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WE HAVE, UM, WE, WE HAVE A, A LOT OF IMPORTANT THINGS TO TALK ABOUT.
UH, SO AURORA'S GONNA TAKE ROLE.
THIS GUY, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER MAKI RODRIGUEZ.
[1. Approval of minutes from the October 13, 2021 meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee.]
OF BUSINESS IS, UH, TAKING CARE OF THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING.AND I HAVE A FEELING YOU READ THEM.
I THINK ON THE OTHERS PRESENT.
IT HAS RANDY PERRY, BUT IT'S RANDY HERRICK FROM TEXAS RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION.
AND OTHER THAN THAT, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 13TH.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF PROVING THE MINUTES WITH THAT AMENDMENT? AYE.
THOSE ARE, ARE MINUTES, AND THEY'RE ENTERED INTO THE RECORD.
[Additional Item]
CITIZEN TO BE HEARD FOLKS, UM, AND, UH, I GOT TO VISIT WITH HIM EARLIER.HE'S GOT SOMETHING PRETTY INTERESTING TO TALK TO US ABOUT.
I'M A NANDO, I S D NATIVE, AND I'M, I HAVE A STARTUP AND IT'S CALLED EVOLUTION SOLUTIONS.
AND WE'RE A CERTIFIED PARTNER AS A DISTRIBUTOR WITH VO, WHICH STANDS FOR HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE OPTIMIZATION.
AND SO EVOLUTION SOLUTIONS COMING IN AS A TELECOM COMPANY SPECIALIZING IN THE, UH, ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO WHAT I COME HERE TO ASK IS, AS WE'RE THINKING THROUGH THE ASK OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT WE ARE THE SOLUTION AND, AND WE ARE HERE IN THE CITY.
THANK, THANK YOU FOR COMING BY.
[2. Federal Infrastructure Legislation Update.]
THAT BRINGS US TO OUR VERY FIRST BRIEFING.WE HAVE TWO ITEMS TODAY, UH, LOOSELY RELATED TO EACH OTHER.
THE FIRST HOT OFF THE PRESS, THE SECOND, SOON TO BE HOT OFF THE PRESS, WE HOPE.
UH, SO THE FIRST IS AN UPDATE, UH, ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL THAT WAS APPROVED LAST FRIDAY.
WE'RE GONNA BREAK IT DOWN AND, UH, AND BEGIN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE, UH, IDENTIFY ALL THE VARIOUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CITY AND THE COUNTY AND THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
UH, SO WELL TIMED WITH THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE CONVERSATION.
AND THEN SECONDLY, UH, WE'RE GONNA DO A, A RECAP OF THE RECENT, UH, DC TRIP IN OCTOBER, WHICH WAS ALL ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL AND THE RAISE GRANT, WHICH WE'RE WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT.
AND SO WE'LL HAVE ACTUALLY A FULL SUMMARY OF ALL THE ADVOCACY THAT'S GONE INTO SUPPORTING THAT APPLICATION.
WE EXPECT TO HEAR BY NOVEMBER 22ND, SO THIS MONTH.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO SALLY AND I THINK SHE'LL TAP IN MELISSA AND OR TAMIKA AS AS NEEDED.
JEFF, CAN WE HAVE THE PRESENTATION PLEASE? THANK YOU.
UH, CHAIRMAN PALIS, CHAIRMAN RODRIGUEZ AND I G R MEMBERS.
UM, AS JEFF STATED, THIS IS GOING TO BE ACTUALLY OUR SECOND RUN AT A DISCUSSION ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.
WE FIRST BROUGHT THIS INFORMATION TO YOU DURING THE AUGUST, UM, I G R MEETING SHORTLY AFTER THE SENATE PASSED IT.
SO IT IS WITH, UM, GREAT EXCITEMENT, UM, THAT I SHARE THAT CONGRESS FINALLY PASSED THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.
THE HOUSE PASSED IT, UH, AFTER MIDNIGHT LAST FRIDAY, THE SENATE ABOUT THREE MONTHS BEFORE THAT.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, I WILL SHARE THE DETAILS THAT WE KNOW NOW ON THE BUILD BACK BETTER ACT, WHICH IS THE SISTER INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, UH, FOR HUMAN AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE BENEFIT PROGRAMS. IN ADDITION TO A RECAP OF OUR WASHINGTON DC TRIP, IT WAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL TRIP THANKS TO THE LEADERSHIP OF THE MAYOR AND CHAIRMAN PALAI LAST MONTH.
WE WERE, UH, ABLE TO, FOR THE SECOND TIME, ADVOCATE FOR OUR PENDING $25 MILLION RAISE GRANT APPLICATION WITH U S D O T, AS WELL AS OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PRIORITIES.
UH, THE MEETING WAS VERY, VERY TIMELY WITH D O T AND THE WHITE HOUSE, UH, AND NOW POST DC VISIT AND ALL THE ROUNDS THAT WE DID, IT WAS ACTUALLY JUST THE PERFECT TIMING FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL AS WELL.
LET'S DIVE RIGHT IN A LITTLE BIT ON HOW THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL UNFOLDED IN CONGRESS.
AS I SAID, IN AUGUST, THE SENATE FIRST PASSED THE BILL ON AUGUST 10TH, UH, WITH A VOTE OF 69 TO 30.
IT WAS BIPARTISAN PASSAGE THROUGH ALMOST THREE MONTHS LATER AND WEEKS AND WEEKS OF NEGOTIATIONS.
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IT LAST FRIDAY AFTER MIDNIGHT.UM, ALSO A BIPARTISAN PASSAGE, JUST IN CASE YOU ARE INTERESTED, ARE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION MEMBERS, UH, ESSENTIALLY VOTED DOWN PARTY LINES.
IT'S A $1.2 TRILLION PACKAGE WITH $550 BILLION, UM, IN NEW FUNDING AND IN FORTHCOMING SLIDES, I WILL SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A DEEPER DIVE IN WHAT'S INCLUDED.
THE FISCAL YEARS THAT ARE PART OF THIS FUNDING IS F Y 22 TO F Y 26.
AND OF SPECIAL NOTE, THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION REAUTHORIZATION LAW IS INCLUDED, UM, IN THIS LEGISLATIVE BILL ALSO FOR 22 AND 26.
I SHARED A, A SIMILAR BREAKDOWN DURING THE AUGUST I G R MEETING.
UM, HERE IS ANOTHER SLIDE OF THE MAJOR TRANCHES THAT ARE PART OF THE $550 BILLION IN NEW FUNDING.
THE TRANSPORTATION SLICE, WHICH IS THE LARGEST ONE, UH, 200 AND, UH, $84 BILLION.
THAT WILL INCLUDE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING FOR ALL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION ON THE WATERFRONT TO 55 BILLION.
THAT'S FOR DRINKING WATER AND WASTE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE BROADBAND FUNDING 65 BILLION.
THAT WILL BE FOR GRANTS TO STATES, UH, FORMULA FUNDING.
IT WILL ALSO INCLUDE A COMMUNITY RESIDENT AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM, WHICH IS, UM, AN ENHANCEMENT TO THE E B B THAT CURRENTLY PROVIDES OR PROVIDED THE $50 SUBSIDY FOR BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY FOR, UM, LOW INCOME RESIDENTS.
THE SUBSIDY WILL BE ABOUT $30 A MONTH ON THE ENERGY AND POWER FRONT.
THIS WILL BE FOR A BIG CHUNK OF IT WILL BE FOR GRID RELIABILITY TO GRANTS TO STATES IN ORDER TO MAKE OUR POWER GRID MORE RELIABLE, AS WELL AS CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAMS ON THE RESILIENCY FRONT.
47 BILLION FOR CYBER MITIGATION AND, UH, WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMMING.
FOR RESILIENCY, IT'S 47 BILLION FOR CYBER MITIGATION AND WEATHERIZATION, AS I JUST SAID.
AND FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION, 21 BILLION TO ADDRESS POLLUTION IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
ON THE WATER STORAGE AND RECYCLING TRANCHE, IT'S 8 BILLION TO ADDRESS AGING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS.
THE BIGGEST CHUNK GOES TO ROADS, BRIDGES, UH, FOR 110 BILLION.
A BIG PIECE OF THAT TRANCHE WILL BE GOING TO THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BLOCK GRANT THAT WILL GO TO STATES AND LOCALS.
UH, 72 BILLION OF THAT WILL GO FOR HIGHWAYS, BRIDGES, ROADS, PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE SAFETY AND TRANSIT PROJECTS ARE ALSO, UM, ELIGIBLE.
THERE'S A NEW GRANT INCLUDED IN THAT FUNDING, UM, STREAK.
AND IT'S CALLED THE PROTECT GRANT PROGRAM.
UH, THERE WILL BE A COMBINATION OF FORMULA FUNDING GRANTS FOR STATES AS WELL AS COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS, UH, RESILIENCY UNDER NATURAL RES, UH, DISASTER CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER THE TRANSIT, UH, TRANCHE 39 BILLION.
A BIG PORTION OF THAT WILL BE FOR C I G GRANTS OR THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANTS.
THAT IS DEFINITELY A, A GRANT THAT IS VERY POPULAR WITH TRANSIT AGENCIES.
THERE WILL ALSO BE VARIOUS BUS AND BUS FACILITY COMPETITIVE GRANTS OF INTEREST TO TRANSIT ENTITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UH, FOR RAIL, THERE WILL BE FREIGHT AND SAFETY PROGRAMMING FUNDING SAFETY WILL INCLUDE 11 BILLION, AND THAT'LL BE FOR HIGHWAY AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY FUNDING AND PROGRAMMING FOR AIRPORTS 25 BILLION.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THERE THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL 15,000,000,004 AIRPORTS FOR THE AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, IN ADDITION TO A NEW GRANT THAT I'LL PROVIDE MORE DETAILS IN A FORTHCOMING SLIDE FOR PORTS AND WATERWAYS.
UH, 17 BILLION FOR THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE AND NEEDS.
AND THEN LASTLY, THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGERS 7.5 BILLION.
THAT WILL INCLUDE A FORMULA AND ALSO COMPETITIVE GRANTS AVAILABLE, UM, TO STATES AND LOCALS, UH, TO CREATE A NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE CHARGING A STATION ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
I WANTED TO MAKE SURE AND GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE SOME DETAILS, UM, TO HIGHLIGHT KEY FUNDING STATE FOR KEY FUNDING FOR CITIES AND STATES.
YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE RAISE GRANT.
WE BROUGHT TO YOU THE RAISE GRANT WHEN WE FIRST WERE GETTING READY TO APPLY FOR IT BACK IN THE SUMMER.
TAMIKA VILLE AND HER TEAM SUBMITTED THE APPLICATION, I BELIEVE BEFORE IT WAS DUE BACK IN EARLY JUNE.
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NOW WE ARE IN, UH, NOVEMBER COMING TO HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE, UM, THE NOTICE OF AWARDS FROM UH, D O T SOON.THE CURRENT RAISE BUCKET IS 1 BILLION.
