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EVERYBODY, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH A ROLL CALL.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
WE'LL JUMP RIGHT INTO THE AGENDA.
UM, SEEING AS WE DO HAVE TWO MEMBERS OF THE, WELL, MULTIPLE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HERE, BUT SOME OF THEM ARE HERE TO SPEAK ON THE ARTS ITEM.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO DO THAT ONE, UM, FIRST AFTER YOUR INTRODUCTION, MARIA, IF THAT'S OKAY? ALRIGHT.
[Approval of Minutes ]
OH, FIRST BE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR THE MARCH 25TH MEETING.THE PUBLIC COMMENTS IF, UH, THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
WE'LL HEAR THEM AFTER THE PRESENTATION.
[Briefing and Possible Action on ]
YES.UH, WE HAVE PRESENTING THIS MORNING FOR OUR COUNCIL COMMITTEE DISCUSSION ON THE, A PHYSICAL RECOVERY FUNDS.
WE HAVE OUR DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, UH, MARIA VILLA GOMEZ.
MARIA, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
AND GOOD MORNING, UM, MADAM CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE CHECK COMMITTEE.
SO, I'M HERE THIS MORNING JUST TO PROVIDE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE COMMITTEES ARE GONNA BE WORKING ON IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS.
AND I'M GONNA BRIEFLY COVER SOME OF THE GUIDANCE THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UH, THE, THE OUTCOME THAT IS GOING TO COME FROM THIS COMMITTEE AND EVENTUALLY BE PRESENTED TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL.
SO, JUST AS A MATTER OF BACKGROUND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, YOU MAY RECALL THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED, UH, THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE USE OF THE ARPA FUNDS ON FEBRUARY THE THIRD.
AND THE SUBSEQUENT TO THAT, WE HAD A POLICY DISCUSSION WITH THE FULL COUNCIL AT THE END OF MARCH TO TALK ABOUT SPECIFICALLY WHAT, UH, THE COUNCIL WANTED TO SEE IN SOME OF THIS DISCUSSIONS AT THE COMMITTEE LEVELS.
SO, JUST TO REMIND EVERYONE, THE THE CATEGORIES THAT ARE GONNA BE DISCUSSED BY EACH OF OUR THREE CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEES, WE HAVE THE CHARGE TO THE CHECK COMMITTEE THAT WILL BE TALKING ABOUT ARTS SENIORS, UH, NONPROFIT SOCIAL SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS.
OUR ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT WILL, UH, HANDLE SMALL BUSINESSES, YOUTH, UH, DIG, DIGITAL INCLUSION AND LITERACY.
AND THEN PUBLIC SAFETY WILL HANDLE MENTAL HEALTH.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE ARPA FISCAL RECOVERY RULES.
AND THESE ARE THE GENERAL GUIDELINES FROM THE US TREASURY.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, OUR FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS ARE GOING TO BE, UH, UTILIZED TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO THOSE THAT WERE IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC TO ADDRESS, UH, LONGSTANDING HEALTH AND ECONOMIC DISPARITIES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND VERY IMPORTANT TO BUILD A STRONG, RESILIENT AND EQUITABLE RECOVERY BY MAKING INVESTMENTS SPECIFICALLY THAT WILL SUPPORT LONG-TERM GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY.
NOW, WHAT YOU SEE ON THIS PARTICULAR TABLE IS THAT WE HAVE A LINE, THE GUIDELINE FROM THE US TREASURY ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, WHICH IS THE ACTUAL EXPENDITURE CATEGORY THAT IS, UH, INCLUDED IN THE GUIDE.
AND IT ALSO GIVES EXAMPLES, AND SORRY TO INTERRUPT, IT'S JUST REALLY HARD TO READ THE SLIDES.
COULD SOMEONE FROM AV PLEASE ADJUST THE, UH, LIGHTS? THANK YOU.
SO, UM, ON THIS PARTICULAR TABLE, YOU THAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU, ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, WE HAVE THE CATEGORY FROM THE US TREASURY IN TERMS OF THE EXPENSE CATEGORY.
UH, AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WE HAVE THE CATEGORY THAT IS INCLUDED ON THE CITY'S, UM, SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
SO I THINK WE'RE STILL ADJUSTING THE LIGHT.
UM, SO SPECIFICALLY FOR ASSISTANCE TO NONPROFITS, UH, THAT IS THE CATEGORY UNDER ARPA AND OUR CATEGORY IS NONPROFITS.
SO THERE'S A ONE-TO-ONE RELATIONSHIP ON, ON THAT PARTICULAR CATEGORY FOR THE ARTS.
WE ARE ALIGNING THAT INTO A CATEGORY THAT IS CALLED AID TO IMPACTED INDUSTRIES.
UH, AND THEN SENIORS, UH, IS UNDER THE OTHER SERVICES TO DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMUNITIES UNDER ARPA.
SO THAT'LL SERVE FOR US AS A GUIDE.
AS COUNCIL HAS DISCUSSION ON, UH, WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE FOR THIS PARTICULAR CATEGORIES.
UH, I'LL BE ATTENDING THIS MEETINGS
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TO ADDRESS ANY OF THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE WHEN IT COMES TO ELIGIBILITY.NOW IN THE NEXT SLIDE, WHAT WE ARE ASKING THE COMMITTEES, UH, TO DEVELOP IS A PLAN.
SO THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE WORK WILL BE TO PROVIDE POLICY DIRECTION TO CITY STAFF TO DEVELOP A PLAN THAT WILL IDENTIFY A C OVID 19 IMPACT FOR EACH OF THE THREE CATEGORIES THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO THE CHECK COMMITTEE.
THAT INCLUDES PROGRAM STRATEGIES THAT WILL BENEFIT COMMUNITY MEMBERS AFFECTED BY THE IMPACT, UM, IN STEP ONE, AND THEN DEFINE DESIRED EQUITABLE OUTCOMES WITH METRICS, UH, THAT WILL BE USED TO MEASURE THE OUTCOMES.
AND THEN FINALLY, TO PROVIDE A PLAN THAT DOESN'T EXCEED A FOUR YEAR IMPLEMENTATION.
NOW, IT COULD BE A LOT SHORTER THAN THAT, BUT IT COULD NOT BE MORE THAN FOUR YEARS BECAUSE OF THE SPENDING GUIDELINES.
AS YOU KNOW, ALL FUNDS HAVE TO BE COMMITTED BY DECEMBER, 2024 AND FULLY SPENT BY DECEMBER 31ST, 2026.
NOW, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE CREATED THIS TEMPLATE THAT WE'RE GONNA BE USING ACROSS THE THREE COMMITTEES THAT ARE GONNA BE WORKING ON, UM, DEVELOPING THEIR PLANS.
SO AS YOU HEAR FROM CRYSTAL AND FROM MELODY TODAY, UH, THEY HAVE SOME IDEAS ON, ON HOW TO ASSIST YOU TO COMPLETE THIS, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO USE AS OUR GUIDE.
THIS IS OUR MATRIX THAT WILL HELP US DEVELOP THE PLAN THAT WE WILL TAKE TO CITY COUNCIL FOR FULL, UM, APPROVAL.
SO YOU SEE THAT THE FIRST THING THAT WE HAVE TO DO IS IDENTIFY THE COVID IMPACT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS, AND THEN WHAT ARE THE PROGRAMS OR STRATEGIES THAT WILL, UH, TIE TO THAT IMPACT THE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES, UH, PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, AND OF COURSE, THE DOLLAR AMOUNT, UM, FOR EACH OF THOSE PROGRAM STRATEGIES THAT, THAT THE COMMITTEE IDENTIFIES.
SO, CITY STAFF WILL BE COMPLETING THIS, UM, DOCUMENT FOR THE COMMITTEE, SO WE CAN BRING THAT BACK TO YOU AND MAKE SURE THAT IT REFLECTS THE POLICY DIRECTION OF THIS COMMITTEE.
AND ONCE THE COMMITTEE FEELS COMFORTABLE WITH THAT, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE GONNA CONVERT INTO A PLAN FOR THE FULL CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE.
SO THE FINAL SLIDE OF MY PRESENTATION IS JUST TO TALK ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS.
YOU'RE BEGINNING THE WORK TODAY TO DEVELOP YOUR PLANS.
WHAT WE ARE ASKING THE COMMITTEES IS TO BRING THIS PLANS TO THE FULL COUNCIL BY THE FALL OF 2022.
HOWEVER, IF YOU FINISH A LOT SOONER THAN THAT, WE WILL BRING THOSE TO THE COUNCIL FOR FULL APPROVAL SO WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE FALL.
AND THEN AFTER THOSE PLANS ARE APPROVED BY COUNCIL, THE CITY STAFF WILL BEGIN THE IMPLEMENTATION.
OF COURSE, WE'LL BRING BACK THE, THE, UH, RESULTS OR THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO THE RESPECTIVE COMMITTEE SO YOU CAN CONTINUE TO MONITOR THOSE PLANS UNTIL THEY ARE COMPLETED.
AND AGAIN, JUST AS A REMINDER, FUNDS NEED TO BE COMMITTED BY DECEMBER, 2024.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE COMMITTEE, UH, THE CHECK COMMITTEE DECIDED TO DO A, UH, COMPETITIVE PROCESS TO AWARD, UH, SOME OF THE FUNDING, THEN WE WOULD WANNA HAVE ALL THOSE FUNDS COMMITTED BY DECEMBER, 2024.
NOW, WE ADDED HERE, UH, DOLLARS SPENT BY SEPTEMBER, 2026 INSTEAD OF DECEMBER.
THAT'LL GIVE CITY STAFF TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CLOSING OUT INVOICES AND CLOSING OUT PROJECTS.
SO WE'RE NOT RUNNING AGAINST THE DECEMBER TIMELINE TIMELINE.
SO THAT IS JUST FOR, FOR US TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO ENSURE THAT EVERYTHING IS FULLY SPENT BY, UH, DECEMBER, 2026.
SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I CAN TAKE QUESTIONS NOW, MADAM CHAIR, OR I'LL BE HERE FOR THE ENTIRE MEETING.
SO WHENEVER YOU THINK IT'S CONVENIENT, UH, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
UM, IF YOU GUYS HAVE LIKE A SIMPLE CLARIFYING QUESTION AT THIS POINT, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN.
UM, MINE WOULD BE, IF, IF THIS COMMITTEE WERE TO, UH, COME UP WITH THEIR PLAN, SAY, BEFORE THE SUMMER, COULD WE START SEEING AN R F P PROCESS IN THE FALL AND MAYBE THE AWARDS, UH, YOU KNOW, BEFORE THE YEAR IS OUT? UH, YES.
SO ONCE THE COUNCIL APPROVES THAT PLAN, UM, MADAM CHAIR, SO LET'S SAY FOR INSTANCE, UM, COUNCIL APPROVES IT IN AUGUST, AND THEN WE'LL START THE COMPETITIVE PROCESS RIGHT AFTER.
AND, UM, BUT, BUT THEN THE CONTRACTS HAVE TO GO BACK TO COUNCIL FOR ANOTHER APPROVAL, RIGHT? RIGHT.
ONCE WE GET, IT FOLLOWS THE SAME PROCESS OF OUR, UM, ANY TYPE OF PROCUREMENT ONCE WE, UM, UH, AWARD THOSE CONTRACTS AND WE'LL TAKE THEM BACK TO COUNCIL OR IF, IF THEY, IF THEY NEEDED TO BE APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL.
IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE DOLLAR AMOUNT.
SO EVERYTHING'S THAT FOLLOWS OUR PROCUREMENT RULES WILL APPLY TO,
[00:10:01]
TO THIS COMPETITIVE PROCESS.SO SOMETIMES WHEN WE TRY TO PUT THINGS ON THE, A AGENDA ON THE CITY COUNCIL, A AGENDA, YOU KNOW, THERE'S USUALLY A QUEUE.
UM, SO I, I'M JUST WONDERING HOW SAY WE APPROVE THIS.
UM, WHEN COULD WE EXPECT, IS THERE GOING TO BE A DELAY TO GET IT APPROVED BY COUNSEL? AND ACTUALLY WHY I, I WASN'T CLEAR THAT THE PLAN WOULD NEED TO BE APPROVED BY COUNSEL BEFORE WE EXECUTE.
SO IF YOU, UM, COULD GO BACK TO SLIDE SIX.
AND THIS IS A VERY SIMILAR SLIDE THAN WHAT WE SHOW THE COUNCIL.
UH, WHEN, WHEN YOU, UM, WHEN WE DISCUSSED THE, THE, THE POLICY DIRECTION IN LATE MARCH.
SO YOU'LL SEE THAT ALL PLANS NEED TO APPROVE BY CITY COUNCIL IN THE FALL OF 2022.
SO LET'S SAY HYPOTHETICALLY WE HAVE POLICY DIRECTION TODAY TO DEVELOP THAT PLAN FROM THE COUNCIL, AND THEN WE BRING IT BACK TO THE NEXT CHECK COMMITTEE IN MAY.
UM, WE COULD SCHEDULE THE, THE A SESSION FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION ON THURSDAY, SO WE CAN DO IT RIGHT AWAY.
AND THEN ONCE COUNCIL APPROVES THAT, WE CAN START THE R F P PROCESS THE FOLLOWING WEEK.
SO OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO GET THIS DONE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO STAFF MYSELF, WE'RE COMMITTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT HAPPENS.
UH, BUT YES, WE DO NEED THAT STEP OF TAKING IT BACK TO THE FULL COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
'CAUSE WE WENT TO FULL COUNCIL FIRST, AND THEN WE CAME HERE.
GO AHEAD, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, AND PUBLIC INPUT, OR IS THAT JUST GONNA BE ON THE SURVEYS? COULD YOU TAP IN COUNCIL AND PUBLIC INPUT? THAT'LL JUST BE VIA SURVEYS OR POINT AT THIS MEETING AT THIS? SURE.
IT'LL BE AT THIS MEETINGS COUNCILWOMAN.
UM, BECAUSE THAT, I THINK WE NEED IT TO GO BACK TO CITY COUNCIL TO GIVE IT THAT PUBLIC INPUT, UH, BECAUSE THIS, IN TERMS OF PUSHING THIS OUT, UM, I MEAN, I'M SO GLAD WE HAVE PEOPLE HERE TODAY TO SPEAK.
BUT, UH, MORE OF THE PUBLIC AS, AS WE FLESH THIS, UH, AS WE PLAN THIS OUT AND FLESH THIS OUT, I THINK WE NEED, UH, THAT PUBLIC INPUT.
UM, SO I THINK I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ADVERTISING THAT AND WE'RE MAKING SURE THE PUBLIC HAS, UM, HAS OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE US COMMENT.
AND THEN I WOULD LIKE C AND E TO GIVE US IN A TIMELY MANNER ANY OF THE SURVEY RESPONSES OR ANY OF THE COMMENTS THAT ARE GIVEN ONLINE.
SO IF WE HAVE THIS MEETING TODAY, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE BY NEXT WEEK FROM C AND E ANY COMMENTS THAT PEOPLE PUT IN REGARDING WHAT WE DISCUSSED TODAY.
AND THEN, UH, LAST, UH, LAST COMMENT, COULD YOU PLEASE GO BACK TO THE SLIDE, UH, THE TABLE THAT YOU SAID, UH, YOU STAFF WOULD BE FILLING OUT? YES.
UM, SO WE'LL GO INTO DISCUSSION FOR EACH OF THE, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES.
AND DURING THAT DISCUSSION, IS THAT ONE WE WOULD GIVE YOU WHAT WE BELIEVE ARE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES OR PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, OR, I, I GUESS, WHAT POLICY DIRECTION WILL YOU BE LOOKING FOR TO HELP FLUSH THIS OUT? SURE.
SO WE WOULD BE LOOKING, UM, FOR DIRECTION ON THE C OVID 19 IMPACT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, AND WHEN CRYSTAL PRESENTS, 'CAUSE WE DID, UM, EXERCISE BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE HEARD FROM THE PUBLIC AND SOME COUNCIL, UH, MEMBERS THAT FOR THE ARTS, THEY FELT THAT THE PROCESS THAT WE USE FOR THE CARESS ACT COULD WORK FOR ARPA.
SO WE TESTED TO MAKE SURE WE COULD FILL THIS OUT AND IT WOULD MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF ARPA, AND IT DID.
SO, UM, WE WOULD WANNA KNOW WHAT IS THE COVID IMPACT THAT, THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, WHAT ARTS IS, IS A GENERAL TERM.
