[00:00:02]
OKAY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET'S GET STARTED.
THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY, UH, FOR SHOWING UP.
UH, IT'S NICE TO SEE, UH, A LOT OF FRIENDS IN THE, IN THE AUDIENCE.
UM, SO WE ARE GONNA HAVE SOME PRETTY INTERESTING, UH, MEETINGS TODAY, BUT WE ALWAYS START OFF BY COUNTING HEADS
[Approval of Minutes ]
NEED TO DO IS TAKE CARE OF OUR MEETING MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING.AND I HAVE A FEELING COUNCILWOMAN FROM DISTRICT FIVE IS READY.
I MOVE THAT WE MOVE, UH, THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR JANUARY THE 10TH.
WE GOT A MOTION IN THE SECOND.
UH, FOR ME, I DON'T HAVE A VOTE BUTTON.
UH, AND SO THOSE ARE, THOSE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
NUMBER ONE, WHO'S PRESENTING THAT TODAY? COME ON UP, ALEX.IT'S ACTUALLY GONNA BE ANNA BRADSHAW, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UM, TODAY WE'RE EXCITED TO BRING TO YOU, UM, FOR CONSIDERATION INTERVIEWS FOR THE, UM, TWO OF THE FOUR SLOTS ON THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION.
SO, UM, AS A REMINDER, THIS COMMISSION IS COMPRISED OF 15 MEMBERS, UM, 11 OF WHICH ARE APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UM, WITH THE REMAINING FOUR BEING APPOINTED AT LARGE.
AND SO LAST WEEK WE MET WITH THE, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE OF COUNCILWOMAN RHA GARCIA, AND COUNCILWOMAN VIA GRANT TO REVIEW THE REMAINING APPLICANTS, UH, TO PROPOSE TO BRING FORWARD FOR INTERVIEWS TODAY.
AND SO YOU'LL BE INTERVIEWING A TOTAL OF THREE APPLICANTS, AND I BELIEVE A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS HAVE SUBMITTED WRITTEN STATEMENTS.
UM, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO PROCEED WITH THE INTERVIEWS.
AND I SEE THAT WE'VE GOT OUR, UH, CITY ATTORNEY REPRESENTATIVE HERE.
UM, SO WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE OR SUGGEST THE PROCEDURE TO BE? DO YOU WANNA KICK EVERYBODY OUT? SHOULD WE GO TO THE BACK ROOM? UH, WHAT WOULD BE EASIEST? SO SIR, WE HAVE A ROOM RESERVE FOR THE CANDIDATES, AND THEY WILL ALL BE ESCORTED OUT, AND THEN WE WILL CALL THEM IN PER THEIR INTERVIEW.
UH, FOR THOSE THAT SUBMITTED A WRITTEN COMMENT, WE WILL, I WILL READ THAT FOR THE RECORD AND HAVE THAT FOR YOU.
YOU DO HAVE COPIES OF ALL THE WRITTEN COMMENTS, UM, AT YOUR, AT THE DAIS, AND THEN WE WILL JUST PROCEED AFTER THAT, WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
YOU'LL READ THE, THE SCRIPT FOR THAT, AND THEN WE WILL BE GOING INTO THE C ROOM FOR DELIBERATION ON, ON THE, ON THOSE APPLICANTS VERY WELL.
THEN LET'S, UM, LET'S START WITH OUR FIRST APPLICANT.
SO HAVE WE ALREADY KICKED OUT ALL THE APPLICANTS TO THE SOUNDPROOF OUTDOORS? BE GENTLE WITH ME.
SO USUALLY WE'LL GIVE A, YOU KNOW, A A COUPLE OF MINUTES FOR A, A TWO MINUTE OPENING STATEMENT, AND THEN AFTER THAT WE'LL START, UH, ON THAT SIDE, AND THEN WE'LL WORK OUR WAY THROUGH WITH QUESTIONS AND, UM, AND THEN WE'LL KICK YOU OUT.
SO, MY NAME IS LINDSAY LOGAN, AND FOR THE PAST FOUR AND A HALF YEARS, I HAVE SERVED AS THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER AT SAN ANTONIO FOR GROWTH ON THE EAST SIDE, ALSO KNOWN AS SAGE.
WE ARE A NONPROFIT LOCATED ON THE EAST SIDE WITH A FOCUS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITH THE MISSION OF IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, NEIGHBORHOODS, SMALL BUSINESSES, AND NONPROFITS IN THAT SIDE OF TOWN.
MY ROLE AT SAGE PLACES ME IN THE COMMUNITY AND ALLOWS ME TO HAVE CONSTANT INTERACTION WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESS AND NONPROFIT COMMUNITIES, ENSURING OUR PERTINENT INFORMATION IS SHARED AND ADDRESSING ALL NEEDS AND CONCERNS.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION ARE JUST AN, A FEW OF THE ISSUES THAT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES FACE AND OUR FOOTPRINT ALONE, WHICH IS 22 SQUARE FOOT MILES, 10 ZIP CODES, 19 CENSUS TRACKS.
WE SERVICE OVER 2,500 SMALL BUSINESSES.
I PERSONALLY MANAGE OUR STOREFRONT GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH IS A, UM, A COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, WHICH AFFORDS THE ABILITY FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OWNERS TO, UH, RENOVATE THEIR PROPERTIES, UM, IN TURN PROVIDING BEAUTIFICATION AND SECURITY TO THEIR BEN, TO THEIR PROPERTY.
MY ROLE ALSO INCLUDES ORGANIZING AND CONVENING COMMUNITY EVENTS WHERE THE COMMUNITY AND THE SMALL BUSINESS ARE ABLE TO ADDRESS THEIR NEEDS THROUGH MARKETING AND GOODS AND SERVICES.
UM, WE RECENTLY HOSTED A COOKOFF CELEBRATION WHERE WE BROUGHT TOGETHER THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES SUCH AS VENDORS AND FOOD TRUCKS, ALLOWING THEM THE ABILITY TO MARKET AND NETWORK.
AS WE ALL KNOW, WHEN COVID HIT, IT TRULY HIT OUR SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
[00:05:02]
AND SO THROUGH PHONE CALLS, EMAILS, IN PERSON VISITS AND SURVEYS, WE DID OUR BEST TO ADDRESS.WE AS SAGE, DID OUR BEST TO ADDRESS AND MAKE CONTACT WITH EACH ONE OF OUR, UH, BUSINESSES IN OUR AREA.
WE ALSO ASSISTED WITH A COUPLE OF GRANTS.
UM, AND SO IT IS MY PLEASURE THAT, UM, I'M GIVEN THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ASSIST WITH, UH, SUPPORTING THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION.
AND SO REVIEWING THE POLICIES, REGULATIONS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE SMALL BUSINESS VERY WELL.
THANK YOU, CHAIR BELI, AND THANK YOU LINDSAY, FOR APPLYING.
I'M EXCITED THAT YOU WOULD, UM, WANT TO SERVE ON THIS.
CAN YOU, I HAVE A, JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
AND FIRST, CAN YOU HELP ME, UM, UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU THINK, UH, YOU CAN HELP WITH TO ENSURE THAT SAN ANTONIO HAS A THRIVING ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNITY? UM, I, I DO NEED TO, OH, I, I DO BELIEVE THAT THE ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING AND THE ALLOTMENT OF FUNDINGS NEED TO CONTINUE TO BE LOOKED AT.
WHERE ARE THOSE DOLLARS GOING AND WHAT ARE THOSE DOLLARS GOING TO? UM, I KNOW THAT THE ARPA CONVERSATION JUST RECENTLY OCCURRED, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S A BIG FOCUS.
UM, HOW DO WE ASSIST AND SUSTAIN OUR BUSINESSES, NOT JUST A TEMPORARY BANDAID.
AND MY NEXT QUESTION IS ON CAPITAL.
AND SO WE KNOW THAT ACCESS TO CAPITAL IS FREQUENTLY LISTED AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
UM, IT'S A GREAT CHALLENGE FOR, FOR EVERYONE, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
HOW DO YOU THINK THAT THE CITY CAN ENSURE THAT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS HAVE ACCESS TO CAPITAL? SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR SMALL BUSINESS, SMALL BUSINESSES ARE ACTUALLY QUALIFIED.
UM, UNFORTUNATE LAW, A LOT OF THEM ARE, ARE QUOTE UNQUOTE SKIPPING STEPS AND, AND MISSING THE CRITERIA, WHICH KEEPS THEM OUT OF THE ABILITY TO EVEN APPLY FOR FUNDING OR TOUCH THE FUNDING.
SO THAT, THAT ALONE SHOULD BE STEP ONE.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, QUAL THE QUALIFICATIONS ARE INSURED BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD AND, AND GET THEIR HOPES UP.
SO IN LIGHT OF THE ONGOING PANDEMIC, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE GREATEST NEED OR CHALLENGE IN THIS SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY? AND WHAT STEPS WOULD YOU ADVISE THE CITY TO DO? SPECIFICALLY ON OUR, ON OUR SIDE OF TOWN, UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF OLDER, UH, WHAT'S THE SET IN THEIR WAYS? LACK OF SOCIAL MEDIA.
SO IT'S REALLY HARD TO HIT YOUR, HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.
THAT TO ME IS THE BIGGEST, UM, LACK OF COMMUNICATION, NOT BEING ABLE TO REACH THOSE THAT DON'T USE SOCIAL MEDIA OR ARE JUST SET IN THEIR WAYS ON NOT LISTENING TO NEW RESOURCES THAT COME ABOUT.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU, LINDSAY, FOR YOUR INTEREST IN SERVING ON THIS COMMITTEE.
WHAT ARE ONE OR TWO STRATEGIES THAT YOU WOULD ADVOCATE TO FILL THE GAP BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS AND NONPROFIT PROVIDERS? CONSTANT COMMUNICATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S A LOT OF MEETINGS THAT I UNFORTUNATELY MISS OUT ON IN THOSE MEETINGS ARE A LACK OF PERTINENT INFORMATION GETTING TRANSFERRED OVER.
SO TO ME, THAT'S THE BIGGEST THING, IS MAKING SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS AT THE TABLE THAT NEEDS TO BE AT THE TABLE.
AND IF NOT AT THE TABLE, THEN THAT INFORMATION IS RELAYED THE PROPER IN THE PROPER CHAINS.
THANK YOU FOR APPLYING MS. LOGAN.
UH, YOU HAD SAID THREE THINGS AT THE BEGINNING, UH, OF YOUR TALK, WHICH INCLUDED, I KNOW FINANCIAL AND EMPLOYMENT, AND I, I DON'T RECALL WHAT THE THIRD THING WAS.
UH, BUT YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCESS TO CAPITAL AND COMMUNICATION.
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS OF WHAT THE CITY COULD BE DOING IN ORDER TO HELP THESE SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, THAT YOU WOULD BRING FORWARD IF THE CITY MANAGER WAS SITTING HERE AND SAYING, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP? LIKE I SAID, I DON'T WANNA REPEAT IT, BUT LIKE I SAID, IT NEEDS TO BE SOMEBODY AT THE TABLE.
AND SO WITHIN EVERY INDUSTRY, THERE SHOULD BE A, UH, COMMUNICATION GUIDE.
THERE SHOULD BE A, A RESOURCE GUIDE.
THERE SHOULD BE SOMEBODY THAT IS ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY EAST SIDE OR EVERY RESTAURANT, EXCUSE ME, NOT JUST EAST SIDE, EVERY RESTAURANT IS AWARE OF ANY, UH, GRANT THAT JUST CAME UP.
EVERY HOTEL INDUSTRY IS AWARE OF ANY, UM, SOMETHING THAT APPLIES TO THEM.
I'M SORRY, I'M JUST A TAD NERVOUS.
UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S MY BIGGEST FOCUS IS COMMUNICATION.
IF WE CAN AT LEAST COMMUNICATE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO ASSIST, UM, AT THE FOREFRONT, THEN WE CAN GET THEM THE HELP THAT THEY NEED.
I THINK YOU, I THINK YOU'RE, I THINK YOU'RE DOING GREAT, MS. LOGAN.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS HARD TO BE THE FIRST ONE OUT, RIGHT? UM, AND SO I I ONLY HOPE THAT THE, YOUR, YOUR OTHER COMPETITORS WERE, WERE WATCHING BECAUSE I, I THINK YOU'RE DOING GREAT AND YOU, YOU'D, YOU'D MAKE THEM NERVOUS.
[00:10:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A CITY COUNCIL APPOINTMENT PROCESS, RIGHT? AND YOU REP YOU WOULD REPRESENT CITY COUNCIL, RIGHT? UM, AND AS, AS OUR EYES AND EARS AND, UM, TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK CITY COUNCIL NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED, AND HOW WOULD YOU BE INVOLVED WITH US? UM, YOU KNOW, TO GIVE US UPDATES AND TO SEEK CONSENSUS AND, UM, UNPACK THAT FOR ME.UH, I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE CITY COUNCIL NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED, BUT WE ALL KNOW HOW BUSY CITY COUNCIL IS.
AND SO, UM, I GUESS IT WOULD BE MORE OF A CHAIN COMMAND.
WE HANDLE EVERYTHING AT THE BOTTOM AND THEN SHOOT IT UP TO YOU FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, FOR THOROUGH RECOMMENDATION OR, YOU KNOW, REVIEWING THE POLICIES THAT WE HAVE RECOMMENDED.
UM, BUT I DO THINK THERE'S A LOT OF BOOTS ON THE GROUND OUTSIDE OF CITY COUNCIL.
AND THEN LASTLY, DO, DO YOU HAVE ANY RELATIONSHIPS WITH ANYBODY WHO CURRENTLY SERVES ON THE SS A C YOU FRIENDS WITH ANYBODY YOU OVERWORK WITH ANY OF THESE FOLKS? WE GOT A LOT OF SMART, REALLY GOOD PEOPLE ON THERE.
WELL, UM, I HOPE THAT ONE DAY YOU, WHETHER YOU GET THIS OR NOT, YOU ACTUALLY TO GET TO MEET THEM.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR YOUR INTEREST.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA KICK YOU OUT NOW,
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY, Y'ALL.
THE NEXT INDIVIDUAL SENT, WHICH IS SCOTT OSH HANISH, UH, SUBMITTED A WRITTEN STATEMENT, AND I WILL READ THAT FOR YOU.
DEAR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS, IT IS MY HONOR TO BE ONE OF THE CANDIDATES BEING CONSIDERED TO SERVE ON THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION.
I REGRETFULLY CANNOT BE WITHIN IN-PERSON TO SHARE MY COMMENTS ON WHY I SHOULD BE THE CANDIDATE CHOSEN, BUT THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SUBMIT MY COMMENTS VIA THIS LETTER.
I HAVE LIVED IN SAN ANTONIO SINCE 1986 AND WORKED IN FOR, IN THE FOR-PROFIT SECTOR MOST OF MY CAREER.
IN 2006, I TRANSITIONED TO THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR.
CURRENTLY, I AM THE C E O OF THE NON-PROFIT COUNCIL WHOSE MISSION IS TO CONNECT, STRENGTHEN, AND SUPPORT THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP OF NONPROFITS.
T N C IS A 5 0 1 C THREE NONPROFIT.
AND WHILE THAT I R S DESIGNATION IS A TAX EXEMPTION ORGANIZATION, WE ARE TRULY A SMALL BUSINESS IN SAN ANTONIO.
I HAVE THE UNIQUE POSITION THAT ALLOWS ME TO CONNECT WITH OVER 213 LOCAL NONPROFITS WITHIN OUR MEMBERSHIP AND MORE WHO PARTICIPATE IN OUR ANNUAL 24 HOUR GIVING DAY.
THE BIG GIVE, I BELIEVE IF I WERE CHOSEN TO SIT ON THE SBAC, I WILL REPRESENT NONPROFITS IN SAN ANTONIO AND BRING THAT VOICE OF THE SECTOR TO THE WORK OF THIS COMMISSION.
I STRONGLY BELIEVE HAVING THAT VOICE OF NONPROFITS IN THE REVIEW OF UPCOMING POLICIES AND REGULATIONS THAT IMPACT SMALL BUSINESSES, ALLOWS ME TO OFFER FEEDBACK AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE PROCE, TO THE PROCESS, AND ANY POSSIBLE EFFECTS ON THOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT NONPROFITS SERVE.
I CAN ALSO PROVIDE INPUT, FEEDBACK TO THIS COMMISSION FROM AN UNBIASED POINT OF VIEW, AS T N C IS NOT A CITY FUNDED NONPROFIT AND SERVES THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP OF NONPROFITS ACROSS THE CITY.
AND OUR MISSION WOULD NOT BE IN CONFLICT WITH ISSUES BEING DISCUSSED WITHIN THE GROUP.
I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY BE TO BE CONSIDERED AND DO HOPE THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE WILL VOTE TO APPROVE MY PARTICIPATION ON THE SPAC.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME AND SERVICE TO SAN ANTONIO.
SINCERELY, SCOTT MC, UH, C E O OF THE NONPROFIT COUNCIL.
THE NEXT CON THE NEXT STATEMENT IS FROM FRANCESCA RY.
AND I WILL READ THAT, THAT STATEMENT AS C E O OF Y M C A, SAN ANTONIO, A 112 YEAR OLD ORGANIZATION SERVING LOW INCOME WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES IN SAN ANTONIO.
I BRING MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN NON-PROFIT MANAGEMENT, FUNDRAISING, CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING IN THE AREA OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, HIGHER EDUCATION, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AND THE ARTS.
I BEGAN MY CAREER WITH INTERNATIONAL NGOS FROM SUPPORTING THE WORK TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH VIETNAM TO INTERNATIONAL MICROFINANCE AND FINCA INTERNATIONAL.
DURING THE PAST 16 YEARS IN WHICH I HAVE LIVED IN SAN ANTONIO, MY WORK HAS INCLUDED NON-PROFIT MANAGEMENT, CIRC CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO, CAPACITY BUILDING AND GRANT MAKING AT THE SAN ANTONIO AREA FOUNDATION AND DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING AT ARTPLACE ARTPACE AND ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM.
I GRADUATED WITH AN M B A FROM BOSTON UNIVERSITY QUEST FROM SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT IN GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE.
I OVERSEE A TEAM OF 45 FULL-TIME STAFF AT Y M C A SAN ANTONIO, WHICH EXISTS TO ELIMINATE RACISM AND EMPOWER WOMEN.
[00:15:01]
AND EACH ASSOCIATION ALIGNS THE MISSION WITH THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE IN SAN ANTONIO, WHICH IN 2019 TOPPED THE LIST OF THE MOST POPULOUS CITIES WITH THE HIGHEST POVERTY RATES.Y W C A ACHIEVES THIS MISSION BY REMOVING BARRIERS FOR WOMEN OF COLOR TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY AND BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT PROGRAMS INCLUDE CHILDCARE, YOUTH SERVICES, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT, AND HEALTH EQUITY, AS WELL AS RACIAL JUSTICE AND GENDER EQUITY ADVOCACY.
Y W C A BELIEVES ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL SELF-SUFFICIENCY IS THE CORNERSTONE TO EMPOWERING WOMEN.
OUR ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM PROVIDES ACCESS TO EDUCATION, TRAINING, FINANCIAL RESOURCES, AND COUNSELING AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUNG WOMEN WHO HAVE DISENGAGED FROM SCHOOL.