SO THERE WILL BE ABOUT A BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF FUNDING THIS YEAR FOR F Y 21.
AND THE RAISE GRANT FUNDING BUCKET HAS INCREASED TO 7.5 BILLION OVER FIVE YEARS.
SO IT'LL BE APPROXIMATELY 1.5 BILLION ANNUALLY, AND THAT'LL BE A GREAT BOOST, UM, FOR THESE SIMILAR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
ADDITIONAL ADDITIONALLY TO THAT IS THE INFRA GRANT.
ALSO A GRANT WE HAVE PURSUED IN THE PAST.
NORMALLY THERE'S LESS THAN A BILLION DOLLARS FOR THESE ANNUAL OVER-SUBSCRIBED COMPETITIVE GRANTS.
THIS ONE WILL ALLOW FOR ABOUT 1.6 BILLION, UH, PER YEAR.
AND IN UNDER THE AVIATION FRONT, I MENTIONED THE 25 BILLION.
THERE'S 5 BILLION FOR THE AIRPORT TERMINAL MODERNIZATION PROGRAM.
THAT WILL BE ABOUT 1 BILLION ANNUALLY FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
UH, YOU'LL HEAR MORE FROM OUR AIRPORT DIRECTOR THIS AFTERNOON ON THE AIRPORT STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN, BUT THIS IS VERY, VERY TIMELY, UM, SINCE THE AIRPORT TEAM HAS IDENTIFIED THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS NEEDED FOR THE AIRPORT FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
SO WE'LL BE TRACKING THAT FUNDING VERY CLOSELY.
AS I MENTIONED, 15 BILLION FOR THE AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
THAT'S AVIATION, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, UH, PROGRAMMING AND CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
AND THEN THE 5 BILLION FOR AIRPORT FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT THAT'S UNDER F C C FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL AND TOWERS.
MOVING ON TO THE BRIDGE INVESTMENT GRANT, IT CONTAINS 12.5 BILLION TO REPAIR AGING, UH, BRIDGES, UH, TO REPLACE AND REHAB THEM.
THE NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT ASSISTANCE GRANT HAS $5 BILLION.
THAT'S FOR FREIGHT AND HIGHWAY PROJECTS, UH, TO ADDRESS MULTI-MODAL, MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL PROJECTS.
AND, UH, A VERY, UM, IMPORTANT ONE HERE.
SAVE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL GRANTS.
THIS WILL ALLOW COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO CARRY OUT THEIR VISION.
ZERO PLANS TO ADDRESS PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE, UM, SAFETY.
AND THIS WILL BE FOR PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE SAFETY PLANS AS WELL.
I SHARED THIS ONE WITH YOU LAST TIME.
THIS ONE SUFFERED A LITTLE BIT.
IT, IT, IT EVENTUALLY MADE IT IN AND IT STAYED IN AND WE'RE VERY, VERY HAPPY.
ORIGINALLY, THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WANTED A MUCH BIGGER PIECE THAN 1 BILLION, BUT 1 BILLION MADE IT IN.
THEY'RE TITLING THIS A PILOT PROJECT.
SO IT'S KIND OF OF A DOWN PAYMENT FOR THIS, UH, PARTICULAR PROGRAMMING.
AND IT'S TO RECONNECT COMMUNITIES DIVIDED BY PAST INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS WITH A FOCUS ON REUNITING THOSE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, UM, WITH ACCESS TO OTHER PARTS OF THEIR COMMUNITIES.
THE NEXT ONE IS THE GREAT ELIMINATION, THE GREAT CROSSING ELIMINATION GRANT AT $3 BILLION.
AND THIS ONE'S TO FIX RAIL AND ROAD CROSSING SYSTEM WILL BE OF GREAT INTEREST TO US AS WELL.
UM, AND LASTLY, THE ELECTRIC CHARGE AND FUEL STATIONS.
AGAIN, THIS IS TO DEPLOY THOSE ACCESSIBLE CHARGING STATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
THIS ONE IS THE BRICK GRANT UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY FOR $1 BILLION.
THIS GRANT HAS BEEN PART OF THE D H S INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE PAST, BUT HAS NOT BEEN FUNDED.
SO IT'S GREAT TO SEE THIS ONE BACK.
AND THIS IS FOR PRE-DISASTER MITIGATION PROGRAM.
UH, FEMA WILL RUN THIS AND THIS WILL BE ABLE TO COVER PLANNING AND PROJECTS FOR, UH, EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.
THE NEXT ONE IS THE SMART GRANT.
IT'S A SMALLER POT AT 500 MILLION.
IT'S FOR INNOVATIVE, UH, TRANSPORTATION DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.
AND LASTLY ON THIS SLIDE IS A STATE AND LOCAL CYBERSECURITY GRANT AT $1 BILLION.
UM, THIS GRANT WILL BE OVER FOUR YEARS, ALSO UNDER THE HOMELAND SECURITY, AND IT WOULD BE GRANTS FOR CITIES AND STATES TO ADDRESS THE CYBERSECURITY RISKS AND THREATS UNDER THE BROADBAND I MENTIONED EARLIER.
THIS ONE'S THE BROADBAND EQUITY ACCESS AND DEPLOYMENT GRANT.
IT ENCOMPASSES 42 BILLION FOR GRANTS TO STATES FOR BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT, AND THERE WILL BE A FOCUS FOR UNDERSERVED, UM, AREAS ACROSS THE STATES.
THE NEXT ONE IS THE GRID INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM AT $5 BILLION.
AND AGAIN, THIS WILL BE GRANTS TO STATES TO BE ABLE, UM, TO ADDRESS THE ELECTRIC GRID, UM, RESILIENCY AND TO PROTECT AGAINST EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.
UM, THIS IS THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM.
THIS IS AN EXTENSION OF THE EMERGENCY BROADBAND BENEFIT THAT ARPA BROUGHT TO US.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE ISPS HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN, UM, SINCE,
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UM, THE ARPA LAUNCHED THE PROGRAM.THIS PROVIDES A $30 MONTHLY, UM, SUBSIDY TO, UH, THOSE RESIDENTS THAT, UM, QUALIFY FOR THIS BENEFIT.
SO WHAT IS NEXT? WE ARE WAITING FOR THE PRESIDENT LIKELY NEXT WEEK TO SIGN THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE ROLLOUT OF THE TIMELINE AND THE GUIDANCE IS NOT, UH, READILY AVAILABLE IN THE CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE BILL TEXT.
SO WE WILL SEE TO THE FEDERAL AGENCIES TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT TO US IN THE MONTHS TO COME.
SO WE WILL BE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR FEDERAL CONSULTANTS AND, UM, A SLEW OF OTHER LOCAL PARTNERS TO BE ABLE TO TRACK THESE ACCORDINGLY.
MORE ON THAT STRATEGY HERE SHORTLY.
UM, WE, IF YOU RECALL, DURING ARPA IN CARES, WE HAD A TRACKER THAT G P A STAFF, UM, WAS MANAGING AND POPULATING AS NEW OPPORTUNITIES WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE.
UM, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF OUR FEDERAL CONSULTANTS AND OUR LOCAL PARTNERS, WE'RE GONNA BE DOING EXACTLY THAT TO BE ABLE TO TRACK ALL THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AS THEY OPEN UP.
AND THEN IDENTIFYING THAT GUIDANCE AND DOING A LOT OF COORDINATION AND ANTICIPATION, UM, OF THAT INFORMATION AS IT COMES OUT OF THE AGENCIES.
A QUICK SNAPSHOT AND OVERVIEW OF THE BUILD BACK BETTER ACT.
UM, THE WHITE HOUSE RELEASED THEIR LATEST FRAMEWORK UNDER A REDUCED AMOUNT OF $1.7 TRILLION.
IT STARTED OUT AT ABOUT 3.5 TRILLION.
IT'S A A LOT LESSER NOW, BUT THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD ITEMS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THERE THAT I'LL SHOW ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
THE DUST HAS NOT SETTLED ON THE HEART INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.
SO THE SHORT TIMELINE I'VE HEARD IN THE DAYS, UM, THAT LED UP TO TODAY'S MEETING IS CONGRESS WILL ADDRESS IT AND MAYBE PASS IT AFTER THANKSGIVING.
THE LONGEST TIMELINE I'VE HEARD IS EARLY JANUARY, SO IT'S A MIXED BAG ON THE TIMELINE.
WE'LL BE TRACKING THAT FOR YOU AND PROVIDING THOSE REPORTS TO KEEP YOU, UM, INFORMED ON HOW THIS IS UNFOLDING.
UM, SO THE PASSAGE TIMELINE REMAINS TO BE DETERMINED.
A QUICK LOOK HERE AT THAT NEWLY RELEASED $1.7 TRILLION FRAMEWORK THAT THE WHITE HOUSE RELEASED ON OCTOBER 28.
IT INCLUDES 555 BILLION FOR CLIMATE CRISIS.
THAT'S, UM, CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAMMING, A VERY IMPORTANT ONE UNDER AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THIS IS, UM, ONE THAT WAS PUSHED OUT A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND NOW IT'S BACK IN 150 BILLION FOR RENTAL AND PUBLIC ASSISTANCE HOUSING.
SO WE'LL BE, UH, PUSHING THAT, UH, CONTINUOUSLY WORKER TRAINING AND HIGHER EDUCATION AT 49 BILLION.
THAT IS FOR APPRENTICESHIPS AND FOR EXPANDED PELL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.
CHILDCARE AND UNIVERSAL PRESCHOOL FOR THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS.
THAT'S 400 BILLION EXPANDED CHILD AND EARNED INCOME CREDITS, 200 BILLION MEDICAID AND AFFORDABLE.
UH, MEDICARE HEARING BENEFIT 35 BILLION IN IN-HOME HEALTHCARE FOR SENIORS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES, 150 BILLION.
SO THIS IS THE FRAMEWORK TODAY.
UH, PLEASE NOTE THAT IT WILL EVOLVE.
WHILE THE NEGOTIATIONS ARE ONGOING.
WE'LL KEEP TRACK OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S COMING BACK IN, UH, AND MAKE SURE THAT OUR PRIORITIES STAY IN.
QUICK, QUICK, A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ON THE WASHINGTON DC TRIP WE TOOK, UM, IN OCTOBER, JUST LAST MONTH.
AGAIN, IT WAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL VISIT.
UM, BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THIS ONE YEP.
SEE IF WE GOT ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON, ON THE ABSOLUTELY.
NOW, UM, THE BODY LANGUAGE I'M SEEING OVER HERE TO MY RIGHT, I HAVE A FEELING THAT COUNCILMAN PERRY IS, UH, HAS GOT SOME COMMENTS.
UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY, WHAT DO YOU GOT? THANK YOU, SIR.
I MEAN, HERE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT GETTING, UH, POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL RESOURCES HERE FOR THE CITY TO TAKE CARE OF A MYRIAD OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT THIS EYES WIDE OPEN SAYING MONEY LITERALLY DOES GROW ON TREES.
