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[2. Briefing on SA Digital Connects. [John Peterek, Assistant to the City Manager; Brian Dillard, Chief Innovation Officer, Office of Innovation and Smart Cities]]
FROM THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION.UM, SO I AM VERY EXCITED TO BE PRESENTING THIS TO YOU ALL.
UH, I KNOW WE HAD SOME ONE-ON-ONES WITH MOST OF YOUR OFFICES, UH, AND YOURSELVES OVER THE LAST MONTH.
UM, IF YOU'LL REMEMBER, WE PRESENTED ON A DIGITAL INCLUSION PLAN, A DIGITAL EQUITY PLAN IN THE BUILDING OF IT, UH, AS EARLY AS MARCH AT INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL COMMITTEE.
UH, AND THEN WE PRESENTED ON IT AGAIN IN MAY.
UH, SINCE THEN, I T C HAS BEEN KIND OF DISSOLVED OR, AND MORPHED INTO, UH, INTO THIS COMMITTEE A LITTLE BIT.
SO, UH, I'M HERE TO PRESENT ON THE ROADMAP.
UH, AFTER THAT, I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO LUISA CASA, WHO IS THE CHAIR OF SA DIGITAL CONNECTS.
UH, SHE'LL BE WALKING IN IN A MINUTE.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL GO FROM THERE WITH ANY QUESTIONS, UH, THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
UH, SO A LITTLE BACK, A LITTLE BACKGROUND.
UH, AS I MENTIONED, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR A WHILE.
IT'S PROBABLY BEEN ABOUT A LITTLE, PROBABLY OVER A YEAR.
UH, INITIALLY, KATE ROGERS, LOUISA CASO AND DIANE WARREN REACHED OUT TO US UNDERSTANDING THAT WE WERE ALREADY DOING A LOT OF WORK IN THIS DIGITAL INCLUSION SPACE.
NOT ONLY PUBLIC LIBRARY WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE FOR SEVERAL YEARS, BUT ALSO THE WORK WE DID ON THE DIGITAL INCLUSION SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT.
UM, THAT WAS BACK IN DECEMBER OF 2019, GOING INTO FEBRUARY OF 2020, UH, BUT ALSO CONNECTED BEYOND THE CLASSROOM THAT WE KICKED OFF.
UH, WE KICKED OFF THE PLANNING PHASES, AND THEY'RE STILL IN THE EXECUTION OF THAT ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF THIS YEAR.
UH, PRIVATE SECTOR WANTED TO COME IN AND THEY SAID, HEY, WE KNOW YOU'RE DOING KIND OF THIS, UH, THESE THINGS TO SET THE GROUNDWORK FOR WHAT DIGITAL INCLUSION IS TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND GREATER BEAR BEAR COUNTY.
WHAT CAN THE PRIVATE SECTOR DO? AND, UM, MY TWO RECOMMENDATIONS TO THEM WAS, ONE, WE NEED TO ESTABLISH A ROADMAP.
UH, SO THIS ISN'T A PLAN THAT WE PUT ON A SHELF.
IT IS A ROADMAP THAT HAS ACTION ITEMS THROUGHOUT, UH, THAT IDENTIFIES HOW WE CLOSE THE ENTIRE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR A HUNDRED PERCENT OF RESIDENTS THROUGHOUT GREATER BEAR COUNTY IN SAN ANTONIO.
TWO, IN ORDER FOR NOT, NOT TO JUST BE A PLAN, WE NEED SOMEBODY HIRED ON TO EXECUTE IT.
UH, SO THOSE ARE THE TWO THINGS WE RECOMMENDED TO THEM.
UH, OVER THE LAST EIGHT MONTHS, EIGHT OR NINE MONTHS, WE'VE BEEN BUILDING OUT THIS ROADMAP WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UM, ON THE SCREEN, YOU'LL SEE HERE, THIS IS REALLY ABOUT COMING TOGETHER, A CLOSE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN SAN ANTONIO AND GRAY BEAR COUNTY.
THIS TRULY IS A PUBLIC PRIVATE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP.
UH, AND I'LL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THAT, OF WHY WE'RE CALLING IT COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP.
UH, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS ROADMAP IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FUNDING THAT'S COMING IN FROM FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL, GOING INTO DIGITAL INCLUSION AND BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY, THAT WE HAVE A ROADMAP IN OUR HAND WHEN WE REACH OUT AND SAY, HEY, WE WANT SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS.
THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART.
WHEN YOU LOOK UP HERE AND YOU SEE THAT TERM SHOVEL READY, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE INTENDING TO BE.
UH, WE LISTED A BUNCH OF, A BUNCH OF, UH, GENRES OF COMMUNITIES THAT WE'RE REALLY, TRULY TRYING TO FOCUS IN ON.
AND AGAIN, THIS COMPENDIUM, THIS ROADMAP IS ABOUT 360 PAGES LONG.
UH, SO IT'S GOOD LIGHT READING AT NIGHT.
UH, COUNCILMAN ROJA GARCIA, I'M SURE YOU'VE, YEP.
UM, I'M GONNA JUMP TO THE NEXT SLIDE HERE.
UH, SO WHEN I TALK ABOUT A BROAD COALITION, I TRULY MEAN THAT, UH, NOT ONLY ON THE LEFT SIDE DO YOU SEE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR, UH, INITIATING THIS PLAN AND FUNDING THE PLAN, BUT ALSO ON THE RIGHT, YOU SEE THAT THIS WAS TRULY COMMUNITY DRIVEN.
WE REACHED OUT TO OVER 140 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES, SCHOOL DISTRICTS, AND INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR CHALLENGES WERE, WHAT THEY WERE DOING, TO FACE THOSE CHALLENGES SO THAT WAY WE COULD BE STRATEGICALLY ALIGNED AS WE BUILT OUT THIS ROADMAP.
I WAS KEY IMPORTANT TO US AS WE BUILT IT OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WEREN'T, UH, REPLICATING EFFORTS OR, OR, UH, IGNORING EFFORTS THAT WERE ALREADY DONE IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
UH, WE WILL CONTINUE ALONG WITH THIS WORK BECAUSE THIS IS A LIVING DOCUMENT.
JUST AS DIGITAL INCLUSION AND TECHNOLOGY CHANGES YEAR AFTER YEAR, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THIS, THIS DOCUMENT IS ABLE TO ADAPT TO THOSE CHANGES.
SO WE DO HAVE A COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO ENGAGE WITH THAT HELPED US BUILD OUT THIS PLAN.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? UH, WHAT'S THE RETURN ON THESE? THERE'S THREE THINGS RETURN TO IN INDIVIDUALS.
SO EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES WE'RE DO REDUCING THOSE INEQUITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT WE SAW EVEN BEFORE COVID.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOMEWORK GAPS, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, FOLKS NOT BEING ABLE TO DO REMOTE WORK, THAT EXPANDED TREMENDOUSLY.
AND YOU ALL KNOW THIS WHEN COVID HIT.
SO UNDERSTANDING THIS IMPACTS INDIVIDUALS AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL.
NEXT STEP IS RETURNING RETURNS TO COMMUNITY AND SOCIETY.
SO UNDERSTANDING THAT AS WE TAP INTO NEW WAYS TO, TO ADDRESS HEALTH CONCERNS, ADDRESS FINANCIAL CONCERNS FOR FAMILIES, THAT IMPACTS THOSE FAMILIES DIRECTLY AND THOSE COMMUNITIES, UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO BE CONNECTED AS THEY MOVE FORWARD WITH THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
THAT IS A PIECE OF THIS ROADMAP AS WELL.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WHICH RETURN RETURNS TO THE ECONOMY.
WE KNOW THIS IS IMPORTANT TO THOSE THAT MAY HAVE DIGITAL ACCESS.
THEY OFTEN QUESTION, WELL, WHAT DOES THIS ACTUALLY DO FOR ME? I HAVE GREAT INTERNET SPEED.
HOW DOES IT IMPACT ME? THIS IS AN ECONOMIC IMPACT DRIVER.
DIGITAL INCLUSION WE'VE SEEN IN OTHER CITIES WHERE IT HAS A RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF ABOUT $2 TO ONE.
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40 CENTS TO $1 INVESTED, UH, A BIG ECONOMIC IMPACT, UH, FOR THOSE CITIES.AND DOWN AT THE BOTTOM THERE, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE SOCIETAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT THAT WE'VE RESEARCHED RETURNS WITHIN ONE TO TWO YEARS WHEN IT COMES TO THE G D P BENEFITS.
UH, SO HOW ARE, WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE THE, WHAT DOES DIGITAL INCLUSION MEAN TO US? WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CLOSING THAT GAP, THERE'S FOUR COMPONENTS HERE.
SO THAT MEANS AVAILABILITY OF BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE IN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT IT HASN'T BEEN IN YET.
AND NOT ONLY AVAILABILITY OF IT, BUT MAKING SURE IT'S RELIABLE AND HIGH SPEED.
SO CURRENTLY THE STANDARD AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL IS 25 UP AND THREE DOWN.
THAT'S THE STANDARD THAT IS NOT ADEQUATE FOR THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ON, ON THE BANDWIDTH THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE RIGHT NOW FOR REMOTE REMOTE ALERT WORK AND REMOTE LEARNING, OUR NORTH STAR IS 100, 100.
UH, WE WERE JUST NOTIFIED ABOUT A WEEK AGO THAT THE GOVERNOR'S, UH, BROADBAND COUNCIL COMMITTEE HAS ACTUALLY ADAPTED THAT AS WELL.
SO THEIR NORTH STAR FOR 2026 IS A HUNDRED, 100 FOR 2028, I BELIEVE THEY'RE GOING TO 500, UH, 500, 100.
SO THAT NORTH STAR 100 100 IS VERY REASONABLE.
AND WE THINK WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY SETTING THE THRESHOLD HIGH FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING NEXT IS AFFORDABILITY.
SO UNDERSTANDING, EVEN IF I PROVIDE AVAILABILITY OF BROADBAND INTERNET, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT.
SO OUR THRESHOLD FOR THAT IS NO MORE THAN 1% OF MEDIAN INCOME HOUSEHOLD MEDIUM HOUSEHOLD INCOME, SORRY.
UNDERNEATH AFFORDABILITY IS DEVICE ACCESS.
SO UNDERSTANDING, EVEN IF I PROVIDE YOU INTERNET AND YOU CAN AFFORD IT, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A DEVICE TO UTILIZE THAT, THEN WE'RE BACK TO SQUARE ONE.
AND THEN LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, DEFINITELY NOT LEAST, IS ADOPTION SUPPORT.
THAT'S REALLY THE DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMMING THAT GOES INTO THIS.
UH, WHEN WE TALK TO ISPS, WHEN WE TALK TO TELECOMS, WHEN WE TALK TO RESIDENTS AND WE SAY, DO YOU HAVE INTERNET? AND CAN YOU AFFORD IT? SOME OF THEM SAY YES, BUT THEY JUST DON'T HAVE IT.
THEY'RE INTIMIDATED BY IT, THEY'RE SECURITY CONCERNS.
THAT ALL BUILDS INTO THAT DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMMING.
THAT'S A BIG COMPONENT TO ALL OF THIS.
IF WE'RE NOT UTILIZING THAT PIECE, THEN ALL THE REST OF THIS DOESN'T REALLY MATTER.
AT THE BOTTOM THERE, YOU'LL SEE WHAT WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING IN ON WITH ALL OF THIS.
WE ARE FOCUSING WITH AN EQUITY FIRST MINDSET, UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE POPULATIONS, THESE COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN UNDERSERVED FOR, FOR DECADES.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE COVERING THAT, THAT GAP, UH, VERY QUICKLY AND VERY RAPIDLY FOR THOSE COMMUNITIES FIRST.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT CURRENT STATE.
WHERE ARE WE AT? A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION WAS DERIVED NOT ONLY FROM OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT FROM 20 19, 20 20, BUT ALSO FROM THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, AS WELL AS BROADBAND NOW.
SO WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT, UH, DATA RESOURCES TO PILE THIS ON THE SIZE OF THE DIVIDE IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND GREATER BEAR COUNTY RIGHT NOW IS 130,000 PLUS HOUSEHOLDS, AND THAT'S HOUSEHOLDS.
SO THAT'S AVERAGE OF THREE PEOPLE PER HOUSEHOLD.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THAT AND YOU'RE LIKE, THAT'S NOT TOO BAD, MULTIPLY IT BY THREE.
IT'S 20% OF ALL HOUSEHOLDS IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WITH GREATER BEAR COUNTY WITHOUT BROADBAND.
UNDERNEATH THAT, YOU'LL NOTICE THE LACK OF DEVICES AS WELL.
10% OF ALL HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT DEVICES.
ON THE RIGHT THERE, YOU'LL SEE WE'VE ADDRESSED AVAILABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND ADOPTION.
AND AGAIN, WE RESEARCHED ALL THIS THROUGH OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT THAT WE DID WITH U T S A, BEXAR COUNTY, AS WELL AS DIGITAL INCLUSION ALLIANCE OF SAN ANTONIO BACK IN 20 19, 20 20.
THEY MAY BE A LITTLE SMALL ON THE SCREEN, BUT NO, THEY'RE NOT SO GOOD.
UM, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WE DO HAVE DISTRICT DISPARITIES HERE WHEN IT COMES TO LACK OF INTERNET.
UH, YOU'LL SEE DISTRICT FIVE, DISTRICT THREE, DISTRICT TWO ARE HIGHER UP THERE, AND THERE ARE MAJOR DISPARITIES FROM THOSE DISTRICTS THAN ONES LIKE EIGHT, NINE, AND 10.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE REFERENCE EQUITY.
WE SEE THESE GAPS ARE VERY LARGE, AND WE NEED TO START ADDRESSING THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE SUFFERED FOR A LONG TIME.
FIRST, THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE WON'T GET TO THE OTHER COMMUNITIES.
THEY'RE BUILT INTO THIS PLAN AS WELL.
BUT WE KNOW WE NEED TO START SOMEWHERE.
WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE WHERE WE'RE STARTING.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, BROADBAND, UH, SPEEDS, UH, AND AVAILABILITY.
MAKING SURE THAT THAT ACCESS IS THERE.
UH, SO YOU'LL SEE THAT THOSE SAME DISPARITIES ARE REFLECTED HERE.
IF YOU'VE EVER LOOKED AT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S EQUITY ATLAS MAP, YOU'LL SEE THAT THESE MAPS ALIGN DIRECTLY WITH THAT.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE, TRADITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, STREETS AND SIDEWALKS, THOSE MAPS ALIGN DIRECTLY WITH THIS AFFORDABILITY.
