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FOCUS ON THE HERE AND ANTONIO AND SAN ANTONIO.
TIME IS 2:14 PM ON THIS 12TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2022.
WELCOME TO OUR CITY COUNCIL B SESSION AGENDA.
AND THANK YOU ALSO FOR OBSERVING OUR HEALTH PROTOCOLS, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO BATTLE THIS PANDEMIC.
UH, TO BEGIN OUR MEETING TODAY, UH, I'LL ASK OUR CITY CLERK TO READ THE ROLE.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER NIERENBERG HERE.
[ ITEMS ]
MAYOR.UM, WE HAVE, UH, ONE ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY THAT IS OUR, UH, PROPOSED BOND, UH, IN 2022, AND THE REVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY BOND COMMITTEE PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO, HELLO, TO KICK US OFF, LET ME TURN IT OVER TO OUR CITY MANAGER, ERIC WALSH.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR COUNCIL.
UM, SO THIS AFTERNOON WE'VE GOT ONE ITEM ON OUR B SESSION, UH, SCHEDULE.
UM, AND IT'S A, UH, REPORT BACK FROM THE CITIZEN BOND COMMITTEES, UH, AND THE WORK THAT THEY DID, UH, IN, UM, LAST FALL AND COMPLETED IN IN, UH, DECEMBER.
UM, LET'S PUT UP THE SLIDE PRESENTATION.
SO, WHILE THEY'RE DOING THAT, UH, JUST A A REMINDER, THE, UH, TODAY'S PRESENTATION, WE'RE GONNA ASK, UH, UH, ONE OF OUR MEMBERS OF THE TRI CHAIRS, UH, THAT WERE APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR, AS WELL AS THE RESPECTIVE CO-CHAIRS TO PRESENT THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS BACK TO THE COUNCIL.
THE, UM, UM, UM, JUST TO KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THE SUMMARY OF ACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO DATE.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, HAD PROJECT DEVELOPMENT WORK THAT STARTED LAST YEAR, UH, CULMINATED IN, UM, COUNCIL PRESENTATIONS.
UH, BEGINNING IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER.
WE HAD FOUR CITY COUNCIL B SESSIONS, UH, ONE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL SPECIAL SESSION.
AND THEN THE BOND COMMITTEES, UM, BEGAN THEIR WORK IN OCTOBER OF, UH, LAST YEAR.
163 CITIZENS PARTICIPATED IN OUR PANELS.
UM, AS A REMINDER, AS WE WENT INTO THAT PROGRAM, UM, WE HAVE A, A $1.2 BILLION 2022 PROPOSED BOND PROGRAM, 477 MILLION OF THAT IN STREETS, BRIDGES, AND SIDEWALKS, 274 MILLION IN PARKS, RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE, 165 MILLION IN DRAINAGE AND FLOOD CONTROL IMPROVEMENTS, 150 MILLION IN HOUSING AND 134 MILLION IN FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS.
SO AT THIS TIME, UM, LET'S GO ONE MORE SLIDE.
SO THE TRI CHAIRS AS APPOINTED TO THE BY THE MAYOR WERE, UH, ALBERTO GUERRA, UH, BRANDON LOGAN, AND JAMIE KOWALSKI.
AND JAMIE'S GONNA WALK THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL SLIDES TO GIVE SOME CONTEXT ON THE COMMITTEE PROCESS AND THAT PUBLIC PROCESS.
BUT I DID WANT TO THANK, UH, EACH OF THEM.
UH, THEY WERE, UM, THEY ALL ATTENDED MANY, MANY, MANY OF THE, OF THE COMMITTEE MEETINGS, UM, AND STAYED ENGAGED.
UM, AS WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, THEIR ROLE AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS, UH, PROCESS, UH, THEY WERE THERE TO QUARTERBACK AND THEY DID A GREAT
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JOB.AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE TIME THAT ALL THREE OF THEM SPENT, UH, WITH US AT THE CONVENTION CENTER IN THE FALL.
SO, LEMME TURN IT OVER TO JAMIE.
WE'LL, WE'LL TRANSITION TO CO-DIRECTORS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, AND THEN I'LL WRAP UP THE PRESENTATION THIS AFTERNOON.
AND THANK YOU TO YOUR TEAM, UH, FOR REALLY PUTTING TOGETHER THIS WHOLE PROJECT AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING RAN SMOOTHLY AT THE CONVENTION CENTER AND, UH, FOR ALL THE COMMITTEES, UH, THAT WE'RE INVOLVED.
UH, SO REAL QUICK, THE, THE COMMITTEES THEMSELVES WERE CHARGED WITH A FEW TASKS.
UM, IT WAS TO SERVE AS AN ADVISORY ROLE.
UH, IT WAS CERTAINLY TO GET THE COMMUNITY INPUT AND ALSO, UH, TO SELECT THE PROJECTS THAT WOULD BE ON, UH, IN THEIR SECTIONS OF COMMITTEES.
SO, UM, EACH CO-CHAIR WAS APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR, AND THEN, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, APPOINTED THEIR SECTIONS OR THEIR, THEIR PEOPLE, THEIR, UH, AND SO THAT TOTALED TO ABOUT 163 PEOPLE.
IT'S 163 PEOPLE THAT REALLY DID A WONDERFUL JOB AT NAVIGATING THIS WHOLE PROCESS.
UM, YOU SEE UP HERE, ALL THE CO-CHAIRS, UH, THEY DID A FANTASTIC JOB AND THANK YOU TO EACH ONE OF THEM FOR NAVIGATING THIS AS WELL.
UM, THE MEETINGS WERE HELD, LIKE WE SAID, AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UH, EACH SUBSET GOT A FOUR MEETINGS EXCEPT FOR HOUSING, WHICH THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED.
SO IT TOTALED FOR 20 MEETINGS.
WE DID HAVE A BUS TOUR FOR EACH OF THOSE, UH, GROUPS.
UH, THE AMAZING THING TO SEE WAS THE OVER 700 RESIDENTS THAT WERE IN ATTENDANCE, UH, AND ALSO THE OVER 500 COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE IN PERSON AND ALSO THROUGH SA SPEAKUP.
UH, NEXT, UH, AFTER THE PUBLIC COMMENT WAS MADE IN THE FINAL MEETINGS, UH, EACH COMMITTEE, UH, SELECTED PROJECTS THAT WOULD BE ABOVE THE LINE THAT, UH, THEY FELT WOULD BE BEST FOR, UH, FOR THOSE.
SO STREETS AND BRIDGES HAD 61 PROJECTS, UH, PARKS AND REC DECIDED ON 82 PROJECTS.
UH, DRAINAGE, UM, HAS 20 PROJECTS.
HOUSING IS A LITTLE, UH, DIFFERENT, BUT WITH THEIR ONE OVERALL PROJECT.
AND THEN WITH FACILITIES, UH, THAT WERE BROKEN UP INTO MUNI, MUNICIPAL AND ALSO PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, TOTALED IN 18 PROJECTS.
SO FROM NOW ON, WE'RE GONNA SEE THE CO-CHAIRS COME UP HERE AND HAVE, UH, THEIR DISCUSSIONS OF THE PROJECTS THAT THEY CHOSE.
AND, UH, UP NEXT, I'M GONNA BRING UP JOHN BAILEY, PLEASE.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
I ALSO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I HAD A CO-CHAIR, UH, PAOLO SOFI, SOPHIA FERNANDEZ, WHO CANNOT BE HERE TODAY.
SHE'S ON A LONG, UH, SCHEDULED WORK TRIP.
UM, I ALSO JUST WANT TO TAKE A QUICK STEP BACK AND REALLY, UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK THE MAYOR FOR APPOINTING THIS POSITION, WHICH I APPRECIATE, AND ALSO ALL 30, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
IT REALLY WAS JUST AN ENORMOUS PRIVILEGE TO DO THIS.
UH, THE, UH, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL WE HAVE IN SAN ANTONIO, UM, IS REALLY AMAZING.
AND EVERYBODY PARTICIPATED FULLY AND ALL THE PEOPLE YOU APPOINTED BOTH KNEW THEIR DISTRICT AMAZINGLY WELL, BUT ALSO KNEW, UM, THE TRANSPORTATION FUNDING AND POLICY OF THE CITY EXTRAORDINARILY.
SO, IT WAS REALLY, REALLY WHAT'S A PRIVILEGE, WHICH, UM, AS YOU SEE HERE, THE TOTAL AMOUNT, THE, UM, THE AMOUNT OF PROJECTS, 61, I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER ALL 61 PROJECTS.
UH, YOU HAVE ALL THAT LISTED RIGHT THERE.
UM, I WILL NOTE A COUPLE THINGS.
ONE IS THE WIDE VARIETY OF PROJECTS THAT WERE FUNDED.
UH, THESE INCLUDE SORT OF SO-CALLED TRADITIONAL KIND OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND WIDENING PROJECTS.
ALSO, A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT DEALT WITH DRAINAGE AND UTILITY ISSUES.
UM, SIDEWALKS, MEDIAN TURN LANES, CURB CUT, REALLY ALL THE PROJECTS THAT, UM, KIND OF COME UNDER THE TRANSPORTATION RUBRIC WERE SUPPORTED WITH THIS, UH, WITH THIS INITIATIVE AND, AND ALL OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
I'LL ALSO NOTE A COUPLE OTHERS, UH, TO CITYWIDE PROJECTS.
UH, MONEY DEDICATED SPECIFICALLY FOR FUNDING OF THE BIKE PROGRAM AND ALSO THE BRIDGE PROGRAM AS WELL.
AND FINALLY, REGIONAL PROJECTS.
FIVE AT BROOKS, UM, BROOKS HEMISPHERE, PORT MEDICAL CENTER, AND A AND M.
I'LL ALSO NOTE ONE CHANGE JUST SO WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE.
AND CAN LEVEL SET, UH, WAS WITH THE SOUTH STARS AMORA STREET OVERPASS PROJECTS AT THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE DISTRICT FIVE DELEGATION.
HALF OF THAT MONEY IS INSTEAD BEING DEDICATED TO STREET RECONSTRUCTION AND PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY.
SO AGAIN, THAT WAS AT THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE DISTRICT FIVE DELEGATION AND OUR ENTIRE COMMITTEE, UH, SUPPORTED THAT.
UM, I THINK THAT, UH, I DUNNO IF THIS WAS ALLUDED TO BEFORE.
IT MAY HAVE BEEN, UM, BY THE CITY MANAGER, BUT THERE ARE SO-CALLED BELOW THE LINE PROJECTS WE HAVE.
SO THE IDEA BEING THAT SHOULD THERE BE SAVINGS AVAILABLE, THESE ARE PROJECTS WE THINK HAVE GREAT MERIT AND WE'D RECOMMEND THEM FOR
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FUNDING.UH, FIRST OF ALL, ALL OF THESE CAME FROM THE PUBLIC OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES WE HAD, UM, AT, UM, AT OUR COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
BUT F STREETS WILL BE WHILE THE F STREETS AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS IS BASED ON THE EXISTING SS M P, ANY F STREET FUNDING THAT WOULD HAPPEN WITH THE BELOW THE LINE PRO, BELOW THE LINE PROJECTS WOULD INSTEAD BE FUNDED, UM, AS A PERCENTAGE OF CENTER LINE MILES.
MOVE IT OVER TO, UH, MY COLLEAGUES AT THE PARKS, RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE.
IT'S JEANETTE HOMAN AND JIM BAILEY.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UH, MY CO-CHAIR, JEANETTE AND I ARE HAPPY TO BE HERE TODAY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE EXTRAORDINARY PUBLIC PROCESS THAT OCCURRED THROUGH THE PARKS, RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE, UM, BOND COMMITTEE THAT, THAT, THAT YOU ALL APPOINTED.
I'M GONNA BRIEFLY WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE NUMBERS AND THEN JEANETTE WILL SHARE OUR IMPRESSIONS OF THE PROCESS AND GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHY WE ARE ESPECIALLY PROUD TODAY TO BE SAN ANTONIO.
SO, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS, UH, THE COMMITTEE WAS HANDED A LIST OF 67 PROJECTS THAT HAVE COST OF 274 MILLION.
LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF SAN ANTONIANS ATTENDED THE STANDING ROOM ONLY BOND COMMITTEE MEETINGS TO EXPRESS THEIR NEED FOR PARKS.
APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS ACTUALLY TOOK TO THE PODIUM TO MAKE IMPASSION PLEAS FOR CITY LEADERS TO UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
NEARLY 200 ESSAY SPEAK UP COMMENTS.
40 PLUS PAGES WERE RELATED DIRECTLY TO PARKS.
UM, AND THEY WERE RECEIVED FROM CITIZENS REPRESENTING EVERY CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
JEANETTE AND I AND, UH, ASSISTANT MANAGER DAVID MCCAREY, WHO CAN'T BE WITH US TODAY, UH, LOGGED OVER 40 SCHEDULED MEETINGS, UH, WITH COMMITTEE DELEGATIONS AND COUNTLESS CALLS, TEXTS, AND EMAILS TO COORDINATE.
THE COMMITTEE WAS ULTIMATELY MOVED TO COMMON PURPOSE BY THIS EXTRAORDINARY PUBLIC EXPRESSION OF NEED FROM A DISTRICT SPECIFIC FOCUS TO THE GOAL OF MAKING SAN ANTONIO BETTER FOR ALL OF US NO MATTER WHERE WE LIVE.
THE 85, NOT 67 PROJECTS WE ARE RECOMMENDING BROKEN DOWN, AS NOTED ON THIS SLIDE, UH, ARE BEING SENT TO YOU WITH A UNANIMOUS VOTE OF THE COMMITTEE.
SO HOW DO I DO THIS DEAL HERE? SO WE'RE NOT GONNA GO INTO DETAIL ON THE PROJECTS BECAUSE THERE'RE TOO MANY OF THEM.
UH, THIS SLIDE SHOWS THAT IF THAT VERY FEW WERE OUTRIGHT MOVED TO BELOW THE LINE, RATHER, WE ARE RECOMMENDING SCOPE REDUCTIONS.
THERE WAS A SMALL REDUCTION IN DOLLARS FOR GREENWAYS, BUT IT WAS FOR DESIGN ONLY PROJECTS OR ENHANCEMENTS.
CUT THE NEXT TWO SLIDES, WHICH YOU SEE AND YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET.
AND SO YOU CAN SPEND A LITTLE MORE TIME WITH THEM.
UH, SHOWS THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR, OR NEW PROJECTS THAT AROSE FROM COMMUNITY FEEDBACK.
MANY OF THESE ARE SIMPLY MODEST IMPROVEMENTS IN COMMUNITY PARKS THAT HAVE BECOME SO DEAR TO US.
LARGER ALLOCATIONS INCLUDE THE AUDUBON CENTER, CITYWIDE MOUNTAIN BIKE, AND B M X FACILITIES AND CASCIANO PARK.
UH, JEANETTE AND I SUBMITTED A MEMO TO YOU, WHICH, WHICH YOU, WE HOPE YOU'LL REVIEW IN DETAIL.
UH, IN IT WE DISCUSS OUR THOUGHTS ON PUBLIC ART, FUTURE FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY PARKS, PROJECT SCOPING AND ONGOING CITIZEN OVERSIGHT AND FUTURE, AND FUNDING AND CONSTRUCTION OF BELOW THE LINE DESIGN ONLY TRAILS PROJECTS.
UH, SOME OF THESE ARE CRITICAL, LIKE THE CONNECTION FROM BROOKS TO SATO CREEK AND FROM BRACKENRIDGE TO MCALLISTER PARK, AND WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY.
DURING THIS UNPRECEDENTED PAST TWO YEARS, I DARE SAY THAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US IN THIS ROOM, IN THIS BUILDING HAS TAKEN SOLACE AND REFUGE IN THE OUTDOORS.
MANY OF US KNOW NO OTHER PLACE TO FIND THAT KIND OF PEACE.
SIMPLY PUT, OUR PARKS ARE PERSONAL.
I'M ONE OF THE CO-CHAIRS FOR THE PARKS BOND COMMITTEE, AND A VERY PROUD D ONE RESIDENT.
FIVE YEARS AGO, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT ON THIS VERY SAME COMMITTEE AS A DELEGATE.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THE HONOR THAT I FELT.
MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION TO CO-CHAIR THIS PARTICULAR COMMITTEE.
IT WAS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH JIM BAILEY AND THIS ENTIRE CITY STAFF, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT IT WASN'T JUST A COMMITTEE I WAS WORKING WITH.
I WAS WORKING WITH FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
I WANNA GO ON RECORD AS SAYING THAT THE COMMITTEE UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT.
THEY KNEW THAT THEY HAD TO RECEIVE PUBLIC INPUT TO CONSIDER POTENTIAL PROJECTS, AND TO RECOMMEND A FINAL
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LIST TO YOU ON TIME AND WITHIN BUDGET.I WANNA INVITE YOU TO HEAR JUST A FEW OF THE STORIES THAT WE LISTEN TO.
THE D SEVEN RESIDENT WHOSE SON ENJOYS THE ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT AND INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUNDS AT HEMISPHERE PARK.
IN D ONE, THE D TWO RESIDENTS WHO ASKED FOR SUPPORT FROM MULTI-GENERATIONAL COMMUNITY CENTER.
AND FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO SUPPORT PICKLEBALL SOMETHING FIVE YEARS AGO, WE WOULD'VE NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BE AN EMERGING OUTDOOR RECREATION OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
THE D THREE RESIDENTS AND OTHERS FROM ACROSS THE CITY WHO SUPPORTED AND RALLIED AROUND MITCHELL LAKE AUDUBON CENTER, A NATURAL TREASURE IN OUR CITY TO THE D FOUR RESIDENTS WHO ASKED FOR B M X FACILITIES AT PEARSALL PARK, THE D FIVE RESIDENTS WHO REQUESTED MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION SUPPORT AT CASTANO, THE D SIX PARENTS WHO INTRODUCED HIS SON TO MOUNTAIN BIKING DURING THE PANDEMIC AS A WAY TO BE OUTSIDE.
AND OVERALL THE COMMUNITY'S BROAD SUPPORT FOR OUR CITY'S GREENWAYS AND PARKWAYS AS A WAY TO ADDRESS RECREATION, MENTAL HEALTH, WELLBEING, AND CONNECTIVITY.
THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS TOOK CARE OF THE NEEDS FOR THEIR DISTRICT, BUT THE STORY HERE IS REALLY THIS.
THEY LOOKED TO OTHER DISTRICTS AND WHAT THEIR NEEDS WERE.
AS AN EXAMPLE, D ONE AND D EIGHT DELEGATES ASKED AND EXPLORED HOW COULD THEY BETTER SERVE NEEDS BEYOND THEIR OWN DISTRICTS.
D NINE SUPPORTED THE AUDUBON NOT IN ITS DISTRICT.
D 10 DELEGATES LED THE CHARGE FOR ENHANCED MOUNTAIN BIKING AND B M X.
THE COMMITTEE UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS THE FIRST BOND CYCLE THAT HAS THE BENEFIT OF AN EQUITY LENS, AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT BECAUSE IT IS A CONVERSATION THAT CONTINUES.
WE ENCOURAGE THE CITY TO REDOUBLE OUR EFFORTS TO FURTHER EQUITY ACROSS OUR PARK SYSTEMS. PARKS ARE PERSONAL.
COLLECTIVE IMPACT IS A POWERFUL, POWERFUL CATALYST FOR CHANGE.
ON BEHALF OF JIM BAILEY AND THE 30 COMMITTED RESIDENTS, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLETE THIS ASSIGNMENT.
WE WISH YOU MUCH SUCCESS MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I'D LIKE TO THANK JIM FOR HIS, UH, MENTORSHIP AND ALSO THE REST OF THE CITY STAFF, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO THE NEXT COMMITTEE.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I'M CHRISTOPHER CARLOS GARCIA, MY CO-CHAIR.
SUZANNE AND I WILL TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE DRAINAGE AND FLOOD MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.
FIRST, I WANNA SAY Y'ALL DID A GREAT JOB WITH YOUR APPOINTEES.
UM, ONE THING WE KEPT HEARING FROM THEM IS, YOU KNOW, AND I'M SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT MY AREA, BUT WE NEED TO LOOK AT DRAINAGE AND WHERE IT IS THE NEED IS THE GREATEST.
AND THIS, WHAT I CALL RO SAN ANTONIO APPROACH IS WHAT LED US TO HAVE A GREAT RECOMMENDATION PROCESS.
SO OUR PROCESS, INCLUDING INCLUDED MEETING THE CO-CHAIRS, MEETING WITH EACH DISTRICT.
IN ADDITION TO OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS, WE ALSO REQUESTED AND REVIEWED DATA PROVIDED BY STAFF.
WE LOOKED AT QUAD SHEETS, NUMBER OF 3 1 1 CALLS AND NUMBER OF STRUCTURES REMOVED FROM THE FLOODPLAIN.
REMOVING STRUCTURES FROM FLOODPLAINS, ESPECIALLY HOMES, WAS A TOP PRIORITY FOR OUR COMMITTEE.
ADDITIONAL SAFETY PRIORITIES INCLUDED ACCESSIBILITY FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES DURING FLOOD EVENTS, AND FROM THE FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE, LEVERAGING ADDITIONAL DOLLARS.
YOU CAN SEE THAT ON YOUR SLIDE WITH THE $38 MILLION MENTIONED IN THE CORNER.
SO OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS.
WE RECOMMEND MOVING FORWARD WITH A PROPOSED LIST OF 19 PROJECTS AND USING THE 2.5 MILLION ALLOCATED FOR ARTS FUNDING TO EXTEND THE BARBER DRIVE PHASE THREE PROJECT TO MONTAN AND ADDING THE ELMONT, THE QUENTIN ALLEY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.
THOSE ADDITIONS ARE THE RESULT OF COMMITTEE ANALYSIS, COMMUNITY INPUT, INCLUDING VIDEO DURING COMMUNITY MEETINGS REGARDING OUR DECISION TO ALLOCATE THE 2.5 MILLION FROM ARTS TO FURTHER DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
THIS WAS DONE NOT BECAUSE WE DO NOT SUPPORT THE ARTS.
WE UNDERSTAND A GREAT CITY NEEDS AND DESERVES GREAT ARTS, BUT BECAUSE OUR DRAINAGE NEED IS SO GREAT, WE NEED $3 BILLION WORTH OF DRAINAGE PROJECTS AND WE'RE GIVEN 165 MILLION TO WORK WITHIN THE BOND.
THAT GREAT NEED IS ALSO WHY WE ARE PROPOSING ADDITIONAL BELOW THE LINE FUNDING FOR, UH, PROJECTS.
AND WE TOOK ACTION REGARDING THE DRAINAGE AND FLOOD MANAGEMENT.
AND THOSE ITEMS YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM, UH, FOR MY CO-CHAIR, SUZANNE.
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THANK YOU, CHRIS.THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE RECOGNIZED THE OVER $3 BILLION IN IDENTIFIED INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT NEEDED TO ADDRESS THE GROWING THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY FROM FLOODING AND DRAINAGE CHALLENGES.
WHILE THE COMMITTEE PROJECTS GAINED, UH, RECOMMENDED THE RECOMMENDED PROJECTS GAINED UNANIMOUS SUPPORT, THE COMMITTEE DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT ANOTHER $364.6 MILLION.
YOU CAN SEE THE FIRST LIST OF THAT HERE AND THE SECOND HERE IN THE NEXT TIER PRIORITY PROJECTS THAT WE'RE CALLING THE BELOW THE LINE PROJECTS.
THESE PROJECTS ARE LOCATED IN HIGH NEED AREAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THIS LIST TOTALS MORE THAN TWO TIMES THE CURRENT BOND AMOUNT THAT WAS ALLOCATED TO FOR US TO WORK WITH.
THROUGH THIS PROCESS, THE COMMITTEE REQUESTS THAT THIS LIST OF PROJECTS GUIDE THE FUTURE PROJECT INVESTMENTS THAT COULD INCLUDE THE FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING THAT COULD COME TO THE CITY, OR ANY OTHER IDENTIFIED FUNDING SOURCES THAT WILL ACCELERATE INVESTMENT IN THE MUCH NEEDED FLOOD AND DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE COMMITTEE ALSO IN A MEMO THAT WAS SENT TO BOTH THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL, HAD SEVERAL OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT HERE THIS AFTERNOON.
THE COMMITTEE OFFERED SEVERAL RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR CONSIDERATION TO ENHANCE THE FUTURE BOND PROCESSES, WHICH ARE LISTED IN THE MEMO.
AND ALSO THEY, UH, RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY RECONSIDER THE USE OF THE AMERICAN RECOVERY FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FLOOD AND DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
THEY ALSO ASKED TO LOOK AT THE EXISTING TREE MITIGATION FUND TO SEE IF THOSE FUNDS COULD BE USED TO PROMOTE THE USE OF TREES AND OTHER GREEN SPACE ALONG FLOOD AND DRAINAGE PROJECTS WHERE THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
IMPORTANTLY, THE COMMITTEE ALSO RECOMMENDED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A STANDING CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO ADVISE THE CITY STAFF AND CITY COUNCIL ON THE CREATION OF A COMPREHENSIVE WATERSHED BASED MASTER PLAN AND A LIST OF PROJECT PRIORITIES THAT CAN LOOK AT MAXIMIZING THE BENEFIT OF THE INVESTMENTS TO BE MADE IN FLOOD AND DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE CITIZENS COMMITTEE WILL SERVE AS AN ONGOING WAY FOR CITIZENS TO ENGAGE IN THE CITY'S PROCESS TO ADDRESS THE THREAT OF FLOODING WITHIN THE CITY AND ENABLE MORE EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN ADVANCE OF THE NEXT BOND CYCLE.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY REQUIRE THE, UH, ANALYSIS, USE, AND APPLICATION OF GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS IN THE SCOPE OF ALL THE RECOMMENDED BOND PROJECTS IN ALL CATEGORIES, NOT JUST THE FLOOD AND DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
THE CITY COULD TRULY SET AN EXAMPLE BY USING NATURE TO MANAGE STORM WATER, BENEFIT WATER QUALITY, IMPROVE HABITAT PROTECTION, ADD TREES, AND UH, NATURAL VEGETATION, AND ENHANCE RECREATIONAL USE IN ALL OF THE CATEGORIES BY ADDING GREEN SPACE.
ALSO, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT INCREASING THE USE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE WILL PROMOTE MULTIPLE BENEFIT PROJECTS AND IS IN LINE WITH THE GOALS AND STRATEGIES AS OF THE SA CLIMATE READY PLAN TO IMPROVE THE RESILIENCY OF THE CITY.
LASTLY, THE COMMITTEE STANDS READY TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THIS PROCESS AS THE BOND MOVES, UH, TO, UH, FOR VOTER CONSIDERATION.
