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WELCOME TO CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS.
UH, THE TIME IS NOT 2:17 PM ON THIS 26TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2022.
I'LL CALL OUR CITY COUNCIL B SESSION TO ORDER.
MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU READ THE ROLE COUNCIL MEMBER MICKEY RODRIGUEZ, PRESIDENT.
[ ITEMS ]
AFTERNOON EVERYONE.UH, WE HAVE ONE ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY, AND THAT IS TO DISCUSS OUR AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS AND PROCESS.
UH, SO TO GET US STARTED, LEMME TURN IT OVER TO CITY MANAGER ERIC WALSH.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
SO THIS AFTERNOON'S PRESENTATION, UM, IS, UM, THE NEXT IN OUR SERIES OF BRIEFINGS WITH YOU ON THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDS.
UM, AND THIS PROCESS BEGAN FOR US, UH, WITH YOU IN OUR INITIAL CONVERSATIONS THAT STARTED BACK IN, UH, JUNE OF 2021.
SO WE'VE GONE THROUGH A, UM, A PRETTY ROBUST PROCESS OF INPUT WITH THE PUBLIC AND HERE, UH, WITH THE COUNCIL IN TERMS OF PUBLIC CONVERSATION.
UM, WHEN WE START THE PRESENTATION, UM, WE'RE GONNA, I'M GONNA ASK, UM, UH, CLAUDE TO GIVE KIND OF A QUICK UPDATE ON OMICRON AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE CURRENT SURGE.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL TRANSITION TO, UH, VERONICA CARILLO, OUR, UM, UM, ARPA EXECUTIVE OFFICER WHO HAS BEEN, UM, OUR LEAD FROM STAFF PERSPECTIVE OF MANAGING, UM, AND DESIGNING THIS PROCESS.
AND WE'LL WALK THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION.
I DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF AREAS, UM, IN THE PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU'RE GONNA SEE THAT, UH, THIS SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO COUNCIL TODAY, UM, IS BASED ON THE COUNCIL INPUT AND DISCUSSIONS FROM LAST FALL, AS WELL AS THE TOWN HALLS AND THE SURVEY THAT WE DID.
UM, AND THIS SPENDING FRAMEWORK, I WILL SAY THAT IS PROBABLY, I CAN CATEGORIZE IT INTO, UH, FOUR SPENDING CATEGORIES THAT YOU'LL SEE IN THE PRESENTATION.
UH, ONE IS FOR GENERAL COVID, UM, EXPENSES AS A MUNICIPALITY, AND THE ONGOING EXPENSES WE WILL EXPERIENCE, UM, AS AN ORGANIZATION IN PROVIDING, UM, UM, CARE AND SERVICE TO THE, UH, COMMUNITY IN FUTURE SURGES.
THE SECOND CATEGORY OF SPENDING THAT YOU'LL SEE IS THE CONTINUATION OF SOME OF OUR ARPA FUNDED PRO, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WE INCLUDED IN THE 2022 BUDGET, NAMELY OUR MENTAL HEALTH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND COMMUNITY AND HOUSING NAVIGATORS, AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE FUNDING FOR THOSE PROGRAMS THROUGH 2025.
THE THIRD CATEGORY OF, UH, SPENDING YOU'LL SEE ARE, UH, REFLECTIVE OF THE COMMUNITY AND COUNCIL DISCUSSION INTO AREAS, UH, SUCH AS ARTS AND SMALL BUSINESS.
AND VERONICA WILL WALK THROUGH THE PROPOSED PROCESS THAT WE ARE, UM, UM, PRESENTING TO THE COUNCIL TODAY IN LINE WITH OUR CONVERSATIONS IN DECEMBER, THAT A LOT OF THAT WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE, SHOULD BE DONE, UH, AT THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE LEVEL, UH, TO DETERMINE THE OUTCOMES THAT ARE DESIRED AND THE IMPACTS THAT, UH, THE COUNCIL WANTS TO SEE IN THE UTILIZATION AND INVESTMENT OF THESE DOLLARS.
AND THE FOURTH CATEGORY YOU'LL SEE TODAY IS, UH, WHAT I'LL TERM AS ONE TIME OR CAPITAL OR INFRASTRUCTURE USES OF OF DOLLARS.
UM, THEY, UH, INCLUDE THINGS SUCH AS, UM, A, UH, RECOMMENDATION
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FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS TOWARDS OUR EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND OUR RENT RELIEF.UM, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE STAND FROM A FEDERAL DOLLAR STANDPOINT.
UM, IT ALSO INCLUDES, UH, SOME OF THE, THE, UH, CAPITAL REQUESTS THAT WE HEARD, UH, LOUD AND CLEAR, UH, FROM THE PUBLIC IN THE FALL, AS WELL AS THE COUNCIL, UH, ABOUT CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS CAPITAL.
AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT DURING THE PRESENTATION.
ALSO, PART OF THAT IS, UM, A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE WILL BE MAKING IN THE PRESENTATION ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT.
UM, ONE TO TAKE CARE OF PROBABLY THE, UH, THE MOST DISCUSSED, UM, RECOMMENDATION THAT CAME FROM THE BOND COMMITTEES, AND THAT HAD TO DO WITH F STREETS.
UM, AND SO WE'LL BE MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO, UM, USE SOME OF THE AR $10 MILLION OF THE ARPA TOWARDS, UH, FURTHER INVESTMENT IN F STREETS, UH, AND THE DISTRIBUTION IN LINE WITH THE COUNCIL, WITH THE BOND COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION THAT IT BE, UM, DIVIDED OUT BY THE F STREET SCORES BY DISTRICTS.
SO YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, UH, TODAY, THE OTHER PART OF INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, IS A $3.8 MILLION RECOMMENDATION, UM, TOWARDS CITYWIDE BRIDGE MAINTENANCE.
AND WE'RE MAKING THAT RECOMMENDATION, AND VERONICA WILL WALK YOU THROUGH IT.
I HOPE I'M GIVING YOU VERONICA'S PRESENTATION RIGHT NOW.
SORRY, VERONICA, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT.
I WANT THE COUNCIL TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS $3.8 MILLION FOR BRIDGE MAINTENANCE WILL ALLOW US TO REDUCE THE $5 MILLION BOND PROJECT THAT, UH, WE HAVE CURRENTLY FOR BRIDGE MAINTENANCE, UM, AND FREE UP $3.8 MILLION IN THE BOND PROGRAM TO RESTORE THE PERCENT AND A HALF FOR PUBLIC ART, WHICH WAS, UM, A PRIORITY OF THE MAJORITY OF COUNCIL.
AS YOU TALKED ABOUT THE BOND PROGRAM EARLIER THIS MONTH.
UM, WE ARE ALSO GONNA SEE, UM, A RECOMMENDATION, UH, FROM THE STAFF, UH, FOR TEXAS BIOMED FOR $10 MILLION.
UH, TEXAS BIOMED, UH, CAME TO THE CITY, UH, LAST, UH, LATE LAST SPRING FOR, UH, REQUEST TO HELP WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE OF THAT CAMPUS.
UH, $30 MILLION, A LITTLE OVER $30 MILLION IN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
WHETHER THAT'S, IT'S PART OF THAT IS THE ELECTRICAL, UH, SYSTEM, UH, THE, UH, WATER AND SEWER AND BACKUP POWER NEEDS OF THE CAMPUS.
UM, THEY ARE, UH, UNDERTAKING ALMOST A $200 MILLION PRIVATE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN, UH, AND LOOKING TO DOUBLE THE SIZE OF THEIR WORKFORCE OUT THERE.
UM, AND, UM, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I SEE THAT AS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR US, UM, AND LEVERAGING, UM, THAT $200 MILLION IN CAPITAL, UH, PRIVATE DONATIONS THAT THEY WILL BE UTILIZING TO EXPAND THAT, THAT CAMPUS.
AND LASTLY, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UM, YOU'VE SEEN IN THE CO CORRESPONDENCE THAT WE'VE GIVEN THAT WE'VE UPDATED THE COUNCIL WITH, UH, WE'VE RECEIVED PROBABLY ABOUT $350 MILLION IN UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS, UM, FROM A VARIETY OF REALLY GREAT, UM, AGENCIES HERE IN TOWN.
UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF THIS SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO THE COUNCIL IS THAT, UM, THE COUNCIL COMMITTEES DECIDE, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE OUTCOME WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE WITHIN SMALL BUSINESS OR SENIORS OR YOUTH OR ARTS OR MENTAL HEALTH? AND THEN DECIDE IS IT A SERVICE THAT WE NEED TO DO TO PARTNER UP WITH THE COUNTY TO IMPROVE? OR IS IT SOMETHING WE NEED TO BEEF UP FROM A CITY STANDPOINT, OR IS IT A SERVICE THAT WE NEED TO CONTRACT OUT WITH A MULTITUDE OF POTENTIAL AGENCIES? AND THEN ISSUE IF WE, IF THE COUNCIL COMMITTEES DECIDE RFPS FOR SERVICE THAT WE CAN EVALUATE THAT COMMITTEE WORK WILL BE DONE, UM, AND THEN BROUGHT BACK TO THE FULL COUNCIL FOR OVERALL APPROVAL.
SO, UM, UH, I KNOW THAT I'VE SPOKEN TO SEV SEVERAL OF YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE RECOMMEND OR SOME OF THE PROPOSALS WE'VE RECEIVED.
UM, AND, AND, UM, UH, I KNOW THAT THERE'S TIME PUT INTO PROPOSALS, UH, BY THOSE AGENCIES, BUT, BUT, UM, WE HAVE NOT REQUESTED PROPOSALS AND, UM, NOR HAVE WE SPENT ANY STAFF TIME REVIEWING PROPOSALS BECAUSE THIS IS ALL ABOUT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND WHAT WE HEARD IN THE FALL ALONG WITH THE COUNCIL IN ORDER TO SET THE FRAMEWORK.
UH, AND THEN WE'D LAUNCH INTO THAT.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO CLAUDE TO COVER THE FIRST COUPLE OF SLIDES, AND THEN WE'LL TRANSITION TO VERONICA TO WALK THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CLAUDE.
UH, THANK YOU, CITY MANAGER, WALSH, AND GOOD AFTERNOON, MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
SO, UH, QUICK UPDATES, UM, IF THIS EXPERIENCE FEELS LIKE GROUNDHOG DAY, OR IT'S BEEN THIS ONGOING ROLLERCOASTER, YES, I WAS HERE IN FRONT OF ANOTHER COMMITTEE JUST LAST WEEK, AND IT'S BEEN ALL COVID ALL THE TIME.
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YOUR GREETINGS FROM OUR FANTASTIC TEAM AT METRO HEALTH.THIS FIRST SLIDE, REALLY, THIS HAS BEEN THE STORY OF NOW THIS FOURTH SURGE.
SO WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE VIRUS, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT VARIANTS, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT VACCINATIONS, BUT THE FATIGUE IS REAL ON THE GROUND.
SO THE FOURTH SURGE, WHAT YOU SEE HERE, IS REPRESENTED, UH, BY THE FACT THAT THIS, UH, UH, VARIANT OMICRON HAS BEEN HIGHLY TRANSMISSIBLE WHEN COMPARED TO THE OTHER STRAINS.
UM, WE'VE SEEN AN EXPONENTIAL NUMBER OF CASES AND HOSPITALIZATIONS, UH, REPORTED, UH, ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS OVER THE COURSE OF, UH, THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS OVER THE COURSE OF THE NATION, ACROSS THE NATION.
UM, WHAT YOU ARE SEEING HERE IS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE WEEKLY COVID TESTING NUMBERS AND THE COMMITMENT BY THE CITY, BUT ALSO STRATEGIES TO MINIMIZE THE DISRUPTION ON OPERATIONS AND STAFF CALL OUTS.
UH, ESPECIALLY AS WE'VE SEEN THAT REPORTED BY AREA HOSPITALS.
UH, WHAT WE'VE ALSO DONE IS TO FLIP THE SUPPORT.
SO TO MAKE SURE TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO VACCINES AND BOOSTERS, UH, BOOSTER SHOTS FOR ALL ELIGIBLE GROUPS ACROSS THE CITY, UH, TO INCREASE THE ACCESS TO FREE TESTING, UM, THE LAB CONFIRMED TESTS, THE P T R TESTS, AND, UH, TO AMPLIFY OUR REACH.
SO WE NOW HAVE, UM, THE 20 SITES BY CURATIVE.
WE HAVE HALF A DOZEN SITES BY COMMUNITY LABS.
WE'VE GONE ON AVERAGE FROM SEVEN OR 8,000 TESTS A DAY TO OVER 12,000 TESTS A DAY NOW.
UM, AND WE JUST ACTIVATED THE LAST WEEK, OUR SECOND, UH, INTERMITTENT CARE FACILITY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RELIEF TO AREA, UH, TO SUPPORT AREA HOSPITALS AND MAKE SURE THAT OUR HOMELESS POPULATION HAS A SAFE PLACE TO ISOLATE.
SO THIS IS THE TALE OF FOUR SPIKES OR SURGES.
UM, AND IT MIGHT BE DIFFICULT TO READ, BUT JUST KNOW THAT, UH, THAT BLUE LINE REPRESENTS THE FIRST SURGE SUMMER OF 2020, WHICH SEEMS LIKE LONG AGO.
THE SECOND, UH, LINE THERE, YELLOW WAS THE FIRST WINTER SURGE, UH, THAT WE EXPERIENCED BY COMPARISON.
UM, WE'RE SEEING AN EXPONENTIAL, UH, EXPLOSION OF CASES.
AND I'LL TELL YOU, AS OF YESTERDAY, UH, WE HAVE OVER 460,000 CONFIRMED CASES.
KEEP IN MIND THAT JUST IN THE LAST MONTH, UH, A QUARTER OF THOSE CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED JUST IN THE LAST MONTH.
OVER 120,000 CASES CONFIRMED TO OUR DEPARTMENT.
SADLY, UH, WE'VE LOST OVER 5,000, UH, RESIDENTS TO THIS, UH, VIRUS.
AND WE'VE GONE FOUR WEEKS RUNNING AT, AT SEVERE.
SO WITH THAT, OUR POSITIVITY RATE YES, IS IT'S, UH, TOPPING 39%.
AND WE COMPARE THESE SPIKES JUST TO BE ABLE TO AT LEAST UNDERSTAND, WELL, WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS, HOW LONG THIS IS GONNA LAST? WE DON'T HAVE A DATE FOR DEFINITIVE.
WE'VE BEEN HEARING ACROSS THE REGION THAT THEY'RE SEEING A DECLINE.
SO IN THE NORTHEAST, UH, THERE ARE EARLY INDICATIONS OF WHAT THEY'RE SEEING AS A DECLINE.
UH, WE, IT'S TOO EARLY FOR US TO, TO CLAIM VICTORY OR TO EVEN SAY THAT WE'VE SEEN A STEADY DECLINE ON OUR END.
BUT ALL THAT TO SAY THAT, UH, THE CONTEXT OF THIS CONVERSATION TODAY IS TO RESPOND TO THE ONGOING SURGE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RESOURCES ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO MANAGE FATIGUE ON THE GROUND.
AND THIS GRAPH REALLY IS JUST A TALE OF FOUR SPIKES, UM, AND THE IMPACT THAT IT'S HAD ON THE GROUND FOR OUR STAFF AND RESIDENTS.
SO WITH THAT, UM, AGAIN, IF SOME OF THIS SEEMS, UH, TO BE A BIT REDUNDANT, JUST KNOW THAT THIS HAS BEEN AN UNUSUAL EXPERIENCE, UH, FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT THIS GRAPH DOES SHOW, ESPECIALLY OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST FEW WEEKS, UM, THAT GREEN LINE SHOWS YOU WHAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING ON AVERAGE EACH DAY AND OVER THE COURSE OF THIS TWO YEAR PERIOD, COMPARING ONE SURGE TO THE NEXT.
UM, SO I'M GONNA STOP THERE AND JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO SPREAD THE WORD.
THANK YOU FOR REMINDING RESIDENTS THAT THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT THEMSELVES IS TO GET VACCINATED AND TO GET THEIR BOOSTER SHOTS.
UM, AND I DO WANT TO THANK AGAIN, PUBLICLY DR.
ANITA, IAN AND HER TEAM, AND OF COURSE THE CITY MANAGER AND THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS FOR HELPING US IN THE TRENCHES AS WE CONTINUE ON THIS ODYSSEY TOGETHER.
MY NAME'S VERONICA CARILLO, AND I'M THE CITY'S C OVID 19 EXECUTIVE OFFICER.
TODAY I'LL PROVIDE YOU WITH A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF HOW WE'VE GOTTEN HERE TODAY AND REVIEW THE PROPOSED SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
SO WE'VE STARTED THIS CONVERSATION IN JUNE OF 2021.
WE INTRODUCED A TWO-PHASE STRATEGY TO, UH, TO USE THE ARPA FUNDS.
COUNCIL APPROVED 97 AND $5 MILLION TO STABILIZE THE BUDGET AND ADDRESS COMMUNITY NEEDS.
IN OCTOBER, WE KICKED OFF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
WE RAN THAT THROUGH, UH, EARLY, UH, EARLY NOVEMBER.
IT INCLUDED EIGHT COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND ALSO EN ENGAGING WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION.
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ALSO, IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED $30 MILLION TO THE UTILITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND LAST MONTH WE REVIEWED THE RESULTS OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AND OBTAINED YOUR INPUT.AND HERE WE ARE TODAY, READY TO RECOMMEND A SPENDING FRAMEWORK AND CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE PROCESS, AND NEXT MONTH WE WILL BE REQUESTING APPROVAL OF THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
NOW, BEFORE WE REVIEW THE FRAMEWORK, AS WE DO WITH ALL OF OUR DISCUSSIONS, WE'LL REMIND EACH OTHER OF THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
THAT IS, WE WANNA USE THE ARPA FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THE C OVID 19 PANDEMIC.
WE WANNA IDENTIFY IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEEDS.
WE ALSO WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE USE FUNDS FOR IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS SO THAT WE HAVE A STRONG AND EQUITABLE RECOVERY.
AND OF COURSE, SINCE THESE FUNDS ARE NOT RECURRING, WE WANT TO IDENTIFY ONE-TIME INVESTMENTS.
AND OF COURSE, WHERE POSSIBLE WE WANT TO LEVERAGE PARTNERSHIPS.
NOW, REMINDING EVERYONE OF THE STATE AND LOCAL OF ARPA ALLOCATION, WE HAVE BEEN AWARDED $326.9 MILLION.
AND AS I JUST MENTIONED, 97 AND A HALF WAS ALLOCATED IN THE F Y 22 BUDGET, AND 30 MILLION WAS ALLOCATED FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE.
SO FOR TODAY'S DISCUSSION, WE WILL BE LOOKING AT $199.4 MILLION AS PART OF THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK TODAY.
NOW, IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE OUR INVESTMENTS, WE DID CONDUCT A REVIEW OF THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PROGRAM, AND WE HAVE TWO PROGRAMS THAT HAVE HAD UNCOMMITTED FUNDS OR AN AVAILABLE BALANCES.
THAT INCLUDES THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND THE DIGITAL INCLUSION.
THAT TOTALS $13.1 MILLION, AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE REALLOCATE IT TO SIMILAR PROGRAMS AS PART OF THIS SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
NOW, THIS IS A SUMMARY OF THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
ON THE TOP PART OF THIS CHART, YOU WILL SEE THE, UH, SOURCES OF FUNDS AVAILABLE, THE $199.4 MILLION, AND THE 13.1 FROM THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY BALANCE.
SO FOR TODAY'S DISCUSSION, THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK IS 212 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
NOW, STAFF'S RECOMMENDED ALLOCATIONS, THE LARGEST PORTION IS FOR IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS AT $94.7 MILLION.
WE WILL ALSO BE RECOMMENDING ALLOCATIONS FOR THE COVID RESPONSE.
IMMEDIATE NEEDS, WE WANT TO CONTINUE SOME PROGRAMS THAT WERE FUNDED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 22 BUDGET, AND WE ARE PROPOSING AN EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS AND RETENTION PROGRAM OF THE $94.7 MILLION OF IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS.
$54.4 MILLION IS RECOMMENDED TO THE FOLLOWING BASED ON FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THE COUNCIL DISCUSSIONS.
THE FIRST IS 26 MILLION FOR MENTAL HEALTH THAT WAS IDENTIFIED AS THE NUMBER ONE COMMUNITY PRIORITY I IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS.
WE ARE ALSO MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS OF $10 MILLION FOR YOUTH PROGRAMMING, 8.4 IN DIGITAL INCLUSION, 5 MILLION TO ARTS, AND 5 MILLION TO SENIOR PROGRAMS. NOW, I WILL BE REVIEWING THE STEPS FOR THE PROGRAM DESIGN, UM, BUT THAT WILL COME LATER IN THE PRESENTATION.
RIGHT NOW, I JUST KIND OF WANNA WALK US THROUGH ALL OF THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK COMPONENTS.
NOW, BASED ON WHAT WE HEARD IN DECEMBER, CITY STAFF IS MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO ALLOCATE $10.5 MILLION TO MORGAN'S WONDERLAND.
THAT INCLUDES TWO OF THE FOUR PROJECTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED.
6.5 MILLION IS FOR A NEW PEDIATRIC CARE CENTER.
THIS CAN PROVIDE SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH COMPLEX DISABILITIES.
SERVICES INCLUDE SKILLED NURSING, PERSONAL CARE, CAREGIVER TRAINING AND THERAPIES.
THE SECOND PROJECT IS TO COMPLETE A MULTI ASSISTANT CENTER.
THIS CENTER WILL OFFER MEDICAL AND NON-MEDICAL SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
AND ONCE COMPLETE WILL SERVICE OVER 10,000 INDIVIDUALS, THIS PROJECT
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WILL LEVERAGE FUNDS OF $34 MILLION.CONTINUING WITH IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS, QUALITY CHILDCARE WAS ANOTHER PRIORITY IDENTIFIED BY THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
CITY STAFF IS RECOMMENDING $6 MILLION TO SUPPORT EDUCARE SAN ANTONIO TO BRING AN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION FACILITY LOCATED IN AN AREA WHERE UN THERE ARE, UM, DAYCARE DESERT.
THE FUNDING SUPPORTS CONSTRUCTION OF A FACILITY TO PROVIDE CHILDCARE AND WRAPAROUND SERVICES, LEVERAGING FUNDS OF $14 MILLION.
CITY STAFF IS ALSO RECOMMENDING TEXAS BIOMED RESEARCH INSTITUTE WITH AN ALLOCATION OF $10 MILLION.
TEXAS BIOMED IS MAKING BROWN GREAT BREAKING DISCOVERIES, INCLUDING RECENT WORK ON THE C OVID 19 VACCINE.
THE AVERAGE WAGE PLUS BENEFITS IS ALMOST A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
THEY CURRENTLY EMPLOY NEARLY 400 PEOPLE.
WITH A GOAL OF HIRING AN ADDITIONAL 700 POSITIONS WITHIN THE NEXT 10 YEARS, THE FUNDS WILL SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, INCLUDING POWER, WATER, AND SEWER.
NOW, THE NEXT INVESTMENTS HAVE TO DO WITH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH WAS A HIGH PRIORITY IN BOTH THE IMMEDIATE AND IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS CATEGORIES.
WE ARE PROPOSING $10 MILLION FOR F STREETS.
THE ILLUSTRATION, UH, DISTRIBUTES THE $10 MILLION BY PERCENTAGE OF CURRENT F STREET CENTERLINE MILES IN EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT.
THE SECOND PROJECT IS $3.8 MILLION FOR A CITYWIDE BRIDGE PROGRAM.
THIS ALLOWS THE REALLOCATION OF $3.8 MILLION FROM THE PROPOSED 22 BOND CITYWIDE BRIDGE PROGRAM TO RESTORE ARTS AT 1.5%.
NOW, SINCE WE LAST MET IN DECEMBER, AND AS CLAUDE JUST EXPLAINED, WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF THE OMICRON SURGE.
THE OMICRON VARIANT HAS REQUIRED THAT WE RESPOND WITH GREATER TESTING.
UH, WE'VE HAD ADDITIONAL, UH, NEED TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL P P E FOR STAFF.
WE'VE HAD PERSONNEL EXPENSES TO MAINTAIN OUR SERVICE LEVELS, AND WITH THIS HIGH OF A SURGE IN COVID CASES, THAT WAS REAL, THAT WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE BASELINE SCENARIO.
SO WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO MODIFY OUR RECOMMENDATION TO A TOTAL OF $50 MILLION.
THIS $50 MILLION WILL INCLUDE THE REIMBURSEMENT OF THE VACCINE INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYEES THAT TOOK PLACE BETWEEN SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER, AS WELL AS GRANT ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.
NOW LET'S MOVE TO OUR IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
AND IN DECEMBER, WE TOLD YOU THAT WE WOULD BE COMING BACK WITH A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
SINCE ITS CREATION, THE CITY HAS ALLOCATED $191.7 MILLION TO THIS PROGRAM.
THIS HAS BEEN PREDOMINANTLY WITH ABOUT 85% OF FUNDING COMING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
IT HAS ASSISTED OVER 56,000 FAMILIES.
NOW, WE WILL CONTINUE TO APPLY FOR FEDERAL FUNDS.
IN FACT, WE WERE RECENTLY AWARDED FOUR AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOOK FROM OTHER MUNICIPALITIES THAT WEREN'T USING THE FUNDING.
