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LET'S MAKE ANTONIO GOOD AFTERNOON.THE TIME IS 12:12 PM ON THIS 20TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 2021.
WELCOME TO OUR CITY COUNCIL B SESSION.
UM, MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU READ THE ROLE? COUNCIL MEMBER BRAVO HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
PRESENT, COUNCIL MEMBER VERAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT.
WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL OUR CITY COUNCIL B SESSION TO ORDER.
[1. Briefing on the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fiscal Recovery Funds. [María Villagómez, Deputy City Manager; Veronica A. Carrillo, COVID19 Executive Officer].]
A BRIEFING TODAY ON THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT RECOVERY FUNDS.AND SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
SO WE HAVE ONE ITEM ON OUR B SESSION AGENDA TODAY.
UH, WE'LL BE BRIEFING THE COUNCIL ON THE FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS RECEIVED BY THE CITY, UM, THROUGH THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ARPA.
UM, THE PURPOSE OF THE BRIEFING IS TO BEGIN THE CONVERSATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE PROCESS TO UTILIZE ARPA FUNDING, UM, AND TO GET INPUT FROM, UM, THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCIL ON THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK, UH, THE COMMUNITY INPUT PHASE THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT AND THE TIMELINE.
UM, AS YOU'LL RECALL, DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS AND PRIOR TO THE BUDGET PROCESS, UH, WE PROPOSED A TWO PHASE APPROACH.
UM, AND PHASE ONE WAS FOCUSED ON THE BUDGET AND STABILIZING, UM, OUR IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEEDS THROUGH THE BUDGET.
AND, UH, PHASE TWO BEGINS TODAY.
UM, YOU'LL SEE IN THE PRESENTATION A PROPOSED SPENDING FRAMEWORK FOR PHASE TWO THAT ADDRESSES, UM, THE CITY'S CONTINUED RESPONSE TO C OVID 19, UH, WHAT WE'RE CALLING IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEEDS.
AND MARIA WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
AND, UH, THE THIRD CATEGORY OR THIRD PILLAR OF IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO HEAR, UH, DIRECTLY FROM OUR RESIDENTS, OUR STAKEHOLDERS IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY ON HOW, UH, THEY WERE IMPACTED BY COVID AND HOW THEY THINK IT WOULD BE MOST IMPACTFUL TO USE THESE FUNDS.
AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.
AND MARIA WILL WALK, UM, YOU THROUGH THAT.
WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOME FEEDBACK FROM YOU ON THAT.
THE, UH, UH, THE TREASURY GUIDELINES DO ENCOURAGE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO ENGAGE THEIR CONSTITUENTS AND COMMUNITIES IN DEVELOPING THESE PLANS.
UM, AND SO MARIA WILL ALSO TALK ABOUT THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS TO THE TREASURY.
WE'LL WANNA BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT THE PROCESSES WE WENT THROUGH, UH, NOT ONLY FOR OUR OWN NEEDS, BUT BUT ALSO TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UM, THE TIMELINE WE'RE PROPOSING BEGINS TODAY, UH, WITH COUNCIL'S DISCUSSION.
UM, AND NEXT WEEK, UH, WE'LL BEGIN THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND CONCLUDE IN, UH, LATE NOVEMBER.
SO, UM, THE, UM, THE COUNCIL WILL BE ASKED TO APPROVE OVERALL THIS PLAN IN JANUARY OF 2022.
AND WE ARE PLANNING ON COMING BACK AND GIVING YOU AN UPDATE IN DECEMBER AFTER THOSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES.
SO, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MARIA, WHO WILL WALK US THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I'M MARIA VIE GOMEZ, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER.
UH, AND AS THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED TODAY, WE'RE GONNA BE FOCUSING ON THE AMERICAN AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN KNOWN AS ARPA.
SO WHAT WE'LL DO TODAY IS, UH, PROVIDE YOU WITH OUR PROPOSED, UH, PROCESS AND TIMELINE TO BEGIN THE DISCUSSION FOR THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE US FEEDBACK TO ALLOCATE THOSE FUNDS.
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WE ALSO GONNA TALK ABOUT, UM, ANOTHER PORTION OF THE ARPA FUNDS, WHICH IS A $20 MILLION GRANT THAT WE RECEIVE, UM, FOR HOUSING, UH, PROGRAMS. UH, AND WE ALSO ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE, WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON IN TERMS OF UTILITY ASSISTANCE.SO LET ME START WITH SOME BACKGROUND.
THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT IS $1.9 TRILLION, AND THIS WAS APPROVED BY CONGRESS IN MARCH OF 2021.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE SCREEN, THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPONENTS OF THIS AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN, INCLUDING STIMULUS CHECKS, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH RESOURCES, AND SPECIFICALLY YOU'LL SEE THAT, UH, CLOSE TO 20% IS DEDICATED TO STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL ASSISTANCE.
AND THAT IS A PRIMARY CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH YOU TODAY.
THE FISCAL RECOVERY FUND, WHICH PROVIDES RESOURCES TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS LIKE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
THE MAIN INTENT FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS TO HELP LOCAL GOVERNMENTS MITIGATE THE SPREAD OF C OVID 19, BUT ALSO ADDRESS THE ECONOMIC AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC AND OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WAS ALLOCATED $326.9 MILLION OF FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS.
WE ARE TO GET THOSE RESOURCES IN TWO SEPARATE ALLOCATIONS.
ONE, UH, WE RECEIVED IN MAY, 2021 FOR HALF OF THE RESOURCES OF $163.4 MILLION, AND WE'RE EXPECTED TO RECEIVE THE SECOND ALLOCATION IN MAY, 2022, OR $163.4 MILLION.
ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS THAT CITIES MUST OBLIGATE THE FUNDS BY DECEMBER, 2024 AND SPEND THOSE DOLLARS.
BY DECEMBER, 2026, THE US TREASURY HAS ISSUED INTERIM GUIDANCE ON HOW TO UTILIZE THIS RESOURCES FINAL GUIDANCE HAS, IS STILL PENDING.
HOWEVER, THE US TREASURY IS ENCOURAGING RECIPIENTS TO BEGIN ALLOCATING THESE DOLLARS.
THEY HAVE ADDRESSED MANY QUESTIONS THAT A LOT OF, UM, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND STATE GOVERNMENTS HAD REQUESTED, UH, MORE DIRECTION FROM THE US TREASURY.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE BEGINNING THE PROCESS, UH, WITH YOU TODAY.
NOW, UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU A SUMMARY OF THE DOLLARS THAT THE CITY HAS BEEN ALLOCATED FROM ARPA, NOT ONLY THE FISCAL RECOVERY, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON TODAY, BUT WE ALSO RECEIVE CLOSE TO $50 MILLION IN RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
THE CITY COUNCIL PREVIOUSLY ALLOWED THAT WE UTILIZE THOSE DOLLARS FOR OUR E H PROGRAM, AND RIGHT NOW, WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT THIS DOLLARS WILL ALLOW US TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE RENTAL ASSISTANCE TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO QUALIFIED UNTIL DECEMBER OF 2021.
THE OTHER, UH, GRANT THAT WE ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT, UH, WITH YOU TODAY IS THE HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM GRANT.
AND THIS PARTICULAR GRANT IS PRIMARILY FOR, UH, PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
SO, WE'LL MAKING BE MAKING SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TODAY FOR YOUR CON CONSIDERATION.
OTHER GRANTS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED INCLUDE THE AIRPORT AND THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS ALSO RECEIVED FUNDING, AS WELL AS HUMAN SERVICES THROUGH THE HEAD START PROGRAM.
SO FOCUSING ON THE LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS, THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE SUMMARIZES THE ELIGIBLE USES OF THE FUNDS.
SO ONE OF THE USES IS TO REPLACE LOST PUBLIC SECTOR REVENUE.
UH, AND THIS FUNDING IS PRI PRIMARILY TO PROVIDE GOVERNMENTS, UH, TO CONTINUE SERVICES AND TO RECOVER REVENUE TO THE EXTENT THAT WAS IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC.
SO, AS PART OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET PROCESS, WE RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL TO USE SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS TO, UH, HELP US BALANCE THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUND AND ALSO THE GENERAL FUND.
ANOTHER ELIGIBLE USE IS THE PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE, AND THIS IS TO CONTINUE EFFORTS OF OUR METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, TO CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THE PANDEMIC, AS WELL AS THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC, UH, THAT HAS HAD IN OUR COMMUNITY.
ANOTHER ELIGIBLE USE IS PREMIUM PAY FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS, AND THIS IS TO OFFER ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TO THOSE THAT HAVE BORN AND WILL BEAR THE GREATEST HEALTH RISK BECAUSE OF THE SERVICE AND CRITICAL SECTORS.
AND FINALLY, THE LAST, UH, ELIGIBLE USE IS WATER, SEWER, AND BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO, IN SUMMARY, THE LO, THE LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS WILL ALLOW US TO OVERCOME THE PANDEMIC ADDRESS, ECONOMIC FALLOUT, AND HAVE A STRONG AND EQUITABLE RECOVERY.
THIS NEXT SLIDE, WE WANT TO PROVIDE YOU SOME CONTEXT
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IN TERMS OF THE FUNDS THAT ARE COMING TO OUR COMMUNITY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF OUR PPA.SO YOU'LL SEE ON THE SCREEN, BURKE COUNTY IS RECEIVING $388 MILLION.
YOU SEE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO ALSO LISTED AT $326.9 MILLION.
OTHER CITIES WITHIN BURKE COUNTY HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED 49.2 MILLION.
THE BUR COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITHIN BURKE COUNTY, UH, 766 MILLION AGENCIES OF HIGHER EDUCATION UNIVERSITIES, 116 MILLION AND VIA HAS BEEN ALLOCATED 116.9 MILLION.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS JUST TO PROVIDE YOU WITH CONTEXT.
AND AS WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND WE HEAR YOUR INPUT, AND WE ALSO HEAR THE IMPRO INPUT OF THE COMMUNITY, IF THERE ARE PROGRAMS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY, UH, WE COULD PARTNER WITH OTHER ENTITIES, WE WANNA BRING THIS TO YOUR ATTENTION IN TERMS OF THE POTENTIAL AVAILABLE FUNDS THAT HAVE COME TO THE SAN ANTONIO AREA IN TERMS OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO STRATEGY.
AND, UH, THE CITY MANAGER ALLUDED TO THIS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION IS OUR FOCUS, UH, IS FINANCIAL STABILITY FOR OUR CITY FINANCES, UH, RECOVER REVENUE THAT WAS LOST AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC ADDRESSING IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY NEEDS, AND ALSO IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS THAT WILL, UH, IN THE LONG TERM PAY DIVIDENDS TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, PHASE ONE, UH, THAT IS WHAT WE DID DURING THE, UH, BUDGET PROCESS, AND THAT ALLOWED US TO, ALLOWED US TO STABILIZE THE BUDGET IN THE GENERAL FUND AND THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUND, AND ALSO TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEEDS.
SO JUST A SUMMARY IN TERMS OF THE DOLLARS ARE AVAILABLE AFTER THIS PHASE TWO, AS I MENTIONED, THE CITY ALLOCATION IS 326.9 MILLION.
THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THAT WE UTILIZE 97 AND A HALF MILLION AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS OVER THREE YEARS OF FISCAL YEAR 20 21, 20 22, AND 2023.
SO THE BALANCE IS 229.4 MILLION.
AND THAT IS THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT WE WANT TO DISCUSS WITH YOU TODAY.
AS WE BEGIN THIS PROCESS OF THE 229.4 CASH ON HAND, WE HAVE 65.5 MILLION, UH, THAT IS LEFT FROM THE FIRST ALLOCATION AVAILABLE FOR THIS PROCESS, AND ALSO THE EXPECTED 163.4 MILLION THAT WE WILL GET IN MAY OF 2022.
NOW, ONE OF THE, UH, ELIGIBILITY AREAS WITHIN THE US UH, TREASURY, TREASURY GUIDELINES IS FOR CITIES TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THIS FUNDS YOU COULD, UM, APPLY TO QUALIFY FOR THOSE FUNDS THROUGH REVENUE REPLACEMENT, UH, AND, AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OFFICE, OR CA A CALCULATION ON HOW TO CALCULATE THE REVENUE LOSS FOR A LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
WE, THE CITY, HAVE DONE THAT CALCULATION AND SUBMITTED IT TO THE US TREASURY IN LATE AUGUST.
AND THE TOTAL REVENUE LOSS FOR, UH, SAN, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, ALL REVENUES COMBINED FOR THE 18 MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 31ST, 2020, IS CLOSE TO $326 MILLION, WHICH IS VERY CLOSE TO THE TOTAL ARPA ALLOCATION ALLOCATED TO THE CITY.
SO WHAT WE, UM, WOULD LIKE TO DO IS UTILIZE THIS FORMULA TO BE ABLE TO, UH, RECOVER THOSE FUNDS, AND THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD REPORT TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
BUT WE ALSO RECOMMEND TO THE COUNCIL A DUAL TRACK BY WHICH WE USE THOSE DOLLARS WITH THE INTENT OF THE, UH, US TREASURY, WHICH IS ADDRESS THOSE PROGRAMS THAT ARE INCLUDED WITHIN THE GUIDELINES OF, OF THE ARPA.
AND OUR SPENDING FRAMEWORK WILL REFLECT THAT.
NOW, IN TERMS OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS, LIKE ANY OTHER GRANT, UH, THE CITY IS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE QUARTERLY REPORTS AND ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO WE SUBMITTED A ONE-TIME REPORT, UH, FOR EXPENSES THROUGH JULY 31ST, AND ALSO THE FIRST ANNUAL RECOVERY PLAN PERFORMANCE REPORT.
ALSO THROUGH THE SAME PERIOD OF TIME AT THE END OF AUGUST.
NOW, THE CITY HAD NOT SPENT ANY DOLLARS AS OF THAT POINT.
SO OUR REPORTS REPORTED THAT, BUT ALSO, UH, PROVIDED OUR TWO-PHASE STRATEGY TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SO THEY KNEW OF THE INTENT THAT WE HAD OF UTILIZING THOSE FUNDS.
THE NEXT, UH, REPORT THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO PROVIDE US A QUARTERLY REPORT, AND THAT IS DUE AT THE END OF JANUARY, 2022.
SO I'M GONNA MOVE FORWARD NOW TO DESCRIBE TO YOU WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY INPUT AND THE PROPOSED TIMELINE FOR THIS PROCESS.
AND AGAIN, THAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING, TO GET FEEDBACK FROM, FROM, FROM YOU IN THIS PARTICULAR, UH, PROCESS.
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UM, REQUIRES THAT WE OBTAIN INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WE DEVELOP THE PLAN.SO HOW TO UTILIZE THOSE DOLLARS.
SO WE ARE PROPOSING EIGHT COMMUNITY-WIDE LISTENING SESSIONS.
YOU'LL SEE THE DATES AND THE LOCATIONS AND THE TIMES ON THE SCREEN.
AND THIS PARTICULAR ME MEETINGS WILL BE HELD BOTH IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
WE ARE, UH, GOING TO BE PROVIDING AN OVERVIEW OF THE PLAN TO, TO THE COMMUNITY SO THEY UNDERSTAND THE, THE FUNDS THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING WILL ALLOW A PORTION OF THE MEETING FOR THE COMMUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS.
AND THIS MEETINGS WILL ALSO BE AT LIVE STREAM.
SO IF SOMEBODY CANNOT ATTEND THE PERSON IN MEETING, THEY CAN STILL SEND US QUESTIONS THAT WE CAN ADDRESS DURING THE MEETING.
WE WILL THEN ASK QUESTIONS TO, TO FIGURE OUT THE PRIORITIES OF, OF THE COMMUNITY AND, AND BE ABLE TO REPORT THAT BACK TO, TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
SO THAT TAKES ME TO THE TIMELINE.
AS I MENTIONED, THE PROCESS BEGINS TODAY WITH YOUR INPUT ON THIS PROPOSED, UH, TIMELINE AND PLAN, AND ALSO THE SPENDING, UH, FRAMEWORK THAT I WILL COVER LATER IN THE PRESENTATION.
WE PROPOSE THAT WE START THE COMMUNITY INPUT NEXT WEEK AND ENDING IN MID-NOVEMBER.
WE'LL COME BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL AT A B SESSION ON DECEMBER THE EIGHTH TO REVIEW THE INPUT THAT WE GOT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND AS WELL AS TO PROVIDE YOU WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE UTILIZATION OF THESE FUNDS THAT WILL REFLECT THE INPUT THAT WE GET FROM YOU, AND ALSO THE INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN WHAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING IS IN, AT THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY THAT WE'LL COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL AT AN A SESSION, A SESSION TO REQUEST CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE PLAN.
SO, AND NOW I'M GONNA TRANSITION TO OUR PROPOSED, UH, SPENDING, UH, FRAMEWORK, AND AGAIN, SEEKING YOUR INPUT TODAY AS WE, UH, BEGIN THIS PROCESS.
SO THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT WE HAVE IN THIS STRATEGY IS THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO RESPOND TO THE C OVID 19 PANDEMIC THAT WE ADDRESS IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEEDS, THAT WE FOCUS OUR RESOURCES ON IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS, THAT THESE INVESTMENTS ARE ONE TIME IN NATURE BECAUSE THE FUNDS ARE ONE TIME IN NATURE.
AND THAT WE ALSO, IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR US, UH, TO LEVERAGE PARTNERSHIPS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MAXIMIZE OUR FUNDS.
NOW, THE RECOMMENDED SPENDING, UH, FRAMEWORK THAT WE HAVE BEFORE YOU TODAY IS DIVIDED IN THREE PILLARS.
WE HAVE THE C OVID 19 RESPONSE COMMUNITY NEEDS AND IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS.
SO IN TERMS OF COV UH, C OVID 19 RESPONSE, AS YOU KNOW, THE CITY HAS, UH, RECEIVED GRANTS, UH, THROUGH OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO ADDRESS THE PANDEMIC.
SO WE'RE LEVERAGING, WE CONTINUE TO LEVERAGE THOSE DOLLARS WORKING WITH OUR METRO HEALTH DIRECTOR AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UH, THEY HAVE DEVELOPED A PESSIMISTIC SCENARIO, THE WORST CASE SCENARIO.
THERE'S A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY STILL AROUND THE PANDEMIC.
SO, UH, WE DEVELOPED THIS FINANCIAL SCENARIO FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022.
THE MIRRORS, THIS SEVERITY OF THE CASES THAT WE HAD IN FISCAL YEAR 2021.
SO TWO SPIKES, UH, THAT WE WOULD ANTICIPATE IN FISCAL YEAR 2022 WITH THE SAME, UH, LEVEL OF RESPONSE.
SO THE, THE ASSOCIATED COSTS OF PROVIDING THOSE, UM, SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY, BOTH METRO HEALTH, UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, ENSURING THAT WE HAVE PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES CITYWIDE THAT WE HAVE EXTENDED HOURS FOR A 3 1 1, UH, CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT WOULD NECESSITATE AN ADDITIONAL $40 MILLION FROM ARPA.
AND THAT IS IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER GRANTS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED IN, UH, METRO HEALTH, WE ARE RECOMMENDING FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION TO SET ASIDE A TOTAL OF $50 MILLION FOR C OVID 19 RESPONSE, 40 MILLION FOR THAT PESSIMISTIC SCENARIO, PLUS A $10 MILLION CONTINGENCY THAT WILL HELP US ADDRESS ANY, UM, UNFORESEEN SITUATIONS THAT WE ARE NOT ANTICIPATING TODAY.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE US TREASURY HAS ALLOWED US TO COMMIT THIS FUNDS THROUGH 2024.
SO DEPENDING ON THE FLUCTUATIONS OF THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC, THIS NUMBERS WILL CHANGE.
AND OF COURSE, WE'LL REPORT TO THE COUNCIL ON, ON THE ACTUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE, THE PANDEMIC VERSUS OUR PROJECTIONS.
THE OTHER PILLAR IS COMMUNITY NEEDS.
AND WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY TODAY FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE, AND I'LL SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT LATER IN THE PRESENTATION.
UM, OUR ARTS COMMUNITY WAS ALSO IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC, UH, AND OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO THOSE ARE THE, UH, IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEEDS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING WITHIN THIS FRAMEWORK.
NOW, ON THE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS, UH, YOU MAY RECALL THAT AS PART, AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE ADDED FUNDS TO OUR MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
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UM, SO THOSE ARE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS THAT, THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO, TO, UH, FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER IN THE COMMUNITY AS PART OF THIS PROCESS.HOMELESSNESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, RESILIENCY HUBS, LIKE THE ONES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AS PART OF THE BUDGET, PRO PROCESS AND INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS AND QUALIFY CENSUS TRACKS.
SO THE AMOUNTS FOR THIS COMMUNITY NEEDS AND THE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS WILL BE DEVELOPED BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK AND ALSO BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GET FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, AND THIS IS JUST TO SUMMARIZE, THOSE PROGRAMS THAT WERE FUNDED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 AND 2023 BUDGET IN THE GENERAL FUND UTILIZING ARPA FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS.
SO YOU'LL SEE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, MENTAL HEALTH, OUR CLINICAL DISPATCHERS, AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, ADDITIONAL POSITIONS IN 3 1 1 NAVIGATORS FOR HOUSING, FOR HOMELESS, AND FOR SENIORS, AND AS WELL AS, UH, AS HOMELESS INVESTMENTS.
SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DEVELOP AS PART OF OUR FINANCIAL FORECAST IS WITH ARPA, WE'RE ABLE TO DO THIS INVESTMENTS FOR TWO YEARS, 2022, AND 2023, WITH THE IDEA THAT AS REVENUE BECOMES AVAILABLE WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND, WE CAN MAKE THIS IMPROVEMENTS PERMANENT, UH, AS PART OF OUR BASE BUDGET.
WITH THAT SAID, AS WE TRANSITION FROM, UM, THOSE, UM, PROGRAMS FUNDED WITH ARPA, WE WOULD LIKE CONSIDERATION TO CONTINUE TO ALLOCATE SOME OF THE ARPA FUNDS TO CONTINUE THOSE PROGRAMS THROUGH 2024 AND 2025.
THAT WILL ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE THEM AS PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR GENERAL FUND.
SO NOW I'M GOING TO TRANSITION OUTSIDE OF THE FISCAL RECOVERY FUND INTO THE HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP GRANT.
THIS IS A $20 MILLION GRANT THAT I MENTIONED THAT WE GOT UNDER THE ARPA UMBRELLA.
SO THE ELIGIBLE USES FOR THIS $20 MILLION GRANT INCLUDE, UH, RENTAL HOUSING, UH, TENANT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE, SUPPORTIVE SERVICES, ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT OF NON CONGREGATE SHELTERS, UH, ASSISTANCE, UH, UH, TO NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, OPERATING CAPACITY AND, AND BUILDING ASSISTANCE.
SO, THE PROPOSED SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE, UH, PROPOSING TO YOU TODAY FOR YOUR, UH, RECOMMENDATION OR FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IS, UH, PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
UH, THE PURCHASE OF A HOTEL AND OPERATING COST FOR TWO YEARS, AS WELL AS RAPID REHOUSING FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
ANOTHER TOPIC THAT WE WANTED TO BRIEF THE COUNCIL IS THAT THE US TREASURY HAS INFORMED US THEY ARE, THEY'RE GONNA BEGIN A PROCESS OF REALLOCATING EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE CARES APPROPRIATIONS TO CITIES THAT ARE PERFORMING AND SPENDING THOSE DOLLARS FASTER THAN OTHER CITIES.
UH, WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHEN IT'S GOING TO CONCLUDE, BUT WE FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT BECAUSE OF OUR PERFORMANCE, WE WOULD BE, UM, UH, GETTING SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS ONCE THE, THE, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FINISHES THAT PROCESS.
SO AS SOON AS WE KNOW WHEN THE APPLICATION OP OPENS, OUR DEPARTMENT OF, UH, HOUSING SERVICES IS PREPARED TO APPLY FOR THOSE FUNDS.
NOW, ANOTHER TOPIC THAT WE WANTED TO BRIEF YOU, UH, TODAY IS UTILITY ASSISTANCE.
AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE DEFINED THIS AND AS AN IMMEDIATE NEED THAT WE, UH, WITHIN OUR SPENDING FRAMEWORK, UH, AND WE HAVE BEEN IN DISCUSSION WITH BOTH OF OUR UTILITY SOURCE AND, AND C P SS.
UM, THE, THE SPECIFICS OF THE PROGRAM IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON, BUT WHAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON IS A RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM FOR ACCOUNTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN DISCONNECTED STATUS, OR ARE BEING DISCONNECTED FOR BOTH, UM, WATER AND ELECTRIC UTILITIES, OR ONE OF THE TWO.
AND THAT THOSE ACCOUNTS, UH, THAT WE'RE TARGETING ARE THOSE AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS WITH BOTH UTILITIES AND THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY C OVID 19.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE QUALIFIED, UH, UH, QUALIFYING CRITERIA FOR TO RECEIVE ASSISTANCE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH THE UTILITIES IS THAT WE WANT TO LEVERAGE THE ARPA FUNDS IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER TOOLS THAT THE UTILITIES HAVE, SUCH AS PAYMENT PLANS TO MAXIMIZE OUR DOLLARS.
SO AS WE ARE FINALIZING THE DE FINAL, FINALIZING THE DETAILS OF THIS PROGRAM, WE WILL BRING A RECOMMENDATION TO THE UTILITIES COMMITTEE NEXT, NEXT WEEK.
AND AFTER RECEIVING THEIR FEEDBACK, THEN WE WILL BRING THIS TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER THE FOURTH TO MAINTAIN OUR COMMUNITY
[00:25:01]
IN FORM OF THE STEPS OF THIS PROCESS AND THE PROGRESS OF THE PROCESS.OUR I T S D DEPARTMENT HAS DEVELOPED A WEBPAGE THAT WILL HAVE ALL THE MATERIALS AND ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, THIS ARPA PROCESS.
UH, THE WEBSITE WILL BE BOTH IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, AND WE EXPECT THIS TO GO LIVE OCTOBER THE 25TH.
AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS, COMMUNITY MEETINGS, THE REPORTS THAT WE HAVE SUBMITTED TO THE US TREASURY, AS WELL AS FINANCIAL DASHBOARDS ONCE WE BEGIN SPENDING THIS DOLLARS.
SO WE ALSO WANNA MAKE THE COUNCIL AWARE OF PROPOSALS THAT THE CITY HAS RECEIVED FOR ARPA FUNDS.
AT THIS POINT, WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR REQUESTS.
WE, THAT'S WHY WE'RE COMING TO THE COUNCIL AND ALSO TO THE COMMUNITY FOR FEEDBACK ON PRIORITIES, SO WE CAN COME BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL IN DECEMBER.
SO, IN SUMMARY, TODAY'S PRESENTATION BEGINS THE DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED SPENDING FRAMEWORK FOR THE ARPA FISCAL RECO, UH, RECOVERY FUNDS.
WE'RE INTRODUCING A TIMELINE FOR COMMUNITY INPUT AND, AND, AND HOW WE, THIS PLAN WOULD BE APPROVED.
SO TODAY WE ARE SEEKING YOUR INPUT, UH, ON, ON THE, ON THIS PROPOSED SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT, THAT WE PRESENTED TO YOU TODAY.
WE HAVE SEVERAL DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS HERE FOR QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AS WE BEGIN THE DISCUSSION.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
UM, AND IT WILL BE TEMPTING TO GET RIGHT INTO THE WEEDS OF SOME OF THESE DOLLARS, BUT, UH, I WOULD ENCOURAGE US, UH, AS WE START THIS DISCUSSION TO STAY ELEVATED ON PROCESS AND TIMELINE FOR NOW.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT, UM, WITH REGARD TO THE PUBLIC PROCESS, UM, THE COMMUNITY INPUT MEETINGS THAT WE'RE HAVING, THAT'S BEING DONE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FEDERAL REGISTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ARPA FUNDS.
IS THAT RIGHT? THAT IS CORRECT.
SO IF YOU CAN KIND OF WALK US THROUGH JUST THAT PART, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST IF WE CAN GO, MAYBE GO BACK TO THE TIMELINE SLIDE.
WE HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, SEVERAL MEETINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL AS WELL.
CAN YOU GIVE, UH, A SENSE OF A BROAD OVERVIEW OF WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN EACH OF THOSE PHASES OF THE ARPA PROCESS, INCLUDING TODAY, WHICH IS, AGAIN, MOSTLY FOCUSED ON THE FRAMEWORK, TIMELINE, ET CETERA, BUT, UH, GIVE US A SENSE OF WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK ARE WE LOOKING FOR TO HELP GUIDE THE USE OF THE FUNDS? SURE.
SO WHAT WE'RE SEEKING FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL TODAY IS, UM, YOUR PRIORITIES IN TERMS OF THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT, THAT YOU SAW BEFORE YOU.
SO WE, AS I MENTIONED, THREE PILLARS, UH, CONTINUING OUR RESPONSE TO C OVID 19 ADDRESSING, UH, COMMUNITY, IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEEDS LIKE UTILITY ASSISTANCE, AND ALSO INVESTING OUR, OUR DOLLARS IN AN IMPACTFUL WAY, UH, TO HAVE A LONG-TERM RETURN ON INVESTMENT, UH, WITH THIS DOLLARS THAT IS, UH, ONE IN A LIFETIME TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY.
SO THAT IS THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE ASKING FROM FROM COUNCIL TODAY.
WE ALSO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW BEGINNING TODAY, AND OF COURSE THIS WILL CULMINATE AS WE, UH, GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS, IS THE, THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS TO BE ALLOCATING TO EACH OF THE BUCKETS.
WE'LL ALSO WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THAT FROM, FROM THE, FROM THE COUNCIL, WHEN WE GO TO THE COMMUNITY, WE ARE GOING TO BE PRESENTING A SIMILAR PRESENTATION TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, TO REQUEST THEIR, THEIR, UH, PRIORITIES AS WELL.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE US TREASURY GUIDELINES, IT TALKS ABOUT THE NEED OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY, HOW THEY WERE IMPACTED BY C OVID 19, TO UNDERSTAND THEIR NEEDS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE, SO WE CAN UTILIZE THOSE DOLLARS IN A, IN THE MOST IMPACTFUL WAY THAT WE CAN.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE ASKING TO OUR RESIDENTS WHEN WE, WHEN WE GO TO THEM, WHEN WE COME BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON DECEMBER THE EIGHTH.
UH, WE ARE GONNA SHARE WITH YOU WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY AND PROVIDE SOME STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR DIRECTION, UH, AND, AND INPUT BEFORE WE COME BACK ON JANUARY TO ASK YOU TO APPROVE A PLAN.
WELL, AND AS YOU MENTIONED, UM, THIS IS A HUGE OPPORTUNITY, UH, THAT'S COMING ON THE TAIL END OF A, A, A SEVERAL CRISES LAYERED ON, ON TOP OF EACH OTHER.
IF WE TAKE A STEP BACK, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF DIFFERENT FUNDING, UM, PROCESSES UNDERWAY.
WE, OF COURSE, ARE JUST STARTED OUR F Y 22 BUDGET, WHICH INCLUDES OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM.
UH, WE STARTED OUR BOND 22 PRO PROCESS, WHICH WILL, WILL, WILL, UH, OFFICIALLY BE, UM, ON THE BALLOT IN MAY OF 22.
WE HAVE OUR RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PROGRAM, WHICH CONTINUES TO, TO DRAW DOWN, BUT THAT'S
[00:30:01]
ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW.UH, WE ARE ALSO WORKING, UH, TOWARDS, UH, POTENTIAL OF AN INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE, UM, FROM THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT WE HAVE MULTIPLE REVENUE STREAMS HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME, UM, THIS IS WHERE I THINK KEEPING THE CONVERSATION ELEVATED ABOUT HOW WE WANT TO APPROACH THESE FUNDS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
FIRST, I THINK, UH, IF WE GO TO SLIDE, UM, I THINK IT'S SLIDE NINE WITH THE FOCUS AREAS IN THE PHASED APPROACH.
SO RECOVERY LOSS, OR EXCUSE ME, REVENUE LOSS AND FINANCIAL STABILITY, THAT WAS PART OF OUR F Y 22 USE OF THE ARPA DOLLARS 97 SOMETHING MILLION IN THE F Y 22 BUDGET, CORRECT.
UM, YOU HAVE ON A SUBSEQUENT SLIDE, UTILITY ASSISTANCE.
IF WE CONSIDER UTILITY ASSISTANCE AS PART OF THE CITY'S RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS FINANCIAL STABILITY AND REVENUE LOSS, BECAUSE THEY ARE AGENTS OF THE CITY, AGENCIES OF THE CITY, I WOULD CONSIDER THAT TO BE A HIGH PRIORITY.
SO I AM, I'M GONNA BE LOOKING FOR, UH, THE DOLLAR FIGURE.
SO IF YOU CAN GIVE US A SENSE, UM, OF WHERE THAT DISCUSSION IS, THE ANALYSES THAT, THAT, UH, BEN, UM, IS DOING, AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN DO WE EXPECT AN ACTUAL DOLLAR FIGURE ON THE UTILITY ASSISTANCE, UH, THAT WE CAN START PLUGGING INTO OUR ARPA PROJECTIONS? SURE.
SO, UM, THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS WE ARE GOING TO BE PROVIDING A RECOMMENDATION A DOLLAR AMOUNT TO THE UTILITIES COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK.
SO THE PROCESS THAT BEN AND HIS TEAM HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH, WITH THE UTILITIES CENTERS AROUND A RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM FOR THOSE ACCOUNTS THAT ARE IN THE DISCONNECT LIST, AND ALSO WERE IMPACTED BY C OVID 19 TO BE THE QUALIFYING, UH, CRITERIA FOR INDIVIDUALS TO, TO QUALIFY FOR ASSISTANCE.
AND THIS WILL BE, AGAIN, FOCUSED ON FOLKS WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO DISCONNECTION.
UM, NOT EVERYBODY, UH, BUT ALSO TO HELP US GET OUR RESIDENTS TO A SOFT LANDING WITH THE UTILITIES, MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET BACK TO A STABLE ENVIRONMENT IN THE LEAST IMPACTFUL WAY TO THE MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS.
IS THAT THAT'S CORRECT, MAYOR, LET ME, LET ME ALSO REITERATE SOMETHING THAT MARIA SAID DURING THE PRESENTATION.
IF IT GOES TO THE COMM, THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK, THERE'S STILL A FAIR AMOUNT OF COORDINATION THAT, UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO WITH BOTH UTILITIES.
AND THEN ONCE IT GOES TO THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE, IT WILL BE BROUGHT TO THE COUNCIL THE FIRST WEEK IN NOVEMBER, BECAUSE WE DO KNOW THAT THAT PROCESS IS ONGOING, THAT, THAT ONE PIECE WE'RE RECOMMENDING MOVE QUICKER AND NOT FALL ALONG THAT DECEMBER JANUARY TIMEFRAME.
WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT NUMBER WILL BE, UH, BUT IF WE CONSIDER THAT COVID, UH, AND, AND, AND A SET ASIDE FOR ADDITIONAL COVID RESPONSE IS A ROUGHLY $50 MILLION.
IT IS 50 PLUS X IS WHAT I'M EXPECTING, UH, TO BE THAT IMMEDIATE NEED, FINANCIAL STABILITY, REVENUE LOSS RECOVERY.
SO WHATEVER IS IN THE ARPA BUCKET AFTER THAT IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TOWARDS FOR IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS.
UM, AND SO HERE'S WHERE I'M, MY MIND IS, AND IT, AND IT'S, UH, SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ALREADY.
UM, AND I I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF WE GO TO SLIDE 13 WITH THE STRATEGY GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT YOU'VE LAID OUT, BECAUSE I THINK THESE ARE, UM, GOOD PRINCIPLES FOR US TO KEEP IN MIND.
UM, IF YOU TAKE OUT THE FIRST TWO SLICES, WHICH WE'VE JUST TALKED ABOUT, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR TO MAKE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE UTILIZING THESE FUNDS IN THE, IN A, IN A, IN A, IN A GOOD WAY, IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS, UM, AND LEVERAGING PARTNERSHIPS THAT INCLUDES THE COUNTY'S PROCESS WITH THE ARPA.
WHERE CAN WE LEVERAGE PROJECTS THAT AND, AND INVESTMENTS THAT THEY ARE MAKING WITH THE, WITH THE CITY'S INVESTMENT? AND WHERE CAN WE LEVERAGE OUR OWN DOLLARS, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PROPOSALS OR SOME OTHER PROGRAMMATIC, UH, SPENDING THAT WE'RE DOING, WHERE CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THE MOST BANG FOR OUR BUCK BIGGEST LONG-TERM IMPACT FOR THE CITY? UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE IS HARDLY ANY RELIEF BEING PROVIDED TO THE ARTS AND CULTURAL COMMUNITY, UH, THROUGH, UM, ALL THE, THE DIFFERENT RECOVERY, UH, AND, AND RESCUE PLANS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO LOCAL.
SO I'M LOOKING FOR, UH, A SIGNIFICANT IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT IN THE ARTS AND CULTURAL COMMUNITY BECAUSE NUMBER ONE, UM, THEY'VE BEEN WITHOUT, BUT ALSO, UH, IT IS, UH, PART OF WHERE WE DERIVE OUR ECONOMIC IDENTITY AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.
SO, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS IN THE ARTS COMMUNITY.
[00:35:01]
UM, YOU MENTIONED SMALL BUSINESS THERE.I WOULD EXPECT THAT WE'RE GONNA GET, UH, SOME IDEAS ON SMALL BUSINESS.
I WOULD BE OPEN TO THAT AS WELL AS THE, UH, MENTAL HEALTH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UM, BUCKET, UH, WHERE WE KNOW WE HAVE INCREDIBLE NEED.
THE LAST THING I'LL, I'LL MENTION, AND THIS IS WHERE I THINK WE HAVE GREAT OPPORTUNITY WITH A SIZABLE PORTION OF DOLLARS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WHERE CAN WE FIND, UH, WAYS THAT WE CAN USE, OR HOW CAN WE UTILIZE THE REMAINING ARPA INVESTMENTS TO CREATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR CITY, UM, INDUSTRIES THAT ARE RELATED TO OUR KEY STRENGTHS, OUR CORE STRENGTHS, UM, PLACES THAT WE CAN AGAIN, SEE THESE DOLLARS LEVERAGED TO CREATE JOBS, UH, TO CREATE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF CREATIVE PROPOSALS THAT I'VE ALREADY SEEN, UH, MANY OF WHICH I, I THINK HAVE, UH, GREAT MERIT.
SO LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING IN THE DISCUSSION OF THOSE.
BUT I, BUT I THINK FIRST WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE OUR, WHAT'S OUR VALUE SET THAT WE'RE, UM, INTENDING TO UTILIZE WITH THE REMAINING ARPA DOLLARS THAT GO BEYOND THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
LAST THING I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT MARIA, UM, IS THE HOME FUNDS, UM, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AS, UM, ONE WAY WE CAN UTILIZE THE HOME FUNDS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO, UH, INVESTMENTS, UM, THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE, THE HOME ALLOCATION THAT GOES BEYOND THE $329 MILLION.
UM, ARE, HAVE WE ALREADY NARROWED DOWN THE SPENDING ON THAT? WE HAVE NOT.
SO TODAY, UM, THE PURPOSE OF TODAY IS TO TELL YOU WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO HEAR YOUR, YOUR INPUT.
THIS IS ANOTHER, UH, PORTION OF THE ARPA FUNDS THAT DON'T NEED TO GO THROUGH THE SAME TIMELINE AS A FISCAL RECOVERY.
SO SHOULD THE COUNCIL, UM, CHOSE TO APPROVE THAT PRIOR TO JANUARY, WE COULD DO THAT.
THIS, THIS, AGAIN, IS A DIFFERENT PORTION OF THAT ARPA UMBRELLA OF DIFFERENT FUNDS.
AND, AND MAYOR, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT, UH, AT THE BE AT THE FIRST OR SECOND WEEK IN NOVEMBER, WE'RE BRINGING THE STRATEGIC HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AS WELL AS A, AN UPDATE ON THE HOMELESS PLAN, STRATEGIC PLAN AND, AND, UH, WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BECAUSE THE HOME DOLLARS ARE SEPARATE FROM THE FISCAL RECOVERY, BUT, BUT BLEND THAT INTO THE UPDATE TO THE COUNCIL AFTER FEEDBACK TODAY.
UM, AND, AND THAT WAY WE'RE DEALING WITH ALL THOSE ISSUES AT ONCE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE BETWEEN THE STRATEGIC HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND THE HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN, THAT UPDATE AND HOW WE USE THAT MONEY, THIS $20 MILLION IS CRITICAL.
AND, AND IT SHOULD ALL BE ALIGNED TO THE SHIP AS FAR AS I'M, I'M CONCERNED.
UM, I GUESS BOTTOM LINE FOR ME, AGAIN, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH A ROBUST PROCESS, BUT THAT WE IDENTIFY TRANSFORMATIVE INVESTMENTS.
THIS IS NOT FUNDING THAT WE CAN, UM, SPREAD TOO WIDELY IF WE'RE GOING TO BE TRANSFORMATIVE WITH IT.
WE HAVE TO LOOK FOR LEVERAGING OPPORTUNITIES, IMPACTFUL, UM, AREAS THAT WE CAN, UH, INVEST IN.
BUT AGAIN, THINGS THAT MOVE THE NEEDLE.
AND, AND THAT IS ALSO WHY I THINK WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THE INVESTMENT OF DOLLARS IN AREAS WHERE IT MIGHT BE COVERED BY ANOTHER REVENUE STREAM, UH, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE PROPOSAL THAT, THAT IS, IS HOPEFULLY GOING TO BE, UM, DONE BY THE END OF THE MONTH.
SO, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FEEDBACK AND, AND AGAIN, UH, GETTING THIS PROCESS UNDERWAY, WHICH IS GONNA BE FAR DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'VE EVER DONE BEFORE.
I HAVE TO SAY, YOU COVERED A LOT OF THE SAME THINGS THAT I, I, UH, SHARE YOUR INTEREST IN.
I WAS WONDERING IF YOU LOOKED AT MY NOTES AHEAD OF TIME, BUT THEN YOU STARTED GETTING INTO SOME THINGS THAT WEREN'T IN MY NOTES.
BUT, UH, LET ME GO AHEAD AND, AND KIND OF REPEAT A FEW THINGS.
FIRST OF ALL, I THINK WE ARE ON TRACK WHEN WE SAY WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS GO OUT TO THE PUBLIC AND GET AS MUCH INPUT FROM THEM AS WE CAN.
