* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:06]
          GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. 
          UM, I'M TELLING AB OKAY. 
          UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND BEGIN WITH A ROLL CALL WHENEVER YOU'RE READY. 
          MADAME CLERK? YES, MA'AM. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER BRAVO HERE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER MAKI RODRIGUEZ. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER VERAN. 
          HERE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. 
          HERE. 
          CHAIR SANDOVAL. 
          MADAM, WE HAVE A QUORUM. 
          THANK YOU, AURORA. 
          AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE. 
          UH, WE'RE STARTING RIGHT ON TIME, UH, JUST TO NOTE THAT AT YOUR PLACES YOU HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH A FOLLOW-UP FROM OUR LAST MEETING. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH TO JAYER AND MR. MCCAREY FOR TAKING CARE OF THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, AND 
          [Approval of Minutes
 ]
WE WILL, UH, MOVE ON TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR THE FEBRUARY 8TH, 2022 COMMITTEE MEETING. 
          UM, IS THERE A MOTION I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE? OKAY, GREAT. 
          UH, MOTION. 
          SECOND. 
          ANY DISCUSSION? GREAT. 
          UH, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE VOTE ON YOUR SCREENS. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          WE'LL MOVE ON TO 
          [Briefing and Possible Action on
 ]
ITEM TWO, WHICH IS THE CITY'S C OVID 19 RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS UPDATES BY METRO HEALTH STAFF. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          CLAUDE. 
          JACOB, COME ON DOWN. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          IS THERE LIKE, NO RESPONSE? OKAY. 
          NO WORRIES. 
          UM, THE FOOD COMA HAS SET IN. 
          I REALIZE THAT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON, MEMBERS OF THE CHECK COMMITTEE. 
          THIS IS MY MONTHLY COVID UPDATE, UH, BIDDING YOU AGAIN, GREETINGS FROM THE NATIONALLY ACCREDITED METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, ON THIS COVER SLIDE, AS CUSTOMER, WE PROVIDE A PHOTO OF COVID MURALS THAT HAVE BEEN DISPLAYED ACROSS THE COMMUNITY THIS PAST YEAR. 
          THIS PARTICULAR MURAL CAN BE FOUND IN DISTRICT ONE, UH, JAMES MEDRANO'S MURAL AT THE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY INSTITUTE OF SAN ANTONIO, LOCATED AT 1528 NORTH MAIN AVENUE. 
          FEATURES SMART FOUNDER ANDY BENAVIDES, HIS WIFE, YVETTE, AND SON AUGUSTO. 
          UH, BEHIND THEM IS A BLUE SKY AND A RAINBOW TO SIGNIFY BRIGHTER DAYS AHEAD, AND THAT THE PANDEMIC WILL HOPEFULLY COME TO AN END. 
          SO, UM, THE CONTRAST OF THE LAST MONTH COMPARED TO NOW. 
          SO, UH, THIS IS A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF, UH, THE ONGOING C O I D PANDEMIC HERE GOING ON ALMOST TWO YEARS. 
          SO, AS OF THE 23RD, AS OF YESTERDAY, WE HAVE NOW REPORTED 521,385 CASES AS REPORTED TO OUR DEPARTMENT. 
          AND THIS HAS BEEN OUR TALLY SINCE MARCH OF 2020, GOING ON NEARLY TWO YEARS. 
          AND SADLY, TO DATE, WE SHOW 5,239 REPORTED FATALITIES, WHICH INCLUDES FIVE DEATHS THAT WERE REPORTED YESTERDAY. 
          OUR SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE HAS IMPROVED AS, UH, QUICKLY AS IT HAD, UH, HAD INCREASED. 
          WE ARE NOW AT 348, UM, UH, NEW CASES THAT WE REPORT EACH DAY DOWN FROM OVER 6,000 WHEN I WAS HERE JUST LAST MONTH. 
          AND OUR PERCENT POSITIVITY HAS ALSO COME DOWN TO 9.7%, UM, FROM A PEAK OF NEARLY 40. 
          SO IT WAS 39.4% AT ITS PEAK DURING THIS FOURTH SURGE. 
          UH, WE SPENT THE LAST FEW WEEKS IN THE SEVERE CATEGORY, AND WE ARE GLAD TO SAY THAT THIS WEEK WE HAVE, UH, IMPROVED TO THE MODERATE RISK LEVEL. 
          UM, SO STILL KEEPING AN EYE ON THIS, BUT JUST KNOW THAT THAT'S WHERE WE ARE AS OF THIS WEEK. 
          SO IN TERMS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS, AS OF FEBRUARY 23RD, UM, THE DARK BLUE LINE REFLECTS, UH, IN HOSPITAL, UH, OR COVID RELATED ADMISSIONS ONE MONTH AGO. 
          UH, SO TODAY WE SHOW, UM, AS OF YESTERDAY, 448, UH, JUST A MONTH AGO, THAT NUMBER WAS, UH, 1,197. 
          AND, UH, AT ITS PEAK DURING THIS, UH, FOURTH SURGE, WE WERE AT 1,308. 
          UH, IN TERMS OF THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT, WE NOW SHOW 113, AND THAT'S THAT YELLOW LINE. 
          ONE MONTH AGO, THAT FIGURE WAS 2 49. 
          AND IN TERMS OF, UH, THOSE ON VENTILATORS, UM, WE SHOWED, WE SHOW 58, WHICH IS AT LIGHT BLUE LINE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE A MONTH AGO. 
          THAT FIGURE WAS 1 0 5. 
          UM, CLEARLY THE LION'S SHARE OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING, UH, IN TERMS OF TRANSMISSIONS ARE AMONGST THOSE WHO ARE STILL UNVACCINATED. 
          UH, AS OF, UH, THIS WEEK WE SHOW 64% OF THOSE ADMISSIONS A MONTH AGO, THAT FIGURE WAS 67% PERCENT. 
          WHILE THIS TREND IS IMPROVING, WE STILL HAVE SOME WORK TO DO WITH GETTING, UH, VACCINATE, UH, RESIDENTS VACCINATED. 
          FOR ADDITIONAL CONTEXT, I SHOULD MENTION THAT DURING THE PREVIOUS THREE SURGES, THE PEAK OF A DAILY COVID HOSPITALIZATIONS WERE, UM, DURING THE 
          [00:05:01]
FIRST SPIKE, OR THE FIRST SURGE, UH, 1000, UH, 267. 
          UH, DURING THE SECOND SURGE LAST WINTER, UH, UH, THE HIGH WATERMARK WAS AT 1,520, AND OF LAST SUMMER, WE GOT TO 1,466. 
          SO IN TERMS OF, UM, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF OVERALL CASES, AND THIS IS A SNAPSHOT, AND THIS GRAPH SHOWS THE PERCENTAGE OF CASES BY AGE GROUP. 
          THE LIGHTER SHADE, UH, BAR INDICATES THE TOTAL COVID CASES SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC. 
          AND THE DARKER SHADE INDICATES THE DATE THE CASES OCCURRING THIS PAST MONTH IN JANUARY. 
          OVERALL, THE PERCENTAGE OF CASES OCCURRED AMONGST THOSE, UH, 20 YEARS AND OLDER. 
          HOWEVER, IN JANUARY, WE SAW AN INCREASE IN A PERCENTAGE OF CASES FOR THE AGE GROUPS. 
          UH, THE YOUNGER AGE GROUPS ZERO TO NINE AND 10 TO 19 SHOULD ALSO ADD THAT 14% OF THE CASES WERE AMONG THE ZERO TO NINE AGE GROUP COMPARED TO 10% FOR THE ENTIRE PANDEMIC. 
          AND 18% OF THE CASES OCCURRED AMONGST THOSE 10 TO 19. 
          AND THAT WAS, UH, COMPARED TO 15% OVERALL SINCE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC COMPARING SURGE TO SURGE. 
          UH, SO THIS IS A QUICK SNAPSHOT. 
          IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO SEE THE LEFT PART OF THE SLIDE, BUT JUST TO LOOK AT THE, UH, UH, THE TREND LINES. 
          SO THIS, THE TEAM CONTINUES TO MAKE COMPARISONS AMONG THE FOUR SURGES THAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED HERE LOCALLY. 
          AND THIS GRAPH DEMONSTRATES THE FOUR SURGES, UH, AND THE DAILY, UH, SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE OF NEW CASES BY COLOR. 
          SO, SURGE ONE MIGHT BE A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO SEE, BUT IT'S THE NEON GREEN LINE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE AND RANGES FROM MAY OF 2020 TO FALL TO, TO, UH, SEPTEMBER OF 2020. 
          THE PURPLE LINE, WHICH IS SURGE TWO. 
          UH, IF I CAN SHOW, OH, SORRY. 
          ALRIGHT, CAN WE GET BACK? OH, APOLOGIES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          HOLD THAT THOUGHT FOR A MOMENT. 
          ALL RIGHT, THERE WE GO. 
          SO, THE, UH, PURPLE LINE IS SURGE TWO RANGING FROM, UH, OCTOBER OF 2020 THROUGH MARCH OF 2021, WHICH WAS A WINTER SURGE. 
          THE THIRD LINE, THE RED LINE REPRESENTS, UH, SURGE THREE, WHICH WAS FROM JUNE OF LAST SUMMER THROUGH, UH, NOVEMBER. 
          AND THEN, UH, AND THAT WAS DRIVEN BY, UH, THE DELTA VARIANT AND THEN THE MAROON, WHICH IS VERY CLEARLY DELINEATED. 
          THERE IS THIS, UH, FOURTH SURGE, WHICH WAS DRIVEN BY THE OMICRON VARIANT, AGAIN, SHOWING THE TRANSMISSIBILITY OF BOTH THE DELTA AND THE OMICRON VARIANTS, BUT DEFINITELY THE OMICRON VARIANT AND WHAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED OVER THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS. 
          YOU CAN SEE THAT STRIKING INCREASE THAT STARTED 29 DAYS INTO THE SURGE, UH, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF REPORTED CASES DURING A SURGE THAT WE HAVE SEEN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC. 
          UH, THE REVIEW OF THE DATA SHOWS THE AVERAGE, UM, AGE OF THESE CASES, UH, DECREASE WHEN COMPARED TO THE FIRST TWO SURGES TO THE LATEST SPIKES, THE FIRST AND SECOND SURGE. 
          THE AVERAGE AGE WAS, SAY, IN THE LATE TWENTIES, IN THE LATE THIRTIES FOR SURGES THREE AND FOUR. 
          IT SEEMS TO BE IN THE EARLY THIRTIES. 
          YET THE DATA ARE VERY PRELIMINARY FOR THE CURRENT SURGE. 
          WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR THESE TRENDS AND WE'LL ASSESS FURTHER AS THE PATTERNS FLUCTUATE OVER THE COMING WEEKS. 
          SO, AGAIN, SNAPSHOT THAT I REPORT OUT EACH MONTH. 
          CURRENTLY TWO THIRDS OF THE VACCINE ELIGIBLE POPULATION, MEANING THOSE FIVE YEARS AND OLDER, ARE FULLY VACCINATED. 
          THIS SLIDE SHOWS A PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION FULLY VACCINATED BY AGE GROUP OVER TIME. 
          EACH COLOR IS A DIFFERENT, EACH, UH, COLOR IS A DIFFERENT, REPRESENTS A DIFFERENT AGE GROUP. 
          AND THE PURPLE BOXES INDICATE WHEN THE VARIOUS, UH, VACCINATION RECOMMENDATIONS WERE MADE. 
          I'M, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT, CLAUDE, COULD YOU CLARIFY A FULLY VACCINATED MEANS A BOOSTER, OR IF IT MEANS TWO DOSES? THIS IS TWO DOSES. 
          SO THE TERMINOLOGY IS CHANGING. 
          SO THOSE THAT RECEIVE THE BOOSTER, WE CALL IT HAVING THEIR VACCINE UP TO DATE, THIS REPRESENTS, UH, FULLY VACCINATED, MEANING THAT THEY'VE GOTTEN AT LEAST THE FIRST OR SECOND DOSE, WHETHER IT'S PFIZER OR VER OR MODERNA, UM, OR THEY'VE GOTTEN A ONE DOSE OF J AND J. 
          UM, NOW IT'S BEEN RECOMMENDED TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS ALSO GET THEIR BOOSTER SHOTS, WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN, UH, PUBLICIZING OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. 
          SO, GOOD QUESTION. 
          AND JUST KNOW THAT THIS REPRESENTS THE PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION HERE IN BEXAR COUNTY FULLY VACCINATED. 
          SO I DO WANNA DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE RED LINE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE, WHICH IS FOR THE FIVE TO 11 AGE GROUP. 
          UH, WHEN I LAST PRESENTED THIS PERCENTAGE, IT WAS AT 10% AND HAS IMPROVED AND HAS DOUBLED SINCE LAST MONTH. 
          AND IT NOW SHOWS ABOUT 20% AGE GROUPS 12 TO 15 AND 19 TO 29 YEAR OLDS ALSO ARE BELOW 60%. 
          AND EFFORTS WILL CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE THESE AGE GROUPS TO GET VACCINATED. 
          IN ADDITION, INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE DUE FOR THEIR BOOSTER SHOTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO RECEIVE THAT EXTRA DOSE FOR THAT ADDED PROTECTION. 
          UH, KEEP IN MIND THAT ONLY 35% OF THOSE ELIGIBLE FOR BOOSTER HAVE RECEIVED ONE TO DATE. 
          EARLIER THIS WEEK, WE ISSUED AN ADVISORY REMINDING RESIDENTS OF, UM, IMPORTANCE OF GETTING THEIR VACCINATION STATUS UP TO DATE, UH, BY VIRTUE OF GETTING THEIR BOOSTERS. 
          SO TOWARDS THE END HERE. 
          [00:10:01]
SO THIS IS A REMINDER OF HOW WE'VE INCENTIVIZED THIS AND HOW WE'VE PUBLICIZED AND MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS, UH, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GETTING FULLY VACCINATED. 
          SO THIS IS JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT. 
          UM, WE LAST FALL ANNOUNCED THAT WE DID RECEIVE APPROVAL TO PURCHASE THESE 10,000, UH, H E B GIFT CARDS WE'VE BEEN ISSUING THEM. 
          AND THE TOP FIVE ZIP CODES TO DATE, UH, WHILE WE'VE GIVEN OUT OVER 8,700, UH, THE TOP FIVE ZIP CODES ARE 7 8 2 0 7 7 8 2 45, 7 8 2 2 3 7 8 2 28, AND 7 8 2 10. 
          SO WE HAVE SHOWN TO DATE THAT, UM, OVER 57 OR OVER HALF OF THESE CARDS HAVE ISSUED TO THOSE 18 YEARS AND YOUNGER. 
          UM, AND, UH, WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB GETTING TO THE 30 TO 39 YEAR OLDS IN PARTICULAR. 
          LASTLY, SO MASS VACCINATION AND TESTING SITES, AND THIS IS JUST A QUICK UPDATE AS I WRAP UP AND CONCLUDE MY REPORT. 