SO WE SEE THE SAME DISPARITIES AGAIN, UH, DISTRICT TWO, DISTRICT FIVE, DISTRICT THREE, DISTRICT FOUR.
THOSE ARE OUR TOP LEADERS WHEN IT COMES TO DISPARITIES.
WHEN IT COMES TO DIGITAL INCLUSION, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ADDRESSING THOSE FIRST.
ALRIGHT, SO WHAT IS ALL THIS? WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY DOING? THE PLAN IS BASED ON EIGHT INDICATORS THAT WE'LL BE MEASURING ALONG THE WAY.
THESE ARE THE EIGHT ACTION ITEMS. AND WITHIN THAT 360 PAGE DOCUMENT, YOU WILL FIND THESE BROKEN DOWN VERY IN DETAIL, UNDERSTANDING WHAT EACH OF THESE ACTUALLY MEANS AT A, AT A VERY, UH, INCREMENTAL LEVEL.
SO THE FIRST IS EXPANDING INFRASTRUCTURE ACCESS.
UH, SO ENCOURAGING, AGAIN, THAT DISTRIBUTION OF FIBER AT 100, 100 SPEEDS THROUGHOUT THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS.
UH, ENABLING ACCESS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING AUTOMATIC.
AND ESPECIALLY WITH OUR NEW BOND COMING UP WITH THAT $250 MILLION THAT'S GOING INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS SEEN AS A COMPONENT THAT'S BUILT INTO THAT BOND, THAT BOND
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PIECE.NOT TO MENTION TRADITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
AS WE DIG FOR STREETS AND SIDEWALKS, AS WE BURY DOWN, UH, NEW DRAINAGE, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TYPE OF FIBER CONDUIT ARE WE PUTTING IN PLACE.
WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER AND STRATEGICALLY, UH, BUILD THAT OUT.
UH, THIRD IS SUPPORTING SCHOOL SPONSORED ACCESS PROGRAMS. SO THAT'S REALLY FOCUSING IN ON THE FACT THAT, HEY, OTHER FOLKS ARE ALREADY DOING THIS WORK.
HOW DO WE STRATEGICALLY ALIGN WITH THEM? HOW DO WE INVEST IN THOSE PROGRAMS A LOT MORE WITH THE FUNDING THAT'S COMING IN.
FOURTH IS EXPANDING LOW INCOME INTERNET OFFERINGS, WORKING WITH OUR ISPS AND TELECOMS TO UNDERSTAND, COOL, YOU'RE OFFERING E B B, YOU'RE OFFERING LOW RATE INTERNET.
WHY AREN'T CUSTOMERS ACCESSING IT? WHY DO I STILL HAVE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE, THAT ARE DEMANDING BETTER INTERNET AT BETTER, BETTER PRICES, UH, DISTRIBUTE DEVICES? KIND OF EASY TO SAY THERE.
UH, AND WE KNOW OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB WITH ONE-TO-ONE PROGRAMS. HOW DO WE SUPPORT THOSE, UH, STANDUP ADOPTION SUPPORT PROGRAMS? THAT'S REALLY THAT DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMMING PIECE.
UH, THIS SECOND TO LAST ONE, I REALLY WANT TO KEY IN ON THIS.
SO AS WE DO THIS WORK, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO TRACK THOSE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.
UH, SO ON OUR PORTAL, WE WILL HAVE A DASHBOARD THAT MEASURES ALL OF THESE METRICS AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, AS THE FUNDING COME IN, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE TO THOSE DOLLARS AS RESIDENTS ASK US THESE QUESTIONS.
UH, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST IS IMPLEMENT AN EFFECTIVE OPERATING MODEL.
SO UNDERSTANDING THAT AS WE DO THIS MAJOR INVESTMENT UPFRONT, THAT'S NOT THE END OF IT.
DIGITAL INCLUSION DOESN'T END WHEN WE INVEST THIS MONEY.
TECHNOLOGY CHANGES, COMMUNITIES STILL SUFFER.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES AS WELL.
WHAT'S THE MONEY LOOK LIKE? UH, SO OVER THE FIRST THREE YEARS, IT IS A $600 MILLION INVESTMENT OVER THREE YEARS.
THAT IS $525 IN THE CONNECTIVITY PIECE.
SO THAT'S BUILDING OUT THAT BROADBAND FIBER INTO THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVEN'T HAD IT.
THE SECOND IS DEVICES, UH, UH, ENSURING THAT LOW COST DEVICES ARE AVAILABLE TO THESE COMMUNITIES.
AND THEN THE LAST PIECE IS DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMMING.
UNDERSTANDING THAT WE NEED TO INVEST IN THAT PIECE.
YOU SEE THERE AN ONGOING ANNUAL.
SO AFTER THIS, AS I MENTIONED, DIGITAL INCLUSION DOESN'T END AFTER THAT MAJOR INVESTMENT.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO INVEST FROM SOME ANGLE.
NOW THAT IS NOT JUST CITY OF SAN ANTONIO DOLLARS.
I DON'T WANT ANYBODY IN HERE TO GET AFRAID.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT FEDERAL LEVEL, STATE LEVEL, AND LOCAL LEVEL DOLLARS.
BUT WE REALLY KNOW THERE'S DOLLARS UP THERE THAT ARE BEING OFFERED RIGHT NOW, AND THEY'LL CONTINUE TO BE OFFERED.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE READY TO ASK FOR THOSE AND BE ABLE TO STATE WHY WE'RE ASKING FOR THEM.
LET ME REMIND YOU, THIS IS NOT JUST THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
THIS IS THE CITY, COUNTY, AND PRIVATE SECTOR ALL WORKING TOGETHER.
SO THE SAME WAY I'M PR PRESENTING TO YOU, LAURA COLE FROM THE COUNTY WILL BE PRESENTING TO THE COUNTY COMMISSION.
OKAY, SO LET'S TALK ABOUT TIMELINE.
UH, AGAIN, WE, WE HIT THE TIMELINE MARK IN JUNE OF 2021.
UH, WE STARTED INVESTING IN CREATION OF THIS PLAN.
UH, WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY TO TO JANUARY, WHERE JANUARY WE'LL BE.
WE'LL START TALKING ABOUT ENDORSING AND DESIGNATED THOSE FUNDINGS COMING FROM FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS REQUIRED TO EXECUTE ON THIS PLAN.
UH, IF YOU'VE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, UH, WE'VE GOT ABOUT $56 BILLION COMING DOWN FROM THAT.
THAT'S SLATED FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION.
UH, FROM THE STATE LEVEL RIGHT NOW, I THINK IT'S SLATED AT 500 MILLION, BUT THERE'S BEEN A DEMAND FROM A NUMBER OF PRIVATE SECTOR AND PUBLIC AGENCIES THAT ARE DEMANDING THAT BE RAISED UP TO $2 BILLION.
THERE'S A LOT OF FUNDING AT STAKE HERE THAT WE WILL LOSE OUT ON IF WE ARE NOT MOVING IN THE RIGHT MANNER.
UH, IN JUNE OF 2022, THAT'S WHEN WE PLAN TO ACTIVATE ALL THE INITIATIVES, BEGIN CLOSING DIGITAL DIVIDE, AND SOLIDIFYING THOSE PARTNERSHIPS TO ACTIVATE THOSE COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THOSE AREAS.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT LONG RUNWAY OF BUILDING OUT ALL OF THIS NETWORK, ALL THIS PROGRAM THROUGHOUT 2026.
THAT'S OUR MILESTONE FOR MEETING THAT, MAINTAINING, UH, UNIVERSAL ACCESS.
AGAIN, I'LL GO THROUGH HOW WE GOT HERE.
UH, CROSS CROSS STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT, ENGAGEMENT, IMPLEMENTATION IS KEY TO ACHIEVING THESE GOALS.
AND YOU'LL SEE A BUNCH OF, UH, STAKEHOLDERS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE THERE THAT REALLY INDICATE WHERE WE'RE TAPPING INTO AS WE BUILT THIS ROAD PLAN.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO TAP INTO AS WE EXECUTE THROUGHOUT THIS ROAD PLAN.
UH, I'M GOING TO BRING UP, UH, THE CHAIR OF, OF SA DIGITAL CONNECTS, LUISA CASO, UM, TO SPEAK NEXT.
UH, LUIS IS GONNA PRESENT ON THE GOVERNANCE MODEL, BUT ALSO GIVE YOU HER PERSPECTIVE FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, SINCE SHE'S REALLY THE ONES THAT THAT STARTED TO KICK THIS, THIS GEAR OFF.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU TODAY.
UM, I HAVE THE DISTINCT HONOR TO SUR TO SERVE AS THE FOUND THE CHAIR OF THE FOUNDING BOARD OF SA DIGITAL CONNECTS.
AND REALLY, I, BEFORE WE GO INTO THE GOVERNANCE MODEL, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE FOR A FEW MINUTES ABOUT WHY, UM, DIGITAL INCLUSION, REALLY, IT COMES DOWN TO A MATTER OF EQUITY.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT TOYOTA AND WHAT WE STAND FOR, UM, IT IT COMES DOWN TO RESPECT FOR PEOPLE.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW TOYOTA, UM, RESPECT FOR PEOPLE IS OUR CORE.
ONE OF OUR CORE PILLARS, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND RESPECT, RESPECT FOR PEOPLE
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ARE THE TWO PILLARS THAT WE STAND AND WE BUILD OUR HOUSE ON.AND IT IS CRITICAL THAT RESPECT FOR PEOPLE.
WE ALWAYS HOLD AS, UH, ONE OF, AS THE DECISION MAKER THAT WE ALWAYS FALL BACK ON.
BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT THOSE WHO ARE LEFT BEHIND, WHEN, UH, YOU CANNOT CONNECT TO THE INTERNET BECAUSE OF A LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE OR A LACK OF FUNDS, OR A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE, UM, THAT IN MOVING FORWARD IS THOSE WHO ARE LEFT BEHIND, WHETHER THAT BE TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION, APPLYING FOR A JOB, TELEMEDICINE, UM, IN A MYRIAD OF WAYS.
SO THAT BECAME EVEN MORE APPARENT, UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC, AS WE ALL KNOW, I DON'T NEED TO GO INTO A LOT OF DETAILS IN THIS WAY, BUT WHEN, UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WERE CLAMORING FOR ASSISTANCE BOTH TO THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, WE KNOW THAT MANY PEOPLE, UM, STOOD UP IN THE WAY THAT TOYOTA DID IN BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE DEVICES TO, UM, OUR STUDENTS SO THAT THEY COULD ATTEND SCHOOL.
AND WHEN OUR YOUTH IN THE SOUTH SIDE STILL HAD TROUBLE CONNECTING BECAUSE OF A LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THEY WERE SITTING IN PARKING LOTS IN THE HEAT, UM, OR NEAR SCHOOL BUSES SO THAT THEY COULD TRY TO DO THEIR HOMEWORK, UM, WE KNEW WE HAD A PRETTY DESPERATE PROBLEM WHEN WE KNEW THAT OUR OWN A, UM, UH, A T M A STUDENTS AND OUR OWN, UM, UM, COLLEGE STUDENTS THAT WERE DOING THEIR PROGRAMS, UM, AS INTERNS AT TOYOTA STILL COULDN'T CONNECT.
WE KNEW WE HAD PROBLEMS EVEN WHEN WE OFFERED TO PAY FOR THE, FOR THE INTERNET CONNECTIONS FOR THEIR FAMILIES.
WE KNEW WE HAD PROBLEMS. AND IT WASN'T, IT WAS THEN THAT I STARTED LEARN LEARNING ABOUT DIGITAL DIVIDE AND DIGITAL INCLUSION.
AND THAT'S WHEN, UM, I STARTED TO HELP AND STARTED TO DO INVESTIGATION AND CALLED BRIAN AND CALLED KATE ROGERS, WHO HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO, UM, TALK TO THE PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY AND TO SEE WHAT WE COULD DO TO BEGIN TO HELP TO DEVELOP A LONG RANGE SOLUTION TO THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
SO AT THAT POINT, UH, WE DECIDED TO RAISE SOME FUNDS TO DEVELOP A PLAN, BECAUSE THERE WAS NOT A PLAN FOR A LONG RANGE, LONG RANGE SOLUTION.
THERE WAS ALSO NOT A PLAN OR A DIGITAL OFFICE AT THE STATE.
FORTUNATELY, THAT HAS ALL NOW BEEN RECTIFIED.
AND WE STAND HERE BEFORE YOU TODAY AS THE PRIVATE SECTOR MYSELF REPRESENTING THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN THIS PLAN, BEING ABLE TO SAY THAT WE'VE NOW CREATED THE SA DIGITAL CONNECTS ORGANIZATION.
WE HAVE NOW, UM, HIRED AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO MOVE US FORWARD.
AND IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU OUR NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MARINA ALTO.
WE ARE THRILLED THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ENTICE HER AWAY FROM U SS A A.
UM, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US, MARINA.
UM, MANY OF YOU KNOW HER AND, UH, HER VERY STRONG REPUTATION IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
UM, THE PRIVATE SECTOR STANDS FIRMLY BEHIND HER AND WHAT WE KNOW THAT SHE WILL ACCOMPLISH, WE WILL BE BEHIND HER 100% OF THE WAY TO GIVE HER THE TOOLS THAT SHE NEEDS IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT NEEDS TO, UM, BE DONE.
LET ME, UM, REINFORCE THAT THE MONEY THAT WILL BE SOUGHT IS NOT GOING TO COME TO SA DIGITAL CONNECTS.
IT WILL BE INCUMBENT UPON THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, TO THE BOARD, UM, OF, TO, TO THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, UM, TO ADVOCATE FOR THESE DOLLARS TO COME TO OUR COMMUNITIES.
THEY WILL NOT COME INTO THE COFFER OF, OF SA DIGITAL CONNECTS.
UM, SA DIGITAL CONNECTS WILL BE THE PRIMARY ADVOCATE.
WE WILL BE THE ONES WHO WILL BE ATTENDING MEETINGS JUST AS WE HAVE BEEN AT THE STATE FOR THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS.
I'D LIKE TO, UM, ACTUALLY INTRODUCE, UM, ANITA FERNANDEZ FROM O C I.
UM, ANITA HAS BEEN AT THE HALLS, UM, IN AUSTIN, UM, DURING THIS SPECIAL SESSION, UM, ASKING AND, UM, REQUESTING FROM, UM, UM, UH, THOSE IN AUSTIN DURING THIS SPECIAL SESSION.