YOU KNOW, SO MUCH OF WHAT WE'VE HAD TO DO WITH, UH, FUNDING RELATED TO, UH, THE PANDEMIC, UH, AND EARLIER FUNDING THAT THE CITY'S RECEIVED, WE, WE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE TIME, SO TO SPEAK, TO GO OUT INTO THE PUBLIC ON A LOT OF THOSE OCCASIONS AND ASK THEM HOW WE SHOULD SPEND THIS OR WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES.
BUT I THINK ON THIS FUNDING, UH, WE NEED TO DO THAT.
UH, BUT I THINK AT THIS TIME, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING AT THIS AREA OF CONCERN OR THAT AREA OF CONCERN, AND WE WANT TO HEAR WHAT THE PUBLIC THINKS ABOUT THAT.
UH, I, I'M WONDERING ABOUT THE $50 MILLION THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT IN HEALTHCARE.
UH, I HEARD YOU SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A $40 MILLION, WHAT YOU FEEL IS, IS A DEFINITE NUMBER THAT WE, WE NEED TO SET ASIDE, BUT THEN WE'VE SAID, WELL, MAYBE WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER 10 MILLION SET ASIDE FOR THAT.
BUT I'M WONDERING, IS THE ANTICIPATION THAT WE
[00:40:01]
WILL NEVER GET ANY OTHER FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT FROM THESE, LIKE WE DID EITHER STATE OR FEDERAL OR FEMA? ARE WE SAYING THAT'S PROBABLY GONE AND THIS SHOULD TAKE THE PLACE OF ALL OF THAT GOING FORWARD? UH, GOOD QUESTION, COUNCILMAN.SO, UM, WHAT I DESCRIBE IS A SCENARIO THAT WE PREPARE FOR TODAY IS PESSIMISTIC SCENARIO.
SO THIS PARTICULAR WORST CASE SCENARIO IN TOTAL IS ABOUT CLOSE TO $74 MILLION.
THAT INCLUDES DOLLARS FROM OUR ARPA HEALTH DISPARITIES, ALSO FROM OUR IMMUNIZATION GRANTS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, A PORTION OF OUR HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
AND THEN THE ARPA WILL MAKE $40 MILLION TO, TO ACHIEVE THAT PLAN.
NOW, THIS IS A SCENARIO THAT, UM, UH, WE HOPE THAT IS NOT GONNA HAPPEN.
AND, UH, AS WE CONTINUE THIS PROCESS, AND WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU IN DECEMBER, UH, WE WILL GIVE YOU AN UPDATE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE ANTICIPATING WORKING WITH OUR, UH, METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
THE ASSUMPTIONS FOR THIS MODEL IS TWO SPIKES OF C OVID 19.
ONE THAT WOULD BEGIN ON DECEMBER 1ST, 2021, THAT WILL END ON FEBRUARY 28 AND ANOTHER ONE IN JULY THAT WILL END IN SEPTEMBER OF 2022.
SO THOSE ARE THE VARIABLES OF OUR ASSUMPTIONS.
UH, WE HOPE THAT WE ARE NOT GONNA NEED THOSE DOLLARS.
SO WE ARE JUST PLANNING FOR THE WORST CASE SCENARIO.
UM, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL FEDERAL RESOURCES.
WE ARE NOT AWARE OF THOSE RESOURCES AT THIS POINT.
UH, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE FREQUENT CONVERSATIONS WITH THIS BODY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE.
SO THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO, TO THAT DEPENDING ON ACTUAL RESULTS.
TWO, YEAH, TWO THINGS, COUNCILMAN JUST SURE.
ONE, ONE WE ALSO, THE OTHER FACTOR IS, IS THAT WE KNOW THAT THE A HUNDRED PERCENT FEMA REIMBURSEMENT WILL END AT THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
SO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COULD EXTEND THAT LATER ON, RIGHT? IT WAS SUPPOSED TO END AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, AND THEY EXTENDED IT TO THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND THEN SECONDLY, TO MARIA'S POINT, AND, AND CLAUDE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND AND US HAVE TALKED, YOU KNOW, BY THE TIME WE COME BACK IN DECEMBER TO GIVE YOU THE UPDATE AFTER THE COMMUNITY HEAR, UH, HEARINGS, WE'LL ALSO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S HAPPENING DURING THE HOLIDAYS, WHICH AS YOU RECALL, LAST YEAR WAS KIND OF A SPIKE POINT.
SO WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME, I THINK, WE'LL, WE'LL BE BETTER AT THE, AT THE ESTIMATION.
SO REALLY WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS THIS IS OUR WORST CASE SCENARIO.
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA PLAN FOR.
BUT IF WE FIND THAT FEDERAL FUNDS CONTINUE TO FLOW TO HELP, UH, ACCOMMODATE SOME OF THOSE EXPENSES, OR IF WE DON'T GO THROUGH TWO WAVES OVER THE NEXT YEAR, THAT WE COULD THEN REALLOCATE THAT MONEY BECAUSE IT'S PART OF, UH, MONEY THAT NEEDS TO BE SPENT BY 2026.
SO WE COULD REALLOCATE IT A YEAR AND A HALF FROM NOW TO OTHER PURPOSES.
COUNCILMAN, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, BUT THIS BODY COULD HAVE A CONVERSATION IF THAT WAS TO HAPPEN.
WHAT IS THE PRIORITY TO REALLOCATE IT TO YEAH.
WHEN THAT HAPPENS? AND I THINK IT WOULD HAVE TO BE AT THAT TIME WHEN WE UNDERSTOOD THAT.
UM, NOW I'M GLAD TO HEAR ABOUT THE, THE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE UTILITIES, AND I'M GLAD TO HEAR IT'S GOING TO COME, UH, TO THE, UH, THE COUNCIL'S, UH, MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE FOR DISCUSSION.
UH, AND, AND I'VE HEARD DIFFERENT NUMBERS.
SO YOU EXPECT THAT WHEN IT'S PRESENTED, WE'LL HAVE A, A REAL GOOD BASELINE NUMBER OF WHAT WE WOULD SAY WOULD, UH, HELP FILL THAT GAP.
WE WILL HAVE A RE YES, WE'LL HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR YOU IN TERMS OF, OF OUR RECOMMENDATION.
UH, YOU KNOW, I REALLY, UH, AGREE WITH WHAT I'VE HEARD THE MAYOR SAY ABOUT US BEING MORE INVOLVED IN SUPPORTING THE ARTS.
UH, BUT WE'VE GOT BOTH PERFORMING ARTS AND FINE ARTS, AND I THINK WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT BOTH OF THOSE.
FOR RIGHT NOW, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT LIKE THE SYMPHONY, THEY'RE ON STRIKE.
THEY DON'T WANT TO PERFORM BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO GET A CUT AND PAY.
UH, AND THEN I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS WHO'VE BEEN OUT OF WORK QUITE A BIT, UH, BUT I KNOW WE'VE MADE A PRETTY STRONG COMMITMENT IN OUR BUDGET TO HELP.
AND I'M CERTAINLY WILLING TO LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OF THAT.
UH, I'LL BE INTERESTED TO HEAR WHAT THE PUBLIC HAS TO SAY ABOUT HOW MUCH FUNDING THEY THINK SHOULD GO INTO BOTH PERFORMING AND FINE ARTS.
ONE THING I DIDN'T HEAR YOU MENTION, ALTHOUGH I KNOW IT WAS IN THE PRESENTATION, WAS PREMIUM PAY.
AND I'VE HEARD, AND I THINK, UH, MY FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE HEARD QUITE A BIT, UH, ABOUT SOME OF OUR EMPLOYEES WHO FEEL LIKE THEY WERE PUT IN HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS, WORKING CONDITIONS BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, AND FEEL LIKE THEY SHOULD BE RECOVERING WHAT HAS BEEN LISTED IN THE ARPA FUNDING AS, YOU KNOW, PREMIUM PAY FOR PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN IN THOSE KINDS OF SITUATIONS.
AND I KNOW THAT'D BE A DETERMINATION I THINK THAT THE CITY STAFF WOULD HAVE TO MAKE ABOUT, WELL, WHO DID WE PUT IN A SITUATION THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED A LITTLE MORE HAZARDOUS THAN THEIR NORMAL JOB? BUT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE NEED TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT
[00:45:01]
MORE ABOUT.AND I THINK IT WOULD HELP TO KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, AND I KNOW THIS IS DIFFICULT TO LOOK AT, BUT WE'VE HAD QUITE A FEW OF OUR EMPLOYEES WHO'VE BEEN SICK, WHO'VE MISSED WORK, WHO'VE HAD MEDICAL EXPENSES AND WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY.
AND I'M WONDERING IF WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW MANY OF THOSE EMPLOYEES WERE MOVED INTO POSITIONS THAT THEY MIGHT NOR MIGHT NOT NORMALLY HAVE BEEN IN, WHICH WE MIGHT HAVE CLASSIFIED AS SOMEWHAT OF A HAZARDOUS POSITION.
AND, AND I THINK IF WE FIND THAT THERE'S A RELATIVELY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF THAT, IT, IT MIGHT BE THE JUSTIFICATION THAT, UH, WE NEED TO CONSIDER IN THAT AREA OF PAY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT UP FOR CONSIDERATION.
UH, I BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO DO MORE ABOUT SMALL BUSINESSES.
I THINK RESTAURANTS, SMALL RETAIL OUTLETS, SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, A LOT OF THEM HAVE SUFFERED.
AND I THINK WE SHOULD, UH, ASK THE PUBLIC, UH, IF THEY, WELL, I THINK WE SHOULD SET UP A COMMISSION TO HEAR ABOUT WHAT THOSE NEEDS ARE.
I THINK WE SHOULD BE INVITING REPRESENTATIVES FROM ALL OF THOSE AREAS BECAUSE IT'S ONE THING FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO SAY, YEAH, THE STORE I GO INTO WAS CLOSED OR THE SERVICE WASN'T AS GOOD.
AND YEAH, WE NEED TO HELP THOSE.
BUT I THINK WE NEED TO KNOW SPECIFICALLY FROM THOSE BUSINESSES WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE AND HOW WE CAN FULFILL THOSE NEEDS THROUGH THIS FUNDING.
AND I THINK WE SHOULD SET UP A COMMISSION OF SMALL BUSINESSES, RETAIL OUTLETS, RESTAURANTS, SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, TO HEAR FROM THEM ABOUT WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE AND HOW ARPA COULD MEET THAT.
ANOTHER CONCERN I HAVE, IT'S RELATED TO FUNDING, UH, THAT WE TALKED ABOUT FOR HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.
ALSO, IT'S RELATED TO THE SHIP PLAN, IT'S RELATED TO HOUSING FUNDING IN GENERAL, AND THAT IS HOMELESS AND FUNDING FOR THE HOMELESS.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT AS IT'S BEEN EXPLAINED TO ME BEFORE, COLLECTIVELY WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL THE NONPROFITS, THE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND EVERYTHING THAT CONTRIBUTE TO WORKING WITH HOMELESS, THERE'S ABOUT A $70 MILLION PER YEAR INVESTMENT IN HOMELESSNESS IN OUR CITY.
AND NOW I HEAR THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE USING MORE ARPA MONEY FOR THAT.
WELL, I UNDERSTAND THE NEED, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WHEN WE DON'T HAVE A GREATER JOINT COLLABORATIVE EFFORT TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS.
NOT AS MUCH INDIVIDUALLY WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT NONPROFITS OR HAVEN FOR HOPE OR MONEY FOR A HOTEL.
BUT I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE A COLLABORATIVE PLAN THAT'S GOING TO TAKE THAT 70 MILLION AND MAYBE 20 MILLION MORE.
'CAUSE WE'VE GOTTA RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
WE JUST CAN'T KEEP SPENDING $70 MILLION AND, AND AN EXTRA 10 OR 20 A YEAR AND NOT SEEING ANY LEVEL OF IMPROVEMENT, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT.
SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT USING ANY ARPA MONEY FOR HOMELESSNESS, UH, I'D SURE LIKE TO SEE A MORE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT.
UH, I THOUGHT I SAW IN THERE WHERE PARKS COULD BE ONE OF THE ONE-TIME IMPROVEMENT RECIPIENTS, AND I'D LIKE TO SEE DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE TRAIL SYSTEM AND UTILIZING SOME OF OUR BOND MONEY FOR THE TRAIL SYSTEM.
WELL, IF WE COULD USE SOME OF THIS ARPA MONEY TO, TO CONTINUE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GROWTH OF THE, THE CREEKWAY TRAIL SYSTEM, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD LOOK AT AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, I I THINK THAT COVERS MOST OF THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO MENTION RIGHT NOW.
AND, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE PUBLIC INPUT ON ALL OF THESE.
UM, MARIA AND TEAM FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I JUST WANNA PIGGY OFF OF, PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT COUNCILMAN COURAGE JUST SAID.
I WOULD RECOMMEND, HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT WE USE THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT WE JUST SET UP A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, WHICH WE STILL HAVE, UM, A FEW OF OUR COLLEAGUES NEED TO APPOINT SOMEONE SO THEY HAVEN'T MET, BUT THAT WOULD BE A GREAT START FOR THEM TO START ENGAGING IN THAT BECAUSE THEY KNOW FIRSTHAND THE EXPERIENCES.
SO, SO THAT WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, I LOVE THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THE SHIP THAT'S GONNA BE, UH, DISTRIBUTED FOR OUR REVIEW AND ALSO THE HOMELESSNESS LINE, BECAUSE I AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUE COUNCILMAN COURAGE IN THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY HAVE THAT, UM, BEFORE WE MAKE ANY DECISIONS ON HOW WE CAN, UM, BEST USE ARPA FUNDING.
UM, MY FIRST QUESTION IS, DOES THE, THE CHART THAT YOU SHOWED MARIA WITH THE DIFFERENT DISTRIBUTIONS, IS THAT ALSO INCLUDES THE STATE FUNDING? DOES THAT ARPA FUNDS BY THE STATE OR DISTRIBUTION OF ARPA FUNDING? RIGHT.
IT, IT DOES NOT INCLUDE THAT COUNCIL.
I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND, AND I'M GONNA LOOK AT JEFF COYLE HERE, BUT, UM, I THINK THEY HAVE BEGAN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THEIR FUNDS OR THEIR ALLOCATION, I SHOULD SAY.
AND WHILE HE COMES UP HERE, I NOTICED,
[00:50:01]
UM, THAT FOR INSTANCE, SB 52 ON BONDS, TEXAS A AND M, SAN ANTONIO WAS LEFT OUT.AND SO I JUST WANNA, AND THEY'RE BACK IN, BUT ORIGINALLY THEY WERE LEFT OUT.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IN THE STATE DISTRIBUTION, THAT THERE'S, IF THERE'S SOMETHING, UH, SPECIFIC FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS THAT EVERY UNIVERSITY'S INCLUDED.
UM, SO TO YOUR FIRST QUESTION, THE LEGISLATURE APPROPRIATED 13 OF THE 16 BILLION IN ARPA FUNDS THAT IT HAS WHEN IT, UH, WRAPPED UP THE SPECIAL SESSION ON TUESDAY.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE SMALL BUSINESS FRONT, THERE'S $180 MILLION FOR TOURISM HOSPITALITY GRANTS.
UH, THEY'RE CAPPED AT $20,000.
UH, SO THEY APPEAR TO BE FOCUSED TOWARDS SMALL BUSINESSES, RESTAURANTS, THAT SORT OF THING.
THERE IS FUNDING FOR, UH, HIGHER EDUCATION SPECIFICALLY, THEY AUTHORIZED ABOUT $3 BILLION IN TUITION REVENUE BONDS, WHICH ARE WHAT UNIVERSITIES USE TO BUILD FACILITIES.
AND YOU'RE CORRECT THAT A AND M SAN ANTONIO, U T S A AND THE U T HEALTH, HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER, WERE NOT ORIGINALLY IN IT.
SO THEY'VE EACH GOT ONE MAJOR CAPITAL PROJECT IN THAT.
AND THEN THERE'S A BIGGER BREAKDOWN OF THE STATE MONEY THAT WE, UH, SENT TO COUNCIL YESTERDAY BY EMAIL.
I THINK I, I MIGHT HAVE MISSED THAT THEN.
UM, MARIA, ON SLIDE 14, OR I GUESS IT WAS OUR SLIDE 14 THAT WAS SENT TO US IN THE DRAFT.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE UPDATED NUMBER IS, BUT THERE WAS $50 MILLION ALLOCATED TO C OVID 19 RESPONSE OF THE 229.4.
UM, SO THAT IF WE, UH, SUBTRACT THE 50 MILLION, THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 179 MILLION NOW, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, MA'AM.
IF I'M UNDERSTANDING THAT'S CORRECT.
SO LET'S SAY THAT WE FUNDED ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT WERE PROPOSED, WHICH WERE ABOUT 80 MILLION, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT ABOUT $99 MILLION TO FIGURE OUT.
THAT'S THE DIRECTION THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S IF ALL OF THOSE WERE APPROVED, FOR INSTANCE.
THAT'S THE, THE BALANCE OF IT.
AND I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE 80 MILLION.
THERE'S 80 MILLION IN UNSOLICITED REQUESTS RIGHT NOW.
SO IF WE TAKE THOSE INTO ACCOUNT OR, OR USE THOSE AS A BASELINE? WELL, WE, WE ARE, WE HAVE EMBEDDED ALL THOSE REQUESTS, COUNCILMAN.
WE'RE NOT PREPARED TO MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TODAY.
UM, ON THE SMALL BUSINESS AREA, I DO BELIEVE THAT COMMUNITY NEEDS, UH, SHOULD INCLUDE, UH, SMALL BUSINESSES IN IN PARTICULAR.
SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR DOING THAT.
WOULD THAT BE DONE THROUGH SOMETHING LIKE LYFT, LIKE THE FIRST GO AROUND, FOR INSTANCE, OF LOANS THAT WORDED? RIGHT.
AND THAT'S THE WORK THAT WE WOULD DO.
AFTER WE GET YOUR FEEDBACK AND THE COMMUNITY, WE WILL COME BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO, HOW TO EXECUTE THOSE, THOSE PROGRAMS. WERE YOU GONNA SAY SOMETHING, ERIC? I WAS JUST GONNA, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THAT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO I, I, I LIKE THE FACT THAT IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT WOULD CONSIDER RESILIENCY HUBS, UM, BECAUSE I'VE, I'VE BEEN A LITTLE BIT WORRIED ABOUT THE RESILIENCY HUB FUNDING, SO I DO THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE IMPACTFUL.
I WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT WHO'S DOING THE VETTING FOR THE FEASIBILITY OF SOME OF THESE PROPOSED PROJECTS AND WHO'S CHECKING THE MATH AND WHO'S MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO AT WHAT PERCENTAGE TO FUND SOMETHING.
SO, UM, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT, THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT.
AND, AND I AM SURE THAT SOMEONE WILL BE ASSIGNED TO DO THAT.
IN, IN PARTICULAR, THE ORGANIZATION'S REQUESTING THE FUNDING.
AND THEN, UM, TO THAT POINT, OUR ARPA FUNDS OR THE FOLKS THAT RESPOND OR THAT, THAT ASKED, UH, FOR FUNDING THROUGH THE BOND, IF WE DIDN'T RECOMMEND THEM FOR BOND, ARE THEY ALSO BEING CONSIDERED FOR ARPA FUNDING? AND DO YOU HAVE A TOTAL NUMBER OR A TOTAL AMOUNT FOR THOSE PROJECTS? RIGHT.
SO WE HAVEN'T CONSIDERED ANY OF THOSE AGENCIES FOR THIS FUNDING, BUT IF THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT IS A COUNCIL DIRECTION, WE COULD START THAT PROCESS.
WE WOULD HAVE TO VET 'EM THROUGH THE GUIDELINES OF THE, OF THE ARPA.
I THINK WE, WE HAVE TO VET EVERYTHING.
BUT I THINK THAT IF THEY'VE SUBMITTED A FORMAL REQUEST AND THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO BE FUNDED IN THE BOND PROPOSAL, IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO MEET THE CRITERIA FOR ARPA FUNDING, I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE UNFAIR NOT TO INCLUDE THOSE PROJECTS IF WE'RE INCLUDING THESE UNSOLICITED PROJECTS.
SO I, I'D LIKE TO SEE AN AMOUNT AND SO UNDERSTOOD.
AND THEN THE OTHER, UM, PREMIUM PAY, I AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
SO THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, WE HAVE BEEN ASKED ABOUT, AND I THINK THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER THAT.
ONE THING THAT I SAW WAS LACKING IN HERE WAS BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE IN PARTICULAR.
AND I KNOW THAT IN THE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTHEAST PARTS OF TOWN IN PARTICULAR, WE LACK A LOT OF BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY PERSONAL, UM, ASK TO SEE HOW WE COULD INCORPORATE THAT INTO SOME OF THE AREAS.
I LIKE THE FACT THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE, UM, HOUSING.
AND I ALSO LIKE THE UTILITY ASSISTANCE, AND I KNOW THAT YOU ALL KEEP TABS ON WHO'S SAYING WHAT.
UM, WHAT ARE THE CITYWIDE INPUT MEETINGS? SO I'M GOING TO PAGE 20 OR SLIDE 20.
UM, THERE IS, AT THE VERY TOP OF THAT SLIDE, IT SAYS COMMUNITY INPUT FIVE CITYWIDE COMMUNITY INPUT MEETINGS, BUT THEN THERE'S EIGHT COMMUNITY WIDE LISTENING SESSIONS, WHICH ARE THE
[00:55:01]
FIVE CITYWIDE AND ARE THE OTHER EIGHT, THEN THE ONES IN OUR COMMUNITY.SO SLIDE 14, SLIDE 20, AND, AND I APOLOGIZE, COUNSEL.