AND CHRIS AND I WANT TO EXPRESS OUR APPRECIATION TO THE CITY STAFF AND THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND ALL THE CITIZENS WHO CAME TO THE MEETINGS AND SUBMITTED WRITTEN COMMENTS.
IT REALLY ENHANCED THE PROCESS.
NEXT, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE DWAYNE ROBINSON, WHO'S CO-CHAIR OF THE FACILITIES BOND COMMITTEE.
GOOD AFTERNOON TO EACH OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
ON BEHALF OF MYSELF, DWAYNE ROBINSON AND MY CO-CHAIR CHRIS MARTINEZ.
MAYOR, WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR INVESTING IN US AND TRUSTING IN US TO LEAD THE FACILITIES COMMITTEE.
WE WANT TO THANK EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE APPOINTEES THAT WERE MADE BY EACH OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, BECAUSE WITHOUT THEM, THE WORK COULD NOT HAVE BEEN DONE.
I DID WANT TO TAKE A, A MOMENT AND PERSONALLY THANK YOU MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING ON BEHALF OF OUR CITY.
AS I CAME HERE TODAY, YOU KNOW, I PROBABLY WOULD'VE PREFERRED TO STAY AT HOME AND JUST NOT INTERACT DURING THIS TIME.
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UH, WE KNOW THAT YOU ALL HAVE TO STILL DO THE WORK THAT YOU HAVE TO DO.SO I LIFT EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU UP AND YOUR FAMILIES IN PRAYER.
ERIC, I WANT TO THANK YOU AND THANK EACH OF THE CITY STAFF PERSONS THAT GET OUT AND DO THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE.
WE DON'T ALWAYS GET TO SAY THANK YOU.
THEY'RE PUTTING THEIR PERSONAL LIVES AND THEIR HEALTH ON OUR BEHALF.
SO WE REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT YOU DO.
SO THE FACILITIES COMMITTEE, WE'RE GONNA RECOMMEND 18 PROJECTS.
I WILL HAVE 'EM UP HERE WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM, BUT WE WON'T GO INTO ALL OF THEM.
SO WE HAVE $70.7 MILLION OF THE RECOMMENDED PROJECTS ARE CONSIDERED DISTRICT PROJECTS.
48.6 WOULD BE CONSIDERED CITYWIDE PROJECTS.
12.7 WOULD BE REGIONAL IN SCOPE, AND THEN 2 MILLION FOR THE PUBLIC ART.
WE DID HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME FROM THE FACILITIES TO REALLOCATE SOME DOLLARS.
ONE OF THE PROJECTS WAS WITHDRAWN BY THE REQUESTER, AND THAT MADE $11 MILLION AVAILABLE.
OF THAT $11 MILLION, WE'RE GONNA RECOMMEND 10 MILLION FOR A FIRE STATION, FIRE STATION, 30 THREES REPLACEMENT IN DISTRICT FIVE, AND THEN A CITYWIDE MEALS ON WHEELS, $1 MILLION.
WE HAD SOME RECOMMENDATIONS AS WELL FOR PROJECTS THAT WE CONSIDER TO HAVE BEEN BELOW THE LINE.
THOSE PROJECTS ARE LISTED ON THE SCREEN IN FRONT OF YOU.
AND THOSE PROJECTS TOTAL $15 MILLION, 15 MILLION, $250,000 THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE NEXT ROUND OF FUNDING, POSSIBLY.
AND THEN WE HAD A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE CREATION OF A FACILITIES MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT.
AS WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CITY FACILITIES, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS TALKED ABOUT WAS A CONSISTENT NEED FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE CITY PROPERTIES AND THE MAINTENANCE OF THOSE PROPERTIES.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT STRONGLY CAME OUT OF OUR COMMITTEE.
IT WAS NEAR UNANIMOUS CONSENT ACROSS THE DISTRICTS THAT WE ALL TALKED ABOUT, LIBRARIES, FIRE STATIONS, AND POLICE STATIONS.
SO WITHOUT A DOUBT, THERE'S A LOT OF CONSENSUS ACROSS THE CITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE FACILITIES ON A REGULAR BASIS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT, MAYOR, WAS TO TALK OF MAYBE LOOKING AT SOME KIND OF ROTATION SYSTEM, BECAUSE WHEN YOU POINT OUT ONE FACILITY, THERE'S ALWAYS A NEED FOR ANOTHER, JUST FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THE GROUP.
I, AGAIN, WANT TO THANK EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE MEMBERS THAT WERE A PART OF OUR COMMITTEE.
I KNOW HE WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT HE COULD NOT BE HERE, BUT WOULD CONTINUE TO BE HERE TO SERVE.
AND I AM GONNA TURN IT OVER TO THE HOUSING COMMITTEE.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I CURRENTLY CHAIR THE MAYOR'S HOUSING COMMISSION AND HAD THE PLEASURE OF SERVING WITH KATIE VELA ON THE BOND, UH, CO-CHAIR COMMITTEE.
WHAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT THE HOUSING COMMITTEE IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC PROJECTS RECOMMEND TO RECOMMEND.
OUR COMMITTEE WAS CHARGED WITH SETTING PARAMETERS, UM, THAT YOU ALL CAN USE, UH, FOR HOUSING PROJECTS IN THE FUTURE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT AND UNIQUE IS THAT WE HAD A LOT OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, NOT JUST IN YOUR APPOINTEES, BUT ALSO IN THE HOUSING COMMISSION BECAUSE WE, UH, PUT FORWARD TO YOU ALL THE SHIP THAT WAS APPROVED, UH, BY YOU ALL A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
UM, AND HAVING, UH, THAT SHIP DOCUMENT, UH, IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU ALL TO USE THAT TOOL TO, UH, APPROVE PROJECTS, UH, AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE IN YOUR DISTRICTS.
THERE WERE A COUPLE OF HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SHIP THAT I JUST WANT TO REMIND YOU ABOUT.
THE SHIP USED THE MAYOR'S HOUSING POLICY FRAMEWORK AS A FOUNDATION AND IDENTIFIED 36 STRATEGIES
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AND COLLABORATED THE HOUSING TARGETS TO BETTER REFLECT THE COMMUNITY NEED.THE GREATEST NEED IS FOR PRESERVATION AND REHABILITATION OF SINGLE FAMILY AND RENTAL HOUSING FOR HOUSEHOLDS MAKING LESS THAN 50% OF A M I AND RENTAL HOUSING PRODUCTION FOCUSED ON HOUSEHOLDS MAKING LESS THAN 30% OF A M I, UH, AND INCLUDES A THOU A THOUSAND UNITS OF PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
SINGLE FAMILY PRODUCTION IS NEEDED FOR INDIVIDUALS MAKING ANYWHERE FROM 60 TO A HUNDRED PERCENT OF A M I.
AND SO THE REASON, UM, I, I, UH, ONE THING THAT I CAN ENVISION, UH, AS YOU ALL GO TOWARDS SELECTING PROJECTS IN THE BOND IS THAT YOU USE SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE ALREADY FUNDED AND, UH, ARE APPROVED AND SUPPORTED IN YOUR DISTRICT, AND THEN IMPROVE THE HOUSING SURROUNDING THOSE PROJECTS.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE A PARK PROJECT THAT'S VERY SIGNIFICANT, YOU MIGHT INCLUDE REHABILITATION OF APARTMENTS OR SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING THAT'S CLOSE TO, UH, THAT ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT.
UH, I KNOW HAVING SERVED IN YOUR POSITION MANY TIMES, UM, THE PUBLIC REALLY ENJOYS THE BENEFIT OF A MULTI-LAYERED FUNDING.
AND SO WHETHER IT'S A LIBRARY OR A PARK OR A SIDEWALK, AND NOW HOUSING ALL COMBINED, UM, THE PUBLIC WILL REALLY SEE THE BENEFIT OF THE INVESTMENT THAT THEY'RE MAKING IN THEIR, UH, IN THEIR BOND SUPPORT.
UH, BUT ALSO SHOWS THAT THE COUNCIL IS BEING, UM, RESOURCEFUL AND ALSO, UH, TRYING TO DO THE BEST THEY CAN TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, UH, THE DIFFERENT PRIORITIES FOR YOUR DISTRICTS.
AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO KATIE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, ABOUT THE PROCESS.
UM, SO THE BOND COMMITTEE APPROVED SIX PARAMETERS THAT WILL BE USED BY STAFF WHEN REVIEWING THE PROPOSALS FOR USE OF THE BOND FUNDS.
AND THESE PARAMETERS WERE DEVELOPED OVER A SERIES OF FOUR MEETINGS AND A HOUSING TOUR.
AND AS MY CO-CHAIR MENTIONED, THE PARAMETERS ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE SHIP AND OTHER COUNCIL APPROVED DOCUMENTS.
I ALSO WANT TO NOTE THAT WE ENJOYED UNANIMOUS APPROVAL OF ALL OF THE PARAMETERS AND FUNDING DECISIONS.
UM, IT WAS A VERY DIVERSE COMMITTEE WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, SO WE WERE REALLY HAPPY WITH THE END RESULT.
UM, SO THE SIX PARAMETERS INCLUDE PROJECTS THAT RECEIVE BOND FUNDING MUST SERVE SAN ANTONIO'S MOST VULNERABLE COST BURDEN, LOW INCOME POPULATIONS, WHICH ALIGNS WITH THE SHIP ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND PRESERVATION.
PROJECTS THAT RECEIVE BOND FUNDING MUST PRIORITIZE INCOME-BASED HOUSING AND WILL BE ESTABLISHED IN, IN ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOODS WITH OLDER HOUSING STOCK AREAS WITH HIGH TO MODERATE EQUITY SCORES, MEANING LOW INCOME AND HIGH PROPORTION OF PEOPLE OF COLOR WITH A PRIORITY FOR AREAS WITH HIGH RATES OF EVICTION AND HOUSING THAT IS AT RISK OF DEMOLITION.
INCOME-BASED HOUSING IS RENTAL HOUSING FOR WHICH RENT IS BASED ON THE SPECIFIC FAMILY SIZE AND INCOME ADJUSTED IN THE EVENT OF A CHANGE IN THE TENANT'S HOUSEHOLD INCOME.
THE BOND FUNDING WILL PRIORITIZE AREAS WITH STRONG ACCESS TO TRANSIT AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WITH HIGH TO MODERATE EQUITY SCORES IN REGIONAL CENTERS AND AREAS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH ADOPTED CITY PLANS AND INVESTMENTS.
PROJECTS THAT RECEIVE BOND FUNDING MUST PROVIDE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF UNITS WITH UNIVERSAL DESIGN AS DEFINED BY THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, WITH A MINIMUM OF 180 A COMPLIANT PEDESTRIAN ROUTE TO EACH UNIT WHEN TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE.
ALL PROJECTS THAT RECEIVE BOND FUNDING MUST SHOW A COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY.
REHABILITATION PROJECTS WITH EXISTING RESIDENTS WILL PROVIDE A TEMPORARY RELOCATION PLAN AT NO COST TO THE TENANT.
NEW HOUSING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT RECEIVE BOND FUNDING MUST COMPLETE A DISPLACEMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT AS PART OF THE R F P PROCESS AND PRIORITIZE LOW TO MODERATE EQUITY AREAS.
PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO PROJECTS WITH THE LEAST DISPLACEMENT IMPACT.
AND FINALLY, BOND FUNDING WILL BE USED TO PROVIDE AFFORDABILITY AND RESIDENT PROTECTION.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE AMOUNT OF DETAIL AND CARE THAT WENT INTO THESE PARAMETERS, UM, TO ENSURE THE FUNDS GO WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED.
THE NEXT THING THE COMMITTEE DID WAS RECOMMEND THE FUNDING AMOUNTS FOR THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CATEGORIES.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT 45 MILLION WAS ALLOCATED FOR HOME OWNERSHIP, REHABILITATION AND PRESERVATION, 40 MILLION FOR RENTAL HOUSING ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND PRESERVATION.
25 MILLION FOR PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
35 MILLION FOR RENTAL HOUSING PRODUCTION AND ACQUISITION, AND THEN 5 MILLION FOR HOME OWNERSHIP PRODUCTION.
THE PARAMETERS AND HOUSING FUNDING CATEGORIES REFLECT THE COMMUNITY NEED AND DIRECTLY ALIGN WITH THE RECENTLY ADOPTED SHIP.
AND SHIRLEY AND I WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
AND SO NOW WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO BACK TO OVER TO OUR CITY MANAGER, ERIC WALSH.
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THANK YOU.SO WE WANTED TO ALSO POINT OUT THAT ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE ON OUR 2022 BOND PROGRAM WEBSITE, ALL OF THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS ARE ONLINE.
UM, AND SO, UM, AS WELL AS ANY MATERIALS THAT WERE UTILIZED, UM, DURING THE MEETINGS IN THE FALL.
NEXT SLIDE, JUST IN, UH, SUMMARY OF, OF THE OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS BACK TO THE, TO THE COUNCIL, UM, ALL COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, STAYED WITHIN THEIR APPROVED PROPOSITION FUNDING.
UM, THERE WAS, UH, DISCUSSION AT AT LEAST THREE OF THE COMMITTEES ABOUT POTENTIALLY CHANGING THE ALLOTMENT THAT, UH, THEY WERE GIVEN.
UM, BUT, BUT THEIR GOAL OR THEIR TASK WAS TO STAY WITHIN, AS JEANETTE SAID, TO STAY WITHIN THE ALLOTTED, UH, AMOUNTS THAT WERE GIVEN TO THEM, UH, BASED ON THE COUNCIL ACTION.
UH, LAST FALL, UH, TOTAL RECOMMENDED CHANGES FROM THE COMMITTEES, UH, TOTALED $44.7 MILLION.
AS YOU HEARD JAMIE SAY EARLIER, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PROJECTS INCREASED FROM 166 TO 182.
UM, UM, THE LINEAR, UH, GREENWAY TRAIL FUNDING WAS REDUCED FROM 110 TO 106.5 MILLION.
UM, AS YOU HEARD FROM TWO OF THE COMMITTEE REPORTS, UM, PUBLIC ART FUNDING, UH, WHICH AS, AS WE WENT INTO THE PROCESS, WAS ONE AND A HALF PERCENT OF THE PROPOSITIONS, UH, EXCEPT FOR THE HOUSING BOND.
UM, TWO COMMITTEES, UM, UH, ARE RECOMMENDING EITHER A REDUCTION OR A COMPLETE ELIMINATION OF THE PUBLIC ART FUNDING.
THE NUMBER OF CITYWIDE PROJECTS, UH, INCREASED FROM 20 TO 22, AND THE NUMBER OF REGIONAL PROJECTS, UH, REMAIN UNCHANGED.
SO THIS JUST KIND SHOWS YOU A, A BREAKOUT OF, OF, UH, THE CHANGE IN PROJECTS BY PROPOSITION AND THEN THE CHANGE IN THE CITYWIDE AND REGIONAL.
UM, THIS DETAIL WAS GIVEN TO YOU AND POSTED ONLINE ALONG WITH OUR AGENDA, UH, EARLIER THIS WEEK.
THERE WAS ONE ISSUE, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION THAT CAME FROM THE FACILITIES COMMITTEE THAT DWAYNE TALKED ABOUT THE ADDITION, UH, THAT THE COMMITTEE MADE TO ADD FIRE STATION 33, UH, AS A REPLACEMENT PROJECT.
UM, AS PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION, THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED THE ALLOCATION OF $10 MILLION INTO THAT PROJECT IN ORDER TO FULLY FUND THAT PROJECT.
UM, IT WAS, UH, WE, WE NEEDED 12 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS, UH, LAST WEEK.
UH, WE WORKED WITH STAFF, WORKED WITH COUNCILWOMAN, UH, CASTILLO, UH, TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT IN A, UH, STREET PROJECT, THE SOUTH BRAZO STREET PROJECT, WHICH HAD A COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION OF $10 MILLION TO REDUCE THAT DOWN TO SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS TO INCLUDE SOME ADJUSTMENT IN SCOPE.
UM, AND THEN MOVE THAT TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS, UH, ALONG WITH THE 10 FROM THE COMMITTEE TO FULLY FUND FIRE STATION 33.
UM, AND SO THAT, UM, ADJUSTMENT IS BEING RECOMMENDED SO THAT WE HAVE A, A FULLY FUNDED PROJECT.
SO OUR TIMELINE AT, AT, AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UH, TODAY IS THE, THE, UM, UM, PRESENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE BOND COMMITTEES.
UM, WE ARE SCHEDULED TO, UH, ON A SESSION ON FEBRUARY 10TH FOR THE COUNCIL TO ADOPT THE PROJECTS AND, AND CALL FOR THE, FOR THE ELECTION.
UM, THAT WILL OCCUR ON MAY 7TH OF THIS YEAR, UM, 2022.
UM, BEFORE I TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU, MAYOR, I JUST WANTED TO, AGAIN, THANK THE CO-CHAIRS AND EACH OF THE CO-CHAIRS AND, AND ALL 163 INDIVIDUALS THAT SPENT THEIR FALL WITH US.
UM, I ALSO WANT TO THANK, UM, THE, UM, UH, KIND OF THE, MY LEADS AT FOR EACH OF THE COMMITTEES.
DAVID MCCAREY, ROD, UH, SANCHEZ, MARIA, VILLA GOMEZ, LAURIE HOUSTON, UH, JOHN, UH, AS WELL AS THE, THE KEY DEPARTMENT HEADS THAT, UM, UH, INTERACTED WITH THE COMMITTEES, VETO, RAZZIE, UH, LUIS NEFFY, UM, SHANNON HOMER, UM, AND A LOT OF CITY STAFF THAT WORKED TO, UH, MANAGE NOT ONLY THE LOGISTICS, BUT THE PUBLIC PIECE OF THIS.
AND, UH, UH, I WANNA THANK, UH, ALL OF YOU WHO SPENT AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF TIME ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT PUBLIC PROCESS, UH, TO GET US, UH, TO TODAY, MAYOR.
UH, WITH THAT, UH, WE HAVE STAFF HERE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS, AND I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU.
UM, AND BEFORE WE GET OUR CONVERSATION WITH THE COUNCIL STARTED TODAY, UH, I ALSO WANNA SAY THANKS, UH, TO EVERYONE WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, THE CITY COUNCIL FOR SELECTING SOME VERY ENGAGED, UH, CITIZENS THAT REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY IN THE PROCESS.
UM, OUR CITY STAFF, UH, WHO, UH, KICKED OFF THE WORK, UH, WITH SOME SCOPES AND PROJECT LISTS AND FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND PREPARATION THROUGHOUT THE PUBLIC REVIEW PROCESS.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS, 160 PLUS, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE APPOINTED TO POSITIONS, UH, FOR THEIR TIME AND THEIR DILIGENCE, UM,
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AS WELL AS OUR CHAIRS AND OUR TRI CHAIRS AND, AND FOR THEIR FACILITATION AND LEADERSHIP THROUGH THE PROCESS.AND LET ME AGAIN, UH, NAME THEM.
UM, MANY OF THEM ARE HERE, BUT MY SPECIAL THANKS, UH, BRANDON LOGAN, JAMIE KOWALSKI, AS WELL AS BERT O GUERA, WHO ARE OUR TRI CHAIRS FOR THE BOND, UH, AND WILL CONTINUE TO STAY ENGAGED AS WE, UH, WORK TOWARDS PUBLIC APPROVAL.
UH, AND THEN EVERYONE ELSE, UH, WHO WILL ALSO STAY ENGAGED, OUR CO-CHAIRS TO THE COMMITTEES, AGAIN, IN THE STREETS COMMITTEE, JOHN BAILEY AND PAOLA FERNANDEZ, UH, IN OUR DRAINAGE COMMITTEE.
SUZANNE SCOTT, CHRIS GARCIA, PARKS COMMITTEE, JEANETTE ERMAN, AND JIM BAILEY, FACILITIES COMMITTEE, DWAYNE ROBINSON AND CHRIS MARTINEZ, AND THEN OUR HOUSING COMMITTEE, SHIRLEY GONZALEZ AND KATIE VELA.
UM, AND LET ME JUST REFLECT FOR A MINUTE.
UM, I HAD THE BENEFIT OF, UH, JOINING ERIC ON AN INTERVIEW, UH, ABOUT THE BOND PROCESS AND EVERYTHING.
AND, AND WE TALK ABOUT THE BOND AS IF IT COMES UP AUTOMATICALLY, AND IT, AND PRETTY MUCH DOES EVERY FIVE YEARS NOW.
BUT THE BOND FOR US, OUR PROJECT THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ACCOMMODATING GROWTH.
THEY'RE ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, UH, A QUALITY CITY TO LIVE IN.
AND WE'VE GOTTA FIND A BALANCE, UH, TO SO MANY DISPARATE NEEDS AND WANTS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND IF YOU DRIVE, UH, MORE THAN ONE MILE ACROSS OUR CITY, YOU'RE GONNA FIND DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT DESIRES AND NEEDS FOR PROJECTS.
AND SO, LET ME JUST SAY FIRST THAT ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE LISTED HERE, HERE, ABOVE THE LINE AND BELOW THE LINE, ARE VALUABLE AND IMPORTANT PROJECTS FOR OUR CITY TO GET DONE.
AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE FACT THAT WE ARE USING ONE ELEMENT, ONE TOOL IN OUR TOOLBOX.
THIS $1.2 BILLION BOND PROGRAM IS ONE PIECE OF A LARGER HOLE THAT YOUR CITY COUNCIL IN THE COUNTY AND EVEN YOUR STATE LEADERS, ARE GONNA BE WORKING TO ALLOCATE TO ADDRESS THESE NEEDS.
AND SO, AS WE WORK TOWARDS THE NEXT PHASE OF THIS BOND PROGRAM, WHICH IS ULTIMATELY TO VOTER APPROVAL, UH, KEEP IN MIND THAT THE, THAT THE NEEDS AND THE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES DOESN'T END.
IN FACT, UM, JUST IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, THE CITY COUNCILS BE, WILL BE GOING OVER PRIORITIES IN THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, AS YOU HEARD ABOUT AND COMMENTS THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO, UH, DIGEST ABOUT THAT.
UH, THE WORK DOESN'T END THERE EITHER WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN AND, AND HOPEFULLY A BUILD BACK BETTER PLAN THAT IS, UH, APPROVED BY CONGRESS.
BUT THE RESOURCES AND THE PLANNING AND THE RECOVERY OF OUR C OUR COMMUNITY, UH, IS STARTING, UH, BUT IT WILL REMAIN, UH, IN PROCESS FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UM, AND ALSO, I, I DO WANNA SAY THAT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S OF REFRESHING THAT WE WERE HERE PROBABLY A YEAR AGO, UH, MAYBE A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, AND WE WERE PROJECTING A BOND THAT WOULD BE ROUGHLY SIX TO $700 MILLION, UH, AS A RESULT OF, UH, PROJECTED LOSS OF PROPERTY VALUES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, THAT HAS NOT BORNE TRUE, UH, NOWHERE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, PERHAPS IN THE COUNTRY.
UH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE MORE RESOURCES TO ALLOCATE TOWARDS THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY THAN WE ANTICIPATED.
SO, UH, THIS IS A PROCESS THAT, UH, I THINK WE ARE BENEFITING FROM IN MANY WAYS.
AND WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND, UH, THAT, UH, ALL OF THESE PROJECTS, AGAIN, ARE VALUABLE AND THE RESOURCES, UH, DO NOT EVEN MATCH CLOSELY WHAT THE NEEDS TRULY ARE.
SO, UM, I'M INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM MY COLLEAGUES ON THE NEXT STEPS, BUT ULTIMATELY, AGAIN, MY THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO'S BEEN ENGAGED IN A VERY DIFFICULT, UM, PROCESS TO COME TO THIS LIST OF PROJECTS FOR THE 2022 BOND.
SO, TO START US OFF, LET ME GO FIRST, UH, TO COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU FOR, FOR THAT OPENING AND TEEING THIS UP, THIS CONVERSATION UP FOR US.
UM, $1.2 BILLION IS OBVIOUSLY NOTHING TO LAUGH AT, AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHY WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE HERE IN THE, IN THE AUDIENCE TODAY AND WHY THIS CONVERSATION IS GOING TO BE SO, UM, SO IMPORTANT.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE BOND COMMITTEE APPOINTEES FOR DISTRICT SEVEN.
WE HAD AN UTTERLY DEDICATED GROUP OF APPOINTEES WHO KNEW MANY, IF NOT ALL OF THESE PROJECTS AND LOCATIONS PERSONALLY.
UM, I'M SEEING THE, THE DRAINAGE CO-CHAIR NOD
UH, WE HAD FORMER COUNCILWOMAN CUDO WHO TOOK OUR THREE APPOINTEES TO EVERY SINGLE PARK IN DISTRICT SEVEN, UH, TO, TO GET TO KNOW THEM AND TO BRING FORWARD SOME ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I WANNA THANK THE CO-CHAIRS AS WELL AS STAFF FOR TAKING THOSE, UH, CONSIDERATIONS INTO, UM, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS INTO CONSIDERATION.
UH, I UNDERSTAND WE HAD ANOTHER, UH, APPOINTEE JUDY WHO STUDIED, WHO STUDIED THAT PROJECT LIST SO WELL, THAT SHE FOUND A, A DUPLICATE PROJECT, OR, UH, SHE FOUND SOME DOLLAR SAVINGS.
UH, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO KEEP THOSE IN DISTRICT SEVEN, BUT I THOUGHT I'D JUST THROW THE IDEA OUT THERE,
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UH, IN CASE, UH, ANYONE WAS SO MOVED.AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, OUR DRAINAGE TEAM, UM, WHO IS EXTREMELY ENGAGED.
I DO WANT TO THANK ALL OF THE CO-CHAIRS.
UH, FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD FROM OUR APPOINTEES, UM, STAFF, ROD RAZZIE, UH, JESSICA, ALL OF THE FOLKS ON YOUR TEAM WERE EXTREMELY DILIGENT IN GETTING RESPONSES TO THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS.
SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THOSE AS WELL ONLINE.
UH, AND, UH, I HAVE TO THANK MY CHIEF OF STAFF, ANDREW SOLANO, WHO WAS OUR LIAISON TO ALL FIVE COMMITTEES AND, UH, AS WELL AS PUBLIC WORKS.
AND I, I THINK HE DID A PHENOMENAL JOB.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO FIRST EXPRESS MY SUPPORT FOR THE ADDITION OF THE QUENTIN ALLEY DRAINAGE PROJECT IN DISTRICT SEVEN THAT WAS ADDED TO THE LIST OF, OF DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
AND THANK YOU STAFF FOR WORKING WITH BIANCA ON THAT LONG STANDING REQUEST.