AS THOSE DOLLARS HAVE BEEN COMING AND ALL THOSE DISCUSSIONS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING, WE HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE FIRST TO BE, UM, AT THE OFFICE OF THE NEW OFFICE OF, UM, TELL ME THE NAME, REMIND ME OF THE NAME OF THE OFFICE NOW.
STATE BROADBAND OFFICE THAT HAS BEEN NEWLY CREATED.
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UM, WE ARE THE ONLY ONES IN THE STATE CURRENTLY WITH A PLAN, IS THAT RIGHT? CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND BEXAR COUNTY ARE THE FIRST ONES WITH THE PLAN, AND WE SHOULD BE REALLY PROUD OF THAT.UM, WE ARE LEADING THE CHARGE IN THIS COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, I JUST WANT TO COVER WITH YOU NOW WHAT THE GOVERNANCE MODEL OF THIS BODY WILL BE.
WE ARE A PRIVATE NONPROFIT, EXCUSE ME, WE ARE A PRIVATE, WE'RE A PRIVATE ORGANIZATION WITH A PUBLIC SUPPORT.
SO WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PLANE, IF YOU WILL, AS YOU SEE IT, UH, WITH PRIVATE SECTOR, UM, FUNDING SUPPORTED ALSO BY THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.
UM, SA DIGITAL CONNECTS HAS A BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WHICH I CHAIR, AND ALONG THE LINES WITH, UM, UH, WITH BRIAN DILLARD AND LAURA COLE AS WELL.
WE WILL BE RECRUITING OTHER MEMBERS, UM, EQUALLY, UM, IN HERE, IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
AND THEN, I CAN'T SEE THAT FAR, SO I'M GONNA GO RIGHT HERE,
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, AS OUR FISCAL AGENT, WE HAVE GREATER SS A T X, THEY'RE OUR FISCAL AGENT.
AND THEN WE'LL ALSO BE, UM, UH, REQUESTING FOR INPUT FROM OUR PARTNERS, OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND ADVISORY GROUP.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT RIGHT BACK OVER TO BRIAN, UM, FOR ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS. UH, SO WE WILL OPEN IT UP FOR ANY KIND OF QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS, SIR.
IT'S, UH, VERY, VERY NICE TO SEE YOU, AND THANKS FOR YOUR INVOLVEMENT.
O C I, UH, FOR, FOR HOPPING OUT WITH THIS.
I THINK THAT, UM, YOU GUYS ARE CLEARLY VERY WELL EQUIPPED.
I, I WAS LOOKING AT THE WEBPAGE, AND I DON'T SEE A LIST OF BOARD MEMBERS.
I SEE A LIST OF LOGOS THAT SAYS BOARD REPRESENTATION, BUT CAN YOU GET US A LIST OF BOARD MEMBERS THEMSELVES AT SOME POINT? CURRENT CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS ARE, UH, LUIS'S CHAIR, MYSELF AS VICE CHAIR AND LAURA COLE AS SECRETARY FROM THE COUNTY.
OKAY, THEN I DON'T THINK I NEED IT.
SO, WE'LL, WE WILL BE BUILDING THAT ON THAT OVER THERE.
SO HOW WILL YOU POPULATE THE BOARD? UH, SO I THINK THAT'S A CONVERSATION WE WANT TO HAVE WITH COUNCIL AND, AND THE COUNTY.
UH, WE DIDN'T WANT TO, YOU KNOW, AUTONOMOUSLY START APPOINTING THOSE SEATS BY OURSELVES.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS A CONVERSATION WE HAD WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UH, AS WELL AS OUR LEADERSHIP, ESPECIALLY FROM MY ASPECT.
SO LET, LET'S WORK OUR WAY AROUND THE HORN STARTING WITH, UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
WHAT DO YOU, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UM, I THINK THE MORE I HEARD, UH, FROM THE PRESENTATION, THE MORE I, I KIND OF UNDERSTOOD, UH, A LITTLE BIT BETTER WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE HOPE TO GO.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK THIS IS A, A, A GREAT EFFORT TO BRING TOGETHER THE COMMUNITY AND, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT BODIES, AND HOPEFULLY BRING IN STATE AND FEDERAL SUPPORT.
AND I KNOW THAT'S THE OVERALL GOAL.
WHEN I FIRST SAW PAGE FOUR, YOU SHOWED THE PRIVATE PUBLIC SECTOR INITIATED, FUNDED.
I PRESUME THAT MEANS THAT THE INITIAL DOLLARS YOU'RE USING FOR YOUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND ANYTHING THAT COMES OUTTA THAT IS COMING FROM CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THESE ORGANIZATIONS.
ONE THING I, I IMMEDIATELY SAID TO MYSELF, WELL, UH, WHERE ARE THE IP TELECOM PROVIDERS? WHY AREN'T THEY IN HERE? YES, SIR.
AND I WOULD EXPECT THAT IN THE LONG TERM, THEY'RE GONNA BENEFIT.
SO I WOULD HOPE THAT IN THE SHORT TERM, THEY BECOME PARTNERS, NOT JUST WAITING FOR US TO GO TO THEM AND SAY, OKAY, WE WANT YOU TO BUILD THIS OUT, AND, AND YOU'LL GET SOME MONEY FOR DOING THAT.
BUT I HOPE THAT THEY COME ABOARD AND SAY, WE WANNA BE PARTNERS.
YOU KNOW, AT AND T CAN SPEND X AMOUNT OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO NAME A BASKETBALL COURT OR A FOOTBALL FIELD.
THEY CAN SPEND X AMOUNT OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO HELP SPREAD THE DIGITAL OR, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT AT AND T AND SPECTRUM, AND VERIZON AND GOOGLE AND ALL ARE ACTIVE IN THIS COMMUNITY.
SO I HOPE ALL OF THEM BECOME MORE INVOLVED.
UH, THE OTHER THING I'LL ALWAYS BE CONCERNED ABOUT IS COST.
AND I SAW YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT 1% OF, OF, UH, A FAMILY'S A M I AND, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE A FAMILY OF FOUR EARNING $40,000, AND THAT'S $40 A MONTH, YOU'RE PROJECTING IS THEIR COST.
AND, AND FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR THAT CAN BE MORE THAN THEY CAN AFFORD.
SO I HOPE THE AFFORDABILITY IS ALWAYS GONNA BE BUILT INTO THIS SO THAT NO ONE GOES WITHOUT HAVING IT.
AND THAT MEANS, I THINK, GREATER CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ALL OF US TO UNDERWRITE SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT JUST CAN'T AFFORD EVEN 1%.
SO ANYWAY, THOSE ARE MY, UH, MY UPFRONT, UH, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
BUT, UM, I'M ENTHUSIASTICALLY BEHIND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
I THINK WE NEED THIS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
COUNCILMAN COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO.
AND TEAM, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I WANTED TO FOCUS PRIMARILY ON THE CONNECTED BEYOND, UM, BASED OFF OF, YOU KNOW, LIKE SLIDE NUMBER NINE,
[00:25:01]
DISTRICT FIVE LEADS WITH DISPARITIES.AND I KNOW WE HAVE THE PORT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE SHARE IT WITH DIFFERENT DISTRICTS, UM, BUT WE HAVE ALL THESE LIKE VERY STRONG POWERFUL IT ENTITIES.
UM, HAS THERE BEEN CONVERSATION ABOUT LEVERAGING THOSE PARTNERSHIPS TO, UM, CLOSE THAT DIGITAL DIVIDE? AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CONNECTED BEYOND THE CLASSROOM FOCUSES PRIMARILY ON WESTWOOD SQUARE, THE HISTORIC WEST SIDE RESIDENCE ASSOCIATION, UM, A LOT OF THE, THE KEY SPOTS WHERE MANY OF OUR STUDENTS HAVEN'T HAD ACCESS TO THOSE IPADS LIKE SOME THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE GIVING THEM.
UM, SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION, GETTING TO PICK UP THAT IPAD HAS BEEN DIFFICULT.
UM, SO HOW MUCH OF THE 27 MILLION FROM, UM, THE CONNECTED BEYOND THE CLASSROOM HAVE WE USED TOWARDS NEW INFRASTRUCTURE? SO WE ARE CURRENTLY AT 18 MILLION OF SPENDING RIGHT NOW ON THAT, ON THAT EFFORT.
AND THAT IS WITH, UM, SO THAT, AND, UH, JUST TO KIND OF SPEAK ON WHY WE'RE FOCUSING IN ON S E I S D, EDGEWOOD AND HARLANDALE AT THIS MOMENT.
UH, INITIALLY WHEN WE PROPOSED THIS PROJECT, WE HAD STATED THAT THE FEASIBILITY OF US DEPLOYING OUT THROUGHOUT THE 50 NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD BE BASED ON VERTICAL ASSETS THAT WE HAD IN PLACE THERE.
UM, EDGEWOOD HARLANDALE AND S A I Z ON THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST SIDE, ONE HAD THE GREATEST NEED.
WHEN WE LOOKED AT OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION SURVEY AND ASSESS VERTICAL ASSETS WERE THERE IN PLACE AND WHERE THEY WEREN'T, THEY WERE EASY TO BE BUILT UP.
SO YOU'LL SEE SOME MONOPOLES BEING DEPLOYED OVER THERE.
AS OF THIS MOMENT, WE SPENT 18 MILLION OF THAT.
THE OTHER, THE REST IS SLATED TO BE SPENT BY DECEMBER OF 2021.
SO THAT'S REALLY A, A JOINT EFFORT THAT WE HAD WITH THOSE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS AS WELL.
I WILL, I DO WANT TO GIVE SOME PRAISE TO EDGEWOOD AND HARLANDALE BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN, S E I, Z'S BEEN GREAT IN WORKING WITH US.
I WANT SOMEONE, S I D, BUT HARLANDALE AND EDGEWOOD HAVE ACTUALLY ALLOWED US TO GO INTO THEIR FACILITIES AND UTILIZE THEIR FACILITIES AND UTILIZE SOME OF THEIR STUFF TO REDUCE THAT COST ON OUR BURDEN ON, ON OUR, ON OURSELVES.
NOT TO MENTION THE C E P DEPLOYMENT.
THEY'RE FINDING SOME NEW INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO PUT THOSE DEVICES INTO THE HOMES OF THE STUDENTS TO REDUCE THAT ISSUE WITH THE TRANSPORTATION THAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER.
AND LASTLY, IS THERE A REPORT ON THIS PILOT PROGRAM AVAILABLE THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH US? YES, MA'AM.
UM, BRIAN AND, AND MARINA AND AN ANITA AND LUISA AND ANGO AND EVERYBODY WHO'S, WHO'S HERE FOR WORKING ON THIS.
I'LL START OFF JUST REALLY FAST BY, UM, ASKING.
SO ON PAGE 17 OF THE REPORT, THERE WAS AN INITIAL ATTEMPT AT THE CITY OF SEATTLE STARTED, IT WAS A CITYWIDE EFFORT FOR FIBER DEPLOYMENTS.
SPECIFICALLY, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WHAT HAPPENED THERE DOESN'T HAPPEN IN SAN ANTONIO? RIGHT.
AND, AND WE ARE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH CITIES LIKE SEATTLE AND CHATTANOOGA TO ENSURE WE DON'T, BUT WE DO.
SO, UH, S A DIGITAL CONNECTS ACTUALLY HAS HIRED ON AN I S P EXPERT.
UH, HE'S GOT ABOUT 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITHIN I S P REALM ALONE, BUT HE'S ACTUALLY A PROFESSOR OVER AT UC, SAN DIEGO.
UH, SO HE'S HELPING US IDENTIFY ONE, HOW DO WE HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ISPS IN A WAY THAT WE'RE NOT BEING DEFEATED AT EVERY TURN.
UH, BUT THEN TWO, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT REPLICATING THOSE MISTAKES THAT OTHER CITIES MADE? HE KNOWS ABOUT ALL THESE LESSONS LEARNED AND WE'RE LEARNING ALONG THE WAY AS WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
BUT HE'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS, UH, WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE COMING IN THAT I THINK HE'S ON RETAINER FOR THE NEXT THREE TO SIX MONTHS, I BELIEVE.
AND I THINK, UM, RELATING TO COUNCILMAN COURAGES POINT, UM, TO BRING IN, AND I DO SEE THE COMMUNICATION WORKERS ASSOCIATION, UH, HERE TODAY.
UM,
THERE'S, UM, MORE THAN 4,000 MILES OF FIBER THAT CAN BE USED.
IS THIS TODAY TO CONNECT HOUSEHOLDS? IS THAT CORRECT? AS FAR AS I S P FIBER LINES.
SO THE AT T GOOGLE FIBER, RIGHT.
SO WE'RE GETTING INTO THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
WE'RE ACTUALLY, SO WE'VE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THE I S P PROVIDERS ABSOLUTELY.
LIKE CRAIG HOPKINS, IT, THE R T DEPARTMENT HAS HAD THAT, THAT RELATIONSHIP FOR YEARS.
AS WE TALK ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION, WE STARTED THOSE CONVERSATIONS OVER THE PAST YEAR, BUT AS OF ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, UH, WE STARTED HAVING SOME VERY SERIOUS CONVERSATIONS, UH, WITH THE I S P.
SO I CAN'T SPEAK TO WHAT THEY ARE WILLING TO PROVIDE.
UM, BUT I DO APPRECIATE C W A BEING HERE AS WELL, SO.
AND I HAVE TALKED TO AT AND T AND THEY HAVE COMMITTED, UM, AND JD SALINAS IS, IS ALWAYS WONDERFUL AS WELL.
SO ANYTHING THAT I CAN DO TO ADVANCE, I KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING COUNCILMAN VIA GRANT HAS BEEN SPEAKING ABOUT, UH, FOR QUITE A WHILE, AND I THINK THAT WAS ON HER TOP THREE PRIORITIES LIST WHEN I MET, I MET WITH ALL OF THE INCOMING COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND I KNOW THAT WAS, UM, ONE OF HER PRIORITIES.
SO, SO THANK YOU, UM, FOR, FOR YOUR HELP ON THAT, COUNCILWOMAN, HOW DO WE FIX, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF COORDINATION OR THERE'S A LOT GOING ON, RIGHT? AND SO ONE OF THE BACKUP SLIDES THAT YOU HAVE IS THAT THERE'S A LOT GOING ON, RIGHT? SO THINK ABOUT THE SURVEY IN APRIL.
THERE'S MORE THAN 80 ORGANIZATIONS ACCORDING TO THE REPORT HERE THAT ARE PROVIDING SOME TYPE OF SERVICE.