THE PROGRAM SERVES 1,500 INDIVIDUALS THROUGH OUTREACH WORKSHOPS, ONE-ON-ONE COUNSELING AND CAREER COUNSELING PROGRAMS INCLUDE WORKSHOPS WHICH PROVIDE TRAINING FOR SELF-EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS OR INDIVIDUALS INTERESTED IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH A MEXICAN CONSULATE, WHICH PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO NEWCOMERS TO GAIN ACCESS TO BANKING IN LEGAL, BANKING, LEGAL AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES, FINANCIAL COUNSELING TO HELP INDIVIDUALS BUILD AND RECOVER CREDIT, BUILD WEALTH, AND INVEST.
Y W C A IS WORKING WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO TO BECOME ONE OF THE CITY'S FOUR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTERS RESET, WHICH PROVIDES OUTREACH TO DISCONNECTED YOUTH, SPECIFICALLY YOUNG WOMEN, AGES 17 TO 25, TO HELP THEM GAIN SKILLS THEY NEED TO ENROLL IN POST-SECONDARY CERTIFICATION, JOB TRAINING, OR COLLEGE.
AS A LEADER OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT EXISTS TO EMPOWER WOMEN, ESPECIALLY WOMEN OF COLOR, PARTICIPATING IN THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WOULD ALLOW ME TO CONTRIBUTE TO AND LEARN FROM THE DEPARTMENT'S, WORK WITH WOMEN AS BUSINESS OWNERS AND LEADERS, SPECIFICALLY WITHIN THE SMALL BUSINESS EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM WITH MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES.
THAT'S THE END OF THE STATEMENT.
UM, THAT CONCLUDES A NONPROFIT SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR.
THE NEXT CANDIDATE IS MARK HERNANDEZ FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WITH 10 TO 50 EMPLOYEES.
WHILE WE WAIT, I CAN READ ONE OF THE OTHER WRITTEN COMMENTS.
THAT'S A LOT OF READING YOU'RE DOING.
ALRIGHT, MR. HERNANDEZ, YOU GOT TWO MINUTES TO GIVE US YOUR BEST OPENING ARGUMENT, UH, AND THEN, UH, WE'LL PEPPER YOU WITH QUESTIONS, UH, STARTING WITH, UH, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHE GARCIA.
UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, FIRST, AND FOR, UM, MY NAME IS MARK HERNANDEZ AND I'M THE OWNER OF, UH, TRUE FLAVORS CATERING.
AND WE HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR OVER 27 YEARS AND HAS SINCE HAVE, UH, DOVE IT INTO THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS.
WE HAVE A CORPORATE DINING, UH, BUSINESS AS WELL.
AND, UM, HERE RECENTLY WE ACTUALLY STARTED A LAUNDRY SERVICE, A COMMERCIAL LAUNDRY SERVICE, WHICH IS A, A DIRECTLY, YOU KNOW, BROUGHT ON BY COVID.
UH, BEEN IN PART, LIKE I MENTIONED, OF THE COMMUNITY FOR OVER 27 YEARS.
AND AT THE TIME THAT I SAW THE, UM, THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC.
UH, MANY OF MY PEERS AND I, YOU KNOW, WE WERE STRUGGLING AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WERE DOING THIS JUST TO ENSURE OUR LIVELIHOOD.
AND FOR US PERSONALLY, WE STRUGGLED BECAUSE OUR BUSINESS IS, IS BASED ON GETTING TOGETHER.
AND, YOU KNOW, UH, LARGE GATHERINGS ON THE CATERING SIDE.
UH, BEING BORN AND RAISED IN THIS GREAT CITY, I HAVE A PROFOUND LOVE, UH, FOR THE PEOPLE AND THE CULTURE.
BUT I HAVE EVEN MORE RESPECT FOR, UH, MY FELLOW SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, MANY SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS TAKE LEAPS OF FAITH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THEY MOVE MOUNTAINS AND SACRIFICE TO, UM, TO OPEN THESE BUSINESSES, WHETHER IT'S A COFFEE SHOP OR A RESTAURANT.
UH, IN THE CASE OF OUR BUSINESS, WE HAVE LEARNED MANY IMPORTANT LESSONS OVER THE PAST 27 YEARS.
AND THAT IS, UM, THE MAIN REASON WHY I WOULD APPRECIATE THE CHANCE TO REPRESENT, UM, THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND BE AN ADVOCATE FOR CHANGES THAT POSITIVELY IMPACTS OUR COMMUNITY THAT I'M A PART OF, AND THAT I LOVE.
IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY, I HOPE TO, UH, PROVIDE PERSONAL INSIGHT AND KNOWLEDGE, UH, THAT MAY SOMEHOW BENEFIT ANY OTHER SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS OUT THERE.
IF I CAN PROVIDE EVEN THE SLIGHTEST HELP TO A SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, THAT IS, LIKE I MENTIONED, STARTING, EVEN IF IT'S A SMALL BUSINESS OR EVEN A BUSINESS THAT HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR OVER 27 YEARS LIKE OURS, UM, I WOULD LOVE THE ABILITY TO SHARE
[00:20:01]
ANY EXPERIENCES THAT WE'VE HAD.AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME.
UH, IN CLOSING, EVERY DAY WE CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT NEW IDEAS AND NEW PROCESSES THAT REALLY ASSIST US IN MAKING, UH, OUR JOBS EASIER.
AND I ONLY WISH THAT THROUGH THE SUPPORT AND HARD WORK OF THIS COMMISSION THAT WE CAN PASS THIS INFORMATION TO YOU ALL.
UM, AND I KNOW YOU'LL APPRECIATE THIS, BUT HAPPY NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY.
I'M SURE YOU ALL WILL BE CELEBRATING IN YOUR BUSINESS TODAY.
WE ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT TODAY AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE CROWD, SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL, WE CAN SHARE ONE LATER.
I'LL SEND MORE PEOPLE YOUR WAY.
UM, IN LIGHT OF THE ONGOING PANDEMIC, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE GREATEST NEED OR CHALLENGE IN THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY? YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY TO ADAPT, YOU KNOW, LIKE I MENTIONED, UH, WHEN I WAS READING, WE RECENTLY STARTED A, UM, A LINEN, UM, A LINEN BUSINESS.
AND THAT WAS A DIRECT IMPACT OF COVID.
'CAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT, THAT PROVIDED OUR LINEN SERVICE AND SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS LAUNDERING OUR, OUR LINENS, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE COULDN'T, UH, GET DONE.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS WERE SHORT STAFFED.
UM, THEY DIDN'T HAVE SUPPLIES, THEY WERE JUST STRUGGLING.
AND WE HAVE SINCE PURCHASED, UH, YOU KNOW, NEW WASHERS, NEW COMMERCIAL DRYERS, NEW PRESSERS, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, I, I'M KIND OF TIRED OF THE WORD PIVOT, BUT, YOU KNOW, ADAPTING, BEING ABLE TO ADAPT THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY IN OUR BUSINESS.
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU THINK OF ON OUR SIDE OF THE CATERING, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE INVOLVED, WHETHER IT BE FLORIST AND DJS AND PHOTO BOOTH OPERATORS, RIGHT.
UM, SO I, I THINK BEING ABLE TO ADAPT WAS VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, SO I HAVE A SECOND QUESTION FOR YOU.
WHAT STEPS WOULD YOU ADVISE THE CITY TO TAKE, UH, TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED? YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, I, I GOTTA BE HONEST WITH YOU, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT THE SUPPORT AND, AND THE, THE HELP FROM WHETHER IT BE P P P, WHO KNOWS WHERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO BE IN OUR INDUSTRY, UM, WE ASKED THAT QUESTION ON A REGULAR BASIS.
SO ANY SUPPORT THAT WE CAN PROVIDE TO SMALL BUSINESSES, AND I REALLY THINK IT'S DIVING INTO, UH, CERTAIN PARTS OF BUSINESS.
YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE WERE SOME BUSINESSES THAT THAT THRIVED DURING COVID, BUT IT'S REALLY, UH, BEING ABLE TO PINPOINT THOSE, UM, INDUSTRIES THAT WERE AFFECTED THE MOST.
THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS, CHAIR.
UM, SO WHAT ROLE SHOULD THE CITY PLAY IN THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM? CAN YOU REPEAT THAT ONE MORE TIME? WHAT ROLE SHOULD THE CITY PLAY IN THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM? YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT I'VE, I'VE LEARNED IS THAT THERE'S SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, YOU ALL ARE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU JUST LIKE MYSELF, LOVE THE CITY.
YOU ALL GREW UP HERE, AND IT'S SOMETIMES IT'S HARD FOR YOU ALL, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL ARE PUT IN A TOUGH POSITION BECAUSE YOU ALL NEED TO MAKE CERTAIN DECISIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU MAY NOT HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN.
YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT Y'ALL ARE DOING RIGHT NOW IS, IS FANTASTIC.
I MEAN, I THINK IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST, UH, MOST IMPORTANT STEPS THAT YOU ALL CAN DO IN, IN THIS SYSTEM OR IN THIS CITY, IS REALLY BRINGING IN, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW THE MOST, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE'RE ONLY, UH, AS GOOD AS OUR TEAM AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE BRING TOGETHER WITH PEOPLE THAT MAYBE HAVE 30, 40, 50 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE HAS PROVEN TO BE, UM, A HUGE ASSET.
AND THEN I JUST HAVE A FOLLOW UP.
SO WE'RE BRINGING IN SMALL BUSINESSES, 10 TO 50 TRADE ORGANIZATIONS.
ARE THERE ANY STAKEHOLDERS THAT YOU THINK WE ALSO NEED TO BRING IN THAT MAYBE WE HAVEN'T COVERED YET? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF I HAD TO ANSWER THAT TODAY, I'M NOT QUITE SURE.
I'M SURE THAT IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY AFTER BEING ON THE COMMISSION FOR A WHILE, I, I, I THINK THAT I CAN DEFINITELY ANSWER THAT BETTER, PROBABLY.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK THIS IS THE, UH, THE FIRST STEP IN THE, IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
MARK, WHAT GAPS DO SMALL BUSINESSES WITH 10 TO 50 EMPLOYEES CURRENTLY FACE THAT ARE NOT BEING ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED? AND WHAT ARE ONE OR TWO STRATEGIES THAT YOU WOULD ADVOCATE TO HELP FILL THAT GAP? MAN, SO I'M 47 AND I MUST BE LOSING MY, MY HEARING BECAUSE CAN YOU REPEAT THAT ONE MORE TIME? I'M HAVING TROUBLE HERE.
WHAT GAPS DO SMALL BUSINESSES WITH 10 TO 50 EMPLOYEES CURRENTLY FACE THAT ARE NOT BEING ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED? AND WHAT ARE ONE OR TWO STRATEGIES THAT YOU WOULD ADVOCATE FOR TO HELP FILL THAT GAP? SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE LEARNED, ESPECIALLY DURING THIS PROCESS, OBVIOUSLY THERE WAS A LOT OF, UH, SUPPORT OUT THERE FROM THE GOVERNMENT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE KIND OF REALLY WANTED, THAT I'VE BEEN WANTING TO, UH, SPEARHEAD IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE IS JUST INFORMATION.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 27 YEARS, AND THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT UNFORTUNATELY THAT WE ARE STILL LEARNING, YOU KNOW, AND SOMETIMES IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT
[00:25:01]
FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, THOSE SMALL, THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE JUST GETTING STARTED.SOMETHING AS QUICK AS SIMPLE AS QUICKBOOKS, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO FILL OUT ALL THESE APPLICATIONS, WHETHER IT'S FINANCIAL INFORMATION THAT A LOT OF THESE SMALL BUSINESSES DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO OR MAYBE DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND JUST HAVING THE RIGHT PEOPLE, WHETHER IT'S RIGHT, THE RIGHT BOOKKEEPER, RIGHT, THE, THE, THE RIGHT C P A TO WHERE WHEN THESE OPPORTUNITIES DO COME, I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, THERE WAS SOME DEADLINES AND, OR NOT DEADLINES, BUT SOME WIND, UH, SOME DATES THAT, YOU KNOW, WERE, THE INFORMATION WAS GONNA BE ALLOWED TO BE INPUTTED INTO THE SYSTEM, RIGHT? AND WE HAD IT DONE WITHIN 20 MINUTES, RIGHT? AND I CAN IMAGINE HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE FOR A SMALL BUSINESS THAT DOESN'T HAVE THOSE TYPE OF RESOURCES.
SO TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, YOU KNOW, ANY OPPORTUNITY TO MAYBE ASSIST SMALL BUSINESSES AND, AND OBTAINING SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS A QUICKBOOKS OR EVEN JUST THE INFORMATION, UH, GIVING THEM THAT INFORMATION WOULD BE A HUGE ASSET.
UM, TODAY OUR TEAM HAD LUNCH AT A CAFE, AND IN CONVERSATION, UH, WE'RE LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION SO WE CAN SIGN YOU UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER? AND SHE MENTIONED, I JUST GOT AN EMAIL ADDRESS AND I'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 30 YEARS, UM, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, 30 YEARS.
AND SHE JUST RECENTLY GOT A EMAIL ADDRESS.
SO I APPRECIATE, UM, THE, THE EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
I WAS THINKING AS YOU WERE ANSWERING SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT I, WHAT I BELIEVE SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE FACED SOMETIMES IS CHALLENGES.
FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN, UH, THE CITY DECIDED TO RATE, UH, RESTAURANTS BY HAVING A PLACARD IN THE FRONT WINDOW SAYING WHETHER IT'S AN A, B, OR C OR, UH, EVEN NOW PEOPLE ARE SAYING, UM, PEOPLE WHO HAVE SERVICE ANIMALS SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE 'EM INTO ANY BUSINESS AND, AND GET SERVED.
OR THE FACT THAT, UH, DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE TOLD BUSINESSES, WE WANT YOU TO LIMIT, UH, PEOPLE COMING IN WITHOUT MASKS OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THERE ARE A LOT OF VARIOUS TYPES OF ISSUES THAT MAY COME UP BEFORE A COMMITTEE LIKE THIS ABOUT SMALL BUSINESSES.
ARE THERE ANY THAT YOU THINK THAT, UH, ARE BARRIERS THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO CONSIDER THAT EXIST TODAY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES TO CONTINUE TO, YOU KNOW, BE SUCCESSFUL IN SAN ANTONIO? YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU, YOU HIT IT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING, AND WE'VE LEARNED A LOT, OBVIOUSLY OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, YOU KNOW, AND SO, UH, I, I CAN'T THINK OF, OF ANY, YOU'VE, YOU'VE HIT THE BIG ONES, RIGHT? I, IN THE END, I THINK IT'S JUST TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO WORK TOGETHER.
YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE MASS MANDATE WHERE YOU CAN ONLY, YOU KNOW, HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK AT HOW, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE SAYING, WELL, YOU, YOU HAVE TO BE SIX FEET APART.
RIGHT? BUT IF YOU HAVE SO MUCH SQUARE FOOTAGE, YOU, YOU CAN, YOU CAN MAKE THAT 12 FEET, YOU CAN MAKE, IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER, RIGHT? IF YOU'RE TIED BY OTHER BOUNDARIES OR OTHER, OR OTHER BARRIERS, RIGHT.
THAT ARE PUT BEFORE US, YOU KNOW? SO I THINK, UH, IN A GROUP LIKE THIS, BEING ABLE TO TALK AS A, AS A GROUP WITH, YOU KNOW, VARIOUS FIELDS OF, OF SMALL BUSINESSES, I THINK IS, IS KEY.
MARK, ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT I, THAT I NOTICE IS, UH, ON THE CURRENT SBA COMMITTEE, THERE'S LITTLE OR NO RESTAURANT, UH, OR, UH, REPRESENTATION.
I THINK YOU WOULD BE THE ONLY ONE.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT CAN A CITY DO, UH, THAT YOU THINK RIGHT NOW THAT YOU, YOU KNOW, A PROPOSAL TO MAKE RESTAURANTS MORE SUCCESSFUL IN SAN ANTONIO? I'M, I'M, I'M STRUGGLING TO FIGURE THAT OUT, AND I KNOW THAT YOUR ASSOCIATION, THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION AND THE CITY HAVE TALKED ABOUT THAT MM-HMM.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS AS, AS AS RECENT AS TODAY OR MAYBE YESTERDAY, BUT, YOU KNOW, DURING THE PANDEMIC, YOU SAW HOW EVERYBODY JUST GOT BEHIND LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS, RIGHT? AND EVERYBODY WAS JUST SUPPORTING US.
AND, AND I'M GONNA NAME OFF SOME RESTAURANTS, LIKE WHETHER IT'S THE BARRIO FAMILY OR BLANC AL DACO AND, AND, AND JASON, RIGHT? EVERYBODY WAS JUST SUPPORTING, YOU KNOW, UM, LOCAL, SMALL BUSINESS RESTAURANTS.
AND I THINK IT'S, I WAS JUST THE OTHER DAY WHEN I WAS DRIVING TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW COULD WE KIND OF NOT LOSE THAT, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THAT'LL GET LOST.
UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, DURING THE PANDEMIC IT WAS VERY EASY AND PEOPLE WERE JUST GETTING BEHIND IT, YOU KNOW? I WAS LIKE, WHAT, WHAT COULD WE DO AS A GROUP TO JUST KEEP THAT AND, YOU KNOW, BEING, YOU KNOW, BEING THE CHEERLEADERS FOR THAT PROGRAM OR MAYBE SOME TYPE OF PROGRAM THAT'LL JUST KEEP, I KNOW WE JUST THROW THAT OUT THERE, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH, YOU KNOW, AMERICAN EXPRESS HAS A
[00:30:01]
SMALL BUSINESS DAY, RIGHT? LIKE, LET'S MAKE IT A SMALL BUSINESS EVERY DAY.I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT PROGRAM IS, RIGHT? BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT, LIKE, HOW COULD WE KEEP THAT MOMENTUM GOING AND CONTINUING TO SUPPORT SMALL RESTAURANT, YOU KNOW, EVEN THE MOM AND POPS, RIGHT.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE, RIGHT? UH, WHEN YOU PUT US ASIDE, SOME OF THESE LARGE CORPORATE CHAINS.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
UH, AND WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA ASK YOU TO, TO LEAVE.
SO WE CAN TALK BEHIND YOUR BACK.
THE NEXT CAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME? THE NEXT CANDIDATE IS BIANCA RHODES.
SHE DID NOT PROVIDE A WRITTEN COMMENT, OR, UH, SHE DID, YES.
UH, SHE HAS A DIFFERENT LAST NAME.
SHE, BECAUSE SHE SAID SHE GOT, OKAY, SO I DO HAVE THAT.
THAT IS, YES, IT IS CONFIRMED.
THEN I DO HAVE, YES, THE SAME PERSON.
I DO HAVE THAT COMMENT, THAT WRITTEN.
BIANCA SRA, AND I AM THE CO-FOUNDER, C O O OF HELIUM, A COMPANY WORKING ON NIPPLE AERIAL TISSUE GRANTS FOR NIPPLE RE REGENERATION AFTER MASTECTOMY.
I AM A GRADUATE OF THE U T S A, UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER, SAN ANTONIO BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING PHD PROGRAM, WHERE I MET MY CO-FOUNDER, LAUREN CORNELL.
WE BOTH HAVE A FAMILY HISTORY OF BENT BREAST CANCER AND WANTED TO APPLY TISSUE TISSUE ENGINEERING TO THE FIELD OF BREAST RECONSTRUCTION AFTER MASTECTOMY.
WE FOUNDED THE COMPANY IN 2015 WITH NOTHING BUT THE IDEA.