UH, YOU CAN ALREADY SEE THE, IN THE EFFECTS OF INFLATION ON THIS CO COUNTRY, FOOD, PRICES, GAS, YOU KNOW, ON AND ON AND ON.
AND THIS REALLY CONCERNS ME AND I, I, I'M STILL NOT QUITE GETTING IT.
HOW THIS IS ALL GONNA FIT TOGETHER THAT WILL DETERMINE OUR BOND RATINGS.
IT, IT GOES ON FOREVER ON WHAT THE IMPACTS ARE GOING TO BE ON THIS CITY FOR, YOU KNOW, OUR FUTURE, WHICH IS LIKE
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BOND RATINGS AND, UM, HOW MUCH WE'RE GONNA OWE IF THIS INFLATION CONTINUES TO GO UP FOR THIS COUNTRY.SO, I'M CONCERNED, BUT HAVING SAID THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, YEAH, MONEY IS LITERALLY GROWING ON TREES HERE,
WELL, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE, I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT DISTRICT 10 IS GONNA GET OUT OF THIS DEAL IF IT FOLLOWS EVERYTHING ELSE.
UM, SALLY, YOU ADDRESSED THE, UH, 550 BILLION ON, UH, STREETS AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
YOU REALLY DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THE REST OF THAT $1.2 TRILLION THERE, OR I, I GUESS MAYBE I DIDN'T SEE IT.
WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IS ALL THAT MONEY GOING FOR? SO THE 1.2 TRILLION, MORE THAN HALF OF IT, COUNCILMAN, IS FOR THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION REAUTHORIZATION BILL.
SO OUT OF THE 1.2 TRILLION MORE THAN HALF IS THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION LAW PROGRAMMING, WHICH IS THE TRADITIONAL PROGRAM THAT'S PART OF THAT FIVE YEAR BILL.
AND THEN THE FIVE 50 IS NEW FUNDING, SOME OF THE ONES THAT I'VE BEEN HIGHLIGHTING HERE.
SO IT'S KIND OF A TWO TWO TRANCHE BILL.
AND, AND I'LL JUST ADD TO THAT, I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH VIC BOYER AT SAMCO WHO HAS CAUTIONED IN SAYING THAT SAME THING THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THIS IS EXISTING PROGRAMS AND EXISTING FUNDING.
SOME OF IT IS NEW, AND SALLY'S BREAKDOWN SHOWED A MIX OF NEW AND OLD REALLY.
BUT, UM, THAT EXISTING FUNDING WILL FLOW THROUGH ITS TRADITIONAL CHANNELS.
IT'LL, IT'LL COME TO STATES TEXTILE DIRECT MONEY TO COMMUNITIES.
OUR M P O WILL FIGURE OUT HOW TO DIVIDE THAT UP.
UM, SO THOSE SORTS OF FORMULA FUNDING, UH, WILL, WILL WORK THROUGH THEIR TRADITIONAL PROCESS.
THE COMPETITIVE GRANTS ARE THE ONES THAT WE'RE GONNA WANNA IDENTIFY GREAT OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT ARE COMPETITIVE FOR THOSE DOLLARS AND THEN PUT APPLICATIONS TOGETHER WITH OUR PARTNERS, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO THE, THE TRADITION, THE MONEY THAT'S GOING INTO THE TRADITIONAL PROGRAMS, IS THAT A PLUS UP TO WHAT WE WOULD NORMALLY GET, OR IS THAT GONNA BE IT ON THE TRADITIONAL PROGRAMS? SO THE TRADITIONAL PROGRAMS, MOST OF THEM STATE LEVEL FOUND FUNDING.
WHAT THE NEW PROGRAMMING SUPPLEMENT, THE FIVE YEAR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION TRADITIONAL FUNDING.
SO THIS IS, THIS IS A PLUS UP TO OUR, THE FIVE 50 BILLION.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AT THE M P O FOR, FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW ON, AND WE'VE SEEN, WE'VE SEEN THIS BUILDING OVER THE YEARS MM-HMM.
SO MY QUESTION TO THE M P O HAS ALWAYS BEEN, AND TO TXDOT, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ACCELERATE DESIGNS AND, UH, PROGRAMMING FOR, TO ACCEPT THIS MONEY? WE'VE GOTTA BE FIRST TO THE TROUGH ON THIS STUFF.
UH, WE'VE SEEN WHERE THEY'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT MOVING CARES ACT, LEFTOVER CARESS ACT FUNDING, THAT'S NOT BEING SPENT OUT THERE TO INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
SO, UH, WE'VE GOTTA BE READY, WE'VE GOTTA HAVE THE, WE'VE GOTTA HAVE MORE PROJECTS SITTING ON THE SHELF READY TO GO WHEN THIS MONEY STARTS FLOWING.
AND THAT'S NOT ONLY FOR THE M P O AT TDOT, BUT THAT'S HERE FOR THE CITY AS WELL.
I KNOW WE'RE GOING THROUGH A BOND PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, BUT THERE'S A MYRIAD OF PROJECTS OUT THERE THAT WE NEED TO GO BELOW THAT LIST.
I THINK WE NEED TO INVEST MORE IN THE UPFRONT COST OF PROGRAMMING AND DESIGN AND GET SOME OF THESE PROJECTS SITTING ON THE SHELF READY FOR FUNDING.
AND I'VE BEEN SAYING THAT FOR A LONG TIME.
THERE'S NO NO REASON THAT WE HOLD BACK ON PROJECTS.
WE NEED TO BE PRESSING FULL SPEED AHEAD ON PROJECTS TO GET 'EM ON THE SHELF, WHAT WAS THE TERM YEARS AGO, SHOVEL READY AND, UH, READY TO ACCEPT THE FUNDING AND, AND MOVE ON.
AND AGAIN, THIS ISN'T JUST FOR THE CITY, THIS IS FOR THE COUNTY AND THE M P O AS WELL.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT'S A MESSAGE THAT WE NEED TO START PUTTING OUT THERE.
HEY, LET'S GET READY, LET'S MO LET'S FIND MONEY SOMEWHERE TO FUND THE DESIGNS UP FRONT AND GET THOSE THINGS GOING EARLY.
I HAVE A FEELING TAMIKA HAS THINGS TO SAY TO YOU ABOUT THAT.
AND, UH, HANG ON JUST A SECOND.
SOME OF THE BUILD TEXTS DOES INCLUDE THAT SOME OF THE FORMULA FUNDING IS GOING TO FLOW THROUGH THE STATE, THAT'S GONNA ALLOW THE FUNDING TO FLOW OUT MORE QUICKLY THAN IF THEY WERE TO ESTABLISH A NEW PATH.
SO YES, A LOT OF THE FORMULA FUNDING IS GONNA GO
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THROUGH THE STATES, AND THEN FROM THERE IT'LL BE PASSED THROUGH TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.AND THEN THERE'S ALSO ANOTHER PIECE, WHICH IS THE COMPETITIVE, UH, GRANT PIECE, WHICH IS GONNA BE, UH, A NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, ET CETERA.
UH, DO WE KNOW, UH, AND THIS FOR TAMIKA, I GUESS, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE STATUS OF THAT RAISE GRANT THAT WE'VE ALREADY SUBMITTED? NO, SIR.
WE ARE AWAITING THE ACTUAL ANNOUNCEMENT.
SO TYPICALLY THAT ANNOUNCEMENT COMES ABOUT NEXT WEEK, THE WEEK BEFORE THANKSGIVING.
THE U S D O T, THE SECRETARY WILL ANNOUNCE THE RECIPIENTS OF THAT COMPETITIVE GRANT.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE WAITING FOR THAT.
WELL, LET US KNOW AS SOON AS YOU FIND OUT.
CHAIRMAN, MAY I JUST, I JUST WANT TO SUMMARIZE QUICKLY, SALLY'S POINT.
SO THE BILL FROM CONGRESS IS VERY, AS, AS USUAL, IS LIMITED IN WHAT IT SAYS.
IT DIRECTS MONEY TO VARIOUS THINGS LIKE ARPA, LIKE CARESS.
WE'RE GONNA, IT, IT'S GONNA GO TO MULTIPLE AGENCIES.
I'M SURE THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S GONNA GET SOME OF THE FUNDING.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION THERE.
THERE'S GONNA BE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT HOMELAND SECURITY.
SO NUMBER ONE, WE NEED TO WAIT FOR THE AGENCIES TO TELL US MORE SPECIFICALLY HOW THEY'RE GONNA DISTRIBUTE THAT MONEY, WHAT THE GUIDANCE IS, WHAT THE CRITERIA ARE FOR GRANTS, SO ON AND SO FORTH.
THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOCALLY WORK WITH ALL OF OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS, WORK WITH ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO SAY, ALL RIGHT, GIVEN THE GUIDANCE IN THIS PARTICULAR FUNDING STREAM, WHAT IS THE MOST COMPETITIVE PROJECT THAT WE CAN PUT FORWARD, UH, AND HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF SUCCESS? AND SO WE FULLY, UH, COMMIT TO BEING BACK HERE IN FRONT OF THIS COMMITTEE MANY TIMES OVER THE COMING YEAR TALKING ABOUT THE VARIOUS FUNDING STREAMS WITHIN IT.
AND I WOULD SUSPECT SOME OF THE OTHER COMMITTEE, SOME OF THE OTHER COMMITTEES, THE MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE, THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE, ARE GONNA WANT TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AS WELL.
SO WE'RE ALL, WE'RE AT THE VERY EARLY STAGE OF THE LIMITED LANGUAGE FROM CONGRESS AND, UH, AND WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING HARD TO BE ABLE TO MAXIMIZE EVERY OPPORTUNITY AS MORE INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.
AND TAMIKA, I THINK YOU HAD A COMMENT ALSO.
I, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO THE FORMULA FUNDS THAT WE OFTEN ARE, YOU KNOW, CLAMORING TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE WITH OUR FORMULA, LOOKING AT OUR POPULATION, THAT WE GET THOSE FUNDS, ALL OF THESE ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS REALLY HELP MEET THE GAP THAT A LOT OF CITIES AND STATES EXPERIENCE WHEN THERE JUST IS NOT ENOUGH MONEY.
SO THE CITY IS FORTUNATE TO HAVE THE BOND PROGRAM, BUT THE BEAUTY OF THIS BILL BEING PASSED IS THAT WE CAN SUPPLEMENT A LOT OF WHAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED AT MANY OF THE BOND MEETINGS SO FAR IS HOW DO WE FILL THOSE GAPS? SO THESE ARE OUR OPPORTUNITIES TO FILL THOSE GAP THOSE GAPS.
FROM MY EXPERIENCE, WHAT'S OCCURRING NOW ARE ALL OF THESE DEPARTMENTS ARE DEVELOPING GUIDANCE FOR THESE SPECIFIC GRANT PROGRAMS, BECAUSE MANY OF THEM ARE NEW.
TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, THE GUIDANCE FOR, UH, MAP 21 FOR SAFETY, IT TOOK ALMOST A DECADE TO GET THAT GUIDANCE AND THEN HAVE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSIT AGENCIES TO HAVE SAFETY PLANS AND ASSET MANAGEMENT PLANS.
SO JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON NOW WITH ALL OF THE, UH, ADMINISTRATIONS, UH, OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE RECOGNIZED IN MY SHORT TIME HERE IS SOME OF THE CURRENT STATE STATUTES PROHIBIT US FROM BEING TACTICAL FOR, FOR BEING ABLE TO DO DESIGN BUILD PROJECTS.
AND SPECIFICALLY WHAT I'M REFERRING TO IN THE BUDGET, THIS Y THIS YEAR WE'VE PROPOSED TO DO 28 MID-BLOCK CROSSINGS, VISION ZERO SAFETY TO KEEP PEOPLE SAFE.
BUT THE CURRENT STATE STATUTE OR DESIGN BUILD PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN CIVIL WORKS PROJECTS, SECTION 2, 2, 6, 9 0.351, THAT PRECLUDES US FROM LUMPING ALL OF THESE MID-BLOCK CROSSINGS INTO ONE PROJECT TO PERFORM DESIGN BUILD, WHEREBY WE WOULD DESIGN THE PROJECT AND BUILD IT SIMULTANEOUSLY AND CONTINUE TO DO THIS ACROSS ALL OF THOSE NINE CORRIDORS.
SO TODAY, I CAN'T GO AND AWARD A CONTRACT FOR DESIGN BUILD BECAUSE IT REQUIRES, IT HAS TO BE TEXAS D O T HAS TO LEAD THAT PROJECT AND FUNDED AND OR IT HAS TO BE DONE BY STATE STATUTE.
SO CURRENTLY WHERE WE ARE WITH ALL OF THIS MONEY AVAILABLE TO US, WE'RE LIMITED PROCEDURALLY BECAUSE OF STATE STATUTES THAT ARE, IN MY OPINION, BASED ON 20TH CENTURY METHODOLOGIES.
AND THEY DON'T ALLOW US TO BE TACTICAL AND DO AS YOU SUGGEST, SPEND THIS MONEY FAST SO THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY WHERE THOSE GAPS ARE LOCATED.
SO WITH ALL OF THESE FUNDS, WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES, BUT THE KEY IMPEDIMENT
[00:30:01]
FROM WHAT I'M SEEING IS THE DESIGN BUILD PIECE.AND SO FOR OUR DEPARTMENT, WE'RE WORKING ON DEVELOPING THOSE PLANS.
AND FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE BIKE NETWORK PLAN UPDATE, THAT'LL BE DONE IN TWO YEARS.
ROSIE HAS GIVEN ME $10 MILLION TO IMPLEMENT MANY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT IF I WANTED TO DO DESIGN BUILD TO DO SOMETHING QUICKLY, IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION, WE'RE LIMITED BY STATE STATUTES.
SO THAT'S AN AREA THAT I'M GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK WITH, WITH JEFF AND SALLY AND THE TEAM AS WE GO TO THE STATE AND HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, BECAUSE IT'S BEING DONE IN HOUSTON, IT'S BEING DONE IN OTHER DISTRICTS, BUT WE HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR DISTRICT AND SEE IF WE'RE ACTUALLY PREPARED TO IMPLEMENT AND CONSTRUCT AND BUILD THESE THINGS THAT ARE DESIGNED FOR SAFETY PARTICULARLY.
AND, AND THANK YOU TAMIKA FOR THAT.
I'M, I'M, I WASN'T TALKING ABOUT GETTING INTO THE DESIGN BUILD BECAUSE YES, THERE ARE CONSTRAINTS ON THAT AT THE LEGISLATURE.
UH, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HERE IN THIS BODY.
AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT BEFORE, JEFF, IS, IS GOING BACK TO THE STATE SEEKING RELIEF FROM THAT, FROM THAT REQUIREMENT.
BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT OUR REGULAR PROCESS DESIGN BID BUILD.
THERE'S NOTHING STOPPING THIS CITY FROM TAKING OUT MONEY FROM THE BOND OR OUR YEARLY BUDGET.
SETTING THAT ASIDE FOR, UH, ENGINEERING AND DESIGN UPFRONT TO GET PROJECTS READY TO GO FOR THE NEXT YEAR OR FOR THIS, FOR THIS UPCOMING, UH, TRANSPORTATION BILL.
THERE'S NOTHING STOPPING US FROM DOING THAT TO GET THESE PROJECTS DONE NOW AND GET 'EM READY FOR WHEN THE MONEY DOES FLOW TO ACTUALLY GO OUT FOR CONTRACTING.
HOWEVER, I DO BELIEVE BASED ON OUR PAST PRACTICES, WE HAVE NOT DONE THE REQUISITE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT NECESSARY FOR A LOT OF THESE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT ALL OF THESE FEDERAL PROGRAMS WILL REQUIRE OF US.
SO I THINK WORKING THROUGH THE N P O AND OUR PARTNERS AT ALL OF OUR REGIONAL STAKEHOLDERS AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE GONE OUT AND DONE THE REQUISITE, HAD THE REQUISITE CONVERSATIONS WITH COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE WHAT WE'VE DONE HISTORICALLY IS WE HAVE RECEIVED FUNDS AND WE'VE BUILT THINGS BECAUSE WE HAVE THE MONEY, BUT THEN THOSE PROJECTS ARE QUESTIONED BY OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON DOING, ROSIE AND I ARE FOCUSED ON HAVING THE COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T BUILD THINGS THAT WE REMOVE BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T COMMUNICATED WITH EVERYONE.
AND THAT IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE MUST DO TO RECEIVE THESE FUNDS.
SO WE'RE WORKING TO MAKE SURE WE TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO IMPLEMENT THINGS AND THEN HAVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY IMPACT.
WELL, I'M GONNA PUSH BACK A LITTLE BIT ON THAT.
I KNOW MY DISTRICT AND I KNOW WHICH STREETS ARE BEING CALLED FOR THAT WE CAN'T GET TO BECAUSE WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY, BUT I CERTAINLY GET THOSE COMMENTS ALL FROM MY DISTRICT NEIGHBORS.
THESE ARE THE STREETS THAT NEED TO BE DONE.
I'LL, UH, HARRY WACH IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE.
THEY'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS.
YOU KNOW, GOING THROUGH A PUBLIC PROCESS IS GREAT, BUT WE KNOW WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE.
THE NEIGHBORS ARE EXPECTING THOSE REQUIREMENTS TO BE FILLED.
AND I, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR VERSUS EXPANSION, I GET IT, BUT MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR ON A BIG PROJECT, THAT'S, THAT'S OUR JOB.
WE DON'T NEED TO BE GOING TO THE COMMUNITY SAYING, HEY, DO YOU WANT YOUR ROAD REPAIRED? WHO'S GONNA FIGHT? WHO'S GONNA PUSH BACK, GET ABOUT GETTING A ROAD REPAIRED? AND, AND THAT'S A MUCH LARGER DISCUSSION, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SIT DOWN WITH SOMEBODY TO LOOK AT THIS AND HOW CAN WE, ALLS I'M SAYING IS WE NEED TO BE BETTER PREPARED AND HAVE THINGS READY TO GO ON THE SHELF FOR WHEN THIS TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY COMES AROUND.
UM, JUST REAL QUICK, SALLY, THANK YOU FOR THE, THE OVERVIEW.
UH, I MEAN, FIRST OF ALL, A COMMENT I, I WAS READING AND I FORWARDED TO YOU, UM, CHAIRMAN, I THINK THE TEXAS TRIBUNE'S MENTIONING ABOUT 35 BILLION OVER FIVE YEARS FOR TEXAS.
THAT'S THE PLUS UP, UH, UH, COUNCILMAN THAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO.
UM, THAT'S BASED ON THE FORMULA.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT ALSO GOT THOSE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD NEWS.
UM, QUESTION ABOUT ONE OF YOUR EARLY SLIDES.
YOU HAD THE CATEGORIES BROKEN DOWN AND ONE OF THEM WAS RESILIENCY.
UM, IS THAT DEFINED YET BY, UM, THE ADMINISTRATION? I THINK IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST SLIDES.
THAT'S PART OF THE 550 BILLION MR. CHAIRMAN, AND THAT'S FUNDING FOR CYBERSECURITY, UH, MITIGATION AS WELL AS WEATHERIZATION, UM, TO ADDRESS, UH, FLOOD DAMAGE,
[00:35:01]
NATURAL DISASTERS, UM, WEATHER EVENTS, SERIOUS WEATHER EVENTS, ET CETERA.SO THERE'S LANGUAGE AROUND THAT DEFINITION.
SO, UM, I'M CURIOUS AS KIND OF AN OVERALL OVERARCHING, UM, POLICY.
I KNOW WHEN IT CAME TO THE RAISE GRANT, THE ADMINISTRATION WAS VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT, UM, SPECIFIC CENSUS TRACKS, UM, INEQUITIES.
UM, DOES, DOES THIS ADDRESS ANY, ANY OF THAT EQUITY, UH, TYPE INVESTMENTS AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, DIVESTED IN THE PAST OR NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, LACKING BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE, IS THAT PART OF ANY OF THESE FORMULAS WITH THIS, UH, WITH THIS BILL? I'M NOT CERTAIN, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I'M NOT CERTAIN ABOUT A FORMULA, BUT THE OVERALL CONCEPT THAT THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS PUSHED HAS BEEN AROUND A FOCUS ON EQUALITY AND UNDOING THE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE MISTAKES AND HOUSING AFFORDABILITY MISTAKES THAT HAVE BEEN DONE IN THE PAST WITH PAST LEGISLATION YEAH.
SO THEY'RE TRYING TO UNDO ALL OF THAT.
SO IF I HAVE TO SURMISE AND GAS, THE AGENCIES OVER THIS FUNDING ARE GOING TO HAVE THAT LENS ON THIS FUNDING AS WELL.
SO MORE, AND THE FORMULAS I WOULD ASSUME ARE GOING TO BE SIMILAR TO, UM, PREVIOUS FORMULAS BASED ON POPULATION.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS THIS PUSH PULL ABOUT HOUSTON AND, UH, D F W GETTING MORE THAN SAN ANTONIO, BUT THAT'S STRICTLY BASED ON POPULATION IS THAT SOME OF THEM WILL, UH, UNTIL WE SEE THOSE, THOSE FORMULA, UM, DETAILS, WE WON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEY MADE THAT DETERMINATION.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THE MAJORITY OF THESE, UH, TRANCHES ARE GOING TO INCLUDE COMPETITIVE FUNDING.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO COMPETE FOR SOME OF THE FUNDS AND NOT NECESSARILY RELY ON THOSE, UH, MAYBE, PERHAPS NOT UP TO DATE FORMULAS.