THE DRAFT THAT WE SENT YOU ON MONDAY, WE MADE SOME UPDATES TO THAT PRESENTATION AND WE CHANGED THE ORDER, SO I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.
SO WE MADE THAT CORRECTION AS EIGHT GOT IT.
SO IT'S, SO IT'S THE SAME THING.
MY NEXT QUESTION ON THAT, THERE'S ONLY ONE SATURDAY SESSION, AND THEN THE OTHERS ARE ON WEDNESDAYS AND TUESDAYS, WHAT TIME ON WEDNESDAYS AND TUESDAYS ARE THOSE? YES.
SO ALL OF THEM ARE AT 7:00 PM OKAY.
THE ONES ARE IN THE WEEK, AND THAT ONE ON SATURDAY IS AT 10 30.
SO, UM, I, I, I THINK THAT MAYBE WE SHOULD ADD AT LEAST ONE OTHER SATURDAY SESSION.
BECAUSE IF THEY'RE COMMUNITY-WIDE, SOME FOLKS MIGHT BE WORKING TUESDAY.
I KNOW SOME FOLKS GO TO, UM, CHURCH SERVICES ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
SO, UM, SO JUST, JUST SOMETHING TO CONSIDER IN ADDITION.
UM, AND ACTUALLY I THINK THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
UH, MARIA, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, ALL THE WORK YOU'VE, YOU'VE DONE ON THIS.
I'M GONNA START WITH A VERY BASIC QUESTION TO, TO MAKE SURE I, UM, I UNDERSTAND.
COULD YOU EXPLAIN TO ME HOW, UM, SLIDES FIVE AND 14 RELATE? SO FIVE TELLS US THE FUNDING CATEGORIES THAT WE GET, SUCH AS, UH, I THINK THE BIGGEST ONE IS, UH, FISCAL RECOVERY, RIGHT? AND THEN YOU'VE GOT HOME FUNDING, ET CETERA.
AND THEN SLIDE 14 TELLS US NOT THAT ONE, UH, POTENTIAL SPENDING FRAMEWORK FOR INPUT AND DISCUSSION.
AND THERE ARE THREE, UM, THREE CATEGORIES.
THERE'S COVID RESPONSE AT 50 MILLION COMMUNITY NEEDS AND IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS.
I THINK IT'S LABELED 14 ON MINE AND IT LOOKS LIKE, YES, THERE IT IS.
SO THE FISCAL RECOVERY TOTAL IS 3 26 0.9 MILLION.
SO AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE ALLOCATED 97 AND A HALF OF THAT ALREADY.
SO THE BALANCE IS THE 2 29 0.4 THAT YOU SEE ON SLIDE 17 ON THE SCREEN.
SO ALL OF THESE, THESE THREE, THIS FRAMEWORK THAT YOU'RE PROPOSING WOULD FALL UNDER THE FISCAL RECOVERY? YES, MA'AM.
SO AN IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT OR A COMMUNITY NEED WOULD BE CONSIDERED FISCAL RECOVERY? YES, MA'AM.
I KNOW YOU GUYS SPENT A LOT OF TIME TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE GUIDELINES MEANT, SO THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE COME TO.
THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT.
UM, MY NEXT QUESTION, UM, ACTUALLY IT'S MORE OF A COMMENT.
UM, MAYOR, YOU, YOU OPENED UP BY REMINDING US THAT THIS IS ONE OF SEVERAL POTS OF FUNDING THAT WE'RE LUCKY TO HAVE AT THIS POINT IN TIME TO HELP US RECOVER FROM THE PANDEMIC.
AND SO THIS ISN'T COMING TO US IN ISOLATION AND THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP A BIG PICTURE VIEW OF WHAT WE DO WITH ALL THOSE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION.
UM, MARIA, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR, FOR SOMEONE ON YOUR TEAM TO LAY OUT FOR US, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE FROM THOSE DIFFERENT BUCKETS AND HOW DO THEY ALIGN? SO FOR INSTANCE, WE DID HAVE SOME SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT THE FIRST TIME AROUND, UM, SO THAT'S GOOD.
BUT IT CLEARLY THE NEED FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT WAS A WHOLE LOT BIGGER THAN WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO WITH THAT.
SO MAYBE THAT TRIGGERS A BIGGER NEED FOR SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT THIS TIME.
UM, AROUND, UM, I WOULD SAY WE LOOK AT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THE SAME WAY AS WELL AS AS BROADBAND.
IF, IF YOU COULD HELP ME JUST UNDERSTAND IT THAT WAY.
YEAH, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
UM, THE, UH, THE NEXT QUESTION IS, UM, CERTAINLY SUPPORTIVE OF, IS THAT SOMEONE'S PHONE VIBRATING? OKAY.
UM, I HAVE TO SAY, FOR A LONG TIME I USED TO NOT LET MY PHONE VIBRATE BECAUSE THINGS LIKE THAT REALLY BOTHERED ME,
AND THEN WITH THIS WHOLE THING ABOUT MY DAD GETTING SICK, LIKE I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CALLS.
UM, WHERE WAS I? UH, I CERTAINLY S SUPPORT MAKING AN INVESTMENT IN THE, IN THE PERFORMING ARTS.
I, I DON'T THINK THE, THE OTHER TYPES OF ARTS, LIKE WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE BOND, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO.
I THINK WE'RE MAKING OUR INVESTMENT THAT WAY.
SO CERTAINLY THE PERFORMING ARTS ARE A PRIORITY SUCH AS THE SYMPHONY, UH, BUT ALSO OTHER TYPES OF PERFORMERS, UM, THAT ARE NOT IN THE SYMPHONY.
[01:00:01]
THINKING OF LIKE MY MARIACHI FRIENDS, THEY LOST OUT A LOT OF INCOME, UH, DURING THE WHOLE PANDEMIC, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, RETAIL AND, AND SMALL BUSINESS LIKE COUNCILMAN COURAGE MENTIONED.AND I, I DO SUPPORT THE CONCEPT OF USING OUR NEW BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR, FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, THE, UH, AS WELL AS I, I'D LIKE TO SEE AN ANALYSIS ON THE HAZARD PAY.
I, THIS HAS CLEARLY BEEN A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE TO OUR, TO OUR, OUR EMPLOYEES UNION.
AND I, I WAS GLAD TO SEE THE, THE 4% INCREASE ACROSS THE BOARD WHEN WE ADOPTED THE BUDGET.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS MEANT TO SORT OF NOT ADDRESS THE, THE HAZARD PAY.
NONETHELESS, I BELIEVE IT DESERVES A DISCUSSION AT, AMONG THE COUNCIL.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A, A REVIEW ON BEHALF OF STAFF.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE, OH, ALSO SUPPORT THE UTILITY, UH, INVESTMENT.
UH, I SAW THAT SAHA HAD MADE A REQUEST, UM, AND FOR, FOR BACK PAY.
AND ERIC, I SAW THAT YOU RESPONDED THAT THAT INDIVIDUALS COULD APPLY THROUGH, THROUGH THE EAP PROGRAM.
I, I'M JUST WONDERING IF IT MIGHT NOT BE MORE EFFICIENT FOR THEIR TIME AND OUR TIME IF WE FIND A WAY TO, TO HAVE A, A PARTNERSHIP WITH SAHA ON THE EAP FUNDS.
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE HELD, UH, EVENTS TO HELP PEOPLE APPLY FOR EAP, LET ME TELL YOU, IT IS EXTREMELY TIME CONSUMING
AND IT'S, IT'S NOT AN EASY THING FOR THEM TO GO THROUGH EITHER.
AND IT DOES TAKE A LOT OF TIME ON BEHALF OF OUR STAFF.
AND I JUST SEEING AS WE'RE TWO OR BIG ORGANIZATIONS, I'M, I'M NOT SURE THAT'S THE BEST USE OF OUR, OF OUR STAFF TIME TO DO A ONE BY ONE AND OF, AND OF THE TIME OF THEIR RESIDENTS EITHER.
SO I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME SORT OF AGREEMENT THAT, THAT WE COULD COME TO.
ONE OF THE THINGS, COUNCILWOMAN, JUST ON THAT TOPIC, UM, UNDER THE STATE FUNDING, UM, THE LANDLORD, OR IN THIS CASE, SAHA, CAN APPLY ON BEHALF OF THE INDIVIDUALS, WHICH IS REALLY THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS, OKAY.
TO AVOID THAT TYPE OF SITUATION THAT YOU HAD AT THE ST.
AND WE, THAT WE HAVE THROUGH THE EAP, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED TO SAHA ABOUT DOING.
UM, BUT, BUT NO DOUBT THAT THERE, THERE NEEDS TO BE A, A PARTNERSHIP AND, AND FRANKLY, WE NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FACT THAT THERE IS STATE MONEY AVAILABLE AND THAT THEY WILL WORK WITH HOUSING AUTHORITIES TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
I DID NOT DEDUCE THAT FROM THE EMAIL THAT I SAW, BUT I'M VERY GLAD TO HEAR IT.
UM, I'M ALSO GLAD TO SEE THE LIST OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVING ARPA FUNDS.
UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LEVERAGING FUNDS, ARE THOSE SOME OF THE BODIES THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING LEVERAGING WITH? ARE THERE CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING WITH, YOU KNOW, THE COUNTY OR THE SUBURBAN CITIES? UH, SO FAR WE HAVE CON CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY.
SO OUR THOUGHT COUNCILWOMAN IS ONCE, UH, THE COUNCIL AND WITH INPUT OF THE COMMUNITY, YOU DEFINE THOSE AREAS THAT, UH, YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, LET'S SAY MENTAL HEALTH, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WE'LL SEEK A PARTNERSHIP WITH, WITH THE COUNTY.
SO DEPENDING ON THOSE PRIORITIES, WE WE'LL BE DOING THAT.
BUT TO SPECIFIC ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, ONLY THE COUNTY IS THE ORGANIZATION THAT WE SPOKE TO.
UM, I'D LIKE TO CONCUR WITH COUNCILWOMAN, UH, ROCHA GARCIA REGARDING THE UNSOLICITED REQUESTS.
WE HAD A VERY LONG LIST, UH, PRIOR, UH, I KNOW YOU JUST SAID WE'RE NOT GONNA OPEN THIS UP, UH, BUT I'M NOT QUITE SURE ABOUT THAT.
I DO REALIZE IT WOULD CREATE A LOT OF WORK, BUT I ALSO LIKE THE IDEA OF LEVELING THE PLATE, THE PLAYING FIELD FOR ANYBODY WHO IS INTERESTED IN, FOR BODIES WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THESE FUNDS.
SOME OF THEM HAVE, UM, LOBBYIST OR VERY ASTUTE PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO WORK WITH CITY HALL AND ARE READY TO LOOK OUT FOR AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE THIS.
AND SOME OF THEM SIMPLY DON'T.
UM, BUT WHERE ARE OUR REAL NEEDS, RIGHT? THERE ARE CERTAINLY NEEDS AMONG THOSE WHO DON'T, AND I, I DON'T WANNA LEAVE THOSE ORGANIZATIONS AT A DISADVANTAGE.
SO I'D, I'D LIKE TO, TO POSE THAT FOR CONSIDERATION.
UM, LASTLY, I'LL FOCUS ON THE SHORT LIST YOU GAVE US OF UNSOLICITED REQUESTS.
UM, I, I KNOW THERE ARE MANY MORE REQUESTS THAT HAVE COME IN AND THAT ARE NOT ON THAT LIST.
UM, AND I, I DON'T WANT TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THIS IS A LIST, LIKE A SHORT LIST THAT'S ALREADY BEING CONSIDERED.
UM, SO I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE MAKE THAT CLEAR TO THE PUBLIC, BECAUSE I HAVE CERTAINLY NOT VETTED THIS LIST.
AND I'VE SUBMITTED OTHER REQUESTS AND STATED THEM IN PUBLIC VERY CLEARLY, AND THEY'RE NOT ON THIS LIST.
UM, SO DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY,
[01:05:01]
HAVE RECEIVED.UM, SO WE WANTED TO SHARE THOSE WITH YOU ALL.
WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY OTHER ONES.
WE DID RECEIVE ONE LATE YESTERDAY, I BELIEVE, FROM DISTRICT FIVE, UH, THAT WE DID NOT, DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO INCORPORATE.
OUTSIDE OF THAT, WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY OTHER REQUESTS FOR ARPA FUNDS.
WELL, I WANNA MAKE SURE THESE PARTICULAR PROJECTS DON'T GET ANY SPECIAL ADVANTAGE OVER ANY OF THE OTHER ONES THAT WE'RE GONNA SUBMIT.
SO, MONTHS AGO, I SUBMITTED SOMETHING TO D H S ABOUT ARPA FUNDS.
IT WAS ASSISTANCE FOR IMMIGRANTS.
THEIR NON-PROFITS HAD HAD A VERY HARD TIME RAISING MONEY DURING THE PANDEMIC, BUT THE NEED FOR IMMIGRANTS WAS STILL THERE.
I DON'T THINK ANY OF US ARE SURPRISED TO, TO HEAR THAT GIVEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED IN AFGHANISTAN AND THE, THE MIGRANT ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD RECENTLY.
UM, THAT'S TREMENDOUSLY IMPORTANT TO ME.
UM, SO I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO FIND A WAY TO, TO WORK WITH THEM.
COUNCILWOMAN, THAT'S THE ONE WE RECEIVED THIS MORNING FROM, UH, THAT I THINK COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO WAS ALSO COPIED ON, SO, MM-HMM.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER, ONE OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE HAD IN, IN A COMMITTEE WAS, UM, AND IN FACT, WE HAD STEVE NEVIN THERE BY ACCIDENT, UH, BECAUSE HE WAS THERE FOR ANOTHER ITEM.
BUT WE TALKED ABOUT HOW, UM, GREEN AND CLIMATE FRIENDLY DEVELOPMENT, UM, ECO, SORRY, WORKING ON CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND ACTION WOULD HELP US ALSO WITH OUR ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
AND THERE ARE COUNTLESS OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE ARE LETTING SLIP BY, UM, BY NOT LOOKING AT THAT RIGHT NOW.
SO I'D BE, I'D BE HAPPY TO SIT DOWN AND LOOK AT SOME POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE OCCURRING IN OTHER CITIES THAT I THINK IF WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT IMPLEMENTING AND ACHIEVING OUR CLIMATE GOALS, WE, WE WOULD HAVE TO INTEGRATE INTO THIS PACKAGE.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER VIA GRAND, THANK YOU, MAYOR.
THANK YOU MARIA, FOR ALL THE HARD WORK AND THE FINAL DRAFT AND, UH, ANSWERING, UM, MY QUESTIONS THAT I SENT YESTERDAY.
SO I JUST, UH, I AM GLAD THAT THIS IS AN OVERVIEW.
YOU KNOW, I'M ALWAYS READY TO GIVE MY INPUT, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SLIDE ON ELIGIBLE USES.
UH, I THINK THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PUBLIC SECTOR REVENUE LOSS, WE DO NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN DEPTH.
UH, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE, WE DO NEED TO TALK ABOUT SENIORS.
WHEN WE GET TO THE NEXT SLIDE ABOUT STRONG AND EQUITABLE RECOVERY.
I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE US SPELL IT OUT IN TERMS OF A M I POVERTY RATE, UH, IN THESE CENSUS TRACKS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND IS, ARE THE PROJECTS COMING, THESE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS? ARE THEY ECONOMIC GENERATORS? ARE THEY JOB CREATORS? ARE THEY PUTTING PEOPLE IN NEED? BECAUSE I THINK, UM, WHEN WE DO THAT, IT GIVES US A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE WE'RE MOVING TO.
UH, I, WITH THE TIMELINE, I BELIEVE WE'RE GONNA NEED MORE MEETINGS, MAYBE ANOTHER SATURDAY MEETING.
ROCHA GARCIA AND I, WE CAN FIND, UM, WE CAN FIND A, A PLACE ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND DO A COMBO SATURDAY MEETING, BECAUSE 7:00 PM IN MY DISTRICT IS KIND OF LATE, UH, ESPECIALLY IN THE WINTER
SO I WANNA TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
THE OTHER THING IS, I REALLY THINK WE AS EITHER AS A CITY COUNCIL, WE MAY NEED TO SEE THESE ITEMS IN COMMITTEE OR IN MORE B SESSIONS.
IN A NORMAL YEAR, WE WOULD HAVE BUDGET.
THIS YEAR WE HAVE ARPA BOND AND WE HAD BUDGET.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE MORE MEETINGS TO HAVE MORE DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS, UM, IN TERMS OF WHAT OUR APPROACH IS AND WHAT THE OPPORTUNITY IS.
WHAT I DON'T WANNA DO IS LOOK AT THIS IN A SILO AND NOT TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION ALL THAT WE HAVE ON, UM, THE STRATEGY FOR THE, THE FRAMEWORK THAT YOU HAVE, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES STRATEGY, I THINK IT'S SLIDE 14.
I LIKE THE MAYOR, AGREE THAT IT SHOULD BE THE C OVID 19.
AND WHEN WE, WHEN WE GO OUT THE COMMUNITY, IT SHOULD, WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THE C OVID 19.
I'M SORRY, IT'S SLIDE 16 C OVID 19 RESPONSE AND IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEEDS.
SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK WHEN WE TALK C OVID 19 RESPONSE, WE NEED TO TALK THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
AS I SAW YOUR PRESENTATION, AND AT THE END, YOU GIVE THE VISIT OUR WEBSITE.
I'M GONNA HAVE TO GO OUT TO MY DISTRICT AND TRY AND GET THEM TO THAT WEBSITE.
UH, AND WE HAVE THIS, THIS PROBLEM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY NEEDS, WE NEED TO INCLUDE SENIORS, AND WE NEED TO INCLUDE THE EDUCATIONAL AND CHILDCARE
[01:10:01]
GAPS.WE CANNOT JUST BE SAYING THAT THESE ARE OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS THAT WERE AMPLIFIED BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
WHEN WE TALK ARTS, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE VENUES, THE BARS, THE, THE RESTAURANTS THAT HOST THESE ARTISTS THAT NEED HELP.
YOU KNOW, THE MARIACHIS WERE AT, UH, RA, YOU KNOW, THE BARS HAVE OUR ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYERS.
I THINK ABOUT HOW AT THE MOON, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THESE PLACES ALSO, IN TERMS OF WHO WE NEED TO GET RECOVERY.
'CAUSE IF WE GIVE MONEY TO ARTISTS AND THEY HAVE NO PLACE TO PERFORM, THEY'RE STILL STUCK IN THAT SITUATION.
SO I, I'M ALL FOR ADDRESSING THOSE COMMUNITY NEEDS, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO ADDRESS SPECIFIC BUSINESSES THAT WE HAVEN'T LOOKED AT IN TERMS OF THE HOSPITALITY NEEDS.
UH, AND THEN ON IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE, I THINK THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE CAN REALLY USE TO LEVERAGE, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR COLLEGES AND INSTITUTIONS.
UH, I KNOW THEY HAVE MONEY FOR BIG PROJECTS, BUT SPECIFICALLY IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR, THERE'S GREAT INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS THAT WE NEED TO, TO HELP WITH.
SO, UM, THE OTHER POPULATIONS THAT I THINK WE NEED TO CONSIDER THAT WERE IMPACTED, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY SHOULD GO UNDER C OVID 19 RESPONSE OR COMMUNITY NEEDS, WOULD BE THOSE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES.
AND THAT INCLUDES A PHYSICAL AND MENTAL, AND I DON'T WANNA PUT THEM IN IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS.
I WANNA FIND THEM IN THAT FIRST TWO CATEGORY.
VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE, PERIOD.
THAT HAPPENED BECAUSE THEY WERE EITHER STUCK AT HOME OR THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE FUNDS.
UH, AND OF COURSE, SENIORS, AND I APPRECIATE THE UNSOLICITED, UM, THINGS THAT WERE MOVED FORWARD BECAUSE IT KIND OF GAVE US AN IDEA OF WHERE TO FOCUS AND WHERE, WHERE COMMUNITIES WERE THAT HAD NEEDS.
UM, SO THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT IS THE HEALTH DISPARITIES.
UM, AND THE ESTIMATED AMOUNT, WHEN WE GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS ABOUT HOW WE CAN, HOW MUCH DOES DO THE, DOES THE COMMUNITY WANT US TO SPEND ON THAT WATER, SEWER AND BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE? AND SO, UM, THE LAST POINT I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT IS THE PREMIUM PAY FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS.
I THINK WE NEED TO BE VERY THOUGHTFUL WHEN WE USE THE TERM PREMIUM PAY AND HAZARD PAY.
'CAUSE I WENT OUT WITH DART TO A, TO A A HOME AND THAT I COULD, I, I, THAT WAS HA AS HAZARDOUS, NOT AS HAZARDOUS AS SOME HOMES, BUT IT WAS VERY, IT WAS HAZARDOUS.
THEY HAD TO CHECK THE AMMONIA LEVEL IN THE HOME.
YOU KNOW, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN ELECTRICAL ISSUES.
AND I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINING IT CORRECTLY AS A CITY IN TERMS OF WHAT DO WE SEE AS HAZARDOUS AND WHAT DO WE SEE AS ESSENTIAL SO THAT NOBODY GETS LEFT OUT OF THE PAY.
UM, BECAUSE THERE WERE ESSENTIAL WORKERS THAT MAYBE DON'T HAVE TO GO INTO HOMES FULL OF DOGS, BUT THEY, THEY WERE THERE.
AND, AND WE NEED TO LOOK AT THEIR PREMIUM PAY FOR, FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DID.