          SO NOW LET ME PROVIDE YOU WITH AN UPDATE ON OUR MASS VACCINATION AND TESTING EFFORTS IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          THE, THE EFFORTS AT THE ALMO DOME ARE COMING TO AN END AS WE AIM TO SCALE DOWN OUR OPERATIONS AT THIS PARTICULAR SITE. 
          THE FEDERAL TESTING SITE THAT OPENED AT THE DOME IN RESPONSE TO THIS LATER SURGE IN JANUARY, WILL BE CLOSING PERMANENTLY THIS COMING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH. 
          AND THE LONGEST, UH, MASS VACCINATION SITE THAT HAS BEEN OPERATED HERE IN THE STATE, UM, IS COMING TO AN END AT THE END OF MARCH. 
          THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE NO LONGER PROVIDE COVID VACCINATIONS, IT JUST MEANS THAT OUR TEAM WILL BE FOCUSED MORE ON THE POP-UP VACCINATION CLINICS AND PROVIDING VACCINATIONS OUT AND ABOUT IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          WITH REGARDS TO INCREASED TESTING VOLUME, UH, DURING THIS LATEST SURGE, UH, WE PARTNERED WITH, UH, COMMUNITY LABS, AS YOU WELL KNOW, WHICH ASSISTED US WITH, UH, PROVIDING ADDITIONAL TESTING RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          AND NOW THAT THE CASES ARE DECLINING, UH, THEY WILL BE DECREASING THEIR OPERATIONS FROM SEVEN SITES, UH, TO THREE START TO THREE SITES STARTING NEXT WEEK. 
          UM, SO THEY'LL STILL BE MAINTAINING OPERATIONS AT DIVINE PROVIDENCE AT THE ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT OFFICE, AND AT THE WONDERLAND MALL. 
          OUR ANCHOR SITES ARE STILL MANAGED BY OUR PARTNERS AT CURATIVE LABS. 
          WE HIT A NEW HIGH IN TESTING THIS PAST JANUARY WITH, UH, 641,443 TESTS THAT WERE CONDUCTED. 
          THIS IS A RECORD, UM, BY, FOR, BY COMPARISON. 
          UH, BACK IN OCTOBER OF, UH, THIS PAST FALL, WE HAD, WE CONDUCTED OR ADMINISTERED ABOUT 400,000 TESTS. 
          SO OUR TESTING VOLUME INCREASED, UH, BY OVER 60% DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY WHEN COMPARED TO THAT PERIOD EARLIER IN THE FALL. 
          SO, KUDOS TO OUR FANTASTIC PARTNERS ON THE GROUND AND IN PARTICULAR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
          AND I CAN'T SAY THANKS ENOUGH TO OUR INCREDIBLE TEAM ON THE GROUND FOR AT LEAST, UH, WEATHERING THIS ONGOING COVID STORM AS WE ARE HERE AND CONTINUE ON THIS JOURNEY TOGETHER. 
          SO THAT CONCLUDES MY FORMAL REPORT, AND NOW I CAN OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. 
          THANK YOU, CLAUDE. 
          UM, I APPRECIATE YOU REACHING OUT TO ME TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ADDRESS WHAT, WHAT WE THOUGHT THE COMMITTEE WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN, IN SEEING. 
          UM, OF COURSE, YOU GUYS ARE ALL WELCOME TO ADD, UH, YOUR ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS TO THIS. 
          UM, I DID ASK ABOUT THE, THE GIFT CARDS AND, AND HOW THAT WAS GOING. 
          SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR THAT REPORT. 
          UH, ONE QUICK QUESTION. 
          WHEN YOU REPORT THE NUMBER OF CASES AT THIS POINT, WE MIGHT SEE DUPLICATE CASES, AS IN, I'M SORRY, THE SAME PERSON GETTING A CASE, UH, BEING POSITIVE ONE YEAR AND THEN THE FOLLOWING YEAR. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO THESE ARE JUST INDIVIDUAL CASES AND THEY MAY HAVE OCCURRED TO THE SAME PERSON. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, WOULD, IS YOUR STAFF PLANNING TO MAKE A CHART WITH THE FULLY BO BOOSTED POPULATION AT ANY TIME? SO, GOOD QUESTION. 
          SO WE ARE KEEPING TRACK OF THE NUMBER OF, UM, VACCINATIONS THAT WE ADMINISTER. 
          SO WE'VE, UH, AT LEAST, UH, TALLIED OVER 400 OR NEARLY 500,000, UH, ADDITIONAL DOSES OR BOOSTERS THAT WE'VE GIVEN TO DATE. 
          SO, UM, FOR NOW, THE TAKE HOME MESSAGE IS THAT WE STILL HAVE TWO THIRDS OF THE ELIGIBLE POPULATION THAT HAS NOT YET RECEIVED THEIR BOOSTER SHOTS. 
          SO WE CONTINUE TO PUSH THAT MESSAGING. 
          SO WE CAN TELL YOU ON THE AGGREGATE HOW MANY BOOSTER SHOTS WE'VE GIVEN, UM, AND WE CONTINUE TO REPORT OUT CONSISTENT WITH THE STATE AND OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS, WHAT WE SHOW IS FULLY VACCINATED VERSUS THOSE THAT HAVE RECEIVED THEIR BOOSTER SHOTS. 
          BUT THERE'S NOT A PRETTY CHART LIKE THE ONE THAT YOU SHOWED US A CHART, WE CAN PUT TOGETHER A CHART IF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          YES, THANK YOU. 
          RIGHT NOW WE SHOW 35% OF THE ELIGIBLE POPULATION IS HAVING RECEIVED THEIR BOOSTER SHOTS HERE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND BEXAR COUNTY ABOUT BREAKDOWNS BY AGES WOULD BE, YOU'D LIKE A BREAKDOWN SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DO FOR FULLY VACCINATED. 
          GOT IT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO FOR THAT. 
          . 
          ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. 
          UH, ONE THING THAT I, I THOUGHT WOULD BE OF INTEREST, UH, TO MYSELF AND POSSIBLY TO THE COMMITTEE IS, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, VOTED ON A $50 MILLION ALLOTMENT FROM ARPA FUNDS FOR AN ENHANCED COVID 
          [00:15:01]
RESPONSE. 
          AND, UH, WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, UM, MAYBE YOU CAN GIVE US THIS AS A FOLLOW UP TO, TO TODAY'S MEETING, IS THE PLAN FOR THAT SPENDING AND HOW MUCH OF IT HAS, UH, PERHAPS ALREADY BEEN EXPENDED? SO, I MEAN, YOU MENTIONED CURATIVE, YOU MENTIONED A DOME, UH, YOU MENTIONED OF COURSE COMMUNITY LABS AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
          SO, UH, JUST GETTING AN UNDERSTANDING OF OF HOW THAT BREAKS OUT. 
          AND THEN, UH, ALSO YOU DIDN'T MENTION CONTACT TRACING, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IS STILL IN OPERATION, RIGHT? MM-HMM. 
           STILL IN OPERATION. 
          WE HAVE A CONTRACT WITH OUR PAR ACADEMIC PARTNERS AT UT HEALTH AND U T S A. 
          AND SO, UH, WE WILL REPORT OUT, JUST KNOW THAT THE FEDS ARE CHANGING THE ALGORITHM FOR THE AMOUNT OF, UM, UH, FOR THE CONTACT TRACING THAT'S TAKING PLACE ON THE GROUND. 
          SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO REPORT OUT, UH, THE VOLUME, BUT JUST KNOW THAT GIVEN THE, UM, UH, THE PREVALENCE OF, UH, COVID, UM, AND THE LABOR INVOLVED WITH CONTACT TRACING. 
          SO WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CONSISTENT WITH WHAT'S RECOMMENDED NOW, DIFFERENT FROM WHERE WE WERE AT THE START OF THIS PANDEMIC. 
          SURE. 
          OKAY. 
          IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD ALSO PROVIDE TO US AS A FOLLOW UP? THE CHANGE IN THE ALGORITHM? WE, WE CAN PROVIDE THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          SURE. 
          UH, EVERYONE'S GOT QUESTIONS TODAY, SO, UH, WE'LL TAKE THEM IN ORDER. 
          SO, COUNCILWOMAN GUILLO. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU CLAUDE, FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UH, I REALLY LIKE THE FIRST SLIDE OF THIS PRESENTATION 'CAUSE IT'S OUR DISTRICT FIVE ARTS APPOINTEE, ANDY BENAVIDEZ. 
          SO THAT'S A REALLY COOL ART PIECE, UM, THAT Y'ALL HAVE COLLABORATED TO PUT FORWARD. 
          UM, IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT THE GIFT CARDS ARE BEING DISPERSED, BUT DO WE KNOW, UH, BASED OFF OF, UH, DISTRICT, HOW MANY CARDS HAVE BEEN DISPERSED BY COUNCIL DISTRICT Y? UM, I'M SURE WE CAN TALLY THAT I'VE REPORTED OUT IN TERMS OF THE TOP FIVE ZIP CODES, BUT WE CAN PUT TOGETHER A COMPOSITE IF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL BY DISTRICT. 
          YEAH, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          AND I'M PLEASED TO SEE THAT THE INCENTIVES ARE WORKING. 
          I KNOW COUNCILMAN BRAVO AND I SHARED DISTRICT, UH, UH, WE SHARE 7, 8, 12 7, THE ZIP CODE, UH, BETWEEN OUR DISTRICTS. 
          UM, AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, IF WE'RE MEETING THAT NEED. 
          'CAUSE I KNOW WITHIN DISTRICT FIVE WE HAD A LOW VACCINATION RATE, UM, BUT WITH THE, THE BOOSTER, UM, WHAT IS THE CDC D'S RECOMMENDATION? IF SOMEONE HA IS VACCINATED AND THAT THEY HAVE THE FIRST AND SECOND DOSE, THEY'VE CONTRACTED C O I DO, THEY GET THE BOOSTER. 
          SO THE RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT FOR FOLKS TO BE FULLY VACCINATED OR UP TO DATE MM-HMM. 
           THAT THEY DO GET THEIR BOOSTER SHOTS. 
          UM, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT THEY CONTRACTED COVID, THIS IS THE BEST WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS AND RESIDENTS TO BE FULLY PROTECTED. 
          SO, UM, JUST KNOW THAT IN TERMS OF ELIGIBILITY, UH, JUST A REMINDER TO FOLKS THAT, UM, IF YOU ARE, UM, YOU RECEIVE THE PFIZER VACCINE, IF YOU'RE FIVE YEARS AND OLDER, UH, MODERNA, IF YOU'RE 18 YEARS AND OLDER, UM, AND THE JOHNSON AND JOHNSON, YOU HAVE TO BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS AND OLDER IN TERMS OF THE BOOSTER. 
          JUST KNOW THAT THEY RECOMMEND THAT YOU RECEIVE THE, UH, PFIZER VACCINE AFTER FIVE MONTHS. 
          UH, IF YOU'RE AT LEAST 12 YEARS AND OLDER THAT YOU RECEIVE MODERNA. 
          ALSO, AFTER FIVE MONTHS OF RECEIVING, AFTER RECEIVING THE FIRST DOSE, IF YOU'RE AT LEAST 18 YEARS AND OLDER. 
          AND REGARDING J AND J, THEY RECOMMEND THE BOOSTER AFTER TWO MONTHS. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU, CLAUDE. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          UH, WITHIN DISTRICT FIVE, WE ARE, UH, CON CONTINUING TO RECEIVE SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING COVID AND THE VACCINE. 
          SO I'M GRATEFUL THAT, UH, METRO HEALTH IS GOING TO BE HOSTING A FIRESIDE CHAT WITH OUR OFFICE, UH, THIS EVENING TO ANSWER SOME OF THOSE FREQUENTLY, UH, ASKED QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM COMMUNITY. 
          UM, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO GET A LIST OF COMPILED, UH, VACCINE SITES, UH, BY DISTRICT OR A LIST OF, OF VACCINE SITES? UH, BY DISTRICT, BY DISTRICT? WELL, EACH WEEK, EVERY FRIDAY, WE ISSUE THE SITES MM-HMM. 
          , WHERE WE HAVE OUR POP-UP CLINICS. 
          UM, SO I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S ORGANIZED BY DISTRICT, BUT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT YOU AT LEAST KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKYARD. 
          GREAT. 
          THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          THANK YOU, CLAUDE. 
          I APPRECIATE IT. 
          SURE. 
          YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          COUNCILWOMAN VRAN. 
          I THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, CLAUDE. 
          SO, UM, I, AND I NOTICED TWO OF THOSE ZIP CODES IN THE TOP FIVE, UH, I SHARE WITH OTHER COUNCIL DISTRICTS, SO I'M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT. 
          UH, BUT MY QUESTION IS, WE DO HAVE THAT 50 MILLION IN ARPA DOLLARS, UH, THAT WILL BE COMING FOR C OVID 19 RELIEF. 
          SO I'D LIKE TO SEE, ARE WE GONNA NEED TO DO THIS EVERY YEAR? WHEN, WHEN DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT THIS IS GONNA BE LIKE THE FLU VACCINE AND WE HAVE TO DO THIS EVERY YEAR? THAT'S THE, UH, $50 MILLION QUESTION THAT FOLKS ARE ASKING. 
          WHEN IS THIS OVER? IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS IN. 
          UM, WHAT WE DO IS RESPOND TO THE SURGE. 
          WE RESPOND TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE FEDS. 
          UM, WHAT WE CAN SAY IS THAT WE'VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE THESE TWO YEARS RUNNING. 
          AND SO WE HAVE LAID OUT THE SCENARIOS TO SEE, WELL, WHAT COULD WE EXPECT REASONABLY BY THE SUMMER? RIGHT NOW YOU'RE SEEING A LULL, WHICH IS WHAT WE EXPERIENCED THIS TIME LAST YEAR. 
          SO WE PLAN FOR THE WORST. 
          UM, AND I DO WANT TO 
          [00:20:01]
THANK THE CITY MANAGER AND HIS INCREDIBLE TEAM FOR MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO RESPOND ACCORDINGLY. 
          OKAY. 
          'CAUSE I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, WE'RE READY TO GET THAT, TO GET EVERYBODY UP TO DATE ON VACCINES, IF THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA CALL IT. 
          IF THIS, IF THIS CONTINUES TO HAPPEN. 
          NOW, THE PEOPLE THAT ARE, UM, BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE DEATHS AND WE STILL HAVE PEOPLE ON THE VENTILATORS, AND I KNOW IT'S, UM, IT'S PRIMARILY UNVACCINATED PATIENTS. 
          IS ANYONE DOING WORK ON WHAT THAT, UH, VACCINATION HESITANCY WAS, UH, FOR THOSE PATIENTS? GOOD QUESTION. 
          I MEAN, AGAIN, UH, VOLUNTARY TO BE VACCINATED, WE ARE ASKING FOLKS TO, UM, NOT BE SELFISH, BUT RECOGNIZING THAT THAT PERSONAL DECISION DOES HAVE A COMMUNITY IMPACT. 