WE DID NOT HAVE FUNDS OR LABORATORY SPACE TO BEGIN STUDIES.
WE LEVERAGED FREE WAR RE FREE RESOURCES AT OUR UNIVERSITY'S LAUNCH SA AND THE INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO FIRST LAUNCH OUR BUSINESSES.
EACH OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS FURTHER CONNECTED US TO ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING BUSINESS PLAN, COMPETITIONS, NETWORKING, AND IN-KIND SERVICES.
SINCE THEN, WE HAVE RAISED SIGNIFICANT NON DILUTIVE FUNDING PERFORMED LABORATORY AND PRECLINICAL STUDIES TO DEVELOP OUR PRODUCT AND HAVE BEEN AWARDED A US PATENT.
I HAVE APPLIED, I HAVE APPLIED TO BE A MEMBER OF THE SPAC BOARD BECAUSE I HAVE EXPERIENCED AND OVERCOME AND OVERCOME THE HURDLES OF FIRST TIME ENTREPRENEURSHIP, INCLUDING UNIQUE CHALLENGES OF BEING IN BIOTECH.
THESE CHALLENGES INCLUDE FINDING LABORATORY SPACE AND RESOURCES TO PERFORM, TO PERFORM EARLY PROOF OF CONCEPT STUDIES, THE LONG TIME TO COMMERCIAL COMMERCIALIZATION, F D A REGULATORY COMPLIANCE, AND SECURING THE FUND NECESSARY TO GET TO COMMERCIALIZATION.
I WANT TO HELP CONNECT PEOPLE TO THE RESOURCE, TO THE RESOURCES WE HAVE UTILIZED, AS WELL AS ENHANCE OUR RESOURCES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO FOR BIOTECH SPECIFIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
SO PEOPLE HAVE EVERYTHING THEY NEED HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
ADDITIONALLY, SINCE I AM ALSO A RESEARCH SCIENTIST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, STUDYING BIOMEDICAL EFFECTS OF MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES, HIGH ALTITUDE EXPOSURES, AND MY MYOCARDIAL INJURY ASSOCIATION WITH C OVID 19, I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH OUR LOCAL DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH ECOSYSTEM, INCLUDING DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH GOALS AND CAPACITY GAPS, CAPABILITY GAPS, AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FUNDING FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND COMMERCIALIZATION HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
WE HAVE A UNIQUE BIOMEDICAL ENVIRONMENT, AND I HOPE TO LEVERAGE THIS TO SUPPORT FURTHER BIOMEDICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
B BEFORE YOU READ THE NEXT STATEMENT, UM, ALEX POINTED OUT SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO CLEAR UP, ALEX, UM, THIS, UH, THIS, UH, DR.
WE ACTUALLY ARE FAMILIAR WITH HER.
UM, AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING FOR HER TO SERVE ON THE BOARD FOR LAUNCH SA, UM, WHICH YOU'LL BE GETTING MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT IN THE COMING DAYS, IF NOT WEEKS.
UM, SO WHAT YOU JUST HEARD IS STILL SOMEBODY WE WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN THE SMALL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM, BUT IT'S GONNA BE ON A DIFFERENT BOARD.
SO, SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, SHE'S NOT AN APPLICANT FOR THE, FOR THE SS A C I, I'M, SHE JUST, SHE MADE THIS LIST BY MISTAKE.
SO THE POINT, THE CLARIFICATION IS SHE SAYS, I HAVE APPLIED TO BE A MEMBER OF SPAC, SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GAVE HER, I DIDN'T SEE HER ON ANY LIST UNTIL RIGHT NOW.
ALSO, SO I, I, I KNOW THERE WAS QUITE A FEW APPLICATIONS, SO I CAN'T CONFIRM OR DENY RIGHT NOW WHETHER SHE APPLIED FOR THIS OR NOT.
I KNOW SHE WAS NOT ONE OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WAS RECOMMENDED TO MOVE FORWARD BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE, THOUGH.
SHE WAS AN APPLICANT FOR THE SBAC, BUT AS ALEX STATED, SHE WASN'T ONE THAT WAS RECOMMENDED
[00:35:01]
TO BE INTERVIEWED TODAY.WHO'S NEXT? OUT ON THE NEXT STATEMENT IS FROM JAVIER ROMAN.
I WISH TO START BY EXPRESSING MY GRATITUDE TO YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO REVIEW THIS BRIEF DOCUMENT.
37 YEARS AGO, MY WIFE AND I DECIDED TO JOIN EFFORTS AND START A NEW BUSINESS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO WITH, WITH NO IDEA WHERE TO BEGIN, WHAT FINANCIAL CHALLENGES WE WOULD FACE, OR EVEN WHAT PERMITS OR LICENSES WOULD BE REQUIRED.
WE JUST KNEW THAT WE WANTED TO BE FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT TO CONTRIBUTE TO OTHERS, AND HONESTLY TO JUST BE DIFFERENT THROUGH THE, IN ENSUING STRUGGLE TO GET OUR BUSINESS OFF THE GROUND AND MAKE IT SELF-SUSTAINING.
WE WERE FORTUNATE TO FIND PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY WHO HAD THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE EXPERTISE AND THE EXPERTISE TO GUIDE US.
WHAT STARTED OUT AS A SIMPLE IDEA EVENTUALLY BECAME OUR FAMILY SOLE SOURCE OF INCOME, AND GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE JOBS POSITIVELY IMPACTING OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITY.
NOW WE ARE AT A POINT AT WHICH WE CAN GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY THAT NURTURED AND GREW OUR COMPANY.
ONE WAY WE CAN DO THIS IS TO HELP GUIDE OUR ENTREPRENEURS TO GROW THEIR DREAMS AND DEVELOP THEIR BUSINESS.
THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICE HAS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND CRITICAL MISSION IN DEVELOPING, IN PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR EVERY ENTREPRENEUR.
IN THE SAN ANTONIO METROPOLITAN AREA, WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES AS WELL AS COMPANIES OWNED BY HISPANIC, AFRICAN AMERICAN, INDIGENOUS, AND OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE ALREADY AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR LOCAL ECONOMY.
THE CURRENT PANDEMIC HAS BEEN A CHALLENGING, HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
AS WE KNOW MANY HAVE SUCCUMBED AND ARE NO LONGER AROUND.
WE NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND COMMEND THE EFFORTS OF OUR MAYOR AND HIS STAFF FOR PROVIDING GRANTS TO SMALL MICRO BUSINESSES THROUGH LOCAL AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR OFFERING FREE WAIVERS AND ENSURING ACCESSIBILITY TO OTHER RESOURCES.
WITHOUT THAT SUPPORT, MANY BUSINESSES WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CONTINUE NAVIGATING THE DIFFICULTIES OF TODAY'S WORLD.
I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE IN ASSISTING SMALL BUSINESSES TO GET THE NECESSARY INFORMATION TO START TO DEVELOP, TO GROW, TO GET MARKETING AND TECHNICAL ADVICE, AND TO ACCESS CAPITAL FOR THEIR BUSINESSES.
THIS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE, THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS OF BECOMING ACE, A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR.
AS A MEMBER OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION, I WOULD DO MY BEST TO ASSIST IN THIS EFFORT.
I BRING TO THE TABLE THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERT EXPERIENCE OF RUNNING THE BUSINESSES I OWN AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CRITICAL IT IS TO REACH OUT TO NEW BUSINESS OWNERS.
MY LONG PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL AND NATIONAL BUSINESSES, BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE SAN ANTONIO HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE US WOMEN'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE HOUSTON WEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND MANY OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND INDUSTRY ORIENTED ASSOCIATION, ALSO HAS PROVIDED ME WITH VITAL COMMUNITY RESOURCES, EXPERIENCE, AND EXPERTISE IN NAVIGATING THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
TELL ME WHERE TO START TO HELP MAKE SAN ANTONIO AN EVEN MORE NURTURING HOME TO EVERY BUSINESS OWNER, AND TO MAKE OUR CITY A PLACE WHERE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION CONTINUES TO BE RESPECTED AND APPRECIATED.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR CONSIDER CONSIDERATION REGARDING MY INTEREST IN BEING PART OF THIS COMMISSION.
RESPECTFULLY, JAVIER ROMAN WORLDWIDE LANGUAGES.
AND THEN WE HAVE ONE MORE PERSON WHO'S HERE LIVE.
THANK YOU MR. SARTO FOR SHOWING UP TODAY.
EVERYBODY'S BEEN GIVEN TWO MINUTES, UH, FOR AN INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT, AND THEN AFTER THAT, WE'LL, WE'LL ASK YOU A SERIES OF QUESTIONS.
UH, I APPRECIATE YOU FOR HAVING ME.
I'M THE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT OK TOURS.
UM, JUST THINKING ABOUT EVERYTHING, JUST WALKING IN HERE, UH, I GREW UP IN DISTRICT, UH, TWO MY WHOLE LIFE.
AND WHEN YOU WOULD'VE TOLD ME THAT I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO JUST BE IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY HERE AND, UH, STATE OUR BUSINESS AND WHAT WE DO, UM, I WOULD'VE NEVER IMAGINED IT.
SO I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN IN, UH, DISTRICT TWO FOR THE LAST 28 YEARS, AND WE PROVIDE THE CHARTER BUS, MOTOR COACH SERVICES FOR EVERY SCHOOL, EVERY CHURCH.
UM, A HANDFUL OF UNIVERSITIES IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, SOME OF THE GROWTH THAT'S, UH, HAPPENING AT, AT AN ALARMING RATE, WHICH IS GREAT FOR THE CITY, UM, MOTOR COACH, MOTOR MOTOR COACHES THEMSELVES HAVEN'T BEEN, UM, THOUGHT OF, UH, GOING FORWARD.
SO I HAVE A LOT OF, UM, OTHER COMPANIES THAT COME INTO TOWN FOR EVENTS AND THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE TO PARK.
THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE, WHERE TO GO VISIT.
[00:40:01]
UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, JUST HAVING SOMEBODY THAT IS FAMILIAR WITH THE MOTOR COACH NEEDS, UM, WOULD DEFINITELY HELP THE GROWTH OF SAN ANTONIO.UM, OUR INDUSTRY ITSELF, UM, SHRUNK A LOT IN THE CITY, UH, WITH THE DEMAND GOING HIGHER OF, OF MOTOR COACH OPERATORS AND BUSES, UM, SCHOOLS THEMSELVES ARE LOOKING TO, UH, COUNT ON US A LOT MORE.
UM, AND I FEEL LIKE, UH, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT I'VE HAD OVER THE LAST 16 YEARS AT OK TOURS WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE.
UM, MARCOS, FOR APPLYING, UM, WHAT DO YOU, CAN YOU ELABORATE ON WHY YOU THINK THAT YOU WOULD BRING SOME INSIGHT INTO, TO, INTO THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION? OKAY.
UM, SO FOR STARTERS, WE HAVE A LOT OF, UH, CONVENTIONS THAT COME INTO TOWN.
UM, AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE PLANNING PART OF IT, UM, THE ORGANIZERS THAT ARE PUTTING, PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT MOTOR COACHES ARE.
THEY DON'T KNOW THE SIZE OF THE MOTOR COACHES.
THEY DON'T KNOW, UM, THE TEMPERATURES OF, OF SOUTH TEXAS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF IDLING ORDINANCES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST CAN'T, UH, WE CAN'T PARK IN CERTAIN PLACES.
AND IT'S REALLY TURNING A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE PLANNING EVENTS IN SAN ANTONIO.
MARCOS A ACTUALLY, CAN YOU ELABORATE, UM, A LITTLE BIT ON THOSE? SO, UM, THE IDLING ORDINANCES, FOR INSTANCE, UM, WERE YOU, UH, WERE YOU ALREADY AT OKAY.
TOURS WHEN THOSE ORDINANCES WENT INTO EFFECT? YES.
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE OR, OR WHAT DID YOU DO TO, UH, GIVE SOME ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK TO THE CITY BEFORE THEY BROUGHT THAT ORDINANCE ON? SO, UH, WE TRIED OUR BEST TO, YOU KNOW, SEND LETTERS AND MEET WITH OUR COUNCILMEN TO PRETTY MUCH SAY, HEY, THESE BUSES TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO TURN ON AND OFF.
YOU CAN'T JUST HIT A FLICK OF A SWITCH.
AND WITH SOME OF THE NEW E P A ORDINANCES ON THESE MOTOR COACHES, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THEM ON TO HAVE A FULL, UM, CLEARING OF THE ENGINE.
UM, IF NOT, YOU'RE GONNA BE STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF
TOURS HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR HOW MANY YEARS? UH, WE'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS SINCE 93.
WE MOVED TO OUR AUSTIN STREET LOCATION IN 1996, AND WE'VE BEEN GROWING, UH, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO PURCHASE MORE LAND AS, YOU KNOW,
UM, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO LEAVE ANYWHERE ELSE BECAUSE WITH US BEING IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN, IT'S REALLY CLOSE TO ALL THE HOTELS THAT NEED TRANSPORTATION.
UM, AS, AS FAR AS THE AIRPORT, WE'RE ABOUT 10 MINUTES AWAY.
UM, AND WE DO, LIKE TODAY WE'VE HAD, UH, 10 SHUTTLES THAT WE'RE BRINGING IN 50 PEOPLE EACH BUS THAT WAS GOING OUT THERE.
UM, SO AND Y'ALL DO THE HOSPITALITY PORTION WITH THE GROUPS THAT COME IN OR CONVENTIONS THAT COME IN.
AND YOU ALSO DO THE LOCAL WITH THE SCHOOLS, CORRECT? CORRECT.
AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THE CITY CAN DO TO KIND OF HELP WITH THE SMALL BUSINESSES AND MAKE US ON TOP OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL, UH, UH, CITIES? UM, SO WE ALSO BRING IN A LOT OF, UM, OTHER CITIES INTO OUR CITY.
UH, THE SURROUNDING AREAS, WHICH BEING LAREDO, UH, EAGLE PASS, DEL RIO, WE TRANSPORT A LOT OF THEIR SCHOOLS INTO SAN ANTONIO.
AND WHEN THEY COME IN, THERE ISN'T A LOT OF, UH, BUS FRIENDLY AREAS.
SO WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, PUSH THEM OUT TO NEW BRAUNFELS IN ZIN 'CAUSE THERE'S NO OVERNIGHT PARKING, THERE'S NO PLA, THERE'S NO BUS TERMINAL FOR US BEING SUCH A BIG CITY, UH, FOR THEM TO PARK OVERNIGHT LAYOVER OR JUST STAY A COUPLE HOURS, UH, WE'RE DROPPING OFF UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE, UH, AT, AT BY THE MARKET SQUARE IS, IS SOME CERTAIN SPOTS, UH, BUT SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE WELCOMING.
WE'RE BRINGING IN INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS AND THEY DON'T HAVE ANYWHERE ELSE TO, TO GO.
I KNOW OF A GOOD HOTEL AT BROOK CITY BASE.
I'VE, UH, UM, LEARNED A LOT FROM YOUR RESPONSES, SO I APPRECIATE IT.
UM, WHAT GAPS DO SMALL BUSINESSES WITH 10 TO 50 EMPLOYEES CURRENTLY FACE THAT ARE NOT BEING ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED? AND WHAT ARE ONE OR TWO SOLUTIONS YOU WOULD ADVOCATE FOR TO FILL THAT GAP? SO, UH, WITH OUR TRANSPORTATION, UM, BACKGROUND, UM, THERE IS, WE DO SEE A LOT OF, UM, GROWTH AND CONNECTIONS BEING ESTABLISHED WITH HAVING MORE, UH, RESOURCES AVAILABLE WHEN IT COMES TO CONNECTING WITH OTHER LARGE CITY, UM, ENTITIES LIKE VIA, UM, JUST ESTABLISH, ESTABLISHING A RELATIONSHIP WITH US, UM, WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP BRING IN MORE PEOPLE, UH, TRANSPORT THEM IN THE RIGHT ROUTES, UM, HELP WITH THEIR GROWTH.
[00:45:01]
UH, WE SEE THEY'RE STRUGGLING.WE SEE THAT THEY'RE STRUGGLING WHEN IT COMES TO HIRING, UM, BUS DRIVERS.
WELL, WE HAVE THE EQUIPMENT AND THE RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEM, UM, GROW AND PARTNER TOGETHER, UM, IN THAT.
UH, BEING ON THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL, YOU WOULD BE WORKING WITH PEOPLE IN MANY OTHER BUSINESSES, MANY OTHER INDUSTRIES, UH, IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, HOW DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN BENEFIT WORKING WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM A LOT OF OTHER BUSINESSES? UH, PERSONALLY, EVERYBODY NEEDS TRANSPORTATION.
UM, I'D BE ABLE TO HELP THEM WITH THAT, THAT PART OF THAT, SO THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT.
AND IF WE CAN'T HELP THEM, THEN, UM, OUR TRANSPORTATION, UH, NETWORK IN SAN ANTONIO HAS GROWN VERY CLOSE TOGETHER THAT, UM, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH EVERYBODY THAT DOES TRANSPORTATION IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, WITH C O V I D AND, AND EVERYTHING THAT HAD HAPPENED OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS.
UM, WE JUST NEEDED SOME HEART TO HEART AT TIMES BECAUSE OUR INDUSTRY DID GET FORGET, GET FORGOTTEN.
UM, BEING ABLE TO PARTNER AND, AND HAVE NO WORRIES WITH TRANSPORTATION.
I FEEL LIKE WE WOULD ALL BE ABLE TO GROW FROM THAT.
BUT OUTSIDE OF, UH, TRANSPORTATION, WHAT ELSE DO YOU HAVE TO OFFER IN THE WAY OF, UH, ADVICE, SUPPORT, OR HELP FOR OTHER BUSINESSES? UH, UM, BEING THERE FOR PEOPLE.
'CAUSE WE KNOW HOW, UM, WE KNOW SOME OF THE RESOURCES THAT, UH, CAN BE USED TO, TO HELP GROWTH.
SOME PEOPLE JUST, UH, NEED A LITTLE BIT OF ASSISTANCE WITH MORAL SUPPORT.
UM, THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE THEIR, UM, THEIR THOUGHTS IN THE RIGHT WAY.
THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE CITY HALL'S AT.
THEY DON'T KNOW WHO, WHO REPRESENTS THEM.
UM, BEING ABLE TO HELP THEM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, UH, WOULD BE A BIG STARTING POINT.
I, I, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS A LITTLE BIT.
UH, HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO YOU HAVE? UH, WE HAVE 43.
AND HOW MANY OF 'EM HAVE COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSES? UH, OUT OF THEM WE HAVE 22 THAT HAVE COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE.
HAS FINDING DRIVERS, UH, BEEN A DIFFICULT THING FOR YOU DURING THIS PANDEMIC? UM, NOT REALLY FINDING THEM.
UM, WE REALLY DIDN'T LOSE THAT MANY.
I WOULD SAY THE ONES THAT WE DID LOSE WERE ALREADY UP TO THE AGE OF RETIRING.
UM, BUT JUST HAVING THAT GOOD CULTURE AROUND US, UH, HAS REALLY HELPED US STAY TOGETHER, LEARN FROM EACH OTHER.
UM, ALL OF OUR, MOST OF OUR OPERATORS ARE AN AVERAGE AGE OF 50 TO, TO 60.
SO HELPING THEM AND, AND BEING THERE FOR THEM HAS REALLY HELPED US ALL GROW TOGETHER, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO THAT.
BECAUSE SOME OF 'EM DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO, WHERE TO GO ONCE, ONCE EVERYTHING HAPPENED.