I'D LIKE TO GO INTO THE CONCEPT OF PROJECTS, UH, PROJECT RESILIENCY AND PROJECTS THAT HAVE MULTIPLE BENEFITS.
UM, WE WANT EVERY PROJECT THAT GOES FORWARD IN THIS BOND TO BE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AND TO BE THE MOST FRUITFUL FOR THE VOTING RESIDENTS AND FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE AROUND THE PROJECTS, AND WE'LL USE THEM.
WE ALSO WANT, AS STEWARDS OF THE TAX DOLLARS TO YIELD THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT PER TAX DOLLAR INVESTMENT.
THEREFORE, I'D LIKE TO ECHO SOME OF THE SENTIMENTS SHARED BY COUNCILWOMAN SHIRLEY GONZALEZ JUST A FEW MOMENTS AGO ABOUT LAYERING BENEFITS IN EACH OF THESE PROJECTS TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, OUR PARTNER AGENCY, THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY, HAS A MODEL THEY HAVE DEVELOPED AND HAS EVALUATED A HANDFUL OF THE PROPOSED BOND PROJECTS AND OVERLAID THEM WITH OTHER PROJECTS IN THE BOND AS WELL AS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AN AN EXAMPLE THEY WALKED ME THROUGH WAS WOODLAWN LAKE.
WHILE OUR CURRENT PROPOSAL FOR THE WOODLAWN LAKE PARKS PROJECT STATES POSSIBLE TRAIL IMPROVEMENTS, THEY LOOKED AT A POSSIBLE CONNECTION WITH THE GREEN TRAILS PROJECTS AND ASKED THEMSELVES, HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THIS BOND PROJECT TO CONNECT TO THE OTHER PROPOSED PROJECT, WHETHER IT'S BEING PROPOSED IN THE BOND OR BY ANOTHER AGENCY.
THEY HAD A NUMBER OF OTHER ENHANCEMENTS ALONG THE SAME LINES, CONNECTIVITY, HEALTH BENEFITS, SHADE BENEFITS, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, AND DRAINAGE BENEFITS THAT THEY EVALUATED AS WELL.
SOME OF THESE ENHANCEMENTS MAY BE NO COST.
SOME OF THEM, OF COURSE, MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
MY QUESTION TO STAFF IS, HOW CAN WE BEST INTEGRATE INTO OUR STANDARD PROJECT DESIGNS OPERATING PROCEDURES, THE CONSIDERATION OF MULTI-LAYERED BENEFITS WITHOUT, AT THIS POINT COMMITTING TO ADDITIONAL COST AND STILL LEAVING SOME LEVEL OF DISCRETION FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE ULTIMATE EXECUTION OF THESE PROJECTS? WELL, COUNCILMAN, COUNCILWOMAN, UM, PART OF THAT, UH, LAYERING OF, OF BENEFIT, UM, AND, AND, UH, SUZANNE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT IN HER, IN HER REMARKS.
UM, I THINK, I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE PROGRAMMATIC EFFORT OF THE DELIVERY OF THE BOND PROGRAM.
UM, I, I THINK THAT WE WILL NEED TO, UH, BE CAREFUL AS WE DEVELOP BOND PROPOSITION LANGUAGE SO THAT WE MAINTAIN THE LATITUDE WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO EXECUTE THE PROJECT, UM, THAT IT'D BE CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD BY THE PUBLIC AS THEY CONSIDER THE, THE, THE ITEM, UH, THIS SPRING.
UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I KIND OF SEE IT KINDA LIKE, UM, LIKE WE DO OUR PARKS PROJECTS.
UM, GENERALLY SCOPE IS DEVELOPED, UH, WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR THE SURROUNDING AREA.
UM, AND, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, MUCH LIKE WE'VE DECIDED EVEN BEFORE THE BOND PROCESS, THAT ALL OF OUR, UH, PARK PROJECTS ARE GONNA BE ULTRA ACCESSIBLE AS WE REPLACE OR BUILD NEW, THAT'S A POLICY LEVEL ITEM THAT I THINK WE CONTROL.
AND, AND ZI, IF YOU WANT TO ADD A LITTLE BIT MORE AS IT PERTAINS TO, TO, UM, TO THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS.
SORRY, COULD, COULD I JUST ADD, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT FOR THIS? SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S OKAY IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE FULL FLESHED OUT ANSWER TODAY.
I THINK THIS IS A FIRST CONVERSATION FOR US ON WHAT THE COMMITTEES HAVE BROUGHT BACK.
SO I, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO HAVE A FURTHER DISCUSSION WHEN YOU'VE HAD SOME TIME TO, TO GO BACK AND AND FLUSH THIS OUT.
UH, THE REASON I DO WANNA POSE IT NOW THOUGH, IS WE'VE ALL ASKED YOU FOR CHANGES TO PROJECTS AFTER THEY'VE BEEN DECIDED.
WHAT'S THE ANSWER THAT YOU NORMALLY GIVE US?
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LET ME ANSWER CONSTANTLY.WHAT, WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR AS THE PROJECT IS FINALIZED FROM THE COMMITTEE, WE HAVE CREATED G I S MAP SHOWING ALL OF THE PROJECT.
NOW WE HAVE A BIGGER PICTURE OF WHAT 2022 BOND IS GOING TO INCLUDE.
ON TOP OF THAT, AT RECOMMENDATION WITH CITY MANAGER, WE HAVE GOT THE PROJECT WHERE COUNTY IS GOING TO DO, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, DOESN'T MATTER WHO IS DOING THAT PROJECT, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THIS PROJECT HAS A HUNDRED PERCENT BENEFIT FOR COMMUNITY.
THE SECOND THING IS PROJECT DISTRICT SEVEN AND PROJECT DISTRICT SIX, WHICH IS THE NEIGHBOR DISTRICT M FIVE.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE, EVEN IT MAY BE IN DIFFERENT DISTRICT, WE WANNA MAKE SURE HOW WE CAN COMBINE THE PARKS PROJECT WITH DRAINAGE PROJECT OR ROADWAY PROJECT OR FACILITY, AND MAKE SURE WE HAVE REALLY A GOOD PROJECT.
AND WE WILL WORK WITH EACH COUNCIL'S OFFICE WHEN TIME COMES.
WE MAKE SURE THERE IS A GOOD COORDINATION ON THIS PROJECT.
I'M VERY GLAD TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE IN SUPPORT OF THE IDEA OF, UH, CO-BENEFITS AND THAT YOU'RE ALREADY DOING SOME OF THE WORK TO, TO EVALUATE THOSE.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, JUST CON, CONTINUE TO ECHO THAT.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THAT WE INTEGRATE THESE AS PART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS AND NOT AFTER THE DESIGN HAS, HAS BEEN DEVELOPED, UH, COSTING US MORE AND EXTENDING THE, THE TIME OF THE PROJECT.
SO WHAT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE IF, IF IT PLEASES THE COUNCIL, IS SOME WAY TO INTEGRATE THAT INTO OUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES AND A COMMITMENT TO THAT, UM, EITHER IN THE ORDINANCE OR THE BOND LANGUAGE THAT, THAT WE ADOPT.
I'LL MOVE ON TO, UM, ANOTHER COMMENT THAT I HAVE.
COULD I, I DON'T SEE THE CLOCK.
ARE WE STILL ON A 10 MINUTE? I'M SORRY.
WHAT ARE YOU POINTING AT? OH, ALRIGHT.
UH, I, I WILL HAVE TO COME BACK TO THIS ONE BECAUSE I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL LONG STORY THAT I WANT TO SHARE ABOUT IT.
UH, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR THAT ANSWER, RAZZIE.
UM, IT'S A LOT TO SAY IN 10 MINUTES.
YOU GUYS KNOW, I DON'T USUALLY, IS IT THREE MINUTES? OH, THE CLOCK'S GOING UP.
I DON'T USUALLY TAKE UP ALL MY TIME, BUT THIS IS A BIG ISSUE OF COURSE.
AND I WANNA START BY THANKING, OF COURSE, CITY STAFF AND ALL OF THE 16 VOLUNTEER DISTRICT SIX BOND COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO'VE WORKED SINCE OCTOBER TO WITH OTHER MEMBERS FROM ACROSS THE CITY.
THEIR COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN OUTSTANDING, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THEIR HARD WORK BOND, UH, PROJECTS REALLY CAN BE TRANSFORMATIVE.
AND MANY OF THE PROJECTS IN DISTRICT SIX WILL HAVE AN IMPACT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
MY TOP PRIORITIES, UH, LONGSTANDING PRIORITIES FOR DISTRICT SIX HAVE BEEN, WILL CONTINUE TO BE DRAINAGE AND FLOOD CONTROL PARKS AND HOUSING, WHICH ARE TRANSFORMATIVE IN AND OF THEMSELVES.
SO I'M THANKFUL TO EACH OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR PRIORITIZING THESE AS WELL.
THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION FROM THE HOUSING COMMITTEE FOCUSED ON VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT FOSTER KIDS WHO ARE AGING OUT OF THE SYSTEM ARE INCLUDED IN THAT CATEGORY.
THERE IS AN URGENCY TO CREATE HOUSING OPTIONS FOR YOUNG ADULTS THAT ARE AGING OUT OF THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM AND HAVE NOTHING BUT A PLASTIC BAG OF THEIR CLOTHES, UM, AND ARE SORT OF SENT OUT INTO THE WORLD TOGETHER.
WITH THAT, I ASK THAT WE INCLUDE GROUPS LIKE DISABILITY SA UH, AMONG THE STAKEHOLDERS THAT ARE TRADITIONALLY INVOLVED WITH HOUSING PROJECTS.
WE SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE TAKING THE NEEDS OF OUR, UH, SPECIAL NEEDS COMMUNITY INTO CONSIDERATION WITH THAT.
UM, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION FOR ROD OR LORI.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME THE PROCESS OF HOW HOUSING PROJECTS WILL RECEIVE FUNDS? FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE HOUSING PROJECTS, WE PLAN ON GOING THROUGH A SOLICITATION PROCESS SIMILAR TO HOW WE DO OUR HOME AND C D B G FUNDING.
AND BASED ON THE PARAMETERS THAT THE HOUSING BOND COMMITTEE DEVELOPED AND ASSISTANCE WITH THE HOUSING COMMISSION, WE'LL DEVELOP THESE SOLICITATIONS, WHETHER IT BE FOR HOUSING PRESERVATION, HOUSING REHAB, OR NEW CONSTRUCTION.
AND THEN WE'LL ISSUE THE SOLICITATION AND WE'LL SELECT AND WE'LL BRING THOSE BACK BOTH TO THE HOUSING COMMISSION AND TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
IS THERE ANY KIND OF PRIORITIZATION, UM, AS FAR AS CATEGORIES? UM, SO AS YOU SAW ON ONE OF THE SLIDES, UM, IT WAS THE LAST SLIDE FOR THE HOUSING COMMITTEE.
THEY HAD THE FIVE HOUSING CATEGORIES MM-HMM.
CAN YOU, IF YOU CAN GO BACK, I GUESS MY, MY QUESTION MORE IS FOCUSED ON, UM, YOU KNOW, THE FOSTER,
[00:55:01]
UH, COMMUNITY, UM, AND WE CAN TAKE IT OFFLINE, LORI, I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT HOW WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT PARTICULAR, UH, CATEGORY OF INDIVIDUALS AND, AND EVEN, YOU KNOW, FOR THAT MATTER, UM, WOMEN, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN IN ABUSIVE SITU OR, OR PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE BEEN IN ABUSIVE SITUATIONS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR HOUSING.UM, JUST HOW, HOW WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT, THOSE KIND OF CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE.
I DO JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT ONE.
'CAUSE THAT IS A VERY IMPORTANT, WE TALKED ABOUT THAT, AND THERE WAS SOME FUNDING FOR PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING THAT WAS A PRIORITY.
WITHIN THE HOUSING STRATEGIC PLAN, THE SHIP THAT WAS ADOPTED DECEMBER 13TH, AS WELL AS THE HOUSING BOND COMMITTEE.
AND WE HAVE PUT ASIDE $25 MILLION.
FOR INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND FOSTER CARE, THOSE EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COULD FALL UNDER THAT.
AS WELL AS SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT WOULD HOUSE THOSE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS LIMITED TO THE HOUSING BOND FUNDING.
HOWEVER, WE HAVE OTHER FUNDING SOURCES THAT WE CAN USE TO HELP WITH THOSE POPULATIONS AS WELL.
I'M GLAD TO ALSO SEE A COMMITMENT TO PUT HOUSING CLOSE TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
UM, AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA TALK NEXT ABOUT, UH, DRAINAGE.
ANYONE WHO LIVES NEAR MARBACH AFTER A HARD RAIN KNOWS HOW THE FLOODING AFFECTS HOMES, BUSINESSES, AND TRAFFIC, AND BECOMES WHAT WE COLLOQUIALLY CALL THE MARBACH RIVER.
UM, I'M SURE MY NEIGHBOR AND COLLEAGUE IN DISTRICT FOUR WILL CONCUR.
THIS PROJECT IS LONG NEEDED AND OVERDUE, SO I'M GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
IT'S ALSO TRUE FOR THE LOWER FRENCH CREEK AREA WHERE RESIDENTS FEAR A HARD RAIN.
UM, ANYTIME IT RAINS TOO MUCH, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY WORRY ABOUT THE WATER RISING ALONG THE CREEK AND THREATENING THEIR LIVES AND PROPERTY.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER ONE, MY NEIGHBOR IN DISTRICT SIX, I'M SORRY, SEVEN, WE, WE SHARE THAT, THAT AREA.
SO I'M THANKFUL FOR THOSE TWO PROJECTS, MAKING IT THROUGH.
UM, PUBLIC FUNDING FOR PUBLIC ART, I, I UNDERSTAND IS TUCKED AWAY IN SEVERAL AREAS, AND DRAINAGE IS ONE OF THEM.
I SUPPORT PUBLIC ART AND UNDERSTAND THE ROLE THAT, UM, ARTS PLAY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
I ALSO KNOW THAT WHEN FUNDING IS CONSIDERED, THE ARTS ARE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF AS AN EASY LINE ITEM TO CROSS OUT.
UM, I DON'T SHARE THAT OPINION, BUT I BELIEVE PUBLIC ART IS ESSENTIAL TO A COMMUNITY'S CULTURE AND IDENTITY.
I ALSO RESPECT THE COMMUNITY'S INPUT AND KNOW THAT ART FUNDING WILL NOT BE COMPLETELY ELIMINATED.
THERE ARE SOME PROJECTS I WANNA EXPRESS MY SUPPORT FOR THAT ARE, UH, TECHNICALLY, UM, MAYBE NOT IN DISTRICT SIX, BUT THEY IMPACT, OF COURSE, MY DISTRICT AND THEY IMPACT MY CITY, MY HOMETOWN, FOR INSTANCE, THE BASKETBALL AND VOLLEYBALL FACILITY AT U T S A, I SEE IT AS A COMMUNITY ASSET.
AND THOSE BASKETBALL AND VOLLEYBALL COURTS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR COMMUNITY USE, UM, WITH A U T S A ABSORBING THE MAINTENANCE COSTS.
THE FACILITY WILL ALSO BE AN ECONOMIC ASSET, I THINK, WITH BIG SPORTS EVENTS AND VISITORS TO OUR CITY.
WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT THIS PROJECT IS THAT, WE'LL, IT WILL BECOME A PATHWAY FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH TO LOCAL SCHOOLS.
THAT'S REALLY THE PART THAT I THINK IS, UM, IT IS PHYSICALLY A COMMUNITY ASSET, BUT, AND THAT IN ITSELF, I THINK IS A COMMUNITY ASSET ATTRACTING STUDENTS WHO MAY NOT OTHERWISE HAVE CONSIDERED PATHS IN HIGHER EDUCATION.
I ALSO WANNA VOICE MY SUPPORT FOR THE OLD SPANISH TRAILS PARK.
THIS PARK TRANSFORMS THE LIVES OF OUR YOUTH THROUGH HEALTH AND WELLNESS, THROUGH THE WALKING TRAILS.
THIS PARK PROVIDES ENRICHING EXPERIENCES LIKE ART, NUTRITION, STORYTELLING, AND STEM ACTIVITIES.
THIS TYPE OF PROJECT IS A MODEL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS, ESPECIALLY AS WE COME OFF THE PANDEMIC, UH, AND THE, SOME OF THE, UH, EDUCATIONAL BACKSLIDE THAT, THAT KIDS ARE EXPERIENCING.
THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO, TO ASSIST IN THAT.
I SEE OUR, OUR FORMER MAYOR, ED GARZA IS HERE IN SUPPORT OF THAT.
SO I THANK YOU, ED, FOR TAKING TIME TODAY TO, TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT.
I ALSO STRONGLY SUPPORT THE FULL FUNDING FOR FIRE STATION 33.
STATION 33 IS IN, IS ON 36TH STREET, TECHNICALLY IN DISTRICT FIVE, BUT IT SERVES BOTH DISTRICTS.
AND INDEED, UM, OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY, IT'S IN DIRE NEED OF REPAIR, MAINTENANCE, AND UPGRADE.
AND IT'S AN OLD, IT'S AN OLD STATION AND AN HISTORIC COMMUNITY AND REALLY DESERVES OUR ATTENTION.
WE OWE IT TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO TO THE WOMEN AND MEN FIRST RESPONDERS WHO WORK THERE.
OUR FIREFIGHTERS HAVE GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR OUR CITY, ESPECIALLY THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC.
AND, UM, THEY'VE HAD OUR BACK.
SO WE'RE, I, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE THEIRS.
THE COMMITTEE KNOWS THAT, THAT THE, THE PARKS COMMITTEE AND UNDERSTANDS THAT A DESTINATION PARK IN DISTRICT SIX IS IMPORTANT.
I'M GRATEFUL THAT WE RECEIVED FUNDING FOR THAT WILL BENEFIT REALLY ALL OF SAN ANTONIO.
UM, WE'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO DESIGN A PARK, UNLIKE I THINK ANY OTHER IN THE, IN OUR CITY OR EVEN IN OUR STATE.
THE PARK WILL BE LOCATED IN WHAT'S NOW A FOOD DESERT IN THE, UM, NEAR IN MY DISTRICT.
UH, AND VERY CLOSE TO DISTRICT FIVE AS WELL.
AND SO THIS DESTINATION PARK WILL INCLUDE A FOOD FOREST WITH ACCESS TO EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY.
THE PARK WILL HAVE EDIBLE PLANTS ARRANGED IN A WAY THAT MIRRORS ECOSYSTEMS AND PATTERNS THAT ARE FOUND IN NATURE, WHICH IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S I THINK ONE OF THE, THE PROJECTS THAT WHEN I SPEAK OF TRANSFORMATIVE PROJECTS, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THEM.
[01:00:01]
WILL HAVE A LASTING EFFECTS EFFECT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.AND I, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I WANNA JUST THANK YOU OF COURSE TO THE COMMITTEE FOR ALL THEIR HARD WORK AND I SUPPORT THE DECISIONS THAT THEY MADE.
THERE ARE SOME CITYWIDE PROJECTS.
I THINK WHAT I CONSIDER, THAT'S MY LANGUAGE, NOT THE TECHNICAL TERM CITYWIDE THAT I THINK, UM, WARRANT A SECOND LOOK.
AND SO I HOPE THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THOSE AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER KEO HDA, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YES, WE HEAR YOU GREAT.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I, I WANNA ADD MY CONGRATULATIONS TO SO MANY PEOPLE WHO WORKED HARD TO, UH, MAKE THIS, UH, COME ABOUT.
OBVIOUSLY, UH, ALL OF THE CITY STAFF, UH, WHO HAVE WORKED ON THESE PROJECTS TO TRY AND PUT TOGETHER THE FACTS AND FIGURES THAT, UH, OUR CITIZENS NEED.
BUT, YOU KNOW, MOST OF ALL, ALL OF THE, UH, CITIZENS THAT WE'VE ALL APPOINTED, I'VE BEEN VERY ENCOURAGED BY THE FACT THAT WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE 130 OF OUR CITIZENS VERY DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF EXAMINING ALL OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS.
AND THAT WE'VE HAD 500 PEOPLE WHO'VE ALSO COME AND ATTENDED THE MEETINGS AND, AND LET THEIR THOUGHTS AND CONCERNS BE KNOWN.
ALL OF THIS JUST MEANS TO ME THAT I'M VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR, UH, FROM THESE COMMITTEES.
IT APPEARS THEY'RE, THEY'RE THOUGHTFUL.
THEY FALL WITHIN ALL OF THE CRITICAL ITEMS THAT, UH, WE AS A CITY NEED TO DEAL WITH.
AND THEY REALLY DO REFLECT OF THE, THE IDEAS OF THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, I, I'M VERY HAPPY TO HEAR WHAT I'VE HEARD.
NOW, LIKE MANY OTHER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, I'VE HAD A LOT OF COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.
AND REALLY, FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD TODAY AND WHAT I'VE SEEN, ALMOST ALL OF THE, UH, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE PROMOTING OR ASKING FOR SUPPORT FOR MANY OF THE PROJECTS SHOULD BE VERY SATISFIED BECAUSE I THINK ALMOST EVERYONE I'VE HEARD CONCERNED ABOUT HAVE BEEN MET, UH, WITH THE PROPOSAL THAT'S COMING FORWARD.
OF COURSE, I THINK IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME FOR MANY OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY TO GO AHEAD AND THINK ABOUT WHAT ALL OF THESE PROPOSALS MEAN AND PROBABLY WILL DEVELOP MANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT THEY MAY HAVE.
AND SO I'LL BE ASKING ALONG THE WAY, PROBABLY CLARIFYING QUESTIONS SO THAT I CAN HELP EDUCATE PEOPLE IN OUR DISTRICT ABOUT, UH, WHAT THESE PROPOSALS MEAN AND HOW THEY'RE GONNA GO FORWARD.
UH, BUT OVERALL, I, I'M PRETTY, UH, SATISFIED WITH WHAT I'VE HEARD.
UH, THE, THE ONE ISSUE I THINK THAT'S GARNERED, UM, QUITE A BIT OF CONCERN THOUGH, AND THAT WE HAVEN'T ADDRESSED YET, IS THE, UH, ISSUE OF PUBLIC ART.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION FROM THE CITY STAFF.
UH, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE COME FORWARD THAT ARE TALKING ABOUT REDUCING PUBLIC ART IN A COUPLE OF THE AREAS, WHAT IS THE TOTAL AMOUNT, UH, THAT WILL BE SET ASIDE BASED ON THIS PROPOSAL TODAY AND THE AREA OF DOLLARS FOR PUBLIC ART? HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO OUR LAST BOND ISSUE? AND WHAT IS THE OVERALL PERCENTAGE OF THIS BOND ISSUE? WHEN WE, UH, TAKE ALL THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, COUNCILMAN, WE'VE, WE HAVE A BACKUP SLIDE THAT, UH, JOHN'S GONNA PULL UP.
SO, UM, JUST FOR, LET ME, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL GO FROM LEFT TO RIGHT.
THE 2017 BOND PROGRAM, UM, HAD $8.2 MILLION.
IT WAS 1% ALLOCATED FOR EACH OF THE PROPOSITIONS SAFE, THE, FOR THE, UH, THE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT, THE HOUSING ITEM.
SO IT WAS $8.2 MILLION IN 2017.
UM, AS WE WENT INTO THE COMMITTEE PROCESS AT ONE POINT A HALF PERCENT BASED ON THE COUNCIL, UH, CONVERSATION IN THE, IN THE, UH, FALL, UM, $15.7 MILLION, UH, THE COMMITTEES WITH THE CHANGES, UH, THAT YOU HEARD FROM TWO OF THE COMMITTEES, UH, THE DRAINAGE AND THE PARKS COMMITTEE, THAT REDUCES IT TO $11.8 MILLION.
THAT'S AN AVERAGE OF 1.1% ACROSS THE PROPOSITIONS.
THAT'S A $3.8 MILLION DECREASE FROM, UH, WHERE WE BEGAN WITH THE COMMITTEE PROCESS.
UM, AND IT'S, UH, $3.6 MILLION, UH, MORE THAN THE 2017 BOND PROGRAM.
[01:05:02]
OKAY.I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS CLEAR.
WE'RE REALLY NOT SAYING WE'RE GONNA GIVE LESS IN PUBLIC ART THAN WE'VE GIVEN IN THE PAST.
UH, IT JUST ISN'T AS MUCH AS MAYBE SOME ORIGINAL EXPECTATIONS WERE.
BUT I HAVE TO CONCUR WITH A LOT OF THE PEOPLE WHO SERVED ON THESE COMMITTEES, WHO REALLY LOOKED AT THIS AND RECOGNIZED THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN INFRASTRUCTURE AREAS THAT ARE SO SIGNIFICANTLY BEHIND AND SO IMPORTANT TO THE WELLBEING OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN AND AROUND THOSE COMMUNITIES, THAT YOU SIMPLY CAN'T SAY THAT YOU COULD IGNORE THEM AND, AND NOT ADDRESS THEM WITH FUNDING THAT'S AVAILABLE, EVEN IF YOU'VE GOTTA SHIFT IT FROM PUBLIC ART.
WHAT I HOPE IS THAT THE CITY IS GOING TO GO AHEAD AND USE MANY OF THE OTHER RESOURCES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT GOING FORWARD, UH, INCLUDING ARPA FUNDING AND, AND OTHER FEDERAL FUNDING THAT WE'RE HEARING COMING DOWN THE LINE TO KIND OF SUPPLEMENT WHAT WE MAY COME OUT OF THIS BOND ISSUE WITH.
AND, AND THAT MONEY MAY BE AVAILABLE EVEN MORE QUICKLY THAN MONEY THAT'S GONNA BE, UH, APPROVED IN A BOND ISSUE, UH, AND, AND ISSUED OVER A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS.
SO, UH, THAT, THAT SATISFIES THAT INQUIRY THAT I HAD.
AND, UH, I'LL BE SUPPORTING THIS, BUT STILL, A, AS PEOPLE IN THE PUBLIC ASK ME QUESTIONS, I'LL PROBABLY BE ASKING MORE JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS THE BEST PROJECT WE CAN HAVE GOING FORWARD.
BUT I REALLY BELIEVE IN THE EFFORT OF PUBLIC CITIZENS IN COMING UP WITH A GOOD PLAN.
I WANT TO THANK, UM, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I WANT TO DO THE ROLL CALL AND THANK MY COMMITTEE MEMBERS BY NAME FROM STREETS OLA, DEBRA FES, DUSTY ANDERSON, DRAINAGE, GISELLE CAO, FORMER COUNCILMAN HENRY AVILA F FREDA SSON FROM PARKS, CYNTHIA ANO, KAREN BURGARD, OTTO GARZA, FACILITIES FORMER COUNCILWOMAN, JENNIFER RAMOS, PETE BENAVIDEZ, SONYA RODRIGUEZ, AND ALTERNATE BRENDA PACHECO AND MY HOUSING COMMITTEE, AMELIA GUZMAN, DR.