          UM, WE, WE DO KNOW, BASED ON THOSE ADMISSIONS, THAT TWO THIRDS OF FOLKS, UM, THAT, THAT, UH, ARE COVID ADMISSIONS, THAT THEY'RE UNVACCINATED. 
          IT COULD STILL BE, AS WE'RE HEARING ON THE GROUND, WHETHER IT'S HESITATION, APATHY, FATIGUE, OR JUST NOT BELIEVING IN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE VACCINE. 
          SO IT'S NOT ONE REASON, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO MESSAGE THAT ACCORDINGLY ACROSS, UH, ACROSS THE CITY AND ACROSS THE COUNTY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          'CAUSE WHEN THIS FIRST CAME OUT TWO YEARS AGO, THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL SAID, UH, HERD IMMUNITY WAS THE ANSWER. 
          AND NOW WE'RE SEEING IT WAS. 
          SO, UM, OKAY. 
          THANK, THANK YOU. 
          THAT'S IT. 
          UH, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. 
          I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO HEARING WHEN WE'RE GOING TO GET OUR NEXT UPDATE. 
          I'M READY. 
          UH, ANYTIME YOU TELL ME, LET ME KNOW. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. 
          COUNCILMAN BRAVO. 
          THANK YOU, CLAUDE. 
          UM, CLAUDE, YOU SHOWED US SOME CHARTS AND, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I'M, UH, CURIOUS ABOUT IS, UH, THE NUMBER OF DEATHS WE'VE HAD WITH THE SURGEON, OMICRON AND THEN, UH, COMORBIDITIES. 
          CAN YOU TELL US HOW COMORBIDITIES HAVE PLAYED A, A ROLE IN THIS LATEST WAVE? UH, WE'RE STILL PULLING TOGETHER THE SNAPSHOTS OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN. 
          IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF TIME BECAUSE OF THE LAG IN REPORTING. 
          UM, WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE LION'S SHARE OF THESE FATALITIES, UM, WE DO KNOW THAT THE TRANSMISSIONS OCCUR AMONGST THOSE WHO ARE UNVACCINATED. 
          WE HAVE BEEN HEARING MORE AND SEEING MORE EVIDENCE OF THE COMORBIDITIES THAT CONTRIBUTE, UM, TO SOME OF THESE FATALITIES. 
          SO WE DON'T HAVE A COMPOSITE TO DATE, BUT WE CAN SAY WITH SOME CONFIDENCE THAT THOSE ARE SOME OF THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS. 
          UM, SO OMICRON IS HIGHLY TRANSMISSIBLE. 
          WE SEE THE CONTRAST OF OMICRON TO THE DELTA VARIANT. 
          UH, SO WE'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING AROUND THE GLOBE, AND IN PARTICULAR HOW THIS IS IMPACTING OUR LOCAL HOSPITAL SYSTEM. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, BEFORE I GOT, I GOT ON A COUNCIL. 
          I, UH, SPENT A LOT OF TIME VOLUNTEERING WITH METRO HEALTH, UM, AND, UH, WAS INVOLVED IN, IN, UM, THE CONTACT TRACING INVESTIGATIONS WHERE WE'D CALL PEOPLE WHO, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, AND ASK THEM A SERIES OF QUESTIONS. 
          AND WE'D ASK THEM ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MAYBE EIGHT OR 10 DIFFERENT COMORBIDITIES THAT WERE LISTED ON THE LIST. 
          UM, AND I'M SURE THERE'S MORE, UM, BECAUSE THERE'S RARE DISEASES TOO THAT MAY NOT BE ON THERE. 
          AND THEY, THOSE RARE DISEASES COULD BE A COMORBIDITY AS WELL. 
          AND JUST YESTERDAY I MET WITH ABIGAIL . 
          ABIGAIL IS A SOPHOMORE AT JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL, AND SHE HAS A RARE DISEASE. 
          SHE HAS PHENO PHENYLKETONURIA. 
          AND SO I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW AWARE ARE PEOPLE, UH, ABOUT, UH, OF OUR NEIGHBORS, RIGHT? IF YOU WANT TO BE CONSIDERATE WHEN YOU GET VACCINATED, YOU GOTTA BE CONSIDERATE OF NOT JUST THAT YOU'RE PROTECTING YOUR HEALTH, BUT YOU'RE PROTECTING, PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF YOUR COMMUNITY. 
          AND THERE MAY BE PEOPLE OUT THERE WITH THESE RARE DISEASES WHO HAVE COMORBIDITIES. 
          AND ABIGAIL WANTED TO POINT OUT TO ME THAT FEBRUARY 28TH IS RARE DISEASES DAY. 
          AND NATIONALLY, IT'S AN ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF AN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN FOR THE RARE DISEASES COMMUNITY. 
          AND I'D LOVE FOR YOU AND YOUR STAFF TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN HELP PROMOTE AND BRING AWARENESS TO THAT RARE DISEASES DAY ON FEBRUARY 28TH. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          AGAIN, PRIMARY PREVENTION, ANYWHERE WE, ANYTIME THAT WE CAN INCREASE THE AWARENESS AROUND THESE ISSUES OR THESE CONDITIONS, WE TAKE AND SEIZE ON THAT OPPORTUNITY. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          JUST KNOW THAT THE TAKE HOME MESSAGE AROUND C O V I D IS THAT IF ONE IS IMMUNOCOMPROMISED, IF YOU ARE MORE FRAGILE OR MORE LIKELY TO, UM, UH, EXPERIENCE THIS BURDEN OF COVID, WHETHER IT'S CONTRIBUTING TO A HOSPITALIZATION OR EVEN, UH, WORSE THAN THAT, UH, UH, A DEATH, WE DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE REMIND FOLKS OF THE BEST WAY AND REMIND RESIDENTS OF THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AND THEIR LOVED ONES. 
          UM, IN ADDITION TO GETTING VACCINATED, IN ADDITION TO GETTING A BOOSTER SHOT THAT, UH, WE RECOMMEND AS PER THE C D C, THAT FOLKS CONTINUE TO, TO MASK UP, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE IN PLACES WHERE THEY'RE NOT SURE OF THE VACCINATION STATUS OF FOLKS AROUND THEM. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, AND, UM, I'M INTERESTED IN GETTING SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FROM YOUR STAFF ON, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE THE LOWEST 
          [00:25:01]
VACCINATION RATES AND WHEN ARE YOU GONNA HAVE A POP-UP CLINIC NEARBY IN THAT AREA SO THAT MY STAFF CAN GO AND HELP KNOCK DOORS AND GET PEOPLE TO THOSE VACCINATION CLINICS, EVEN IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S IN 7 8 2, 7 0 7, BUT IT'S NOT IN DISTRICT ONE AND DISTRICT FIVE, WE'LL GO HELP ANYWAY. 
          YOU TELL US WHERE THE GREATEST NEED IS WHEN YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A POP-UP CLINIC. 
          WE'D LOVE TO COME HELP GET PEOPLE THERE. 
          UM, AND THEN FINALLY, I WANT TO JUST ASK ABOUT SECOND BOOSTERS. 
          I SAW, I, I BELIEVE I READ THAT, UM, THE EFFICACY OF, OF THE, THE, UM, VAC VACCINE START, UM, IS STARTING TO WANE AFTER ABOUT FOUR MONTHS MAYBE. 
          AND, UM, THAT, I GUESS THERE'S RECOMMENDATIONS TO GET, TO GET A SECOND BOOSTER FOUR MONTHS AFTER IF YOU'RE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED. 
          BUT I'M CURIOUS ALSO, WHAT IF YOU'RE NOT IMMUNOCOMPROMISED, THEN WHEN, WHEN DO YOU GET YOUR SECOND BOOSTER JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S STAYING AS SAFE AS CAN BE? YEAH, THESE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT RESIDENTS SHOULD HAVE WITH THEIR CLINICAL, THEIR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS. 
          UM, THE C D C IS REVISITING SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS TO SHARE WITH THE BROADER COMMUNITY, BUT JUST KNOW THAT IF ONE HAS A QUESTION, ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAVE A PREEXISTING CONDITION OR WONDERING ABOUT THEIR VULNERABILITY TO COVID, THEY SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEIR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS. 
          AND WE'LL MESSAGE THAT ACCORDINGLY AS WE GET ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE, WHETHER IT'S FROM THE C D C OR FROM OUR STATE LEVEL PARTNERS. 
          GREAT. 
          THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU, CLAUDE. 
          SURE. 
          YOU'RE WELCOME. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, DILIGENCE AND PATIENCE WITH US EVERY MONTH. 
          UM, WE DO, OR I, I BELIEVE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE COUNCIL TO BE INFORMED AND HAVE A FORUM WHERE WE CAN HAVE THIS TYPE OF DISCUSSION REGULARLY. 
          UH, AND I DO WANNA THANK YOU. 
          I KNOW, UM, A FEW WEEKS AGO, YOUR TEAM SENT OUT THE LIST OF POP-UP CLINICS FOR, UH, THEY SENT IT AS A PRESS RELEASE, RIGHT? FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 29TH THROUGH FEBRUARY 5TH. 
          AND, UH, THEY'RE CERTAINLY, UH, VERY WELL SPREAD OUT, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO, UM, YEAH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO, TO CONTINUING TO GET THAT, THAT INFORMATION. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CLAUDE. 
          YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SEE YOU NEXT MONTH. 
          OKAY, MARGIE. 
          JUST KIDDING. 
          UM, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT DATE IT IS. 
          THANK YOU, CLAUDE. 
          THANK YOU, DEIRDRA. 
          OUR NEXT ITEM, UH, WILL BE, UH, BRIEFING ON THE IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF THE, OF THE CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION PLAN. 
          AND WE HAVE WITH US MR. MELNICK, CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON, MADAM CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. 
          UH, DOUG MELNICK, CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICERS. 
          THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME, UH, SOME TIME TO PROVIDE YOU AN, AN UPDATE ON THREE KEY, UM, STRATEGIES, UH, THAT WE ARE, THAT WE ARE WORKING ON. 
          UH, ONE IS FOCUSED ON, UM, LOOKING, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. 
          THE OTHER IS LOOKING AT, UH, UH, INCREASING SOLAR GENERATION AT MUNICIPAL FACILITIES. 
          AND THE THIRD IS, UM, FOCUSED ON ELECTRIC, UM, UH, TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION. 
          SO, UH, THE FIRST ONE I'LL TALK ABOUT IS BUILDING ENERGY AND BENCHMARKING, UM, ORDINANCE, UH, AN OVERVIEW. 
          IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR QUITE SOME TIME. 
          UH, THE SECOND IS, AGAIN, MUNICIPAL ONSITE, UH, SOLAR DEVELOPMENT, WHICH I HAD BRIEFED YOU ALL BACK IN OCTOBER. 
          AND THEN AN UPDATE ON OUR E B SS A INITIATIVE. 
          SO WHY ARE WE LOOKING AT LARGE BUILDINGS? UM, THIS PIE CHART IS FROM OUR 2019 GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY. 
          IT SHOWS SOURCES, UM, OF, OF THOSE EMISSIONS. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE THAT'S, UH, BUILDING ENERGY USAGE, WHICH IS THE ENERGY THAT'S GOING TO OUR, OUR BUILDINGS IS AT, UM, 44%. 
          IT'S THE LARGEST CHUNK. 
          UH, AND WHEN WE START EVALUATING THAT AND FIGURING OUT WHAT THE, THE BREAKDOWN OF THAT IS, UH, WE FOUND THAT, UM, PROPERTIES THAT ARE 50,000 SQUARE FOOT OR LARGER ACCOUNT FOR 78% OF OUR TOTAL COVERED FLOOR AREA. 
          SO THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO FOCUS ON THOSE BUILDINGS, UM, THROUGH INCENTIVES, THROUGH, THROUGH POLICIES, UM, TO, TO REALLY MAKE A DENT IN OUR EMISSIONS. 
          SO THIS MAP ON THE RIGHT IS FROM THE, UH, INSTITUTE OF MARKET TRANSFORMATION. 
          IT'S A, UH, A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT REALLY FOCUSES ON HELPING, UM, MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UM, UH, IMPLEMENT INNOVATIVE, UM, PROGRAMS AND POLICIES TO REDUCE BUILDING ENERGY USE. 
          AND WHAT IT SHOWS IS BASICALLY THERE'S OVER 40 CITIES, UH, AS WELL AS SOME STATES, UH, AND COUNTIES THAT HAVE IMPLEMENTED WHAT ARE CALLED, UM, BENCHMARKING AND TRANSPARENCY ORDINANCES. 
          AND, AND THE GOAL REALLY IS TO, UM, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THESE REAL, REALLY VITAL ELEMENTS OF OUR COMMUNITY, OUR BUILDINGS, UM, OUR LARGEST BUILDINGS, UM, ARE AS HEALTHY AS POSSIBLE, UM, THAT THEY'RE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE. 
          AND AS YOU'LL SEE, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME SIGNIFICANT, UM, BENEFITS TO THAT. 
          BUT BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UM, THIS CHART ON THE LEFT, THESE ARE SOME CITIES THAT HAVE HAD, UM, SIMILAR, UH, REQUIREMENTS IN PLACE, IN PLACE FOR QUITE SOME YEARS. 
          AND THEY'RE EXPERIENCING ANYWHERE FROM A THREE TO 10% ENERGY CONSUMPTION REDUCTION IN THOSE LARGE, UM, UH, THE LARGE BUILDING SECTOR, UM, AS WELL AS 13 POINT A HALF TO $21 MILLION SAVINGS PER YEAR. 
          UH, SO THAT'S MONEY THAT'S GOING RIGHT BACK INTO, INTO THE LOCAL ECONOMY, UH, TO IMPROVE BUILDINGS AS WELL AS TO, UM, 
          [00:30:01]
SUPPORT THE OVERALL ECONOMY. 
          SO WHAT IS THIS? WHAT IS A BENCHMARKING ORDINANCE? AND IT SOUNDS VERY SCARY, AND I, AND I, AND I SHOW YOU, THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS WE CAN, WE CAN GO WITH THIS. 
          BUT THE, THE KEY IS REALLY TO TRY TO MAKE IT AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE AND AS BENEFICIAL AS POSSIBLE TO, TO OUR LARGE PROPERTY OWNERS. 
          BUT BASICALLY, IN A NUTSHELL, IT'S A POLICY THAT REQUIRES LARGE BUILDING OWNERS TO MEASURE THEIR, UM, BUILDING'S, ENERGY USE, AND SOMETIMES WATER USE. 
          WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT WATER, UH, CURRENTLY FOR, FOR OUR PROGRAM, UM, UH, TO TRACK YOUR BUILDING'S PERFORMANCE OVER TIME. 
          AND YOU COMPARE IT TO, TO THE PERFORMANCE OF OTHER SI SIMILAR BUILDINGS. 
