORTIONS OF SOME OF OUR CENTERS, ESPECIALLY, UM, HERE WITHIN THE DISTRICT TWO AREA, A LOT OF OUR FAMILIES ARE ASKING WHEN THOSE CENTERS WILL BE, UH, BROUGHT UP TO DATE.
AND SO CAN YOU SPEAK JUST A, A FEW MOMENTS TO THAT? SO, UM, AS PART OF THE, UM, I GUESS FUNDING THAT THE CITY HAS RECEIVED AROUND, UH, JUST SOME OF THE PANDEMIC RELIEF, WE DID TAKE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, WORK WITH I T S D SO THAT WE CAN GET CONNECTIVITY TO SOME OF OUR CENTERS.
SO THE, THE QUICK AND EASY WAY TO DO IT WAS TO BASICALLY HAVE MIFIS, WHICH WE HAD THROUGHOUT THE CENTERS THAT WERE OPEN DURING THE PANDEMIC.
NOW WE STILL PRIORITIZE AND ARE TRYING TO GET MORE CENTERS ONLINE.
AND, UM, SARAH OR NIKKI, DO YOU, WE DID ADD, I THOUGHT WIFI TO A CENTER AS WELL, LIKE HARDWIRED, DO YOU KNOW, UH, THAT LOCATION COPERNICUS GOT HARDWIRED? YEAH.
SO, UH, THAT WAS PART OF THAT EFFORT.
STILL SOMETHING THAT IS A PRIORITY FOR US AS WE WORK TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
SO WE TOOK KIND OF A TWO-PRONG APPROACH IN THE CASE OF COPERNICUS COPERNICUS, HOWEVER, THAT IS HARDWIRED FOR WIFI, EVERYONE THE WIFI CARD.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KEO H YOU'RE, UH, WE'RE NOT HEARING YOUR AUDIO, MELISSA.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
UH, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO HEAR, UM, THAT MANY OF THE SUMMER PARKS PROGRAMS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND THE SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM HAS A CAPACITY TO SERVE ABOUT 2100, UH, YOUNG PEOPLE.
HOW CLOSE TO A PRE PANDEMIC NUMBER IS THIS? I'M SORRY? DID YOU SAY NUMBER OF SITES OR NUMBER OF CHILDREN? CHILDREN.
I, I WOULD SAY WE'RE NOT, NOT CLOSE TO PRE PANDEMIC FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.
UM, THE NUMBER OF SITES WE TYPICALLY HAVE BETWEEN 35 TO 40 SCHOOL SITES.
SO WE ARE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED IN THE NUMBER OF SCHOOL SITES.
THE OTHER THING IS WE'VE REDUCED, UH, THE, THE QUANTITY PER SITE BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO BE MINDFUL OF BEING ABLE TO SOCIAL DISTANCE.
SO WHERE A SITE MAY, UM, PRE PANDEMIC HAD BEEN AT SAY, 125, WE MAY BE AT 60, JUST
[00:45:01]
SO THAT WE CAN SPREAD KIDS OUT, UM, UM, DURING ACTIVITIES, HAVE THE CLEANING AND HAVE THE STAFFING, UH, LEVELS.SO, SO IT'S, IT'S FOR A COMBINATION OF THOSE REASONS THAT, THAT WERE, WERE LESS.
SO IT'S NOT FOR LACK OF, UH, THE CHILDREN WANTING TO PARTICIPATE OR THE FAMILIES WANTING TO PARTICIPATE.
IT'S, OH NO, AND WE HAVE SOME OF THAT AS WELL.
REGISTRATION WILL START MAY 8TH.
UM, THE DEMAND I'M SURE IS THERE.
UM, BUT YEAH, IT'LL BE, IT'S REALLY MORE, THAT'S WHY WHEN HOMER MENTIONED WE TRIED TO PICK LARGER FACILITIES, WE WANNA ACCOMMODATE AS MANY CHILDREN AS WE CAN, AS SAFELY AS WE CAN.
SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S A LOT THE REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF SCHOOL SITES AVAILABLE.
UM, BUT ALSO, UM, THE NUMBER OF KIDS THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE PER FACILITY.
DO WE HAVE ANY KIND OF, UM, I MEAN, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING FOR THE, THE KID THAT WE CAN'T ACCEPT DUE TO CAPACITY ISSUES? WE DO HAVE A WAIT LIST, AND SO AS SPOTS BECOME AVAILABLE, THEN WE NOTIFY THE FAMILIES SO THEY COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
UM, OBVIOUSLY RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE, I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING WE DO ANY SUMMER, SO IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC THAT WE'RE INTRODUCING THAT, BUT WE DO WAIT LIST CHILDREN, AND THEN AS SPOTS BECOME AVAILABLE, WE CONNECT THE FAMILIES TO SEE IF THEY'RE STILL INTERESTED, UH, AND THEN ENROLL 'EM IN THE PROGRAM.
THE OTHER THING I, I'M SORRY, COUNCILMAN IS, IS WE ARE LOOKING TO DO A VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING THIS YEAR THAT WE HAVE NOT DONE BEFORE.
IT WILL NOT BE A FULL-FLEDGED PROGRAM LIKE THIS, BUT THERE WILL BE, UM, SOME STRUCTURED PROGRAMMING THAT WE'LL HAVE PEOPLE REGISTER FOR.
UM, THAT, SO IT WILL ALLOW, BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE, HONESTLY, THEY MIGHT BE WAITLISTED OR THEY JUST MIGHT NOT BE COMFORTABLE YET HAVING THEIR KIDS BE BACK IN, UM, IN THE CENTER OR SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT, BUT THEY STILL WANT TO HAVE SOME ACTIVITY.
SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE, UM, SOME VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING AVAILABLE THIS SUMMER AS WELL.
UH, WELL, ESPECIALLY AS WE GO INTO OUR NEXT BUDGET PROCESS, I WANNA EXPRESS MY FULL SUPPORT FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND HOMER AND YOUR STAFF BECAUSE IN DISTRICT SIX PARKS AND OPEN SPACE ARE EVERYTHING.
THEY CONTINUE TO RANK, RANK VERY, VERY HIGH ON THE PRIORITY LIST.
AND I, I ALWAYS SAY THAT I HAVE THE LUXURY OF REPRESENTING A DISTRICT THAT, UM, IT'S PROBABLY NUMBER ONE ON THEIR LIST.
I'M EXCITED ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS OPENING UP, UM, AND LOOK FORWARD TO, TO SEEING ALL THOSE KIDS GET BACK IN ACTION.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I THINK COUNCILWOMAN, KABI, BERDA AND I, UH, SHARE OUR, OUR POPULATIONS SHARE SOME OF THE SIMILAR, UH, SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS, UH, IN TERMS OF WANTING TO PRESERVE GREEN SPACE AND, AND GROW IT.
PEOPLE LOVE THEIR PARKS IN IN DISTRICT SEVEN.
UH, WHAT WAS THE, YOU TOLD US ABOUT TWO OF THOSE NATURE-BASED PROGRAMS, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE HIKING.
WHAT WAS THE COST FOR THOSE? IS, IS THAT THE SAME, THE $25 FOR THE FIRST CHILD NOW? THOSE ARE FREE.
AND WHAT'S THE SCALE OF THOSE? LIKE HOW MANY OF THOSE DO YOU HAVE A YEAR? I DON'T KNOW THE SCALE.
I DON'T KNOW IF HOMER HAS THAT INFO RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF THEIR HEAD, BUT YEAH, AND IT DID GET SCALED DOWN BECAUSE OF COVID OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IT WAS VIRTUAL.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT DEBT JUST KIND OF HINDERED HOW MUCH WE COULD OFFER THAT.