THESE INDIVIDUALS REPRESENTING DISTRICT THREE, ALONG WITH, UH, THE OTHER MEMBERS AND THE CHAIRS AND OUR INCREDIBLE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO STAFF DID A GREAT JOB, UH, GETTING THIS BOND TO US HERE TODAY.
I AM ALSO THANKFUL TO THE MAYOR, TO ERIC, TO MARIA, TO, UM, THE FORMER COUNCIL THAT GOT US HERE WITH A BOND RATING SO THAT WE HAVE THIS BOND HERE TODAY IN THIS AMOUNT.
UM, OUR NEEDS ARE SO GREAT, AND WE KNOW THAT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, THEY WERE GREAT.
AS WE COME OUT OF A PANDEMIC, WE, WE ARE, WE ARE FACED WITH SO MANY NEEDS, AND WHERE DO WE MAKE THE CUTS AND, AND HOW DO WE MAKE THESE DECISIONS? UM, IT, IT WAS DONE WITH HARD WORK.
I APPRECIATE SO MANY PEOPLE'S, UH, EFFORTS, BUT I DO WANNA TALK, UH, ABOUT A FEW THINGS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE PARKS.
UM, I AM, I'M THRILLED WITH WHAT CAME OUT OF IT.
I DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS THAT WE DID DO A REDUCTION OF, OF 1%, AND I DO WANNA ADDRESS THAT LATER.
THE OTHER WITH PARKS IS I THINK WE NEED TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT HOW WE DO PARKS AND WHY SOME PROJECTS WERE CONSIDERED UNDER PARKS AND SOME WERE NOT.
UTSA'S, UH, FACILITY WAS CONSIDERED UNDER PARKS.
THEY GOT CUT AGAIN BY 5 MILLION.
UH, MY, MY QUESTION TO THE COUNCIL AND TO CITY STAFF AS WE GO BACK AND LOOK AT U T S A, IS IF WE'RE GONNA GIVE $10 MILLION FOR A PRACTICE FACILITY FOR MEN, I SERIOUSLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE A PRACTICE FACILITY FOR WOMEN GET THE SAME AMOUNT.
THE OTHER THING IS, IF WE KNOW THAT OUR UNIVERSITIES, BOTH U T S A AND TEXAS A AND M ARE GOING TO NEED OUR ASSISTANT IN THESE BIG PROJECTS, WE NEED TO MAKE SPACE FOR THEM IN OUR BOND FROM THIS POINT GOING FORWARD.
SO I WOULD LIKE US TO GO AND CONSIDER THAT, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S REALLY UNFAIR THAT A WOMEN'S FACILITY, AND I THINK WE CAN, I I KNOW SPECIFIC PLACES WE CAN FIND IT.
UM, I THINK WE CAN FIND IT, UH, TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THEM BACK SO THAT THEY CAN START THE FUNDRAISING PROCESS AND WE CAN, WE CAN BREAK GROUND IN 2023, HOPEFULLY FOR THIS FACILITY.
UH, DRAINAGE, WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT, IT'S, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTIONS, COUNCILMAN COURAGE, THAT IT'S ONLY GOING TO BE 1.1%.
THE FACT THAT ONE COMMITTEE COMES OUT WITH A ZERO IS TROUBLESOME TO ME, BECAUSE I SAT HERE AND SAID, LET'S ALL LEAVE IT AT 1%.
[01:10:01]
AND MY COUNCIL STAFF WAS LIKE, NO, 1.5.AND NOW I'M SAYING I WOULD AT LEAST LIKE TO GET IT ALL TO 1% OR AVERAGE IT OUT AT 1.1% FOR ALL OF THE, UM, FOR ALL OF THESE BOND COMMITTEES GOING FORWARD.
AND, AND, UH, IS THERE, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE CAN RESTORE, UH, THE DRAINAGE ART FUNDS BY REDUCING THE ARTS FROM THE OTHER BOND COMMITTEES? CAN SOMEBODY HELP ME WITH THAT? SO I THINK WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE ASKING IS JUST REBALANCING THE ACROSS THE PROPOSITIONS.
UM, YEAH, THAT'S A, THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
WE COULD DO THAT AND MAKE THAT ADJUSTMENT ACROSS THE BOARD, UH, COUNCILWOMAN.
LET, LET'S TRY AND SEE IF WE, WE CAN'T DO THAT.
'CAUSE I, I WOULD NOT, I DON'T WANNA SEE A ZERO, UH, COME OUT OF A COMMITTEE.
UM, THE FACILITIES I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT, UH, OF COURSE, BECAUSE WE HAVE A POLICE SUBSTATION, A NEW BUILD COMING INTO DISTRICT THREE.
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, UM, DISTRICT THREE AND DISTRICT FOUR ARE SEEING SOME REALLY GREAT GROWTH OF SUBDIVISION, UH, OF HOUSINGS OF, UH, AND ALSO OUT IN THE COUNTY AREA THAT WE SERVICE.
SO I THINK THIS IS GOING TO COMMUNICATE THAT THE SOUTH SIDE DISTRICT THREE, DISTRICT FOUR IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN COME AND YOU CAN GET YOUR SERVICES AND YOU CAN, UM, YOU CAN GET, UM, THE, THE, THE SERVICES THAT YOU NEED OUT IN THAT AREA.
SO, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS, BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE FIRE STATION.
UM, SO WITH THE, UH, RAZZIE, WITH THE 12 MILLION THAT WE'RE MOVING AROUND, THAT WILL GET IT, UM, REFURBISHED, I GUESS 12 AND HALF BRAND NEW FIRE STATION.
SO WILL, IT, WILL, WILL IT, WILL IT BE A NEW BUILD OR NEW BUILD? NEW BUILD.
THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR, BECAUSE I REALLY THINK AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BOND, AS WE LOOK AT A, WE LOOK AT NEW BUILDS, ESPECIALLY FOR THE AREAS THAT ARE UNDERSERVED MM-HMM.
UM, SO I WANTED TO CONFIRM THAT THE OTHER, UH, ASPECT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PROJECTS THAT AREN'T ON THE LIST OR THAT MADE THE LIST, UM, I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT MITCHELL LAKE, UH, AUDUBON SOCIETY AND ALL THE WORK AND ALL THE SUPPORT OF PEOPLE CITYWIDE UNDERSTANDING HOW, HOW SIGNIFICANT THIS WAS AND THAT THIS WAS A CITYWIDE PROJECT.
I ALSO WANNA TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE FACT THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF ASKS FOR YOUTH, INCLUDING THE, UM, OLD MISSION TRAILS, AND THAT WE NEED TO LOOK FORWARD ABOUT WHO THESE BUILDS AND WHAT THESE PARKS ARE SERVICING.
AND SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
I'M THRILLED WITH MITCHELL LAKE.
I'M THRILLED WITH, UM, THE LINEAR CREEKS, UH, BUT, AND, UH, THE FIVE DIAMONDS AND ALSO THE B M X, BECAUSE I THINK THAT IS GOING TO BE, UM, REALLY WELL DONE.
THE OTHER THING, THE, BEFORE I MOVE ON TO HOUSING, IS I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT OUR CITYWIDE BUILDS THAT SIT IN THE INNER CITY, SPECIFICALLY IN THE BRACKEN RIDGE PARK AND SUNKEN GARDEN AREA.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GOING OUT TO THE NEIGHBORS WITH OUR PLANS.
UM, I HAVE RECEIVED A NUMBER OF LETTERS FROM THE NEIGHBORS IN AND AROUND THAT AREA THAT WANT TO SEE A FEASIBILITY STORY STUDY WITH TRAFFIC AND WITH NOISE AND OTHER THINGS DONE.
AND I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING OUR BOND COMMITTEE SHOULD HAVE HAD, UH, AS THEY WERE MAKING THEIR CONSIDERATIONS FOR THIS.
SO, UM, OTHER THAN THOSE ASPECTS I FEEL VERY EXCITED ABOUT, ABOUT HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT HOUSING.
WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY WITH HOUSING TO CHANGE WHERE, WHAT WE DO WITH BONDS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, I BELIEVE, UM, I AND ERIC, I'D LIKE A TIMELINE BECAUSE THE LANGUAGE THAT'S SIT SITTING HERE IN THE, UM, IN WHAT, WHAT'S PROPOSED, WHEN ARE WE GONNA REVIEW THIS AND, AND MAKE IT, UH, BALLOT READY? DO WE HAVE A TIMELINE WHEN WE SEE THAT BEFOREHAND? SO FOR HOUSING, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER HOUSING, UH, OTHER BOND COMMITTEES.
AND SO THE PARAMETERS THAT WE PRESENTED IN THOSE FUNDING CATEGORIES, THAT WILL BE PART OF THE RESOLUTION THAT'S ADOPTED BY COUNCIL ON FEBRUARY 10TH.
BUT THE LANGUAGE IS GOING TO BE VERY VAGUE TO PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY.
AND THEN THE PARAMETERS, UM, AND THE FUNDING
[01:15:01]
CATEGORIES WILL BE THE TOOL THAT STAFF WILL USE WHEN WE'RE SELECTING PROJECTS.AND THAT'LL BE A TOOL FOR COUNCIL WHEN WE BRING PROJECTS FORWARD TO YOU.
BUT THE LANGUAGE WILL READ SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR TO OTHER CITIES WHERE IT SAYS $150 MILLION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION REHAB, PRESERVATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO INCLUDE HOMELESSNESS AND, UM, OTHER, OTHER, LIKE HIGH LEVEL CATEGORIES.
BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF, UH, LANGUAGE IN THERE THAT I, I THINK SOME OF OUR VOTERS IN THE PARAMETERS THAT WE CAN GO ON, WE CAN GO OUT AND I CAN HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT THIS COULD POSSIBLY LOOK LIKE IN PROJECTS THAT MOVE FORWARD.
BUT IF IT'S JUST TAKEN AT A GENERAL FUND, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT GONNA UNDERSTAND IT.
UH, PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, I KNOW WHAT THAT IS, BUT HOW WE EXPLAIN THAT TO THE RESIDENTS OF DISTRICT THREE AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, I REALLY WANT TO, UM, BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT READY TO GO FOR THEM.
SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT ANSWERED, LORI.
UM, SO AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HARD WORK.
I THINK WE HAVE SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES HERE.
I THINK IN THE LIGHT OF THIS, THIS SPIKE IN PANDEMIC, THIS WOULD BE A VERY POSITIVE THING FOR THE CITY TO MOVE FORWARD.
SO I APPRECIATE THIS AND I APPRECIATE DISCUSSING THE BOND MORE.
UM, YEAH, A LOT OF EFFORT WENT INTO THIS, THANK YOU TO THE STAFF AND ALL THE VOLUNTEERS THAT PARTICIPATED.
UH, UH, I HAD A CRACK TEAM OUT THERE MYSELF AND IN THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES, AND I WANT TO THANK THEM AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN DISCUSSED, I KNOW I'VE TALKED ABOUT IT, UH, OFF AND ON FOR A WHILE NOW, ABOUT HOW LARGE THIS BOND REALLY IS.
$1.2 BILLION COMPARED TO OVER THE 800 MILLION LAST TIME, 850 MILLION I THINK IT WAS.
UM, AND THIS IS PROVIDING, UH, A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, MY, MY EMPHASIS HAS BEEN ON INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS TO TRY TO MAKE A BIGGER DENT IN THE SIX POINTS WE HAVE CURRENT TODAY, AND NOT BE LOOKING AT OTHER REQUIREMENTS, OTHER, WHAT I'VE TERMED AS SHINY THINGS OUT THERE THAT WE COULD FUND HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND I THINK IT GOES TO THE HEART OF WHAT SOME OF THESE COMMITTEES, UH, ACTUALLY DID WITH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE DRAINAGE COMMITTEE WHERE THEY SAID, HEY, WE'RE GONNA DO AWAY WITH PUBLIC ART.
WE HAVE, WE RECOGNIZE THE PROBLEMS THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH DRAINAGE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND I'VE, I'VE HEARD THIS SEVERAL TIMES ON THIS COUNCIL, THAT WE NEED TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND, UH, I'M, I'M GOING TO KEEP PUSHING FOR THAT, FOR MORE INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS TO SUPPORT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND DRAINAGE AND IN STREETS.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE WANTING.
THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE PAYING THEIR TAXES FOR, AND THEY'RE EXPECTING SEA.
UM, THERE'S, AND THERE WAS ANOTHER COMMITTEE, I FORGET WHICH ONE IT WAS THAT WANTED TO REDUCE IN THE PARKS.
I GUESS IT WAS REDUCE THE, THE AMOUNT TO PUBLIC ART TO THE 1%.
AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, ERIC, WAS THERE ALSO A MOVE IN, IN THE STREETS COMMITTEE TO REDUCE PUBLIC ART AS WELL? WHAT WAS THAT VOTE? DOES ANYBODY KNOW? NO, SIR.
THE, THE, UM, WELL, THERE MAY, THERE MAY HAVE BEEN AN ATTEMPT, BUT IT DID NOT, IT DID NOT, UM, PASS.
THE ONLY TWO CHANGES WERE FROM PARKS AND DRAINAGE.
DOES, DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER WHAT THAT VOTE WAS? WAS THAT A 10 TO ONE OR 30 TO ONE, OR DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER THAT VOTE? THERE WAS ONLY DISCUSSION ON THAT, COUNCILMAN.
OKAY, SO IT NEVER GOT TO A MOTION THEN.
SO, YEAH, I, I GUESS MY POINT BEING IS I, I THINK PEOPLE ACROSS THE CITY ARE SAYING, YES, WE DO NEED TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
TWO OF OUR CRITICAL ONES, AS I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, IS STREETS AND DRAINAGE.
AND, UH, I'VE PUT COMPARISON CHARTS UP HERE THAT SHOWED OUR LAST BOND COMPARED TO THIS BOND WHERE THE TWO MOST CRITICAL AREAS, STREETS AND DRAINAGE ARE GETTING THE LA, UH, THE LEAST AMOUNT OF PLUS UPS PERCENTAGE WISE, ACROSS THIS BOND.
AND I THINK THAT'S STILL, UH, AN IMPORTANT TOPIC THAT WE CONT NEED TO CONTINUE TO DISCUSS.
ARE WE PUTTING OUR, ARE WE PUTTING THIS MONEY IN THE RIGHT AREAS AND NOT RECOGNIZING THAT WE NEED TO PLUS UP THOSE AREAS OF CONCERN BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF INFRASTRUCTURE? I, AND I HEAR IT CONTINUALLY FROM MY NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE NEED STREET REPAIRS, WE NEED DRAINAGE.
I, I DON'T KNOW HOW EVERYBODY ELSE UP HERE IS OR WHAT THEY'RE HEARING, BUT I KNOW THAT'S
[01:20:01]
WHAT I'M HEARING IN DISTRICT 10.UH, AND I DARE SAY THAT THAT'S KIND OF A FEELING ACROSS THIS ENTIRE, ACROSS THIS ENTIRE CITY.
AT LEAST I GET COMMENTS FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY AS WELL TOWARDS THAT.
SO I, I'M, I'M STILL ADVOCATING THAT WE NEED MORE, UM, MORE RESOURCES PUT TOWARDS THE, UH, UM, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE DRAINAGE AND STREETS.
ROD, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING THERE? WE WENT AND WE CHECKED OUR NOTES.
THERE, THERE ACTUALLY DID TAKE A MOTION TO REDUCE IT BY A HALF A PERCENT.
SO THAT WAS A RELATIVELY CLOSE VOTE IN ITSELF.
ALMOST, ALMOST CLOSE TO HALF AND HALF.
SO, UH, I, AGAIN, I I THANK YOU FOR THAT CHART, ERIC, THAT SHOWS WHAT WE SPENT ON THE LAST BOND VERSUS WHAT IS PROPOSED, PROPOSED FOR THIS ONE.
EVEN WITH THOSE CUTS, WE'RE STILL FUNDING MORE IN THE ARTS, UH, PROGRAM THAN WE DID IN THE LAST BOND.
UM, JUST IN PROCESS, AND I DON'T KNOW WHO THIS SHOULD GO TO, ANY OF THE, UH, CO-CHAIRS OR COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN, UH, I, I HEARD COMMENTS THAT THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR, UH, ACTUAL COMMITTEE DELIBERATION THAT MOST OF THE TIME WAS GIVEN TO, UH, COMMENTS.
YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC COMING IN AND MAKING STATEMENTS.
CAN ANYBODY TALK TO THAT? WAS THAT TRUE OR NOT? CAN ANYBODY, ROGER, I THINK HE WANTS TO HEAR FROM SOMEBODY OTHER THAN YOU.
MAYBE THAT, THAT QUESTION IS FOR THE CO-CHAIRS OR THE CO-CHAIRS, RIGHT? YEAH.
ANY GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, BRANDON LOGAN HONORED TO SERVE AS A TRI CHAIR? I WOULD, I WOULD SAY TO YOUR QUESTION, UM, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THERE WAS TWO MEETINGS THAT WERE DEDICATED TO CITIZENS BE HEARD, JUST TO ENSURE THAT WE HAD HEALTHY DIALOGUE FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
AND THE REMAINING TWO MEETINGS WERE SPECIFIC TO THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR DELIBERATION.
SO THE LAST MEETING WE HAD WAS PURELY ON DELIBERATION.
SO I THINK THERE WAS A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF COMMUNICATION IN THE MEETING, BUT ALSO THINK THE CO-CHAIRS ESTABLISHED GREAT PROCESSES OUTSIDE THE MEETING FOR CONTINUOUS DIALOGUE, SO WE COULD MAXIMIZE THE TWO HOURS THAT WERE SET.
I WOULD, I WOULD SUGGEST, YOU KNOW, AS COUNCIL MOVES FORWARD WITH THE NEXT BOND, UH, TO REALLY ESTABLISH LENGTHIER PROCESSES FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO ENGAGE IN, UM, PERHAPS OUTSIDE OF THE PUBLIC MEETING PROCESS TO INITIATE GREATER DIALOGUE LEADING INTO IT.
SO IT CAN BE MORE EFFICIENT WITH THE TIME.
BUT THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
AND THAT, THAT WAS KIND OF THE COMMENTS THAT I WAS GETTING FROM MY COMMITTEE MEMBERS SAYING, HEY, WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS.
MOST OF OUR TIME WAS DEDICATED TO PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, WHICH IS GREAT TO HAVE THAT AT THESE MEETINGS.
BUT WE, WE TOOK AWAY A GREAT PORTION OF THE MEETINGS FROM THE ACTUAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO DISCUSS THESE.
AND I THINK SOME OF 'EM WERE HELD, YOU KNOW, BY STRICT TIMELINES, THEY WOULDN'T EXTEND THE TIMELINES IN SOME OF THESE MEETINGS.
AND, UH, THEY GOT CUT SHORT, SO THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THINGS AS MUCH AS THEY REALLY WANTED TO.
SO, GREAT COMMENT, AND I HOPE THIS, UH, GOES DOWN IN THE, UH, UH, MINUTES AND WHAT HAVE YOU FOR FUTURE BOND MEETINGS THAT WE NEED TO REFINE THAT PROCESS TO GIVE THESE COMMITTEES MORE TIME TO DISCUSS AND DELIBERATE AND VOTE ON YEAH.
UH, CERTAIN ISSUES THROUGH THAT.
SINCE YOU'RE UP THERE, I, I DID HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.
UM, THERE WAS DISCUSSION ABOUT MOVING MONEY FROM ONE BUCKET TO ANOTHER.
DID ANY OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS COME UP AND HOW DID THE TRI CHAIRS OR COMMITTEE MEMBERS HANDLE THAT? WAS THAT ALLOWED TO BE TALKED ABOUT OR EVEN ALLOWED TO MAKE A MOTION ON? SO THE QUESTION WAS RAISED.
I THINK WHAT, UH, CITY STAFF REALLY RE-CENTERED, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE REINFORCE AS TRI CHAIRS, IS THE INITIAL COMMITTEE CHARGE.
AND YOU ALL'S COUNCIL HAD SET AN ESTABLISHED AMOUNT FOR EACH, UH, BUCKET FOR US TO CONSIDER.
AND EACH COMMITTEE NEEDS TO REMAIN FOCUSED, CONSIDERING THE TIME CONSTRAINTS THAT WE HAD, WE HAD TO REALLY EXECUTE THE CHARGE AT YOU ALL'S, UH, REQUEST.
AND SO THERE WAS SOME, UH, SHORT DISCUSSIONS ON IT, BUT IT NEVER LED TO A MOTION FOR, UH, I TAKE THAT BACK.
THERE WAS ONE COMMITTEE, UH, THAT DID GO TO A MOTION, BUT IT FAILED.
AND I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT, UH, I, I WOULD'VE LIKED TO SEEN COMMENTS OR WHATEVER FROM COMMITTEES SAYING THAT, YES, IT WAS DISCUSSED AND THERE WERE COMMITTEE MEMBERS THAT SAID, HEY, WE NEED TO INCREASE THIS BUCKET OR DECREASE THIS BUCKET ACROSS, ACROSS THE SPECTRUM.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GETTING IT RIGHT UP HERE ON COUNCIL.
THE CITY STAFF MIGHT NOT GET IT RIGHT ON, ON THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT THIS WAS THE PROCESS OF GETTING INPUT FROM
[01:25:01]
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY.AND WE SHOULD, TO ME, WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN AFFORDED THAT OPPORTUNITY HERE ON COUNCIL TO SEE THOSE, THOSE KINDS OF COMMENTS ALSO, THAT, HEY, MAYBE WE DIDN'T GET IT RIGHT ON OUR CHARGE OUT TO THE COMMITTEES.
MAYBE THE CITY STAFF DIDN'T GET IT RIGHT ON THE INITIAL CUT ON HOW MUCH MONEY EACH BUCKET SHOULD HAVE.
SO I WOULD'VE APPRECIATED THAT FEEDBACK COMING UP TO THE COUNCIL, UH, IN SOME SHAPE, FORM OR FASHION, UH, IN THE MINUTES OR IN THE PRESENTATION SAYING, YEAH, WE DID, WE DID RECEIVE THESE TYPES OF COMMENTS ALSO FOR, FOR US TO, MAYBE WE SHOULD TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THAT, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO VOTE ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, UH, IN FEBRUARY.
SO, UM, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMENT.
IF I MAY ADD JUST ONE, ONE POINT, I THINK ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THE COMMITTEE WORK WAS A RECOMMENDATION TO CONTINUE, UH, THEIR ROLE IN LEADERSHIP, NOT JUST IN THE BOND PROCESS.
AND I THINK THAT COULD BE HELPFUL TO WHAT YOU'RE RECOMMENDING TODAY ABOUT THE ONGOING DISCUSSIONS TO REALLY LOOK, LOOK AND ANALYZE ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES THAT SHOULD BE ALLOCATED TO EACH SPECIFIC PROJECT.
AND I THINK IF WE HAVE THIS CONTINUUM OF CONVERSATION AS OPPOSED TO JUST THREE TO FOUR MONTHS OUT OF THE, THE BOND YEAR, UM, I THINK THAT WE'LL BE BETTER PREPARED, BETTER UNDERSTANDING ON THE ISSUES, AND THEN WE CAN ACTUALLY ALLOCATE MORE EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY WHEN IT COMES UP FOR A BOND EVERY FIVE YEARS.
AND THAT'S A GREAT RECOMMENDATION.
I'M ALL, I'M ALL FOR THAT AS WELL, TRYING TO GET MORE OUT OF THESE COMMITTEES AND, UH, MORE DISCUSSION AND MORE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE TOTAL REQUIREMENT IS IN ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT BUCKETS, AND ARE WE PUTTING THE RIGHT AMOUNTS IN EACH ONE OF THOSE BUCKETS? TO ME, THAT'S, THAT'S THE IMPORTANT QUESTION.
ONE, ONE OTHER THING, JUST JUST TO ADD TO COUNCILMAN PERRY'S COMMENTS, THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE ASKED THE COMMITTEES TO PROVIDE WHAT YOU SAW IN THE PRESENTATION, KIND OF BELOW THE LINE PROJECTS, SO THAT IF COUNCIL CONSIDERS TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TOTAL PROPOSITIONS, YOU'VE GOT A LIST THAT'S BEEN VETTED BY THE COMMITTEES AND ARE RECOMMENDING, AND, AND, UM, WHETHER YOU MAKE THAT DECISION AS A GROUP.
NOW, IN THIS BOND PROCESS, UH, ONE OF THE COMMITTEE, UH, CO-CHAIRS, UH, PRESENTED, UH, AND, AND, AND THE WAY THEY LAID IT OUT IS THAT THOSE SHOULD BE GUIDES FOR US, REGARDLESS OF BOND OR FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, BUT, BUT THOSE ARE THERE FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
IF YOU WANT TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENTS TO THOSE PROPOSITION BUCKETS, WE KNOW WHAT PROJECTS TO ADD, UM, AND MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
I WANNA START OFF BY THANKING THE RESIDENTS WHO FORMED PART OF THE BOND COMMITTEES, BUT IN, IN PARTICULAR, TO OUR TRI CHAIRS.
AND, UM, I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF, UM, UM, JAMIE KOWALSKI, WHO'S HERE IN THE AUDIENCE, AND BRENDAN LOGAN WHO'S HERE AS WELL.
AND, UM, MR. GUERRA, I'M PROUD OF ALL OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO SERVED ON THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES.
SO WHETHER IT BE STREETS, BRIDGES, SIDEWALKS, DRAINAGE, FLOOD MANAGEMENT, PARKS AND REC, OPEN SPACES, FACILITIES, AND HOUSING, VERY HAPPY YOU ALL WERE, UM, KEY TO THIS PROCESS.
SO I, I ALSO LIKE MY COLLEAGUE IN D THREE, WANNA TAKE THE TIME TO RECOGNIZE MY APPOINTEES INDIVIDUALLY.
SO FOR STREETS, MA, UM, FOR STREETS, BRIDGES AND SIDEWALKS, ANDREW ROSALES SAID, EDDIE REYES, FRANK GONZALEZ, AND DRAINAGE, GABRIEL GONZALEZ, LEO CASTILLO, MARRERO IN PARKS, UH, IN OPEN SPACES, AMY HOFFMAN, MARY CATHERINE LUNA, MELINDA LECHUGA IN FACILITIES.
MICHAEL RAMIREZ, RITA BRAGAN, SAM LUNA, AND IN HOUSING, H DREW GALLOWAY, PETER FRA, AND SOTO.