          SO BASICALLY, YOU GET TO UNDERSTAND HOW MY BUILDING IS PERFORMING, AND IF IT'S NOT PERFORMING AS WELL AS OTHERS, MAYBE THERE'S SOMETHING I NEED TO, TO LOOK INTO. 
          AND, AND THE TOOL THAT IS USED AS STANDARD IS A FREE TOOL THROUGH THE E P A CALLED, UH, PORTFOLIO MANAGER. 
          IT'S REALLY INTUITIVE. 
          UM, IT'S VERY SIMPLE. 
          UH, WE USE IT IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. 
          WE HAVE INTERNS USE IT. 
          UM, IT'S, IT'S, UM, IT'S A, A SOLID PROGRAM THAT GIVES YOU A TON OF INFORMATION AND IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S BEING USED THROUGHOUT THIS COUNTRY. 
          UM, THE TRANSPARENCY IN PUBLIC DISCLOSURE, DISCLOSURE PART, UM, YOU KNOW, PORTFOLIO MATTER PRODUCES A LOT OF DATA, UM, UH, AROUND HOW EACH BUILDING'S PERFORMING, UM, THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, UH, THE HOURS OF OPERATION, UM, UH, AREAS THAT ARE VACANT. 
          THIS DATA IS INVALUABLE, NOT ONLY FOR PROPERTY OWNERS TO MAKE DECISIONS AROUND THEIR BUILDINGS, BUT IT'S VALUABLE DATA FOR UTILITIES SUCH AS C P S ENERGY OR COSA, THAT ONCE WE UNDERSTAND HOW BUILDINGS ARE PERFORMING, WE UNDERSTAND WHERE UNDERPERFORMING BUILDINGS ARE, IT CAN BETTER HELP MUNICIPALITIES AND UTILITIES TARGET RESOURCES. 
          UM, THERE'S ALSO THE OPPORTUNITY TO LAYER IN EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS. 
          SO IF WE START LOOKING AT DIFFERENT DISTRICTS, UM, OR DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS THAT MAY HAVE, UM, HIGHER CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY, UM, THERE MAY BE, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, UH, OF PARTICULAR RACE OR ETHNIC ETHNICITIES THAT PERHAPS WE NEED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE IMPROVING THEIR BUILDINGS IN LINE WITH ALL THE OTHER, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          UM, AND I, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE WAYS WE REALLY LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THIS, THE SCORE THAT PROPERTIES GET. 
          IT'S, IT'S LIKE A HEALTH SCORE. 
          UM, SOME CITIES HAVE A A, B, C D, YOU KNOW, UH, OR IT CAN BE, UM, ON A, IT'S PORTFOLIO MANAGER MANAGERS ON A SCALE OF ZERO TO 100. 
          SO IT'S ALL ABOUT REALLY JUST, IT'S A HEALTH CHECK. 
          WE WANNA MAKE SURE OUR BUILDING PORTFOLIO, UM, IS, IS IMPROVING. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, WHY BENCHMARKING, UM, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT MONEY. 
          UH, IT, IT, WE KNOW THAT, UH, A A MORE EFFICIENT BUILDING IS GONNA SAVE MONEY, BUT IT ALSO, UM, UH, IS A REAL KEY FOR GRID RESILIENCE. 
          AND, AND, AND C P S IS REALLY, UM, BEGINNING TO GET ON BOARD WITH THIS BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALIZING THAT, UH, THIS IS A KEY DEMAND MANAGEMENT, DEMAND REDUCTION TOOL. 
          THAT'S, UH, IF WE CAN GET LARGE PROPERTY OWNERS TO TAKE ACTION ON THEIR BUILDINGS, REDUCE, UH, CONSUMPTION, THAT'S GONNA HELP C P S, THAT'S GONNA HELP C P S DELIVER POWER DURING PEAK PERIODS, UM, BECAUSE OUR BUILDING STOCK IS GONNA BE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE, BUT IT ALSO CREATES JOBS IN THE GREEN JOB SECTOR, IMPROVES AIR QUALITY, DRIVES INNOVATION, AND, AND REALLY ALLOWS FOR PROPERTY OWNERS TO FLAG PROBLEMS. IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A WIN-WIN. 
          UM, COSA HAS BEEN DOING THIS, UM, SINCE 2011. 
          UH, WE USE PORTFOLIO MANAGER. 
          UH, THIS IS A, A GRAPH OF 299 OF OUR LARGEST BUILDINGS. 
          UM, AND YOU'LL SEE, WE GET THE DATA, UM, WE, WE, WE REINVEST IN OUR BUILDINGS, AND THEN WE CONTINUE TO TRACK AND MONITOR. 
          AND, AND WE RELEASED THIS REPORT, UM, UH, LAST YEAR BECAUSE WE WANTED TO BE ON THE, THE LEADING EDGE OF TRANSPARENCY THAT IT'S OKAY TO PRODUCE A REPORT THAT SHOWS HOW OUR BUILDINGS ARE, ARE PERFORMING. 
          SOME BUILDINGS PERFORM BETTER THAN OTHERS. 
          THE KEY IS TO LOOK AT THE DATA, UH, AND THEN FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN IMPROVE THOSE BUILDINGS. 
          THIS IS A, A REALLY INTERESTING CHART. 
          WE HAD CONDUCTED A, UM, A TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ON A SERIES OF POTENTIAL POLICIES, UM, TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE, THE IMPACT. 
          AND THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT COLORS. 
          BUT IN HERE, UM, THERE'S EV READINESS, SOLAR READINESS, UM, UH, WHITE ROOF POLICIES. 
          BUT THE, THE BIG BLUE, UM, UH, COLUMNS, THAT IS A BENCHMARKING, UM, ORDINANCE. 
          UH, IT DOESN'T REQUIRE ANY PROPERTY OWNER TO DO ANYTHING. 
          UH, IT'S, OTHER THAN USE PORTFOLIO MANAGER, BENCHMARK YOUR BUILDING AND, AND LET THE CITY KNOW. 
          BUT WHAT RESEARCH HAS SHOWED FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY IS ONCE PROPERTY OWNERS UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR BUILDINGS ARE OPERATING, THEY TAKE ACTION. 
          AND SO WHAT YOU CAN SEE IS, OF ALL THESE OTHER STRATEGIES, IT HAS THE LARGEST C O TWO, UM, UH, EQUIVALENT OR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTION TARGET. 
          UM, THIS IS BASED UPON LARGE PROPERTIES, 50,000 SQUARE FEET AND LARGER. 
          IF WE CHOOSE TO JUST FOCUS ON THE LARGEST OF THE BUILDINGS AT A HUNDRED THOUSAND SQUARE FOOT, THE THE IMPACT WILL BE, UM, WON'T BE AS SIGNIFICANT, BUT THERE WILL STILL BE IMPACT. 
          UM, AND THEN HERE'S JUST VERY COMPLICATED. 
          DON'T NEED TO WORRY ALL THE DETAILS. 
          OUR, UM, ESSAY CLIMATE READY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CREATED A SUBCOMMITTEE, UM, TO, TO 
          [00:35:01]
DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHAT A DRAFT POLICY WOULD LOOK LIKE. 
          UM, UH, WE JUST HAD OUR, UH, SECOND MEETING TUESDAY, UM, TUESDAY, WHERE WE REALLY WERE TRYING TO DIG INTO WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF WHAT THIS POLICY COULD LOOK LIKE. 
          IT WAS A REALLY GREAT CONVERSATION. 
          UM, JUST WANNA THANK THE COUNCILWOMAN AGAIN FOR, FOR SHOWING UP AND, AND REALLY HELPING SET THE STAGE, UH, AROUND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS. 
          UM, OUR GOAL IS, UH, UH, HAVE A, A COUPLE MORE MEETINGS, UM, THROUGH NEXT MONTH TO REALLY TRY TO PIN DOWN WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF THIS POLICY, WHAT DOES IT APPLY TO, WHAT DOES, UM, IMPLEMENTATION LOOK LIKE, LIKE, UM, AND THE, THE GOAL IS HOPEFULLY, UM, TO, TO BRING A RECOMMENDATION BACK TO CHECK, UM, UH, IN THE SPRING FOR CONSIDERATION, AND THEN HOPEFULLY, UM, MOVING IT TO COUNCIL SOON THEREAFTER. 
          'CAUSE WE DO BELIEVE THAT IT'S AN EXTREMELY IMPACTFUL, UM, UH, TOOL TO MEET OUR CLIMATE OBJECTIVES. 
          SO I'M GONNA PIVOT, UM, VERY QUICKLY TO SOLAR. 
          UM, IF YOU REMEMBER THIS SLIDE FROM THE LAST TIME, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON MUNICIPAL, ONSITE SOLAR, UM, AND IT, IT TICKS SO MANY DIFFERENT BOXES. 
          UH, IT, IT SUPPORTS OUR COMMITMENT TO, UM, REDUCING OUR OWN, UM, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. 
          UM, LOOKING AT LOCAL, UM, SOLAR INSTALLATIONS, UH, AS OPPOSED TO SOLAR IN INSTALLATIONS SOMEWHERE ELSE. 
          IT, IT'S HIGHLY VISIBLE. 
          IT PROVIDES LOCAL BENEFIT IN TERMS OF JOBS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS, UH, IMPROVES OUR LOCAL AIR QUALITY. 
          UM, AND, AND IT SHOWS OUR INNOVATION. 
          SO IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE VERY MUCH, UM, E EXCITED ABOUT. 
          UM, IF YOU ALL ALSO REMEMBER, THE, THE GOALS OF THIS PROCUREMENT THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON IS, UH, AGAIN, TO SEE WHAT THE MARKET CAN, CAN BRING BACK TO US. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, WE WANT, WE HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF SITES THAT WE'RE EVALUATING. 
          WE ARE PRIORITIZING, UM, UH, COST NEUTRAL OPTIONS OR, OR BETTER, UM, WE BELIEVE THE MARKET CAN COME BACK WITH, WITH SOME REALLY GOOD RESULTS. 
          BUT THE KEY IS, UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO MOVE OUR CLIMATE GOALS FORWARD, REDUCE OUR, OUR, UM, ENERGY CONSUMPTION AT OUR FACILITIES, UM, BUT ALSO BE FEASIBLE, UH, IN TERMS OF WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS. 
          AND IT'S REALLY SMALL. 
          WE, WE HAVE 81 SITES THAT ARE UNDER REVIEW. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S OFFICES, COMMUNITY CENTERS, SENIOR CENTERS, LIBRARIES, PARKING LOTS, PARKING GARAGES. 
          UM, IT'S BROKEN DOWN ALMOST HALF AND HALF BETWEEN ROOFTOPS AND, AND PARKING LOTS. 
          AND SO WE ARE WORKING WITH THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE AS A TECHNICAL ADVISOR. 
          UM, WE SHOULD HAVE OUR PRELIMINARY SITE ASSESSMENTS DONE BY NEXT WEEK. 
          AND BASICALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS, UH, OUR STAFF IS GOING THROUGH AND EVALUATING EVERY ROOFTOP ON THE LIST AND PARKING LOT TO SEE WHAT IS THE SOLAR CAPACITY. 
          UH, AND IT NEEDS TO BE, UM, TIED INTO A BUILDING'S ELECTRIC METER. 
          SO IT NEEDS TO BE APPROPRIATELY SIZED. 
          ONCE WE HAVE THAT, UM, WE'LL, WE, WE WILL HAVE A DRAFT R F P, UM, UH, EARLY NEXT MONTH. 
          UM, THE GOAL IS TO, UH, DO A PRES SOLICITATION BRIEFING AT, AT A B SESSION, UM, TO MAKE SURE ALL OF COUNCIL IS AWARE OF, OF THE INTENTS AND THE SCOPE, AND GET SOME FEEDBACK. 
          AND TO, UM, GET THE R F P RELEASED IN, IN THE SPRING WITH THE GOAL OF BRINGING BACK A, UH, AND, AND, AND HAVING SOME, UM, IDEALLY, ONCE EVALUATION TAKES PLACE AND SITE VISITS TAKE PLACE WITH CONTRACTORS, UM, HAVING CONTRACTS POTENTIALLY FOR APPROVAL IN JUNE. 
          AGAIN, WE'LL TRY TO ACCELERATE IT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. 
          BUT IN CONSULTATION WITH R M I, UH, THERE IS A LOT OF DUE DILIGENCE THAT WE NEED TO DO, UM, ON THE SITE ASSESSMENTS AND, AND, UM, THE, UH, RESPONSE EVALUATION SIDE. 
          SO FINALLY, I'M, I'M JUST GONNA END UP WITH E V S A. 
          UM, UH, IF YOU REMEMBER, WE WERE JUST HERE, WAS IT LAST WEEK, UM, WHERE, UH, COUNCIL APPROVED A, A CONTRACT TO, UM, UH, IMPLEMENT SOME OF THE COMMUNICATIONS AND AND BRANDING CAMPAIGN AS A PART OF E V S A. 
          THIS PROGRAM STARTED IN, UH, 2018, UM, WITH VERY LITTLE RESOURCES, BUT WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM, UH, THE CONGESTION MITIGATION AND AIR QUALITY, UH, FUNDING. 
          BUT YOU CAN SEE THIS IS A BROAD INITIATIVE. 
          IT INCLUDES, UM, THE PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 
          UM, THE ELECTRIFICATION OF OUR OWN CITY FLEETS. 
          UH, WE WILL BE LOOKING AT BUILDING CODE UPDATES AS A PART OF DSDS, UM, UH, BUILDING CODE UPDATE PROCESS, PARTICULARLY AROUND EV READY, WHICH BASICALLY MEANS IF WE'RE BUILDING NEW RESIDENTS OFFICES, UH, ENSURING THAT THEY HAVE THE MINIMUM INFRASTRUCTURE AVAILABLE TO ALLOW FOR EASY, UH, INSTALLATION OF CHARGING EQUIPMENT. 
          UH, WE'VE RESEARCHED IT AND FOUND IT'S CONSIDERABLY, UM, MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO PUT IN SOME CONDUIT FIRST, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING A PROPERTY OWNER HAVE TO DO IT, UH, AND RETROFIT LATER ON. 
          UM, THE OTHER REAL BIG THING THAT'S GOING ON IS THE FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING. 
          UH, WE JUST HAD A, A PLANNING CALL WITH C P S, UH, THIS MORNING, AND THERE IS A, UM, AND I NEED TO TELL YOU, THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY COMING DOWN THE PIKE, 
          [00:40:01]
UH, IN TERMS OF EV INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          TEXAS, UM, IS PROJECTED TO GET $408 MILLION TO IN INSTALL HIGH SPEED CHARGING ON ALTERNATIVE FUEL CORRIDORS. 
          THAT'S STEP ONE. 
          UM, THE SECOND POT OF MONEY IS, UM, POTENTIALLY $204 MILLION FOR TEXAS, WHICH WOULD BE COMPETITIVE GRANTS. 