AND, AND DOES, IS THERE A SPECIFICATION ON WHETHER OR NOT THE DOLLARS HAVE TO BE SPENT WITHIN A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME? I MEAN, AND I'M THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A POTENTIAL SOLUTION TO THE I 35, YOU KNOW, CORRIDOR MM-HMM.
I MEAN, THAT'S A, A LONGER TERM TYPE OF INVESTMENT.
I MEAN, IS THERE, UM, ANY RESTRICTIONS ON HOW QUICKLY THE MONEY HAS TO BE SPENT? SO THE FUNDING IS OVER, UH, FIVE FISCAL YEARS.
HOWEVER, EACH PROGRAM MAY DETERMINE ADDITIONAL TIME FOR EXECUTION OF CERTAIN PROJECTS.
AND THAT WILL BE DETERMINED IN THAT SPECIFIC GUIDANCE DEPENDING ON WHAT PROJECT AND PROGRAM IT IS.
I KNOW WE'RE STILL WAITING FOR A LOT OF THIS STUFF.
SO I'M JUST THINKING OUT LOUD A LITTLE BIT, UM, ON THE PORTS BUCKET, DOES IT SPECIFY, UM, INLAND PORTS? DOES IT, UH, TAKE 'EM OUT? SO, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR FRIENDS HERE AT PORT SAN ANTONIO, WOULD THEY BE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT? SO I WANNA SAY, UM, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I WANNA SAY THAT I DID SEE ONE REPORT THAT SAID THAT INLAND PORTS WERE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS FUNDING.
SO AS OUR CONSULTANTS ARE DOING A DEEP DIVE, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO IDENTIFY THE ELIGIBILITY ON THAT PIECE.
BUT IN ONE REPORT I DID SEE THAT INLAND PORTS WOULD BE ELIGIBLE AS WELL.
I KNOW COUNCILWOMAN, THAT'S, YOU REPRESENT THE PORT, RIGHT? I KNOW THEY'VE HAD AN ISSUE WITH, I THINK THE RUNWAY AND YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU BALANCE THAT AGAINST SOME OF THE OTHER PORTS LIKE HOUSTON AND GALVESTON AND, UM, BROWNSVILLE WHERE THEY HAVE SIGNIFICANT NEEDS IN, IN TERMS OF DREDGING THAT ARE PROBABLY MULTIMILLION DOLLAR PROJECTS.
SO IT'S GONNA BE HARD TO COMPETE WITH THAT, BUT, UM, BUT I'M GLAD THAT, THAT OUR PORT WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY.
UM, LAST MAYBE JUST OBSERVATION, UH, MAYBE FOR MELISSA, UM, THE WATER PIECE, I KNOW THIS IS MORE SPECIFIC TO THE UNINCORPORATED, UH, AREAS.
UM, COMMISSIONER CLAY FLORES HAS AN AREA THAT'S OUT BY VAUGHN ARMY THAT I THINK HAS GOT A SIGNIFICANT NEED FOR BASIC WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT.
AND I KNOW I'M NOT LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER NOW, BUT IF IT'S ELIGIBLE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S LIKE A $20 MILLION, UM, ASK, I KNOW SHE'S WORKING WITH THE WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD AT THE STATE.
UM, BUT IF YOU COULD MAYBE JUST MAKE A, A NOTE ON THAT AND WE CAN FOLLOW UP AND SEE IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SHE CAN APPLY FOR AS WELL.
EV EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN TO DATE, VERY HIGH LEVEL ON THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE WAS FOR DRINKING WATER.
AND I KNOW THAT PROJECT IN VON ARMY, SHE'S LOOKING FOR SEWER SEWER.
UM, BUT THAT'S NOT TO SAY IT'S NOT IN THERE AND I JUST MISSED IT, BUT I THINK IT'S JUST DRINKING WATER.
BUT YEAH, WE'LL DEFINITELY LOOK AT IT.
I THINK THAT'S ALL I GOT, CHAIRMAN.
UM, ON THE BRICK, HOW ARE WE WORKING WITH C P S AND SAWS? OR ARE WE WORKING WITH THEM IN CONJUNCTION TO SEE HOW WE COULD BETTER SUPPORT THEM IF THEY HAVE ANY ASKS? SHORT ANSWER IS NOT YET.
UM, BUT THAT, THAT'S THE PLAN IS FOR US TO GO TO OUR PARTNERS AND, AND START TO COLLABORATE ON HOW WE PURSUE THESE.
AND, AND I THINK TO COUNCILMAN PERRY'S POINT EARLIER, UM, UM, WITH THE SHOVEL READY PROJECTS
[00:40:01]
THAT WE MAY HAVE, THERE'S A SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGE.THERE'S ALSO LABOR SHORTAGE, RIGHT? SO SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE KIND OF HAVE TO CONSIDER I'M VERY WORRIED ABOUT.
BUT I ALSO THINK THAT IT'S A CRITICAL, UH, TIME TO FOCUS ON WORKFORCE TRAINING AND HIGHER EDUCATION, BUT SPECIFICALLY THE WORKFORCE TRAINING PART OF IT.
UM, AND, UH, IN MILWAUKEE, THE MAYOR OF MILWAUKEE HAS THE MAYOR'S MANUFACTURING PARTNERSHIP, AND I'M GONNA TALK TO THE MAYOR ABOUT THIS, BUT IT'S SPECIFICALLY, WE KNOW THAT THE A THERE'S, UH, RETIREMENTS, A LOT OF RETIREMENTS HAPPENING IN THE MANUFACTURING.
UM, FOR A LONG TIME THERE WAS ALMOST LIKE A GENERATION THAT SKIPPED MANUFACTURING AS A SOURCE OF, UH, A CAREER.
AND SO I THINK THAT MAYBE WE COULD DO SOMETHING, UH, SIMILAR TO THAT AND MAYBE FOCUS AND, AND WORK WITH OUR MANUFACTURING ASSOCIATION HERE LOCALLY.
I WOULD LOVE TO ALSO AS A CITY MAYBE, UM, IF, IF WE CAN USE SOME OF THIS FUNDING TO LAUNCH OUR OWN APPRENTICESHIPS PROGRAMS. UM, I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT APPRENTICESHIPS FOR, FOR FOUR YEARS AT LEAST.
AND, AND NOBODY HAD EVER LISTENED.
AND, UH, THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR A FEW YEARS AGO PUT TOGETHER A LOT OF MONEY.
LOTS AND LOTS OF DIFFERENT APPRENTICESHIPS PROGRAMS THAT I DON'T THINK WE HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF EVER.
UM, HOWEVER, SOLID WASTE DOES WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER AN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM HERE, AND THEY DO A GREAT JOB OF IT.
WE ALSO HAVE, UM, I THINK THE OPPORTUNITY TO LAUNCH PROGRAMS FOR FACILITIES, UM, MAYBE E M SS.
UM, I MEAN, LIKE I SAID, SOLID, SOLID WASTE IS PROBABLY, UH, UH, THE BETTER EXAMPLE.
BUT I THINK THAT I, I DON'T KNOW IF WE WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD THOSE IN-HOUSE, UM, BUT DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.
AND THEN IN MILWAUKEE, THEY'RE USE, THEY'RE USING LOCAL HIRING PROVISIONS THROUGH THEIR RESIDENCE PREFERENCE PROGRAM.
AND SO IT'S HELPING UNDEREMPLOYED AND UNEMPLOYED RESIDENTS BE PRIORITIZED IN THE HIRING PROCESS.
UM, AND SPECIFICALLY TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO CITY FUNDED CONSTRUCTION.
AND SO I'M WONDERING, AGAIN, TO COUNCILMAN PERRY'S POINT, IF WE DO HAVE SOME OF THESE SHOVEL-READY PROJECTS, IF WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO START OFFERING, UH, THAT TYPE OF, UM, OF CLAUSE SOMEWHERE AS, AS WE GO THROUGH OUR BOND, ET CETERA, AND MAKE SURE THAT OUR, OUR FOLKS GET EMPLOYED.
AND THEN, UM, FINALLY, UH, SPECIFICALLY IN THE, UH, AREA OF BROADBAND, THERE'S ABOUT $42.45 BILLION IN GRANTS TO STATES.
AND WE, UM, I'M THERE FOR NETWORK DEPLOYMENT AND DATA COLLECTION.
WE ALREADY HAVE THE DATA COLLECTION.
WE'VE DONE STUDIES, WE HAVE, UM, EVERYTHING I THINK READY TO GO.
SO I THINK THAT THAT WOULD GIVE US, UM, AN ADVANTAGE, RIGHT, TO OTHERS WHO STILL NEED TO DO THE WORK.
AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO ENGAGE OUR OFFICE OF INNOVATION.
UM, AND, UH, MARINA GTOS, I, I FORGET THE DIGITAL CONNECT ESSAY, DIGITAL CONNECTS AS WELL, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THEM MAYBE READY TO HELP US IN ANY OF THOSE GRANTS.
I KNOW THERE'S LIKE A 300 PAGE DOCUMENT THAT DID SOME REALLY GOOD RESEARCH AND SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE NEED IS, IS PROBABLY ALREADY MOSTLY WRITTEN FOR US, SO I JUST WANNA REMIND US OF THAT.
AND THEN THE $2.75 BILLION FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION AND EQUITY PROJECTS, SPECIFICALLY FOR DIGITAL LITERACY AND ONLINE SKILLS FOR SENIORS.
UM, WE HAVE GOOD PARTNERS OVER AT, UH, AT SENIOR PLANET.
AND SO, SO DEFINITELY JUST WANTED MAKE SURE THAT WE ENGAGE EVERYONE AND HAVE SOMETHING READY TO GO BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THIS IS GONNA GO FORWARD.
SO WE MIGHT AS WELL BE PREPARED.
THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS FOR TODAY.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE WORK.
I DUNNO HOW TO SOLVE THE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES, BUT, UH, I FIGURED THAT WE SHOULD GET AHEAD OF IT SOON.
UM, I REALLY DON'T HAVE TOO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS.
UM, I THINK MY COLLEAGUES BROUGHT UP A WONDERFUL POINT, UH, ESPECIALLY COUNCILWOMAN ROCHE GARCIA.
I'M ALWAYS IMPRESSED BY YOUR LINE OF QUESTIONING.
UM, I AM INTERESTED, VERY INTERESTED IN, UM, THE BUILD BACK BETTER.
UM, BILL, UM, I THINK IT'S, IT'S CRITICAL IN, UM, ITS POTENTIAL TO HELP US COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE, TO CREATE JOBS AND TO ADVANCE EQUITY IN SOME VERY SPECIFIC WAYS, UM, BY INCREASING THE PELL GRANT, EXPANDING ACCESS FOR DREAMERS, UM, AND SUPPORTING HBCUS, WHICH SAN ANTONIO HAS ONE ST.
UM, AND SO MY QUESTION IS HOW CAN WE SUPPORT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT IT PASSES? SURE.
UH, THAT'S A VERY GOOD, UH, QUESTION, COUNCILMAN.