AND THIS, UH, FOUR AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IS ON TOMORROW'S AGENDA.
UH, WE HAVE ALSO RECENTLY APPLIED FOR, UH, ADDITIONAL CLOUD BACKED FUNDS, AND WE DID THAT THIS PAST FRIDAY ON JANUARY 21ST.
HOWEVER, WE WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT THE FEDERAL SUPPORT HAS BEEN LOWER THAN WHAT WE ARE REQUESTING.
SO WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE TRANSITION BACK TO OUR RISK MITIGATION FUND.
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND SERVICES STAFF WILL CONDUCT, UM, OUTREACH WITH, UM, HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR EAP FUNDING.
NOW, THIS RISK RISK MITIGATION FUND WAS CREATED IN 2018 AND WAS A FOUNDATION FOR THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
IT PROVIDES RENT, MORTGAGE, AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE TO HOUSEHOLDS MAKING MORE THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF A M I.
HOWEVER, UNLIKE THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, THE RISK MITIGATION FUND IS NOT PREDICATED ON A HARDSHIP DUE TO C CVID 19.
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WILL OCCUR ON MARCH 1ST.OH, NOW THE RISK MITIGATION FUND, UH, WILL BE PRIMARILY, UM, TO ASSIST THOSE WITH RENTAL MORTGAGE AND RELOCATION ASSISTANCE.
BUT IT ALSO, UM, WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL.
IT WILL PROVIDE HOUSING NAVIGATORS.
IT PROVIDES UTILITY ASSISTANCE AND MINOR REPAIR PROGRAMS. ADDITIONALLY, STAFF WILL KEEP A PRESENCE AT THE EVICTION COURTS TO EDUCATE BOTH TENANTS AND LANDLORDS ON THE AVAILABILITY OF THESE RESOURCES.
SO HERE'S, UH, TAKING A LOOK AT OUR BALANCE.
UH, AS OF MID-JANUARY, WE HAVE A BALANCE OF $21.6 MILLION.
WE ARE EXPECTING EXPENSES, UH, THROUGH MARCH OF $27.1 MILLION.
SO WE ARE REQUESTING A $10 MILLION, UM, ARPA ALLOCATION TO THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
AND THAT WILL LEAVE, UH, $4.5 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR THE RISK MITIGATION FUND.
AFTER THE EAP PROGRAM ENDS ON MARCH 1ST, THE FOUR AND A HALF MILLION WILL GET US THROUGH THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR
CONTINUING WITH IMMEDIATE INVESTMENTS, UH, WE ARE RECOMMENDING AN ALLOCATION OF ALMOST $31 MILLION TO SMALL BUSINESSES, WHICH WAS ANOTHER PRIORITY IDENTIFIED BY OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
AS PART OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, WE REACHED OUT TO THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION TO ASSIST US IN IDENTIFYING, UM, THOSE PRIORITIES OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
NOW, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE ALLOCATED 97 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THESE FUNDS PROVIDED PROGRAMS WHEN THE, WITHIN THE FISCAL YEAR 22 AND 23 BUDGET.
THREE OF THOSE PROGRAMS WERE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, MENTAL HEALTH, AND THE NAVIGATOR PROGRAM TO ENSURE FUNDING FOR THESE PROGRAMS THROUGH 2025 STAFF IS MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO ALLOCATE $16.9 MILLION.
NOW, IN DECEMBER, WE RAN SEVERAL SCENARIOS FOR PREMIUM PAY.
IN THAT END, WE ARE RECOMMENDING CONSIDERATION OF AN EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION BENEFITS RETENTION PROGRAM.
WITH FEEDBACK FROM BOTH OUR EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AND OUR LARGER EMPLOYEE POPULATION.
WE HOPE TO BUILD A COMPENSATION AND BENEFIT PACKAGE THAT BRINGS MAXIMUM VALUE TO OUR CITY EMPLOYEES AND SERVE TO RECOGNIZE EACH OF THEM FOR THE VALUE THEY BRING TO OUR ORGANIZATION.
NOW THAT WE'VE REVIEWED THE FRAMEWORK CATEGORIES OF IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS, IMMEDIATE NEEDS, THE COVID RESPONSE CONTINUING PROGRAMS FROM F THE F Y 22 BUDGET AND THE EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, I WANNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE NEED FROM THE COUNCIL COMMITTEES.
SO FOR THE CATEGORIES OF ARTS, SENIORS, SMALL BUSINESSES, YOUTH, DIGITAL ACCESS, AND MENTAL HEALTH, WE NEED OUR COUNCIL COMMITTEES TO DEVELOP THE PROGRAMS WITHIN THE COMMITTEES.
AND THEN THOSE PLANS WILL BE BROUGHT FORTH TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE WORK WOULD BEGIN AFTER THE FRAMEWORK HAS BEEN APPROVED.
THEY WILL CONSIDER COMMUNITY INPUT.
THEY WILL WORK WITH STAFF TO ESTABLISH GOALS AND DESIRED OUTCOMES.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, WE WANNA BE STRATEGIC UNDERSTANDING THAT THE FUNDS HAVE A FOUR YEAR TIMEFRAME UNDER THE GUIDELINES OF ARPA.
SO NEXT WEEK, WE WILL ASK FOR APPROVAL OF THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK IN A SESSION.
ON FEBRUARY 3RD, WE WILL BE, UH, UH, REQUESTING APPROVAL OF ALLOCATIONS FOR EXISTING PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE DESCRIBED HERE.
AND THEN WE WILL ALSO, UM, BE, WE WILL ALSO WANT TO BE APPROVING THE, UH, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH OUR COUNCIL COMMITTEES FOR MENTAL HEALTH, SMALL BUSINESS, YOUTH, DIGITAL INCLUSION ARTS, AND SENIORS
[00:30:01]
MAYOR AND COUNCIL.THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER BACK TO ERIC.
SO, JUST TWO OTHER, UM, ISSUES FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER AS YOU'RE, UH, CONTEMPLATING THE CONVERSATION HERE.
ONE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, MUCH LIKE, UH, FOR THOSE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT WILL RECALL THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVED IN JUNE OF 2020, THAT REQUIRED, UM, PERIODIC ADJUSTMENTS AND REVIEW.
UH, WE WOULD, UH, RECOMMEND THAT FOR THIS SPENDING FRAMEWORK, UH, GOING FORWARD AS WELL.
UM, MAYBE NOT ON A MONTHLY BASIS, BUT MAYBE TWICE A YEAR.
UM, BECAUSE, UH, THE FRAMEWORK THAT THAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS REALLY, IT'S, IT'S NOT A ONE YEAR BUDGET.
IT'S A, IT'S A FOUR YEAR SPENDING PLAN THAT, UM, UNDOUBTEDLY THINGS WILL COME UP OR THINGS WILL CHANGE, AND WE'LL WANNA MAKE ADJUSTMENTS.
UM, BUT, UM, THAT, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF MAINTAINING SOME FLEXIBILITY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO, UM, UM, UM, NEW ISSUES THAT ARISE, OR DIFFERENT PRIORITIES OR CHANGING CONDITIONS.
SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE FRAMEWORK AS WELL.
AND I WANTED TO REMIND THE COUNCIL THAT THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, ERIC, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, UH, VERONICA AND CLAUDE.
UM, I'M EAGER TO GET INTO THE COUNCIL CONVERSATION, SO I DON'T WANNA DELA BELABOR MY OPENING COMMENTS, BUT, UH, I DID WANT TO JUST MAKE A FEW TO START.
UH, AND THE FIRST ONE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT A MONTH OR SO AGO, WE HAD ONE OF OUR FIRST PRESENTATIONS ON THE FRAMEWORK OF ARPA, AND WE HAD TALKED ABOUT ANYWHERE FROM A 35 TO $50 MILLION SET ASIDE FOR ADDITIONAL COVID RELIEF.
UM, I REALLY THOUGHT THAT THE 35 WOULD BE ON THE HIGH END AT THAT POINT, BUT WE'VE SEEN WHAT A MONTH CAN BRING.
SO, UH, CLAUDE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR REMINDING US THAT, UH, WE'RE NOT QUITE THROUGH THIS AND IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR US TO USE THOSE RELIEF FUNDS, OR AT LEAST ALLOCATE SOME, UH, TO WHAT WE, UH, WHAT MAY BE THE UNKNOWN AS FAR AS THE REST OF THIS PANDEMIC.
UM, TO THAT, UH, TO THAT EXTENT THOUGH, BECAUSE THERE WAS A SLIDE UP THERE, UH, THAT SHOWED THE REALLY REMARKABLE RISE IN CASES OVER THE LAST MONTH, UM, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF WE HAD AN OVERLAY ON THAT GRAPH AS WELL, WHAT THE WAVES LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF OUR HOSPITAL NUMBERS.
UM, BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE HOSPITAL, UM, INTENSITY IN THOSE FOUR WAVES, THEY MIGHT LOOK ROUGHLY THE SAME DESPITE THAT SPIKE IN THE GREEN, WHICH IS THE OMICRON WAVE.
AND IT'S NOT ON THE SCREEN, I APOLOGIZE.
BUT POINT BEING, UH, THIS COMMUNITY HAS WORKED TOGETHER, WORKED VERY WELL, CREDIT TO THE FIRST RESPONDERS IN MEDICAL COMMUNITY.
UH, WE HAVE GOTTEN OVER, UH, THE 73% IN FULLY VACCINATION VACCINATED RATE, WHICH IS A COMMUNITY CREDIT.
WE WOULDN'T BE AT THAT POINT IN THE HOSPITALS IF NOT FOR THE WORK EVERYONE HAS DONE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROTECTED FROM THIS VIRUS AND PROTECTED FROM THE SEVERITY OF IT.
SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO'S BEEN, UH, BEING MINDFUL OF THAT, TAKING THAT SERIOUSLY AND HELPING, UH, EASE THE BURDEN ON OUR MEDICAL COMMUNITY.
UH, FOR THAT REASON THOUGH, I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR US TO, UM, AGAIN, SET ASIDE WHAT IS NOW ON THE HIGH END OF THAT MARK, WHICH IS $50 MILLION FOR ADDITIONAL POTENTIAL COVID ALLOCATIONS IN THE EVENT WE DON'T REACH THAT 50, UH, THAT MONEY IS FUNGIBLE, CORRECT, ERIC? YES, SIR.
AND WE'RE, AND IF YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE, THE CATEGORY THAT WE'RE, THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAVE IS UNDER C OVID 19 AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
AND AS WE DISCUSSED, AND I'D LOVE TO HEAR MY COLLEAGUE'S COMMENTS ON THIS, UH, BECAUSE IT IS FOR COVID RELIEF, OR AT LEAST, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE SETTING IT ASIDE IN THE EVENT IT'S NEEDED.
WE ALSO KNOW THERE'S A HAZARD MITIGATION STRATEGY FOR THE CITY, AND WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING OVER THE NEXT MANY YEARS TO, TO MEET IT.
UH, IN THE EVENT WE DON'T USE ALL OF THOSE FUNDS, UH, DIRECTLY ON COVID RELIEF.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US POTENTIALLY KEEP IT IN THAT AREA, UH, AND USE IT TO HELP US WITH OUR HAZARD MITIGATION WORK, UH, THAT NEEDS TO BE IMPLEMENTED.
SO, AGAIN, JUST FOR DISCUSSION, UH, BUT THOSE, THOSE FUNDS AGAIN, MEANT TO MAKE US HARDENED MORE RESILIENT FOR EMERGENCIES OF THIS NATURE.
SO, UM, I DO WANT TO THANK ALL THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE HERE.
WE SEE, UH, A NUMBER OF THEM ALL HIGHLY RESPECTED WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES.
THANK YOU FOR OUR WORK, UH, YOUR WORK THAT YOU DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TO, UH, OUR COMMUNITY TOWN HALLS FOR THE R PROCESSIONS.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES AND THE STAFF FOR THE VERY ROBUST DISCUSSIONS WE'VE ALREADY HAD.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS ONE HERE.
UH, LAST THING I'LL SAY AGAIN, WHAT THE COUNCIL WILL BE DOING THIS NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, UH, WITH THE INPUT FROM THIS SESSION IS, UH, REALLY A FRAMEWORK, AGAIN, APPROPRIATING DOLLARS INTO AREAS AS OPPOSED TO DIRECTLY INTO SPECIFIC, UH, EX SPECIFIC PROJECTS.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, THERE'S GOING TO BE A PROCESS.
[00:35:01]
GOING TO BE COMMITTEE WORK AT THE COUNCIL, UH, THAT'S GOING TO BE DONE AND BE VERY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO ATTEND AND OFFER THEIR INPUT IN.AND I'M AL ALSO LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THAT UNFOLD.
ERIC, CAN YOU PUT A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT AROUND WHAT THOSE CONVERSATIONS AT THE COUNCIL COMMITTEES ARE GONNA LOOK LIKE? UM, WELL, I, I THINK, UM, I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED TO START WITH WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE PUBLIC, UH, IN THE FALL.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ALTHOUGH SOME OF THESE CAN BE BROAD CATEGORIES, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE WE, I THINK IT REALLY, IT'S REALLY GONNA BOIL DOWN TO WHAT ARE THE OUTCOMES AND THE IMPACTS WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE, LIKE IN THE AREAS OF SENIORS.
IS IT, IS IT, UH, ABOUT, UM, ACCESS TO CARE? IS IT ABOUT, UM, ACCESS TO, UM, AND TIES TO, UM, DIGITAL LITERACY? I, I THINK, I THINK THAT'S THE CONVERSATION THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AT THE COMMITTEE LEVEL, BECAUSE ONCE WE, ONCE WE'VE ESTABLISHED WHAT THE OUTCOMES ARE OR THE GOALS, THEN WE CAN FORM THE PLAN.
UM, AND, AND I, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION AROUND, UH, ARTS AND SMALL BUSINESS AND YOUTH, UM, AND SENIORS AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT IDEAS.
ARE THEY CAPITAL INVESTMENTS OR ARE THEY, UM, UH, RECURRING SERVICES? UM, THAT, THAT, THAT PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
WE HAVE NOT HAD A DETAILED, UH, DISCUSSION WITH THE COUNCIL.
AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT WILL REALLY BE KEY FOR THE COUNCIL COMMITTEES TO TAKE THE LEAD.
YOU KNOW, IT'S UNLIKE WE DID FOR THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC.
THE COUNCIL APPROVED THE FRAMEWORK, AND WE WENT, UM, THIS TIME WE HAVE TIME.
'CAUSE THE MONEY HAS, IS, HAS GOT A LONGER SHELF LIFE.
UM, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS ASKING FOR COMMUNITIES TO BE A LOT MORE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW WE INVEST.
AND SO WE HAVE TIME, SO WE SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.
AND, AND YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THING I'LL MENTION, MAYOR, IS I THINK IN SOME OF THE CATEGORIES WE WILL, WE MAY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAYBE UTILIZE SOME OF THESE FUNDS FOR FEDERAL MATCHING DOLLARS, UH, THROUGH THE FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, WHICH FURTHER I THINK, UM, PUTS US IN A POSITION TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF POTENTIAL OTHER DOLLARS, WHETHER IT BE DIGITAL LITERACY OR BROADBAND OR HAZARD MITIGATION.
SO WE, WE, I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF, A LOT OF OPTIONS IN, IN FRONT OF US.
YEAH, I'M GLAD THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE, UH, WHILE THIS IS FOUR, YOUR FIVE YEAR MONEY, THERE ARE SOME IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS THAT ARE COMING TO THE TABLE WITH THOSE LEVERAGE LEVERAGED DOLLARS ALREADY.
UH, YOU'VE LISTED FOUR OF THEM.
UM, IN PARTICULAR, TEXAS BIOMED, UM, MORGAN'S WONDERLAND, EDUCARE, ALL VERY IMPORTANT, UH, EFFORTS THAT WILL BE UNDERTAKING.
SO, UM, THE, UH, POINT BEING THERE IS A HUGE AMOUNT HERE THAT IS STILL GONNA BE DELIBERATED UPON, BUT IF, IF FOLKS WHO ARE LISTENING ARE INTERESTED IN THAT PROCESS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE EXTENDING AS MUCH OF THAT IMPACT AS POSSIBLE.
SO LEVERAGING WITH THE FEDERAL, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, LEVERAGING WITH COUNTY INVESTMENTS, LEVERAGING WITH THE PRI PRIVATE SECTOR, ALL EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
SO THAT'S VERY INSTRUCTIVE IN HOW THESE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS HAVE ALREADY COME FORWARD.
YEAH, MAYOR, AND I'LL JUST, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR, UM, YOURSELF, UH, COUNCILMAN PAL AND MYSELF MET WITH A NUMBER OF THE FEDERAL AGENCIES LAST WEEK AND, AND, UH, WE HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN, UM, THEY WANNA SEE HOW WE'RE LEVERAGING OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO WHETHER IT IS OUR OWN LOCAL DOLLARS THROUGH A POTENTIAL BOND PROGRAM, OUR ANNUAL BUDGET, HOW WE'RE LEVERAGING AND TYING TOGETHER, UH, ARPA DOLLARS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY CRITICAL, I THINK, AS WE GO FORWARD.
WELL, LET'S GET INTO THE COUNCIL CONVERSATION NOW.
LET'S START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER KEO HDA START FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I HAVE JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS INITIALLY, AND THEN I WANNA TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT SOME OF THE ASKS.
BUT IS THERE AN AMOUNT THAT CAN ONLY BE SPENT ON IMMEDIATE NEEDS? IS THAT WHAT I HEARD? SO, COUNCILMAN OF THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TODAY, UH, IS $40.9 MILLION, AND THAT IS COMPRISED OF THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE AT 10 MILLION IN SMALL BUSINESSES AT 30.9.
AND I, I UNDERSTAND THERE'S GONNA BE AT LEAST TWO DISTRIBUTIONS, AM I RIGHT OF, OF ARPA MONEY.
SO IS, DOES THAT POT OPEN UP AGAIN FOR THE SECOND DISTRIBUTION, OR IS THIS A ONE-TIME IMMEDIATE NEED? SO DEPENDING ON THE C THE COMMITTEE WORK, UH, I'M SORRY.
THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, RECOMMENDS ON THE COMMITTEE WORK THAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, THAT COULD TAKE A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME TO DISTRIBUTE THAN, YOU KNOW, IN THE SHORT TERM.
[00:40:01]
ABOUT $35 MILLION IN CASH, UH, LEFT FROM, FROM THE FIRST ALLOCATION.THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TODAY.
THE SECOND ALLOCATION IS ESTIMATED TO COME IN IN MAY OF 2022 FOR HALF OF THE FUNDS AND MOVING ON.
DO, WHEN DO YOU EXPECT, UH, EXPECT CITI EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION TO BE DISTRI DISTRIBUTED? SO WHAT WE'RE PLANNING AT THIS POINT IS TO HAVE THAT, UM, ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR EMPLOYEES, THOSE FOCUS GROUPS, AND ENGAGE OUR EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
SO WE WILL BRING THE COUNCIL BACK, POTENTIALLY THAT COULD BE DONE AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS FOR 2023, BECAUSE REMEMBER, COUNCILMAN, WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THE EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AND EMPLOYEE FOCUS GROUPS ON, ON PAY PLAN 2.0.
SO WE WOULD, WE WOULD, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE DOING ALL THAT WORK RIGHT NOW, SO WE, WE COULD POTENTIALLY PULL THAT ALL TOGETHER AND BRING IT BACK AS PART OF THE BUDGET.
WHEN, WHEN IS THE TIMELINE? WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR THE FOCUS GROUP? THE SPRING? IT ACTUALLY, IT STARTED, THEY, THEY STARTED, WE PUT ON HOLD DURING OMICRON, AND THEY'LL START BACK UP AS SOON AS WE, AS SOON AS WE GET, UH, OUR NUMBERS DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
WILL WE GET A FUTURE PRESENTATION ON THE RESULTS OF THAT FOCUS GROUP? YEAH, WE CAN INCLUDE THAT AS PART OF THE, UH, BUDGET WORK SESSION.
'CAUSE I SUSPECT THAT'LL BE ONE OF OUR LARGEST EXPENSES AS WE GO INTO THE 23 BUDGET.
I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, EDU CARE.
IS THERE AN IDEA OF HOW MANY CHILDREN WILL BE ENROLLED OR WHAT THE ENROLLMENT GOAL WOULD BE? WELL, UM, OKAY.
A ALEX, UH, WILL ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
MATSON AND, UH, OTHER P MEMBERS OF, UM, OF, UH, TEXAS A AND M AND, AND EDUCARE AS WELL.
I THINK THERE'S, UM, THAT SPECIFIC LEVEL OF DETAIL I WOULD ASK SOMEBODY FROM MEDICARE TO GIVE THAT, BECAUSE I THINK IT MIGHT VARY ON AGES.
I'LL LET YOU, I'LL GIVE YOU SOME TIME, OR UNLESS DR.
MY NAME IS MELISSA SWICK WITH TEXAS A AND M SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO THE EDUC CARE SCHOOL, WHILE IT WILL PROVIDE DIRECT CARE TO 250 CHILDREN AGES BIRTH THROUGH KINDERGARTEN, IT IS ALSO DESIGNED AS A LABORATORY SCHOOL, WHICH WILL BRING AN EX EXPONENTIALLY LARGER NUMBER OF PROFESSIONALS THROUGH DOING PROFESSIONAL TRAINING.
SO THERE'S BOTH THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN DIRECTLY SERVED AS WELL AS THE PRE-SERVICE, EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION INDIVIDUALS, THE MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS, AND THE BEHAVIORAL SPECIALISTS THAT WILL ALSO BE COMING THROUGH THEIR PROGRAMS, BEING TRAINED AT THAT FACILITY.
SO 250 CHILDREN AT, AT A TIME, CORRECT.
AND, UM, IS THERE A PLAN TO EXPAND INTO OTHER GEOGRAPHIC AREAS OF THE CITY? THERE IS NOT A SPECIFIC PLAN AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
UM, CERTAINLY THE CITY UNDER PRE-K FOR SA HAS FOUND THAT SETTING UP GEOGRAPHIC INSPIRATION SITES, UM, WORK WELL.
THAT IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE WOULD SUPPORT, BUT THERE ARE NO PLANS FOR THAT AT THIS TIME.
UH, I THINK THOSE ARE MOST OF MY QUESTIONS.
I THINK THIS IS A REALLY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE THE TRAJECTORY OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE INITIATIVES I UNEQUIVOCALLY SUPPORT, UM, TEXAS BIOMED AND THE CRUCIAL WORK THAT THEY DO TO ENSURE OUR HEALTH.
AND THERE'S BEEN A NUMBER OF, OF, UH, OP-EDS ABOUT IT, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE REALLY DONE A LOT IN, IN THIS PANDEMIC.
AND SO I, I REALLY HIGHLY SUPPORT THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
UM, DATA HAS SHOWN US THAT AN EMPHASIS ON OUR HOUSING PROGRAMS, INCLUDING OCCUPIED REHAB PROGRAMS, CAN GREATLY TRANSFORM NEIGHBORHOODS AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR SENIORS.
AND IN MY DISTRICT, THERE ARE A LOT OF PARTS OF MY DISTRICT THAT REALLY NEED THAT HELP.
SO, UM, OF COURSE, I SUPPORT THAT THE PANDEMIC HAS SHOWN US ALSO HOW DEEP THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IS.
I THINK MORE THAN, UH, MANY OF US REALLY EVEN UNDERSTOOD.
AND SO I, UM, I SUPPORT SA DIGITAL CONNECT'S PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE THE INTERNET AND DEVICES TO UNDERSTAND 25,000 HOMES.
OUR ARPA TOWN HALLS ALSO SHOW THAT SAN ANTONIO ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING OUR YOUTH.
THE RECENT STUDY ON HOMELESSNESS IDENTIFIED FOSTER YOUTH CHILDREN AS MORE LIKELY TO BECOME HOMELESS.
UM, THERE IT'S ALSO A PIPELINE, UNFORTUNATELY, FOR, UM, SOME SEX TRAFFICKING OF OUR YOUTH.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE FUNDING GO TOWARDS ORGANIZATIONS LIKE CASA THAT HELP FOSTER CHILDREN NAVIGATE THE COURT SYSTEM.
AND SARAH, THAT WORKS TOWARDS GETTING OUR YOUTH THAT ARE UNHOUSED INTO HOUSING.
UH, AND ALSO PROJECTS LIKE THE SPANISH, UH, OLD SPANISH TRAIL HEALTHY LIVING PROGRAM ARE VITAL TO OUR YOUTH.
UM, SOMETHING THAT'S VERY CLOSE TO MY HEART IS HELPING OUR SPECIAL NEEDS YOUTH.
I THINK IT'S VITAL TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I ALSO SUPPORT FUNDING THE AUTISM COMMUNITY NETWORK.
THIS ORGANIZATION HANDLES 81% OF AUTISM DIAGNOSIS FOR THIS DIAGNOSIS FOR THE SAN ANTONIO AREA.
AND CURRENTLY, I UNDERSTAND, HAS AN 18 MONTH WAITING LIST.
I'M SURE ANY PARENT WILL AGREE.
UM, NO ONE WANTS TO WAIT 18 MONTHS JUST TO KNOW WHETHER YOUR CHILD HAS SPECIAL
[00:45:01]
NEEDS MUCH LESS TO BEGIN, UH, TREATMENT.SO AN, UH, AN EARLY DIAGNOSIS FOR THOSE WITH AUTISM CAN MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE FOR THE CHILD AND THEIR PARENTS.