AND SO, UH, THERE, THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS THAT SUPPORT THAT PROGRAM.
SO WE ARE ACTIVELY STILL FILLING POSITION, UH, EDUCATION COORDINATORS THAT WILL HELP KIND OF EXPAND THAT SERVICE DELIVERY.
TO SARAH'S POINT, WE DID HAVE TO SCALE BACK, UH, DURING THE PANDEMIC AS WE ARE GETTING GOING.
AGAIN, WE DO HAVE IT AS AN OFFERING, NOT, UH, TO THE EXTENT THAT IT WAS.
UH, AND SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE GOTTEN STILL, I THINK FROM SOME OF THE FAMILIES IS WHAT'S THE SIZE.
AND, AND SO WE SENT SOME HESITATION AROUND HAVING LARGE GROUP SIZE.
SO WE'RE STILL KEEPING IT RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBERS EIGHT TO 10.
UH, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY SHARE WITH YOUR OFFICE WHAT THE SCHEDULE IS FOR ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO PARTICIPATE.
I, I NOTICED THE LOCATIONS THAT YOU MENTIONED, YOU, YOU MENTIONED THREE LOCATIONS, SO ONE THAT WAS, UH, FRIEDRICH, UM, HARDBERGER, AND THEN WAS IT MEDINA? YES.
I LIKE TO EXPLORE THE, THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING MORE INNER CITY, UH, SITES.
UM, AND I GUESS WHAT I'M THINKING IS, UH, THAT THOSE ARE THE, THAT'S THE POPULATION THAT'S LEAST LIKELY TO BE EXPOSED TO.
UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ADMIRING NATURE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT NEXT TO THESE REALLY BIG PARKS, BUT THEY'RE CERTAINLY NATURE TO ADMIRE EVERYWHERE.
UH, EVEN IF YOU ARE AT, YOU KNOW, LEES CREEK PARK OR, OR WOODLAWN LAKE.
SO LIKE TO EXPLORE THE POSS I KNOW YOU HAD ONE EVENT
[00:50:01]
AT LEES CREEK.UH, AND THEN ALSO, UM, IT'S, IT ENDS AT AGE SIX.
YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER, IS THERE A CONSIDERATION OF HAVING OFFERINGS FOR PEOPLE, FOR KIDS WHO ARE OVER THE AGE OF SIX? YES.
AND I THINK THAT KIND OF GETS BACK TO MAYBE THE VERY LAST, UH, COMMENT.
SO OUR DISCOVER NATURE SERIES, WE, UH, THAT'S DESIGNED TO KIND OF LIKE TAKE OUR NATURAL AREA SHOW ON THE ROAD SPECIFICALLY TO URBAN PARKS, WHETHER IT'S LEES CREEK, WE KNOW WE'VE DONE IT AT, UH, WOODLAWN.
AND IN THAT SETTING WE HAVE A MUCH MORE, UH, LARGER RANGE OF PARTICIPANTS.
AND THE WHOLE IDEA IS, UM, WE HAVE NATURE EVERYWHERE, EVEN IN OUR URBAN PARKS.
SO WHETHER IT'S LIKE ORGANIZING, UM, A, A BAT WALK, IF YOU WILL, AND PARTNERING WITH SOME OF OUR, OUR PARTNER AGENCIES THAT CAN KIND OF HELP WITH THAT PROGRAMMING.
SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE ABLE TO MEET THAT NEED FOR KIND OF THE OLDER AGE PARTICIPANTS.
AND, AND WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS BRINGING THAT DISCOVERY NATURE SERIES BACK AND, AND INDIRECTLY INTO OUR URBAN PARK SYSTEM.
AND, AND CAN I, REAL QUICK, I WAS GONNA JUST SHOUT OUT OUR, OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS OFFER NATURE PROGRAMMING AS WELL.
SO I KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE JOE WARD COMMUNITY CENTER AND THEY'LL OFFER NATURAL, UH, NATURE PROGRAMMING AT THE CENTER.
SO THEY MIGHT DO SOME ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE, BUT THEN THEY TAKE THE KIDS OUTSIDE.
THOSE ARE FREE PROGRAMS. SO, AND IT'S FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT AGES.
SO WE REALLY DO TRY AND HAVE A PLETHORA OF OPTIONS AT OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS FOR FOLKS TO COME IN, UM, ESPECIALLY THOSE EXTENDED HOURS ON SATURDAY.
AND THAT WILL SPEAK TO THAT, YOU KNOW, TO THAT COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY'RE IN THEIR PARKS AND ABLE TO EXPERIENCE IT.
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME KNOW.
YEAH, I'D LOVE TO SEE THE, THE SCHEDULE FOR THAT.
AND THEN, UH, LASTLY, I KNOW, UM, A WHILE BACK, MAYBE IT WAS TWO YEARS AGO WHEN WE ADOPTED OUR BUDGET, THE, AT THAT TIME THE MINIMUM SALARY THAT WE ADOPTED FOR ANYONE ON PAYROLL WAS $15 AN HOUR, BUT I GUESS THAT WAS ONLY FOR FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES.
IS THAT RIGHT? BECAUSE IT, I SAW A SIGN FOR THE PARKS HIRING IN, UH, IN ONE OF OUR PARKS.
AND I, I THINK IT SAID, I DON'T KNOW, IT WAS $11 AN HOUR OR $9 AN HOUR.
IS THAT HOW IT'S THE, THE 15 WAS FOR FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME, BUT NOT TEMPORARY.
AND SO OUR SEASONAL STAFF ARE TEMPORARY STAFF.
SORRY, I DON'T RE I DIDN'T REMEMBER THAT THAT'S HOW WE HAD, UH, DECIDED TO, TO DO IT AT THE TIME.
UH, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE HAVING A HARD TIME FINDING PEOPLE AT THAT SALARY.
WELL, I THINK IT'S A VARIETY OF GO AHEAD, HOMER.
YEAH, NO, I WOULD SAY IT IS A MULTITUDE.
UM, YOU KNOW, BACK TO LIKE POOLS FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, THE PROFILE, YOU KNOW, ALMOST HALF, I THINK IT WAS NUMBERS, 40% ARE, UM, 16 TO 18.
AND SO COMPETING WITH SCHOOL SCHEDULES HAS BEEN ALWAYS BEEN PART OF WHAT DRIVES OUR ABILITY TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS.
THE PANDEMIC HAS EXACERBATED THAT, YOU KNOW, IN PARTICULAR FOR OUR POOLS NOW, UM, AS IT RELATES TO OUR POOLS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE WORKED WITH HR TO PHASE IN A WAGE INCREASE TO HELP BE A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPETITIVE.
SO I DON'T WANT TO HANG THE PAY RATE AS THE ONLY CHALLENGE TO FILLING THE POSITION.
UM, REALLY IT'S BEEN PRONOUNCED OF COURSE, BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
NIKKI, DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT.
I JUST, I WAS GONNA MENTION, UM, LIKE YOU SAID, THE, UM, THE AGE DEMOGRAPHIC, BUT THEN ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT RETURN TO US EVERY YEAR.
SO HR, UH, HAS WORKED WITH US HAND IN HAND SO THAT YOU DON'T STAY AT THAT STARTING RATE, UM, YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR.
SO WE DO HAVE ESCALATIONS FOR FOLKS BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A LOT THAT WANNA COME BACK EVERY SUMMER.
SO WE DO HAVE THOSE ESCALATIONS.