ARE THERE SPECIFIC, UM, UH, POPULATIONS WITHIN ARTS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ASSIST? SO WE IDENTIFY THE COVID IMPACT, AND THEN WHAT ARE THE PROGRAM OR STRATEGIES THAT WE WANT TO APPLY? WE WOULD NEED YOUR POLICY DIRECTION FOR THAT.
THE REST WE STAFF ARE GOING TO COMPLETE AND BRING BACK TO YOU.
WE'LL COME BACK WITH PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES AS WELL FOR YOU TO REVIEW AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.
UH, BUT THE, THE MOST CRITICAL PIECE FOR US, UH, IS TO GET POLICY DIRECTION ON THE C OVID 19 IMPACT.
WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO SOLVE? AND THEN WE CAN, WE CAN WORK WITH THAT AND FILL OUT THE REST FOR YOUR REVIEW AND APPROVAL.
OR IF YOU WANNA GIVE US PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES OR ANY OF THE OTHER ITEMS AS WELL, WE WILL DEFINITELY TAKE THOSE.
THANK YOU, HONOR, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UM, ONE OF THE, I GUESS JUST QUESTIONS SO THAT WE CAN, UM, ALL BE ON THE SAME PAGE.
CAN YOU DEFINE EQUITABLE? THAT'D BE MY ONLY QUESTION.
DEFINE EQUITABLE AS IT RELATES TO, UM, THE GUIDELINES AND
[00:15:01]
THE SPECIFICALLY, UM, BUILDING STRONG, RESILIENT, AND EQUITABLE RECOVERY.SO WHAT ARPA TALKS ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO EQUITABLE OUTCOMES IS TO IDENTIFY THOSE MEMBERS OF OUR POPULATION THAT WERE, UM, MOST IMPACTED BY C OVID 19, OR DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY C OVID 19.
SO SPECIFICALLY, UM, UM, THOSE INDIVIDUALS IN SOME AREAS OF THE CITY.
UM, FOR INSTANCE, UM, OUR MINORITY COMMUNITIES IS ONE OF THOSE, UH, POPULATIONS THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN THE ARPA, UH, FUND.
UH, LOW INCOME, UH, POPULATION IS ANOTHER AREA THAT IS HIGHLIGHTED.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EQUITABLE OUTCOMES, WE WOULD LIKE TO ALIGN IT WITH THE CITY'S EQUITY ATLAS OR WITH THOSE, UM, UM, PRIORITIES OF THE ARPA, WHICH IS, UH, DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMUNITIES.
NOW, THERE WERE OTHER, UM, MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, LIKE SENIORS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT ARE INCLUDED AS A DISPROPORTIONATE, UH, MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE OF THE I ISOLATION THAT THEY SUFFER REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY WERE LOCATED IN THE CITY.
BUT THEN YOU TRY TO TARGET THOSE THAT WERE IMPACTED THE MOST.
SO, SO THAT'S HOW WE WOULD COME BACK, UH, TO YOU WITH SOME EQUITABLE OUTCOMES BASED ON THE COVID IMPACT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO RESOLVE AND THOSE PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES.
COUNCILMAN CASTILLO, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, AS FOLKS ARE APPLYING FOR, UM, ASSISTANCE, WHEN WILL THIS COMMITTEE REVIEW, UH, THE APPLICATIONS AND WILL, DO WE ALREADY KNOW WHAT THE QUESTIONNAIRE INCLUDES, UH, FOR THE APPLICANT'S FOR FUNDING? SURE.
SO WE DON'T KNOW THAT YET, COUNCILWOMAN.
SO, UM, HYPOTHETICALLY, UM, LET'S SAY FOR ARTS, SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARTS, YOU DECIDED TO DO A, A COMPETITIVE PROCESS AND FOLLOW THE SAME PROCESS THAT OUR ARTS DEPARTMENT FOLLOWS TODAY.
SO, SO WE, AS THE, THE, THE, WHEN WE BRING BACK THE PLAN, WE WOULD SAY IN OUR TIMELINE, WE WOULD ISSUE AN R F P ON THIS DATE, AND THIS WILL BE THE CRITERIA INCLUDED IN THAT R F P THAT YOU WOULD PROVIDE FEEDBACK BEFORE WE ISSUE THE R F P.
UM, THE APPLICATIONS, UH, WILL BE REVIEWED BY CITY STAFF, JUST LIKE WE DO IN ANY OTHER PROCESS.
AND THEN WE'LL, WE, WE WILL BRING RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOU BASED ON THE CRITERIA THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE R F P.
UH, AS MENTIONED DURING, UH, THE B SESSION, I WOULD, UH, ENCOURAGE THAT SIMILAR TO THE EAP APPLICATION THAT APPLICANTS CHECK A BOX, WHETHER THEY'VE APPLIED FOR COUNTY ARPA RESOURCES AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN AN EMPHASIS ON HOW THEY'VE BEEN FINANCIALLY IMPACTED BY COVID, UH, TO FOLLOW THE SAME MODEL THAT, UM, FOLKS HAVE TO, UH, APPLY FOR DAP FUNDING.
YEAH, WE, WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT.
I FEEL LIKE WE MIGHT
AT THIS POINT, UH, WE'LL MOVE FROM ITEM TWO INTO ITEM, UH OH.
IT'S ALL ART IS ALREADY FIRST.
UH, NO, I, WE'LL HEAR THE, WE'LL HEAR THE ARTS PRESENTATION AND THEN WE'LL HEAR FROM OUR, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK MS. JONES.
AND, UH, THANK YOU COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M THE INTERIM DIRECTOR AT THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE, AND WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT THE POLICY DISCUSSION FOR ARTS, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF $5 MILLION TO THIS COMMUNITY.
JUST AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT TODAY.
WE'RE REALLY GONNA LOOK ABOUT AT WHAT THE IMPACT, UH, OF C OVID 19 WAS ON THE ARTS THROUGH SOME DATA THAT HAS BEEN COLLECTED, UH, THROUGH VARIOUS SOURCES.
WE'LL DO AN OVERVIEW OF THE SA CARES FOR ART PROGRAM, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN SUCH A DISCUSSION POINT THROUGH THE ARPA COMMUNITY PROCESS.
WE'LL TAKE A GLIMPSE AT THE INVESTMENTS IN ARTS AND ARTISTS THAT WE'RE DOING THROUGH OUR FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET THAT WAS ADOPTED.
UH, AND THEN ALSO WE'LL OVERVIEW, DO AN OVERVIEW OF COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY INPUT THAT WAS COLLECTED THROUGH THIS ARPA PROCESS.
AND THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TALK ABOUT THOSE NEXT STEPS.
SO, THE ARTS, UH, COMMUNITY AS OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY, OF COURSE, WAS DEVASTATED BY C OVID 19.
THERE WERE A VARIETY OF WAYS WHERE NONPROFITS AND ARTISTS WERE IMPACTED BY COVID.
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WHEN EVERYTHING SHUT DOWN, ARTS ORGANIZATIONS HAD TO CLOSE THEIR DOORS.
IT CREATED A TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT WITH LOSS OF REVENUES FROM TICKET SALES.
UM, FUNDRAISING EFFORTS WERE, UH, NULL AND VOID BECAUSE YOU COULD NOT HOLD FUNDRAISERS.
AND THEN THAT TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT IMPACTED ARTISTS SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND EVEN WHEN OUR, UH, BUILDINGS WERE ABLE TO OPEN UP AND PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO CONVENE, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, ARTS ESPECIALLY, UM, PERFORMANCES EXHIBITS WHERE YOU HAVE MULTIPLE PEOPLE THAT HAVE TO BE IN CLOSE QUARTERS, UH, IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO HAVE THOSE PERFORMANCES CONTINUE TO GO ON.
[00:20:01]
UH, YOU'VE HAD SOCIAL DISTANCING AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.AND THIS IMPACT, AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, ESTIMATED LOSSES FOR OUR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AS OF JANUARY, 2021 IS ESTIMATED AT $71 MILLION.
BUT WE HAD CLOSURES THAT WERE HAPPENING EVEN AS, UH, LATE AS JANUARY OF 2022 WITH THE OMICRON VARIANT IMPACTING OUR COMMUNITY.
WE HAD AN ECONOMIC IMPACT OF $4.1 BILLION FOR OUR CREATIVE ECONOMY BEFORE, UH, THE C OVID 19 PANDEMIC.
AND WE, UH, HAD THAT IMPACT OF 16% OF, UH, DECREASE IN OUR CREATIVE ECONOMY AND A CHANGE OF EMPLOYMENT OF 18%.
AND AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS RECENTLY DID A SURVEY AND RELAUNCHED, UH, A REPORT, UH, IN MARCH THAT FOCUSES ON THE FACT THAT THE ARTS SECTOR IS ONE OF, UH, THE SLOWEST TO COME BACK, UH, AS AN INDUSTRY AND ACROSS THE NATION BECAUSE OF THIS PANDEMIC.
SO IT WAS SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT IMPACT FOR OUR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND OUR ARTISTS, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY.
SO, AGAIN, I WANTED TO GIVE A GLIMPSE OF WHAT SA CARES FOR ARTS LOOKS LIKE, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN SUCH A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION.
UH, AND IN 2020, WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE THE FEDERAL MONEY THAT WAS PROVIDED THROUGH THE CARESS ACT TO GIVE $2 MILLION TO 47 ARTS NONPROFITS.
WE ALSO PROVIDED $600,000 TO 130 INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS.
THE PROCESS IN THE APPLICATION LOOKED A LOT LIKE WHAT, UM, HAS BEEN DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF ASKING APPLICANTS.
HAVE YOU RECEIVED FUNDING FROM OTHER AVENUES, OTHER GRANT PROGRAMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE NATIONALLY OR THROUGH THE COUNTY? UH, FOR NONPROFITS, THEY REALLY HAVE TO BE FOCUSED AND DEDICATED TO THE ARTS TO HAVE A MISSION ABOUT, UH, PROVIDING ARTS PROGRAMMING.
AND THEY MUST HAVE PRODUCED PROGRAMMING, UH, FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, WHICH IS VERY MUCH IN LINE WITH OUR OPERATIONAL GRANT PROGRAMMING THAT WE, UH, THAT WE RUN AWARDS WERE BASED ON AN ORGANIZATION'S OPERATING BUDGET, WHICH AGAIN, FALLS IN LINE WITH OUR CORE GRANTS PROGRAM THAT WE MANAGE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
AND WE DID PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL AWARD OF 5% FOR CULTURALLY SPECIFIC NONPROFITS TO REALLY MEET THAT NEED OF DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, THAT ARTISTS MUST HAVE PROOF THAT THEIR PROFESSIONAL WORKING ARTIST, UH, AND THAT THEY DERIVE INCOME FROM ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES.
SO WE COLLECTED THAT INFORMATION THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS WITH THE COLLECTION OF PORTFOLIOS, AND ALSO, UH, TAX INFORMATION TO ENSURE THAT THEY WERE CREATING, UH, REVENUES FROM, UH, OR INCOME FROM THEIR ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES.
AND WE ALSO PROVIDED ADDITIONAL POINTS, UH, BASED ON THE EQUITY ATLAS ZIP CODES, UH, CERTAIN COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING WOMEN, RACIAL AND ETHNIC CLASSIFICATIONS, LGBTQIA PLUS, AND VETERANS, AGAIN, TO MEET THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMUNITY NEED.
AND THE ARTISTS RECEIVED UP TO $5,000 GRANTS, AND IT WAS BASED ON PROOF OF LOSS.
SO THEY COULD SUBMIT INFORMATION ABOUT FLYERS SHOWING THAT AN EVENT WAS CANCELED.
UH, AN EMAIL THAT SAID, HEY, WE HAD TO CANCEL YOUR GIG.
THAT WAS WHAT THEY'VE, UH, PROVIDED.
UH, THE FISCAL YEAR 2022, CITY INVESTMENT AND ARTS AND ARTISTS THROUGH THE ADOPTED BUDGET.
UM, YOU CAN SEE I WANTED TO REALLY BREAK DOWN HOW WE'RE PROVIDING ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND ARTISTS, UH, IN FISCAL YEAR 2022 WITH SUPPORT.
UH, WE DID HAVE $2.6 MILLION IN ARPA FUNDING ALLOCATED THROUGH THIS BUDGET BUDGET PROCESS TO BRING OUR ARTS AGENCIES BACK TO FISCAL YEAR 2019 FUNDING LEVELS.
UH, WE HAVE THE BASE OPERATIONAL AND CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM.
IT'S 37, UH, NONPROFITS, AND WE ALSO HAVE NINE NONPROFITS THAT GET CULTURALLY SPECIFIC SUPPORT FOR OPERATIONS BECAUSE THEY FOCUS ON SOME CERTAIN COMMUNITIES.
UH, WE HAVE THE PROJECT GRANTS FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, WHICH PROVIDES $5,000 TO, UH, 60 ARTISTS CURRENTLY THROUGH THIS PROGRAM.
AND WE'RE ALSO PROVIDING 27 NON-PROFITS THAT AREN'T A PART OF OUR OPERATIONAL FUNDING, FUNDING TO, UH, PUT ARTS PROGRAMMING AND EVENTS THROUGHOUT OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE ARTS INITIATIVES WHERE WE SUPPORT ARTISTS AND NONPROFITS THROUGH OUR TWO GALLERY SPACES, CENTER TO ART AND CULTURE COMMONS.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR POET LAUREATE PROGRAM, AND THAT'S SOME OTHER INVESTMENTS THAT YOU HAVE IN NONPROFITS AND ARTISTS AT THIS TIME.
SO WHAT WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT IS, OF COURSE, THIS $5 MILLION ARPA ALLOCATION FOR ARTS.
AND I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, THE INFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN RECEIVED THROUGH THE ARPA PROCESS, THROUGH COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND ALSO, UH, COUNCIL FEEDBACK AND MEETINGS, AND ALSO, UM, UH, COUNCIL MEETINGS.
SO, UH, WE HAVE HEARD THROUGH THIS, UH, ARPA PROCESS THAT AN ART GRANT PROGRAM IS, UM, REQUESTED, AND THAT IT REALLY FOCUSED ON ARTS AGENCIES AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS THAT WERE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY C OVID 19 PERFORMING ARTS.
AND VENUES WERE HIGHLIGHTED IN SOME OF THESE, UH, COMMUNITY FEEDBACK MEETINGS BECAUSE THEY WERE IMPACTED, AGAIN,
[00:25:01]
WITH PERFORMANCES, NOT ALLOWING PEOPLE TO BE CLOSE TOGETHER, UM, AND THEN SUPPORTING ARTS INSTITUTIONS SO THEY THRIVE BEYOND THE PANDEMIC.THE NEXT SLIDE REALLY TALKS ABOUT, UH, CONTINUED FEEDBACK TO REALLY GET INTO THE DEPTH OF WHAT WE'VE HEARD THROUGH THESE SPECIFIC MEETINGS WITH COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY TO MODEL THE SA CARE FOR ART PROGRAM.
WE'VE HEARD THAT MULTIPLE TIMES THROUGH THE COMMUNITY AND FROM COUNCIL OFFICES, UH, AND TARGETING $4 MILLION FOR NONPROFITS AND $1 MILLION FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS.
THAT WAS A SPECIFIC REQUEST FOR THIS ALLOCATION.
UH, INCREASING SPEC, A CULTURALLY SPECIFIC SUPPORT TO THE CORE GRANTS LEVEL.
OUR CORE GRANTS LEVEL PROVIDES 20% OF AN ORGANIZATION'S BUDGET, UH, FOR CULTURALLY SPECIFIC SUPPORT, IF THEY, UH, IF THEIR MISSION REALLY FOCUSES ON THOSE, THE CERTAIN COMMUNITIES.
SO BUMPING THAT UP TO 20% TO REALLY FOCUS ON THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMUNITY.
INCORPORATE THE SAN ANTONIO ARTS COMMISSION IN THE PROCESS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD.
AND THEN CONDUCTING EXTENSIVE OUTREACH THROUGH ALL CHANNELS, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, UH, ORGANIZATIONS, PREVIOUS GRANT APPLICANTS.
WE HAVE A BIG ROSTER OF INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS AND NONPROFITS, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE.
SO A REALLY A DEDICATED EFFORT TO GET THIS INFORMATION OUT SO PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND IT FULLY AND THEY CAN APPLY, UH, KNOWING EXACTLY HOW TO DO SO.
THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, TALKS ABOUT NEXT STEPS.
SO TODAY WE'RE COLLECTING YOUR PRIORITIES.
AND THEN THE NEXT, THE SLIDE AFTER THIS REALLY HELPS YOU, UH, SPUR THIS CONVERSATION.
UH, BUT AFTER WE COLLECT YOUR PRIORITIES, WE WILL GO BACK AND IDENTIFY A PLAN AND A, AND A PROCESS THAT OUTLINES THE PRIORITIES THAT YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED.
AND THEN WE WILL BRING THAT BACK TO, UM, THE, THE CHECK COMMITTEE.
AND WE DO HAVE IN THIS SPECIFIC NE NEXT STEP, IF THIS COUNCIL COMMITTEE REALLY, UH, WOULD LIKE TO INCORPORATE THE ARTS COMMISSION, WE, UH, HAVE IT IN OUR PLAN TO TAKE IT TO THE SAN ANTONIO ARTS COMMISSION TO RUN THE PLAN, UH, BY THEM, AND THEN BRING IT TO THE CHECK COMMITTEE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING, UH, WITH A HOPEFUL ADOPTION OF, UH, AN OVERALL PLAN IN SUMMER OF 2022.
UH, WE ARE REALLY, UM, ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT GETTING THIS MONEY OUT TO OUR ARTS COMMUNITY AS SOON AS WE CAN.
THE NEXT SLIDE IS, UH, TO HELP THE DISCUSSION TODAY.
THIS IS, UH, WHAT MARIA WAS GOING OVER ABOUT THE PLAN COMPONENTS THAT YOU ALL WILL HELP US DEVELOP.
I WENT A LITTLE BIT EXTRA AND DID THE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES, BUT
SO I WANTED TO REALLY HAVE THIS UP WHILE WE HAVE THIS DISCUSSION TO HELP GUIDE YOU AND WHAT THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE WHEN WE DEVELOP OUR PLAN.
UH, SO AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE IMPACTS THAT ARTS AGENCIES AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS WERE IMPACTED AND REALLY FOCUSING ON THE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND ARTISTS.
UH, ALSO IT CREATED FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AND REVENUE LOSS FOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND ARTISTS.
I MEAN, AS WE MENTIONED, UM, ON THE, ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDES, THIS REALLY, OUR ARTS COMMUNITY REALLY TOOK A, A BIG HIT WITH THIS PANDEMIC, WHICH HAS BEEN SEEN ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN THAT INDUSTRY.
WE'VE, UH, OUTLINED SUPPORTING AN ARTS GRANT PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES FUNDING TO NONPROFITS AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS SUPPORTING OPERATIONAL COSTS FOR NONPROFITS, SUCH AS PAYROLL, MARKETING, UH, STRATEGIC PLANNING EFFORTS TO HELP NONPROFITS BE MORE RESILIENT IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND, UH, EXHIBITS AND WORKSHOPS AND PROGRAMMING, AND THEN INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS TO SUPPORT IMMEDIATE NEEDS, RENT BILLS, BUT EVEN SUPPO, UH, SUPPORTING SUPPLIES, UH, NEW PRO, UH, NEW PROJECTS THAT THEY MIGHT WANNA CREATE TO HELP THEM, UH, UM, MOVE FORWARD OUT OF THIS PANDEMIC AND CONTINUE WITH THEIR PROFESSIONAL CAREER.
WE TALKED ABOUT BUILDING FUNDING, UH, THAT PRIORITIZES DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMUNITIES.
THE SA CARES FOR ART PROGRAM HAD THOSE ELEMENTS IN IT WITH THE APPLICATION ASKING, UM, IF ARTISTS AND NONPROFITS REALLY FOCUSED ON SPECIFIC, UH, COMMUNITIES, OR IF THEY WERE FROM SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES, PROVIDING SUPPORT SO THAT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS CAN THRIVE BEYOND THIS PANDEMIC.
AND SO THAT THEY'RE PREPARED TO MOVE FORWARD IN CASE THERE IS ANOTHER, UH, UNPRECEDENTED EVENT THAT MIGHT HAPPEN.
AND THEN, UH, WE REALLY WANT TO PROVIDE THAT ENRICHMENT, TURNING AROUND AND, AND SEEING THAT OUR ARTS COMMUNITY REALLY WERE THOSE, UH, SECOND RESPONDERS, IF YOU WILL, THAT CAME TO THE AID TO BRING US ALL TOGETHER WHEN WE COULDN'T CONVENE IN ONE PLACE.
SO REALLY MAKING SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS ALSO BENEFITING FROM THIS INVESTMENT SO THAT PROGRAMMING AND ENRICHMENT THROUGH LIFE CAN BE CREATED THROUGH THIS ARTS, UH, FUNDING PROGRAM.
AND THEN BOLSTERING OUR CITY'S REPUTATION AS A TOP ARTS DESTINATION, UH, SO THAT WE CAN THEN AGAIN, HAVE, UH, TOURISM COME BACK HERE FOR THE ARTS.
SO THIS IS JUST, AGAIN, SOMETHING TO HELP GUIDE THE DISCUSSION.
AND WITH THAT, THAT WILL, THAT WILL END MY PORTION OF THIS PRESENTATION, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
[00:30:01]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.UH, CRYSTAL, UM, AT THIS POINT, UM, WE'LL CALL THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS, BUT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, IF YOU'D LIKE TO CHIME IN, PLEASE, UH, USE THE PAD IN FRONT OF US.
AND IF YOU'RE HAVING ISSUES WITH IT, JUST LET DEBBIE KNOW
AND, UH, MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU CALL OUR, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC? MARY ELLEN GORE.
I AM THE PRINCIPAL'S SECOND VIOLIN OF THE SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY, AND I'M THE CHAIR OF THE MUSICIAN'S NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE.
I AM HERE TO SPEAK TO THE GOOD INVESTMENT THAT A FULLY PROFESSIONAL SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY IS FOR THE CITY, AS WELL AS TO THE APPROPRIATE USE OF ARPA FUNDS IN HELPING THE MUSICIANS OF THE SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY RETURN TO A PRE PANDEMIC CONDITION.
ACCORDING TO A 2015 STUDY PUBLISHED IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPED QUARTERLY BETWEEN 2020 10, THE SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY HELPED TO GENERATE $222 MILLION IN ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT INCOME, AS WELL AS NEARLY A THIRD OF A BILLION DOLLARS IN ANNUAL ECONOMIC IMPACT.
THE ARTS GET PEOPLE TO SPEND MONEY, THEY ARE GOOD BUSINESS.
MY COLLEAGUES AND I AREN'T JUST AN ECONOMIC ENGINE FOR SAN ANTONIO PRE PANDEMIC, WE PLAYED EDUCATIONAL CONCERTS FOR UP TO 50,000 STUDENTS FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE CITY EVERY YEAR.
IN ADDITION TO TEACHING HUNDREDS OF PRIVATE MUSIC STUDENTS, WE COACH AT LOCAL, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOLS, WE COACH THE STUDENTS IN THE YOUTH ORCHESTRAS.
WE ARE APPLIED FACULTY AT LOCAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, AND WE ARE THE SOUNDTRACK TO SOME OF THE MOST MEANINGFUL EVENTS IN PEOPLE'S LIVES, OR AT LEAST UP TILL NOW.
THIS HAS BEEN THE CASE MY COLLEAGUES AND I GAVE BACK 80%, THAT'S EIGHT 0% OF OUR GUARANTEED SALARIES TO KEEP THE SYMPHONY AFLOAT.
DURING THE WORST OF THE PANDEMIC SHUTDOWN, OUR REWARD WAS TO BE ASKED TO AGREE TO ADDITIONAL DRACONIAN CUTS.
WE COULD NOT AGREE TO A PLAN THAT WOULD INEVITABLY RESULT IN THE DISMANTLING AND DESTRUCTION OF THE SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY.
AND WHILE WE ARE ENGAGED IN THIS BATTLE TO RETAIN A PROFESSIONAL ORCHESTRA HERE, MY COLLEAGUES ARE LEAVING.
SOME ARE ALREADY GONE WITH OTHERS PREPARING THEIR EXIT.
ALL OF THE BENEFITS, ECONOMIC, ARTISTIC, CULTURAL, EDUCATIONAL OF HAVING A FULL-TIME PROFESSIONAL ORCHESTRA IN SAN ANTONIO WILL VANISH ALONG WITH MY COLLEAGUES.
THERE IS NO MORE APPROPRIATE USE OF ARPA DOLLARS EARMARKED FOR THE ARTS THAN TO PROVIDE FUNDS TO PRESERVE AN EXCELLENT PROFESSIONAL ORCHESTRA FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR CITY.
THE BEST WAY FOR THIS WOULD BE FOR THE SYMPHONY SOCIETY TO REACH AGREEMENT WITH THE MUSICIAN'S UNION ON A FAIR CONTRACT AGREEABLE TO BOTH PARTIES.
SINCE THE SYMPHONY SOCIETY CLAIMS THAT ITS DEMAND TO REDUCE THE ORCHESTRA SIZE FROM 72 STAFF, MUSICIANS DOWN TO 50 IS MOTIVATED BY A NEED.
MS. GORY, I'M SORRY, COULD YOU KEEP IT TO THE ARPA DISCUSSION? YEAH, I'M SORRY.
I'M, I'M IN THAT THANK, I APOLOGIZE.
I WAS NOT TRAINED AS A PUBLIC SPEAKER.
UM, SINCE THE SYMPHONY SOCIETY'S CLAIMS THAT ITS DEMAND TO REDUCE THE ORCHESTRA SIZE FROM 72 DOWN TO 50 IS MOTIVATED BY A NEED TO COUNTER THE EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC.
THEREFORE, A RESTORATION OF 72 MUSICIANS AND RETURNING MEDICAL BENEFITS TO PRE PANDEMIC STATUS IS LEGITIMATELY CLASSIFIED AS PANDEMIC RELIEF.
IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE COUNTY IS GIVING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF A RPA FUNDING TO THE ARTS, INCLUDING THE SYMPHONY.
I RESPECTFULLY URGE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO TO DO THE SAME.
AT A MINIMUM, IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THE CITY TO MATCH THE COUNTY.
THANK YOU, MS. GORY, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND, AND THAT OF YOUR FELLOW MUSICIANS, JOHN OSA.
I AM A PART OF SAY, C, THAT IT IS LOCATED IN THE HEART OF THE CITY AND DISTRICT FIVE, AND I AM A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT SEVEN.
SO HAPPY TO BE HERE AND TALK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT THE ARTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M REALLY PROUD THAT THIS COMMITTEE IS FOCUSED ON THE ARTS BECAUSE YOU'RE TRULY FROM THE URBAN CORE OF OUR CITY, AND PRIMARILY THE MAJORITY WHILE WE, WHILE THE ARTS SERVE THE ENTIRE CITY, MOST OF THE ARTS ARE IN YOUR DISTRICTS.
IN PARTICULAR, COUNCILMAN BRAVO IN YOUR DISTRICT, AND TERRY CASTILLO IN YOUR DISTRICT AS WELL.
SO, THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING PART OF THIS DISCUSSION AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ARPA FUNDS.
UM, THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURES PRESENTATION IS SOUND AND MAKES SENSE.
[00:35:01]
UH, THE CARE STRUCTURE SHOULD BE THE MODEL AND IS THE RIGHT STRUCTURE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.AS THE CHAIR OF CALSA, A COHORT OF SAN ANTONIO'S ARTS LEADERS, WE WOULD, AGAIN, JUST EMPHASIZE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT FOR RECOVERY, OR AN OPTION ONLY IN MULTI-YEAR IF THE ORGANIZATION NEEDS IT.
I WOULD ALSO HIGH LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT SMALLER GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS OF COLOR THAT FOCUS ON THE MOST VULNERABLE AS PART OF THE SUPPORT AND REASON FOR ARPA SUPPORT.
WHEN WE LOOK AT EQUITY, WE SHOULD BE ALSO LOOKING AT THAT.
THE FOCUS IS RECOVERY, NOT DELAY.
THESE FUNDS ARE NEEDED NOW, NOT IN THE FALL.
WE WOULD ALSO ASK YOU TO REMOVE THE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.
WE ARE RECOVERING FROM A PANDEMIC.
ALSO, WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE COUNCIL ON REEVALUATING THE SOURCES AND FUNDING STRUCTURES FOR FUTURE DOLLARS.
AS THE CHAIR STATED IN THE PAST, ARTS AND CULTURE ARE A HUGE ECONOMIC GENERATOR FOR OUR CITY AND SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED AS THAT.
FINALLY, I ENCOURAGE THIS COMMITTEE AND THE COUNCIL TO SUPPORT THE DEPARTMENT WITH MUCH NEEDED STAFF AND MOVE THE TERM INTERIM FROM THEIR TITLES.
THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY REALLY TO GET THESE ARPA SUPPORT TO THE ARTS FIRST OUTTA THE GATE, AND SHOW THE REST OF THE CITY THIS COMMUNITY AND ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS THE KIND OF IMPACT AND THE KIND OF SUPPORT THAT THEY HAVE FROM OUR CITY COUNCIL AND OUR CITY LEADERS.
AT THIS POINT WE WILL, UH, BREAK INTO, UH, COMMITTEE DISCUSSION.
AND I, I CONFESS, I DON'T SEE ANY, UH, NAMES SIGNED UP TO.
THE, THE ONLY COMMENT THAT, THAT I HAVE IS, UM, BEFORE WE BREAK INTO THAT IS I, I WOULD CONCUR WITH TRYING TO MOVE QUICKLY WITH THESE, IT SOUNDS LIKE STAFF HAS REALLY THOUGHT THROUGH HOW TO DO IT.
YOU'VE ALREADY GOT A PRE-EXISTING FRAMEWORK.
MAYBE THERE'LL BE SOME FEW MODIFICATIONS WE MEET AGAIN, UM, AT THE END OF THE MONTH.
UH, SO WE, UH, WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MAY, SO THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN VIE, UH, THANK YOU CRYSTAL, UH, WITH THE CARES FOR ACT, UM, GIVING TO INDIVIDUALS.
I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE, UM, OUR PRIORITY.
UM, BUT THE ARTS NONPROFITS DID, DO WE KNOW WHAT THEY DID WITH THE CARES ACT MONEY, HOW THEY SPENT IT? UM, YES, WE DO.
UM, WE, I MEAN, WE AT LEAST HAVE SOME PERFORMANCE INDICATORS THAT WE HAD THROUGH SA CARES FOR ARTS.
SO THOSE ARTS NONPROFITS WERE ABLE TO PRODUCE PROGRAMMING AGAIN, WITH THIS FUNDING.
AND MANY OF THEM WERE ABLE TO BRING BACK STAFF WITH THIS FUNDING SUPPORT.
UM, EVEN JUST HAVING THE FUNDS TO MARKET PROGRAMS TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT ARTS PROGRAMMING IS HAPPENING AGAIN, TO THEN USE THAT INVESTMENT THROUGH THE SA CARES FOR ART TO GENERATE ADDITIONAL TICKET SALES AND REVENUES, UH, MADE A, MADE A BIG IMPACT.
SO IN BRINGING BACK STAFF, THIS IS THE OTHER THING BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S WITH NONPROFITS, DID THEY BRING THEM BACK AT A $15 AN HOUR WAGE OR AT AN EQUITABLE WAGE? WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY, WE, UH, WE DID NOT COLLECT THAT SPECIFIC INFORMATION.
I, I WOULD LIKE US TO COLLECT THAT SPECIFIC INFORMATION.
UM, I THINK THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LET NONPROFITS ACROSS THE BOARD, UH, 'CAUSE WE'LL, UH, THIS WILL BE THE SAME CONVERSATION I HAVE WHEN WE HAVE ABOUT NONPROFITS, ABOUT LIVING WAGES, ABOUT, UM, AND I KNOW THAT, THAT THERE'S MANY THAT HAVE SAID THEY NEED INCENTIVES, UH, ON HOW THEY KEEP THEIR, THEIR STAFF.
SO ASKING THOSE QUESTIONS OF THE STAFF THAT DIDN'T RETURN TO THEM, THE STAFF THAT THEY CAN'T KEEP, WHY IS THAT? IS IT, UM, IS IT HEALTHCARE ISSUES? UH, IS IT TAKING CARE OF CHILDREN? UM, UNDERSTANDING THAT, I, I, I APPRECIATE THE PROCESS THAT YOU DID.