SO I HIGHLY SUPPORT THEIR ASK.
I ALSO, IN THAT SAME VEIN, SUPPORT THE FULL FUNDING OF 15 MILLION FOR MORGAN'S WONDERLAND, UH, IN THIS, IN THAT, IN THAT TRACK OF HELPING OUR SANTON WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
AND OUR FAMILIES, MORGAN'S WONDERLANDS PLAN INCLUDE A MULTICARE CENTER TO HELP NOT ONLY OUR SPECIAL NEEDS CITIZENS, BUT THEIR FAMILIES WHO NEED AND DESERVE, UH, A BIT OF RESPITE FROM THEIR CONTINUAL CARE.
SO IT, THAT'S SOMETHING, AGAIN, THAT'S VERY CLOSE TO MY HEART.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS PROJECT SUPPORTED FULLY WITH, UH, ARPA DOLLARS, AND THEN EFFORTS TO THWART DOMESTIC VIOLENCE NEED TO CONTINUE.
UH, AND THE BATTERED WOMEN'S SHELTER IS ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY'S LEADERS IN THIS EFFORT.
I'M EXTREMELY THANKFUL AND SUPPORTIVE OF THEIR WORK, TRULY GRATEFUL THAT THEY SERVE ALL VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND WE'RE SEEKING, THEY'RE SEEKING TO EXPAND THEIR HOUSING CAPABILITIES TO ACCOMMODATE MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THEIR CHILDREN.
THERE'S A NUMBER OF, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE THINK OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, I THINK WE AUTOMATICALLY THINK THAT IT'S, UM, WOMEN THAT, THAT SUFFER, BUT, AND THEY DO.
BUT THERE ARE MEN THAT SUFFER FROM THIS, AND THEY'RE COMING OUT MORE AND SPEAKING AGAINST IT.
AND, AND THEY NEED ASSISTANCE TOO.
WE CANNOT FORGET OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
THESE BUSINESSES PROVIDE JOBS AND OPPORTUNITY FOR SAN ANTONIANS AND ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF OUR COMMUNITY.
I'VE SEEN MANY, UH, UNFORTUNATELY, UM, SMALL BUSINESSES SHUTTER IN MY DISTRICT.
AND SO I SUPPORT THE HISPANIC CHAMBER'S REQUEST FOR SMALL BUSINESS LOANS.
AND FINALLY, I JUST WANNA POINT OUT THAT FOOD SECURITY MITIGATION STRATEGIES SHOULD BE A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY RECOVERY EFFORTS, ESPECIALLY AS SAN ANTONIO RECOVER FROM THE PANDEMIC.
I KNOW NOW IT'S BEEN CLOSE TO, I THINK, TWO YEARS THAT, AROUND THAT TIME THAT WE ALL SAW THAT PHOTO, UM, OF THE, OF THE CARS LINED UP TO GET FOOD.
AND, UH, THAT'S TWO YEARS AGO, BUT IT'S BEEN HAPPENING YEARS AND YEARS BEFORE THAT.
IT'S JUST, OF COURSE, A PANDEMIC SHONE A LIGHT ON A LOT OF, OF ISSUES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT SOME, SOME FUNDING GOES TOWARDS, TOWARDS THEM AS WELL.
AND WITH THAT, I, UM, I'M, I'M GOOD.
VARDA, COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
UM, I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT GRATITUDE LATELY, AND SO I'M, I'M SUPER, UM, GRATEFUL FOR THE CITY STAFF WHO, UM, HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT OF THE WORK BEHIND THE SCENES THINKLESS WORK TO GUIDE US THROUGH THESE VERY DIFFICULT TIMES.
THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND MEMBERS WHO HAVE REALLY STEPPED UP, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AS WELL, COUNCIL AIDES.
THERE'S JUST SO MANY MOVING PARTS TO HELPING US, UH, RECOVER FROM THE CITY.
AND ARPA IS REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASSIST IN THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD OUR ARPA TOWN HALL, AND I THINK, I THINK MY COMMUNITY, AND I THINK, UH, MANY PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE CITY WILL FEEL VERY HEARD.
UM, IN HEARING THIS FRAMEWORK, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR ADDING F STREETS, UM, WITH AN EQUITABLE FUNDING AMOUNT PROPORTIONAL TO THE NEED THAT EXISTS.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY MATTERS TO ME AND REALLY MATTERS TO MY CONSTITUENTS.
I ALSO WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO ALLEVIATE THE CONFLICT BETWEEN FUNDING THE ARTS AND FUNDING MUCH NEEDED DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
I KNOW THAT THERE WAS SOME CONTROVERSY ABOUT ARTS FUNDING AND THE BOND, AND SO I'M HAPPY TO SEE THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO RESTORE THAT FUNDING AMOUNT FOR ART, UM, WHILE STILL MANAGING TO COMPLETE THOSE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
DURING PREVIOUS ARPA, UM, PUBLIC HEARINGS AND COUNCIL BRIEFINGS, I'VE MENTIONED ONE OF MY PRIORITIES WAS TO ADDRESS THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF SENIORS, UM, THAT HAVE OCCURRED INCURRED THROUGH, UH, THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC.
AND WHILE I APPRECIATE THE CITY STAFF HAS SET ASIDE 5 MILLION FOR SENIORS IN GENERAL, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE MY REQUEST VERY SPECIFIC.
UM, SO MY GOAL IS TO ESTABLISH AN INNOVATIVE DISTRICT TWO SENIOR CENTER WITH AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPONENT, UM, TO HELP SENIORS IN MY DISTRICT FIND A PERMANENT HOME FOR SENIOR SERVICES.
AND THAT IF I, IF I HAVE ONE DISTRICT SPECIFIC ASK, THAT WOULD BE IT.
IT'D BE ABOUT $5 MILLION, UM, TO ESTABLISH FUNDING FOR PURCHASE OF A LOT OR A BUILDING.
AND I'D REQUEST FUNDING FROM THE INNER CITY TOURS, UM, TO SUPPORT THE SENIOR HOUSING COMPONENT OF THAT.
AND I THINK THIS IS, THIS WAS AN IDEA BASED ON WHAT WE HEARD, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AT THE DOORS WHEN WE WOULD KNOCK ON THE DOOR.
AND PEOPLE, SENIORS SPECIFICALLY WOULD TELL US ABOUT HOW LONELY THEY WERE AND HOW SAD THEY WERE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEIR SENIOR CENTER HAD BEEN CLOSED OR THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO INTERACT WITH THEIR FAMILY FOR MONTHS AND GOING ON YEARS AT THAT POINT.
AND THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING FOR THEM.
AND IT MEETS THE NEED OF ADDRESSING SENIORS, WHICH WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HEARD CONSTANTLY AT OUR ARPA TOWN HALL.
AND ALSO, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND SENIOR HOUSING SPECIFICALLY, WHICH WE FIND A PART OF OUR, UM,
[00:50:01]
BUDGET SURVEYS AS WELL AS ARPA SURVEYS THAT WE'VE DONE.OUR CURRENT FACILITY IS RENTED AND HAS VERY LIMITED SPACE.
AND SO WE'RE LIMITED, UH, TO THE SERVICES THAT WE CAN PROVIDE AT THE CURRENT SITE.
AND FURTHERMORE, OUR OFFICE CONTINUES TO RECEIVE CALLS FROM SENIORS WHO REQUEST ASSISTANCE TO FIND SENIOR SPECIFIC HOUSING.
AND FOR OUR OLDER RESIDENTS, WE WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND BE CLOSE TO THEIR DOCTORS AND THE RESOURCES THAT THEY'VE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO UTILIZING.
UM, AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S MY BIG ASK, AND I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, SUPPORT FROM MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES IN THAT ASK.
UM, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT ARPA, I, I THINK BACK TO THE BOND AND HOW ONE OF THE CATEGORIES WE WERE LOOKING AT WAS, OR NOT CATEGORIES, BUT CRITERIA WAS RESILIENCY.
AND WHEN I THINK ABOUT RESILIENCY, I THINK ABOUT ACCESS TO QUALITY, AFFORDABLE FOOD, WHICH IN THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC WHEN PEOPLE WERE STOCKPILING, THAT WAS A STRUGGLE DURING THE WINTER FREEZE THIS PAST YEAR WHEN PEOPLE WERE STOCKPILING ON FOOD.
YET AGAIN, WE SAW COMMUNITIES STRUGGLING TO GET ACCESS TO FOOD.
AND SO I THINK ARPA, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO ALLOCATE SOME FUNDING TO ADDRESS, UM, ACCESS TO FOOD AS WELL AS CHILDCARE.
I'M HAPPY TO SEE THAT AS A PART OF IT.
UM, SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
I RECENTLY RECEIVED AN ASK OF, I FORGET THE DOLLAR AMOUNT, BUT IT WAS FOR DIRECT RELIEF TO SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO CASH GRANTS, AND I THINK I, I'M UNSURE OF WHAT DOLLAR AMOUNT I WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF, BUT I DO THINK THAT DIRECT RELIEF TO SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE FORM OF CASH GRANTS, UM, IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
AND, YOU KNOW, A RESOURCE WHERE THOSE BUSINESSES GET TO DECIDE HOW THEY KNOW THEIR NEEDS BEST, SO THEY'LL KNOW HOW TO SPEND THAT MONEY.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING I'M SUPPORTIVE OF AS WELL.
UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, OF COURSE, FALLS INTO RESILIENCY AND SUPPORT FOR OUR MOST MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
SO, JUST LIKE COUNCILMAN CAB DER WAS SAYING, UM, MEMBERS OF THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY, SENIORS, UM, THOSE EXPERIENCING HOUSELESSNESS, THERE'S SO MANY COMMUNITIES THAT ARE DISADVANTAGED IN A LOT OF WAYS.
AND SO ARPA IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS THAT CAN'T BE MET OTHERWISE, OR OFTEN WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO MEET.
UM, AND SO I THINK I, I'M GONNA SPEND, IF I CHIME IN AGAIN, I'LL, I'LL USE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON SUGGESTIONS THAT MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, UM, ARE GONNA PROPOSE AND I'LL SHARE MY SUPPORT FOR THOSE.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
UM, UH, APPRECIATE THE BRIEFING I GOT ON THIS, UH, EARLIER IN THE WEEK.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, MS. GIO.
UM, AND FOR THE FOLLOW-UP THAT THE STAFF, UH, PROVIDED TO US.
THERE'S DEFINITELY, IF ANYBODY THINKS THIS IS AN EASY PROCESS, IT'S NOT JUST KEEPING ALL THE DOCUMENTS IN ORDER THAT WE HAVE TO REVIEW, THAT WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL TO REVIEW FOR THIS, UM, IS A CONFUSING TASK.
BUT NONETHELESS, THE INFORMATION IS APPRECIATED, UH, THAT WE GET IT AS SOON AS YOU HAVE IT AVAILABLE.
UM, FIRST LET ME TELL YOU, I'M, UH, THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING CONVERSATION SINCE JUNE.
IN FACT, WE THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
IT DID NOT END UP BEING PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
SO I'M, I'M GLAD TO SEE US FINALLY MOVING FORWARD ON, ON SOME OF THESE THINGS.
SO TODAY'S A, A GREAT DAY IN THAT RESPECT.
UM, IT'S CLEAR THAT THE NEED, UH, DUE TO COVID AND DUE TO OTHERWISE, JUST TO DUE TO THE CITY THAT WE ARE, THE NEED HERE IN SAN ANTONIO IS TREMENDOUS.
BUT SO ARE THE IDEAS AND THE INNOVATION, UH, THAT WE'VE SEEN COME FORWARD IN A NUMBER OF REQUESTS AND, AND PROPOSALS.
UM, SOME OF YOU WHO ARE IN THE AUDIENCE ARE BRINGING THOSE INNOVATIVE PROPOSALS FORWARD, UM, AND THEY ARE WHAT OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT, THAT YOU DO.
UM, UH, FIRST I'D, I'D LIKE TO SAY I'M EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE OF THE FUNDING THAT IS, UH, THAT IS HELPING US ADDRESS THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS, RESTORING COVID FUNDING OR BRINGING UP THE COVID FUNDING TO THE $50 MILLION LEVEL.
UM, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THE PANDEMIC IS GOING.
WE THOUGHT IT WAS DYING, AND SOMEONE SAID OTHERWISE FROM THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EARLIER, UH, THIS WEEK.
UH, SO WE MUST BE PREPARED FOR THAT.
AND CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THE EHA PROGRAM, AT LEAST THROUGH MARCH, IS CRITICAL, AS WELL AS THE FUNDING FOR THE ARTS.
UM, AND CONTINUING THE HEALTH ITEMS THAT WE HAVE IN THE BUDGET, UH, FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS IS ALSO CRITICAL.
I'M ALSO GLAD TO SEE THE F STREETS FUNDING RECOMMENDATION IN THE BUDGET.
UM, AS I, UH, AND I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT SOMETHING I SAID TO ERIC, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT MONEY IN THERE DISTRIBUTED BY EQUITY.
UH, I STILL THINK IT'S NOT GONNA MAKE UP FOR THE CONTINUING DISPARITY CREATED, BY THE WAY, WE'RE DISTRIBUTING FUNDING RIGHT NOW IN, IN THE BOND.
BUT I'LL TAKE THE SEVEN MILES WE'RE
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GONNA FIX WITH THESE, UH, WITH THESE $13 MILLION.UM, SO, UH, LET ME, UH, FOLLOW UP ON SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ASKED EARLIER, OR THAT I, MY OFFICE HAD ASKED EARLIER IN THE ARPA CONVERSATION.
UM, BUT I'M NOT, I I FORGOT TO BRING THESE UP DURING OUR BRIEFING, ERIC.
UM, SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I'D HAD WAS, UH, LEVERAGING FUNDING WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.
UH, DO WE KNOW, HAVE WE BEEN SUCCESSFUL AT WORKING WITH THE COUNTY ON ANY ITEMS? UM, YOU'LL SEE IN THE, UM, IN THE MEMO WE SENT TO THE COUNCIL LAST WEDNESDAY ON, UH, A NUMBER OF OUR QUESTIONS.
WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE LIST OF POTENTIAL, UH, PROPOSALS THAT THE COUNTY HAS RECEIVED YET, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO, TO WORK WITH THEM.
WE HAVE HAD VERY CLOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES, UH, U H SS AND STRAC, UH, ON MENTAL HEALTH.
AND, UH, IN FACT, THERE'S A MEETING THIS FRIDAY THAT, UH, MARIA CLAUDE AND MELODY WILL BE ATTENDING WITH COUNTY STAFF TO REVIEW THE CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE WORK WORK THEY DID LAST SUMMER.
SO I, I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY BEEN, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION BETWEEN US AND THE COUNTY ABOUT LEVERAGING MENTAL HEALTH DOLLARS, UM, TO, TO ACHIEVE THINGS THAT THIS COUNCIL'S TALKED ABOUT, SUCH AS APPROPRIATE BED SPACE FOR INDIVIDUALS IN NEED.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY U H S HAS BEEN PART OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, ALSO, UM, UM, ENSURING THAT, UM, THE SERVICES THAT THE MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES PROVIDES, UM, IS ACCESSIBLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND NOT EVER PUT IN A POSITION WHERE, UH, THEY HAVE TO CALL 9 1 1 TO RELY UPON THAT.
SO I WOULD SAY THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK ON THE MENTAL HEALTH FRONT, UM, BUT, UH, VERY LITTLE ON, ON ANYTHING ELSE.
UM, I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT FRONT TO MAKE PROGRESS ON.
AND SO THE $25 MILLION THAT YOU'RE RECOMMENDING TO SET ASIDE THE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING TO SET ASIDE FOR MENTAL HEALTH, UM, WOULD BE UTILIZED IN THESE EFFORTS WITH, IN THIS COORDINATION EFFORT? WELL, I THINK, I THINK THAT'S THE WORK THAT WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO FINALIZE WITH THE CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES IN THE COUNTY, AND HOPEFULLY THE COUNTY WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THAT AS WELL.
AND THEN THAT BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE, UM, IS, UM, THAT WE WOULD HAVE, DOES THAT MEET THE OUTCOMES THAT THE COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE TO ACHIEVE.
UM, SO YEAH, POTENTIALLY, BUT I, I, I'M HOPING THAT THERE'S MORE MONEY THAN THE $26 MILLION AND THAT THE COUNTY CONTRIBUTES.
UM, COULD WE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DIFFERENT AND IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT CATEGORIES AND HOW THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS ARE SELECTED FOR EACH OF THEM? SURE.
SO, UH, A COUPLE OF, UM, STRATEGIES THAT WE USE.
ONE, UH, PRIMARILY THE INPUT THAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, AND THEN BALANCING THAT WITH TRYING TO HAVE MEANINGFUL, MEANINGFUL IMPACT IN THOSE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, MENTAL HEALTH, UM, AS AN IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT IS ONE OF OUR LARGEST INVESTMENTS OUT OF THE ARPA, AND THAT WAS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY THAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS, UM, SUPPORTED BY THE COUNCIL, SMALL BUSINESS ON THE IMMEDIATE NEED, FOR INSTANCE, AND HAS A CONTRIBUTION, UH, FROM THE ARPA AS WELL AS THE RECOVERING RESILIENCY FUND.
SO THAT IS ANOTHER LARGE CATEGORY.
AND AGAIN, THAT WAS BASED ON THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, THE COUNCIL FEEDBACK, AND TRYING TO BALANCE ALL THOSE PRIORITIES.
AND THAT'S HOW WE DEVELOP THOSE AMOUNTS.
UM, ERIC, I, I KNOW YOU SAID YOU HAVE THAT WE'VE RECEIVED, UM, OVER 80 PROPOSALS.
IS THAT RIGHT? AT THIS POINT? 32 COUNCILWOMAN, I'M SORRY, 32.
I THOUGHT THAT A NUMBER OF THE AGENCIES THAT ATTENDED SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS WERE, WERE AT, WERE SEEKING FUNDING AT THOSE MEETINGS, SO THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
SO THE 31, UM, PROPOSALS THAT WE RECEIVED, COUNCILWOMAN, THOSE WERE ACTUAL WRITTEN PROPOSALS THAT WE RECEIVED, UM, THAT ERIC, MYSELF, AND OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM, THE AGENCIES THAT SHOWED UP AT THE MEETINGS, AND THOSE ARE RECORDED IN THE, UH, REPORT THAT WE PROVIDED TO THE COUNCIL.
[01:00:01]
INCLUDE THOSE VERBAL REQUESTS, IF YOU WILL, ON THE LIST THAT WE PROVIDED TO YOU YESTERDAY.THAT IS A COMPILATION OF THE WRITTEN, UH, REQUESTS THAT WE RECEIVED.
DID THEY KNOW THAT THEY NEEDED TO SUBMIT A WRITTEN REQUEST? SO WE DID NOT REQUEST, UM, WRITTEN REQUESTS.
WE WERE NOT SEEKING, UH, ANY PROPOSALS AT THIS TIME, WHAT WE HAVE SHARED WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND WE TOLD THEM THAT WE WANTED THE COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK, THE CATEGORIES, AND THEN, UM, THE COMMITTEES AS THEY DEVELOP THE PROGRAM OUTCOMES AND DESIGN THOSE PROGRAMS THAT THERE MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE ENTITIES TO, UH, REQUEST FOR FUNDING, LET'S SAY, FOR YOUTH OR SENIORS.
SO, UM, I, I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A, OF A CONCERN OR, UH, WHEN, IN ONE OF OUR FIRST CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ARPA, WE HAD, UH, I THINK YOU PUT UP FIVE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAD REQUESTED DOLLARS AT THAT POINT.
AND MY SUGGESTION, UH, IT WAS NOT ECHOED BY THE FULL COUNCIL.
MY SUGGESTION WAS THAT WE GO AHEAD AND OPEN UP A PROCESS SO THAT IT WOULD BE CLEAR HOW YOU AS AN ORGANIZATION CAN TAP INTO THESE FUNDS.
UM, IT, THAT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED BY STAFF AND, AND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
SO, UH, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT SMALLER OPPORTUNITIES HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY.
UM, THE OTHER THING I, I HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT, IT'S GONNA BE HARD FOR ME WHEN I GO BACK TO THE ORGANIZATIONS IN MY DISTRICT, UH, WHO HAVE REQUESTED MONEY IN MUCH, MUCH SMALLER AMOUNTS THAN THE ONES THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING, UH, SORRY, THAT YOU'RE RECOMMENDING TODAY IS WHY DO THEY GO THROUGH AN ADDITIONAL PROCESS? UM, BUT SOME ORGANIZATIONS, UH, YOU'RE READY TO GO AHEAD AND FUND RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, YOU, I, I KNOW YOU SAID THAT YOU HADN'T HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW PROPOSALS, THAT YOU WEREN'T REVIEWING PROPOSALS, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD BE MAKING THIS RECOMMENDATION TODAY TO FUND CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS AT, AT THE AMOUNTS THAT ARE BEING FUNDED.
IF YOU HADN'T REVIEWED THOSE PROPOSALS, THAT YOU JUST SIMPLY WOULDN'T BE DOING THAT.
WHAT, WHAT I NEED TO BE ABLE TO TELL MY CONSTITUENTS IS WHY DID SOME PROPOSALS GET REVIEWED, BUT NOT OTHERS? SO COUNCILWOMAN, I, I, I, I THINK THAT, UM, I THINK WE TOOK THE COMMENTS FROM THE COUNCIL IN OCTOBER AND PARTICULARLY IN DECEMBER, ABOUT SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TODAY.
AND THE COUNCIL WAS QUITE CLEAR ON, ON TO ME, ON THE PROGRAMS THAT THEY SUPPORTED AT THAT TIME.
AND THOSE HAVE BEEN ROLLED UP INTO THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
THERE'S ALSO, I THINK, A DIFFERENCE FROM, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, BETWEEN A, A CAPITAL TYPE OF INFRASTRUCTURE REQUEST, KINDA A ONETIME SPENDING.
'CAUSE IF YOU RECALL IN THE FALL, OUR, OUR RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL WAS THAT THIS ARPA, ALTHOUGH IT'S $326 MILLION, IS ONE-TIME MONEY, AND, AND, AND IT SHOULD BE SPENT PREFERABLY ON ONE-TIME THINGS.
UM, AND SO, UH, THOSE ITEMS THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TODAY ARE ONE-TIME USES.
UM, AND, AND, UH, I DON'T, I, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE PUT OURSELVES IN A POSITION WHERE WE HAVE TREATED ANY AGENCY ANY DIFFERENT THAN ANYBODY ELSE.
BUT, BUT THE COUNCIL HAS BEEN CLEAR, AND THE PUBLIC WAS CLEAR WHEN WE WENT TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON THE THINGS THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO THEM.
AND WE'VE TRIED TO CRAFT THAT.
UM, SOME OF OUR PROPOSALS WERE, WERE LETTERS RIGHT THERE, OR THEY WERE EMAILS THAT MOST OF 'EM WERE EMAILS.
UM, AND THERE'S WORK DONE BEHIND THAT.
BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT WE DID NOT REQUEST SOLICITATIONS.
AND THE COUNTY DID SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, AND MAYBE THAT CAUSED A LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION.
BUT, BUT THIS HAS ALL BEEN ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, COUNCIL PROVIDING INPUT, SETTING THE FRAMEWORK, AND THEN, AND THEN THE COUNCIL WILL DECIDE WHAT WE'RE GONNA SOLICIT FOR, AND THEN AN AGENCY CAN, CAN, CAN, CAN HELP US WITH THE SERVICE OR THE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT.
BUT, UM, I'M, I'M CONFIDENT THAT, UH, WHAT WE PROVIDED YOU TODAY, UH, IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE COUNCIL IN DECEMBER, UH, AND FROM THE PUBLIC.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU STAFF FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'LL START OFF JUST BY REMINDING EVERYONE THAT, UM, THE MOST CASES AND THE MOST DEATHS HAVE OCCURRED IN DISTRICTS 2, 3, 4, AND FIVE.
AND WITH THAT SAID, UM, THE US DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY IN THEIR CORONAVIRUS, STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS OVERVIEW, THE FINAL RULE STATES THAT THE FINAL, UH, IT'S AN EXPANDED SET OF HOUSEHOLDS AND COMMUNITIES THAT ARE PRESUMED TO BE IMPACTED AND DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC.
THEREBY ALLOWING RECIPIENTS TO PROVIDE RESPONSES TO A BROAD SET OF HOUSEHOLDS AND ENTITIES WITHOUT REQUIRING ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS, WITHOUT REQUIRING ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS TO ME, TELLS US THERE'S A POPULATION THAT HAS BEEN GREATLY AFFECTED.
I JUST STATED SOME OF THE DISTRICTS THAT HAVE BEEN MOST AFFECTED.
WITH THAT SAID, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS I'LL START OFF WITH, WITH THE
[01:05:01]
EASY QUESTIONS.UM, BUT ERIC, UM, I THOUGHT WE COULDN'T AFFORD, I THOUGHT WE COULDN'T FUND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
THANK YOU FOR THE EASY QUESTIONS, COUNCILWOMAN.
UM, SO, UM, REMEMBER, UH, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE, THE, THE ARPA GUIDELINES IN OCTOBER, THERE ARE TWO PATHS THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CAN GO THROUGH.