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALL WORKING TOGETHER? WHO IS? SO I'M ASSUMING THAT IT'LL BE ON THERE ON MARINA, RIGHT? SO I'M LIKE, YOU KNOW, MARINA.
[00:30:01]
MAKE SURE, LIKE I HAVE COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN MARINA, BUT LIKE, HOW DO WE HELP HER? WHO NEEDS TO HELP HER, WHO WILL BE THERE ENGAGING? UM, WHAT'S THE SUPPORT STRUCTURE LOOK LIKE FOR HER? SO WE ARE NOT STEPPING AWAY FROM THIS.UH, MARINA HAS BEEN HIRED ON TO BE THE LEAD OF THIS OUTSIDE OF CITY AND COUNTY, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S AN EFFORT INDEPENDENT.
UH, UH, WE DO HAVE A DIGITAL INCLUSION ADMINISTRATOR POSITION THAT WAS ADDED INTO THE BUDGET.
WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, HIRING FOR THAT.
UH, WE'LL BE POSTING THAT IN THE NEXT, UH, COUPLE OF WEEKS, I BELIEVE.
UH, SO WE DO HAVE AN INTERNAL POSITION SPECIFICALLY TO REMAIN ENGAGED IN THIS, MAKE SURE WE ARE CONNECTING THE DOTS AMONG THOSE 86 PLUS ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE DOING THE WORK RESEARCH.
AND AS WELL AS FROM AN SA DIGITAL CONNECT STANDPOINT, THAT'S ALSO WHERE O C I COMES IN FROM, UH, UH, BOOTS ON THE GROUND.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE, OUR PORTAL COMES IN AS WELL.
UM, WE CAN PROVIDE YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THAT, BUT IF YOU GO TO OUR PORTAL, THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION IS BEING HELD AND WILL BE TRACKED AS WELL.
SO AS INFOR AS ALL OF THAT INFORMATION IS COMING IN, THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF INFORMATION WILL BE MANAGED.
AND AS YOU HAVE CORRECTLY INDICATED THAT, THAT THAT HOUSING OF INFORMATION AND THAT TRACKING OF INFORMATION AND, AND WHO DOES WHAT IS WHERE O C I WILL BE HELPING US WITH.
WILL THERE BE A DASHBOARD? UM, LUISA YES.
SO I LOVE THE COVID DASHBOARD.
SO I, I WONDER IF THERE'S GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT MAKES ME FEEL BETTER THAT MY DISTRICT IS BENEFITING OR THAT THE DISTRICTS THAT NEED IT, BECAUSE I LOOK AT THE MAP ON PAGE 32 AND IT'S A HAVE VERSUS HAVE NOT HAVE NOTS, RIGHT? THAT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
AND SO IT'S, AGAIN, NORTH VERSUS SOUTH, AND IT JUST, I HATE THIS, THIS, EVERY TIME THAT I SEE A MAP LIKE THAT, IT'S JUST LIKE, WE NEED TO FIX THIS.
AND SO THANK YOU ALL FOR TAKING THE STEPS, BUT I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT PROGRESS MEASURE.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU ALL SAID YOU WOULD DO ANNUAL REPORTS.
WHEN DO WE EXPECT THE FIRST ONE? BECAUSE WE ARE ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS IN, YOU MENTIONED BRIAN.
SO WHEN ARE WE EXPECTING THE FIRST ONE? SO LET ME, LET ME ANSWER YOUR YOUR QUESTION FIRST, SUE.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PRIORITIES, WE, OUR PRIORITIES ARE THE UNSERVED AND THE UNDERSERVED.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT MAP AND YOU SEE THAT BIG DARK SWATH ON THE SOUTH SIDE, THAT'S OUR PRIORITY.
AND THAT'S WHY WHEN YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THE REASON WHY WE GOT INVOLVED AND WE STARTED LEADING THIS EFFORT THE WAY WE HAVE, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT IT IS OUR PEOPLE IN OUR BACKYARD THAT ARE THE ONES WHO NEED THE HELP THE MOST.
AND SO THE ADVOCACY, YOU KNOW, US WANTING TO, YOU KNOW, GRAB EACH OTHER'S HANDS AND MAKING SURE THAT AS THE DOLLARS BECOME AVAILABLE, THAT THE UNDERSERVED AND THE UNSERVED REMAIN AS A PRIORITY, FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL.
UM, SO KNOW THAT, THAT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, AT THE TABLE, WE, AND I'M TALKING ABOUT TOYOTA NOW, THAT, UM, THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE PRIORITIES REMAIN.
AND THAT'S WHY THEY ARE SO CLEARLY STATED IN THE PLAN.
AND, AND THIS WILL BE MY FINAL POINT CHAIR, BECAUSE BRIAN DILLARD DIDN'T HAVE A ONE-ON-ONE WITH ME, BUT IT'S OKAY, WE'LL, WE'LL SCHEDULE IT.
UM, AND THEN I'LL GIVE YOU ALL MY OTHER QUESTIONS.
UM, BUT SOME NEIGHBORHOOD HOODS, ACCORDING TO THIS REPORT, ARE STILL DEALING WITH COPPER WIRES.
I'M LOOKING AT MY FRIENDS AT AT AND T, RIGHT? UM, AND SO EVERY TIME IT RAINS, THEY LOSE INTERNET CONNECTION.
SOME ROOFS ARE TOO SHORT TO HAVE A SIGNAL BOOSTER, RIGHT? AND SO, AND THEN WE HAVE SOME THAT HAVE TREE CANOPIES, AND WE ALL KNOW THAT A LOT OF OUR NEIGHBORS CAN'T AFFORD TO GO AND CUT DOWN A TREE, RIGHT? UM, 'CAUSE THEY CAN'T DO THE DO IT THEMSELVES.
IT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD HURT THEMSELVES, ET CETERA.
SO HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THEY ALSO HAVE, UM, SOME SORT OF SUPPORT? IS THERE GOING TO BE A, IN PARTICULAR A TEAM, UH, OR, UH, OR, OR MAYBE A A MM-HMM.
LIKE HOW DO WE HELP OUR NEIGHBORS WHO REALLY NEED HELP, UH, WITH JUST SO AS, SO LET ME ASK, LET ME CLAR ASK SOME CLARITY.
ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE DEPLOYMENT INSTALLATION OF FIBER OR THE ASSISTANCE? IF THEY ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH THE FIBER THAT THEY HAVE? SORRY, THE ASSISTANCE, IF THEY'RE HAVING ISSUES.
UH, SO THAT PIECE, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WORK WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS ON.
THOSE COMMUNITY PARTNERS ALREADY HAVE FRONT FACING CONTACT WITH THOSE RESIDENTS.
SO MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE WHAT THEY NEED TO PROVIDE THAT SUPPORT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
WHEN I, WHEN I TALK ABOUT THAT, I, I DO WANT TO SET AN EXAMPLE HERE WITH TEXAS A AND M UNIVERSITY.
SO WITH OUR CONNECTED BEYOND THE CLASSROOM PROJECT, WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH, UH, DR.
THEY'VE CREATED THIS DIGITAL HELP DESK, OR THIS, I'M SORRY, THIS HELP DESK, UH, WHERE THEY'RE DEPLOYING STUDENTS AND THEY'RE TRAINING STUDENTS NOW TO BECOME THAT HELP DESK FOR K THROUGH 12 STUDENTS THAT ARE BEING SERVICED BY, CONNECTED BEYOND THE CLASSROOM.
I'D LOVE TO EXPLORE THROUGH THIS ESSAY, DIGITAL CONNECTS PROGRAM, HOW WE CAN UTILIZE THAT KIND OF EXAMPLE AND MAYBE EXPAND IT OR REPLICATE IT ELSEWHERE FOR COMMUNITIES THAT MAY NEED THAT SUPPORT.
RIGHT NOW, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU ON THAT, BUT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE ALSO NEED TO WORK WITH THOSE ISPS AND TELECOMS TO SOLVE FOR.
[00:35:01]
GOT IT.SO A FOLLOW UP THOUGH, UM, ON THAT, SO A LETTER OF THE RESIDENTS THAT I, I REPRESENTED IN, IT'S EXACTLY LIKE THE, THE REPORT SAID THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE SOCIAL SECURITY.
THEY, UM, MIGHT NOT PASS A CREDIT CHECK.
RIGHT? AND THERE'S GRANDPARENTS THAT ARE RAISING GRANDCHILDREN.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T LEAVE THEM BEHIND, OR WE HAVE SOMEONE THAT FOCUSES IN ON THOSE NEEDS AS WELL.
SO THE SAME WAY WE DID THAT WITH THE EAP PROGRAM, OKAY.
UH, WHERE WE ASSISTED RESIDENTS THAT DIDN'T HAVE THOSE, THOSE RESOURCES AT, AT REACH, UH, WILL BE DOING THE SAME THING WITH THIS PROGRAM.
UM, THIS WAS A VERY INTERESTING PRESENTATION.
I, UM, THIS WAS ONE OF MY MAIN POINTS DURING THE CAMPAIGN.
THE DIGI DIGITAL DIVIDE WAS SIGNIFICANT IN DISTRICT THREE.
IT WAS SIGNIFICANT AMONG MY SENIORS AS WELL AS MY STUDENTS IN THE DISTRICT.
UM, I, I DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS BECAUSE I DON'T SEE, OTHER THAN LOUISA, WHO I KNOW WORKS AT TOYOTA AND, UH, LIVES IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR, WHERE THE SOUTH SIDE IS BEING REPRESENTED IN THIS MM-HMM.
THAT YOU'D ACTUALLY MAPPED THEM OUT IN 3, 5, 4, AND TWO.
UM, BECAUSE THAT IS ESSENTIAL, YOU TALKING ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES.
AND SOME OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES OR SOME PEOPLE HERE MIGHT THINK IT'S JUST, OH, WE CAN'T, WE DON'T HAVE THE FIBER LINES, WE DON'T HAVE DRAINAGE.
THIS INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUE WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE IN OUR DISTRICTS IS THAT WE ARE LIVING WITH VERY OLD INFRASTRUCTURE AND AT AND T GOES IN.
AND THE REASON I HAVE GREAT AT AND T INTERNET IS BECAUSE I'M RIGHT IN FRONT OF A POLE AND THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO COME OUT AND HOOK FROM THE POLE, THE LIGHT POLE TO MY HOUSE.
SO I THINK THAT WE NEED, WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WHEN WE USE THE TERM INFRASTRUCTURE.
I ALSO HAVE CONCERNS THAT WE ARE, WE ARE WAITING ON A BILL TO PASS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL TO GET THIS FUNDING.
I THINK YOU HAVE INCREDIBLE STAKEHOLDERS AT THE TABLE, AND WE NEED TO START PLANNING AN EVENT THAT WE DON'T GET THE FULL AMOUNT THAT WE DID, BECAUSE I KNOW THIS CITY CAN DO IT.
AND I KNOW WITH THE TEAM THAT YOU'VE ESTABLISHED, WE CAN GO OUT AND GET MORE PRIVATE DOLLARS TO DO THIS.
SO, UM, I'M LOOKING AT YOU, MY WONDERFUL INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS, ALL OF YOU OUT THERE.
I KNOW THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE GOING TO GO A LOT MORE SMOOTHLY NOW THAT WE'VE HAD THIS MEETING.
AND THE OTHER THING I WANT YOU TO KEEP IN MIND, UH, BRIAN IS I THINK A YEAR, MAYBE A LITTLE TOO LONG BECAUSE OF THE WAY TECHNOLOGY CHANGES.
AND SO IF WE ARE PASSING OUT DEVICES OR THE SCHOOL IS PROVIDING DEVICES, LET'S MAYBE DO A SIX OR NINE MONTH UPDATE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN THE NEW DEVICES COME OUT TOO.
AND, UM, WE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, I'D LIKE TO GET THE UPDATE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY OUT THERE, OR MAYBE WE'RE INHERITING, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR'S TECHNOLOGY TO GET OUT TO OUR STUDENTS AND, AND THOSE IN NEED.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, MY BIG CONCERN, I, I WANT
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, LET'S, LET'S REALLY LOOK OUT AND GO, GO AFTER THOSE PRIVATE DOLLARS.
THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
ANOTHER THOUGHT THAT COMES TO MY MIND IS WE KNOW BOTH, UH, SAWS AND C P S ARE PUTTING IN AUTOMATIC METERS THAT ARE GONNA READ AND BROADCAST WATER AND ELECTRIC RATES.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CAPITALIZE ON BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA PUT IT IN EVERY HOME, SO IT, IT SHOULDN'T MATTER WHETHER YOU'RE A HUNDRED YEAR HOME OR A 20 YEAR OLD HOME, THAT THEY'RE DEVELOPING THE TECHNOLOGY TO BE ABLE TO READ ELECTRICITY AND WATER.
CAN WE PIGGYBACK ON ANY OF THAT TO SUPPLY INTERNET CONNECTIVITY? RIGHT.
UM, SO I, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK ON BEHALF OF C P S, BUT IN OUR CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD WITH THEM AND, AND MY BACKGROUND, CYBERSECURITY ENERGY SECTOR IS VERY TIGHT.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO UTILIZING THAT NETWORK FOR OTHER USES OUTSIDE THE ENERGY SECTOR, UM, THOSE CONVERSATIONS, C P S OR SAWS HAVE HAPPENED.
UH, I DON'T THINK WE'RE AT A POINT WHERE I COULD SAY YES OR C P S OR SAWS COULD SAY YES.
UH, I THINK THE LEAN WOULD BE TOWARD SECURITY FIRST FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND FOR OUR ENERGY, UM, SYSTEMS. UH, SO I, I WOULD SAY NO TO THAT RIGHT NOW.
UH, THAT'S NOT TO SAY WE COULDN'T INNOVATE ON TECHNOLOGY, OR TECHNOLOGY WON'T GROW INTO A STATE WHERE WE COULD IN THE FUTURE.
WELL PUT IT THIS WAY THOUGH, IF THEY CAN PUT METERS ON THERE THAT, THAT THEY CAN USE.
CAN'T WE PUT DEVICES ON HOMES SIMILAR THAT WOULD ALLOW CONNECTIVITY? UH,
[00:40:01]
POTENTIALLY YES, BUT I THINK WE RUN IN, SO I, I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FIBER TO PREMISE, UM, THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS AREN'T TRYING TO UTILIZE A WIRELESS CONNECTION, WHICH IS WHAT THE A M I SYSTEM USES.UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT RESIDENTS, WHEN THEY'RE DEPENDING ON THAT DIGITAL INCLUSION, THAT PIECE OF BROADBAND COMING IN, IT'S NOT A WIRELESS PIECE THAT THEY HAVE A DEDICATED BROADBAND LINE COMING INTO THEIR HOME.