I JUST THINK, UM, UH, JUST THE ENVIRONMENT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW HAS, HAS JUST MADE IT A LITTLE MORE CHALLENGING FOR US.
UH, COUNCILMAN, I'LL JUST ADD, YOU KNOW, GLOBALLY, NOT JUST IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO KIND OF WATCH SO THAT, UH, IF WE START TO SEE ANY CHALLENGES FROM AN EMPLOYMENT STANDPOINT THAT WE, UH, WE ADDRESS.
SO, UM, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE ALL TRYING TO KIND OF WATCH THAT.
UM, WE, I I, I AM FAMILIAR THAT THERE ARE SOME INDUSTRIES IN TOWN THAT ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY HIRING RIGHT NOW.
AND, UH, WE HAVEN'T NECESSARILY SEEN THAT HERE YET AT THE CITY, BUT WE, WE DEFINITELY TO BE MINDFUL AS A MAJOR EMPLOYER.
AND SO IS THE, THE RECRUITMENT, YOU SAID SOME OF THAT IS HAPPENING AT THE NATATORIUM, BUT I MEAN THIS MAY BE, THIS MAY BE SILLY, BUT OF, OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME TO THE CITY FOR HELP WITH THEIR RENT OR HELP IN JOB TRAINING.
[00:55:01]
THIS IS A TEMPORARY JOB, NOT GOING TO BE A PERMANENT CAREER.IS THERE ANY COMPATIBILITY AMONG THOSE POPULATIONS AND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? I THINK WE CAN DEFINITELY COORDINATE WITH ANY, ANY, UH, ENTITY THAT IF THEY'RE COMING TO THE CITY, WE CAN, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SHARING INFO.
YOU KNOW, I, ON, ON THE, YOU KNOW, ON THE POOL SIDE THERE'S LIFEGUARDS, BUT THERE'S ALSO POOL ATTENDANCE WHEN YOU'RE COMING IN.
THEY CHECK YOU IN SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A LIFEGUARD TO WORK, UM, WITH THE POOLS.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, ON THE COMMUNITY CENTER SIDE, OF COURSE, WE'D LIKE PEOPLE, UM, WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE IN IMPLEMENTING PROGRAMS, BUT SOMETIMES WE'RE THEIR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN IMPLEMENTING PROGRAMS. SO, UM, WE CAN, WE CAN COORDINATE WITH ANYONE WHO HAS THAT INFORMATION.
SO, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN.
WE WANT PEOPLE WHO REALLY WANNA BE WORKING WITH US AND THE KIDS, SO, ABSOLUTELY.
WELL, UH, YEAH, I THINK THEY'RE ALL IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS IN, IN THE CITY.
IT WOULD JUST BE A SHAME IF THERE'S PEOPLE LOOKING FOR WORK AND, AND WE HAVE IT, AND, AND WE CAN'T COORDINATE THAT.
WE HAVE NOT DONE THAT LEVEL OF ANALYSIS, BUT WE, WE, WE WE'RE TAKING NOTES.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER, PERIOD.
UH, BUT, UH, IF YOU CAN GO BACK TO THAT MAP SHOWING WHERE THE FACILITIES ARE, UH, I HAVE TO AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN COURAGE AND COUNCILWOMAN, UH, ANDREW SULLIVAN.
UM, MAN, WHEN YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THAT MAP AND UM, SEE THAT GREAT, UH, BIG AREA IN THE NORTH, NORTHEAST, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S BLANK, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING UP THERE.
BUT, UH, MAN, THAT'S SUCH A BIG AREA THERE TO HAVE NO OTHER FACILITIES IN THERE.
AND WE HAVE LARGE NEIGHBORHOOD POPULATIONS IN THIS AREA.
NOT A LOT OF, I KNOW I'M SPEAKING FOR DISTRICT 10, BUT I THINK IT APPLIES TO TWO AND NINE ALSO AROUND IN THESE AREAS, NOT A LOT OF BUSINESSES, BUT, UM, MOSTLY, MOST, MOSTLY NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND I KNOW WE HAVE A NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOODS UP IN THIS AREA THAT ARE LOWER INCOME AND, UH, A LOT OF KIDS UP IN THIS AREA THAT DON'T HAVE FACILITIES TO GO TO.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE PARTNERING WITH PARTNERING WITH THE SCHOOLS.
I KNOW THAT, UH, UH, WHAT, WHAT IS THAT ORGANIZATION THAT, UH, SAN ANTONIO SPORTS HAS WHERE THEY GO AND, UH, PUT IN LIKE, UM, PLAYGROUNDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT AT SOME OF THE SCHOOL CAMPUSES, OR DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT? HOMER? YES, SIR.
THE SCHOOL, UH, PARK PROGRAM AND PARTNERSHIP SPORTS.
WELL, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN EXPAND ON THAT OR WORK MORE CLOSELY WITH THEM ON DOING MORE OF THOSE AROUND IN THIS AREA, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, LAND IS A PREMIUM ON, UM, UP IN THIS AREA FOR PURCHASING FOR CITY FACILITIES.
BUT, UH, YEAH, IF WE CAN GET MORE PARTICIPATION FROM THE SCHOOLS, WHICH WE HAVE A LOT OF 'EM UP IN THIS AREA, BUT THAT REALLY BOTHERS ME WITH THAT BIG OPEN SPACE.
SO I AGREE WITH BOTH, UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE AND COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN, THAT, UH, WE NEED SOME HELP IN THIS AREA.
AND, UM, UH, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS WITH THIS MAP.
SO, UM, UH, I HEARD A COMMENT ABOUT THE DISABILITY PROGRAM.
UH, HAVE Y'ALL THOUGHT ABOUT MAYBE DOING, UH, SOME SORT OF A COUPON OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT OF A REIMBURSEMENT OR DEFERRING SOME OF THE COST TO MORGAN'S WONDERLAND AND SETTING UP, UH, TRANSPORTATION FORM AND THAT KIND OF THING TO GET, UH, KIDS WITH THOSE, UH, DISABILITIES AND OTHERS? I MEAN, THAT PARK IS OPEN FOR EVERYBODY.
IT'S NOT JUST FOR, UH, KIDS WITH DISABILITIES, BUT THEY HAVE, THEY JUST OPENED UP, UM, SOME SPORTS FIELDS THERE.
AND OF COURSE WE'VE GOT THE WATER PARK THERE.
AND THEN THE OTHER FACILITIES, UH, ALSO, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S A HUGE, WONDERFUL FACILITY AND THE KIDS HAVE SUCH A GREAT TIME.
IT WOULD SEEM LIKE WE COULD PARTNER WITH MORGAN'S WONDERLAND ALSO, UH, FOR PROGRAMMING TO GET, GET, UH, KIDS OUT TO THAT, THAT HUGE BIG PARK FACILITY THAT HAS, HAS ALL THE FACILITIES THAT, UH, YOU REALLY WANT.
SO WE'D REALLY LIKE FOR Y'ALL TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, ABOUT JOINT USING MORGAN'S WONDERLAND ALSO AND HELPING TO DEFRAY THE COST OR FOR THE TOTAL COST TO GET IN FOR, FOR THE, UH, FOR THE KIDS.
UM, IS THAT SOMETHING Y'ALL CAN, UH, TAKE A LOOK AT ALSO? YES, SIR.
WE CAN REACH OUT AND SEE WHAT PARTNERSHIPS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN ACHIEVE.