UH, ONE IS STRICTLY THROUGH THE ARPA GUIDANCE.
UM, THE SECOND IS, UM, IF THEY, IF AN AGENCY OR A LOCAL GOVERNMENT QUALIFIES UNDER THE REVENUE REPLACEMENT.
AND, UM, UM, THERE'S A COMPLICATED TREASURY FORMULA THAT ACTUALLY JUST GOT UPDATED LAST WEEK THAT SAYS THAT IF A MUNICIPALITY OR COUNTY OR TOWN CAN QUALIFY UNDER THE REVENUE REPLACEMENT, THEN THAT THEN THE ARPA FUNDS CAN BE UTILIZED FOR GENERAL GOVERNMENT EXPENSES.
UM, BASED ON THE TREASURY FORMULA, WE CAN QUALIFY UP TO FOUR, OVER $400 MILLION IN REVENUE REPLACEMENT.
UM, SO FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OUR $326 MILLION, WE CAN SPEND IT ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT, UM, PROVISIONS OR SERVICES.
THE OTHER PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION WE GAVE AN OCTOBER WAS THAT ALTHOUGH, ALTHOUGH WE CAN, WE CAN JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SPEND IT ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT STUFF, PART OF WHAT WE RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL IN OCTOBER WAS THAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, WE LIVE WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK THAT CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT, UM, UH, THOUGHT OF WHEN THEY DESIGNED, UM, ARPA.
AND THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT IT'S IMPACTFUL, UH, THAT IT, IT'S DIRECTED TOWARDS THE THINGS THAT, UM, UM, THAT NEED TO BE DONE IN A CITY TO MAKE IT MORE RESILIENT TO ADDRESS HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE EQUITY ISSUES.
AND, AND WE THINK WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO IN FROM, FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, WE QUALIFY UNDER GENERAL GOVERNMENT AND WE'RE LIVING UNDER, UNDER, UM, UM, ARPA RULES.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS A GENERAL GOVERNMENT EXPENSE.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, IS APPROVED BY COUNCIL ALL THE TIME IN TERMS OF INCENTIVES OR INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, OR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TO HELP, UH, EXPAND BUSINESSES, ATTRACT BUSINESSES, UH, AND RETAIN BUSINESSES.
MY NEXT QUESTION IS, SO JUST TO, SO STAFF DIDN'T REVIEW THE, AND I THINK THIS IS TO COUNCILMAN'S POINT, THEY DIDN'T REVIEW ANY OF THE PROPOSALS, BUT I THINK THAT, THAT WE DID INDIVIDUALLY, RIGHT? AND I'M SURE THAT MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AND I HAVE GOTTEN LOTS OF REQUESTS AND SENT THEM OVER.
AND SO I WAS GONNA ASK, UM, WILL YOU HAVE A RUBRIC FOR THE DIFFERENT COUNCIL COMMITTEES TO AWARD POINTS BASED ON WHAT THE GUIDELINES SAY? UH, YEAH, I THINK SO.
I THINK EVERY COMMITTEE WILL BE DIFFERENT.
AND I, AND I THINK THE, THE, THE TRICK BEHIND THE, THE RUBRIC WILL BE WHAT IS THE OUTCOME IN THE CATEGORY THAT THE COMMITTEE WANTS TO, WANTS TO SOLVE OR INVEST IN, THAT SHOULD DRIVE THE RUBRIC AND, AND HOW WE DO IT.
IT COULD BE AN ADDED CITY SERVICE, IT COULD BE AN ADDED CONTRACT.
IF IT'S CONTRACTS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO THROUGH A SOLICITATION PROCESS AND HAVE A SCORING MECHANISM AND DO ALL THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
AND SO AFTER COMMITTEE, IS IT GONNA COME BACK TO A B SESSION OR STRAIGHT TO COUNCIL A SESSION? SO, UM, OUR, OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT ONCE THE COMMITTEES DEVELOP THOSE, THOSE, UM, OUTCOMES AND METHODS, THEN WE WOULD BRING THEM BACK FOR THE FULL COUNCIL APPROVAL.
SO, SO WHEN, UM, THE, UM, ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE WITH SS A C DEVELOPS THE RUBRIC AND THE PROPOSAL FOR SMALL, FOR THE $31 MILLION IN SMALL BUSINESS, WE BRING IT BACK TO THE FULL COUNCIL, GET THE COUNCIL TO, TO AGREE WITH IT, AND THEN, AND THEN MOVE OFF TO EXECUTE.
AND THE REASON THAT I WAS ASKING IS BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF MY COLLEAGUES, UM, ARE AWARE, BUT MOST OF US ONLY SIT ON ONE COMMITTEE.
SO COUNCILMAN BRA, BRAVO, MYSELF, COUNCILWOMAN, UM, HDA, COUNCILMAN PALELLA, COUNCILMAN COURAGE, AND COUNCILMAN PERRY WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO WEIGH IN, UM, AT, AT ONE COMMITTEE ON THESE THINGS BEFORE IT COMES STRAIGHT TO COUNCIL.
UM, SO WE HAVE ONE LUCKY COLLEAGUE, COLLEAGUE WHO WILL WEIGH IN ON THREE COUNCIL COMMITTEES.
SO TECHNICALLY, IF WE LOOK AT, UM, THERE'S TWO OTHER CO THREE OTHER COLLEAGUES WHO SIT ON TWO COMMITTEES.
SO THAT'S ALREADY HALF THE VOTE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO IF WE'RE COUNTING TO SIX, SO I JUST WANTED TO ASK THAT PUBLICLY AND JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOME OR OTHER FORM OF ADVOCACY THAT IS NOT JUST THROUGH THE COUNCIL COMMITTEES.
LIKE, DO WE GO TO THE CHAIR? DO WE ADVOCATE FOR CERTAIN THINGS? LIKE, WHAT IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION SO THAT MY PROJECTS THAT I'M CHAMPIONING WILL, UM, GET SEEN BY THE COMMITTEE OR CONSIDERED.
SO WHAT THE OTHER ALTERNATIVE MAYBE, UH, AS I'M SITTING HERE LISTENING TO, TO YOUR YOUR POINT, WE, WE CONTEMPLATED THE, THE COMMITTEES DEVELOPING AND COMING BACK TO THE FULL COUNCIL FOR, UM, FOR, UH, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND APPROVAL, RIGHT? THE, THE, THE, THE ENTIRE BODY.
BUT WE COULD TREAT IT LIKE A HIGH PROFILE CONTRACT
[01:10:01]
WHERE WE DO THE INITIAL B SESSION, EVERYBODY WEIGHS IN, GO OFF AND DO, THE STAFF DOES THE WORK, AND WE COME BACK.UM, SO WE COULD HAVE AN INITIAL CONVERSATION WITH THE COUNCIL IN A B SESSION SO THAT EVERYBODY HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF WEIGH IN, AND THE CHAIRS AND THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE HEARING THAT FROM THE ENTIRE BODY BEFORE THEY DO THAT, THAT WORK.
AND I, I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT TO MY COLLEAGUES.
'CAUSE I DID THE MATH RIGHT AWAY, AND I WAS LIKE, I'M ONLY ON ONE COMMITTEE, SO HOW DO I GO ABOUT, RIGHT? UM, UH, MAKING SURE THAT I ADVOCATE FOR THESE THINGS THAT ARE VERY BENEFICIAL TO, TO MY DISTRICT, WHICH HAS BEEN VERY AFFECTED BY COVID.
BUT I APPRECIATE THE PERIODIC ADJUSTMENTS, THE REVIEW.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE, UH, IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEEDS THAT POP UP AS WE CONTINUE THROUGH GO TO GO THROUGH THIS SURGE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS FACING AS WELL WAS, HOW DO I TELL THE FOLKS THAT, UM, HAVE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR CERTAIN THINGS IN DISTRICT FOUR, UM, THAT IT'S OKAY TO PAY FOR HIGHER WAGE JOBS FOR ONE COMPANY, BUT IT'S NOT OKAY TO, UM, ADVOCATE FOR HIGHER WAGES OR FOR EVEN, UM, SOME SORT OF COMPENSATION PAY FOR OUR CITY EMPLOYEES.
AND I'M REFERRING TO PAGE 12 OR SLIDE 12 OF THE POWERPOINT.
SO TO ME, THAT WAS KIND OF OF, UM, UM, AND THIS IS WHY I, I, I, AND I DO BELIEVE IN WHAT THE WORK IT THAT'S BEING DONE AT THE TEXAS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH, BUT RIGHT THERE IT SAYS JOB GROWTH AND HIGH PAYING JOBS.
I DON'T SEE THAT AT ALL IN THE GUIDELINES, RIGHT? SO HOW DO WE MAKE SURE, AND THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING FOR A RUBRIC, HOW DO WE, UH, UM, HELP JUSTIFY THE NEED? AND I BELIEVE IN THE RESEARCH THAT THAT IS NEEDED THERE.
HOWEVER, THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT IS ASKING FOR ELIGIBLE USES OF ARPA FUNDS, UM, UH, WITH, UH, EXTENT OF REVENUE LOSS, GOVERNMENT SERVICES TO EXTENT OF REVENUE LOSS, PREMIUM PAY FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS INVESTMENT IN WATER, SEWER, BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE, AND RESPONSE TO NE NEGATE, UH, NEGATIVE IMPACT OF C OVID 19.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S WEIGHED RIGHT AT A CERTAIN LEVEL.
SO, ALTHOUGH, LIKE I SAID, I AGREE, LIKE DO THEY GET MORE POINTS IF THEY'RE IN AN IMPACTED AREA, DO THEY GET LESS POINTS? THAT'S JUST A WHOLE LOT TO HANDLE.
SO, BUT I KNOW YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING, ERIC, I WAS GONNA ACKNOWLEDGE IT'S A LOT TO HANDLE.
I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE, AND WE'RE BALANCING OFF THE FACT THAT WE WENT THROUGH A PRETTY ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AND OVERLAYING THAT INTO WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING AND, AND, AND TRYING TO HIT THE CORNERS OF, OF ALL OF THE ENTIRE ROOM, ALL FOUR CORNERS.
SO WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS, RIGHT? AND SO TO TRY TO NORMALIZE SOME OPERATION OPERATIONS.
WITH THAT SAID, UM, ONE IN EVERY SEVEN RESIDENTS IN SAN ANTONIO HAS A DISABILITY.
AND DISTRICT FOUR, IT'S ONE IN EVERY FOUR RESIDENTS.
SO CENTRO MED IS PROPOSING FUNDING 10 SPECIALIZED VEHICLES.
UM, AND SO THEIR FUNDING REQUEST IS AT $1.25 MILLION.
AND SO I WOULD HOPE THAT THE CHECK COMMITTEE, FOR INSTANCE, TAKES THIS UP, BUT I, I'M NOT CERTAIN THAT, THAT THEY WILL, BASED ON, ON WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS.
I KNOW MY COLLEAGUES, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE WONDERFUL.
ANOTHER ONE IS, FOR INSTANCE, THE SOUTH TEXAS BLOOD AND TISSUE CENTER.
AND SO, UM, THEY'RE THE ONLY NONPROFIT COMMUNITY BLOOD PROVIDER.
UM, THEY HAVE OVERHEAD EXPENSES JUST LIKE WE DO.
SO, UM, THE STORAGE, THE RECRUITING, THE TESTING OF THE BLOOD MATERIALS, THEIR FACILITIES, ET CETERA, THEY PUT IN A REQUEST AS WELL.
UM, AND YES, I KNOW THAT, UM, THE BLOOD GETS PAID BY THE HOSPITALS AND THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SOMETIMES REIMBURSES THE HOSPITALS, BUT THEY'RE NOT ASKING FOR A PROFIT.
THEY'RE JUST GETTING PAID FOR THE SERVICES THAT THEY PROVIDE.
SO THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER ONE THAT I WOULD BE, UM, UH, CONSIDERATE OF.
I AM, UM, SUPPORTIVE OF EDUCARE.
I BELIEVE THAT EDUCATION IS THE PATHWAY TO SUCCESS.
AND I, UH, AM SUPPORTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL FOR MORGAN'S WONDERLAND AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN IN, IN CLOSING, UH, WITH MY LAST THREE SECONDS, I DO WANT TO REITERATE, UM, MY SUPPORT FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF.
AND SO THE SAN ANTONIO HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES.
A LOT OF THE BUSINESSES IN MY DISTRICT, SIMILAR TO COUNCILMAN CAVEO, HDA, HAVE BEEN VERY NEGATIVELY IMPACTED.
AND AGAIN, I JUST REMIND YOU THAT THESE PEOPLE IN THE DISTRICTS THAT HAVE MOST BEEN NEGATIVE, MOST AFFECTED, HAD ALREADY BEEN NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY MANY, MANY YEARS OF UNDERFUNDING.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY.
UH, THANK YOU ERIC AND MARIA AND THE ENTIRE STAFF FOR COMING UP WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, I WANNA REITERATE WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER, THAT, UH, WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THESE AS ONE-TIME USES AND NOT THINGS THAT WILL REOCCUR IN THE FUTURE.
HAVING SAID THAT, WHEN I TAKE A LOOK AT, UM, MENTAL HEALTH, $26 MILLION, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE INCREASED THE BUDGET IN OUR GENERAL FUND FUND FROM, UH, 6 MILLION TO 8.6, FROM 21
[01:15:01]
TO 22.AND HERE WE'RE LOOKING AT ANOTHER 26 MILLION OVER SEVERAL YEARS.
AND MY CONCERN IS WITH THE YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH, UH, SENIORS, YOU KNOW, DIGITAL INCLUSION AND ARTS THAT WE'RE BUILDING IN MORE THAN ONE TIME COST ON THESE.
SO, UM, I, I WOULD RATHER LOOK AT MOVING SOME OF THOSE FUNDS UP INTO OUR BUSINESS, OUR SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY, WHO, IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE INITIAL CARESS ACT, THEY GOT ABOUT 18% OF THE TOTAL THAT WE GOT LAST TIME.
UH, THIS TIME WITH THIS, UH, WE'RE DOWN TO 14%.
AND THAT IS OUR BIGGEST HURT IN THIS COMMUNITY, WHERE WE STILL HAVE OVER 35% OF BUSINESSES THAT SHUT THEIR DOORS.
UM, AND I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY SINCE THIS WHOLE THING STARTED.
I THINK WE NEED TO INCREASE THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR THE, OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
I HAVE AN ESTIMATE FROM THE, UH, HISPANIC CHAMBER, SAY, ASKING FOR $50 MILLION VERSUS WHAT WE'RE SHOWING RIGHT NOW.
UM, I HAD ANOTHER INPUT RIGHT BEFORE THE MEETING TODAY THAT IT SHOULD BE $80 MILLION.
WHAT, WHATEVER, WHATEVER THAT NUMBER IS, I THINK WE NEED TO MOVE MONEY FROM THOSE POTENTIAL YEARLY, UH, EXPENSES HERE, PARTICULARLY MENTAL HEALTH IN THO THOSE AREAS, AND MOVE THAT MORE UP INTO OUR SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
UM, ALONG WITH THAT, UH, I TOO SUPPORT MORGAN'S WONDERLAND.
BUT DIDN'T WE, DIDN'T THIS, UH, VERSION, UH, CUT ABOUT $5 MILLION OUT OF THIS, UH, PRESENTATION.
WASN'T IT REDUCED? UH, UH, YES.
IT WAS FOUR AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
THE ORIGINAL REQUEST FROM MORTGAGE WARN LANDS WERE $15 MILLION.
YEAH, WELL, I'D, I'D SUPPORT PUTTING IT BACK UP TO THAT 15 OUT OF THAT, OUTTA THAT, OUT, THAT MONEY THAT WE HAVE IN THESE, THESE OTHER AREAS.
AND I DO NOT SUPPORT THE PREMIUM PAY HERE FOR THE CITY.
UH, THAT'S ANOTHER $10 MILLION THAT WE COULD MOVE UP INTO THESE OTHER AREAS SUCH AS, SUCH AS INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND IT WAS ALREADY MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SUCH A SMALL AMOUNT FOR F STREETS.
I LOVE TO PUT MORE MONEY INTO F STREETS, BUT THIS IS LIKE TRYING TO FILL A FIVE GALLON BUCKET WITH A THIMBLE.
UH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S PALTRY ACROSS THE CITY OF A $900 MILLION BILL THAT WE HAVE FOR F STREETS.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME MORE OF THIS MONEY BE MOVED INTO, UH, F STREETS.
UM, I SUPPORT THE BIOMED, UH, REQUIREMENT.
AND, UM, UH, I, I JUST REALLY WANT TO PUSH FOR, UH, INCREASING THAT AMOUNT FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, THE ARTS, ARTS MONEY, I, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT.
AND IT GOES BACK TO THE BOND WHERE WE HAD A COMMITTEE, THE DRAINAGE COMMITTEE CUT THE ARTS FUNDING.
EVEN WITH THAT, THEY'RE STILL GETTING AN INCREASE FROM THE 2017 BOND.
AND IF WE, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, THE 2017 BOND WAS $850 MILLION.
THIS BOND FOR 2022 IS OF $1.2 BILLION.
SO THEY'RE GONNA GET ADDITIONAL MONEY, BUT I SUGGEST THAT WE MOVE THAT MONEY FROM ARTS INSTEAD OF SETTING IT ASIDE FOR ARTS.
WE MOVE THAT MONEY UP INTO THE SMALL BUSINESS CATEGORY, AND THEY COMPETE WITH OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES.
THEY ARE SMALL BUSINESSES HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK THAT THEY SHOULD COMPETE WITH THE REST OF THE SMALL BUSINESSES ON, UM, GETTING GRANTS AND WHAT HAVE YOU TO, UH, KEEP THEIR BUSINESSES OPEN.
UM, SO I THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME READJUSTMENT ON THIS, ERIC, AND, AND WHAT I'M, WHAT I'M LOOKING AT, AND AGAIN, THIS IS ONE TIME USE AND, UM, WE NEED TO HELP OUR SMALL BUSINESSES MORE THAN WHAT WE HAVE IN THE PAST.
UM, SO I, WHEN I LOOK AT THAT $26 MILLION FOR MENTAL HEALTH, I'M STILL TRYING, THAT'S, THAT IS THE LARGEST, THE LARGEST CHUNK OF MONEY ACROSS THIS LIST.
AND I'M HAVING A HARD TIME UNDERSTANDING THAT AS TO WHY WE WOULD PUT THAT KIND OF MONEY, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE'VE ALREADY INCREASED OUR GENERAL FUND, UH, FROM YEAR TO YEAR, UH, TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES IN OUR, OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, UM, I THINK THOSE ARE THE BIGGEST AREAS THAT I THINK WE NEED TO READJUST THIS ON.
AND, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE AND SMALL BUSINESSES, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME MORE EMPHASIS ON, AND TO PLUG IN THAT MONEY BACK INTO MORGAN'S WONDERLAND, WHAT THEY INITIALLY CAME IN WITH.
[01:20:04]
THANK YOU, MAYOR.UH, I NOTICED THAT, UH, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, 50 MILLION WE'RE, WE'RE SAYING FOR COVID RESPONSE, UH, HOW MUCH HAVE WE SPENT SO FAR FROM CITY FUNDING THAT WE'VE BEEN REIMBURSED FOR OUR, OR WE HAVEN'T BEEN REIMBURSED FOR ON OUR, OUR HANDLING OF COVID IN, UH, SAN ANTONIO AREA? COUNCILMAN, JUST TO CLARIFY YOUR QUESTION, IS THAT JUST ON A RESPONSE TO C OVID 19? YES.
HOW MUCH HAVE WE SPENT ON IT SINCE LAST FEBRUARY, OUR FEBRUARY YEAR AGO, I GUESS YOU'D SAY? SO SPECIFICALLY ON OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE, THAT WOULD COVER OUR, UM, CITY RESPONSE EMPLOYEES PPE.
UM, THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE THE MANY OTHER PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN FUNDED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, LIKE EHAB AND SMALL BUSINESSES AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
AND I THINK THAT THIS 50 IS, EXCUSE ME, I BELIEVE THIS 50 IS DEDICATED SPECIFICALLY TO, RELATED TO HEALTH.
AND IF, UH, COVID GETS WORSE AND PEOPLE NEED TO BE TESTED OR PEOPLE NEED SHOTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND E M S GOING OUT TO TAKE PEOPLE IN.
UM, NOW WHAT ABOUT FEMA REIMBURSEMENT FOR ANY COSTS WE INCUR THIS MONTH OR LAST MONTH OR NEXT MONTH? UH, IS THAT STILL A POSSIBILITY? 'CAUSE I THINK, I UNDERSTAND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS SAID WE'RE NOT GONNA SEND YOU ANY MORE MONEY TO HANDLE THE EXPENSES RELATED TO COVID, BUT FEMA IS STILL WILLING TO REIMBURSE SOME, IS THAT RIGHT? CORRECT.
SO RIGHT NOW, WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT, UM, UM, FEMA IS REIMBURSING 100% OF THE COST RELATED TO A RESPONSE TO C OVID 19, THOSE ELIGIBLE EXPENSES.
AND THAT IS, UH, THROUGH APRIL ONE, UH, AND WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR, AFTER APRIL ONE, THEN THE, UH, REIMBURSEMENT WILL BE AT 75% FOR THOSE ELIGIBLE EXPENSES.
WELL, I'M, I'M PARTICULARLY ENCOURAGED BY WHAT I HEARD THE MAYOR SAY A WHILE AGO, IS THAT IF WE DON'T USE IT, IF WE DON'T NEED IT TO, UH, CONTINUE TO FIGHT COVID, THEN IT CAN BE REALLOCATED FOR OTHER NEEDS.
I WOULD SAY, UH, SOME OF THOSE OTHER NEEDS COULD BE, UH, MORE FOR MENTAL HEALTH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UH, HELPING IN HOUSING, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UH, WOULD YOU SAY THAT'S A POSSIBILITY IF WE DON'T USE IT FOR COVID IF THINGS GET BETTER? YES, IT COULD, IF THAT IS A DESIRE OF THE COUNCIL.
WELL, THAT'S ENCOURAGING TO HEAR.
UM,
AND I, I WANNA HAVE A LITTLE CLARIFICATION OF THAT.
DID WE, IN OUR 2022 BUDGET SET ASIDE NEARLY 5 MILLION FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND 8.8 MILLION FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND 3 MILLION FOR NAVIGATORS? WE DID.
UH, AND SO WHY ARE WE DOING THIS AGAIN? ARE WE GOING TO FORGIVE OURSELVES IN THE NEXT BUDGET FROM HAVING TO DO THAT? SURE.
SO, UM, YOU MAY RECALL THAT WE MENTIONED THAT WE USE 97 AND A HALF MILLION AS PART OF THE 2022 BUDGET PROCESS TO STABILIZE THE CITY BUDGET.
AND DO PROGRAMS LIKE THOSE THREE THAT YOU DESCRIBED, WE ALLOCATED IN OUR TWO YEAR BALANCE BUDGET, TWO YEARS OF FUNDING FOR THOSE THREE PROGRAMS. SO WE HAVE FUNDING IN FISCAL YEAR 22 AND 23.
OUR REQUEST FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION IS TO CONTINUE THOSE PROGRAMS FOR AN ADDITIONAL TWO YEARS THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2025.
AND IS THAT WHAT THIS, THESE AMOUNTS WOULD COVER? YES, SIR.
SO THAT'S, UM, $16.8 MILLION THAT YOU SEE THERE FOR THOSE THREE PROGRAMS IS FOR TWO FISCAL YEARS.
WELL, YOU KNOW, I REALLY BELIEVE IN ALL OF THESE AREAS THAT WE NEED TO SUPPORT THEM, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED TO FORECAST THAT WE NEED TO COMMIT THESE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, UH, FOR THAT LONG.
BUT ALSO, WHO DECIDES WHERE THAT MONEY GOES? IS IT GONNA GO TO THE EXACT SAME ORGANIZATIONS AT THE EXACT SAME FUNDING RATE? IS THAT WHAT THE, UH, ADMINISTRATION IS GOING TO, TO DO WITH THAT MONEY? SO RIGHT NOW, THE, THE PROGRAM, FOR INSTANCE, I'M GONNA PICK MENTAL HEALTH.
WE, UM, HAVE ADDED SOME, UM, CLINICIANS, THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE A CONTRACT WITH STRAC TO BE ABLE TO RETAIN SOME CLINICIANS TO HELP US WITH OUR ALTERNATIVE
[01:25:01]
RESPONSE TO, UH, UH, POLICE AND HOW WE HANDLE THOSE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS, AS WELL AS TO HAVE SUPPORT IN OUR 9 1 1 SYSTEM WHEN CALLS COME IN.SO, SO THOSE, THAT IS A CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, OF COURSE, WE'LL EVALUATE THE, THE RESULTS OF THOSE, UM, UH, INVESTMENTS THROUGH OUR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE AND AS WE COME BACK IN THE BUDGET PROCESS WITH A RECOMMENDATION.
SO IT COULD BE THE SAME ENTITY, UH, FOR THE SAME PROGRAM, OR WE COULD COME BACK, COME BACK WITH A, A VARIATION OF THAT DEPENDING ON THE RESULTS OF THE PROGRAMS. WELL, I GUESS PART OF MY CONCERN IS THAT WE'RE KIND OF SAYING, OKAY, THIS MONEY'S SET ASIDE, COUNCIL DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY OR DO ABOUT IT.