SO, UM, THE CULTURE THAT WE'VE HAD OVER THE LAST, UH, TWO YEARS HAS REALLY BROUGHT US ALL TOGETHER.
AND NOW PEOPLE ARE ADVOCATING FOR US SAYING, HEY, COME WORK OVER HERE.
IT'S, IT'S A GOOD PLACE TO BE.
AND, AND THAT'S REALLY HELPED, UH, FILL OUR SHORTAGE IN, UM, OPERATORS.
YOU MUCH, I APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT HERE.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA, I THINK EVERYBODY CAN COME BACK IN, RIGHT? RA THIS WILL, THEY CAN COME BACK.
SO EVERYBODY CAN COME BACK IN AND THEN, UH, WE'LL GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SO FOR EVERYBODY ELSE WHO'S WATCHING, UH, AND I'M SORRY, WHO'S OUT HERE IN THE GALLERY, WE'RE GONNA BE RETIRING TO, UH, THE BACK ROOM.
UH, WE'LL BE, UH, DELIBERATING ABOUT THESE CANDIDATES AND THEN WE'LL BE BACK.
SO THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BIO BREAK, GO GET A COFFEE, UM, AND, AND COOL YOUR HEELS.
SO, UH, APOLOGIES FOR, FOR THE WAIT, SERIOUSLY.
AND, AND, UH, WE, WE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY AND WE, UH, WE DO DELIBERATE ON THESE.
SO WITH THAT, UM, THE TIME IS NOW THREE O'CLOCK ON FEBRUARY 22ND.
THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE IS RESOURCE, UH, RECESSING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DELIBERATE THE APPOINTMENT OF THE SS A C, UH, MEMBERS PURSUANT TO THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.074.
AND WE'LL BE DISCUSSING RELATED LEGAL ISSUES PURSUANT TO THE GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0 7 1.
OKAY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE TIME IS NOW.
UM, WHAT TIME IS IT? THE TIME IS NOW 3:25 PM UM, AND THE WORKFORCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE IS NOW COMING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION TODAY AT FEBRUARY 22, WHEREIN WE HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT PERSONNEL MATTERS AND THE APPOINTMENT OF THE SSS A C COMMISSIONER'S APPOINTMENT.
UM, AND SO, UM, WE'RE NOW BACK IN, UH, REGULAR SESSION
[00:50:02]
AND, UH, BEFORE WE, UH, TAKE MOTIONS AND, UM, AND VOTE, I, I DO WANT TO TELL ALL THE FOLKS THAT VOTED TODAY THAT WE VERY, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR INTEREST IN SERVING YOUR COMMUNITY.UM, WE REALLY IMPRESSED US A LOT.
EVERY ONE OF THESE, UH, APPLICATIONS WAS, WAS EXCELLENT.
AND MY HOPE IS FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DID NOT, UM, GET, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE NOT GONNA GET SELECTED, THAT THIS WON'T DISCOURAGE YOU, UH, FROM APPLYING FOR FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO WITH THAT, I KNOW THAT COUNCILWOMAN ROCHE GARCIA HAS A MOTION.
I MOVE THAT WE SUBMIT FOR CONSIDERATION TO FULL CITY COUNCIL, THE FOLLOWING APPLICANTS TO THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION, MARKEZ AND MARCO SIENTO.
IN ADDITION, I ALSO MOVE THAT WE FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL FOR FULL CONSIDERATION TO THE SPAC COMMITTEE.
LINDSEY LOGAN, ALSO WAIVING THE SMALL BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL TRADE ORGANIZATION REQUIREMENT CHAIR, CHAIR, CAN WE GET JUST CLARIFICATION FOR MARK? AND WAS MARK IS FOR WHICH CATEGORY THAT WAS SPLIT? YES.
UH, FOR MARK HERNANDEZ AND MARK SIENTO, THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER WITH 10 TO 50 EMPLOYEES CATEGORY.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? OH, OKAY.
THE SECOND ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY IS A DISCUSSION ABOUT BROOKS, UH, AND WE AND LEO GOMEZ.
UM, YOU BROUGHT THE ENTIRE ARMY OF, UH, OF BROOKS FOLKS, UH, AND, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR OUR BROOKS FRIENDS, FOR, FOR BEING PATIENT WITH US.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE.
FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME IS LEO GOMEZ.
I'M THE PRESIDENT AND C E O OF BROOKS, THE REDEVELOPMENT, THE BASE REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY IN SOUTHEAST SAN ANTONIO.
TRANSFORMING, WE BELIEVE, TRANSFORMING THE FORMER BROOKS AIR FORCE BASE.
UH, BEFORE I BEGIN WITH MY PRESENTATION, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE BROOKS ARMY.
UH, STARTING WITH OUR CHAIRMAN, MR. JIM CAMPBELL, WHO REPRESENTS COUNCILMAN BRAVO.
UH, ON OUR BOARD, WE ALSO HAVE REPRESENTING THE OFFICE, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, ALEX LOPEZ.
UH, THAT'S THE REASON YOU'RE HERE TODAY, RIGHT? BECAUSE OF THE BROOKS PRESENTATION
WE ALSO HAVE MR. RUDY RODRIGUEZ.
RUDY, REPRESENTING COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
WE HAVE MR. DAN ROSSER REPRESENTING, UH, COUNCILWOMAN HDA AND MS. PAT HASSEL REPRESENTING OF COURSE, COUNCILWOMAN PHYLLIS VRAN.
UH, ADDITIONALLY WE HAVE THE LEADERSHIP TEAM OF BROOKS, STARTING WITH OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICERS, MS. SAMANTHA CARNERO.
OUR CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER IS MS. CONNIE GONZALEZ, AND OUR DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION IS CHRISTY TINO.
ALSO WITH US IS OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS MANAGER, MS. LEANNA PUENTE.
AND OF COURSE, EVERYBODY KNOWS MR. WALTER SERNA, WHO'S ALSO ON THE BROOKS TEAM.
I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE A COUPLE OF OTHER FOLKS THAT ARE HERE IN SUPPORT OF BROOKS.
UH, WE'VE GOT MR. OLA, WHO IS THE PRESIDENT OF TEX, UH, FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE SOUTH SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
AND, UH, WE'VE GOT, WHERE IS MS. CAMMY HORN OF VIA, UH, OUR PARTNER IN THE RACE GRANT APPLICATION THAT WE ARE PROPOSING, UH, HOPEFULLY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR FRIENDS, UH, FROM THE GREATER SS A T X, WHO I DON'T KNOW, HAVE A PRESENTATION FOLLOWING OURS.
I THINK THEY'RE HERE TO SUPPORT THE BROOKS PRESENTATION AS WELL, RIGHT? WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
WONDERFUL PARTNERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, I'LL BEGIN THE PRESENTATION NOW, AND I'LL START BY REALLY TALKING ABOUT AN UPDATE AS TO WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON AT BROOKS.
IT'S BEEN SINCE 2018, SINCE I'VE PRESENTED TO THIS COMMITTEE.
SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF THINGS TO PRESENT, BUT I'M TRYING TO CAPTURE THEM ALL PRETTY MUCH HERE ON THIS ONE SLIDE.
A LOT HAS OCCURRED SINCE 2018.
A NUMBER OF YOU HAVE VISITED WITH BROOKS, AND I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU ALL TO CONSIDER COMING BACK AND VISITING BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT THAT HAPPENS WITHIN, UH, FROM ONE YEAR TO ANOTHER IN LIVING.
WE HAVE SIX RESIDENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES AT BROOKS AND 2300 RESIDENTS AS OF TODAY.
BUT WE EXPECT THAT WITHIN THE NEXT 18 MONTHS TO THREE YEARS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE 3,300 PLUS PEOPLE LIVING AT BROOKS.
AND I'LL EXPLAIN PATIENT WHERE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ARE THAT ARE COMING.
BUT FOR EXAMPLE, FROM 2018, WE NOW HAVE BROKEN GROUND ON THE FIRST SINGLE FAMILY FOR SALE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY AT BROOKS.
IT'S SOUTHLAKE AT BROOKS BEING DEVELOPED BY TERRAMARK.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY IN NEGOTIATIONS FOR A SECOND PHASE TO THAT.
THE FIRST ONE WOULD BE ABOUT 63 UNITS, THE SECOND PHASE, ABOUT 90 UNITS.
WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER MULTIFAMILY THAT WILL BE
[00:55:01]
BREAKING GROUND, UH, WITHIN THE NEXT SIX TO EIGHT MONTHS, I HOPE, WHICH WOULD BE OUR FIFTH MULTIFAMILY COMMUNITY THERE AT BROOKS NEAR THE EMBASSY SUITES THAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER.MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, THAT ALSO WILL BE RIGHT ALONG SIDNEY BROOKS.
WE ARE REDEVELOPING THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD THAT USED TO BE THE OFFICER'S QUARTERS THERE AT BROOKS.
63 ACRES WILL BE A NEW SINGLE FAMILY DEVELOPMENT FOR WITH 450 UNITS.
SO YOU CAN SEE HOW OUR POPULATION ON OUR 1,308 ACRE CAMPUS IS QUICKLY GOING TO GROW WITHIN THE NEXT 18 MONTHS TO THREE YEARS.
ON THE WORK SIDE, WE HAVE OVER 50, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE HOUSED AT BROOKS, EMPLOYING OVER 3,200 PEOPLE TODAY, AGAIN, IN THE NEXT 18 MONTHS TO THREE YEARS, WE'LL BE AT 5,000 PLUS PEOPLE COMING TO WORK ON THE BROOKS CAMPUS EVERY YEAR SINCE 2018, WHEN I REPORTED TO THIS COMMITTEE, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE ADDED CUISINE SOLUTIONS, THE LARGEST SOY PLANT IN THE WORLD THAT WILL EMPLOY A MINIMUM OF 550 PEOPLE.
WE'LL HAVE A CAPACITY TO EMPLOY UP TO A THOUSAND PEOPLE.
OAK AND PROCESS, UH, HOUSED IN TWO BUILDINGS THAT WERE SUPPORTED WITH FUNDS FROM THE BROOKS TURS AS APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
ALREADY HAVE EMPLOYED, UH, ABOUT 300 PEOPLE AND HAVE THE CAPACITY OR THE HOPE TO GROW TO, TO GROW TO 800 TO A THOUSAND EMPLOYEES AS WELL.
WE HAVE NISAY PLASTICS WELCOMED ITS US HEADQUARTERS TO OUR BROOKS CAMPUS, AND WE'RE THRILLED TO HAVE THEM.
SO THOSE ARE AMONG THE EMPLOYERS.
ON TOP OF THAT, WE'VE BROKEN GROUND ON BAKERY, YET ANOTHER FOOD MANUFACTURER THAT'S COMING TO BROOKS, AND THEY'LL BE ADDING ABOUT 300 EMPLOYEES ON THE LEARN SIDE.
PEOPLE FIND IT INCREDIBLE THAT WE HAVE THREE HIGH SCHOOLS AT BROOKS TWO CHARTER AND ONE OF THE S I I S D.
SO THE SAN ANTONIO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS ITS CAS SCHOOL FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONS.
WE HAVE BROOKS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, THAT'S A STEM CERTIFIED CURRICULUM.
COMPASS ROADS, AN IT FOCUSED CURRICULUM.
THRILLED TO HAVE THOSE THREE HIGH SCHOOLS THAT ON TOP OF THE UNIVERSITY, THE INCARNATE WORD SCHOOL OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE.
WE HAVE 25, 2900 PLUS STUDENTS AS OF TODAY, AND WILL GROW BY ANOTHER 2000 PLUS STUDENTS IN THE NEXT, AGAIN, 18 MONTHS TO, TO THREE YEARS.
BY THE WAY, UNIVERSITY IN CARNER, WE'RE AT THAT MEDICAL SCHOOL.
WE GRADUATED THE FIRST COHORT OF GRADUATES FROM THE MEDICAL SCHOOL LAST YEAR, AND AS OF TODAY, THERE ARE 800 MEMBERS OF THAT STUDENT BODY.
800 STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY INCARNATE WARD MEDICAL SCHOOL.
UH, FINALLY I WANNA REFER TO JUST SOME OF THE BIG NUMBERS, UH, REGARDING THE BROOKS TURS AS OF 2019, UH, IN THE TURS AND EVERYTHING GOING ON WITHIN THE TURS, WHICH IS THE BROOKS CAMPUS OF ABOUT 300 ACRES, PLUS ANOTHER 1200 ACRES THAT SURROUNDS THE BROOKS CAMPUS, THAT GEOGRAPHY PRODUCES A BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AS OF 2019.
WE'RE GETTING THIS UPDATED BY JOHN HAW ANDOS, WHO DID, WHO DOES OUR ANNUAL ECONOMIC, NOT ANNUAL, OUR ECONOMIC, UH, EVALUATION EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS AT BROOKS.
ALSO, I WANNA POINT OUT THAT AS OF 2019, THAT GEOGRAPHY WAS GENERATING $11 MILLION IN PROPERTY TAX, SALES TAX AND HOTEL MOTEL TAX WITH A LITTLE OVER 7 MILLION OF THAT BEING, UH, OF BENEFIT TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
MOSTLY THE SALES TAX, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE.
OKAY? THE, I POINTED TO THAT IN THE 6.9 FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
I, I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE PROJECTION IN 2024 FOR THE CITIES OF SAN ANTONIO ALONE IN TERMS OF TAX REVENUES IS ABOUT $10 MILLION A YEAR, AND I'M WILLING TO BET SOMEBODY A HUNDRED DOLLARS OR A QUARTER, THAT IT'S GONNA BE A LOT MORE THAN THAT IN 2024, UH, WITH THE MOMENTUM THAT WE'VE GOT GOING TODAY.
BESIDES THAT UPDATE, I REALLY WANTED TO FOCUS ON INFRASTRUCTURE AT BROOKS, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS, HOW THEY'VE BEEN FUNDED, UH, WHAT HAS BEEN BUILT AND WHAT WE'RE HOPING FOR IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
I WANNA QUICKLY SUMMARIZE THE 2017 CITY BOND PROCEEDS THAT WERE DEDICATED TO BROOKS IN THE 2017 BONDS.
THREE PROJECTS WERE INCLUDED AT BROOKS FOR A TOTAL OF $24.9 MILLION.
THE FIRST PROJECT WAS COMPLETED LITERALLY JUST A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, AND THAT'S CONNECTING WHAT USED TO BE LYER ROAD WITH SOUTH NEW BRAUNFELS AND COMPLETING A LOOP AROUND OUR LIGHT INDUSTRIAL PARK.
SO, ER ROAD HAS BEEN CHANGED A GLOBAL WAY, BY THE WAY, BECAUSE BROOKS IS THE HOME, THE FOUR COMPANIES THAT ARE INTERNATIONAL IN NATURE.
AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE FIFTH ONE JOINING US NOW.
[01:00:01]
COMPANIES, UH, THAT WERE, UH, FOUNDED IN SOUTH KOREA, THE CZECH REPUBLIC, FRANCE, AND JAPAN.AND WE LITERALLY NOW HAVE THE SECOND FRENCH COMPANY JOINING US.
SO GLOBAL WAY, WHICH IS NOW CONNECTED TO SOUTH NEW BRAUNFELS, UH, IS REALLY HELPING US WITH THAT LOOP AROUND THOSE COMPANIES.
ALSO, ABOUT TO BE COMPLETED IS RESEARCH PLAZA, WHICH IS THE STREET THAT THE HOSPITAL FACES AND D P T LABS FACES THERE ON THE BROOKS CAMPUS.
BETWEEN THOSE TWO COMPANIES, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ALMOST 900 EMPLOYEES, AND THAT STREET WILL COME OUT AND INTERSECT WITH SOUTH PRESA, AND THAT CONSTRUCTION IS ABOUT COMPLETED.
AND THEN WE HAVE INNER CIRCLE, UH, WHICH WILL OPEN A PATH, A GATEWAY, IF YOU WILL, TO DEVELOPING THE FINAL 100 ACRES IN THE SOUTHWESTERN PART OF OUR CAMPUS, MOSTLY WITH LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT.
THIS MAP IS COLOR CODED TO SHOW, UH, THE CONSTRUCTION OF INFRASTRUCTURE, MAINLY ROADS, UH, BUT INCLUDING THE GREEN LINE PARK, UH, AT BROOKS.
AND THE, IN THE, THE, THE MENU THAT YOU SEE AT THE BOTTOM SHOWS THE SEPARATION OF THAT $127 MILLION OR SO, AND THEIR FUNDING SOURCE.
YOU SEE THE, JUST A LITTLE OVER $60 MILLION FUNDED DIRECTLY BY BROOKS REVENUE.
YOU SEE $61 MILLION FUNDED BY CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BY EITHER BOND PROCEEDS, CAPITAL BUDGET, ORTS FUNDS.
AND THEN YOU SEE JUST UNDER 5 MILLION THAT HAS BEEN DEDICATED BY BEXAR COUNTY.
UH, THE YELLOW, OF COURSE, IS THE BROOKS INVESTMENT.
UP AT THE TOP IN THE MIDDLE, YOU SEE THE COMPLETE REBUILD OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S GOING TO COME ALONG WITH THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE OLD OFFICERS QUARTERS INTO A SINGLE FAMILY DEVELOPMENT NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, THAT WILL HAVE 450 UNITS.
THAT ALONE WAS A $25 MILLION BOND ISSUE BY BROOKS.
PRIOR TO THAT, WE HAD ISSUED BONDS TO COMPLETE OUR GREEN LINE PARK, UH, COMPLETE VID WAY IN THE MIDST OF OUR LIGHT INDUSTRIAL PARK, AS WELL AS PARTS OF, UM, AEROMEDICAL THAT YOU SEE THERE THAT HAS BOTH DOLLARS FROM THE CITY AND BROOKS THE CITY.
IF YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, THE ORIGINAL STREETS THAT WERE REBUILT WAS SOUTH NEW BRAUNFELS FROM MILITARY DRIVE, JUST PAST RESEARCH, BUT ALSO THE STREETS CHALLENGER THAT LEAD TO THE CITY'S EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AND THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER.
THOSE WERE ALL ORIGINAL STREETS FUNDED BY T FUNDS THROUGH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
UH, WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS SLIDE, IF ANYTHING, UH, IS THAT IT SHOWS THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE BROOKS FOR JUST ABOUT EVERY DOLLAR THAT THE CITY HAS INVESTED AT BROOKS.
BROOKS HAS INVESTED A DOLLAR AS WELL, UH, FROM ITS OWN RESOURCES, NAMELY BROOKS REVENUE BONDS.
HERE WE HAVE SYDNEY BROOKS, WHICH IS OUR MAIN STREET, IF YOU WILL, AT BROOKS.
THIS IS THE PROJECT THAT THE ROUND TABLE OF CEOS OR EXECUTIVES FROM THE VA, ALL THE PUBLIC AGENCIES IN TOWN, HAVE COME INTO CONSENSUS AS SUPPORTING AS THE SAN ANTONIO PROPOSAL FOR THE NEXT RAISE, GRANT OPPORTUNITY, UH, FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UH, WE AGREED TO THIS STREET FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, BUT AGAIN, IT IS THE MAIN STREET AT BROOKS.