          THAT COULD BE, UM, FOR LOCAL INITIATIVES, THAT COULD BE FOR MUNICIPALITIES, BUSINESSES, UM, IT COULD BE FOR INSTITUTIONS TO GET LOCAL ONSITE SOLAR. 
          SO THE KEY IS TO, TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ENGAGED WITH C P S, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, UM, OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE. 
          UM, AND WE DO, WE DO HAVE A PLAN. 
          THE CITY DID DEVELOP A, UM, A, A A STUDY, UM, LOOKING AT OUR NEEDS AND, UH, GEOGRAPHICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          BUT THIS, IT ALSO IS GONNA REQUIRE A, A, A REGIONAL APPROACH AS WELL AS A SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT COLLABORATION. 
          SO THIS IS GONNA BE A, A HUGE PRIORITY. 
          AND THE REASON, AGAIN, GETTING BACK TO WHY THIS IS ALSO IMPORTANT IS, AND I HAD MENTIONED AT AT THE LAST A SESSION, IS EV OWNERSHIP IS, IS THROUGH THE ROOF. 
          UH, IT, IT'S, IT'S CONTINUING TO INCREASE. 
          AND ON A CALL TODAY WITH C P S, WE ASKED FOR AN UPDATE OF THAT, THAT NUMBER OF PROJECTED EVS, UM, BY 2030. 
          AND, UH, AGAIN, IT DEPENDS UPON CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S IN PLACE THAT'S GONNA DRIVE THIS, BUT THE, THE NUMBER IS POTENTIALLY UP TO 80,000 BY 2030. 
          SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE WE NEED TO GET THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE TO SUPPORT WHAT THE MARKET IS GOING TO REQUIRE. 
          UM, I'M SORRY, BEFORE YOU MOVE ON, COULD YOU REPEAT THOSE DOLLAR FIGURES AGAIN COMING TO TEXAS? YES, MA'AM. 
          SO, UM, FOR THE HIGH SPEED CHARGING, UH, ACROSS THE ALTERNATIVE FUEL CORRIDOR, UM, I, 10, I 35, ET CETERA, IS $408 MILLION. 
          AND THAT'S FAIRLY IMMINENT, CORRECT, JULIE? I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S A, THAT'S AN IMMEDIATE PRIORITY. 
          AND THEN, UM, I BELIEVE, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, LIKE FOUR MONTHS AFTER THAT, UM, POTENTIALLY, UH, IT'S ANOTHER $204 MILLION FOR TEXAS, WHICH IS FOR MORE LOCAL INSTALLATIONS. 
          AND MAY I, THE PAUSE THERE, AND JULIE, ANY OTHER THING YOU WANT TO ADD ON THAT OR COME UP TO THE YEAH, IF YOU COULD TELL US ABOUT THAT AND ALSO SEND US A, AS PART OF THE FOLLOW UP, I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. 
          WE, WE DIDN'T GET TO THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL WHEN WE HAD OUR LAST B SESSION ON, UM, ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YES. 
          THE FIRST POT OF MONEY, THE 408 MILLION APPROXIMATELY COMING TO TEXAS OUT OF THAT 5 BILLION POT, UM, WILL BE, UH, ADMINISTERED THROUGH TXDOT. 
          AND TXDOT WILL BE PUTTING TOGETHER THEIR STATEWIDE PLAN FOR THOSE HIGH, UH, FOR THE HIGH SPEED, UM, CHARGING ON ALTERNATIVE FUEL CORRIDORS, WHICH RIGHT NOW OUR IH 10, I 35, I 20, I THINK, AND I 45, ONCE THOSE ARE ACCOMPLISHED, AND THEY'RE PLANNING ON PUTTING CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE AT APPROXIMATELY EVERY 50 MILES, UM, THEN, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON HOW FAR THE FUNDING WILL GO, ADDITIONAL CORRIDORS WILL BE ANALYZED FOR THOSE HIGH SPEED, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS. 
          TXDOT HAS ALREADY STARTED TO FORMULATE A STATEWIDE PLAN, BUT THEY HAVE TO FINALIZE IT AND SEND IT TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BY AUGUST. 
          THEN, AS DOUG MENTIONED, THAT SECOND POT OF MONEY, WHICH IS MUCH SMALLER, BUT IT WILL BE FOR DISCRETIONARY GRANTS, UM, LIKELY TO KIND OF FILL IN THE BLANKS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND THE GRANTS ARE MADE TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OR TO TXDOT WITH A SMALLER AMOUNT. 
          THE GRANTS WILL BE MOST LIKELY COMING THROUGH TDOT THROUGH THE M P O OR ACOG, PERHAPS THEY WILL BE, UM, COMPETITIVE, LIKELY, AND THEY WILL BE BASED, THEY COULD BE PUBLIC, PRIVATE. 
          UM, ANYBODY. 
          THANK YOU, JULIA. 
          THANK YOU, DOUG. 
          IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, IS IT AN 80 20 SPLIT? UM, SO A, A 20% MATCH REQUIRED FOR THOSE? UM, I WON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THIS. 
          UM, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE RAMPING UP OUR EDUCATION AND OUTREACH EFFORTS, AGAIN USING, UM, CMAC FUNDS. 
          UH, VERY THANKFUL FOR YOU ALL FOR APPROVING THIS. 
          UH, IT'S, IT IS A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY, $30,000 A YEAR, BUT WE THINK IT CAN REALLY LEVERAGE, UH, THE WORK ALREADY GOING ON. 
          BUT IT REALLY COVERS, YOU KNOW, PROMOTING THE IMPORTANCE AND THE BENEFIT OF, OF, UH, ELECTRIC MOBILITY, UM, THE AIRS, QUALITY SAVINGS, MAKING PEOPLE AWARE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT REBATES, PARTICULARLY NOW THERE'S ALL THIS, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER INCENTIVE THAT'S GONNA BE COMING, I BELIEVE IS, UH, THE, THE EV UH, INCENTIVE FOR, UM, PURCHASING A AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE IS GONNA GO UP TO $12,500 FOR CERTAIN VEHICLES. 
          SO, AGAIN, MAKING SURE OUR COMMUNITY'S AWARE OF THIS, UM, WE'RE ALSO FOCUSING ON TRAININGS TO EMPLOYEES HOLDING COMMUNITY EVENTS. 
          AND, AND FINALLY, AGAIN, REALLY LOOKING AT POLICY, UH, HOW DO WE REALLY MOVE THESE, THESE PROGRAMS FORWARD? UM, SO IN TERMS OF PUBLIC CHARGING, THIS IS, WE WE'RE ALSO REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS. 
          UM, WE HAVE THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH, WITH BLINK, 
          [00:45:01]
UH, THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR, FOR QUITE ITS TIME, QUITE A TIME RIGHT NOW, QUITE LEVERAGING, UH, THE, THE, THE VW SETTLEMENT DOLLARS THAT THE STATE HAS BEEN ADMINISTERING TO HELP OFFSET SOME OF THE COSTS, UM, FOR, FOR BLINK TO INSTALL THESE. 
          BUT YOU CAN SEE CURRENTLY WE HAVE IN PROGRESS, THE, THE GOAL WILL BE 50 PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE CHARGING STATIONS USING CITY OWNED FACILITIES. 
          THOSE COULD BE LIBRARIES, UM, PARKS, UM, UM, UH, AIRPORTS CONVENTION. 
          UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE FINALIZING PUR SOUL PARK, UH, CARVER COMMUNITY CENTER AND, AND, UH, OUR MAR MARTINEZ STREET LOT, AND YOU CAN SEE THE COMPLETED ONES ALREADY. 
          UM, SAN ANTONIO ZOO, AND THEN THESE OTHER GARAGES, UM, WE HAD THO THEY'RE TEMPORARY AND WILL BE UPDATED. 
          UM, THOSE WERE EXISTING, UH, CHARGEPOINT CHARGERS OWNS, UH, AND MAINTAINED BY C P SS BLINK, WENT IN AND REPLACED THEM WITH, UH, SINGLE, UM, PORT UNITS. 
          BUT WE'LL BE GOING BACK AND, AND UPDATING THOSE WITH DUAL PORT, UM, ONCE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN PLACE. 
          AND, LET'S SEE. 
          AND SO HERE'S A HIGH LEVEL MAP OF THE PROPOSED DISTRIBUTION. 
          AGAIN, REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE GETTING A, A GOOD GEO GEOGRAPHIC SPREAD. 
          UM, THE OTHER THING, AND I HAD MENTIONED IT AT A SESSION, REALLY IS THE, THE EQUITY COMPONENT. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT HAVING THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE OUT THERE. 
          UH, WE REALLY NEED TO, TO WORK WITH DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS TO UNDERSTAND, UM, AND I THINK WE KNOW THESE, BUT THE BARRIERS TO EV OWNERSHIP FOR SOME OF OUR, OUR RESIDENTS AND FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE, UM, OFFSET INCENTIVIZE. 
          UM, THERE'S A LOT OF CREATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT CITIES ARE LOOKING AT, AND WE SHOULD BE LOOKING IN THAT AS WELL. 
          THEY SHOULD NOT SIMPLY BE, UH, IF YOU ARE, UM, UH, WEALTHY AND CAN AFFORD IT, UH, YOU'RE GONNA BENEFIT FROM IT. 
          UM, THERE ARE OTHER BENEFITS. 
          IT DOES IMPROVE AIR QUALITY. 
          THERE'S, YOU KNOW, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES. 
          BUT REALLY WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, WE WANT TO HAVE ALL OUR RESIDENTS BEING ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THIS TRANSITION. 
          AND WITH THAT, UM, I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU, DOUG. 
          I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE I'M ON THE RIGHT THING. 
          UH, NOBODY'S IN THE QUEUE, BUT OF COURSE WE WILL TAKE, UH, ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE. 
          BUT FIRST, I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE CLARIFY SOMETHING. 
          UH, YOU TALKED ABOUT BENCHMARKING, UM, AND, UH, I KNOW YOU TALKED ABOUT ALL THE REASONS AND, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALL, THEY'RE ALL VALID, GREAT REASONS FOR DOING IT, BUT THE ONLY THING WE'RE CONSIDERING IN THIS ORDINANCE IS REPORTING YES. 
          NOT ANY ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS. 
          YEAH. 
          SIMPLY, SIMPLY REPORTING. 
          THERE, THERE WILL BE. 
          SO THE, THE, THE, AND I THINK ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE FACE IS THIS SPACE IS EVOLVING VERY QUICKLY. 
          I THINK LOTS OF OTHER CITIES ARE DOING SOME VERY ADVANCED THINGS. 
          THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. 
          WE'RE SIMPLY, IT'S MAKING SURE OUR PROPERTY OWNERS UNDERSTAND THEIR ENERGY USAGE. 
          THERE IS THAT REPORTING PART. 
          UM, BECAUSE THAT DATA CAN HELP US AND C P SS MAKE BETTER DECISION MAKING WITH OUR RESOURCES, IT ALSO PROVIDES INFORMATION TO THE MARKETPLACE, UM, PARTICULARLY ON THAT MULTI-FAMILY AFFORDABLE HOUSING SIDE. 
          YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT HOW, HOW EFFICIENT DIFFERENT HOUSING UNITS ARE MIGHT HELP ME DECIDE WHERE DO I WANT TO, TO RENT. 
          BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S, IT'S YOUR PROPERTY. 
          UM, WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE YOU DO ANYTHING. 
          BUT WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE, THAT THERE ARE INCENTIVES FROM C P S, THERE IS PACE FINANCING, AND UNDERSTAND WHAT OTHER NEEDS A PROPERTY. 
          YOU KNOW, PROPERTY OWNER MAY, MAY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN IMPROVE THIS BUILDING. 
          THIS IS DEFINITELY A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN US AND, AND THE PROPERTY OWNER. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WHAT, WHAT MAKES ME A LITTLE BIT NERVOUS ABOUT WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN IMPROVE. 
          AND WHEN YOU SAY, MAKE, THAT'S NOT, THAT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE GONNA MAKE YOU DO IT, THAT'S NOT CORRECT. 
          THAT'S, THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT, SO THAT THEY HAVE THE OPTION  SO THAT THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES TO, UM, TAKE ACTION IF THEY SEE FIT. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S THAT I MISSPOKE. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          WE'LL START WITH COUNCILWOMAN, UH, CASTILLO. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU DOUG, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          AND, UH, COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL FOR LEADING THIS INITIATIVE TO ENSURE THAT, UH, WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE BENCHMARKING POLICY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. 
          UM, OUR DISTRICT FIVE STAFF ATTENDED TUESDAY'S MEETING, UM, SO THAT WAY WE CAN LEARN FROM THE DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES TO ENSURE THAT A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY CONTINUES TO MOVE FORWARD. 
          UM, I WAS PLEASED TO LEARN THAT THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING AUTHORITY WAS PRESENT TO GIVE SOME INPUT. 
          UH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT OFTENTIMES, UH, MULTI-FAMILY, UH, MANAGERS OFTENTIMES, UH, MAY CITE THAT IT'S DIFFICULT TO BENCHMARK. 
          SO IT'S INTERESTING TO HAVE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR THAT PERSPECTIVE, UM, FROM LARGE DEVELOPMENTS AND HOW, UM, THERE MAY OR MAY NOT, UH, BE BARRIERS WITH BENCHMARKING. 
          UM, BUT, UH, AND, AND I, I GUESS THIS IS JUST A GENERAL QUESTION. 
          UH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, UM, UH, THE PURCHASING OF E-BIKES HAS OUTPACED, UH, UH, ELECTRIC VEHICLES. 
          IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CHARGING DOCK FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND E-BIKES, OR, I WOULD THINK, I, I DON'T, I'M GONNA DEFER OVER HERE, BUT I THINK YES, 
          [00:50:01]
RIGHT? THERE'S, YOU JUST PLUG 'EM IN. 
          IT'S THE SAME. 
          SO I GUESS APPARENTLY YOU CAN CHARGE IT. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S GREAT. 
          UM, I, I DON'T HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, UH, BUT GREAT WORK. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU, UH, COUNCILWOMAN. 
          AND JUST ALSO WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT, UH, WE DO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM C P S WITH US WHO'S BEEN, UH, WORKING ON, UH, CLIMATE ISSUES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES WITH US SINCE, UH, THE VERY, WELL, AT LEAST SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE. 
          SO ANGELA, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN BEING HERE. 
          OKAY. 
          COUNCILMAN BRAVO, DOUG. 
          IN JUNE OF 2017, THAT'S WHEN CITY COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION TO MEET THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, UH, GOALS HERE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. 
          AND WE SET SOME EXPECTATIONS. 
          AND I DON'T THINK WE'VE MET THOSE EXPECTATIONS. 
          I THINK THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE ENOUGH TO, TO, TO START REDUCING EMISSIONS. 
          AND I, I'M APPRECIATIVE OF THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE. 
          UM, BUT LAST NIGHT I WAS HANGING OUT WITH GONE GOLAN GONE IS, UH, AN ARTIST. 
          HE'S ALSO, UM, HE'S GOT DEGREES FROM THE HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS FROM M I T FROM BERKELEY, AND HE'S THE CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER BEHIND THE US CLIMATE CLOCK IN NEW YORK. 
          NEW YORK. 
          HERE'S A PICTURE OF IT RIGHT HERE. 
          AND THEY ARE COUNTING DOWN HOW MUCH TIME WE HAVE LEFT UNTIL WE'VE, WE ARE, WE, WE'VE HEATED UP BY 1.5 DEGREES CELSIUS, AND WE'RE RUNNING OUTTA TIME. 
          AND WHEN I TALK TO MY YOUNGER CONSTITUENTS, THEY DON'T WANT US TO WAIT. 
          THEY WANT TO SEE MORE ACTION, THEY WANT TO SEE IT SOONER. 
          AND SO I'M GLAD THAT, UH, WE'RE DOING THIS BENCHMARKING. 
          UM, BUT BENCHMARKING IS JUST THE FIRST STEP, RIGHT? AND THEN PEOPLE NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT, WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY'RE BUILDING STANDS AND START, UH, IMPLEMENTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES. 
          UM, AND SO I WANT US TO FAST TRACK THAT. 
          I WANT US TO FAST TRACK THIS R F P, UM, DAVID MCCARRY. 
          WHAT'S IT GONNA TAKE TO GET THAT R F P OUT NEXT MONTH? ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE ALWAYS WANNA DO IS TO ANALYZE WHAT SHOULD ALL GO INTO THE R F P AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS. 
          UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BENCHMARKING QUITE NATURALLY, WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, WE HAVE SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY LEADERS IN SOME OF THESE BUILDINGS THAT JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GENERATING. 
          SO I THINK IT'S FIRST STEP FOR US TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND EXACTLY HOW MUCH ENERGY THEY'RE GENERATING YEAH. 
          SO THAT THEY CAN LEARN FROM IT. 
          WELL, ON THAT SOLAR, ON THAT SOLAR R F P, I MEAN, I, I, I THINK, I MEAN, WE CAN JUST PUT IT OUT TO THE MARKET AND LET THE MARKET TELL US WHAT THE SOLUTIONS ARE AND PUT, PUT ALL THE WORK IN THEIR LAP. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE CAN GET THAT OUT THE DOOR SOONER. 
          I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT, THAT GET OUT THE DOOR SOONER. 
          AND, AND YOU, YOU MENTIONED, UH, REQUESTING COST NEUTRAL OPTIONS. 
          WELL, WHAT IF, WHAT IF THEY'RE NOT COST NEUTRAL? WHAT IF THERE'S COST SAVINGS MM-HMM. 
          , AND IF THERE IS COST SAVINGS, I WANT TO EARMARK THOSE SAVINGS. 
          I WANNA LOCK THEM IN. 
          SO IF WE'RE SAVING A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR IN ENERGY FROM MUNICIPAL, UH, ACTIVITIES, I WANT THAT LOCKED IN AND USE THAT MONEY AS FUNDING TO, TO FUND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR CLIMATE PLAN AND FUND THESE ACTIVITIES. 
          UM, WHAT I CAN SAY, COUNCILMAN, I'D BE HAPPY TO, TO SIT, SIT DOWN AND VISIT WITH YOU AND GO OVER THE TIMELINE. 
          UM, THE KEY TO GETTING THE R F P OUT IN ORDER, AGAIN, THIS IS IN CONSULTATION WITH, WITH R M I, IN ORDER TO GET THOSE SUCCESSFUL RESPONSES, WE NEED TO DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE ON THE BACK END TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT, UM, THEY'RE GONNA NEED TO FEEL COMFORTABLE RESPONDING. 
          AND SO THAT'S THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH NOW IS ASSESSING WHAT'S THE CA WHAT'S THE SOLAR POTENTIAL DOING SITE EVALUATIONS OF THE ROOFS. 
          WE NEED TO DO SOME WORK FIRST, BUT WE, I'D BE HAPPY TO TOUCH BASE AND SEE WHERE WE CAN TRY TO EXPEDITE IT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          WELL, IF I NEED TO HARASS PEOPLE AT R M I, I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT. 
          OTHERWISE, I'M GONNA BE HARASSING YOUR OFFICE AND DAVID OVER HERE. 
          'CAUSE I, I WANNA GET THAT OUT THE DOOR. 
          I, I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE A HUGE WIN FOR OUR CITY. 
          AND I LOVE THINGS THAT PUT SAN ANTONIO ON THE MAP. 
          I THINK THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO PUT SAN ANTONIO ON THE MAP AND TO START REDUCING OUR EMISSIONS. 
          SO, YEAH, COUNCILMAN, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE SHARED WITH DOUG, AND I WANT THEM TO BE VERY STRATEGIC AND ACCURATE IN THEIR ASSESSMENTS. 
          WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT THESE 50 DIFFERENT PROPERTIES FOR SOLAR, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THEY KNOW EXACTLY ITS FULL POTENTIAL. 
          SO THAT WHEN WE DO HAVE THOSE RFPS THAT HAVE HIT THE STREETS, THEN THOSE THAT ARE RESPONDING CAN ACTUALLY GO TO THAT SITE AND KNOW EXACTLY WHAT ITS FULLEST POTENTIAL WOULD BE. 
          SO I WANNA MAKE CERTAIN THAT CITY STAFF HAS IT RIGHT BEFORE WE PUT IT OUT THERE, AND WE STILL HAVE A LITTLE WAYS TO GO. 
          IT WOULD BE NICE TO DO THIS  OVERNIGHT IN THE NEXT 30 DAYS AS YOU WOULD ASK FOR, BUT I JUST WANT THEM TO, TO BE REALISTIC AND SHARE WITH, 
          [00:55:01]
UH, YOU AS THEY GO TO ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, SO THAT WE'LL KNOW WHAT TO BE EXPECTED. 
          SURE. 
          AND, AND THERE MAY BE THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T EVEN THOUGHT OF. 
          RIGHT? THERE'S OTHER SITES THAT ARE GREAT CANDIDATES AND WE DIDN'T REALIZE IT. 
          I'VE TALKED TO SOME OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AND THEY SAY, YOU KNOW, I WANNA PAY, I WANT TO DO THIS PROJECT IN THE BOND, AND WE'RE GONNA SPEND A LOT OF MONEY AND WE'RE GONNA BUILD A SHADE STRUCTURE OVER THIS BASKETBALL COURT OUTSIDE. 
          AND I SAY, DON'T DO IT. 
          DON'T DO IT. 
          BECAUSE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO IT FOR FREE WITH SOLAR PANELS, YOU KNOW, IF WE GET THIS R F P OUT, AND THEN IT'S, IT'S ONE, IT'S NOT GONNA COST YOU ANYTHING OUTTA THE BOND. 
          AND TWO, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA PAY FOR ITSELF WITH ALL THE ENERGY IT PRODUCES. 
          AND TWO, UM, IT'S GONNA REDUCE OUR EMISSIONS. 
          THANK, THANK YOU. 
          SO THERE, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE MAY NOT BE AWARE OF AND WE SHOULD LEAVE IT OPEN-ENDED IN SOME WAYS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, UNFORTUNATELY, SOMETHING WILL HAVE TO BE ON THE BOND BALLOT, SO I, UM, YOU CAN'T ASK FOR AN OPEN-ENDED VOTE AT THE, AT THE BALLOT BOX. 
          I WILL SAY, I, I DID ASK DOUG FOR THE LIST OF ALL THE FACILITIES AND BUILDINGS THAT WERE GOING TO BE CONSIDERED FOR SOLAR, AND I WAS, THERE WAS TOO MANY TO LOOK THROUGH. 
          DOUG, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          I THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE A SHORT LIST. 
          THERE'S, BUT IT WAS OVER 6,000 ENTRIES, I BELIEVE, OF THINGS THAT THE CITY OWNS, UM, INCLUDING PARKING LOTS, UH, OPEN SPACES THAT ARE, THAT CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE A ROOF. 
          UM, AND THANK YOU FOR MAKING YOURSELF, YOURSELF AVAILABLE FOR, FOR MORE QUESTIONS. 
          UH, COUNCILWOMAN VRAN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I'M GONNA START WITH THE R F P PROCESS BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY AS WE GO SOLAR TO LOOK AT THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES TO LOOK AT, UH, SWIM BEE AND THE SMALL WOMEN BUSINESSES. 
          SO I WANT US TO TAKE OUR TIME IN THIS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO THIS RIGHT AND WE INCLUDE, UM, THE RIGHT BUSINESSES. 
          UH, WHAT I DON'T WANNA SEE, AND I'LL SAY THAT FROM THE DAIS HERE, IS MY TOP THREE BEING FROM, UM, CALIFORNIA. 
          SO, OR CHICAGO. 
          AND THE LIST CAN GO ON AND ON, BUT I'LL JUST STOP THERE. 
          AND I CAN JUST ADD, WHEN, WHEN WE ARE DRAFTING THE R F P, THOSE ARE THE VALUE PROPOSITIONS WE WANT TO BUILD IN THAT, THAT THAT'S, THAT'S THE BENEFIT OF TRYING TO DEVELOP LOCAL SOLAR AS OPPOSED TO SOMETHING IN WEST TEXAS. 
          AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE, WE CAPITALIZE ON THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, UH, AND I FIGURED YOU HAD THAT IN YOUR PRIORITY, BUT I JUST WANTED TO, TO PUT IT OUT THERE. 
          WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BENCH, UH, MARKING ORDINANCE, UM, THE ONE THING I'VE HEARD FROM OTHER PEOPLE IS THE, THAT TRANSPARENCY OR PUBLIC DISCLOSURE MM-HMM. 
          , BECAUSE SOMETIMES WHAT, SOMETIMES THEY DON'T WANT THEIR COMPETITORS TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE CITY OR HOW MUCH ENERGY IS BEING USED. 
          SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION? SO THERE'S, UM, QUITE A FEW WAYS THAT, AND EVERY CITY APPROACHES IT SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S WHY THE, THE, THIS NEXT MEETING'S GONNA BE SO IMPORTANT. 
          UM, SOME CITIES HAVE CREATED, UM, EXEMPTIONS IF SOMETHING IS A, UM, A TRADE SECRETS, UM, IT CAN BE EXEMPTED. 
          SOME CITIES HAVE, UM, A, UH, BUILT IN A, SEE THE KEY, THE KEY TO THE BENCHMARKING PROGRAM IS THERE NEEDS TO BE, UM, SOME DATA AVAILABLE FOR VERIFICATION PURPOSES, UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DATA THAT WE'RE GETTING AND WHAT THE PROPERTY OWNERS ARE GETTING IS ACCURATE. 
          SO I THINK THE KEY IS THERE NEEDS TO BE, UM, OPTIONS BUILT INTO IT WHERE, YES, THERE'S MINIMUM DATA THAT WE NEED, BUT THIS IS GONNA BE THE BIG NUT. 
          HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT IT DOESN'T GET OUT? AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S THE BIG CONVERSATION THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ENGAGING WITH OUR ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. 
          AND YEAH. 
          MAY, MAY I JUMP IN AND I I WILL SEED YOU BACK YOUR TIME IF, IF YOU NEED IT. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, COUNCILMAN, BUT I, I DO WANNA BE FRANK. 
          WHAT YOU'VE HEARD IS A CONCERN THAT I'VE HEARD TOO FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY. 
          AND IT'S REALLY STOPPED SOME, UH, SOME BUSINESS MEMBERS IN THEIR TRACKS ABOUT, UH, COMING FORWARD ON THIS. 
          I HAVE MET WITH A NUMBER OF THEM. 
          UM, I AM SCHEDULED TO MEET WITH, UH, C P S AS WELL, AND HOPEFULLY SOME OF THE VENDORS THAT WE MIGHT BE USING FOR THIS SYSTEM. 
          AND I AM GOING TO TRY TO DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT PRIVACY IS PROTECTED AND THAT THE PARTICIPANTS FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THIS BEFORE, BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD. 
          WE DO NOT WANT THIS TO BE A SAUCE WATER WASTER, UH, SORT OF FRONT PAGE, UH, STORY. 
          THAT'S REALLY NOT THE GOAL AT ALL. 
          SO I APPRECIATE YOU, YOU BRINGING THAT UP. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, AND THEN, UH, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE, UH, WHEN WE START THIS PROCESS, BECAUSE WE'RE STILL IN THE MIDST OF THE PANDEMIC, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE STILL MM-HMM. 
          , UM, WORKING REMOTELY. 
          HOW ARE WE GOING TO GAUGE AND I, AND I'LL JUST USE OUR OWN, UH, BUILDING ACROSS THE, THE CIVIC TOWER THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, IF WE, IF WE DID A STUDY, WE WOULD SEE THAT IT MAYBE NOT HAS ENOUGH PEOPLE. 
          'CAUSE SOME 
          [01:00:01]
PEOPLE ARE WORKING REMOTELY. 
          AND THEN WOULD THEY DO THIS ANNUALLY AND NEXT YEAR WE SEE A BIG SPIKE AND WE YEAH. 
          SO IT, IT IS, IT IS, UM, IT WOULD BE AN ANNUAL REPORT. 
          THE WAY THE TOOL WORKS IS, UM, IF THERE'S, IT ALLOWS YOU TO CUSTOMIZE IT. 
          SO IF YOUR BUILDING HAD BEEN, UM, HAD REDUCED OCCUPANCY OR HAD BEEN, HAD, HADN'T HAD ANY OCCUPANCY, ONE CITY'S BUILD IN, UH, EXEMPTIONS. 
          SO IF YOUR BUILDING IS 50% VACANT, THEN YOU DON'T NEED, YOU GET AN EXEMPTION THAT YEAR. 
          OR, UM, THROUGH THE TOOL ITSELF, YOU ADJUST AND THE TOOL TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THAT, OH, THE OCCUPANCY WAS REDUCED COMPARED TO THIS YEAR. 
          AND IT BASICALLY MAKES SURE IT TAKES IT INTO ACCOUNT. 
          SO YOU'RE NOT GETTING FAULTY SCORES, COMPARING APPLES TO ORANGES. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THIS TELEWORKING IS GOING TO BE THE TREND, SO WE MIGHT SEE A PUSH. 
          UM, AND THEN THOSE ARE THE ONLY REAL QUESTIONS I HAVE. 
          I THINK, UH, I, I'M INTERESTED TO SEE HOW THE COMMITTEE WORKS AND FOR YOU TO COMING BACK AND GETTING US, UH, ALL THE INFORMATION THAT THE STAKEHOLDERS AND, UM, THIS, THE SUBCOMMITTEE WORKS ON. 
          SO THANK YOU, DOUG. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DOUG. 
          I THINK I HAD, UH, SOMETHING ELSE TO GO BACK TO. 
          IF YOU GIVE ME A SECOND REAL QUICK, I, WELL, I WILL HAVE TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON IT. 