UH, WE'RE JUST GONNA CONTINUE WITH PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE HAD IN PLACE, CA COUNSEL, WHAT YOU'RE, LET, LET ME CORRECT THAT.
I MEAN, I, PART OF THAT IS ALSO WE ADDED STAFF TO BE COMMUNITY AND HOUSING NAVIGATORS.
WE ADDED STAFF IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND, AND IT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, WE CAN PROJECT FORWARD AND, AND, UH, AS, AS THE COUNCIL GOES INTO THE 2024 COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION, IF, IF THE COUNCIL SAYS START TO ELIMINATE THOSE PROGRAMS, WE'LL START TO ELIMINATE 'EM IN THE BUDGET.
OUR ASSUMPTION IS THAT THOSE PROGRAMS ARE STILL CRITICAL AND WE SHOULD HAVE FUNDING AND SHOULDN'T IMPACT THE GENERAL FUND NECESSARILY, AT LEAST FOR THIS PERIOD OF TIME WHERE OUR IS ELIGIBLE.
BUT THE COUNCIL ULTIMATELY, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, DETERMINES THAT AND GIVES US THE FEEDBACK.
AND THEN I PROVIDE YOU THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN TERMS OF A BALANCED BUDGET, UM, TO MEET THE SERVICES THAT, THAT I'M PROFESSIONALLY RECOMMENDING.
BUT THAT FLEXIBILITY IS ALWAYS GONNA BE THERE.
YEAH, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE PRETTY MUCH SAYING WE'RE NOT GONNA, THE COUNCIL DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH TOUCHING THIS AS OF RIGHT NOW AS
I MEAN, I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE BUILDING A FRAMEWORK AND ENSURING THAT THOSE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH 2025.
BUT IF THE COUNCIL DECIDES A YEAR FROM NOW THAT, THAT YOU WANNA MAKE A POLICY SHIFT TO THAT, THEN WE'LL THEN WE'LL SHIFT ACCORDINGLY.
OR A WEEK FROM NOW, OR A WEEK FROM NOW.
UH, I NOTICED THAT UNDER IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS, UH, THERE'S $94 MILLION WORTH OF INVESTMENTS, BUT ONLY ABOUT 54 MILLION OF THOSE WOULD GO TO ANY COMMITTEE FOR ANY KIND OF, UH, DECISION.
BUT, UH, SEVERAL OF THEM ARE, WELL, IF WE VOTE FOR IT NEXT WEEK, THOSE ARE DONE DEALS WITHOUT ANY KIND OF PUBLIC INPUT OR ANY FURTHER CONSIDERATION BY THE COUNCIL.
AND, UH, I ALSO LOOKED AT THE, UH, IMMEDIATE NEEDS AND, UH, SMALL BUSINESS IN EMERGENCY HOUSING.
AGAIN, THERE'S ABOUT 31 MILLION THERE IN EMERGENCY HOUSING.
SO I SEE 31 MILLION IN IMMEDIATE NEEDS AND 54.4 MILLION IN IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS.
THAT'S ABOUT 40% OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF TWO, 212 MILLION THAT WE'RE SAYING THE COUNCILS WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT AND WORK ON.
BUT ACCORDING TO WHAT YOU'RE PRESENTING RIGHT NOW, THE ADMINISTRATION, YOUR OFFICE WILL TAKE CARE OF ALL THE REST OF IT ACCORDING TO WHAT YOU'VE LAID OUT HERE FOR A PLAN.
AND THAT, THAT STILL CONCERNS ME A LITTLE BIT, COUNCILMAN, OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY.
IF YOU, OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THOSE CAPITAL ITEMS, THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THE MORGAN'S WONDERLAND, UM, THE EMPLOYEE FOCUS GROUPS, THAT THOSE BE EXECUTED AND I EXECUTE THOSE JUST LIKE I DO EVERY ORDINANCE THAT YOU GUYS APPROVE.
BUT, BUT IF YOU GUYS WANNA MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THAT, THAT'S THE FEEDBACK I'M LOOKING FOR TODAY.
I'VE GOT A QUESTION ABOUT, UH, ARTS.
UM, WE'VE GOT AN ART BUDGET, UH, AND SOME PROPOSALS FOR ART.
NOW IN THIS, UH, WHAT WAS OUR ART BUDGET IN 2019 FROM THE HOT TAX GENERAL MONEY WE PUT IN THERE AND BOND MONEY? COUNCILMAN, I'M LOOKING AT JUSTINA TO CORRECT ME, BUT FOR THE, UM, UM, BEFORE THE, THE PANDEMIC, RIGHT ROUGHLY WAS ABOUT A $10 MILLION INVESTMENT IN, IN ARTS THAT INCLUDED NOT ONLY WHAT WE FUND THE AGENCIES, BUT ALSO THE CITY STAFF.
SO THE 15%, IF YOU WILL, FROM THE H O T, WAS ROUGHLY ABOUT 10, $11 MILLION.
AND THERE WAS SOME BOND MONEY THAT WAS STILL ONGOING FROM THE 2017 BOND PROJECT THAT GOT EXPENDED THAT YEAR FOR SOME ART PROJECTS, RIGHT? CORRECT.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, LIKE THE GARDEN AREA WE'RE BUILDING RIGHT ALONG, UM, MARKET RIGHT NOW.
WHATEVER WAS IN THE 2017 BOND PROGRAM.
I'M JUST WONDERING, UH, WHAT DID WE FIGURE IN 2019 AND WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT NOW? BECAUSE THE HOT TAX IS STARTING TO COME BACK.
UH, I DON'T, I THINK WE PUT SOME GENERAL FUND MONEY IN THERE.
WE'VE GOT BOND MONEY NOW WE'VE GOT ARPA MONEY.
SO I WONDER WHAT IS THE TOTAL INVESTMENT WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GONNA PUT INTO ART RIGHT NOW WITH ALL OF THESE BOND AND ARPA AND GENERAL
[01:30:01]
FUND AND HOT TAX.WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2019, WHICH WAS PRETTY GOOD YEAR AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO NOW WITH THIS MONEY? RIGHT.
I HAVE THE OPERATING NUMBER, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE, THE, THE BOND DOLLARS.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL GET THAT INFORMATION TO YOU.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO KNOW.
I'LL COME BACK WITH SOME MORE QUESTIONS LATER, MAYOR.
WE'LL CALCULATE THAT AND PROVIDE THAT NUMBER QUICKLY.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UM, I DON'T HAVE ANYONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE, SO I'M GONNA GO TO REPEAT.
UM, APPARENTLY WE, WE HAVE SOME TECHNICAL STUFF HERE HAPPENING, SO, UM, I SAW A HAND FROM COUNCIL MEMBER P COUNCIL MEMBER PALAS.
IF WE CAN GET CASTILLO AND BRAVO IN THE QUEUE AS WELL.
AND, AND YEAH, THAT MY BUTTON IS NOT WORKING AND IT'S OKAY.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, ROCHE GARCIA MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, NOT BEING ABLE TO PARTICIPATE FULLY DURING THE, UH, COMMITTEE DISCUSSIONS.
AND I, I WANTED TO, UH, REASSURE HER AND ANYBODY ELSE THAT, YOU KNOW, SHOW UP TO MY MEETING, UH, YOU KNOW, AT A W C AND ANDY, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, THERE'S NOTHING TO STOP OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM, UH, FROM COMING AND, AND SPEAKING TO US AT THOSE MEETINGS, RIGHT? THERE'S NOTHING TO PREVENT THEM FROM ATTENDING COUNCILMEN, BUT CERTAINLY THEY CANNOT PARTICIPATE IN THE DELIBERATIONS OR THE DISCUSSIONS.
RIGHT? THEY CAN PRESENT AS, AS YOU DO WHEN YOU PRESENT CCRS BEFORE A COMMITTEE, BUT NOT TO ENGAGE IN A BACK AND FORTH DELIVERY.
AND, UM, I'M, I'M NOT GONNA PUT UP A 10 MINUTE CLOCK FOR YOU, UH, FOR COUNCILMAN PERRY, MAYBE 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, HOW HE GETS IN FRONT OF MIKE, BUT, BUT FOR NOBODY ELSE.
UH, SO, UM, I, I WANNA, I, I WANNA GO BACK AND READ SOMETHING THAT I READ WHEN, UM, WHEN, WHEN ARPA WAS APPROVED, UH, AND SIGNED INTO LAW, UM, AND, AND PLEASE FORGIVE ME, AND, UH, IF, IF THIS IS A LITTLE BORING, BUT IT SAYS, UNIQUE CRISES CALL FOR UNIQUE APPROACHES.
OUR ECONOMIC STRATEGY IN RESPONSE TO THIS PANDEMIC INDUCED ECONOMIC CRISIS IS CENTERED AROUND THE BELIEF THAT THE COSTS OF INACTION ARE FAR HIGHER THAN THE COSTS OF ACTING TOO AGGRESSIVELY.
WE SHOULD NOT WAIT FOR YEARS FOR THE ECONOMY TO RETURN TO FULL EMPLOYMENT AND GET THE ECONOMY BACK TO PRE PANDEMIC EXPECTATIONS.
AND RELYING ON THE USUAL TOOLS AND THE USUAL APPROACHES TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH GOVERNMENT ACTION WE NEED IS A RECIPE TO ENSURE THAT WE COME OUT OF THIS WEAKER, NOT STRONGER, AND WE CANNOT AFFORD TO MAKE THIS MISTAKE.
THOSE ARE REALLY INSPIRATIONAL WORDS THAT, AND, AND I FELL OUTTA MY CHAIR WHEN I READ THIS BECAUSE THE AUTHOR WAS THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE.
UM, AND THEY NEVER WRITE INSPIRATIONAL WORDS.
UM, AND THE REASON THAT THEY NEVER WRITE INSPIRATIONAL WORDS IS BECAUSE THEY ARE BY DEFINITION A NON-PARTISAN, IMPARTIAL, OBJECTIVE GROUP.
A REALLY GEEKY ECONOMISTS WHO ARE NOT ALLOWED TO WEIGH IN AND SAY THINGS LIKE THIS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THIS GOT LOST ON, ON EVERYBODY, RIGHT? THAT, UM, THE, THE PURPOSE OF ARPA WAS REALLY TO RESCUE OUR, YOU KNOW, THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN.
UM, IT WASN'T THE AMERICAN RELIEF PLAN, RIGHT? UH, AND SO I THINK THAT ERIC, YOU'VE DONE, YOU AND, AND MARIA AND, AND THE REST OF THE STAFF, I THINK HAVE REALLY CAPTURED THE SPIRIT OF RESCUE, UH, IN THIS.
AND THE, THE PROBLEM IS THAT MY JOB ON, ON CITY COUNCIL IS TO ALSO NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST ADVOCATE FOR, FOR THE BOLD AND THE INNOVATIVE, BUT IT'S ALSO TO, TO MANAGE EXPECTATIONS OF FOLKS WHO ARE RELYING ON, OR DEPEND ON, AND, YOU KNOW, ARE IMPACTED BY THE DECISIONS WE MAKE UP HERE.
AND SO, I, I DO THINK THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO, TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT THE, THE NEEDS ARE LIMITLESS, BUT THE RESOURCES, EVEN THIS BIG, HUGE PILE OF MONEY, UH, IS VERY LIMITED WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU COMPARE WHAT IT IS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE DONE HERE.
UM, AND THERE'S, THERE'S ANOTHER PROBLEM, RIGHT? THIS, THIS MONEY IS, IS NOT GONNA RESULT IN, IN THE REDRAWING OF THIS KHAP GRAPH, RIGHT? OF, OF PEOPLE WHO ARE RECOVERING AND THRIVING.
AND THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE MORE AND WHO ARE JUST BETTER OFF AND WHO ARE LESS VULNERABLE WHILE DURING THIS RECOVERY, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE STILL IN A REALLY URGENT, BRITTLE, DELICATE SITUATION.
AND THIS MONEY IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
BUT I THINK IT'S, WE NEED TO BE REALLY SOBER AND CAREFUL ABOUT NOT PROMISING THAT WE ARE FUNDAMENTALLY GONNA CHANGE, YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO.
UH, AND THAT GRAPH, THERE'S SO MUCH MORE THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
AND WE'RE DOING IT BY WAY OF BOND.
WE'RE DOING IT BY WAY OF THE BUDGET.
WE'RE DOING IT BY WAY OF, YOU KNOW, ASKING FOR MORE FEDERAL INVESTMENT, MORE STATE INVESTMENT.
UM, AND I, I, I WANNA CAUTION FOLKS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE DISAPPOINTED WITH THE END RESULT OF THE, OF THE, OF, OF THIS FUNDING NUMBERS.
THAT, UM, THERE'S STILL GONNA BE MANY, MANY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THESE ORGANIZATIONS TO COME BACK.
LET'S NOT FORGET, WE STILL HAVE A DEL, YOU KNOW, A DELEGATE AGENCY
[01:35:01]
PROCESS.UM, THE OTHER, THE OTHER THING TOO IS WE'RE WITNESSING A LABOR MARKET THAT IS, THAT'S SCARRED, UM, AND BEING WEIGHED DOWN, AND IT'S GONNA BE SCARRED FROM FOR GENERATIONS.
UH, THAT'S BEING WEIGHED DOWN BY, BY THE PROLONGED UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE, UH, LOW, UM, LABOR PARTICIPATION NUMBERS THAT WE'RE SEEING.
UH, THIS IS NOT GONNA FIX THAT FOR EVERYBODY, BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO KEEP THAT IN MIND.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ECONOMISTS, YOU KNOW WHO I'M, I'M SURE EVERYBODY FOLLOWS THEIR FAVORITE ONE, BUT THE ONES THAT YOU KNOW, I'M FOLLOWING WHO ARE USUALLY RIGHT, ARE TELLING US THERE IS GONNA BE ANOTHER ECONOMIC CRISIS.
ALLAH 2018, I'M SORRY, 2008, 2009, BUT THIS TIME AS IT RELATES TO COMMERCIAL PROPERTY.
UM, AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE.
AND SO I, I MENTION ALL THESE THINGS 'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW.
AND THESE ARE ALL UNKNOWN VARIABLES.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S ONE MORE THING THAT ERIC AND I TALKED ABOUT LATE LAST NIGHT.
AND THAT IS WE REALLY NEED TO BE CAREFUL TO NOT EXPECT MORE WINDFALLS LIKE THE ONES WE'VE GOTTEN OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS.
ERIC, WE GOT CARESS MONEY, WE GOT $40 MILLION CHECKS FOR THE AIRPORT.
YOU KNOW, SARAH JUST GOT 2 27 $0.5 MILLION FOR MUCH NEEDED CREEK AND DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE, UM, THIS, THIS, UH, ARPA MONEY WAS MUCH, MUCH NEEDED.
I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BILLION PLUS DOLLARS THAT JUST FLOAT INTO SAN ANTONIO.
UM, BUT THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT A GOOSE THAT'S GONNA CONTINUE TO KEEP ON GIVING.
AND WE NEED TO BE, UH, VERY CAREFUL ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, MANAGING OUR EXPECTATIONS.
'CAUSE I THINK WE'VE GOTTEN REALLY USED TO SPENDING THESE WINDFALLS.
UM, AND SO WITH, WITH THAT OP, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT CAREFUL SOBRIETY ESTABLISHED, AND THAT'S MY MY DISCLAIMER.
UH, I'LL TELL YOU, THE MAYOR AND I WENT TO, UH, WASHINGTON WITH ERIC, AND WE TALKED TO CABINET SECRETARIES.
AND WHAT WE HEARD FROM EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE DEPARTMENTS WAS, HEY, THE POINT OF THIS MONEY WASN'T, UH, JUST SO YOU GUYS CAN DO BUSINESS AS USUAL, RIGHT? IT, YOU GUYS NEED TO DEMONSTRATE TO US THAT YOU'RE BEING REALLY INNOVATIVE AND VERY BOLD WITH, UH, WITH THE USE OF THIS MONEY.
BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT WE SEND YOU MONEY FROM THE BUILD BACK BETTER TRILLION DOLLAR PACKAGES THAT, THAT ARE COMING YOUR WAY.
AND WHEN WE START VETTING, YOU KNOW, WHICH CITIES WE'RE GONNA FUND, WE'RE GONNA SEE WHAT YOU DID WITH THE MONEY THAT WE ALREADY SENT YOU.
UM, AND SO WHEN THREE CABINET SECRETARIES TELL THAT, TELL US THAT BACK TO BACK DURING A VISIT TO DC, YOU BELIEVE 'EM, RIGHT? AND SO, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYBODY ON THIS DIOCESE WHO'S GONNA TELL YOU TODAY THAT THERE IS ENOUGH MONEY IN THIS PROPOSAL TODAY FOR, TO, TO ADEQUATELY FUND THE SMALL BUSINESS NEEDS.
THERE'S NOBODY HERE WHO'S GONNA SAY THE SAME THING ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR FOSTER KIDS OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR, UM, YOU KNOW, PAYING OUR OWN, OUR EMPLOYEES AT THE CITY, OR HOUSING OR MENTAL HEALTH, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
UM, THERE JUST, THERE JUST ISN'T.
BUT THERE IS ENOUGH MONEY IN HERE TO MAKE SOME IMPACTFUL CHANGE, UM, AND, AND TO, TO DO SOMETHING IMPORTANT.
SO I WILL TELL YOU THAT HAVING HEARD THESE CABINET SECRETARIES, I'M, I CAME BACK FROM THAT THINKING THAT WITH THIS ARPA MONEY, WE'VE GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE TWO MOONSHOTS.
THAT'S LITERALLY THE WORD OF, OF, UM, LABOR SECRETARY MARTY WALSH THAT WE GOT TO MEET.
WE WANT TO SEE YOU GUYS REALLY, REALLY, YOU KNOW, UM, TAKING SOME RISKS HERE AND DOING SOMETHING BOLD.
AND SO I THINK THAT, UH, OUR MOONSHOTS HERE ARE GONNA BE THE DIGITAL ACCESS LITERACY INVESTMENT THAT WE'RE GONNA MAKE HERE.
AND THEN THE OTHER MOONSHOT IS THE MORGAN'S WONDERLAND MOONSHOT THAT WE'RE TAKING.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF SAN ANTONIO, WE'RE GONNA BE A WORLDWIDE DESTINATION FOR MEDICAL CARE, FOR DISABLED CHILDREN AND OUR OWN DISABLED CHILDREN WHO HAVE TO GO TO OTHER CITIES TO GO GET THE KIND OF MEDICAL CARE THEY'RE GONNA GET HERE.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I I, I KNOW THAT GORDON, YOU AND I GOT TO TALK ABOUT THIS LATE LAST NIGHT, BUT, UM, I MEAN, THIS IS OUR ST.
JUDE'S OPPORTUNITY, RIGHT? UH, I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
AND SO, UM, THE OTHER THING TOO I'LL TELL YOU IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ASIDE FROM MEETING THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH BOLDNESS, CLAUDE, ARE YOU HERE IN THE ROOM? UH, HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED FROM COVID? HOW MANY? FIVE.
THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE 5,000 FUNERALS, RIGHT? 5,000 IMPACTED FAMILIES.
IF AT THE END OF THIS PROCESS, AT THE VERY LEAST, WE DON'T HONOR THE VERY, VERY SMALL REQUESTS MADE BY THE CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER OF $50,000 TO HELP THESE KIDS LIVE WITH THE HORRIBLE NIGHTMARE THAT THEY NO LONGER HAVE THEIR MOM AND DADS BECAUSE OF THIS COVID VAC, YOU KNOW, THIS CRISIS AT THE, IF WE DON'T DO THAT, AT THE VERY MINIMUM,
[01:40:01]
I THINK WE FAILED.AND SO WITH THAT, UM, I, I DO THINK THAT WE OWE THESE KIDS, UM, I, I THINK WE OWE THESE KIDS A A POWERFUL STATEMENT TODAY, EVEN IT'S A SMALL THING AND IT'S A THIMBLE IN A, WHAT IS IT? A THIMBLE IN A LAKE OR SOMETHING.
I LIKE THE WAY YOU SAID IT, CLAYTON.
BUT, UM, I, I THINK THAT TODAY WE NEED TO ADD THE BEREAVEMENT CENTER'S $50,000 TO THE LIST OF PROJECTS THAT WOULD JUST GET FUNDED.
AND I, I, I'D LIKE MAYOR TO INVITE MY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS TO EXPRESS WHETHER OR NOT THAT $50,000 FOR THE KIDS WHO WERE MOST IMPACTED BY THIS, EVERYBODY'S BEEN IMPACTED HORRIBLY.
BUT THERE IS NOBODY WHO IS IMPACTED WORSE THAN THESE CHILDREN.
I THINK THAT'S NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK.
AND I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT WAY FOR US TO START THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT ARPA.
UH, THANK YOU VERONICA AND CLAUDE FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, AND I WANNA THANK, UH, ERIC, UH, FOR PUTTING FORTH THIS RECOMMENDATION FOR THE 10 MILLION FOR THE EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION.
UM, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, UH, THOUGH I DO HAVE SOME COMMENTS.
UH, I'M, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THE REQUEST.
UM, HOWEVER, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE DIRECT REQUESTS FOR, UM, PREMIUM PAY FOR CITIES WHO SPENT MOST OF THEIR TIME, IF NOT ALL THE TIME, UH, WORKING ONSITE OR IN PERSON, UM, NEED TO BE FAIRLY COMPENSATED.
I BELIEVE THE FASTEST WAY TO GET MONEY IN THE HANDS OF WORKERS WHO RISK THEIR LIVES IS THAT DIRECT PAY, ALLOWING, UH, WORKERS TO DECIDE HOW TO BEST SPEND THOSE DOLLARS, UM, WHETHER IT BE ON HOUSING, UTILITIES, HEALTHCARE, OR SO ON.
UM, AND WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT WE DON'T WANT TO, UM, PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH EMPLOYEES, UM, WHO WILL QUALIFY FOR PREMIUM PAY OR HAZARD PAY.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT SOME EMPLOYEES TOOK A MORE RISK OF EXPOSURE TO COVID.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE GUIDANCE FROM THE TEXAS TREASURY, IT STATES THAT TO ENSURE THE PREMIUM PAY IS TARGETED TO WORKERS THAT FACE OR FACE HIGH HEIGHTENED RISK DUE TO THE CHARACTER OF THEIR WORK, THE INTERIM FINAL RULE DEFINES ESSENTIAL WORK AS WORK INVOLVING REGULAR IN-PERSON INTERACTIONS OR REGULAR PHYSICAL HANDLING OF ITEMS THAT WERE ALSO HANDLED BY OTHERS.
UM, AND I THINK, UM, WITH THAT, RIGHT, THAT CAN HELP US IDENTIFY, UM, THOSE FOLKS WHO, UM, QUALIFY FOR, UM, COMPENSATION.
UM, THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE ABLE TO WORK REMOTELY AND EXCELLED, AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THERE WERE THOSE WHO HAD TO PUT THEIR HEALTH ON THE LINE AND RISK PUTTING THEIR FAMILY'S HEALTH ON THE LINE WHEN COMING HOME.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, UM, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.
AND AGAIN, I'M PLEASED TO SEE THAT IT IS INCLUDED IN THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I KNOW THAT, UM, AME IS REQUESTING 14 MILLION TOWARDS PREMIUM PAY, UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO TALK WITH YOU OFFLINE ON WHAT THOSE REQUESTS ARE.
UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN LOOK INTO FUNDING THIS ADDITIONAL 4 MILLION FROM THE PERSONAL EXPENSE TO MAINTAIN A SERVICE LEVEL LINE, UH, ITEM UNDER THE 50 MILLION FOR THE COVID 19 RESPONSE ALLOCATION.
UM, BUT EARLIER, UH, IN THE CONVERSATION, IT WAS MENTIONED THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE THIS CONVERSATION WITH THE NEXT BUDGET YEAR.
UM, DO YOU ALL HAVE A TIMELINE IN MIND OF WHEN THIS CONVERSATION'S GOING TO TAKE PLACE? AND I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST THAT THIS CONVERSATION, UH, REGARDING THE, THE 10 MILLION FOR EMPLOYEE, UH, EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, UH, FOR PREMIUM PAY, UM, HAPPENS SEPARATE FROM THE, THE, THE ONGOING CONVERSATION ABOUT, UH, EMPLOYEE STRUCTURE COUNCILWOMAN.
UM, WE WILL BE PROVIDING EXACT TIMEFRAME WHERE WE'RE GONNA START THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE EMPLOYEES AND DO THAT ENGAGEMENT WITH, UM, THE EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AS WELL.
BUT OUR PLAN IS TO BEGIN THOSE CONVERSATIONS SOON.
AND AGAIN, UH, UM, I THINK, UH, THEY PUT THEIR LIVES ON THEIR FAMILIES, AND, UM, IF WE LOOK AT THAT DATA, I THINK IT HELP COULD HELP US IDENTIFY, UM, WHO WE SHOULD SUPPORT WITH HAZARD PAY.
UM, BUT IN ADDITION TO HAZARD PAY, I'M PLEASED TO SEE THAT ARTS IS INCLUDED FOR 5 MILLION.
UM, I, I WANNA THANK ALL THE ARTISTS AND COMMUNITY FOLKS WHO CAME OUT TO OUR TOWN HALLS, AS WELL AS CALLING OUR CONSTITUENTS SERVICES OFFICE WITH VOICED THEIR SUPPORT TO ENSURE THAT THE ARTS RECEIVES THEIR FAIR SHARE OF FUNDING.