I LOVE, UH, I I REMEMBER HEARING FROM TAMIKA FROM CITY STAFF AND, AND HER TALENT AND ADVISING US TO DEVELOP A PROPOSAL FOR NOT JUST THE ROAD, BUT FOR A COMPLETE STREET WITH INNOVATIONS THAT MIGHT TEST AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN THE FUTURE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, AS A PLACE WHERE WE CAN TEST THEM AND THEN DETERMINE THEIR FEASIBILITY FOR OTHER POTENTIAL COMPLETE STREETS IN SAN ANTONIO.
IN FACT, IT WAS AT THE BEHEST OF TAMIKA THAT I WENT AND, AND MEMBERS OF MY TEAM WENT TO LAKE NONA IN FLORIDA TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE DONE THERE.
THEY SECURED A RAISE THE EQUIVALENT OF RAY'S A RAISE GRANT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, AND THEIR TESTING AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES THERE IN LAKE NONA.
THIS SLIDE GIVES YOU AN IDEA AS TO HOW IMPORTANT THAT MAIN STREET IS TO BROOKS.
IF YOU GO FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, YOU SEE OPEN PROCESS, 300 EMPLOYEES TODAY, A THOUSAND IN THE FUTURE, RIGHT OFF OF SYDNEY BROOKS.
THERE YOU SEE SOUTH LAKE AT BROOKS AND PHASE TWO FOR SOUTH LAKE AT BROOKS.
THAT, AGAIN, WILL END UP BEING ABOUT 150, A LITTLE OVER 150 SINGLE FAMILY FOR FOR SALE HOMES, RIGHT ON THE GREEN LINE PARK.
YOU MOVE ALONG SYDNEY BROOKS, AND YOU, YOU, YOU CROSS, UH, THE GREEN LINE PARK.
YOU CROSS THE AVIATOR APARTMENTS.
YOU GO BY THE MEDICAL HIGH SCHOOL OF SS I S D FOR, UH, FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONS, UH, THE LANDINGS APARTMENTS, THE FUTURE, UH, MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT.
THEY'LL TAKE PLACE THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE OLD OFFICERS QUARTERS INTO A 450
[01:05:01]
UNIT NEIGHBORHOOD.AND THEN ON THE FAR RIGHT, UH, LITERALLY THE COMPASS ROSE CAMPUS, THAT WILL BE K THROUGH 12 WITH A THOUSAND PLUS STUDENTS.
UH, THAT AGAIN, IS THE MAIN STREET THAT IS, IT INTERSECTS WITH SOUTH NEW BRAUNFELS WILL PROVIDE ACCESS TO OUR FUTURE TOWN CENTER, UH, MISSION CHARLES BAPTIST HOSPITAL, AND OUR LIGHT MANUFACTURING PARK TO THE SOUTH.
I WILL MOVE FROM OUR PROPOSAL FOR THE RACE GRANT, BUT IT'S INCLUDED THERE IN THE YELLOW AS THE FIVE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
WE REALLY HOPE TO GET COMPLETED AT BROOKS IN THE NEAR FUTURE, STARTING WITH SIDNEY BROOKS AND HOPE, AND HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE COMPLETED IN TERMS OF FUNDING BY THE RACE GRANT.
BUT I'VE GOTTA REMIND US, AND I'M SORRY I DIDN'T ALREADY SAY IT EARLIER, THAT $15 MILLION IN THE PROPOSED BOND PACKAGE TO THE VOTERS OF THE CITY, SAN ANTONIO, AND THANKS TO YOU ALL IS INCLUDED IN THAT PACKAGE.
SIDNEY BROOKS IS A $37 MILLION PROJECT TO INCLUDE THE PILOTING OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, $15 MILLION HOPEFULLY IN THE BOND PACKAGE, UH, THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED BY THE VOTERS, PLUS $22 MILLION THAT WE PLAN TO SUBMIT THE APPLICATION FOR.
IN TERMS OF THE RAISE GRANT, UH, THESE ARE NOT IN PRIORITY ORDER, BUT THEY ARE OUR FIVE IMPORTANT PROJECTS.
UH, IN ADDITION TO SYDNEY BROOKS, WE'VE BEEN DREAMING OF BUILDING OUT SOUTH NEW BRAUNFELS FROM OUR CAMPUS A MILE DOWN.
THEY INTERSECT WITH LOOP FOUR 10 THAT REALLY HELP WITH THE TRAFFIC CONGESTION THAT CONTINUES TO BUILD AT THE INTERSECTION OF 37 AND MILITARY DRIVE.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE IMPROVEMENTS TO HANGAR NINE, THE 100 YEAR OLD PLUS FACILITY THAT WE HAVE, THE, ONE OF THE OLDEST, IF NOT THE OLDEST HANGERS OF MILITARY HISTORY IN THE COUNTRY THAT IS THERE AT BROOKS, THAT WE HAVE, UH, REDEVELOPED INTO A VENUE AT BROOKS THAT NOW HOSTS GALAS AND CORPORATE FUNCTIONS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS.
AND SO WE'VE GOT SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO PARKING, UH, KITCHEN BATHROOMS, LIGHTING, ET CETERA, THAT CONTINUE TO GIVE GOOD LIFE TO THAT FACILITY.
WE ALSO HAVE BUILDING 1 75, WHICH IS A BUILDING RIGHT NEXT TO OUR OPEN PROCESSES.
AND WE BELIEVE IF WE REDEVELOPED THAT BUILDING, WE COULD, UH, GET A TENANT IN THERE THAT WOULD CREATE ANOTHER 250 PLUS JOBS.
FINALLY, WE HAVE LOUIS BAUER, WHICH IS IN THE BLUE, AND WOULD HELP US WITH OUR DEVELOPMENT OF THAT A HUNDRED ACRES IN THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF BROOKS, ADDING AGAIN, ANOTHER THOUSAND PLUS JOBS.
SO, MR. CHAIRMAN AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, BUT I'M GLAD TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE, ANYTHING? WELL, THANK YOU.
YO, IT'S GOOD TO SEE ALL OF THE DEVELOPMENT DOWN AT BROOKS.
UH, I'M, I'VE BEEN A REAL SUPPORTER OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN GOING ON DOWN THERE SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL.
UH, I USED TO TELL PEOPLE, UH, IN DISTRICT NINE, I USED TO ASK WHEN I WENT TO THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, UH, HOW MANY OF YOU WANT MORE DEVELOPMENT UP HERE IN THE NORTH SIDE, YOU KNOW, AND NO HANDS WOULD GO UP.
AND, AND SO I'VE ENCOURAGED AS MUCH AS I CAN, MORE DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTH SIDE, WHETHER IT'S SOUTHEAST OR SOUTHWEST, OR EVEN EAST SIDE OR WEST SIDE.
SO IT'S GOOD TO SEE OTHER PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOP AS WELL AS THEY HAVE.
AND PARTICULARLY AROUND BROOKS.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GET ON, UH, SOUTHWEST MILITARY, I MEAN SOUTHEAST MILITARY TODAY, AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF BROOKS HAS DONE TO ALL OF THE COMMUNITIES AROUND THERE.
SO I THINK IT'S GREAT, AND I CERTAINLY WANT IT TO CONTINUE.
UH, I LIKE THE PLANS THAT YOU HAVE LAID OUT HERE.
UH, ONE OF MY CONCERNS HAS BEEN, NO, HOW, HOW LONG DOES THE CITY ASSUME A LOT OF FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS TO HELP BOTH BROOKS AND PORT SAN ANTONIO GROW? BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL.
UH, AND A LOT OF THAT SUCCESS IS DUE, I THINK, TO THE CITY'S COMMITMENT TO HELP BOTH OF THOSE AS FORMER MILITARY BASES.
AND, AND I THINK IT'S BEEN A GOOD COMMITMENT, BUT I, I'M JUST CONCERNED, HOW LONG DO WE CONTINUE UNTIL, WHAT TIME, UH, IS BROOKS OR THE PORT TOTALLY ABLE TO STAND ON THEIR OWN TWO FEET AND CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THEIR OWN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT? SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT, UH, I'M GOING TO, UH, HOPE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT AS, AS YOU MOVE FORWARD.
BUT I HAVE NO REASON TO NOT BE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE LAID OUT TODAY AND THE CONTINUED GROWTH IN THE AREA.
AND LEO, YOU'VE TOLD ME, AND I BELIEVE IT TOO, YOU'RE, YOU'RE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF GROWTH, NOT JUST ON BROOKS, BUT AROUND THE BROOKS AREA.
THE WHOLE SOUTHEAST AREA AROUND THERE.
AND I THINK THAT'S GOOD, AND I'D LIKE TO SEE THE CONTINUED, UH, SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THOSE AREAS.
SO I HAVE NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS TO SAY, AND I, I WISH YOU CONTINUED SUCCESS.
AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE SERVICE OF RUDY GARZA AND OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE HIS SERVICE, UH, ON OUR BOARD.
UH, IF I MAY RESPOND TO THAT QUICKLY, MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, I'M NOT BEING FICTITIOUS WHEN I, I GIVE THIS AS AN ANSWER OR RESPONSE TO, TO YOUR CONCERN.
[01:10:01]
CITY KEEPS INVESTING IN THE BROOKS REGION FOR A LONG TIME, AS LONG AS WE KEEP CREATING JOBS, BECAUSE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOT JUST TO BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE, IT'S TO CREATE WHAT'S NEEDED TO, TO BRING GOOD PAYING JOBS TO THAT REGION.YOU SEE AT BROOKS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE'RE NOT JUST CREATING JOBS.
WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE JOBS FOR THE FAMILIES THAT LIVE AROUND BROOKS.
AND ONE OF IT SOUNDS FANCY THAT WE'RE BROOKS IS AN OPPORTUNITY ZONE FROM THE, FROM THE FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE.
BUT THE REASON IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY ZONE IS BECAUSE THE CENSUS TRACKS TO OUR IMMEDIATE WEST ARE CENSUS TRACKS THAT HAVE DECADES OF HISTORY OF POVERTY ABOVE 20%.
SO IF WE KEEP DOING OUR JOB OF CREATING JOBS TO HELP BRING NEIGHBORHOODS AND CENSUS TRACKS OUT OF POVERTY, I WOULD HOPE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WOULD KEEP INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE IN THAT PART OF TOWN.
IT INVESTED INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT SAN ANTONIO.
AND A GOOD REASON FOR INVESTMENT INFRASTRUCTURE, I WOULD HOPE, IS BOTH FOR NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND JOB CREATION.
SO IF WE DON'T DO OUR JOB OF CREATING JOBS, THEN I WOULD UNDERSTAND WHY THE CITY SHOULDN'T BE BE INVESTED IN THAT AREA.
AT THE SAME TIME, COUNCILMAN, I THINK WE'RE SHOWING THAT WE HAVE A CAPABILITY TO PARTNER IN FUNDING THOSE PROJECTS AND NOT JUST ASKING FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO TO FUND IT WITHOUT ANY CONTRIBUTION FROM BROOKS.
AND THANK YOU LEO, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT'S REALLY AMAZING WHAT YA'ALL ARE DOING OUT THERE.
EVERY TIME MY SISTER AND I RUN ERRANDS ON SOUTHWEST MILITARY, SHE'S LIKE, I WANNA MOVE OUT HERE.
'CAUSE OF ALL THE DEVELOPMENT.
AND IT'S JUST REALLY NICE WHAT YA ARE BRINGING, UH, TO THE SOUTH SIDE.
UM, PART OF THE RAISE GRANT IS, UM, A REQUEST THAT THE DEPARTMENT INTENDS TO USE THE RAISE GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE CREATION OF GOOD PAYING JOBS.
AND YOU'VE TOUCHED ON THAT QUITE A BIT.
UM, AND I, I THINK IT'S FASCINATING, RIGHT, WITH THE, THE UNIVERSITY, THE SCHOOLS.
UM, BUT CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MEDIAN SALARY FOR BROOKS BROOKS BASE? THE, THE LAST TIME WE'VE GOT OUR HAND ON ANY NUMBERS, THE AVERAGE SALARY ON THE BROOKS CAMPUS, OR FOR A JOB ON THE BROOKS CAMPUS, IT WAS $52,000 A YEAR PLUS A GOOD BENEFITS PACKAGE.
WE WILL BE UPDATING THAT, UH, THIS SPRING.
WE'LL HAVE THAT REPORT AND CAN GIVE YOU AN UPDATED NUMBER.
BUT THE, THE WORKING NUMBER THAT WE USE FROM THE ANALYSIS DONE IN 2018 WITH $52,000 A YEAR.
AND, AND AGAIN, UM, IT'S BEEN FASCINATING WATCHING THAT AREA DEVELOP.
UM, AND MY DISTRICT DOESN'T HAVE A SMOOTHIE KING, SO I ALWAYS HAVE TO DRIVE TO D THREE TO GO TO SMOOTHIE CR SMOOTHIE KING AT THE BRECK CITY BASE.
UM, BUT, UH, WITH THAT, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR CITY STAFF.
UM, SINCE WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE RAISE GRANT, IS THERE A SELECTION COMMITTEE, UM, OR HOW IS CITY COUNCIL GOING TO POTENTIALLY VET, IF THAT'S THE PROCESS? UM, ANY APPLICATIONS THAT WE'RE GOING TO SUPPORT COUNCIL MEMBER? I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYBODY HERE FROM THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, BUT I CAN GET SOME INFORMATION FOR YOU ON THAT AND MAKE SURE IT GETS BACK TO YOU.
MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I MAY, UM, AT LEAST FROM THE ROUND TABLE, UH, EXECUTIVE'S PERSPECTIVE, IF I, IF I MAY SHARE THAT.
UH, AND WE HEARD IT LOUD AND CLEAR FROM THE CITY MANAGER, AND WE ALL AGREE, AND THE REASON WE GET TOGETHER IS TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T END UP APPLYING WITH MULTIPLE PROJECTS FROM SAN ANTONIO.
AND YOU KNOW, ADMITTEDLY I'M A LITTLE BIASED, BUT YOU GOT REPRESENTATIVES FROM OTHER AGENCIES AND WE GOT A PARTNER HERE REPRESENTED, UH, IN VIA TRANSIT WITH CAMMIE HORN.
BUT I THINK WE QUICKLY CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT SYDNEY BROOKS AS A COMPLETE STREET WITH INNOVATION ASSOCIATED WITH AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES WAS THE BEST PROJECT.
PLUS IT WAS ALSO A PROPOSAL THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH ALREADY DRAFTED, AND THE DEADLINE IS APRIL 14TH, BUT WE'RE BEING ADVISED TO SUBMIT, UH, A PROPOSAL TO THE RACE GRANT BY THE END OF MARCH.
SO ALL THOSE REASONS CAME TOGETHER FOR THAT.
IT, HAS THERE BEEN A FORMAL SELECTION PROCESS FOR RAISE GRANTS OR TIGER GRANTS IN THE PAST? NO, IT'S BEEN ALL THE AGENCIES WORKING TOGETHER AND, AND IN THE SPIRIT OF SUPPORTING A SAN ANTONIO PROJECT AGREEING TO ONE PROJECT, I LITERALLY HAVE BEEN IN THAT PROCESS IN PAST YEARS WHERE I HAD A PROJECT I REALLY WANTED TO SUBMIT ON BEHALF OF BROOKS, BUT THE RIGHT ONE TO SUBMIT WAS EITHER A VIA PROJECT OR A SAN ANTONIO AIRPORT PROJECT.
AND WHEN THE CONSENSUS CAME TO THAT PROJECT, WE ALL GOT BEHIND IT.
AND THIS TIME AROUND THAT GROUP IS, IS SUGGESTING THAT IT'S SIDNEY BROOKS, NOT AS THE BROOKS PROJECT, BUT AS THE SAN ANTONIO PROJECT.
BUT THE DIRECT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, IS THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD A FORMAL SELECTION PROCESS OTHER THAN
[01:15:01]
WHAT WE'VE DONE AGAIN THIS YEAR THROUGH THE ROUND TABLE GROUP.THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, LET'S JUST EXPAND A LITTLE ON THE RESIDENTIAL OPTIONS.
'CAUSE THAT'S, UM, MARKET RATE AND WORKFORCE AFFORDABLE.
SO THE, THE ONE THING ABOUT THIS PROJECT, AND OF COURSE IT'S IN MY DISTRICT, SO I'M GONNA SAY IT, IS THAT IT HITS ALL OUR BOXES IN WANTING TO MOVE A COMMUNITY FORWARD.
AND LEO SAID, MY, MY FAVORITE WORD, WHICH IS INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, BECAUSE, BUT I THINK, AGAIN, WHAT I WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND IS THE NEIGHBORHOODS SURROUNDING BROOKS ARE STILL ON PROPANE.
SOME AREAS ARE STILL ON SEPTIC TANKS.
SO WITH THIS POURING INTO MONEY AND, AND CREATING THIS INFRASTRUCTURE ON SYDNEY BROOKS, IT IS GOING TO HELP THE COMMUNITIES AROUND IT.
AND I LIKE THAT HE PUT THE SIX RESIDENTIAL OPTIONS.
BUT THERE ARE SUBDIVISIONS IN AND AROUND BROOKS THAT I DON'T THINK YOU'RE COUNTING WHERE PEOPLE ARE REALLY CREATING COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK THAT THIS IS MORE OF A CITYWIDE PROJECT.
UH, I HAVE A PROGRAM CALLED DIG, UH, THE LEGACY LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE FOR DISTRICT THREE.
AND THIS YEAR I HAD TO OPEN IT UP TO RESIDENTS FROM DIFFERENT DISTRICTS AND EVEN FLORESVILLE BECAUSE THEY GO TO SCHOOL ON THE BROOKS CAMPUS, WHICH IS IN MY DISTRICT.
SO THIS IS JUST AN AMAZING PROJECT IF WE CAN COME TOGETHER AND GET THIS WIN FOR SAN ANTONIO.
'CAUSE IT TRULY IS A WIN FOR SAN ANTONIO.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE A MODEL OF HOW YOU CAN GO INTO OTHER AREAS PORT IN, INTO THE WEST SIDE, AND SEE HOW WE MOVE THIS FORWARD AND, AND HELP OUR ENTIRE, UM, OUR ENTIRE CITY.
AND THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY FOR, FOR BEING HERE IN SUPPORT OF BROOKS.
UM, I, RUDY, YOU'VE HAD A LONG DAY HERE AT CITY HALL, SO
UM, I, I WANTED TO START OFF BY SOMETHING YOU MENTIONED, LEO, AND I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING IT, UM, BACK.
UH, I, I'VE HEARD SOME, UM, CONCERNS ABOUT THE RAISE GRANT, AND, AND I, I'M GLAD THAT YOU REMINDED US BECAUSE, UM, SOME OF US WERE ON THE I G R COMMITTEE WHEN WE DESPERATELY NEEDED SOMETHING ASAP.
AND YOU ALL HAD SOMETHING READY TO GO.
SO, UH, I COMPARE IT TO SHOVEL READY PROJECTS, RIGHT? AND SO YOU ALL WERE READY.
SO, SO THANK YOU FOR BEING SO PREPARED SO THAT WE COULD, UM, SLIP SOMETHING IN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE THOSE ARE VERY COMPETITIVE GRANTS AND WE KNOW THAT YOU ALL HAD DONE THE, THE HOMEWORK.
SO THANK YOU TO YOU AND TO YOUR ENTIRE TEAM.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION ON OF LEVERAGING FUNDS, AND THAT'S ANOTHER QUESTION THAT HAS BEEN ASKED.
SO I WANT TO GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO TELL US HOW YOU'RE LEVERAGING FUNDS.