I JUST, MY CONCERN IS THAT THIS IS, THIS IS, THERE IS A BUSINESS ASPECT TO IT.
THERE IS A FOR-PROFIT ASPECT TO IT.
AND HOW DO WE MOVE, IF WE'RE GOING TO GET OUR ART COMMUNITY TO THAT NEXT LEVEL, HOW DO WE MAKE THEM, UM, PROFITABLE? AND IF WE CONTINUE TO, UH, LOOK AT ART AS A NONPROFIT ASPECT AND NOT AS A CRITICAL PART OF OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, I, I FEEL LIKE, UH, THAT'S HOW THE REST OF THE STATE, THAT'S HOW THE REST OF THE COUNTRY IS GONNA LOOK AT, AT OUR ARTS.
[00:40:01]
LOOK AT THAT AND INCREASING CULTURAL SPECIFIC SUPPORT AND CORE GRANTS FOR PROGRAM LEVELS.BEFORE I VOTE ON THAT, I'M GOING TO NEED TO SEE, UH, WHAT GROUPS YOU ARE LOOKING AT.
AND I WANNA THANK THE SYMPHONY FOR BEING HERE.
I KNOW THEY LEFT, BUT I KNOW TRADITIONALLY WE HAVE, WE HAVE, THE CITY HAS POURED MONEY INTO THAT, AND HERE WE ARE TODAY AND IN THIS PREDICAMENT WITH THAT.
AND SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INVESTING IN, IN GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT TREAT THEIR EMPLOYEES, UM, FAIRLY AND EQUITABLY.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY LENS FOR ME, THAT THAT'S WHAT I WANNA SEE IN TERMS OF THE STANDARDS.
AND I KNOW THAT THE ARTS COMMUNITY CAN DO THAT.
I KNOW THEY'RE IN RECOVERY AND WE NEED TO WORK ON THAT.
SO I REALLY, I UNDERSTAND YOU WANNA TAKE IT TO OUR ARTS AND CULTURE COMMITTEE AFTER, UH, OUR, I MEAN OUR BOARD, UM, FOR ARTS.
I WILL BE TALKING TO MY BOARD MEMBER BEFORE THAT TO KIND OF GET HER PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT'S GOING ON HERE, BECAUSE WE, WE JUST SEE IT FROM ONE SIDE.
AND I, AND I NEED, I NEED TO HEAR FROM THE ARTIST ON THE GROUND, AND I WANNA THANK YOU FOR COMING AND SPEAKING BECAUSE THAT, UM, THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT AND SIGNIFICANT THAT WE, WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE ARTS COMMUNITY AND, AND THAT IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS THAT THEY'RE REALLY GENERATED FROM, UM, ONE THE CITY'S $15 AN HOUR, UH, LIVING WAGE AND ALSO FROM, UH, FROM THE ARTISTS THEMSELVES, UM, AND, AND WHAT THEY LEARNED THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC.
UH, COUNCILMAN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA HAVE MORE TIME, UH, STILL WRITING MY NOTES A LITTLE BIT.
UM, I, HERE HERE'S MY STRUGGLE A LITTLE BIT WITH THE $5,000 GRANTS, IS THAT $5,000 FEELS, UM, MINUSCULE A LITTLE BIT FOR AN ARTIST THAT DEDICATE SOMETIMES WEEKS AND MONTHS AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN TIMES SPACE AND MATERIALS.
UM, BUT I KNOW THAT WE WANT TO IMPACT AS MANY ARTISTS AS POSSIBLE.
AND SO I WONDER, IS THE GREATEST IMPACT GOING TO BE SUPPORTING AS MANY ARTISTS IN A SMALL WAY, OR A SMALLER NUMBER OF ARTISTS IN A GREATER WAY? AND I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE OF THOSE IS RIGHT.
AND I'M, WE'D HAVE TO ASK, WE'D HAVE TO ASK ARTISTS AND, UM, I GUESS OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD HAVE TO WEIGH IN ON THAT AS WELL.
I WOULD CHALLENGE, HOWEVER, THE, UM, I THINK IT WAS ON SLIDE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT SLIDE IT WAS, BUT IT WAS BASED ON AN ORGANIZATION'S BUDGET, UM, THE AWARD AMOUNT FOR NON-PROFIT, UH, NOT NONPROFIT, UH, ARTS ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE THE BEHOLDER GALLERY JUST OPENED THIS PAST YEAR AND OPERATES AS THE ONLY BLACK OWNED AND OPERATED, UH, STUDIO AND GALLERY IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO I IMAGINE THEIR BUDGET ISN'T AS LARGE AS, UM, ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A LOT LONGER.
UM, BUT THEY TOOK A VERY GREAT RISK OPENING IN THE TAIL END OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD GREATER CAPACITY AND SET THEM UP FOR SUSTAINABILITY MOVING FORWARD BY MAKING ONE-TIME INVESTMENT, UM, THAT WILL PREVENT SOME OF THE STRUGGLES THAT PLAGUE OTHER BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS IN THE CITY.
AND SO I WONDER HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
AND I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT WE NECESSARILY CAN IF WE'RE, UM, BASING AN AWARD ON THEIR CURRENT BUDGET.
AND SO I, I WOULD LOVE FEEDBACK FROM MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES ON THAT.
AND I DO NOT, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, I KNOW THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL 5% AWARD, UM, FOR CULTURALLY BASED ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, BUT FOR MANY OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT I KNOW, THEY WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE ELIGIBLE FOR SOME OF THE HIGHER AWARDS ANYWAY, BASED ON THEIR BUDGET.
SO IT'S, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT THAT'LL, I KNOW, I KNOW IT'S CASE BY CASE.
SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A STRUGGLE FOR ARTS.
I WOULD LIKE TO BE CERTAIN THAT WE ARE PRIORITIZING ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL THAT SERVE IN THE AWARDS TO ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, I WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT AND PROMOTE ARTISTS OF COLOR.
UM, SO SOMETIMES THEY HAVE ETHNIC NAMES AS, AS AN ORGANIZATION, BUT THEIR ARTISTS ARE NOT.
SO AND SO, I WANNA BE SURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK INTO STUFF LIKE THAT AND WE'RE LEAVING, WE'RE LEAVING THE CONVERSATION ARTS RIGHT NOW.
COUNCILMAN COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO.
I'M REALLY HOPEFUL THAT THIS COMMITTEE CAN REACH CONSENSUS ON THE ARTS SOON, SO THAT WAY WE CAN GET IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE AND GRANTS OUT TO OUR ARTISTS WHO HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE, RIGHT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE ARTS, UM, AND, AND I KNOW I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR HERE, RIGHT? THAT IT'S A, IT'S A CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND THAT IT'S NOT JUST ENSURING THAT OUR ARTISTS HAVE
[00:45:01]
A PLACE TO STAY AND THEIR BILLS PAID, BUT THEY GIVE SO MUCH SERVICE TO OUR YOUTH AND OUR KIDS AND, AND RIGHT.UM, SO I, I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.
UH, I HAVE SPOKEN TO THE ARTS COMMUNITY AND HEARD FROM THE ARTS COMMUNITY ABOUT USING THE CARES MODEL, UM, TO DISPERSE THESE FUNDS AS WELL AS, UH, SUPPORT FOR THE 4 MILLION FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND THE 1 MILLION FOR GRANTS.
UM, I LISTENING TO, UH, MARY ELLEN FROM THE SYMPHONY SPEAK, I I AM, I AM HOPEFUL THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY, UH, MATCH AND SUPPORT THE SYM SYMPHONY.
UM, HOWEVER, I WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT I WANNA ENSURE THAT WHILE WE'RE DISPERSING FUNDS, RIGHT, UH, TO ORGANIZATIONS AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, THAT THEY'RE TRULY ARTS ORGANIZATIONS WHO SUPPORT THE ARTS AND THE ARTISTS, RIGHT? AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS ARTS ORGANIZATIONS WITH FAIR LABOR PRACTICES AND ARE WILLING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE, THE ARTISTS THAT ARE PRODUCING THE, THE, THE WORK.
UM, BUT, UH, THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS IF WE CAN REACH CONSENSUS SOON TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THAT IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE OUT.
UH, CRYSTAL COUNCILMAN, GO AHEAD.
I I ALSO SUPPORT MY COLLEAGUES IN, UH, TRYING TO GET THIS FUNDING OUT THE DOOR QUICKLY.
AND ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS, I SAW THAT THIS IS GONNA GO TO THE FULL COUNCIL IN THE SUMMER.
UM, SO MY QUESTION IS, IF THIS COMMITTEE CAN COME TO CONSENSUS ON HOW TO DISTRIBUTE THIS FUNDING FASTER THAN THE OTHER COMMITTEES FOR THE OTHER ARPA FUNDS, IS THERE ANY REASON WHY WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GO TO FULL COUNCIL AND AUTHORIZE THIS SOONER? UH, COUNCILMAN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GO TO COUNCIL AS SOON AS YOU'RE DONE.
EVEN WITHIN THE SAME COMMITTEE.
LET'S SAY ARTS IS DONE BEFORE SENIORS AND NONPROFITS, WE'LL TAKE ARTS TO THE FULL COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
UM, OTHERWISE, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I JUST, I NEED TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH THE ARTS COMMUNITY, GET TO GET FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM, DIRECTLY BEFORE HAVING MORE COMMENTS ON THIS.
UH, CRYSTAL, UH, WHAT I'D, I'D LIKE TO DO AT THIS POINT BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT TOPIC IS, UH, SORT OF REITERATING WHAT WE HEARD AND SEE IF YOU ARE READY TO GO TO THE ARTS COMMISSION AND THEN COME BACK TO US.
OUR NEXT MEETING IS APRIL 28TH AT 2:00 PM UM, I KNOW COUNCILMAN BRAVO DOES WANT AN ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK, SPEAK TO ARTISTS.
SO IF, UH, PERHAPS YOU COULD HAVE A ONE-ON-ONE WITH HIM SO THAT WE, WE CAN MOVE ON THAT TIMELINE IF, UM, SO GO AHEAD.
SO WHAT WE'LL DO IS IF, UH, IT IS THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION TO TAKE IT TO THE ARTS COMMISSION, WE WILL GET WITH THE ARTS COMMISSION, WHICH TYPICALLY MEETS AT THE BEGINNING OF MAY.
UH, BUT WE CAN LOOK AT AND SEE ABOUT HAVING A, A SPECIAL MEETING.
UH, IT'LL DEPEND ON HAVING A QUORUM THERE.
UM, SO WE'LL, UH, PRIORITIZE THAT MEETING CERTAINLY, BUT IT WOULD HAPPEN NO LATER THAN EARLY MAY.
AND THEN, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, I HEARD THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS SAY IS, UM, UM, I'LL START WITH COUNCILWOMAN VERAN.
UH, WE HEARD ABOUT LIVING, UH, WAGES AS WELL AS, UH, OUTREACH AND I, I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BE OUTREACH FOR THE R F P COUNCILWOMAN? YES.
UH, IF WE COULD JUST GET, UH, FOR THE AR, THE CARES ACT GROUPS THAT WERE PROVIDED MONEY IN THE FIRST ROUND, UH, IF WE COULD GET A LIVING WAGE IDEA FROM THEM.
UM, AND, AND SPECIFICALLY, 'CAUSE I LIKED WHAT COUNCILMAN CASTILLO SAID, IF WE CAN SEE IF THEY GAVE MONEY DIRECTLY TO ARTISTS OR IF IT WAS JUST USED FOR PROGRAMMING AND, UM, ADMINISTRATION FEES, IF WE CAN SEE THAT.
UM, AND THEN, AND THEN, YEAH, THAT WAS, THAT WAS IT.
SO, A REPORT BACK ON HOW THE CARES MONEY, UH, WENT, UH, EXPENDED.
UH, IF YOU COULD EMAIL THAT TO, UM, MR. MCC CAREY'S TEAM AND HE CAN DISTRIBUTE IT TO THE COMMITTEE.
UM, WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT, UM, UH, CULTURALLY, UH, RELEVANT NOT, WHAT'S THE TERM? SPECIFIC.
SPECIFIC THANK YOU ORGANIZATIONS AND, UH, ALSO SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS AND HELPING THEM BUILD CAPACITY, UH, PRIORITIZING THAT.
IS THAT CORRECT? COUNCILMAN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
UM, FROM COUNCILMAN CASTILLO, ALSO FAIR LABOR PRACTICES, UM, THERE WAS A COMMENT ABOUT THE SYMPHONY, UM, BUT, UH, COUNCILMAN CASTILLO, WERE YOU DIRECTING THAT FOR THE BUDGET DISCUSSION, LIKE THE ANNUAL BUDGET DISCUSSION OR FOR ALSO FOR CARES.
AND, UM, WE KNOW COUNCILMAN IS GONNA, UH, COME BACK OR SPEAK TO YOU DIRECTLY ABOUT ADDITIONAL INPUT, UM, 'CAUSE HE HAS A VERY LARGE ARTS COMMUNITY, AS WAS POINTED OUT.
UM, IS THAT SUFFICIENT, UH, GUIDANCE FOR YOU AT THIS
[00:50:01]
POINT, RACHEL? YES, I BELIEVE IT IS.SO IF THEY'RE ABLE, IF THE ARTS COMMISSION IS ABLE TO MEET, UH, BEFORE APRIL 28TH, AND WE'LL HEAR BACK, IF NOT, WE'LL HEAR BACK AT OUR FIRST MEETING IN, IN MAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH AND THANK YOU COMMITTEE.
I WAS GONNA ASK, DO WE KNOW HOW MUCH THE COUNTY HAS COMMITTED, UM, FOR THE SYMPHONY? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
YEAH, THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION.
WE DO NOT, UM, COUNCILMAN, I MAY NOTE TO ASK THAT QUESTION.
SO WE'LL REPORT BACK THROUGH DAVID MCCAREY, UH, IF IT'S IN THE ROOM, UH, HOLD ON.
AND CAN WE GET THE TIMELINE THAT THEY'RE GONNA COMMIT? BECAUSE I'VE, I'VE HEARD THAT THE COUNTY IS COMMITTING MONEY, BUT NOT GIVING TILL YEAR TWO OR YEAR THREE, UM, IN SOME, IN SOME ARPA GIVES.
SO IF WE COULD JUST GET THAT ALSO, WE WILL ASK.
AND THE REASON I ASK THAT QUESTION IS BECAUSE IF THE PLAN IS TO GIVE IN THE MILLIONS, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE THAT IN THE ARTS BUDGET FOR ARPA.
AND SO I'M JUST, I THINK THAT ALSO NEEDS TO WEIGH INTO THE CONVERSATION.
UM, I JUST WANNA THANK THE COMMITTEES FOR, UH, BEING SO ON THE BALL AND READY TO GO WITH THE ARTS DISCUSSION.
UM, UH, WE REALLY DO WANNA GET THAT, THAT MONEY OUT THE, OUT THE DOOR.
WE WILL MOVE ON, UH, TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS FUNDS FOR SENIORS.
I WAS HIDING BEHIND THE POLL OVER THERE.
IT'S, SO GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, THIS PRESENTATION IS WILL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT CITY INVESTMENTS IN SENIOR SERVICES.
AND WE ARE ALSO REQUESTING CHECK COMMITTEE, UM, INPUT ON, UM, PRIORITIES FOR COVID IMPACT, AS WELL AS GATHERING INPUT ON FUNDING SELECTION PROCESS AND YOUR GATHERING YOUR POLICY GUIDANCE.
SO THE ARPA FUNDING DOES PROVIDE US WITH A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES THAT SENIORS HAVE EXPERIENCED THROUGH C O V I AND TO REALLY INVEST IN COMMUNITY-BASED SOLUTIONS THAT ARE EVIDENCE-BASED AND, UM, AND WILL SUPPORT THE, THE MOST VULNERABLE SENIORS.
SO YOU'VE SEEN THIS CHART, THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK DOES INCLUDE $5 MILLION TO ADDRESS THE IMPACTS OF COVID ON THE SENIOR POPULATION.
AND CURRENTLY THE, FOR FISCAL YEAR 22, THE ADOPTED BUDGET INCLUDES 21 MILLION, UM, FOR, UH, SENIOR SERVICES PROGRAMMING.