SO THAT IS ALL, UM, THAT, THAT, THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS.
I, I DON'T HAVE, THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE, AND I DON'T KNOW WHO MIGHT HAVE THE ANSWER, AND IT MIGHT BE YOU, JEFF, IS THE, UM, THE MONEY FOR THE SAN ANTONIO HIGHER EDUCATION.
WERE THERE, WERE THERE LIKE CONFINEMENTS WHERE IT'LL BE HARD TO LEVERAGE THAT PARTNERSHIP? OR CAN WE LEVERAGE THE PARTNERSHIP IN THAT 115 YEAH.
MILLION? YEAH, I, DEPENDING ON THE PRIORITIES OF THE COUNCIL, WE CAN PURSUE THEM.
WE HAVE A LIST OF THOSE, UM, ENTITIES, U T SS A SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE, ST.
PHILLIPS, ALL THE ALMA COMMUNITY COLLEGES.
OUR LADY OF THE LAKE TRINITY UNIVERSITY.
SO WE HAVE A LIST OF THE FUNDING THEY, THEY GOT.
UM, SO YES, DEPENDING ON THE PRIORITIES OF THE COUNCIL, WE COULD GO AFTER AND TALK TO THOSE ORGANIZATIONS.
YEAH, JUST 'CAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO, TO DO THAT, ESPECIALLY IN THE EDUCATION GAPS AND CHILDCARE GAPS THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY IN AND AROUND THE CITY.
WE CAN, IF WE CAN PURSUE WHAT, WHAT THEY HAVE.
'CAUSE I KNOW THEY HAVE A VARIETY OF PROGRAMS. ALL RIGHT.
I, I APPRECIATE THE, UM, AND I COMMEND THE PHASE TWO APPROACH TO LEVERAGE FUNDING WITH OUR PARTNERS.
CAN YOU GIMME SOME REAL WORLD EXAMPLES OF WHAT THAT LEVERAGE FUNDING MIGHT LOOK LIKE? UM, SURE.
SO ON THE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS COUNCIL ON MEN, LET'S TAKE MENTAL HEALTH FOR EXAMPLE.
[01:15:01]
IN OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR TO ADD ADDITIONAL C CLINICIANS TO HELP WITH, UM, UH, 9 1 1 RESPONSE CALLS.SO THAT IS AN EXAMPLE THAT IF WE WANTED TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM, WE COULD, UH, TALK TO THE COUNTY IN TERMS OF THE EXPANSION OF THE CURRENT PROGRAM, OR PERHAPS OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO ADD SERVICES TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE FACING MENTAL HEALTH WRAPAROUND SERVICES TO THEM WITH, WITH THOSE ISSUES.
LET, LET ME GIVE ANOTHER EXAMPLE.
AND IT'S A, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO BROUGHT UP TWO OR THREE TIMES DURING BUDGET.
BUT IT'S ACCESS AND MAKING SURE THAT THE CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES IN THE COUNTY HAS SUFFICIENT BED SPACE FOR DETOX AND MENTAL HEALTH.
UM, THAT, THAT IF WE'RE GONNA, IF WE ADD RESOURCES ON OUR END, WHETHER IT'S THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OR THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT OR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OR, OR, UH, HUMAN SERVICES, MAKING SURE THAT THOSE RESOURCES ON THE BACK END, ON THE COUNTY LEVEL, THOSE INVESTMENTS ARE THERE SO THAT IT COMPLETES THE CIRCLE.
AND THERE'S, IT'S, I THINK, UH, COUNCILWOMAN RICHARD GARCIA MENTIONED, UM, COLLABORATING WITH, UH, THE INDIVIDUALS, UM, OR THE ORGANIZATIONS, I'M SORRY, THAT, UH, PUT IN FOR THE BOND, THE BOND PROGRAM, THERE ARE MANY WORTHY PROJECTS THAT DIDN'T MAKE THE CUT.
UM, THERE'S ONE THAT COMES TO MIND, IT'S UNDER PARKS, UM, WAS THE OLD SPANISH TRAILS PROPOSAL BY URBAN CHAMPIONS AND CAFE COLLEGE.
UH, THAT, THAT PARTICULAR PROJECT, I THINK IS, COULD BE TRANSFORMATIVE, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING, UM, NOT JUST FOR S A I S D, BUT THE BACKSLIDE OF, OF, UM, ALL OF OUR YOUNG STUDENTS IN THE CITY BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
AND I THINK IT WOULD FIT WELL INTO ONE OF THOSE CATEGORIES.
UM, AND I, I DO AGREE WITH A NUMBER OF MY OTHER COLLEAGUES RECOMMENDATIONS, SPECIFICALLY SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, AND USING THE, THE, UM, COMMITTEE, THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT WE HAVE, AND THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, I THINK THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES THOUGH, THAT WE CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS, AND THEY HAVE TO DO WITH TWO SPECIFIC AREAS FOR ME.
ONE IS FOCUSING IN, UM, ON WHAT WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.
UM, NOT GETTING CAUGHT OFF GUARD.
I'M SURE YOU GUYS HAVE SPENT MANY LONG HOURS.
THE CITY STAFF HAS SPENT MANY LONG HOURS THINKING ABOUT THAT.
UH, I, I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE OUR, UM, OUR CITY EMPLOYEES, UH, GET, GET SOME, SOME BENEFIT, YOU KNOW, FROM, FROM THE, THE HARD WORK THAT THEY DID.
AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS EFFORT, I THINK, AND THE SACRIFICE THAT WAS MADE DURING THE PANDEMIC WAS BY OUR FRONTLINE CITY EMPLOYEES.
SOME SAN ANTONIANS HAD THE LUXURY OF WORKING FROM HOME, AND THESE FRONT LINES WORKERS DID NOT, AND THEY DIDN'T FLINCH WHEN THEY WERE CALLED TO DUTY.
THEY PROVIDED THE SERVICES THAT WE NEEDED UNDER DANGEROUS CIRCUMSTANCES.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, MAKING THEM OR PROVIDING THE PREMIUM PAY FOR ELIGIBLE FRONTLINE WORKERS.
I THINK IT'S MORE THAN JUSTIFIED ALSO, UM, PART OF THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO TO BE NOT JUST LEARNING THE LESSONS THAT WE LEARNED, BUT, BUT, UH, UM, FROM THE PANDEMIC AND, AND BEING READY.
BUT, UM, HOW ARE WE GOING TO PREPARE FOR FUTURE EMERGENCIES? HOW WE CAN BEST APPLY OUR RESOURCES? HOW DO WE SHORE UP THE AREAS WHERE WE WERE CAUGHT UNPREPARED, UM, AND HOW WE CAN USE FUNDS IN THAT WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT, UM, CAUGHT UNPREPARED.
I, YOU KNOW, THIS, WE EXPERIENCED THIS IN DISTRICT SIX, IN THE, THE FLOODING THAT WE HAD.
UM, THERE ARE MANY PLACES THAT DIDN'T FLOOD, BUT, UH, IT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE.
BUT NOW WE KNOW, WE CAN'T SAY NEXT TIME WE WERE CAUGHT OFF GUARD.
RIGHT? SO THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE US USING THIS, SOME OF THIS MONEY FOR.
ANOTHER AREA I BELIEVE WE SHOULD FOCUS ON, UM, IS OUR FOSTER YOUTH.
YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO FOSTER YOUTH ARE FACING MORE THAN ONE CRISIS RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND SECOND IS ADEQUATE SHELTERING CARE.
WE'VE SEEN A LOT IN THE NEWS, UNFORTUNATELY, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE NOT ABLE TO, TO PARTICIPATE, UH, IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM ANYMORE.
THERE'S OTHER REALLY GREAT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE CASA THAT ARE HELPING OUR FOSTER CHILDREN.
UH, I THINK I'M HOPING ARPA FUNDS CAN BE MOVED, UH, DIRECTED TO CHILDREN AGING OUT OF THE SYSTEM TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY HOUSING.
I THINK THAT COULD BE LOOKED AT.
UM, I KNOW THAT GENERALLY SPEAKING, FOSTER CARE IS NOT A CITY.
UM, IT'S NOT REALLY IN OUR PURVIEW.
UM, BUT THE REALITY IS THAT IT'S, THEY'RE, THEY'RE STILL LIVING IN SAN ANTONIO.
WE, THERE'S STILL OUR CONCERN.
SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE IS A FOCUSED WRAPAROUND CARE FOR KIDS, UH, THAT HAVE REALLY NO ONE ELSE TO CARE FOR THEM.
KIDS THAT ARE AGING OUTTA THE SYSTEM, KIDS THAT ARE GOING THROUGH THE, THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM.
WE'VE ESTABLISHED THE NEXT LEVEL PROGRAM, UH, WITH, TO HELP WITH YOUNG ADULTS AND AREN'T, UH, WORKING OR NOT NOT IN SCHOOL.
AND THEN A NUMBER OF THESE YOUNG ADULTS HAVE BEEN IN THIS FOSTER CARE SYSTEM.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE MAYBE SOME FUNDS GO TO EXPAND THAT PROGRAM.
UM, AND OF COURSE, I'D LIKE TO HAVE A DEEPER DISCUSSION ABOUT IT.
MAYBE WE CAN, UH, MAYBE HAVE A PLANNING MEETING, UM, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THE DAYS TO COME.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'LL START OFF BY SAYING I, I AGREE WITH THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
[01:20:01]
UM, THEY HAVE MY SUPPORT.UM, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE PRIORITIES THAT, OR YEAH, ONE OF THE PRIORITIES I HAD DURING THE BUDGET WAS, UH, SMALL BUSINESS BONDING ASSISTANCE.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT, UM, US USE ARPA AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FUND THAT.
UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE CITY STAFF RECEIVE PREMIUM PAY.
SO MY REQUEST WOULD BE THAT, UM, THAT CITY, THE CITY STAFF IDENTIFY WHICH POSITIONS WOULD QUALIFY.
UM, HOW MANY EMPLOYEES WOULD THAT IMPACT, AND WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS WOULD BE ON THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE.
SO WHAT, WHAT MIGHT THAT PRICE TAG LOOK LIKE? UM, I ALSO REALLY LIKE THE LEVERAGING PARTNERSHIPS.
I THINK, UM, IT'S ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT TO ENGAGE WITH THE COUNTY AND WITH, UH, THE VARIOUS SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
UM, AND I ALSO THINK WE SHOULD ENGAGE WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN DOING THE WORK, UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC AND DURING THE FREEZE TO FILL GAPS AND PROVIDE SERVICES TO COMMUNITIES THAT ARE MOST IMPACTED BY CATASTROPHES, LIKE THE PANDEMIC AND LIKE THE FREEZE.
UM, SPECIFICALLY THOSE WITH THE GREATEST HEALTH DISPARITIES.
AND I LOVE THAT COUNCILMAN, UH,
AND SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT I THINK OF SPECIFICALLY ARE, OF COURSE, BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES, THOSE WITH DISABILITIES, UM, SENIORS, THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY ALSO HAVE GREAT HEALTH DISPARITIES THAT OFTEN GO UNADDRESSED, UM, AND UNMENTIONED ON THE DIA.
SO I THINK IT'S CRUCIAL TO MENTION THAT.
UM, I WOULD ALSO, FOR THE COMMUNITY NEED AND FEEDBACK PORTION, AND AS WE'RE SOLICITING, UM, FEEDBACK AND IDEAS, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT CITY STAFF GO TO SENIOR CENTERS AND SOLICIT FEEDBACK FROM EMPLOYEES AND THE, THE SENIORS WHO GO AND RECEIVE THOSE SERVICES.
UM, BECAUSE I REALLY DON'T WANNA SEE THEM CLOSE AGAIN, I DON'T WANNA SEE SENIORS GO WITHOUT THE INTERACTION SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES THAT KEEP THEM ACTIVE, UM, AND GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO EACH DAY.
SO IF WE CAN DO OUR PART IN ENSURING THAT THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES THEY NEED, I THINK THAT'S A WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT.
AND I WOULD SAY THE SAME GOES FOR, UM, CHILDCARE FACILITIES AND SERVICES, UM, AS WELL AS OTHER COMMUNITY CENTERS.
FIND OUT WHAT NEEDS HAVE BEEN CREATED THAT THE CITY COULD SUPPORT IN.
UM, I AGREE WITH, I DON'T, I THINK IT WAS COURAGE.
UH, AND SANDOVAL HAD MENTIONED, UM, A POTENTIAL COMPROMISE BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THERE WERE CONCERNS, UM, THAT PERFORMING ARTISTS, PERFORMANCE ARTISTS AND FILMMAKERS AND THE, LIKE, WOULDN'T RECEIVE OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THE BOND.
SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME PERCENTAGE OF ARPA FUNDING GO GOING TO, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ARTISTS WHO MAY HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM BOND OPPORTUNITIES.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO, I'LL MENTION I'M A TEACHER AS MUCH AS, UH, COUNCILMAN PALAIS WILL MENTION HE'S A LAWYER, BUT I WAS A TEACHER.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS MOST HEART HEARTBREAKING THESE PAST FEW YEARS DURING THE PANDEMIC IS THE NUMBER OF TIMES I WOULD BE EMAILED OR, UM, NOTIFIED THAT A STUDENT HAD EITHER RUN AWAY OR HAD BEEN, UM, HOSPITALIZED AND HAD ATTEMPTED TO COMMIT SUICIDE.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE FORGOTTEN NEEDS.
UM, AND THE C D C REPORTED THAT YOUTH SUICIDE RATES HAD SKYROCKETED DURING THE PANDEMIC.
AND WHETHER IT'S THROUGH ARPA, THROUGH BOND FUTURE BUDGETS, I THINK THAT'S A CLEAR INDICATOR THAT WE NEED TO INTERVENE IMMEDIATELY.
AND SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE US TO TAKE A, TAKE A SPECIAL LOOK AT HOW WE CAN SUPPORT THAT AND HOW WE CAN PREVENT, UH, YOUTH SUICIDE AND WHAT KIND OF, UH, SUPPORT WE CAN PROVIDE.
AND I ALSO AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN CABAL HDA ABOUT, UM, THE FOSTER CARE, FOSTER CARE YOUTH.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS THAT I SOUGHT THIS SEAT WAS BECAUSE I'M, I GOT FRUSTRATED THAT LOCAL LEADERS WOULD LOOK AT ISSUES OF CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES AND SAY, OH, THAT'S A STATE ISSUE.
THERE ARE DEFINITELY THINGS THAT WE AS A CITY CAN DO WHENEVER WE RECOGNIZE A NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO I WOULD LOVE US TO TAKE THAT APPROACH.
COUNCILMAN CASTILLO, THANK YOU.
AND THANK YOU MARIA, FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE TEAM FOR ALL THE WORK THAT THEY'VE PUT INTO THIS.
UM, I'M, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT COMMUNITY INPUT AND LESS LISTENING SESSIONS ARE ON THE CALENDAR.
UM, BUT AS WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
I KNOW WE'RE WORKING WITH THE SHORT TIMELINE, UH, BUT IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO SEND OUT A MAILER OF THESE MEETING TIMES SO THAT WAY COMMUNITY, UH, CAN KNOW.
I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO HAVE THAT WEBSITE THAT Y'ALL HAVE SET TO, TO LAUNCH SOON.
UM, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THE DIGITAL FILE DOES, IS, DOES EXIST.
UM, SO IF WE COULD SEND OUT A MAILER, UH, WHETHER THAT BE THROUGH PARTNERING WITH C P S OR SAS TO INCLUDE THAT INFORMATION, UM, UH, WE KIND OF ANSWERED THIS ALREADY, BUT IF WE COULD WALK THROUGH HOW THE CITY DEFINES IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEED.
UH, COUNCILWOMAN, SO WHAT WE ARE DEFINING AS IMMEDIATE IS WHERE THE COMMUNITY NEEDS FUNDS IMMEDIATELY TO CONTINUE, EITHER IN THE CASE OF UTILITY ASSISTANCE TO PAY THEIR BILLS SO THEY'RE NOT DISCONNECTED.
UM, IN THE CASE OF A SMALL BUSINESS, WE HAVE IN THAT CATEGORY
[01:25:01]
AS WELL, UH, FUNDS THAT SOME SMALL BUSINESSES MAY NEED TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE OPERATIONS.UM, SO THE, THAT IS A COUPLE OF EXAMPLE IN TERMS OF THE NEED IS IMMEDIATE FOR THEM TO, UM, TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE THE ARTS.
UM, MY FEELING IS THAT THESE ARPA DOLLARS SHOULD BE USED FIRST TO ADDRESS THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC.
AND NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR US TO CAPITALIZE OFF OF DISASTER CAPITALISM.
SO I, I, I WANT US TO BE SURE THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS AND COLLABORATE WITH ALL COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, WHETHER YOU'RE IN THE PRIVATE, UH, SECTOR, UM, AS WELL AS WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND I, I, I WANNA SHIFT TO PREMIUM PAY AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE AFSCME WORKERS WHO ARE HERE PRESENT.
UM, AND I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING THE EMAILS THAT, UM, FOLKS HAVE BEEN SENDING EVERY DAY, YOU KNOW, REMINDING US THAT, YOU KNOW, CITY EMPLOYEES NOT ONLY STEPPED UP THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC, BUT THEY ALSO RISK THEIR PERSONAL WELLBEING DURING WINTER STORM.
SO, SO THANK YOU ALL FOR Y'S WORK.
WE HAVE BEEN RECEIVING THE EMAILS, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, ARPA FUNDS SHOULD FIRST AND FOREMOST BE USED TO MAKE THE CITY WHOLE, WHICH INCLUDES COMPENSATING EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE WORKED IN LIFE-THREATENING ENVIRONMENTS.
UM, AND I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT IN A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE FOR US TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT, UH, WHAT'S HAZARDOUS AND HOW WE CAN INTEGRATE THAT INTO TO PAY WITH UPCOMING BUDGET CYCLES.
BUT I THINK WITH ARPA FUNDING, WE DO NEED TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING OUR CITY EMPLOYEES.
UM, I'M EXTREMELY GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE WORK AND BRAVERY THAT OUR CITY EMPLOYEES HAVE PUT FORWARD.
UM, YOU KNOW, WITH COVID NUMBERS GOING UP AND DOWN, IT'S, IT'S FRIGHTENING FOR FAMILIES.
UM, SO I WOULD APPRECIATE MY COLLEAGUES.
I'M, I AND I SUPPORT Y'ALL AND ECHOING THAT WE DO NEED TO SUPPORT, UH, PREMIUM PAY FOR OUR CITY EMPLOYEES.
UM, I ALSO ECHO MY COLLEAGUES ON THE NEED FOR SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT.
UM, WE NEED MORE SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT.
THE 14 MILLION IN THE HOSPITALITY GRANTS THAT COUNCIL PREVIOUSLY GRANTED, UM, THAT QUICKLY DEPLETED AND BASED OFF OF CONVERSATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY, THERE'S STILL A NEED FOR HOSPITALITY GRANTS.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO REPLENISH, UM, AND, AND CONTINUE TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE AT THE DOORS LETTING COMMUNITY KNOW THAT THIS FUNDING IS ACCESSIBLE.
UM, WHILE THE BUCKET OF FUNDING WAS THERE, IT'S FOLKS WHO, YOU KNOW, HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, HAVE A MANAGER TO RUN THEIR BUSINESS, UM, WHO HAVE THE TIME TO APPLY FOR THIS.
SO, CONTINUING TO SUPPORT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES IS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, ARTS AND CULTURE, UH, OUR ARTISTS AND ART ORGANIZATIONS CONTINUE TO SEVERELY BE IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC, UH, WHETHER IT BE NOT HOSTING FUNDRAISERS TO SUSTAIN THEIR NONPROFIT, UM, NOT HAVING SHOWS TO SELL ART.
UM, AND THAT IMPACTS EVERY SPECTRUM WITHIN THE ARTS COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I, AND I WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT DR.
STEVIE NIVEN CALCULATED THAT THE IMPACT AT AROUND 75 MILLION, UM, DOESN'T INCLUDE THE LOSSES EXPERIENCED IN 2021.
UM, SO I KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO, TO LOOK AT, UH, NEW PROJECTS THAT WILL FISCALLY BENEFIT THE CITY, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE LOOK BACK AT HOW THE ARTS HAS BEEN IMPACTED AND HOW WE CAN HELP THEM CATCH UP WITH THIS ARPA FUNDING.
SO USING 2.6 MILLION IN FEDERAL DOLLARS, THE CITY ESTABLISHED THE S SA CARES FOR ARTS GRANT PROGRAM FOR ART NONPROFITS AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, 47 NONPROFITS QUALIFIED.
HOWEVER, THEIR LOSSES TOTALED MORE THAN 24 MILLION FROM MARCH, 2020 TO DECEMBER, 2020.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF CATCHING UP THAT WE NEED TO DO AND SUPPORT THAT WE NEED TO PROVIDE TO OUR ARTS COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT WITH THIS ARPA FUNDING.
UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE ARTS, IT'S, IT'S FOLKS' LIVELIHOOD.
UM, IT'S ENSURING THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO APPLY FOR THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, RIGHT? SO IT'S, IT'S ALL CONNECTED.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE, WE NEED TO ENSURE, UM, THAT WE'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE ARTS COMMUNITY.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, I WANT TO EXPRESS MY FULL SUPPORT OF THE LETTER SUBMITTED BY THE ARTS COMMUNITY ASKING FOR, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT NEED TO BE MET.