AND SO I'M REALLY PROUD, UM, THAT YOU ALL, UM, MADE IT THROUGH WITH ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
OUR DISTRICT FOUR, UM, APPOINTEES TO THESE COMMITTEES SHARE A PASSION TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES, AND THEY'RE WELL CONNECTED WITH RESIDENTS FROM DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PROCESS, I HAD BASICALLY A PEP RALLY, IF YOU WILL, AND I ENCOURAGED OUR COUNCIL OR OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO GO OUT AND DO WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS RIGHT AND TALK TO THEIR NEIGHBORS.
UM, I NEVER CONTACTED THEM INDIVIDUALLY.
UM, I, I NEVER, UH, COACHED THEM ON WHAT TO SAY BECAUSE I WANTED THEM TO REPRESENT THEIR NEIGHBORS INDIVIDUALLY BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
I WATCHED AS MANY COMMITTEE MEETINGS AS POSSIBLE FROM, UM, UH, ONLINE OR ON T B S A, WHICH BY THE WAY, I LOVE T B S A, I GOTTA TELL YOU.
SO IT'S ON MY, IT'S ON ALL THE TIME AT MY PARENTS NOW HOUSE AND MINE.
UM, BUT, UH, ANYWAY, SO I JUST, I'M, I'M VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT THESE D FOUR APPOINTEES DID.
I WAS ABLE TO LISTEN TO A LOT OF THE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, EVEN THOUGH I WASN'T PRESENT, UH, PHYSICALLY, I WAS WATCHING OR LISTENING AND, AND YOU CAN PROBABLY, UM, ASK, UH, SEVERAL PEOPLE BECAUSE I HAD QUESTIONS AND THEY WERE LIKE, HOW DID YOU, WHAT, WHEN DID YOU HEAR THAT COMMENT? AND THEY MIGHT HAVE MISSED IT, AND I CAUGHT IT.
[01:30:01]
UM, THAT WE HAVE NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS THAT ARE WILLING TO STEP UP, UM, ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH OUR OFFICES TO FUND SOME AREAS, UM, ADDITIONAL AREAS OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ARE VERY NEEDED IN OUR AREAS.SOME OF THESE PROJECTS ARE OFTEN TOO EXPENSIVE.
THEY CANNOT BE FUNDED THROUGH OUR ANNUAL BUDGET PROCESS.
SO WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT THESE NEEDS AND, UM, ARE MET AND THAT WE WORK WITH OUR PUBLIC, UM, WORKS LIAISONS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
AND SO I'M HAPPY THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY THAT WE DO TO, TO WORK WITH YOU ALL.
UM, I WANNA THANK MY STAFF ALSO FOR THEIR WORK DURING WHAT SEEMED TO BE LIKE A PERIOD OF BACK-TO-BACK MEETINGS THAT INCLUDED ARPA DISCUSSIONS AS WELL IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WAS GOING ON, UM, ON TOP OF OUR DAILY RESPONSIBILITIES.
SO, UM, EACH ONE OF MY TEAM MEMBERS WAS ASSIGNED A COMMITTEE, AND THEY FOLLOWED THROUGH, AND THEY WERE PRESENT AT ALL OF THE MEETINGS AS WELL.
AND THEY REPORTED BACK AT THE END OF EVERY COMMITTEE MEETING.
UM, I ALSO WANNA, UH, THANK AND RECOGNIZE THE WORK OF CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND THE CITY DEPARTMENTS WHO HELPED ORGANIZE, PLAN, AND EXECUTE THESE MEETINGS.
UM, YOUR HARD WORK ON THESE LONG DAYS DID NOT GO UNNOTICED, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT STAFFING.
UM, THESE COMMITTEES, UH, UH, WAS NO EASY TASK, BUT YOU WERE THERE.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR, FOR BEING THERE FOR, UM, FOR, FOR YOUR RESIDENTS.
WE KNOW THAT, UM, OUR PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS EXCEED OUR ABILITY, AGAIN, TO, TO BE FUNDED.
AND SO, UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S PARTS OF OUR DISTRICTS OR PARTS OF OUR CITY THAT HAVE NOT SEEN HIGH LEVELS OF INVESTMENTS FOR DECADES.
AND SO I'M CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE WILL MAKE WITH THE 2022 BOND PROGRAM IF, IF VOTERS APPROVE IT IN MAY.
UM, BUT I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE IN THE PAST.
UM, I, I LOVE THE FACT THAT WE'RE STARTING TO THINK IN TERMS OF 10 YEARS, RIGHT? AND SO, IF WE CAN THINK OF THIS AS A PHASE ONE OF A PHASE TWO, UH, AND REALLY FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT ARE MET.
I LOVE YOUR BELOW THE LINE PROJECTS.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS A GREAT IDEA SO THAT WE CAN HAVE PROJECTS THAT ARE READY TO GO IN OTHER AREAS, RIGHT? SO JUST IN CASE WE DO GET FEDERAL FUNDING, ET CETERA.
SO THANK YOU FOR BEING SO THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
AND, UM, I KNOW SOMETIMES IT, IT MIGHT HAVE SEEMED LIKE A COMPETITIVE PROCESS, UM, BETWEEN DISTRICTS TO SEE WHO GETS THE MOST FUNDS, THE MOST PROJECTS, ET CETERA.
I'M SO GLAD THAT OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS REALLY DID COME TOGETHER FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ENTIRE CITY.
AND SO WE, UM, REPRESENT OUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS, BUT WE'RE ALL RESIDENTS OF SAN ANTONIO, AND WE HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO REPRESENT OUR NEIGHBORS WHO CAN'T BE AT THE TABLE.
A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS WHO CAN'T BE AT THE TABLE HAPPEN TO FALL IN SOME OF THE, UH, DISTRICTS THAT HAVE BEEN TRADITIONALLY UNDERFUNDED.
AND SO, I JUST WANNA THANK ALL OF THE NEIGHBORS AND, UM, THE OTHER DISTRICTS FOR WATCHING OUT FOR THE RESIDENTS OF EVERY NEIGHBOR, NOT JUST YOUR NEIGHBORS AND YOUR VICINITY.
UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE THAT TYPE OF THINKING BECAUSE, UM, THAT WILL HELP US, UM, FIX THE WRONGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED FOR MANY, MANY DECADES.
AND IF WE'RE TRULY COMMITTED TO RECTIFYING THE WRONGS OF THE PAST AND INVESTING IN THE LIVES OF OUR RESIDENTS, WE, UM, SO THAT WE CAN ALL ENJOY A GREATER QUALITY OF LIFE, THEN WE NEED TO BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT THE DECISIONS THAT WE MAKE.
AND SO, AS I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, I HOPE THAT THE 2022 BOND PROGRAM IS SEEN AS PART OF A DECADE OF NEIGHBORHOODS, A NEIGHBORHOOD AND RESIDENT CENTRIC INITIATIVE GUIDING OUR PUBLIC INVESTMENTS.
OUR RESIDENTS DESERVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE AND SUPPORT A PROJECTS THAT THEY HAVE HELPED IDENTIFY AND PERCEIVE AS INVESTMENTS, NOT ONLY IN THEMSELVES AND IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY CALL HOME, BUT ALSO IN THE CITY THAT THEY LOVE.
UM, SO WITH THAT SAID, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I, I ASK, UM, PUBLICLY, CAN WE, UM, TALK ABOUT, UH, IN INPUT? AND SO I'M TALKING ABOUT PUBLIC INPUT AND THE EQUALITY, UM, THE EQUITY ACTUALLY OF PUBLIC IN, UH, INPUT.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE, UH, MIGHT HAVE BEEN ORGANIZATIONS THAT GOT TO BUST PEOPLE IN, OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT GOT TO ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO DRIVE IN.
THEY WERE ABLE TO AFFORD TO PAY PARKING DOWNTOWN, AND SO THEY HAD HIGHER PARTICIPATION LEVELS.
AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAYBE FOR FUTURE BONDS AS, UM, OUR TRI CHAIRS.
AND AS OUR BOND COMMITTEE MEMBERS CONSIDER THAT THE RESIDENTS AND SOME OF OUR AREAS DO NOT HAVE EASY TRANSPORTATION.
THEY CANNOT JUST TAKE THE BUS.
THEY CANNOT LEAVE THEIR WORK AT FIVE O'CLOCK.
THEY WORK TILL THE END OF THE DAY.
SOMETIMES THEY WORK TWO OR THREE JOBS.
AND SO, FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS, NOW THAT WE ARE ALL, UM, ON THIS SAME LEVEL, RIGHT, OF LET'S DO IT ALL AND LET'S BE NEIGHBORLY, LET'S GET EVERYBODY WHO'S BEEN LEFT BEHIND, LET'S CONSIDER OUR PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS TOO, RIGHT? AND SO LET'S MAKE SURE THAT NOT ONLY THE PEOPLE WHO ALREADY HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GETTING THE BENEFIT OF THIS, RIGHT? OR THE PEOPLE WHO HAPPEN TO BE IN, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE MORE ORGANIZED,
[01:35:01]
RIGHT? WITH NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS, ET CETERA.SO, SOMETHING TO JUST CONSIDER, AND I'M VOICING THIS, UM, PUBLICLY BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT YOU ALL, UH, ALL WATCH COUNCIL MEETINGS ALL THE TIME.
SO WE TALK ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME.
SO I FIGURED THAT IN THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR, WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE THAT I KNOW CAN REALLY GO OUT AND BE, CHANGE AGENTS AND CONSIDER THAT, RIGHT? AND SO, ADVOCATE PLEASE ON BEHALF OF OUR NEIGHBORS WHO CAN'T DO THAT.
THAT'S ALL THAT I'M ASKING OF TODAY.
I DO WANNA THANK THE STAFF THOUGH, BECAUSE EVERY TIME THAT THERE WAS A MEETING, THERE WAS A PROMPT MEMO THAT, UM, FOLLOWED THAT SAID, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED AT THE COMMITTEE MEETING.
UM, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO KIND OF GIVE US RED FLAGS, IF YOU WILL, OF THINGS THAT WERE GOING ON.
I WAS ABLE TO PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL ERIC OR, OR MARIA OR LORI OR WHOEVER IT WAS, RIGHT? AND ASK THEM MY QUESTIONS.
BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE KNOW THAT WHAT WE HEAR THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE CHANGES, RIGHT? SO I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR DOCUMENTING THAT THROUGH MEMOS AND MAKING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS VERY THOUGHTFULLY.
UM, BUT AGAIN, I, I THINK I WILL END ON, ON THE FACT THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT NEEDED, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL ATTENTION THAT MERITED BEING INCLUDED IN HERE.
BUT I BELIEVE IN THE PROCESS THAT YOU ALL, THAT THE COMMITTEE, UM, WENT THROUGH AND RECOMMENDED, UM, I AM, UM, JUST VERY HAPPY THAT YOU ALL CAME TOGETHER.
SO WELL, UM, I SAW SOME OF THOSE MEETINGS.
I SAW WHERE IT COULD HAVE GONE, UM, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
I SAW THAT Y'ALL QUICKLY HAD TO LEARN ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER IN SOME OF YOUR MEETINGS.
BUT I WANNA THANK YOU FOR BEING WILLING TO STEP UP AND STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND, AND REALLY WATCH OUT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS.
AND AGAIN, MY PLATE IS FOR THE NEXT GO AROUND IF YOU'RE ON ONE OF THESE COMMITTEES, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU WILL BE, AND SOME OF YOU HAVE PARTICIPATED ON MULTIPLE ONES THAT YOU ALSO CONSIDER THAT PUBLIC INPUT FROM FOLKS WHO CANNOT BE AT THE TABLE.
AND YOU ALREADY DID START, BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT LIKE FURTHER ENGAGEMENT COMMENTS.
UM, HOW ARE YOU ALL GETTING, UH, ARE YOU ALL HAVING ACCESS TO PHONE CALLS TO EMAILS? HOW DO WE IMPROVE THAT? BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, FOR ALL OF YOUR TIME AND EFFORT.
THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS, MAYOR.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO.
AND I WANNA START OFF BY THANKING CITY STAFF.
UM, IT FELT LIKE A MARATHON AGAIN, WITH CONVERSATIONS AROUND ARPA AND EVERYDAY DUTIES.
UM, I, I KNOW I ATTENDED A COUPLE OF THE BOND MEETINGS AND STAFF WAS THERE READY TO GO FACILITATING CONVERSATIONS.
SO I, I WANNA THANK THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, ERIC ROD, DAVID MARIA, AND LAURIE, AS WELL AS ALL THE CITY ATTORNEYS.
UM, AND THE CITY, UH, SUPPORT STAFF.
UH, JOHN FIT DID A PHENOMENAL JOB, UH, FACILITATING THESE VERY NUANCED COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS.
AND I, I THINK AT THE END OF THE, THE PROCESS, UM, THERE SEEMS TO BE GREAT COMMUNITY CONSENSUS, AND THAT'S WHAT I WANNA HIGHLIGHT ABOUT THIS BOND CONVERSATION AND PROCESS, IS THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH THOSE WHO WERE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE AND GIVE PUBLIC CONVERSATION, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT RATHER, UM, AS WELL AS TO, UM, MY, MY COLLEAGUES AND YA'S APPOINTEES WHO, YOU KNOW, TOOK THE TIME TO TELL ME, HEY, LIKE I WENT TO THAT PARK IN DISTRICT FIVE, IT REALLY DOES NEED IMPROVEMENT.
UM, SO YA'S APPOINTEES WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND TO ENSURE THAT, UM, THEY WERE GOING TO WHERE THESE PROPOSED PROJECTS WERE, UM, DOING THE WORK TO ENSURE THAT, UH, THESE PROJECTS WITHIN DISTRICT FIVE WERE INCLUDED.
UM, SO I APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S APPOINTMENTS TO EACH OF Y'ALL'S COMMITTEES.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF, UH, MY BOND APPOINTEES THAT I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF.
UM, I'D LIKE TO START WITH, UM, OUR HOUSING APPOINTEES, AMY LYNDON, KAYLA, UH, KAYLA IS ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL.
A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, SHE WAS AT RISK OF BEING DISPLACED WHEN THERE WAS AN APPETITE TO DEMOLISH PUBLIC HOUSING AND REPLACE IT WITH MIXED INCOME HOUSING.
AND THE FACT THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO SERVE ON THE HOUSING BOND COMMITTEE TO, TO ADVOCATE FOR WHAT, NOT JUST DISTRICT FIVE RESIDENTS NEED, BUT WITH POLICY ALIGNED WITH THE STRATEGIC STRATEGIC HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
SO I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF, OF THE HOUSING BOND COMMITTEE, MY APPOINTEES AND EVERY ONE OF Y'ALL'S APPOINTEES FOR WHAT WAS DEVELOPED AND CURATED ALONG THE PROCESS.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, THE HOUSING BOND BEING ADOPTED AND IMPLEMENTED.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WITH THE DRAINAGE COMMITTEE, UH, AGAIN, GREAT CONVERSATION.
I KNOW THERE'S ALWAYS OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO INVEST MORE IN OUR BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND AT THE START OF THE CONVERSATION, IT WAS A PRIORITY FOR DISTRICT FIVE.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT 2017, DISTRICT FIVE RECEIVED ZERO DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE HERE IN 2022, UM, WITH TWO POTENTIAL BOND PROJECTS, IF VOTERS APPROVE IT, UM, IT IS A LONG WAY FROM WHERE WE'RE AT BEFORE.
UM, AGAIN, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE PARKS AND RECREATIONAL BOND COMMITTEE, UM, HEARING MY COLLEAGUES APPOINTEES, YOU KNOW, ASK QUESTIONS AND, AND TELL ME THAT, YOU KNOW, HEY, I'M GONNA GO VISIT,
[01:40:01]
I VISITED, IT REALLY NEEDS IMPROVEMENT, UM, WAS VERY MOVING.UM, WITHIN THE BOND COMMITTEES, THERE WAS VERY NUANCED, VULNERABLE, AND HONEST CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT EQUITY MEANS TO US AS A CITY AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN PRACTICE.
SO I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS THAT TOOK PLACE.
AND AGAIN, RIGHT, THIS WAS THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS THAT PLAYED OUT.
UM, AND I'M EXTREMELY HONORED TO, UM, SUPPORT WHAT THE BOND COMMITTEES PUT FORWARD.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE MUNICIPAL FACILITIES FOR DISTRICT FIVE IN PARTICULAR, AND I KNOW THIS ISN'T UNIQUE TO D FIVE, UM, OUR PUBLIC LIBRARIES SERVE AS COMMUNITY CENTERS CULTURAL HUBS.
IN THE TIME OF C OVID 19, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FOLKS TO APPLY FOR THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
A LOT OF JOB APPLICATIONS HAVE GONE DIGITAL, SO IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR WORK.
AND THE SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARY HAS A GREAT VARIETY OF LITERATURE, AND THEY ALWAYS HAVE NEW MODERN BOOKS COMING IN.
UM, AND IT'S ALSO SERVES AS A PLACE TO GET YOUR IDENTIFICATION CARD WITH YOUR LIBRARY CARD.
SO I'M EXTREMELY, UH, PLEASED TO SEE, UM, THE, THE SUPPORT FOR THE ALMAS PROJECT.
UM, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, TO SEE THAT THE BAAN LIBRARY IS A, A PRIORITY IN THE NUMBER ONE LINE ITEM FOR FACILITIES.
SO I WOULD HOPE TO PUSH THAT FORWARD AS WELL.
UM, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, UM, AGAIN, HIGHLIGHTING THE WORK AND THE POWER OF THE COLLECTIVE.
WITH FIRE STATION 33, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, I WANNA THANK THE FIREFIGHTER STATION UNION WHO CAME OUT, UM, AND ADVOCATED FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS AS WELL AS DISTRICT FIVE AND DISTRICT SIX, SIX NEIGHBORS WHO ALSO CAME OUT AND, AND HIGHLIGHTED THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR FIREFIGHTERS NEED TO HAVE BETTER WORKING CONDITIONS.
UM, I'VE TOURED, UM, THE FACILITY AS WELL AS MANY OF THE NEIGHBORS, AND IT, I'M EXCITED TO SEE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO COMPLETE THAT PROJECT TO SEE IT FULLY FUNDED.
UM, AGAIN, IN, IN THE LARGER SCOPE OF THINGS, WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MORE WOMEN IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND IF WE DON'T HAVE THE FACILITIES, UM, TO ALLOW FOR WOMEN TO, UM, BE IN THE, THE ACADEMY, UM, I, I THINK, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE TAKING A GREAT STEP BY SUPPORTING FIRE STATION 33, UM, AS WELL AS IDENTIFYING THE FUNDING TO ENSURE THAT WE SEE THE COMPLETION OF THAT PROJECT.
UM, AGAIN, UM, I DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING HOUSING, BUT WE CAN ANSWER THEM OFFLINE, BUT TO BRIEFLY RUN THROUGH THEM, UM, IS I, I, I WANNA ENSURE AGAIN, THAT, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOMES AT RISK OF DEMOLITION AS IDENTIFIED IN THE LANGUAGE, UH, I, I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IS IT CERTAIN STRUCTURAL ISSUES OR, UM, HOMES THAT HAVE RECEIVED NOTICES TO VACATE OR ON THE BUILDING AND STANDARDS BOARDS LIST? SO I'D LIKE TO TEASE THAT OUT MORE TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT MEANS.
UM, AND WHEN IT COMES TO PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN IF IT'S LOW BARRIER OR NO BARRIER, I WOULD HOPE FOR NO BARRIER, GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, UM, AND, AND THE NEED FOR NO BARRIER, UH, PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
BUT, UH, THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY, UH, INTERESTING PROCESS.
AGAIN, HEARING THE CONVERSATIONS AND COMMUNITY, UM, HAVE GREAT HEALTHY DEBATE AND CONVERSATIONS GOING BACK AND FORTH, UM, BUT ULTIMATELY PRODUCING THIS GREAT PRODUCT THAT I BELIEVE THAT DISTRICT FIVE RESIDENTS WILL BE IN SUPPORT OF, UM, BECAUSE IT CHECKS THAT BOX.
UM, BUT AGAIN, RIGHT, EMPHASIZING THAT AT THE START OF THIS CONVERSATION, I DID HAVE PAUSE AND HESITANCY, BUT THROUGH THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS COMMUNITY, AND EACH OF OUR APPOINTEES CREATED SOMETHING THAT I THINK THAT, UH, REFLECTS, UM, WHAT EQUITY MEANS.
COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
AND THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT HERE TODAY.
UM, CITY STAFF, PUBLIC, EVERYONE, EVERYONE WHO'S HERE.
UM, I WANNA START OFF BY THANKING MY COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, ANITA FRANKLIN, EDDIE MARTINEZ, JOE BRAVO, ANDREA NAOR, DEBBIE REED, PEDRO RODRIGUEZ, AKEEM BROWN, DEBORAH WARNER, DONNA WATSON, STEPHEN LUCKY, BEVERLY WATS DAVIS, WHO I SEE IS HERE TODAY.
DAK COLE, HAMAD, RUSSELL LAWSON, PICASSO, MIA LO, AND STEPHANIE MCGOWAN.
UM, THERE ARE, OH, THERE'S A, A PLETHORA OF QUALITY LEADERSHIP IN DISTRICT TWO, AND ANY ONE OF THEM CAN HAVE MY SEAT IN THE FUTURE.
UM, THIS IS THE FIRST BOND THAT I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, EXPERIENCE IN THIS CAPACITY AND IN ANY CAPACITY, REALLY.
AND IT'S AT A VERY HISTORIC TIME.
SO WE HAVE ARPA, WHICH IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME.
WE HAVE U D C AMENDMENTS, BOND REDISTRICTING, WHICH ARE FIVE YEAR THINGS, THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.
AND SO WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THINGS THAT WE'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO OR NEVER HAD THE CAPACITY TO DO BEFORE.
AND SO I THINK FOR THOSE, THOSE OF US WHO ARE A LITTLE BIT DISAPPOINTED TO SEE SOME PROJECTS REMOVED OR TO SEE REDUCED FUNDING AMOUNTS, I THINK WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES THERE.
WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO SEE THOSE FUNDED, UH, VIA OTHER MEANS.
I WOULD ALSO ADD THAT THIS WAS A WONDERFUL, UH, LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR ME AND D TWO WILLING, I'LL, YOU KNOW, DISTRICT TWO WILLING, I'LL BE ABLE TO DO THIS AGAIN IN FIVE YEARS.
[01:45:01]
I ATTENDED ABOUT 11 OF THE 20 MEETINGS, AND I WANTED TO BE VERY HANDS-ON.I WANTED, OF COURSE, MY APPOINTEES.
I LET THEM KNOW, HEY, YOU KNOW, SHOOT FROM YOUR CONSCIOUS, DO WHAT YOU CAN.
AND WHATEVER YOU THINK IS BEST, I'LL DEFEND TO THE, I'LL DEFEND TO THE END, SO LONG AS YOU HAVE DISTRICT TWO'S BEST INTEREST AT HEART.
AND I REALLY ENJOYED LISTENING TO NOT JUST MY APPOINTEES, BUT EVERYONE'S APPOINTEES.
AND I FEEL LIKE BY ATTENDING THESE MEETINGS, I GOT TO, AND SEEING WHO EACH COUNCIL PERSON APPOINTED TO EACH ONE OF THEM, I FEEL LIKE I GAINED A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE VALUES OF EACH OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, WHO THE RESPECTED COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE WITHIN EACH OF THOSE DISTRICTS.
AND, UM, I THINK I, I REALLY LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THE CITY.
SO I THINK OVERALL, DISTRICT TWO, THIS BOND DISTRICT TWO IS WINNING.
DISTRICT TWO IS IN A REALLY GREAT PLACE.
I'M EXCITED WITH THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT WE'RE GETTING AND THE TYPES OF PROJECTS.
AND THIS IS MORE MONEY THAN WE'VE EVER GOTTEN BEFORE.
HOWEVER, WE ARE IN A PLACE WHERE, YOU KNOW, FOR, LET'S LOOK AT STREETS, BRIDGES AND SIDEWALKS, WE'RE RECEIVING THE LEAST AMOUNT OF FUNDING.
AND WHERE WE MAKE UP FOR THAT MIGHT BE IN, YOU KNOW, FACILITIES AND OTHER AREAS LIKE THAT.
BUT SAY FACILITIES WERE TO FAIL.
DISTRICT TWO WALKS OUT OF THIS BOND IN A REALLY BAD PLACE, RECEIVING THE LEAST, THE LEAST FUNDING, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE THE GREATEST NEED IN THE CITY.
AND SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES LIKE ARPA AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE, I WOULD LIKE TO ENSURE AND HAVE, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL SUPPORT ON DISTRICT TWO RECEIVING A SIGNIFICANT, UH, A SIGNIFICANT, UM, AMOUNT OF THAT.
AND I WANT, I WANT TO SEE THAT SUPPLEMENT THE BOND.
I THINK, AND I, I'LL TOUCH ON THE ARTS REALLY QUICKLY.
I THINK, UM, WHEN I WAS ATTENDING THE, WHEN I WAS ATTENDING THE MEETINGS, EVERY, EVERY COMMITTEE BROUGHT UP ARTS, EVEN, YOU KNOW, EVEN HOUSING.
THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE ART FUNDING, BUT THEY WANTED TO REDUCE IT.
AND, YOU KNOW, OVERALL PEOPLE WANTED TO SEE ARTS BE FUNDED, AND THEY WANTED TO SEE IT FUNDED AT THE AMOUNT THAT WE AS A COUNCIL HAD VOTED ON, WHICH WAS 1.5%.
AND SO I'M WONDERING, IS IT POSSIBLE, AND THIS IS, DON'T ATTACK ME, IS IT POSSIBLE TO REMOVE PROJECTS IN THE AMOUNT OF WHAT WE'VE LOST IN ARTS FUNDING AND THEN FUNDED THOSE THROUGH ARPA SINCE WE'LL BE HAVING THAT DISCUSSION VERY SOON.
I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE YOU, MR. WALSH.
YEAH, I'M UNDERCOVER OVER HERE, COUNCILMAN.
UM, SO I, I THINK SO, AND, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT ARPA B SESSION SCHEDULED THE LAST WEEK IN JANUARY, UM, WHERE WE'RE GONNA KIND OF BE LAYING OUT THE BUCKETS AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT 'EM.
I THINK, I THINK IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION CORRECTLY, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, OFFSETTING $3.8 MILLION OR SO WORTH OF PROJECTS OUT OF THE BOND PROGRAM WITH ARPA SO THAT, UM, UH, WE, THE COUNCIL COULD CONSIDER REALLOCATING MONEY BACK INTO ARTS.
THAT IS, THAT IS EXACTLY, YEAH, I THINK THAT'S, YEAH, I, I THINK THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
WE'LL NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT THERE AREPA ELIGIBLE, BUT WE HAVE A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO WORK ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS, IF THAT'S WHAT THE COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT LAST WEEK IN JANUARY.