          UM, BUT YES, WE LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EV IN THE, IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL AND, UH, HOW ELSE WE CAN, WE CAN SUPPORT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, GREAT JOB AT YOUR BENCHMARKING COMMITTEE MEETING, UH, LAST TIME. 
          UH, I, I DO WANNA SAY, UH, I THINK MY STAFF INVITED, UH, STAFF MEMBERS FROM ALL THE, FROM ALL THE OFFICES. 
          IF YOU WANT TO, UH, JUST COME IN, OBSERVE HOW, HOW THAT DIALOGUE IS GOING. 
          I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY FRUITFUL. 
          UH, AND WE'RE REALLY, UH, WELL ON OUR WAY. 
          SO THANK YOU AGAIN. 
          THANK YOU ALL. 
          THANKS, SHARON. 
          CHIMED IN A SECOND TIME. 
          SORRY. 
          PROBLEM. 
          I JUST DID THAT. 
          UM, DOUG, I'VE SEEN THE NUMBERS AND I THINK THAT WE ARE LOSING MONEY EVERY DAY DAY THAT WE DON'T GET THAT R F P OUT AND START GETTING THESE, THESE RENEWABLES BUILT OUT. 
          I THINK THERE'S LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES. 
          I REALLY WANT, I MEAN, IF WE HAVE 6,000 PROPERTIES AND WE'RE PUTTING 50 ON THERE, I THINK WE NEED TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE HAVE, MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW HOW, WHAT, WHAT THE RIGHT WAY OF DOING THAT IS, BUT I NEED, WE NEED TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THERE ARE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE DIDN'T PUT OUT THERE, AND THAT WE'RE OPEN TO CREATIVE SUGGESTIONS ON HOW THEY CAN BE USED AND WHERE THERE MORE PLACES WHERE THIS COULD BE IMPLEMENTED. 
          UM, AND I WANNA GET THAT R F P OUT THE DOOR. 
          OKAY. 
          WE'LL SET UP A TIME TO, TO VISIT, UH, THIS NEXT WEEK AND, AND TOUCH BASE WITH YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, GREAT. 
          AND NOW WE'RE ON TO OUR, UH, LAST ITEM. 
          AND I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF THE LIBRARY COMING TO, TO VISIT US, EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE IN OUR CHARGE. 
          UM, I'M REALLY GLAD TO HAVE YOU, RAMIRO. 
          YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T JUST HAVE TO BE WHEN PEOPLE ARE BANNING BOOKS THAT YOU COME TO SEE US. 
          SO, UH, ANYTIME. 
          WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION. 
          MM-HMM. 
          , UH, MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, MR. MCCAREY. 
          UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          SO AGAIN, LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF SINCE THIS IS MY FIRST APPEARANCE IN THIS, UH, THIS COMMITTEE. 
          UH, SO RAMIRO AZAR, THE DIRECTOR OF THE SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
          SO TODAY I'M GOING TO PROVIDE YOU A VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE MISSION OF THE SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
          AND THEN I'M GONNA TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT, UM, THE WHOLE POINT IS ACCESS. 
          HOW DO WE PROTECT ACCESS TO OUR RESOURCES? SO I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT AND WHAT WE'RE DOING, UH, TO PROTECT, UH, OUR RIGHT TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE RESOURCES AND MATERIALS AND PROGRAMS OF THE LIBRARY SYSTEM. 
          SO, I'LL START WITH OUR, OUR MISSION, SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 
          OUR MISSION IS TO CHANGE LIVES THROUGH THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF INFORMATION, IMAGINATION, AND IDEAS. 
          SO EVERYTHING WE DO IS TO TRANSFORM AND CHANGE LIVES IN, IN A POSITIVE WAY. 
          SO, FIRST OF ALL, THE LIBRARY SYSTEM HAS A LARGE FOOTPRINT IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          WE HAVE 28, UH, BRANCH LIBRARIES. 
          WE HAVE THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, AND WE HAVE A SMALL PORTAL AT THE, UH, BRISCOE MUSEUM. 
          THAT BUILDING IS OWNED BY THE CITY AND THE LIBRARY, UH, WE LEASED IT OUT TO, TO THE WESTERN ART MUSEUM, UH, ASSOCIATION. 
          SO WE HAVE A LARGE FOOTPRINT IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          UH, WE HAVE A LIBRARY MOST, ALMOST IN EVERY COMMUNITY. 
          NOT IN EVERY COMMUNITY, BUT, UH, THAT'S OUR GOAL TO BE, TO HAVE A PRESENCE IN EVERY, EVERY COMMUNITY. 
          UM, THE LIBRARY POSSESSES OVER 2 MILLION ITEMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO BE BORROWED BY OUR PUBLIC, UH, PROGRAMS FOR ALL. 
          AND WE PURPOSELY USE 
          [01:05:01]
THE WORD ALL. 
          SO IT DOESN'T ONLY MEAN, UH, PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN, FOR TEENS, FOR ADULTS, FOR SENIORS, UH, BUT ALSO FOR OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY AS WELL. 
          SO, AGAIN, WE WANT TO BE INCLUSIVE IN OUR EFFORTS TO SERVE. 
          I'M VERY PROUD OF OUR STAFF. 
          THEY'RE VERY CREATIVE. 
          THEY'RE VERY INNOVATIVE. 
          THEY ADAPT TO SITUATIONS. 
          AND I'LL TALK BRIEFLY LATER ABOUT HOW THE LIBRARY ADAPTED TO THE PANDEMIC. 
          AND, UM, OF COURSE, THE LIBRARY PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN ADVANCING VARIOUS IMPORTANT GOALS TO THE CITY. 
          UH, SUPPORTING EDUCATION, UH, ADVANCING LITERACY, UH, ADVANCING DIGITAL INCLUSION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO WHAT WE CAN DO TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND ACCESS TO WIFI. 
          UM, AND ALSO WE PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT. 
          MANY OF OUR LIBRARIES HAVE NOT ALL PLAYED, UH, SERVE AS VOTING LOCATIONS. 
          UH, ALL OF OUR LIBRARIES, AND THAT'S BY STATE, UH, STATUTE SERVE AS OFFICIAL VOTER REGISTRATION SITES. 
          AND THAT'S A ROLE THAT WE TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY. 
          WE PROMOTE VOTING. 
          UH, THE LIBRARY SYSTEM PROMOTES VOTING. 
          WE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO VOTE WHEN THEY CHECK OUT BOOKS. 
          SO THAT'S ANOTHER IMPORTANT, UH, ROLE THAT THE LIBRARY PLAYS. 
          CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, OF COURSE, WE PROVIDE SPACES FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, UH, TO DISCUSS ISSUES THAT ARE, UM, OF INTEREST TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          UH, WE INVITE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO UTILIZE OUR LIBRARIES FOR MANY IN VARIOUS PURPOSES. 
          SO INITIALLY, I TALKED EARLY, I TALKED ABOUT BARRIERS TO ACCESS. 
          THE WHOLE FOCUS AGAIN IS ACCESS. 
          SO WE HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF RESOURCES, THE LIBRARY SYSTEM. 
          UM, SO OUR GOAL, THE LIBRARY'S GOAL IS HOW CAN WE FACILITATE ACCESS TO, TO THOSE RESOURCES? UH, WE CANNOT ASSUME JUST BECAUSE THE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE. 
          OUR SHELVES, UH, HAVE BOOKS THAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA COME AND USE IT. 
          AND SO WHAT WE HAVE BEEN REALLY FOCUSING, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO FOCUS AS WE DEVELOP, IS STRATEGIC PLAN, IS HOW DO WE REMOVE BARRIERS TO ACCESS? AND SO FOR STARTERS, AND THANK YOU FOR, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL, WE SAY ARE THOSE TWO FINES. 
          WE NO LONGER, UM, HAVE FINES FOR PEOPLE THAT RETURN ITEMS THAT, THAT ARE LATE, BECAUSE WE UNDERSTOOD, UM, THAT THAT WAS A BARRIER TO ACCESS. 
          FOR MANY FAMILIES OWING A DOLLAR OR $5, THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE STRUGGLING TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE. 
          SO WE WORKED VERY HARD WITH CITY MANAGEMENT, AND THROUGH YOUR SUPPORT, WE WERE ABLE TO ELIMINATE FINES. 
          AND NOW FOLKS ARE COMING BACK. 
          THOSE THAT STAYED AWAY BECAUSE THEY WERE AFRAID WANT TO USE THE LIBRARY BECAUSE THEY WERE AFRAID OF OCCURRING A FINE. 
          AND SOME WHO HAD ALREADY HAD A FINE, THEY WERE AFRAID TO COME BACK BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO PAY FOR THE FINE. 
          AND SO WE'RE WORKING TO INVITE THOSE FOLKS BACK AS WELL. 
          SO, ENVISIONING THE FUTURE, AS YOU KNOW, THE PANDEMIC REALLY IMPACTED US IN MANY, MANY WAYS. 
          NOT ONLY PERSONALLY FOR MANY, FOR MANY OF US, BUT OPERATIONALLY. 
          UM, I'M, AGAIN, I INDICATED EARLIER I'M PROUD OF THE EFFORTS OF OUR LIBRARY TEAM. 
          UH, THE LIBRARY, LIBRARY TEAM QUICKLY PIVOTED WHEN WE HAD TO CLOSE OUR DOORS BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC. 
          WE STARTED FOCUSING ON VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING. 
          WE ALSO FOCUSED ON PROMOTING OUR DIGITAL LIBRARY LIBRARY, WHICH IS AN EXTENSIVE RESOURCE OF EBOOKS, DOWNLOADABLE BOOKS, UM, DOWNLOADABLE MUSIC, DOWNLOADABLE MAGAZINES. 
          SO WE FO REALLY FOCUS ON, ON PROMOTING ACCESS TO OUR DIGITAL COLLECTIONS. 
          AND AGAIN, AS I INDICATED EARLIER, UM, ACCESS TO, UM, PROVIDING VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING. 
          AND THE OTHER PART THAT WE DID IS WE WORK WITH I T S D TO EXPAND THE WIFI SIGNAL IN OUR LIBRARIES AND INVITED PEOPLE TO COME TO OUR LIBRARIES TO PARK IN THE PARKING LOT AND ACCESS THE INTERNET. 
          UH, SO THAT'S ANOTHER WAY WE, WE WERE, WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, TO RESPOND BECAUSE WE KNEW, AND THE, THE PANDEMIC SHOWED US THAT ACCESS TO THE INTERNET IS NOT READILY AVAILABLE TO EVERY COMMUNITY. 
          MANY HOUSEHOLDS DO NOT HAVE EVEN TODAY, ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET. 
          AND AS, YOU KNOW, SCHOOLS TURN TO DISTANT LEARNING. 
          UM, BUT WITHOUT HAVING WIFI OR ACCESS TO HIGH SPEED INTERNET AT HOME, IT WAS DIFFICULT TO PARTICIPATE IN DISTANT LEARNING. 
          SO, AGAIN, WE QUICKLY, THE LIBRARY QUICKLY PIVOTED AND WORKED WITH OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENT TO EXTEND THE WIFI SIGNAL IN OUR LIBRARY LOCATIONS. 
          WE EVEN MARKED THE PARKING LOT SPACES WITH A WIFI SIGNAL OR ICON TO INVITE FOLKS TO, TO USE THE, THE LIBRARY. 
          SO AGAIN, I'D LIKE TO GO BACK TO THIS WHOLE NOTION OF FACILITATING ACCESS. 
          AND, AND, AND WE ARE GO GOING TO DO THAT AND CONTINUE TO DO THAT. 
          I'M NOT SAYING WE WERE, BECAUSE WE ARE, WE ARE DOING THAT, AND 
          [01:10:01]
WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE. 
          AND PART OF, UH, DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC PLAN IS TO CON CONTINUE, CONTINUE TO LOOK AT INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE WAYS OF DOING THAT. 
          UH, FACILITATING ACCESS, BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS, WHETHER IT BE LANGUAGE BARRIERS, TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS, UH, COLLECTIONS THAT ARE NOT PERHAPS RESPONSIVE TO THE SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE. 
          WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT AS WELL. 
          UM, I'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH CO COUNCILWOMAN CASTILE ABOUT JOINING HER IN LOCK WALKING TO CONTINUE TO DISSEMINATE PUBLIC INFORMATION. 
          AND I HOPE, UH, WE, WE CAN DO THE SAME WITH THE REST OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HERE. 
          UH, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT PART OF OUR EFFORTS GOING FORWARD IS TO GO OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF OUR LIBRARIES IN ORDER TO REACH THOSE MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES AND VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES THAT MAY NOT BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE RESOURCE OF THE LIBRARIES. 
          NOT BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO, BECAUSE MAYBE THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE WEALTH OF THE RESOURCES OF THE LIBRARIES, OR MAYBE THEY'RE INTIMIDATED AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHY. 
          AND SO THIS WHOLE, THIS WHOLE IDEA IS HOW DO WE WORK TO REMOVE AND BRING DOWN BARRIERS, UNINTENTIONAL BARRIERS. 
          UM, I'M TALKING ABOUT UNINTENTIONAL. 
          SOMETIMES WE HAVE OPERATIONAL SYSTEMS, PROTOCOLS, PROCEDURES, POLICIES THAT ARE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE IN TERMS OF FACILITATING ACCESS. 
          SO WE'RE GOING TO BE EXPLORING, EXPLORING ALL OF THOSE THINGS. 
          AND, UH, AGAIN, WITH THE WHOLE GOAL OF REMOVING BARRIERS TO ACCESS. 
          SO RECENTLY YOU PROBABLY HAVE BEEN READING THAT THERE'S BEEN EFFORTS TO BAN BOOKS FROM SCHOOL LIBRARIES. 
          IT STARTED WITH SCHOOL LIBRARIES, BUT NOW IT'S SPREADING TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 
          UH, THE SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARY LIBRARIES, WORKING WITH THE TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ON, UH, TACTICS OR APPROACHES OF HOW WE CAN PROTECT ACCESS TO RESOURCES. 
          OUR BELIEF IS THAT WE SHOULD HAVE, AND WE SHOULD OFFER TO OUR COMMUNITY A MULTITUDE OF PERSPECTIVES. 
          WE SHOULD PROVIDE MATERIALS FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY. 
          AND SO THAT'S OUR GOAL. 
          WE HAVE A CURATED COLLECTION THAT THE, WITH A GOAL OF PROVIDING SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. 
          AND IF SOMEONE DOESN'T LIKE A PARTICULAR ITEM, THEY DON'T HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT, THEY CAN LEAVE IT ALONE, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL US TO REMOVE IT, WHERE SOME SOMEONE ELSE MAY WANT ACCESS TO THAT MATERIAL. 
          SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT WAYS OF HOW WE CAN PROTECT ACCESS TO OUR, UH, MANY RESOURCES. 