AGAIN, WE KNOW THEY WERE MOST IMPACTED BY C OVID 19.
UM, THEY'RE FUNDED BY GRANTS AND FUNDRAISING, AND WITH C O YOU CAN'T REALLY, UH, FACILITATE THOSE.
I'M ALSO GRATEFUL THAT ERIC AND HIS TEAM HAVE IDENTIFIED A SOLUTION, UH, FOR THE BOND CONVERSATION AND ARTS FUNDING AND RESTORING THAT THROUGH A BOND LIGHT ITEM.
SO VERY APPRECIATIVE TO SEE THAT, UH, YOU ALL IDENTIFIED A SOLUTION.
[01:45:01]
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT SMALL BUSINESSES, I WAS GLAD TO SEE THAT OVER 30 MILLION, UH, IS A LINE ITEM FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.UH, MY HOPE IS THAT IF NOT ALL OF THE MONEY, UM, UH, RATHER, IF NOT ALL OF THE MONEY, UH, MUCH LIKE HOSPITALITY GRANTS THAT WE ISSUED PREVIOUSLY, UM, TO CONTINUE TO ISSUE THOSE GRANTS.
AND MY HOPE WOULD BE THAT THE LIFT FUND CONTINUES TO ADMINISTER, UH, THOSE SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS.
UH, I, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S GOING TO GO THROUGH THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE PROCESS, UM, BUT JUST, UH, PUTTING THAT OUT THERE THAT I THINK THE LYFT FUND DID A GREAT JOB AT ADMINISTERING, UM, THOSE SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, THE RENTAL AND MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE, AS FAR AS EAP, I AM CONCERNED THAT WE HAVE ONLY ALLOCATED 10 MILLION.
UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT TOMORROW WE ARE GOING TO BE APPROVING ADDITIONAL FUNDS, UH, BUT I'M CONCERNED THAT THIS ISN'T ENOUGH.
UM, THE CITY HAS DRASTICALLY, UM, UH, A REDUCED MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE FUND RIGHT NOW, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HELP HELP RATHER FOLKS KEEP THAT MOST PRIZED ASSET THEIR HOME.
UM, SO ENSURING THAT WE'RE INCREASING FUNDING SO FOLKS CAN CONTINUE TO PAY THEIR MORTGAGE, UH, AND STAY IN THEIR HOME.
UM, AND I, I WOULD HOPE TO SEE AN ADDITIONAL 5 MILLION ADDED, UH, TO THAT FUND.
UM, AND AGAIN, UH, I'VE, I, I WANNA THANK ERIC FOR THE, THE BRIEFING AND THE, THE CONVERSATION.
AND WE DISCUSSED THIS, AND I, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S, UM, A GREAT REASON WHY THE CITY IS SUNSETTING THE EHA PROGRAM.
UM, BUT AS FAR AS PUBLIC PERCEPTION, I DON'T THINK IT'S THE BEST OPTION.
UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE CITY IS SHIFTING BACK TO THE RISK MITIGATION FUND, UH, WHICH WILL THEN BE RENAMED THE HOUSING ASSISTANCE FUND.
UM, BUT I'M CONCERNED THAT THIS MAY CAUSE UH, UNNECESSARY CONFUSION, UH, AMONG THE COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT MY QUESTION IS, IS THAT, IS THAT IF EAP IS ENDED WITH THE DASHBOARD DATA AND THE ONLINE APPLICATION GO AWAY AS WELL? COUNCILMAN LORI'S GONNA COME TO THE MICROPHONE.
UM, COUNCILMAN, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'LL TRANSITION THAT TO A DASHBOARD FOR THE RISK MITIGATION FUND.
UM, SHIFTING TO THE EAST, THE F STREETS, UH, I, I AM GLAD THAT YOU ALL ARE LOOKING AT THAT FORMULA TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF F STREET FUNDING, UH, WITH THESE ARPA DOLLARS.
UM, UH, MY HOPE WOULD BE THAT THESE DOLLARS COULD BE FLEXIBLE AND THAT THEY COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED TO MEET SIDEWALK GAPS, UH, IN ADDITION TO STREET REPAIRS.
UM, A AGAIN, WHEN WE'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW USING THESE DOLLARS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE, UH, THE CITY A SHOT IN THE ARM, I THINK DIGITAL CONNECTS IS ONE THAT WOULD PROVIDE THAT SUPPORT.
UM, UH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, READING THE PAMPHLET THAT WAS PROVIDED, UH, I SEE HOW THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT, UM, YOU KNOW, DISTRICT FIVE AND MY THOMPSON NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION AND QUINTANA AREA, UM, THAT ARE WITHIN THE EDGEWOOD I S D, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND WE KNOW THAT THOSE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE SEVERELY UNDERFUNDED.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, WOULD UPLIFT ALL OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I'M SUPPORTIVE OF.
UM, I DO HAVE MORE COMMENTS, BUT I WILL CHIME IN IN THE NEXT ROUND.
UH, THANK YOU MAYOR CA, COUNCILWOMAN COUNCIL, CAN I ASK ONE FOLLOW-UP QUESTION? I WANNA MAKE SURE I HEARD YOUR COMMENT.
YOU, WHEN YOU REFERENCED THE F STREETS, WERE YOU TALKING, DID, DID YOU SAY THE, UH, YOU WERE ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITY TO ALSO DO SIDEWALKS? YES.
OR, UH, THE ALLOCATION FOR THE F YES.
I WANTED TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, I WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THE RESPONSE TO A COUNCILMAN COURAGE QUESTION ON THE FUNDING FOR ARTS.
SO IN 2019, OUR OPERATING, UH, BUDGET FOR THE ARTS WAS $10.9 MILLION.
UH, THE ALLOCATION AND THE 2017 BOND PROGRAM OVER THE FIVE YEARS IS $8.3 MILLION.
SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WE SPEND SOME AMOUNT OF THAT DURING, DURING THAT YEAR.
THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, 2022 HAS A BUDGET FOR ARTS OF $10.9 MILLION.
SO IT IS, UH, $20,000 HIGHER THAN WHAT IT WAS IN 2019.
THE PROPOSED 2022 BOND PROGRAM, IF THE COUNCIL APPROVES THE REALLOCATION OF THE 3.8 MILLION AS IS BEING PROPOSED, PROPOSED TODAY, WILL GIVE US A FIVE YEAR ARTS PROGRAM OF $15.6 MILLION, PLUS THE $5 MILLION THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING FROM THE AR PASO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, WE WOULD BE SPENDING MORE FUN, UM, MONEY
[01:50:01]
ON ARTS IN 2022 THAN WHAT WE DID IN 2019.ALRIGHT, WE'LL CONTINUE OUR DISCUSSION NOW WITH COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, YOU KNOW, ERIC, UH, WHEN WE WERE OVER HERE HAVING OUR LAST CONVERSA COUNCIL CON CONVERSATION ON, UH, THE 2022 BOND, UH, SEVERAL OF US ASKED YOU TO LOOK INTO HOW WE CAN RESTORE THAT FUNDING, UH, THE ARTS FUNDING, AND, UH, YOUR TEAM CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF THAT 3.8 MILLION FOR THE BRIDGE PROGRAM, SO WE CAN RESTORE THAT ARTS FUNDING AND THE BOND.
AND I'M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE WORK THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM DID ON THAT.
UM, I'M GLAD TO SEE THE F STREET'S FUNDING SUGGESTION IN THERE.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HEAR FROM THE TAXPAYERS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A TOP PRIORITY.
THAT'S WHERE THEY WANT TO SEE, UH, THEIR INVESTMENTS GO.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO IMMEDIATE NEEDS, I, I GOT AN EMAIL THE OTHER DAY FROM JAY POKY WHO'S NOW WITH THE SOUTH TEXAS BLOOD AND TISSUE CENTER, AND I DIDN'T EVEN READ IT.
I JUST PICKED UP THE PHONE AND CALLED HIM AND SAID, HEY MAN, DON'T WORRY, I GOT YOU.
DISTRICT ONE IS ALREADY SIGNED UP TO DO A BLOOD DRIVE.
AND HE SAID, NO, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
HE'S LIKE, THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, TIMES HAVE CHANGED.
THE PANDEMIC HAS AFFECTED A LOT OF PEOPLE.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE WORKING, PEOPLE ARE, THEY'RE, UM, WORKING REMOTELY NOW.
AND SO WE CAN'T DO BLOOD DRIVES AT BUSINESS CENTERS LIKE WE USED TO AT LARGE PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT LIKE WE USED TO.
AND WE'RE HAVING TO PIVOT OUR BUSINESS MODEL.
WE'RE HAVING TO DO MORE OUTREACH.
AND SO THEY, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR SOME SUPPORT THERE.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I'D BE SUPPORTIVE OF AS WELL, BECAUSE I SEE THAT AS AN IMMEDIATE NEED AND SOMETHING THAT'S CRITICAL, ESPECIALLY WITH THE SHORTAGES THAT WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING HERE LOCALLY, UM, ON THE SMALL BUSINESSES.
I, I SUPPORT THAT, THAT RE UM, REQUEST.
I JUST THINK, UH, THOUGHT, WANNA SUGGEST THAT MAYBE WE SAY SMALL AND MICRO BUSINESSES BECAUSE A LOT OF THE REALLY, REALLY SMALL BUSINESSES ARE THE ONES THAT ARE AFFECTED MOST.
AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO THEM AS WELL AND DRAWING ATTENTION TO THEM AS WELL.
I, I THINK THAT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE AT 26 MILLION, I'D BE EVEN WILLING TO GO HIRE.
SO MANY OF THE BUSINESSES THAT I TALK TO NOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE STRUGGLING TO HIRE PEOPLE AND THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE TALENTED WHO AREN'T GOING TO WORK RIGHT NOW, AND SOMETIMES IT'S BECAUSE OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.
SO IT'S, IT'S A BUSINESS ISSUE AS WELL.
IF WE, WHEN WE'RE HELPING PEOPLE, UM, TO, TO, TO GET THEIR MENTAL HEALTH BACK IN BALANCE, UM, THEN THEY'RE ABLE TO GO BACK TO WORK.
AND, UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S JUST SO MANY REASONS TO SUPPORT PEOPLE IN MENTAL HEALTH AND IT'S, IT'S A HUGE ISSUE.
LIKE COUNCILMAN PALLIA SAID, YOU KNOW, 5,000 PEOPLE HAVE DIED AND THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS ARE, ARE REALLY, YOU KNOW, STRUGGLING.
AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE MOST, MOST IMPACTED RIGHT NOW.
AND, AND THAT, THAT I THINK SHOULD BE A PRIORITY IS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST IMPACTED.
UM, AND THAT, THAT BRINGS ME TO EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION.
ERIC, I MEAN, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOU AND EXPLORE IF, IF YOU'RE HAVING, IF YOU NEED SOME SUPPORT HERE WITH THE CITY'S ORGANIZATION FOR EMPLOYEE RETENTION, BUT WHEN IT JUST COMES TO EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION.
YEAH, I THINK BACK TO WHEN THE PANDEMIC FIRST STARTED, MY BOSS CALLED ME AND HE SAID, HEY MAN, YOU KNOW, BONUSES ARE GONNA BE SMALL OR, UH, PAY RAISES ARE GONNA BE SMALL THIS YEAR.
AND I TOLD 'EM, YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M GRATEFUL JUST TO HAVE A JOB RIGHT NOW, UM, DURING THIS PANDEMIC.
I FEEL LUCKY TO, TO BE EMPLOYED AND HAVE A STABLE PAYCHECK DURING THIS THESE TIMES.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SUPPORT MOVING SOME OF THAT FUNDING OVER TO, UM, SUPPORT SOME OF THE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS IN YOUTH AND SENIORS.
YOU KNOW, I KEEP HEARING FROM BETTY ECKERT, WHO, WHO WORKS WITH A SENIOR CITIZEN COMMUNITY ABOUT HOW SO MANY SENIORS IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE, ARE STILL GETTING FROZEN MEALS.
THEY'RE NOT GETTING HOT MEALS.
UM, AND, AND HOW WE NEED TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF, OF THE MEALS THAT WE'RE PROVIDING TO OUR SENIOR CITIZENS IN THE COMMUNITY.
WHEN I TALK TO MY FRIENDS AT UP PARTNERSHIP, YOU KNOW, I TALK TO THEM SOMETIMES ABOUT ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES, AND THEY TELL ME, YOU KNOW, THAT THE OPPOSITE OF THAT IS POSITIVE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND WE, WE NEED TO INVEST IN YOUTH PROGRAMS THAT, OR YOUTH PROGRAMMING THAT CAN PROVIDE POSITIVE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES.
AND THAT'S A HUGE NEED THAT WE HAVE RIGHT THERE.
UM, SO THAT'D BE SOMETHING THAT I'D BE SUPPORTIVE OF.
I, I WAS GIVEN A PRESENTATION ON EDUCA AND I JUST THOUGHT THAT WAS A FANTASTIC PROGRAM AND I'M, SO, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THEY'RE BEING SUPPORTED RIGHT NOW AND, AND TO, TO GO BACK TO SUPPORTING PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH, HEALTH ISSUES AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE HEALTHY SO THAT THEY CAN GO BACK TO WORK.
UM, SO MANY PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING TO, TO HIRE RIGHT NOW.
MORGAN'S WONDERLAND IS HAVING A CAREER FAIR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, GO DOWN THERE, GET A JOB, YOU KNOW, APPLY FOR A JOB.
THEY'RE HIRING DAVILA CONSTRUCTION.
I SAW THEIR SIGN THIS MORNING WHEN WE WERE, UH,
[01:55:01]
DOING THE GROUNDBREAKING FOR CIVIC PARK, AND THERE WAS A HUGE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT RIGHT THERE AND RIGHT OUT FRONT, REAL BIG.THEY SAID, NOW HIRING SO MANY PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING TO HIRE RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT IF, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A JOB, THERE'S A GREAT PLACE TO GO WORK, UH, AT MORGAN'S WONDERLAND.
UM, AND I'M STILL SUPPORTIVE OF THEIR PROJECT.
UM, THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN, UH, ROCHA GARCIA FOR BRINGING UP THE FACT THAT, UH, SOME OF US AREN'T GONNA GET TO WEIGH IN EARLY ON ON HOW SOME OF THESE, WHAT, WHAT THE ROOT RUBRIC IS THAT WE'RE GONNA MEASURE SOME OF THESE PROJECTS BY.
AND SO A LOT OF THESE DECISIONS ARE GONNA BE MADE BEFORE THEY COME TO THE FULL COUNCIL.
AND I WAS THINKING ABOUT THAT TOO.
AND, YOU KNOW, I WAS LOOKING AT, UM, MENTAL HEALTH.
I WAS REALLY LOOKING TO PLAY A LEADING, LEADING ROLE ON THAT.
AND I SEE IT'S GOING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
I'M GLAD THAT, UH, THAT COUNCILWOMAN KEO H AND I WERE HA ABLE TO HAVE A GREAT TALK THIS MORNING AND TALK ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER MORE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND I UNDERSTAND, YES, THAT IT, IT IS A, I WAS HOPING IT WOULD GO TO THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE COMMITTEE, BUT I DO UNDERSTAND HOW IT FITS THERE AS WELL.
BUT I'M, I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO WEIGHING IN ON THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN IN WITH IMMEDIATE NEEDS, UH, I THINK THIS IS A MORE IMMEDIATE NEED THAN, THAN WHEN WE MAKE DECISIONS ON THIS FUNDING, ERIC, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN TALKING TO SOME OF THE LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN STANDING UP WARMING CENTERS DURING THE, THE FREEZE EVENTS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING RECENTLY.
AND I REALLY WANT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THE, THEY HAVE, UH, OUTREACH WORKERS WHO ARE GOING OUT, UH, PERFORMING OUTREACH ON THE STREETS WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND THEY'RE TRYING TO BRING 'EM IN TO THESE WARMING CENTERS.
AND WITH THESE COVID NUMBERS SO HIGH, I THINK IT'S JUST REALLY DANGEROUS TO BRING A BUNCH OF PEOPLE IN AND HAVE 'EM SLEEP UNDER THE SAME ROOF.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THEM, UH, SOME OF THESE NON-PROFITS, SOME OF THESE CHURCHES, GET THEM, UH, A BUNCH OF RA COVID RAPID TEST KITS AND GET THEM SOME HEPA AIR PURIFIER SO THAT THEY CAN CLEAN THE AIR IN THOSE ROOMS AND, AND TRY AND REDUCE THE VIRAL LOAD IN THE, IN THOSE BUILDINGS WHEN THEY ARE HAVING A LOT OF PEOPLE GATHERING DURING THOSE WARM WARMING CENTERS.
AND, AND JUST MAKE THEM A, A SAFER ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE PEOPLE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN, UH, STAYING WARM AND GETTING C O V I D DURING FREEZING EVENTS.
UH, I WANT TO THANK, UH, NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES CITY STAFF, UH, THE PARTICIPANTS THAT CAME OUT TO OUR MEETINGS AND PARTICIPATED ONLINE, THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE HERE TODAY AND ATTENDED OUR MEETINGS IN THE COMMUNITY TO SHARE, UH, WITHOUT THIS, YOUR TURNOUT IN ATTENDANCE, YOUR PARTICIPATION WAS KEY AND GOT US HERE TODAY.
UM, THIS IS ENTIRELY WHAT I EXPECTED WHEN I DECIDED TO RUN.
UH, THIS IS ABOUT GETTING US THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC AND GETTING US BACK ON THE ROAD TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
SO THE FIRST THING I WANNA TALK ABOUT IS THE COMPENSATION BENEFITS RETENTION.
ERIC, I'M VERY PLEASED TO SEE THAT THIS IS HAPPENING, UH, AND THAT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR EMPLOYEE INPUT.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE WORKING THIS WITH OUR STEP PAY PLAN TOO, UH, BECAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, AND I'D WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT IT ON THE CONTINUATION OF PROGRAMS FUNDED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2022.
UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE UPDATES QUARTERLY TO THE COMMITTEES THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO REPORT TO.
I HAVE YET, AND I'M PART OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO HEAR FROM THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE C R T UNIT.
SO IF WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE THIS, LIKE MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE COURAGE MENTIONED, I THINK WE NEED MORE UPDATES TO SEE IF THIS IS WORKING AND IF IT'S MAKING A TRUE IMPACT.
AND IF IT'S NOT, HOW WE CAN MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS IN THESE DOLLARS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE C OVID 19 RESPONSE.
I THINK THIS WAS THE FIRST CONVERSATION I HAD, ERIC WITH YOU THAT FIRST WEEK, IS THAT I KNEW THAT THIS, THIS AMOUNT WAS GOING TO CHANGE BECAUSE OF THIS OMICRON OUTBREAK.
AND AS MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE MENTIONED BEFORE, TWO, THREE AND 4, 2, 3, 4 AND FIVE FELT THE IMPACT FOR THE FIRST SPIKE.
AND THEY'RE FEELING THE IMPACT NOW FOR THE SECOND SPIKE.
AND IT, IT IS WHAT, WHAT IT IS.
AND I WANT TO TAKE THIS TIME THAT I AM, I AM REPRESENTING A DISTRICT THAT FOUR GENERATIONS WAS NOT REPRESENTED.
SO WHEN WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE AND F STREETS, IT'S REALLY HARD FOR ME TO SAY YES TO THAT BECAUSE I HAVE NO STREETS OR VERY LITTLE INFRASTRUCTURE.
I HAVE STREETS THAT DON'T, THAT I HAVE RESIDENTS STILL ON PROPANE BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE GAS.
AND SO AS WELL-INTENTIONED AS THIS 10 MILLION IS, I WOULD REALLY RATHER SEE US HAVE A LARGER CONVERSATION OF HOW WE LOOK
[02:00:01]
AT THE EQUITY LENS AND MOVE THAT 10 MILLION BACK INTO GETTING TEXAS A AND M EDUCARE, IT'S 7 MILLION AND GETTING MORGAN'S WONDERLAND A LITTLE MORE TO DO THEIR PROJECTS.ALSO, I, I'D ALSO LIKE TO SEE THAT DIVIDED UP WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS BECAUSE THIS IS JUST THE INFRASTRUCTURE ASPECT.
WE NEED TO HAVE A LARGE, LARGER CONVERSATION.
WE HAD A CONVERSATION JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AGO HOW WE WERE GRADING FRETS AND THIS EQUITY LENS WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO THAT'S MY RECOMMENDATION THERE.
UH, I THINK WE ARE WORKING VERY HARD IN THE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS.
ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT REACHED OUT TO MY OFFICE, YOU, THERE WAS MERIT THERE, THERE WAS, UM, NEED THERE.
AND I AM, UH, I AM EXCITED ABOUT THE THREE THAT WERE CHOSEN BECAUSE I THINK IT'S A GOOD START.
UH, TEXAS BIOMED IS ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE.
IT IS ABOUT, UH, ADDRESSING THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A BUSINESS THAT MAKES A GLOBAL IMPACT, BUT YET SAN ANTONIO HAS NEGLECTED PARTS OF ITS CITY AND NOT LOOKED AT THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND THAT'S A LARGER UTILITY CONVERSATION THAT WE, WE WILL HAVE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, MORGAN'S WONDERLAND, UH, GORDON, THAT WAS YOUR VISION, AND YOU INVESTED IN THAT AND YOU BROUGHT PEOPLE ALONG.
AND NOW YOU'RE ASKING THE CITY TO COME ALONG WITH YOU.
AND I KNOW HOW THE, THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY WAS IMPACTED BY THIS, AND I THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT MOVE FOR THIS TIME.
AND EDUCARE EDUCATION OF ZERO TO THREE IS CRITICAL.
WE, WE KNEW THAT BEFORE WE GOT INTO THE PANDEMIC, BUT, BUT WHAT WOULD, IT WAS AMPLIFIED BY THE FACT THAT PEOPLE COULD NOT FIND DAYCARE.
AND IF WE ARE GOING TO BE A COMPETITIVE CITY, WE NEED TO INVEST IN THE ZERO TO THREE EDUCATION.
SO I'D LIKE, UM, I'D LIKE TO BRING UP DR.
MADSON, BECAUSE I'M NOT GOING TO, UM, I'M NOT GONNA PUT WORDS IN YOUR MOUTH, BUT WHY IS IT CRITICAL THAT YOU GET THE FULL 7 MILLION INSTEAD OF THE 6 MILLION THAT WE HAVE HERE? WELL, THIS PROJECT IS, IS AN IMPORTANT PROJECT FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, AS YOU'VE JUST POINTED OUT.
BUT IT IS ALSO A COMPONENT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
AND THERE IS A SERIES OF INDIVIDUALS WHO CANNOT GO BACK TO WORK, TO YOUR POINT ABOUT JOBS AND PEOPLE HIRING BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE QUALITY CHILDCARE.
THIS IS ALSO ABOUT EQUITY, AS YOU POINTED OUT.
BUT THIS IS A PROJECT THAT HAS 27 PARTNERS, AND THERE WE ARE LOOKING TO BRAID FUNDING IN MULTIPLE AREAS.
SO WE WANT TO WORK WITH YOU IN THE CITY.
WE'RE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A, A SPOT ON THE BUDGET CONVERSATION.
AND THE $7 MILLION WOULD HELP GET US OVER THE FINISH LINE WITH THE REST OF OUR PARTNERS.
SO WE WOULD CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO LEVERAGE THOSE DOLLARS TO LEVERAGE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY AND TO LEVERAGE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR GEOGRAPHY.
AND I THINK THE, THE CRITICAL POINT, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT THE LETTERS OF SUPPORT THAT WE RECEIVED, UH, AND I THINK, I BELIEVE ALL MY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS RECEIVED THAT, THAT THIS, THIS IS A, THIS IS AN INVESTMENT FOR, FOR, THAT HITS A LOT OF THOSE BUCKETS.
SO IF WE, IF WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE FROM THE INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS, I THINK REDUCING MAYBE THE YOUTH TO 9 MILLION OR, UM, OR LOOKING AT OTHER ASPECTS TO, TO MOVE THAT AROUND SO THAT WE CAN GET THE 7 MILLION FOR, FOR ED CARE.
WE, WE HAVE A CHALLENGE AHEAD OF US.
THE IDEA OF, OF TAKING THESE PROJECTS BACK TO THE COMMITTEE, BECAUSE I TOO, LIKE DR.
ROCHA GARCIA, WISH CENTRO MEDS 2 MILLION WAS JUST ON THERE.
AND I TOO, LIKE, UM, COUNCILMAN IZE, WISH THE CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT WAS JUST ON THERE.
BUT IF, IF WHAT YOU'RE TELLING US IS THAT WE NEED TO GO BACK TO COMMITTEE AND WE NEED TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, WE CAN GO BACK TO COMMITTEE AND HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE WERE ELECTED TO DO.
UH, THIS IS NOT GONNA BE EASY.
UH, I KNEW THAT WHEN I RAN, THIS IS A PROCESS, BUT IF WE'RE GONNA MOVE SAN ANTONIO FORWARD, WE NEED TO MOVE THIS FRAMEWORK FORWARD.
SO I, I, I THANK YOU ERIC, AND I ASK THAT YOU TAKE INTO MY CONSIDERATION AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT YOU BRING FORWARD ON, UM, NEXT WEEK.