SO FOR WEEKS AND MONTHS NOW, WE HAVE BEEN SUPPORTING MANY OF THE PRIORITIES THAT ARE PART OF BUILD BACK BETTER, AND I WAS GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER ALONG, UH, THROUGH THE MAYOR'S BIG CITY MAYOR'S PLATFORM, UM, THAT HE'S BEEN CHAIRING.
WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK WITH THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES, THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, AND ALSO WITH THE WHITE HOUSE TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, THE BENEFITS OF THE SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.
WE DID A LOT OF THAT THROUGH THE MAYOR'S LEADERSHIP WITH THE HARD INFRASTRUCTURE BILL AND IT PASSED.
AND SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO, UM, AGGRESSIVE ADVOCACY THROUGH THE MAYOR'S B C M PLATFORM AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, WE LEAN ON THE I G R COMMITTEE, UM, TO SUPPORT US AND PROVIDE US, YOU KNOW, THEIR LEADERSHIP AS WELL WHEN WE NEED TO MAKE PHONE CALLS TO THE DELEGATION, ET CETERA.
[00:45:01]
THANK YOU.UM, AND I MEANT TO SAY BUILD BACK BETTER ACT, IT WAS ALL THE BEES MESSED ME UP.
BUT I LOOK FORWARD TO ALL THE CONVERSATIONS WE'RE GONNA HAVE ABOUT THIS.
I ASKED ALL MY QUESTIONS BEFORE.
MY INTERPRETATION, MY INTERPRETATION OF EVERYTHING YOU PUT IN FRONT OF US IS THAT IT'S GONNA BE A HURRY UP AND WAIT PROCESS.
UH, AND THERE'S STILL LOTS OF TO BE SEEN.
AND SO, UH, THANK YOU, UH, TO YOU AND THANK YOU TO TAMIKA AND JEFF AND THOSE FOLKS ON THE PHONE FROM CLARK HILL WHO ARE HELPING US PUSH THESE, UH, THESE INITIATIVES ACROSS THE LINE
[3. October Washington, D.C. and RAISE Grant Advocacy.]
RAISE, GRANT AND DC ADVOCACY TRIP.IF WE CAN TEE UP, I WILL SWIFTLY GO THROUGH THE ADDITIONAL SLIDES ON OUR VISIT.
THANKS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP CHAIRMAN.
UM, RAY'S APPLICATION, OUR PENDING APPLICATION IS WHAT WE WERE UP THERE ADVOCATING FOR.
THIS WAS OUR SECOND ROUND AT ADVOCATING FOR THIS IN WASHINGTON WITH THE WHITE HOUSE, WITH THE D O T, AND, UM, A LOT OF GREAT WORK THAT WENT, UM, BEHIND SUPPORTING THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, A QUICK LOOK AT THE ADVOCACY, UH, MEETINGS.
WE MET WITH THE NUMBER THREE OFFICIAL AT D O T UNDER SECRETARY, UH, MOHE, AS WELL AS JULIE, UM, CHAVEZ RODRIGUEZ, WHO WE ALSO MET WITH IN JULY.
SHE'S AN ADVI VERY CLOSE ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT AND HAS SOME SAN ANTONIO TIES, SO IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO SEE HER.
UM, AND SHE HEADS, UM, THE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DIVISION FOR THE PRESIDENT IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
WE ALSO MET WITH MR. UH, CRISTO.
ALEX, HE'S A DEPUTY CABINET SECRETARY, INTERACTS ON A DAILY BASIS WITH CABINET MEMBERS.
SO THE LINK THERE WAS HIS COMMUNICATION, HOPEFULLY IN SUPPORT OF OUR RAISE GRANT PROPOSAL AND OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PRIORITIES WITH CABINET MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY WITH SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG.
WE ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH, UM, TWO TOP STAFF AND SECRETARY NANCY PELOSI'S OFFICE, HER CHIEF OF STAFF AND HER DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS.
THEY WERE AWARE, VERY WELCOMING OF THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCILMEN.
UM, AND THEY WELCOMED US TO GO BACK AND HOPEFULLY NEXT TIME WE'LL BE MEETING WITH THE SECRETARY.
UH, THIS IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE THAT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT.
THIS IS SOME OF THE WORK, UM, ADVOCACY WORK THAT, UM, ON THE B C M PLATFORM, THE MAYOR AS CHAIR, HE'S BEEN SO ESSENTIAL IN SUPPORTING THIS INFRASTRUCTURE WORK.
UM, ALL OUR LOBBYING AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS WORK, HE'S BEEN VERY INVOLVED AS WELL AS YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THIS BIPARTISAN LETTER.
THE WHITE HOUSE, N D O T ARE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE SUPPORT OF THE, AND THE LEADERSHIP OF THE MAYOR.
IN THIS B C M GROUP OF BIPARTISAN MAYORS, UH, D O T HAS COMPLIMENTED A LOT OF THE WORK.
THEY'VE DONE PRESS EVENTS TOGETHER, AND IT'S REALLY BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UM, AMPLIFY THE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING IN SAN ANTONIO AND IN TEXAS IN OTHER CITIES.
UH, WANTED TO QUICKLY JUST SHARE WITH YOU A COUPLE OF CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT LETTERS FROM, UH, THE POINT WHERE TAMIKA AND HER TEAM SUBMITTED THE RAISE, UH, APPLICATION PACKET IN JUNE.
WE MADE SURE THAT WE DEMONSTRATED STRONG COMMUNITY SUPPORT.
UM, AT THE CONGRESSIONAL LEVEL, IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY TO GET A SENATOR TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS BECAUSE THE RAISES GRANT IS VERY OVERSUBSCRIBED.
UM, IT'S VERY HIGHLY NATIONALLY COMPETITIVE.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, DUE TO JUST THE STRONG RELATIONSHIPS AND THE MERITS OF THE PROJECT, WE WERE ABLE TO GET A LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM, UH, SENATOR CORNY.
SO THAT WAS AT THE TOP OF THE SUPPORT STACK, AS WELL AS A BIPARTISAN LETTER FROM OUR HOUSE DELEGATION MEMBERS THAT YOU SEE THERE.
SO THAT SUPPORT CONTINUES AND WE'RE REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
ALSO, OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, YOU SEE SOME OF OUR KEY PARTNERS, UH, REPRESENTED HERE.
IT WAS A STRONG APPLICATION WITH STRONG SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THANKS TO JEFF'S CONNECTIONS TO CYCLIST GROUPS, WE WERE ABLE TO SEND SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG A, UH, CONSOLIDATED JOINT LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM VARIOUS CYCLING GROUPS.
AND THIS WAS A VERY GRASSROOTS, UM, SUPPORT SHOW OF SUPPORT.
SO I WAS VERY HAPPY TO INCLUDE AND SEND THIS LETTER TO THE SECRETARY.
AND WE ACTUALLY, IT'S BEEN MY FAVORITE ASSIGNMENT OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, WAS TO CALL MY CYCLING FRIENDS AND SAY, HEY, SIGN A LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR US.
WE WANT TO CONNECT THE WEST SIDE CREEK TRAILS TO LEON.
UM, AND ONE MORE QUICK LITTLE NUGGET.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS IN DC, THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES.
UH, THE MAYOR WROTE AN OP-ED HIGHLIGHTING OUR RAYS APPLICATION, AND NOT JUST THAT, MAKING THE CONNECTION TO THE, UM, SAN ANTONIO, YOU KNOW, HOWARD PEAK, GREENWAY TRAILS AS A WHOLE, UH, AND SPOTLIGHTED THAT PROJECT AS A POSSIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT FOR ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS FROM THE ADMINISTRATION.
IT WAS AMPLIFIED BY THE WHITE HOUSE AND D O T.
SO THAT WAS REALLY COOL TO HAVE THAT ON THE NATIONAL N L C PLATFORM AND THE PIECE OF DESISTANCE.
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I'D LIKE TO ASK TAMIKA TO QUEUE UP.UM, SHE WORKED REALLY HARD, UM, WITH OUR VIDEO TEAM TO PUT TOGETHER A TWO MINUTE, UH, RAISE GRANT PROPOSAL APPLICATION.
WE'VE SHOWN IT SO MANY TIMES WITH NON D O T AGENCIES.
WE SHARED IT WITH LABOR, WITH HUD, UH, WITH E P A TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS, THAT IT'S NOT JUST A, A BIKE TRAIL OR A WALKING TRAIL.
I WANT TAMIKA TO GIVE YOU A QUICK INTRODUCTION.
SO THIS WAS LITERALLY A TEAM EFFORT, AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM IN TRANSPORTATION IS MARGARITA HERNANDEZ, WHO ACTUALLY DID, UH, A SPOT WE HAD TO CONVINCE HER TO DO A SPOT.
WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS THAT WE DON'T, WE HAVE TO KNOW WHO NEEDS TO CARRY THE WATER.
AND AS A MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMAN, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT SHE TELL THE STORY ABOUT THIS PART OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT HAS LONG BEEN NEGLECTED IN MANY REGARDS.
AND HOW THIS TRAIL IS AN OPPORTUNITY NOT JUST FOR PEOPLE TO RECREATE, BUT TO CONNECT TO JOBS, TO GET TO WORK, TO GET TO OTHER PLACES AND ACTIVITIES FOR DAILY LIVING.
SO THIS PROJECT IS CONNECTING TRANSIT, IT'S CONNECTING SAFETY, SAFE ACCESS ON INGRAM ROAD, WHICH WE ALL KNOW HAS A NUMBER OF VISION ZERO CRASHES, SEVERE PEDESTRIAN INJURIES AND FATALITIES.
SO WE FEEL LIKE A LOT OF THE PROGRAMS IN THIS BILL ARE COVERED IN THIS GRANT APPLICATION.
AND, AND WE LITERALLY CHECKED ALL THE BOXES IN TELLING THE STORY OF HOW AMAZING SAN ANTONIO IS, BUT ALSO THE AMAZING STORIES THAT CAN BE TOLD BY CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH JUST A SIMPLE THING AS TRANSPORTATION.
SO WITH THAT, WE'LL TAKE IT AWAY.
MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO, FORMER SAN ANTONIO, MAYOR HOWARD PEAK HAD A VISION TO BUILD A SERIES OF MULTI-USE TRAILS ALONG MANY OF THE CREEKS AND RIVERS THAT RUN THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THAT VISION HAS RESULTED IN MORE THAN 82 MILES OF TRAILS, ENJOYED BY SAN ANTONIANS WITH AN ADDITIONAL 32 MILES OF TRAILS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION OR IN THE PLANNING PHASE.
ONE OF THE FUN THINGS IS SINCE WE'VE BEEN RIDING, THERE ARE MORE CONNECTIONS AND MORE NEW TRAILS ALL THE TIMES.
YOU DON'T WANNA SEE OTHER PEOPLE ON THE STREETS, ON THE, EVEN IN THE BIKE LANES.
YOU KNOW, I SEE A LOT OF ELDERLY PEOPLE OUT HERE GETTING GOOD EXERCISE.