AND THEN DID Y'ALL SPEND ALL YOUR BUDGET AND F Y 20? UH,
[01:00:01]
WELL, UH, I, WE SPENT THE MAJORITY OF IT.I, I COULD NOT TELL YOU EXACTLY, UH, WHAT A WAS LEFT IN FUND BALANCE, BUT, UH, THE SHORT ANSWER IS YES.
COUNCILMAN, WE REMEMBER THIS TIME LAST YEAR, WE CUT, WE CUT ALL THE REMAINING BUDGETS, A LOT OF THE PROGRAMMATIC STUFF THAT WE WERE GONNA BE GOING INTO THE SUMMER WITH.
AS PART OF THAT $200 MILLION, WE, WE CUT A LOT OF THAT OUT OF THE 20 BUDGET.
WELL, THAT'S WHAT I WAS GETTING AT ERIC.
I, I, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY HOW MUCH WAS CUT OUT OF THIS PROGRAM.
UH, BECAUSE BASICALLY WE SHUT 'EM DOWN, DOWN.
WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY PROGRAMMING OUT THERE, SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF WE, UH, WHAT WE SPENT THAT MONEY ON, OR IF IT WAS TOTALLY CUT OUT OF THE BUDGET IN 20, IT WAS, IT WAS CUT.
UH, SO 21, WHAT, WHAT DID YOU BASE YOUR BUDGET ON FOR 21? WAS IT PRE COVID, A PRE COVID BUDGET, OR SCALE BACK BUDGET? WHAT, HOW DOES THAT COMPARE WITH THE PRE COVID BUDGETS? SO, FOR PARK SERVICE, LIVING OPERATION, IT WAS ASSUMING THAT WE'RE STILL OPERATING IN A COVID ENVIRONMENT.
SO AS THE CITY MANAGER POINTED OUT A YEAR AGO TO HELP, YOU KNOW, BALANCE THE BUDGET, AND, AND WE DID HAVE ALL OF THE PROGRAMMING DOLLARS THAT WOULD GO TO SUPPORT LIKE POOLS AND OUR, UH, SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM, ALL THE HIRING, ALL OF THAT WAS ON PAUSE.
SO THAT'S WHY WE DIDN'T HAVE IT TO THE SCALE THAT WE ARE TODAY.
IN THE CURRENT YEAR, ALL OF OUR TEMP SALARIES BACK TO WHAT ALLOWS US TO OPEN OUR POOLS AND HIRE FOR SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM THAT WAS REINSTATED, BUT WE STILL, THE CURRENT YEAR ADOPTED BUDGET ASSUMED WE WOULD CONTINUE TO OPERATE IN, IN A COVID ENVIRONMENT.
UH, AND THAT WAS VERY MUCH NEEDED.
'CAUSE WE CAN STILL SEE THAT WE HAVE, UH, REDUCED CAPACITIES OR SOME YOUTH PROGRAM VACCINES STILL ROLLING OUT.
BUT THAT WAS THE BUDGET ASSUMPTION GOING INTO THE CURRENT YEAR ADOPTION.
AND THAT'S HOW WE MODELED AND BUILT AROUND THAT COVID OPERATING ENVIRONMENT.
BUT WE'RE NOT REALLY IN THAT COVID OPERATING ENVIRONMENT ANYMORE.
SO MY QUESTION IS, UH, ARE WE, ARE WE OPENING UP ALL THE PROGRAMS WE CAN AND IS THERE GONNA BE A BUDGET SHORTFALL IN, IN YOUR BUDGET IF WE'RE OPENING? 'CAUSE YOUR, YOUR ASSUMPTION WAS THAT THIS, WE'RE GONNA OPERATE IN THE COVID ENVIRONMENT, WHAT YOU JUST SAID, BUT NOW YOU'RE OPENING UP.
BUT CAN YOU OPEN UP TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU WANT TO, AND THEN ARE YOU GONNA HAVE ENOUGH BUDGET TO COVER THAT? YEAH.
WE'LL HAVE ENOUGH BUDGET TO COVER.
REMEMBER, PART OF THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT I USED LAST YEAR IN THE BUDGET IS WE DID NOT CUT OR REDUCE IN THE 21 BUDGET, THE COMMUNITY SERVICES LIKE LIBRARIES OR PARKS, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN EASY CANDIDATES TO CUT BECAUSE WE KNEW AT SOME POINT WE WERE GONNA BE OPENING BACK UP AT WHAT POINT IN THE FISCAL YEAR.
SO WE LEFT THAT FLEXIBILITY ON THE BUDGET BASED ON, BASED ON THE FIVE PLUS SEVEN AND THE, THE, THE FINANCIAL REPORTS.
SO WHERE PARTS IS AT, WE'LL HAVE ENOUGH, WE'VE GOT ENOUGH FUNDS IN THE POLICE, IN THE, IN THE, UH, PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE THIS.
THERE WON'T BE ANY SHORTFALLS OR ANY NEED FOR ADDITIONAL CASH.
HOMER AND HIS TEAM ARE KIND OF MANAGING THROUGH THAT, LIKE THE, LIKE THE LIBRARY AND THE DELEGATE AGENCY PORTIONS OF OUR BUDGET.
UH, I JUST DON'T WANT US TO SAY, WELL, WE'RE, WE, WE DIDN'T PLAN ENOUGH IN THE BUDGET, SO WE CAN'T OPEN ENOUGH FACILITIES TO ENOUGH CHILDREN ACROSS THE, THE CITY.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WANNA MAKE SURE OF, THAT WE DON'T HAVE A SHORTFALL OR THAT I DON'T WANNA SEE A SHORTFALL BECAUSE WE'RE, WE CAN OPEN UP MORE, BUT WE CAN'T BECAUSE OF A BUDGET SHORTFALL.
COUNSEL, WE'VE STRUCTURED OUR PROGRAM AROUND THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND WE'RE MAXIMIZING THAT.
UH, MAYBE I'LL GIVE YOU A CALL A LITTLE BIT LATER, HOMER
UM, ARE, AND I THINK THIS WAS ANSWERED A WHILE AGO, BUT REMIND ME, ARE WE SERVICING THE SAME AMOUNT OF KIDS PRE COVID OR HAVE WE CUT THAT BACK THIS FOR 21? NO, THE, WHEN YOU LOOK, WHEN YOU LOOK AT PRE COVID TO TODAY, WE ARE NOT SERVICING THE SAME NUMBER OF KIDS.
UM, AND THAT IS IN PART BECAUSE WE ARE STILL IN A PANDEMIC SCHOOLS, AS WE'VE, YOU KNOW, FROM TODAY ARE, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICTS, THEY'RE NOT ALL PARTICIPATING AS THEY NORMALLY WOULD.
SO WE HAVE IN THEORY, LESS SITES BECAUSE SCHOOLS ARE NOT LETTING US IN, OR DISTRICTS ARE NOT LETTING US IN
[01:05:01]
ALL OF THEIR SCHOOLS.SO THAT'S THE REASON THERE'S LESS FACILITIES AVAILABLE, AND AS A RESULT, WE'RE ABLE TO SERVICE LESS KIDS, WHETHER IT'S IN OUR OWN FACILITY OR THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND DO YOU SEE THE SCHOOLS CHANGING THAT AT ALL BETWEEN NOW SUMMERTIME OR, OR, UH, ARE YOU CONSTANTLY MONITORING THAT AND WORKING WITH THE SCHOOLS? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
UH, IN FACT, FROM LAST WEEK TO THIS WEEK, I THINK WHAT'S NEW IS PROBABLY, UH, I THINK EDGEWOOD, SO I KNOW SARAH TALKED ABOUT, SO THAT IS A LIVE ACTIVE CONVERSATION AND WE ARE TRYING TO KEEP THAT DOOR OPEN FOR AS LONG AS WE CAN SO THEN THAT WE CAN MOBILIZE THE SITES, BUT WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO SUMMER BEGINNING AND, AND THEN THE PROGRAM WILL BEGIN.