[02:05:01]
UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR.I HAD, UM, A COUPLE OF COMMENTS BACK TO THE, WELL, ACTUALLY, LET ME START FIRST WITH, UH, THE HAZARD PAY REQUEST.
UM, I'M ALSO REALLY GLAD TO SEE THE $10 MILLION ON THERE, I WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF, OF INCREASING THAT.
UM, MY ONLY, UH, CONCERN IS THAT, UH, HOW LONG IT MIGHT TAKE.
I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE BEEN ADVOCATING, I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH AFSCME, UH, TODAY AND, UH, THAT THIS ADVOCACY HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE, SINCE JUNE.
AND I KNOW SOME OF US HERE AT THE DIOCESE MENTIONED IT, UM, EARLY ON IN, IN THE BUDGETING PROCESS.
SO, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT GIVES ME A LITTLE BIT OF PAUSE IS I, I WISH, UH, WE WERE FURTHER ALONG IN THAT PROCESS.
I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM THE, UM, FROM THE EMPLOYEES.
UH, I, I'M WONDERING IF, UH, ERIC, YOU MENTIONED THAT MAYBE SOME OF THEM WANT THIS IN, UH, FLEXIBLE SPENDING, WHICH THAT MAKES SENSE, BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY, UH, TAXES ON THAT, SO IT MIGHT BE MORE MONEY IN YOUR POCKET.
BUT I'M WONDERING IF THERE, IF YOU COULD CONSIDER, UM, SOME EASY WAY TO JUST GIVE THEM THAT OPTION AND MAYBE IT WON'T TAKE QUITE AS LONG.
I, I DO THINK THERE'S A LOT OF VALUABLE INFORMATION YOU'RE GONNA DISCOVER WHEN YOU DO YOUR, YOUR CONVERSATIONS THAT CAN BE USED, UH, IN THE, IN THE FUTURE FOR FUTURE COMPENSATION.
UM, THE OTHER, UH, THE OTHER THOUGHT I HAD WAS, UM, MAYBE IT'S POSSIBLE TO TAKE THAT ITEM BACK TO ONE OF THE COMMITTEES AS WELL.
UM, I BELIEVE THE MOST APPROPRIATE WOULD BE WOULD BE GOVERNANCE, UH, ON THAT.
UM, THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO MENTION IS, UM, WHEN I WAS ASKING YOU ABOUT THE CATEGORIES, MARIA, THERE, I SEE THAT WE HAVE SOME APPLICATIONS OR SOME REQUESTS THAT DON'T NECESSARILY MATCH UP TO THE CATEGORIES UNLESS WE'RE A LITTLE CREATIVE
SO, UH, YEAH, IF YOU COULD EXPLAIN TO ME HOW ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO CONSIDER SOME OF THE REQUESTS SUCH AS, UM, I'LL START WITH THE, ONE OF THE ONES THAT I'VE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING.
UM, AND I THINK COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO WAS TWO, WHICH IS, UH, IMMIGRANT SERVICES.
UH, THERE'S A, A REQUEST FOR, UH, LESS THAN, UH, A MILLION DOLLARS, UH, FROM, FROM TWO DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
SO HOW CAN WE, UH, CONSIDER THEM IN THIS PROCESS? SURE.
SO TO ANSWER THE, THE FIRST PORTION OF YOUR QUESTION, COUNCILWOMAN OUR, UM, FRAMEWORK SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING WAS THAT WE WANTED TO HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THEN WITH YOUR INPUT AND DEVELOP THOSE CATEGORIES, AND THEN HAVE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AFTER YOU DEVELOP THE PROGRAM OUTCOMES OF WHAT YOU'RE EXPECTING TO SEE, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, ON, ON YOUTH AND, AND SENIORS.
UM, AND, AND THEN THOSE ENTITIES BASED ON, ON YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR PROGRAM OUTCOMES WOULD APPLY FOR FUNDING.
SO, SO THAT WAS THE THOUGHT THAT WE HAD TO GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE, UM, ENTITIES ONCE YOU DEVELOP THOSE PROGRAM OUTCOMES.
UM, NOW IF, IF THE COUNCIL, UM, CHOOSES PERHAPS TO, TO ADD A, AN ADDITIONAL CATEGORY THAT WE DON'T HAVE, UH, TODAY, UH, THIS WILL BE THE TIME TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION BEFORE WE APPROVE THE FRAMEWORK.
BUT THAT WAS, THAT WAS OUR STRATEGY TO PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR NONPROFITS TO APPLY.
SO, UM, I, I GUESS I'M NOT READY TO SIGN OFF ON THE CATEGORY DISTRIBUTION.
I THINK THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE MISSING AND, UH, CERTAIN VULNERABLE POPULATIONS THAT I WANNA MAKE SURE ARE INCLUDED IN OUR DISCUSSION GOING FORWARD.
THESE INCLUDE, UH, THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY.
UH, IN FACT, REMEMBER WHEN WE HAD THE AMBASSADOR HERE FROM MEXICO AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WE REALLY NEED AN IMMIGRANT SERVICE CENTER HERE.
UM, THE OTHER COMMUNITY WOULD BE, UM, I KNOW MORGAN'S WONDERLAND IS DOING TREMENDOUS THINGS.
WE ALSO HAVE A VERY ACTIVE DISABILITY ACCESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT HAS BEEN GIVING US REQUESTS THAT WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FUND.
UM, SO I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO SET ASIDE SOME FUNDING FOR THAT AS WELL.
SO DISABILITY ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR CITY FACILITIES.
WE DID A TREMENDOUS JOB WITH CITY HALL THANKS TO MR. HARTMAN'S ADVOCACY AND, AND SOME OF THE WORK OF THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL.
UM, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T NORMALLY HAVE DEDICATED FUNDING FOR, WHICH IS ALSO A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT.
THE OTHER CATEGORY THAT I, I'M NOT SURE I I SEE IN HERE MAY, MAYBE IN YOUTH IS, UH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GOING TO ONLY DO CAPITAL THINGS, UH, MAYBE THAT NARROWS IT DOWN.
BUT I, I DO KNOW THAT THE BATTERED WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S SHELTER FACILITIES COULD DEFINITELY USE SOME, SOME CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT.
SO, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MAYOR.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO COUGH DIRECTLY INTO THE, OR CLEAR DIRECTLY INTO THE MICROPHONE.
[02:10:01]
ECHO SOME SUPPORT, UM, FOR SOME OF THE POINTS THAT MY, MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES HAVE MADE.UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL HAD MADE A POINT THAT SHE MADE VERY EARLY ON WAS THAT, UM, A LOT OF THE ORGANIZATIONS WITH THE KNOW-HOW, WHO ARE VERY CONNECTED TO COUNCIL, VERY CONNECTED TO, TO THE CITY ORGANIZATION, THEY KNOW, THEY KNOW THAT IF THEY KNOW HOW TO GET IN FRONT OF US.
UM, WE HAD THE ARPA TOWN HALLS WHERE ORGANIZATIONS HAD AN OPPORTUNITY AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THE NEEDS THAT THEY HAD.
AND THEY HAD VERY, SO MANY OF THEM, UH, UM, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A LITTLE BIT.
THEY HAVE SUCH SMALL DOLLAR AMOUNT ASKS, BUT THEY'RE DOING SUCH GREAT WORK AND WE RELY ON THEM SO MUCH TO DO IMPACTFUL WORK FOR THE CITY.
UM, AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE, BUT DEDICATING A CERTAIN PORTION OF THE FUNDS TO SMALL NON-PROFITS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT, UM, ARE DOING THE WORK.
AND EVEN IF IT FALLS UNDER DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, AS LONG AS WE'RE ALLOCATING A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF FUNDING FOR THESE SMALL ORGANIZATIONS, THAT WOULD BE IDEAL.
UM, COUNCILMAN PALAIS HAD BROUGHT UP THE CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER, AND I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A VERY SMALL ASK.
I'M SUPPORTIVE OF, UM, COUNCILMAN CASTILLO BROUGHT UP EHA.
I THINK GENERALLY I WOULD LIKE IT IF WE CAN START HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT OUR PLAN IS.
'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO GET THESE SMALLER AMOUNTS THAN WHAT WE NEED.
AND SO WE NEED A PLAN FOR HOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT, BECAUSE THE NEED ISN'T GONNA GO AWAY, BUT THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES THAT WE'RE GETTING IS DECREASING.
AS COUNCIL, UH, COUNCILMAN ELAS HAD SAID, UM, I DIDN'T AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT COUNCILMAN PERRY SAID, BUT I DO AGREE ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE AND F STREETS, AND I WOULD BE VERY, UM, I WOULD NOT AT ALL SUPPORT REMOVING ANY FUNDING FROM F STREETS.
AND, YOU KNOW, AS THE DISTRICT WITH THE WORST CONDITIONED INFRASTRUCTURE, I WOULD BE OFFENDED AND MY CONSTITUENTS WOULD BE OFFENDED.
UM, ALSO, COUNCILMAN, UH, ROCHA GARCIA HAD BROUGHT UP THAT DISTRICTS 2, 3, 4, AND FIVE WERE MOST IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC.
AND SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE US TO LOOK AT IS THOSE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE FUNDING.
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT AREAS DO THOSE ORGANIZATIONS SERVE.
LIKE, I, I WANT, I DON'T NEED ANSWERS RIGHT NOW.
I WOULD LIKE THAT TO BE A PART OF OUR THOUGHT PROCESS.
AND THE CRITERIA AND RUBRIC THAT WE SAY IS, WHAT AREAS DO YOU SERVE AND WHAT NEEDS DO YOU MEET? AND, YOU KNOW, GIVE POINTS TO THOSE THAT SERVE THE DISTRICTS IN THE AREAS WITH THE GREATEST NEED AS WELL.
I, I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS IN EARLY, UH, IN MY EARLIER COMMENTS, BUT I DO HAVE A STRUGGLE WITH, UM, TEXAS BIOMED.
AND I KNOW THIS ISN'T GONNA BE POPULAR AMONGST MY CO UH, COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, BUT WHEN I WAS ATTENDING THE BOND MEETINGS, THERE WAS A LOT OF ANGER AND FRUSTRATION WITH THE POTENTIAL OF THE CITY FUNDING, UM, A FACILITY THAT DOES ANIMAL TESTING.
AND I THINK MORALLY, THIS IS WHERE I STAND, IS THAT WE ARE BEYOND ANIMAL TESTING.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT WE AS A CITY SHOULD BE SUPPORTING THAT.
THAT BEING SAID, NOT EVERY ORGANIZATIONS AREN'T PERFECT.
I DON'T EXPECT ORGANIZATIONS TO BE PERFECT, AND I DON'T AGREE WITH ALL OF THEM, BUT THERE ARE SOME DOING AMAZING WORK FLAWS AND ALL THEY CAN CONTINUE TO DO THAT WORK.
BUT DO THEY NEED, I DON'T THINK THEY NEED TO BE FUNDED BY THE CITY, AND WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE MESSAGE THAT WE SEND WHEN WE DO FUND ORGANIZATIONS.
I DON'T EXPECT ALL MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES TO AGREE WITH ME, BUT I WOULD BE VERY, UM, I WOULD REGRET IT IF I DIDN'T SAY THAT.
COUNCIL MEMBER MAYOR RICKY RODRIGUEZ.
JUST, JUST A, UH, A QUICK, UM, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR FIRST POINT, UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, I WANNA REMIND THAT, AND I DON'T REMEMBER WHICH COUNCIL PERSON, UH, SAID IT, BUT, UH, EITHER THE OCTOBER OR THE DECEMBER COUNCIL PRESENT, UH, DISCUSSION, THE ISSUE OF, OF SMALL NONPROFITS, UM, UM, THERE WAS AT LEAST ONE COUNCIL MEMBER THAT VOICED THE SUGGESTION THAT, THAT THAT TYPE OF SUPPORT BE INCLUDED WITHIN THE BROADER CONTEXT OF WHATEVER WE ENDED UP DOING WITH SMALL BUSINESS.
AND SO THE SMALL BUSINESS CATEGORY THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO YOU TODAY IS THE SINGLE LARGEST, ASIDE FROM THE, THE COVID EXPENSES OF $50 MILLION, IT IS THE SINGLE LARGEST.
AND SO, TO YOUR POINT, I JUST WANTED TO REMIND THE COUNCIL THAT SOMEBODY HAD MADE THAT SUGGESTION IN THE FALL, THAT WHEN, WHEN WE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE FACT THAT NONPROFITS WHO ARE EMPLOYERS ALSO, AND HIRING AND PROVIDING SERVICE, THAT THAT SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED AS AS THAT PROGRAM GETS DEVELOPED.
AND IS THAT SOMETHING WITH, IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE DESCRIBING WHEN, WHEN YOU MADE THAT COMMENT? THANK YOU.
I, UM, I GUESS THAT IS A, TO COUNCILMAN, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL'S POINT ABOUT THE CATEGORIES, I WOULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS THE CLASSIFICATION.
BUT IF, UM, IF IT IS, I'M WONDERING IF WE HAD AN INITIATIVE SUCH AS THE GRANTS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, WOULD THOSE NONPROFITS THEN APPLY FOR THAT AND THEY'D BE COMPETING
[02:15:01]
WITH THE BUSINESSES? WELL, I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S, THAT.I, I, I THINK WE HAVE A, THE, THE COUNCIL HAS AN A BLANK SLATE.
I MEAN, YOU HAVE SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE TALKED ABOUT UTILITY PAYMENTS, HELPING BUSINESSES WITH UTILITY PAYMENTS.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT MICRO BUSINESSES, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT NONPROFITS.
AND SO WITH ALMOST $31 MILLION, AND A LOT OF THE IDEAS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED AT THE SPAC, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE COMMITTEE WORK COULD COME BACK AND SEGREGATE AND SAY, WE'RE GONNA DO 5 MILLION FOR THIS, 15 FOR THIS, UM, 10 FOR THIS ASPECT, AND BE ABLE TO BE POTENTIALLY A LOT MORE SURGICAL THAN WE WERE IN THE SUMMER OF 2020 WHERE IT WAS, WE HAD NINE MONTHS TO GET A LOT OF MONEY OUT THE DOOR WITH CARES.
WE COULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DELIBERATE IN THIS CASE.
SO I THINK I, I THINK WITH THAT TYPE OF COUNCIL DISCUSSION, YOU COULD ADDRESS THOSE, THOSE ISSUES POTENTIALLY.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER KEO.
JUST, I WANNA QUICKLY ADD MY SUPPORT FOR THE 50,000 FOR THE CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER, UM, THE IMPORTANT WORK THAT THEY DO.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I WAS CLEAR INITIALLY ABOUT MY SUPPORT FOR THE, UH, I THINK IT WAS FIVE, CLOSE TO FIVE AND A HALF MILLION.
ASK FOR SNAP AND FOOD PROCUREMENT FOR THE FOOD BANK.
I'M, UM,
SO, UH, I MEAN, THE, THE BEREAVEMENT CENTER ASK HERE IS JUST SOMETHING THAT JUMPED OUT AT ME.
OF ALL THE REQUESTS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN, IT'S 50,000, THE NEXT LOWEST ONE IS 300,000, RIGHT? UM, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OVER AT THE BEREAVE BEREAVEMENT CENTER IS.
AND I, I REMEMBER, UH, MANY, UH, MAYBE 20 YEARS AGO I GOT THE TOUR OF THAT FACILITY.
AND, UM, IT, IT, IT'S HEARTBREAKING.
UH, BUT ANYWAY, UM, THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN BRAVO.
AND, UM, I HAVE A FEELING COUNCILWOMAN ROCIA GARCIA, UH, MIGHT HAVE A, A WORD OR TWO ABOUT THE BEREAVEMENT CENTER, BUT, UM, I'M KEEPING COUNT HERE.
AND ERIC, IT 50,000 HAPPENS TO ALSO JUST BE YOUR SPENDING AUTHORITY.
SO I'M NOT SURE IT'S, IT'S THAT HARD.
UH, AND I HAVE NO PROBLEM, UH, SENDING, UM, THE REST OF THEM THROUGH THE SPIN CYCLE OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT COMMITTEES ARE FOR.
AND THE WHEEL AT, UH, CITY HALL GRINDS SLOW, BUT IT GRINDS FINELY.
AND, UM, WE GOT SOME REALLY SMART PEOPLE UP HERE ON THIS DIOCESE, AND EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM, UM, ARE COMING TO THIS CONVERSATION.
IT'S EVIDENT THEY'RE COMING TO THIS CONVERSATION IN VERY, VERY GOOD FAITH AND, AND WANTING TO HELP.
AND SO, UM, I, I DO THINK THAT, UH, TAKING ANY MONEY FROM F STREETS IS A MISTAKE.
UM, AND WE HAD THIS FIGHT AT THE BOND, UH, COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I MADE THE POINT THEN, AND I'LL MAKE THE POINT AGAIN TODAY, THAT THE COLOR OF THE MONEY, WHETHER IT'S BOND MONEY OR GENERAL FUND MONEY, OR ARPA MONEY, THAT SHOULD NOT MATTER.
THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS WE GOTTA GET THESE DONE.
UM, NOBODY SHOULD LIVE ON AN F STREET.
UH, AND THEN, UM, ALSO, I FEEL LIKE WE KEEP KICKING BUSINESS SUPPORT, SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT DOWN THE, YOU KNOW, KICKING THIS, THIS CAN DOWN THE ROAD OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT WE, THAT WE'VE INCLUDED IT IN HERE.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, MY COMMITMENT TO MY JULISSA CARDELLO, WHO, AND, YOU KNOW, MARINA FROM THE HISPANIC CHAMBER, AND ALL THE OTHER FOLKS WHO ARE, WHO ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, ON SBAC, IS, UM, I HOPE, I HOPE YOU SEE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL IS SERIOUS ABOUT HELPING SMALL BUSINESS.
AND I THINK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US HAS SAID TODAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT IT.
AND THAT, THAT MAKES ME, THAT MAKES ME VERY, VERY GRATEFUL TO THE FOLKS UP HERE WHO ARE, WHO ARE FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT THINGS.
LASTLY, I, I THOUGHT BACK TO THE COMMENTS I MADE ABOUT, UH, MORGAN'S WONDERLAND.
I THINK I JUST SAID A WHOLE BUNCH OF REALLY GREAT THINGS ABOUT HOW AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE, BUT I NEVER SAID THE WORDS, I SUPPORT $15 MILLION FROM MORGAN'S WONDERLAND.
UM, AND ERIC, IF, IF THE BEST WE CAN DO IS $10.5 MILLION, THAT'S MUCH BETTER THAN THAN WHERE YOU STARTED, GORDON, WHICH IS ZERO, RIGHT? UM, AND, UM, I KNOW GORDON TO BE ONE OF THE MOST HUMBLE AND GRATEFUL MEN THAT I'VE EVER, YOU KNOW, THAT EVER MET.
AND, UM, YOU'RE, YOU'RE A GREAT LEADER OF THIS ORGANIZATION.
AND, UM, I WANT YOU TO, I WANT YOU TO GET THAT 15, BUT, UM, IF YOU DON'T, I'M GONNA FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL THAT WE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, DO, UH, DO THE RIGHT THING BY YOU GUYS AND, AND COMPLETE THAT IN ANOTHER, IN ANOTHER WAY.
UM, OH, NOBODY, I MEAN, YOU GUYS ARE VERY, VERY, UH, AWARE OF HOW DIFFICULT IT IS WHEN WE ARE, WE
[02:20:01]
ARE, THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS JUST RECEIVE A TSUNAMI OF EMAILS, UM, FROM ANIMAL ADVOCATES.I HATE THAT THERE'S ANIMAL TESTING.
I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT, BUT I, AND I HATE THAT THERE'S A BUT TOO, BUT I, I DO KNOW, AND JEFF COYLE, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, FEDERAL REGULATIONS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST A, A EXISTS AND THAT THERE'S NO WAY AROUND THEM.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IN ORDER TO GET VACCINES TO MARKET THE F THE F D A DOES NOT PERMIT THOSE TO HIT THE MARKET WITHOUT ANIMAL TESTING.
I HATE IT, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS I HATE PEOPLE DYING FROM COVID.
UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO, JEFF, WITH I G R COMMITTEE CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR, YOU KNOW, INNOVATION AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL TO, UM, ONE DAY LIVE IN A SAN ANTONIO WHERE WE CAN STILL DEVELOP VACCINES AND DRUGS THAT SAVE LIVES WITHOUT HAVING TO KILL ANIMALS TO GET THERE.
UM, AND SO, UM, MORE ON THAT, WE'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT AT OUR I G R COMMITTEE, UH, MEETINGS.
UH, COUNCILMAN, IF I MAY JUST CLARIFY SOMETHING YOU SAID, YOU MAY BE KEEPING COUNT, BUT CERTAINLY NOT AT COUNCIL MEMBERS, CORRECT? YEAH, BUT, BUT I'M TERRIBLE AT MATH.
UH, SO MY, MY COUNT'S ALWAYS INACCURATE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ELIA, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
AND I JUST WANTED TO, UH, CHIME BACK IN BECAUSE I DIDN'T PUBLICLY SUPPORT, UM, UM, OR, OR GIVE MY SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS.
AND SO I'M, I JUST WANTED TO THANK, UM, ERIC AND THE STAFF.
AND, UH, I AM VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE SUSANNA SURA, WHO, WHO CHAIRS THE ART REPRESENT, UM, DISTRICT FOUR.
AND SO I'M VERY PROUD OF ALL THE WORK THAT SHE'S DOING THERE, UM, WITH OUR ARTS ADVOCATE.
SO, UM, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, ERIC.
I ALSO, UM, WANTED TO, UM, EXPRESS, UH, AGAIN, THAT I DIDN'T DO A GOOD JOB OF, UM, ADVOCATING FOR CENTRO MED REQUESTS, WHICH, UM, I TALKED TO ERIC WALSH LAST NIGHT, AND HE WASN'T AWARE OF THE REQUEST.
AND JUST, UM, BECAUSE HE WASN'T AWARE, I THOUGHT MAYBE I SHOULD ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON WHAT ROED IS REQUESTING.
THEY'RE REQUESTING SPECIFICALLY, UH, 10 SPECIALIZED VEHICLES, UM, AND THEY'RE AT A COST OF $125,000 EACH, AND THEY'RE GOING TO TRANSPORT FRAIL ELDERS FROM THEIR HOMES TO THE PAY CENTER LOCATED AT DIVISION IN NOS.
AND SO THESE VEHICLES ARE GONNA BE EQUIPPED WITH PROPER LIFTS AND SEATING REQUIREMENTS FOR SAFETY AND COMFORT TO THE ELDERLY, ELDERLY POPULATION THAT IS, UM, ENROLLED WITHIN THE, THE PAY CENTER.
AND SO WE WERE PROVIDED WITH A MAP AND, UM, THE CENTRAL MED LOCATIONS SERVE A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS, AGAIN, THAT HAVE BEEN MOST IMPACTED BY C OVID 19.
SO I WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND, AND, AND MAKE THAT EXPLICITLY CLEAR OF THE REASON THAT I THINK THAT THIS IS A BENEFICIAL PRODUCT.
I ALSO, UM, TOLD, UM, COUNCILMAN ELIAS THAT I AM IMPRESSED BY THE CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER BECAUSE ALTHOUGH HE DIDN'T KNOW WHO THE EXECUTIVE, UM, DIRECTOR WAS, UM, I LOOKED UP QUICKLY ONLINE, AND TO MY SURPRISE, IT WAS ALL WOMEN, BY THE WAY, THAT, THAT, UH, WORK AT THE BEREAVEMENT CENTER.
AND I'M VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT ADVOCATING FOR, FOR WOMEN.
UM, BUT SPECIFICALLY, I BELIEVE IN THE WORK THAT THEY DO, AND A LOT OF OUR RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED.
THE, THE, THE STUDENTS, UM, THAT LIVE IN DISTRICT FOUR, THEY MIGHT NOT BENEFIT FROM IT.
I KNOW THAT THEY, UH, THE BEREAVEMENT CENTER, IT LOOKS LIKE FROM THE WEBSITE ONLY WORKS WITH HARLANDALE I S D, BUT THAT'S IN D THREE AND EDGEWOOD I S D, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT OF FIVE AND SIX.
UM, SO I'D LOVE TO, YES, UH, VOICE MY SUPPORT FOR THE $50,000, BUT ALSO ASK THE BEREAVEMENT CENTER TO SEE HOW THEY CAN HELP ALSO IN DISTRICTS, UH, 2 1 4, WHO HAVE BEEN GREATLY IMPACTED BY, UM, BY, BY DEATHS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IN THEIR FAMILIES AND IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS IN GENERAL.
SO THOSE, THOSE ARE ALL MY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS.
COUNCIL MEMBER RO GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER GRA.
SO, UM, WHAT DO WE NEED TO GET OTHER THAN NEW CATEGORIES? LIKE IF, IF WE WE'RE SITTING HERE AND WE TELL YOU WE WANT A NON-PROFIT CATEGORY, WE HAVE TO DO THAT TODAY, OR, YES, MA'AM.
WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THAT FEEDBACK.
AND IF YOU HAVE ALSO RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, TO INCREASE FUNDING IN ANY OF THE CATEGORIES, WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE US TO CONSIDER TAKING THOSE FROM? YES, AND I'M HEARING A LOT OF, LET'S INCREASE FUNDING, BUT NOT WHERE TO TAKE IT FROM.