UM, AND SO WHAT IS THE, UM, THE, THE AMOUNT THAT'S A, SO, AND, AND FORGIVE ME 'CAUSE I'LL, I'M FAMILIAR WITH MY PORT STUFF, RIGHT? SO FOR INSTANCE, FOR EVERY DOLLAR THAT THE CITY HAS INVESTED, UM, PORT, OR IT'S, UH, PARTNERS, IT'S SUPPLIER, IT'S UM, UH, FOLKS THAT COME IN TO TO DO BUSINESS THERE, IT'S A RETURN OF $12 AND 50 CENTS.
DO YOU HAVE, UM, THE BREAKDOWN? CAN YOU GIVE ME A, A GENERAL, UH, BALLPARK NUMBER? UH, COMPLETING THE COST BENEFITS ANALYSIS OF OUR APPLICATION IS SOMETHING WE'RE LITERALLY GONNA COMPLETE OVER THE NEXT 30 DAYS.
SO I COULD GIVE YOU MY THOUGHTS, BUT THEY'RE NOT SOLID NUMBERS FROM, FROM STAFF THAT WOULD BE CRUNCHING THOSE NUMBERS.
BUT WE'LL HAVE THOSE AND WE'LL GET THEM TO YOU.
ALSO, COUNCILWOMAN, I I, I WANT TO CLARIFY IN THE TERM, TECHNICALLY IT'S NOT A SHOVEL READY PROJECT 'CAUSE IT'S NOT DESIGNED AND ENGINEERED YET.
BUT IT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT OF THE RAISE GRANT APPLICATION, IS IT? WOULD IT BE MORE HELPFUL TO BE IN A COMPETITIVE PROJECT? OF COURSE.
BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DO HAVE IS A PROPOSAL THAT'S READY TO GO, UH, SHORT OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING, UH, FOR IT.
AND MORE THAN THAT, IT MEETS THE BOXES ON A LOT OF THE BOXES THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED IN THE RACE GRANT FROM INNOVATION TO SUSTAINABILITY, UH, TO RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, TO JOB CREATION, TO THE COMPLETE STREET PROCESS WITH THE, UH, AUTONOMY, AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE COMPONENTS TO IT.
SO THAT'S, THOSE ARE THE BOXES THAT IT CHECKS.
BUT I WANTED TO NOT SIT HERE, LET LET THAT GO BY WITHOUT ME SAYING THAT AT LEAST TECHNICALLY IT'S NOT A SHOVEL READY PROJECT.
NOW, IN TERMS OF LEVERAGING FUNDS, I WILL, I, I WILL TELL YOU RIGHT OR WRONG, WHAT THIS IS IS A $37 MILLION PROJECT.
WE'RE SHOWING THAT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS PROPOSING TO INVEST 15 MILLION IN IT BY VIRTUE OF THE PROPOSED BOND PACKAGE AND REQUESTING $22 MILLION FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, YOU AND EVERYBODY AT BROOKS UNDERSTANDS, UH, I'M TOTALLY IN SUPPORTIVE OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BROOKS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AN
[01:20:01]
ENTERPRISE ZONE AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A, A TOURS AREA.UH, AND I ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE WHO LIVE ALL AROUND THAT KNOW THAT I AM FULLY IN SUPPORT OF THE CITY, CONTINUING TO INVEST IN ALL OF THE STREETS AROUND BROOKS AND ALL OF THE, UH, DEVELOPMENT FOR, YOU KNOW, ECONOMIC, UH, AND HOUSING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOT THAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN THE REGION.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I ASK ABOUT BEING ABLE TO SUPPORT YOURSELF, THE CITY WILL AND SHOULD COMPLETELY SUPPORT ALL OF THE CITY PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE EVERYWHERE AROUND BROOKS.
I'D JUST LIKE TO SEE WHERE BROOKS SOMEDAY WILL BE IN A POSITION TO SUPPORT ITS OWN INTERNAL GROWTH.
AND I'M SURE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU SEE DOWN THE WAYS.
IN FACT, IF WE DO OUR JOB RIGHT, I HOPE BROOKS CONTRIBUTES TO INFRA INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AROUND BROOKS AND NOT JUST ON THE BROOKS CAMPUS.
AND THAT'S REALLY A MEASURE THAT I AND MY TEAM SHOULD BE HELD TO IN THE LONG RUN IF WE DO IT RIGHT.
AND IF WE ACCOMPLISH THE GOAL SET OUT BY THE REGIONAL CENTER PROCESS OF SA TOMORROW, WE AND THE PORT AND OTHER SUCH ASSETS IN SAN ANTONIO SHOULD BE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE DEVELOPMENT AROUND THEM.
AND THAT'S, THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY IS OUR VISION.
LEO, UM, I INVITED YOU TO, TO COME TO THIS MEETING BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE CITY GET, UM, REGULAR UPDATES FROM THE AGENCIES THAT THE CITY HOLDS IN ITS PORTFOLIO AND, AND YOU BEING ONE OF THOSE IMPORTANT ONES.
AND IT'D BEEN A WHILE SINCE, SINCE WE'D SEEN YOU OUT HERE.
I'M, I'M KICKING MYSELF FOR NOT HAVING INVITED YOU EARLIER.
'CAUSE UH, THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE JUST STAGGERING.
UM, I I, I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR MINUTES REFLECT, UM, THAT, UH, I'VE BEEN IN THE ROOM WITH COUNCILMAN COURAGE A NUMBER OF TIMES, WATCHING HIM WORK HIS NEIGHBORS AND NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND HE'LL SAY, HE'LL STAND UP IN FRONT OF THEM AND SAY, I MAY BE THE FIRST CITY COUNCIL MEMBER IN THE HISTORY OF DISTRICT NINE THAT PUSHES SUPER, SUPER HARD FOR, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DOWN ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
RIGHT? AND, AND THERE'S A REALIZATION ON, ON JOHN'S AND MY PART THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DO WELL AND YOU CREATE JOBS DOWN THERE AND PEOPLE LIVE DOWN THERE AND PLAY DOWN THERE, THAT MEANS THAT THEY'RE NOT ON I 10, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, AND OR 2 81, UM, STUCK ON THEIR WAY HOMES TO TO, TO, UH, D NINE AND D EIGHT.
AND I MEAN, THERE IS ENLIGHTENED SELF-INTEREST ON THIS, YOU KNOW, ON THIS, IN, IN THAT, THAT WAY OF THINKING BECAUSE, AND WE'RE LIKE, WOW, TRAFFIC CONGESTION.
SO, SO I HEARD, I HEARD SOME THINGS TODAY THAT ARE WORTHY OF NOTE.
UM, THE, THE THING THAT MADE ME SMILE THE MOST IS WHEN COUNCILMAN CASTILLO SAID, UM, MY SISTER AND I GO DOWN THERE AND I WANT TO MOVE OUT HERE IS WHAT HER SISTER SAID.
SO WHAT, WHAT, WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW, COUNCILWOMAN, IS THAT WHEN LEO AND I STARTED THIS ADVENTURE BACK IN, WHEN DID WE BRING YOU ON BOARD? UH, NINE YEARS AGO.
I, I WAS THE CHAIRMAN OF THIS BOARD.
AND THAT, THAT WAS ONE OF THE MISSIONS THAT LEO WAS TOLD.
AND WE SAID, LOOK, YOUR JOB IS TO EVENTUALLY CREATE THIS CAMPUS SO THAT YOUNG PEOPLE WHO'D NEVER BEEN OUT HERE BEFORE WOULD DRIVE ONTO IT AND SAY, MY GOSH, I WANT TO LIVE OUT HERE.
RIGHT? BECAUSE NOBODY HAD EVER SAID THAT ABOUT THAT PART OF TOWN.
UH, AND IT WAS NEVER SEXY AND SHINY AND FUN AND, YOU KNOW, UH, AN ENVIABLE PART OF TOWN.
UH, I MEAN, YOU CAN RETIRE NOW IF YOU'D LIKE.
UH, YOU, YOU, YOU ACTUALLY, YOU DID WHAT YOU WERE HIRED TO DO.
UM, $926 MILLION, YOU KNOW, OUTPUT EVERY SINGLE YEAR IS A MIRACLE.
UH, WE'VE GOT TURS ON THE BOOKS THAT PRODUCE $0 EVERY YEAR,
RIGHT? AND THERE'S SECOND WIND, AND YOU ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, EX YOU KNOW, MAKING UP FOR ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY'RE LEAVING ON THE TABLE, RIGHT? AND SO, I I, I THINK IT'S AMAZING, UH, LEO HAD, IF I, IF I'M CORRECT, 5,000 EMPLOYEES BY 2025 IS MORE THAN WHAT THE AIR FORCE HAD.
UH, THE AIR FORCE IN ITS HEYDAY HAD 2200.
I MEAN, YOU'VE ALREADY BEAT THEM.
AND SO WHEN EVERYBODY SAID, OH MY GOSH, BRACK, WHAT A CATASTROPHE.
I DON'T THINK ANYBODY EVER DREAMT THAT WE WOULD BE WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
IN FACT, YOU KNOW, HEY, SOMEBODY, PLEASE BRACKET US MORE.
'CAUSE IF THIS IS WHAT LEO CAN DO, MAYBE WE
UH, AND SO WE HAVE, UM, UH, ANYWAY, I I BELIEVE IN YOU.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE INVESTMENT THAT WE'VE MADE IN BROOKS' JUST CONTINUE TO PAY OFF IN SPADES AND, AND IT'S, IT'S WORTH IT.
UM, THINGS THAT WORRY ME IS HANGER NINE.
I, I GOTTA TELL YOU, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVEN'T BEEN OUT TO HANGER NINE, SOMETIMES I JUST WORRY THAT A STRONG WIND WILL PICK IT UP AND, AND, YOU KNOW, TAKE IT AWAY.
UM, AND HOW THAT THING HAS WITHSTOOD TEXAS WEATHER IS JUST AN AMAZING FEAT OF ENGINEERING.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I DO KNOW THAT THE, HOW THE D HOWARD FOUNDATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN, IN PRESERVING,
[01:25:01]
UH, YOU KNOW, UM, AVIATION HISTORY.UM, I KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT BOEING IN TOWN WHO MAKES A LOT OF MONEY OFF OF SAN ANTONIO.
WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, SOUTHWEST AND DELTA WHO ARE MAKING A KILLING AT OUR AIRPORT.
UM, I DON'T SEE WHY, UH, IT IS, WE CAN'T APPROACH THEM AND ASK THEM TO PARTNER UP WITH US.
AND, UH, IF YOU NEED THAT HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M HAPPY TO, I'M HAPPY TO WEIGH IN AND, AND I HAVE A FEELING MY, MY COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD, WOULD, UH, WOULD BE VOCAL IN ASKING THOSE, THOSE PARTNERS, HAVE YOU, HAVE YOU GUYS VISITED WITH THEM? NO.
THANK YOU FOR THOSE THOUGHTS, MR. CHAIRMAN.
AND SO I, I WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT WITH THEM, AND IF YOU CAN HELP US DO THAT.
AND THEN, UM, JENNA, WE NEED TO GET A SMOOTHIE KING IN DISTRICT FIVE.
THANK YOU, UH, LEO, YOU ARE, UM, YOU GUYS ARE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MIRACLE.
UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A GREAT TEAM AND WE HAVE GREAT PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT IT, I'M, I'M GREEN WITH ENVY.
I, I WISH, I WISH I HAD, UH, YOU KNOW, BROOKS CITY BASE IN MY DISTRICT AND DURING REDISTRICTING, WHO KNOWS? COUNSEL, WHAT DO YOU THINK? NO, NO.
YOUR LEGAL COUNSEL GOT CREATIVE.
THEY, TO FIGURE OUT HOW Y'ALL COULD LIVE AT BROOKS AND STILL REPRESENT YOUR AREAS.
Y'ALL, Y'ALL GO DO SOME AMAZING THINGS.
UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE OFF THE HOOK.
AND, UH, ALEX, WE'VE GOT JENNA AND HER TEAM, RIGHT? YES, WE DO.
BUT I THINK BRENDA'S ACTUALLY GONNA KICK OFF OUR PRESENTATION.
UM, SO THIS IS AN UPDATE ON THE 2021 PERFORMANCE FROM GREATER SS A T X.
AND, UH, SO WE HAD EXECUTED A ONE YEAR AGREEMENT WITH GREATER S A T X IN JANUARY OF LAST YEAR, WHICH ALLOWED FOR TWO ONE YEAR EXTENSIONS.
SO WE'LL ALSO BE TALKING ABOUT THE PLANS FOR 2022 GOING FORWARD.
UM, YOU'LL SEE IN THE MEMO AND SO FORTH THAT WE STILL REFER TO IT AS THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, JUST FOR LEGAL PURPOSES, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS.
SO WITH THAT, JENNA WILL TAKE IT AWAY.
THANK YOU, BRENDA, AND GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL.
AND I HAVE, UH, TAKEN NOTE OF THE SMOOTHIE KING REQUEST.
I WILL TELL YOU, UH, I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN ALMANOR, WENT TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ON THE SOUTH SIDE AT HOLY NAME CATHOLIC SCHOOL.
AND I HAVE ALSO REQUESTED OF JIM, GUY AND LEO THAT WE NEED A BILL MILLER BARBECUE ON BROOKS, BROOKS AIR FORCE BASE.
UM, BECAUSE I PASS BY IT EVERY DAY, GOING OUT TO SEE MY FAMILY.
UH, BILL MILLER LANE IS NOT ENOUGH.
UM, AND I'M EXCITED TO BE BACK HERE WITH YOU ALL IN PERSON.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION, ALEX, BRENDA, AND MR. CHAIR, UH, TO TALK MORE ABOUT OUR GREATER S A T X PARTNERSHIP WITH YOUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM.
YOU KNOW, THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF CHANGES WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION AT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
A LOT OF POSITIVE CHANGES, AND THERE TOO HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION.
BRENDA MENTIONED THE, THE RENAME OR REBRAND, BUT I WILL TELL YOU WHAT I'M EVEN MOST PROUD ABOUT IS THE TEAM THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO BUILD AT OUR ORGANIZATION, UM, WITH LEVERAGING YOUR PARTNERSHIP AS WELL AS OUR PRIVATE SECTOR WITHIN THE REGION.
UM, AND I'VE GOT MY LEADERSHIP TEAM HERE WITH ME TODAY.
I WON'T INTRODUCE THEM EACH BY NAME, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT I'M PROUD, UM, THAT OUR ENTIRE LEADERSHIP TEAM, INCLUDING MYSELF, WE'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT FEMALE.
AND THAT IS UNHEARD OF IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GAME.
UM, SO OUR CHIEF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, SARAH KRAUS RUSH, OUR CHIEF WORKFORCE OFFICER, WHO YOU MIGHT BE MORE FAMILIAR WITH, ROMAN BARRA, UH, CARMEN LATA, OUR CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, AND ERICA TACK, OUR CHIEF MARKETING AND STRATEGY OFFICER.
THANK YOU FOR STICKING IT OUT WITH ME TODAY AS WELL, UM, BECAUSE WE DID HAVE A, A SMALL BLOCK ON CALENDARS.
UM, SO I AM GOING TO DIG RIGHT IN.
WE HAVE PREPARED A FEW BRIEF SLIDES, UM, IN HOPES THAT WE CAN LEAVE SOME TIME OPEN FOR DIALOGUE, BUT WE ARE ON YOUR SCHEDULE AND ON YOUR CALENDAR.
SO JUST LET ME KNOW IF I NEED TO HIT THE GAS PEDAL ON ANY SECTIONS.
UH, WITH ALL OF THE CHANGES THAT I PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED WITHIN GREATER S A T X, UH, WE HAVE STAYED TRUE TO A VERY SIMPLE MISSION.
AND THAT MISSION, NOT TO GROSSLY OVERSIMPLIFY, BUT THE MISSION IS JOBS, RIGHT? SO YOU CAN READ THE FANCY LANGUAGE UP HERE ABOUT DEVELOPING AND DIVERSIFYING THE ECONOMY, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE EXIST TO RETAIN JOBS AND ADD JOBS IN SAN ANTONIO AND THE GREATER REGION.
AND I WILL TELL YOU, I WAKE UP EVERY DAY EXCITED ABOUT THAT MISSION BECAUSE WE ARE DRIVING ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND OPPORTUNITY FOR MY FAMILY, FOR YOUR FAMILIES, AND FOR ALL SAN ANTONIANS.
UM, IN FACT, IF YOU'D BEAR WITH ME JUST, UH, FOR A WHY OR AN EXAMPLE OF WHY, UM, I HAVE TO REFERENCE, UH, STEPHANIE GOMEZ, COUNCILMAN ROCHA GARCIA, I BELIEVE YOU'RE FAMILIAR.
UH, SHE IS A NATIVE SAN ANTONIAN.
UH, SHE WAS AN ESSAY WORKS INTERN.
SO SHE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH OUR WORKFORCE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, UH, WENT OFF TO SCHOOL, I BELIEVE, CONTINUED TO BE
[01:30:01]
MENTORED BY YOU, UM, AND THEN CAME BACK AND IS NOW IN A COMMUNICATIONS ROLE WITH NAVISTAR.THAT IS CERTAINLY MY WHY, WHY WE ARE, WE ARE CREATING THOSE ROLES FOR SAN ANTONIANS, SO THEY CAN GET EDUCATED WHEREVER THEY WANT, HOPEFULLY LOCALLY, BUT THEY CAN COME BACK OR STAY HERE FOR QUALITY JOBS.
THEY DESERVE THOSE QUALITY JOBS, AND THAT'S WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO EVERY DAY.
OUR STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK THAT YOU SEE HERE IS RELATIVELY SIMPLE.
THE IDEA IS THAT IF WE WANT TO SECURE THOSE QUALITY JOBS FOR STEPHANIE AND OTHER SAN ANTONIO STUDENTS, THAT WE'VE GOT TO CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OUR PEOPLE AND OUR PLACE.
UH, AND THAT'S WHY I'M SO GLAD TO BE COMING ON THE HEELS OF LEO'S PRESENTATION AT BROOKS, BECAUSE HE IS BUILDING THAT PLACE.
IN FACT, THE BROOKS TEAM IS ACTUALLY LEANING IN FURTHER TO SUPPORT PEOPLE EFFORTS AS WELL.
SO THIS STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK ISN'T JUST ONE THAT GREATER S A T X FOLLOWS.
IT IS TRULY A FRAMEWORK THAT OUR REGION IS LEVERAGING FOR THE SUCCESS OF ALL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ALLIES.
I WON'T BORE YOU WITH THE HISTORY AND THE EVOLUTION.
UM, BUT WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IS THERE IS A STARTUP THERE.
BY 2011, THAT'S WHEN WE ENTERED INTO A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND WITH BEXAR COUNTY, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR OUR ORGANIZATION, BECAUSE IF YOU GO BACK FURTHER TO 1975, WE WERE A HUNDRED PERCENT FUNDED BY THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, AND WE WERE SOLELY FOCUSED ON BUSINESS RECRUITMENT.
ON THE HEELS OF THE AT AND T DEPARTURE IN 2008, 2009 ISH, THERE WAS A REVIEW CONDUCTED LED BY FORMER MAYOR HARDBERGER WITH PRIVATE SECTOR REPRESENTATIVES AT THE TABLE TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AND IF YOU FAST FORWARD TO 2016, WHEN I JOINED THE ORGANIZATION, YOU SEE THAT WE INTEGRATED OR ACQUIRED, WHATEVER YOU WANNA SAY IN NONPROFIT SPACE, THE FREE TRADE ALLIANCE THAT WE INTEGRATED SA WORKS OUR WORKFORCE PARTNERS.