UH, SO WHAT'S YOUR PLAN ON PUTTING MORE DOTS UP HERE ON THE NORTHEAST? WELL, I DON'T HAVE THE MAP IN FRONT OF ME, BUT, UH, YOU TOUCHED ON ONE THING, AND I'LL SHARE THIS WITH YOU.
SO YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, CENTENNIAL SPORTS AND THE SCHOOL PARK PROGRAM, UH, AND N E I S D IN PARTICULAR.
SO, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM AND THEY'VE AGREED TO MAKE THEIR RECREATIONAL SPACES AND AMENITIES AT THEIR SCHOOLS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NOT IN SESSION.
SO THAT REALLY EXPANDS THE REACH OF THE SCHOOL PARK PROGRAM.
NOW, IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT BRICKS AND MORTAR FACILITIES AND HAVING A PRESENCE IN THERE, THAT'S GONNA BE UP TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO, TO LET US IN AND CARVE OUT THAT SPACE FOR US.
BUT WE'RE CONTINUING TO HAVE THAT DIALOGUE.
UH, SO WHEN YOU TELL, WHEN YOU THINK THOUGH ABOUT THE RECREATIONAL ACCESS IN DISTRICT 10, SPECIFICALLY IN THAT SCHOOL DISTRICT, THEY'VE STEPPED UP AND THEY'VE SAID, WE'RE GONNA OPEN 'EM UP AND THE PUBLIC CAN USE IT.
AND SO WE'VE MEMORIALIZED THAT IN M O AND THAT'S GREAT FOR US BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT SCHOOL PARK PROGRAM HAS BEEN VERY POPULAR.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, COUNCIL MEMBER GRA.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, SARAH.
I THINK THIS IS MAYBE THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN YOU PRESENT HERE AT A B SESSION.
UM, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND GLAD TO SEE YES, ABSOLUTELY.
VERY, VERY HAPPY TO HEAR, UM, ALL OF THE PROGRAMS COMING BACK, OR AT LEAST SLOWLY BUT SURELY.
AND YOU ALL DID SOME PHENOMENAL WORK DURING THE PANDEMIC, AND I KNOW OUR, OUR OUR, UH, KIDS AND FAMILIES MISSED GOING TO THE CENTERS.
IT, IT WAS, IT REALLY IS A STAPLE OF THEIR, THEIR CHILDHOOD AND GROWING UP.
UM, COUPLE OF THINGS WITH THE NATURE AND THE CONVERSATIONS IN OUTDOOR AND THE PARTNERSHIPS.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE DOING THIS ALREADY, BUT I WANT TO JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO PLEASE, UM, TO, PLEASE, PLEASE, UH, REACH OUT TO MANY OF OUR HISTORY AND CULTURE AND, UM, HERITAGE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS TO BE A PART OF WHATEVER PROGRAMMING YOU ALL ARE DOING.
SPECIFICALLY MAYBE IN THE, I'M THINKING OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TRAILS AND IN THE HARLANDALE AREA WITH THE, YOU KNOW, AMERICAN INDIANS IN TEXAS, THE SPANISH COLONIAL MISSIONS, AND TALKING ABOUT HERITAGE AND ANCESTRY AND OUR INDIGENOUS LINES.
HAVING THAT JUST SO THE, THE CHILDREN KNOW AND CAN BE VERY PROUD OF WHERE THEY COME FROM.
UM, AND THE STORY, VERY PROUD OF THE STORY OF SAN ANTONIO AND OUR 300 YEAR PLUS HISTORY.
I ALSO WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO GET CONNECTED WITH, YOU KNOW, THE VISIT.
SAN ANTONIO HAS A GREAT, UM, UH, AMBASSADOR PROGRAM AS WELL.
AND THEY HAVE SOME GREAT LITTLE, UM, SNIPPETS OF WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE CITY.
IT WOULD BE GREAT TO JUST SHARE THOSE INSIGHTS WITH THE KIDS, AND THEN THE KIDS CAN TELL THEM, VISIT SAN ANTONIO, WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT OUR PARKS? AND WE CAN START THAT CONVERSATION WITH THE CULTURAL TOURISM, RECREATIONAL TOURISM, AND TELLING A LARGER STORY OF SAN ANTONIO.
UM, I ALSO WANTED TO, UM, QUICK QUESTION.
WHY IS, UM, WHY IS CONCEPTION PARK POOL CLOSED? I DON'T SEE IT OPENING, IT WASN'T IN THE JULY ONE MAP, EMILY.
SO I CONCEPT YOU ON, WE FOCUSED ON, UH, REALLY JUST THE SIZE OF THE POOL AND BACK TO, BECAUSE WE KNEW WE WERE GOING TO BE LIMITING CAPACITY OVERALL, UM, FOR PEOPLE COMING TO SWIM.
[01:10:01]
FOCUSED AGAIN, KIND OF LIKE OUR, UM, BRICKS AND MORTAR FACILITIES.WHAT ARE THE LARGER POOLS, WHERE'S THE, THE NEED? AND THEN KIND OF USE THOSE TWO GUIDEPOSTS TO HELP IDENTIFY WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE SWIM OPPORTUNITIES.
SO, YOU KNOW, UH, AS AN EXAMPLE, LIKE SOUTH SIDE LION'S KIND OF EASY, BIG POOL, REGIONAL PARK, WE'RE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE, UH, A LOT OF SWIMMERS THERE WHEN ION'S A LITTLE BIT SMALLER.
UM, AND SO THAT WAS THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS FOR WHERE WE HAVE POOLS OPEN AND OTHERS THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO.
UH, AND THEN BACK TO JUST THE DISCUSSION OF THE UP TO 18 POOLS IS GONNA BE PREDICATED IN OUR ABILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, UH, HIRE AND, AND TRAIN THE STAFF THAT ARE NEEDED FOR THOSE LOCATIONS.
AND SO, UM, BUT I, I I, I, I HEAR, AND I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING TOO, ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE SIZE AND IT ISN'T VERY, UH, A VERY BIG POOL, BUT I THINK THE CLOSEST ONE THERE, SPECIFICALLY WHEN WE'RE LOOKING STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE, I THINK THAT, WELL, YOU KNOW, THE 7 8 2 1 0 7 8 2 1 4 ZIP CODES IN THAT AREA, UM, YOU SEE THE ONLY OTHER TWO ARE OVER THERE AT SOUTH SIDE LIONS OR AT KINGSBOROUGH.
AND OF COURSE, THE AUDITORIUM IS NOT OPEN EITHER, NEITHER IS NUMBER 21, WHICH IS SOUTH CROSS FOR THE SIZE OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
SO IF YOU SEE HERE, THAT ENTIRE REGION IS WITHOUT POOLS.
AND UNLIKE SOME OF MY GOOD COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AS AREAS THAT THEY REPRESENT, WE DON'T HAVE MANY HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS OR GATED COMMUNITIES OR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS THAT PEOPLE PAY IN TO HAVE NEIGHBORHOOD POOLS.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE THIS WHOLE AREA, UM, JUST NEEDING SOME SORT OF COVERAGE HERE WITH POOL AND ACCESS, UM, BECAUSE WE STILL CAN'T EVEN, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET OUR SWIMMING POOL AT THE Y M C A, UM, Y'ALL KNOW THIS, UM, IN, IN THE DISTRICT.