UH, 19 MILLION OF THAT IS FROM THE GENERAL FUND, AND 2 MILLION OF THAT IS, UH, GRANT FUNDING FROM, UH, FEDERAL, UH, AGENCY ON AGING DEPARTMENT.
THE BUDGET INCLUDES NEW INVESTMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 22, AND THERE WERE SEVERAL.
SO ONE, UM, THE, IT SUPPORTS THE COUNCIL, NEW COUNCIL, DISTRICT NINE SENIOR CENTER, EXPANDED SENIOR NUTRITION FUNDING, UM, IMPLEMENTED FINANCIAL COUNSELORS AND BENEFITS NAVIGATORS, NAVIGATORS, UH, WHO SPECIALIZE IN HELPING SENIORS WITH THEIR BUDGETS AND IDENTIFYING RESOURCES TO HELP PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE ON FIXED INCOMES.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A, A PROGRAM, A CONTRACT NOW WITH OATS THAT WAS FUNDED IN FISCAL YEAR 22 TO PROVIDE DIGITAL PROGRAMMING FOR OLDER ADULTS ALONG WITH TRAINING AND RESOURCES.
CURRENTLY WE OPERATE 10 COMPREHENSIVE SENIOR CENTER LOCATIONS, AND TWO MORE AROUND THE WAY.
UM, WE ALSO OPERATE, UM, AND PARTNER WITH COMMUNITY AGENCIES TO PROVIDE THE MEAL PROGRAM AT 39 PART-TIME NUTRITION SITES.
TOGETHER, THESE SITES ARE SERVING, UM, NEARLY 25,000 SENIORS IN SAN ANTONIO AND BEXAR COUNTY.
SO WE COLLABORATE WITH MORE, WITH DOZENS OF, UM, COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO ENSURE THAT OLDER ADULTS HAVE ACCESS TO SERVICES AND RESOURCES THAT ENRICH THEIR LIVES AND ENSURE THAT THEY ARE HEALTHY, ENGAGED, AND INDEPENDENT FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.
PARTNERSHIPS, UH, FOCUS ON ENHANCING OUR DIRECT SERVICES AND ENSURING THAT SENIORS ARE, UM, AGAIN, ACTIVE AND ENGAGED.
UH, THESE INCLUDE FOOD SECURITY SERVICES DAILY, NOON MEALS AND COMMODITIES THROUGH THE FOOD BANK, RECREATION AND EXERCISE PROGRAMMING CLASSES, FITNESS CENTER, UM, EACH ARE TAILORED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE UNIQUE POPULATION AT EACH OF THE SENIOR CENTERS.
[00:55:01]
THEN EDUCATION CLASSES.THAT INCLUDES ART, WRITING, DIGITAL LITERACY, AND NOW EVEN, UM, THEATER AT SOME OF OUR CENTERS.
WE DO HAVE A SENIOR STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, IN JANUARY OF 2020, A D H S BRIEFED, BRIEFED THE, UM, THEN COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY COMMITTEE ON RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SENIOR SERVICES STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WAS CONDUCTED IN 2019.
THIS WAS JUST BEFORE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, SO MANY OF THOSE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE DELAYED, BUT WE ARE, ARE BACK ON, UM, IMPLEMENTING OUR PLAN TO, TO, UH, ADDRESS SOME OF THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE, THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT INCLUDE REBRANDING OUR SENIOR CENTERS AND, UM, MAKING THEM MORE INCLUSIVE AND MORE AGE-FRIENDLY, ENHANCING EQUITY-BASED PROGRAMMING AT THE CENTERS, INCREASING OUR FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL SERVICES CAPABILITIES, AS WELL AS EXTENDING OPERATIONAL HOURS AT THE CENTERS AND ENHANCING HEALTH AND WELLNESS SERVICES.
WE ALSO HAVE, UM, ADDED A, A RECOMMENDATION OF THE, THE STRATEGIC PLAN, DIVERSIFIED MEAL OPTIONS.
AND SO SENIORS NOW HAVE, UM, CHOICES IN SOME, YOU KNOW, SOME LOCATIONS OF DIFFERENT MEALS THEY CAN, UH, ORDER AHEAD OF TIME.
AND SO, 5 MILLION IS ALLOCATED FROM ARPA FOR PROGRAMMING AND SERVICES THAT MITIGATE THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID SENIORS.
LOW SENIORS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE LOW INCOME, HAVE BEEN DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY COVID IN AREAS OF SOCIAL ISOLATION.
AND WE ARE SEEING THAT OUR CENTERS ARE SERVING ABOUT 50% OF THE PRE PANDEMIC, UM, NUMBER OF SENIORS EVERY DAY.
AND OTHER PROVIDERS, WE, WE AREN'T THE ONLY, UH, SENIOR PROVIDER IN, IN THE COMMUNITY.
OTHER PROVIDERS ARE SEEING THAT SAME LEVEL OF, UM, ATTENDANCE.
UH, THEY'RE EXPERIENCING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP, WHICH WE EXPECT TO CONTINUE GIVEN THE RI YOU KNOW, THE RISE OF FUEL AND FOOD AND, AND SERVICES AND, UH, INFLATION IN GENERAL.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE FOOD INSECURITY.
IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT GETTING SENIORS BACK TO THE CENTERS IS SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE CAN OFFER THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ONCE PER MEAL, ONCE PER DAY, BALANCED NUTRITIONAL MEAL, AS WELL AS, UM, EXTRA COMMODITIES AS AS SENIORS NEED THEM.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THE, THEY'RE EXPERIENCING HEALTH IMPACTS, WHICH ARE EXACERBATED BY ISOLATION AND FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AND, AND THEN POOR NUTRITION.
AND SO, CITY COUNCIL HAS, UH, THROUGH PRIOR BRIEFINGS AS IDENTIFIED, UH, SOME PRIORITIES FOR SENIOR INVESTMENTS.
AND THOSE INCLUDE CONNECTING SENIORS TO, UM, TECHNOLOGY TO MITIGATE SOCIAL ISOLATION, PROVIDING WELLNESS ACTIVITIES TO ADDRESS SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH, EXPANDING OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES TO CONTINUE INITIATIVES THAT WERE STARTED DURING COVID, LIKE, UM, PARKING LOT BINGO AND, UM, MEETINGS WHILE WALKING AROUND, ENCOURAGING SENIORS TO TO USE PARKS AND, UM, FITNESS ACTIVITIES THAT ARE OUTDOORS WHILE THEY ARE ALSO BEING ABLE TO MEET UP WITH FRIENDS AND, AND FAMILY MEMBERS.
AND THEN IMPROVING ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY, FRESH AND NUTRITIOUS FOOD THROUGH SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK AND MEALS ON WHEELS, UM, AND DEDICATING SENIOR FINANCIAL AND BENEFITS NAVIGATORS WITH EXPERTISE IN OLDER ADULT FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE.
AND SO, AS WITH THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, TODAY WE'RE ASKING FOR YOUR INPUT AND POLICY DIRECTION THAT WILL HELP US, UH, GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SENIOR SERVICES IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WHEN COMPLETE THE PLAN WOULD IDENTIFY THE C OVID 19 IMPACT.
UM, AND THEN BASED ON YOUR PRIORITIES, IT WILL IDENTIFY PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES AS WELL AS, UH, PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND METRICS AND EQUITABLE OUTCOMES.
AND SO, AND AGAIN, UM, IT PROVIDES A NOT TO EXCEED FOUR YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
AND SO, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, TO SUMMARIZE.
THE FIRST NEXT STEP IS GATHERING YOUR INPUT.
AND I THINK YOU'VE HEARD THAT SEVERAL TIMES.
[01:00:01]
AND YOUR POLICY DIRECTION, ANSWERING THE QUESTION, WHAT C OVID 19 IMPACTS ARE WE TRYING TO SOLVE FOR? AND THEN WHAT POLICY GUIDANCE DO YOU HAVE REGARDING THE FUNDING PROCESS? WE WILL GO BACK, THEN WE WILL THEN DEVELOP THE PLAN AND NO LATER THAN, UM, LATE SUMMER, WE WILL BRIEF THE ELDERLY COMMISSION, JOINT COMMISSION FOR ELDERLY AFFAIRS AND THEN COME BACK TO CHECK FOR FINAL APPROVAL BEFORE TO MOVE IT FORWARD TO CITY, THE FULL CITY COUNCIL.AND THIS WILL ALL BE DONE NO LATER THAN FALL, BUT I HEARD YOUR, YOUR DISCUSSION EARLIER, YOUR MESSAGE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO, TO SPEED THAT UP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
WE WILL COMPETE WITH ARTS TO GET HERE.
AND SO THAT CONCLUDES, UH, MY PRESENTATION ON THE SENIOR SERVICES PLAN, AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE YOUR FEEDBACK.
WHEN DOES THE JOINT COMMISSION MEET AGAIN ON ELDERLY AFFAIRS? WHAT? OH, THEY MEET MONTHLY.
SO IT WOULD BE, I THINK THEY HAVE AN APRIL MEETING.
WE'LL START WITH COUNCILWOMAN VIE.
UH, MELODY, THIS IS, UM, SO IMPORTANT TO ME AS YOU KNOW, UM, AND WE HAVE SOUTH SIDE LINES AS A SENIOR CENTER, BUT WE ALSO HAVE, UH, PRESTA, ROS, UM, HARLANDALE, WE HAVE CHURCHES, UM, WE'LL HAVE HARLANDALE TOO COMING UP SOON.
SO I AM, UM, I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE, OUR SENIORS WERE IMPACTED THE MOST.
AND I THINK WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SOCIAL ISOLATION, UM, AND THE PRIORITIES THAT THE CITY COUNCIL GAVE, I THINK THEY WERE GREAT PRIORITIES, BUT THEY WERE VERY BROAD.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO GO SPECIFICALLY TO, UM, MAYBE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND GET A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT SOCIAL ISOLATION.
I CAN TELL YOU WHAT MY SENIORS AT THE CENTERS WANT, WHICH IS MORE PROGRAMMING.
BUT MY CONCERN IS THAT 50% THAT HASN'T RETURNED BACK.
AND I REALLY BELIEVE THAT WHEN WE TALK TO THEM, IT IS GONNA BE THE, UM, THE FINANCIAL AND THE HEALTH, UM, ISSUES.
SO I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE, UM, US TRY AND DO SOMETHING WHERE WE REACH OUT TO THAT 50% THAT HAVEN'T RETURNED AND TRY AND GET THEIR IDEAS OF WHAT WOULD BRING THEM BACK SO THAT WE COULD CHECK ON THEM.
AND THEN THE OTHER IS, UM, THAT DIGITAL, UH, EVERYTHING SEEMS, EVERY TIME I TURN AROUND, IT'S ALL ABOUT TELEHEALTH, AND THAT'S GONNA WORK FOR SOME, BUT SOME OF THE SENIORS FEEL VERY UNCOMFORTABLE STILL WITH THEIR DEVICES OR THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO GO INTO THE DISTRICTS AND SEE WHO'S HAVING ISSUES THERE AND TALK TO THE SENIOR CENTERS ABOUT THAT.
BECAUSE IF THEY SURVIVED C O V I AND THEY HAVE, UH, LINGERING EFFECTS, HOW ARE THEY GONNA GET THOSE SERVICES? ALSO, HOW ARE THEY GONNA GET TO THOSE DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENTS? SO MAKING SURE THEY HAVE THE TRANSPORTATION TO GET THERE.
UM, FOR MY SENIORS, IF THEY ARE USING, UM, IF THEY'RE HAVING TO USE THE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM, THEY'RE GOING TO MULTIPLE PLACES TO TALK TO PEOPLE.
IF THEY'RE USING THE VA, THEY'RE TRAVELING TO THE VETERANS HOSPITAL.
SO IF THERE'S A, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO GET THESE APPOINTMENTS, TELEHEALTH WISE, HOW DO WE HELP THEM WITH THAT? THE OTHER THING IN TERMS OF THE FINANCIAL AND, UM, BENEFITS AND NAVIGATORS, I KNOW WE HAVE THIS GREAT READY TO WORK PROGRAM, AND WE HAVE AN IDEA OF WHO MIGHT BE THERE, BUT I HAVE A LOT OF SENIORS AT MY SENIOR CENTERS THAT COULD PROBABLY WORK FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME JOBS STILL AND MAYBE RAISING GRANDKIDS AND MAY HAVE TO.
SO I THINK WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, SENIORS FINANCIAL, UH, SITUATION, WE MAY NEED TO TALK ABOUT GETTING THEM BACK INTO THE WORKFORCE IF THAT IS SOMETHING THEY CHOOSE.
UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY, I KNOW FOR SOME THAT THAT'S NOT EVEN A, A, UM, UH, AN OPTION.
AND THE THING IS, I WOULD, I WOULD LOVE THEM TO BE ABLE TO GO INTO A PROFESSION WHERE I HAVE A 65 YEAR OLD NOT OUTDOORS HAVING TO WORK, BUT GETTING A JOB WHERE HE CAN MAYBE WORK INDOORS.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT'S MY COMMENTS ON THAT.
WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF US, BUT I REALLY THINK, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE FAST, BUT I DO THINK IF WE SEND OUT LIKE A LITTLE EMAIL ABOUT WHAT, WHAT THE PRIORITIES ARE TO THE
[01:05:01]
DIFFERENT COUNCILS, UH, UNDER THESE PRELIMINARY, UM, CATEGORIES, THAT, THAT SHOULD BE HELPFUL ALSO.UM, I SPOKE TO SOME OF THE DIRECTORS OF OUR SENIOR CENTERS, AND THEY HAD MENTIONED WITH THE EXISTING SENIORS, THE 50% WHO ARE PRESENT, THAT THEY'VE SEEN AN INCREASE OF FOLKS, UH, WANTING TO APPLY FOR FOOD BANK ASSISTANCE.
UM, HOWEVER, THEY DON'T QUALIFY FOR THAT ASSISTANCE.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF WE CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THE FOOD BANK, HOW WE COULD POTENTIALLY, UH, A AMEND THAT CONTRACT.
UM, SO MORE FOLKS QUALIFY FOR THAT, UH, FOOD BANK ASSISTANCE.
UH, IN, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, THE SENIORS ARE VERY HAPPY WITH THE NEW MEAL CHOICES.
UH, THEY'RE SHOWING ME THEIR NO PATOS THAT, UH, THEY WERE GIVEN, UM, BUT, UH, HAVING CONVERSATIONS WHILE BLOCK WALKING TO INVITE FOLKS TO OUR BOND MEETINGS.
I DID INTERACT WITH THIS ONE SENIOR, SHE ATTENDS A D THREE SENIOR CENTER, AND SHE HASN'T GONE BACK.
UM, BUT SHE LOVES THE, THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CLASSES.
UH, AND SHE MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A GAP BETWEEN THE CLASSES, AND THAT'S THE ONLY REASON SHE GOES IS TO LIKE, GET HER WORKOUT IN AND SOCIALIZE WITH INSTRUCTOR.
UM, SO I THINK, UH, CONTINUING TO, UH, INCREASE THOSE CLASSES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO OUR SENIORS WOULD BE HELPFUL AND HELP, UH, BRING MORE FOLKS BACK TO THE SENIOR CENTERS.
UH, IN, IN ADDITION TO THAT, RIGHT, UH, THAT SOCIAL SOCIALIZATION COMPONENT, UH, AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, RIGHT? UH, ENSURING THAT IT'S JUST NOT SERVICES LIKE IT'S MOVIE NIGHT, RIGHT? BUT IT'S ACTUAL INTERACTION AND BRINGING SERVICES, UH, TO OUR SENIORS, UH, WITH SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.
UH, THERE'S A UPENN STUDY THAT SHOWS THAT BY I BELIEVE 2030, UH, OUR HOMELESS, UH, POPULATION OVER 65 IS GOING TO POTENTIALLY TRIPLE.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO USE OUR SUPPORTIVE SERVICES, UH, TO CONNECT OUR SENIORS TO THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION PROCESS, RIGHT? HOW TO APPLY, UM, HOW WE CAN PROVIDE THOSE, UM, HOW STABILIZATION SUPPORTIVE SERVICES WITHIN OUR SENIOR SERVICES TO ENSURE THAT RIGHT AS WE APPROACH, UH, 20, 20 30, THAT HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, WE CAN MITIGATE THAT, INCREASE THAT UP PENN'S, UH, EXPECTING THAT WE SEE.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO ENSURE THAT WE EMPHASIZE IS ACCESS TO, TO FOOD, UM, WITH THE FOOD BANK, UH, AS WELL AS INCREASING THOSE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CLASSES FOR MANY OF OUR SENIORS, UH, AND ENSURING THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES, WE ARE TOUCHING ON THAT HOUSING SECURITY WITH MANY OF OUR SENIORS.