AND IN DOING SO, WE EXPANDED OUR PORTFOLIO OF SERVICES.
SO INSTEAD OF ONLY FOCUSING ON RECRUITING BUSINESSES HERE, WE WANTED TO FOCUS ON LOCAL BUSINESSES SUPPORTING THEIR GROWTH, MAKING SURE THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL IN SCALING.
HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, ON AVERAGE, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, 70% OF JOBS THAT ARE CREATED IN LOCAL ECONOMIES ARE CREATED BY EXISTING BUSINESSES.
AND WE DID NOT HAVE A PROGRAM FOCUSED ON RETENTION AND EXPANSION WE DO TODAY.
WE ALSO HAVE A GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM THAT YOU'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT.
AND AS I MENTIONED ON THE HEELS OF INTEGRATING SA WORKS, WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AS WELL.
IF YOU LOOK TO 2022, THE SECOND STARTUP UP THERE IS, IS EXECUTION.
SO PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, WE MOBILIZED A GROUP OF GOODNESS ABOUT 60 BUSINESS AND PUBLIC SECTOR LEADERS AROUND THE COMMUNITY TO DEVELOP A NEW COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY.
WE ALSO, UH, POLLED AND SURVEYED, UM, ALMOST 5,000 SAN ANTONIANS.
WE HELD FOCUS GROUPS, AND WE DEVELOPED A PLAN THAT WAS CREATED RIGHT IN ADVANCE OF THE PANDEMIC.
UH, WE SHELFED IT FOR A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WE WANTED TO ONLY FOCUS ON LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UM, OUR CHAIRMAN, CRAIG BOYAN, PRESIDENT OF H E B AT THE TIME, WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES THAT, UM, SADLY WERE, WERE BLEEDING AT THAT TIME.
SO WE WEREN'T EVEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MARKETING FOR BUSINESS GROWTH.
WE NEEDED TO SUPPORT OUR OWN, AND THAT'S WHAT WE DID.
UM, BUT TODAY WE ARE 75% OF THE WAY INTO OUR FUNDRAISE TO, IN ESSENCE, DOUBLE THE BUDGET OF OUR ORGANIZATION AND SCALE THE MAGNITUDE OF THE RESULTS THAT YOU'LL SEE FROM OUR ORGANIZATION.
UM, THANK YOU TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO FOR STICKING IT OUT WITH US, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF THIS EVOLUTION, BECAUSE I'LL TELL YOU, BRENDA AND SARAH AND SOME OF THE NEWER, NEWER PLAYERS TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COULD HONESTLY CARE LESS ABOUT HOW LONG IT TOOK US TO GET OUR ACT TOGETHER.
BUT WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IS TODAY WE HAVE THAT ACT TOGETHER, AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH YOUR TEAM, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE GREATER RESULTS, 2022 RESULTS.
UM, THIS IS AN EXTRACTED VERSION OF OUR TIER ONE SCORECARD AS AN ORGANIZATION.
SO WE HAVE A FIVE YEAR STRATEGY, WE BACK THAT INTO ONE YEAR ANNUAL OPERATIONS PLANS, AND THEN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO THROUGH A PAY FOR PERFORMANCE PROGRAM, INCENTIVIZES SPECIFICALLY WHERE THEY WANT TO SEE PROGRESS.
THAT'S WHAT THESE INDICATORS ARE HERE.
OBVIOUSLY, GREEN DENOTES WHERE WE EXCEEDED OR EXCELLED, YELLOW DENOTES, UM, SLOW PERFORMANCE, AND THEN RED WHERE WE MISSED.
WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING THROUGH THE TOTAL M SS A JOB GROWTH CALCULATION TO MAKE SURE THAT AS WE'RE SETTING GOALS FOR NEXT YEAR, THAT IT MAKES SENSE.
BUT IN ESSENCE, THAT IS OUR PORTION OF JOBS THAT ARE PRODUCED IN THE LOCAL ECONOMY, RIGHT? OUR, OUR INFLUENCE THERE, OUR MARKET SHARE, IF YOU WILL.
UM, AND THEN I WON'T DIVE INTO ALL OF THE DETAIL OF THE OTHER INDICATORS, BUT I WILL, WHEN I TALK ABOUT METRICS GOING FORWARD, ONE THING TO NOTE HERE IS THAT, ACTUALLY, LET ME STEP BACK.
YOU DON'T SEE ANY WORKFORCE INDICATORS.
UM, AND THAT'S ACTUALLY BY DESIGN.
UM, BECAUSE JUST AS WE'VE EVOLVED AS AN ORGANIZATION, YOU ALL HAVE EVOLVED.
ALEX NOW UNDER HER PURVIEW, HAS A WORKFORCE
[01:35:01]
FUNCTION UNDER MIKE RAMSEY AND AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION.AND THAT ACTUALLY MIRRORS OUR ORGANIZATION.
SO NITA, ON OUR WORKFORCE SIDE PARTNERS DIRECTLY WITH MIKE RAMSEY, AND WE HAVE A SEPARATE SMALLER CONTRACT TO SPECIFICALLY SUPPORT, UH, EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT ON ESSAY READY TO WORK PRIOR TO THAT TRAIN FOR JOBS ESSAY.
SO EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY IS SPECIFICALLY AROUND JOBS AND THE, THE SUPPLEMENTAL PEOPLE ACTIVITIES THAT AREN'T CURRENTLY FUNDED BY THAT WORKFORCE CONTRACT.
THIS IS, IT LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF DETAIL.
I WILL TELL YOU IT IS AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF OUR DETAILED OPERATIONS PLAN.
UM, I MENTIONED THAT OUR FRAMEWORK IS, UH, SUBDIVIDED BY JOBS PEOPLE PLACE THE VITALS.
THAT'S REALLY JUST US MANAGING OUR OPERATION.
UM, UNDER JOBS, YOU CAN SEE OVER TO THE RIGHT SOME OF THOSE HIGHER LEVEL INDICATORS THAT WE'RE TRACKING AS AN ORGANIZATION.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE PLAN TO DELIVER IN 2022, ALIGNED TO OUR FIVE-YEAR GOALS.
UH, WHAT WE DON'T HAVE IN HERE, AND I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE ADDED IT, ARE THE IMPACT FROM THE FIVE-YEAR GOALS THAT WE EXPECT TO ACHIEVE BY WAY OF ECONOMIC IMPACT.
AND WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH THAT.
UM, YOU ALSO SEE HERE THE, THE HIGH LEVEL BUDGET.
AGAIN, THIS IS OUR COMPREHENSIVE BUDGET.
YOUR CONTRACT IS INFORMING A PORTION OF THAT.
AND I'D LIKE TO DIVE IN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER TO SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES.
I KNOW WE'RE SHORT ON TIME, UM, BUT I DID WANNA TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE DO.
SO UNDER JOBS, UM, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS ALL DAY LONG.
UM, WHEN FOLKS READ HEADLINES, THEY THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, A QUICK DECISION, A QUICK PROCESS.
UH, WE HAVE A TEAM SIMILAR TO VISIT SAN ANTONIO MARKETING THE REGION FOR DIFFERENT THINGS.
BUT WE ARE OUT SELLING SAN ANTONIO FOR BUSINESS INVESTMENT.
WE'RE WORKING TO RETAIN JOBS, BUT WE'RE ALSO WORKING TO ADD JOBS IN THIS COMMUNITY, THE RIGHT TYPES OF JOBS THAT PAY THE WAGES THAT WE'RE ALL INTERESTED IN.
AND THAT REQUIRES A WHOLE LOT OF, OF WORK BEHIND THE SCENES AND HUSTLE TO ACTUALLY GENERATE LEADS THAT THEN TURN INTO PROJECTS THAT THEN TURN INTO MAYBE CONTRACTS THAT THEN TURN INTO JOBS FOR SAN ANTONIANS.
SO, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED, UH, STEPHANIE GOMEZ.
THE NAVISTAR PROJECT, UM, WAS, WAS LITERALLY A PROJECT THAT CAME THROUGH A SITE SELECTION CONSULTANT THAT TOOK OVER TWO YEARS TO ACTUALLY GET TO THE GROUND.
NOW WE'RE JUST ON THE HEELS OF, I THINK MARCH 23RD IS THE DATE.
UM, BUT ACTUALLY THE GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION FOR THEM, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE MANUFACTURING FACILITY, THEY ALSO, UH, WE WORKED A PROJECT WITH THEM TO RELOCATE THEIR ENGINEERING SERVICES DIVISION, RIGHT? SO THESE ARE RELATIONSHIPS AND PROCESSES THAT TAKE TIME TO NURTURE THE, THEY DON'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.
WITHIN TARGETED BUSINESS ATTRACTION, THERE ARE SPECIFIC GLOBAL DESTINATIONS.
THERE ARE SPECIFIC DOMESTIC DESTINATIONS THAT WE ARE PENETRATING PHYSICALLY, BUT THEN ALSO WITH DIGITAL OUTREACH AND MARKETING AS WELL, WITH THE TARGET AUDIENCES BEING C-SUITE DECISION MAKERS AND TALENT, BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT WHERE THERE'S A LARGE CONCENTRATION OF TALENT AND HIGH EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT LEVELS, COMPANIES WILL FLOCK, RIGHT? AND THAT'S WHY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION OF WORKFORCE WAS SO IMPORTANT TO US.
UM, THEN YOU SEE THE REGIONAL COLLABORATIVE THERE, WHICH IS REALLY BRINGING IN THE SMALLER RURAL COMMUNITIES OUTSIDE OF SAN ANTONIO TO BE BETTER PLAYERS IN THE LARGER, UH, DELIVERY SYSTEM.
UH, LEAD GENERATION WON'T BORE YOU TO DEATH THERE, BUT JUST BEING MORE INNOVATIVE IN THE OUTREACH, LEVERAGING TECH, UH, TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS AND DATA TO INFORM WHAT WE DO.
UM, AND OVER ON THE RIGHT SIDE, ENHANCED TRADE AND EXPORT DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS A PART OF RETENTION AND EXPANSION.
UH, AND WHERE WE SEE A KEEN OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH YOUR SMALL BUSINESS EFFORTS ON THE PEOPLE SIDE.
YOU ALL KNOW SA READY TO WORK ALL TOO WELL, SO I WON'T TALK MORE ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE SUPPORT ON AN EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT SIDE, UH, CONNECTING FOLKS TO, UM, CONNECTING FOLKS LIKE THE MAYOR AND ERIC WALSH TO, UH, CEOS AND LEADERS IN TOWN, BUT ALSO WITH PROVIDING THE DATA ABOUT WHAT SPECIFICALLY OUR EMPLOYERS NEED, NOT JUST TODAY, BUT INTO THE FUTURE.
BUT BEYOND THAT PROGRAM, I DID WANNA SHOW THE MAGNITUDE OF EVERYTHING ELSE WE HAVE WORKING ON THE PEOPLE SIDE.
UM, THINK ALAMO FELLOWS OVER TO THE RIGHT, JUST AN EXAMPLE THAT IS A TALENT RETENTION PLAY.
HOW CAN WE BETTER ENGAGE WITH OUR LOCAL UNIVERSITIES AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES TO KEEP THE TALENT HERE? RIGHT? WE'VE ALL TALKED ABOUT BRAIN DRAIN.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE DATA, IT'S ACTUALLY NOT AS BAD AS IT'S BEEN IN THE PAST, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, UM, THESE YOUNG STUDENTS THAT ARE OUT IN THEIR BUBBLES AT U T S A, UM, OR EVEN TRINITY, WHICH IS CLOSER TO DOWNTOWN, THEY DON'T HAVE A FEEL FOR THE COOL FACTOR IN SAN ANTONIO.
WE AIM TO GET THEM OUT OF THEIR BUBBLES AND SHOW THEM HOW AMAZING SAN ANTONIO IS AND ALL OF THE DIVERSE ASSETS WE HAVE ON THE SOUTH SIDE, THE WEST SIDE, THE EAST SIDE, SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE TO, UM, FALL IN LOVE WITH SAN ANTONIO JUST LIKE WE HAVE, AND HOPEFULLY STAY HERE AND BECOME EMPLOYED HERE.
ON THE PLACE SIDE, UM, THE PLACE IS HEAVY ON MARKETING AND TELLING OUR STORY, AND AGAIN, BUILDING UP THE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THE REGION.
[01:40:01]
MARKETING FRONT, UM, YOU ALL MIGHT NOT BE SURPRISED ABOUT THIS, BUT WE CONDUCTED A NET PROMOTER SCORE SURVEY WITH OUR TARGET AUDIENCES, UH, AND COUNCILWOMAN, YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL US ALL ABOUT THE SCIENCE THERE, BUT IN ESSENCE, WOULD YOU RECOMMEND A PRODUCT OR SERVICE? SO FOR US, IT WAS, WOULD YOU RECOMMEND OPENING UP YOUR BUSINESS IN SAN ANTONIO? UM, WE ACTUALLY HAD A NEGATIVE 37, AND HERE WAS THE FEEDBACK.IT WASN'T THAT THEY RECOMMENDED NOT TO, IT WAS THAT WE WEREN'T ON THE RADAR.
THEY'RE NOT EVEN THINKING ABOUT SAN ANTONIO OR THE REGION.
AND, AND THAT'S ON US BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT INVESTED IN TELLING OUR STORY AROUND THE WORLD AS EFFECTIVELY AS WE SHOULD.
UM, AND SO SPECIFICALLY WITH OUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS, YOU SEE 2.15 MILLION IS THE BUDGET THERE.
UM, I'LL TELL YOU, PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, OUR TOTAL MARKETING BUDGET WAS $300,000.
COUNCILMAN GRA, YOU KNOW, HAVING SERVED AT VISIT SAN ANTONIO, HOW MUCH YOU CAN DO WITH $300,000.
SO WE AIM TO CHANGE THAT PERCEPTION.
WE THINK THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW HOW GREAT SAN ANTONIO IS.
AND THAT'S NOT JUST FROM AN INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE.
WE KNOW ABOUT OUR CYBER ASSETS AND BIOMEDICAL ASSETS, AND WE CAN TELL THAT STORY, BUT WE ALSO WANNA TELL THE STORY ABOUT LIFESTYLE AND THE ABILITY TO LIVE HERE AND THE QUALITY OF PLACE, AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE THAT WE ALL ENJOY ABOUT SAN ANTONIO, THE TRUE AUTHENT AUTHENTICITY THAT WE HAVE.
UM, ON THE RIGHT SIDE, I DID WANNA CALL OUT, UM, THE AIRPORT AND SUPPORT OF THE AIRPORT.
THAT MEANS SUPPORT OF DEVELOPING THE MASTER PLAN.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, APPROVING THAT HERE RECENTLY, UM, I SERVED ON THE COMMITTEE WITH JOHN DIXON, RANDY SMITH, OUR CURRENT CHAIRMAN, AND SEVERAL OTHER, UM, GREATER S A T X INVESTORS HAVE SERVED.
IN FACT, WE JUST LEFT A LUNCH MEETING WHERE THE AIRPORT TEAM HAS, SUSAN AND BRIAN WERE UPDATING OUR GROUP SPECIFICALLY ON PLANS, UH, TO INCLUDE NONSTOP SERVICE, UM, BEYOND SUPPORT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE ASSET.
WE ALSO SUPPORT THEM ON THE GROUND WITH PITCHING.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING JETBLUE, PITCHING OUT TO BOSTON, BRINGING IN BIOSCIENCE EXECUTIVES TO HELP TELL THE STORY ABOUT DEMAND THAT MIGHT NOT SHOW UP ON A REAR VIEW MIRROR LOOKING, UM, DATA SET.
BUT IT WILL, AS IT RELATES TO OUR MOMENTUM GOING FORWARD.
UH, DURING THE ROOTS, UH, AMERICA CONFERENCE, WE GOT A CHANCE TO VISIT WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT FLIGHT PLANNERS ABOUT OUR PIPELINE AND SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIES THAT WE ARE WORKING TO BUILD OUT NOW, AND WE NEED, UH, NONSTOP SERVICE TOO SOON.
UM, THIS ALSO INCLUDES, IT SAYS FLIGHT FUND HERE, BUT IT'S IN ESSENCE AN INCENTIVE FUND FOR AIRLINES.
THE AIRPORT TEAM REALLY PUSHED IN OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS FOR US TO FUNDRAISE, UM, FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO SUPPORT IT.
IT'S A NOMINAL BUDGET, UM, FOR THIS FIRST FIVE YEAR, UM, TRANCHE.
BUT GIVEN ALL OF THE WORK AND ALL OF THE HUSTLE FROM THE AIRPORT TEAM, WE'RE LIKELY GONNA NEED TO GROW THAT.
AND THAT WOULD COME IN THE FORM OF SEAT GUARANTEES OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
WE'RE BUILDING OUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE NOW TO, TO DEVELOP WHAT THAT PROGRAM WILL LOOK LIKE, THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT, THE 2022 AGREEMENT.
SO HERE IS IN ESSENCE THE METRICS, THE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS THAT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WITH OUR TEAM, UM, LANDED ON FOR THIS YEAR.
AND SPECIFICALLY WHAT, WHAT WE WANTED TO SUPPORT.
SO YOU SEE THEM HERE, GOD BLESS YOU, COUNCILMAN.
UM, SO YOU SEE TARGET INDUSTRY JOBS, WAGES NORTH OF 50,000, UH, PERCENTAGE OF GROWTH.
I LOVE THE PERCENTAGE OF WAGES, UM, HIGHER THAN THE MEDIAN INCOME FOR THE ZIP.
AND I THINK IT MATTERS IF WE'RE TRULY TRYING TO GROW ECONOMIC MOBILITY.
UH, CAPITAL INVESTMENT IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE CAPITAL INVESTMENT PUTS OUR LOCAL CONSTRUCTION, UH, INDUSTRY TO WORK, RIGHT? UM, AND SO WHILE WE'RE TRACKING NUMBER OF JOBS, THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT IS, IS EQUALLY, IF NOT MORE IMPORTANT THERE, UM, BECAUSE IT HAS THE, UM, INTANGIBLE BENEFITS OF INDIRECT JOBS THAT MIGHT NOT BE DIRECTLY TIED TO THE 5,200 THAT YOU SEE, UH, UP TOP.
AND THEN OF COURSE, LOCAL BUSINESS ASSIST.
I DIDN'T TALK TOO MUCH ABOUT OUR BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROGRAM, BUT I ACTUALLY SEE THAT AS OUR BIGGEST OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE IN COORDINATION WITH THE CITY AND THE CITY'S TEAM.
UM, SPECIFICALLY TO NOT JUST OUTREACH TO LOCAL EMPLOYERS, BUT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE PROVIDING THEM THE SERVICES THAT THEY NEED.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY TRENDING ON ANYTHING THAT'S GOING POSITIVELY OR ANYTHING THAT WE NEED TO WORK ON AS A COMMUNITY.
Y'ALL WE'RE ASKING THE, THE SMALL BUSINESS, UH, REPRESENTATIVES.
A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW WE CAN GET BETTER.
AND IF WE'RE OUTREACHING TO BUSINESSES AND WE'RE TRACKING THIS DATA EFFECTIVELY, LIKE WE ARE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT ANALYSIS TO YOU, RIGHT? HERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA CONSIDER, RIGHT? LEVERAGING ALEX AND THE TEAM TO REPORT, UM, THOSE FINDINGS UPWARD.
THE LAST LINE ITEM, YOU SEE, T B D, AND THIS WAS A REALLY CREATIVE, I BELIEVE THIS WAS ERIC'S IDEA DIRECTLY, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, BUT THE IDEA WAS, UM, WE HAVE INVESTOR LEVELS.