SO I JUST WANTED, I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT IF YOU'ALL CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND SEE, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE 2 21 AND 17 THAT ARE NOT OPEN, THAT'S AN ENTIRE AREA THAT WE KNOW IS NOT GONNA BE COVERED, UM, WITH POOL ACCESS.
UM, SO, SO THAT'S ONE, UH, COMMENT AND SUGGESTION I WANTED TO BRING FORWARD.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL OF THE, THE ITEMS THAT YOU ALL ARE BRINGING FORWARD.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL DO THIS ALREADY, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE DOG PARKS, UM, HOMER, YOU HAVE YOUR DOG AMBASSADORS, YOU HAVE DIFFERENT PROGRAMMING.
IF YOU HAVE ANIMAL CARE SERVICES GO OUT THERE, UM, FOR DOG ADOPTIONS AND YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, DOG ADOPTIONS OUT THERE SO PEOPLE CAN SEE IF THEY WANNA ADOPT SOME GREAT LITTLE PUPS FROM OUR ANIMAL CARE SERVICES, PLEASE DO THAT.
AND YES, I'M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT KINGSBORO HAVING A DOG PARK.
UM, I AM THROUGH, I'M GONNA TAKE A PAGE OUT OF COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ'S, UH, THING ABOUT GIVING THANKS AND GIVING PEOPLE FLOWERS BEFORE OUR LAST TIME, UH, ON COUNCIL.
BUT, UH, SUPER PROUD OF THE WORK PARTNERING WITH YOU HOMER, WITH NIKKI, WITH BRANDON.
I KNOW BR I PROBABLY HAVE DRIVEN BRANDON CRAZY.
UM, AND EVERYBODY, YOU'RE EXTREMELY TALENTED TEEN AT ALL OF OUR PARKS AND THAT THEY ARE IN IT FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THE KIDS AND THE FAMILIES, AND THEY ARE COMPLETELY DEDICATED.
I AM JUST, I, I AM ALWAYS, UH, OVERWHELMED WITH HOW GREAT THEY ARE AND HOW WONDERFUL THAT THEY ARE WITH OUR COMMUNITY, BUT I'M SO PROUD OF HAVING NOW THREE DOG PARKS IN DISTRICT THREE WHEN WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY WHEN I FIRST CAME ON COUNCIL.
UM, SOUTH SIDE LINES, KINGSBOROUGH, AND OF COURSE BROOKS GREENLINE DOG PARK IS THERE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, VERY PROUD OF, OH, AND BY THE WAY, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A DOG PARK AT CONCEPTION PARK AS WELL.
JUST PUTTING THAT IN YOUR EAR.
I KNOW THE RESIDENTS ARE READY.
UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE IN OUR HIKE AND BIKE TRAILS IN DISTRICT THREE, SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL, WE'VE HAD EIGHT PROJECTS TOTALING 15 MILES, $24.6 MILLION.
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND WE'RE CONTINUE.
AND THAT'S WHY I PROBABLY HAVE DRIVEN BRENDA CRAZY.
BUT THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR THIS INVESTMENT IN OUR HEALTH, IN THE ACCESS TO OUR COMMUNITY AND KNOWING THAT, UM, YOU ALL ARE DOING GREAT WORK TO PARTNERING WITH US, THE SAN ANTONIO FOOD POLICY COUNCIL, AND HOPEFULLY A FOOD FOREST SOMEWHERE IN THESE FLOODPLAINS AND AREAS IN THE FUTURE.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO.
AND I MEAN, I KNOW HOMER, YOU'RE, YOU'RE BORN AND RAISED ON THE SOUTH SIDE AS WELL, SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO YOU.
UM, BUT JUST KEEP IT COMING AND KEEP THE INVESTMENT.
AND I'M VERY PROUD OF WHAT IS,
[01:15:01]
WHAT HAS HAPPENED AND WHAT'S CONTINUING TO HAPPEN THERE.SO TO MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE GOING TO BE REMAINING, UH, PLEASE CONTINUE TO AND MAYOR FOR YOU TOO.
UH, PLEASE CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OUR, OUR PARKS, OUR GREEN SPACES IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR.
COUNCILWOMAN GRO, THIS IS DAVID MCCAREY.
I DID TAKE NOTE FOR ANIMAL CARE SERVICES ON THE ADOPTION PART, SO WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU.
UH, GRO GOING NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER ROACH GARCIA.
UM, HOMER AND SARAH, GREAT PRESENTATION.
I'M REALLY HAPPY THAT HERITAGE IS GOING TO, UM, BE INCLUDED IN THERE.
UM, AND, AND COUNCILWOMAN, UH, VRAN MENTIONED THIS, UM, PALO ALTO IS CLOSED.
UM, SO, UM, SO, SO IT'S NOT AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.
SO THEN THAT ONLY LEAVES ONE, UM, ONE POOL IN, IN OUR AREA.
SO MUCH LIKE OUR COLLEAGUES FROM THE NORTHEAST, THE SOUTHWEST, UM, IS ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, BEING LEFT BEHIND.
BUT I, I, I, UM, WOULD LOVE TO SEE MAYBE IF WE COULD ALSO OVERLAY SOME OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD POOLS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO ACCESS, UM, THROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ALREADY A MAP OF THAT.
I KNOW THAT SOME AREAS DO HAVE, I KNOW IT'S LIMITED ACCESS, BUT I, I'M JUST TRYING TO SEE IF WE HAVE THAT.
I'M JUST TRYING TO SEE WHERE THE POOLS ARE, UH, BASICALLY, SO, SO THAT'S, THAT'S A QUESTION THAT I HAVE FOR YOU ALL.
UM, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE OBVIOUSLY TODAY.
UM, BUT THEN ALSO, DO WE HAVE HOURS SPECIFICALLY DEDICATED AT THESE POOLS FOR KIDS WITH DIFFERENT ABILITIES? ARE WE ABLE TO, TO, TO HELP IN THAT REGARD OR NO, THE SHORT ANSWER IS YES.
I MEAN, RIGHT NOW AS DESIGNED, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COME IN AND THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THE POOL.
WE, AT THIS POINT HAVE NOT DESIGNATED A SPECIFIC AREA OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAVE YOU, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT AND EVALUATE OF WHERE THERE'S THAT NEED.
DO WE INTRODUCE MAYBE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, UH, A TIME JUST DESIGNATED FOR THEM WHILE EVERYONE ELSE IS TAKING A BREAK? WE'RE, SO IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK AT ANY DAILY.
UM, ALSO, I KNOW THAT WE ARE HIRING LIFEGUARDS ARE 16 TO 19.
UM, AND SO COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL, UM, BROUGHT UP THE, UH, THE PAY.
UM, HOW, UH, IS THERE ANY WAY I SCANNED THE QR CODE THAT YOU ALL PROVIDED IN THE PRESENTATION AND THE QR CODE TAKES 'EM TO THE GENERIC CITY OF SAN ANTONIO JOBS WEBPAGE.
COULD YOU ALL MAYBE POINT IT DIRECTLY TO THE SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM? UH, I MEAN, IT'S A QR CODE, SO YOU COULD JUST REDIRECT.
SO I, I THINK IT WOULD BE A LOT EASIER FOR SOME OF THESE KIDS NOT TO BE SCARED AWAY FROM ALL OF THIS PROCESS, RIGHT? BECAUSE AT THE TOP YOU SEE LIKE THE DIFFERENT TABS FOR EXECUTIVE, FOR CITY COUNCIL, FOR JUST GENERAL JOBS.