HOWEVER, THE SOUTH AND WEST PARTS OF THE CITY HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AND CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE EASY ACCESS TO THE TRAIL SYSTEM IN THAT PARTICULAR COMMUNITY.
THEY HAVEN'T SEEN THE DEVELOPMENT, THE IMPROVEMENTS AS MANY OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE.
THE PROPOSED ZAMORA CREEK GREENWAY TRAIL SEGMENT WILL CONNECT AND SUPPORT LOW INCOME AND PEOPLE OF COLOR THAT MAKE UP AREAS OF PERSISTENT POVERTY AND HEALTH ISSUES.
THE TRAIL WILL BRING LONG AWAITED OPPORTUNITIES FOR SAFE EXERCISE, RECREATION, COMMUTING, AND IT WILL LEAD TO BETTER HEALTH OPTIONS FOR THOSE IN OUR CITY.
JUST DON'T LOOK AT IT JUST A TRAIL.
SO IT HAS A HEALTH COMPONENT, A SOCIAL COMPONENT, A TRANSPORTATION COMPONENT, HAVING THIS TRAIL, MAKING THIS CONNECTION SO INDIVIDUALS CAN GO AND BE ABLE TO MOVE AROUND THE CITY MUCH SAFER.
IT WILL INCREASE THE ABILITY FOR THEM TO MOVE THROUGH AND IMPROVE THEIR HEALTH BENEFITS.
SO IT'S JUST NOT A TRAIL, IT'S, IT'S MORE THAN THAT TO THIS COMMUNITY.
THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO APPLIED FOR THE $25 MILLION RAISE GRANT TO HELP FUND ENGINEERING PURCHASE OF LAND AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE ZAMORA CREEK GREENWAY TRAIL.
IT WILL LINK THE WEST SIDE CREEK TRAILS WITH THE LEON GREENWAY AT THE VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT CENTER, PROVIDING GREATER ACCESS TO TRANSIT AND COMPLETING A CONTINUOUS 82 MILES OF TRAIL.
UPON ITS COMPLETION, IT WILL ADD CONNECTIONS TO OVER 50 TRAIL TRAILHEADS, RECREATIONAL FACILITIES, CULTURAL LANDMARKS, BUS STOPS, AND EMPLOYMENT CENTERS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THIS IMPORTANT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE NEED TO BRING IT UP.
I HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE ON THE WHAT'S NEXT REGARDING THE RAISE APPLICATION.
AND I THINK WE, TAMIKA HELPED ANSWER THAT.
UM, THE, UH, DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS IS THE D O T MAKE ANNOUNCEMENTS ON OR BEFORE NOVEMBER 22ND.
SO FINGERS CROSSED, I FEEL, UH, VERY CONFIDENT THAT WE LED A VERY AGGRESSIVE, STRONG ADVOCACY AND LOBBYING CAMPAIGN, UM, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF JUST EVERYBODY THAT I MENTIONED, OUR FEDERAL CONSULTANTS, UM,
[00:55:01]
CHAIRMAN PALICE KNOWS THIS VERY WELL.THERE'S, UM, EVERYTHING THAT WE SHOWCASE AND THEN EVERYTHING ELSE THAT HAPPENS BEHIND THE SCENES, AND THERE WAS A LOT BEHIND THE SCENES.
UM, OUR CONSULTANT, KEVIN KELLY, MADE SEVERAL CALLS AND EMAILS AND TEXT MESSAGES TO WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS IN SUPPORT OF OUR APPLICATION.
AND, UM, I TOO DID COUNTLESS CALLS AND TEXT MESSAGES AND, AND EVERYTHING.
SO MY FINGERS ARE CROSSED ON BOTH HANDS.
COUNCILMAN MCKEE, RODRIGUEZ QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? NO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? THANK YOU.
OKAY, CHAIRMAN, JUST A, A QUICK WORD OF THANKS.
UH, I KNOW I WAS ON THE FIRST TRIP THAT WE MADE, I THINK IT WAS IN JULY, CORRECT? COULDN'T MAKE THE OCTOBER ONE.
BUT ALL OF THE FEEDBACK THAT I'VE RECEIVED FROM, YOU KNOW, OUR FEDERAL LOBBYIST HAS BEEN THAT, UM, WE HAVE DONE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO BE IN A GREAT POSITION FOR THIS.
I KNOW IT'S VERY COMPETITIVE, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT THEY'RE, THEY'RE LIKE, HEY, THERE'S NOTHING ELSE YOU GUYS CAN DO.
I MEAN, TO USE A SPORTS ANALOGY, WE HAVE LEFT IT ALL ON THE FIELD.
AND SO, UM, THANK YOU, UH, TO THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.
I THINK IT HAS BEEN A TEAM EFFORT.
UM, SO I THINK THE ONLY THING LEFT ON THE WHAT'S NEXT IS IF ANYONE WANTS TO JOIN ME AT LITTLE FLOWER TO LIGHT SOME CANDLES, UH, WE CAN GO DO THAT THIS AFTERNOON.
BUT, UH, BUT I THINK WE'RE IN WELL POSITIONED AND, AND NOW IT'S JUST A MATTER OF HOPE, HOPING THAT, UM, EVERYTHING'S LOOKED AT FAVORABLY BY, BY THE ADMINISTRATION AND WE CAN, UH, GET OVER THE FINISH LINE.
UM, AND I MENTIONED IT WHILE AGO, UH, THERE WAS, IT PASSED THE SENATE ABOUT USING CARES ACT FUNDING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, LEFTOVER CARESS ACT FUNDING.
CAN WE GET A LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM THE CITY TO THE HOUSE? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, I'M GLAD, I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP.
WE MEANT TO MENTION THAT TODAY.
UM, THE MESSAGE WE GOT FROM FOLKS IN DC WAS LET'S GET THROUGH PASSING THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL FIRST, BUT THAT'S HAPPENED.
UM, THE, UH, MAYOR IS WORKING ON A LETTER WITH ALL THOSE OTHER TEXAS MAYORS FROM THE BIG CITY MAYORS GROUP IN SUPPORT OF IT.
WE'RE GONNA DO THE SAME TO OUR DELEGATION, UH, AND LET THEM KNOW YOU, YOU MADE THE POINT.
IT'S PAST THE SENATE, IT'S NOW FACING THE HOUSE.
IT WOULD JUST GIVE US MORE FLEXIBILITY TO USE CARES, DOLLARS ON, ON OTHER THINGS.
AND, AND WE'RE FULLY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
SO WHEN CAN WE GET THE LETTER OUT? WE CAN GET IT DONE BEFORE THE END OF THE WEEK.
THE OTHER THING, UM, A GREAT LOOKING VIDEO THERE, AND I AM SO GLAD THAT THERE'S A 15 MILE AN HOUR LIMIT FOR WALKERS AND JOGGERS.
ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT I, I WANNA TOUCH ON TWO TOPICS.
ONE IS WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE, THE DIFFERENT DECISION MAKERS UP IN DC WHEN WE SHOWED THEM THE PROJECT, THE MAP, UH, AND THE BOXES THAT WE WERE CHECKING OUT, RIGHT? MOBILITY, PARK, RECREATION, INVESTMENT IN UNDER-INVESTED, UH, COMMUNITY, UM, THEY ALL PERKED UP AND LEANED IN, RIGHT? AND THEY KEPT SAYING, THIS, THIS, RIGHT.
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR BECAUSE, UM, EVERYBODY ELSE IS JUST BRINGING US ONE-OFF PROJECTS THAT CHECK OFF ONE BOX, RIGHT? MOBILITY OR PARK RIGHT.
OR WHATEVER THEIR, THEIR BOX IS.
UM, AND THE FEELING THAT I GOT WALKING AWAY FROM THE, FROM THESE MEETINGS WAS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT WE HAD UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT, UH, AND THAT WE WERE DELIVERING ON, UH, WHAT BUILD BACK BETTER IS SUPPOSED TO BE, UH, AND THAT THIS COULD BE ONE OF THOSE SHOWCASE PIECES WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD THEN HELP THEM SHOW OFF, RIGHT? THIS IS HOW RAY'S IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.
I, I'M PROUD OF YOU FOR HELPING US, UM, YOU KNOW, KILL MULTIPLE BIRDS WITH ONE STONE ON THIS ONE.
UM, AND I'M ALSO, YOU KNOW, VERY HELPFUL.
I, I, I'M NOT VERY RELIGIOUS, BUT I DO, I DO YOGA AND SO I'LL, WHILE YOU'RE LIGHTING CANDLES, I'LL HUM UH, THE, UH, BUT I, I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE ALSO COVER ANOTHER TOPIC, UM, DURING OUR BOND DISCUSSION, THE LAST BOND DISCUSSION WHERE WE SENT THE BOND PACKAGES UP TO THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES, THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS GRANT AND WHY THIS GRANT WAS SO IMPORTANT, HOW LONG WE HAD BEEN WORKING ON IT.
UM, YOU JOINED US WHEN? FEBRUARY 1ST.
SO YOU JOINED US FROM DAY ONE.
THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
UM, AND I SOMETIMES WE TALK AT COMMITTEE AND WHAT WE TALK ABOUT COMMITTEE DOESN'T MAKE IT OUTSIDE OF COMMITTEE TO OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS.
BUT I HEARD, I HEARD A COMMENT THAT, THAT THAT ALARMED ME A LITTLE BIT.
AND I KNOW JEFF, YOU, YOU, YOU WERE A LITTLE ALARMED TOO, AND THAT WAS THAT WE HADN'T DONE A GOOD ENOUGH JOB OF BRIEFING
[01:00:01]
THE TWO COUNCILWOMAN WHOSE DISTRICTS THIS WAS GOING TO IMPACT WHERE WE WERE MAKING THIS INVESTMENT.AND I, AND I KNOW I ASKED YOU TO GO BACK AND LOOK WHERE IT IS THAT WE HAD ACTUALLY DONE THOSE BRIEFINGS AND WHETHER OR NOT WE HAD, UM, AND YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION FOR ME TODAY.
SO WHERE DID, I MEAN, DID I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS, THIS IS A QUALITY CONTROL CHECK.
ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT OF, OUT OF I G R TO THE REST OF OUR, UH, OUT OF, UH, UH, THE REST OF COUNCIL.
WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD ABOUT FIVE PRESENTATIONS.
THE FIRST PRESENTATION THAT WE HAD WAS IN MAY AT THE TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY COMMITTEE.
SO WE'VE DONE TWO PRESENTATIONS TO TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY WHERE WE DISCUSS THE PROGRAM.
AND AS A PART OF OUR CONVERSATIONS AT GOAL SETTING AND ALSO OUR BUDGET PRESENTATION, WE'VE DISCUSSED THE RAISE GRANT APPLICATION BECAUSE THAT'S ESSENTIALLY ONE OF THE PLATFORMS WE'RE FOCUSED ON IS GETTING FEDERAL OPPORTUNITIES, BUT ENHANCING AND UPDATING OUR BICYCLE NETWORK PLAN.
AND ONE OF THE KEY HALLMARKS OF THAT IS INTEGRATING THE HOWARD PEAK TRAIL NETWORK INTO THE BIKE NETWORK PLAN.
SO IT'S PART AND PARCEL REALLY OF THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT'S PROGRAMMING.
AND THAT RAISE GRANT APPLICATION WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS.
WHAT I FOUND IS BECAUSE WE WERE PUBLIC WORKS, WE REALLY DIDN'T FOCUS ON ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF OUR FORMULA FUNDS IN FEDERAL HIGHWAY.
AND THAT'S JUST HOW WE'VE DONE THINGS.
BUT AS SALLY SHARED, THERE ARE A BEVY OF DISCRETIONARY GRANT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE DON'T TYPICALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF.
SO THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.
AND IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE HAVE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES, WE HAVE ALL OF THESE ISSUES, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DON'T DO LIKE THE IRISH FAMINE AND PUT ALL OUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET, THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY BASKET.
THERE ARE OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDS, BUT WE HAVE TO PREPARE OURSELVES TO BE COMPETITIVE WITH THAT.
SO EACH PRESENTATION THAT WE'VE DONE RELATED TO THE BIKE NETWORK PLAN UPDATE, WE'VE DISCUSSED THE HOWARD PEAK TRAIL NETWORK AND WE'VE DISCUSSED THE APPLICATION.
SO, BUT SPECIFICALLY, SO MOBILITY COMMITTEE, WHERE ELSE I I I G R IN I G R.
UH, GOAL SETTING IN JUNE, WE ALSO HAD OUR BUDGET BRIEFINGS AND THE BIKE NETWORK PLAN.
SO EVERY PRESENTATION THAT I'VE DONE, UH, TO ANY COMMITTEE, WE'VE DISCUSSED IT BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING OUR DEPARTMENT AND OUR PLAN AND OUR BIKE NETWORK PRIORITIES AND THE INTEGRATION AND, AND THAT APPLICATION.
SO MY, MY REQUEST GOING FORWARD IS THAT IF, IF WE DO HAVE THE POSSIBILITY, AND BY THE WAY, I FORGET MORE THINGS ON A DAILY BASIS, UM, THAN PROBABLY ANYBODY ELSE IN THIS ROOM.
AND, AND PAT WALLACE WILL ATTEST TO THAT, UH, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS THAT HIT OUR INBOX AND COME BEFORE US.
AND YOU GUYS LOVE TO GIVE US BOOKS WITH SPIRALS AND, YOU KNOW, UM, AND THE ONLY PERSON HERE WHO REALLY READS EVERY PAGE AND IT'S FOOTNOTE IS, IS THE LADY IN MY LEFT, UM, MY, MY REQUEST IS THAT WHEN WE GO AFTER THESE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR GRANTS THAT ARE GONNA IMPACT SPECIFIC DISTRICTS THAT WE GO AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT THE COUNCIL PERSON IN THAT DISTRICT YES, SIR.
IS READ INTO AND KNOWS THE GRANT APPLICATION BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S, THAT'S OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE.
UH, YOU KNOW, QUALITY CONTROL HERE.
AND SO, UM, AND IF THERE'S A COUNCIL MEMBER ON THE DIOCESE WHO SAYS, WELL, I I DON'T REMEMBER IT.
WELL THEN THAT'S, WE, WE OWN THAT, RIGHT? CORRECT.
AS FAR AS NOT, NOT HAVING DONE ENOUGH DEBRIEF.
AND SO I KNOW THERE'S ONLY A CERTAIN NUMBER OF HOURS IN THE DAY, BUT MY REQUEST IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO MORE TO MAKE SURE THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS AND COMMISSIONERS, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE CONVERSANT.
'CAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE GOTTA GO BACK TO OUR COMMUNITIES.
TELL EVERYBODY THIS IS WHAT THE GRANT SAYS.
UM, I, I, WE MISS, UH, UH, TRISHA BERRY AT THIS MEETING, BUT, UM, AND, AND YOU HAD A COMMENT, SALLY, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, UH, I WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT WE DO HAVE OUR FEDERAL TEAM ON THE LINE.
UM, I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED OH, YEAH.
ALLOW FOR ANY, ANY COMMENTARY FROM, FROM THEM.
SO OUR NINJAS IN IN DC ARE ON THE LINE.
YOU GUYS, UH, WANT TO ADD ANYTHING? DID YOU, UH, DO YOU FEEL LIKE SOMETHING WAS LEFT OUT? NO.
UH, THIS IS KEVIN, AND FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE, THE CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE TODAY.
NO, I, I THINK SALLY'S WELL COVERED IT.
I THINK, UH, WHAT'S CRITICAL GOING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THE DISPARATE, UH, NATURE OF ENTITIES IN THE CITY AND THE SURROUNDING ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE CITY AGENCIES OR QUASI CITY AGENCIES THAT, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR WORK WORKING OBVIOUSLY WITH THE COUNTY AND SOME INSTANCES AND OTHER AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH.
WELL BE TARGETED IN HOW WE GO AFTER THESE AND EXPLOIT WHAT OUR SUBSTANTIAL DISCRETIONARY OPPORTUNITIES IN ALL THESE DIFFERENT
[01:05:01]
DOMAINS THAT'LL BE AVAILABLE.AND THEN SOME OF THE, UH, OTHER INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS LIKE BROADBAND WAS MENTIONED.
THERE'S A SUBSTANTIAL SUBSIDY THAT WILL GO TO INDIVIDUALS THAT COMES OUT OF THIS, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.
BUT PEOPLE HAVE TO BE WILLING TO APPLY TO GET THE BENEFIT OF THAT IN ORDER TO, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY SUBSIDIZE THE COST OF THEIR INTERNET SERVICE.
AND SO THERE'LL BE THINGS OF THAT SORT WHERE I THINK IT'S CRITICAL TO HAVE A, UH, A COORDINATED EFFORT ACROSS ALL THE RELEVANT AGENCIES AND AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION TO, TO MAXIMIZE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY AND SURROUNDING POPULATIONS.
THANK YOU KEVIN FOR, FOR, UH, HELPING US WITH THIS.
IS THERE, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY ELSE FROM OUR LOBBYING TEAM UP ON THE LINE? I, I CAN'T SEE.
I BELIEVE WE ALSO HAVE RON ANO FROM NORMANDY.
RON, YOU ON THERE? I AM HERE, YEAH.
NO, I WOULD, I WOULD ECHO EXACTLY WITH WHAT KEVIN SAID.
THE ONLY OTHER, YOU KNOW, POINT I WOULD MAKE BASED ON THE DISCUSSION TODAY IS THE, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THESE AGENCIES THAT WAS JUST WITH A BUNCH OF F A A, UM, LEADERSHIP, UH, LAST WEEK AND, AND, UM, FOR AT LEAST THESE DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAMS. I MEAN, EACH AGENCY'S GONNA ROLL THESE OUT FROM A TIMING STANDPOINT AND ONCE IT'S SIGNED INTO LAW, UH, AT, AT A DIFFERENT TIMEFRAME.
BUT SOME OF THEM, INCLUDING THE F A A, HAVE BEEN CHOMPING AT THE BID AND HAVE BEEN LINING THIS UP FOR SEVERAL MONTHS SINCE THE SENATE PASSED THE BILL.
SO SOME, SOME OF THESE MAY MOVE MORE QUICKLY THAN, THAN YOU MIGHT EXPECT.
UM, AND AGAIN, THESE ARE THE NON FORMULAIC GRANT PROGRAMS THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE BILL.
BUT, UM, OTHER THAN THAT, I THINK I AGREE EVERYTHING WITH, WITH, WITH WHAT KEVIN SAID.
ALRIGHT FELLAS, THANKS FOR JOINING US.
MR. CHAIRMAN, WE ALSO HAVE WALTER, SARAH, AND I IN PERSON HERE TODAY.
WHAT'S UP, WALTER, YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING OTHER THAN AS MUCH THEY LIKE YOU SUBMITTED? WE GOT ALL CAMERAS ON.
I WANNA KNOW WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
SO I, UH, THAT BRINGS US TO AN END OF THIS BRIEFING.
UH, QUITE A PERSONAL PRIVILEGE.
I WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAS, UM, DECIDED TO TAKE A SECOND, UH, MAKE A SECOND ATTEMPT AT SA TO DC UM, SAME REQUEST AS LAST TIME.
THEY'RE GONNA BE VISITING WITH ALL OF YOU, OR OUR TEAM IS GONNA BE VISITING WITH ALL OF YOU.
THEY'VE GOT IN MIND A, UH, A COMMITTEE OR A PARTICULAR ISSUE.
UH, JEFF, I KNOW THAT YOUR TEAM'S GONNA HELP IDENTIFY SORT OF WHICH COUNCIL MEMBER'S BEST FIT WITHIN THOSE ISSUES.
UM, AND THESE ARE ISSUES THAT EACH OF YOU HAS SPOKEN UP ON IN THE PAST.
UM, AND, UH, SO THERE'S, I THINK IT'S IN FEBRUARY, RIGHT JEFF? IT IS END OF JANUARY, EARLY FEBRUARY.
WHAT'S KEY I THINK, IS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PLANNING MEETINGS THAT GO, THAT LEAD UP TO SA TO DC AND IF, IF YOU AS THE ELECTED MEMBERS CAN'T MAKE THOSE MEETINGS, IF YOU CAN SEND STAFF THERE, THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE GONNA BE HAPPENING ABOUT WHAT THE POSITIONS ARE FOR EACH ISSUE TEAM.
AND IF YOU'RE GONNA SERVE IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE FOR ONE OF THE ISSUE TEAMS AND TAKE PART IN THOSE THINGS, YOU'LL WANT TO BE FULLY VERSED.
SO THAT, THAT WILL BE MY, MY ASK.
AND SO ISSUE TEAMS HAVE INCLUDED IN THE PAST, WHAT, LIKE STREETS, UH, TRANSPORTATION, MILITARY JOBS, UH, RESILIENCE, HOUSING, EDUCATION, ET CETERA.
ARE WE ACTUALLY MEETING FACE TO FACE OR ARE THESE GONNA BE YEAH.
PLAN IS FOR A, FOR A FULL SA TO DC TRIP.
CORRECT? UM, I THINK, UH, DC'S GONNA HOPEFULLY BE FULLY SORT OF REOPENED BY THEN, BUT THAT IS WHAT'S PUSHED.
IF IT'S NOT FACE TO FACE AND I, I'D BE HESITANT TO WANT TO ATTEND.
BECAUSE I COULD JUST DO IT FROM A ZOOM CALL FROM MY OFFICE.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE CHAMBER'S CLEAR ON THAT, THEN I WILL NOT GET ATTENDING.
IF IT'S NOT FACE TO FACE, IT'S FACE.
ALRIGHT GUYS, UM, THAT ENDS OUR MEETING.