UH, THAT'S MY ONLY, UH, DIFFERENCE.
BUT I THINK WE COULD HAVE A CONVERSATION AROUND THIS VERY EASILY, UH, TO IDENTIFY WHAT'S, WHAT WE COULD AND COULDN'T DO WITH C P S AND SAWS, UH, TECHNOLOGY.
I GUESS I WAS JUST THINKING IF YOU JUST MENTIONED, UH, C P S IS CONCERNED ABOUT SECURITY AND THEY'RE USING WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY.
SO WHY WOULD IT BE SO DIFFERENT FOR US TO USE A WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY? WE COULD, I'M JUST SAYING IT COULDN'T BE ON, I DON'T THINK IT COULD BE ON THE SAME NETWORK OR UTILIZE THE SAME NETWORK, BUT YES, SIR.
YEAH, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO CHIME IN TO SUPPORT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN GERRAN ON, YOU KNOW, SUGGESTING THAT WE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION DURING B SESSION, UH, OVER THE BOND DISCUSSION.
WE SEE THAT DISTRICT FIVE IS DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
UM, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY, WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT OUR BOND PROPOSALS REFLECT TRUE EQUITY, AND THAT INCLUDES ENSURING THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A COUPLE OF INSTANCES WHERE I AM ON MEETINGS AT SEVEN, EIGHT O'CLOCK AND CITY STAFF'S, LIKE, YOU'RE STILL AT THE OFFICE DOWNTOWN
AND I'M LIKE, WELL, YEAH, YOU KNOW, I LIVE IN WITHIN 7 8 2 0 7 MY ENTIRE LIFE, AND WHEN I TRY AND CONNECT AND GET ON WEBEX, THE, THE, THE SIGNAL BREAKS.
I'M PRIVILEGED IN THAT I COULD COME DOWNTOWN TO MY OFFICE AND, AND JOIN THE MEETING, BUT, YOU KNOW, FOR MY NEIGHBORS, THEY DON'T HAVE THAT, THAT, THAT OPTION.
UM, SO I THINK WE DO NEED TO HAVE A SERIOUS CONVERSATION ABOUT INTEGRATING THIS INTO OUR BOND.
AND THE COUNCILMAN COURAGE HAS THE SAME PROBLEM THAT THAT'S, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE HE USES A PALM PILOT, UH,
SO, SO WE DID, WE DID HEAR, UH, SOME, SOME INSIGHTFUL COMMENTS ABOUT THE, UH, THE, THE, THE LEGISLATION THAT WE'RE ALL WAITING FOR.
AND I THINK JUST TO ADD A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, UH, I'M GONNA INVITE JEFF COYLE TO TELL US, YOU KNOW, JEFF, UNPACK THIS A LITTLE BIT FOR US ABOUT, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU MADE AN ASK, OR WE ALL AS A COUNCIL MADE AN ASK, UH, OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN A LETTER THAT YOU SENT UP, UH, REGARDING APPROPRIATIONS.
AND THEN I KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME EXTRA MONEY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AT THE STATE LEVEL TOO, RIGHT? SURE.
UH, AND WE'RE IN, IN CLOSE COORDINATION WITH SA DIGITAL CONNECTS, BUT THE, THE FASTEST MONEY ON THE HORIZON RIGHT NOW IS, IS LIKELY TO COME OUT OF THE STATE SPECIAL SESSION RIGHT NOW.
THERE, THE STATE IS APPROPRIATING ABOUT 16 BILLION IN, UH, ARPA DOLLARS.
UH, AS BRIAN MENTIONED IN HIS SLIDES, UH, RIGHT NOW ABOUT 500 MILLION IS DEDICATED FOR BROADBAND.
UH, WE'D ALL LIKE IT TO SEE MORE.
UH, NUMBER OF ISPS HAVE ASKED FOR IT TO BE 2 BILLION RIGHT NOW, THAN NUMBER APPEARS TO BE 500 MILLION.
BUT THE STATE LEADERS ARE SAYING, THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A PROGRAM, UH, AND THERE WILL BE MORE COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE.
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR US IS, UH, NUMBER ONE, FIGHTING AGAINST, YOU KNOW, IT'S 500 MILLION STATEWIDE, UH, RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF RURAL NEEDS.
AND SO GOING ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE REGULAR SESSION, WE'VE BEEN CONVEYING OVER AND OVER AND OVER THAT THE NEEDS ARE NOT JUST IN RURAL TEXAS, THEY'RE IN URBAN TEXAS.
AND, AND OUR MESSAGE CONSISTENTLY WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS HAS BEEN SAN ANTONIO HAS DONE THE LEGWORK.
WE ARE READY TO DEPLOY IT RIGHT AWAY.
UH, SO THAT'S PROBABLY THE FIRST INFLUX I THINK OF OUTSIDE DOLLARS.
AND THEN, UM, HOPEFULLY TO THE COUNCILMAN'S POINT, UH, THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL COMES ALONG FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT WOULD LIKELY BE ROUTED THROUGH THE STATE AS WELL.
AND, AND, UH, AND THERE WILL BE MORE DOWN THE LINE, BUT 500 MILLION RIGHT NOW IS NOT ENOUGH, NEARLY ENOUGH TO ADDRESS IT WHEN OUR NEEDS ARE 600 MILLION JUST IN OUR COMMUNITY.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? IT, IT DOES.
AND, UM, I, I, I DO WANT TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT, AND, AND LUISA KNOWS THIS BETTER THAN ANYBODY IN THE ROOM, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TOYOTA PHILOSOPHY ALSO INCLUDES, UM, THREE LINES OR THREE WORDS, REALLY IMPORTANT ONES WHEN, WHEN ADDRESSING A NEW PROBLEM OR EVEN TRYING TO SOLVE AN OLD ONE, THE KEY TO DOING IT IS JUST DO SOMETHING RIGHT.
BECAUSE TALKING ABOUT IT, UM, IS, AND COMPLAINING ABOUT IT SOLVES NOTHING.
RIGHT? AND THE PARTNERS THAT HAVE COME TOGETHER TO SOLVE FOR THIS, I I THINK THAT THAT'S AMAZING THAT YOU GUYS ALL SAW A PROBLEM AND DECIDED TO FIX IT, UM, AND BE PART OF THAT SOLUTION.
AND, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE GOT A SUPERMARKET CHAIN HERE AND AN INSURANCE COMPANY, AND WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, A, A A HEALTH COMPANY IN THERE, AND WE'VE GOT A COUNTY AND A CITY, AND THESE PARTNERS, UM, ARE ALL COMING FROM THIS AT DIFFERENT ANGLES FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR DIFFERENT REASONS AND, AND FOR DIFFERENT MOTIVES.
BUT I, I THINK THAT WHEN YOU GET THIS MANY PEOPLE FROM, YOU
[00:45:01]
KNOW, DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES AND DIFFERENT SECTORS COMING TOGETHER, CLEARLY, YOU KNOW, TO SOLVE A PROBLEM, CLEARLY THAT PROBLEM IS REAL, RIGHT? MM-HMM.UM, AND SO I THINK THAT THIS REALLY PUTS WIND IN YOUR SAILS, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU'RE ABLE TO SAY, OH, WE'RE NOT JUST ASKING FOR MONEY.
WE'RE ASKING YOU GUYS TO CO-INVEST WITH US RIGHT? IN, IN SOLVING THIS.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TOO.
THE OTHER THING, UM, IS I, I SAW ON THE SLIDE, AND THEN I SAW ON THE DIGITAL CONNECTS WEBSITE THAT, UM, THE, THESE WORDS, UH, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT A BROAD COALITION OF PUBLIC, PRIVATE, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHO ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO REDUCE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
I DO WANT TO ENCOURAGE, UH, Y'ALL, UH, WHO ARE ON THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THIS, UH, OF THIS NONPROFIT TO REMEMBER THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY'S GONNA HAVE TO INSTALL THESE WIRES, UH, IN COUNCILMAN ILLA GRAND'S NEIGHBORHOODS AND IN COUNCILMAN TERRY CASTILLO'S NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, AND THAT'S THE CWA A RIGHT? AND SO THE NEXT TIME THIS COMES TO A PRESENTATION, I THINK THAT YOU'LL GET A LOT, EVEN RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ALL ENTHUSIASTIC, BUT YOU'LL GET US EVEN MORE ENTHUSIASTIC IF WE SEE THE CWA LOGO ON THAT PAGE AS PARTNERS AND MAYBE EVEN HAVE THEM AS BOARD REP, YOU KNOW, HAVE SOME BOARD REPRESENTATION THOUGH.
AND SO, UM, AT LEAST THAT'S, THAT'S MY REQUEST.
UM, AND I DON'T, YEAH, SO I MEAN, DO YOU AGREE? I AGREE.
SO THE OTHER THING TOO, I WANNA, I WANNA POINT OUT IS THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE WONDERING WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS JUST AN ABSTRACT THING AND WHETHER OR NOT REAL PEOPLE ARE BEING IMPACTED, UH, WE CELEBRATED, OR WE DID A PROCLAMATION THIS PAST WEEK ON DEMENTIA.
I DUNNO IF Y'ALL REMEMBER THAT RIGHT? BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY TOLD US WAS THAT ONE IN FIVE SAN ANTONIANS WILL BE EXPERIENCING DEMENTIA, WHICH MEANS THAT ONE IN FIVE FAMILIES IN SAN ANTONIO WILL HAVE TO CARE FOR FOLKS WITH DEMENTIA.
THOSE FOLKS RIGHT NOW HAVE A VERY DIFFICULT TIME ACCESSING RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET, RIGHT? AND IT'S NOT JUST THEM, IT'S FAMILIES WHO ARE CARING FOR CANCER PATIENTS, AND IT'S PEOPLE WHO FIND THEMSELVES IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SITUATIONS AND ELDERLY FOLKS WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO CONNECT WITH THE FOOD BANK OR, YOU KNOW, EVEN ACCESS THE FACEBOOK TO TALK TO THEIR GRANDKIDS WHILE EVERYBODY'S, YOU KNOW, UH, TRYING TO SOCIALLY DISTANCE AND ALL THAT.
SO THESE ARE REAL PEOPLE, RIGHT? AND WE KNOW THAT THE DIGITAL DIVIDE KILLS TOO.
IF, IF THESE FOLKS DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, THE INTERNET, WELL THEN YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF SOCIAL ISOLATION.
SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, THERE'S NOT JUST STATISTICS OUT THERE, BRIAN, UH, FOR, FOR THESE FUTURE PRESENTATIONS, BUT I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT THAT WHEN WE SPEAK TO THE PUBLIC, WE SHOW THEM CONCRETE EXAMPLES OF, YOU KNOW, WHERE THERE IS REAL PAIN, YOU KNOW, AND HOW IT IS THAT WE HAVE SOLVED SOME OF THAT PAIN.
UM, AND HOW WE'RE GONNA SOLVE FOR MORE OF IT.
SO, UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, A QUICK QUESTION FOR JEFF.
JEFF, DO YOU KNOW WHERE WE ARE IN EXPANDING THE E-RATE FUNDING TO IN-HOME INTERNET? I'M SORRY, COUNCILMAN, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT.
SO, UM, SCHOOLS RIGHT NOW GET TO BENEFIT, UH, FROM, FROM E-RATE, BUT THEY'RE TRYING TO SEE IF WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO EXTEND THAT TO IN-HOME EDUCATION.
ACTUALLY, PAGE 1 0 8 OF THE, UM, OF THE PRESENTATION DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB.
SO 82% OF SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES AGREE THAT E-RATE WOULD HELP THEM SOLVE SOME OF THE REMOTE LEARNING.
UM, THERE WAS 38 SENATE DEMOCRATS WHO WROTE A LETTER TO THE F C C TO INCLUDE IN-HOME INTERNET AND E-RATE LANGUAGE, BUT I WAS JUST WONDERING IF, OR MAYBE YOU CAN JUST FIND OUT, I DON'T KNOW IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
BRIAN DOES SOUND LIKE HE'S VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT.
WE WILL COMPARE NOTES AND, OKAY.
UNLESS I SEE ANY OTHER, UM, LANGUAGE.
IS THIS IT? THIS IS NOT ACTION.
MARIA VI, YOU HAVE YOUR HANDS FULL
UM, BARE VERY, VERY LOW AND ALWAYS IMPRESS, SO CONGRATULATIONS.
[3. Briefing and possible action regarding vacant AtLarge Board seat for the San Antonio Economic Development Corporation. [Debbie RaccaSittre, Interim City Clerk]]
UH, THANK YOU CHAIR.AND THIS IS ACTUALLY, UH, GONNA BE PRESENTED JOINTLY, I BELIEVE.
UM, OUR CITY CLERK, OUR INTERIM CITY CLERK IS ACTUALLY GONNA KICK IT OFF THOUGH.
THIS IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING VACANT AT LARGE SEAT FOR THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
AND JUSTINA TATE IS HERE, UH, TO TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, THEIR, THEIR SUGGESTIONS.
SO, BY, BY WAY OF BACKGROUND, UH, THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IS A NON-PROFIT CORPORATION THAT WAS, UH, CREATED BY CITY COUNCIL IN 2010.
AND THEY HAVE THE PURPOSE OF FOCUSING ON JOB CREATION AND PROMOTING LONG-TERM ECONOMIC GROWTH THAT'S SPECIFIC TO SAN ANTONIO.
SO THIS CORPORATION IS GOVERNED BY A SEVEN MEMBER BOARD, OF WHICH THREE OF THOSE MEMBERS
[00:50:01]
ARE CITIZENS AT LARGE.SO THE, THE CITIZENS WERE APPOINTED LAST YEAR, HOWEVER, EARLIER THIS YEAR, CHRIS ROSAS, WHO, WHO WAS A CITIZEN, A MEMBER OF THE BOARD, HAD RESIGNED OR HAS RESIGNED.
SO IN COORDINATION WITH THE CITY CLERK, UM, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WE DID ADVERTISE FOR THIS POSITION FOR PEOPLE THAT WERE INTERESTED, UH, IN SERVING ON THE S A E D C BOARD.
SO DURING THAT TIME, AND OVER THE PAST YEAR, WE RECEIVED OVER, WE RECEIVED 18 APPLICATIONS OF WHICH, UH, 16 ARE ELIGIBLE.