IF YOU CAN POINT IT DIRECTLY TO THE SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM, I, I THINK IT MIGHT BE BENEFICIAL FOR SOME STUDENTS.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO, UM, WILL THE, THE LIFEGUARDS THAT WE HIRE, UM, BE, UH, ASKED TO BE VACCINATED? I, I MEAN, I GUESS MAYBE THAT'S, I, I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN ASK THAT OR NOT, BUT HOW ARE WE TREATING THAT? I DID NOTICE THAT WAS NOT IN THE JOB REQUIREMENTS OR WOULD THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE VACCINATED? YEAH.
SO THERE, THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS GOING ON HERE.
YOU'RE RIGHT, IT'S NOT IN THE JOB REQUIREMENT FOR THOSE THAT ARE ELIGIBLE.
IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY WANTED TO DO, THEN YES, BUT I KNOW THAT, UM, THERE ARE SOME THAT MAY NOT, AGAIN, WANT TO, AND SO WE HAVE NOT ENCOUNTERED ANYONE.
AND I DON'T KNOW, SARAH, HAVE WE RECEIVED ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANY OF THE HIRES THUS FAR REGARDING VACCINATION? NO, I MEAN, I KNOW, YOU KNOW, HONESTLY, THERE'S JUST A, I THINK THERE'S AN INTEREST ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, UH, WITH OUR AGES.
WE ALSO HAVE TO COORDINATE THAT, OF COURSE, WITH THE PARENTS 'CAUSE UH, IF THEY'RE UNDER 18.
SO WE DO HAVE TO COORDINATE THAT WITH PARENTS, SO FOR MINORS.
BUT, UM, YEAH, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT IF WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT, WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS IN THE PAST, SO I, YOU KNOW, IN TALKING TO HR, I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN, UM, MAKE THAT RIGHT, YOU KNOW? YEAH.
AND AS A REMINDER, COUNSEL, WHEN THEY WILL HAVE MASKS ON WHILE THEY'RE WORKING, EVEN WHEN THEY'RE ON STAND, UM, THEY WILL, WE HAVE SHIELDS WHEN THEY'RE DOING THE, UM, SWIM LESSONS.
SO, UH, WE DO HAVE PROTECTIONS IN PLACE AS WELL WHILE THEY'RE WORKING, WHETHER THEY'RE VACCINATED OR NOT.
SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WERE, IT WAS JUST AN OPPORTUNITY TO REACH AN AUDIENCE AGAIN.
RIGHT? SO, UM, IN, IN THAT AGE GROUP, AND SO COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO TALK TO THE PARENTS, BUT MAYBE EVEN OFFERING IT RIGHT.
[01:20:01]
TO JUST, UM, I, I DON'T KNOW, KIND OF PUSH THE VACCINE, RIGHT? SO, UM, SO THAT, THAT'S MY QUESTION ON THAT.AND THEN ALSO FOR THE PROGRAMS THEMSELVES, HOW, HOW CAN PEOPLE SIGN UP? I DRIVE BY MY LOCAL COMMUNITY PARK, UH, AND COMMUNITY, OUR NEIGHBOR OR, UH, CENTER, AND I KNOW THAT IT'S USUALLY ON THE MARQUEE.
UM, IS IT, IS THERE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SPACES THAT'S RESERVED FOR ONLINE AND A CERTAIN NUMBER THAT YOU COULD COME AND REGISTER, UM, THERE AT THE CENTER OR OVER THE TELEPHONE? HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE REGISTRATION PROCESS A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
YEAH, SO REGISTER, YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY REGISTRATION.
IT'LL BE, UH, EVERYTHING'S ON SA PARKS AND REC.COM.
SO FOLKS LOG ON THERE, THEY CAN SEE WHAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN.
UM, WE, IT, IT'LL ALL OPEN AT THE SAME TIME.
WE, WE'LL HAVE STAFF ON SITE AT COMMUNITY CENTERS FOR FOLKS THAT DO NEED THAT, UH, ASSISTANCE.
UM, BUT YEAH, IT'LL BE, IT'LL BE JUST OPEN TO EVERYONE.
SAME THING WITH THE SWIM LESSONS.
WE'LL HAVE EVERYTHING AVAILABLE.
YOU KNOW, WE REALLY DIRECT EVERYONE TO THE SA PARKS AND REC.COM.
'CAUSE EVEN FOR OUR FREE PROGRAMS, THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT THEY CAN SEE ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT WE OFFER REGISTER ONLINE, AND THAT WAY THEY'LL KNOW WHAT SLOT THEY HAVE, WHERE THEY'RE GOING.
UM, BUT YEAH, FOR THE SUMMER YOUTH, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE EVERYTHING AVAILABLE, UH, AGAIN, FOR AQUATICS.
SO WE, OUR BIG THING IS SA PARKS AND REC.COM, SA PARKS AND REC.COM.
BUT IF, IF THEY DO NEED ASSISTANCE, THEY CAN DEFINITELY COME INTO THE COMMUNITY CENTERS AND WE CAN OFFER THAT ASSISTANCE.
YOU KNOW, LIBRARIES HAVE BEEN GREAT WHEN THEY'RE OPEN, SO THEY HAVE THAT CONNECTIVITY.
SO, UM, WE DEFINITELY MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF OPTIONS OUT THERE FOR FOLKS THAT WANNA PARTICIPATE.
SO I REPRESENT A LOT OF FOLKS THAT ARE STILL BEHIND IN, IN THE DIGITAL ASPECT.
SO, UM, MAYBE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO, TO TECHNOLOGY.
UM, SO I, I DON'T, THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING, IS THERE A WAY TO BE ABLE TO RESERVE SOME SPOTS FOR PEOPLE THAT MAYBE HAVE TO CALL 3 1 1 TO REGISTER? I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF 3 1 1 CAN REGISTER THEM FOR THIS TYPE OF SERVICE.
AND SO, UM, ARE WE GOING OUT AND DOING GRASSROOTS AND, AND TRYING TO, UM, MAYBE PARTNER WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO HAVE MAYBE THE SOCIAL WORKERS SIGN THEM UP FOR A SUMMER PROGRAM? AGAIN, I JUST WANNA BE, BE VERY CAREFUL THAT WE ARE NOT JUST GIVING ACCESS TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE ONLINE ACCESS TO REGISTRATION.
YEAH, WE CAN LOOK AT THE OTHER AVENUES, BUT AGAIN, WE, WE WILL, WE ONLY OPEN REGISTRATION WHEN OUR CENTERS ARE OPEN.
THAT WAY, THOSE THAT NEED THAT CONNECTIVITY COME ON IN.
WE HAVE IPADS, WE HAVE THE COMPUTERS, AND WE'LL DEFINITELY WALK THEM THROUGH IT FOR THAT ASSISTANCE.
AND THEN MY LAST COMMENT, THANK YOU FOR, UM, THE, THE TRANSLATION OF THE VIDEO.
I, I WANTED TO MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION, THE LITERAL TRANSLATION THAT YOU ALL HAD SOUNDS A LITTLE ROUGH.
UM, AND I THINK THAT MAYBE WE COULD CONCENTRATE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THINK NICER AND MAYBE SAY MPO.
AND SO, UM, SO ANYWAY, SO JUST FYI.
AND YOU COULD TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT OR YOU COULD MAKE SOME OTHER RECOMMENDATION.
BUT, UM, IT JUST, JUST, JUST SOMETHING THAT I THINK, UH, WOULD BE JUST AS FUN AS THE POOP SCOOP, RIGHT? OR, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE ENGLISH ONE WAS,
SO, UM, THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS AND, AND MY, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER TRAVINO.