I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, AT LEAST IF SOMETHING CAN BE PRESENTED IN JANUARY, I WOULD, I WOULD VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE OTHER STRUGGLES THAT I'M HAVING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR CITY, AND I, I HOPE EVERYBODY'S LISTENING.
I, I SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE TALKING, BUT WE OPERATE WITH A LENS OF EQUITY.
AND NORMALLY WE LOOK AT THIS LENS OF EQUITY AND WE SEE, YOU KNOW, OH, DISTRICT TWO, DISTRICT THREE, DISTRICT ONE, DISTRICT FIVE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE RECEIVING MORE FUNDING, BUT WE REALLY DON'T SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE CONDITION OF OUR ROADS UNTIL WE LOOK AT IT, YOU KNOW, WITH A SMALLER SAMPLE SIZE, LET'S SAY.
AND WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT WITH F STREETS.
AND SO I WAS DOING THE MATH AND LOOKING AT WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR, THE PROPORTIONS OF F STREETS IN EACH OF THE DISTRICTS.
AND WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING WHEN WE FUND IT WITH THIS LENS, WHICH WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW WITH F STREETS, IS THAT DISTRICTS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, AND SEVEN ARE ALL GOING TO HAVE A GREATER SHARE OF F STREETS THAN THAT, THAN WE WOULD HAVE IF WE USED A DIFFERENT LENS.
AND A LARGE PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE WE LOOK AT IT AS PARTIALLY BASED ON THE SIZE OF NETWORK AND PARTIALLY BASED ON CONDITION.
AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA BE OKAY WITH US FUNDING THE BOND, YOU KNOW, DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW WITH THE BOND, BECAUSE IT'S STILL A LEARNING EXPERIENCE.
BUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE BUDGET AND TO OTHER FUNDING SOURCES, I WANT, I WOULD LIKE US, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US GO CLOSER TO, UM, APPROPRIATING FUNDING BASED ON CONDITION PRIMARILY.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? THANK YOU.
COUNCILMAN, WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS, IS CHANGING THE WAY WE'VE DONE THAT ANNUAL PROCESS IN THE, UH, LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, LAST THREE YEARS.
UM, AND, AND THAT WAS THE TOPIC OF CONSIDERATION THAT THE STREETS COMMITTEE HAD AS WELL.
[01:50:01]
AND, UM, CERTAINLY WE'LL HAVE, YOU'LL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES AS WE GO, UH, INTO THE 2023 BOND PROCESS AND COUNCIL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.BECAUSE REMEMBER, IF YOU'LL RECALL, THAT'S WHERE WE SET AND RE OR THAT'S WHERE WE REESTABLISHED THAT, UH, IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, UH, LAST SUMMER.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S DEFINITELY PROBABLY A POLICY CONSIDERATION FOR THE COUNCIL TO DIS DIS, UH, DISCUSS AS I TAKE THE DIRECTION TO GO INTO THE, THE BUDGET SUMMER, UH, THIS YEAR.
POLICY DECISION, EVERYONE, POLICY DECISION.
UM, THE NEXT BIT WILL BE HOUSING.
SO HOW THE HOUSING BOND IS UNIQUE IN THAT, UM, THERE'S NO SPECIFIC PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HEARD AT THE COMMITTEE LEVEL WAS THAT THEY STILL WANT OVERSIGHT, AND THERE IS STILL SOME LEVEL OF CONCERN THAT DO PUBLIC DOLLARS CAN BE EXPLOITED.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE, BUT PEOPLE STILL WANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF INFLUENCE ON THE KINDS OF PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING, UH, BEING FUNDED THROUGH THE BOND.
AND SO WHAT I, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE HAVE, UM, SOME SORT OF COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION IN THE GROUP OR IN THE COMMITTEE THAT CREATES THE SOLICITATION? YES.
AND, AND THAT'S SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DO TODAY.
AND THEN KEEP IN MIND ALL OF THESE PROJECTS WILL BE COMING BACK TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL, AND THEY'LL BE VETTED BY THE HOUSING COMMISSION, AND SOME OF THEM WILL BE GOING TO THE PLANNING AND LAND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL COMMITTEE AS WELL.
UM, THE NEXT BIT WOULD BE, UM, FACILITIES MANAGEMENT.
SO WHEN I WENT TO THE FACILITIES MEETING, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WAS MOSTLY AN ISSUE IN, UH, DISTRICT TWO AND, AND VERY MUCH IS WE HAVE A LOT OF VERY OLD FACILITIES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN MANAGED VERY WELL, AND THEY NEED A LOT OF MAINTENANCE.
AND THAT'S THE SAME FOR A LOT OF CITY OWNED FACILITIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND SO I WOULD LIKE US TO, WE DON'T HAVE TO DO IT RIGHT NOW, BUT I WANNA HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT MA THE MANAGEMENT PROCESS OR THE MAINTENANCE PROCESS FOR EACH OF THESE FACILITIES.
AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T GET TO THE POINT WHERE EVERY SINGLE BOND, WE HAVE TO PUT HUNDREDS OF MILLION DOLLARS INTO CITY FACILITIES, AND WE'RE NOT TAKING CARE OF THEM WHEN WE SHOULD BE TAKING CARE OF THEM.
UM, SO JUST KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I, I WANNA HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT NEXT BIT WOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I TOLD MY DISTRICT THREE COLLEAGUE, I'M NOT COMING FOR YOUR SUBSTATION, BUT KNOW THAT I DO WANT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE POLICE BUDGET.
I'M ALWAYS GONNA WANNA HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE POLICE BUDGET.
AND I DO NOT WANNA SEE, JUST BECAUSE THIS IS A, A FACILITY THAT'S BEING FUNDED AND AN ADDITIONAL RESOURCE TO SS A P D, I DON'T WANNA SEE US USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO PUT EVEN MORE MONEY INTO THE POLICE BUDGET.
SO I JUST JUST KNOW THAT'S GONNA BE ANOTHER CONVERSATION THAT I WANT TO HAVE.
I THINK ALSO JUST GENERAL TAKEAWAY FROM THE PROCESS OF THE BOND, AND THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT FRUSTRATED ME, FRUSTRATED OTHER ATTENDEES AND FRUSTRATED MY COMMITTEE MEMBERS, IS THAT SOMETIMES THERE WAS TOO MUCH OF A FOCUS ON PROCESS VERSUS PRODUCTIVITY.
SO SOMEBODY WOULD WANNA MAKE A MOTION AND WE WOULD SPEND AT LEAST FIVE TO SIX MINUTES TALKING ABOUT WHY THEY CAN'T MAKE THAT MOTION, RATHER THAN JUST LETTING 'EM MAKE, LETTING THEM MAKE THE MOTION AND THEN VOTE ON IT.
AND IT WOULD BE DONE WITH IN 30 SECONDS, AND THERE'D BE, YOU KNOW, LITTLE TO NO IMPACT.
SO I THINK JUST MOVING FORWARD, I THINK THOSE ARE THINGS THAT, THAT'S SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT I WOULD GIVE.
AND YES, PUBLIC COMMENT DID TAKE UP LIKE QUITE A BIT OF THE COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
AND I THINK, UM, IN FIVE YEARS WHEN THIS IS HAPPENING AGAIN, LET'S LOOK AT, LET'S LOOK AT HOW TO MAKE IT MORE PRODUCTIVE.
JUST, UH, TWO THINGS THAT I WANTED TO RESPOND TO.
UM, I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE REGARDING CITY FACILITIES.
THE CITY'S NOT DONE A GOOD JOB OVER THE LAST 20, 30 YEARS OF MAINTAINING FACILITIES.
AND THAT'S WHY WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE POSITION WE'RE RIGHT NOW.
WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME GOING INTO THIS PROCESS, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL TO NOT ONLY BUILD NEW, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY TAKE CARE OF WHAT WE HAVE.
AND, AND, AND I'LL TELL YOU COUNCILMAN, THAT YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA SEE A PROBABLY A LARGE PROPOSAL FROM ME AND NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
AND, AND WE'VE GOTTA DO THAT BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE, UM, AS COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO MENTIONED, OUR LIBRARIES IN SOME PARTS OF TOWN BECOME A LOT MORE THAN JUST A LIBRARY.
SO WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THAT.
AND FRANKLY, I'D RATHER DO THAT IN CITY FACILITIES AND SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS WE DO.
NUMBER TWO ON THE POLICE SUBSTATION, JUST SO THAT WE'RE CLEAR.
AND I UNDERSTAND THE, THE ISSUE OF THE, THE POLICE BUDGET, UM, FOR SURE THAT WILL REQUIRE SOME ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT.
UM, UH, AND, AND, AND CERTAINLY WE WERE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS WE PO AS WE CAN AS WE GET TO THAT POINT.
BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO BE, UH, THOUGHT THAT WE'RE GONNA BUILD A STATION AND IT'S NOT GONNA COST US ANYMORE IN THE POLICE BUDGET.
IT WILL, WE WILL NEED TO HAVE CIVILIANS THERE IN THE FRONT OF
[01:55:01]
THE BUILDING.UH, DEPENDING ON WHAT COMMUNITY ASSETS WE BUILD INTO THAT FACILITY, THERE'S GONNA BE AN EXPENSE.
UH, THERE WILL BE AN EXPENSE TO THE POLICE BUDGET.
AND I JUST, I JUST WANNA BE, BE REAL CLEAR THAT IT WILL REQUIRE US TO INVEST MORE IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET.
BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT THAT, UM, I IS, UM, UM, SOMETHING THAT, THAT YOU'RE VERY IMP UH, UH, IS VERY IMPORTANT TO YOU.
BUT I ALSO DON'T WANT TO HAVE ANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS AS WE GO THROUGH THE FINANCIAL FORECAST AND FUTURE BUDGETS DOWN THE ROAD, RIGHT? THIS IS WAY DOWN THE ROAD.
COUNCIL MEMBER MICKEY RODRIGUEZ.
I WANNA BEGIN BY THANKING ALL OF, UH, THE D ONE CITIZENS BOND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I FEEL VERY, VERY LUCKY TO SERVE AS A DISTRICT ONE COUNCIL MEMBER BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH TALENT IN AMONG THE CITIZENS IN DISTRICT ONE.
AND SO WHEN WE WENT ABOUT CHOOSING OR SELECTING OUR BOND, OUR CITIZEN COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR THE BOND, YOU KNOW, I FELT LIKE, UH, A COACH IN THE N B A WHO GETS A FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK, AND THEN YOU GET ANOTHER FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK, AND THEN YOU GET ANOTHER FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK.
AND IT WAS LIKE THAT ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
AND I ALSO WANNA THANK, UH, ON OUR STAFF, OUR DIRECTOR OF ZONING AND PLANNING ANISA SHELL.
UM, AND I WANT TO THANK TIER ONE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION FOR, I WANT TO THANK THE TIER ONE NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION FOR RECOMMENDING HER.
AND SHE HELPED LEAD OUR OUTREACH AND OUR EFFORTS ON THE, THE BOND COMMITTEE PROCESS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID IS WE RECOGNIZED THAT WE HAD SO MANY GREAT PEOPLE APPLY TO BE ON OUR CITIZENS BOND COMMITTEE, THAT WE, WE COULDN'T APPOINT 'EM ALL.
AND SO WE DECIDED, WELL, HOW CAN WE GET INPUT FROM EVERYBODY? AND SO ANISSA HELPED PUT TOGETHER, UM, SOME PUBLIC FORUMS ONLINE WITH EVERY SINGLE, UH, BOND COMMITTEE THAT WE HAD FOR EACH ISSUE, AND SO THAT EVERYBODY COULD GIVE THEIR INPUT, SHARE THEIR IDEAS, THEIR CONCERNS SO THAT OUR BOND COMMITTEE MEMBERS COULD CARRY THEIR VOICES FORWARD INTO THE BOND COMMITTEE PROCESS.
UM, ONCE WE DID THAT, I CHOSE TO TAKE A VERY HANDS-OFF APPROACH.
UM, I THINK THERE'S NO POINT IN HAVING A CITIZENS COMMITTEE PROCESS IF I'M JUST GONNA GIVE THEM MARCHING ORDERS AND, AND DIRECT THEM ON WHAT TO DO.
UM, AND SO WE, WE GAVE THEM FREE REIGN.
WE, WE PUT A LOT OF EFFORT INTO SELECTING THEM, AND WE GAVE THEM FREE REIGN.
UM, AND I, I WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT I TOTALED THESE UP.
I, I FOLLOWED, UH, YOU KNOW, I I, I SIT NEXT TO COUNCILMAN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ IN A LOT OF MEETINGS AND I GET TO LOOK OVER AND SEE, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE HE WAS A MATH TEACHER, AND I GET TO SEE ALL OF THE MATH WORK HE'S ALWAYS DOING.
IT'S LIKE HE CAN FIT A WHOLE CHALKBOARD WORTH OF MATH EQUATIONS ON A LITTLE NOTEPAD.
AND, UH, SO I WAS KIND OF MIMICKING HIM AND IT TOTALLY UP ALL THE NUMBERS.
AND I SAW THAT THE, THE CITIZENS COMMITTEES MADE OVER $44 MILLION IN CHANGES TO THE, THESE BOND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE SENT TO THEM.
AND, UH, SO FOR ME, THAT IS A SIGN THAT THE CITIZENS, UH, PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS IS WORKING.
UM, NOW WE'RE NOT GONNA GET IT ALL RIGHT.
WE'RE NOT GONNA GET IT ALL PERFECT.
UM, AND I, I WANT TO ALSO, BUT I DO WANT TO THANK CITY STAFF FOR ALL THE WORK THEY DID AND OUR COUNCIL STAFF MEMBERS FOR WHAT THEY DID FOR, IN TERMS OF OUTREACH AND, AND, UH, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
UM, BECAUSE I WANT PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE ALL THE WORK THAT, THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DOING.
ALL, ALL THE CITY STAFF SINCE, SINCE WE'VE GOTTEN INTO OFFICE IN THIS TERM.
I MEAN, THIS HAS NOT BEEN A TYPICAL COUNCIL YEAR.
I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING COUNCIL FOR A LONG TIME.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH A WINTER STORM AFTERMATH.
WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH A C P S ENERGY RATE PROPOSAL.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A RATE PROPOSAL FROM C P S ENERGY IN OVER EIGHT YEARS.
UM, SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS EVERY YEAR.
WE'VE, WE'VE ALREADY HAD OUR, WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR SECOND C OVID SPIKE RIGHT NOW.
UM, CITY STAFF ARE ALSO WORKING ON POLICE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS THAT ONLY HAPPENS MAYBE FIVE YEARS OR MORE, UH, WORKING ON REDISTRICTING.
IT ONLY HAPPENS EVERY 10 YEARS.
SO WE'VE HAD A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE FALLEN ON THIS YEAR, AND IT'S BEEN EXTREMELY BUSY.
AND, UM, SO I KNOW WE'RE NOT GETTING EVERYTHING PERFECT.
UH, IF ANYBODY WHO'S RUNNING FOR COUNTY JUDGE IS LISTENING OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, ONE THING I WOULD RUN ON IF I WAS RUNNING FOR COUNTY JUDGE IS DO A CITIZEN'S BOND PROCESS AND LET PEOPLE WEIGH IN.
BECAUSE OVER THERE THEY JUST, THEY SPEND YOUR MONEY.
THEY DON'T ASK YOU HOW YOU DO IT.
UM, AND SO I THINK, I THINK THERE CAN BE SOME IMPROVEMENTS.
YOU KNOW, I WANNA RECOG, I WANNA RECOGNIZE SOME OF, SOME OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT DOING, EVEN THOUGH WE, WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN IT PERFECT.
AND I AGREE WITH MY COUNCILMAN KEITH RODRIGUEZ.
YOU KNOW, I, I WANT TO SIT THROUGH A PROCESS ON LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN DO THIS BETTER FOR THE NEXT TIME AND GET SOME INPUT WHILE IT'S STILL FRESH.
UM, SO WHERE AM I? UH, I AM, I'M HESITANT TO UNDO A LOT OF THINGS THAT, UH, HAVE BEEN, UH,
[02:00:01]
YOU KNOW, THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITIZEN COMMITTEES.UM, BECAUSE IT, IT'S, IT'S NOT MY GOVERNMENT, IT'S THE PEOPLE'S GOVERNMENT.
AND WE'LL GET TO YOU, DON'T WORRY.
UM, ON THE ARTS, WHEN I SAT UP HERE, WHEN WE WERE FIRST LOOKING AT THE BOND, UH, PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, THE MAYOR HAD PROPOSED GOING TO 2%.
AND I WAS RIGHT AWAY THINKING, WHY NOT 3%? AS SOMEBODY OVER HERE FROM THE ARTS COMMUNITY, THEY HAVE THE NUMBERS, CAN YOU HOLD THAT SIGN UP AGAIN ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES AND WHAT PERCENT THEY, THEY FUNDED AT, RIGHT? WE'VE GOT AUSTIN AT 2% FORT WORTH, 2%, DALLAS, 1.5, HOUSTON, 1.75%.
WHAT IS SAN ANTONIO GONNA BE? WHAT ARE WE GONNA BE? AND RIGHT AWAY I WAS THINKING, WHY DON'T WE GO TO 3%, YOU KNOW, LET'S PUT SAN ANTONIO ON THE MAP.
THAT'S WHAT I THINK ABOUT WHEN I'M UP HERE.
I THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE PUT SAN ANTONIO ON THE MAP? CAN YOU IMAGINE IF WE, IF WE WENT TO 3%, THAT WOULD BE $12 MILLION OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, AND EVERY ARTS JOURNAL IN THE COUNTRY WOULD BE WRITING ABOUT US.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WOULD BE OPENING UP THE NEW YORK TIMES AND READING ABOUT LOOK WHAT THEY'RE DOING IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT I THINK ABOUT.
HOW DO WE PUT SAN ANTONIO ON THE MAP? UM, SO YOU, UH, I, I WANT TO WORK WITH YOU, ERIC WALSH, ON HOW WE CAN FIND OTHER WAYS, WHILE I'M HESITANT TO UNDO THINGS, I WANNA WORK WITH YOU ON SEEING HOW WE CAN FIND MORE FUNDING FOR THE ARTS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT IS HOW CAN WE FUND ARTS MORE, NOT SPECIFICALLY JUST THROUGH THE BOND, BUT HOW CAN WE DO IT THROUGH THE, THE ANNUAL BUDGET AS WELL? BECAUSE THE BOND IS RESTRICTED IN REALLY IN WHAT WE CAN DO.
AND THERE'S, SO WE CAN'T DO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T DO ARTS PROGRAMMING.
WE CAN'T, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE CAN'T DO THROUGH THIS.
SO WHERE ARE THE OTHER WAYS? AND SO, ERIC, I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH YOU ON FINDING ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN, INCLUDING SEEING IF WE CAN, IF THERE ARE WAYS TO, TO RESTORE SOME MONEY, UM, ON THERE.
LIKE, I KNOW THAT ON, UM, ON PARKS, UM, WE'VE, I, I THINK ON, ON ONE OF THESE, I'M, I'M, I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S PARKS, BUT I DO THINK I, WE HAVE SOME FLEXIBLE FUNDS WITHIN THE DISTRICT ONE, UH, CATEGORIES.
AND I WOULD BE WILLING TO SHIFT SOME OF THE MONEY, AT LEAST IN DISTRICT ONE THERE, AND, UH, WOULD ENCOURAGE SOME OF MY, UH, COLLEAGUES, IF YOU HAVE ANY FLEXIBLE, UH, CATEGORIES IN, IN ANY OF YOUR DISTRICTS WIDE PRO BOND PROJECTS, TO CONSIDER SEEING IF YOU CAN SHIFT THOSE OVER.
AND I DON'T KNOW, ERIC, WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHAT IS AND ISN'T POSSIBLE THERE.
UM, AND BEF WHEN I END ON ARTS, UH, MY, MY GIRLFRIEND BURGUNDY, WHO IS AN AMAZING PERSON, MY SON, MY MOON, MY STARS, HAS MANY TALENTS.
SHE HAS SO MANY TALENTS, AND ONE OF THEM IS THAT OF AN ARTIST.
AND SO SHE SHARED SOMETHING WITH ME THAT I WANNA SHARE WITH YOU ALL IN THE FILM, DEAD DEAD POET SOCIETY, JOHN KEATING SUMMONED HIS STUDENTS, AND IN A HUSHED VOICE, HE SHARES A SECRET.
WE READ AND WRITE POETRY BECAUSE WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN RACE.
AND THE HUMAN RACE IS FILLED WITH PASSION, POETRY, BEAUTY, ROMANCE, AND LOVE.
THIS IS WHAT WE STAY ALIVE FOR.
WITHOUT A DOUBT, HUMAN BEINGS HAVE A DEEP SEATED NEED TO EXPRESS AN ARRAY OF EMOTIONS, HAPPINESS, PASSION, GRIEF, AND HOPE.
ART IS THE COLOR, THE SHAPE, AND THE TUNE THAT TRANSLATE THESE EMOTIONS INTO FORM.
FROM THESE EXPRESSIONS OF ART, A SOUL IS ELEVATED FROM A PLACE OF GRIEF AND DESPAIR TO A PLACE OF HOPE AND COURAGE.
THE RESULT, OFTENTIMES IS A BETTER PERSON WHO CONTRIBUTES TO CREATING A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY.
IN TURN, A HEALTHY COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTES TO A STRONG NATION AND A STRONG NATION TO A BETTER WORLD.
SO WITH THAT, ERIC, I'D LIKE TO WORK WITH YOU ON SEEING WHERE WE CAN SHORE UP FUNDING FOR THE ARTS, UM, ON SUNKEN GARDEN THEATER.
AGAIN, WHERE I, IT'S, THIS IS A TOUGH SPOT TO BE IN, RIGHT? BECAUSE I, I VALUE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
I WANT TO HONOR THE WORK THAT WAS DONE BY THE CITIZEN COMMITTEES.
AT THE SAME TIME, I HEAR FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROJECT, AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, UM, I HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE DEVELOPERS OF THIS PROJECT.
WE ARE GONNA HAVE A TOWN HALL MEETING ON JANUARY 24TH AT 6:00 PM TO HEAR YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT THIS.
I'M GLAD THAT WE HAVE THE TIME TO TALK, TO HAVE MORE PUBLIC INPUT BEFORE WE BRING THIS TO A VOTE.
UM, AND, UH, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CITY PARKS DEPARTMENT WILL BE THERE AS WELL.
I WANT TO INVITE YOU, ROD SANCHEZ, AND ANY OF YOUR STAFF IN CASE WE HAVE TO TALK.
SOME OF THE CONCERNS ARE ABOUT PARKING.
SOME OF THE CONCERNS ARE ABOUT TRAFFIC CONGESTION.
UM, BUT WE, WE CAN INVITE, UH, MEMBERS OF, UH, OF PARKS TO PARTICIPATE AS WELL.
I BELIEVE COUNCILMAN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ WILL BE THERE IN ATTENDANCE.
AND MY, I'LL BE THERE WITH MY STAFF SO WE CAN HEAR, HEAR FROM YOU ALL BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD WITH, WITH ANY OF THESE PROJECTS.
UM, I WANT TO THANK SUZANNE SCOTT FOR HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH ME EARLY ON, UH, ABOUT STACKED BENEFITS, AND FOR YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT HOW CAN WE USE NATURE TO HELP, UH, ADDRESS
[02:05:01]
SOME OF OUR DRAINAGE ISSUES.HOW CAN WE USE IT AS WELL TO CREATE MORE RECREATIONAL SPACES? AND, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY WHO CAME TO ME WITH A PROJECT THAT, THAT MEETS STACKED BENEFITS IS ACTUALLY FORMER MAYOR ED GARZA.
AND ARE YOU HERE, MAYOR GARZA? I THINK YOU WERE HERE.
HE'S WAVING TO US IN THE BACK.
SO, UM, HE, HE CAME TO ME WITH A PROJECT, OLD SPANISH TRAILS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE STACK BENEFITS, THEY HAVE SOCCER FIELDS THERE, AND THEY HAVE SOCCER PROGRAMMINGS WITH, WITH SOCCER P PLAYERS FROM ALL OVER THE CITY.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THEY DO IS THEY DON'T JUST PLAY SOCCER.
THEY ALSO PARTNER WITH CAFE COLLEGE TO HELP TRY AND GET THESE KIDS INTO COLLEGE, HELP THEM WITH THEIR APPLICATION PROCESS.
AND THAT'S A GREAT STACK BENEFITS, UM, ISSUE.
I KNOW THAT, UM, A LOT OF DECISIONS WERE ALREADY MADE BY THE TIME, UH, THEY BROUGHT THIS PROPOSAL FORWARD.
BUT I, I DO WANT TO SHIFT A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IN MY FLEXIBLE FUND, UH, THAT WE HAVE IN PARKS OVER TO THAT PROJECT AND SEE IF WE CAN FIND ANY MORE MONEY, BECAUSE I KNOW THEY'VE GOT SOME MONEY FROM THE COUNTY, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE SEEKING SOME MATCHING FUNDS, AND I THINK WE CAN REALLY LEVERAGE THAT.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING I HAVE ONE SECOND LEFT.
COUNCIL MEMBER BRAVO, COUNCIL MEMBER S THANKS, UH, ROD, RAZZY, ERIC, ANDY, UM, AND ALL OF YOUR TEAMS. UM, AND I'M NOT MENTIONING EVERYBODY WHO SHOULD BE MENTIONED, BUT I, I WATCHED THOSE MEETINGS LATE AT NIGHT FROM THE COMFORT OF MY HOME, UH, WITH MY FAMILY.
UM, AND I WATCHED YOU GUYS SUITED UP AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ON YOUR FEET DURING THESE ENTIRE MEETINGS, UH, WORKING, UH, WHEN YOU COULD HAVE BEEN WITH YOUR FAMILIES AS WELL.
AND, UM, YOU TOOK AWAY TIME FROM WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO TO, TO DO THIS, THIS HEAVY LIFTING, AND THAT THAT HAS TO BE HIGHLIGHTED, UM, AND REMEMBERED.
UM, AND I ALWAYS SAY THAT, THAT, AND PEOPLE SEEM TO FORGET THAT, YOU KNOW, STAFF ARE SAN ANTONIANS TOO, AND YOU GUYS ALL LIVE IN THIS CITY, AND YOU ALSO DEPEND ON THESE BOND PROJECTS FOR GOOD DRAINAGE AND STREETS AND SIDEWALKS AND PARKS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND SO, UM, I KNOW THAT YOU ALL HAVE SKIN IN THE GAME, AND WHAT I REALLY ADMIRE IS THAT, UM, YOU GUYS ARE VERY OBJECTIVE.
UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, RON, I KNOW THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU LIVE IN DISTRICT EIGHT.