SO WITH THAT NUMBER OF, OF APPLICATIONS, WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THE E W D C CREATE A SUBCOMMITTEE TO REVIEW THOSE APPLICATIONS AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION FOR APPLICANTS TO BE INTERVIEWED BY THE E W D C.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, UM, THOSE, THOSE, THE SUBCOMMITTEE WOULD RECOMMEND APPLICANTS, THE E W D C WOULD INTERVIEW THOSE APPLICANT APPLICANTS THAT ARE RECOMMENDED BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE.
AND THEN ONE, UH, ONE APPLICANT WOULD BE RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL BY THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, AFTER E W D C INTERVIEWS, THOSE, UH, POTENTIAL CANDIDATES.
SO WHAT WE ARE ASKING TODAY IS FOR THE E W D C TO FORM THAT SUBCOMMITTEE AND RECOMMEND MEMBERS FOR THAT COMMITTEE.
SO, UM, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, COUNCILWOMAN? OKAY.
SO YOU WANT, DO YOU WANT US TO BE ON THE SUBCOMMITTEE WITH PEOPLE FROM THE, UH, UH, AN ESSAY? YEAH.
OH, SO IT'D BE MEMBERS OF THE E W D C ALONG, SO JUST THREE OF US.
SO IN THE PAST WE'VE HAD SUBCOMMITTEES THAT WERE, UH, OUTSIDE FOLKS THAT WERE RECOMMENDED BY THE COMMITTEE.
SO IT COULD BE YOUR CHIEF OF STAFF THAT YOU COULD RECOMMEND TO BE ON THE COMMITTEE, UH, INSTEAD OF THE COUNCIL MEMBER.
OR YOU COULD RECOMMEND THAT A STAFF PERSON SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE AS WELL.
UH, SO THE, YOUR COMMITTEE IS, CAN DECIDE ON THE SUBCOMMITTEE, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE YOUR MEMBERS ON THE SUBCOMMITTEE.
THIS IS JUST A NOMINATING COMMITTEE THAT WOULD THEN BRING A RECOMMENDATION BACK TO YOU.
SO I, YOU KNOW, REALLY, I'M, I'M, I THINK WE'RE LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK FROM, FROM Y'ALL AS FAR AS HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, HAPPEN AND WHO YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON THIS.
AND SO, UM, JOHN, YOU GOT ANY OPINIONS, THOUGHTS, OR, WELL, I THINK RECOMMENDATIONS, YOU KNOW, IT, IT COULD BE US OR, YOU KNOW, IF I, I WOULD'VE PRESUMED IT WOULD'VE BEEN MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT'S AS EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT TO HAVE OTHER PEOPLE THAT WE WANT TO APPOINT TO REPRESENT US IN A SUBCOMMITTEE, THAT'S FINE.
UH, DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE? YEAH.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UH, THROUGH THIS PROCESS THAT WE IDENTIFY FOLKS WHO, UH, UNDERSTAND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, BUT ALSO HAVE THE TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.
UM, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE A SUBCOMMITTEE, AND I WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF THAT SUBCOMMITTEE.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I MOVE TO ESTABLISH, UH, A SUBCOMMITTEE.
MAYBE YOU WANNA SECOND THAT SECOND? ALL RIGHT.
UM, AND SO, BUT YOU, YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SERVING ON IT? YES.
UM, NOT HAVING A REPRESENTATIVE.
IT'S TO, TO VET THE APPLICANTS.
I'D LIKE TO SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE CHAIR.
YOU CAN HAVE TWO MEMBERS, BUT NOT THREE.
'CAUSE THEN YOU HAVE A QUORUM.
'CAUSE THEN YOU'D HAVE, AND YOU GOT A QUORUM, RIGHT? COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA COUNCIL, DO YOU HAVE ANY PREFERENCES? OH, I HAVE.
COUNCILMAN, UH, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT.
COUNCILMAN CASTILLO AND COUNCILMAN ADRIANA ROCHA GARCIA SERVE ON THAT SUBCOMMITTEE.
YOU JUST, I'LL, I'LL SECOND THAT.
WE GOT A MOTION IN A SECOND, RIGHT? SO, SO WE DO HAVE TWO MOTIONS IN TWO SECONDS.
UM, AND DO YOU ACCEPT
SO IT LOOKS LIKE, IT LOOKS LIKE WE MAY HAVE A SOLUTION IN THE MAKING.
SO WE'VE GOT THE FIRST MOTION, WHICH IS TO CREATE THE SUBCOMMITTEE.
AND WE'VE GOT, UM, AN EXCELLENT IDEA OF, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVING IT IMPANELED, UM, AND THAT YOU, COUNCILMAN CASTILLO, AND YOU COUNCILMAN, UH, UH, ROCHA GARCIA SERVE ON IT.
AND SO, UM, ALL VOTES IN FAVOR.
THAT WAS UNANIMOUS, AND THAT WAS EASY.
UH, GIVE US SOMETHING HARD TO DO NEXT TIME.
I, I JUST WANNA, AND I KNOW JUSTINA DID MENTION, UM, THE, THE COMPOSITION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BOARD.
THERE IS TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT SERVE PER THE BYLAWS.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER BEEZ, AND, UM,
[00:55:01]
COUNCIL MEMBER HDA, UM, KA HDA ALSO SERVES ON THAT.SO WE DIDN'T KNOW IF WE WANTED TO ALSO INCLUDE HER IN ANY WAY IN THIS PRELIMINARY.
SHE'S NOT A MEMBER OF THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, SO SHE WOULDN'T NECESSARILY COUNT TOWARDS THE QUORUM, WOULD SHE? NO.
I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED TO ALSO INCLUDE THAT, OR IF WE WANNA JUST KEEP IT TO JUST E W D C.
WELL, I, I DON'T LIKE INVOKING THE NAME OF, UH, ANOTHER COUNCIL PERSON WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION.
UH, AND SO, UH, WHY DON'T WE ASK HER FIRST, UNLESS YOU HAVE ALREADY WE HAVE
WHO HAVE YOU ASKED IN THAT CASE? WHAT DO YOU THINK? WE COORDINATED WITH HER STAFF, I BELIEVE.
WHAT DO YOU THINK, COUNCILWOMAN? WHICH COUNCIL MEMBER? UM, GABRIELA.
DO YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE FROM US ON THIS ITEM? NO, SIR.
[4. Briefing and possible action on Latin American Relationships and Sister Cities. [Alejandra Lopez, Assistant City Manager; Brenda HicksSorensen, Director, Economic Development]]
OF THE LAST ONE.WHICH I BELIEVE THE LAST ITEM IS GONNA BE PRESENTED BY SHERRY DO SHAHI, WHICH IS OUR CHIEF PROTOCOL OFFICER.
AND FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW ME, MY NAME IS SHERRY DOLA SHAHI.
I SERVE AS THE CHIEF DIPLOMACY AND PROTOCOL OFFICER HERE AT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
BEFORE I START, I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THE PRESENCE OF, UH, UH, MR. JUAN ALA AND, UH, COLLEEN SWING WITH THE WORLD HERITAGE OFFICE, AND MR. JUAN NALA WITH THE OFFICE OF MILITARY VETERAN AFFAIRS, WITH WHO I HAVE SPOKEN EXTENSIVELY AS WE WERE PREPARING OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE SESSION TODAY, AND WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED, UH, EXTENSIVELY.
AND I KNOW THAT THE AVIATION DEPARTMENT IS ALSO SOMEWHERE IN THE ROOM,
SO I AM HERE TO, TO TALK TO YOU AND FOLLOW UP ON A, UH, A REQUEST FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION ON CONSIDERING THE EXPANSION OF OUR SISTER CITY PROGRAM INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, BEYOND THE EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE HAVE IN MEXICO.
UH, AND OUR TEAM AT THE GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT OFFICE IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT HAVE REALLY PUT TOGETHER A THOUGHTFUL ANALYSIS OF OUR EXISTING RELATIONS AND WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING NEXT.
SO, THE FIRST THING I'D LIKE TO START OFF WITH, YOU'LL ALL NOTICE THAT IN FRONT OF YOU, YOU HAVE A, A BOOKLET CALLED PASSPORT SAN ANTONIO.
AND THIS IS A BOOKLET THAT WAS PRINTED LAST YEAR.
IT'S THE INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY, UH, THE METRO PRIORITY PLAN THAT WE REFER TO THAT GUIDES THE WORK THAT WE DO IN THE GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT OFFICE.
THIS WAS VERY MUCH A DATA DRIVEN PROGRAM STRATEGY, PULLED TOGETHER USING BROOK DATA, UH, IN COOPERATION WITH THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTE GLOBAL CITIES INITIATIVE, UH, PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE BEEN A PART OF SINCE 2014.
WE WORKED ON THE TRADE AND INVESTMENT STRATEGY IN 2015, AND THEN IN 2017 TO 2019, WE WORKED ON A PROGRAM CALLED THE METRO PRIORITY PLAN, REALLY TRYING TO FOCUS IN OUR EFFORTS AND NARROW DOWN WHERE WE WORKED INTERNATIONALLY.
UH, SO THIS, UH, UH, THIS BOOKLET WILL HELP PROVIDE, UH, A REFERENCE IF YOU WANT TO READ ON IT LATER ON.
UH, BUT IT DOES INFORM THE WAY WE ARE WORKING AND THE STRATEGIES WE FOLLOW.
NOW, THE, UM, THE BROOKINGS DATA AND THE METRO PRIORITY PLAN, UH, WHEN WE WENT, WENT THROUGH THEM, BASICALLY BROUGHT US TO OUR FOCUS ON FIVE PRIORITY METROS AROUND THE WORLD.
THE GOAL OF OUR PLAN WAS TO CONTINUE TO LEVERAGE OUR IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS AROUND THE WORLD.
WE HAVE 11 SISTER CITIES, THREE FRIENDSHIP CITIES AROUND THE WORLD, BUT WE ALSO PLAN TO, AND CONTINUE TO WANT TO HAVE NEW RELATIONSHIPS THAT WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO SAN ANTONIO AND BRING INVESTMENT INTO SAN ANTONIO.
SO THAT'S WHERE THIS PREMISE LIES.
AND YOU'LL NOTICE THAT IN THAT GRAPHIC, FRANKFURT, GERMANY, TORONTO, UH, CANADA, TOKYO, JAPAN, AND SEOUL, KOREA ARE AREAS OF THE WORLD WHERE WE HAVE A LOT OF, UH, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWS.
AND WITH MEXICO PARTICULARLY, THE FOCUS IS MORE TRADE AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.
AND AS I SAID, THE OTHER RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE HAVE, THE WORK THAT WE DO IS MORE ON THE COLLAB COLLABORATION SIDE, WORKING ON DIPLOMACY,
[01:00:01]
EDUCATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGES, IN ADDITION TO BUSINESS EXCHANGES.NOW, THE FOLLOWING, UH, GRAPHIC JUST SHOWS YOU OUR WORK PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 22.
WE HAD A SIMILAR WORK PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 21, WHERE WE KIND OF LOOKED AT WHAT KIND OF TOUCH POINTS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE WITH OUR FIVE PRIORITY METRO COUNTRIES.
UH, AND AGAIN, I'D LIKE TO KIND OF POINT OUT THAT THIS IS NOT THE ONLY THING THAT WE WILL BE DOING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
IT JUST GIVES YOU A SENSE OF HOW WE ARE ADDRESSING THOSE FIVE PRIORITY METROS.
NOW, UH, WHEN WE STARTED LOOKING AT, AGAIN, HOW WE'RE GONNA GO ABOUT, UH, CHOOSING, UH, WHAT TO BRING AS A RECOMMENDATION TO YOU, UH, WE LOOKED AT A LOT OF FACTORS, UH, AND THOSE FACTORS YOU CAN SEE RANGE FROM, YOU KNOW, WHAT TRADE AGREEMENTS THERE WERE BETWEEN COUNTRIES, WHAT THAT THE DATA BROOKINGS HAD THAT WE HAD COLLECTED AS PART OF THE METRO PRIORITY PLAN.
WHAT KINDS OF UNIVERSITY AGREEMENTS WERE IN PLACE WITH OUR SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL, UH, HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS.
WE LOOKED AT, UH, MILITARY PARTNERSHIPS.
AND, AND AGAIN, UH, I'D LIKE TO STRESS HERE THAT US ARMY SOUTH AND US ARMY NORTH ARE BOTH HEADQUARTERED OUT OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND, AND AGAIN, GENERAL AELA WILL BE ABLE TO TALK MORE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES IN THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT, UH, US ARMY SOUTH CULTIVATES, UH, THROUGH THE SAN ANTO, THROUGH SAN ANTONIO.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR UNESCO DESIGNATIONS.
AND, AND COLLEEN SWAIN IS ABLE TO, UH, VERY WELL ARTICULATE AGAIN, THE IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE ON THE WORLD HERITAGE SIDE, AS WELL AS THE CREATIVE CITIES NETWORK, OF WHICH WE ARE A PART.
WE ALSO TOOK INTO FACTORS, SOME MACROECONOMIC DATA, EASE OF USING DATA, G D P, AND THEN WE ALSO LOOKED AT OUR DIASPORA IN SAN ANTONIO.
YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITIES OTHER THAN OUR MEXICAN COMMUNITY, LATIN AMERICAN WHO ASSOCIATE WITH CERTAIN PARTS OF LATIN AMERICA, UH, TO KIND OF GET A BIGGER PICTURE.
AND THEN WE CARRIED OUT A SURVEY.
IT WAS REALLY A COMMUNITY SURVEY, BUT WITH A VERY, VERY SMALL TARGETED AUDIENCE WHERE WE INTERVIEWED SOME OF OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED AND ASKED THEM, UH, FOR SOME INPUT.
AND THEN WE REACHED OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY TO OUR HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNERS, TO SOME BUSINESS PARTNERS AND BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS TO GET THEIR, THEIR INPUT OVERALL.
AND, AND I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THIS, UM, UH, WHAT REALLY COMES OUT OF THE SURVEY IS THE MILITARY CONNECTIONS, THE ACADEMIC CONNECTIONS, THE BUSINESS CONNECTIONS, THE CULTURAL CONNECTIONS, AS WELL AS TOURISM AND AVIATION.
J WHEN WE WERE TAKING ALL THAT DATA, I THINK THERE WERE A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES THAT CAME BACK, BUT THE COUNTRIES THAT GOT THE MOST MENTION IN OUR DATA WERE BRAZIL, COLUMBIA, AND PANAMA.