THAT'S WHY I BROUGHT IN INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT? UH, SO THE OTHER PLACE I WOULD TAKE IT FROM, BECAUSE SOME OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES SAY NOT INFRASTRUCTURE IS PROBABLY THAT BIG CHUNK OF MENTAL HEALTH, BUT I KNOW THAT THAT WOULD BE TRICKY BECAUSE WE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW WE'RE GONNA TAKE CARE OF THAT IN THE BUDGET.
UM, I AM SIMILAR TO, TO OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS, IS LOOKING AT THAT 16 MILLION AND GIVING THAT A TIME LIMIT IF WE NEED TO MOVE THAT OVER.
UM, NOW ONCE WE GET TO THIS, WE TAKE THIS TO COMMITTEE, UM, OUR, OUR COMMITTEE
[02:25:01]
MEMBERS, BECAUSE MY ARTS COMMITTEE MEMBER WAS HERE EARLIER TOO, UH, YET HE LOZANO.AND MY THING IS, ARE WE TAKING IT, ARE WE GOING TO ASK FOR INPUT FROM OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS INDIVIDUALLY? ARE WE GOING TO KIND OF GET INPUT FROM OUR ARTS COMMITTEE, WHETHER HOW WE, HOW WE, WHAT WE DO WITH THIS MONEY, IF IT'S SPECIFIC ARTIST GRANTS SENDING OUT AN R F P, ARE WE GONNA GET INPUT FROM THAT? OR IS THAT GONNA BE ON OUR OWN TO, TO DO THAT? YEAH, I THINK, UH, FOR INSTANCE, ARTS IS GOING TO THE, UH, CHECK COMMITTEE.
SO, UM, THAT'LL BE UP TO THE CHAIR WHEN THEY DECIDE HOW TO DO THAT PROCESS AND HOW THAT PUBLIC INPUT WILL, WILL TAKE PLACE.
UM, SO I'M, I'M THINKING THAT WOULD BE A CONSIDERATION ON HOW TO OBTAIN PUBLIC INPUT AND WELCOME THAT TO THE COMMITTEES.
AND THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU TODAY IS, WE KNOW WE HAVE A TIMELINE, UH, OF WHEN WE NEED TO SPEND THESE DOLLARS.
IS IT GOING TO BE UP TO THE COMMITTEE TO BREAK THAT UP INTO, UM, IN, IN THE R F P PROCESS OR WHERE WHATEVER PROCESS THE COMMITTEE DECIDES TO IS TO BREAK IT UP THAT THIS IS AN ANNUAL GIVE OR THIS IS A ONE-TIME GIVE, UH, OR ANNUALLY OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, UH, WHERE, WHERE ARE Y'ALL GONNA GIVE US GUIDANCE ON THAT? OR IS THAT SOMETHING THE COMMITTEE'S GOING TO DO? YES, WE WILL.
UM, WHAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND TO THE COMMITTEES IS THIS IS FUNDING THAT EXPANDS OVER MULTIPLE YEARS AND IS TO HAVE A FOUR YEAR PROGRAM.
TO YOUR POINT, UM, FOR SURE THE ALLOCATIONS ARE ONE TIME IN NATURE, BUT THEY CAN BE EXPANDED OVER A FOUR YEAR WINDOW.
BECAUSE I, I JUST WANNA BE SURE ON THAT, BECAUSE AS WE MET, AS I MET WITH INDIVIDUALS, SOME OF THEM REALIZED THAT, AND WERE LIKE, I'M ASKING FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
SOME OF THEM WERE, I'M ASKING FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
SO I THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT AS WE LEAVE TODAY, THAT WE KNOW THERE'S THAT GUIDANCE AND THAT SUGGESTION.
AND IF WE COULD GET THAT BEFORE THURSDAY, UH, FLESHED OUT IN TERMS OF, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING, I'D, I'D APPRECIATE THAT ALSO.
AND I THINK, UM, I THINK THE ONLY OTHER QUESTION, UH, THAT I HAVE IS IN TERMS OF OUR LEVERAGING PARTNERSHIPS, WHO, WHO IS GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT? IS THAT OUR, THE COUNCIL OFFICE AND THE CITY WORKING TOGETHER TO LEVER LEVERAGE PARTNERSHIPS WITH, SAY, OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UM, OUR, OUR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
HOW, HOW IS THAT GOING TO WORK? DO WE HAVE A GUIDELINE FOR THAT? WELL, ULTIMATELY, I GUESS I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT COUNCILWOMAN, BUT I THINK IT DEPENDS ON THE CONVERSATION AT THE COMMITTEE LEVELS.
IF IT IS SCHOOL RELATED AND IT'S RELATED TO SAY, NUTRITION, THEN WE'RE GONNA RELY UPON THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND WHATEVER THE PROGRAM DESIGN IS FROM THE COMMITTEE LEVEL TO BE THAT PARTNERSHIP, UH, FOR MENTAL HEALTH, UH, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, AND MAYBE D H SS, UM, FOR SENIORS IT WOULD BE D H SS.
FOR SMALL BUSINESS, IT WOULD BE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
BUT, BUT WE WOULD JUST LIKE ANY OTHER SORT OF PARTNERSHIP, UH, PROJECT THAT THE COUNCIL OR THE CITY WORKS ON, WE THE DEPARTMENTS WOULD TAKE THE LEAD.
BECAUSE THE ONE THING WE DID MENTION EARLIER IS THAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, FAMILY SAFETY BIT.
AND I THINK THAT IS CRUCIAL, UM, THAT WE GET THE SCHOOLS INVOLVED WITH THAT.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE ARE UNDERSTANDING WHEN WE GO INTO THIS COMMITTEE PROCESS, WHAT THE, WHAT THE PARAMETERS ARE.
JUST ON ONE FEEDBACK ON THE, OR RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION YOU HAD FOR MARIE ABOUT THE TIMELINE.
REALLY, I THINK THE COMMITTEES NEED TO DETERMINE WHAT IS THE OUTCOME THAT, OR THE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT THAT THE COMMITTEE'S LOOKING TO DO IN THESE CATEGORIES.
THE COMMITTEE SHOULD DICTATE THE TIMELINE.
IT COULD BE A ONE-TIME USE OF THAT, OF THAT ALLOTMENT IN THE FIRST YEAR, AND THEN OVER AND DONE WITH, BECAUSE WE'VE ACHIEVED THE OUTCOME.
OR IT COULD BE OVER FOUR YEARS.
BUT, BUT THE COMMITTEE SHOULD DICTATE THAT.
MY MY RECOMMENDATION IS DON'T, DON'T ADJUST IT BASED ON WHAT YOU'VE RECEIVED FROM AN UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL.
I MEAN, THAT, DECIDE AS A GROUP WHAT WE WANT, WHAT YOU WANT, AND THEN, AND THEN GIVE, GIVE THE DIRECTION TO THE AGENCIES OR THE CITY DEPARTMENTS ABOUT WHAT THE ACHIEVEMENT IS, IS, IS TO BE.
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER VIA GRAND COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
YOU KNOW, I WANNA FOLLOW UP ON WHAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, VERAN JUST SAID ABOUT HAVING AN ADDITIONAL CATEGORY FOR NONPROFITS.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD MOVE TO MAKE, BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE GIVEN US, THE REQUESTS THAT CAME, 31 OF THEM, I THINK ALMOST ALL OF 'EM WERE NONPROFITS AND MANY OF THOSE NONPROFITS, UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PROGRAMS
[02:30:01]
THAT DO FALL IN MAYBE THE SENIOR CATEGORY OR THE YOUTH CATEGORY OR THE MENTAL HEALTH CATEGORY, BUT MANY OF THEM DON'T FALL WITHIN THOSE.AT LEAST WE CAN'T TELL RIGHT NOW.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BE SMART FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THE NONPROFITS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A, A BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING MORE SUPPORT FOR THE PROGRAMS. 'CAUSE I THINK THERE'S SEVERAL THAT ARE, ARE WORTHY IN HERE.
YOU KNOW, COUNCILMAN PALAIS MENTIONED THE BEREAVEMENT PROGRAM.
WELL, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THAT'S UNDER MENTAL HEALTH, UH, BUT MAYBE IT ISN'T.
OR MAYBE THERE'S MORE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AVAILABLE OR REQUESTS ASKED THAN THERE IS MONEY.
AND SO IF WE HAD JUST A GENERAL CATEGORY THAT WE COULD LOOK AT THAT WE COULD, UH, HAVE A CATCHALL.
AND OF COURSE, THE QUESTION IS WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM? AND ONE THING I'D ASKED YOU EARLIER, UH, WAS ABOUT THE CONTINUATION PROGRAM FUNDED IN THE BUDGET, AND YOU'RE FUNDING 16,850,000 FOR AN ADDITIONAL TWO YEARS.
NOW WE'RE ALREADY FUNDED FOR THIS YEAR, AND WE FORECASTED FOR THE NEXT YEAR BUDGET THAT WE'D BE FUNDED.
SO WHAT YOU'RE PROJECTING IS FUNDING ALL THE WAY THROUGH 24 AND 25.
WELL, MAYBE WE JUST FUND HALF OF THAT AS A GUARANTEE RIGHT NOW THAT GETS US THROUGH THE REST OF 22, 23, 24, AND THAT HALF OF THAT, THAT WE DON'T DEDICATE TO 25 RIGHT NOW, WE USE FOR NON-PROFIT OPPORTUNITIES TO RECEIVE SOME SUPPORT, UH, FROM ARPA FUNDING.
UH, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE DID TALK ABOUT THE 50 THOU, 50 MILLION THAT WE HAVE FOR COVID RESPONSE.
AND IF WE FIND OUT IN A YEAR OR TWO YEARS FROM NOW, WE DIDN'T USE ALL THAT, THEN THAT ALSO COULD BE AVAILABLE TO GIVE THAT EXTRA FOURTH YEAR KICK SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE.
ALSO, I'LL SAY, AND I THINK THE CITY MANAGER WOULD AGREE, THE, UH, CITY BUDGET HAS BEEN BETTER FOR US THIS YEAR THAN WE ANTICIPATED, AND LET US HOPE IT'LL BE BETTER FOR US NEXT YEAR.
THERE'S, THERE'S NO GUARANTEE, BUT I THINK THERE'S MORE OPTIONS FOR GIVING MORE CONSIDERATION TO MANY OF THESE UNSOLICITED REQUESTS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD, UH, IF WE ADD THAT CATEGORY, THAN IF WE JUST LEAVE IT THE WAY IT IS RIGHT NOW.
SO I'D, I'D ENCOURAGE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS TO LET THE CITY MANAGER KNOW HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THIS OVER THE NEXT WEEK TO SEE IF, UH, THAT WOULD BE IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE HAVE NOW.
UM, THAT'S EVERYONE I'VE HAD IN THE QUEUE.
UM, UH, I, I WANNA BE SURE TO CIRCLE BACK TO SMALL BUSINESSES AND COUNCILMAN BRAVO BROUGHT UP A GREAT POINT, AND I WANNA BE SURE THAT I EXPRESS THAT.
UH, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF EXTENDING THE GRANT ELIGIBILITY TO MORE TYPES OF SMALL BUSINESSES WITH THE FOCUS ON, UH, MICRO BUSINESSES AND WITH FOLKS WITH THE 22 OR FEWER EMPLOYEES.
UM, WHAT WE SAW, UH, IN DISTRICT FIVE, AND I'M SURE IT'S NOT UNIQUE TO D FIVE, UH, IS THAT MUCH MANY OF OUR SMALLER BUSINESSES, BY THE TIME THEY LEARNED ABOUT THE SMALL GRANTS THEY HAD ALREADY DEPLETED, UM, AND, AND, UH, JUST ENSURING THAT THOSE VERY SMALL MICRO BUSINESSES HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE RESOURCES, UH, IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, I ALSO WANNA BE SURE THAT I EMPHASIZE THAT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE INVEST MORE INTO, UH, THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UH, MORE THAN $10 MILLION.
AND I, I, I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE INVESTING INTO BIOMED THE SAME AMOUNT AS WE ARE INTO KEEPING OUR SAN ANTONIO FAMILIES HOUSED.
UM, SO I, I WOULD SUGGEST LOOKING AT THAT TO POTENTIALLY, UM, INVEST, UH, FOR, UH, RENTAL AND MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE FOR OUR FAMILIES.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, I WANNA BE SURE, UM, TO EXPRESS THAT I'M OPPOSED TO SHIFTING ANY INFRASTRUCTURE OR POTENTIAL F STREET DOLLARS INTO MOVING IT AWAY ANYWHERE ELSE.
UH, I'M ALSO OPPOSED TO CHIPPING AWAY AT OUR MENTAL HEALTH APPLICATION.
UM, I, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE REALLY NEED, UH, GIVEN THE CONVERSATION AND THE, THE COVID DATA AND BRIEFINGS.
UM, BUT I ALSO WANNA BE SURE, UM, WHEN, UH, TO, TO, UH, VOCALIZE THAT I AM SUPPORT OF MORGAN'S WONDERLAND.
UM, BUT I WANNA BE SURE THAT, UM, THAT IT'S ACCESSIBLE TO DISTRICT FIVE FAMILIES.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT, UH, MORGAN'S WONDERLAND DOES GO ABOVE AND BEYOND TO REDUCE FINANCIAL BARRIERS AND BURDENS FOR ALL OF OUR FAMILIES SEEKING THESE SERVICES.
UM, BUT I WANNA BE SURE THAT THOSE WHO LIVE IN DISTRICT FIVE AND IN SOME OF OUR OTHER MOST ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED ZIP CODES, UH, WILL BE ABLE TO VISIT MORGAN'S WONDERLAND.
UM, I THINK IT'S ALSO, UM, IMPORTANT THAT WE, UM, SUPPORT AND ESTABLISH PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT
[02:35:01]
SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ENSURE THAT OUR STUDENTS CAN ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, MORGAN'S WONDERLAND.AND I KNOW, UH, MR. HARTMAN, UH, IS ALREADY DOING A LOT OF THIS, UM, THAT I'M ASKING, UM, BUT I JUST WANNA BE SURE THAT MY COMMUNITY KNOWS THAT OR WE'RE CREATING A CATEGORY FOR NONPROFITS.
UM, AGAIN, THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, UH, MANY OF THE FOLKS IN OUR SMALLER NONPROFIT, UH, PROFITS DON'T HAVE THE SAME CAPACITY TO SEND LOBBYISTS TO SHOW UP TO EVERY TOWN HALL.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR NONPROFITS ARE BUSY DOING THE WORK, AND I WANNA ENSURE THAT THEY'RE BEING FAIRLY CONSIDERED FOR SOME OF THESE ARPA DOLLARS.
UM, AGAIN, UM, A COUPLE OF THEM ARE, UH, AMERICAN GATEWAYS AS WELL AS, UH, ACADEMIC AMERICA, UM, WHO HAVE BEEN FINDING SMALL TEAMS, UH, TO SHOW UP TO EVERY TOWN HALL.
UM, SO I WANNA BE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEIR SMALL ASK ROUGHLY $300,000, UH, IS CONSIDERED, UM, WITH THESE FUNDS.
UM, UH, AND, AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, I KNOW SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES BROUGHT, BROUGHT UP, UH, THE BLOOD AND TISSUE CENTER.
UM, AGAIN, I THINK, UH, COUNCIL AND DR.
UH, ROCHA GARCIA PUT IT FAST, RIGHT? THIS ISN'T A FOR-PROFIT ENTITY, AND ESPECIALLY IN THE TIME OF COVID, UH, WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO, UM, COLLECT MORE, MORE BLOOD, AND I THINK WE SHOULD BE SUPPORTING PARTNERS LIKE THE BLOOD AND TISSUE CENTER.
UM, BUT AGAIN, UH, I, I THINK WE DO NEED TO, UH, PUT MORE MONEY INTO THE EAP CATEGORY.
UM, YOU KNOW, I WANNA SUPPORT, UM, COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO'S, UH, REQUEST FOR, FOR MORE HOUSING ASSISTANCE.
AND I, I SAW THAT AND IT STOOD OUT TO ME SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT THAT NUMBER SHOULD BE HIGHER.
UM, I DON'T NECESSARILY, I WOULDN'T SUPPORT PULLING IT FROM BIOMED.
I THINK BIOMED IS A, A CATALYTIC PROJECT, AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO, TO SHOW WASHINGTON DC TO KEEP SENDING MONEY THIS WAY.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT PUTS US ON THE MAP, BUT I WOULD DEFINITELY SUPPORT, UM, INCREASING THAT CATEGORY AND, AND LOOKING FOR OTHER PLACES WHERE WE CAN PULL THAT, THOSE FUNDS FROM.
I, I DO NOT HAVE ANYONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE.
I'M JUST GONNA TRY TO SUMMARIZE HERE WHAT I'M HEARING.
WHERE WERE YOU GONNA DO THAT? MAYOR, I WAS GONNA TRY TO HELP YOU, AND YOU TELL ME IF I'M RIGHT OR WRONG.
YOU, YOU TAKE THE FIRST SWING THERE.
I'LL, I'LL, ALL RIGHT, WELL, LET ME JUST KIND OF CLOSE WITH A FEW COMMENTS.
UH, FIRST, I THINK, AGAIN, OVERALL GRATITUDE FOR EVERYONE WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED.
UH, I KNOW THIS IS NOT EASY, UH, BUT THIS, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PROCESS.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE WHO SHOWED UP AT THE TOWN HALLS TO THESE MEETINGS TO MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD, AND TO MY COLLEAGUES ALSO FOR WORKING THROUGH THIS WITH STAFF.
UM, OVERALL, I THINK THAT, UH, THE PRESENTATION MADE, UH, VERONICA, ERIC, UH, CLAUDE MARIA, UH, IS ON, IS ON MARK, IS ON THE MARK, UH, WITH MAYBE SOME FEW, A FEW SUGGESTIONS.
UM, NUMBER ONE, UH, THERE IS GOING TO BE A COUNCIL COMMITTEE PROCESS, AND I'VE HEARD FROM A NUMBER OF MY COLLEAGUES THAT WE, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT PART OF THE COMMITTEES THAT ARE GONNA BE VETTING THESE, UM, THESE, UH, PROPOSALS THAT WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT, MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, EITHER COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING TO EACH OTHER, THE CHAIRS, UH, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT ERIC, YOU GUYS ARE DOING THE ROUNDS WITH EACH OF THE, THE COUNCIL OFFICES TO MAKE SURE THAT PROPOSALS ARE, ARE BEING PROPERLY VETTED BY THE ENTIRE COUNCIL BEFORE WE'RE ACTUALLY BROUGHT UP HERE TO VOTE ON THEM.
UM, THE OTHER THING I'LL MENTION IS THAT, AGAIN, EMPHASIZING THAT THIS IS ONE TIME MONEY, UH, SPREAD OVER FIVE YEARS, THAT IT NEEDS TO BE IMPACTFUL.
I HEARD GENERAL, UH, AGREEMENT WITH THE IMPACTFUL INVESTMENTS THAT WERE PULLED OUT OF THE PROCESS, UH, PARTICULARLY, UH, MORGAN'S WONDERLAND, EDUCARE BIOMED.
UM, I WILL SAY I HEARD A NUMBER OF COMMENTS TO, UH, NOT SUPPORT THE TWO OUT OF THE THREE REQUESTS FROM MORGAN'S, BUT THE THREE OUTTA THE THREE REQUESTS FROM MORGANS, I WOULD FULLY SUPPORT THAT AS WELL.
UM, NOW, BUT THE TRICK IS ALWAYS WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM? SO I THINK THAT'S THE INPUT, AND THAT'S THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S JUST ABOUT IT ON MY COMMENTS.
NOW, LAST THING IS THAT THERE'S BEEN A, A DISCUSSION ABOUT CATEGORIES.
UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LEVERAGE OUR OPPORTUNITIES HERE.
I I'M NOT OPPOSED TO CREATING A NEW CATEGORY FOR NONPROFITS, BUT I'D LIKE TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THAT'S GONNA UNFOLD, WHETHER THAT'S THROUGH OUR CURRENT DELEGATE AGENCY PROCESS OR THROUGH SOME OTHER, UH, MEANS.
BUT, UM, ERIC, I'LL, I'LL LEAVE THAT TO YOU, BUT IF YOU CAN, DID WE HEAR THE SAME THINGS? GO AHEAD.
[02:40:01]
THAT, THAT WAS MY LIST.THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT I'VE, THAT I HEARD WAS THAT, UM, UM, IF THERE ARE AVAILABLE DOLLARS, WE SHOULD INCREASE THE SMALL BUSINESS ALLOCATION.
UM, AND, AND WE CAN PROVIDE, THERE, THERE WERE SOME SUGGESTIONS ABOUT WHERE WE CAN PULL MONEY FROM.
UM, AND, AND WE WILL, THE STAFF WILL, UH, COME UP WITH ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVES TO MAKE REDUCTIONS TO TRY TO HIT SOME OF THESE MARKS.
AND WE'LL DO THAT, UM, UM, TRY TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES.
THE ONE THOUGHT I HAVE IS ON THE, ON THE NONPROFIT AND THE, WHAT I'LL CALL, UM, MAYBE, UM, OTHER IMPACTED POPULATIONS CATEGORY.
UM, WE, WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE SOME THOUGHT AS TO HOW THAT FITS INTO THIS POTENTIAL COUNCIL COMMITTEE REVIEW PROCESS.
UM, BECAUSE IT, UM, I, I CAN SEE THE, THE CATEGORIES THAT THE PUBLIC COMMENTED ON AND THAT YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT LAST FALL, SENIORS, YOUTH, MENTAL HEALTH, UM, IMPACT POPULATIONS COULD RUN ACROSS THOSE, THOSE BUCKETS.
UM, SO COULD NONPROFITS AS WELL.
AND SO, UM, THERE MAY BE A, A WAY TO DO THAT, UM, ALL AT ONCE, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE THAT SOME THOUGHT.
IN THE CHILD BEREAVEMENT CENTER.
YEAH, ON THE CHILD CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER.
UM, A LITTLE SURPRISE THAT CAME UP ON THE D IT IS A VERY SMALL REQUEST, UH, AND NORMA, WE'D LIKE TO SEE THAT GO THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS THAT ALL THE OTHER, UH, NONPROFITS GO THROUGH.
BUT LET ME SAY ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER, THEY ARE CALLED IN BY NOT JUST THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT THE STATE OF TEXAS IN THE WORST SITUATIONS.
UM, THEY WERE THE RELIEF VALVE FOR COUNTLESS FAMILIES WHO SUFFERED BECAUSE OF THE SUTHERLAND SPRINGS MASSACRE.
THEY HAVE TOILED EVERY SINGLE DAY, UH, FOR, UH, CHILDREN WHO HAVE LOST THEIR PARENTS IN ANY NUMBER OF SITUATIONS.
SO IT DID GET MY ATTENTION THAT THEY WERE BROUGHT UP HERE TODAY.
I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THEY HAD A REQUEST FOR ARPA.
IT IS WITHIN YOUR AUTHORITY, ERIC.
SO IF THERE IS A, UM, IMMEDIATE NEED FOR RELIEF AT CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER, I WOULD SUPPORT THAT AND I WOULD SUPPORT YOU EXECUTING THAT ADMINISTRATIVELY IF NECESSARY.
SO I THINK, UM, AGAIN, A LITTLE GLIMPSE INTO A VERY MESSY PROCESS, BUT AN IMPORTANT ONE FOR US.
UH, THE COMMENT WAS MADE THAT WE HAVE LIMITLESS NEEDS, BUT LIMITED FUNDS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S NOT EASY TO, TO APPLY THE RESOURCES APPROPRIATELY, BUT WHEN WE HAVE EVERYONE'S PARTICIPATION, WHICH WE HAVE HAD TODAY, AND FOR SEVERAL MONTHS, NOW WE CAN GET TO THE BEST POSSIBLE SITUATION.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND YOUR PARTICIPATION.
[EXECUTIVE SESSION At any time during the meeting, the City Council may recess into executive session in the Presidio Conference Room or the B Room to consult with the City Attorney's Office (Texas Government Code Section 551.071) and deliberate or discuss any of the following: ]
UH, SO WITH THAT, THE TIME IS 4:58 PM ON THIS 26TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2022.UM, WE DO HAVE A 5:00 PM CITIZENS TO BE HEARD PUBLIC HEARING.
UM, THE CITY COUNCIL DOES NEED TO BRIEFLY RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE WE HAVE THAT HEARING.
SO IF YOU'RE HERE TO SPEAK, UH, IN PUBLIC COMMENT, HOLD TIGHT.
IF YOU'RE NOT, YOU CAN FILTER OUT, UH, COUNSEL WILL BRIEF BRIEFLY CONVENE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR 15 OR 20 MINUTES, AND WE'LL BE RIGHT, RIGHT BACK.
SO THE TIME IS NOW, AGAIN, 4:58 PM ON THIS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26TH, 2022.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
WE'LL NOW MEET IN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND TO DELIBERATE TO DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING ITEMS PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 5 5, 1 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 5 1 0.087, THE PURCHASE EXCHANGE, LEASE OR VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 5 1 0.072, AND CONSULTATION WITH CITY ATTORNEY FOR LEGAL ISSUES OF RE ADVICE RELATED TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING LITIGATION INVOLVING THE CITY AND CVID 19 PREPAREDNESS UNDER SECTION 5 5 1 0.071.