WE ARE FUNDED PRIMARILY NOW BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND WE HAVE LEVELS FOR GETTING ENGAGED INTO WHAT WE DO.
IF YOU'RE AN INVESTOR IN OUR OPERATION, YOU SHOW
[01:45:01]
UP ON A PREFERRED PROVIDERS LIST.SO IF NAVISTAR OR VICTORY CAPITAL OR EY OR DELOREAN WANTS TO, UH, LEVERAGE A PR FIRM, A CONSTRUCTION FIRM, UM, REALLY ANYTHING, ANYBODY THAT'S PROVIDING A SERVICE, UM, THEY SEE OUR PREFERRED PROVIDERS AND IDEALLY WOULD GO TO LEVERAGE ONE OF THOSE PROVIDERS.
THEY CAN HIRE WHOEVER THEY WANT.
WE DON'T TRY TO DABBLE INTO THAT.
BUT THE IDEA HERE IS THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE SOME OF THE CITY FUNDS TO SUPPORT SOME SMALL MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES THAT MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO IN YEAR ONE SUPPORT, UH, OR INVEST AT THE LEVELS THAT WE'RE REQUIRING THEM TO.
SO IT'S A SCHOLARSHIP IN ESSENCE, TO GET THEM SUSTAINABLE INTO THE OPERATION.
THAT'S NOT THE WAY WE OPERATE.
WE'RE NOT PAY TO PLAY, BUT IDEALLY THEY GET A SEAT AT THE TABLE AND THAT'S HOW WE CAN CHANGE, UM, POTENTIALLY THEIR OPPORTUNITY.
UH, TOTAL CONTRACT AND FUNDS AVAILABLE IS 6 35.
AND AS YOU SAW WITH THE PREVIOUS PAYOUT FOR 2021, IT IS PAY FOR PERFORMANCE.
SO YOU WILL ONLY PAY IF WE'RE ACTUALLY ACHIEVING THE PERFORMANCE THAT YOU'VE OUTLINED HERE, WHICH IS A GREAT MODEL.
AND I THINK ALL OF CITY CONTRACTS SHOULD ACTUALLY BE FUNDED AND PAY FOR PERFORMANCE.
UM, ALTHOUGH REPORTING MIGHT BE, MIGHT BE A NIGHTMARE FOR YOU THERE.
UM, WITH THAT, I WILL PAUSE FOR QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK.
UM, NO QUESTIONS, NO FEEDBACK, MA'AM.
UH, SO, UH, MY, I I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A, AFTER LAST WEEK, AND ALEX KNOWS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
WE HAVE TO KNOW, WE HAVE TO HAVE A WIDER CONVERSATION OF SMALL BUSINESS AND WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DEFINES AS A SMALL BUSINESS AND WHAT THE CITY COUNCIL IS THINKING WHEN WE TALK SMALL BUSINESS.
UM, AND I THINK SWIM BEE NEEDS TO BE A PRIORITY.
UM, WE HAVE DONE SUCH GOOD WORK, AND I KNOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO WORK, BUT I THINK PART OF IT IS WE KIND OF NEED TO CHANGE THE CONVERSATION FOR SOME OF THESE BUSINESSES.
'CAUSE THEY LOOK AT, UH, GRADUATION LEVELS.
THEY LOOK AT POST, UH, POST-GRADUATE, THEY LOOK AT GRADUATE SCHOOL, WHAT SORT OF EDUCATION LEVEL AND WHAT THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE SOUTHERN SECTOR IS THERE IS STILL DISPOSABLE INCOME IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A HIGH SCHOOL OR SOME COLLEGE.
AND BROOKS IS, AND THE BROOKS AREA IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT.
IT'S WHY WE HAVE THE RESTAURANTS DO SO WELL.
IT'S WHY DARDEN WANTS TO BUILD ANOTHER RESTAURANT OUT THERE BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE SPENDING MONEY MM-HMM.
AND JUST BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE A, UM, THEY CAN'T, THEY DIDN'T FINISH THEIR DEGREE, DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY'RE NOT, THEY DON'T HAVE AN INCOME.
UM, AND SO WE NEED TO CHANGE THAT CONVERSATION IS TO GET SAN ANTONIO ON THE RADAR BECAUSE WE DO SPEND MONEY, ALL, ALL SECTIONS OF OUR, OF OUR CITY SPEND MONEY AND IT, BUT IT HAPPENS BECAUSE THEY'RE EITHER OUR COMMUNITY IS WORKING OVERTIME, WHICH OF COURSE WE WANT 'EM TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE TO WORK SO MUCH OVERTIME, OR THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE A SIDE BUSINESS.
SO I THINK WHEN WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING AND WE'RE TRYING TO ATTRACT BUSINESSES, IT'S LOOKING AT THAT ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT OF THE SAN ANTONIONS AND THAT THEY'RE HARDWORKING AND THAT THEY DO SPEND, THEY, THEY SPEND MONEY MM-HMM.
AND DON'T YOU WANT SOMEONE THAT'S GOING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECONOMY? AND THAT'S WHAT OUR RESIDENTS DO.
I, I APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION.
I THINK JENNA, YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE DOING A GREAT JOB.
I THINK THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY OUT THERE AS WE COME OUT OF THIS PANDEMIC, UH, WITH PEOPLE LOOKING FOR RESILIENT COMMUNITIES.
UH, AND SAN ANTONIO IS ONE OF 'EM, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
IF I, IF I CAN JUST SPEAK TO THAT, YOU ARE A HUNDRED PERCENT CORRECT WITH EVERYTHING THAT YOU JUST OUTLINED.
AND I, I WANTED TO MENTION ONE PROJECT FROM LAST YEAR.
I'M, I AM, UM, VERY, IT'S HEARTWARMING, UH, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WAY TO EXPLAIN HOW FORTUNE ONE HUNDREDS, FORTUNE FIVE HUNDREDS ARE REALLY CONTEMPLATING THEIR E SS G AND DE AND I STRATEGIES AND HOW WE ARE NOW A PART OF A CONVERSATION THAT WE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN A PART OF JUST THREE TO FIVE YEARS AGO.
SO AN EXAMPLE THIS PAST YEAR, THIS WAS A PROJECT THAT WASN'T INCENTIVIZED, UM, BUT IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PROJECT WITH EY, RIGHT? SO ONE OF THE BIG FOUR, RIGHT? THIS IS A BIG PLAYER.
THEY SELECTED SAN ANTONIO, THEY'RE ADDING 400 JOBS.
WHEN WE WERE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION WITH THEM, THEY WERE ASKING A LOT ABOUT WORKFORCE AND ABOUT THE DIVERSITY OF OUR WORKFORCE, AND SPECIFICALLY HOW MANY FOLKS WE HAD THAT WERE GOING THROUGH UPSKILLING PROGRAMS. SO ESSAY READY TO WORK AND TRAINED FOR JOBS ESSAY AT THE TIME WAS JUST PERFECT TO PITCH THEM.
BUT THEY ENDED UP SELECTING BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT REQUIRING FOUR YEAR DEGREES.
THEY'RE REQUIRING TWO YEAR CERTIFICATION.
SO THEY WANTED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH MIKE FLORES.
I KNOW PRISCILLA WAS HERE EARLIER TODAY, UM, BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO TARGET A C D TO BRING FOLKS INTO
[01:50:01]
EY AND TRAIN THEM THE EY WAY.WE HAVE THAT TALENT, WE HAVE THE HUSTLERS AND SPADES IF WE CAN GET THE OPPORTUNITY.
WE HAVE OTHER FORTUNE ONE HUNDREDS AND FIVE HUNDREDS IN THE PIPELINE THAT HAVE THE SAME TYPE OF, OF LOGIC IN THEIR DECISION MAKING.
AND AS, AS LONG AS WE CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OUR PEOPLE SO THAT WE CAN GET THEM THESE OPPORTUNITIES, I THINK WE'LL BE VERY WELL POSITIONED.
BUT THANK YOU FOR NOTICING THAT.
I JUST WANT TO SAY, UH, I THINK THAT Y'ALL REALLY HAVE HAD A TOUGH TIME IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
AND SO FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, I'M WILLING TO GIVE YOU A PASS ON MAYBE WHAT EXPECTATIONS MAY HAVE BEEN OR SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
I THINK ALL OF US HAVE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE LAST TWO YEARS, UH, ARE, ARE NOT WHAT WE ANTICIPATE OR EXPECT TO BE THE WAY THE CITY GROWS AND DEVELOPS GOING FORWARD.
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I I THINK YOU'VE GOT A GOOD PLAN AND I LIKE IT AND I'M SUPPORTIVE OF IT.
UH, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE LAST THING YOU SAID IN RELATIONSHIP TO WHAT, UH, THE COUNCILMAN WAS, WAS IMPRESSING.
AND THAT IS THE JOB, UH, THE ABILITY FOR US TO SUPPLY, UH, MORE SKILLED WORKERS.
I THINK, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN AN ACHILLES HEEL FOR THIS CITY.
THAT, AND THE LACK OF AIR TRANSPORTATION IN NEW YORK OR, OR WASHINGTON, DC ET CETERA.
AND I KNOW WE'RE WORKING ON RESOLVING THAT.
UH, AND, UH, SO I JUST, I JUST WISH YOU WELL, BUT I'LL BE LOOKING A YEAR FROM NOW AND LET'S SEE HOW CLOSE YOU GET.
NO ONE'S GONNA EXPECT A PERFECT SCORE.
AND JUST LIKE IN THIS SCORE, YOU MAY GO A LITTLE OVER IN SOME PLACES A LITTLE UNDER.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HOW SUCCESSFUL YOU'RE GONNA BE IN THIS NEXT YEAR.
PLEASE DO, COUNCILMAN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
UH, WE, UM, I, I WILL WARN YOU, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, AND LEO, I THINK THAT YOU, YOU AND I WERE BOTH NEW HIRES AT TOYOTA AT THE TIME.
UH, THE E D F BACK THEN ALSO HAD A PAY TO PLAY, UH, YOU KNOW, SYSTEM FOR, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WERE A MEMBER OF THE E D F, THEN YOU GOT PRESENTED TO THE BIG COMPANIES SO THAT YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, SERVICE THEM IN WHATEVER WAY YOU WANTED TO.
UM, AND I REMEMBER PHYLLIS BROWNING WAS SO MAD, UH, THAT SHE HAD BEEN PAYING SO MUCH MONEY TO BELONG TO THE E D F AND THAT TOYOTA EXECUTIVES WERE USING OTHER REALTORS, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, AS IF THE E D F CONTROLLED THAT RIGHT.
AND THEN I REMEMBER STEWART T ALSO GOT REALLY MAD BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T GET TO DO THE CLOSING ON THE PRO ANYWAY.
THAT'S WHY WE DON'T DO THAT, THAT, YEAH.
SO JUST WORD OF WARNING, IF YOU EVER WANT TO GET BACK INTO THAT, THAT'S MM-HMM.
THAT'S, THAT'S, WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN PUSHED IN THAT DIRECTION.
AND IT IS, IT IS NOT, I MEAN, WE BENCHMARKED ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND IT IS NOT HA IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE FOR MODELS LIKE THIS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T FULLY CONTROL IT.
SO ANYWAY, I, I GOT ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE NEAT EXPERIENCES I'VE HAD IN MY LIFE IS GETTING TO BE IN THE C-SUITE WHEN A LOT OF THESE DECISIONS ARE MADE FOR, FOR VARIOUS DIFFERENT COMPANIES THAT I WORK FOR.
AND YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS FASCINATING TO ME IS THAT I WENT IN THERE THINKING THAT INCENTIVES WERE THE NAME OF THE GAME AND THEY'RE NOT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THESE COMPANIES START OFF BY TALKING ABOUT TALENT ACQUISITION AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THAT TALENT AND FOR THE, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COOL FACTOR IS, IS A CONVERSATION.
IT'S, UH, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT, UH, THEY DON'T NEED THE CONVERSATION WITH HOW CHEAP THE ENERGY IS OR THE WATER OR THE TAXING, YOU KNOW, AUTHORITY.
AND THEY CERTAINLY DON'T LEAD THE CONVERSATION WITH, WELL, HOW MUCH CAN WE GET, YOU KNOW, FOR INCENTIVES, THOSE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WATER, ENERGY, TAXES AND INCENTIVES COME AFTER THEY'VE GOT TWO CITIES SELECTED.
RIGHT? AND THEY'LL SAY, OKAY, NOW WE GOTTA MAKE A DECISION.
AND SO LET'S GET GRANULAR AND WHICH ONE OF THESE TWO CITIES CAN WE PICK? MM-HMM.
AND EVEN THEN, INCENTIVES DON'T WIN OUT THE DAY, RIGHT? I MEAN, REMEMBER LEO, I THINK ATLANTA OFFERED TOYOTA A HALF A BILLION DOLLARS IN INCENTIVES, AND INSTEAD THEY CAME HERE FOR $120 MILLION.
RIGHT? AND SO WE'RE, UH, I MEAN IT'S, I THINK THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IF WE EVER DID AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 1 0 1 AROUND THE CITY, WE, WE WOULD HAVE THAT.
I THINK WE WOULD SURPRISE PEOPLE WITH THOSE, WITH THOSE FACTS, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND I'M, I'M CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT IT IS YOU'RE CHASING.
'CAUSE IF JOBS IS THE NAME OF THE GAME, THEN THE F D I ISN'T TRADE, RIGHT? IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT PRODUCTS.
IT'S, IT IS, THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION.
[01:55:01]
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY HAVING SIDE SIDEBAR CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IT WITH OUR TEAM TODAY.THESE ARE HARD INTERNATIONAL DOLLARS THAT ARE TIED TO PROJECTS.
SO IT'S ACTUALLY A SUBSET OF THE TOTAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT NUMBERS.
SO IS IT AN INTERNATIONAL COMPANY INVESTING IN SAN ANTONIO? WE HAVE HAD LARGER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT TRULY IS F D I AT A MACRO LEVEL, UH, SHOULD WE BE TRACKING INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT IN GENERAL THAT MIGHT NOT BE TIED TO JOB PRODUCING INVESTMENTS.
I MEAN, WE'VE HAD, WE'VE GONE AROUND AND AROUND, BUT TODAY THAT IS A NUMBER THAT WE CAN CONTROL THAT WE TOUCH DIRECTLY.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL FIGURE OUT DOWNSTREAM IF WE WANT TO EVOLVE IT OR ENHANCE IT.
BUT THAT WOULD BE SEPARATE FROM THIS CONTRACT.
AND THEN I'LL, I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH ONE QUESTION.
I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH ONE QUESTION.
YOU CAN ANSWER IT NOW OR ANSWER IT LATER.
BUT WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE CITY COUNCIL TO DO TO BLOW MORE WIND IN YOUR SAILS? OH MY GOSH, THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, I THINK PROVIDING US THE AUDIENCE LIKE YOU HAVE TODAY IS EXTREMELY HELPFUL BECAUSE WE HAVE A CHANCE TO TELL OUR STORY ABOUT WHAT WE DO.
UM, AND, AND YOU, AGAIN, YOU'RE TAKING THAT BACK TO YOUR OFFICES, YOU'RE TAKING IT BACK TO YOUR PEERS, UM, BECAUSE IT TRULY IS A TEAM EFFORT, RIGHT? WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
OUR S A T X OR, OR JUST THE CITY OR THE COUNTY, IT'S C P S, ENERGY AND OTHERS.
SO THAT FIRST AND FOREMOST IS GREAT.
NUMBER TWO, CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO ALEX, BRENDA, AND THE TEAM.
UM, I WOULD ARGUE THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, MAYBE I'M BIASED, BUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT YOU ALL DO SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO PLACE INVESTMENTS, RIGHT? ALIGNING AND ACTIVATING AROUND BOND INVESTMENTS, ARPA INVESTMENTS.
I MEAN, THERE IS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY THERE AS IT RELATES TO SPECIFICALLY WHERE THE CITY'S INVESTING UPSTREAM SO THAT DOWNSTREAM OUR JOB BECOMES THAT MUCH EASIER OR MORE STREAMLINED, IF YOU WILL.
UM, BUT I THINK THE BIGGER WAY TO RESPOND AND POTENTIALLY CONTROVERSIAL HERE, UM, IS TRULY HEARING THE FEEDBACK THAT WE ARE GETTING, NOT JUST FROM CURRENT EMPLOYERS, BUT POTENTIAL FUTURE EMPLOYERS.
SO I'D LOVE TO GO BACK AND WE CAN LOOK AT OUR LIST OF PROJECTS THAT WE'VE LOST AND BETTER UNDERSTAND WHY, RIGHT? DID WE HAVE A BREAKDOWN IN OUR PROCESS OR DID WE JUST MISS THE BOAT ON, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN INDICATORS LIKE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OR MEGA SITES AS AN EXAMPLE, AS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE, UH, FAILED ON MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS HERE RECENTLY.
BUT I KNOW THAT THERE WILL ALSO BE A POLICY ELEMENT TO THAT, AND WE CAN GLEAN THIS FEEDBACK THROUGH OUR B R E EFFORTS.
WE CAN GLEAN THIS FEEDBACK THROUGH GOING BACK ON OUR, ON OUR PIPELINE REPORTS TO GET INFORMATION FROM THESE COMPANIES, UM, AND ALLOW IT TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU'D LIKE IT, TO ALLOW IT TO INFORM YOUR DECISION MAKING.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
I, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UM, I HATE WHEN WE REFER TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AS THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, I THINK WE ARE ALL ONE COMMUNITY.
AND IF WE DO THAT, WE ARE LEANING INTO DIVISIVE NATIONAL RHETORIC ABOUT PEOPLE VERSUS THE MAN, IF YOU WILL.
AND I BELIEVE THAT WE'VE GOT GREAT EMPLOYERS HERE, NONE OF THEM LAID OFF DURING THE PANDEMIC.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF LARGE MID-SIZE EMPLOYERS THAT ARE EMPLOYING OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
AND SO IT SHOULDN'T BE AN US VERSUS THEM.
AND I THINK ORGANIZATIONS LIKE MINE AND THE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE NEED TO LEAN INTO THAT RHETORIC, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S ENTIRELY TOO DIVISIVE.
WELL OFF SOAPBOX, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THERE'S ONE THING THAT THE COUNCILWOMAN, UM, FROM DISTRICT THREE, UH, I THINK, I THINK YOU'RE GONNA LOVE HEARING THIS, LEO, YOU AND I, UH, GOT A REPORT YEARS AGO THAT THE BEST BUY AT BROOKS IS PERHAPS THE HIGHEST PERFORMING, IF NOT THE SECOND HIGHEST PERFORMING BEST BUY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
UM, AND THE LIQUIDITY DOWN THERE, UH, YOU KNOW, AND THE DISPOSABLE CASH IS STUNNING.
AND I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALLY KNOW HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH SPENDING POWER THERE IS DOWN THERE.
AND I THINK THAT THEY DISCOUNT THAT POWER.
ANYWAY, YOU LEO, I, I, YEAH, I'M, I'M FANBOYING TODAY.
SO ANYWAY, SO, UH, THANKS EVERYBODY.
JENNA, I APPRECIATE THE UPDATE.
AND I BELIEVE THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF YET ANOTHER WONDERFUL E W D C MEETING.
THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO MADE, UH, COMMENTS AND FOR ALL OF YOU WHO STUCK AROUND AND, UM, AND HELPED US.