UM, AND MY FAMILY HAS A LOT OF TRANSLATIONS FOR THAT WORK, BUT I WON'T GET INTO THAT
UM, THANK YOU FOR, FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
UM, YEAH, I REALLY, IT'S EXCITING TO, TO TO SEE, UH, ALL THESE THINGS COMING BACK.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COMMUNITY, I'M SURE WILL BE VERY, VERY APPRECIATIVE.
UM, I WOULD, I, I JUST WANNA ENCOURAGE, UH, PARKS AND REC TO, TO WORK WITH NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS ON THOSE JOB POSTINGS.
MANY, MANY OF OUR, UH, NEIGHBOR ASSOCIATIONS HAVE NEWSLETTERS THAT THEY COULD PUT THAT ON THERE.
AND I THINK IT WOULD, IT WOULD REALLY HELP, HELP OUT, UM, QUITE, UM, UH, QUITE A BIT.
UM, IT ALSO LOOKED LIKE THE, THE DELL VIEW POOL WILL, IS, IS THAT, THAT'S GONNA BE OPEN THIS SUMMER? IS IS IT OR NOT SCHEDULE TO OPEN? RIGHT.
WELL, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING TO CONSIDER IS THAT, THAT POOL IS, HAS GOT A, A REAL NICE ADJACENCY TO DISTRICTS EIGHT AND NINE, AND I, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO AGREE WITH WHAT, UH, DISTRICTS NINE AND 10 HAVE SAID.
AND, UH, IT IS LOCATED IN OUR, IN THE VERY FAR NORTH PART OF DISTRICT ONE.
BUT, UH, IT COULD HELP, UH, IN TERMS OF PROVIDING SOME RE MUCH NEEDED RESOURCES, UH, IN DISTRICTS EIGHT AND NINE AND MAYBE EVEN 10.
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I WOULD ASK THAT, UH, MAYBE, UH, WE COULD INCLUDE
[01:25:01]
THAT, UH, TO, TO HELP WITH THESE POP-UP EVENTS THAT SEEM TO BE LACKING IN CERTAIN DISTRICTS.SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT IS, UH, LOCATED NEAR, UM, VANCE JACKSON AND FOUR 10.
SO AGAIN, UM, MIGHT PROVIDE SOME, SOME, UH, SOME SUPPORT FOR WHAT A LOT OF US WERE ASKING, AND CERTAINLY WE, WE WOULD ADVOCATE FOR THAT AS WELL.
UM, I THINK EVERYBODY'S BROUGHT UP SOME OTHER GREAT POINTS.
AND AGAIN, I JUST LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, ALL THE WORK THAT, UH, Y'ALL ARE DOING.
AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, UH, THE DOG PARK AT MAVERICK PARK.
THAT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A, A LOT OF FOLKS WHO HAVE REALLY, UH, PUSHED HARD FOR THAT PARK.
UM, WE DID LOCATE A PORTLAND LOU THERE, WHICH I THINK IS, IS ALSO BEEN VERY, VERY, UH, HELPFUL, UH, IN, IN ADDRESSING, UH, SOME, SOME OF THE BASIC, BASIC, UH, NEEDS THAT ARE, THAT ARE REQUIRED IN, IN, IN MANY OF OUR PARKS, SPECIFICALLY IN THE CENTER CITY.
UH, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT SPECIAL THANKS TO, UH, JOEL RETA III AND, AND ALL THE GROUPS THAT, THAT HAVE REALLY COME OUT, UH, FOR THAT, UH, ASHLEY, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, ALL THE FOLKS WHO REALLY WANTED THIS, UH, TO, UH, TO, TO COME TO FRUITION.
AND, UH, LOOK TO LOOK FORWARD TO A GREAT, UH, SUMMER OF EVENTS.
I WANTED TO CHIME BACK IN, UH, KIND OF TO FOLLOW UP WITH WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, RICHARD GARCIA WAS TALKING ABOUT.
UM, ERIC, IN THE LINES OF, UH, VACCINATIONS, WE KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF, UM, SCHOOL OR, OR, UM, A LOT OF, UH, BASEBALL TEAMS, DIFFERENT CLUB TEAMS, ET CETERA, THAT ARE AT, UH, THE BASEBALL FIELD IN OUR CITY PARKS USING IT RIGHT NOW.
IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A POP-UP SITE, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE PARENTS TAKE THEIR KIDS OUT THERE.
WE KNOW THAT THAT'S HOW SOME KIDS ARE TRANS TRANSMITTING THE C O V I D TO FAMILY MEMBERS OR POTENTIALLY OTHER BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
SO MAYBE WE CAN LOOK AT, UM, PARTNERING AND HAVING, UH, CLINICS AT JUST MAKING IT OPEN AND AVAILABLE, LETTING OUR PARTNERS WHO ARE USING THESE FACILITIES TO KNOW THAT ON THIS SATURDAY AND THIS DATE, FAMILIES CAN COME AND GET A VACCINE.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
AND I JUST WANTED TO, TO REITERATE THAT.
AGAIN, THANK YOU, UH, TEAM, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, CONTINUED, UM, OPENING OF SUMMER PROGRAMS AND IN OUR PARTS AND ENJOYMENT OF THAT.
[Executive Session]
UH, WITH THAT, WE DO HAVE, UH, A BRIEF EXECUTIVE SESSION TODAY.UH, WE'RE NOT GONNA GET TO ALL OF THE ITEMS TODAY, BUT, UM, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CONVENE OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SO THE TIME IS NOW 3:34 PM ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28TH, 2021.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WILL NOT MEET AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO DELIBERATE TO DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING ITEMS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.087, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THE PURCHASE EXCHANGE, LEASE OR VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.072 REAL PROPERTY, THE APPOINTMENT, APPOINTMENT EVALUATION, REASSIGNMENT DUTIES, DISCIPLINE OR DISMISSAL OF PUBLIC OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES.
AND DISCUSS RELATED LEGAL ISSUES PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0 7 4 PERSONNEL MATTERS, LEGAL UPDATE AND ANALYSIS ON C P S AND SAWS, LITIGATION AND INVESTIGATIONS RELATED TO THE WINTER STORM AND CONSULTATION WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY FOR LEGAL ISSUES OR ADVICE RELATED TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING LITIGATION INVOLVING THE CITY COVID 19 PREPAREDNESS, LEGAL OPTIONS, ELECTION LAWS, MEETING EFFICIENCIES, AND PERSONNEL MATTERS UNDER 5 5 1 0.071.
ALRIGHT, I THINK WE HAVE A WEB LINK FOR EVERYBODY, SO WE'LL SEE YOU IN THE OTHER SCREEN MOMENTARILY.
UH, WE'LL CONVENE, UM, RIGHT AWAY.
TIME IS 3:49 PM ON THIS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28TH, 2021.
CITY COUNCIL HAS RECONVENED FROM ITS EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UM, THE CITY COUNCIL, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WILL NOW RECONVENE AN OPEN SESSION, UH, EXECUTIVE SESSION.
ITEMS NOT REACHED TODAY WILL BE CARRIED OVER TO TOMORROW'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
UM, AND, UH, WE WILL CON, WE WILL ADJOURN OUR B SESSION.
[01:30:01]
THAT CORRECT? ALRIGHT, WE'LL ADJOURN OUR B SESSION NOW AND WE WILL HAVE CITIZENS BE HEARD AT FIVE O'CLOCK.UH, BUT AGAIN, OUR, OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION WILL BE CONTINUED TO TOMORROW.