COUNCILMAN, DID YOU HAVE COMMENTS? YES, MA'AM.
UM, I'LL START OFF, UM, CAN YOU GO TO SLIDE FIVE FOR ME? SO, UM, LOOKING AT THE MAP, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S A NUMBER OF GAPS WHERE, UM, THERE ARE NO SENIOR CENTERS.
UM, AND WE HAVE ABOUT, I THINK ACCORDING TO THE SENTENCE, IT WAS ABOUT 176,458 SENIORS IN THE CITY, ROUGHLY.
UM, AND EVERY SINGLE ONE DESERVES TO HAVE A HAVE A PLACE WHERE THEY KNOW THEY CAN BE ENGAGED WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THEY CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE MEMORIES, CONTINUE TO GROW AND CONTINUE TO LEARN TO HAVE FUN.
UM, AND I'VE EXPRESSED THAT I WOULD, I WANT A, I WANT TO SUPPORT A STANDALONE SENIOR CENTER IN D TWO.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE CONVERSATIONS AT THE TOURS, UM, ABOUT THAT.
BUT I'D ALSO BE INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE CLOSURE OF THOSE GAPS IN OTHER DISTRICTS.
IF, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THEY FEEL LIKE THEIR CONSTITUENTS WOULD WANT.
UM, I WOULD REQUEST $5 MILLION, AGAIN, IS A VERY SMALL AMOUNT.
AND SO I WOULD REQUEST THAT WE DEVELOP CREATIVE WAYS THAT, UM, WE CAN LEVERAGE SOME OF THE MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING THAT'S GONNA BE GOING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, AND I KNOW THREE OF US SIT ON THAT COMMITTEE, SO I DON'T IMAGINE IT WOULD BE TOO DIFFICULT, UM, BECAUSE MENTAL HEALTH IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE NOTICED AND ALL OF US HAVE NOTICED THAT OUR SENIORS ARE STRUGGLING WITH RIGHT NOW.
UM, ON THE TOPIC OF HOUSING STABILIZATION, UM, COUNCILMAN CASTILLO BROUGHT UP A EXCELLENT POINT ABOUT THE FUTURE AND THE FUTURE OF HOMELESSNESS, UM, AND OUR SENIORS.
AND SO AS WE LOOK AT ARPA, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO PLEASE, UM, BE AS CREATIVE AS POSSIBLE AND LOOK INTO THE FUTURE, CREATE A VISION, AND THEN FROM THERE, FIND AND SUPPORT METHODS THAT ARE GOING TO GET TO THAT VISION.
I FEEL LIKE WITH ARPA, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, AND I'LL, I'LL GET TO THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, I HAVE A FEAR THAT THINGS ARE JUST GONNA BE THE WAY THAT THEY ARE WITH EVERY OTHER, EVERY OTHER POCKET OF MONEY THAT WE HAVE.
AND I THINK THIS IS A TOOL THAT WE HAVE THAT WE'RE NEVER GONNA GET AGAIN, THAT WE NEED TO BE CREATIVE WITH.
UM, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE, UM, REASONS THAT MY SENIORS DON'T GO TO THE SENIOR CENTER IS, UM, LACK OF TRANSPORTATION.
[01:10:01]
I HAVE, I HAVE SENIORS WHO GO TO DISTRICT, UM, THE DISTRICT TWO SENIOR CENTER, THEY GO TO THE DISTRICT 10 SENIOR CENTER.UM, I'M SURE AT SOME POINT THEY'LL GO TO THE DISTRICT NINE, BUT THERE'S A HUGE POCKET IN THE NORTHEAST WHERE THEY'RE NOT IN THE TRANSPORTATION, UM, SERVICE AREA TO GET TO D 10 OR D TWO.
AND SO, UM, HOW WE CAN USE ARPA TO ADDRESS THAT PROBLEM IS SOMETHING I WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN.
UM, I THINK OTHER THAN THAT, I ECHO, UM, YOU IDENTIFIED A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS. I THINK IT WAS SLIDE NINE MAYBE.
UM, THE FOOD ACCESS, THE, UM, MENTAL HEALTH, PHYSICAL AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITY.
ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE THINGS THAT, UM, ARE GREAT CONCERN, AND I'M VERY INTERESTED IN HOW WE CAN ADDRESS THOSE CREATIVELY WITH $5 MILLION.
I DON'T HAVE ANYBODY ELSE SIGNED UP ANYMORE.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I GUESS SINCE WE'RE THE COMMITTEE THAT ALSO ADDRESSES CLIMATE CHANGE, I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT OUR, OUR THERMOSTATS WERE AT 68 DEGREES AND IT WAS FREEZING IN HERE, SO I HOPE WE DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHO'S IN CHARGE OF THAT, BUT I HOPE WE DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE.
UM,
UM, I, SO I, I AM ALL FOR MORE FINDING MORE FUNDING FOR SENIORS.
UM, AND I, I THINK THAT HAVING THESE NUTRITION CENTERS ALSO HELPS THEM WITH MENTAL HEALTH BY BRINGING THEM TOGETHER AND GIVING THEM OPPORTUNITIES TO SOCIALIZE WHEN THEY COME TOGETHER FOR A MEAL.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.
I, I WOULDN'T BE FOR LOOKING AT MENTAL HEALTH, UH, FUNDING AS THE FIRST PLACE TO GO, TAKE THAT FROM, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE GROSSLY UNDER, CONTINUE TO BE GROSSLY UNDERFUNDED ON MENTAL HEALTH, AND THOSE ARE SOME VERY CRITICAL NEEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT I WOULD BE OPEN TO THAT CONVERSATION.
I WOULD ADD THAT THE REASON THAT I, UM, BRING THAT AS A, AS A SUGGESTION IS THAT MENTAL HEALTH IS FOR EVERYONE.
UM, AND I THINK WE DO NEED TO USE SOME OF THAT TO ADDRESS THE MENTAL HEALTH OF OUR SENIORS.
I JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO BE PART, TO LISTEN IN AND, UH, GO TO THE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING ON MENTAL HEALTH, UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THOSE ARPA DISCUSSIONS, BECAUSE I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTING WHEN YOU GET THERE.
AND I AGREE WITH MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE THAT I THINK WE NEED TO BE CREATIVE WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND, UM, DEPRESSION AMONG THE YOUTH AND DEPRESSION AMONG THE SENIORS IS REAL.
AND WE NEED TO FIND AGENCIES AND GROUPS THAT WILL ADDRESS THAT.
BUT IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE OUR PRIORITIES RIGHT HERE, I THINK WE NEED TO, TO STAY ON THIS.
AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, SURVEY THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND ALSO SURVEY, UM, THOSE SENIORS SITTING AT HOME.
AND YOUR TEAM DOES AN INCREDIBLE JOB.
THEY KNOW WHO EXACTLY WHO'S HOME.
I CAN GIVE YOU THE NAMES OF SENIORS AT EVERY CENTER THAT KNOWS WHY SO AND SO HAST COME BACK.
UM, AND, AND, UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT'LL BE A PLUS.
AND WE, WE WILL GET A REALLY, WE'LL, WE'LL USE THE MONIES VERY, UM, THOUGHTFULLY.
I'M, I'M JUST GONNA ADD SOME COMMENTS TO THE DISCUSSION THAT WE HAD TODAY.
I THINK, UH, COUNCILMAN BRAN BRINGS UP, UM, A VERY GOOD POINT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO, SENIORS WHO USED TO ATTEND SENIOR CENTERS WHO, UH, ARE NOT COMING BACK AND MAY NEVER COME BACK, UM, TO, TO SOME EXTENT, I DON'T THINK MY MOM WHO IS, UH, 80 IS EVER GOING TO FEEL COMFORTABLE IN A LARGE CROWD AGAIN.
UM, SO THAT, THAT MAY BE, UM, SORT OF A PERMANENT, UH, CHANGE.
OR, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE MAY HAVE UNVACCINATED FOLKS AT HOME AND THEY'RE NEVER GOING TO FEEL COMFORTABLE GOING BACK.
UM, BUT IF, IF THERE IS A WAY, UH, THEY CAN COME, COME BACK, WE, WE WOULD WANNA KNOW.
UM, BUT I ALSO WANNA OPEN THE CONVERSATION TO THE POPULATION OF SENIORS WHO DO NOT GO TO OUR SENIOR CENTERS.
THAT IS SIMPLY NOT, UM, A WAY OF SOCIALIZATION FOR THEM.
AND EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A TREMENDOUS PROGRAM, YOU SHOWED US THE, THE NUMBER OF CENTERS THAT WE HAVE, UM, THOSE OTHER SENIORS WHO, WHO PREVIOUSLY DIDN'T FEEL THEY NEEDED TO GO TO A SENIOR CENTER FOR SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT, UM, ALSO ARE EXPERIENCING OR DID EXPERIENCE SOCIAL ISOLATION, UH, DURING THE PANDEMIC AND TO SOME EXTENT NOW.
SO, UM, CAN WE CONSIDER, UH, HOW TO SERVE THEM AS WELL? UM, I I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE AN EASY WAY TO DO IT, BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU, UM, TO,
[01:15:01]
TO LOOK AT THAT.UH, I CERTAINLY SUPPORT ADDRESSING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH.
UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF OUR, OF THE PANDEMIC, OUR, OUR STAFF SENT SPENT PROBABLY WEEKS OR MONTHS, UH, CALLING SENIORS IN OUR AREA THAT WE KNEW OF, OR GETTING LISTS OF SENIORS JUST TO, TO TALK TO THEM.
UM, SO THAT'S, AND I, I'VE HEARD THAT DONE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.
UM, NOT EVERYBODY WANTS TO TALK TO US, BUT SOME PEOPLE WILL KEEP US ON THE PHONE FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UM, UH, I, UH, PARTICULARLY LIKE THE OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES, BECAUSE THAT, TO ME, THAT'S A RESILIENCY ASPECT OF THIS.
SHOULD WE HAVE ANOTHER PEAK AGAIN? AND IT MAY ALSO, UH, INTEREST THOSE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO DON'T WANT TO BE, YOU KNOW, IN INDOORS, UH, OR DON'T WANNA RETURN, OR NEVER USED TO GO TO A SENIOR CENTER.
UH, I KNOW MY MOM WOULD BE MORE COMFORTABLE OUTDOORS, UH, AS WELL.
UM, I, I DO THINK THAT LAST BULLET ABOUT FINANCIAL BENEFITS AND NAVIGATORS, UH, IS A GREAT PLACE TO INTEGRATE THE, UM, SUGGESTIONS BY COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO REGARDING, UM, HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS AND OTHER HOME STABILIZATION PROGRAMS, UM, WHETHER IT'S AT A SENIOR CENTER OR, OR ELSEWHERE.
SO, UM, I, UH, I DON'T WANT YOU TO FEEL LIKE AS RUSHED, LIKE YOU HAVE TO COME IN TWO WEEKS
I THINK WE'VE JUST HEARD A LOT FROM THE, UM, FROM THE ARTS COMMUNITY ABOUT THAT, AND WE SAW THE, THE FINANCIAL IMPACT ON THEM.
UM, I, BUT I, I WOULD APPRECIATE, UM, YOU KNOW, SEEING, MEETING WITH THE JOINT, UH, COMMISSION ON ELDERLY AFFAIRS ONCE AS, AS SOON AS THEY'RE OPEN TO, TO HEARING ON THIS AND PROVIDING US THEIR, THEIR INPUT.
UM, IT IS A JOINT COMMISSION WITH THE COUNTY, SO IT WOULD ALSO BE GOOD, UH, FOR US TO LEARN, AS HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP BY THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
WHAT, UM, WHAT IS THE COUNTY DOING AS WELL? IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR LEVERAGE? I, I BELIEVE GOOD IDEA.
UM, SO I, I KNOW WE DID HEAR FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, YOU KNOW, AT OUR OPENING SESSION AND THAT, I, I BELIEVE THAT WAS REALLY THE, THE PURPOSE OF THAT, OF THAT FIRST SESSION.
AND THEN IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE TALKING WITH YOUR SENIOR CENTERS, UM, AND THE STAFF THERE, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE, THAT SHOULD BE GOOD INPUT AND THE JOINT COMMISSION, THAT SHOULD BE VERY GOOD INPUT.
UM, SO I, I THINK WE'LL JUST, UM, HAVE YOU COME BACK TO US WHENEVER YOU'RE, YOU'RE READY.
HOPEFULLY, UM, IF YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE MAY OR LATE MAY.
UM, I DON'T WANNA PLAN TOO MANY THINGS FOR JUNE, SO I WOULD LOVE FOR IT TO HAPPEN IN, IN MAY, SO, OKAY.
UM, ALRIGHT, IF ANY FINAL COMMENTS ON THE SENIOR SECTION? OKAY.
AND MOVING ON TO THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS FOR NONPROFITS AND SOCIAL SERVICES, UH, WITH MS. LORI HOUSTON.
AND, UH, I WANNA, OH, OR WITH MEL
AND SO THIS, UM, NEXT PRESENTATION, GO AHEAD.
SLIDE ADVANCE, UM, IS PROVIDING AN OVERVIEW, FIRST OF OUR CURRENT, UH, HUMAN AND SOCIAL SERVICES INVESTMENTS IN FUNDING SELECTION PROCESS FOR NONPROFIT AGENCIES.
AND THEN WE WILL ALSO, AGAIN, BE REQUESTING, UM, CHECK INPUT ON COVID IMPACT INVESTMENT PRIORITIES FOR ARPA, FOR, YOU KNOW, AS THEY IMPACT, UM, NON-PROFIT SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCIES, AS WELL AS POLICY GUIDANCE ON A POTENTIAL FUNDING SELECTION PROCESS.
AND SO WE'LL USE YOUR FEEDBACK TO DEVELOP THAT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR ARPA FUNDING ALONG THE SAME TIMELINE AS THE, UH, PLAN FOR THE SENIORS.
NEXT SLIDE SLIDE AGAIN, YOU'VE SEEN, UM, IT DOES INCLUDE FOUR, THE FRAMEWORK DOES INCLUDE $4 MILLION FOR NONPROFIT SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCIES.
HUMAN SERVICES FUNDS AND COLLABORATES WITH MORE THAN A HUNDRED, UM, COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS.
WE FOCUS ON HUMAN SERVICE INVESTMENTS IN FOUR KEY FUNDING AREAS, CHILDREN AND YOUTH, FAMILY SECURITY, HOMELESSNESS, AND SENIOR SERVICES.
EVERY TWO YEARS, WE ISSUE A COMPETITIVE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO AWARD FUNDING TO PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES THAT ALIGN WITH THE CITY'S PRIORITIES AND ENHANCE OUR DIRECT, UM, SERVICE INVESTMENTS AND EXTEND OUR REACH FURTHER INTO THE COMMUNITY.
FUNDING IS PRIORITIZED TO PROGRAMS, SERVING POPULATIONS IN HIGH EQUITY SCORE AREAS, AND ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING FOR THE DELEGATE AGENCY
[01:20:01]
POOL INCLUDES, UM, NONPROFIT AGENCIES THAT HAVE BEEN OPERATING FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS WHO HAVE THE CAPACITY TO MEET CITY FISCAL AND CONTRACT POLICIES.AND ADDITIONALLY, FUNDING THROUGH THIS PROCESS CANNOT BE MORE THAN 50% OF AN AGENCY'S TOTAL BUDGET.
AND THAT, AGAIN, IS THE CONSOLIDATED FUNDING PROCESS.
SO, THE FISCAL YEAR 2022, UM, ADOPTED BUDGET INCLUDES 21.7 MILLION TO SUPPORT NONPROFIT HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAMMING.
AND THAT INCLUDES 18 MILLION IN GENERAL FUND AND 4 MILLION IN GRANT FUNDS.
AND ALL OF THOSE GRANT FUNDS ARE FROM, UM, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
SO, SIMILAR TO THE ARTS AGENCY, SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS, NONPROFITS HAVE BEEN DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY THE C OVID 19 PANDEMIC, ESPECIALLY SMALL AGENCIES.