UH, I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE ANDY AND JOHNNY OSA AND, UM, UM, UH, CHRISTINA AS WELL, UM, FOR BEING PRESENT NOT ONLY WITHIN THIS PROCESS, BUT EVERY CONVERSATION REGARDING CARES FUNDING WITH THE, THE CITY BUDGET PROCESS, AND ENSURING THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY, OUR DISTRICT FIVE AND THE ARTS COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, UH, ARE REPRESENTED AND THAT THEIR NEEDS ARE, ARE, ARE BEING SHARED WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.
SO, JUST A HEADS UP, THE, THE ARTS COMMUNITY DISTRICT FIVE'S, BIG
UM, AND THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS.
UM, SO I'M, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU LED WITH, UH, THE,
[01:30:01]
UH, COMMUNITY INPUT THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE DOING AT EIGHT CITYWIDE COMMUNITY TOWN HALL MEETINGS.AND, UH, I GUESS I DON'T NEED TO DO THIS RIGHT HERE AND NOW, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR OFFLINE, UM, HOW THAT INFORMATION IS GONNA BE COLLECTED AND, AND SHARED WITH US.
AND I'M, FOR IT TO BE MEANINGFUL, I WANTED TO SEE HOW IT'S GONNA IMPACT THE OUTCOME OF HOW WE DISTRIBUTE THESE DOLLARS.
UM, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE IMPACTED THE MOST, ONE THING THAT COMES TO MIND IS, UH, A COVID REPORT THAT WE GOT FROM THE CITY MANAGER YESTERDAY STATING THAT 4,735 OF OUR RESIDENTS HAVE DIED FROM COVID.
AND I'M REALLY CURIOUS AS TO WHAT THOSE FAMILY'S NEEDS ARE.
UM, WAS THERE WERE SOME OF THOSE FAMILIES, UH, TWO PARENTS WHO BOTH WORKED AND THEY LOST THE INCOME FROM ONE OF THE PARENTS.
AND SO NOW HOW DOES THAT OTHER PARENT WORK? DO THEY NEED SUPPORT FOR CHILDCARE SERVICES SO THAT THEY CAN GO TO WORK AND PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILY? AND SO I'D BE REALLY INTERESTED IN SEEING IF WE COULD DO SOME KIND OF A SURVEY OF A SUBSET OF THOSE FAMILIES AND FIND OUT WHAT, WHAT ARE THEIR NEEDS AND HOW CAN WE PRIORITIZE THOSE? WE, I DID DO, UM, WE DID DISTRICT ONE SENT OUT THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA A SURVEY TO SURVEY OUR CONSTITUENTS AND SEE WHAT ARE THEIR BIGGEST PRIORITIES.
AND IT'S NOT SCIENTIFIC, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, BUT THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE THAT DID COME UP WAS INTERNET ACCESS FOR ALL.
UM, THAT WAS FOLLOWED VERY, VERY CLOSELY BY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, ELECTRICITY AND WATER BILL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR HOMELESSNESS.
UM, SO IF YOU ARE A DISTRICT ONE RESIDENT, YOU'RE LISTENING NOW AND YOU HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE OUR SURVEY, PLEASE JUST GO TO OUR DISTRICT ONE CITY COUNCIL SOCIAL MEDIA, AND YOU CAN CLICK ON THAT LINK TO TAKE THAT SURVEY.
UM, I'M, I'M ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT, I'LL GIVE, WHEN I, WHEN YOU LOOK, IF YOU LOOK AT PAGE 17 IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS, I'M WONDERING ABOUT YOUTH AND HOW YOUTH ARE, ARE MOST VULNERABLE AND IMPACTED OFTEN.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE FIRST DID OUR GOAL SETTING FOR, UH, THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET, I REMEMBER THAT WE GOT A PRESENTATION FROM METRO HEALTH ABOUT ACE TESTING, ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES.
AND I'D REALLY LOVE TO SEE SOME SUPPORT FOR THAT, BECAUSE THE WAY THE PANDEMIC HAS PLAYED OUT HERE, IT, IT'S CAUSED A LOT OF CHALLENGES.
AND, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE HAVE, FAMILIES HAVE ENDED UP WITH DIVORCES, UH, SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN, FAMILIES HAVE BEEN EVICTED.
UM, SOME, YOU KNOW, HAVE DEVELOPED DRUG USE PROBLEMS. AND ALL OF THOSE CAN END UP BEING ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO A CHILD'S ACE SCORE.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO SEE IF WE COULD USE SOME OF THIS FUNDING FOR TESTING CHILDREN FOR ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND PROVIDING MORE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR THEM TO HELP THEM IN HEALING.
UM, THE, AND THE OTHER THING IS, UH, SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAMS COULD BE REALLY IMPACTFUL.
UH, I ONCE PARTNERED WITH SANTO CULTURAL ARTS IN DISTRICT FIVE, AND FOR ONLY 10, THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY, THERE'S SOME SMALL ORGANIZATIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT CAN MAKE A FEW DOLLARS STRETCH SO FAR WITH JUST A $10,000 GRANT.
UH, THEY WERE ABLE TO HELP CHILDREN WHO, THEIR FAMILY DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE FOOD, UM, YOU KNOW, WASN'T ABLE TO FEED THEM.
AND THEY, YOU KNOW, USUALLY THEY'RE ON, UH, SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS AND THAT'S WHERE THEY, THEY GET A LOT OF THEIR MEALS AND, UM, THEY WEREN'T GONNA GET THAT DURING THE SUMMER, AND THEIR PARENTS ARE WORKING.
AND SO THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE, THEY CAN'T AFFORD CHILDCARE.
AND SO A LOT OF THESE KIDS ARE OUT RUNNING IN THE STREETS.
AND SO ONE OF THE WAYS THAT SANTO CULTURAL ARTS BACK THEN WOULD RECRUIT KIDS FOR THE SUMMER ART PROGRAM WAS THEY'D JUST GO OUT IN THE STREETS AND JUST START RECRUITING KIDS WHO ARE RUNNING AROUND WITH WITHOUT SUPERVISION AND BRING 'EM IN AND SAY, HEY, LET'S COME DO SOME ART.
AND THEY'D FEED THEM AND THEY'D TEACH THEM ART.
AND, AND SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT COULD BE REALLY IMPACTFUL.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND JUST LIKE READY TO WORK IS A ONE-TIME INVESTMENT THAT HAS A LONG-TERM IMPACT.
I MEAN, INVESTING IN OUR YOUTH, A YOUTH RECOVERY INVESTMENT COULD BE A ONE-TIME, SEVERAL YEAR INVESTMENT THAT COULD HAVE A LARGE IMPACT.
ALSO, ON PAGE 17, I CAUGHT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS THAT WE HAD ARTS IN THERE, AND I HAD ASKED CITY STAFF, UH, YOU KNOW, CAN, CAN SOME OF THIS ARPA FUNDING BE USED TO SUPPORT, UH, MEMBERS OF THE SYMPHONY? AND I WAS TOLD, NO, IT COULDN'T.
SO I'M CONFUSED HERE 'CAUSE I SEE ARTS ON THERE, AND SO I'D LIKE A LITTLE CLARIFICATION ON THAT IF POSSIBLE.
SO, UH, SPECIFICALLY TO THE SYMPHONY, WE WOULD HAVE TO,
[01:35:02]
UM, LOOK AT THE, THAT PARTICULAR REQUEST OVERALL ARTS IS, IS AN ELIGIBLE EXPENSE.SO THAT'S WHY WE HAVE IT IN HERE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY THERE, BUT PROGRAMMING AND OPERATING SUPPORT, THOSE ARE AREAS THAT WE CAN, THAT WE ARE ABLE TO SUPPORT THROUGH ARPA.
YEAH, WE'D BE HAPPY TO LOOK MORE IN DETAIL TO THAT SPECIFIC REQUEST.
UH, I THINK THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS FOR THE MOMENT.
I FEEL LIKE THIS, I I FEEL LIKE I'VE GOT DEJA VU 'CAUSE THIS IS THE SAME CONVERSATION WE HAD IN, WHAT WAS IT, END OF 2020 WITH A FIRST BIG BUCKET OF MONEY THAT WE GOT FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FROM CARES.
AND, UM, THE, THAT DAY WHEN Y'ALL PRESENTED THE, THE, A VERY SIMILAR DECK OF SLIDES, UM, I WAS REAL FRUSTRATED BECAUSE I, I THINK THAT THE TONE AND TENOR OF THAT CONVERSATION WAS VERY DIFFERENT THAN THE ONE WE'RE HAVING UP HERE TODAY.
UM, IT, IT SEEMED TO ME THAT IT WAS A, A RACE TO SEE HOW MANY COUNCIL PEOPLE COULD NAME MORE NONPROFITS THAN THE OTHER COUNCIL PERSON.
UM, AND, UH, OUT COMPASSION EACH OTHER.
AND IT WASN'T A VERY SOBER CONVERSATION, AND I DON'T THINK IT REALLY LEFT ANY OF US IN A, IN A PLACE WHERE WE KNEW WHAT THE PATH FORWARD WAS GONNA BE.
AND ERIC, I CERTAINLY DON'T THINK THAT IT WAS VERY HELPFUL TO YOU GUYS TO BE ABLE TO DIVINE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL AT THAT LAST, AT THAT LAST MEETING.
I THINK THAT, UM, I THINK MAYBE WE LEARNED THAT LESSON AND, UH, AND I'M REALLY VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THIS CONVERSATION.
AND ERIC, I I THINK I'M HEARING, UM, SUPPORT FOR WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE PRESENTED TODAY.
I DON'T, I DON'T HEAR ANY QUARRELING WITH, UH, THE BUCKETS THEMSELVES.
UM, AND, AND I DON'T HEAR, UM, MUCH QUARRELING WHEN THEY, WHEN, WITH REGARDS TO, UM, THE AMOUNTS RIGHT.
PUT IN, IN THOSE BUCKETS AND THE PRIORITIES.
AND SO THAT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY.
AND I'M NOT, I'M NOT GONNA, YOU KNOW, UM, TAKE ADVANTAGE, YOU KNOW, TAKE UP YOUR TIME WITH, YOU KNOW, MY WISHLIST.
UH, AND WE'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT ON THE, YOU KNOW, OFFLINE.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU IF WE CAN LOOK AT SLIDE FIVE, PLEASE.
THIS IS, THIS IS, UH, TO ME PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT SLIDE IN, IN THIS PRESENTATION TODAY, BECAUSE I ALWAYS TELL MY KIDS THAT, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP MEANS TELLING PEOPLE WHERE, WHERE WE WERE, WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE GOING, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, I, I APPRECIATE THIS BREAKDOWN, BUT I, I WISH THERE HAD BEEN A SLIDE FOUR TO SHOW WHAT WE GOT IN CARES ACT.
RIGHT? AND, AND JEFF, THIS IS A, THIS IS PART OF THE STORY THAT WE TELL AS FAR AS FEDERAL ADVOCACY GOES IN, HOW MUCH DID WE BRING BACK AS A RESULT OF COVID AND WHAT DID WE ALREADY DO WITH THE FIRST TRANCHE OF INVESTMENT FROM, FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BACK INTO SAN ANTONIO? UM, BECAUSE THAT GIVES A MORE COMPLETE PICTURE, RIGHT? AND, AND SO ONE THING I HOPE YOU'LL HELP ME WITH IS MAYBE WE CAN GET A SLIDE TO SHOW WHAT WE DID WITH CARES.
AND THIS IS, THIS IS JUST A SECOND STEP RIGHT IN, IN ADDRESSING COVID, BECAUSE ONCE WE GIVE THAT COMPLETE PICTURE, I THINK THE PUBLIC WILL UNDERSTAND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE EFFORTS THAT WE'RE MAKING.
BECAUSE IN THE ABSENCE OF THAT CONTEXT, IT'LL JUST LOOK LIKE, WELL, WE'VE JUST DECIDED TO PUT THIS MONEY HERE AND IGNORE OTHER PRIORITIES, RIGHT? AND SO WHEN DISCUSSING THE ARTS, FOR EXAMPLE, IT, IT, IT WOULD BE REALLY A RESPONSIBLE OF US NOT TO REMIND FOLKS THAT WE DID MAKE A VERY SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN ARTS, UH, IN THE CARESS ACT, DIDN'T WE? UH, WE DID AN INVESTMENT, UH, MY RECOLLECTION, UM, IT'S ABOUT PROBABLY ABOUT $3 MILLION.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY MAY LOOK AT THIS AND SAY, WAIT A SECOND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT INVESTING, WE'RE ONLY GONNA INVEST THIS ONE TIME.
AND NOT MUCH, IT, IT WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE OF US TO NOT, YOU KNOW, REALLY KIND OF PAINT THE COMPLETE PICTURE.
AND I THINK I'M, I'M BEATING A DEAD HORSE HERE, BUT I I THINK YOU GOT IT, MARIA AND, AND JEFF.
YEAH, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
SO THE, THE OTHER THING IS, I, I WANNA, I GOTTA, I GOTTA TELL YOU, THE UNSOLICITED FUNDS SLIDE WAS CONFUSING TO ME.
UM, AND, AND I THINK YOU'VE HEARD FROM, HEARD THAT FROM UP HERE.
'CAUSE I, WHEN I SAW IT, I WAS LIKE, WAIT A SECOND.
DID LIKE, WAS THERE A, A WINDOW FOR APPLYING FOR ARPA FUNDS OR, YOU KNOW, EXPRESSING INTEREST IN ARPA FUNDS, HAS THAT WINDOW CLOSED? 'CAUSE IT, IT, A DAY DOESN'T PASS WHERE I DON'T GET AN INQUIRY FROM SOME ORGANIZATION IN TOWN SAYING, IS IT TIME YET? IS IT TIME YET? WHAT I'VE BEEN TELLING 'EM IS, YOU KNOW, COOL, YOUR JETS, LET'S, LET'S GET THROUGH SOME INITIAL PRESENTATIONS, AND THEN I'M SURE THERE WILL BE A WINDOW OPEN.
AND SO I SEE THAT WE'RE GONNA GO OUT TO THESE COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS SOMETIME SOON.
UH, WHAT, LIKE THE 27TH WILL GIMME THE FIRST ONE NEXT WEEK? YES.
SO IS THAT SLIDE GONNA BE IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC? BECAUSE IF I WAS CONFUSED, IT'S GONNA CONFUSE THEM.
OUR INTENT WAS TO NOTIFY THE COUNCIL THAT WE HAD RECEIVED THOSE REQUESTS, BUT WE HAVE
[01:40:01]
NOT VETTED THOSE REQUESTS.IT WAS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES.
SO WHAT IS THE RIGHT THING TO TELL THESE ORGANIZATIONS, RIGHT? CHILD ADVOCATES OF SAN ANTONIO KEEPS CALLING ME, UH, WHAT, WHAT DO I TELL THEM FOR EXAMPLE? LIKE, IS IT, IS THE TIME NOW TO SUBMIT A PROJECT OR IS THERE, IS THERE GONNA BE A PROCESS? IS THERE A FORMAL APPLICATION? SO WHAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING WITHIN OUR PROCESS, AND WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR INPUT ON THAT, IS THAT BASED ON THE, THE FEEDBACK FROM THE COUNCIL, BASED ON THE COMMUNITY INPUT THAT, THAT WE RECEIVE, THEN WHEN WE COME BACK IN DECEMBER, STAFF WILL BE MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS THOSE PRIORITIES OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE COUNCIL.
SO, UH, PERHA, PERHAPS SOME OF THOSE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE APPLYING FOR FUNDING, UH, MAY FIT WITHIN THOSE PRIORITIES THAT, THAT WE WOULD, UH, RECOMMEND AT THAT POINT.
UM, BUT WE WERE NOT CONTEMPLATING TO DO A PROCESS UNTIL WE HAVE THOSE COMMUNITY PRIORITIES AND CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES.
AND THEN, UM, LASTLY, I, I SEE THAT OUR FRIEND GORDON HARTMAN'S HERE, AND, AND I SAW THAT THERE WAS A, A, A MORGAN'S WONDERLAND ELEMENT TO, UM, AN UNSOLICITED LIST.
AND, YOU KNOW, NOT A LOT GETS SAID ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, INCLUSIVENESS AND BRINGING PEOPLE OF LIMITED ABILITIES OR DIFFERENT ABILITIES, UH, TO THE SAME PLACE WHERE EVERYBODY ELSE IS, UM, IS A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE.
AND IT'S A DIGNITY AND, AND HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE.
AND SO, UM, I'M, I'M, I'M EXCITED TO SEE THAT THAT'S A POSSIBILITY THAT WE'LL BE CONSIDERING, UM, BECAUSE I HADN'T REALLY, AND SHAME ON ME, RIGHT? I HADN'T REALLY GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO ARPAS APPLICABILITY TO ADDRESSING INCLUSIVENESS AND ACCESS.
BUT I, I THINK THAT'S A CONVERSATION WORTHY OF HAVING.
LASTLY, CAN SOMEBODY SHOW US SLIDE FIVE, PLEASE? NO, I'M SORRY.
UH, THE MAYOR AND I REALIZED THAT THAT IS RAMI MALICK FROM MR. ROBOT.
MAYOR
WE WERE WAITING TO SEE IF SOMEBODY WAS GONNA NOTICE.
HE WAS BRILLIANT ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, BY THE WAY, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, THANK YOU.
AND MARIA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
ALRIGHT, ANYWAY, UM, LET, LET ME JUST MAKE SOME OPENING COMMENTS HERE.
OVERALL, I, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THE WORK AND EFFORT THAT Y'ALL ARE PUTTING INTO THIS, BUT I AGREE WITH COUNCILWOMAN GRO THAT WE REALLY NEED TO GET THIS STUFF OR HAVE FOLLOW UP MEETINGS WITH THIS BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S ENOUGH DISCUSSION ON THIS BUDGET.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE TAKE MONTHS TO DISCUSS OUR CITY BUDGET TO GET TO AN APPROVAL.
AND I DIDN'T GET THIS PRESENTATION UNTIL YESTERDAY TO BE PREPARED FOR THIS MEETING.
I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO HAVE MORE, UM, LONGER OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THIS BECAUSE THIS IS IMPORTANT.
KIND OF THE SAME THING WITH A BOND.
YOU KNOW, I, WE'RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH TIME TO REVIEW THIS AND BE PREPARED FOR THESE MEETINGS IN LESS THAN A DAY.
SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE MORE TIME AND A FOLLOW UP MEETING TO THIS, TO, UH, DISCUSS THESE BUCKETS AND WHAT'S IN THESE BUCKETS.
THAT'S, I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE THAT.
SO COUNCILWOMAN, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT.
UM, LET'S, UM, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IS AVAILABLE OR WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THIS MONEY.
ERIC, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, THAT WHEN WE FIRST TALKED ABOUT ARPA, UM, I ASKED ABOUT THAT $50 MILLION THAT WE CUT OUT OF STREETS AND IT WENT AWAY TO PAY FOR OTHER THINGS IN THE CITY TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET.
CAN WE USE THESE MONIES TO REIMBURSE US FOR THAT $50 MILLION? SO COUNCILMAN, WE DEFERRED $50 MILLION IN PROJECTS TO THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S CLEAR.
BUT I THINK YOUR QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN USE ARPA TO DO INFRASTRUCTURE, AND, AND MARIE HAD IT ON THE SLIDE.
UM, WE, WE BELIEVE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THOSE SENSE, THOSE QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACKS IS AN ELIGIBLE EXPENSE.
AND, AND SO THOSE PROJECTS THAT WE DEFERRED TO THE FOLLOWING YEAR WERE, WERE CITYWIDE.
[01:45:01]
IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE COUNCIL WOULD LIKE US TO PURSUE, AND THIS COULD BE A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION WITH THE PUBLIC ALSO, WE COULD HEAR THIS IN NOVEMBER.UM, SOME INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THOSE QUALIFIED CENSUS DISTRICTS OR CENSUS TRACKS, WE BELIEVE IS ELIGIBLE.
UM, YEAH, I THINK, I THINK WE ON THE COUNCIL SHOULD KNOW WHERE THOSE CENSUS TRACKS ARE AND SHOULD WE USE SOME OF THIS MONEY TO RECOUP, UH, AND PUT BACK INTO THE, INTO THIS, UH, PROGRAM.
AND I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, IT WAS DEFERRED, BUT TO ME WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T PLUS UP OUR BUDGET BY $50 MILLION THE NEXT YEAR THAT WE CUT OUT OF A PRE.
SO TO ME THAT'S A REDUCTION, NOT A DEFERRAL.
'CAUSE THAT MONEY WENT AWAY IN THAT FISCAL YEAR, BUT WE DIDN'T PLUS UP OUR ROADS BUDGET BY $50 MILLION.
THE FI THE, THE FOLLOWING YEAR IT WAS CUT.
AND OKAY, WE'RE NEVER GONNA RECOUP THAT MONEY ANYWHERE IN THE FUTURE OTHER THAN STAYING AT OUR $110 MILLION UNLESS WE GO UP TO 160 OUT OF OUR GENERAL FUND TO MAKE UP FOR THAT LOSS FOR THAT YEAR.
I THINK THAT WAS 21, IF I REMEMBER RIGHT.
BUT ANYWAY, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE FURTHER STUDY ON THAT ON, SHOULD WE ADD ANOTHER BOX HERE ON SLIDE NUMBER 14 TO ADD AN INFRASTRUCTURE PORTION TO THIS? AND COUNCILMAN WE DO HAVE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS AS PART OF THE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT CATEGORY.
SO, SO TO YOUR QUESTION ON STREETS, THAT WOULD BE, UH, INCLUDED IN THAT, IN THAT, UH, SLIDE NUMBER 17 AT THE VERY BOTTOM.
SO WE HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE AND QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACKS.
WELL, I'M LOOKING AT 14 WHERE IT'S GOT THE THREE PILLARS, IF YOU WILL.
SHOULD WE HAVE A FOURTH PILLAR THAT TALKS ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE? YEAH.
AND, AND I APOLOGIZE 'CAUSE I THINK IT CREATED SOME CONFUSION.
WE, WE SENT A DRAFT POWERPOINT ON MONDAY AND WE MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS.
SO ON SLIDE 17, AND WE CAN PUT THAT ON THE SCREEN, UM, ON THE, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, COUNCILMAN ON THAT IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS, WE'VE ADDED INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS AND QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACKS.
SO THAT WOULD BE STREETS, UH, DRAINAGE FOR EXAMPLE.
BUT I STILL COME BACK TO THAT $50 MILLION.
UM, AND I, I JUST THINK WE NEED TO INCLUDE SOME OF THAT OR PORTION OR ALL OF IT IN THIS, THIS, UH, THIS PACKAGE FOR ARPA.
UM, SLIDE 15, THIS ONE TIME, ONE TIME PROGRAMS HERE.
BUT DID I UNDERSTAND YOU RIGHT THAT THIS IS JUST ONE TIME OR IS THIS ALL GONNA REVERT TO OUR GENERAL FUND AFTER THESE FUNDS RUN OUT? RIGHT.
SO, SO OUR INTENT IS THAT THERE ONE TIME IMPROVEMENTS, UH, WE CAN TRANSITION IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITY AND THE COUNCIL.
AND WE TALKED ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND TRANSITIONING THOSE AS PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE GENERAL FUND.
BUT THE ARPA FUNDS IS, IS ONE TIME IN NATURE.
SO WE WANNA KEEP THEM TO BE UTILIZED FOR ONE TIME INVESTMENTS.
BUT WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME IS, IS IT, IT WILL PROBABLY FA FALL INTO OUR GENERAL FUND CATEGORY IN THE FUTURE WHEN THESE FUNDS RUN OUT? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? NO, NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT MARIA SAID.
WHAT MARIA SAID IS BASED ON THE PRIORITY 'CAUSE 'CAUSE THEN THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD, UM, IN MAY WITH THE COUNCIL.
WE NEED TO BE VERY, UM, AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THIS FUND, THESE FUNDING, THIS FUNDING SOURCE AND, AND WHATEVER THE PLAN IS.
UM, WE DON'T WANNA PUT THE CITY IN A POSITION WHERE EVERYTHING JUST GETS ABSORBED 'CAUSE WE WON'T BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT.
RIGHT? SO IT SHOULD BE ONE TIME IN NATURE.
UM, THE CLINICAL DISPATCHERS WE ADDED IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THIS YEAR'S BUDGET WERE FUNDED WITH PART OF THAT AR WITH THAT ARPA MONEY, THAT $97 MILLION.
AND, AND WE, WE HAVE FUNDED THEM FOR 22 AND 23 AND THAT WILL LIKELY BE A PRIORITY.
AND WE NEED TO TAKE THAT IN CONSIDERATIONS FOR 24 AND 25 SO THAT WE CAN DOVETAIL THE RECOVERY SO THAT WE CAN AFFORD THESE THINGS.
UM, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN COURAGE ON THE HOMELESSNESS.
WHEN I FIRST ASKED THAT QUESTION BACK IN 2017, I THINK I SAID, WELL HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE SPENDING? AND AT THAT TIME IT WAS, UM, THE FIRST TIME I ASKED IT, IT WAS 80 MILLION A YEAR.
AND I NOW I THINK IT'S DOWN TO 70 MILLION A YEAR.
AND TO KEEP ADDING TO THAT FUND WITHOUT SEEING ANY APPRECIABLE,
[01:50:01]
UM, IMPROVEMENTS IN THAT.I THINK, UH, WE'RE, WE SHOULDN'T BE DOING THIS IN MY OPINION, AND WE SHOULD NOT BE PURCHASING A HOTEL, UH, FOR THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT HAVEN FOR HOPE.
WE WE'RE RENTING A HOTEL RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, TO ME, IF WE'RE USING MORE MONEY FROM THIS, THE ISSUE IS NOT SPENDING MORE MONEY.
THE ISSUE IS GETTING THE HELP TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE THAT WANT THE HELP AND NEED THE HELP.
SO, UM, I, I THINK THAT WHOLE THING NEEDS TO BE RESTRUCTURED THROUGH OUR NON-PROFITS AND FAITH-BASED COMMUNITIES TO, UM, LOOK AT THIS WHOLE PROCESS FOR HOMELESSNESS.
AND THE ANSWER IS NOT JUST THROW MORE MONEY AT IT.
AND I, I DON'T LIKE THIS THAT'S IN THIS PACKAGE TO BE USED FOR HOMELESSNESS.
THE, UH, I I, AGAIN, I THINK WE NEED TO SIT BACK AND I THINK THIS NEEDS TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL FOR ANOTHER MEETING BASED ON ALL THE COMMENTS.
I MEAN, YOU'RE HEARING A LOT OF COMMENTS.
WE NEED THIS, WE NEED THIS, CONSIDER THIS AND CONSIDER THAT WE NEED TO RELOOK THIS WHOLE PACKAGE AND BEFORE WE START GOING OUT TO THE COMMUNITIES AND, UM, GET THAT DONE FIRST.
BECAUSE ONCE THESE BUCKETS ARE SHOWN TO THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, UH, AGAIN, IS ANYTHING GONNA CHANGE DRAMATICALLY FROM COMMUNITY INPUT ACROSS THE CITY? I, I, I KNOW, I KNOW WHAT MY COMMUNITY IS GONNA BE SAYING.
THEY'RE GONNA SAY, HEY, WHY AREN'T WE PUTTING SOME OF THIS TOWARDS INFRASTRUCTURE? AND I KNOW THERE'S RULES TO THAT, BUT THAT NEEDS TO BE EXPLAINED.
AND, UM, UM, I STILL THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR THAT TO ADD INFRASTRUCTURE ONTO THIS, UM, IN THOSE CENSUS TRACKS AND, AND RECOUP SOME OF THAT MONEY FROM THIS PROGRAM.
SO, COUNCILMAN, I'M I, WE'RE FULLY PREPARED.
WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA HEAR THINGS AT THE, AT THE PUBLIC MEETINGS THAT MAYBE THE COUNCIL HADN'T EVEN BROUGHT UP.
SO, UM, THIS IS NOT, UM, THESE ARE, THESE ARE, UH, THE, THE EXAMPLES WE GAVE YOU AND THE THREE PILLARS OTHER THAN THE COVID, UM, EXPENSES.
UH, WE, WE MAY HEAR OTHER THINGS.
AND, AND TO COUNCILMAN BRAVO'S POINT, WE'RE GONNA PACKAGE THAT UP AND BRING IT BACK TO YOU.
YOU LIKELY WILL CONTINUE TO HEAR FROM NEIGHBORHOODS OR GROUPS ABOUT THINGS THAT, THAT HAVEN'T BEEN CONTEMPLATED.
AND THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF COMING BACK TO COUNCIL TO KIND OF KEEP YOU INFORMED.
THE THE CONVERSATION WITH THE COMMUNITY ISN'T GONNA BE, THIS IS THE, THIS IS THE SCOPE AND THIS IS IT.
IT'S, IT'S DESIGNED TO BE OPEN AND, AND WE'LL BRING THAT FORWARD TO YOU.
AND I SUSPECT THAT MANY, MANY OF YOU WILL ATTEND THOSE MEETINGS AND, AND HEAR FIRSTHAND.
UH, A QUICK QUESTION ON THE HOME FUNDING.
THERE'S THIS RAPID REHOUSING PORTION FOR IT, AND MAYBE I CAN GET MORE DETAILS AFTERWARD.
I I JUST, UH, DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE STOCK FOR RAPID RE I, I DON'T KNOW HOW BIG STOCK WE NEED FOR, FOR RAPID REHOUSING, SO I JUST, IF SOMEONE COULD ANSWER THAT OFFLINE.
UM, MY, UH, OTHER QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH, UM, THE COMMUNITY INPUT.
UM, I'M GLAD WE'RE DOING THAT.
I, I DO THINK IT'S REQUIRED BY, UH, AS, AS THE WAY ARPA WAS WRITTEN, BUT I THINK WE WANNA BE VERY SPECIFIC WHEN WE GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND TO OUR PARTNERS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE ASKING THEM FOR IN TERMS OF INPUT.
UM, BECAUSE WE MIGHT JUST GET A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WE CAN'T, UH, WE CAN'T USE, AND THAT WE'RE VERY CLEAR WITH THEM, BUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO USE THEIR INPUT AND, AND WHEN WE DO COME BACK AND, AND CONVENE TO, TO DISCUSS, UM, THAT WE ARE ABLE TO DEDUCE WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY AND HOW THAT IS INFLUENCING THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, THAT YOU'RE MAKING, UH, TO US.
UM, ANOTHER COMMENT I I WANTED TO MAKE WAS, UM, I WANNA THANK COUNCILMAN ELIAS FOR SUPPORTING MY REQUEST TO SEE, UH, HOW WE SPENT CARESS AND HOW WE SPENT, UH, HOW WE'RE POSSIBLY SPENDING THIS AND THE BIG PICTURE OF HOW THAT ALL FITS TOGETHER, WHETHER IT'S IN A SLIDE OR YOU SEND IT TO US AFTERWARD, UH, MARIA.
AND THEN, UM, I, I DO WANNA TALK FOR A SECOND ABOUT THE INTERSECTION OF INFRASTRUCTURE HERE AND IN THE POSSIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE THAT MIGHT COME OUT OF, OF, UM, THE LEGISLATURE SOON.
SO I THINK I HEARD THE MAYOR SAY THAT, UM,
[01:55:01]
LET'S HOLD ON INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE IF I THINK THAT'S WHAT I HEARD, BUT IT'S ALSO ON THE LIST, RIGHT? OF THE POTENTIAL EXPENSES.SO I GUESS I DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE IS GONNA COME OUT.
AND I, UM, MAYBE SOMEONE CAN FILL ME IN ON THAT AND WHEN, UM, NOT RIGHT NOW AND WHEN, UH,
I WAS HAVING A CONVERSATION THIS MORNING WITH, UM, WITH THE REPORTER ABOUT, UM, ABOUT DRAINAGE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE.
AND, UH, AND HE WAS ASKING ME ABOUT THE CEILING CHANNEL, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, THESE INVESTMENTS.
AND I SAID, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CERTAIN DRAINAGE PROJECTS THAT ARE, THEY'RE BASICALLY BOTTLENECKS.
WE HAVE TONS OF DRAINAGE PROJECTS THAT WE NEED EVERYWHERE, RIGHT, FOR LIFE SAFETY ISSUES SO THAT PEOPLE CAN PRESERVE THEIR HOMES.
UM, BUT THEY CAN'T BE DONE UNTIL THAT ONE BOTTLENECK GETS DONE, WHETHER IT'S CEILING CHANNEL OR SOMETHING ELSE.
SO I DON'T WANNA LOSE THE OPPORTUNITY WHETHER IT'S IN THIS, UM, WITH THIS FUNDING OR WITH THE NEXT ROUND OF, OF INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING TO GET THROUGH SOME OF THOSE BOTTLENECK DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
AND I KNOW THAT SOUNDS REALLY BORING AND NOT SEXY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW WE SPEND ARPA FUNDS, BUT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE AFFECTED BY THE MAJOR DRAINAGE PROJECT OR BY THE SUBSEQUENT ONE, THAT CAN BE DONE, UM, BECAUSE WE GET RID OF THIS BOTTLENECK.
IF IT CAN SAVE YOUR HOME, IT'S TREMENDOUSLY LIFESAVING.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE PUT THAT ON, ON THE RADAR.
UM, AND THEN I LASTLY, SORRY, I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION, BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER IT RIGHT NOW.
UM, SOME OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE MENTIONED WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE MEETING MORE ON THIS.
UM, I DEFINITELY SUPPORT, UM, A DETAILED CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.
I THINK THE COUNTY HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS, UH, ON THIS, SO, UM, I'D BE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT AS WELL.
I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T SPEAK UP ABOUT, UH, THAT 20 MILLION FOR PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
UH, I KNOW I HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT AND, UH, SUBMITTED A, UM, I GUESS A MEMO WITH A $10 MILLION REQUEST DURING THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET AMENDMENT PROCESS.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT'S EXTREMELY NECESSARY.
YES, WE DO SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON HOMELESSNESS.
UM, BUT THIS IS A GAP IN WHAT'S NEEDED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
I THINK THAT THE MEADOWS SURVEY, UH, MEADOWS FOUNDATION STUDY MAY BE POINTED TO THAT.
AND THAT THERE ARE ABOUT A THOUSAND UNITS THAT WE ARE SHORT OF HOUSING, PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THAT IF WE CAN GET THEM INTO THAT HOUSING WITH WRAPAROUND SERVICES, UM, THEN WE CAN ALSO SAVE WHEN IT COMES TO EMERGENCY SERVICES AS WELL.
I'M EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT AND GRATEFUL THAT CITY STAFF HAVE COME FORWARD WITH THAT RECOMMENDATION.
AND THEN ON THE UNSOLICITED FUNDING REQUESTS, I, I'VE ACTUALLY HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF, UH, GETTING TWO PRESENTATIONS ON THERE.
ONE FROM MORGAN WONDERLAND AND ONE FROM THE EDUCA EDUCATOR WITH TEXAS A AND M.
THEY BOTH LOOK LIKE GREAT PROGRAMS. UM, SO I'M, I'M JUST INTERESTED IN US BEING ABLE TO CONSIDER THEM SOME MORE.
I, YOU KNOW, HAVEN'T HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO, UH, LEARN ABOUT ANY OF THE OTHERS.
THEY MAY, THERE MAY BE SOME OTHER GOOD ONES AS WELL IN THERE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT EDUCATOR, IT'S, IT'S AFTERSCHOOL, UM, AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMMING WITH AN EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT.
I THINK THAT'S FANTASTIC AND, AND NECESSARY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THEN MORGAN'S WONDERLAND, I THINK IS JUST A, YOU KNOW, A GREAT PROJECT THAT, UM, I THINK IS, IS SOMETHING THAT HAS THE OPPORTUNITY AS WELL TO PROVIDE STACK BENEFITS AND ATTRACTING MORE PEOPLE BECAUSE IT'S SO UNIQUE AND IT CAN ATTRACT PEOPLE FROM ALL ACROSS OUR COUNTRY, ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND, UM, WOULD ACTUALLY END UP SUPPORTING OUR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY AS WELL.
SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS HERE THAT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO CONSIDER.
SO I JUST WANTED TO CHIME BACK IN TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, I WAS CLEAR.
SO I, I AM GOOD FOR GOING OUT INTO THE DISTRICT, AND I AM APPRECIATIVE OF THE UNSOLICITED FUNDS AND LIKE, UH, COUNCILMAN BRAVO, MORGAN'S WONDERLAND, EDUCARE, UM, AND, AND OTHERS IN HERE.
BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS GET INPUT FROM
[02:00:01]
THE CI BECAUSE I AND CENTRAL MED HAS A REQUEST.THERE'S MANY OUT THERE, BUT WHEN WE LEVERAGE PARTNERSHIPS, NOT ONLY THOSE THAT RECEIVED ARPA DOLLARS, BUT OUR COMMUNITY NONPROFITS THAT ARE OUT THERE DOING WORK AND HOW WE CAN LEVER PARTNERSHIPS WITH THEM.
BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GET COMMUNITY INPUT ON WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO PRIORITIZE.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY I, I WANNA HAVE ANOTHER MEETING BECAUSE I WANT THEM TO KNOW, AND I'LL GO OUT TO MY DISTRICT AND TALK ABOUT THOSE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES OR SENIORS, THE, THE CHILDCARE GAP, THE FOOD DESERTS.
WE'LL HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS IN MY DISTRICT.
BUT I THINK IF WE CAN GET CONSENSUS FROM THE COUNCIL WHERE WE LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW THIS IS THE CONSENSUS WE'RE HEARING, WHEN WE LOOK FOR PROGRAMS TO RECEIVE A RPA FUNDS, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
UH, SO I, I, I THINK THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO HAVE MORE CONVERSATION, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT CITY STAFF TO BE OVERWHELMED WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF REQUESTS THAT, UH, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T SOMETHING WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT PRIORITIZING RIGHT NOW WITH THESE DOLLARS, OR THEY JUST DON'T EVEN MEET THE CRITERIA OF, OF WHAT OUR FOCUS IS AND OUR PRIORITY IS.
SO I WANTED TO BE CLEAR ON THAT, UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, JUST IN CASE, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE ANY MORE MEETINGS.
AND, UM, AND I JUST AGREE WITH MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE, UM, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL, IS THAT I, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THOSE DOLLARS COMING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, BUT I DON'T WANNA, I, AND I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE, I DON'T WANNA COUNT ON MONEY THAT WE DON'T HAVE.
SO IF WE HAVE THESE INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS RIGHT NOW AND WE CAN DO DRAINAGE PROJECTS, I THINK WE NEED TO WORK ON MAKING THAT A PRIORITY.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO CHIME BACK IN AND ECHO THAT.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT PRIOR TO THIS GOING TO A SESSION THAT WE DO HAVE ANOTHER MEETING TO WALK THROUGH, UM, WHAT DIRECTION WE'RE GOING IN WITH THE ARPA DOLLARS.
UH, I ALSO WANTED TO EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR THE UTILITIES COMPONENT AND LOOKING AT, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING AUTHORITY AS WELL AS THE MUSICIANS OF THE SYMPHONY.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE LOOK AT OPPORTUNITIES TO LAYER FUNDING.
UH, UH, AGAIN, TO ECHO WHAT FOLKS HAVE ALREADY EXPRESSED, IS YES, WE DO KNOW THAT WE POTENTIALLY MAY GET INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING.
UH, HOWEVER, WE, WE SHOULDN'T WAIT FOR THAT.
UH, AND WHEN WE LOOK AT PROJECTS LIKE DRAINAGE, THEY'RE VERY EXPENSIVE.
AND EVEN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BOND PROJECTS, RIGHT, THEY'RE OFTEN PRESENTED TO US IN PHASES.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S, THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LAYER THAT FUNDING, UH, RATHER THAN JUST, YOU KNOW, WAITING FOR THE NEXT BUCKET OF FUNDING.
UH, I THINK IN ORDER TO SUPPORT MANY OF THESE LARGE PROJECTS, IT IS GOING TO TAKE MULTIPLE SOURCES OF FUNDING.
AND I THINK WE SHOULDN'T, YOU KNOW, PASS THAT BY.
UH, IT CAN BE ANSWERED OFFLINE.
UM, BUT, UH, THIS MORNING, JOHN CORNIN SENT OUT AN EMAIL, UH, STATING THAT THE SENATE PASSED A BILL, UM, BILL FROM CORNIN FA, BIPARTISAN COLLEAGUES TO ALLOW UNSPENT COVID RELIEF DOLLARS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DISASTER RELIEF.
AND MY QUESTION, IF, IF NEEDED, WE COULD TALK ABOUT IT OFFLINE, BUT HOW WILL THAT POTENTIALLY IMPACT THESE BUCKETS OF FUNDING? WILL IT ADD, UM, WILL IT RESTRICT? UM, THE SHORT ANSWER IS IT, IT EXPANDS FLEXIBILITY.
SO YOU SAW IN THE CRITERIA THAT, UH, MARIA HAD EARLIER THAT BROADBAND WAS DEFINED IN ARPA AS WATER WASTEWATER.
I MEAN, I'M SORRY, INFRASTRUCTURE IS DEFINED AS WATER WASTEWATER AND BROADBAND.
THIS WOULD EXPAND THE CATEGORIES, UH, WITHIN THAT BASIC GUIDANCE.
BUT IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT BILLS ONLY PASSED THE SENATE.
IT HASN'T BEEN APPROVED YET TO BECOME, BECOME LAW, BUT, UM, YES, IT CREATES MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
AND, AND I'M NOT TOO SURE IF I ALREADY STATED, BUT I, I AM SUPPORTIVE OF THE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, UH, AND ENSURING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE INTENTIONAL WITH THESE DOLLARS, UM, TO MEET WE'RE, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY WHERE WE HAD CUTS, BUT WHERE WE COULD UPLIFT COMMUNITIES.
I THINK IT'S CATALYTIC, I THINK IT'S TRANSFORMATIVE, UM, WHEN WE UPLIFT COMMUNITIES.
UM, SO, UH, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT.
AND I JUST WANTED TO CHIME BACK IN BECAUSE, UM, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES SAID SOMETHING, BUT WE'RE GOING THROUGH A LOT OF REALLY, UM, EXCITING TIMES RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF FUNDING THAT MIGHT BECOME AVAILABLE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND SO THE BOND DISCUSSION, THE ARPA, ANY, UH, ADDITIONAL MONEY THAT WE MIGHT GET.
UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK STAFF, UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT MONDAY PRESENTATIONS THAT YOU ALL SENT US, UH, Y'ALL, THAT MEANS THAT YOU WORKED THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
AND SO I'M JUST HAPPY THAT YOU ALL ARE ABLE TO AT LEAST GET US A DRAFT OF IT BY MONDAY.
[02:05:01]
I, I MET WITH MARIA ON SATURDAY, AND IT WAS ABOUT AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA FOR TOMORROW, BECAUSE WE BOTH DIDN'T HAVE TIME.AND THESE ARE HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF DOCUMENTS THAT WE ARE READING THROUGH.
AND I REMEMBER COUNCILMAN VO ON, ON HIS FIRST GO AROUND AT A COMMITTEE MEET OR AT A B SESSION SAID, YOU, YOU BETTER EAT YOUR WHEATIES.
AND COUNCILMAN, I THINK I'VE EATING MY WHEATIES, I THINK SOME OF US MIGHT STUCK UP ON, ON WHEATIES, RIGHT? UM, BECAUSE IT'S A POWER SESSION RIGHT NOW.
LIKE, WE HAVE TO KEEP READING AND PREPARING AND EXPECTING OUR STAFFS ALSO TO BE AS WELL PREPARED AS A CITY STAFF IS.
UM, AND I JUST CAN'T TAKE THE TIME TO THANK YOU WELL ENOUGH FOR WORKING ON ALL OF THESE MULTIPLE PROJECTS AND BRINGING FORTH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE JUST A STARTING POINT FOR ALL OF US.
RIGHT? SO, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
I, I DO HAVE TO SAY THAT I'VE, I'VE BEEN A CITY STAFFER BEFORE, AND THAT'S WHY IT GIVES ME PRIDE TO READ EVERY DOCUMENT THAT YOU SEND, BECAUSE SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE IN THE BASEMENT IS WORKING REALLY HARD ON IT FOR OTHERS NOT TO READ IT.
AND SO IT'S JUST THIS PERSONAL PET PEEVE OF MINE THAT, YOU KNOW, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE PREPARE FOR THAT.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LEFT OFF EARLIER YEAH.
IS TODAY I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH OUR HOMELESSNESS COORDINATOR AND HE MENTIONED THAT HE HAD REACHED OUT TO THIS, UH, INDIVIDUAL WHO, UM, WAS KIND OF STICKING AROUND AND HE DIDN'T WANT TO GO TO THE SHELTER BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANNA LEAVE HIS DOG BEHIND.
AND I THINK COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO HAD BROUGHT THIS UP BEFORE.
AND SO WE HAVE TO CONSIDER, UM, THAT AS WELL, RIGHT? AS WE THINK ABOUT THAT, UM, LOW BARRIER SHELTERS, I I, I, I WALKED WITH OUR HOMELESSNESS COORDINATOR ON FRIDAY, AND SO THERE, THERE'S A VERY REAL NEED FOR THAT, RIGHT? AND SO FOLKS NEED THAT, FOLKS WHO JUST BECAME HOMELESS, RIGHT? SO, SO ANYTHING THAT I CAN DO TO, TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
JEFF STOOD UP HERE EARLIER AND MENTIONED THAT, UM, THE OTHER BILL, BY THE WAY, IT, IT STILL HAS TO PASS THE HOUSE.
AND I THINK THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY DRAFT A LETTER OF SUPPORT TO OUR, UM, DELEGATION.
I THINK THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL.
UM, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW IT WOULD DO, BUT I THINK THAT, THAT WE DO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT AND ENCOURAGE, UH, THAT, BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
WOULD WE BE ABLE, SINCE WE ALREADY SPENT ALL OF OUR FUNDS, OR IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'VE SPENT A MAJORITY OF OUR FUNDS, DOES THAT MEAN THAT ALL THIS MONEY GETS PUT BACK IN A POT AND NOW IT'S DIVIDED AGAIN? HELP, HELP ME UNDERSTAND THAT.
I'M SORRY, COUNCILMAN, JUST TO CLARIFY, WHAT FUNDING ARE YOU REFERRING TO? IT'S THE ONE THAT, UM, THE, THE BILL JUST PASSED, UH, THE SENATE.
IT WAS A BIPARTISAN BILL WITH SENATOR CORNIN.
SO THAT'S TWO UNUSED COVID FUNDING, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
BUT IF WE USED A MAJORITY OF OURS ALREADY, AS THEY DO, THEY PUT IT BACK IN A POT.
I JUST DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT PROCESS QUITE MUCH.
THE, THE PROCESS THAT I'M FAMILIAR WITH IS SPECIFICALLY TO EMERGENCY HOUSING RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
WHERE THEY'RE LOOKING AT UNUSED FUNDS OR, UH, FUNDS THAT OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAVEN'T SPENT, AND TRYING TO PUT THOSE INTO PRODUCTION, IF YOU WILL.
AND, AND, UM, THOSE ENTITIES LIKE OURSELVES, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO QUICKLY SPEND THEM, UH, WE HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF, UH, GETTING SOME ADDITIONAL DOLLARS.
'CAUSE THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING TOO.
WELL, IT, IT, IT, IT COULD MEAN, AND I THINK WE NEED TO BE VERY DELIBERATE.
WE'LL WORK WITH THE I G R COMMITTEE.
BUT WE'VE BEEN VERY EFFICIENT IN TERMS OF OUR USE OF THOSE FEDERAL DOLLARS.
AND, AND SO THE LEGISLATION COULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR THOSE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WHO HAVEN'T BEEN GOT IT, TO SPEND MORE OR SPEND ON DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO I, I THINK IT'S A, I THINK IT'S A, A FINE LINE OF, OF, UH, BEING ABLE TO SHOW THAT WE'VE BEEN EFFICIENT AND BEEN VERY TARGETED AND TO ADVOCATE FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
UM, BUT, BUT IT COULD HAVE THE OPPOSITE EFFECT.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY, THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING THE, THE QUESTION.
I WANTED TO JUST CLARIFY THAT.
SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE PUT BACK IN A POT, OR DOES IT JUST MEAN SOME OF THE SURROUNDING AREAS THAT HAVEN'T USED IT? AND, AND BY THE WAY, I STILL THINK THAT AS THE BIGGER CITY AROUND THAT WE SHOULD ADVOCATE FOR OUR NEIGHBORING, UM, CITIES AS WELL, RIGHT.
AND, AND FOLKS WHO HAVEN'T HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE IT.
SO, BUT THAT'S, THANK YOU FOR, FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING MORE WITH, WITH JEFF AND THE TEAM.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROSA GARCIA, ERIC, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, BUT I, I DO THINK AS THE, UM, COVID SITUATION HAS GOTTEN, UM, BACK INTO CONTROL AND WE'RE EXERCISING CAUTION, UH, IT WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR US TO GET BACK INTO THE WORK ROOM, UH, FOR OUR WORK SESSIONS.
I MEAN, I, WE'RE SITTING AROUND THE DICE, IT FEELS LIKE A VOTING SESSION, BUT THIS IS THE WORK SESSION WHICH WE HAMMER OUT AND HEAR INPUT, UM, AND, AND KIND OF MAKE SENSE OF WHERE PEOPLE'S THOUGHTS ARE AS WE HAVE ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.
UH, THERE'S NOT A VOTE FOR A WHILE ON THE ARPA DOLLARS, BUT I GET THE SENSE THAT PEOPLE THINK THIS IS, UM, THAT, THAT THERE'S AN EXPECTATION THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME SERIOUS DECISIONS TODAY.
THAT'S NOT WHAT TODAY'S ABOUT.
IT IS ABOUT WORKING, WORKING ON THIS TOGETHER.
UM, AND I, I HAVE A, MY SENSE IS THAT THE, THE, UH,
[02:10:01]
BRIEFING ROOM WHERE WE USUALLY HAVE OUR WORK SESSIONS PRIOR TO COVID, UH, IS, IS, UH, MORE CONDUCIVE TO THAT KIND OF WORK COUNCIL MEMBER.YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'VE HAD A LOT OF IDEAS, VERY GOOD IDEAS, AND A LOT OF, UH, US HAVE EXPRESSED, UH, OUR CONCERNS AND OUR INTERESTS IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THIS.
UH, AND I TOO WANT TO COMMEND THE CITY STAFF FOR ALL THE WORK THEY'VE PUT INTO IT.
BUT I GUESS RIGHT NOW, I'M, I'M PROBABLY WONDERING WHAT THE CITY STAFF IS GONNA TAKE AWAY FROM THIS MEETING TODAY, BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING PREPARED TO GO OUT INTO THE PUBLIC AND TO ASK THE PUBLIC TO COMMENT ON, UH, THEIR PROPOSAL, PLUS ALL OF THE INPUT THAT WE'VE PUT IN.
AND I GUESS MY BIGGEST QUESTION TO ERIC IS, DO YOU HAVE YOUR MARCHING ORDERS? DO YOU KNOW WHAT TODAY YOU WOULD BE TAKING OUT TOMORROW TO PRESENT TO THE, TO THE COMMUNITY? AND MY, MY GUESS IS, SO IT'S A RHETORICAL QUESTION.
MY GUESS IS NO, YOU'RE NOT SURE, AND YOU'VE GOTTA REVIEW WHAT YOU'VE HEARD TODAY.
I WOULD ASK THAT YOU DO THAT, AND THAT YOU FORWARD TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHAT YOU PERCEIVE TO BE THE DIRECTION THAT YOU WOULD TAKE OUT TO THE PUBLIC, AND MAKE SURE WHEN WE SEE THAT, THAT WE SAY, YEAH, YEAH, I THINK YOU GOT EVERYTHING WE, WE WOULD TRY TO EMPHASIZE.
AND THAT WAY, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR IT FROM THE COUNCIL, AND IT MAY HELP GIVE YOU A LITTLE MORE DIRECTION WHEN YOU GO OUT INTO THE PUBLIC.
SO IT'S NOT THAT I, I THINK WE SHOULD BE MANDATING WHAT YOU SAY OR DO, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US TO HAVE A GOOD INDICATION OF WHERE YOU'RE GONNA BE HEADING WHEN YOU GO OUT INTO THE PUBLIC, UH, WITH THE PRESENTATION ABOUT WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TODAY.
WELL, THANK, THANKS, COUNCILMAN.
I, I, I THINK, UM, THAT IT, IT'S, IT'S, AND I, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA JUST SAID THAT IT'S A STARTING POINT.
AND, AND, UM, I THINK WE ARE, WE ARE NOT INTENDING ON GOING OUT TO THE PUBLIC MEETINGS AND BEING PRESCRIPTIVE, BUT WE NEED TO BE, WE DO NEED TO DESCRIBE THE POTENTIAL AND WE WILL FOLD IN SOME OF THE, THE, THE CONVERSATION WE HEARD HERE TODAY.
AND I'M, I'M THINKING THAT WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THE COUNCIL A MEMO NEXT WEEK THAT SUMMARIZES KIND OF THE PLAN.
WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO MAKE AN, WE WERE GETTING A SET, WE WERE GONNA SEND A PRESS RELEASE OUT TODAY ON THE EIGHT MEETINGS.
WE'LL HOLD, WE'LL, WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT THE NINTH MEETING IS ON A SATURDAY, UM, AND, AND TRY TO RE ENCAPSULATE THAT, AND THEN SEND TO THE COUNCIL A MEMO OF, OF, UM, THE SUMMARY AND AN OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'LL DO AT THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
I THINK IT'S GONNA CONTINUE TO CHANGE.
I, I THINK, I THINK WE'RE LIKELY TO HEAR SOME THINGS AT THE, AT THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT, UH, NEITHER THE, THE STAFF HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT OR THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TODAY.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO KEEP IT AS BROAD AS POSSIBLE AND OPEN, AND THEN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON WHAT COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL SAID IS THAT AS WE COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL WITH AN UPDATE IN DECEMBER, YOU'RE NOT VOTING IN DECEMBER.
WHEN WE COME BACK WITH AN UPDATE, WE'RE ABLE TO TRANSLATE WHAT WE'VE HEARD AT THE PUBLIC, UM, INTO, UM, TANGIBLE THINGS THAT YOU CAN CONSIDER.
I THINK THAT'S VERY PRUDENT, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, THIS SENATE BILL FLEXIBILITY, AND I'M GLAD THAT WAS BROUGHT UP.
I, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT ON THIS AS IT RELATES TO WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO I THINK THAT STILL HAS TO BE OUT THERE.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, ERIC, I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT THERE WERE A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS UP HERE WANTING INDIVIDUAL ITEMS TO BE INCLUDED WITH ARPA FUNDING, BUT THERE WASN'T, I, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS A CONSENSUS AROUND THIS WHOLE DAIS, UH, THAT YES, WE NEED TO DO THAT SINGLE THING OR WHATEVER.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHY I WOULD LIKE TO SEE BEFORE YOU GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA TAKE TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THAT INFLUENCES A LOT, WHATEVER YOU TAKE OUT TO THE COMMUNITY TO GET THEIR INPUT.
BUT WHAT YOU'RE RECOMMENDING IS REALLY LOOKED UPON BY THE COMMUNITY SAYING, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL EITHER AGREE OR DISAGREE, BUT THEY WON'T HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY, I DON'T THINK, TO, AGAIN, MAKE COMMENTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS TO EITHER MOVE MONEY OR REDUCE THIS OR EXPAND THAT, THAT KIND OF THING.
AND THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE IN, IN YOUR, YOUR LETTER BACK TO US IS GREAT.
AND I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO WAIT TO SEE WHAT'S IN THAT LETTER TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE TAKING
[02:15:01]
FROM THE TODAY TO EITHER INCLUDE OR NOT INCLUDE IN THE NEXT REVISION.COUNCILMAN, I DON'T MAKE A HABIT OF DOING THIS VERY OFTEN, BUT, UM, I'M GONNA DISAGREE WITH YOUR CHARACTERIZATION.
WE HAVE NO PLAN, UH, WE'VE NOT ALLOCATED BEYOND WHAT I THINK WE MIGHT NEED FOR C O V I D IN TERMS OF DOLLAR AMOUNT.
AND I HAVE, UH, WE'VE STATED THAT GOD WILLING, THAT NUMBER WILL GO DOWN AS WE GO THROUGH THE REST OF THE FALL.
UM, I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED TO BE EXTREMELY OPEN TO THE POTENTIAL WE'VE HEARD ABOUT, UH, SMALL BUSINESS AND THE SPAC, UH, PERFORMING ARTS, THE SYMPHONY, UH, PARKS, IMPROVEMENTS, STREETS, INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, THERE'S NO TEMPLATE THAT WE'RE GOING TO THE COUNCIL, TO THE, TO THE COMMUNITY WITH.
UM, AND SO I, I, I DO NOT AGREE WITH YOUR CHARACTERIZATION.
UM, I, I, I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE WAY WE SHOULD RUN THOSE EIGHT OR NINE COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
'CAUSE WE'RE REALLY ASKING FOR THE PUBLIC'S INPUT.
I MEAN, FRANKLY, WE'RE ASKING THE PUBLIC TO TELL US HOW THEY'VE BEEN IMPACTED BY COVID.
AND WE MAY HEAR OTHER THINGS NOW.
I'LL USE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, I'VE HEARD TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS, I TAKE PRETTY GOOD NOTES OVER HERE.
I'VE HEARD TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS TALK ABOUT, UM, NOT SPENDING ANY MORE MONEY ON HOMELESS.
UM, I HEARD OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE.
SO, UH, WE'RE NOT, THE STAFF'S NOT MAKING A JUDGMENT ON THAT ISSUE OR A RECOMMENDATION AT THE PUBLIC HEARINGS.
WE'RE GONNA HEAR WHAT THE PUBLIC HAS TO SAY, AND WE'LL COME BACK AND WE'LL SHARE IT WITH THE COUNCIL.
UM, AND, AND, UM, I, I'M, I'M PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT THE SUMMARY MEMO TO BACK TO THE COUNCIL, THAT, UM, ALL 11 OF YOU WILL NOT AGREE A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT WE'RE GONNA ENCAPSULATE EVERYTHING WE HEARD AND, UH, MAKE SURE WE INCORPORATE THAT WITH THE PUBLIC.
AND, UH, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND WE CAN AGREE TO DISAGREE THAT THAT'S FINE.
UH, THOSE ARE JUST MY COMMENTS ABOUT THE PROCESS AND, UH, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UH, PRIOR TO GOING OUT TO THE, TO THE COMMUNITIES WITH YOUR, UM, HOWEVER YOU'RE GONNA COLLECT THAT INFORMATION.
AND, AND YES, I THINK THEY HAVE A BIG INPUT ON THIS BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT LOCAL DOLLARS, IT'S STILL THEIR TAX DOLLARS GOING TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT WE'RE GETTING BACK AT, AT, UH, AT THE CITY LEVEL.
SO, YOU KNOW, ROUNDABOUT WAY SAYING IT'S STILL THEIR TAX DOLLARS, AND THEY NEED TO HAVE THAT VOICE TO SAY, THIS IS HOW I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THOSE TAX DOLLARS USED.
THAT'S COMING BACK TO SAN ANTONIO.
SO I, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT GETTING COMMUNITY INPUT AND, AND MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT.
AND AGAIN, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, I, I GUESS YOU'RE GONNA COME BACK TO US WITH A LETTER SAYING WHAT YOU TOOK FROM THIS MEETING TODAY, BUT COULD WE GET A DRAFT COPY OF WHAT THE PRESENTATION IS GONNA LOOK LIKE GOING TO THE COMMUNITY? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, I'M, I, I'M, UM, I I SENSE THAT, THAT YOU FEEL LIKE, UH, STAFF IS NOT GOING TO, UM, PURSUE AN OPEN DIALOGUE WITH THE PUBLIC.
AND I, AND I WANNA REITERATE THAT THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE'RE HAVING THE WORKSHOPS.
UM, AND, AND WHILE, AND I'M, AND I'M ONLY GONNA USE THIS BECAUSE AN EXAMPLE THAT YOU USED, UM, YOU, YOU MAY NOT FEEL LIKE, AND I HEARD YOU LOUD AND CLEAR, THAT WE SHOULD BE SPENDING ANY MORE MONEY ON HOMELESSNESS MM-HMM.
UM, WE HAVE FEDERAL RESOURCES AND WE, AND WE HAVE SOME MEMBERS THAT HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT, AND WE WILL LIKELY HEAR ABOUT THAT FROM THE PUBLIC.
AND, AND IF WE DO, WE WILL INCORPORATE WITHIN OUR STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS LATER ON IN THE YEAR.
UM, I CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT EVERYTHING IS GONNA, IS GONNA HIT ALL FOUR OF YOUR CORNERS.
UM, THIS IS A GROUP DISCUSS DISCUSSION THAT ULTIMATELY THE COUNCIL WILL VOTE ON AND THEN WE'LL IMPLEMENT.
UM, SO I, I FEEL LIKE I'M, I FEEL LIKE YOU'RE HEMMING ME IN A LITTLE BIT, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE I'M VERY CLEAR THAT WE'RE GONNA BE VERY OPEN WITH THE PUBLIC AND, UM, YOU KNOW, BUT MY, MY GOAL WILL BE TO HAVE AN 11 OH VOTE WHEN YOU GUYS VOTE ON ARPA.
AND, UH, BUT IF NOT, UH, MAJORITY RULES, THEN WE'LL IMPLEMENT.
I, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO HEM YOU IN AT ALL, ERIC.
I'M ALL FOR THE COMMUNITY INPUT, JUST MAKING SURE I'M, I, I PROMISE YOU.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, COUNCIL MEMBER ELA.
I, ERIC, JUST ONE, ONE LAST QUESTION.
WHEN IT COMES TIME TO HOLD THESE MEETINGS, I, I'M HOPING THAT YOU'LL COORDINATE WITH EACH OF OUR OFFICES SO THAT WE CAN HELP SPREAD THE WORD AND BRING, UH, BRING MORE EYES TO AND, AND MORE VOICES TO THE TABLE.
AND WE'RE GONNA HOLD OFF PUSHING OUT THOSE DATES TODAY BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT A NINTH ONE.
SO WE'RE GONNA GET WITH DISTRICTS THREE AND FOUR, FIND A SATURDAY THAT WORKS, AND THEN WE'LL COORDINATE
[02:20:01]
WITH ALL OF YOUR OFFICES, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET MAXIMUM INPUT, UH, AT THOSE, UH, AT THOSE SESSIONS.UM, AND I APPRECIATE THE EXCHANGE, UH, ON THIS IN PARTICULAR ABOUT CONSENSUS MAKING.
UH, AND THAT CONSENSUS MAKING DOESN'T ALWAYS LOOK THE SAME FROM A FISCAL YEAR BUDGET TO A BOND PROCESS, TO A RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN.
SO, BUT WE ARE GOING TO BE LISTENING, UH, AND SEEKING INPUT FROM THE PUBLIC, AND THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA GUIDE US AT THE END OF THE DAY.
BUT I WILL ALSO, UH, JUST MAKE SURE WE'RE SETTING THE PROPER EXPECTATIONS.
NOT EVERYTHING'S GONNA GET DONE, UM, BUT WE ARE GONNA ACHIEVE A BALANCE, AND WE'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO DO, UH, WE'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO WALK AND CHEW GUM AT THE SAME TIME.
OTHERWISE, WE'RE GONNA BE PUTTING OUR MONEY, UH, IN, IN, IN A PLACE THAT, THAT WE AREN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE IMPACTS FROM.
SO, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT STEPS.
UH, WITH THAT, THAT IS THE DURATION OF OUR DISCUSSION TODAY ON THE ARPA.
IT IS 4:31 PM ON THIS 20TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 2021.
THERE WILL BE NO EXECUTIVE SESSION TODAY.
UH, EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEMS THAT WERE POSTED FOR TODAY WILL BE CARRIED OVER TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TOMORROW, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21ST, 2021, AND MAY BE CONSIDERED AT ANY TIME DURING TOMORROW'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
THE TIME IS 4:32 PM ON, AND TODAY'S MEETING IS NOW IN RECESS.