THOSE WERE THE COUNTRIES THAT HAD THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF MENTIONS.
SO WE THEN KIND OF JUST WENT, STARTED TO KIND OF DO MORE OF A DEEP DIVE ONTO THOSE THREE COUNTRIES AS THE ONES WITH THE MOST MENTIONS.
AND HERE YOU'LL SEE, UH, SOME DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION TAKEN FROM THE CENSUS WHERE WE STARTED TO LOOK AT THE POPULATION, UH, UH, THAT SELF-IDENTIFY IN SAN ANTONIO WITH THOSE COUNTRIES IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD.
AND YOU'LL NOTICE SOMETHING, AN INTERESTING TREND WITH ALL, ALL OF THE POPULATION SETS.
YOU KNOW, AND I'M GOING TO NARROW DOWN HERE ON THE PANAMANIANS, THE COLOMBIANS, AND THE BRAZILIANS.
IF WE TAKE THE DATA FROM 2010, AND WE LOOK AT THE DATA IN 2019, THERE HAS BEEN AN UPWARD GROWTH IN RESIDENTS FROM THOSE PART OF THE, THE, FROM THAT PART OF THE WORLD, WE SEE THAT THE NUMBER OF PANAMANIANS, OR PEOPLE WHO SELF-IDENTIFY AS PANAMANIAN IN THE, IN THE CENSUS HAS INCREASED 78%.
THE NUMBER OF COLOMBIANS IN OUR COMMUNITY OVER A NINE YEAR PERIOD HAS INCREASED 57%.
AND THEN THE BRAZILIAN COMMUNITY, WHICH IS MUCH SMALLER YET, HAS HAD A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF 294% IN SAN ANTONIO.
YOU'LL NOTICE ALSO THAT OUR PANAMANIAN AND COLOMBIAN POPULATION ARE PRETTY CLOSE IN, IN NUMBERS.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE JUST OVER 4,000, FOUR AND A HALF THOUSAND.
AND PLEASE REMEMBER, THESE ARE, THIS DATA IS BASED ON HOW PEOPLE SELF-REPORT IN THE CENSUS.
IT MAY BE MUCH HIGHER THAN WHAT WE SEE OVER THERE.
NOW, IN THIS SLIDE, I THINK IT, UH, I'D LIKE TO TO HIGHLIGHT THAT WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE NUM, THE CITIES AND WHAT CITY WOULD BE BEST ALIGNED THERE, THERE'S ALIGNMENT WITH A NUMBER OF CITIES.
THESE ARE NOT THE ONLY CITIES, BUT OF COURSE, UH, WE HAD TO MAKE A,
[01:05:01]
A RECOMMENDATION.AND SO FOR BRAZIL, WE LOOKED AT KURA CHIA, AND URIVA IS THE EIGHTH LARGEST CITY IN BRAZIL, FOURTH LARGEST ECONOMY.
UH, BOGOTA IS A CAPITAL CITY OF COLUMBIA.
YES, IT IS MUCH LARGER THAN SAN ANTONIO IF WE WERE TO COMPARE POPULATION SETS.
AND PANAMA CITY IS ALSO THE CAPITAL OF PANAMA, BUT PANAMA IS CITY IS JUST OVER HALF OF OUR OWN POPULATION.
SO YOU SEE SOME VARIATIONS THERE.
NOW, BRAZIL IS IN A DIFFERENT PART OF SOUTH AMERICA.
AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT COLUMBIA AND PANAMA ON A MAP, THEY ARE NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES.
IN FACT, HISTORICALLY, UH, PANAMA WAS PART OF COLUMBIA, UH, UNTIL PANAMA BECAME ITS OWN INDEPENDENT NATION.
AND SO, UH, WE RECOMMEND, AND AGAIN, WE LOOKED AT, AND I, AND I'M GOING TO SAY, SAY THAT I THINK AS WE WERE LOOKING AT ALL THE DATA, WE'RE THINKING, OKAY, WHEN, WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR US IS WHAT RELATIONSHIPS WOULD BE MOST BENEFICIAL TO THE WORK THAT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS DOING RIGHT NOW, UH, TO, TO, AS PART OF ITS, UH, EH, THE WORK THAT IT DOES.
AND WHEN WE LOOKED AT IT WITH THAT LENS, IT BECAME QUITE OBVIOUS TO US THAT WE HAD TO TAKE THE REGIONAL APPROACH WITH COLUMBIA AND PANAMA AND I, I'D SAY STARTING WITH PANAMA AND THEN COLUMBIA.
BUT THAT REGIONAL APPROACH, UH, IN, IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE HAVE, AND I'D LIKE TO SINGLE OUT HERE, OUR AVIATION DEPARTMENT HAS GOT, UH, HAS BEEN WORKING FOR YEARS, TIRELESSLY ON GETTING A DIRECT FLIGHT INTO, UH, LATIN AMERICA.
AND, UH, WE KNOW THAT, AGAIN, OUR EFFORTS IN THIS AREA COULD BENEFIT THE AVIATION, UH, PLANS.
ALSO, WE KNOW THAT THE, UM, UH, WORLD HERITAGE OFFICE, AGAIN, AS PART OF THE WORK THAT THEY DO WITH SAY, CREATIVE CITY NETWORKS, UH, THEY WILL ALSO POTENTIALLY BENEFIT FROM RELATIONSHIPS, UH, IN THOSE COUNTRIES.
SO, UM, SO MOVING ON TO THE, TO THE NEXT ONE SLIDE.
I THINK THAT, UH, WE, WE FEEL, FEEL STRONGLY THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO GO AFTER ALL THREE CITIES AT THIS POINT.
UH, SO WE HAVE TO, UH, MAYBE TAKE A STAGGERED APPROACH.
SO FIRST GO THROUGH WITH THIS REGIONAL APPROACH WITH PANAMA CITY AND BOGOTA.
TRAVEL IS EASY TO GO TO BOTH COUNTRIES AT THE SAME TIME, AND THEN IN THE FUTURE COME BACK AND, UH, THEN TARGET KURA, CHIA, AND BRAZIL.
SO IT'S NOT ELIMINATING, IT'S JUST TAKING A STAGGERED APPROACH BASED ON THE ARGUMENT I GAVE YOU.
AND JUST SOME HIGHLIGHTS FOR YOU ON THE SLIDE, UH, ABOUT BOGOTA AND COLUMBIA.
SOMETHING THAT AGAIN, I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT IS THAT BOGOTA, OF COURSE, AS A CAPITAL CITY IS A, IS A CULTURAL CITY.
IT'S BEING DEEMED THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA.
UM, IT HAS, IT IS A UNESCO CREATIVE CITY OF MUSIC.
UH, IN TERMS OF ITS INDUSTRY, UH, I I'VE LISTED THERE, UH, MANUFACTURING LIFE SCIENCES ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IS VERY IMPORTANT.
BUT SOMETHING THAT I'D LIKE TO SINGLE OUT ABOUT BOGOTA IS THEIR BUS RAPID TRANSIT.
THEY MOVE 69% OF THEIR POPULATION, UH, ON THEIR WORLD RENOWNED B R T SYSTEM.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN ACTUALLY LEARN FROM.
UH, UH, AGAIN, THEY HAVE, COLUMBIA IS A COUNTRY THAT HAS VERY IMPORTANT STRATEGIC ALLIANCES, UH, WITH THE UNITED STATES.
UH, AND ALSO LOCALLY, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF CONNECTIONS, UH, THROUGH OUR ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, THE UNIVERSITY OF INCARNATE WORD, WHICH HAS JUST ANNOUNCED, UH, THE INSTITUTE FOR THE AMERICAS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE, UH, YOU KNOW, LAUNCHING.
THEY'LL BE WORKING ACROSS LATIN AMERICA THROUGH THEIR INSTITUTE.
AND THEN U T S A, UH, WHICH ALSO HAS NOT ONLY A PARTNERSHIPS IN AT UNIVERSITIES IN, IN BOTTA, BUT ALSO THROUGH THEIR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT NETWORK OF THE AMERICAS.
THEY ARE DOING SOME AMAZING WORK ACROSS LATIN AMERICA, INCLUDING COLUMBIA AND PANAMA.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, OUR AVIATION DEPARTMENT AND VISIT SAN ANTONIO, WHO REALLY KIND OF HAVE THE TOURISM APPROACH.
THE NEXT SLIDE TAKES US THROUGH PANAMA CITY.
AND SOMETHING HERE TO MENTION TO YOU IS, OF COURSE, PANAMA CITY, AGAIN, IS STRATEGICALLY VERY IMPORTANT.
IT'S A CANAL THROUGH WHICH A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF WORLD AND GLOBAL TRADE GOES THROUGH, BUT THEY ARE ALSO GEOPOLITICALLY VERY IMPORTANT TO THE UNITED STATES.
SO AGAIN, FOR OUR, FOR OUR MILITARY, THERE'S A LOT OF IMPORTANCE THERE IN MAKING SURE THAT THE PANAMA, UH, CANAL IS, UH, IS SAFE.
[01:10:01]
WE HAVE, UH, GREAT COMPATIBILITY ON THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE, AS WELL AS OUR CREATIVE CITIES.PANAMA CITY IS A CREATIVE CITY OF GASTRONOMY, SO IT'S A PERFECT ALIGNMENT FOR US.
WE'RE IN THE SAME CLUSTER AND ALLOWS US TO HAVE MORE COLLABORATIONS.
WE HAVE, UH, CONNECTIVITY THROUGH SOME OF OUR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, UH, AGAIN, OUR AVIATION DEPARTMENT AND VISIT SAN ANTONIO.
I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT H E B, AND I WOULD SAY THAT H E B IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT SAN ANTONIO COMPANY THAT'S DOING A PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF TRADE ACROSS LATIN AMERICA AND MANY LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES.
SO ANYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING IN LATIN AMERICA IS, AGAIN, BENEFICIAL, UH, UH, WITH THE, ON THE BUSINESS SIDE WITH COMPANIES LIKE H E B.
UH, SO WITH THAT, I THINK I COMES, I COME TO MY LAST SLIDE AND TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS.
WE WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT FOR FISCAL YEAR 22, WE FOCUS ON BRINGING TOGETHER A COMMUNITY TASK FORCE.
AND THIS COMMUNITY TASK FORCE WOULD INCLUDE MEMBERS FROM WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, FROM DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS I MENTIONED EARLIER, AS WELL AS FROM OUR DIFFERENT, UH, STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY, WITHIN THE ACADEMIC SECTOR AND THE BUSINESS SECTOR.
UH, AND, AND I WOULD ALSO THEN WANT TO ALSO ENGAGE THE MEMBERS OF THE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE COLOMBIAN OR PANAMANIAN ORGANIZATIONS HERE.
UH, WE WOULD WORK ON A WORK PLAN WHERE WE COULD KIND OF HIT THE, THE SALIENT POINTS, UH, THAT WE COULD HAVE COLLABORATION ON.
AND AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT THE COMMUNITY GETTING INVOLVED.
THESE ARE PEOPLE TO PEOPLE, RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE WANT TO FOSTER AND NOT DIRECT OR THE CONVERSATION.
AND THEN WE WOULD PROPOSE THAT IN FISCAL YEAR 23, THERE'LL BE A TRADE AND CULTURAL MISSION, AGAIN TO THE REGION, COLUMBIA AND PANAMA, TO KIND OF DEVELOP THOSE RELATIONSHIPS MORE, UH, AT JUST A QUICK INSERTION.
WE KNOW THAT NEXT SUMMER IN JULY, AGAIN, UH, THROUGH THE WORK OF OUR AVIATION DEPARTMENT, THERE'S GOING TO BE THE TEXAS PANAMA BUSINESS SUMMIT HOSTED IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO THAT'S A PHENOMENAL OPPORTUNITY, AGAIN, TO ENGAGE ON THE BUSINESS SIDE WITH BUSINESSES FROM PANAMA AND POTENTIALLY EVEN A VISIT BY THE MAYOR OF PANAMA CITY.
AND THEN IN THE KIND OF LOOKING, AGAIN, AT A, TAKING A LONG TERM VIEW, WE FEEL THAT AS WE ENGAGE AND AS WE, UH, GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER AND WE CAN SIGN LETTERS OF AGREEMENT TO COOPERATE IN DIFFERENT AREAS, THE ULTIMATE GOAL WILL BE TO GET TO ESTABLISHING A SISTER CITY RELATIONSHIP, WHICH COULD HAPPEN EITHER, UH, YOU KNOW, OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD.
AND THAT'S WHY PUT THAT AS A KIND OF CONTINUOUS TWO YEAR GOAL, BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT TWO DIFFERENT CITIES.
SO WITH THAT, I, I END MY PRESENTATION, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
AND ALSO, I KNOW THAT, UH, GENERAL AALA AND COLLEEN SWAIN, UH, AND JOSE LUIS GARCIA, ARE ALSO HAPPY TO CONTRIBUTE TO ANY INFORMATION THAT'S REQUIRED.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COUNCILWOMAN VRAN TO START WITH YOU.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UH, NO.
I THINK STARTING WITH PANAMA CITY IS A GREAT IDEA.
I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT, UH, ARE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT DIRECT FLIGHT.
SO I, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD MOVE.
AND, BUT I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP BRAZIL ON THE RADAR.
UH, I THINK WE NEED TO KIND OF, UH, WORK WITH OUR LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE AN ASPECT OF OUR, UM, OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, THE THINGS THAT WE DO HERE, THE WAY WE CONSERVE WATER, THE WAY WE TAKE CARE OF OUR RIVER.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE COULD SHARE WITH OTHERS ALSO.
AND THANK YOU, UH, SHERRY FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I BELIEVE IN SISTER CITIES AND I, UM, LIKE THAT WE TRY TO ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS.
UM, THE, THIS MORNING I WAS AT A PRESENTATION IN, SO WAS COUNCILMAN BRAN, AND IT WAS FOR A VISIT SAN ANTONIO.
AND, UM, ONE OF THEIR INTERNATIONAL MARKETS THAT THEY'RE TAPPING INTO, AND THEIR STRATEGIC STRATEGIC PLAN THROUGH 2025 IS BRAZIL.
AND SO I'M GLAD THAT WE'LL KEEP LOOKING AT THAT.
I APPRECIATE THE THOUGHTFUL CONSIDERATION AS TO WHY WE WOULD START, UM, WITH, WITH, UH, WITH THE LOOKING AT CITIES IN COLOMBIA.
SO THERE'S A, ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH RUTA AND MEIN? YES, OF COURSE.