AND THOSE OPERATING IN OR SERVING POPULATIONS FROM HIGH EQUITY SCORE AREAS, THEY ARE EXPERIENCING REVENUE LOSS FROM REDUCED FUNDRAISING AND PHILANTHROPIC DONATIONS, WHILE ALSO MANAGING ADDED EXPENSES AND RISING COSTS.
SO THE COST OF PROVIDING SERVICES HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE, UM, PRE COVID.
THE NONPROFIT SECTOR IS AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRY IN BEXAR COUNTY, PROVIDING 68,000 JOBS ACROSS THE METRO AREA, AND, UM, ALSO WORKING ACROSS MULTIPLE SECTORS TO MEET THOSE VITAL COMMUNITY NEEDS.
UM, AND THE NEEDS OF POPULATIONS IMPACTED BY COVID AS WELL, UM, ON THEIR WAY TO TRYING TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR VULNERABLE RESIDENTS.
SO THE, SO 4 MILLION IN ARPA FUNDING IS SET ASIDE TO ADDRESS THE IMPACTS OF C O D ON NON-PROFIT AGENCIES DOING THIS WORK.
UM, DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PLAN WILL INCLUDE COORDINATION WITH THE SAN ANTONIO NONPROFIT COUNCIL AND OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT WITH OTHER COMMUNITY FUNDERS, COUNCIL OFFICES, AND THOSE NONPROFIT AND FAITH-BASED PROVI, UH, PROVIDERS THAT WE CURRENTLY WORK WITH.
SO, THROUGH, UM, PRIOR ARPA BRIEFINGS AT A SESSION AND B SESSION, CITY COUNCIL PROVIDED INPUT ON ARPA INVESTMENTS TO OFFSET THE IMPACT OF C OVID 19 ON NONPROFIT AGENCIES, INCLUDING, UM, EXPANDED IMMIGRATION SERVICES, SUPPORT SERVICES AND PROGRAMS, ASSISTANCE TO SOCIAL SERVICES AND NON, UH, AGENCIES AND NONPROFITS THAT ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR FUNDING AND OTHER ARPA CATEGORIES, AS WELL AS SUPPORT FOR IMPACTED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE PROVIDING THOSE COMMUNITY SERVICES WE JUST TALKED ABOUT.
AND WE WILL ALSO, UM, PROVIDE ANALYSIS OF EMPLOYEE PAY LEVELS AND BENEFITS AND BRING THAT BACK TO THE COMMITTEE.
THE INPUT AND POLICY DIRECTION THAT YOU PROVIDE TODAY WILL GUIDE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NONPROFIT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND WHEN COMPLETE THE PLAN WILL, UM, INCLUDE THE, UH, FOCUS ON THE IMPACT OF COVID ON THE NONPROFITS THAT YOU PRIORITIZE, RECOMMEND STRATEGIES, UM, AND PROGRAMS THAT WILL BENEFIT, UM, IN ASSY, YOU KNOW, IN THIS CASE, PROBABLY MORE OF A, A FUNDING ALLOCATION SYSTEM THAT WILL BENEFIT, UM, AGENCY CAPACITY AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE IMPACTED.
AND THE PLAN WILL ALSO INCLUDE THOSE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES METRICS AND, UM, POTENTIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT, UM, WE WANT TO HAVE IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE MONEY IS BEING USED APPROPRIATELY.
AND IT WILL INCLUDE A NOT TO EXCEED FOUR YEAR IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE.
AND SO TO SUMMARIZE, UM, LOOKING FOR YOUR, UM, PRIORITY AND POLICY DIRECTION AGAIN ON THIS, IN THIS AREA, AS WITH THE SENIOR IN ARTS DISCUSSION, WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS, UM, WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO SOLVE FOR THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE $4 MILLION IN FUNDING.
WE'LL GO BACK AND USING A SIMILAR TIMELINE TO THE SENIOR SERVICES IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
UM, WE'LL BRIEF THE NONPROFIT COUNCIL, CONTINUE TO COORDINATE WITH THEM, AND THEN COME BACK TO CHECK FOR APPROVAL TO GO FORWARD TO THE FULL COUNCIL, UM, NO LATER THAN THE FALL.
SO THAT CONCLUDES MY BRIEFING, AND, UM, I'M HAPPY TO GATHER YOUR INPUT AND ANSWER QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MEL, FOR, UM,
[01:25:01]
YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU MENTIONED THE NONPROFIT COUNCIL A COUPLE OF TIMES.IT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY RELEVANT STAKEHOLDER GROUP TO, TO WORK WITH.
NOW THEY DON'T ALL NECESSARILY, THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE NONPROFIT COUNCIL ISN'T NECESSARILY LIMITED TO A SOCIAL SERVICE? THAT'S CORRECT.
BUT DO THEY HAVE LIKE A SUBGROUP THAT WOULD BE DEDICATED? I I DON'T KNOW IF THEY HAVE LIKE A, A STATED SUBGROUP, BUT THEY CAN CERTAINLY SORT OUT.
AND WE ALSO HAVE A, A LIST THAT INCLUDES THE PEOPLE WE'RE FUNDING NOW THAT SOCIAL SERVICES AS WELL AS OTHER HUMAN SERVICES AGENCIES IN THE COMMUNITY THAT MAY HAVE APPLIED IN THE PAST AND NOT BEEN FUNDED OR HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST.
UM, SO WE KIND OF KEEP THAT RUNNING LIST THAT WE CAN ALSO NOTIFY.
THE, UM, ONE THING YOU ALSO MENTIONED HAD TO DO WITH SMALL E AGENCIES BEING AFFECTED A LITTLE BIT MORE.
SO I, I WOULD BE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN TRYING TO TAILOR THE, THE USE OF THIS $5 MILLION WITH SMALL AGENCIES, BECAUSE I THINK IT WILL GO FURTHER WITH THEM.
OR MAYBE IT'S A LITTLE BIT TOO, TOO, OR US MM-HMM.
UM, I, UM, I DID ADVOCATE FOR IMMIGRATION, UH, SERVICES.
I THINK, UH, IMMIGRANTS ARE PARTICULARLY, UH, IMPACTED COMMUNITY.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF IMMIGRANTS SERVING IN THE, UM, IN THE SERVICE SECTOR, RIGHT.
WHICH WAS, UH, OF COURSE, UH, AFFECTED, UM, IN THE EVENTS WHEN THERE ARE LANGUAGE BARRIERS, THAT'S A HIGH EQUITY, UH, INDICATOR.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GEOGRAPHICALLY, YOU KNOW, LOCATED, BUT THE, THE POPULATION HAS, UH, WOULD HAVE A HIGH EQUITY INDICATOR.
SO I'M, I'M NOT PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN HOLDING OFF ON THE IMMIGRATION SERVICES UNTIL ALL THE OTHER PARTS ARE DONE.
UM, SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF THAT'S A, A POSSIBILITY.
WE DO HAVE, UM, A COUPLE OF INQUIRIES ALREADY FROM, UH, IMMIGRANT SERVING ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THAT HAVE REACHED OUT TO US SINCE, SINCE WE WERE DEVELOPING LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, UM, FOR FISCAL YEAR, YOU KNOW, 22, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA ABOUT TO BEGIN FISCAL YEAR 23 PLANNING.
SO, AND THEY'VE BEEN, UH, HAVING A HARD TIME SINCE THEN.
SO I'D JUST LIKE TO KNOW IF THAT'S SOME SORT OF, IF THAT'S A POSSIBILITY, COUNCILMAN, IF THE COMMITTEE WOULD DESIRE TO DO A SUBSET OF THE NONPROFIT ALLOCATION AND HAVE A POLICY DISCUSSION IN YOUR CASE FOR, UM, IMMIGRANT SERVICES TO OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY, WE CAN DO THAT.
THE PROCESS WILL BE THE SAME THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE IT TO THE FULL COUNCIL FIRST FOR APPROVAL.
UM, OUR STAFF PREFERENCE WOULD BE TO TAKE THE ENTIRE NONPROFIT GROUP TOGETHER, UH, WHICH IS THE WAY THAT WE HAVE PRESENTED IT TO COUNCIL.
SO WE TAKE IT ONLY ONCE, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY, UM, EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF BREAKING THAT OUT.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE COMMITTEE WILL DESIRE TO DO.
UM, I JUST UNDERSTOOD, UH, CERTAINLY CLEANER IF YOU, IF YOU TAKE IT ALL TOGETHER, BUT IF WE'RE ABLE TO GET ALL THE PIECES DONE, UM, THEN, THEN THAT'S FINE.
IT JUST SOUNDED LIKE THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT LONGER, BUT I'LL, I'LL HEAR FROM THE, FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO, I DIDN'T REALIZE I CHIMED IN, BUT I'LL GO AHEAD.
UM, I, UH, WOULD ALSO LIKE TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF SMALL AGENCIES RECEIVING ASSISTANCE.
UM, I KNOW THERE ARE ORGANIZATIONS WHO DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE CAPACITY, UM, LIKE WHAT WE SAW WITH THE FIRST PHASE OF, UH, A FUNDS THAT WERE DISPERSED, UM, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE LOBBYISTS AND COME GIVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND ENSURE THAT THEY'RE EMAILING EVERYONE EVERY DAY.
UM, AND, UH, IT WAS PRIMARILY SOME OF OUR, UH, IMMIGRANT SERVICES THAT, UH, WERE REACHING OUT, UM, PRIOR TO, TO US DISCUSSING ARPA, UH, NEEDING ASSISTANCE BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN IMPACTED, UH, BY C OVID 19.
SO I, I, I WOULD BE HOPEFUL, UM, IF WE CAN LOOK AT THOSE APPLICATIONS, UM, ONE OF MY ASK WOULD BE, UM, WITH ALL THESE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS APPLYING, IF WE CAN RECEIVE, UH, EACH OF THOSE APPLICATIONS FOR US TO REVIEW IN PREPARATION, UM, FOR OUR NEXT MEETING, UM, AS THEY COME IN.
UM, BUT, UM, THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO REVIEWING ALL THE APPLICATIONS.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BE SIMILAR WITH THE ARTS, WHERE WE'LL RECEIVE THE APPLICATIONS, STAFF WILL REVIEW AND SCORE AND, UM, THEN BRING RECOMMENDATIONS BACK TO COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY.
W WOULD WE BE REVIEWING, UH, ALL OF THE APPLICATIONS OR A FILTERED, UH, APPLICATIONS? SORRY IF I MISUNDERSTOOD.
NO, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
SO WHAT WE ENVISION IS ONCE THERE'S CONSENSUS FROM THIS, UM, COMMITTEE
[01:30:01]
ON THE CABINET IMPACTS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS, LET'S SAY HYPOTHETICALLY YOU'RE INTERESTED IN HELPING NON-PROFITS, AS YOU MENTIONED SMALL, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO DEFINE WHAT SMALL IS IN A SYSTEM WITH OPERATIONAL SUPPORT, FOR EXAMPLE, THEN WE WOULD DO A PROCESS BY WHICH ENTITIES WOULD APPLY, YOU KNOW, WITH THE SCORING AND THE CRITERIA.SO GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO EVERYBODY WHO WAS IMPACTED, AND THEN, UM, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.
WE CONDUCT, WE'LL CONDUCT THE R F P, DO THE APPLICATION, THE SCORING, AND THEN COME BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, ON AGENCIES THAT MEET THAT CRITERIA THAT WAS PUT OUT ON THE R F P.
UM, I, I WOULD LIKE TO REVIEW ALL THE APPLICATIONS THAT RECEIVE THE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO, TO REVIEW, UM, ALL THAT HAVE APPLIED.
OH, THE AGENCIES WHO APPLY? YES.
AND TYPICALLY WHEN WE HAVE A PROCESS, WE PROVIDE, UM, THE, THE COUNCIL OF DESIRE, ALL THE ENTITIES THAT APPLY IT, WHICH ONES WERE SELECTED, AND THE SCORE FOR THOSE THAT WERE SELECTED.
JUST A QUICK QUESTION, BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO ISSUE, UM, AN R F P FOR IT, IT'LL BE, UM, A PROCUREMENT PROCESS MM-HMM.
THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS, I THINK, UM, WOULD STIPULATE THAT AS WELL AS JUST THE, THE, UH, COMMUNITY INTEREST AND ARPA, OR MAYBE NOT
I THINK BECAUSE OF THE PROCESS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY FOLLOWED, I, WE WOULDN'T TAKE IT TO AUDIT COMMITTEE AS A HIGH PROFILE.
I THINK WITH THE INPUT FROM THIS COMMITTEE THAT IS, UH, SUFFICIENT, HOWEVER, THAT MEANS THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THOSE WHO ARE, UH, GOING TO BID ON IT.
UNLIKE THE THREE MAJOR CONTRACTS WE AWARDED WITH THE FIRST ROUND OF ARPA FUNDS, WELL, I WOULD SAY COUNCIL IMAN, WE HAVE FOR NONPROFITS, AND MEL OR REYA FROM ATTORNEY'S OFFICE MAY RECALL THE PROCESS, BUT THE BLOCKOUT PERIODS FOR NONPROFITS HAS BEEN DIFFERENT.
ANDREYA, OR I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA ADDRESS THAT, BUT, BUT IT'S, IT'S VERY DIFFERENT THAN A REGULAR PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
SO THERE'S MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR THOSE ENTITIES TO APPROACH THE COUNCIL.
SO DO YOU WANNA COME TO THE PODIUM? SO, OF COURSE, THERE'S TWO TERMS THAT, UH, WE USE.
THE BLACKOUT PERIOD IS FOR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.
UM, BUT THE RESTRICTIONS ON COMMUNICATION IS USUALLY, IT USUALLY BEGINS WHEN YOU ISSUE THE R F P AND THEN 10 DAYS, IT, UH, ENDS 10 DAYS AFTER COMPLETION OF THE R F P PROCESS.
BUT WE CAN MODIFY THAT BECAUSE THE CITY CODE ALLOWS FOR MODIFICATIONS IN THE R F P.
SO IT WOULD BE DETERMINED AS A GROUP AS TO HOW THAT MODIFICATION COULD TAKE PLACE.
WE'VE DONE THAT IN THE PAST WHERE WE'VE MODIFIED THE COMMUNICATION PERIOD IN THE R F P, WHICH IS PERMITTED UNDER THE CODE.
UM, IT WOULD BE MY PREFERENCE THAT ANY ENTITY THAT RECEIVES ARPA FUNDING FROM FROM THE CITY HAS THE SAME ACCESS TO US.
UM, THEY'RE NOT GONNA ALL GO THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS.
THE, YOU KNOW, IT'S DEFINITELY A LITTLE BIT TOO LATE, UH, FOR THAT, BUT OUT OF A, A SENSE OF, OF FAIRNESS, I, THAT WOULD BE MY, MY POSITION I'D, YOU KNOW, WANNA HEAR FROM, FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO COUNCILWOMAN
THIS IS MY ISSUE WITH THE NON-PROFITS, UH, THAT'S NOT AS CLEAR AS THE ARTS.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE GIVING THEM MONEY BECAUSE THEY'RE IMPACTED AND WE DON'T HAVE, WE DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WE'RE GIVING THEM.
IT, IT'S JUST GONNA, IF YOU WERE IMPACTED BY THE C O V I D APPLY, WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU, WE COULD GIVE YOU UP TO $4 MILLION AND GIVE IT TO ONE GROUP.
IS THAT WHAT WE'RE SAYING? NO, NO, NO, NO.
WE WOULD ASK FOR JUSTIFICATION.
SO COUNCILMAN, WE WOULD ESTABLISH GUIDELINES AS PART OF THE R F P TO, SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU HAD THE DISCUSSION ON THE ARTS WHEN WE DEVELOPED THAT SA CARES THAT THERE WERE THRESHOLDS ON THE OPERATIONAL SUPPORT, WE COULD APPLY THE SAME PROCESS TO THE NONPROFITS.
SO, UM, AS I MENTIONED, AS YOU HAVE THE DISCUSSION ON WHAT IS THE COVID IMPACT THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS, IF IT'S OPERATIONAL SUPPORT, THE COUNCIL COULD HAVE A DISCUSSION TO SAY, UP TO X DOLLAR AMOUNT, JUST LIKE YOU DID WITH THE ARTS.
BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S THE ISSUE I THINK WE'RE GONNA SEE AT FULL COUNCIL, IS IF WE'RE GIVING FOR OPERATIONAL SUPPORT, I UNDERSTAND THAT, AND THAT'S WHERE MY QUESTION COMES BACK IS,
[01:35:01]
ARE YOU PAYING $15 AN HOUR? IF YOU'RE NOT PAYING $15 AN HOUR, DO YOU OFFER TUITION REIMBURSEMENT? DO YOU OFFER CHILDCARE? BECAUSE SOME OF THESE NONPROFIT AGENCIES HAVE PERKS TO GET THEM TO, TO MAKE THEIR LIFESTYLE MORE, MAKE IT A LIVING PROFESSION.AND I THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT AS IF WE'RE GOING TO SUPPORT OPERATIONAL COSTS, UM, BECAUSE THEY WERE IMPACTED BY THE ARPA DOLLARS, AND THAT WAS CONVERSATIONS THAT GROUPS HAD WITH ME.
NOT JUST IMMIGRATION SERVICES, BUT THOSE, UM, UH, SA YOUTH HAD THAT CONVERSATION.
THEY COULD BE IN YOUTH OR THEY COULD BE HERE.
UM, ALL THE AUTISM NETWORKS THAT I SPOKE WITH WERE HAVING WITH, WERE HAVING OPERATIONAL ISSUES BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
SO I, IF WE'RE WITH $4 MILLION IN, WE SAY IT'S NOT A LOT, BUT TO, TO SOME SMALL AGENCIES, IS THAT'S $500,000, $50,000 IS A LOT OF MONEY.
UM, I THINK WE NEED TO DECIDE IF WE'RE GONNA DO OPERATIONAL COSTS OR IF WE'RE GONNA DO 2 MILLION FOR OPERATIONAL COSTS, 2 MILLION FOR, UM, ONE-TIME PROJECTS.
UM, BECAUSE WHEN WE PUT OUT THAT ASK, UH, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY NONPROFIT AGENCIES THAT WERE IMPACTED THAT AREN'T GOING TO FEEL LIKE THEY, THEY FIT IN ANY OTHER CATEGORY, UH, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CLEAR, UH, IN OUR DECISION HERE, BECAUSE I THINK WHEN IT GOES TO FULL COUNSEL, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THEM, UM, GIVE AN INPUT INTO IT, UM, ABOUT WHAT THEY WOULD'VE LIKED TO SEE FOR NONPROFITS.
SO, UH, THAT, THAT'S THE ONLY, I, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST CHOOSE ONE OR THE OTHER, BUT IF Y'ALL WANNA SEPARATE INTO 2 MILLION FOR ONE TIME BIG PROJECTS OR TRANSFORMATIONAL PROJECTS AND OPERATIONAL COSTS, WE CAN, BUT I'M, I'M FINE LOOKING AT 4 MILLION FOR OPERATIONAL COSTS FOR THESE NONPROFITS, WHETHER IT'S IMMIGRATION SERVICES, RAPE, CRISIS CENTER, SA YOUTH, 'CAUSE THEY DON'T WANNA APPLY FOR THE YOUTH.
UM, I'D, I'D LIKE TO DO IT THAT WAY.
AND THEN PUT THE R F P OUT WITH THOSE PARAMETERS.
SO EARLIER I DESCRIBED MY HOPE AND MY FEAR, RIGHT? MY HOPE IS THAT WE DECIDE ON A VISION, UM, AND WE FIND WAYS TO BUILD THAT VISION CREATIVELY.
UM, AND MY FEAR IS THAT WE PUSH THIS THROUGH AND IT SORT OF BECOMES LIKE ANY OF OUR OTHER BUCKETS OF FUNDING WHERE ORGANIZATIONS START SCHEDULING TOURS WITH US AND TALKING ABOUT ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT THEY DO.
AND THEN AT THE VERY END OF WHATEVER MEETING, THEY'RE LIKE, OH, WE'D ALSO LOVE ARPA MONEY, OR WE'D LOVE THIS.
UM, AND NEXT THING YOU KNOW, UM, WE'RE AT THE MEETING TALKING ABOUT THIS GREAT ORGANIZATION THAT WE JUST MET WITH, AND THEN THEY GET MONEY.
THAT'S MY FEAR THAT THAT'S GONNA, THAT THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS.
AND THEN WE JUST HAVE A LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT GET MONEY.
UM, I WOULD LIKE IF, UM, CHAIR FOR THE NEXT MEETING, MAYBE WE CAN HAVE A, UM, I DON'T KNOW, A DIFFERENT STRUCTURE SO THAT IT'S MORE CONVERSATIONAL IN NATURE AND IT'S MORE, UM, I DON'T KNOW.
I, I FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO COME TO THESE KINDS OF MEETINGS AND HAVE MY TALKING POINTS AND THEN LISTEN TO OTHER PEOPLE'S TALKING POINTS.
AND THEN WE JUST, MAYBE SOME, MAYBE THERE'S SOME COORDINATION.
MAYBE THERE'S NOT, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF COLLABORATION.
UM, AND ONE OF THE REASONS, SO YOU ASKED A QUESTION EARLIER, UM, ABOUT IMMIGRATION SERVICES AND POT AND POTENTIALLY, UM, THOSE GOING INTO A BUCKET.
AND I DON'T THINK WE'VE, ANYBODY'S ANSWERED THAT QUESTION.
HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU THINK WOULD BE, UM, APPROPRIATE TO SEPARATE A MILLION AND A HALF? A MILLION AND A HALF? I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHETHER, OKAY, LET ME GET THROUGH THE, LET ME GET THROUGH MY NOTES.
I DON'T WANT TO OVERBURDEN ORGANIZATIONS THAT, UM, HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED SETBACKS DURING THE PANDEMIC.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE VERY, VERY SMALL ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND SO I'M VERY, I'M INTERESTED IN ESTABLISHING A TRANSPARENT AND EFFICIENT PROCESS THAT, FOR INSTANCE, DOESN'T REQUIRE A GRANT WRITER, DOESN'T CREATE A NEED FOR, UM, ADDITIONAL BURDENSOME PAPERWORK OR PROCESSES.
I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT AN R F P, UM, 'CAUSE A LOT OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT I KNOW THAT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, UM, RECEIVE SUPPORT,
[01:40:01]
I DON'T THINK THEY KNOW HOW TO CREATE PROPOSALS LIKE THAT.UM, AND THERE'S A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE EMBEDDED WITHIN THE COMMUNITY WHO ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE A VERY LARGE ADMINISTRATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO I'M JUST CONCERNED THAT WITH THE PROCESS THAT WE MAY SET, SET UP, THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE LEFT OUT AGAIN.
UM, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO THE, UH, SETTING ASIDE A DIFFERENT FUND FOR THE, UM, I DON'T KNOW.
I DON'T HEAR OPPOSITION
UM, ALSO I WOULD LIKE TO PLACE EMPHASIS SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS CATEGORY.
I WOULD LIKE TO PLACE EMPHASIS ON ACCESS TO FOOD AND ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, BOTH OF WHICH IS, UM, REALLY SAD IN DISTRICT TWO AND I KNOW IN OTHER DISTRICTS.
AND SO IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT WE CAN, AS WE SAID EARLIER, LIKE CLOSE GAPS IN THAT ACCESS TO FOOD AND ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO CONSIDER THAT.
UM, I, I DO WANNA ECHO THE COMMENT ABOUT THE R F P PROCESS POSSIBLY BEING A BARRIER.
I'M NOT SAYING WE SHOULD JUST GIVE AWAY THE MONEY BY BY ANY MEANS.
UH, I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S A WAY TO PROVIDE SOME TECHNICAL, UM, ASSISTANCE TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN APPLYING MM-HMM.
AND, AND I THINK THOSE ARE EXCELLENT POINTS.
SO YES, WE WOULD CONDUCT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SESSIONS AND WE TYPICALLY DO THOSE WITH, UM, OUR HUMAN SERVICES, UM, CONSOLIDATED FUNDING PROCESS TO ASSIST THOSE ENTITIES.
AND ALSO TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I WILL ALSO ADD, BECAUSE THESE ARE FEDERAL DOLLARS, WE HAVE THEIR REQUIREMENTS FROM THE US TREASURY THAT WE HAVE TO COMPLY WITH.
THE CLOSEST ONES WE HAVE IS, FOR INSTANCE, LIKE C D V G FUNDS.
UH, THE ENTITIES THAT RECEIVE THOSE FUNDS HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THOSE FEDERAL, UH, GUIDELINES AS WELL.
SO YES, WE, WE WILL HAVE THOSE SESSIONS TO ASSIST THOSE ENTITIES THAT ARE INTERESTED IN APPLYING TO MAKE SURE THEY RECEIVE THAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND THEY UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS THAT IS REQUIRED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS WELL.
NOW THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME GREAT POINTS WERE BROUGHT UP ABOUT LIVING WAGES AND HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS IN, IN THE RECOVERY, UM, THAT'S NOT PROHIBITED BY THE FEDERAL, UM, GUIDELINES, IS IT? NO, IT'S NOT.
WE CAN ADD THAT TO OUR REQUIREMENTS.
AND THE OTHER THING, UH, I BELIEVE I MENTIONED THIS IN THE, IN THE B SESSION, BUT I'LL REITERATE IT AGAIN.
UM, IN TERMS OF COVID SAFE PRACTICES IN THE, IN THE WORKPLACE, UM, IF WE COULD FIND A WAY TO INCENTIVIZE OR REQUIRE THAT OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT, THAT WOULD BE RECEIVING THIS, AGAIN, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT AS PART OF THE RESILIENCE.
AND THEN, UM, YOU BROUGHT UP EARLIER, COUNCILWOMAN GUSTI YOU ABOUT CHECKING THE BOX IF YOU'VE APPLIED FOR COUNTY FUNDS AS WELL, SO THAT WE'RE, WE'RE AWARE.
UM, ANYBODY EL OH ONE, GO AHEAD.
UH, SO ON THE DESIGNATION, IF WE WANTED TO DO THE 1.5, UH, FOR IMMIGRATION SERVICES, UM, WOULD WE NEED TO DEFINE THAT, UH, IN ADDITION, LIKE TO DREAMERS OR IT WOULD JUST BE ANYBODY WHO DOES IMMIGRATION SERVICES? I THINK THAT WOULD BE, UH, UP, UP TO THIS COMMITTEE.
SO I'VE, OH, I'VE SEEN, UH, A COUPLE OF PROPOSALS COME THROUGH THAT ARE THAT TOTAL MORE THAN 2 MILLION.
SO THAT'S REALLY WHERE I GOT MY, MY FIGURE FROM.
SO, UM, WOULD WE THEN PUT THIS ON THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM AND, UM, THAT WAY WE COULD GET PUBLIC INPUT AND SURVEYS, UH, DONE AND MAYBE HAVE SOMEONE COME AND TALK PUBLIC COMMENT ABOUT THAT? SURE.
SO WHAT I CAN OFFER IS, BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED SO FAR, I THINK HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL, WE CAN DEVELOP THAT PRELIMINARY PLAN TO BRING BACK TO YOU AT THE NEXT MEETING.
UH, AND, AND THEN THAT WAY THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, UH, RESIDENTS WHO ARE WILLING TO PROVIDE SOME PUBLIC INPUT AT THE NEXT MEETING.
AND THAT WAY YOU CAN SEE THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF HOW THAT ALLOCATION WOULD LOOK LIKE, THE DIFFERENT FUNDING CATEGORIES, HOW THE R F P PROCESS COULD POTENTIALLY WORK.
AND ARE THERE ANY, OTHER THAN IMMIGRATION SERVICES, UM, WERE THERE ANY OTHER THAT YOU, YOU HEARD FROM THE COUNCIL? I MEAN, BECAUSE MY SENIORS AND MY YOUTH AND MENTAL HEALTH ARE COVERED MM-HMM.
BUT I DON'T KNOW IF WE WOULD PUT THEM INTO ANOTHER CATEGORY OR, UM, GET ANOTHER LIKE, UH, 1 MILLION
[01:45:01]
OR, UM, VIOLENT CRIMES.'CAUSE THAT, THAT'S ONE THAT'S KIND OF HARD.
UH, I THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTER, IF WE COULD HAVE A DESIGNATION OF AGENCIES THAT ADDRESS THAT, RIGHT.
AND POSSIBLY PUT THAT ON THE AGENDA.
SO BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK TODAY AND THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT FROM THE COUNCIL BACK IN MARCH, UH, WHAT I'M, I'M THINKING RIGHT NOW IS THAT WE WOULD COME BACK TO YOU WITH A SIMILAR FORMAT TO WHAT WE DO FOR CONSOLIDATED FUNDING PROCESS THAT WE HAVE CATEGORIES OF FUNDING, IMMIGRATION SERVICES, TRANSPORTATION, ACCESS TO FOOD, ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS THOSE FUNDING CATEGORIES IN AN, UH, ESTIMATED AMOUNT FOR THOSE.
AND THAT WAY YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO REACT TO AND PROVIDE US FEEDBACK.
'CAUSE 'CAUSE I LIKE THAT IDEA BECAUSE THEN, UM, THEN I THINK IT WOULD HELP THE NONPROFITS IS, AND ESPECIALLY THE NONPROFITS THAT MAYBE HAVEN'T DONE THE R F P PROCESS AGAIN, TO TRY TO, UH, PUT TOGETHER THEIR, THEIR ASK AND THEIR PROGRAMMING, UH, WHEN, WHEN IT COMES TO THAT.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
BECAUSE I'M NOT OPPOSED TO COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL'S, UM, UM, SUGGESTION.
UM, THANKS EVERYBODY FOR A GREAT, UH, THOUGHTS AND, AND THINKING THIS THROUGH WITH US.
IT'S NOT AS, UH, DISCUSSION ORIENTED AS THE COUNCILMAN WOULD LIKE, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL WORK ON THAT IN THE FUTURE.
COUNCILMAN BRAVO, DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? OKAY.
MEL, IS THAT, DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE ENOUGH, UH, INPUT FOR THIS, FOR THIS PROCESS? YES, WE DO.
MADAM CHAIR, THIS WAS A GREAT SESSION.
UM, SO WE WILL EITHER SEE YOU AT THE END OF THE MONTH OR, OR AT THE, YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE OKAY? OR AT THE BEGINNING OF NEXT, UH, NEXT MONTH, THE END OF APRIL OR MAY.
SO WE HAVE APRIL 28TH OR MAY 10TH I BELIEVE, OR NEXT TWO DATES, JUST SO, SO LONG AS YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME TO DO THE PLAN ON MAY 10TH, I THINK.
THAT SOUNDS, UH, THAT SOUNDS GREAT.
SO MAYBE WE'LL GO AHEAD AND AGENDA IS, UM, MAY 10TH FOR ARPA TWO.
UM, FOR ARPAS SECOND DISCUSSION.
AND I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE OUR CITY MANAGER IS HERE WITH US TODAY.
DID YOU WANNA SHARE ANY COMMENTS, SARAH? NO, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST COMMITTEE TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION, SO THAT'S WHY
UH, JUST SOME QUICK ANNOUNCEMENTS AS WE, AS WE WRAP UP OUR NEXT MEETING.
AS YOU HAVE HEARD, UM, IS APRIL 28TH, UM, AT 10:00 AM UH, FOR OUR VIEWERS, EARTH DAY WILL BE CELEBRATED ON APRIL 23RD AT WOODLAWN LAKE PARK AT 10:00 AM EVERYBODY'S INVITED.
UH, ESPECIALLY THIS COMMITTEE.
OH, THE, I'M SORRY, THE 28TH AT TWO, RIGHT? YEAH.
THE NEXT MEETING IS APRIL 28TH AT 2:00 PM SORRY ABOUT THAT.
AND EARTH DAY WILL BE SATURDAY, APRIL 23RD AT WOODLAWN LAKE PARK AT 10:00 AM UM, ACTUALLY IT'S AN ALL DAY AFFAIR.
I HEARD THERE COULD BE BABY GOAT YOGA.
UM, AND, UH, JUST A QUICK UPDATE ON ENERGY BENCHMARKING.
UM, TODAY AT NOON, THE BENCHMARKING ADVISORY SUBCOMMITTEE WILL BE, UH, MEETING AGAIN.
UM, ANYBODY CAN SEND, UH, THEIR STAFF THERE IF THEY WANT TO FOLLOW THAT PROCESS.
AND I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, WE'VE HAD, UH, DISTRICT ONE AND DISTRICT FIVE SEND SOME OF THEIR STAFF MEMBERS.
THANK YOU, UH, FOR, UH, KEEPING UP WITH THAT PROCESS.