          SO I WANTED TO CONCLUDE THAT TODAY WE'RE PROUD THAT, UH, THE OP-ED PIECE, PRE PREPARED BY, UH, PAUL STAHL, WHO IS THE CHAIR OF THE LIBRARY OF TRUSTEES AND MYSELF, WAS, UH, PUBLISHED BY THE EXPRESS NEWS, UH, TODAY. 
          AND IT TALKS ABOUT, AGAIN, PROTECTING INDIVIDUALS OF HAVING ACCESS TO RESOURCES AND TO A MULTITUDE OF, OF IDEAS AND PERSPECTIVES. 
          AND SO I WANTED TO END MY PRESENTATION WITH THAT, AND I'M HAPPY TO RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, RAMIRO, AND I SEE YOU'VE GOT ONE OF YOUR ASSISTANT DIRECTORS HERE WITH US. 
          YES. 
          DALE MCNEIL'S HERE TO ASSIST ME IN CASE YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CANNOT ANSWER. 
          NO, I'M SURE YOU CAN ANSWER EVERYTHING. 
          UM, SO, UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP YET, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING I WANTED TO POSE TO THE GROUP. 
          WE, WE AGENDIZE THIS AS, UH, A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION, UH, JUST SO THAT WE DON'T ACCIDENTALLY FORGET THE ACTION WHEN THAT HAPPENS. 
          BUT, UH, WHAT I, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS I'M, I'M, YOU KNOW, IT'S TREMENDOUS THAT YOU AND PAUL PUBLISHED THE, THE OP-ED. 
          I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO BE SAYING. 
          BUT AS A CITY, WOULD IT BE HELPFUL IF WE CAME FORWARD AND SAID SOMETHING TOO, WHETHER THAT'S, UH, GOING TO AUSTIN, WELL, WE'RE NOT IN SESSION RIGHT NOW, OR WHETHER THAT'S A, A RESOLUTION THAT COMES FROM THE COUNCIL. 
          WELL, I WELCOME THAT, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AS I INDICATED EARLIER, I'M WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF THE TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. 
          WE'RE WORKING ON HAVING A STATEWIDE APPROACH TO, I'M GONNA USE THE WORD PUSHING BACK, BUT FIGHTING BACK, UH, PROTECTING ACCESS. 
          AND SO THAT MAY BE ONE OF THE TACTICS OR ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO. 
          AND I MAY COME BACK TO, UH, CITY LEADERSHIP YOURSELF, UH, FOR THAT RESOLUTION, OR FOR SOMETHING THAT WILL HELP US CONTINUE TO PROTECT ACCESS, UH, TO LIBRARY MATERIALS AND RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS AS WELL. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          UH, LET'S HEAR THE DISCUSSION AND THEN WE'LL, UM, WE'LL TOUCH ON THAT BEFORE WE CLOSE OUT TODAY. 
          COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO, THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          AND THANK YOU AMIRO FOR THE PRESENTATION AND ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM DO AT, UM, THE SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 
          UH, YESTERDAY I SPENT SOME TIME, UH, WITH SOME HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS. 
          AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT LOCAL GOVERNMENT, 'CAUSE IT WAS A GOVERNMENT CLASS. 
          AND WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORTATION, UH, MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES, UH, THE, UM, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO RESOURCES, UH, HOMELESSNESS. 
          RIGHT? AND WE WERE HAVING SUCH GREAT CONVERSATION 
          [01:15:01]
AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS, RIGHT? AND I ALWAYS POINTED TO OUR PUBLIC LIBRARIES AS SPACES TO MEET SOME OF THESE NEEDS, RIGHT? EVEN PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, OUR PUBLIC LIBRARIES HAVE SERVED AS THESE, UH, SOCIAL HUBS TO CONNECT FOLKS, NOT JUST TO THE INTERNET, BUT TO LITERATURE THAT WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO, UH, TO AFFORD TO PURCHASE. 
          I KNEW IN GRAD SCHOOL I WOULD RENT ALL MY BOOKS 'CAUSE I COULDN'T AFFORD TO BUY THEM, RIGHT? SO, UM, OUR PUBLIC LIBRARIES HAVE SERVED AS THIS HUB, AND WE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MEXICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND WHAT IS US HISTORY, AND HOW MEXICAN AMERICAN HISTORY IS US HISTORY, AND WHY IS IT THAT, YOU KNOW, BOOKS ARE BANNED AND, UH, FOLKS IN POWER, RIGHT? SOMETIMES DON'T WANT US TO LEARN ABOUT OUR HISTORY. 
          AND WHEN WE LEARN ABOUT THAT HISTORY, IT'S ABOUT RESISTANCE AND STRUGGLE. 
          COMMUNITIES FIGHTING BACK, RIGHT? WE LEARNED THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES ELECTED OFFICIALS DIDN'T JUST WAKE UP AND SAY ONE DAY, OH, I'M GOING TO GIVE SO AND SO RIGHTS. 
          OR TODAY WE'RE GONNA PAY A LIVABLE WAGE. 
          IT ALWAYS COMES WITH COMMUNITIES ORGANIZING FOR A BETTER WORLD, A BETTER SOCIETY, A BETTER CITY. 
          UM, BUT AGAIN, RIGHT, POINTING OUT THAT IN THE CONVERSATIONS I POINTED TO THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES ABOUT, UH, ACCESS TO BOOKS, UM, ABOUT THE ID LIBRARY CARD, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOLKS WHO, UH, MAY BE STRUGGLING WITH FINDING A PLACE TO LIVE OR MAYBE COUCH SURFING, RIGHT? AND NEEDING TO FIND A JOB, BUT WHAT IF THEY DON'T HAVE AN ID? UM, BUT POINTING TO THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR PUBLIC LIBRARIES CAN NOW HELP FOLKS GET, UH, THAT LIBRARY CARD THAT SERVES AS AN ID. 
          UM, SO I THINK YOU GUYS ARE DOING GREAT WORK. 
          UM, AND I'M PLEASED TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT THERE'S A, AN OP-ED OUT, UH, ENSURING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STANDING UP ENSURING THAT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO, TO THESE BOOKS. 
          UM, THAT I THINK SERVE AS A GREAT TOOL FOR COMMUNITY TO CHALLENGE SYSTEMS AND ALWAYS FIGHT BACK. 
          THANK RO. 
          THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, COUNCILWOMAN BRAN, DO YOU HAVE COMMENTS OR ANY THOUGHTS ON A POSSIBLE RESOLUTION? YES, I AM SUPPORT, I'M IN SUPPORT OF A RESOLUTION, UM, BECAUSE I THINK, UH, THE LIBRARIES SHOULD HAVE ALL SORTS OF BOOKS AVAILABLE TO, TO THE, UH, TO THE STUDENTS AND TO THE PUBLIC. 
          AND AS YOU MENTIONED, THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO IN AND CHECK OUT THOSE BOOKS. 
          UM, SO I THINK THAT WE, WE MAY NEED TO LOOK INTO TO MAKING A STAND THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, OUR LIBRARIES ARE FREE FROM, I WON'T USE THE TERM, BUT YES, I THINK WE, WE SHOULD, UM, UH, IN DIGITAL INCLUSION, ADVANCING DIGITAL INCLUSION AND THAT ASPECT. 
          UM, ARE YOU LOOKING AT PROGRAMMING FOR SPECIFIC LIBRARIES, OR ARE YOU LOOKING FOR LIKE A CITYWIDE PROGRAMMING, UH, RESPONSE TO THAT? WELL, OR DIGITAL INCLUSION, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, FIRST OF ALL, WE COLLECT A LOT OF DATA, UH, THAT'S IMPORTANT. 
          SO WE KNOW THAT THERE'S CERTAIN COMMUNITIES THAT ARE LAGGING BEHIND AS IT RELATES TO ACCESS TO THE INTERNET. 
          SO THAT'S OUR FIRST TARGET. 
          UH, WHAT CAN WE DO? WHAT CAN THE LIBRARY DO TO BRING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, UH, TO PROVIDE, UH, UH, FACILITATE ACCESS AGAIN, TO PUBLIC COMPUTERS, UH, TO THE WIFI, EVEN GOING OUTSIDE AGAIN, THE WALLS OF THE LIBRARY. 
          UH, SO I'M EXCITED. 
          WE'RE WORKING ON THIS STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WILL, UH, BE STRATEGIC, OBVIOUSLY IN NATURE. 
          UM, SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TARGETING FIRST, THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT, UH, ARE LAGGING BEHIND BECAUSE WE KNOW IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY, UM, THEY CAN AFFORD, UH, TO HAVE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET AT HOME. 
          UH, BUT AGAIN, THERE'S MANY HOUSEHOLDS, PARTICULARLY IN THE WEST, THE SOUTH, AND THE EAST THAT DON'T. 
          AND SO WE'RE TARGETING THOSE, THOSE AREAS FIRST. 
          YEAH, AND I THINK WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR IS MAYBE IF WE CAN HAVE LITTLE SPACES WHERE IF PEOPLE NEED TO GO TO THE LIBRARY TO DO THAT JOB INTERVIEW, THAT THEY, THEY, THEY'RE LIKE OFF WITH THEIR HEADPHONES AND KIND OF DOING THAT INTERVIEW BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE HIGH SPEED INTERNET THAT THEY HAVE AT HOME. 
          SO I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO SEEING, UH, AND HEARING ABOUT THAT. 
          HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT PARTNERSHIPS WITH, UH, ONE, I'M THINKING THE UNIVERSITIES, BUT TEXAS A AND M IN PARTICULAR, AND A C C D, UM, UH, MAYBE DOING SOME CHILDREN CHECKOUT. 
          'CAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE NON-TRADITIONAL STUDENTS THAT HAVE, UM, HAVE KIDS THAT MAY, MAYBE THEY CAN'T BECAUSE THEIR SCHEDULE IS SO PACKED THAT MAY, THEY CAN'T, UM, DO THAT CHECKOUT AT OUR REGULAR LIBRARY. 
          BUT YET WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE LIBRARIES THAT DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE KIDS' BOOKS THAT PEOPLE LOVE. 
          UM, HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED INTO THAT? I'M NOT AWARE OF, OF THAT PARTICULAR PARTNERSHIP. 
          WE VALUE THE LIBRARY'S THE SYSTEM. 
          THAT'S PART OF OUR CORE VALUE PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION. 
          SO WE LOOK AT OTHER ENTITIES, UH, COUNCIL WOMAN 
          [01:20:01]
CASTILE MENTIONED MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES, AND, UH, SO WE HAVE THE LATINO COLLECTION RESOURCE CENTER. 
          WE BUILT A PARTNERSHIP WITH RI MEXICAN, MEXICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE. 
          UH, SO WE'LL LOOK AT, AT ALSO AT THE, UH, ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICTS, OR SOME OF THE COLLEGES, WHETHER IT BE SAC OR PALO ALTO, UH, TO SEE HOW WE CAN COLLABORATE ON THE, SPECIFICALLY ON WHAT YOU HAVE SUGGESTED. 
          YEAH, BECAUSE I KNOW I LOVE TO DO THE, UH, WHERE I JUST GO PICK UP MY BOOKS. 
          I ORDER ONLINE WHAT I WANT, THE DVDS I WANT, I PICK THEM UP AT THE LIBRARY. 
          AND I WAS THINKING MAYBE IF, IF, IF A AND M OR, UH, PALO ALTO COLLEGE HAS A LIBRARY THERE AND Y'ALL DROP OFF BOOKS THERE AND THEY CAN ORDER 'EM ONLINE, THAT MIGHT BE NICE TO MAKE SURE THE LITTLE ONES ARE GETTING TO READ ALSO. 
          I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO, MADAM CHAIR, I WASN'T SURE THAT YOU WERE PREPARED TODAY TO ACTUALLY ACT ON A RESOLUTION. 
          I WELCOME THAT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          JUST CHECKING WITH THE ATTORNEY SO THAT WE DON'T DO ANYTHING. 
          OUT OF TURN. 
          WE'VE GOTTEN A GREEN LIGHT. 
          SO AT THIS POINT, UM, I'LL, I'LL TAKE A MOTION FROM THE FLOOR. 
          UH, THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UH, WITH THAT I MOVE TO ESTABLISH A RESOLUTION FOR PROTECTING ACCESS AND THE FREEDOM TO READ. 
          YEAH, I THINK WE HAVE TO, IF YOU COULD GIVE US THE APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE MOVING FORWARD, A RESOLUTION OR REQUESTING THAT COUNSEL TAKE ON A RESOLUTION FOR THOSE THINGS THAT SHE SAID TO GET THE, THERE WE, I THINK WE HEAR YOU. 
          YES, THAT SOUNDS CORRECT. 
          UH, MOVING FORWARD, A RESOLUTION TO, LEMME SEE IF I CAN YOU REPEAT THAT PLEASE? COUNCILWOMAN, UH, MOVE, MOVE TO, UM,  TO REQUEST A RESOLUTION FOR PROTECTING ACCESS AND THE FREEDOM TO READ MOVE TO REQUEST A RESOLUTION FOR CONSIDERATION BY FULL COUNSEL. 
          YES, I THINK THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD WORK. 
          OKAY. 
          TO, TO, SORRY, FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THE, FOR FULL COUNSEL. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          SO, UH, YEAH. 
          MOVE TO, UH, REQUEST. 
          REQUEST A RESOLUTION. 
          MOVE TO REQUEST A RESOLUTION, UH, FOR PROTECTING ACCESS AND THE FREEDOM TO READ FOR CONSIDERATION FOR, FOR FULL COUNSEL. 
          COULD YOU SAY, TO PROTECT, SORRY. 
          WHAT WAS THE RESOLUTION GONNA DO? TO PROTECT WHAT? PROTECTING ACCESS AND THE FREEDOM TO READ, TO BE CONSIDERED BY FULL COUNSEL. 
          YES. 
          DID YOU GET THAT AURORA? NO. 
           TO REQUEST AND THE FREEDOM TO READ FREE. 
          YES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, AURORA. 
          SO WE HAVE A MOTION. 
          DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          SO WE'LL SEE IT WHEN IT SHOWS UP ON THE A SESSION AGENDA. 
          HOPEFULLY IF WE ALL APPROVE HERE TODAY. 
          SO, ALL IN FAVOR? OH, WE CAN VOTE ON OUR TABLETS. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THE MOTION CARRIES. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT, UH, ACTION THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN. 
          I'M GREATLY APPRECIATIVE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, I BELIEVE THAT CONCLUDES OUR, OUR MEETING FOR TODAY. 
          ANY, UH, ANNOUNCEMENTS, MR. MCCAREY? ANYTHING WE NEED TO KNOW? NO, UH, MADAM CHAIR ONLY OTHER THING IS WE'LL BE BACK ON MARCH THE EIGHTH. 
          WE'VE GOT SOME FOLLOW UP, SO WE'LL SEND THAT OUT SHORTLY. 
          BUT THANK Y'ALL TODAY FOR YOUR ACTIONS.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.