BUT I KNOW, I MEAN, YOU COULD HAVE DONE A LOT BETTER FOR DISTRICT EIGHT, BUDDY, BUT, UH, YOU ENDED UP, UH, YOU KNOW, FUNDING MUCH NEEDED FUND STATIONS, UH, YOU KNOW, POLICE STATIONS IN DISTRICT THREE, WHICH ARE MUCH NEEDED.
AND I'M REALLY HAPPY THAT THAT HAPPENED.
UM, AND I, UH, I WAS GETTING SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT HOW MUCH Y'ALL NEEDED IT, AND YOU FINALLY DID IT COUNCILWOMAN.
UM, AND YOUR COMMUNITY'S GONNA BE SAFER BECAUSE OF IT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THIS PROCESS IS NOT JUST, UM, IDEAS THAT COME UP TO US, YOU KNOW, COME UP, UH, YOU KNOW, OR THAT WE THINK UP, YOU KNOW, A MONTH BEFORE.
I MEAN, THIS IS A PROCESS WHERE WE'VE BEEN PLANTING THESE SEEDS AND TALKING ABOUT THEM OVER AND OVER AND OVER, GET THEM FOR YEARS.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU, UM, THE, THE, THE CULMINATION IS A BOND PACKAGE THAT IS AN INCREDIBLE EFFORT.
IT'S A HEAVY LIFT OF, AND, UH, I'M, I'M, I'M PROUD OF EVERYBODY.
SO WITH THAT SAID, I WILL TELL YOU I'M NOT PROUD OF US THOUGH WHEN IT COMES TO THIS ARTS FUNDING.
UM, I, UM, I, I SAW THAT SIGN OUT THERE.
I FEEL BAD THAT YOUR ARM MIGHT HURT THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THIS MEETING.
I SEE YOUR SIGN, AND I AGREE WITH YOU.
UM, YOU KNOW, HOUSTON 1.75% AUSTIN, 2% DALLAS, 1.5 FORT WORTH 2%.
EL PASO, 2% LAREDO, 2%, ALLEN, TEXAS, 2%.
UH, I DUNNO ABOUT YOU GUYS, BUT I THINK WE'RE BETTER THAN ALLEN, TEXAS AND THE PEOPLE OF SAN ANTONIO DESERVE, UM, THE SAME, IF NOT BETTER THAN WHAT THEY GET IN ALLEN, TEXAS.
UM, NO OFFENSE TO ANYBODY IN ALLEN, BUT, UM, I MEAN, THE REALITY IS, IS THAT WE'RE THE SEVENTH LARGEST CITY, UNITED STATES, AND ANDY SEGOVIA TELLS ME ALL THE TIME THAT WE OUGHT TO START ACTING LIKE IT, RIGHT? AND D AND, UM, STRIPPING ARTS FUNDING IS THE OPPOSITE OF ACTING LIKE ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES IN SAN ANTONIO.
HOWEVER, WE ARE ALSO THE CITY IN ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES IN SAN ANTONIO WITH THE POOREST CENSUS DISTRICTS IN, UH, THE ENTIRE CITY.
WE'RE ONE OF THE CITIES WHERE REDLINING WAS VERY, VERY REAL.
UM, AND F STREETS, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS AN ABUNDANCE OF THEM, TOO.
MANY OF THEM FOR THE SEVENTH LARGEST IN THE, UH, CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, WE'VE GOT A DRAINAGE CRISIS AND HOUSING CRISIS.
TOO MANY AND TOO BIG, UM, FOR THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE GOOD PEOPLE OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO, I, I THINK THIS BOND ADDRESSES A LOT.
UM, BUT I ALSO THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO, UM, TO LEVERAGE.
AND THAT WORD'S OVERUSED, BUT I REALLY DO THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES.
RAZZI, FOR EXAMPLE, I MEAN, IF YOU JUST LOOK UP PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, ALL OVER THE WORLD WHERE THE DESIGNER SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? LET'S BUILD DRAINAGE HERE, BUT LET'S MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL.
DRAINAGE CAN BE ART, RIGHT? UM, AND, YOU KNOW, LET'S LIGHT THIS BRIDGE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S REALLY CREATIVE WAYS THAT WE CAN GET TO WHERE WE WANT TO GO, UM, WITH, UM, WITH WHAT WE'RE ALREADY
[02:10:01]
DOING.NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE GRAY CONCRETE, RIGHT? AND SO, I, I THINK THAT THE CITY DESERVES A VERY SERIOUS CONVERSATION ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE BEING BEAUTIFUL.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, YOUR PREDECESSOR COUNCILMAN BRAVO, UH, WAS SO INSISTENT THAT WE GET AND A CITY ARCHITECT, RIGHT, TO REALLY START TALKING ABOUT BEAUTY AND DESIGN, UM, AND THE AESTHETICS THAT, UM, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO DESERVES.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU'RE TAKING NOTES, ROD, BUT I, I WOULD LIKE TO, TO SEE US, YOU KNOW, BE THE SAME, IF NOT BETTER THAN LAREDO AND ALAN WHEN IT COMES TO F YOU KNOW, UM, FUNDING THIS.
AS FAR AS U T SS A GOES, I, I AM WORRIED, UM, FOR THE SAME REASON THAT COUNCILWOMAN BE A GROWN, UM, YOU KNOW, ARTICULATED, UH, MY LITTLE GIRL'S ALREADY GETTING, AND MY SON ARE ALREADY GETTING THEIR EMAILS FROM PROSPECTIVE COLLEGES, AND, UM, AND THEY'RE 14 AND 15.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, MY DAUGHTER ASKS ME, HEY, WHAT'S THIS TIER ONE THING HAPPENING AT U T S A? AND MY DAUGHTER'S GRADES ARE EXCELLENT.
SHE'S, SHE'S GONNA GO TO ALL THE FANCY SCHOOLS THAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL WENT TO.
UM, AND WE, UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, I TOLD HER, I WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD STAY IN SAN ANTONIO.
I WAS LIKE, DUDE, WE, WE NOW HAVE A WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITY, UM, THAT IS VERY COMPETITIVE, AND SHE PLAYS VOLLEYBALL.
AND SHE ASKS ME, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE VOLLEYBALL FACILITIES LIKE THERE? AND I SAID, NOT AS GOOD AS WHAT THE MEN HAVE AT U T S A.
AND SHE SAYS, THAT'S NOT COOL.
THAT'S IT FROM THE MOUTH OF BABES.
THAT'S NOT COOL THAT WE HAVE MAJOR FACILITIES FOR MEN.
REALLY IMPRESSIVE WORLD-CLASS DESIGN FACILITIES FOR MEN AND FOR WOMEN.
WE'RE JUST OKAY WITH NOT DOING THAT.
I'M NOT OKAY WITH NOT DOING THAT.
UM, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A SPECIAL PROGRAM.
UH, THEY'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ASKING FOR A $10 MILLION INVESTMENT FROM US, AND IN EXCHANGE, THEY'RE GONNA GO RAISE $20 MILLION.
THERE'S NO OTHER PROJECT ON THE BOND LIST LIKE THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE TO REALIZE, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY SAID, WELL, THEY CAN RAISE A LOT OF MONEY AND THEY CAN FUND IT THEMSELVES.
THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO USE REVENUE BONDS.
UM, FOR SOME REASON, STATE LAW WON'T LET THEM DO THAT, AND THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO USE THEIR, UM, YOU KNOW, PERMANENT UNIVERSITY FUNDING, UH, FOR FACILITIES LIKE THIS.
AND SO, I, I THINK ALSO THAT WE FORGET THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST A FACILITY AT U T S A, BUT IT'S A FACILITY THAT HELPS US ATTRACT BIGGER AND BETTER NCAA EVENTS.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, PUT AN ADDITIONAL, UM, ADDITIONAL WIND IN THE REPUTATIONAL SAILS OF SAN ANTONIO THROUGHOUT THE NATION.
AND I THINK THAT WE CAN WALK AND CHEW GUM AT THE SAME TIME.
WE CAN DO THAT AND STILL FUND NECESSARY DRAINAGE AND STILL FUND PARKS AND STILL FUND ART.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S STILL PLENTY OF TIME FOR US TO GET CREATIVE.
AND SO, UH, I, I RECOGNIZE THAT THE BEST BOND DOCUMENT, YOU CAN FINALLY PUT TOGETHER A LIST OF DOCUMENTS THAT OUR FRIENDS, JAMIE KOWALSKI, ANDO, ET CETERA, ARE GONNA GO OUT AND CONVINCE THE PUBLIC TO VOTE FOR.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THE BEST ONE IS ONE WHERE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US WERE LEFT A LITTLE BIT UNHAPPY, WHERE WE SACRIFICE SOMETHING TO REACH A CONSENSUS DOCUMENT.
BUT I DIDN'T THINK I'D BE THIS UNHAPPY.
UH, AND I DIDN'T THINK THAT IT WOULD BE BECAUSE OF ART AND, AND U T S A.
AND SO, UM, I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN FIX THAT.
THANKS, UH, AGAIN, TO COUNCILMAN, I'M SORRY, FORMER MAYOR ED GARZA, THAT SPANISH TRAILS PROJECT, THAT'S REALLY A BIG DEAL.
UM, AND HERE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHERE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY PARTNER UP IF U T UTS A IS U T S A, ARE YOU IN THE ROOM? UM, YEAH, THERE YOU ARE.
HEY, CAN YOU GUYS PLEASE TALK TO, UH, MAYOR GARZA, UH, BEFORE YOU LEAVE HERE, HIS PROJECT, UM, TEACHING KIDS SOCCER AND TEACHING LIFE SKILLS AND GETTING THEM INTO COLLEGE BY WAY OF SOCCER SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY INVOLVED WITH AND, YOU KNOW, SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED YEARS AGO.
AND I THINK THAT BOTH OF YOUR PROJECTS, MERIT REVIEW, IF YOU CAN BRING 'EM TO US AS A PARTNERSHIP, THAT PARK, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SPANISH TRAIL PARK NEEDS THAT WORK AND THIS ORGANIZATION THAT, UM, ED GARZA IS HELPING LEAD NEEDS THE KIND OF POWER, UH, AND FORCE MULTIPLIER THAT U T S A IS.
HEY, AND U T S A, YOU ALWAYS, YOU GUYS ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO DO SOMETHING NEW AND INNOVATIVE.
IT IS SERVED ON A SILVER PLATTER WITH YOU.
IF YOU GUYS BOTH COME TO ME TOGETHER, I'LL, I'LL SEE IF I CAN TALK SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES INTO TAKING A SECOND LOOK AT THIS.
SO, UM, ANYWAY, I BELIEVE IN BOTH OF YOU.
THANK YOU, ED GARZA, FOR GIVING UP OF YOUR TIME, TREASURE, AND, AND SWEAT TO, TO MAKE THAT A A, A GOOD PROJECT.
I THOUGHT WE HAD FIVE MINUTES THE SECOND TIME AROUND.
UM, SO, UH, I AGREE WITH SO MANY COMMENTS SAID, UH, BUT I'M GOING TO JUMP TO ONE SPECIFIC THING.
UH, IN PREPARING FOR THIS MEETING, I WAS THINKING BACK TO HOW THIS COUNCIL BEGAN, WHAT WE CALLED EQUITY BUDGETING.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR THIS COUNCIL EQUITY BUDGETING CONSISTED OF TRYING TO GET THE STREETS WITHIN EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT TO AN AVERAGE OF 70, A SCORE OF 70 WHEN IT CAME TO THE PAVEMENT CONDITION
[02:15:01]
INDEX.AND THANKS TO THE WORK CARRIED OUT BY COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ, WHO'S HERE WITH US, AND, UH, BY THE LEADERSHIP OF THE MAYOR, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT, OR, OR WE STARTED THAT JOURNEY.
AND IN AUGUST OF 2017, OUR FORMER CITY ENGINEER, MIKE FRISBEE, UH, WAS MAKING HIS BUDGET PRESENTATION.
AND YOU ALL, SOME OF YOU MAY RECALL THAT HE INTRODUCED ALL HIS TEAM MEMBERS BY, UH, BASKETBALL POSITIONS.
AND I HAD NO IDEA WHAT EACH OF THOSE THINGS MEANT, BUT EVERYONE THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY.
AND THEN THEY PAID A LOT OF ATTENTION TO HIS, UH, TO HIS PRESENTATION.
UH, OH, HE STATED THAT WITH THE PROPOSAL HE BROUGHT FORWARD, IT WOULD TAKE TWO YEARS TO GET ALL DISTRICTS TO AN AVERAGE P C I OF 70.
AND WE'RE ALMOST THERE, UH, PER A REPORT PRODUCED BY OUR AUDIT DEPARTMENT LAST YEAR, IT SHOWED THAT THE LOWEST DISTRICT-WIDE P C I WAS 69, AND THAT THE HIGHEST WAS OVER 85.
HE EXPLAINED THAT ALTHOUGH THERE WERE MANY FAILED STREETS, IF WE FOCUSED ON THOSE, OUR MONEY WOULDN'T GO AS FAR WITH THE GOAL OF MOVING UP THAT AVERAGE.
AND I KNOW I'M GETTING INTO JARGON HERE FOR
AND HE SAID, MIKE FRISBEE SAID TO ACTUALLY MOVE THE NEEDLE ON F RATED STREETS, WE SHOULD CONSIDER A BOND.
SO HERE WE ARE FIVE YEARS LATER, UH, WITH THAT OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF US, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE WE DO THE MOST THAT WE CAN WITH THAT.
I UNDERSTAND THERE WAS SOME LEVEL OF, UH, DISCOMFORT WITH THE PROPOSED FUNDING DISTRIBUTION FOR THE F STREET PACKAGE, AND THAT COMMITTEE MEMBERS ON THAT COMMITTEE WEREN'T REALLY ABLE TO COME TO A CONSENSUS ABOUT HOW TO REDISTRIBUTE THAT.
UH, GIVEN THAT, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT EITHER THE COUNCIL OR THE STAFF REVISIT HOW THAT IS BEING DISTRIBUTED.
UH, MY REAL CONCERN IS THAT, UH, AND, AND BY I DON'T JUST MEAN THE DOLLARS, BUT I MEAN THE POLICY DIRECTION THAT IS SET BY THE ALGORITHM THAT'S PUT FORWARD.
'CAUSE ULTIMATELY THAT'S FORMULAS ARE POLICY.
MY CONCERN IS THAT THE CURRENT PROPOSITION, THIS ALGORITHM STRAYS FROM THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT OF EQUITY AFTER REVIEWED BY CITY STAFF, ESTIMATING THE OUTCOMES USING A VARIETY OF INDICATORS.
NUMBER ONE, THE ALGORITHM IS DESIGNED FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF A FULL NETWORK, NOT FOR A TARGETED GOAL OF ELIMINATING F STREETS.
NUMBER TWO, THE ALGORITHM IN THE END GROWS THE DISPARITY IN STREET CONDITIONS AMONG OUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
AND NUMBER THREE, THIS ALGORITHM APPEARS TO BE THE ONLY, OR THIS APPEARS TO BE THE ONLY BOND PROJECT GROUP EVALUATED WITHOUT THE USE OF THE EQUITY ATLAS WE ARE SO PROUD OF USING.
IN FACT, I'LL TELL YOU, AFTER THIS BOND CYCLE IS DONE WITH A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS SPENT IN F STREETS, WE'LL SEE THAT DISTRICT TWO RIGHT NOW CARRIES 17% OF THE BURDEN OF ALL FAILING STREETS IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
AFTER THIS BOND CYCLE, THEY'RE GOING TO BE CLOSER TO 20% OF THAT BURDEN WHILE ANOTHER DISTRICT GOES FROM CARRYING 1% OF THAT BURDEN TO HALF PERCENT OF THE BURDEN.
THAT IS AN ABSOLUTE GROWTH AND DISPARITY, AND I FIND IT VERY HARD TO SUPPORT THE PROPOSED ALGORITHM SEEING THOSE OUTCOMES.
SO I TRUST THAT IT IS POSSIBLE FOR STAFF OR FOR COUNCIL TO REVISE THIS ALGORITHM AND ENSURE THAT WE STRIVE FOR THE GOAL OF ELIMINATING F RAIDED STREETS AND CONTINUING TO CLOSE THAT DISPARITY BETWEEN OUR DISTRICTS.
MY SECOND RECOMMENDATION FOR IS THAT, UM, AND YOU'VE HEARD SOME OF THIS FROM OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS, IS THAT WE GO THROUGH AN EVALUATION OF THE COMMITTEE INPUT PROCESS.
THIS COULD BE SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS A SURVEY THAT'S DISTRIBUTED TO ALL THE PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UH, MY STAFF MAKES A PRACTICE OF THIS EVERY TIME WE HOLD A COMMUNITY MEETING WHERE WE INVITE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, WE HAND OUT A SURVEY AT THE END, WE ASK WHAT WENT WELL, WHAT COULD BE BETTER, UH, THIS WAS A GARGANTUAN TASK.
I'M SURE THERE ARE, I'M SURE THERE ARE MANY WONDERFUL THINGS THAT YOU DID, AND I SAW MANY OF THEM.
AND I'M SURE THERE ARE MANY THINGS WE CAN DO BETTER, UH, THAT THINGS THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM TO APPLY TO OUR ONGOING IN PROCESSES.
SO I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT.
AND THEN MY LAST RECOMMENDATION IS, UH, THERE SEEM TO BE A NUMBER OF OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS, UH, STILL FROM TODAY'S DIALOGUE.
SO I WOULD, UH, MAKE A FRIENDLY REQUEST THAT WE CONSIDER ANOTHER DISCUSSION PRIOR TO THE DAY OF OUR VOTE.
[02:20:03]
THANK YOU, SIR.I, I JUST WANTED TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT, UH, I'VE GOT SOME MINOR MODIFICATIONS TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE COMMITTEES, AND I'M GONNA WORK WITH THE CITY STAFF TO PUT THAT OUT IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY WHENEVER IT COMES TIME TO VOTE ON THIS.
I WANTED TO CHIME BACK IN TO ENSURE THAT I WALKED THROUGH EACH OF MY BOND COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO THANK THEM ALL.
UM, STARTING WITH, UM, FACILITIES, REBECCA FLORES, VELMA PENA, AND MANUEL DIAZ.
I WANNA THANK YOU FOR, UM, HAVING THE FLEXIBILITY AND THE AVAILABILITY TO SERVE DISTRICT FIVE IN THIS CAPACITY AS WELL AS PARKS, GRACIELA SANCHEZ, RE MORALES, SARAH ZIMMERMAN, UM, FOLKS WHO HAVE DIFFERENT DUTIES, RIGHT? UH, FOR EXAMPLE, SARAH'S A TEACHER AND HAVING THE FLEXIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT SHE WAS DOING HER JOB IN THE CLASSROOM, AS WELL AS SERVING DISTRICT FIVE, UH, DRAINAGE, JUSTIN DAVIDSON, MARIA JINA, AND ROSE, UH, FOR DRAINAGE WHO WERE ABLE TO BRING THAT HISTORICAL CONTEXT FROM ALL OVER DISTRICT FIVE TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE BEING FAIRLY REPRESENTED AS WELL AS OUR STREETS COMMITTEE WITH MARK ANDRE AND DAVID, WHO ALSO DID A GREAT JOB AT SERVING DISTRICT FIVE.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE WORK OF EVERYONE AS A COLLECTIVE.
I WANNA BE SURE THAT I RECOGNIZE OUR DISTRICT FIVE TEAM, OUR CONSTITUENT SERVICES TEAM, WHO, IF A RESIDENT CAME IN WITH A CONCERN OR QUESTION REGARDING A PARK, WE, UH, CONNECTED THEM AND WALKED THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS OF SIGNING UP TO GIVE PUBLIC COMMENT.
UH, SO RACHEL, RACHEL TAYLOR, CHRISTINE, UH, AJ, UH, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK AS WELL AS, UH, JUSTIN, DEREK AMADOR AND KATIE, FOR ENSURING THAT, UM, THERE WAS, UM, COMMUNICATION AND THE PROCESS RUN SMOOTHLY, UH, ENSURING THAT IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS LEFT UNANSWERED, THAT CONVERSATION WAS BEING FACILITATED.
I ALSO WANTED TO ENSURE THAT WE TALK ABOUT, UM, THE ARTS.
UM, AT THE ONSET OF THE CONVERSATION, I WAS A STRONG PROPONENT OF INCREASING IT TO 1.5%.
I AM HESITANT TO WALK BACK WHAT THE BOND COMMITTEE HAS DECIDED.
UM, BUT I DO VALUE THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING HERE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF ARTS.
AND AS I'M HEARING CONSENSUS AND SUPPORT FOR ARTS, I HOPE THE SAME ENERGY FOLLOWS IN 2023 WHEN WE'RE HAVING THAT BUDGET CONVERSATION AND WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE ARTS, THE SAME, SAME WE WE ARE NOW.
UM, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE KNOW THERE'S ALWAYS WORK, UM, TO BE DONE.
UM, AGAIN, AS ONE OF THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PUT IT, RIGHT, HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT DESIRES AND NEEDS, UM, I THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITY MOVING FORWARD THAT WE RECALIBRATE THE, WHAT WE WERE DOING WITHIN THIS BOND TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE CHIPPING AWAY AT THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS.
UM, AGAIN, EXTREMELY PROUD OF WHAT IS BEING PUT FORWARD.
HOWEVER, I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT TO CONTINUE TO CHIP AWAY AT THOSE GROWING NEEDS.
I WANTED TO CHIME BACK IN AND, UH, GIVE A SUCCESS STORY FROM 2017 THIS MORNING.
I WAS AT GLOBAL WAY WITH DAVID MACBETH, AND WHEN MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE, UH, PALAIS MENTIONED THAT STREETS ARE BEAUTIFUL, WE WERE THERE REPEATEDLY SAYING THAT THIS STREET WAS BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE IT WAS A CONCRETE STREET WITH BIKE LANES, WITH A TURNING LANE IN THE MIDDLE WITH SIDEWALKS ON THE SIDE AND TREES.
AND, AND THE THING IS FOR THIS MAY BE PAR FOR COURSE IN SOME AREAS OF TOWN, BUT IT'S NOT ON THE SOUTH SIDE, AND IT'S DEFINITELY NOT ON BROOKS, WHICH MANY OF Y'ALL KNOW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE WHEN, UM, THE AIR FORCE LEFT.
SO I, I AM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT STREETS AND WE TALK ABOUT LOOKING AT THAT F RATING, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT SIDEWALKS ALSO, AND THE SIDEWALK GAPS.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT, NOT JUST FAILED STREETS, BUT NO STREETS.
AND WE HAVE TWO ABANDONED MILITARY BASES ON EITHER SIDE OF, UM, OF THE SOUTH SIDE AT PORT AND BROOKS THAT HAVE ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE STREETS.
THAT PROBABLY WOULDN'T EVEN RATE AN F.
SO I THINK WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT, WE NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHAT WE DO AND WHAT WE HAVE IN TERMS OF NEW BUILDS.
UM, AS I THINK ABOUT TEXAS A AND M WHO HAD NO STREETS, THERE WAS NO INFRASTRUCTURE.
HOW DO YOU RATE THAT? SO I'M ALL FOR LOOKING THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE BUDGET AND WE MOVE FORWARD IN OUR NEXT BOND CYCLE.
UM, THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO BRING UP IN ARTS AND THE DIRECTION I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU ERIC AND THE STAFF, IS I WANT TO SEE, UM, EACH BOND PROGRAM HAVE AN ARTS ASPECT.
RIGHT NOW, WE'VE SEEN THAT WE'RE AT 1.1%.
AND IF WE CAN HAVE THAT AND ADJUST IT, OF WHAT, WHAT PROJECTS WOULD HAVE TO BE ELIMINATED IF WE
[02:25:01]
MOVED IT TO 1.2%, 1.3%, 1.4% UP TO THAT 1.5%, AND WHAT CITY STAFF WOULD RECOMMEND HOW HIGH WE CAN GO.AND I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT ARPA DOLLARS, LET'S PRETEND WE DON'T HAVE THAT.
LET'S PRETEND WE DON'T HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY.
I JUST WANNA SEE IF IN THIS BOND RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT 1.1.
IF WE NEED, IF WE NEED TO MAKE IT HIGHER, LET'S DO THIS.
AND THE OTHER CONVERSATION I WANNA HAVE, OTHER THAN ARPA DOLLARS OR INFRASTRUCTURE, IS WHAT CAN WE DO FOR OUR BUDGET NEXT YEAR IN INCREASING OUR ARTS BUDGET GENERALLY? SO MAYBE WE DON'T DO IT HERE AND WE KEEP IT 1.1%, BUT WE WORK TOWARDS A LARGER ARTS BUDGET, UH, AS WE TALK OUR GENERAL BUDGET.
CAN WE DO THAT? YEAH, YEAH, WE CAN.
AND ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO THE ANNUAL BUDGET, BECAUSE THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS AND MATTERS OF PRIORITY FOR THE COUNCIL AS WE GO INTO 2023.
BUT LET ME, LET ME ASK, UM, WE CAN CERTAINLY WORK ON OPTIONS.
UM, I'M GONNA ASK THE COUNCIL TO, UM, UH, GIMME SOME GUIDANCE 'CAUSE WE CAN COME UP WITH OPTIONS TO GO TO 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 ARE, ARE YOU ASKING THE STAFF TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT PROJECTS WE WOULD CUT TO DO THAT? YES.
I'D, I'D ASK STAFF TO LOOK AT WHAT PROJECTS, ESPECIALLY FROM THE COUNCIL COLLEAGUES WHO VOLUNTEERED PROJECTS.
AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO STAFF TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT'S DOABLE FOR US IN THIS BOND, 1.1%, OR THIS IS WHERE WE CAN MOVE 1.2%.
UH, SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE, UM, ON THE DRAINAGE RECOMMENDATION FOR A COMMITTEE AND A MASTER PLAN, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE CAN GET THAT DONE THROUGH OUR ESSAY TOMORROW? OR OTHER COMMITTEES THAT WE HAVE TO, TO LOOK AT THAT IF WE WANT, UH, CITIZEN INPUT ON THAT? UM, I, I WOULD SAY THAT THAT'S PROBABLY A SPECIALIZED, UM, EFFORT AND NOT, IT, IT MIGHT GET LOST IN THAT TYPE OF LARGER EFFORT.
I MEAN, UH, REMEMBER LAST FALL, THE COUNCIL HAD A LARGE CONVERSATION REGARDING OUR HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN THAT WE SUBMIT TO FEMA.
IT DOES REQUIRE SOME, SOME LOOK, AND, AND, AND I'LL, I'LL REMIND THE COUNCIL THAT LAST SUMMER, I DID TALK ABOUT ONCE WE GET THROUGH THE BOND, WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT DOING A, A STORMWATER REVENUE BOND PROGRAM TO FURTHER, UM, MAKE IMPROVEMENTS ON A LOT OF THE PROJECTS THAT THE DRAINAGE COMMITTEES POINTED OUT THAT NEED TO BE DONE.
WE GOT $600 MILLION IN OUR HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN.
SO, UM, WE DO NEED TO COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVE WAYS.
AND I, SO BECAUSE OF THAT, MY RECOMMENDATION, WOULD IT BE A, BE A, IT'D BE A, A FOCUSED EFFORT AND IT SHOULD INCLUDE THE WORK THAT THE COUNTY'S DOING THROUGH THEIR FLOOD CONTROL TAX.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT WAS THERE.
AND THEN WITH THE SUNKEN GARDEN TOWN HALL, I WOULD LIKE THAT TELEVISED.
IF WE ARE GOING TO SAY, I, I DEFINITELY WANNA HEAR THE RESIDENT'S INPUT, BUT IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A TOWN HALL, IF, IF THE DISTRICT ONE IS, I WOULD LIKE THAT PUT OUT ON TELEVISION, ON OUR TV SA CHANNEL, BECAUSE IF WE'RE SAYING THIS IS A CITYWIDE PROJECT, I BELIEVE THE CITY SHOULD BE ABLE TO TUNE IN AND, AND GET SOME INFORMATION ON THAT.
WE'LL COORDINATE WITH COUNCILMAN BRAVO.
MY FIRST, I, THE VERY LAST THING THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WAS THE POLICE SUBSTATION.
AND I WANT TO BE MADE VERY CLEAR.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, AN INCREASE IS LIKELY TO COME AT THE, AS A RESULT OF THAT, WHAT I WANT TO BE CLEAR IS THAT DURING THE BUDGET, I BROUGHT OUT A WHITEBOARD AND I SAID THAT LIKELY IN 10 YEARS, IF WE CONTINUE TO INCREASE JUST BY 3%, WE WOULD BE SEEING AN INCREASE OF $170 MILLION WITHIN IN 10 YEARS.
AND EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT ME LIKE I WAS CRAZY.
WHERE DID THIS MATH COME FROM? BUT WE'RE, WE ARE ON TRACK TO, TO DO THAT EVEN SOONER.
AND SO I EXPECT, UM, YOU KNOW, I EXPECT RESPONSIBILITY AND I EXPECT US TO REALLY AUDIT THE POLICE BUDGET.
AND I EXPECT US TO BE VERY, UH, THOROUGH AND CAREFUL BEFORE WE WE SEE INCREASES.
UM, I ALSO WANNA SAY THANK YOU COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL FOR BRINGING UP THE MATH OF THE EQUITY LENS AND THE F STREETS.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE POINT THAT I WAS GET, THAT I WAS GETTING AT.
AND I THINK YOU SAID IT SO, UH, SO ELOQUENTLY AND VERY CLEARLY.
AND, UM, SO I THINK I, I'M SUPPORTIVE AND EAGER FOR ALL OF US AS A COUNCIL TO HAVE DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND I WANNA BRING UP ANOTHER CONCERN THAT WE HAD AT THE COMMITTEE, UH, COMMITTEE LEVEL, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL PROJECTS TO BE FUNDED.
THEY SAID, HEY, MY COMMITTEE HAS THIS MUCH NEED.
WE HAVE ALL THESE PROJECTS WE WANNA SEE FUNDED, AND THERE ARE THESE PRIVATE ENTITIES OR ENTITIES THAT CAN FUNDRAISE THAT ARE GETTING, UH, FUNDING.
AND I'LL GIVE COUNCILMAN PELAS BROUGHT UP U C S A AS AN EXAMPLE.
I'LL GIVE, UM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS, 'CAUSE I'M SUPPORTIVE, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THE PROJECTS.
[02:30:01]
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROMISE OF COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC BENEFIT IS ATTAINED.SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SUNKEN GARDENS, FOR EXAMPLE, I EXPECT THAT IF THEY'RE GONNA BE RECEIVING PUBLIC FUNDS, I WANT TO SEE THAT TICKETS AND MAYBE TICKETS FOR CERTAIN ZIP CODES ARE, UH, REDUCED PRICE AND THAT THEY'RE AFFORDABLE.
AND THAT, YOU KNOW, A PROJECT THAT WE'RE PUTTING THIS MUCH FUNDING INTO IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY BENEFITS FROM.
I HAVE A REAL PROBLEM IF, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SAYING THAT BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING EMAILS NONSTOP ABOUT SUNKEN GARDENS NOW, AND PEOPLE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE WEALTHY ELITE WHO GET TO ENJOY ANOTHER VENUE AND, YOU KNOW, AT THE EXPENSE OF, SAY, THE ZOO ANIMALS AND, UH, THE NEIGHBORS IN THE SURROUNDING AREA AND THE PARKING AND ALL OF THAT IN ADDITION TO U T S A, FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE I'VE, I'M A STUDENT, LITERALLY WAS THERE LAST MONTH, UM, AND I'M A HUGE, HUGE FAN OF U T S A.
I WAS ROWDY HIMSELF, I WAS ROWDY, I WAS A FINALIST FOR MR U T S A.
I LOVE MY UNIVERSITY BIRDS UP, BUT IT IS A LIE TO SAY THAT THE CONVOCATION CENTER IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC TO SAY THE REC CENTER IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC TO, TO SAY THAT EVERY FACILITY AT U T S A IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
AND SO THE PRACTICE FACILITIES, WHILE GREAT FOR THE PURPOSE THAT THEY, THAT THEY'LL SERVE, I THINK IT'S VERY WORTHWHILE COST.
WE CANNOT SAY IT'S GONNA BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC IF IT'S NOT.
AND SO I WANT US TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THAT.
AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE I'M AT ON ALL OF THAT.
MAYOR, CAN I, CAN I RESPOND REAL QUICKLY? GO AHEAD.
UH, COUNCILMAN TO THE, TO THE ISSUE IN TERMS OF WHAT, UH, PUBLIC, UM, PURPOSE OR INTEREST THAT THESE PROJECTS WILL HAVE.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THE COUNCIL WILL, WILL APPROVE IF, IF THE BOND PROJECT ARE APPROVED, THE, THE COUNCIL WILL APPROVE THE CONTRACTS WITH THOSE PRIVATE PARTIES, AND WE WILL HAVE IN THOSE CONTRACTS AT LEAST WHAT WE THINK ARE THE, THE, THE PUBLIC GAIN THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM ENTERING IN THESE CONTRACTS.
AND SO YOU'LL HAVE THE ABILITY, WHEN I SAY YOU, THE COUNCIL, HAVE THE ABILITY TO REVIEW THAT AND PROVIDE INPUT AS THEY COME UP TO COME FOR COUNCIL REVIEW.
COUNCIL MEMBER EZ, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND, UM, I, I, I WANT TO MAKE SURE, UH, BECAUSE A LOT HAS BEEN SAID NOW, I, I, I THINK IT'S NEEDS, IT NEEDS TO BE REPEATED.
UM, ESPECIALLY FOR, YOU KNOW, THE FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN EMAILING ME NONSTOP, OH MY GOSH, MY PROJECT DIDN'T GET FUNDED.
UM, Y'ALL, YOU KNOW, YOU AND CITY COUNCIL AND THE COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS PRIORITY OR THAT PRIORITY.
AND, UM, I, I THINK OUR JOB IS ALSO NOT JUST TO PUT A LIST TOGETHER AND THEN HAND IT OFF TO JAMIE KOWALSKI AND THE OTHER TRI CHAIRS.
UM, I, I THINK OUR JOB IS ALSO TO EXPLAIN THE PROCESS.
I'M, I'M PRETTY SATISFIED WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PROCESS.
LIKE, LIKE ALL THINGS, UH, YOU GET A BUNCH OF PEOPLE TOGETHER AND THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE IMPERFECTIONS.
UH, IT COULD HAVE BEEN LONGER, UH, YOU'RE RIGHT, COUNCILMAN.
UH, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN MORE TIME, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN MORE DEBATE.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, I'M, I, I THINK THE PUBLIC WILL AGREE THAT, UH, WE, WE ENDED UP STRIKING A PRETTY GOOD BALANCE.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IN THAT EFFORT TO, UM, TO MANAGE EXPECTATIONS, ERIC, I'VE, I'VE BEEN TELLING PEOPLE, I'M SORRY, I I I'VE BEEN TELLING PEOPLE DON'T GET CAUGHT UP OR HUNG UP OR, OR FIXATED OR GET TOO PICKY ABOUT THE COLOR OF MONEY, RIGHT? UM, THE, UM, BECAUSE BOND MONEY IS, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE WAY THAT WE FUND, YOU KNOW, UH, STREETS AND SIDEWALKS AND PARKS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER WAY THAT WE DO DRAINAGE AND PARKS AND ALL THESE OTHER THINGS IS, YOU KNOW, THE FEDERAL GRANTS THAT JEFF AND HIS TEAM ARE, ARE BRINGING HOME, UH, YOU KNOW, BY WAY OF THEIR I G R WORK UP THERE.
WE HAD A VERY, VERY ROBUST PRESENTATION THIS MORNING.
AND THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT I WANTED TO HIT, UM, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, AND JEFF, MAYBE YOU CAN, UH, APPROACH THE MIC.
'CAUSE I'M GONNA ASK YOU REAL QUICK, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE PROJECTS THAT DIDN'T GET TO THIS LIST, UM, AND ALL OF US HAVE, THERE'S AN ABUNDANCE OF PROJECTS, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE LIST CAN ONLY BE SO LONG.
UH, DO YOU DISAGREE WITH ME WHEN I SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THOSE THAT WERE LEFT OFF COULD BE PRIORITIZED AS PART OF THE BUILD BACK BETTER, UH, YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMS THAT WERE PASSED.
AND, UM, CAN YOU GIVE US LIKE A 32ND ON ON THAT? YES, THAT'S, UH, THE INTENT.
SO LONG AS THEY FIT THE CRITERIA SPECIFIC PROGRAMS, WHEN, UH, ERIC AND I AND OUR TEAM PUT TOGETHER AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, ONE OF THE CRITERIA WE'VE COMMUNICATED WITH DEPARTMENTS IS TO FOCUS ON EXISTING NEEDS, EXISTING PROJECTS, DON'T GO CREATE NEW IDEAS.
WE'VE GOT PLENTY THAT WE'VE GOTTA ADDRESS.
UH, SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE APPROACH DEPARTMENTS ARE
[02:35:01]
TAKING AS THEY LOOK FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES.SO I REGARD ERIC AND JEFF, I'M, I, I'M JUST GIVING YOU GUYS FAIR NOTICE.
I'M, I'M, I'M COMING WITH MY LIST OF PROJECTS THAT DIDN'T GET FUNDED.
UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT I WAS DISAPPOINTED TO SEE NOT GET ON THE LIST OF, UH, FOR BOND.
AND I'M COMING TO SEE IF WE CAN ADD THOSE TO THE LIST THAT WE'RE GONNA BE CHASING THESE GRANT DOLLARS FOR.
UM, THE, THE SECOND THING IS, IS I THINK IT'S ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT TO REMIND FOLKS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S OTHER MONEY POTS OF MONEY'S OUT THERE THAT, THAT WE WERE RELY ON, AND THEY'RE REALLY IMPORTANT, RIGHT? THE MONEY THAT FLOWS THROUGH THE M P O, THE STATE MONEY, UM, THE, UH, ARPA FUNDS, YOU KNOW, WE EVEN ENJOY THE BENEFIT OF A LOT OF THE WORK IS WHEN IT COMES TO DRAINAGE FROM THE, UH, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS.
I MEAN, THEY DO MANY, MANY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF WORK IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO I I, I DO THINK THAT ONE THING THAT WE WOULD BENEFIT FROM HERE UP ON THIS DIOCESE IS MAYBE A LIST, RIGHT? OF, OF THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE, UM, SINCE THE LAST BOND PROJECT OR MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW, PICK A TIMELINE.
YOU KNOW, PICK A, A PERIOD OF TIME WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE DIFFERENT PROJECTS AROUND SAN ANTONIO THAT HAVE BEEN FUNDED WITH THE DIFFERENT SOURCES.
'CAUSE AT LEAST THAT'S THE ONE THING THAT I THINK IS MISSING FROM THIS CONVERSATION, WHICH IS PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE WE GET SO FOCUSED ON THIS BOND.
AND, YOU KNOW, I SOMETIMES FELT LIKE IF IF IT DOESN'T GET FUNDED IN THE BOND, IT'LL NEVER GET FUNDED, RIGHT? BUT THAT'S NOT, I THINK THAT WE WOULD ALL BE BETTER SERVED IF WE HAD SOME PERSPECTIVE AT, YOU KNOW, AT SOME POINT, WHENEVER YOU GOT A MOMENT, ERIC, MAYBE GIVING US SOME PERSPECTIVE, UH, MIGHT BE HELPFUL.
I, I, I THINK IT'S FORTUITOUS THAT, UM, THAT IN PARALLEL WE ARE ALSO WORKING ON, ON ARPA AND, AND I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF PRIORITIES THROUGH ARPA.
UM, REMEMBER ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT FROM THE STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE, WE SHOULD KEEP IN MIND AS WE DEVELOP THAT THREE TO FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN FOR ARPA, THAT, THAT THAT'S ONE TIME MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT WE'LL NEVER GET AGAIN.
AND SO AN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT IS A PERFECT TYPE OF CANDIDATE.
AND, AND SO AS WE COME BACK TO YOU AT THE END OF THE MONTH, UM, UM, FOR THE B SESSION ON ARPO, WE'LL, WE'LL BRING SOME OPTIONS TO THE COUNCIL TO ADDRESS.
AND, AND WE'LL, UM, WE, WE'VE DONE, WE'VE DONE SOMETHING SIMILAR ON STREETS AND DRAINAGE TO KIND OF, UH, SHOW THE, THE COMPLETE BUCKET OF WHAT OUR TOTAL INVESTMENT HAS BEEN THROUGH OUR ANNUAL BUDGET OR THE STORMWATER FUND.
UM, AND, AND WE'LL DO THAT AND, AND SHARE THAT WITH THE COUNCIL.
I, I, I THINK I'M, UH, I THINK I'M DONE.
I DID WANNA WEIGH IN REAL QUICK ON, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN IMPORTANT TO ME IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GO AND SPEND AS MUCH MONEY AS WE ARE ON THIS BOND, THAT, THAT THIS IS A GOOD INVESTMENT OF, OF THE TAXPAYER'S DOLLARS.
AND ONE WAY THAT IT CAN BE A GOOD INVESTMENT IS MAKING SURE THAT ANY STRUCTURES THAT WE'RE BUILDING ARE ENERGY EFFICIENT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE CAN BE A GREAT, UH, RETURN ON OUR INVESTMENT THERE IN TERMS OF CUTTING BACK ON OUR ENERGY BILLS, BUT ALSO MAKING OUR CITY MORE RESILIENT, MAKING US LESS ENERGY DEPENDENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND THE CREDIT HUMAN BUILDING, UH, HEADQUARTERS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE THAT THEY SPENT 5% MORE THAN STANDARD BUILDING PRACTICES, AND THEY'RE GONNA BREAK EVEN IN SEVEN YEARS AND START SAVING ON THEIR ENERGY BILLS.
AND SO I THINK IT'S A GREAT INVESTMENT OF OUR TAXPAYER DOLLARS, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO BEING ABLE TO DO A TOUR OF THAT BUILDING WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND, UH, AND ROD SANCHEZ WHO OVERSEES PUBLIC WORKS AND ALSO OUR HEAD OF PUBLIC WORKS.
AND, UH, SO I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING TOURING THAT BUILDING WITH YOU ALL AND, AND SEEING HOW WE CAN INCORPORATE SOME OF THOSE ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDING PRACTICES GOING FORWARD.
UM, THEN I ALSO WANTED TO SAY REAL QUICK, UM, I'M NOT GONNA BE ABLE, I KNOW WE'RE ALMOST AT THE TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENT TONIGHT.
THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE WHO, UM, HAVE A LOT TO SAY, WHETHER IT'S ABOUT SUNKEN GARDEN THEATER OR ABOUT THE ARTS FUNDING OR ANYTHING ELSE.
AND I WANT TO KNOW THAT YOUR INPUT IS IMPORTANT TO ME.
I AM NOT GONNA BE HERE FOR THIS, AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE IT'S NOT IMPORTANT, IT'S, BUT I'M, BECAUSE TOMORROW WE'RE GONNA BE VOTING ON A PROPOSED C P SS ENERGY RATE, UH, INCREASE.
AND I HAVE A TOWN HALL MEETING WITH C P S ENERGY, UH, JUST SHORTLY.
AND SO, UM, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO ATTEND THAT, YOU CAN GO ONLINE, UM, AND YOU CAN GET THE LINK FROM OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT, CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT ONE, ANY OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
YOU CAN FIND THE LINK THERE FOR THAT TOWN HALL MEETING TONIGHT WITH C P S ENERGY.
UM, BUT I WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW YOUR COMMENTS.
CITY STAFF IS GONNA TAKE NOTES, AND THEY WILL EMAIL THEM TO ME TOMORROW, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO READING THEM TOMORROW AND, AND, UH, GETTING ALL OF YOUR INPUT.
FINALLY, IF YOU ARE HERE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT TONIGHT, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WHERE YOU CAN HAVE FREE PARKING.
WE WANT TO REDUCE, UH, ANY BARRIERS TO PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
AND SO IF YOU GO TO SA SPEAK UP.COM, THAT'S SA LIKE SAN ANTONIO SPEAK UP.COM, YOU CAN GO THERE
[02:40:01]
AND IF YOU'RE, UH, PARKED IN A, IN A CITY PARKING GARAGE, YOU CAN GET YOUR PARKING VALIDATED.THAT'S GONNA, THAT'S A NEW PILOT PROGRAM THAT WE'RE DOING.
IT'S GOING TO BE, UM, AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT EVERY WEDNESDAY EVENING AND FOR ALL OF OUR A SESSION VOTING COUNCIL MEETINGS.
AND SO I WANT TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO DO THAT AND MAKE SURE YOU ALL KNOW ABOUT THAT.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, UM, NEEDED TO MAKE A NOTE ON THE RECORD.
UH, I WANTED TO QUICKLY NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE SOME SLIGHT CHANGES WITHIN THE DISTRICT FIVE PACKAGE, AND WE'LL WORK WITH STAFF TO BRIEF AND LOOP YOU ALL IN.
COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, UH, AND COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
YOU KNOW, I, I'VE BEEN, EVERYBODY'S COMMENTS, AND I THINK ALL OF US HAVE AGREED THAT THE CITY STAFF HAS DONE A GREAT JOB, THAT, UH, WE HAVE MANY GOOD CITIZENS WHO'VE SERVED ON THESE COMMITTEES AND MADE SOME VERY IMPORTANT DECISIONS FOR US.
UH, I'M, I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED THOUGH BECAUSE I, I FEEL I'M STARTING TO HEAR, UH, SOME OF THE COUNCIL PEOPLE SAY, WELL, BUT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE NEED TO DO THIS AND MAYBE WE NEED TO DO THAT, AND MAYBE I NEED MORE OF MY DISTRICT, OR I WANNA MAKE SOME CHANGES, OR MAYBE WE CAN DO SOME TRADE OFF BETWEEN ONE GROUP OR ANOTHER.
AND I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY THAT IF YOU'RE ASKING FOR SOMETHING, SOMEBODY ELSE IS GONNA LOSE SOMETHING.
AND I THINK THAT I DON'T WANNA SEE US GET INTO A, A, A WAR OR, OR BICKERING WITH ONE ANOTHER OVER INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS THAT WE THINK BENEFIT OUR DISTRICT WHEN THIS IS A COLLECTIVE EFFORT THAT WAS DONE BY A LOT OF GREAT CITIZENS.
AND, UM, UNLESS IT'S REALLY CRITICAL AND, YOU KNOW, CRITICAL MAY HAVE DIFFERENT MEANINGS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE, BUT I WOULD HOPE THAT WE WILL STAND TOGETHER BEHIND THIS WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE SO THAT THE CITIZENS AND THE COMMUNITY KNOW THAT WE'RE SOLIDLY BEHIND THIS AND WE KNOW THAT IT'S FOR THE BEST OF THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND NOT JUST WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS.
AND TO MY COLLEAGUES, I THINK THIS HAS BEEN, UH, A VERY HEALTHY, UH, AND GOOD DISCUSSION.
AND LET ME JUST CLOSE WITH, UH, SOME SUMMARY COMMENTS.
FIRST, UM, UH, GOING BACK TO SOMETHING COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL BROUGHT UP ON WITH REGARD TO STACK BENEFITS AND THE WORK, THE DATA THAT'S BEING PROVIDED BY THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY, I THINK THAT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO NOT ONLY USE THE DATA, UH, IN PARTICULAR PROJECTS, BUT ALSO, UH, TO COMMIT OURSELVES TO USING THE DATA OR AT LEAST LOOKING AT THE DATA SO THAT WE CAN ENHANCE THE PROJECTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE APPROVED ULTIMATELY BY VOTERS.
AND, AND TO DO THAT, ERIC, WE'RE GONNA NEED SOME GUIDANCE ON HOW WE CAN BEST IMPLEMENT THAT PRACTICE.
UH, ONE OF THE THOUGHTS THAT I HAD WAS PERHAPS, UH, BAKING THAT INTO THE CHARGE OF THE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AS WE GET INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BOND, UH, AFTER IT'S PASSED IN 2022.
UH, SO BE THINKING ABOUT THAT AND HOW WE CAN, UM, WORK WITH STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DATA'S BEING UTILIZED AND THAT WE'RE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, UH, COMMITTED TO THAT PROCESS OF ENHANCING THE PROJECTS THAT ARE ALREADY THERE.
UM, SO LET ME JUST SUMMARIZE, UM, THE ENTIRETY OF THE CONVERSATION BY SAYING IT, IT'S VERY EVIDENT THAT THIS IS A CONSENSUS DOCUMENT.
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, IN MAY, WE'RE GONNA BE ASKED VOTERS ALL ACROSS THE CITY, MANY OF WHOM HAVE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES WITH OUR CITY TO VOTE AND TO APPROVE A BOND PROJECT THAT'S GONNA REPRESENT OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
SO BY VIRTUE OF THAT, UM, OBVIOUSLY NOT EVERYTHING THAT WE WANT TO FUND, UH, NOT EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED IS GONNA BE ON THAT DOCUMENT, BUT WE'RE GONNA BE ASKING FOR AS HIGH, UH, AN APPROVAL NUMBER AS POSSIBLE AS WE CAN POSSIBLY GO.
SO WE'RE ASKING CITIZENS, UH, VOTERS TO SEE THIS BOND BALLOT AS SOMETHING THAT REPRESENTS THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, UH, IN THE BEST OUR ABILITIES.
AND SO I'M, I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE CONVERSATIONS.
UH, I THINK IT'S, IT'S VERY EASY FOR US TO IDENTIFY WHAT'S NOT ON THE LIST.
HARDER TO DO THAT HARDER, UH, THAN THAT IS TO IDENTIFY WHAT WE WOULD REMOVE.
AND THE ANSWER REALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY IS WE REALLY DON'T WANNA REMOVE ANYTHING FROM THIS LIST.
SO, TO THE EXTENT OF, UM, OR TO, UH, SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE, LET ME FIRST SAY THAT I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH THE SENTIMENT ON ARTS.
THERE SEEMS TO BE A CONSENSUS ALSO ON ENSURING THAT ARTS ARE ADEQUATELY FUNDED, BUT THAT WE ALSO RESPECT AND ADOPT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CITIZEN COMMITTEE.
LET ME JUST SAY THAT I THINK WE DO, UH, SEE, WE DO NEED TO SEE WHAT BOND PROJECTS ARE INDEED ARPA ELIGIBLE TO DETERMINE IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT WE CAN FURTHER ADDRESS THE CONCERNS THAT WE ALL SHARE WITH THE ARTS COMMUNITY, THAT WE'RE NOT FALLING FURTHER AND FURTHER BEHIND, UM, OTHER CITIES.
[02:45:01]
TO SEE THAT ADDRESS, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE'RE GONNA NEED TO DO THAT, UH, IN, IN RESPECT THE PROJECTS LIST THAT WERE PUT FORWARD BY THE COMMITTEES.I ALSO THINK I HEARD FROM SOME COLLEAGUES THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE OPTIONS TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO BEST MAKE U T SS A WHOLE, BE IT A BOND OR, OR SOMEWHERE ELSE.
AND I ALSO THINK THAT COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL HAD SOME INTERESTING THOUGHTS ABOUT THE F F STREET ALGORITHMS, ESPECIALLY AS WE MOVE AHEAD TO BUDGET REVIEWS AND OUR, AND OUR, UH, CAPITAL MANAGEMENT PLANS.
BEYOND THE BOND, I THINK IT SEEMS WORTHY OF A CONVERSATION, BUT I'M ALSO ENCOURAGED BY A CITY COUNCIL THAT IS RESPECTED THE PROCESS WHILE ALSO BEING EXTREMELY THOUGHTFUL IN ADDRESSING OUR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS AS WE MOVE CLOSER TO ADOPTION.
SO WITH REGARD TO THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION AND, AND THE WEEKS THAT ARE GONNA UNFOLD UNTIL WE GET TO THE BOND BALLOT APPROVAL ON FEBRUARY 10TH, I DO HAVE NO ISSUE CLAIMING THIS, THAT WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO APPROVING A BOND THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF OUR CITY IN A VERY POSITIVE DIRECTION.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO IS ENGAGED IN THIS.
UM, WE COULD DO THIS A DIFFERENT WAY AND JUST PUT A BUNCH OF PROJECTS FORWARD AND FUND THEM, BUT WE DO THIS WITH THE PUBLIC AND THE BOND PROCESS IN SAN ANTONIO IS MORE THAN JUST A LIST OF PROJECTS THAT WE NEED.
IT'S A PROCESS THAT INCLUDES OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY, AND THAT'S WHY I THINK WE CAN ALL BE PROUD OF WHAT WE'VE JUST HEARD.
UM, SO THE TIME IS NOW 4:59 PM ON THIS 12TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2022.
WE'RE GONNA PUSH OUR, UM, EXECUTIVE SESSION TO TOMORROW, UH, SO WE CAN GET RIGHT INTO OUR CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.
UM, THAT'S NORMALLY SCHEDULED AT 5:00 PM SO I'M GONNA ASK TO TAKE A BRIEF FIVE MINUTE RECESS SO OUR CLERK CAN, UH, CLOSE OUT THE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD ROSTER AND WE CAN GET BACK TO IT.
AND, UH, HERE ARE OUR PUBLIC CITIZENS.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, EVERYBODY.