SO I WISH THE INNOVATION FOLKS WERE STILL HERE, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THEY CREATED A REALLY SUSTAINABLE, UM, PLAN FOR FEREN.
AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOMETHING SIMILAR, UM, WHICH I GUESS IS TECHNICALLY RELATED, BUT MAYBE NOT KIND OF RELATED.
UM, BUT IS THERE ANYTHING LIKE THAT, UH, THAT, THAT YOU COULD SEE IN, IN ANY OF OUR OTHER SISTER CITIES THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO EMULATE? SO THOSE, THOSE TWO, THE RTA AND IT THAT YOU REFERENCED IS VERY SIMILAR.
AGAIN, IT'S THE PART OF THE B R T SYSTEM THAT BOGOTA ALSO HAS.
AND ACTUALLY, IT'S ALL STARTED OUT OF RIC CHIA IN BRAZIL.
SO RIC CHIA IS A CITY OF INNOVATION
[01:15:01]
IN BRAZIL.THERE, IT WAS THE ONLY CITY THAT CAME OUT IN THE BROOKINGS DATA IN TERMS OF A CYBERSECURITY CITY OF BRAZIL.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF ALIGNMENT WITH OUR LOCAL UNIVERSITIES AND PARTNERSHIPS THEY HAVE IN CORU CHIBA.
SO, UH, THERE, THE, IN TERMS OF OUR OTHER SISTER CITIES AND INNOVATION AND TRANSPORTATION, WELL, WE KNOW THAT IN ASIA THERE'S A LOT OF THE BULLET TRAINS, UH, THAT MOVE PEOPLE AROUND.
UH, BUT, UH, BUT IN TERMS OF THE B R T, I THINK YOU HAVE JUST TOUCHED ON THOSE EXAMPLES IN SOUTH AMERICA.
SO ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO, TO LEVERAGE, UM, I THINK THAT, AGAIN, THEY'RE DOING A, A WONDERFUL JOB.
UM, I, I, I AM FOCUSED IN ON THE FACT THAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, RIGHT? AND SO THIS IS, UM, A GLOBAL MARKET.
AND SO ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION BACK AND FORTH, I'D BE FULLY SUPPORTIVE OF.
AND, AND I WANNA THANK YOU, AND I ALSO WANNA PUBLICLY THANK YOU BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN, UH, INSTRUMENTAL IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE C A ORGANIZATION HERE.
AND SO, UM, WITH THE VOLCANO ERUPTION, WHICH HAS NOW, UM, THERE'S BEEN MORE THAN THREE 35,000 EARTHQUAKES, AND IT'S DESTROYED JUST MORE THAN 1300 BUILDINGS, I THINK LAST THAT I, I READ THE REPORT.
AND SO, UM, I MEAN, VOLCANIC ROCKS THE SIZE OF CARS.
AND SO, UM, ALTHOUGH THAT IS NOT A SISTER CITY, UH, IN PARTICULAR, WHEN WE'RE REFERENCING TO THE ISLAND OF LA ALMA, WE HAVE SISTER CITIES WITH THE, UH, WITH TWO OF THE OTHER ISLANDS, RIGHT? AND SO THEY'RE BEING AFFECTED BY THE GASES, ET CETERA, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, TOXIC FUMES THAT RESULT FROM THE BUILDINGS THAT ARE BEING DEMOLISHED BY THE LAVA.
AND SO I WANT TO JUST MAKE THE POINT THAT EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE THESE SISTER CITIES, THAT WE COULD STILL LEARN FROM SOME OF THEIR SURROUNDING AREAS AND REALLY USE THAT TO LEVERAGE SOME OF THE RELATIONSHIPS.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THAT.
I APPRECIATE YOU AND THANK YOU, CHAIR.
AND COUNCILWOMAN, I THINK, UH, HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IS ONE OF THE PILLARS OF RELATIONSHIP BUILDING.
AND IF WE LOOK BACK HISTORICALLY, THERE HAVE BEEN ANOTHER NUMBER OF EXAMPLES WHERE SAN ANTONIO HAS STEPPED UP AND THROUGH THE COMMUNITY, HAVE SUPPORTED OUR SISTER CITIES IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
COUNCILWOMAN, UH, ESTEEM, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, UH, NO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS WITH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
YOU KNOW, AS I, AS I THINK ABOUT BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER, UH, CITIES, I, I ALWAYS WONDER, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE THOSE, ARE THOSE CITIES POLITICALLY STABLE? ARE THEY ECONOMICALLY STABLE? UH, ARE THERE BUSINESS OR TRADE POSSIBILITIES THAT WE COULD DEVELOP? UH, AND WHAT IS THEIR PERCEPTION OF, OF THE UNITED STATES? AND I THINK THOSE ARE SOME IMPORTANT INGREDIENTS.
AND I, I WONDER, YOU KNOW, COLUMBIA, YOU KNOW, 10 YEARS AGO WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A DRUG WAR, AND THEY HAD THEIR OWN INTERIOR PROBLEMS. AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WEREN'T ON OUR, OUR TOP 10 LIST, UH, PANAMA, EVEN TODAY, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE A GREAT RESENTMENT AGAINST THE UNITED STATES, OVER THE PANAMA CANAL, AND, AND OUR CONTINUING REPRESENTATION THERE.
SO I WONDER IF, IF FACTORS LIKE THAT, UH, CAN AFFECT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRYING TO ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS WITH, WITH ANY CITY.
AND I'M, I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT WHAT I KNOW ABOUT THOSE TOO.
UH, I'M SURE YOU'VE DONE YOUR HOMEWORK AND YOU'VE REALLY PROBABLY LOOKED AT SOME OF THOSE FACTORS.
UH, AND I, AND I HOPE THAT IF WE MOVE FORWARD ON, UH, ANY OF THESE CITIES THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ALWAYS CONSTANTLY AWARE OF THOSE POSSIBILITIES AND, AND THOSE KINDS OF CONCERNS.
BUT I WANT TO TOP THAT OFF BY SAYING THAT I THINK, UH, THE FUTURE FOR SAN ANTONIO REALLY LIES TO THE SOUTH.
YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR HUGE HISPANIC POPULATION, UH, AND WHERE WE'RE SITUATED SHOULD BE SAN ANTONIO SHOULD BE THE GATEWAY TO NORTH AMERICA AND TO, YOU KNOW, THE UNITED STATES FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, UH, SHOULDN'T BE HOUSTON.
AND IT SHOULDN'T BE LOS ANGELES, IT SHOULD BE SAN ANTONIO.
UH, AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US DEVELOP, UH, THE GROWING RELATIONSHIP WITH CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA FOR THOSE PURPOSES.
AND I THINK IT CAN REALLY PAY OFF IN THE LONG TERM.
BUT I'M, I'M ALWAYS GONNA BE A LITTLE CAUTIOUS ABOUT THE, THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRIES THAT WE MAY BE, OR THE CITIES WE MAY BE WORKING WITH.
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I'D, I'D LIKE TO SEE THIS GO FORWARD, BUT I HOPE WE'LL WATCH CAREFULLY AS WE GO FORWARD ON THESE.
WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, I LOVE THIS 'CAUSE THIS WAS MY C C R, UH, AND SO I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU, ALEX, I DON'T KNOW IF I'VE TOLD YOU, BUT I WAS BAPTIZED IN BOGOTA, UM, AND I WENT TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THERE, AND, UM, I GOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FIRST SEQL VIA EVER.
SO, YOU KNOW, IN THE FUTURE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS PLAN, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO MENTION SELO VIA, UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WERE, I THINK, THE FIRST CITY
[01:20:01]
IN THE UNITED STATES TO ADOPT A SELO VIA, AND, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY MIRRORING WHAT THEY DO OVER THERE.AND IT'S REALLY ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR ACTIVITIES THAT, THAT COLOMBIANS, UH, THE, THE PEOPLE IN BOGOTA DO.
UM, THE SECOND THING I WANNA TELL YOU IS TOYOTA MOTOR MANUFACTURING HAS, I THINK, A FACTORY STILL THERE.
UM, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAYBE ADD THAT, RIGHT THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP THERE, UH, THAT WE'VE GOT, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH, THROUGH THAT BIG COMPANY.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT YOU HELPED ME BRING THE AMBASSADOR OF COLUMBIA, UM, HERE EARLIER THIS YEAR.
UM, HE'S REALLY EXCITED ABOUT TALKING TO YOU GUYS ABOUT AVIANCA AND SOME OF THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, BUDGET AIRLINES.
THEY'VE GOT DOWN THERE, UM, DOING DIRECT FLIGHTS.
IT'S HARDER AND HARDER TO FLY IN AND OUTTA MIAMI AND HOUSTON, UH, FOR COLOMBIANS.
AND THEN, UM, THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO MENTION TO YOU IS THE C I A, UH, NOT, NOT THE SPOOKS, BUT THE CULINARY INSTITUTE, UH, DID I, DID I USE THE RIGHT WORD? THE SPOOKS? YEAH.
UH, WE, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY HAVE A REALLY ROBUST PROGRAM TEACHING CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN, UM, COOKING.
AND THAT'S WHERE THESE CHEFS, THAT'S WHY THE CHEFS COME HERE, AS OPPOSED TO THE C I A UP IN THE NORTHEAST COAST, BECAUSE WE ARE DOING THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF, UH, CONTINUING THE SOUTH AMERICAN AND CENTRAL AMERICAN TRADITION OF, OF, UH, ART AND FOOD.
AND SO, UH, ANYWAY, I THINK THIS IS, I THINK THIS IS WONDERFUL.
AND, UH, I I I THINK YOU NEED ACTION TODAY, RIGHT? TO FORWARD THIS TO THE FULL COUNSEL FOR A, A GREEN LIGHT.
WE DON'T ACTUALLY, WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT TO FULL COUNSEL.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD SUPPORT FOR THE NEXT STEPS THAT YOU SEE UP ON THE SLIDE RIGHT NOW.
I, I DON'T, I DON'T, YEAH, I THINK, I THINK WE, THE COMMUNITY WORKFORCE GROUP YES, SIR.
UM, AND THEN GENERAL AYALA AND I, WE GOT TO VISIT WITH THE HEAD OF ARMY SOUTH, RIGHT? RIGHT.
AND HE WAS TELLING US THAT THIS MADE HIM REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE OF THE PARTICIPATION OF EVERY CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRY IN ARMY SOUTH'S TRAINING PROGRAMS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
WELL, WE, WE'VE ALREADY GOT AN EXISTING RELATIONSHIP.
WE HAVE LIAISON OFFICERS FROM COLUMBIA, BRAZIL, CHILE, MEXICO THAT ARE HERE, AND THEY'RE VERY SENIOR, AND THEY'RE GOING PLACES.
THEY'RE NOT, THEY DON'T SEND THEIR KNUCKLEHEADS DOWN HERE.
AND SO, UH, SORRY, MY PROTOCOL, BUT, UM, WE, WE'VE HAD THE RELATIONSHIP PLUS WE'VE HAD THE INTERNATIONAL AIR FORCE, UH, SCHOOL HERE SINCE 1943.
THAT GRADUATES 800 CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN STUDENTS, UH, OUTTA SAN ANTONIO.
AND THEN WE HAVE A LANGUAGE SCHOOL HERE.
UH, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS AND, UH, WE CAN BUILD ON THOSE.
I THINK WE CAN LEVERAGE THOSE, AND THAT'S PLACE TO SMART.
SO LASTLY, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS AND THEN WE CAN MOVE ON.
UH, I HAVE, UM, I GO TO COLUMBIA EVERY TWO YEARS AND, UH, LAST TIME I WAS THERE I VISITED WITH PRO COLUMBIA AND THE, THEIR INBOUND AND OUTBOUND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAMS. UM, AND THE ONE THING THAT REALLY JUST DROVE ME NUTS THE LAST TIME I VISITED WITH THEM WAS 'CAUSE I KEPT SAYING, YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO'S OPEN FOR BUSINESS, COME TO SAN ANTONIO.
RIGHT? YOU GOT, AND THEY SAID, WE ALL, WE ALREADY KNOW SAN ANTONIO, YOU GUYS ARE ON OUR MAP.
YOU GUYS ARE AN IDEAL DESTINATION FOR US.
UH, BUT YOUR AIRPORT REALLY IS SUBPAR AND IT'S JUST, IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET TO YOU.
AND BY THE WAY, YOU KNOW, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THESE YEARS? 'CAUSE HOUSTON HAS A FULL-TIME OFFICE IN COLUMBIA, AND SO DOES CALGARY AND SO DOES DALLAS.
UM, AND THEY'RE HERE EVERY SIX MONTHS.
AND SO I WAS LIKE, OKAY, WELL, WE CAN DO BETTER.
I MEAN, WE'RE, WE SPEAK SPANISH FOR GOD'S SAKE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND SO I'M, UH, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
THANK YOU, SHERRY, FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU, ALEX FOR, FOR TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY AND PUTTING THE WORK INTO IT.
COUNCILMAN, IF I JUST MAY FINISH, UH, WE WILL BE WELCOMING A DELEGATION OF CONCI CORPS FROM HOUSTON, WHO ARE THE LATIN AMERICAN, UH, CONSULTS TO SAN ANTONIO IN THE MIDDLE OF DECEMBER.
AND SO WE HAVE A FULL PROGRAM, TWO DAY PROGRAM FOR THEM.
IT INCLUDES A VISIT TO THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF THE AMERICAS AS, AS WELL AS A VISIT TO VELOCITY, TEXAS.
AND OF COURSE, WE KNOW THE VELOCITY IS ALSO PROMOTING A BIG, UH, GLOBAL ACCELERATOR PROGRAM ACROSS LATIN AMERICA.
SO, UH, YOU WILL BE MEETING WITH THEM.
UH, IT'S ALREADY ON YOUR CALENDAR.
WELL, MY, MY HOPE IS THAT THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL, WILL MEET WITH THEM TOO, RIGHT? YES.
BECAUSE THE VELOCITY AND SOME OF THESE OTHER COMPANIES DO, YOU KNOW, ARE DIRECTLY IMPACTING Y'ALL'S DISTRICTS, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH STARTUPS AND WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, AND THE COMPANIES WITH WHOM THEY WORK.
AND SO, UH, ANYWAY, THANKS SHERRY.
AND I THINK THAT BRINGS US TO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, IS THAT RIGHT? OKAY.
[Additional Item]
NOW, UH, WHATEVER TIME IT IS.UM, AND THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE WILL NOW CONVENE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT WITH THE ATTORNEYS PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 5 5, 1 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE WHERE WE ARE GONNA DELIBERATE REGARDING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS.